Although my siblings and I are three-fourths Swedish, Mom never let us forget about the other fourth, thanks to her Irish father. St. Patrick’s Day was important to her, and she whooped it up big when the time came. She never drank a drop of alcohol in her life, but her love for a hilarious good time sometimes made us wonder.
Mom and Dad were a classic case of opposites attracting, and Dad once told us that one of the reasons he married Mom was because he knew she would be “good for him.” He was a conservative, shy Swede who didn’t speak English when he started school and never got into the social whirl. Mom, on the other hand, was a social whirl.
I have to admire Dad. He took a chance on a 29 year old extrovert when he was a quiet 42 year old. There were a few fireworks along the way, but overall it worked out as he’d hoped. She drew him into the party scene (Christian parties, of course), and he pulled her toward… well… I guess he didn’t. But they made it to their 50th anniversary appreciating each other’s differences.
Every March 17th Dad put up with Green Hi-C punch instead of his morning orange juice and green scrambled eggs instead of his preferred hard boiled. Mint jelly on his toast wasn’t as good as grape, but because he loved his wife, he went along on her holiday ride.
As for Mom, she pulled out all the stops. The whole relation was invited for a green dinner, and we all arrived wearing the right color. Mom always assured us she was “decorated to the skin,” which meant she was wearing her green underwear. Her exterior was adorned with buttons referencing her Irish heritage, and the meal was so colorful, it cast a green glow throughout the room.
Making a trip to downtown Chicago to see the river dyed green and the parade down State St. was good for starters, but her real love was playing games at home with her 17 grandchildren, the perfect number of kids for March 17th. She also passed out St. Pat’s Day cards to all of us with a $2 bill in each one, “a little something green.” (After she died, we found a stack of them in her dresser drawer.)
Mom was quick to say, “I know I’m only half Irish, but I lost all my Swedish blood in nose bleeds as a child.” She did indeed seem to be Irish through and through, able to talk with a perfect brogue and tell a joke without botching the punch line.
So what’s the point of all of this? We’ve all heard the expression, “A mother is the hub of the home.” And another favorite, “If Mom ain’t happy, no one’s happy.” In recent years being a mom with a keen interest in putting family first has come upon hard times. But if “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world,” what’s not to love about that powerful position?
One of the most important jobs every mother has is to show her family that being together is a good time, rich with blessing. In recent months I’ve experienced unnumbered blessings and endless help from my immediate and extended family members coming together for my benefit, young and old alike. Part of the reason is that Mom worked steadily to foster camaraderie and harmony within her family, beginning many decades ago. When she created holiday traditions, no matter how goofy, she was accomplishing her goal: “Make it so much fun at home, they’ll want to be together there.”
”If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)
I’ve never met your mom but with all the stories that I’ve heard between you and Mary I feel that I know her really well! She seems like so much fun, and yet she seemed to have very calculated ways of achieving her goals, even through her silliness! She is the person that I want to be when I am a grandma!
This one made me first laugh remembering Evelyn’s crazy funny ways of making the dullest thing fun. Especially the “Dressed to the bone…” I remembered Valentine as well….. Then I cried ‘ cause I really miss her and her letters,and everything else she shared with me. She meant a great deal to me growing up and she will always be my role model.
I have so many wonderful memories of your Mom. I can just hear her saying she was “dressed to the bone”! I remember when she came out to our house for my aunt’s 90th birthday party, she got lost, stopped and asked a policeman to help her, he escorted her to my home and she invited him in for swedish meatballs! Love the pictures!
OK, I’d like some clarification here . . . did you find a stack of St. Patrick’s Day cards or a stack of $2 bills? 😉 Your mom sounds like such a wonderful woman. I wish I would have known her.
Dear Anonymous,
It was so good to read your response to the “Testing…Testing” blog. You are on an exciting journey, for God wants to tell you all about Himself through your reading of the Bible. I am praying for you as I go through my day, and even though we don’t know each other, I feel close to you.
And Margaret, thanks for all your writings!
