Many ministers have likely been approached with questions about 2012 as a popular date for the ‘end times’ described in Revelation. If they haven’t been approached, they can rest assured that it’s a topic on people’s minds. It’s captured people’s imaginations so much that even NASA has now come out to reassure folks that the world is not expected to end in 2012 just because a calendar does.

When we originally posted about the year 2012 it was in December of 2009. The planned release of a Hollywood blockbuster movie, “2012,” was causing a big sensation. Everyone was talking about the end of the Maya calendar in December of 2012, and what that could possibly mean, even though their own check book calendars ran out in a few years, because of limited printing space.

Many of us who have been around long enough to remember the transition from 1999 to 2000 remember there was doom saying then, as well. Computers were going to blow up, many people said. When nothing happened during the transition, the day slipped into obscurity. Yet systems administrators, computer programmers and other computer professionals had worked very hard to ensure that the transition, known as Y2K, would be a non-event.

In the last few years, a number of loud predictions of the end of the world have come and gone. Just last year, when one group predicted rapture would occur on May 21, 2011, a group called American Atheists cheerfully capitalized on the prediction, buying out billboards inviting people to a “rapture party.” The one billboard I spotted on stated “The Rapture: You KNOW it’s Nonsense. 2000 Years of ‘Any Day Now.’” The atheists made it clear: doomsayers have been predicting end times since Revelation was written. Of course, a biblical tradition of doom saying and calls to repentance had existed for ages before that (the prophets). And to lump all Jesus followers together wasn’t fair play.

So, how does the Non Harming Minister react? Simply: with love and understanding, working to replace fear with faith. Counsel prudence, telling people not to sell or give away everything they own in expectation of the end of the world.  Walk them through their actual fears, understanding that times are, indeed, hard right now.  Perhaps the counsel in 1 Peter 1:7 could be useful in helping people get through the troubles they face.

Finally and most importantly, remind them that Jesus Himself assures followers: “”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32).  Jesus also tells us “fear not,” over and over again, and reminds us, in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Praise God with lyre and harp, praise God with drums and dancing… (Psalm 150)

Praise/worship/biblical/Davidic dancing is not only a means of worship, it can enhance the worship experience of others, as they contemplate space, time, rhythm, interconnection, and the fleetingness of the moment.

Does the concept seem new? It isn’t. Thousands of years ago, in ancient Judaism and then early Christianity, it was part of worshipful prayer[1]. There are many biblical references to dancing in praise of the Lord[2].. Then, during the time of Reformation, it was suppressed along with other bodily expression, as unseemly.  We have experienced a resurgence in the past century, with liturgical dance serving many purposes, including witnessing to faith, inspiring congregants, challenging our thinking, or acting as a form of prayer.

Styles of dance are as wide-ranging as the dancers themselves, including: spontaneous, choreographed, modern, ballet, lyrical, African, clog, Davidic, and hip hop. Dancers can be few or many. Their attire can be simple or ornate. They can have props – streamers, banners, tambourines, flutes, and such – or have none.  Inspiration frees the dancer of limitations, so this genre is continually growing and changing.

Below is our example. Dancer Rena Jones-Guidry of the Providence Baptist Church provides an original interpretation of a song that speaks to the promise of a second chance:

Filmed at Providence Baptist Church and edited at Elfenworks Productions, LLC. Dancer: Rena Jones-Guidry. Filmed by: Jennifer Thomas, for Elfenworks Productions, LLC. Mastering: John Watkins, for Elfenworks Productions, LLC.  Copyright 2011 Elfenworks Productions LLC. All rights reserved.  For music credits, please see the band website, www.commodorecallahan.com.

In her article last year, in The Telegraph, Bee Wilson explained to London readers that “Unlike harvest festivals, which are a form of gloating over a successful haul of food, Lammas was more of a desperate prayer: please God, let us harvest enough to keep us in bread for another year.”

We live in a time of global economic and political turmoil and distress. To all who are facing personal trials and family struggles, those who endure conflicts fought in the lonely trenches of the heart, those trying to break through the dense fog of despair that sometimes gloomily hovers over the soul with no promise of radiant relief there is hope. It is to each one of us with our unique and difficult trials that the Bread of Life–the Lord of all—promised, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 King James Version).

Just as the Lord’s Prayer states “give us this day our daily bread,” and not “give us this day far more than we need,” may we each plead for our daily nourishment: for the strength to endure one more day with His help; and may we also look outward at ways we can be His hands to give to others who may not have their daily bread this Lammas Day.

