Listening to "Voice of Israel" online. Today is Memorial day in Israel. Yom Hazikaron. Never have I seen anything like the sirens sounding in Israel, and seeing everyone...stop. I mean, cars come to a stop on the freeway. People walking in public places stop and bow their heads. If people are out eating, they will put down their utensils and stop talking. And all of this...is only from me watching it on FB. I am now listening to the stories of family members of victims online...A special broadcast of Voice of Israel, dedicated to those who gave their lives.
So, on MEMORIAL DAY in Israel, everybody stops and...remembers. Wow. This is what this day is for, correct? So, the entire occasion is taken quite seriously by, the whole country. This fills me with a somber humility, that I have been pretty unaccustomed to. I think this is sad. I think it's sad that Americans (as a whole) are not sad on our Memorial Day. I'm not saying that no one here feels anything on our Memorial Day...but in honesty, that's what it feels like. Our country is huge, and I think the very fact that we are divided into states might suggest the walls we put up signifying our general "personal space" mentality.
What do typical Americans do on Memorial Day Weekend? In my experience, we rejoice over the fact that WE have a long weekend and a shorter work week. We plan picnics and barbecues, and trips to the lake...trips out of town because we'll have an extra day to have fun. We are encouraged through TV commercials to do a lot of extra shopping because stores have Memorial Day sales. We do have many parades, which are largely happy traditions where folks bring lawn chairs, and watch people clad in uniforms riding in old war vehicles, and I bet that most of us wonder who had the job of restoring these old "classics" rather commemorating those who lost their lives defending us. If we're home to see the evening news, we'll see highlights of, say rows of American flags at Arlington Cemetery, for example. The President might go there to commemorate soldiers. We DO have actual remembrances of those who've died, yes. But they seem few and far between, separated, individual, spaced out...and to most of us, they are impersonal because we are "removed" from what's going on. There seems to be very little recognition or appreciation of the millions of lives lost...the blood shed so that we could have our freedom. There might be a radio program somewhere, with sound bytes from times past. But most of us might watch war movies on TCM, while ordering take out food because it's summer time, and we love the excuse not to cook. After a while, we'll change...say..."Saving Private Ryan," if we watch it at all. We must watch "something happy" now because this is too depressing.
I've never been to Israel before, but I am now jealous because of a very defined sense of family that seems to be universally shared throughout the whole country. Now, Israel is tiny...it's a small country. But you know what? Who cares, because I want to know how this sense of everyone being connected to everyone else is achieved. Americans simply do not experience this. We are all broken off into little clusters, which can and do extend beyond our own families, yes. But even so, we are taught so much to value our own space, mind our own business, and live for the "now.". We are largely uninterested in history. We think it's pretty pointless because it's already happened.
Besides, we will do anything to keep from being depressed, or being aware of profound sadness or grief. We do not want to look death or aging in the eye (Heaven forbid). So most of us talk and analyze everything to death: We hate our government, or we don't care, because we hardly know anything about it. We watch the news for five or ten minutes, we shake our heads and say, "Oh God, how awful," while many of us are probably pretty glad that it does not affect us personally. We turn our TV's off, and seem to get offended because this sadness is ruining our pleasure.
Israeli's seem to be grateful (in a way) to remember the suffering...simply because this reminds them of immense joy. They gather together with quiet respect, showing their loved ones who've gone before, that they LOVE them. They take time. They bow their heads. They PACK cemeteries to recognize a connection, now broken...but NOT...because Israeli's keep it alive! They remember. They appreciate...and they teach their children to do the same. When I was a child, America's Memorial day, was mostly just a chance to get out of school for a day. Israel is so tiny, that whenever anyone dies in war, or terror attacks, it is always someone that everybody knows, and there is great sadness. Now as I said, geographically, things are quite different here; but what I think is tragic about the US, is the way we are so incredibly desensitized to violence and war in general, through our mass media, largely. Translation: we watch too many war "movies" and then we glorify the violence with things like academy awards, and 90% of what we see on our news has to do with some kind of violence. We shut it off, if you will...we separate ourselves from it...and we seem to forget to "feel " that it's even happened.
