That Wouldn't've Been MY Answer

Story: the raising of Lazarus (John 11)
Time: shortly before Holy Week
Characters: Jesus and Martha
Question:  I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?

And the answer from Martha?  

Nothing that looks like a reasonable answer to a direct question.

Yeah, yeah, sure, we're used to hearing the reading, so it may go in one ear and out the other.  But look how odd the answer is.

"People who believe in Me will not die, even though they die.  Do you believe that?"

"You betcha, Jesus.  I believe You're the Messiah."  



Wait -- He was talking about resurrection.  This interchange would make sense: "Do you believe I'm the Messiah?"  "Yes, I do."  And this interchange would also make sense:  "Do you believe that I give/am life for those dead?"  "Yes, You are."

But Martha's answer to the question about death-vs-life was "Yes, You are the Messiah."  

In other words, she knew the Old Testament scriptures to teach that the Messiah would come into the world to overcome death, to be the resurrection, to be life, to give immortality.  

I don't remember anybody teaching me when I was little that that's what the Old Testament was all about.  I don't even remember hearing that the Old Testament was all about Jesus -- much less that it was about the Anointed One who would bring to us eternal life.

But that was a no-brainer for Martha.

Dates of Easter

Grievous indeed that I need to have this in an easily accessible place, but what I think matters not.

2014:       April 20          April 20

2015:       April 5            April 12

2016:       March 27            May 1

2017:       April 16          April 16

2018:       April 1             April 8 

2019:       April 21           April 28

2020:       April 12           April 19

2021:       April 4               May 2

(Western Church in the first column.  Eastern Church in the second column.)

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Not hot.  Not cold.  Not humid.  Not dry.  A sweet softness to the air.

Picked raspberries to go on the breakfast oatmeal.

Ate the first tomato sandwich of the year.  Big fat slice of tomato from the ONE tomato that's ripened so far.  With avocado and onion and cucumber-from-the-garden and homemade mayo and freshly made pesto (with just-picked basil from the garden) on homemade whole wheat bread.

And lettuce salad for supper.  With cucumber salad.  And the first potatoes I dug this year. 

Is this heavenly, or what??  You go out to your garden and bring in fresh food and feast on it!



When I began to realize that heaven was far more than fulfillment of every hedonistic desire (that is, fruit salad galore, chocolate chip cookies without getting fat, seafood chowder, etc), I began to think that the food of heaven would be the Lord's Supper.  And only the Lord's Supper.  Although that certainly is the primary feast, it is also true that God made the world and said it was good.  So maybe we do get fruit salad in heaven!  And tomato and avocado sandwiches!

Those Thin Tent Walls

God is my refuge.

It's all through the psalms.  Refuge.  Rock.  Fortress.  Strength. 

And yet, when David wrote those psalms, the temple was not yet built.  They still had the tabernacle as the place of the Lord's saving presence.  It was constructed of cloth.

Not what we usually think of as a stronghold.




It is not just plain cloth, but the Word of God in and with the cloth.  For without God's Word, the cloth is just a plain tent and no refuge.  But with the Word of God, it is a refuge, that is, a life-defending fortress.

Vanity and Chasing After the Wind

Poor Solomon.  He's on his soapbox about how it's all useless.  You work your butt off, and then your stuff all goes to the man who comes after you (Eccl 1-2).  And who knows what that fellow is going to do with it -- how he's going to screw up all you worked for?

So, did he already know Reheboam would be his successor?
Did he already know that his son was the type of guy who couldn't hold the kingdom together?
Was he expressing not only "You can't take it with you" but also "You can't keep being an influence for good after you're gone"?

Pure Plastic?

So Andrew comes home with a bottle of water.  FIJI Natural Artesian Water.  It was what was available when he needed to buy some bottled water, so it's what he bought.

When I was washing the bottle for refilling, I noticed the spiel on the label:

Why travel to the South Pacific islands of Fiji for a drink of water?  FIJI Water’s aquifer is in a virgin ecosystem at the edge of a primitive rainforest, thousands of miles from the nearest industrialized continent.  This natural artesian aquifer protects the water until is is bottled at the source and shipped to you.  

So people want pure water from unpolluted sources.  Okay.

And some people are willing to pay extra for it.   Gotcha.

And they package this water in plastic?

That's where they lost me.

Keep on Praying

A slight twist on Dory's song:
Just keep praying.
Just keep praying.
Just keep praying praying praying.
What do we do?  We pray pray pray.

(I hope Nemo doesn't mind the tweaking.)

