Hmmmn… Musings

Happy Easter, my friends! I hope that you and yours celebrated the resurrection of the King with joy and laughter! The Mitton crew ate well, laughed much, and worshiped together as a family. It was a busy, but enjoyable, few days. An interesting side note: This is the first weekend in a long time where the holy month of Ramadan, Jewish Passover and Christian Easter all fell on the same weekend. I don’t know why that matters, but it’s an interesting little tidbit of information.

And that’s where my musings have taken me this weekend… little tidbits of information that I noticed. Gleanings, some would say. And so, instead of a full-on post this week, I thought I’d throw out a few of those tidbits for you to ponder. Perhaps you’ve noticed them too. Perhaps you are seeing them for the first time. Perhaps you are celebrating Easter itself for the first time as a follower of Christ and eating up all the fine details. Maybe you need to see a familiar story in a fresh light. Maybe, like me, you just like to imagine. Remember back in the day? The phrase “things that make you go ‘hmmm'”. Was it late-night television? Anyway, doesn’t matter.

Here is my list of ponderings for your week! Enjoy!

  • Why did Peter have a dagger in his pocket? Was this common practice? (see this post for the answer to this one!)
  • Did Jesus’ arrest in the garden cause a fight among all the men? or did He just walk away with them? Wouldn’t you have loved to be up in a tree watching it all?
  • Where were the high priests who secretly believed in Jesus’ teachings during his questioning? Wouldn’t Nicodemus and the like stood up for Him if they could? Perhaps they were not invited to the secret meeting called at night?
  • Isn’t it interesting that Pilate’s wife warned him against getting involved with Jesus’ fate? Listen to your wives, you guys (we know stuff)!!
  • Did Barabbas go on another killing spree when he was released? Or did the piercing stare of Jesus convict him of his wrongdoings once he was released?
  • How brave was Mary to witness the torture and death of her special son…she was one tough cookie! I don’t know that my momma bear heart could handle it …
  • Did you know that Jesus’ body was buried with about 25 pounds of sugar and spice to keep Him smelling sweet? How come they didn’t mention all that stuff strewn on the ground when they discovered the empty tomb? What was it like to pack a body in those days?
  • Wouldn’t it be great to have media accounts of the weather that day? Or the strange after effects? All these dead people walking back home to greet long, lost relatives? Crazy. Facebook and Twitter would have crashed!
  • There is power in a name. “Mary” was all Jesus had to say. Choose wisely, parents.
  • Jesus made the disciples fish for breakfast. I wonder if He ate. I also wonder if He was a good cook.

If you’d like to go back and review this Holy week and wonder and muse about what it would have been really like, may I suggest you read through John 18 through 21 and try and pick out some “new-to-you” details of a familiar story. Discuss it with others and see what you find out anew! Then come back and visit me again next week, where we will muse again!!

Sheltering Mercy

Short but sweet this week! I figured ya’ll are like me and up to your eyeballs in Easter Preparations, so another thought from me is just adding to your list… but I did want to share a little something that I have been dying to get my hands on since it arrived in my mailbox. Besides, it’s been a while since my last book review and I figured it was about time.

Let’s dive in. “Sheltering Mercy” by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt is described as “prayers inspired by the Psalms”… and it is exactly that! A little purse-sized hardcover containing a collection of poems or writings based on the first 75 Psalms. The writings are not exactly scripture, nor paraphrases, but, as the writers put it, “free-verse prayer renderings”. For me, they are perfect for quiet meditation, and I have been dying to do some journalling, artistic illustrations to go along with each collection! (If only there were more time in the day, right?). I think this little book would be perfect for that type of meditation as the paper is heavy and the margins spacious. There are a few black and white illustrations scattered through the book, but a splash of coloured pencils would be perfect!

If you’ve been reading mittonmusings for any length of time, you know that I have a love-hate relationship with David and the psalms, not to mention my own practical versus artsy personality. I’m just not sure where I fit in. This little collection hits home when I need to foster the creative side of my devotions. In case you didn’t pick it up, Ryan Whitaker Smith is the son of worship singer-songwriter Michael W. Smith. That collaboration is a lesson in itself for worship, reflection and artistry in the contemporary Christian world. Why wouldn’t these potential song lyrics be just right?

So, if you are itching for some traditional written prayer meditation for your Easter Season, or maybe you are looking to branch out with your artistic side, give “Sheltering Mercy” a gander. Published by Brazos Press and lovingly donated to mittonmusings by Nuts About Books, I’m looking forward to marking it all up over the holiday weekend!

Happy Easter, my beloveds, until next time!

It’s a Double Edged Sword

Welcome back! April has begun and our calendar is looking busy busy busy! Are you in the throes of preparations for Easter yet? Our schedule has a few things booked before then, but our pastor has been doing a few preparation messages for us these last few weeks… which had me musing…

Sunday, we spoke about Jesus’ arrest and Peter cutting off the ear of the soldier. Which had me wondering, did men in Bible days just indiscriminately carry around swords and swipe at each other randomly whenever the notion took them? Was it a simple dagger? A knight-in-shining-armour sword? What does it symbolize? Why didn’t the soldier fight back and chaos erupt in a full-on Narnian war in the Garden? Yes, my mind goes there.

I do love a good sword fight. The chink and clash of ancient battles. The courageous “charge” – full speed ahead into death and bloodshed for the sake of honour and justice and true love. Okay, maybe it is my romantic side and one too many movies speaking… but have you thought about biblical swords before?

Apparently, the word “sword” appears 424 times in the King James Version of the Bible. The context is somewhat varied… many times in the Old Testament the sword was referenced in war, where enemies were “smitten” in battle. It was a great symbol of power and defence. Think about the angels who wielded their firey swords at the gate of the garden of Eden when man was cast out. A deterrent. A symbol of strength and power.

The sword was also a symbol for anything that inflicted pain on another. The tongue or the actions of a promiscuous woman. Danger, danger! Be warned by such things. Or, let’s think about the double-edged sword. Extra sharp for the deep cuts to the bone… often needed when speaking about God’s judgement. How sharply are we cut down by our own faults and sins. God’s word (the sword of truth) is part of the whole armour of God as we go out to fight the spiritual battles before us.

 “It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions”

(Heb 4:12). 

My studies tell me that a “two-edged sword” marks its own meaning. A double-edged sword is tricky, in that it is sharper and does more damage, potentially, but the damage is not only reflected towards your enemy, as one sharp edge is still pointing towards you as you wield it! (FYI, if you say that something is a double-edged sword, you may be referring to an Arabic expression that basically says if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways.)

So. A lot of info out there about ancient swords. And a lot of symbolic meaning behind such weaponry. And Peter’s little dagger? Yeah, a common tool used by the men of his day. The people Jesus spoke to would have understood about swords and their uses. They would have wielded them honourably in defence. Do we do the same with our sword of Truth? Do we use it as a defence against the rhetoric of today’s world? Do we say: “the Bible tells me blank in answer to your question or statement”. Perhaps Google is our go-to instead. Or Alexa before Jesus. I’m afraid I’m not like Peter coming to Jesus’ rescue when He is questioned.

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Yes, indeed the sword is a powerful tool. We must learn to use it well in battle, my friends.