Are you ever glad you’re a Christian? I hope so, and for better reasons than this: It’s Passover right now (April 5th to April 13th), so Jews aren’t eating anything yeasty. No Cheerios, bread, or beer! It’s also Ramadan (March 22nd to April 20th), so Muslims aren’t eating anything during the day. They can have Cheerios and bread after dark, but still no beer.
Passover celebrates the Exodus, the seminal event in the history of Israel. Ramadan commemorates the giving of the Qur'an. Both events serve to build and bind together their respective communities.
Christians celebrate our big event (April 9th) by eating chocolate rabbits.
To be fair, some of you faithfully fasted through Lent. That’s commendable and I hope you find yourself closer to Jesus as a result. But sometimes I wish we had a more corporate life and identity. Perhaps it’s my particular brand of Protestantism that so emphasizes individual faith. That has its positives, but I still wish we had more feasts!
This current confluence of the “best days of the year” for the three Abrahamic faiths only happens three times a century. It makes me dream of, and long for, the fullness of God’s kingdom on the earth.
Sadly, there’s violence in the holy city Jerusalem as Israeli forces raided Al Asqa Mosque for two nights in a row. Palestinians responded by sending two dozen rockets into Israel from Lebanon and Gaza. As I write, Israel is responding to those rockets. Ad nauseam.
As we celebrate Jesus’s victory over death this weekend, let’s don’t give into arrogance because we don’t do what the Jews and Muslims do (our history, both old and new, is littered with things we should not have done.), but rather let’s ask afresh for resurrection power to fall heavily on Jew, Christian, and Muslim alike. May the life of the living God be known all over.
If you haven't yet, please check out some of the recent videos at my new Muslim Connect YouTube channel. I'd be honored if you subscribed. Thank you.
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from Shane's Muslim Connect
Are you ever glad you’re a Christian? I hope so, and for better reasons than this: It’s Passover right now (April 5th to April 13th), so Jews aren’t eating anything yeasty. No Cheerios, bread, or beer! It’s also Ramadan (March 22nd to April 20th), so Muslims aren’t eating anything during the day. They can have Cheerios and bread after dark, but still no beer.
Passover celebrates the Exodus, the seminal event in the history of Israel. Ramadan commemorates the giving of the Qur'an. Both events serve to build and bind together their respective communities.
Christians celebrate our big event (April 9th) by eating chocolate rabbits.
To be fair, some of you faithfully fasted through Lent. That’s commendable and I hope you find yourself closer to Jesus as a result. But sometimes I wish we had a more corporate life and identity. Perhaps it’s my particular brand of Protestantism that so emphasizes individual faith. That has its positives, but I still wish we had more feasts!
This current confluence of the “best days of the year” for the three Abrahamic faiths only happens three times a century. It makes me dream of, and long for, the fullness of God’s kingdom on the earth.
Sadly, there’s violence in the holy city Jerusalem as Israeli forces raided Al Asqa Mosque for two nights in a row. Palestinians responded by sending two dozen rockets into Israel from Lebanon and Gaza. As I write, Israel is responding to those rockets. Ad nauseam.
As we celebrate Jesus’s victory over death this weekend, let’s don’t give into arrogance because we don’t do what the Jews and Muslims do (our history, both old and new, is littered with things we should not have done.), but rather let’s ask afresh for resurrection power to fall heavily on Jew, Christian, and Muslim alike. May the life of the living God be known all over.
If you haven't yet, please check out some of the recent videos at my new Muslim Connect YouTube channel. I'd be honored if you subscribed. Thank you.