This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Kadesh means “sanctuary,” and derives from the same Hebrew root that gives us the word for “holy,” and it is the place in the wilderness where the Israelites stop before they make their promised entry into the land flowing with milk and […]
Acrostic Contemplations
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Lament is missing in our society today. We are withering emotionally for the lack of the ability (and acceptability) to lament, both corporately and individually. Lamentation is the powerful and public expression our grief and sorrow and we no longer know how […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Memory is a fraught and fickle thing. What may seem certain and fixed in our minds as fact may be, to another rememberer, something entirely different. Something we may desperately […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Nunc Dimittis is the Latin title given to the prayer or poem uttered by Simeon upon seeing Jesus. In the Vulgate it begins, Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine. “Now you are dismissing your servant in peace, Lord.” Simeon was a faithful man […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Orpah is the legal, first name of the TV personality better known as Oprah. Yes, it’s true, Orpah Gayle Winfrey was named after the biblical character Orpah. Like many female figures in the Bible, very little is known about Orpah which results […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Patience; I don’t have much of it. At least it doesn’t feel that way to me. I have been told by some that they think I am extremely patient and careful, taking my time with people and projects to wait for the […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Quail. God sent quail. (Or quails, both are acceptable for the plural.) When the Israelites needed sustenance on their journey in the wilderness, God sent quail and manna. No one is quite sure exactly what manna was, it could very likely be […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Restore, regard, redemption, resurrection, repair, respite…again and again we find the prefix “re” in English. From the Latin re, it is an inseparable prefix meaning “back” or “again.” Even a moment’s reflection reveals why we find it so often in our language. […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Saints, for many Protestants, are a concept that is foreign, associated with the Catholic Church, candles, and idolatry. Certainly, that is the image that I grew up with, yet as I came to understand the Bible and the history of the Church […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Trust is the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something; confidence or faith in a person or thing, or in an attribute of a person or thing.” So says the Oxford English Dictionary. While time is […]