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Categories Flashback Friday

Flashback: His Name was Benny

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Prompt #12: “When did you get your first car? Did you buy it for yourself or did your parents help you? Where did you get it–off a lot or from a private party? How much did you pay? How did you earn the money?”

I bought my first car right before my senior year of high school. I was going to be attending our church’s “Antioch Bible and Life School”, living away from home, and working my new job at Boston Market. It would be a busy school year with lots of traveling-and I need a reliable car.

I went to Simply the Best Autos, as I would for all my automobile purchases in the years to come. Robin is a friend of the family and an all-around great guy. Robin’s a God-lover who seeks to honor Christ in his business dealings–you can’t get better than that from a used-car dealer.

My dad picked out the car, a 1991 Chevy Cavalier. He was white with a bright blue stripe in the flashing stuff that goes around the middle of the car (you know what I’m talking about, right? Not like wood pannelling. More like a vinyl kick-board type thing.)

The Cavalier cost $1000, which my parents paid and I promptly paid back, using my earnings from the affectionately-named BM (really, it’s an unfortunate moniker for a rather good fast restaurant.)

I named him, Benny, after Benedick of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing.”

“Much Ado” has been my favorite Shakespeare play since I first started reading/watching/listening to Shakespeare. It has wit, repartee, and death that isn’t really death. You can’t get much better than that.

Sometime, early on in my high school career, we all of us decided to put on “Much Ado”. We printed out seven copies of “Much Ado” from Project Gutenberg and highlighted our hand-selected parts (I was Beatrice, Anna was Benedick, Grace was Hero, Joshua was Don John–I really can’t remember who else was who, but all seven of us kids had parts. Most had two parts, actually.)

Alas, we never ended up putting on our play, and I had to content myself with naming my car after a character.

Benny was a loyal fellow, although he developed some BPH with age. Eventually he had to be laid to rest, and I drove a loaner car (nicknamed the “ovah-acheiva”, compliments of Robin) for a bit before my next car was ready for me.

My second car was a Honda, maybe a Civic? He was lovely and green and I named him Jack, short for Clive Staples.

Jack met an untimely end when he was rear-ended by a car that had been rear-ended by another car–causing him to rear-end the car in front of him. It was a tough time to be without a car as I was just beginning the community rotation of my dietetics internship–and needed to be able to travel around the county to give presentations.

The guy at the end of the line, who started the domino effect that totalled Jack, ended up paying for a Mazda 3 rental while I was waiting for the insurance money to come through so I could buy a new car.

Once the money did come through (though the paltry sum they gave me could not come close to equaling Jack’s value–face it, insurance just doesn’t understand the value of a truly reliable middle-aged car), I bought my current car, a green Subaru Legacy sedan.

Luci is named after two independent females: Luci Swindoll and Lucy Pevensie. And like the two independent females she is named after, she does what needs to be done, gets the job done, and has some fun while she’s at it.

Luci and I have traveled many a road together (although mostly Highway 30). I love her very much. But there’ll always be a special spot in my heart for my first lovely car, Benny, also known as Benny D.

Categories Flashback Friday

Flashback Prompt: Cars, cars, cars

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Tuesday night, my sister’s car mighta bit the dust–which makes us a one-car household for who-knows-how-long. Which leads to this week’s prompt:

When did you get your first car? Did you buy it for yourself or did your parents help you? Where did you get it–off a lot or from a private party? How much did you pay? How did you earn the money?

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Sufficiency

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Thankful Thursday bannerIf someone asked me, anytime in the last couple of months, to describe myself in one word, that word might very well have been “insufficient”.

I’ve had a stressful couple of months, with insufficient hours in the day to do the work I need to do, insufficient hours of sleep in the night to have the energy or will to do what I need to do.

I’ve been late to work and stayed even later. I’ve been late to Sunday School and bawled through church for having let my students down. I’ve had to drop my systematic theology class because I have to sleep sometime. I’ve been bad company for my friends and family because I just don’t have any heart left in me.

I’ve been insufficient.

And God reminds me through the verses I’ve been insufficient to memorize…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not lean on your own understanding
In all your ways, acknowledge Him
And He will make straight your paths
Do not be wise in your own eyes
Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones
Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce
Then your barns will be filled with plenty
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of His reproof
for the Lord reproves him whom He loves
as a father the son in whom he delights.”
~Proverbs 3:5-12

God is sufficient…trust Him, Rebekah.

