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PAGE 5—November 29,1973
The Very Best Time
BY JANE WILLIAMS PUGEL
I knew a family once which was so well organized food-wise
it made my blood run cold.
The children never snacked between meals, but if they did,
I’m sure it was on nutritionally balanced tidbits. You know,
carrot strips or whole what balls, those sort of things.
At mealtime, the children appeared when summoned. Dad
was never mad, and mother never got hot and damp looking just
before setting things on the table and was never heard to
mutter, “I swear, if I ever see another chicken, I’ll...” The
kid’s clothes were clean and neat, and dad -- get this! - wore a
tie to the table. Everybody cleaned his plate to the last
overcooked lima bean, and no child ever hit another at the
table.
I’m not sure what their secret was, but frankly I thought they
were a dull lot. I’m glad I don’t see them anymore.
Who Were Hyksos?
BY STEVE LANDREGAN
One of the most mysterious groups we find in the Bible is the
Hyksos of Egypt. Like that other mysterious people, the
Philistines, who moved onto the stage of human history, played
a key role for a short time, then disappeared without a trace,
the Hyksos role in history was brief but significant.
Our friend Josephus translated the name Hyksos as “shepherd
kings,” but modern scholars prefer the translation “rulers from
foreign lands.”
Family meals are probably one of the most fun parts of
family living. Meals have everything going for them: food,
relaxation, comfort, and people we like best. Put all those things
together and they should spell “happiness.” Very often they do.
But very often, too, in this sometimes frantic age, family
meals run into trouble -- like the difficulty of getting everybody
together at any one time to sit down and break bread. Either
dad is on a late shift, or mother goes to work about the time he
comes home. Or somebody is playing in a football game, and
somebody else has to watch the six o’clock news for history
class. In the face of all this, one of our most strengthening
family practices - a meal together - often falls by the wayside.
The mere logistics of time and place can be staggering. But a
lot of people manage to salvage a time to eat together because
they think it is essential to the life of their family. Some
families schedule dinner late; others may rise earlier in the
morning for a leisurely, sit-down breakfast.
I know a young family whose father is a resident doctor in a
hospital. Several times a week the mother packs up the three
little boys and drives to the hospital to dine with the father at
whatever odd time he has his dinner. Sometimes it is the only
chance he has to see the boys for days on end. Such
unconventional scheduling works for them - but it takes
determination and effort.
Most families do sit down together once or twice a day. And
if we were asked to look back over any given day and choose
the family high point, we would probably select the time we
spent around the table eating and talking. Surprising, isn’t it,
when you think of the often tedious effort that goes into
meal-getting, the frequent clashes of temper as first one child
and then another simply evaporates just as mother puts the last
steaming potato on the table? We do find that our meals
together bring us something of God’s peace as we relax together,
ease our hunger physically and emotionally.
Their presence in Egypt seems to be the result of the domino
theory. In this case the dominoes started falling in Mesopotamia
at the other end of the fertile crescent when the Hurrians and
other non-Semitic peoples invaded that area.
The invasion caused many of the Semitic peoples to move
westward, each pushing another group a little further to the
west. And lo and behold, the Hyksos were pushed into the
Egyptian delta.
It was one of the circumstances of history that at the time of
the Hyksos invasion, Egypt was in a period of chaos and
anarchy that followed the 12th Dynasty. This occurred about
1730 B.C., and the invaders were able to consolidate their
position and extend their power over all of Egypt so that the
15th and 16th Dynasties were Hyksos Dynasties.
This would have placed the Hyksos in a position of power in
Egypt at the time of the migration of Jacob and his sons.
Historically this seems feasible since the Semitic Hyksos would
seem far more likely to elevate another Semite, Joseph, to a
position of prominence, then would the Pharoahs of the
preceding or following dynasties.
The “shepherd kings” reached the zenith of their power
between 1650-1590 B.C. at which time they controlled an
empire that extended from Nubia on the southern reaches of
the Nile to Syria beyond the Lebanons.
As far as the Egyptians were concerned, the Hyksos were
foreign usurpers and they were ultimately overthrown by
Thebians who completely routed them, pursued them into
Canaan and besieged them there for three years. The Thebians
then formed the 18th Dynasty.
