Via Lori Wagner In Genesis, in our rejection of Gods intimacy in the garden, we have chosen to struggle in our nourishment, and in our relationships, especially in our relationship with the Lord of Life. And many times, our faith does not come easy to us: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you will eat the herb of the field.. But Jesus, the Gardener, shows us how to bring love, life, faith, and salvation (health and wholeness) with God out of every circumstance in life. He shows us how to return to Gods nourishing presence and how to become whole in Him. In our lifes striving, in our discipleship and in our attempts to unite with the Lord, we must peel away the brambles and thistles that inhibit our faith, and find the sweet heart of Jesus that guides us, nourishes us, brings us back into Gods beautiful garden, where the Tree of Life is waiting for us. Job reminds us that the hungry eat their harvest even out of the thorns (5). And we must remember too that when life seems difficult, when things dont go our way, when it seems we must toil so much to get through, that even in the midst of all of that, Jesus is present, and we will be nourished by the Vine of Christ the Savior, that the heart of the Gospel is peace, love, joy, and satedness. The artichoke is our reminder of that nourishment. The artichoke is one of the oldest foods in the world. Originating in the Nile Valley, the artichoke belongs to the thistle family. It has been known in Jesus time as an edible thistle, and in the Midrash, the artichoke is connected etymologically to the word used in Genesis 3:18 for thistle. Wild artichokes flourish everywhere, and they begin to bloom in the month of Nissan nearing the Passover, just in the beginning of spring. Despite their thistlelike texture and thick, stringy leaves, the cynara scolymos contains more antioxidants than red wine and chocolate combined, as well as protein, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, and hoards of vitamin C. The artichoke we recognize is the unopened flower bud, which when peeled back, yields a soft, tender heart of gold, delicious to eat. The artichoke is pervasive and overgrown the ground everywhere it is planted. And if one harvests them, one can survive long and well on the artichokes nurturing meat. Even in the toughest environments, the Gospel message will grow and nurture. Even in our hardest times in life, Jesus will be nurturing us --even from the briar patch.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 20:11:24 +0000
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