Thursday, July 29, 2021                                (today’s lectionary)
Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Jasper is almost two!
I tried a little construction last night. Jasper’s 2nd birthday is Saturday, and we had part of his party at the beginning of his “birthday week.” Margaret found a Thomas and Friends train set with two engines, a bridge, a tunnel and two intersecting tracks. Sounds like a piece of cake to put together, right?
Especially when Jasper and Miles are helping? The instructions were clear, the pictures were sharp, supper was looming and I kept thinking of my low aptitude scores when it came to spatial reasoning.
But it surely was nothing like Moses felt.
Moses did exactly as the Lord had commanded him. It was Moses who erected the Dwelling. He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars and set up its columns. He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the covering on top of the tent.
God didn’t need carpenters; he needed Moses, someone who could hear his voice and spend time listening to his instructions. Nothing was written down, and no one was allowed to help Moses, lest he look the wrong way and die.
Moses brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil, thus screening off the ark of the commandments, as the Lord had commanded him.
The ark of the covenant stayed famous and stayed dangerous. No one could touch it, or they would die (as did Uzziah many centuries later). Indiana Jones couldn’t touch it, nor could those lousy Nazis. It represented God’s literal and physical presence among his people. God led and protected them, as well as instructing them in the way they were to live.
Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward. At night, fire was seen within the cloud by the whole house of Israel in all the stages of their journey.
A team of friendly builders are remodeling the siding and windows of Aki and Andi’s house. It’s beginning to look beautiful. Aki made pancakes and bacon, one of Jasper’s favorite meals, followed by strawberry crowned cheese cake. When we prayed Jasper threw up his hands in the air, folded them and then yelled AMEN when we were finished. But we weren’t finished, because everyone kept praying what they loved about Jasper. So after looking surprised, he threw his hands into the air again and squeezed his eyes shut until the next AMEN. Joy is his calling card, laughter is our best medicine.
And not only all of that cool stuff, but finally I got Thomas the Train’s track laid, and off the twin trains roared around the track, through the tunnel and over the bridge. New toy construction trucks also filled up the tracks, while a bright green Monster truck with big teeth reared up and shouted for everyone to notice IT, for crying out loud. The atmosphere at Jasper’s party was festive, and after awhile, we heard Miles say under his breath, “I love it when we get to stay up late.”
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, continually they praise you. They go from strength to strength.
(Exodus 40, Psalm 84, John 8, John 11, Luke 10)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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