Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone! Here are some pics of how I decorated the home for Easter.

Here are some pictures of food I made today.

Hope you all have great Easter Sunday!

Painting of a Prairie landscape

I started painting this picture the day before yesterday. I completed it yesterday. This picture is inspired by a painting from hobbylobby.com. I have blogged about this picture before. The yellow area at the bottom is supposed to be prairie grass swaying in the breeze, I think. Unfortunately I was not able to replicate that grass swaying in the breeze look perfectly.

Maundy Thursday

Passover is celebrated in the month of Abib or Aviv of the Hebrew calendar. It falls between the last two weeks of March or the first two weeks of April of the Gregorian calendar. Abib literally means barley. Or ripening barley. Passover commemorates the great Jewish leader Moses liberating the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. To commemorate that great event every year during the month of Aviv the children of Israel -- this small community of people chosen by God who underwent great travails through terrifying wilderness regions to reach the land promised by God celebrated their miraculous escape from Egypt. They may have celebrated Passover while they journeyed through the wilderness and after they settled in Canaan. Where do you want us to celebrate Passover with you? The disciples asked Jesus, 2000 years ago. "Go into the city where you will meet a certain man and tell him the master says my time is at hand and I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples, Jesus said. The disciples may have been used to such words from Jesus. Enigmatic and mysterious. The disciples did as Jesus directed them and they prepared Passover. When it was evening Jesus reclined at table with His disciples. .......

. The most important event of that Passover evening is the institution of the Lord's supper. Something all Catholics partake of in every mass and Christians in church services celebrate on Sundays. That of the eucharist. Jesus takes bread, breaks the bread and gives it to His disciples saying take eat, this is my body. Then Jesus took a cup, when He had given Thanks he gave it to them saying drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But this was no ordinary Passover. It was the last Passover before Jesus was crucified. And it became the symbol of the new covenant. During this Passover Jesus proclaimed that the bread they were eating was the body of Jesus. The cup they drank from was the cup of the covenant. The cup of wine is poured out for many. Although this is familiar it is difficult to understand. During the first Passover in Egypt the children of Israel actually roasted a lamb and made bread without leaven. If leaven means sin then in the new covenant Jesus became the bread without sin which means Jesus never sinned. We are to celebrate the new Passover supper in remembrance of Jesus sacrifice for us. Jesus tells the disciples, do this in remembrance of me. It is only the gospel of John that describes something else that Jesus did on that Passover when the Lord's supper is instituted. It is the Christ washing the feet of His disciples. Jesus ties a towel around His waist and goes around the room washing the feet of each disciple. This is a sign of humility. Of servant leadership. Jesus is our gentle God. After washing the feet of the disciples Jesus explains His actions. Do you understand what I have done to you? Jesus asks His disciples. You call me Teacher and Lord and so I am, Jesus said. If I then your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. Jesus actions are an example to us. We are to do to our fellow human beings just as Jesus has done to us. If we know the commandments of Jesus blessed are we when we do according to the commandments. Whoever received the one I send receives me and whoever received me received one who send me. Then Jesus tells them something else. Jesus said He would like to give a new commandment to the disciples. The new commandment is to love one another. If we love others we are able to keep all the other ten commandments. Just as Jesus loved the disciples we are to love others. Others will know that we are the disciples of Jesus when we love others. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem a sign was given to the shepherds watching over their flock. The sign was to find a baby in a stable. A sign is an indication that signifies something else. The sign to the shepherds was to find a baby in a stable, an unlikely place to find a baby. If others are to know we are true disciples of Jesus there is a sign. That is the sign of love. People who are able to love others are true disciples of Jesus. Jesus said this is the sign that accompanies a person who truly obeys Jesus.

Small Flowers

Yesterday I photographed these extremely small flowers in front of Newman Center. They are purple with a tinge of pink. Woodchips and soil surround them. I do not know the name of these flowers.

Painting of a Barn

I painted this picture today. The barn is such a familiar sight in the countryside of Iowa. My inspiration is a painting from Hobby Lobby.com. I had blogged about this painting last year.

Painting with lots of colors

I painted this picture yesterday and in order to paint this I used almost all the colors in the watercolor paint set. My inspiration was a painting I saw in Hobby Lobby. It is an abstract painting. First I tried to exactly replicate the painting in Hobby Lobby. Then I just decided to use all the colors in the paint set one by one. I was not sure it would be okay. But it is okay, I think. The last picture is the painting in Hobby Lobby that inspired this painting.

