for 15 APR 06: LUCKY NUMBER UNLEAVENED?

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this humorous, serious, or a little of both - but from time to time, we offer things to reflect upon as we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.)

The time: Tuesday afternoon. The place: a Columbus Publix store. I had a few groceries to buy. And in front of me in the express lane stood a woman holding two bulk-sized boxes of Manischewitz matzos -- seemingly enough for both Jewish synagogues in town to keep an emergency supply through hurricane season.

But something was unusual here -- because the woman in front of me in line holding the boxes was African-American. If she was Jewish, then I had finally met someone inspired by the life of Sammy Davis, Junior.

I took a moment to put the clues together - an African-American woman with lots of matzos, only hours before believing Christians and Jews kept Passover. Given all this, I dared to ask the question: "What church do you attend?"

"Church?" she answered with surprise. "This has nothing to do with church." The odds of her attending a Columbus synagogue would have been long, no matter what her skin color.

But this woman with the matzos wasn't Jewish, either. "I'm from New York," she explained. "We grew up eating these.... I'm a Catholic." Well, I suppose that sort of bread WOULD be acceptable at mass.

The New York transplant obviously likes matzos. But she noted, "It's so hard to find these here" -- so that's why she was buying them in bulk. Publix cares, and has plenty in stock for the Passover season. Piggly Wiggly might try to mark down pork rinds instead.

For people who keep the Passover and a week called the "Days of Unleavened Bread," this is a time of year to avoid products with yeast or baking soda. It only seems like we're members of the Flat Earth Society -- the Flat Bread Society is more like it.

Why do believers go without leaven for a week? Believing Christians do it to symbolize putting sin out of their lives. Leaven can puff things up, such as biscuits and rolls -- and alleged sin came close to getting "Puff Daddy" put in prison a few years ago.

For those of us who have come to see the value of going unleavened for a week, we're thankful to the Author of the Bible for revealing such a thing. OK, maybe we aren't really a "lucky number" - we're a blessed number. But not blessed enough to win the Mega Millions jackpot yet....

COMING SUNDAY: A tax deadline stunner.... the I.R.S. wants me to have extra money?!?!....

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