It's Summer: Come to Class in Your Jammies!

Del Mar Sisters in Scriptures meets every Wednesday at 10am in the LDS Cardiff Chapel, 1444 Lake Drive, Cardiff. Class is held September through May. Dress is casual and anyone of any faith is welcome to attend. Our next session will begin September 12, 2018.

Our class lessons are also available on video on my YouTube channel (Marilyn Green Faulkner) so you can join us any time, in your jammies... Be sure to subscribe so that you can get notifications when new videos are posted. I'll try to do a few for you this summer!

Enjoy! Contact me any time at marilyngreenfaulkner@gmail.com

Breaking the Good News

When there is great news to tell, time seems to hold still for a moment. Life takes a dramatic turn in that moment when the mission call is opened, or you get that phone call that your child is getting married, or that first grandchild is here. Life will never be the same after that news is told. 

And so it is with the four gospels. These writers knew that they were telling a shocking story that would change the course of history. The Messiah had been born in obscurity, lived an inspiring and sinless life and touched thousands. Then he was arrested and died an ignominious death, leaving his followers devastated. But just when all seemed lost, miracle of miracles, he came to life again and was seen in his resurrected state by hundreds of people. No wonder the word ‘gospel’ means good news- there has never been anything to equal it!

How would you choose to present these glad tidings of great joy? Let’s start with the earliest gospel, Mark, then follow with Matthew and Luke, and see how the gospel writers chose to break the news to all of us.

Mark's gospel could also be called the Memoirs of Peter. Peter was his mentor, and Mark recorded Peter's stories about the Savior as faithfully as possible. Matthew used that as his main content, and Luke also used much of Mark's gospel, adding to it his personal interviews with some of the great women in Christ's life. Together, these three "synoptic" gospels give us a multi-faceted view of the blessed Lord.

We will continue to meet every Wednesday at 10am at the LDS Cardiff chapel, with the exception of November 22, and December 20th, and 27th, when we will take off for the holidays. 

See you there!

A Christian Gratitude Meditation

We are talking about the sacrament this week and it’s been fascinating to trace the imagery of eating and feasting all the way through the Old Testament (forbidden fruit, manna, etc) and then throughout Jesus’s life. He turned water into wine, fed thousands, and ended his mission with a supper that he invites us all to repeat. He was even born in a manger, an eating trough! So interesting, and to me it all leads up to the sacred feast of the sacrament.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to think about during the sacrament. I’m suggesting five things that people can do during that sacred time, and one of them is to offer a gratitude meditation. (To hear the other four, you will have to listen to the lesson)  A guided meditation can seem awkward at first, but it can really help us focus our attention on our blessings. Here is one just to get you started:

 Go at your own pace and change this any way you want to reflect your feelings:

•       Settle yourself in a relaxed posture. Take a few deep, calming breaths to relax and center. For a few moments, let your awareness move to your immediate environment: all the things you can smell, taste, touch, see, hear, right around you. Say to yourself: “For this beautiful place, these great people around me, and this beautiful day Lord,  I am grateful. 
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•       Now, bring to mind those people in your life to whom you are close: your friends, family, spouse, parents, …. Think specifically of a few ways that your life has been blessed this week by your loved ones. Thank the Lord for those special moments, and say to yourself, “Lord, I am grateful to be loved by wonderful people." Name them in your mind, and let your feelings of love well up for each one as you do. 
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•       Next, turn your attention onto yourself: you are a unique individual, blessed with imagination, the ability to communicate, to learn from the past and plan for the future, to overcome any pain you may be experiencing. Think of how the Lord has blessed you with the opportunity to live, and change, and meet your challenges. Your life is a precious gift. Think how you have been born into a period of immense prosperity, freedom, and that you have the gift of health, culture and access to spiritual teachings. Say to yourself: “Lord, I am grateful for my life, for my challenges and problems, for my joys and successes, and to live in this time and be a part of great things. 
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•      Finally, rest into the realization that you are connected to Jesus by covenants of love. Imagine his eyes, looking straight at you. Remember that He knows you, and loves you, and that your concerns are important to Him. Through his atonement you have the opportunity to become better, stronger and more full of love. He can give you the strength to meet any challenge, to forgive others, and to be filled with peace even in times of trouble.  Say to yourself: "Lord,  I am grateful for your love. I praise and adore you, and will be your servant. I know that gratitude is the heart’s memory, and I promise to always remember you, so that I can have your spirit to be with me every day.  I thank you humbly for the abundance of my life, for helping me overcome my sins and shortcomings, and for pouring out your spirit on my loved ones and me. Help me show that love to everyone I meet this week.” And then be quiet and listen.

