Tsoureki

After I arrive at playgroup every week, I take $10 from the cash box and take a short walk around the corner to see what I can buy for morning tea. The menu is not fixed but I seem to have evolved a system of serving fruit, something sweet, some crackers and cheese. There were crackers in the cupboard and parents bring fruit so I just had to figure out something sweet and choose some cheese.

There were all kinds of specials happening this week, including Greek Easter bread (tsoureki) at half price so I decided to grab some of that. A whole loaf of toastable sweet bread for about $2.50 would provide the sweet treat for the littles as well as something to go with cups of coffee for the grown-ups. It was a bargain I couldn't go past.

Then I saw a new (to me) product: Sesame and Sumac hommous. maybe it was the alliteration in the name or maybe it was the prospect of trying something with sumac but I decided to ditch the cheese idea and get the hommous instead.

One of the grandmas was very taken with the tsoureki and she turned to another grandma near by, asking her to try it. I knew that grandma number 2 had come to Australia from some European place a long time ago and there was a good chance she was already familiar with tsoureki. She graciously took a piece of the shop-bought bread and quietly told me that she makes her own every easter. It takes half a day. She impressed on me the name of the flavouring agent "mahlepi" and we chatted about the long process of raising and kneading the dough. It was a sweet moment of connection for me.

Several people wanted to know where to buy the bread and what was the dip that had the kids so keen to eat. It was a remarkable success, though I could have done without the many, many crumbs that seemed to multiply as they fell!

Boom to Bust

Every day I receive emails from advocacy groups, petitioning me for financial contributions or asking me to lend my voice to various causes. Governments and corporations are the targets and I am reminded that our current federal government was elected by the people. If my inbox is to be believed, the people are not overly happy with their elected representatives so either, the unhappy few whose petitions I receive were the ones voted for "someone else" or the ones who did vote for this government have become disillusioned.
Of course we know that this is the way with humanity, with leadership and loyalty; almost every leader eventually becomes unpopular. The fall from grace in any relationship happens when the honeymoon ends and the "beloved" is finally seen as human and fallible. In the political arena (as with the personal) the expectation may have been unrealistic to start with or the politician might just fall victim to their inability to please enough of the people enough of the time......
Back to Australian politics: I think about the last election and I know that mostly, this government was elected not for their policies and promises but for the fact that they were not the incumbents at the time, they were elected to be the saviours from a weak and fragmented Labour Party and it wasn't very sound reasoning. Our collective dislike of our previous leadership has led to a situation where the new, anticipated saviour is eroding public freedoms, human rights, education, technological progress and  environmental protections.
Our political reality parallels in some ways with the events of Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, summarised here:

"...the praise the people lavished on Jesus was not because they recognized Him as their Messiah. They welcomed Him out of their desire for a deliverer, someone who would lead them in a revolt against Rome. .... But when He failed in their expectations, when He refused to lead them in a massive revolt against the Roman occupiers, .....the crowds quickly turned on Him. Within just a few days, their Hosannas would change to cries of “Crucify Him!” Those who hailed Him as a hero would soon reject and abandon Him."

http://www.gotquestions.org/triumphal-entry.html#ixzz2yxTgYs3v

In both cases the people (rightly or wrongly) place an expectation on the saviour, in both cases they become bitter when their expectations go unmet. In the case of Australian politics there may not have been enough attention paid to what was actually being promised, in the case of Jesus' significance as a leader there was a fundamental misunderstanding of the promise.

As I reflect on the state of my country and on this pivotal week in the life of the church I am led to consider some questions, not just for my nation or my own life and spiritual journey but questions for all of humanity, individually and in our various collectives, at all times: What is it that we want saving from? Is that a realistic hope? Is that where the real danger lies? and where should we look for the salvation we need?

it's friday.....

