Purim is the holiday
celebrating the Biblical Esther and this year it falls on Thursday,
March 1st (begins at sunset on the 28th). I wanted to share a few days
early so that those who are interested have a chance to plan and
celebrate the holiday in some way.
So, how does one celebrate
Purim? The most important observance is reading the book of Esther.
During the reading you can boo, hiss, or rattle noise makers whenever
the name of Haman (the villain of the story) is mentioned, to blot out
his name. You might also consider a children’s adaptation if you have
younger ones.
Other important observances include giving
portions of food to friends and to the poor and needy to celebrate the
day. A festive meal is, of course, also in order. One specific treat to
be enjoyed on Purim is a kind of cookie called Haman’s Pockets. They are
shaped like Haman’s three cornered hat. You may be wondering why they
are called pockets if they are shaped like his hat. This is simply the
kind of cookie; it indicates that they have filling inside. My recipe is
at the end.
Haman’s Pockets Recipe
¾ cup butter
½ cup ground dates (I used the blender, food processor may be better)
¼ cup honey
2 eggs
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons orange zest (or 1 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preserves or fruit butter to fill
Cream together the butter, dates, and honey. Beat in the eggs, then the
orange juice. Gradually add in the flour, mixing in the baking powder,
orange zest, and cinnamon toward the end. Refrigerate the dough for at
least an hour, up to overnight. Roll the dough out and cut out circles.
Fill with the preserves or fruit butter, and
fold three edges into the middle to make a triangle. Fold them in a
pinwheel fashion, so that each side is tucked under at one corner to
prevent them from unfolding, and pinch together the corners to seal.
Bake for about 15 minutes at 350° until they are lightly browned, but don’t let
the filling boil out.
I saw the question posed recently as to why Hanukkah is eight days long if the flask of oil was enough to burn for one night. Does that not mean that the miracle only occurred on the 26th of Kislev for the remaining seven days, when the oil should have already burned out? This may seem like a trivial point, but believe it or not Rabbis have discussed this question for centuries and proposed numerous answers. Here is my thought: Was not the fact that even one flask of consecrated oil was found a miracle in itself?
God had miraculously provided a flask of oil that had been preserved from desecration. But what was the point? It was only enough oil for one night and there was no way that more oil could be prepared and consecrated by the next night. It would take a week to prepare more oil. Why even bother lighting it at all? Nevertheless, they chose to worship God to the best of their ability and they took what oil they had and lit the menorah in the Temple. And miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, until more oil could be prepared! It is as if God, in His divine wisdom, provided this flask of oil and said, “Here. It may not seem like much, but trust Me, this is all you are going to need.”
God often does not give us all of what we need all at once. Sometimes He just gives us the next piece, the next step. Just like the manna in the wilderness, always enough, but they could never gather extra. God was asking them to trust Him. Perhaps God is offering provision in some aspect of your life, saying, “I know it doesn’t look like much, but trust Me, this is all you are going to need.” Will you trust Him?
So
the stores already have all of the Christmas merchandise out, the
holiday season is upon us! There is planning, shopping, cooking, and
decorating, and even MORE SHOPPING to be done! The holidays sure can be
overwhelming, are you feeling a little bit stressed?
It’s easy to
get caught up in the hustle and bustle, and forget what it’s really all
about. Luke 10:38-42 tells us about a woman who did just that:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a
woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary,
who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was
distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to
him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do
all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her,
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one
thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken
away from her.”
You see, Martha found herself overwhelmed by the
preparations she felt were required of her. But Jesus was not so
concerned about the meal and the niceties; Jesus desired fellowship.
What He wanted was for them to put everything else aside and sit at His
feet. Mary was not shirking her chores, she was seeking the heart of
God. And Jesus says she had chosen the best part.
I hope that
this holiday season you, too, will choose the best part. Take time to
relax and spend time with your family. Before we dive into the
increasingly commercialized Christmas hubbub, take time to remember what Thanksgiving is about. Thank God for His divine provision and
preservation, for bringing us safely through another year. Take the time
to enjoy fellowship with your loved ones and thank God for one another.