It was likely at this time that the Hebrew descendents of
Jacob found their status changed from that of honored guests to
that of an oppressed and eventually enslaved minority, the
reasons being that the Thebians regarded the Hebrews as
associates and potential allies of the hated Hyksos who had
admitted them to Egypt.
Egyptians of the ancient world had the same habit of
rewriting history to suit themselves that still exists in some
places. They viewed the Hyksos occupation as a national
disgrace and set about obliterating any trace of it. They did a
very good job because there is precious little evidence of their
influence or even their presence in Egypt.
They were, however, the first to build a bridge between
Egypt and the Asiatic world. They brought Syria and Palestine
onto the stage of international history, and following their lead,
Egypt became a significant political influence in the area that
separated the power centers of the Nile and the
Tigris-Euphrates.
In addition, scholars believe that the Hyksos were the ones
who introduced the horse and the chariot into Egypt, and also
developed the concept of massive earthwork fortifications.
So the Hyksos moved off the stage of human history as
quickly and as mysteriously as they had appeared. Even their
name has disappeared, but their traits of hospitality on the one
hand, and their development of new concepts of making war on
the other, had a profound effect upon the history of the world
- and its salvation.
Getting together for a meal each day is so essential for the
physical and emotional strength of our families that it should
rate an occasional second thought. Perhaps we have let this
important event slide into the never-never land of “too busy.”
Perhaps we find we must work toward making this precious
time happier, more peaceful - more fun.
BY FATHER CARL J. PFEIFER, S.J.
“Family meals? Are you kidding?” That sums up the typical
spontaneous reation of parents when I bring up the topic of
family meals. “We just don’t seem to ever have a meal
together.” Life is so hectic it’s hard to find a time when the
whole family can sit down to a meal together.” This is a
sampling of the comments I’ve received.
Then I talked to Peg. Peg is very active in Birthright and a
number of church and civic activities, and, her husband, Jerry, is
a research scientist. They have four children, from eight to 19
years of age. Peg admitted that most of her friends seemed to
feel that family meals were a marvelous ideal, but a rather
frustrating reality. She said her family has had a different
experience. They found the family meal each evening to be
possible and rewarding.
Peg said, “We have found that dinner time has been the one
time we are all together as a family - especially as the children
get older. Dinner has always been a very special time for us, a
time for talking, a time for listening, as well as a time for eating.
They dinner table seems to be the place where things that are
said will be remembered.”
I asked her how her family could make it happen since so
many find it almost impossible to eat together. “I guess one
reason is that we really believe the family meal is at the heart of
family life. Then too, I’m selfish. I just don’t like to be a short
order cook, on hand whenever anyone comes in to eat. We have
not been very flexible on this. We have always had set times for
meals and everyone is expected to be there. If the phone rings
during dinner, one of us simply tells the caller we are eating
dinner and we will call back later. We simply set aside time to
eat and enjoy each other’s company in a leisurely fashion.
Dinner time has created for us an atmosphere of order, of
stability, and of mutual concern. Dinner is a time for relaxed
conversation. It’s just been fun much of the time.”
It was refreshing to listen to Peg as she described how she and
her husband, over the years, found realistic ways of making
“MOST FAMILIES DO sit down together once or
twice a day. And if we were asked to look back over
any given day and choose the family high point, we
would probably select the time we spent around the
dinner a real family meal. No doubt their solution is not for
everyone. For example, another family told me they had never
been able to get together as a family for dinner with any
regularity. Like Peg and Jerry, they placed a high value on the
family sharing meals together. So they decided - after some
discussion - to get up one-half hour earlier each morning to
have a special time together as a family at breakfast. Even
though they found it difficult and at times had stragglers
coming in late, they agreed it was something they did not want
to give up. For them breakfast became the regular family meal.
These are the experiences of two families I know who so
believed in the value of the family eating together - and
listening and talking together - that they found ways of making
a regular family meal a reality. They both admitted that there
were difficulties. They found discipline and creativity necessary
in finding workable approaches. But they were grateful that
they had worked at it.
From my experience of sharing meals with families, I am
Celebrating
BY FATHER JOSEPH M. CHAMPLIN
On a beautiful Friday afternoon last August, I flew to
Boston’s Logan airport, rented a car, and drove northward to
the University of New Hampshire at Durham.
The scenery in this section of the state was particularly
magnificent at that time of the year - sparkling lakes, rustic
homes, green forests. Those sights quite naturally gave my
spirits a big lift; an hour later the enthusiasm of participants at a
workshop during the New England Religious Education
Congress further added to my happiness.