Pastor likes to make the point that the story of "The Friend at Midnight" (Luke 11) is NOT comparing God to the neighbor who doesn't want to hand over the bread.  It's contrasting God with that fellow.  The neighbor didn't love the demanding guy who was banging on his door, but God DOES love us.  How much easier it is to ask (and ask and ask) somebody who loves us and cares about us and has made promises to us!!

But [she wondered] if I really believed that God would give what I need, then why should I keep pestering him about it?  After all, I could pray once, and then just trust Him to do what is good and right, and not keep asking (and asking and asking).  So is my persistent prayer due to my lack of faith???

Pastor said no.

He said a mother would know what it is like to have children talk to them.  Don't parents delight when their children talk?  Isn't that what parents want?  Isn't it great to know that they trust you and enjoy talking to you?  Don't we love to hear their stories and their discoveries and their thoughts and their feelings?

Yeah.  We do.

(Now, hang on just a minute.  I know some of y'all are at the stage with kiddoes that you're thinking, "Uh ... uh ... well, uh ... sometimes I'm not so sure I delight in that.  Sometimes I kinda sorta want to lock myself in the bathroom to hide from it...."  Okay, let me put it this way:  If one of your kids stopped talking to you someday, your heart would break.  And you would miss him.  And you'd have no way to pour out your love to him.  And you'd rejoice when there is some small chance to talk again.  So yeah, you young moms, tired though you may be, hiding in the bathroom though you may be, you do TOO love hearing your kids talk.  It may not always be apparent to you, but deep-down you treasure it.  Trust me on this.)

So, yeah.  I guess I can "just keep praying praying praying."  And it's okay.  It's not annoying God.

Quite the contrary.

Baby

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
and by His stripes we are healed.  (Is 53)

By His stripes we are healed.

Children of the heavenly Father
safely in His bosom gather.
Nestling bird nor star in heaven
such a refuge e'er was given.

Let the little children come to Me.  (Mark 10)

For the transgression of My people He was stricken.
When you make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed,
He shall prolong His days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 
(Is 53)

My people.

God His own doth tend and nourish.
In His holy courts they flourish.
From all evil things He spares them.
In His mighty arms He bears them.

Out of the depths have I cried to You, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
O Israel, hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy,
and with Him is plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquity.  (Ps 130)

Neither life nor death shall ever
from the Lord His children sever.
Unto them His grace He showeth,
and their sorrows all He knoweth.

A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
Thus says the Lord:
Your work shall be rewarded,
and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
There is hope in your future, says the Lord,
that your children shall come back to their own border.  (Jer 31)

Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life."  (John 11)

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne'er forsaketh.
His the loving purpose solely
to preserve them pure and holy.  (LSB 725)

Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 
For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  (Matt 18)

He lives, all glory to His name.
He lives, my Jesus still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives.   (TLH 200)

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
no sorrow, nor crying. 
There shall be no more pain,
for the former things have passed away.
Then He who sat on the throne said,
"Behold, I make all things new."  (Rev 21)

E'en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come,
and night shall be no more.
They need no light nor lamp nor sun,
for Christ shall be their all.   (Manz)
 
By His stripes we are healed.

The Neighbors Moved Away

So they played loud music.  Music that I wasn't fond of.  That's not too big a deal.

But first impressions?  Boy, when they were checking out the place prior to moving in, and those kids were running through our yard, across our deck, and making leaps off our deck onto the grass below, that did not bode well. 

But, hey, I was impressed when the dad sent the kids over with an apology when the boys' party guests ran through my garden and trampled strawberry plants.

We were surprised last November when we arrived home after work to find Christmas light in OUR tree.  And a mega-ugly job of lighting up our huge old maple trunk.  It's hard to find Christmas lights done in an ugly way.  But these were!  And these lights were burning for three months, pouring light into our bedrooms at night.  In March, when the neighbor finally took down the lights on his eaves, we were hoping the lights on our tree would be removed too.  No such luck, though.

And then they moved.  The landlord apologized to Gary for whatever trouble this neighbor had caused: apparently other neighbors had been complaining for quite a while.  We saw that these people left a mess for the landlord to deal with, tossing garbage out at the back of the property rather than leaving it for the garbage pick-up.  It seemed characteristic....

So we headed out to remove the lights from our tree.  How did he accomplish this "decorating"??  The lights strands were STAPLED to the tree.  Fifteen feet high.  We have a huge ladder, and the only way we could remove these light-strands was with wire cutters and the extended-handle pruning saw.  There's still garbage up in the tree that we couldn't remove.  When we put lights on the indoor tree, we usually have one person standing on each side of the tree, passing light-strands back and forth.  HOW did this guy wrap lights around a 4' diameter, 15' in the air?  No wonder he didn't want to remove the mess!