Thoughts for Good Friday

Last year on Good Friday I went to Newman center church for stations of the cross. From one station to another station I carried the cross. I have never carried the cross in stations of the cross or in church before. So I got a new experience. I have never also gone on stations of the cross outside the church so that too was a new experience. It was cool to carry the cross. I enjoyed the walk through the university area for the stations. The Iowa River, several buildings of the university, the walking bridge and finally back in the church etc were so pleasant. The weather was perfect. At each station a question was asked to all the people. Lots of people gave very insightful answers and I learned a lot. One question was what legacy have you been entrusted with. I thought of 2000 years of Christianity legacy and writing legacy and one person said we have the legacy of sharing the love of Jesus. I thought that was better than the answer I thought. Because 2000 years of Christianity boils down to sharing the love of Jesus with our fellow humans. Then another person said we judge others before we know someone. I thought that was true too. Then someone said the time we pray is not time wasted. That is so true too. Then in our faults someone said about pride. That is so true too. It took around two hours. I really liked all the questions because I thought they would be good writing prompts for this time of the year as we ponder the sadness of good Friday. How do we condemn Christ and one another? We condemn Christ when we are unkind, or unthoughtful or quick to judge or condemn. What crosses do we bear in our lives? I bear the cross of sometimes misunderstanding others and others misunderstanding me. How have we fallen in our own lives and faith? I have fallen by taking for granted my loved ones -- not valuing the beautiful gift of my parents as much as I should have. I have also fallen through anger and pride. How can we help carry the burdens of others? We can help carry the burdens of others by understanding them. We can help carry the burdens of others being there for them. What commitments can we make to help us all become whole? To become whole we should just have peace in our heart and be polite to everyone. How do we confront the fragility of our lives? Life is very fragile. The people in our lives are fragile. Kind words, encouragement, prayers for others, being peaceful helps us honor the fragility in our lives and in the lives of others. What need do we have for peace and tranquility? Peace and tranquility are the biggest needs of this torn and fractured world. If countries pursue peace we can have peace in this world. How do we continue to inflict pain up on ourselves and others? We inflict pain upon ourselves and others when we say unkind words to others. What do we do to ridicule and humiliate others? Unkind words, judging someone's clothes, appearance, and actions etc. How can we accept our own pain and embrace that of others? We can accept our own pain by praying about pain and we can embrace that of others by praying for them. What does it mean to unconditionally give of ourselves? It means to do all we can to help them. How do we find hope in the midst of darkness? We find hope in the midst of darkness by praying. For me writing helps a lot. For me reading also helps. Funny videos also helps me find hope. What legacies have been entrusted to us? I have been entrusted with lots of legacies. One is the legacy of writing given to me by my parents. The other is the legacy of scholarship. I have 2000 years of Christianity and all the traditions of my Syrian Christian Roman Catholic faith to pass down to my kids. Honoring those older than us is something that was deeply ingrained and I don't want to lose that legacy. Raising loving children is a legacy I have received from my parents and grandparents which is something I don't want to lose. My parents themselves are extremely loving people and that is because they were raised by extremely loving people themselves. So being extremely loving is a legacy. At every station the response of the people was because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus redeemed the world by the Holy Cross.

Painting of flowers in a vase

I painted this picture yesterday. I thought this would be very difficult to paint. I think it is one thing to draw flower petals but to paint flower petals it may be very difficult. I also thought a glass vase may be difficult. But when I looked at this example of a painting from Hobby Lobby and painted it was not very difficult. Here is the picture I was inspired by. I am looking forward to painting lots of flowers.

The Prayer in Gethsemane

The prayer in Gethsemane is prayed by Jesus before the arrest and subsequent crucifixion. It is right after Jesus celebrates the feast of the unleavened bread with the disciples. Then Jesus tells them to sit in a certain spot while Jesus went ahead and prayed. Then Jesus took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Jesus was very sorrowful. My soul is very sorrowful even unto death, Jesus said to the disciples. The human part of Jesus needed the support of the disciples so Jesus said to them to remain in the garden and watch with Jesus. Then Jesus went a little farther ahead of the disciples in the garden and prayed, if it be the father's will let the cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as you will, Jesus prayed. By the word cup, Jesus meant the crucifixion. But Jesus sought the father's will in everything. Not as I will, but as you will, Jesus said. Then Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping. They would have been sleeping because they did not yet understand how much Jesus was going to suffer. Then Jesus said to Peter, could you not watch with me for one hour? The humanity of Jesus would have felt scared about being crucified. The sheer physical pain of being on the cross, of thorns on the head, the nails, the mocking and jeering by the soldiers would have scared Jesus. That is why Jesus was in such agony. Perhaps during this intense prayer the strength to go through with the crucifixion was provided for Jesus. I noticed that Jesus does not pray all at once and then after finishing prayer goes to His disciples. It is not like that. Jesus first goes forward and prays. He tells His disciples to pray with Him but He goes forward and prays. Then He comes back to His disciples and finds them sleeping. He tells them to pray and He goes forward and prays again. He then comes to His disciples and finds them sleeping. Then He wakes them up tells them to pray and goes forward and prays again. When Jesus prays Jesus is in such agony that sweat becomes blood. In the gospel of Luke, an angel comes from heaven to strengthen Jesus. Then when He goes to His disciples He again finds them sleeping but does not tell them to pray but just says my betrayer is at hand let us be going. So Jesus prays then talks to the disciples then prays and talks to the disciples, then prays again and talks to the disciples. The disciples may have abandoned Jesus because they did not pray. If they truly believed in Jesus they would have not abandoned Jesus.