Now, there's nothing wrong with celebrating in general. There's nothing wrong with parades, there's nothing wrong with academy awards, I just think it's so tragic that culturally, where I come from, we keep trying to think of ways to avoid taking the bitter with the sweet. We avoid most of the bitter, rather than embracing it, and in many ways, things like Memorial Day take on a rather saccharin, detached, disrespectful tone. Remorse gives way to arguments over things people have said on Facebook. I'm unsure about anyone else, but I personally have grown weary of a deep sense of being a wanderer without an anchor. I see the deep sense of unity going on in Israel now, and seem to hunger for the "equality" and sense of agreement with each other that is flowing through the veins of her people. This is like a refreshing drink of "living" water to me. It's life, in the middle of so much death. I, from a country known for the "equality" of everyone, am asking how this is accomplished, and suddenly longing to be a part of it.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Monday, April 6, 2015
Dedication and Devotion...
I just heard something that made my blood boil. Surprise, surprise, it was on Christian radio coming from a "Christian" pastor. The message was all about "not being under the law.". Unfortunately, I did not hear the very beginning, so I'm unsure what scriptures he used...but I DO know, it was Paul's letter to the Colossians. Anyway...the exact quote he used (and I'm not naming him) was:
"This law (Old covenant) does not mean anything to us today, unless you're a Jew living in Israel."
Gee, yes...AND?? Your point is WHAT?? What if someone IS a Jew living in Israel today? What then? What if someone is a Jew NOT living in Israel? What if someone claims to have given their heart over a JEWISH Messiah?? What then? Does this pastor realize how many people he has just deemed "exempt" from the freedom of Yeshua in that one sentence? Was this man trying to say that only Non-Jewish believers have the truth because we KNOW that we're not under the law?? Was he trying to say that Jewish folks are "stupid" because they ARE under the law ( He said it only means something if your a Jew living in Israel). What if you're NOT a Jew, living in Israel? So, YOU got it goin' on, while all the Jewish folks in Israel are BOUND by the law, but Christians are not?? What in HELL is going on here?? Listen, those who are Jewish have enough trouble with anti-Semitic finger pointing as it is, don't you think? They do not need more from the CHRISTIAN church of all places, who TEACH that we need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Does anyone else find anything WRONG with this? Listen, I don't intend to go on for days here, I wanna make this short and sweet; but what about those Jewish folks living in Israel? Could it be that they know something about dedication and devotion that we in the western world don't because we're too busy calling it legalism??
That's exactly what this pastor kept calling it too. Legalism. It is true that all the religious tradition in the world, in and of itself can never cleanse a man of his sins, because God's standard is perfect. None of us are perfect so we've missed the mark, and Yeshua Hammashiach has paid for where we've missed the mark...but do we not have a greater problem when we do not understand that God is really not interested in us picking and choosing what we can and can't "get away with?". Do we not see that Christians claim to worship a JEWISH Messiah? Do we not see that tradition, and the DESIRE to follow God's law, should be what shows Him that we love him? Again, I liken it to being deeply in love with someone, and wanting to do everything you can to please them: Will we do it perfectly? No; but the desire to TRY runs through our veins like blood because we are on FIRE for that person! :) Right? A minister can stand at his pulpit and say that these are matters of the heart all he wants. It is not about what we eat and drink. Okay, but...are you SURE? Don't actions show people that we love them even more than words? Usually. Don't we say that all the time? Don't we seem to chant it like a mantra, even? "Love is a verb"... Remember DC Talk?
I am not telling ANYONE what not to eat, or drink, or ware. (Gosh, I feel like I'm quoting Matthew all the sudden); but is it just possible that this is why God gave us the mandate in the first place? Isn't he saying to us: "Be holy, for I am holy"? Is it possible that the law is instructions for actually carrying out matters of the heart BECAUSE we know we are no longer bound by it? We've been saved, so now we are covered when we fall short AS we're following his instructions...not as we're sifting through them and ridding ourselves of them because we're taking the freedom, but not the responsibility. And anyway, doesn't this argument about "to drink alcohol or not drink alcohol" CREATE the very sort of legalism that the pastor was accusing Jewish folks of having? Is it just possible that the Jews in the book of Colossians were flaunting themselves as being too perfect...and this is NOT what God requires? But we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, and behave like we are exempt from the law (instruction) of the Original Covenant.