God is wise…fear Him, Rebekah.

God is the Healer…put your heart in His hands, Rebekah.

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills…place your possessions in His keeping, Rebekah.

God’s discipline is His delight…let God delight in you, Rebekah.

And so, I break under the load of my insufficiency. I break…disappointed and a disappointment to others. I break…restless and unable to grant rest to others. I break…overburdened by life.

And Jesus says…

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
~Matthew 11:28-30

So I will choose to trust, to acknowledge, to fear, to honor, to come, to take up His yoke and learn.

And when He says…

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
~Philippians 4:6-7

…I will say, Thank you, Lord, that you are my sufficiency.

Categories Faith

What parts of the Haggadah did Jesus celebrate?

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The formalized written Haggadah, codified sometime around AD 200-400, has 14 parts (and one pre-part).

I have listed them below, along with a brief description of Scriptural justification for the probable inclusion of that part in the Passover celebration at the time of Christ.

  1. Removal of the Chametz-removal of leaven was mandated by Old Testament law
  2. Kadesh–
  3. Urchatz-handwashing at all meals was Rabbinic tradition by the time of Christ (as evidenced by the arguments the Pharisees had with Jesus over handwashing)
  4. Karpas-bitter herbs are found in the account of the first Passover
  5. Yachatz
  6. Maggid-the retelling of the story of the Exodus was commanded in Old Testament law
  7. Rachtzah-a second, more ritualized handwashing by the time of Christ is probable considering the high value the Pharisees placed on ritual purity (although Jesus clearly disagreed with the Pharisees regarding this practice)
  8. Motzi Matzah-that Jesus blessed the meal and the matzah is highly likely considering that Jesus is noted to bless food all throughout his ministry (I’m not positive, but I think he blesses the food prior to every occasion of his eating or distributing food)
  9. Maror-the bitter herbs of the first Passover were consumed and continued to be consumed in Passovers throughout the Old Testament
  10. Korech-the description of the Last Supper indicates that Jesus and his disciples dipped bread at their Passover celebration
  11. Shulchan Orech-the Passover lamb was consumed at the Passover meal from the first Passover onward
  12. Tzafun-Jesus blessed, broke, and distributed a piece of bread during or at the end of the meal, declaring it to be his body (this is apparently distinct from the bread that was dipped-as in “he who dips his bread with mine is the one who will betray me”)
  13. Barech-the cup after supper is one of the most definitive segments in Jesus’ last supper. Luke and Paul make a special point of noting that the cup Jesus pronounced to be the new covenant in his blood was the cup after supper (as opposed to before or during).
  14. Hallel-Jesus and his disciples are noted to have sung a hymn prior to concluding their Passover
  15. Nirtzah

There are three parts of the Haggadah that do not have at least implicit Scriptural support for their inclusion in the Passover at the time of Christ. They are Kaddesh (the blessing that opens the Seder and the first cup), Yachetz (the display of the three pieces of Matzo and the breaking of the center Matzo into two unequal pieces, one of which is hidden), and Nirtzah (the closing proclamation, which, among other things, declares “Next Year in Jerusalem!”)

I am willing to think that the Nirtzah (at least as we know it today) would not have been performed during Jesus’ Seder, if only because He and His disciples were already present in Jerusalem. They may, however, have still proclaimed that they “have fulfilled the Passover with all its customs and laws”. Scripture simply doesn’t say one way or the other.

I am inclined to think that the Kaddesh (and the consumption of three of the four cups) was performed at Jesus’ Seder because the tradition of four cups has a strong Scriptural justification and because of the emphasis that Luke and Paul place on the “cup after supper” being the one that Jesus called the New Covenant in His blood. This, I believe, supports the idea that, even at the time of Christ, there was a progression of cups, each with different meaning.

I am inclined to think that the Yachetz (the display of the three pieces of Matzo and the breaking of the center Matzo into two unequal pieces, one of which is hidden) was part of Jewish ritual at the time of Christ for the exact opposite reason as the reason I believe the four cups were already a part of Jewish ritual. Yachetz has no solid Old Testament underpinning, and rabbis since the formalization of the Haggadah ~ AD 200-400 have been debating why this ritual is included in the Seder. Every Haggadah tries to find a meaning in it, but none can find a satisfactory one. Except for the Christian Haggadah, that is. I find it hard to believe that the rabbis would invent something (after the time of Christ) that they are completely at a loss to explain, and that Christian theology can explain much better than they.