The Sermon on the Mount is so familiar to us that it is easy to lose sight of how revolutionary its teachings are. We will do a close reading of this remarkable set of statements, as recorded in Matthew 5-7.

Our process of reading the gospels, carefully and prayerfully, must begin with the themes that are set out in this remarkable sermon. The Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and a whole new take on the Ten Commandments are just a few of the gems we find here. When we ask ourselves the question, “What would Jesus do?” we will often find the answer in these chapters.

Several members of our class shared insights on the ways that Jesus teaches us to love, pray, give, feel, act and, finally, whom to follow. 

Watch here for the link ~ coming in a couple of days.

The four Gospels are not exactly a biography of Jesus, though they do tell us many things about his daily life. Instead, these four documents are organized in a deliberate way as a masterful presentation of the mission of Christ. There are some pervasive themes that we studied in the Old Testament that we find in the gospels, yet presented in a new way. So, this time around, rather than study them in a linear fashion we will approach different events, parables and stories in light of those themes.

As a reading assignment I'm inviting everyone to read the four Gospels by Christmas, taking notes and writing your thoughts as you go. Our objective is to have each class member experience what Bruce R. McConkie described when he said: "The Gospels are where we go to fall in love with the Lord." And to ask ourselves, what can I learn from the gospels about how to live these principles today? I look forward to sharing this experience with you.

The first two lessons of the year are available now on YouTube. Lesson One explores the theme of Forgiveness and Reconciliation by looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Lesson Two explores the theme of Grace with a close reading of the Story of the Good Samaritan. Here are the links:

Forgiveness and Reconciliation: The Parable of Two Sons

How Grace Works in Real Life: The Good Samaritan

Summer Reading

The Old Testament is a big, long book, and we didn't quite get finished with it by the end of our course! I hope that you will read the rest of the text this summer. Meanwhile, I will be working on a book based on our class sessions, (The User-friendly Old Testament) and I will be recording some additional lessons for the YouTube channel. If you subscribe to the channel you will automatically get an email whenever a new lesson is posted. Here is the link: Del Mar Sisters in Scriptures.

And just in case you have a burning desire to learn even more about the Old Testament, I will be teaching at BYU Education Week again this year. There will be four new lectures on the Old Testament ~ now doesn't that sound more fun than a week on a lake somewhere? (Don't answer that.) If you can, join me August 21-25 for as much fun as you can possibly have while actually reading the scriptures!

Love to you and yours, and have a great summer!

Marilyn

It's All Greek to Me

One of the most striking landmarks in our community is the beautiful Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church on Manchester in Encinitas. Many times as I have passed this sparkling white building with the golden dome, I have wished I knew more about the people that worship there. What does the Greek Orthodox church believe, and in what ways does it differ from the traditional Catholic Church? Do only Greek people belong? And how do they get that cross to appear when sunlight hits the dome? Since we had so much fun getting to know Rabbi Wright of the Temple Sol El, I thought it might be a good idea to go and meet Rev. Father Michael Sitaras, the Priest who leads this congregation. On a recent Sunday I attended the Divine Liturgy there, and it was fascinating. Father Michael is a third generation priest and has a great manner of connecting with his parishioners. (By the way, in case you are wondering how one becomes a third generation Priest, Orthodox priests are allowed to marry, and Father Sitaras and his wife, Presbytera Mary, are the parents of four children!)  Father Michael graciously accepted the invitation to teach our class last week. When I asked him what he would like to teach us, he suggested that we might be interested in learning how about the ancient music and iconography (painting of the altars) is used in their worship. Along with his divinity training, Father Michael also has a Master’s Degree in painting. He has been involved in creating works of art for the different congregations where he has served. The beautiful icons and mosaic dome of the church took my breath away, so I was anxious to know more about them.   Father Michael offered us a unique opportunity to peek inside a world of worship that is different than ours, but beautiful in its own way. Byzantine art is highly stylized and full of symbols that are meaningful to all Christians. I'd invite you to watch the YouTube lesson: It's All Greek to Me: Father Michael Teaches Us About Byzantine Art.