Monday, February 14, 2011

Brothers

This morning the verse I pulled from the basket said "Brothers, we should care more about others than we do about ourselves." (I think from Galatians--will have to check). Oh, no, not Galatians (thought there are similar admonitions there). It's I Corinthians 10:24, "People should be concerned about others and not just themselves." In the NIV version it is: "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." (following everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial)

Then I ran 6.75 miles and ran over to the prayer at the Episcopal church (which is just the closest one here to me) for a group prayer. I had missed the first part but was there for mass/communion, which they were having for a group that was there painting or making icons.

I asked afterwards if I could have the passages for the message and it was on Cyril and Methodius, brothers and missionaries to Slavs. She had a sheet printed out with the passages which are Eph. 3:1-7, Psalm 98:14, and Mark 16:15-20, wiht a preface of apostles about how these brothers tried to bring peace to a divided or hostile people.

When I got there, I was a little late bc I had just finished running and grabbed tea and oatmeal in cups and put on my boots and then I just ran out with tea in one hand and oatmeal in the other and ate/drank it on the way. Then I got there and there were these incense censors, which made me think about the Kevin Prosch song about "She Walks In Beauty" (I went to the temple, I rang the censors...) that part.

I will probably look up some other passages, for the day too, maybe the Anglican one since it's published online.

I then ended up, on icon day, underneath a painting of Mary and Jesus by the candles, as we filed out along the rail. I didn't know it was icon day until after the service and then she told me.

I am not totally sure what icons are about. I personally don't believe in praying to them as if they have life of their own, but I'm not against art that reflects or reminds people to think of God or good things. That's my personal take on it.

I'm looking up Cyril and his bro on wiki and I think they were Greeks who went to Ukraine? I just looked it up and it says the Eastern Orthodox feast day for them is the same day as my son's birthday, May 11.

I just looked at this verse and was wondering why Galatians came to my mind, and something about "Brothers..." because the verse doesn't specificially say brothers. However, on the sheet I was given, it also does not mention Galatians, but it does mention the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

One thing that was done on this paper, was that "missionaries to the slaves" was crossed out so it read Slavs instead of Slaves.

When I turned to Galatians, there is an entire section about "brothers," and slaves. I had turned directly to Galatians 3:15, which starts out, "Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life." and then it goes on to speak about the seed and who are heirs of christ, and free or slave. You are no longer a slave, it continues with ch. 4, but a son; and since you a son, God has made you also an heir. It's about being prisoners of the law and how with Christ, we are no longer prisoners or slaves, but free and if we are free, to not be slaves to those who "by nature are not gods." v.12, I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you." Galatians 6 is also the chapter that contains, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load."

I get "carry eachother's burdens...but then I guess he's saying also carry your own weight, and do not be proud." Sort of a balance.

I like the reading from the site commonprayer.org too. I really like the language or style of writing with this book...it's very poetic...sort of along Shakespeare and KJV lines.
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On another note, I got to my email today and asked my mom if she'd been around any kind of white or ivory material that had pearls on it (because she had gone to a quilting retreat at one point) and she said no. So it wasn't something I picked up from Mom this time. I also don't think it was a future insight. I think I saw it in "real time" like remote viewing of some kind, but without trying to see it. This was why I had asked what time it was.

The other thing I saw while talking to a woman and rolling toilet paper (a chore) yesterday (before work, in the morning), was that she was saying how she wanted to cook on her own and as she was saying this I had tomatoes come to mind, around 8 a.m. or thereabouts, so I asked my parents if they had anything to eat that had some kind of tomatoes, grilled or cooked or something, in what they had to eat. The woman wasn't talking about tomatoes but they flashed up when she talked and yet it was only 8 or so and they looked grilled or cooked into something in some way. It wasn't tomatoe bisque, it was some kind of tomato chopped up and cooked (I believe). So I started thinking about sauteed things including onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Last night too, I do not know who some of these women are that I'm staying with, but things get weird sometimes. Hey, as long as there is no torture, I don't care about weird. But last night I wasn't going to go to my locker and I was told to go anyway so I did. But I stared at this turquoise part of my locker where there was a layer of paint that was turquoise under the other paint and you could barely see it. I thought, "what is the deal with my always getting locks that have turquoise paint underneath the first layer?" (my house in Wenatchee with my son had this same color and I had only noticed it when I went back to find out about the condemning bc of mold in the house). So I went to the next locker looking to see if it had turquoise paint and it didn't. And then next one didn't. Then the next one didn't. Then I thought, "I know that Anna's locker has turquoise." And aha. Yes, Anna's locker had turquoise on the lock and a little turquoise pin stuck into some kind of weird styrofoam pincushion thing. Hidden. So I took it out and stuck it back in the opposite way. Sort of like David with Saul's sword. I wasn't going to take it out. And then I thought, "No, I already knew this, I saw this pin before and didn't do anything so why was I wondering about everyone else's lcckers today?"

Then I went upstairs and the bathtub room had 2 pieces of turquoise paint on the floor that someone had left behind, behind the door, which I didn't see until I started cleaning and already decided if someone left behind that big of a mess, I could either clean it or walk away. I cleaned it and used a shower instead. I thought, "Alright fine. They want me to clean this I know. So I will." But then I wasn't going to use it.

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