Categories Faith

Is this how Christ celebrated the Passover?

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Last week, when I posted the second part in my series on the Four Cups of the Haggadah, Barbara commented:

I had wondered how they got to four cups when that wasn’t mentioned in Exodus at the Passover and whether that was Jewish tradition that was added later. I also wondered if the four cups would have been used in Christ’s day.

I thought I would address this further since the codification of the Haggadah as we know it today has only recently been a topic that I’ve looked into much. Initially, like many Haggadah enthusiasts, I was fond of thinking “If the symbolism fits, wear it.”

Then I started critiquing Haggadah in order to write my own–which made me question some of the conclusions of the Messianic Haggadah I was reading. For instance, I’ve seen Messianic Haggadah that impart ritual meaning to the roasted egg that is traditionally placed on the Haggadah platter. This struck me as odd since this particular ritual was clearly initiated after the time of Christ because it did not begin until after the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

This made me particularly conscious of making sure that I had Scriptural support for how I interpreted the symbols of the Haggadah.

Nevertheless, I still worked at my Haggadah for years before I bothered to check out some of the critical scholarship on the origins of the Haggadah.

What I found disappointed me temporarily.

Apparently, the best scholarship says that the Haggadah as we know it today was written around AD 200-400.

Yes, that would be after the time of Christ.

My heart was broken. All this work, wasted. All this beautiful symbolism ultimately worthless.

And then I realized that the written Haggadah isn’t the be-all-end-all for the Seder. Just because the Haggadah (literally the “telling”) wasn’t written down until AD 200-400 doesn’t mean that the form (the symbols and traditions) of the Haggadah wasn’t in place before then.

In fact, I have good reason to believe that many of the symbols and traditions of the Haggadah were in place at the time of Christ.

And…thanks to my explanation getting close to 1000 words, my “side note” post has been split into a “side note” series–further emphasizing, perhaps, how very excited I get about the Passover.

Categories The Week in Words

WiW: Bee theology

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I know many people who are terrified of bees and who will freak out if one comes closely. They fear that the bee will sting them.

I know only a very few people for whom a bee sting will be anything more than a minor inconvenience. The majority of individuals will experience a little pain that will quickly be dealt with.

Contrary to popular belief, bees rarely sting without provocation. I have, in fact, spent hours within a few yards of some of the buzzing insects without being stung.

Bees don’t gain nourishment from stinging people, like mosquitoes do from biting people. In fact, stinging a person often deals a death blow to a bee.

It goes like this: The bee’s stinger is barbed along the end. When a bee stings, its stinger becomes lodged in the skin of the person being stung. Depending on whose skin is thicker, either the bee will manage to pull its stinger out by breaking the individual’s skin or the bee will withdraw, leaving its stinger and part of its abdomen within the person’s skin. The savvy stingee will then scrape the stinger free and apply something basic to his skin to alleviate the pain and swelling–while the bee will live only a few minutes longer before succumbing to the inevitable results of being torn in half.

The bee has managed to create minor irritation for the person he has stung–but the person has effected the bee’s death.

“The minister told the story of of two sisters, one of whom was stung by a bee, and the other fled away, crying ‘Oh, I’m afraid it will sting me, too!’ but the first sister called, ‘You needn’t be afraid, Mary, it has left its sting in my cheek! It can’t sting you any more!’ And Murray Van Rensselaer learned that his sin had left its sting in Jesus Christ, and could hurt him no more.”
~Grace Livingston Hill’s A New Name

I wonder if the bee feels a bit of triumph in that stinging moment. Does he recognize and rejoice in the pain he is causing? Does he realize that he has killed himself?

I know that the enemy of our souls buzzes like a bee. Like a bee, he flew about Christ’s head, seeking to provoke him to sin during the time of testing in the wilderness. Later, being provoked by Christ, he sought out an opportunity to sting. Time after time, his tricks were evaded by the wily Christ whose time had not yet come.