A new holy day with ancient biblical roots. This is a day of personal celebration that can be profoundly meaningful for followers of Jesus Christ. It celebrates the fact of Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus came, light from light, into that dirty little manger stall, willing to “get his hands dirty” and even to die for us out of his great love. He walked among us in perfect loving kindness, showing us how to love and forgive, to heal and to reclaim. He said “follow me!”  Let’s celebrate the fact, made even more meaningful because April 17th could possibly have been Jesus’ actual birthday.

We’ve thought of a few suggestions for personally honoring what God has done this April 17th:

• Spend some of the day in quietude, asking that God’s will be revealed, and how best you might walk your path as Jesus’ follower.
• Remember Jesus’ ministry of redemption and resurrection, putting aside judgmental attitudes for the entire day, and supporting someone else’s redemption. Does someone you know need a helping hand?
• Remember Jesus’ servant leadership by washing the feet of others.
• Remember  Jesus’ ministry of healing, and patch up an old division or visit the sick or elderly.
• Remember the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and reach out to help and uplift.
• Remember Jesus’ first miracle, water into wine at a wedding, by gathering two or three friends together over dinner in His name, in celebration.
• Have a pancake breakfast. If you have an organization, host a pancake breakfast and send the proceeds to the sick, hungry, lost or forgotten.
• Teens, or any who are young at heart and enjoy being cool could simply say “word!” when greeting each other on this day. For Jesus was the word, made flesh.

Hold On A Minute! What About Christmas? ! ?

Nobody’s touching Christmas. Christmas is beautiful and sacred, and Follower’s day is entirely different.  That said, it’s good to know the history. Christmas wasn’t always celebrated in winter. Before the monk Dionysius set Christmas at December 25th in 533 AD, some Christians had celebrated Christmas in springtime. That older tradition is supported by the biblical account of shepherds being out watching their sheep by night, as happened in spring but not in bitter winter months. The bible is silent on the exact date of Jesus’ birth,  so Dionysius made a theologically and symbolically correct choice: December 25. The winter solstice is the time of year in which light begins to triumph over darkness, and this symbolic association is probably why so many ancient civilizations have placed their deities’ birthdays on December 25th. These include: the deity Mithra, identified with Sol Invictus, and a Roman feast time; Tammuz the Babylonian Queen of Heaven; Horus the Egyptian Queen of Heaven; and even Nimrod, son of Baal. Why shouldn’t Christians, also, should celebrate Jesus’ birth on this day? May this day be celebrated forever, so each year at Christmas we remember that light triumphs over darkness.

So, Why April 17th?

Astronomer Michael Molnar offers some compelling evidence that April 17, 6BCE is Jesus’ most likely actual birthday. The bible points out that Jesus was born under the first king Herod, which means it had to be before 4BC. During Herod’s rule, there was a particular conjunction of the planets, so rare as to happen only once every sixty years, and so significant as to be recognizable by Zoroastrian magi, to set them on their way to the Jewish capital city, Jerusalem. It would not have been recognized by the Jewish priests, who did not practice astrology, which is why Herod did not recognize the “star,” but they could have advised the magi about the prophesy about Bethlehem. This “star” was so significant, it was printed on a coin from the time. Molnar quotes an astrologer from AD 344, Firmicus Maternus, who perceived the conditions for a “world ruler with a divine and immortal nature” and became a Jesus follower. [1].

We do not have a time machine, so without a miracle we’ll never know with certainty whether Molnar is right. What we can do, while still keeping Christmas, is embrace April 17^th as well. We thought of and rejected many possibilities to name this day: “Savior’s Day” seemed so pompous, and “Word Day” too light hearted. Followers’ Day strikes a balance, because Jesus said:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Let’s agree to keep the spirit of Christmas on every day of the year, especially on December 25^th. Let’s  work on being everything we can be, as Jesus’ followers, especially on Followers’ Day.  Blessings today and every day, from all of us at NonHarming.com!

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[1]Molnar, Michael. Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. pp. 101-109.

So many of us watching the aftermath of the Tsunami wonder, how can we help our brothers and sisters in Japan? Consider intercessory prayer, along with whatever other gifts you may offer through whatever human means (nonprofits or faith-based groups) can get them to those who suffer.  It doesn’t replace our need to be God’s “hands and feet” in this world, or release us from our duty to help in other visible ways (perhaps through the International Medical Corps or Doctors Without Borders). Prayer is only one part of the puzzle.

Intercessory prayer is like a “spiritual bouquet” brought on behalf of someone else for whom you care or have compassion. Anyone with a heart for intercessory prayer can stand before God with an open heart and ask.

