Alright, so this week. George is trying to walk and crawl but is unsuccessful at both. He is great at scooting backwards though and has scooted himself under the coffee table and then cries because he can't lift up his head (it's cute and almost makes you want to laugh, except he's crying). I went visiting teaching this last week. My companion lost her husband in February and is still a newer member but she's doing so much better! She seems happier and stronger and is being a faithful visiting teacher.
Friday night jon drove out to Illinois for his children's choir concert. George and I went to institute graduation and sang with the choir. It turned out really well, and two people fought over holding George. :-) jon did a few Raffi songs with the kids and it turned out really well. He actually wrote music for three poems and wrote another song for them as well. One of the songs is called Banana phone and he brought bananas for props. He did another song where there's a musical break and they told Laffy taffy jokes for it. Oh, also, something happened to the accompanist earlier in the semester, so we invested in a guitar and Jon accompanied all the children's songs. Jon really enjoys it and he's putting together a routine for kids. He plans to try it out on his nieces and nephews this summer. If you hear any song that you think might be good for a children's concert, let us know. We'll have to look into copyright stuff if he goes into it officially.
Saturday, I went to a baby shower for a friend. George picked out the dress I got for her little girl. I was holding up options when shopping and George got all excited and practically pounced on this one. It was a hot pink dress with a Navy blue elephant embroidered on it.
Spiritual thought comes from the Sunday school lesson today which I really liked. The teacher started off asking how we can make the most of our lessons and how can we know we're applying it. I started thinking that I should go into a lesson looking for something to impress me and then make a goal, whether it's to spend more time on my scripture study that week or something. Well I don't know of I made a goal yet but I was impressed with the lesson.
So, first I want to write the scriptural account, and then I'll follow with some of my varied thoughts. Matthew 15: 21-28, "Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour."
First we were asked to envision this in our minds. At first the Savior ignores her, but the disciples hear her and tell Christ to send her away. We speculated that Christ probably knew what was going on, yet still he ignored her. He says He came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (and this woman is not of Israel, but Canaan). Then the woman comes and worships Him. And his response we discussed as being harsh. He basically called her a dog. We discussed what it meant to be "chosen" and what being of Israel meant. But in the Old Testament there was still missionary work done. And God is no respecter of persons. In Christ's time, the Jews saw Samaritans and Gentiles as unclean, not merely 'not chosen'. The teacher asked why Christ would appear to agree with the stereotypes of the time, when we know He loves ALL? I'm going to veer off and some of what I will say is my own thoughts and some of it came from others' thoughts from the lesson. I raised my hand and commented that Christ's ministry was a very short amount of time- just three years. He did not have time to visit every person. It did not mean He didn't love others, but He had to prioritize. This to me gives me an example, that sometimes we can't do everything. It is alright to prioritize. Christ needed to come unto the Jews to fulfill prophecy and also because there was an order to things. I wonder if Christ ignored her to test his disciples to see if any would see the need and take care of it without being told. We are told to be anxiously engaged and to not sit idly. We are told to not have to be told to do every little thing. Christ only addresses the woman after the disciples beg him to tell her to go away and then she comes forward and worships Him and THEN He addresses her. We know Christ did not consider her unclean or unworthy, because that would mean His love wasn't perfect. But yet his statement was so harsh, referring to her as a dog. Yet I think He knew what would be said. He knew what would happen. I think He meant this to be a teaching moment, even though part of it comes from the woman. Even the dogs get crumbs. Just because the children eat first doesn't mean the dogs do not. The Gospel is meant for all. Just because it went to the Jews first, doesn't mean it isn't meant for everyone. Being chosen means they were called to eat bread at the head table. It is then the chosen's job to share the bread, with others at other tables perhaps, or it becomes their responsibility to feed others. Being chosen means it is your responsibility to share the gospel and what you have. The teacher brought up how there is no explanation on this story, nor is it mentioned again. But I think it was important. I think it was helping prepare them to teach the Gentiles. Christ was not called to minister to the Gentiles but his apostles were sent out. When Peter has his dream about unclean foods and told that he shouldn't declare something unclean that the Lord has declared clean, Peter realizes this is meant to mean the Gentiles. They are not unclean and to preach the gospel to them. I wonder if this experience with the woman was preparing him for that though. A stereotype that you were raised with is hard to change in just one moment. We are taught to shampoo our hair and clean ourselves. If one day, in adulthood, we were all of a sudden told that it hurts us more than it helps, it would probably take us a little while to make the change. With this statement, Christ establishes an order of things. That order is still in effect today. The Prophet is the Prophet of the WORLD. But the Prophet, even with more than 3 years and airplanes and cars that make travel much faster, does not have time to minister to every person individually. There are Apostles, and Seventies, and Stake Presidents, and Bishops, and Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers that help divide the load and minister to every individual. Christ came FOR the whole world but came TO the Jews. The Bishop is in charge of his whole ward, yet Home Teachers are asked to serve their families when they can. In reality, it doesn't matter if we get the bread at the table or the crumbs. And in reality, crumbs are not a smaller amount, it just denotes we get it second. The blessings of the gospel do not come in smaller amounts to those who receive it second. All the blessings of the gospel can be anyone's, whether in this life or the next. I think this concludes my thoughts for now on this subject. I hope you all have a great week!