Easter Story-Gospel of Matthew Chapter 26

Last year during Easter I read the stories of Easter from the four gospels and wrote down some stories of Easter. This year I went back to read what I wrote last year and found it a collection of facts from the Bible. Here are a few thoughts from what I wrote last year about Easter. The gospel of Matthew starts the Easter story in chapter 26. This chapter is a long chapter and packs a lot of information and stories. It has 75 verses. First Jesus tells His disciples that Passover is two days away. Jesus tells His disciples that Jesus would soon be crucified. Meanwhile the Jewish leaders are plotting to kill Jesus. Then a woman anoints Jesus head with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. And an argument ensues about whether the woman is right in using such an expensive perfume to anoint Jesus. After this, Judas agrees to betray Jesus. Then it is the feast of the unleavened bread. Jesus tells them to prepare for the last supper in a certain place. During the last supper Jesus predicts Judas betrayal. Then they go to the mount of olives. Jesus talks about the verse I will strike the shepherd and sheep will be scattered as in Jesus would be arrested and all the disciples would be scattered. But Peter boasts that even if all the disciples leave Jesus he will not. Jesus predicts that Peter will deny Jesus three times before dawn that morning. Then it is the scene of prayer in Gethsemane. After that it is the scene of being arrested by soldiers. Then Jesus is taken to the trial. Then Peter actually denies Jesus. Then Peter weeps bitterly. This is how chapter 26 ends. There is so much going on here. Starting with the discussion about Passover before Passover. Jesus knowledge about the plot by the Jewish leaders. The woman anointing Jesus at the house of Simon. The discussion about whether it was right to spend money on anointing Jesus instead of giving the money to the poor. Judas going to the Jewish authorities and agreeing to betray Jesus. Then the feast of the unleavened bread. In the very first Easter on Thursday, on the day of the feast of the unleavened bread, that night Jesus is arrested. Immediately Jesus is taken to Caiphas or Annas. Then Jesus is taken to Pilate. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod and Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate and finally the verdict is given to crucify Jesus. So all this presumably takes place during the night or early morning of good Friday. Good Friday is the day Jesus carries the cross to Golgotha. The crucifixion takes place on good Friday. The same night Jesus is buried because they do not want a body on the cross on Sabbath. So Joseph of Arimathea takes Jesus body to a cave tomb and Jesus is buried. No one comes to the tomb on Saturday since it is Sabbath but not just an ordinary Sabbath. It is Passover Sabbath. Then early Sunday morning the women and disciples go to the tomb and find it empty. So the first Easter is on the Sunday after the Passover Sabbath of that year. So many events take place within the space of four days if you include Thursday and Sunday. The feast of the unleavened bread, the betrayal, the prayer, the arrest, the trial, the denial, the trial, the mocking, the verdict, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, the sour wine, the dividing of clothes, the inscription, the earthquake, the tearing of the curtain, the taking down of Jesus body, the wrapping in linen and burying according to Jewish custom, the guards at the tomb, the huge stone at the tomb, the women coming on Sunday morning, the angels announcement, the disbelief, the joy, the doubts, the reassurance, and finally Jesus ascension into heaven. But chapter 26 contains only till the weeping of Peter after he denies.

Flowers

I photographed these flowers early this morning. Yesterday I saw these yellow flowers blooming in the front yard. Every year this flower blooms first, in spring. They almost act as the harbinger of spring in gardens/yards. If you want to know if spring has arrived just check to see if daffodils are blooming. If they are, then spring has arrived. Today I saw this tree blooming. I don't know the name of this tree. I am looking forward to seeing the flowers of spring!