And when Christmas time really comes, consider celebrating it a little differently this year. Christmas is not about fancy things and spending
lots of money. It is about God with us. Not as a conquering king, but as
the humble son of a carpenter. Not the way we expected, not with armies
and wealth to rule and reign; He humbled Himself to live among us, He
came to suffer and die. And that is how He saved the world. He lived
among us and showed us the way, and in due time He offered Himself up
for us.
So this year, maybe we should spend a little less on
impressive ornaments and displays and expensive gifts. Focus instead on
giving ourselves, our time and attention, to the ones we love. Give more
presence, rather than presents. And set aside some of what you might
have spent to help those less fortunate. Surely you remember how Jesus
loved the poor and cared for the orphans and widows. He even said, “Just
as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of
mine, you did it for me.” So set something aside this year to give Jesus
a birthday gift.
I pray that God blesses all of you with a
wonderful holiday season, free of stress and full of fellowship with the
ones you love. May He keep your hearts and minds as we seek Him and
become transformed into the image of Christ.
I watched the total eclipse at Westminster Presbyterian church. I was heading for Spring City, but I realized it was going to be very crowded there and another 20 minutes of driving would only get me about 30 seconds more of totality. The view there was great as the church is up on a hill. So I just stopped and asked if they minded if I joined them and they welcomed me.
It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Up until right before it reached totality you could not even see that a chunk of the sun was missing without the eclipse glasses, it was simply too bright. It was strange that the sun was feeling less intense, but for no apparent reason. And it was interesting to the see the crescent of the sun through the glasses, but what was truly spectacular did not come until totality.
I don’t even know what I captured here, you can see a great ball of light even though the sun was a mere crescent, and there appears to be mirror image of the sun to the left. This probably explains it.
As totality approached, you could see the light fading quickly as it turned to night in the middle of the day. The entire horizon was transformed into a sunset, except the sun was missing because it was high overhead. But the moment we saw the corona appear quite clearly around the dark circle of the moon, you could hear a collective gasp from the crowd. I would love to describe it, but words fail and no picture could possibly do it justice. During totality you could finally look directly at the eclipse without protective glasses. The wisps of pure white light streaming from the black disc was spectacular and the whole sky was an amazing sight. Then, as the sun began to emerge it began as a point of spectacularly bright light on one side of the moon and as it grew brighter it appeared to encircle the moon at the same time it was emerging from one side. For a moment, the emerging sun was encompassed by a rainbow. It was a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight! I totally stared into the sun as it emerged from behind the moon. No, I did not go blind and it was a sight you would not want to miss. In only a few moments, however, the sun was once again too bright to observe with the naked eye. I snapped a few pictures during totality, but in reality it appeared much larger, the black disc of the moon was much larger and sharply defined, and the wisps of light radiating from behind it where not so bright but much more delicate and detailed than what the camera captured.
I realize the video shows almost nothing of the eclipse itself, but I invite you to watch my eclipse video to share in the experience.
If you have a chance to observe the eclipse in 2024 (or any other total solar eclipse, depending on your location), I urge you to do so. Even if you have to travel 100 miles, it is something you really must experience for yourself!
This is actually the partial eclipse, moments after totality.
So, I was sitting at a red light when the car beside me just rolled right up into the car in front of it with a little CRUNCH. I winced when I saw the bumper crumple. The damage didn’t look serious, but the real collision was potentially yet to come. How would the drivers react?
I think we all know how the unexpected inconvenience of a fender bender can cause tempers to flare. Weren’t you watching where you were going!? But it’s just a scratch, why are you making such a big deal of this!? So I watched, a bit anxiously, to see how the two drivers would handle the situation.
For a second, both drivers just sat there. The driver in the back car emerged first. She was immediately apologetic, “Oh, honey, I am so sorry! I was trying to get a bug off of my back...” she was saying as the front driver emerged from her car. As they both inspected the bumpers, she began to offer her insurance information and ask if the other driver thought they should call the police. The driver in the front car responded, “Oh, honey, that is just a scratch, I’m not concerned about that...”
As the light turned green and I pulled away from the scene, I had seen enough to realize that both drivers had responded with nothing but kindness and compassion towards the stranger in the other car. What could have been a tense and angry encounter had turned out to be a surprisingly congenial interaction. After all of the hatred that has been in the news lately, that small display of human decency and compassion did warm my heart.
