Tag: wilderness

Noise, Noise, Noise.

Sometimes a good villain makes a good point. Recall the Grinch’s hatred for all the noise on Christmas morning.

For many of us, it is in the build up to Christmas that we get annoyed by the noise, the pushy people in the mall, lineups at every store, commercials, endless TV reruns. How do you cope with “all the noise” in the buildup to Christmas?

Read Mark 1:1-8

In all the hubbub build up to Christmas, how can you hear “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight'”?

 

The Strawberry

Buddhism often uses stories to present ideas. Here is a Buddhist story.

One day while walking in the wilderness, a man came upon a vicious tiger. He fled, running through the trees, looking back over his shoulder to see if the tiger was gaining on him.

Unfortunately, this meant he didn’t watch where he was going, and he tumbled headlong over a cliff. He scrambled desperately to save himself and managed to grab a vine that hung over the cliff. For a few moments he dangled there, savouring his amazing escape from certain death.

Then he looked up. Two mice were perched on the cliff edge, gnawing on his vine with their sharp little teeth.

As he looked up, the man glimpsed something else. A strawberry plant was growing from the cliff face, with one plump, ripe strawberry. The man reached up and plucked the strawberry. It was incredibly delicious!

What idea do you think the story is trying to present?