We have a better feeling about the new neighbors.   Hooray!

The Story about Abraham's Persistent Prayer for Sodom

Maybe it's the math geek in me.  The part of the story (Gen 18) I always noticed was the countdown.  50?  45?  40?  30?  20?  10? 

I never noticed in verse 19 what the Lord was pondering about Abraham's status:  "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

The Lord loves us.  And we teach others about His love and mercy, so they too can hang onto that righteousness He gives. And the Lord needs to make sure we know (verse 17) about His punishment of sin so that we do not waver in trusting His goodness.  What we see and experience must never be allowed to override in our hearts the sweet promises He has made.

Fussing about Ordination Being Called a Sacrament

Crab, crab, crab.  "It's Catholic to call ordination a sacrament."  (Wait.  Did you read that last sentence correctly?  "Catholic" has to be spoken with a scrunched-up nose and have a definite tone-of-insult.)

I realize that the Roman Catholic Church teaches some things about ordination that aren't scriptural.  It almost seems to me it's like magic: the priest is given "indelible character" that makes him (in his own person!) able to do things laymen cannot.

But what if "ordination" is "being put under orders" -- and those orders are the commands of Christ to baptize and to preach and to forgive and to administer the Supper and to judge doctrine?  If the pastor's power is entirely in the Word of God, and if those actions are a means through which God gives grace (not particularly to the ordinand alone but to the man's whole congregation), then why would anyone object to a high view of ordination??

The Confessions themselves say:

If ordination be understood as applying to the ministry of the Word, we are not unwilling to call ordination a sacrament. For the ministry of the Word has God's command and glorious promises -- "The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to every one that believes" (Rom 1:16).  Likewise, Is 55:11 -- "So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please." If ordination be understood in this way, neither will we refuse to call the imposition of hands a sacrament. For the Church has the command to appoint ministers, which should be most pleasing to us, because we know that God approves this ministry, and is present in the ministry.  (Apology XIII:11-12)

So, what's the problem?  Consider it a sacrament (without consenting to the errors of Rome).  Or consider it not-a-sacrament (without consenting to the errors of the Anabaptists ... a far more prevalent problem in today's society). But why should it be an issue?

Fathers in Luke 11

Look at all the fathers in Sunday's [three-year] Gospel (Luke 11:1-13).

"Our Father who art in heaven." 

Then comes the parable of the friend at midnight.  Did you notice that the neighbor (the one who doesn't want to get out of bed to hand over the bread) is a father?  He's in bed with his children.  He's unwilling to grant the unreasonable request of the dude next door, and we always think he's a selfish grump.  But maybe he's just trying to take care of his children.  (Every mama knows what it's like to have the babies awakened by noisy neighbors.  Yeah . . .  you know what I'm talkin' about.  We can understand the fellow-with-the-bread having loads of love for his kids ... and no heart for the guy who's pounding on the door and disturbing the munchkins.)

Then comes the example of the human kids asking their human dads for something necessary, and how daddies take care of their kids instead of hurting them.

Then comes a heavenly Father who gives the Holy Spirit.

Dads.
Dads.
Dads.

A Post about Nothing

(I didn't watch Seinfeld, but I think that's the line people used about the show.)

I found the old Playskool wooden puzzles and brought them upstairs.  Zoe had a great time with them yesterday.  She's just the right age for it. 

Our Culligan water filters needed replacing.  The salesmen think our system is obsolete and should be replaced.  I think they're trying to sell something.  But there's the niggling fear: what if they're right?  What if I'm spending the bucks on new filters, and it turns out to be wasted because the system is too old.  Why, oh why, can't I buy an appliance once and have it last my whole life long??

I was mean to the septic system today.  I put bleach in the wash.  Those white bath towels were looking so grungy.  They're still not white-white, but they look so much better.  Story is that one of my grandmas prided herself on having the brightest whitest laundry around.  She would be horrified at me.

Andrew started full-time work as a CNA.  He works evening shift.  

I'm hungry.  I am SO looking forward to Tuesday or Wednesday -- and a happier gall bladder -- so that I can have soup or burritos or lentils or a pbj or a hamburger or my favorite tilapia recipe.  [drooooool....]

