--Journey to Easter

 

Our cowboy Church fortunately has access to a shofar for call to worship--It is a great call to worship!

Our caller is the chaplain at the Sculpture Prayer Gardens in Kerrville, TX  If ever in the area, please stop in to spend a few minutes celebrating this special prayer garden.  You can even leave a prayer on a rock.

Recently, we had a family/friends dinner and one of our guests was wearing tassels through his back belt loops.  When asked about them, he replied it was a way to show his faith and when people asked about them, he could talk about his faith--it was a perfect opportunity to lead into a conversation about God. 

tassels — in Hebrew, tzitzit – צִיצִ֥ת “You will have these fringes [tzitzit] to look at so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them …  I am the Lord your God.”  (Numbers 15:38–41)

The tzitzit pictured above are tied in two different styles.  The all white one is tied in the traditional Ashkenazi style, while the one with the thread of blue (techelet) is woven in the Sephardic style.  Notice that each tassel has eight strands with five knots, totaling 13.

The long thread of a special shade of blue that God commands in each tzitzit is called techelet in Hebrew.

According to a Midrash (story), the blue thread acts as a visual reminder to keep a heavenly focus on the Divine Presence of God, since the blue resembles the ocean, which resembles the sky, which resembles the Throne of God. 

We are leading into the last few days of Lent before Palm Sunday and the return of Jesus to the city after his 40 days of trails and temptation.  

My trials are nothing compared to others but I've been knitting along with Victoria Methodist Bristol on their special Lenten Knitalong--Each week a Lenten plan has been laid out with patterns to knit as we meditate on our journey.

We’re in week four.  I’m knitting with my hand spun wool/cashmere blend.  

Each week a section is revealed along with scriptures and pattern; hymns add to the mediations.  A lot of prayers are said as I knit.   By Easter, the scarf will be ready to wear!