......but sunday's comin'

is the slogan in a video sermon i saw in church today. i thought it was a great motif so i did some googling and found that it is one of, if not the most famous, Good Friday sermon of recent times. i guess i'm not up with trends in Christian media.

on the very first easter friday Jesus was cruelly crucified. only a week earlier Jesus had made his triumphant entry to Jerusalem and was lauded, something like a celebrity. there was an atmosphere of goodwill and generosity in Jerusalem but the crowds were fickle and in the following days we see a smorgasbord of humanity's ugliness with Jesus suffering betrayal, pain, abandonment and the results of cowardice. on friday Jesus was alone, humiliated, suffering mentally and physically before being executed.

at daybreak on sunday Jesus was alive, whole and walking in the garden. walking at daybreak is serene, life affirming, healthy and uplifting. for a Christian His new life means that all the forces of evil are defeated. it's an exciting prospect if one can cope with the admittedly mind bending metaphysics.

anyone who knows me knows that i struggle as much as anybody with some of the big ideas of Christianity, that i cant and wont try to convince anyone that there is a God, cant adequately explain suffering, dont know nearly enough to explain the contradictions of the bible and am sometimes dismayed by the church. regardless of all of that, i am happy to say that i know Jesus and wish to be like Him. the great message of easter, the overwhelming, fantastic, unbelievable story is the guiding, reassuring light of my life but some days the light is dim: i have my fridays, i watch other people suffer their fridays, sometimes it seems that it's friday 31 days a month.

today the hopeful message of easter for me was simply that sunday, day of health, serenity and life, is coming!

to all of you, i wish you a life made up of lots and lots of sundays!

At the time of the big Christian Holy days, Easter and Christmas, I'm usually aware that my perspective and experience of these times is rather more secular than maybe it could be. Like pretty much everyone else my Christmases are dominated by thoughts of festive foods and family gatherings, holidays and gifts. I view Easter as time to catch my breath with a long weekend, time to eat hot cross buns and chocolate. I spend some time reflecting and I go to church but these Holy times are not neccessarily times of great spiritual growth or revelation. Most of the time I live peacably with this truth, knowing that these things can't be forced and thinking little of it but today was different.

At work I made the comment that Good Friday is little more important to me than any other day and then I had to figure out why.

Two thousand years ago Jesus, Yeshua, was arrested, humiliated and executed during the time of the passover and He did it willingly, to save me from darkness.

So how is it that I can consider the marking of these horrific events little differently to any other day?

It's hard to relate to, I was not there, I live in a different time, a different place, a different culture.....

and it is too big to comprehend. Two thousand years ago a man suffered a torturous death for the benefit of all humanity to come. It's unimaginable.

Tomorrow, like every Good Friday, I will have a hot cross bun for breakfast, I will go to church and reflect, I will hope for a grey, sombre day to remind me of His pain and death and I will put aside some aspects of everyday living.

Good Friday is only subtly different to everyday life and I like it that way. I don't want to indulge in grand but empty displays of religiosity. Good Friday is the day for me to remember a stupendous sacrifice but if I am to really pay my respects my remembering cannot be a yearly event, celebrated and forgotten, I must live every day in gratitude.

Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless. ~Charles M. Crowe

A Walk of Sorrows

In church today we were given black ribbons to wear, a reminder of our own ties to Jesus' walk to the cross. A walk of sorrows.

We were reminded that when we face personal walks of sorrow, whatever form they might take, we have an example in that most famous of condemned prisoners and I think the lessons bear repeating.

Jesus (or the softer Aramaic, Yeshua) accepted his suffering. We spend so much energy railing against our sorrows, against injustice and pain but if it is unavoidable we are better served by putting that energy into coping or even growing through the bad times.

Jesus prayed through that most agonising of walks.

Even in His suffering Jesus was concerned for others. I always think that if we can give any focus to others it prevents that ugly self absorption that is so abhorrent. It also can remind us of our blessings and remembering our blessings will make any cross a little easier to bear.

Finally, Yeshua forgave. Forgiving is freeing. Forgiving restores relationships. Forgiving dulls pain. Forgiving allows us to move forward. Forgiving keeps us gentle and sweet instead of hard and bitter.

In that walk to the cross Jesus showed himself to be a big man. A man of grace, of courage and of strength and beauty. I'll wear my black ribbon as a call to reflect some of the luminosity of my Christ.

Easter Day

This is a tibouchina in our front yard, Sydney is resplendent with them at this time of year.
I associate them with Easter, so my Easter can last a good couple of months, the chocolate eggs are rather shorter lived !
The fantastic purple is a wonderful colour, I couldn't possibly pick a favourite colour but this would be close and it reminds me of some great people who love purple along with me.
So....
there's lots of good stuff encapsulated in this shot: good friends, lovely autumn days, the beauty of a terrific tree and the promise of Easter, life in all it's fullness.

Good Friday

I have come in order that you might have life - life in all it's fullness.
John 10:10