Author: Jana

It is interesting that the long standing superstitions of Friday the 13th should be traced back to the last supper of Jesus on a Friday where 13 disciples are supposed to be present. I had been inquisitive about the superstitions regarding various things, in particular Friday the 13th and after much digging, this link to Jesus is all that can be found. Although thirteen does represent bad luck on other days such as Tuesday in other originating from other traditions. It amazes me how much we are influenced by the course of events on one day several thousand years ago, but often remain oblivious to the events and impacts in our own lives. How do we take the time to enjoy the company of our friends, and what could be our last supper? So often we look to religion to give our lives meaning, when the meaning is already there and religion should just be a means of helping those special moments become more apparent. I find it scary because of the endless consequences and how demeaning it is to the sacredness of religion, to use it as a means to worry or alienate. Another common suspicion is about black cats (in some traditions are considered symbols of good fortune), which were believed to belong only to witches whose misfortunes often came about by the hand of the church or by the hands of those who claimed to be of the church. So, today on Friday the 13th I choose to believe that only good things will come, and to the owners of the blacks cats out there prosperity.

This Monday past we in the Christian church celebrated Candlemas. Within Protestantism this is often a long last holiday however the holiday is threefold. Firstly it is forty days after Jesus’ birth, which in Judaism coincides with Mary’s purification and return to normal society after the birth of a son. Secondly is Jesus’ presentation and entrance into the temple, another part of the Jewish tradition. Finally, Candlemas is sometimes termed the “Christian Festival of Lights” as it falls exactly between the shortest day of the year and the vernal equinox. It is also on this occasion that traditionally many churches have taken the opportunity to dedicate their lights.

As someone who went without electricity yesterday for around 10 hours, most of which fell after dark, the presence and dedication of light took on a certain significance. It was a gentle reminder that in the post modern world in which we live, we often are outside the scope of daily traditions and rituals. Religious rituals in particular seem only to surface when we need them such as moments of crisis, in the same way that pulling out the candles is something we may only do when we have no electricity after dark. For me though, I think I need to pull out those candles, cling to those traditions, to give a sense of meaning and deliberateness to an occasion or a day.

The season of Epiphany is all about light, recognition, and celebration. In Western Christianity this season consists of three such events: the arrival of the Magi (Wisemen), the Baptist of Jesus, and Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana (in Eastern Christianity there is just one, the Baptism of Jesus). During the season of Epiphany we witness Jesus’ call into ministry, and through the events of the season we also witness the responses of the community and Jesus. I have a good friend and mentor who always says that you have found your true calling if you recognize your call, if others recognize your call and if you have gifts in that area. In this season of epiphany then, we seem to find Jesus’ calling. This is first recognized by the Magi, further by the church represented by John the Baptist, by his family with  Mary and finally accepted by Jesus himself with the miracle at the wedding, and so Jesus is enlightened, recognized, and celebrated. As with most of us finding our calling in life is difficult, and time consuming. Perhaps it is humbling to remember that it took Jesus twenty to thirty years to find his calling in a very different world than the one in which we live. As we pause to reflect in this season, I would encourage you to seek the light in your life and as you recognize that it takes time to celebrate your calling whether as a child, a parent, a sibling, a student/worker etc.

In my Christian tradition we entered the season of Epiphany this past Sunday. This season is marked with many revelations and will bring us in a month or so to the season of Lent, another season of preparation. In the meantime however, it is time to discover and to celebrate our discoveries. One discovery that I had lately was in the midst of reading, and was about the stories that we each have to tell. While part of my personal education and interest is to read — I seem to often have not only my nose, but my whole head buried in a book — I realized that often in stretching for knowledge I rarely read something that speaks to my heart.

A book that was recently given to me was “Carry On Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life” by Glennon Doyle Melton. At the outset I was not overly taken with the book, but it being a New York Times #1 bestseller, as well as a gift, made me determined to get through it. While I am not particularly interested in the beginning of the book, which focused on the more autobiographical details of Melton, I could not help but be intrigued by the authenticity as well as the hilarity of the book. “Carry On Warrior” focuses on Melton’s life of being a woman, a mother, a wife and a Christian. The books reminds and inspires the reader to live their religion on their sleeve, to be who they are even if it does not fit the traditional mould. The frankness with which Melton writes, encourages one to objectively and frankly to consider oneself, has certainly caused me to step back. Melton does not write from a place of having the answers, but of trying to work out the answers the best she can in her personal life. For me it was a good reminder that often religious discussions are not about the average person. Religion in many ways has remained with “the educated” devaluing those who may not have had the same formal education (think of Mass prior to Vatican II or Protestantism prior to the Reformation). While I am not quite as familiar with religions outside of Christianity to mention points, religions typically have personnel that are deferred to. These persons may have knowledge that we do not have, and be trained in ways that we are not, however that does not discount the lived experience. It is their responsibility to enlighten us with knowledge, and to help guide us to apply religious principles within our own lives. However, it is our experiences that make that knowledge worth knowing.  Many religious books are about helping us understand the original texts, however that is only half of a religion; the other half is the lived experience. Melton’s  experience of muddling through the bible and other theological works while being realistic about her own shortcomings is inspiring, even if her approach to writing is a bit shocking initially. Therefore I would invite you to consider the book, but if you are considering the book I would encourage you to commit to reading it in it’s entirety. It is only in its entirety that the experience and struggles of Melton can be fully appreciated, and offered as a gift for the reader to accept.

I find it interesting that with all religions there is a cycle to the year, and while this may not match with our Gregorian calendar, these cycles rotate on a yearly basis. The commonality of starting something new, or beginning all over again, is of great importance. Sometimes we need the creativity and innovation to start something new, a new cycle of life. Or sometimes, we need the opportunity to start afresh, and a new beginning is a sort of acceptance and forgiveness for the imperfections of the past. Either way religions call us to explore and to better ourselves and coming to the beginning of a cycle is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

For me I like the beginning of a new calendar year because it gives me time to pause and reflect on the year that has past, while looking forward to the year that is ahead. This is something that I am not sure that religions are particularly good at doing. We start a new cycle of readings, prayers, festivals and holidays, but we sometimes refrain from taking real “stock” of where we are at with our spiritual guides, God, Allah, etc. or how we may become more intentionally focused on those practices and words that we use day to day. As we start a new year I would like to invite you to take a moment to consider your religious and spiritual undertakings whatever they may be and try to think of a way to deepen the knowledge and understanding that you have. I would invite you take a look at what is in the margins of your life and bring it back to the center, and to ground yourself for the next twelve months.