Scripture for Halloween

 Keep in mind that this is for a six-year-old.  Matthew 5: 16  "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light..."                  

Bible Tabs for Kids

 How do you like it? I didn't know if my grandkids would be too young for a Bible (10 and 6).  The six-year-old is obviously too little because she can't read.  So she gravitates to children's versions of the Bible.  But the 10-year-old was impressed that we are using a REAL Bible and not just a children's stories.  

I didn't know how the Bible would be accepted so I bought the cheapest one.  The print is really too small to read, but not for a child.  I'm trying to make it fun, yet very grown-up.  The ten-year-old now knows how to look up the book, chapter, and verse.  In fact, she likes doing it.

I bought these tabs to help her find the books easier.  Aren't they cute?

The Immutability of God

I'm having another puppet show for my grandkids.  This time it's Noah's Ark.  The last one was the story of Adam and Eve and creation.  Remember God in that one?  Well, we are made in the image and likeness of God so all my puppets are sock puppets, like God.  This second one, Noah's Ark, God makes His appearance again, as He talks to Noah. So I was wondering how and what kind of sock puppet I should make for Noah's God.

Then I remembered that God is unchanging.  He's immutable!  YES!  I don't have to make a new sock puppet.  I can use the same one over and over.

These sock puppets, although simple, are teaching my grandkids some deep concepts: we are all made in the image of God and our God is immutable!
 

Aliyah

 Aliyah is a Hebrew word.  My mind pictures the Lector, at Mass.  The Aliyah is an honorable position.  It is the person who goes up (and that's what Aliyah means--go up) on the raised platform in the synagogue and read the blessings over the Torah.  There's a ritual to it and traditionally it was only men who could by the Aliyah.  Today non-orthodox synagogues have women Aliyah.

Altar, candles, a reader--familiar?

Aaron

My ecumenical bible study is on Exodus 33: 12-33.  The verses are interesting, but it's the person of Aaron whom I find interesting.  These verses cover the interaction between God and Moses.  No one else.  Why?  More pointedly, why Moses?  

Moses is a strong person and has seem chosen from his birth.  He was saved by Pharoah's daughter, and educated as a member of Pharoah's family.  So combined with the training and temperament needed to be a leader, God chose Moses.

I know Moses was a murderer, but remember the victim was abusing God's chosen people.  That's not an excuse for the murderer but rather an excuse for Moses's indignation.  Moses was guilty of murder.  That does not exclude Moses from being a leader.  Remember, God does not choose the qualified.

Aaron did not kill anyone.  He was a nice guy, everyone thought so.  He got along with everybody.  He was also blessed with communication skills.  Whereas Moses stuttered, Aaron expressed what Moses wanted to say.  They were a good team.  Moses was the leader and Aaron was the communicator.

If there were an election to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, who would you vote for?

Moses --  brought up by the Hebrew's oppressors -- Egyptians

                a murderer

                doesn't speak well

Aaron --  true Israelite, born and brought up

                law-abiding

                popular

                very articulate

Aaron would win the election.  Yet, God chose Moses to be the leader.

God's ways are not our ways.

Aaron was a people pleaser.  He wanted to keep the people happy that's why he made a golden statue of Ba'al to represent a god.  Would Moses have done that?

Everyone has different gifts.  People pleasers make good politicians, not necessarily good leaders.

Number One Hit With the Oldest Lyrics

 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain that which is to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time of love, and a time of hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.  

These lyrics are from Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8.  These words are traditionally credited to King Solomon who would have written it in the 10th century, BC.  Pete seeger wrote the song in a way.  The only words he wrote were "Turn!  Turn!  Turn!" and the rest of the lyrics were from Ecclesiastes but rearranged to stress the message which was "peace."

Peace was tantamount on everyone's minds when Seeger wrote this due to the Vietnam War.  Then in 1999, Pete Seeger had 45% of the royalties to be donated to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.  

There are a few songs whose inspiration was the Bible.  Other examples are the "Rivers of Babylon, the Lord's Prayer, U2's "40", Sinead O'Connor's "Psalm 33" and Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer."

Dominic Story

 Once he set off from Lausanne to go and see the bishop, who was in the neighborhood because they were good friends for a long time.  Several of the brethren were going on ahead of him and he was following on behind, talking to the sacristan of Lausanne about Jesus.  Suddenly a stoat ran out in front of the brethren and disappeared into a hole.  They stopped by the hole.  When the Master came up and asked, "Why are you standing here?" they said, "Because a beautiful little white animal has gone into that hole."  Then the Master bent down and said, "Come out, beautiful little animal, so that we can look at you." It came out at once into the mouth of the hole, and fixed its eye on him.  Then the Master put one hand under its front paws and stroked its head and back with the other hand.  The stoat did not resist at all.  Then the Master said to it, "Go back now to your place, and blessed be the Lord who created you."  At once the little animal went back into its hole.  The sacristan of Lausanne told this story. Early Dominicans, Selected Writings, Edited Simon Tugwell, O.P., pp.127-128.