Banned Birthday Cupcakes, Ukrainian Fistfights, and American Freedom

There was a bit of a tiff in the Ukrainian parliament the other day.  It caught the attention of this blogger's Ukrainian family.

It seems that some folks would like to make Russian one of the official languages of Ukraine.

It seems silly, I suppose, to some.  Grown men beating each other bloody over a language.  To us Americans, it may seem awfully...foreign.


But, here is the thing:
Between 1932 and 1933, somewhere in the range of 2.4 to 7.5 million Ukrainians were starved to death by their occupiers, Soviet Russia, because they didn't care to give up their private property rights to the Communist state. The state believed that the grain grown by the peasants was "Socialist Property" and forbid the peasants from eating the produce of their own farms. The government, instead, directed them to eat their "government issued" share from from special "collective farms".

The Ukrainian peasants believed that their grain was their own, just like it had been before the Russians showed up.  They had grown it on their own land; they would not turn it over to Stalin. So, Stalin killed them, by starvation, one by one.

It was called the Holomodor.  Some compare it to the Holocaust.

So, Ukrainians get a little prickly when you refer to them as Russians.

click for license

In my school district, it has been decreed that parents may not bring fast food lunches in to their own children, and that classrooms may have only two parties per year, with snacks that follow district guidelines.  There will be no birthday cupcakes because, apparently, the state knows what is best for us.

It's not that I'm a big fan of parents feeding their kids fast food.  That's not the point.  It's that I am an enormous fan of freedom, self-reliance, and self-determination.  We seem to have a generation coming up that thinks that government provided health care, birth control, abortion, housing, food, and spending money are more important than the right to choose one's own destiny.

The one who pays the bills runs the world.  Personally, I'd rather live in a cardboard box, on my own hard-earned dime,  than be told where, how, and when to live.  Apparently, though, those who share my views are becoming the minority camp.

I am, frankly, more than a little terrified.
Our only hope is that we might open our eyes to the lessons of history, before it becomes too late.

~~~~~

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On Grief ,and Bonfires, This Memorial Day

By Janne Karaste (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)
 or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
], via Wikimedia Commons

For centuries in Slavic Europe, the tradition, born of necessity, was to build bonfires to thaw the frozen ground for winter burials.  The bonfire would burn for hours, and when it died down, shovels would come out, because the ground beneath had thawed enough to make some progress. Oftentimes, another bonfire would need to be built, and the process begun again, until finally, a depth adequate to accommodate a coffin was created.

It could take days.

In our modern Western culture, we prefer that grief, (particularly the grief of others), be neat, tidy, and quick.

But sometimes, it doesn’t work that way.  Sometimes the ground of the heart pushes back, like subzero granite, and it needs preparation.

In Enchantments: A Novel , the story is told of how, in early twentieth century Russia, Father Grigory Rasputin built a bonfire so high when his first son died, that the village still talks of the size of that blaze.  He threw everything he could find into that fire, 'the kitchen chairs, the table, the few books on the shelf, the shelf'...to keep it going...because he knew that when it died down, he would have to place his baby boy in the ground.

I get that.  I understand.  I wish I didn't.

Loss is painful; we shouldn’t pretend that it isn’t. 

Hope is Christ is a marvelous thing, priceless, an indescribable gift.  But, the recipient is still gone from us.  There is no shame, or inadvisability, in grieving the loss.

Sometimes the heart-ground needs to experience a conflagration, a beating of ones fists against the truth, ...and must absorb a shower of tears of fire, to be ready to receive an unwelcome reality.

Your Heavenly Father gave you tears with which to grieve, and taught your body to use them.

We each must grieve in ways that our heart dictates.  Our hearts are our own, and no one else can test the ground’s readiness for burial. Naysayers are not the ones who have to do the digging. So grieve, dear one, as you must, whilst you place your hope in Christ.

Pax Christi,
Peace, Peace...Be Well,

~Michelle

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal."

~From a gravemarker in Ireland

44
~~~~~

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Patriarchy, Biblical Womanhood, and Men Who Don't Like Women

Disdain for women makes me angry.  Really angry.

There is a difference between men, and even women, who harbor anger toward women, and those who believe that women occupy a cherished position.

There is a difference between men who believe that women should be humiliated, and those who believe that women should be protected and honored for their nurturing role.

There is a difference between men who believe that womanhood is suspect, and those who believe that womanhood is sacred.

And sometimes, on the surface, they can look exactly the same.

