ADVENT JESSE TREE REFLECTIONS. THE ROLE OF THE JUDGES.
December 11. Deborah and Samson. At the time of the Judges Hebrew society was patriarchal and most judges were men. Deborah was a married woman and a prophetess who counselled people but also dealt with military matters. Read Judges 5. Samson was another one of the…
ADVENT JESSE TREE REFLECTIONS – fEMALE RIGHTS
December 9. The girls who stood up for their rights. In the book of Numbers 27 and 36 we read of a group of girls or young women protesting, because they were concerned that after their father’ death only brothers could inherit the father’s property. They put their…
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE. a QUESTION OF POWER OR SEXUALITY?
Why does Gender-Based Violence (GBV) continue to literally bedevil humanity and remain such a pervasive issue in our society? In South Africa, whenever the annual 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence comes around it is often called another pandemic,…
ADVENT JESSE TREE REFLECTIONS: JOSEPH FROM SPOINT CHILD TO FORGIVING BROTHER
December 7. Joseph. Read from Genesis 37-45. The story of Joseph tells how the Israelites came to be in Egypt. Being Jacob’s favourite and spoiled son, having been given his famous coat of many colours, he also had a gift for interpreting dreams. His brothers were…
ST NICHOLAS, THE ORIGINAL SANTA CLAUS
December 6. St Nicholas. The story of the original Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born into a wealthy family in what is now Turkey. His parents died while he was young. Following Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor” Nicholas…
ADVENT JESSE TREE REFLECTIONS. 2ND SUNDAY. repentance
December 5. 2nd Sunday of Advent C. Two candles are lit on the Advent wreath. The people of Israel had become materialistic, greedy and selfish, had no longer obeyed God’s commandments and were conquered by the Babylonians. Jerusalem was destroyed and the…
ADVENT JESSE TREE REFLECTIONS. JACOB AND FAMILY
December4. Jacob and sons. Read from Genesis 28 – 35. Jacob, Isaac’s son, is the last patriarch, those men of stature who, in spite of some events in their personal lives, followed the God who had made a covenant with them. His 12 sons became the…
ADVENT JESSE TREE REFLECTIONS ISAAC, REBECCA AND FAMILY
December 3. Isaac, Rebecca and their family. Read from Genesis 25-27. Isaac chose Rebecca as his wife. Like her mother-in-law Sarah, Isaac’s wife Rebecca, was childless until God answered their prayers and granted them twin boys. Even before their birth they seemed to…
ADVENT JESSE TREE reflection on abraham’s family
December 2. Abraham’s family. Read from Genesis 12 -25. Abraham is a giant figure in Biblical history, our father in faith and the first of the patriarchs. This might evoke negative feelings in those who reject patriarchy as oppressive of women. In the context of the…
ADVENT, WORLD AIDS DAY, ACTIVISM AND FAMILY COMMITMENT
December 1. World AIDS DAY. Johnson sat thinking back over the last 25 years. “When AIDS was first diagnosed there was so much fear, shame and stigma attached to it. People would talk but few would say, ‘My son is infected,”’ or ‘My daughter died of AIDS.’ Families…
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