I had the great pleasure of knowing Evelyn. She was one of the teachers of our high school Sunday School class at Moody Church. The first Sunday at Moody I was a stranger and had to climb all the way to the top of the Church (remember those stairs?) She was there to welcome me. She made me feel special. From that moment on, she was special to me and continued to be and still is.
Hello,
Your mom sounds wonderful. I have questions. Reading John, I am assuming that (because of If a =b and b=c then a =c) the “Word” is referring to Jesus, so I’m not understanding the whole relationship of God, Jesus and the dove thing. Is it ok to talk to God? And how come Jesus talked to his mother so abruptly in chapter 2. And Jesus has a very bad temper.
PS the dove is in Matthew not John, why?
Hi, Margaret – Jim has wonderful memories of your mom. I didn’t know her as well, but appreciated her so much. I love the picture of your family – it’s amazing how much Linnea looks like you. She can be encouraged that she will get more gorgeous as she gets older.
Marni, Oh I remember the fun we had with your Mom as Aunt Pat and then our kids as Grandma Johnson. How gracious our God is to allow us the wonderful times with a woman who loved our Lord, her family and eveyone she met.
We absolutely did have an awesome mom.
What a blessing. Prov.15:15
(I know why my favorite color is GREEN!)
I loved knowing your Mom at Moody Church. Our son David, was in a play for the New England Dinner one year and your Mom was the director!!! She was fantastic and so much fun.
I had a fun Mom as well, but she didn’t stay fun as she aged like your Mom. You and Mary had a great gift.
Thanks be to God!!!
Top O’the Morning… a day later Margaret!
My husband is mostly Irish and so my daughter is partly, but this full blood Sicilian-Italian faithfully cooks corned beef and cabbage every year even though they do not like the meal at all! My mom broke once a year from standing over the pasta sauce pot to make the delicious Irish fare. It’s the one time of the year I also buy a bottle of Thousand Island Dressing to follow up the next day with Reuben sandwiches. Guess I’ll need two bowls of oatmeal tomorrow.
What a great example your mom is. It is a good reminder to slow down and look for fun.
Love,
Terry
Dear Anonymous,
Great honest questions. It’s a good thing to hear the viewpoints and perspectives of someone who might be reading the texts for the first time. I’m at school now, but when I get home tonight I intend on trying to provide some insight into your observations, as others on the blog might do so as well.
Keep reading!
Terry
I LOVE my childhood memories of Grandma, especially on holidays. I’m so blessed to have so many amazing women and mothers in my family as role models. Love you mom. 🙂
I still have a $2 bill that she gave me years ago that is perfectly folded into a bowtie. It is sitting on my piano next to a picture of her, Klaus, Andrew, Hans and myself in Sanibel.
I look at it often and whenever I think of ‘Grandma Johnson’, I can’t help but chuckle.
Oh, Aunt Pat. I miss you! You were such an encourager!
I LOVED, LOVED, Loved your mom. She would let us park in your drive on the 4th of July(I felt so special) and always had a toy or game in her closet for ME when my mom and I would drop by from time to time when she lived on Virginia Lane. When I asked her why she asked us to call her Aunt Pat when her name was Evelyn she answered “It’s easier to say”. Now I think it must have been that Irish heritage!
So that’s why she told me her name was “Pat”..when I met her at Linni and Adam’s wedding. she was a darling;wish I could have known her. what wonderful memories she made for you all.
Hi Margaret,
My mom was not Irish, but you would have thought she was! Her favorite color was green and many of the things your mom did, my mom did too! We just didn’t have those $2.00 bills! My dad loved his corned beef and cabbage so much and loved St. Patrick’s Day for all the wonderful food my mom would cook.
We kids loved to see her crazy cakes which always had some kind of silly green icing “adornments” on top. She loved March 17th so much that God called her home on that day! How fitting for her.
Miss you…. especially on Wednesdays! Take care. We need to visit sometime soon.
Hi Anonymous,
Okay I’m at my computer now with a cup of tea (though I’m of no tea party affiliation, Boston or otherwise:)), and my Bible. So, here we go.
Let’s start with really two different questions you have about the dove.
