Does sleeping for three hours after 6:30 am count as staying up all night?
Good.
Because that’s what I did last night.
According to Jewish tradition, the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai took place during the biblical feast of Shavuot. And this important event, they say, the entire nation missed — because they slept right through it! But you won’t catch them making the same mistake twice, because now they spend the eve of Shavuot studying the Bible (and eating cheesecake).
Last night was the very first time I tried this particular tradition. Eight pm found me at a friend’s house, eating a sumptuous meal. (And yes, it included cheesecake). By midnight, the dishes were done, and we were gathered in the living room, armed with coffee, tea, pastries — and a simple Bible study for discussion. We were just seven people, but a whole cornucopia of continents and Christian traditions. And oh! was it lively. We rampaged up and down the length of the Bible, sometimes agreeing sometimes opposed, sometimes defining terms too late, but staying civil just the same. We were passionate, thoughtful, humble, questioning. Loud and quiet, but mostly loud.
We retained our diversity to the end (did we ever!) but managed a unified spirit just the same. It’s surprisingly exhilarating, this articulating what you know and Whom you love: the breadth and glory of His plan, the richness and the transforming aliveness of His life.
By 4 am, we joined the steady stream in the street, all headed for dawn and prayers at the Western Wall. Do you know how surreal it is to be in a laughing, chattering, buzzing crowd in the dark and shuttered streets? One that swells and grows with bright-eyed men and women, and even babies in their strollers, while the cobalt black sky becomes cobalt light and birds begin to sing.
And that’s the picture I have in my head for the very first Pentecost, which was this feast of Shavuot. When wind blew, flames alighted, and the Spirit arrived in all His LIFE to transform us from the inside out, until it could truly be said that we were reborn — born again — born brand new — and full of all that Jesus is.
Elisabeth Adams 