Poor little granddaughter.   Her daddy has crud feet.  And her momma and grandma and great-grandma have crud feet.  Really now -- bunions already when she was two?  Thanks to a generous soul at church passing along virtually new "hand-me-downs," Alia wore Birkenstocks last summer.  This summer she's been aching but unable to explain why -- unable to know that this ain't how it's supposed to be, folks.  But wise Katie managed to figure it out and bought special supportive shoes and inserts.  (Really?  Inserts for a preschooler??  Yikes!)  Child is much happier!

Andrew and I have been hauling wood chips from the town's compost pile.  My plan was to put down cloth in certain weedy spots and cover it with a hefty pile of wood mulch.  I need to cut down on the amount of work around here, and mulch seemed like A Plan.  I'm beginning to wonder, though, if the wood chips are already too composted.  There seems to be a lot of dirt in with the chips.  Maybe I'm just going to end up with shallow-rooted weeds. 

Black raspberries came up volunteer.  Yowza -- I thought red raspberries had prickly thorns.  Nothing compared to these black raspberries.  These delectable little guys are the kind of thing you'd want to plant around your castle, next to your moat.  Yup, a fence of these canes would be some serious protection. 

Met with the lawyer this week about guardianship for Maggie.  After reading the paperwork, it appears that there are less drastic ways of accomplishing what we need, such as Power of Attorney paperwork.  So we're looking into those matters.

If we used Divine Service 3 (aka "page 15") every Sunday for the next few years, I do not think I would get tired of the Lack Of Variety.

Things have been kind of slow at work while our road has been under construction.  I'm looking forward to business picking up again soon.  I hate sitting at work during those occasional 10 minutes stints without customers, knowing that there's plenty to do at home.

The other day, I saw a little girl at the grocery store that looked amazingly like Alia.  When she turned around, it WAS Alia.  You know what?  There's something incredibly joyous about bumping into friends and family at the grocery store.  Rather than leaving with my groceries, I bopped through the store again, just to grab a few minutes with Katie and the girls.  These chance encounters provide a dose of happiness that is unreasonably huge.  Love it love it love it!

We're trying to declutter.  The weekly trash piles have been huge recently.  The give-away trips to Goodwill have been more frequent.  The pile in the garage for a rummage-sale is growing!  "But we could use this for [fill in the blank]."  NO!  Fighting the urge to hoard!!

Maggie is on a Beverly Cleary jag.  I'm just a tad jealous.

Someone here purchased a Wii.  I have mixed feelings.  The other people who live here do not have mixed feelings.

That's enough "nothing."  I probably left out some major stuff from this update.  But my brain is pre-occupied with my tummy ache.  So this is all there is.  For now.

Used Furniture

A lovely little consignment store recently opened in Sussex.  Framed art.  Furniture.  China.  A few books and rugs and other items.  Good prices.  More expensive furniture than Goodwill, but it seems to be in better condition. 

It's on Main St, just west of the hardware store.  Great service.  Check 'em out.

Gall Bladder

(Notes to remind myself.  Nobody else will want to bother reading.)

Low-fat vegan diet for several days: no caffeine, no sugar, no gluten, no alcohol.  Raw fruits and veggies as much as possible.  Lots of cukes, beets, tomato, lemon juice.  Rice salad works well.

Day before and morning of cleanse:
No fat.  No, really -- NO fat: olives, avocado, coconut milk, nuts, crackers.


Day starting the cleanse:
2:00 p.m. -- begin fast.  Drink plenty of water because of the salt later.  Unsweetened herbal mint tea is okay too.
6:00 -- first potion (3/4 cup water or apple juice with 1 Tbsp epsom salts)
8:00 -- second epsom-salt potion; prepare another potion for morning and put by bed
9:15 or 9:30 -- get ready for bed, pj's and brush teeth
9:45 -- mix 3/4 cup olive oil with juice of 3 lemons or 2 grapefruit (1/2 or 3/4 cup juice); shake well in jar until thin and frothy; go to the bathroom
10:00 -- drink the "salad-dressing" potion; it may help to use a straw or to chase sips with honey; drink it quickly (within 5-10 minutes); immediately go to bed; do not clean up the kitchen; lie down on the right side in the fetal position and stay still for at least 20 minutes; okay to get up overnight to use bathroom if necessary

Day ending the cleanse:
6:00 a.m. or later -- another dose of epsom salts; go back to bed
8:00 (or 2 hours later) -- another dose of epsom salts (may skip if stomach is too nauseous), then relax for another two hours
10:00 (or after 2 or 3 trips to toilet) -- may begin juice
10:30 or 11:00 -- may have some fruit
12:00 -- may begin eating light food
supper -- simple and easily digestible food




Organic better.
Freshly juiced juices better than purchased.

