Tag Archives: bulls

Bulls and Justice

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The bull is typically associated with St. Luke because his gospel opens with events in the Temple connected to the priests offering sacrifices of incense—and possibly bulls. Bulls were extremely valuable animals and important sacrificial offerings. Bulls were also such strong animals that they frequently stood in as images for gods, such as the two bulls one of the idolatrous kings of Israel made in 1 Kings 12.

Bulls gore people. That’s what bulls do. That’s what makes Spanish bull fights exciting. It’s what makes bull herding dangerous. It’s what makes bulls dangerous to have around.

There are several commands about bulls in Exodus 21, just after Moses has been given the Ten Commandments. The text gives us three chapters of additional commandments before telling us that Moses went down from Mt. Sinai to discover that the people had begun to worship the golden calf. It’s as if the authors or editors of Exodus want us to understand that these commandments are the most important of all the commandments that were given after the Ten Commandments themselves on the two tablets of stone. Why are these commandments about bulls so important?

These commandments about bulls are important because of the possible danger to the people living in communities together. Rules for how to live together peacefully were important; rules about safety and how to settle disputes were especially important for the well-being of the People of God.

The rules about bull violence are very detailed and spell out what to do if the bull injures or kills a male or female slave, a free man, or a pregnant woman or her baby. Consequences vary, depending on if the bull has been known to injure people before or if the bull escaped its enclosure accidentally or if the owner was careless in his bull-tending.

Bulls were extremely valuable animals; anyone who owned a bull was—by definition—a rich man. Having to kill a bull that had killed someone was a severe financial loss on top of any fines the bull’s owner might be expected to pay to the community. Offering a bull voluntarily as a sacrifice was extremely expensive; such a sacrifice was especially valuable and precious.

Settling disputes involving bulls could easily become simply a matter of “might makes right” and the wealthy getting their way without any consequences for bad behavior. By having such complex rules for all the various possible situations involving violence done by bulls, Moses and Israelite society were attempting to use the law to guarantee the rights and safety of everyone, especially the poor. Throughout the Old Testament, the opposite of poverty is not wealth; throughout the Old Testament, the opposite of poverty is Justice. These rules about bulls and violence were meant to foster a just, law-abiding society. These rules were about making a society capable of welcoming the Sun of Justice when he came.

Bulls could be an image of the God of Israel (as in the psalms) or the image of a non-Israelite god. Read more about bulls in the Bible here.

Lughnasadh

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It was customary to harvest blueberries and bake blueberry pies at Lughnasadh festivities.

It was customary to harvest blueberries and bake blueberry pies at Lughnasadh festivities.

Lughnasadh (pronounced “Lúnasa”) is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Originally it was held on 1 August, or about halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. Lughnasadh is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals; along with Samhain, Imbolc and Beltane. It corresponds to other European harvest festivals such as the Welsh Gwyl Awst and the English Lammas.

In Irish mythology, the Lughnasadh festival is said to have been begun by the god Lugh as a funeral feast and athletic competition in commemoration of his mother who was said to have died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture. Lugh’s mother may have been an earth goddess who represented the dying vegetation that fed mankind. These funeral games in her honor were similar to the ancient Olympic Games and included ritual athletic and sporting contests. The event also involved trading, the drawing-up of contracts, and matchmaking that included trial marriages (young couples joined hands through a hole in a wooden door). The trial marriage lasted a year and a day, at which time the marriage could be made permanent or broken without consequences.

Ancient customs associated with Lughnasadh seem to have also included offerings of newly-harvested corn, the sacrifice of a bull and certain rites with its hide as well as a banquet of the meat roasted.

Another custom that Lughnasadh shared with Imbolc and Beltane was visiting holy wells. Visitors to holy wells would pray for health while walking sunwise around the well. They would also leave offerings (often coins).