Matthew 27:29 (The soldiers mock Jesus before His crucifixion.)
I have thought a lot about that scenario since I have been here. It is my understanding these were no "rose thorns," to which those of us who are from "The City of Roses" will attest can be painful enough! I now have a new "visual" on their reality:
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| Thorns or Nails??? |
I have been watching these collecting next to a chair Phil sits in outside on our screened porch. One day I asked him why he was collecting "nails" there and he explained they were "thorns" he had been removing one-by-one, with pliers, from his shoes! They are extremely sharp and imbed themselves deeply in shoe soles if you happen to walk over them. Just one more reminder of the suffering Jesus underwent as a sacrifice for me.
Yesterday and today, the Galmi village Muslim community celebrated a holiday called "Tabaski." This is considered to be one of the biggest Muslim Festivals of the year - The Feast of the Sacrifice. According to the Qur'an, Allah asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, whom they consider to be Ishmael. Though Abraham was deeply troubled by Allah's request, he agreed to perform the sacrifice as a sign of his obedience. But just before Abraham began the sacrifice, Allah told him to offer s sheep instead. To remember Abraham's offering, every family sacrifices a sheep on Tabaski morning.
Later in the afternoon yesterday, Phil and I went with a friend from the compound here to visit a young couple she knows quite well. The man is also the one who cooks the rams for many families. It was a warm wonderful visit, and although we missed the "slaughtering of the rams," (Thank you, Lord!), we did see the cooking of the sacrifices in action. Apparently, the rams are eaten on the second day, but the "intestine-kabobs" were a much-anticipated treat for celebrating day 1 of Tabaski!
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| Rams on the "Spit" With Kabobs |
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| Rams on the "Spit" |
I did not mind at all that we were not staying for dinner, or not being offered a "kabob-to-go!"
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