First, why is it mentioned in Matthew but not John?
Actually, it is detailed in Mark and Luke as well. Three of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels- you can see from the word that if you break it down it means “with one eye.” In other words, those three gospels tend to be very similar in their content. John’s gospel, however, has a very different flavor to it for several reasons. First, he wrote his gospel much later than the other three, between 85-95 AD. In the interim between the writing of the first 3 gospels and John’s gospel, a false teaching was circulating called “gnosticism.” The themes that John spends a good deal of time writing about are in direct response to these false teachings, something the other writers did not need to address. Second, because the other three had already detailed so many specific events, like the one you refer to, there was no need for John to repeat them. He sometimes did repeat an event, but more to press a point about the identity of Jesus than provide historical narrative. Third, John himself was arguably the closest to Jesus and had a very tender personality. You will find he writes more poetically and intimately, and spends a great deal of time focusing on who Jesus is. The others also do that, but there is much more emphasis on chronology and what Jesus did. Fourth, John is very specific several times in his gospel about why he is writing-“that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing you might have life in His name.” When John writes about the things that Jesus did, he does so to bring convincing evidence to who He is. For example, it is John who records Jesus’ words, “I am the bread of life,” on the heels of feeding the 5000. Anyone can make claims, but can they back them? John’s gospel over and over says yes He can (not to be confused with political slogans :)).
The other three also have their own unique reasons for being part of the Bible, despite their similarities. The authors targeted different audiences, for one thing, as God wanted to reach all people with His message. It could be said that Matthew beautifully bridges the Old and New Testament as it contains many quotations from the OT, and has a strongly Jewish flavor. Mark’s gospel is journalistic and direct, active, focusing on Jesus’s actions and is short on story, appealing to the Roman mind of the day. Luke, the type A physician, tells us right from the beginning that he is going to compile a very detailed and precise historical account of the life of Christ. Luke, in fact, is the only Gentile writer, and his presentation of Jesus as perfect Son of Man, appealed to the Greek mind. Dr. Luke takes a special interest in detailing Jesus’s interactions with individuals, the poor and the outcast, and the love and salvation of Christ being extended to all men, and not just the Jews.
The fact that there is a lot of difference in the context of sameness lends authenticity to these gospels. Wouldn’t it be strange, for example, if 4 people eye witnessed an accident, and they all said EXACTLY the same thing? In a court of law, that would be considered collusion, and their testimony would likely be thrown out. Instead, each eyewitness adds detail and gives a fuller story to what actually happened. It is not a contradiction, for example, for one eyewitness to say a car with a lot of rust on it was in the accident, and another to say a white car was involved. Both are telling the truth and providing detail together that they couldn’t alone- a rusty, white car!
A final thought to this question- God in the OT required two witnesses for confirmation to the accuracy and truthfulness of some occurrence, agreement, what have you. It is why we require two witnesses for the signing of legal documents and presenting evidence in a court of law. God doubled the numbers to 4 in the matter of providing reliable evidence to the person of Christ!
Okay, this is more than you asked, but I suspected underneath that question of the dove was a bit more about the trustworthiness of the Biblical account.
I’m going to address your other questions in separate comments.
Hope this helps on the Matthew-John dove question.
Terry
Hi Again Anonymous,
You are correct that Jesus is the Word- well done!
Okay, Jesus, God and the dove!
Love your chain logic if a>c. 🙂
This is part of the doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible never actually uses that word, but the nature of God being a triune being, is all over the Bible, exemplified in Jesus’ baptism. Here is a clear example of all three being present in perfect harmony- God the Father pronouncing His blessings on God the Son, anointed by God the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, for service and enduing Him with power.
Terry
Next Question!
Jesus’ abruptness with His mother. You know I think it is easy for us to give Jesus a voice when we read. You know how when you read a novel you almost give each character a tone and tenor? I have heard preachers make Jesus sound very harsh and I have heard them make Him sound very tender using the same passage! Many movies have been made based on one gospel or the other, but my favorite shows Jesus in a way I’ve never considered Him. It’s the Gospel of Matthew put out by The Visual Bible. What particularly struck me in that one was the place in Matthew where He is confronting the Pharisees big time. All other interpretations of that have kind of made Jesus seem like He is pointing His finger right in their chest and giving it to them. This one shows Jesus crestfallen almost at their blindness, moved to tears by their hardness of heart. Once I saw that, I read the passages and others as well in a whole new light.
