I hope everyone enjoyed the trip to the synagogue! If you have any questions that come up about it in your meetings in the next several weeks, let me know (through the blog if possible, so we can all look at them together!)
One person asked me about the story of the man who went into the Red Sea up to his nose, causing the sea to part. Didn't Moses part the sea? this person asked. Well, according to the Bible, yes (although it was really God who did the thing anyway!) The story the Rabbi told was from a collection of ancient writings called the "Mishnah." Mishnah tells stories about what isn't in the Bible. Like, with the story of the Red Sea, the Bible tells us that the waters parted, but now how they parted. The story in the Mishnah is that no one had faith enough to trust that God would part the waters and let them walk through on dry ground. It wasn't until one man walked into the sea up to his nose--trusting that God would protect him--that God knew the people had enough faith to trust him. It may or may not have happened that way (most scholars agree probably not), but it makes for a good story about faith! The Jewish people have a different approach to the Bible than we Christians do--for them, the Bible is a starting point for great stories about faith. Sometimes we Christians take the Bible too much at its word, and we're afraid to imagine "What if?" What if we were standing at the Red Sea, and God told us to walk into the water? What would you do?
Discuss.
--Pastor D.
p.s.--Keep your eyes on this space for details about our next field trip!
Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Don't Forget!
I am eagerly anticipating our first field trip!
If you have not already met with your confirmand/mentor, please plan to do so before this trip.
Remember, we will be meeting at the church on May 17th at 9:45 a.m., leaving at 10:00 a.m., and plan on having lunch following the service at Congregation Rodef Sholom.
It's good to be home after General Conference!
--Pastor D
Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.
If you have not already met with your confirmand/mentor, please plan to do so before this trip.
Remember, we will be meeting at the church on May 17th at 9:45 a.m., leaving at 10:00 a.m., and plan on having lunch following the service at Congregation Rodef Sholom.
It's good to be home after General Conference!
--Pastor D
Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
