30 March, 2010

Fête de la Pâque

Yesterday night my Jews began Pesach (Passover).
The bulk of the money I've earned from casual work since 8th March is a direct result of their Pesach prep. at school;
as a former Music teacher there, I was hired as their piano accompanist for all their demonstration Seders. (A seder is pretty much the Passover meal, in modern orthodox Jewish style).

The parents come and watch their kids going through the motions of the ceremony - the praying, the saying, the blessing, the eating and of course the singing.

As a result of my work, I now have a string of Pesach songs that are continually jumping about in my head (like the plague of frogs sent in EX. 8).

It may be the one time of the year my Jews admit to ever having been slaves to anyone:
Avadim hayinu, l'pharo b'mitzrayim,
Ata b'nai chorin, b'nai chorin

("We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt – now we are free.")

I often thought during rehearsal, of their forefathers talking to the Son:
"We are Abraham's descendants
and have never been slaves to anyone..
"
- JOHN 8:33


And like me, they really like Elijah the prophet, with a song that I think I had to play at least 12 times during the Seders:
Eliyahu ha-Navi,
Eliyahu ha-Tishbi,
Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu ha-Giladi.
Bimhayrah v'yamenu, yavo aleynu, im Mashiach ben David,
Im Mashiach ben David.

("Elijah, the prophet .. Elijah, the Tishbite .. Elijah the Gileadite
In haste and in our days, may he come to us
With the Messiah, son of David. ")

And here is that sting:
"But I tell you, Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognise him,
but have done to him everything they wished.
In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.
"
- MATTHEW 17:12
________________

During my Pesach music gigs, there were times where I felt quite sad (to the point of tears).

If you know the Scriptures as I do, I think I don't need to explain why.

At this point it is important to grip ROMANS chapters 9, 10 and 11 very tightly indeed!

L/T.

28 March, 2010

Je ne sais pas ce qui arrivera demain (A)

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to grey.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.


Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.


(1st verse of hymn, "I know Who holds tomorrow"
- lyrics & music by Ira Stanphill, circa 1950)

Full lyrics (complete with errors in punctuation/grammar) can also be viewed.

Whoever said "no-one wants hymns anymore" needs to damn well WAKE UP.

L/T.

21 March, 2010

Une pensée folle de temps en temps

Just occasionally over the course of a week, my thoughts & feelings about where life is heading can seem a little like this.

Looks happy & harmless, until you realise what ballet this clip is from. And precisely where, in Act I, this little solo occurs.

(And yet, at the same time, I can see marked similarities between the synopsis of this particular ballet & the good news of Jesus in the Bible. Yes, it sounds quite unusual, but it's true - there are matching elements! Love, death, mercy & forgiveness undeserved..)

L/T.

Retour: Plus du fils de Zébédée

While I may have been publicly quiet about the gospel of John the apostle
- owing to lots of casual/supply Music teaching & accompanist work -
I have continued my personal quest for answers to my original ponderings..

..How to know God?.. (..and..)

..How to know what He wants/wills for us?..
_______________

JEAN ch. 9 et 10

Once again, John seems to be saying that we can only know God because HE wanted it, & acted to bring it about..

e.g. through Jesus, the One whom He sent to show & tell us about Himself (ch.9, verses 4 and 33; also ch.10, verses 25, 32 and 36)

e.g. because He came to find us
(ch.9, verse 35;
..ALSO, have a look at Luke's recorded parables of the lost sheep & lost coin..)

e.g. like a shepherd who gives life/cares for, knows & brings out His sheep
(ch.10, verses 2, 10-11 & 28, 13-14 & 27 as well as verse 16).


And for us to know God, just as it was in previous Johannine chapters, it's about believing in Jesus, & believing what He tells us
(ch.9, verses 35-38; then ch.10, verses 25-26, 37-38 and 42).

Knowing what He wants here, is about listening to Jesus' words/voice & to those who testify about Him
(ie. as recorded in Scripture;
see ch. 9, verse 27, where the man born blind talks to the Pharisaic Jews..
and ch.10, verses 40-41, as people across the river Jordan recall what John the Baptist said about Jesus - "all that John said about this man was true";..
..from verses 3 & 8, 16, 20 and 27 of ch. 10, the importance of listening to God seems evident..
..& once again - like a broken record, or a damaged compact disc in an old CD player - I note that my friend John the son of Zebedee has mentioned this many times in the preceding chapters of the gospel God led him to write).

As above, so below?

L/T.

18 March, 2010

Bon anniversaire: Un ami de longtemps

Today is the birthday of one of my longest-standing mates, Simon Kritsotakis.

We made friends during a French language crash-course for our last year of high school (last century, hehe), and I'm not quite sure how, but - in spite of our completely different worldviews - my heavenly Father has kept the friendship intact. And given me quite passable communication skills in French as a result of it (we went through uni. together too).

Happy birthday Simon!

L/T.

07 March, 2010

À propos de la prière

Deux milles et un
Just over eight years ago, while my teaching career was in germination stage, I did a prac. with a class of thirty-one Year 4 students. In that class of 20 boys & 11 girls was one student from a Christian & church-going background.

I remember with great fondness that whole class, though they weren't the easiest bunch to work with as a group. It's hard to believe that now most of them have completed high school. But it was in 2001, that year, when I first began to pray for students I was teaching - for the salvation of the unbelieving & the genuinely-proved/maturing faith of those in Christian or churchgoing families.

Now it's 2010, & to my delight, I recently learned that the student mentioned in my 1st paragraph is yes, genuinely Christian still, & actively so.

Deux mille deux
A year after that 2001 prac., I did a teaching internship at an Anglican school, with fifty Year 5 boys. I had but one term teaching them, & my prayers for them were the same as for previous students
- with the added request to the Father from time to time, that for those who grew into committed Christians, they would develop into godly leaders of the future.

One of those fifty boys is now doing a GAP year at the same school. Is a Christian. Is interested in further training for ministry. Is under the leadership of much older Christian brothers whom I go to church with each Sunday morning. Is currently helping look after children of my Bible-study friends - all young/ish mothers - so that they can get more out of Bible-study time!

I had no idea, when I began praying around 8 years ago, that I would see an answer beyond what I could ask or imagine.

That 8 years after starting to pray those little prayers for my [then] little students would result in them coming to help out in my own church.

That wasn't specifically what I prayed over the last 8 years. But I'll receive it with thanksgiving!!
________________

Moral of story:
Pray.
Without.
Ceasing.

You never know what God will do, eight years down the track.

Words cannot describe Him!!

L/T.