Happy Friday! There's a whole lot of Barbie x Picklesburgh fever around here: it's going to be quite the weekend! I hope you're up to something delightful.
Table inspiration
Jesus “revolutionizes the practice of eating together through his reversal of hierarchies, his attention to the position of slaves and of women, his inclusion of the poor and the marginalized, and his closeness to transgressors…in the vision of Jesus, an abundant and exceptional meal overturns the order of everyday things…The shared meal becomes the symbol of the future kingdom of God, which seems to be imagined as an earthly world in which a miraculous abundance reigns.” Adriana Destro & Mauro Pesce, Encounters with Jesus: The Man in His Place and Time
Comment highlight
On being in the depths, Rosie says: "At this point, the ocean does not conjure up feelings of calm or refreshment for me. It evokes feelings of overwhelm. It’s so vast and so uncontrollable, paralleling some of my current life experiences...One thing that feels helpful is the idea that I don’t have to do the work in the deep, and that contemplation is about being present more than about figuring out the plan by myself."
There's something so critical, I think, in the fact that Jesus' communal meals aren't homogenous happy celebrations but prophetically upside-down affairs where—Beatitude-style—the people in the deepest depths were honored and cared for. The Table, whatever else it is, is respite.
Two giant pickles are better than one!
I, um, have never attended Picklesburgh, allegedly the country's number-one specialty-food festival, but this weekend my daughter is selling pickle-themed crafts, so I'll be there with bells on. I'm sorry to report that the festival features a pickle-juice-drinking contest (ONE QUART of pickle juice, these people drink!) but thrilled to report that it will now include NOT ONE BUT TWO GIANT PICKLES. Pittsburgh, y'all!
OK! Hope your weekend includes some moments of delightful absurdity!
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