There is a movement among Christian groups that I welcome.  Christians of all stripes are re-embracing the concepts of traditional family roles and patriarchy.  It is, in my opinion, a good thing.  I believe that families and individuals are healthier within the context of Biblical roles.  However, not everyone who embraces that structures of patriarchy, and traditional family life, embraces the heart of those approaches.

Sometimes, people just don’t like women.  Sometimes people harbor distrust for women.  Sometimes men don't value womanhood as something sacred to be defended and protected at all costs.  And patriarchy looks pretty good to folks like that.

When movements are new, (or old movements are reviving), all adherents tend to gather together and  jump in the same basket.  It can take a while to sort things out.

We would all do well to resist assuming that the dust jacket unfailingly belongs to the book.

I don’t suppose that this differentiation is any more critical than in the evaluation of a suitor.

My husband made a statement, a week or so ago, that won’t come as a surprise to anyone.  It’s common folk wisdom.  Men are like that aren’t they?  We women analyze and scrutinize, dissect and inspect, and talk ourselves into all sorts of conclusions.  But men are simple creatures, in the very best of ways.  When they see a duck, they call it a duck, and move on.

“The best two ways to evaluate a man are to look at how he treats his mother, and at the words that come out of the mouths of his friends.”

I’ve heard if from him before.  I just don’t always listen.

Perhaps those of us who embrace Biblical womanhood, patriarchy, and traditional family roles, would do well to consider that simple statement.  Healthy, happy, and safe, family life for women who wish to enter into  a traditional Biblical marriage may depend on it.

~~~~~

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The Fiftieth Day - Pentecost 2012

Image Source: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1164328.html.  

Photos by S. Vlasov K. Novtarsky

Pentecost, in Greek, means "the fiftieth day".  Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks after Easter Sunday, the fiftieth day of Easter, if Easter Sunday is counted.  It is the commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, and the beginning of the preaching of the apostles.  Hence, it is the "birthday of the church."  Pentecost also celebrates the full Divine revelation of the three persons of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is called Trinity Sunday in Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic tradition.  On this day, Orthodox churches are swathed in green in celebration of the Holy Spirit as the Lord and giver of life.  Western churches are alight with red, rejoicing in the gift of the Spirit.

May you be filled with the gift of the Spirit this Pentecost Sunday!
Pax Christi,
~Michelle

~~~~~~

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

`In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.

And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

The sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "

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It's Almost Summer, and, a huge Apron Sale!

Summer is almost here, and I am ready.  I have a house that needs "catching up" and a body that needs rest.  I have to work summer school, but am hoping to take some short day trips in June, before the summer session starts.

I also hope to regularly don an apron throughout the summer, break out the deep cleaning tools, and spend lots of time cleaning and organizing, because we need it!

By the way, have you been waiting for the perfect sale to buy that Flirty Apron you've been wanting?  Now is the time. Flirty Aprons is running a huge sale, get 40% off any purchase through 5/28, code: May40

Dont forget to use the code!

 

Rose Petals and Doves: Pentecost and The Holy Ghost Hole

By Eistreter (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
 or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Worshipers were showered with rose petals and a dove, from the church ceiling, on Pentecost in the Middle Ages.

Literally.

Churches in the Middle Ages had a hole in the ceiling, called the Holy Ghost Hole, that both signified Christians' openness to the Holy Spirit, and served as an opening through which a dove and bundles of red rose petals were released from the ceiling on Pentecost Sunday, during the reading of the story of the first Pentecost.  Sometimes the dove was real; in other cases it was a large wooden model which was lowered through the hole.  The intent was to represent the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles that first Pentecost, and, through them, upon the whole church.  The rose petals, or sometimes bits of burning straw, were intended to represent tongues of fire. I'm sure it had a dramatic effect.

By GFreihalter (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a big fan of the liturgical year, and of cyclical observances.  I believe that material and physical representations of inward spiritual realities have great value, and can be powerful.  (Not that the dropping of rose petals is a Sacrament...but you know what I mean.)

At the same time as the petals and doves were released upon the congregation, altar boys or choristers moved through the congregation shuffling their feet and making "whooshing" noises.  This makes me giggle.  In a time when we have modern media and movies with advanced technical effects, it seems like...underkill.  But, at the same time, it seems just right, because the Holy Ghost has a gentle touch.  That touch is not always easy to recognize, unless we are listening closely, watching intently, waiting for the feather light brush of grace.

By GFreihalter (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I wonder whether we are too overpowered, by all of the competition for our senses that life in a modern world  bombards us with, to recognize that gentle touch.  I wonder whether it isn't rather difficult to hear the 'still small voice' of God these days.  I suspect that we could use those doves and rose petals today, more than ever.