Now this pastor said that we should stay away from certain things as a means of making sure our brother does not stumble. This should be our desire. Sure. Perhaps it's more simplified to do this with a "set of rules" then not. Will we break them? Sure... we broke our parents rules, didn't we? Did our parents not love us anymore? Of course not. Why would we think God would not love us, then? Is it possible that because of Yeshua's death on the cross, we are now SAFE to follow God's law...and screw up? (Because the grace covers that)? I don't mean, on purpose...I mean, even when we do our BEST we make mistakes, right? Of course. But God says, you won't be "burned" for any imperfections now, because Yeshua's death paid for it all. We are SAFE now, to follow the law as best we can. Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest that we are supposed to run TO that safety and live within His mandate...not away from it. Instead, pastors are preaching this message with an empty beer can sitting on their pulpit, saying it's not about what we eat or drink...these are matters of the heart. Really? Well then, with all due respect sir, I'd get rid of the beer can, and pay more attention to the Jews living in Israel.
"This law (Old covenant) does not mean anything to us today, unless you're a Jew living in Israel."
Gee, yes...AND?? Your point is WHAT?? What if someone IS a Jew living in Israel today? What then? What if someone is a Jew NOT living in Israel? What if someone claims to have given their heart over a JEWISH Messiah?? What then? Does this pastor realize how many people he has just deemed "exempt" from the freedom of Yeshua in that one sentence? Was this man trying to say that only Non-Jewish believers have the truth because we KNOW that we're not under the law?? Was he trying to say that Jewish folks are "stupid" because they ARE under the law ( He said it only means something if your a Jew living in Israel). What if you're NOT a Jew, living in Israel? So, YOU got it goin' on, while all the Jewish folks in Israel are BOUND by the law, but Christians are not?? What in HELL is going on here?? Listen, those who are Jewish have enough trouble with anti-Semitic finger pointing as it is, don't you think? They do not need more from the CHRISTIAN church of all places, who TEACH that we need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Does anyone else find anything WRONG with this? Listen, I don't intend to go on for days here, I wanna make this short and sweet; but what about those Jewish folks living in Israel? Could it be that they know something about dedication and devotion that we in the western world don't because we're too busy calling it legalism??
That's exactly what this pastor kept calling it too. Legalism. It is true that all the religious tradition in the world, in and of itself can never cleanse a man of his sins, because God's standard is perfect. None of us are perfect so we've missed the mark, and Yeshua Hammashiach has paid for where we've missed the mark...but do we not have a greater problem when we do not understand that God is really not interested in us picking and choosing what we can and can't "get away with?". Do we not see that Christians claim to worship a JEWISH Messiah? Do we not see that tradition, and the DESIRE to follow God's law, should be what shows Him that we love him? Again, I liken it to being deeply in love with someone, and wanting to do everything you can to please them: Will we do it perfectly? No; but the desire to TRY runs through our veins like blood because we are on FIRE for that person! :) Right? A minister can stand at his pulpit and say that these are matters of the heart all he wants. It is not about what we eat and drink. Okay, but...are you SURE? Don't actions show people that we love them even more than words? Usually. Don't we say that all the time? Don't we seem to chant it like a mantra, even? "Love is a verb"... Remember DC Talk?
I am not telling ANYONE what not to eat, or drink, or ware. (Gosh, I feel like I'm quoting Matthew all the sudden); but is it just possible that this is why God gave us the mandate in the first place? Isn't he saying to us: "Be holy, for I am holy"? Is it possible that the law is instructions for actually carrying out matters of the heart BECAUSE we know we are no longer bound by it? We've been saved, so now we are covered when we fall short AS we're following his instructions...not as we're sifting through them and ridding ourselves of them because we're taking the freedom, but not the responsibility. And anyway, doesn't this argument about "to drink alcohol or not drink alcohol" CREATE the very sort of legalism that the pastor was accusing Jewish folks of having? Is it just possible that the Jews in the book of Colossians were flaunting themselves as being too perfect...and this is NOT what God requires? But we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, and behave like we are exempt from the law (instruction) of the Original Covenant.