When Jesus is on the cross, He says some very clipped things. To John He says simply, “behold your mother.” To Mary, speaking of John, “behold your son.” That, too, sounds mechanical and emotionless, like He is mopping up some details before He dies. But it is very tender as the eldest son of the family is ensuring His mother’s well being to the man He trusts the most.
So, back to the wine at the wedding. When Jesus says, “woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?’ First, the use of the word, woman, was a title of respect back in the day, and not like we might use it now. Second, He was reminding His mother that in the carrying out of His divine mission, He was not subject to instructions from His mother, but acted entirely in obedience to the will of His Father in heaven. Notice that in her directions to the servants that she understood His meaning, as she indicated to them that they were not to obey her, but to do whatever He says. Even His mother was ultimately subject to Him. Mary wanted to see Jesus glorified, but He had to remind her that His time for this had not yet come. Before he would appear to the world as the all-conquering Christ, He had to go to Calvary. I don’t think even His mother understood, and His disciples certainly didn’t get it, that He came to die.
Terry
Is Jesus cranky, part 2?
I think you are referring to the cleansing of the temple?
Jesus actually does this twice- once at the beginning of His public ministry as recorded in John, and once during His last week as He comes into Jerusalem to be crucified as recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus began and ended His ministry by cleansing the temple at Passover.
When His disciples saw Him do this, undoubtedly they were reminded of the prophesy in Psalm 69:9 that when the Messiah came, “zeal for His Father’s house would consume Him”.
Jesus used His whip to drive out the moneychangers, but it is not recorded that He actually used it on anyone.
Anyhow, coming to the temple, Jesus saw that it had become a marketplace, the sacrifices that were to be offered up to God turned into a business, and a business that took unfair advantage of the poor and those who had traveled great distances to be in Jerusalem for the feast. In short, they were using religious services as a means of getting rich.
Jesus’ response was neither cruel nor unjust. It was rather an indication of His holiness and righteousness. It was the first confrontation with the religious leaders in exposing their hypocrisy. And when he does it again at the end of His ministry, He is again going right to the heart of the nation’s problem-corruption in worship.
Jesus is not weak, poor little Jesus asleep in the hay. He is God, and just as He is loving and merciful and gracious and compassionate, He is just and unyielding with sin. He acts in complete perfection. We get angry or throw a fit mostly because things are not going the way we want them to. Jesus is not like us. In fact, the word holy means otherness. Jesus is so totally other than us that it is a dangerous thing to place the grid of our own human reactions over Him and think He acts with like motive.
Hope this helps,
Terry
Last question- is it okay to talk to God?
Absolutely! Lay it on Him!
The Psalmist point blank says to God, “answer me, when I call, oh God… hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1.
God invites you to do so- “call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Talk to God in prayer. He is already talking to you- through the Bible and through His people.
I hope all of this has answered your questions. I firmly believe there is not one question you can ask that the Bible, when you investigate it, won’t give you a satisfying answer. I can’t guarantee that I will be able to answer with as much thoroughness as I have done tonight, but know that my heart and that of everyone reading this blog, and that of it’s author, Margaret, all care for you and desire you to find what you are looking for, which we believe is Jesus.
Terry
Hi, Anonymous…
I would love to converse with you directly and would be happy to let you have my email address to facilitate that, but I would also need to know yours. By subscribing to my blog and leaving your email there, it will come to me when you leave a comment but not be on public display. Hope you do it…
Most sincerely,
Margaret
Oh what fun memories you have of your mother! She is an inspiration to for all of us to not take life so seriously and go ahead and do something silly and out of the ordinary. We can waste alot of fun times worrying about what others think or believing that we are too old for any “foolishness”. She is definitely a kindred spirit. ;0)