Many of us in the modern day age have difficulty putting trust in something so ineffable as prayer, but our prayers are not nothing, and a few scientific studies have even been done to attempt to prove their worth to the skeptical. Those who have felt their benefit know prayer is very powerful, even life-saving. Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke became aware of the power of intercessory prayer when, consumed by fever and convinced he might dying in Africa, he heard the voice of a woman in his church in Germany, praying on his behalf. After he recovered, he wrote his father to ask what had happened, and she confirmed she’d been awoken with the inspiration that he was dying and that she should pray for him. She prayed for hours until she felt a breakthrough — the very moment his fever broke.

Bonnke has noticed that, in the Psalms, such prayers always rise up to God on the wings of praise. Even The Lord’s Prayer begins and ends with praise.  Form your intercessory prayer with praise, gratitude, and trust in God, and then ask for God’s help, specifically, on the behalf of those for whom you are praying. Trust that God will always hear you, do what you can, and then leave it to God to do what God will do.

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your cloak, give him your coat, too. Give to everyone who asks, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.  For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

What does it mean, to love our enemies, practicing peace while following the Prince of Peace? It might mean turning down the heat of the debate, and remembering the reason that our country was founded on the freedom of religion: many of our forefathers came here fleeing religious persecution.  Can we somehow recognize, who might be in the minority position in our own land? Who might need us to stand up for them and lend our voice of protection, if they are being threatened or their holy books burned?

Godspell is worth taking out on Neflix…  Jesus does the bread and wine blessing in Hebrew, and we remember Jesus was a rabbi… how many rabbis were killed, under the banner of Jesus? Jesus wept. Let’s practice peace, as we follow the Prince of Peace.  Everybody sing… prepare ye the way of the Lord…

We know Jesus was born on or before 4BC, because that’s when the first king Herod died [[OR in 6AD when the Census of Quirinius was undertaken]]. These are conflicting dates.

At Jesus’ actual birth, something must have been going on in the heavens that would have been significant enough to capture the three magi’s attention and set them on their way. One researcher, astronomer Michael Molnar, has some very interesting evidence pointing to astronomical conjunctions that astrologers of the time would have taken as a sign of a king, on April 17th of 2010.  He believes this was enough to set the magi on their way to the Jewish capital: Jerusalem. There, they would have been advised that Jewish prophesy said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.  What could it have been, and when?

To Molnar, the star was really a planet: Jupiter. It  was in the “house” of the astrological sign of Aries, the Ram.  This theory works better than a big comet or solar eclipse, which everyone would have noticed.  The Jewish people at the time didn’t believe in, or practice, astrology, but it was practiced in Persia, which would  explain why Herod didn’t know of the birth but the magi did.  Molnar further writes, on his website, that: “Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer of Constantine the Great’s time in AD 334, described the conditions I found to be those for a world ruler with a divine and immortal nature. We know that Firmicus converted to Christianity close to when he wrote his Mathesis on astrology.”  Molnar argues, in Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, argues that he was referring to his new found faith in Jesus Christ[1].

look at the sky

If Molnar is right, then April 17th might just be Jesus’ actual birthday.  Considering that  December 25th was an ancient pagan feast for Mithras, as well as the birthday of Tammuz, Horus, Nimrod and others,  why not continue to celebrate on December 25th (since it’s near the winter solstice, as the symbolic triumph of light over darkness), but add April 17th as a true likely birthday, as well?

We can even take his logic further, to discover information about the annunciation. Counting backwards nine months, August 17th would be a likely day for the annunciation to Mary that she would become Theokotos, (or God bearer). This is traditionally celebrated around the vernal equinox, which is correct and beautiful, from a symbolic standpoint but wouldn’t work well if Mary had been pregnant nine months and Jesus had been born in Spring.
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[1]Molnar, Michael. Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. pp101-109.

The Center for Non Harming Ministries is dedicated to providing resources for the non harming healer of all denominations and in an open, friendly, ecumenical, welcoming way.

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“They told me to go fly a kite” he jokes, pointing at the butterfly kite he has added, ”so I did.”

It takes courage and heart to smile in the face of adversity, to choose to spread joy and love instead of cursing God and spreading vitriol. We never would have known Jan’s motivation if we hadn’t asked him about it. Jan risks being written off as so many in California are, but he seemed pretty sane to us.

Have any of our readers seen that odd old film, Harold and Maude?  Maude had clearly been through some adversity, too, and probably made a similar choice somewhere along the path.

It takes courage and conviction to celebrate life with a smile and choose to spread happiness. What a great choice!

Besides the film Harold and Maude, Jan’s story brings to mind a few Psalms, such as Psalm 30,  96-98, 136. What does it bring to mind, for you?