Now this pastor said that we should stay away from certain things as a means of making sure our brother does not stumble. This should be our desire. Sure. Perhaps it's more simplified to do this with a "set of rules" then not. Will we break them? Sure... we broke our parents rules, didn't we? Did our parents not love us anymore? Of course not. Why would we think God would not love us, then? Is it possible that because of Yeshua's death on the cross, we are now SAFE to follow God's law...and screw up? (Because the grace covers that)? I don't mean, on purpose...I mean, even when we do our BEST we make mistakes, right? Of course. But God says, you won't be "burned" for any imperfections now, because Yeshua's death paid for it all. We are SAFE now, to follow the law as best we can. Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest that we are supposed to run TO that safety and live within His mandate...not away from it. Instead, pastors are preaching this message with an empty beer can sitting on their pulpit, saying it's not about what we eat or drink...these are matters of the heart. Really? Well then, with all due respect sir, I'd get rid of the beer can, and pay more attention to the Jews living in Israel.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
No Foolin' Around
On April Fool's Day, actress Mayam Bialik put an April Fool's post on her blog dealing with incorporating "pot" into the sader meal. One of the jokes involved putting joints into the menorah rather then candles, and just taking a hit whenever you needed one. There were many other things in the post that involved getting high and singing and other things of that nature. I read the post and busted up laughing...I must admit. I was imagining everybody laughing while they were getting high. I debated for a minute, and then I posted her post on my FB page. But in reality, I thought, "You know, that's terrible. They should not be making fun of the Passover meal, that is very sacred and represents a cleansing and a purifying process." Now Mayam Bialik is Jewish herself and she has written about her roots in Israel. She was where I came across this April Fool's entry, and I figured, if she laughed at it, and found it funny, then I could too (even though I'm not Jewish). So later that evening, I saw a post from one of my Facebook friends, which said, basically, that they did not understand all this April Fool's stuff, because it was anti-Semitic.
I paused a moment. Oh dear. Had this person read the post I'd put on my page? I was not sure, and I did not ask...but I felt bad. I would NEVER want to give any impression that I were being disrespectful to those who are Jewish, those who are from Israel, or for any Jewish holiday/feast day. For the record, I LOVE Passover, because I love the idea of cleaning out the leaven. Spending deliberate, planed time with God and beginning again...making a fresh start. Because I'm not Jewish, I've not been raised celebrating these traditions or knowing what they mean...It's only been recently that I've been finding out that our western holiday, Easter, is actually based on the spring equinox, and fertility and other traditions that have little or nothing to do with Jehovah Jire, the God who provides... The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the God that I presumably worship. Do I know who I'm worshipping? Not if I'm celebrating Easter. (At least in my opinion).
My goal, in all of this, is to be as close as I can to my savior and Lord: Yeshua Hammashiach. I know, as soon as I write this that I need to be who I am without apology because many folks who are Jewish, do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and I suppose, this is because the Tanak speaks of Yahweh, the Father. All I can say, is that I do. I made the decision to be converted (as a Christian) when I was 15. We call it "getting saved" of course...and that's what happened to me. I have read the Old AND the New Covenant's, and am convicted in my heart that Yeshua's undeserved death, hung on a tree, is what paid for our sins. When I say I've read them...that's not cover to cover. I mean that his Holy Spirit has come alive for me through the scripture that I have absorbed. Anyway, I believe the faith that I have is missing a tremendous amount of depth...and on that note, there are many scriptures that I do not understand that I believed I did, because I've not been taught to look at the scriptures with a Hebrew perspective. In short, I think that through history, we have changed the Jewish calendar and replaced the original feast days with what are largely pagan holidays. I can tell you, I have celebrated Easter and Christmas all my life, and won't be offended if anyone gives me best wishes on these days. I just want a deep connection to things like Passover and Palm Sunday (because of the donkey and palm branches), Sukkot, Yom Kippor... These are Biblical feast days that were part of the savior's life, and for most of my short "Christian" life, I believed these did not apply to me.