Instead, we must draw upon the modern accouterments of the season to remind ourselves of the tremendous importance of this "birthday of the church".  On Pentecost, the church was endowed with the Holy Spirit and empowered by that Spirit to do great things.  We are the Church and, as the Body of Christ, are gifted with the charge to receive that endowment and bear fruit.

Sometimes, I think, Christians tend to focus an awful lot on what we get from the church.  We may not give as much attention to what we can give to the world because we are part of the church.  Each Sunday, Anglicans are dismissed from church with a giving of thanks, and with a charge to take the gifts they have received in the mass out into the world, and to bless others with them. I'm sure that other liturgical churches have a similar dismissal. Pentecost is a day to celebrate the reception of the Spirit, and of that charge to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to spread the love of Christ into all the world.

Pentecost in Western Churches is this Sunday, May 27, 2012.

~~~~~

The dismissal from the Book of Common Prayer:

By Wolfgang Sauber (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)
or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0
(www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Almighty and everliving God,
we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food
of the most precious Body and Blood
of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;
and for assuring us in these holy mysteries
that we are living members of the Body of your Son,
and heirs of your eternal kingdom.
And now, Father, send us out
to do the work you have given us to do,
to love and serve you
as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.
To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

The Bishop, when present, or the Priest, may bless the people.

The Deacon, or the Celebrant, dismisses them with these words
                 Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
People         Thanks be to God.
or thisDeacon      Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
People        Thanks be to God.
or thisDeacon      Let us go forth into the world,
               rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
People       Thanks be to God.
or thisDeacon       Let us bless the Lord.
People        Thanks be to God.
From the Easter Vigil through the Day of Pentecost "Alleluia, alleluia"
may be added to any of the dismissals.
The People respond     Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia.

(Authors: Conway: Protestant, Gross: Protestant, Newland: Catholic, Farley: Orthodox)

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When Jezebel is Your Baby Sitter and Spike is a Friend of a Friend on Facebook: Christians and Judging Others

"None of us liveth to himself" ~Romans 14:7

By Unknow (http://mgallolaw.com/gavel.jpg) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I've been thinking about judging lately.


We're fond in today's relativistic society of saying "Don't judge".  It is easy to focus on Matthew 7:1 ("Do not judge."), but to ignore 1 Corinthians 15:33 ("Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals).

When was the last time you allowed your defenseless, impressionable young child into the care of another, without using your judgment?

When did you last allow your young daughter of marriageable age to spend time with a young man, without exercising discernment?

Paul did not mince words in telling the Corinthians that they are to judge the behavior and choices of other believers (1 Corinthians 5: 12-13).  

Sea Salt
 By --Pinpin 20:24, 19 September 2006 (UTC) (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5
 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5),
 GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) 

Clearly, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), but, we must have some role in protecting ourselves from exposure to immorality.  Call me old fashioned, but I think that this responsibility especially extends to men, in regards to what they allow women to be exposed to through their association.

The current trend in popular society to suggest that morality is a personal matter, and varies relative to personal opinion and experiences, is a dangerous one.  I think that we can see where it has gotten us.  Add to that the fact that feminism has bought for women both "freedom" from the protection of men (physically,emotionally, and otherwise) and the presumed responsibility of protecting themselves...and we are in the midst of quite a cultural mess.

Jesus Christ will stand in final judgment.  That is his role, not ours. However, while we are here, we must use our judgment, informed by scripture, to protect and advise our families and the whole body of Christ, to ensure that the 'salt will not lose it's savor' (Matt. 5:13).

I am only 44 years old.  I am not so far removed from those that are in their 20s and 30s right now.  But, the things that I see in the media and social networking feeds are positively shocking to someone of my generation.  That means that in just 20 years, we have made tremendous progress in our descent into a moral abyss.  I cannot imagine where we will be in another 20.  


Add to that the fact that media was not nearly as readily available or technologically advanced as it is now.  Social networking, and, in fact, the internet itself, was not readily available at ones fingertips, during most of that time.  The access and exposure to aspects of culture that one would not allow in ones living room have multiplied exponentially and are now...readily available in ones living room.  It is a situation ripe for unprecedented desensitization.  


There was a time, not at all long past, when men did not allow other men to curse in front of a woman.  We now have a generation of young adults, women included, who are perfectly comfortable with far worse.

I can't see any way to protect ourselves or our families, other than using our judgment, and teaching our children to do the same.


Pax Christi,
~Michelle

 (Authors: Elliot:Protestant, Dilsaver:Catholic, Elliot: Protestant. Kineke:Catholic, Smiljanic: Orthodox  )    

               

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