Play Your Hand V

LAVISH INCENSE

See other reflections:
Erin
Schweer's Mom on Family Food Traditions
Schweer's Mom
Erin's Blog Post on Lavish Incense

Scent for the King

Song of Songs 3:6 - Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?

Say three words—gold, (frank)incense, and myrrh—and what do most people think? Yes, magi bringing gifts to the Baby Jesus.

Did you know we also find gold, incense, and myrrh in Song of Songs. “Gold” appears five times, “incense” three times, and “myrrh” seven times.

Of this trilogy, we find “myrrh” most often, so let’s take a closer look at it. The beloved says her lover is a sachet of myrrh. Later she says he smells like myrrh. And then he’s dripping with myrrh. There’s no doubt about it—she definitely associates him with myrrh.

We know myrrh was and is a perfume, but a quick glance through the entire Bible tells us that it appears more often in association with scenting men than women.

“Myrrh” means “bitter.” And myrrh was used for more than providing fragrance on special occasions. It also deadened pain. And people used it to prepare the dead for burial. Jesus turned down wine mixed with myrrh when He hung from the cross. And Nicodemus brought about seventy-five pounds of spices, including myrrh, so he could prepare Jesus’ body before it was placed in the tomb.

Because so many of us read the New Testament a lot more than we read the Old, we may associate myrrh more with death than with life. I’ve heard it said, for example, that the myrrh that the magi brought to the Christ Child foreshadowed Jesus’ death. The person who said it thought the wise men consciously brought a substance associated with death to give to the Baby Jesus, knowing He was born to die.

Now, what would you think if someone gave you a casket or a headstone as a baby gift? Imagine the conversation! “Here, I hope you like it. I brought you some toys, and some booties, and some expensive embalming fluid. We’re all terminal cases….”

The wise men had no idea that Jesus was going to die to save us from our sins. Even His own disciples didn’t get it. Only Mary of Bethany, Lazarus’s sister, who anointed Jesus’ feet before the crucifixion, appears to have understood “before the fact” that our Savior had to die before He would reign as King.

Reigning as king—that’s why the magi brought myrrh. It was a gift fit for a king. Consider Esther, who, before her “night with the king,” spent six months treating herself with oil of myrrh (Esth. 2:12). Centuries later when the magi found Herod, they asked the location of the one born King of the Jews, saying they had come to worship Him (Matt. 2:2). And when they came to the house and found Him, they fell down in worship, offering that King their gifts.

In Psalm 45:6-8 we read, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad.”

The focus on loss in association with the myrrh brought by the magi to Jesus misses the strong association of myrrh with riches, royalty, and celebration. When Matthew wrote his gospel, he was presenting Jesus Christ as Israel's long-awaited royal Messiah. And the gifts of the magi were gifts worthy of His Majesty--the one coming to reign in glory.

Celebrate His coming and His return!

(Adapted from Solomon Latte, used with permission.)

Contemplative Christmas V

This is our final week of the SoulPerSuit Contemplative Christmas.

I hope you'll stick around and join us for this last theme, because even though the presents are opened, the Christmas musical extravaganzas are concluded, the family photos taken, and the figgy pudding eaten, there is still plenty more going on with the Christmas story. Lots of opportunities to respond.

You can find our previous collective thoughts (and add your own) here:

Week I- Barn Smells
Week II- Bright Light
Week III- Singing
Week VI- Cradled in Arms

Throughout the month of December, SoulPerSuit has been inviting folks to reflect on a theme phrase pertaining to the Nativity. We also offer one or two Shuffle the Deck activities to kick start your creative thinking. All the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and sensations of this Christmas season are at your disposal- you just need your Bible and your imagination.

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This week's theme is:
Lavish incense

Optional Shuffle The Deck activities to get things rolling:

1) There are certain foods that are a tradition this time of year and every family is different. Do you know where those traditions started? Why are these so important? What do these traditions do for the season or family gathering? When is the food served?
Create a recipe card or write a short story about the food and the tradition. Decorate the card or story with clippings, photos, or drawings.

2) Cook a new recipe to ring in the New Year. Try something from an ethnic tradition or region different than your normal fare.

A couple of websites to begin with:
All Recipes
Recipe Source
Epicurious
Recipe Zaar
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So, what next? We are hopeful that the Holy Spirit will lead you in worship over the next week.
If you'd like to worship and reflect quietly then you don't need to do anything.
If you create a piece of artwork or have thoughts you'd like to share publicly (or you're new here and wondering what we're up to), click here to see what we're up to.

I'll have the Word with a side of...

