I was reading something this week that was fun. It had to do with Friday 13th.

Here's a little trivia for you:

+ We just had a Friday 13th in January. Do you know how many Friday 13s there are in 2012?
+ Friday 13th is the most widespread superstition in the United States today (they say 8% of All American are superstitious about Friday 13th). There is a term for those who fear Friday 13th. Do you know what it is? Answers: Three & Paraskevidekatriaphobia

What's with Friday 13th?

It seems Friday 13th is a convergence of two bad things:
Friday (bad) + 13 (bad) = Friday 13th (worse)

Friday was the day Jesus was crucified, but Friday was also the day of the week that the Romans crucified their criminals.

Some tradition went further and suggested that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on Friday, Great Flood began on Friday, Tower of Babel fell on Friday and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians on Friday (none of this can be backed up by proof!)

Anyway, superstition legend has it:

+ Never change your bed of Friday because it will bring bad dreams.
+ Cut your nails on Friday and expect sorrow.
+ Don't start a trip on Friday or encounter misfortune; ships that sail on Friday will face bad luck.

As for number 13, perhaps it goes back to the image of the Last Supper where Jesus and his Twelve disciples sat for their last meal together, they say that if 13 people sit down for a meal together, one will die within a year.

And there is a story from the Vikings that twelve gods were invited to the banquet at Valhalla. Loki, the evil one, the god of mischief, was not invited. He crashed the party, nevertheless, to make the total number 13. The angry Loki caused Balder, the god of goodness to be killed. All Valhalla grieved.

And so 13 has come down to us a number of death. No wonder many buildings don’t have a 13th floor and many cities doe not have the 13th Street or 13th Avenue.

You combine these two and it must be the unluckiest day of the year! And we have it three times this year!

But superstition is contrary to our faith in God who watches over us for good. “Luck” should not be in our vocabulary. There's never "luck"; there’s only God's blessing and his care. I hope you agree!

Pastor Jin

  Bethany Happenings