Easter Baskets

 Easter baskets are an iconic symbol of the spring holiday. On Easter morning, thousands of children find baskets, some colored, some plain, filled with prizes: toys, chocolates, candies, eggs, etc… left by the Easter Bunny the night before as a way to commemorate this celebration of new life. This fun tradition is adhered to by people of many different backgrounds and beliefs and cultures, and it has several origin stories. 

• Some say that the basket symbolizes Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility from which Easter derives its name, as she was often depicted with a basket under her arm. 

• Some say that it is a modification of the “nest” that the German egg-laying hare, Osterhase, would lay his multi-colored eggs in. 

• Some see it represented in the Catholic tradition of bringing a basket of food and treats, many of which had been given up for Lent, to be blessed on the Saturday before Easter and then enjoyed the next morning. 

Hunger & Thirst

When was the last time you were hungry or thirsty? It was probably today, probably no more than a few hours ago. Hunger and thirst are common occurrences for all living things. We need food and water to keep us alive, and within just a few hours of eating or drinking something we start to feel hungry or thirsty. Our body is reminding us that there is something that is essential to life and it’s been a bit since we had it. Now, that original feeling of hunger or thirst may not be terribly strong. It may be just a small annoyance or reminder that we should start thinking about where our next meal is going to come from and start planning on when we are going to eat, but the longer we go the stronger the feeling gets. It becomes painful and unignorable until we finally eat and drink and are satisfied again. 

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day! 

Today is such a strange “holiday." It's a day to commemorate the mysterious number known as pi. 3.14, except it's not 3.14. It's 3.14159265, but actually, it's more, much more. It's an endless number, an infinite string of digits, never ending, never repeating, never falling into a pattern. The number of calculated digits of pi currently stands at 202.11229 trillion. That's an incomprehensible number of digits, yet, it's no closer to the full truth of the number than 3.14.

Pi is not only mysterious for its infinite nature, it is also an incredibly important number in our world. It is found in, and plays an integral role in, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, physics, astronomy, statistics, and biology. It's part of things like heartbeats, circadian rhythm, breathing cycles, and even the stripes on zebras. It even helps us understand DNA.

Be Humble

The first two Beatitudes were more about inward attitudes, having a right outlook on your own spiritual state and being rightly upset and grieved over sin and evil in the world and within yourself. The third Beatitude is a bit more outwardly focused, as it has to do with how we interact with the world and people around us. 

Matthew 5:5

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

The word meek, in today’s society, means “quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.”

This is somewhat the same meaning that Jesus is getting at here, but with a few important distinctions. We typically think of a meek person as someone who is shy and quiet, like a mouse, someone who is weak, who doesn’t, and can’t, stand up or speak up for themselves or others and who is easily taken advantage of. However, that isn’t really the idea that Jesus was trying to convey. Jesus is quoting an Old Testament verse here:

Shapes in the Clouds

Have you ever looked up in the sky, watched the clouds floating by, and discovered a whole world of creatures and activities within them? 

Have you ever looked up in the sky, at the stars that dot the night, and discovered a whole world of heroes and epic quests? 

Have you ever looked at the bark of a tree and seen faces looking back at you? 

The world is full of shapes and patterns and designs, and we could easily look at them as nothing more than shapes and patterns and designs, but humanity doesn't like to do that. We like to find deeper meaning and symbolism. Clouds aren't just clouds. They're ever changing animals parading through the blue expanse. Stars aren't just stars. They're dragons and hunters and bears. Cracks in bark and craters on the moon are faces of souls that are trapped within.

Mourning

Today we are looking at the second Beatitude, or Blessing, in The Sermon on the Mount. This week was also Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, and, while I didn’t intentionally plan this, these things actually go together quite well. 

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, is a day of decadence and debauchery. It is the day before the start of the Lent Season, which is the 40 days leading up to Easter, and it is meant to be a time of fasting and righteousness. It is a time when you intentionally remove something from your life and replace it with time spent with God. You are supposed to identify and remove something from your life that is or could be a distraction, or something that occupies a good deal of your time/attention. It is meant to be a sacrifice. Mardi Gras, being the last day before Lent, is a celebration of gorging yourself on everything that you will be removing from your life. It is an overindulgence of that which you have deemed needs to be removed. It is said, by some, to be a celebration of life, but it is a distorted celebration of life as true life comes from Christ “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” not from the perverted sweets of the world. 

This is where the next Beatitude comes in.