And finally, the day arrived when the enemy was set to sting. The chief priests and elders were ready. A disciple had agreed to betray his leader. A mob was prepared to demand Jesus’ death.

The bee inserted his stinger, injected the poison.

With a thrill of relief, he declared that he had fulfilled his objective. The Son of God was dead, crucified, defeated!

The bee pulled away from the crucified Lord, ready to return to his hive. The searing sensation in his abdomen told him something wasn’t right. He’d left something behind.

He returned to his hive, not for a victory celebration, but to await his death. For in stinging Christ, the bee had been defeated.

“Then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

~I Corinthians 15:54-57 (ESV)

For those who trust in Christ, the stinger is left in Christ. Death no longer has any sting. Christ has borne the sting and death himself will die.

The Week in WordsDon’t forget to take a look at Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”, where bloggers collect quotes they’ve read throughout the week.

Categories Flashback Friday

Flashback: When you were born

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Prompt #11: “How old were you when your brothers and sisters were born? Do you remember the first time you saw them?”

I was one and a half when Joshua was born. I don’t remember a thing. (This picture, by the way, is not of our first meeting. Those photos were lost in oblivion due to no film being in the camera, maybe?)

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I was almost four when Daniel was born. I remember staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and screaming almost inconsolably that “I NEED my DADDY!” It was almost inconsolably because Grandpa did manage to eventually bribe me into quiet with a butterscotch disk. (And he wouldn’t let me have the butterscotch disk until I was completely done crying–and done with the weird hiccuppy breathing thing kids have after a really heavy cry.) I don’t remember meeting Daniel (although, as you can see from the photo below, I was plenty intrigued by the meeting in real time).

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I was five when John was born and it all happened so fast I don’t remember anything. I do remember changing John’s diaper though (when he was a toddler). (BTWs, congrats to John and Kaytee, who are getting married today. John was the first to make the boys outnumber the girls three to two; today he reverses it and makes the girls outnumber boys five to four.)

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I had just turned seven when Timothy was born. Mom and Dad were doing their first home-birth officially alone (that is, the first one where they never intended to have a midwife present–Dad had already delivered a couple of precipitous deliveries sans midwife, and had assisted the midwife with another couple. He was an old pro by the time Timothy rolled around.)

The excitement of having a new baby being born made it very difficult for Anna and I to sleep the evening of the eighteenth, so we whispered under our covers until we’d developed a plan. We sneaked out of our bedroom, peaked around the hallway into the living room, and witnessed history in action.

Err. I’m not sure what Anna saw, but what I saw was rather unremarkable. The only memory that remains is of a big metal bowl sitting on the floor (perhaps for the afterbirth?) And I remember the paper bag of receiving blankets in the oven–although that memory would have been from the preparations for labor, not the actual event that I tried so hard to observe.

Of course, Anna and I were a bit skittish. We were fully aware that this was not something that we were supposed to be watching. So, at the slightest sound, we’d scurry back into our room, only to peek back out a while later.

At last, Yvonne, the friend who was assisting Dad with delivery came to shush our whispers. I remember her threatening to give us medicine if we didn’t go to sleep–something that I’d never heard of before in my entire life.

I guess we must have gone to sleep–or maybe we didn’t. But Timothy was born that night and it didn’t really matter any more. He was there. (And isn’t this the sweetest little picture of John kissing Tim’s forehead?)

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I was nine years and one week old when Grace was born. Compared to the rest of our births, Grace’s was exciting. She was going to be born in the hospital–and we might not be able to see her immediately if we didn’t scab over from our case of the chickenpox at least a week before she was born. And if she was born too late, she might miss Easter and not be able to wear the Easter dress Mom had made to match mine and Anna’s. And if she wasn’t a girl? (Mom and Dad never chose to “find out” any of our sexes.)

We scabbed over on my ninth birthday, exactly seven days and a few hours before Grace was born.

Mom went to the hospital. We stayed at home with Yvonne. We waited impatiently. We went to sleep.

Yvonne woke Anna and I up a little after three in the morning.

After four little brothers, we had a baby sister!

The boys found out in the morning.

Then began the second long wait–waiting until the (stupid, in our eyes, at least) hospital would release our Mom and our sister so that we could see her. After John and Timothy’s births (during which the others of us kids were either home or at a close neighbor’s house), we were used to instant sibling-seeing-satisfaction.

