“And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.” Luke 4:16

Rooted in Tradition

We do not always think of Jesus as a Jewish man who was deeply rooted in the religious tradition of his people. Wrapped in his prayer shawl he preached and taught in the Synagogues and read from the Hebrew scripture. The prayer shawl is white with blue trim, fringed at the ends with a tassel at each of the four corners. The tassels symbolize one’s faithfulness to the Torah. The fringe of Jesus’ shawl had healing power, as in the case of the woman with the hemorrhage. (Luke 8:43-48) When deep in prayer, Jewish men pull their prayer shawls over their heads to create a sort of prayer closet. Jesus attended Synagogue every Sabbath, and though there might have been things he did not agree with, he went, and we all follow his example when we attend church faithfully every Sunday bringing with us all our doubts and uncertainties. In doing so we are strengthened and upheld by one another in the faith. So even though we don’t agree or understand what is going on in the church or the world around us, plan to attend church to join together in prayer and praise.

gracedeacon@gwi.net