Grant Hawkins
Happy belated birthday, Mary!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
(John 1:1-3)
These were the words I read when I was dared by a stick of gum to open the nearest book to a random page and read aloud. These first words in Johns Gospel capture what the Bible is. It’s confusing, it’s weird, but it’s amazing. And that’s true the Bible is weird. But it’s that much more amazing. The Bible connects things we don’t even think about.
For example in Exodus, Moses is a Shepherd and one of his sheep runs off into the wilderness (some say a mountain). Moses, being the good Shepherd he is, doesn’t leave any sheep behind so he goes in search for it. In his journey for the lost sheep he encounters a bush…that’s burning…and not wavering. As he goes to inspect, a voice tells him to take off his sandals for he is on Holy ground. God, in the presence of Moses as the Burning Bush, tells him to go free his people from the Egyptians. Moses asks the voice who he should tell the Egyptians instructed him to free the Israelites. He responds, “I am who I am” often said “I am who am”. That is one example of a weird story that is also connected with Jesus. God is present in fire, a common symbol for the Holy Spirit, but as a bush. Moses was there only because he went after a lone sheep. Just as Jesus would do for us.
In Egypt, the Pharaoh doesn’t grant the Israelites freedom so God sends the ten plagues. The tenth plague was the killing of all firstborns in Egypt. God told the Israelites to slaughter a lamb without blemish and mark their doorposts with the blood of the lamb and the Angel of death will passover their homes. This was so called Passover.
The slaughter of a lamb appeared earlier in the Bible with Abraham. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, his only son, whom he loves, and go to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham and Isaac walked up a hill in Moriah (some say mountain) as God had commanded. Abraham holding a knife and the fire, and Isaac carrying the wood on his back. Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the sacrifice was and Abraham replied, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” God will provide the lamb. God later stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son and Abraham found a ram caught in the thicket and they sacrificed the ram.
Now, Abraham said God will provide the lamb not the ram. He didn’t have a speech impediment or not want to harm a lamb that day. He did provide the lamb. But on a later day. A day that took place in 30 A.D. On that day Jesus and his disciples joined together to celebrate the feast of Passover for the last time. And Jesus forgot to bring a lamb. The lamb was the most important part of the Passover and Jesus forgot it. He did something none of them had ever seen. He held up unleavened bread and told them to eat it in memory of Him. And during the Mass the last thing the priest says before we receive communion is "Behold the LAMB of GOD who takes away the sins of the world". We receive Jesus the lamb without sin, the lamb without blemish. Jesus also fulfills another part of that story. When he walks up Calvary with wood on his back. But this time it’s the wood of the cross.
-GH
All Sons and Daughters- "Great are you Lord"
https://youtu.be/uHz0w-HG4iU
Happy belated birthday, Mary!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
(John 1:1-3)
These were the words I read when I was dared by a stick of gum to open the nearest book to a random page and read aloud. These first words in Johns Gospel capture what the Bible is. It’s confusing, it’s weird, but it’s amazing. And that’s true the Bible is weird. But it’s that much more amazing. The Bible connects things we don’t even think about.
For example in Exodus, Moses is a Shepherd and one of his sheep runs off into the wilderness (some say a mountain). Moses, being the good Shepherd he is, doesn’t leave any sheep behind so he goes in search for it. In his journey for the lost sheep he encounters a bush…that’s burning…and not wavering. As he goes to inspect, a voice tells him to take off his sandals for he is on Holy ground. God, in the presence of Moses as the Burning Bush, tells him to go free his people from the Egyptians. Moses asks the voice who he should tell the Egyptians instructed him to free the Israelites. He responds, “I am who I am” often said “I am who am”. That is one example of a weird story that is also connected with Jesus. God is present in fire, a common symbol for the Holy Spirit, but as a bush. Moses was there only because he went after a lone sheep. Just as Jesus would do for us.
In Egypt, the Pharaoh doesn’t grant the Israelites freedom so God sends the ten plagues. The tenth plague was the killing of all firstborns in Egypt. God told the Israelites to slaughter a lamb without blemish and mark their doorposts with the blood of the lamb and the Angel of death will passover their homes. This was so called Passover.
The slaughter of a lamb appeared earlier in the Bible with Abraham. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, his only son, whom he loves, and go to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham and Isaac walked up a hill in Moriah (some say mountain) as God had commanded. Abraham holding a knife and the fire, and Isaac carrying the wood on his back. Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the sacrifice was and Abraham replied, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” God will provide the lamb. God later stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son and Abraham found a ram caught in the thicket and they sacrificed the ram.
Now, Abraham said God will provide the lamb not the ram. He didn’t have a speech impediment or not want to harm a lamb that day. He did provide the lamb. But on a later day. A day that took place in 30 A.D. On that day Jesus and his disciples joined together to celebrate the feast of Passover for the last time. And Jesus forgot to bring a lamb. The lamb was the most important part of the Passover and Jesus forgot it. He did something none of them had ever seen. He held up unleavened bread and told them to eat it in memory of Him. And during the Mass the last thing the priest says before we receive communion is "Behold the LAMB of GOD who takes away the sins of the world". We receive Jesus the lamb without sin, the lamb without blemish. Jesus also fulfills another part of that story. When he walks up Calvary with wood on his back. But this time it’s the wood of the cross.
-GH
All Sons and Daughters- "Great are you Lord"
https://youtu.be/uHz0w-HG4iU