They had to do tests on Grace. We filled the time by gathering together all the neighbor kids to make a welcome home banner, which we proudly displayed when Grace finally got to come home a whole 12 hours after she was born. (Gosh, but those hospitals take forever.)

It was the bustin’ proudest moment of my life, when my little sister came home.

Sample title

Grace Joy. ‘Cause after six kids, you need Grace for the seventh–and she was a Joy from day one.

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Knocks at my door

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Thankful Thursday bannerSometimes knocks at your door means someone just hit your car parked on the street. Sometimes it means “Please call 911, a car across the street just burst into flames”. Sometimes it means there are high school football players trying to sell you something. (True stories all.)

But sometimes knocks at the door mean something else entirely. Sometimes they’re wonderful things, expected and unexpected.

This week I’m thankful…

…for the Nebraska Furniture Mart men knocking on my door to deliver my brand new deep freeze–which arrived precisely when it was supposed to, between 8 and 10 am on my birthday

…for opening my door to my little sister Grace, surprising me by coming up to visit for my birthday

…for hearing the doorbell and then my sister saying “Rebekah, you better come down here”–only to find that Brenda was here with a birthday crown especially for me

…for the door bursting open as my sisters and I were finishing supper–and Beth and Ruth coming in, bearing food to stock my new freezer with, and food to share

…for another knock, this time bringing Teresa and Joseph

…and another knock ushering Cathy inside

…and another knock announcing Jon’s arrival

…and still one more leading Landon and Kylee indoors

And those were only the knocks at the door–I haven’t even counted the sweet texts and Facebook messages.

It truly was a marvelous birthday–thanks to everyone for knocking yourself out to make it wonderful.

(And, finally, thanks to God–who gave me the day on which to celebrate, the friends with whom to celebrate, and a life so full I can’t contain it.)

Categories Faith

Deepening my understanding of the four cups

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For all of my Haggadot reading and reading about the Haggadah, it wasn’t until I was reading a children’s book, Wonders and Miracles: A Passover Companion written and compiled by Eric A. Kimmel, that I began to see the deep significance of the four cups.

Kimmel wrote:

Why do we drink four cups of wine? Why not three or seven?

The traditional explanation is that we drink four cups to celebrate God’s promise of freedom. God told Moses to say to the Children of Israel, ‘I am God, and I will free you from the bondage of Egypt; I will deliver you from your servitude; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to be my people and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the Lord God who rescued you from the bondage of Egypt.’ (Exodus 6:6-7)

…There are four parts to God’s promise to free the Israelites from slavery. In honor of that promise, every Jewish person, no matter how poor, is required to drink four cups of wine at the Seder.

Finally, I understood the names.

Each cup represents one of God’s “I will” claims in this passage. The cup of sanctification: “I will bring you out.” The cup of deliverance: “I will rescue you from their bondage.” The cup of redemption: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” The cup of rejoicing: “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.”

This first cup is the cup of sanctification. God said to the Israelites: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” To sanctify is to bring out, to set apart. In bringing Israel out of the land of Egypt, God set them apart as His own chosen people. Likewise, we who have been brought out of bondage to sin have been set apart as the chosen of God.

The second cup reminds us of the second promise in Exodus 6:6-7 is “I will rescue you from their bondage.” This second cup is the cup of deliverance. In Christ, the bondage of sin has been broken.

The third promise of God in Exodus 6:6-7 is “I will redeem you.” The corresponding cup is the cup of redemption. It is this cup that Christ took up after supper, declaring it to be His own blood, shed for us, for the remission of sins. Paul reminds us that “in the same manner, He also took the cup after supper, saying ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

The third cup was the one most emphasized in my childhood Seder. It is the one we drink over and over again every time we come to the Lord’s table. It is the cup of redemption-the cup that indicates the price has been paid, redemption accomplished. We receive Christ’s blood (metaphorically), taking it into ourselves, recognizing the price paid for our redemption.

Here ends the symbolism of the four cups.

Right?

The Christian Haggadot I’ve read and used act as though the symbolism is complete with these three cups.

I disagree, as you shall see.

This is the second part in a four-part series on the four cups of the Seder. Stay tuned for the rest of the posts, which I’ll be rolling out next week.