Sunday, November 1, 2008

All Saints Day. It is a Christian holiday, coming the day after Halloween. It always comes on the first day of November. Halloween was a pagan holiday which was borrowed by early Christians. The suggestion was that on the day before All Saints Day all the ghosts, goblins and demonic creatures were let loose knowing they would be shut up all the next day when the saints were being honored. The demonic forces tried to do all the damage they could on the evening before they would be supernaturally prevented. Thus, the night before, the evening before the hallowed day, Halloween, was their day. They engaged people with all the mischief they could muster.

Modern Halloween celebration came about particularly after World War II as an effort to make it a day for the kids to celebrate and have fun. It was an effort to curb vandalism which had become associated with the evening.

At McFarlin we celebrate the departed souls who have been members here in the past. We make banners honoring friends and family. And on those banners we place our departed one's name and certain symbols signifying their life, their hobbies and their employment. We either place or carry those banners before the congregation so we can remember them. We look at the different names, surprised at some we may not have remembered as having been members here, and noting some whom we remember with fondness. A husband or a wife. A parent. A child perhaps. Or simply a loved friend who left all too early. We swallow hard and a tear creeps down our cheek as we remember a loved one gone on. But, for that moment we remember. It is a good thing.

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This Sunday, 11/1/2009, Charlotte Kessinger will be leading our class in a discussion of Mark, chapter 9. We will discuss the Transfiguration and then will continue on with the healing ministry of Jesus as recorded by Mark.

Please make plans to attend and enjoy the day with fellowship and study of God's word.

On Studying the Bible

The following is an excellent note from Al Palomar. I submit it for your reading and careful consideration.

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I am not interested in the scholarly study of the bible. I approach the bible as a blessed self-help book that will guide me in my understanding God, and help me see how he wants all of us to conduct ourselves before we pass on. It all boils down to the main message of His ONLY begotten Son: love your fellowmen. I capitalized "only" because although He refers to us as His children He has but ONE SON that he begot.

When I teach I deliberately skip any discussion of geography or genealogy because I believe that's something class members can do on their own. At least in my case, what I can't do on my own is answer or interpret the difficult questions posed by the Great Book. For me to attempt to do that would be presumptuous.

One of the hardest is: why do (and did) the loyal servants of God have to suffer? And not only have they suffered, but many of them suffered a violent, harrowing death, Jesus included. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man because he foresaw that, like an ordinary man, he would feel the pain, the humiliation, the insults and the inhumane degradation that these people he loved would inflict upon Him when His ultimate sacrifice comes .

And God had allowed this to happen in much the same way that he had allowed the devil to inflict all the pain on Job -- all the untold torture that he had magnificently endured.

What does this have to do with all of us? Jesus often admonished his disciples for having eyes that won't see and ears that won't hear. I can hear Him now telling us: can't you see what my Father is trying to say to you? Fear not when tragedy befalls you; don't despair when your health fails or death stares at you ; don't lose faith when evil appears to triumph all around you because when you fail to overcome human suffering, I, your God, the God of Moses and Abraham, will be there for you, and I will see to it that good triumphs over evil.

Al Palomar

On Feeding Five Thousand

If you were present in Sunday School yesterday, you were treated to an excellent class presented by Al on the 8th chapter of Mark. The feeding of the five thousand, and related miracles, are interesting events presented by Mark as part of the gospel story. Christians have always had difficulties with the miracle stories in the Gospels simply because they have not had personal experience with such miracles. This may, in part, be the result of a Protestant reaction to the claim of miracles by the Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation, generally, taught that miracles ceased with the end of the apostolic era. With the advent of the Pentecostal movement in the early 20th century, with its services of miracles and healings, there had to be a rethinking about the entire subject. I am of the opinion that we all bring our own prejudices to this question.

Al simply went beyond the miracles and asked what we learned about Jesus. This is a wonderful way to approach the subject. Do I want to spend time wondering how the feeding of the five thousand could have occurred or do I want to spend time wondering at the act of Jesus feeding all of us the spiritual bread of life. And, not coincidentally, this was the way John related this event in his Gospel.

Charlotte Kesinger will teach next Sunday. Her subject will be Mark, chapter 9. Plan now to attend. We need you and you will be blessed.

Teaching Sunday, October 25, 2009

Al Palomar will be teaching next Sunday (10/25/2009) and the lesson will deal with Mark, chapter 8. We look forward to spending the time with him.

Bob Brookes is scheduled to teach Mark, chapter 10, on Sunday (11/8/2009).

If you want to volunteer to teach, please contact me. My email address is hersh1144@yahoo.com and you should have access to my phone number.

A New Blog

"Of the writing of many books there is no end." The man who said that should see us now. Everyone's writing. But, one of the benefits of the internet with its mail, blogs and other outlets, is that we aren't cutting down trees for so much of this. It just gets read, maybe, and then it simply goes off into the far reaches of "somewhere."

Since 1985 I have attended McFarlin United Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. Why did I land there? It's a long story, too long to tell now. Perhaps sometime. We started attending the Searchers Sunday School class and have remained with them ever since. And that is another story also.

This is a simple way to communicate with the people of that class and with those who have passed through to other locations. It is a simple way to keep abreast of happenings and to engage in a little dialogue along the way. I want to limit this blog to religious matters. Share your thoughts. Ask your questions. We will try to respond to you wherever you are on your faith journey.

You are invited to join in. And you are invited to join us in our class at McFarlin UMC in Norman, Oklahoma, on Sundays. We will treat you so many ways you're bound to like one of them.