I posed two questions to them, inquiries we will discuss in
this column: “What are the characteristics of an ordinary
celebration and how do these compare with those in a liturgical
one?”
For example, at a New Year’s Eve party, a birthday dinner, a
silver wedding anniversary, what would you list as the salient
qualities common to each celebration?
The 250 plus audience reacted immediately and in a few
moments compiled this collection of descriptive phrases:
“Food and drink, decorations, family and friends present,
love, participation, conversation, sense of tradition, singing,
willingness to come, persons to clean up, guest of honor, host,
toastmaster or celebrant, sadness, forward thinking, a reason for
gathering, planning, happy atmosphere, sharing, remembrance,
time for reflection, forming a more united community,
authentic, control, joy, spontaneity, music, gifts, thanksgiving,
invitation, action, a sympathetic sharing of inner selves.”
Today as a matter of course we speak about celebrating Mass,
the celebration of baptisms, weddings, and funerals, liturgical
celebrations. Official Roman documents employ the same
terms.
The second question, then, is: “How do those qualities of a
celebration noted above apply to worship and the liturgy?”
Some do, some may not, and a few elements are either
lacking or require qualification.
The absence of faith from the list stands out as the most
essential missing ingredient. Following is a quotation from
“Music in Catholic Worship”:
“A man is a Christian because through the Christian
community he has met Jesus Christ, heard his word in
invitation, and responded to him in faith. Christians gather at
Mass that they may hear and express their faith again in this
assembly and, by expressing it, renew and deepen it.”
table eating and talking.” A family gathers for a
moment of sharing in a CBS-TV drama “The
Thanksgiving Treasure” broadcast Nov. 18. (NC Photo
by CBS)
convinced that meal time can be. a most valuable informal
religious educational experience for both children and parents.
Eating together in a relaxed fashion provides a rare opportunity
for parents and children to share their experiences and insights.
An ongoing pattern of daily conversation at a family meal
allows parents and children to explore together day-to-day
experiences, questions, problems and events. In this basic way
convictions and attitudes can be deepened in relation to
ordinary daily living.
Like most meaningful educational experiences, informal
religious education through conversation at mealtime does not
just happen, at least over a long period. It requires conviction,
planning, and creativity. No two families may find the same
workable formula. But few families in today’s hectic life-style
can afford to consistently neglect the educational potential of
mealtime without missing a great opportunity for family
religious education. As Peg found, mealtime can be the time
“where things that are said will be remembered.”
the Liturgy
Again to quote our American bishops in their music
statement:
“Faith does not always permeate our feelings. Celebrations
need not fail, even on a particular Sunday when our feelings do
not match the invitation of Christ and his Church to worship.”
At the typical party or ordinary celebration we normally
sense a spirit of joy, happiness, even frivolity. Music, food,
companionship and especially drink contribute to this and help
foster those feelings.
At liturgical celebrations all of those uplifting sentiments may
indeed dominate the atmosphere, but not necessarily. And when
they fail to be present (e.g., the funeral of a young mother or
Sunday Mass on a “blah” day), the worship can still prove
faithfilled, precious in God’s sight and valuable for our inner
selves.
In a word, we should surely strive to make liturgies humanly
attractive celebrations, but more importantly, worship services
rich in faith.
(All Articles On This Page Copyrighted 1973 by N.C. News Service)
Know Y our F aith
66
Family Meals? Are You Kidding
99
THE HYKSOS “were able to consolidate their
position and extend their power over all of Egypt so
that the 15th and 16th Dynasties were Hyksos
dynasties. This would have placed the Hyksos in a
position of power in Egypt at the time of the
migration of Jacob and his sons.” These are the
pyramids of Egypt, already 1500 years old when the
clan of Jacob was welcomed into that country by the
Semitic Hyksos pharaohs. (NC Photo courtesy TWA)
In the words of one expert, liturgy fundamentally means
meeting Christ in faith.
That truth leads to a reservation concerning several of the
characteristics about celebration listed at the New England
Congress.
“FOOD AND DRINK, DECORATIONS, family and
friends present, love, participation” are among the best
qualities of a celebration.” Bread, wine, and cheese
await hungry guests at a dinner. (NC Photo by Bos
Workman)