The Ancient Greeks had very special and peculiar customs around fire. (For instance the Olympic flame could be an example with which modern people can be familiar.)
Those customs were controlled by a powerful goddess Hestia. She was a divine patroness of family and city hearths. She might be mentioned in hardly any mythology, and thus quite obscure, but she was venerated by every Greek family and city.
An important part of her veneration was keeping her fire pure and ever-burning. Keeping family and city fires was not a chore it was an important religious duty and important cult. No foreign fire was allowed. And when family was moving or when the city was starting a daughter colony they would take the original fire with them.
The Biblical ancestors did not venerate Hestia, they did not need to. YHWH/Adonai/the Lord - our God was also closely associated with fire. And the Bible contains a number of hints of similar practices like we know from Greece (or other cultures).
When Abraham went for his infamous sacrifice in the land of Moria he took not only his son, and a knife, not only wood but also fire from his home (Genesis 21). And later when rough priests tried to introduce some foreign fire to the YHWH cult they were severely and exemplarily punished. (Lev 10)
This Sunday we will concentrate on the positive aspect of fire in our faith tradition. Join us this Sunday when we discern and rejoice in the miracle and mystery of a divine eternal flame.
Because of the viral pandemic our worship will be broadcast from our sanctuary over the internet.
And here is the link to our video-streaming webpage: https://livestream.com/rutgerschurchnyc.
March 15 worship bulletin is here while hymns are here.
Those customs were controlled by a powerful goddess Hestia. She was a divine patroness of family and city hearths. She might be mentioned in hardly any mythology, and thus quite obscure, but she was venerated by every Greek family and city.
An important part of her veneration was keeping her fire pure and ever-burning. Keeping family and city fires was not a chore it was an important religious duty and important cult. No foreign fire was allowed. And when family was moving or when the city was starting a daughter colony they would take the original fire with them.
The Biblical ancestors did not venerate Hestia, they did not need to. YHWH/Adonai/the Lord - our God was also closely associated with fire. And the Bible contains a number of hints of similar practices like we know from Greece (or other cultures).
When Abraham went for his infamous sacrifice in the land of Moria he took not only his son, and a knife, not only wood but also fire from his home (Genesis 21). And later when rough priests tried to introduce some foreign fire to the YHWH cult they were severely and exemplarily punished. (Lev 10)
This Sunday we will concentrate on the positive aspect of fire in our faith tradition. Join us this Sunday when we discern and rejoice in the miracle and mystery of a divine eternal flame.
Because of the viral pandemic our worship will be broadcast from our sanctuary over the internet.
And here is the link to our video-streaming webpage: https://livestream.com/rutgerschurchnyc.
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