Praying in Color

  • Home
  • Sybil MacBeth
  • Books & DVDs
    • Books & DVDs
    • Praying in Color
    • The Season of the Nativity
    • Pray and Color
  • Workshops / Events
  • Examples
  • Handouts
  • Contact
  • Blog
Mobile Nav MenuLogo

Olives

May 25, 2010 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

The Bible mentions olives, olive trees, olive branches, olive oil, and the Mount of Olives in at least thirty books. Olives were part of the economic system and the food chain. A good crop meant prosperity; a bad crop was disaster. Analogies using olives abound in the Hebrew scriptures. “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.” (Psalms 128:3 NRSV)

As a child, the oily, tart taste of olives was disgusting to me. My mother kept a jar of red-pimento stuffed green olives in the refrigerator at all times. The olives were no temptation, but the pimentos were pretty and quite tasty. Under the pretense of looking for something else  in the refrigerator to eat, I snuck out a green olive (or two) from the jar, sucked out the pimento, and returned the adulterated fruit to the jar. This sneaky pillaging went unnoticed until the number of olives without pimentos exceeded the number with pimentos.

As an adult, I love the oily, salty, tart taste of olives. I also associate olives with things I love: crusty bread, pasta, feta cheese, hummus, the Holy Land, and Jesus.

Last week while we waited for friends to arrive at a restaurant, my husband and I ordered an appetizer of olives and pita bread. It was not only delicious but beautiful. The half-hour of quiet conversation we shared amidst a plate of green, yellow, and purple olives gave me yet another loving association for this small, but potent fruit.

Photo: Sybil MacBeth 2010

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • More

Filed Under: Praying in Color Tagged With: olive branches, olive trees, olives, Psalms 128:3

FIND ME ON
Find Me on Facebook
  • Home
  • Praying in Color
  • Sybil & Andy MacBeth
  • Books & DVDs
  • The Season of the Nativity
  • Pray and Color
  • Workshops / Events
  • Handouts
  • Examples
  • Contact
  • Blog
© 2016 Sybil MacBeth. All Rights Reserved. Website by Paraclete Web Design.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.