This last Monday morning, 65 Confirmation youth and adult leaders and guests from four different Lutheran congregations - Lord of Life, St. Paul's in Hainesport, Bridge of Peace in Camden, and Ascension in Haddon Heights - gathered at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Marlton for a program facilitated by Rabbi Gary Gans. Our mission: to learn about our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith and to think about the marvelous heritage we share as well as where we differ in our practices and beliefs. All of this was part of our Martin Luther King Jr. day retreat and we were very blessed to have some of our adult members join us for the morning program as well as a few additional folks who stayed with us for the rest of the day as we traveled to Bridge of Peace in Camden for a shared lunch and some service work.

  One of the highlights of the morning program was when we were able to go forward in small groups and see the Torah Scroll, the large scroll of scripture that represents what we call the first five books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The scrolls are written in Hebrew, and Hebrew is read from right to left instead of left to right as we're familiar with. Not only that, the original Hebrew text contains no vowels as we know them, only consonants, all of which makes the reading of it that much more complicated.

  All of us were fascinated with the scroll and the language and the traditions around its reading and we greatly admired those who have learned to read from the scroll, a rite of passage for youth participating in their bat (for girls) or bar (for boys) mitzvah. And I think all of us learned a new appreciation for our own scripture - a combination of both the Hebrew scriptures found in what we call the Old Testament, and the Christian scriptures found in the New Testament - through learning about the deep reverence the folks at Beth Tikvah have for theirs.

  Our Old Testament lesson for this weekend - Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10 speaks to us of a time when the Hebrew people were returning from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem and were finally finding themselves free to hear the scriptures read after years of not being able to gather, worship, or share the word of God. The passage tells us that the people wept when they heard the words of the law and that Nehemiah tells them not to weep but to rejoice.

  Here at Lord of Life we have many opportunities to freely gather to hear the word of God - we hear the word read and preached during worship, we have many opportunities for learning for both young people and adults throughout the week, and we even provide devotional resources for all of you to study on your own at home. Have you taken advantage of one or more of these opportunities lately? If not, or if you regularly participate in one but not another, consider adding another opportunity to your normal routine.

  I have to wonder if many of us would be more inclined to take advantage of these opportunities if we knew that somehow the ability to do so, to gather and to worship and share the word of God openly, could or would be taken away?

  It is truly a privilege to be able to experience the scriptures in all their richness in so many ways here at Lord of Life. I hope and pray all of you will take advantage of these opportunities in new and wonderful ways in this new year. What have you got to lose!

             PEACE - PJ2