{"id":718,"date":"2013-02-05T20:30:56","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T02:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=718"},"modified":"2013-02-05T20:33:15","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T02:33:15","slug":"wondering-about-offerings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2013\/02\/wondering-about-offerings.html","title":{"rendered":"Wondering About Offerings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>There are two main questions to ask when planning a public ritual:\u00a0 what do you want to do and what do you want people to take away?\u00a0 For this year\u2019s Imbolc ritual, what we wanted to do was pretty clear \u2013 render due honor to the Goddess Brighid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But part of the magic of public ritual is planting seeds for future growth:\u00a0 introducing people to concepts, practices and beings they haven\u2019t seen before or haven\u2019t noticed before.\u00a0 While I didn\u2019t give the question of takeaways much thought during composition, I\u2019ve been wondering what might come of introducing the practice of making offerings to deities.<\/p>\n

I wonder if sharing food and drink with gods and goddesses will encourage hospitality in our everyday lives?\u00a0 One of the main reasons for making offerings is to be polite to our honored guests.\u00a0 Think about how many people are calling on Brighid at this time of year.\u00a0 If she takes time out of her busy day to visit our circle, the least we can do is offer her something to drink.<\/p>\n

Likewise, are we hospitable to our human guests at our circles?\u00a0 Or do we ignore them while we talk to our friends?\u00a0 Do we render due honor to the people we come across in our daily lives?\u00a0 Or do we act as though they\u2019re just there to serve us?<\/p>\n

I wonder if giving offerings to deities will connect us to something bigger than ourselves?\u00a0 Many of us came to Paganism from a religion that told us we\u2019re depraved wretches.\u00a0 As Pagans, we rightly reject that idea, but has the reclamation of our inherent value caused us to focus too much on ourselves?\u00a0 Can making offerings turn our focus outward to the work of our gods, the needs of our communities, and the needs of the other species with whom we share the Earth?\u00a0 Will giving promote compassion?<\/p>\n

I wonder if sharing food and drink will make a deity more recognizable to us?\u00a0 One loud voice in our culture insists there\u2019s only one god, while another loud voice screams there are none.\u00a0 It can be hard to hear the call of individual gods and goddesses over these two groups shouting past each other.\u00a0 But we can pick out the voice of our lover or child or friend in the din of a crowd \u2013 can greater familiarity make it easier for us to hear the call of Brighid or Morrigan or Lugh?<\/p>\n

I wonder if reviving an ancient ritual practice will inspire interest in our ancestors?\u00a0 Offerings don\u2019t just honor the deities to whom they\u2019re made, they also honor the ancestors who regularly made such offerings in earlier times.\u00a0 Can our offerings connect us to our roots and help us understand where we came from?\u00a0 Will they show us how we benefit from the work of those who came before us?\u00a0 Will they encourage us to learn the stories of our ancestors and tell them to future generations?<\/p>\n

I wonder if making a sacrifice (from the Latin sacrificium<\/em><\/a> \u2013 to make sacred) will help us see the sacred in other parts of our lives?\u00a0 In our Imbolc ritual, ordinary milk became something more<\/em> when shared with Brighid.<\/p>\n

Our ordinary work provides the necessities of life.\u00a0 Having those necessities in turn makes it possible for us to serve others, to explore the universe, and to create art.\u00a0 Can we find the more<\/em> in the ordinary?\u00a0 Can doing what must be done become an act of sacrifice rather than an act of drudgery?<\/p>\n

I wonder if one spiritual practice will spark an interest in other spiritual practices?\u00a0 If we find making offerings to be meaningful and helpful, will we also begin a practice of prayer<\/a>?\u00a0 Or meditation?\u00a0 Or observation of the skies<\/a>?\u00a0 Will we begin devotional reading and listening<\/a>?\u00a0 Can we begin writing<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Daily practice is the spiritual equivalent of training for the athlete or rehearsal for the performer.\u00a0 It\u2019s how we reinforce our core beliefs and values in a world that frequently is at odds with both.\u00a0 It\u2019s how we create and maintain relationships with our deities, ancestors, and the natural world.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to practice all these techniques, but I wonder if each of us could add one thing to our spiritual repertoire this year?<\/p>\n

I wonder.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have enough information to speculate, much less to know\u2026 still, I wonder.\u00a0 Seeds have been planted, but not every seed that is planted sprouts.\u00a0 Not every sprout grows to be a hardy plant.\u00a0 Not every plant bears fruit.<\/p>\n

But some do.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introducing a spiritual practice \u2013 even a familiar one \u2013 in ritual is like planting seeds. I wonder what will sprout from the practice of making offerings?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[26,27,28,4,5,25,10],"class_list":["post-718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ritual","tag-brighid","tag-imbolc","tag-offerings","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-ritual-2","tag-spiritual-practice"],"yoast_head":"\nWondering About Offerings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Introducing a spiritual practice \u2013 even a familiar one \u2013 in ritual is like planting seeds. 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