"I just had a major altarcation."

ALTARED SYMBOLISM

Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan; on the children of Israel’s side.” And when the children of Israel heard of it,the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them. Joshua 22:11-12

Talk about a slight misunderstanding! As the story goes, the Reubens (not the deli item) built an altar to praise God. They did this because they feared that just because they come from "the other side of the Jordan," that future Hebrew descendants would "take the river to symbolize" a boundary separating them from "the chosen people" who lived on the "right side of the Jordan" in the Promised Land. That they were not with "their kind" and as such building this altar was to "break faith with the God of Israel" and "turn away from the Lord and build an altar of rebellion against him...."

Naturally, the right thing to do for the other tribes was to gather a great army and go to battle with these heretics. Phew! Good thing that Papa Reuben was a convincing speaker; he was able to convey that their perception couldn't be farther from the truth.

There were, are and always will be altars. We build them, talk about them and gather around them. You can see them in any direction you turn:

Cars. Homes. Positions. Degrees. Portfolios. Churches. Politics. Jewelry.

So, be honest...was your first impression that I was attacking these items? Really.

I see it these ways:

CARS: being used to bring food to an elderly couple, a family in mourning or just a friend needing a ride.

HOMES: in Rwanda built to house widows and children of the genocide, Habitat neighborhood in urban Baltimore and the arms of a loving Father.

POSITIONS: face down on the ground weeping with gratitude in knowing that pain is the cost of joy.

DEGREES: 360. "Got ya covered."

PORTFOLIOS: the collection of dirty, seemingly worthless pennies I have picked up from the gutters along the way.

CHURCHES: made out of my words, my actions and beings outside the walls.

POLITICS: there's a fine line between the pig sty and the (prodigal) party. Luke 15:24

JEWELRY: for many years I searched for a pendant to wear. A symbol to represent my: Heart. Belief. Faith. Vision. Values. Journey. Me.

Visiting Victoria and Rick last year in Oregon, I found it. Simple. A lone tree. Leaves look a bit like clouds. And then I noticed that the trunck and branches reminded me of the first letter of the Hebrew word, Shema. The Shema is considered the most important prayer (recited twice daily) in Judaism: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One."

That's my altarcation?

What's yours?

For emphasis - (b)