Anyway, talk about mixed messages! I claim to want to "embrace" the Jewish faith so much (and let's face it...April Fools Day is probably the worst day of the whole year for BAD Jewish humor) and then I post something on FB that was totally mocking one of the Old Covenant feast days. Now, don't misunderstand me: this post is not to say anything negative about Mayam Bialik. She was celebrating April Fool's Day, and she said so in her post, and that's her choice, and that's cool. But being that this is only my first Passover (and I have no idea what I'm doing), being that I've never had a Menorah in my house before (although I would love to), being that I have so much to learn; AND being that I really did not agree with the article anyway, as far as whether it was funny (no), I really should not have re-posted something that took such a crass, blatant "shot" at something so sacred and holy, and wonderful. I LOVE Isreal and I LOVE Israel's people...I stand with them, not against them. I never want to give anyone reason to believe otherwise. Certainly, my intent was never in any way, to appear anti-Semitic. :)
On a final note...I have no idea who bgan Aril Fools Day, but the information I read said that pope Gregory changed our calendar from the Julius Calendar, to his own, and that New Years Day had been previously celebrated on April 1st, rather than January 1st. So, if true...that could explain a lot.
I paused a moment. Oh dear. Had this person read the post I'd put on my page? I was not sure, and I did not ask...but I felt bad. I would NEVER want to give any impression that I were being disrespectful to those who are Jewish, those who are from Israel, or for any Jewish holiday/feast day. For the record, I LOVE Passover, because I love the idea of cleaning out the leaven. Spending deliberate, planed time with God and beginning again...making a fresh start. Because I'm not Jewish, I've not been raised celebrating these traditions or knowing what they mean...It's only been recently that I've been finding out that our western holiday, Easter, is actually based on the spring equinox, and fertility and other traditions that have little or nothing to do with Jehovah Jire, the God who provides... The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the God that I presumably worship. Do I know who I'm worshipping? Not if I'm celebrating Easter. (At least in my opinion).
My goal, in all of this, is to be as close as I can to my savior and Lord: Yeshua Hammashiach. I know, as soon as I write this that I need to be who I am without apology because many folks who are Jewish, do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and I suppose, this is because the Tanak speaks of Yahweh, the Father. All I can say, is that I do. I made the decision to be converted (as a Christian) when I was 15. We call it "getting saved" of course...and that's what happened to me. I have read the Old AND the New Covenant's, and am convicted in my heart that Yeshua's undeserved death, hung on a tree, is what paid for our sins. When I say I've read them...that's not cover to cover. I mean that his Holy Spirit has come alive for me through the scripture that I have absorbed. Anyway, I believe the faith that I have is missing a tremendous amount of depth...and on that note, there are many scriptures that I do not understand that I believed I did, because I've not been taught to look at the scriptures with a Hebrew perspective. In short, I think that through history, we have changed the Jewish calendar and replaced the original feast days with what are largely pagan holidays. I can tell you, I have celebrated Easter and Christmas all my life, and won't be offended if anyone gives me best wishes on these days. I just want a deep connection to things like Passover and Palm Sunday (because of the donkey and palm branches), Sukkot, Yom Kippor... These are Biblical feast days that were part of the savior's life, and for most of my short "Christian" life, I believed these did not apply to me.
Anyway, talk about mixed messages! I claim to want to "embrace" the Jewish faith so much (and let's face it...April Fools Day is probably the worst day of the whole year for BAD Jewish humor) and then I post something on FB that was totally mocking one of the Old Covenant feast days. Now, don't misunderstand me: this post is not to say anything negative about Mayam Bialik. She was celebrating April Fool's Day, and she said so in her post, and that's her choice, and that's cool. But being that this is only my first Passover (and I have no idea what I'm doing), being that I've never had a Menorah in my house before (although I would love to), being that I have so much to learn; AND being that I really did not agree with the article anyway, as far as whether it was funny (no), I really should not have re-posted something that took such a crass, blatant "shot" at something so sacred and holy, and wonderful. I LOVE Isreal and I LOVE Israel's people...I stand with them, not against them. I never want to give anyone reason to believe otherwise. Certainly, my intent was never in any way, to appear anti-Semitic. :)
On a final note...I have no idea who bgan Aril Fools Day, but the information I read said that pope Gregory changed our calendar from the Julius Calendar, to his own, and that New Years Day had been previously celebrated on April 1st, rather than January 1st. So, if true...that could explain a lot.
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