My small group is going through Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz". In chapter four, he tells the story of how his friend, Penny, became a Christian. Penny started reading the Bible with her Christian friend, Nadine.

"Yes. We would eat chocolates and smoke cigarettes and read the Bible, which is the only way to do it, if you ask me. Don, the Bible is so good with chocolate. I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn't. It is a chocolate thing."

The current online SPS group is going through Proverbs. In one of their recent IM chats someone said,

"Well ladies I must say this is the most unique context in which I've done Bible study...sitting in bed, with my laptop, 2 dogs, and a husband who just brought me a glass of wine."

My Bible goes well with a superb coffee crumb cake and a smooth cappuccino. It's easy to manage and taken in with small bites slowly over what seems like an endless amount of time. It has a constant underlying sweetness with mements of bitter.

So, what does your Bible go good with?

Sense of Taste

Engage your sense of taste...

Chocolate covered pretzels. Chex mix. Wassail. Sugar cookies. Almond Roca. Sharp cheddar cheeseball rolled in pecans. Carrot pudding with rum sauce (see picture). These are the flavors that come with the season in our house.

What about you? What foods say "Christmas" at your place?

Starving Artists

Amy Grant has been said to pack away the Lays potato chips during her recording sessions. The grease lines her throat and gives her, well... a greasy, throaty sound, I guess.

James Bond likes his martinis shaken, not stirred.

Back in the days when I made scrapbooks into the wee hours, all the women at the crops brought their favorite snacks to keep them chugging around the clock. Carrot sticks, Diet Coke with ice chips (not cubes, it must be ice chips), peanut M&M's, and Arby's roast beef sandwiches.


So, when you're in the creative groove, what is your favorite munchie to keep at hand?

Chicken Wing Confession

On Wednesday there were big predictions for snow, sleet and freezing rain for the next day. Before a single flake had fallen, the hyperactive schools were already issuing closings and the power company started running their public service announcements on what to do if you have a power outage. The hype was big. There was definitely a steady snow the next morning and the excitement was climbing.

Considering the very warm winter we've been having, everybody wanted to see some real winter weather – even my boss. He announced that he was taking everybody to lunch and then we'd probably be heading home. The temperature was dropping and the sleet had started.

There were about fourteen of us at lunch. Everybody was in a good mood and talking about what they were going to order. Some jokes were made about how I would order chicken wings and then eat only two of them. It was true. The boss usually ordered appetizers all around and I would fill up on cheese fries and then not be able to eat my wings.

When I go out for lunch I always think about leftovers. It's a habit I got into years ago when I did WeighDown. I also think about My Geek and what we're having for dinner or lunch the next day. Since I was going to have leftovers anyway, I decided this time to order 25 wings instead of the smallest order of ten, that way I knew there would be plenty to take home. I told the waitress, "Go ahead and bring a to go box. I'll take the rest home for dinner."

The moment that sinful mound of food was placed in front of me I had a terrible realization. My boss was paying for everybody's lunch and I just announced that I was going to double my order so I could take home dinner! And my boss was sitting next to me. My intention was not to take advantage of his generosity but that certainly looked and sounded like what I was doing.

I had no idea what I was going to fix this situation. I had already eaten my fill of cheese fries and, sure enough, after about two chicken wings, I was full. But the only solution I could think of was to eat all the chicken wings. As I was digging in, I noticed one of my coworkers staring at the wings and then at me. That made me feel even worse – he also caught on that I was taking advantage of the company. I was stuffed so I relented after four wings and had the remaining ones packed up to take back to the office.

My guilt and embarrassment was getting worse and I still thought I needed to eat these wings before the workday was over. I started my "snack" time about 30 minutes after getting back to the office, making sure to eat whenever anyone came to use the copier next to my office so that they could see I was eating what I had ordered. Believe it or not, it took me a long time to come to the realization that I was making myself sick and I needed to run to the bank, get some cash and make things right with my boss.

I told him that I was embarrassed for splurging at lunch but hadn't intended on taking advantage of his generosity. I always order extra for dinner and I just wasn't thinking. He just laughed and told me that he didn't even notice and not to think twice about it. He made a point of thanking me for saying something to him and to "enjoy." It was tough to go in there and confess but it wasn't nearly as difficult as trying to eat 25 chicken wings. I called home to check-in. When we discussed dinner I said, "I'm full but you’re having chicken wings."

Food is Art

Look at this little slide show of new, unique food presetation techniques. Beautiful, creative, yummy.

What's better than art and coffee! Check out the fabulous art on The Newtown Coffee Company packaging. The names of these coffees remind me of the new Coffee Cup Bible Study Series coming out by Sandra Glahn (AMG Publishers). Pass a biscotto.