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Praying about the flow of time: The Feast of Tabernacles calls us to stay fluid and flexible

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 15 2024

Twenty years ago, I heard a sermon that stayed in my memory. The preacher set up a contrast between tents and buildings. He said it was no accident that God’s people lived in tents for so long while wandering in the desert. He said God had a purpose in refusing David’s request to build a temple (2 Samuel 7). God wanted the Ark of the Covenant, God’s presence with the people, to stay in a tent so it could easily travel with the people.

The minister talked about the way tents keep us flexible and fluid. God can guide us more easily...

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Praying about the flow of time: A month of celebrating renewal and moral responsibility

Lynne Baab • Wednesday October 9 2024

Think back on the first two weeks of January, perhaps this year or a past year. After the celebrations on New Year’s Eve and whatever pattern you have for New Year’s Day, what happens next for you? Do you settle easily back into work after the holidays? Do you kick yourself around for eating too much in those food-filled days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s? Do you start a diet or recommit to an exercise plan?

I wonder how many cultures have a period of intentional reflection right after celebrating the New Year. The Jewish High Holidays, a cluster of holy days...

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Praying about the flow of time: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year

Lynne Baab • Thursday October 3 2024

Because Rosh Hashanah is this week, I’ve been pondering New Year’s celebrations. God created us and placed us on this beautiful earth with rhythms of day and night as well as the rhythms of seasons. I wonder if yearly rhythms are imprinted in us, and we feel a need to mark one place in the yearly cycle as an end and beginning. I wonder if we need New Year’s celebrations to nudge us to reflect on the past and experience hope for the future with others.

Of course, January 1 or Rosh Hashanah are not the only New Year’s celebrations. Many New...

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Praying about the flow of time: The Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels

Lynne Baab • Wednesday September 25 2024

Michaelmas daisies bloom in the fall and come in various shades of purple, pink, and white. I first heard about Michaelmas daisies in a novel set in England that I read as a young adult. At that time, I thought “Michaelmas” was an odd name for a fall-blooming daisy. I had no idea Michaelmas is a day in the church calendar, originally celebrating the archangel Michael. Later, two other archangels, Gabriel and Raphael, were added to the day.

Michaelmas is observed in Western Christianity on September 29 and on November 8 for Christians in the Eastern traditions. The suffix “mas” comes from...

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