When the four evangelists wrote the Gospels, they often found connections with stories of our Hebrew ancestors. This was especially true of the Exodus. It was like connecting a tin-can telephone from events in the Exodus, to what happened in the life of Jesus.
St. John was especially tuned into this. An incident from the Exodus was “speaking” through the tin can and string to the other can pressed against our ear. What happened to Jesus was listened to in connection with God speaking and acting centuries earlier in our sacred history.
St. John did this with hyssop. This is a wild flower that has fine hairs at the tip. Moses told the Hebrews to dip hyssop into the blood of the Paschal Lamb and spread it on their doorways so that the Angel of Death would pass over. St. John said that hyssop was dipped into sour wine and spread it on Jesus’s lips. Right after this, he died. His death meant that death would “pass over” us! St. John wanted the death of Jesus to be listened to as connected to the story of Passover. Alleluia!
So what is a “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
The Saturday passages follow the reading list that Jewish people use in their synagogue worship
throughout the world. They are taken from
“The Torah,” the first five books of the Bible from Genesis to Deuteronomy
that are read each year beginning with autumn.
These Firestarters are for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet! Check the menu options at the site for more information.
The Bible Through the Seasons 