“Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who brings forth bread from the earth.”
Blessed and chill! Today was rather breezy. I took a long walk, worked on my Easter play, took the unexpected chance to help a child at church with his homework and get a little bonding time in, and I’m feeling pretty good. I hope you are blessed and enjoying growing closer to Christ during this Lenten season.
What is the quote above? Well, I mention that I am writing a play. It is the Easter play for our church’s Children and Youth Easter Production. There are countless ones already out there, but I love to write, I love to create, and I love bringing scripture a lie, so it was important to me to do it myself. It is a play called Emmanuel and it is an adaptation of Luke 24; the Emmaus Experience in those immediately surrounding it. I thought about putting the whole thing here, but who knows, I may publish it! I know, ambitious, right? But why not? I feel great today!
In short, two of Jesus’ followers–not of the 12, now 11, disciples–were walking on the road from Jerusalem. They were mourning Jesus’ death and probably wondering what to do next. and when a man walked up to them and asked what was going on, They had no idea that this was no mere man, more than an angel in disguise, it was Jesus, Emmanuel/God With Us! In fact, they are unaware of who he is until he breaks the bread and he promptly disappears.
The prayer above Was extracted from the same site the photo came from. In fact, I went to the site searching out the quote, because The verse simply says Jesus Broke the bread and gave thanks. This specific Jewish prayer may not have been his prayer, and he definitely didn’t speak it in English, but it is likely similar to one he might have prayed. If you go to the site, by the way, you will see it in Hebrew.
Message/Take Away
Be hospitable to strangers and everyone for that matter! Mostly though, what I take from this is we only have eyes to see God, the heart to hear and yearn for God when the Holy Spirit blesses us with that perception and wisdom. It is all by grace, and mercy. None of us can be proud or Self righteous. It is Jesus who invites me and invites you on this journey. We cannot follow Jesus to the cross in our own power, by our own good deeds or even our own zealous pursuit of scripture and knowledge. So, God be with us!
Let Us Pray
Jesus, take us with you to the cross and onto final victory. Amen.
I am, as you are, part of God’s great story. Writing is my way of putting voice to the chapters of my story. I wrote my first little story in Braille in elementary and have loved writing poetry, articles, short stories and even newsletters ever since. I have always had the feeling I should write a book, but no idea has quite solidified yet. Should I write an autobiography, creative nonfiction, the first Systematic Theology Text by a Black female Methodist? What?? Time to try my hand at blogging!
So, as you know by now, my name is Christy! I am a mother to Shaun, who is 11. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have a Terrior Puppy! All of us are life-long Californians!
Vocationallly, I am Minister Of Children, Youth & Young Families with Saint Mar, Los Angeles. Concurrently, I am working toward ordination in the United Methodist Church as an Ordained Deacon, called to word, service, justice and compassion ministries. As our children, youth and families grow in faith and receive the vital nurture they need to thrive, they will take their stories out into the street and be the bridge to Christ for a broken world who so strongly needs hope, love and healing. My Master’s In Divinity (M.Div.) from Fuller Theological Seminary (2015) and B.A. in Collaborative Health, Human Services and Public Policy/Social Work reflect my conviction that the Child Welfare System and policies of our nation must be overhauled and our children must be protected and defended and the church has a key role in making sure this work is done.
Much of my childhood was spent in foster care, and so I am dedicated to being the light especially for at-risk youth and young adult populations, but also for all of those whom God sends my way. In 1985 at the age of three, I lost my vision and I’m to this day partially sighted, so I also have a special need to serve as a light for those with physical disabilities who the world often pities and/or shuns. We give lip service to justice for all, including children, the disabled, people o( all sexual orientations and races, but this is not the reality in many cases. So, the fight is going strong for social, political economic and all other forms of justice in the world.
For this, my first blogging attempt, I will journey through Lent with you. Starting Wednesday, which is Ash Wednesday, and leading up to Easter, which falls on April 21 this year, I will post daily on my journey to the cross with Christ and you all. I post pretty regularly on Facebook and Instagram anyway and figure it is time to try my hand at blogging. This is also a spiritual discipline and a way to hold myself accountable to daily reflection on journeying with Christ. My goal is to provide you with solidarity, resources, which will help you along your journey and have a lot of fun in the process. I hope to hear from you as to what you think, what would be more helpful for you, and any prayer requests you may have. May God bless you today and always. Shalom! Thank
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