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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #412 February 12, 2002 Pancakes Pancakes, flapjacks, griddlecakes, ashcakes, waffles, oatcakes, drop scones, girdle cakes, crisps, cresps and crepes. Palatchinken, reibekuchen, schmarnn, sopaiphillas, crempogs and kartoffellfannkuchen. Buttermilk, sourdough, blueberry, strawberry, fruit-filled, plain. Silver dollar or full plate. Topped with maple syrup; butter; whipped cream; sour cream; peanut butter; jam and more. It’s Shrove Tuesday today, a day celebrated in much of the Christian church by eating pancakes. It’s also known in various places as Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, times of feasting and debauchery. What’s with this Shrove Tuesday stuff anyway? Ask most Christians, including those who celebrate and they won’t be able to tell you. I know I had a hard time finding people with answers. I didn’t know myself, so I thought I’d use today’s Gleanings to share what I learned in my search. It’s the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of the season of Lent. In preparation for Lent, people in the early church would shrive. Shriving is an old name for the Catholic and Orthodox practice of confessing sin for absolution. A person wanted to enter into the Lenten season with a pure heart. That’s clear enough, but why pancakes? The exact origin of the pancake feast seems to be lost somewhere, but back in the early 1500’s some places used the pancake to symbolize the unleavened bread eaten by the Israelites at the time of the Exodus and celebrated at the Feast of Passover. " `These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: The LORD's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.' " Leviticus 23:4-8 NIV Whether you celebrate the day with pancakes or without; whether you follow the ritual or disregard it; today would be an excellent day to stop and reflect on the God whose crucifixion and resurrection we will be celebrating in little more than a month. Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" Matthew 20:17-19 NIV Until next time, may the God who loved you enough to die in your place always be first and foremost in your mind. Hallelu Yah Kevin (For those who have been wondering what’s with the Hallelu Yah, after more than 400 mornings of "God bless", I simply wanted to change my closing line. Hallelu Yah (or its English counterpart hallelujah stems from the transliterated Hebrew Hallelu (Praise) Yah (Yahweh or God), so it’s simply my way of declaring Praise God) To share your thoughts on this issue of Gleanings, or to share prayer concerns email us at corbin_writer@hotmail.com. or write us at : Gleanings From The Word 114 Oak Street Sherwood Park, AB Canada, T8A 0V8 At Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential. If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page on our website
© 2001 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin All Rights Reserved SUBSCRIBE TO GLEANINGS FOR FREE
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