Recently, some words I had read before in Psalm 107 struck me with new force: “Let them sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 107:22). I’m sure the Psalmist wasn’t thinking of our American Thanksgiving holiday when he wrote; neither the nation nor its holiday existed then. And I’m not thinking primarily of the thank offering to which he probably referred. (See Leviticus 7:11-21; a thank offering was a “peace offering for thanksgiving.”) I’m not Jewish, and that was thousands of years ago. Still, I have wondered: What could my “sacrifice of thanksgiving” be, and how might I offer it? And for what ought I to be thankful?
Tag: sacrifice
Christmas Reminds Me
During this Christmas season, I’ve been noting the many reminders the season brings for me. By nature they are not new thoughts, but Christmas reminds me of important things, I think.
Some reminders are connected to my personal circumstances, from which yours may differ in essential ways. Some are matters of my particular faith. Some are controversial, but I’ll list them here anyway — and try to resist the temptation to explain at length how each applies to the world as I see it. Feel free to make your own connections, if you will.
Lenten Reflections
In the Protestant tradition, today is the last day of Lent. (The precise span is different in other traditions.) Unlike most of the Christian world, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t formally observe Lent. Our awareness of it tends to be shallow and cultural, not deep and devotional.
As in: People give things up for Lent, right? Like chocolate and reality television? Just to prove they can? Things they love and to which they intend to return? — because if they were things they should give up anyway, they wouldn’t wait for Lent, and their abstinence wouldn’t end with Lent, would it?
As in: Lent appears from the outside to be a needed respite after the day- or weeks-long bacchanal of Mardi Gras, an orgy of fleshly pleasures so intense that it takes participants six and a half weeks to detoxify (physically and/or spiritually) sufficiently that they can walk into church on Easter in a straight line and with a straight face.
This is a shallow, ignorant view of Lent. Let’s take it more seriously for a few moments here.
New Perspective
You’ve already guessed that I’ve begun to think more seriously of Lent. A favorite Christian blogger, Kim Hall (at GivenBreath.com) has been helping me, even if she doesn’t know it. In a lesser way, my Mormon bishop (pastor) helped this year, too. So did some people whose names, roles, and troubles I will not mention beyond this sentence, who have turned to me in recent weeks for counsel, comfort, or simply a listening ear.