Decorating Opinions?

Unlike me, some of you have, well, y'know, taste.  And some of you enjoy looking at decorating magazines.  So I'd like to ask for input.

If these are my [ahem] outdated kitchen cabinets,
and if I have no intention of updating them,
and if I'd like a lighter kitchen,

would it work to paint the cupboard doors?

1:  What's trendy is irrelevant.  If I accomplish this project within five years, I'll be patting myself on the back for speediness.

2:  If the cupboard doors were white or some other near-white color and the cupboards themselves remained dark, would the outline of the dark wood look super-tacky, or elegant, or some blah-in-between?

Unripe Avocado

Again?  We cut into an avocado, expecting to add deliciousness to a sandwich, and it wasn't ripe enough.  Let's get real -- it wasn't ripe at all.  When it happened last month, I chafed at putting a whole avocado into the garbage.  So when it happened again this month, I didn't want to waste another one. Time to start a google-hunt.

I decided to try an avocado hair mask.

Because the fruit wasn't ripe, I let it sit for several days.  I don't have the foggiest idea why it didn't mold.  But it didn't.  At least, not this time.  The cut edges dried.  The middle under the dried edges continued to ripen somewhat.  Eventually, I followed online instructions to mash/puree the avocado with olive oil, smoosh it through my hair, cover it with a shower cap, heat it with a blow-dryer for a couple of minutes, and then let it sit for an hour.  I washed my hair.  The next morning I rinsed it thoroughly again with plain water and let it dry.

And today I have sproingy-boingy soft curls instead of slight waves.  Nice!

"Luther on Vocation"

Wingren's book isn't what I expected.  Loads of people had recommended it as a fabulous book about vocation.  There are definitely good parts, but overall I'm not as impressed as I thought I'd be. 

From the title, I'd expected the book to be virtually all Luther.  It's not.  It's Gustaf Wingren, and he is explaining his take on Luther's take on vocation.  He also disputes other authors' take on Luther's take on vocation.



I also noticed the use of the word "vocation."  There is some disagreement among us about whether vocation is law or gospel or both or whatever.  And as I've been reading Wingren, I think part of the reason for this disagreement can be attributed to his book.  He keeps using the word vocation and "interpreting Luther" as it were ... but he substitutes the word vocation when Luther's word in that particular quote was station or office.

Vocation is from the Latin for "calling."  As in, "The Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, ...."   Vocation is the call to live by faith in whatever station or office God has placed you.  Yeah, so, when Wingren flip-flops "vocation" and "station" (and when we then do the same thing) discussions are muddied and convoluted. 


And then there's the section on prayer.  Wingren points out that we shouldn't be praying for things God has promised through means.  In other words, I can't sit on the couch and eat bonbons and watch Oprah, and then complain at 7:00 because God didn't give us supper.  God gave me a grocery store and money, and a garden and a knife and an oven, and that is how He gives us supper.  But then Wingren goes on to suggest that God will be hacked off at us if we pray for things and haven't done everything in our power to bring Whatever-We-Prayed-For into being.  According to that, I guess I'd never pray because I could never do enough to provide for myself.  Furthermore, he makes it sound like prayer is a last resort: when there's nothing left for you to do to solve the situation, that's when you can pray for help.  I just have to keep reminding myself that Wingren is trying to argue against prayer-as-a-magic-wand.

Good aspects of the book coming up in another post...

But They're WRONG

Jews have no dealing with Samaritans (John 4). 
The Samaritan (yeah, you know, the good Samaritan, the one in the parable) was somebody the beaten-up Jew considered an enemy (Luke 10). 

But let's think about it:  It was not okay for the Samaritans to worship someplace besides Jerusalem.  It was wrong for Jereboam (that long-ago king) to have set up a church that wasn't the temple in Jerusalem.  So the Jews were right to insist that worship belonged only where God had instituted it.

What was wrong was hating the errant Samaritans for their error.  "They screwed up.  FINE.  Just leave them to their badness.  FINE."

Nope.  Not fine.


"... Love to the loveless shown
that they might lovely be."

Serendipitously, this same topic

 came up on another blog this week.

The Lawyer's Version of Law

When the lawyer wanted to trap Jesus in His words (prior to the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10), Jesus asked, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"

Of course, the lawyer answered with a synopsis of the Rules.  And sure enough, that is in the law.

But what else is in "the law," the Torah? 

What if Jesus asked, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?" and the answer was something like, "The Lord shall provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering" (Gen 22)?  Or "Stand still, and see the salvation which the Lord your God will accomplish for you this day" (Ex 14)?