The life of the party
A laugh waiting to be
Fond of time with others
Living gregariously
And what does he do
When friends and acquaintances depart?
He heads off to chat with folks
At the all-night Walmart
Padre
Life of the Party
Writing
Jubilee
Many of you may not realise it, but Jubilee is spelled with several Rs. These include Rest, Redemption and Release.
REST
The fundamental model of rest is the Sabbath. Genesis 2:1-3 in the King James Version states, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
God went on to remind us of this rest and even provided for it in the wilderness:
| Exodus16:29 “Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” |
Later He commanded it in Exodus 20: 8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God”
He didn’t stop there however. He extended the idea of a sabbath day with a sabbath year. We find the sabbath year in Exodus 23:10-11:
“For six years you are to sow your land and to gather in its produce, but in the seventh, you are to let it go and to let it be that the needy of your people may eat, and what remains, the wildlife of the field shall eat. Do thus with your vineyard, with your olive grove.”
He again extended the provision for rest with the Jubilee, the seventh cycle of sabbath years. With the year following that seventh as Jubilee. “A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be to you; in it you shall neither sow, not reap what grows of itself, nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat what it yields out of the field (Leviticus 25, 11-12).”
This year was a release and redemption from contracts. In the Jubilee year –, that is the 50th year there was a reset. Contracts closed, and slaves were set free to return to their communities. But also God provided that those in need were not neglected in the run up to the Jubilee just because of the fear of economic loss. He commanded that the people not to refrain from lending (Deuteronomy 15:9).
This refreshing or reset lead to ultimate release of debt and of slavery
Jesus took Deuteronomy 15 to a spiritual fulfilment. “We are redeemed and bought with a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us “You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.”
Interestingly, Jesus was crucified on a Friday (on the eve of Sabbath) – He did not put off the purchase just because the Sabbath was on the way, He paid the price in the full knowledge that the release of debts was at hand.
Also note that Jesus was in the tomb of sabbath – the ultimate rest.
He rose on the first day of the week. The day following the Sabbath rest – a time when His work was entering Jubilee – remember His words “It is finished” or my work is done and in so doing we were freed in the Jubilee, a time when our slavery is ended, in which the poor can glean the blessings of what the master had sewn. We are free indeed, and we too have entered into an age of restoration and into the promise of eternal rest.
Padre
Based on my sermon notes from a couple of weeks ago.
Bibliotech
Psychology and Philosophy
The spiritual and religiosity
Humanity and various social stuff
Followed by various lingos to help you bluff
Science and sources technical
Art, novels, poems and things
History and geography – with countries, kings and queens
Then the little table there
Dictionaries, guides, and such
They are for reference, but not referred to much
Padre
At Midnight
Don’t get up, go back to sleep
Enjoy your dreams, in slumber sweet
I have things running – through my mind
To rouse you over them would not be kind
Do not worry, I am okay
But I need to deal with it in my own way
A little research for my questions to address
Then I’ll cuddle back down and have my rest
Padre
There Upon A Porch
It was “a secure delivery”
A safe space your package to receive
For who would steal much less look for it
On the doormat for all to see
So on the porch it was placed
And a reference clearly made
That it was “handed to the customer”
Though no such effort had been made
Padre
Seekers
Uitstep, sortie, venture, explore
To leave behind the familiar
To look for something more
But why is it for things that differ
That many tend to seek
Rather that to be contented
With your own life that is unique
Padre
Best Laid Plans
Boris scratched his head and wondered how things could have possibly gone so wrong. The trap had been planned meticulously with every detail checked and double checked by Pottsylvania’s cleverest minds. Fearless Leader himself had reviewed and approved the scheme. Yet, once again the Bullwinkle and Rocky walked away unscathed.
“I am sure we did everything correctly,” Boris muttered.
“Well, not everything,” Natasha corrected.
“What do you mean?”
“You were supposed to wait for Moose and Squirrel fall over before opening the pit.”
“How was I to know the moose would step over the banana peel?” Boris asked defensively.
Padre
A Name Above
There is a name above the rest
Through which all the world is blessed
“God saves,” in the English tongue
Joshua or Jesus, the holy one
Before that name every knee shall bend
And confess Him as the saviour
That God did send
Padre
Based on my sermon notes from today (Philippians 2)
Rhythm?
Is there a rhythm to the seasons,
A pattern of things keeping beat?
Blooms of the spring-tide and warm summer’s green
By autumn’s colours replaced, while awaiting winter’s sleet
It seems to me less than musical
But rather more of a frantic race
Each season jockeying for position
Seeking a momentary trophy to win
But it is a victory far from lasting
As the competition elbows in
Padre
The Dance
bright treetop stagecraft
orange and yellow ablaze
breeze-choreographed
Autumn’s ballerinas leap
performance full of delight
Padre
Padre's Ramblings 