Hello Schuylkill News readers. Thank you for coming!
Now we can continue a conversation I broached at the beginning of January. (see more below)
If you haven’t read the latest (free) issue of Schuylkill-News, click here to find distribution locations, or do a search for “Schuylkill-News,” on this facebook link, to see the full layout.
On this “January Epiphanies” theme, let’s first reflect for a moment on the quote seen in the article:
“Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: Who can take away suffering without entering it?”-Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)
I encourage you to leave comments, thoughts, questions, or answer in reply to this question I now pose:
*When has someone entered your life or struggles, to help you. Or, when have you done this for someone else?(Anonymous comments are welcome, too.)
*In your opinion, what are some things we learn from these times of surprising grace?
Right now, Christine Sine at Godspace has many insightful and creative posts, guest posts, and informative that revolve around the Season of Advent. I was delighted to dig around and read it today. I highly encourage you to check it out.
Self-test: Is the Holy Spirit like a York Peppermint Patty?
Some of you won’t remember the goofy York Peppermint Patty commercials of long ago, but thanks to the marvel of technology, you can view a couple retro ad pieces right now to either refresh your memory, or thank God you were not routinely subjected to such silliness.
After you watch the short video, have some fun and take this self-test to see how you score.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaVTrIjoqo4&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Self-test:
Answer true or false, and add up your scores.
1. When you hear the word “Holy Ghost” you get “shivers.” (You prefer the less weird term “Holy Spirit.”)
2. Spiritual things are sometimes what you would call “spine-tingling”.
3. When eating minty candy, sometimes you feel a cool draft, or get a bit of a chill.
4. Watching shows like Ghost Hunters is fairly tempting.
5. You like to say “God bless you” when others sneeze–and now that you think of it, a dry and powerful sneeze seems practically other-worldly. (A wet one is just plain gross.)
6. If chocolate was served instead of bread at Communion, you would look forward to going to church more often.
7. The idea of dressing up as the Holy Ghost has never crossed your mind, yet you realize drinking some milk when eating chocolate makes sense.
8. If it were not sacrilegious, or highly odd, you could imagine the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) as a good choice for the pitchman for York Peppermint Patty and saying, “Get the (cool) sensation,” in a dry humor sort of way.
9. You can imagine Jesus eating and enjoying a York Peppermint Patty.
(Perhaps you can relate to this scenario: If you had two, and if he was physically there, you would give him one. If you had one, you would split it, but maybe you would have a brief conflict of conscience thinking of hiding it, or not mentioning it. After realizing that he would know anyways you would hope he wouldn’t mind if you kept the whole thing. Maybe you’d look at him in the eyes to check for a “knowing look,” after you averted eye contact for a little bit, first.)
10. You are finding that something simple like a York Peppermint Patty can somehow remind you of God, and yet make you a bit hungry for candy at the same time.
Scoring:
If you got more than 5 True answers you have made an irrevocable connection between a minty chocolate treat and one, or more, of the three persons of God. Use this connection wisely. It may help integrate your spirituality and draw you into a more intimate relationship with God, in everyday ways. On the other hand, you could get terribly fat filling a huge spiritual void with empty calories, and go to hell in the process.
Okay, I’m not really sure about that last part, but I do think something could go wrong in this whole setup, I’m just not completely sure what. And also, the test really isn’t scientific, in case you were wondering.
If you had fun, got a laugh, were the least bit amused, or even got mad, please tell a few people to drop by and visit to take the self-test for themselves. Then, they’ll get their own sensation.
Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.
-Lisa, peppermint patty lover, God lover, and putting on the pounds with various chocolates.
Today, we’ll reflect on the arrival of Jesus as Day Spring. It is a strange visual for winter, and of course, Jesus was not actually born at the time of year when we celebrate his birth. But, the reminder of hope and new birth at the time of darkest night during the winter season is powerful indeed.
3rd verse of O come, O come, Emmanuel -written in the 12th century (in Latin). Translated into English by John Mason Neale in 1851.
When I read this Advent post by Doug about pondering, it didn’t take too long for me to decide I wanted to share it with all of you. Please enjoy it as we enter this powerful season of the year.
