Adventure/Advent
Prohibition
Pearl Harbor
Environment
Human Rights
Arranging Albums
Humility
Emancipation
Winter Solstice
Christmas Day/Decorations
Christmas Memories
St. Stephen
Yearend Customs

Adventure/Advent
01/12/02

An exciting, unusual or dangerous experience may be called an "adventure". Helen Keller, the blind American author and lecturer wrote: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Jawaharlal Nehru, who served as India's prime minister, wrote: "We live in a wonderful world that is full of . . . adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if we only seek them with our eyes open." And the English mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, wrote: "Without adventure civilization is in full decay." "Adventure" includes the word "advent", which means coming or arrival. In the Christian tradition, "advent" denotes the coming or arrival of the Messiah and the liturgical church year begins with the season of Advent which begins on the Sunday nearest November 30th, the Feast of Saint Andrew. There are four Sundays in Advent which precede Christmas, when we celebrate the advent of the Christ. Jesus spoke of his coming again in the future, which is called the Second Advent. Christian groups that emphasize that Second Advent are sometimes called "Adventists". This year, Advent Sunday falls on the 2nd day of December. From that day on, Christians will be thinking of and preparing for Christmas. In some churches, an Advent wreath is displayed in which there are four candles. One candle is lit on each of the four Sundays in Advent. This Advent season may be the time for an adventure as we seriously consider the reason for such a widespread, joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Christ. I pray that this Advent season will be a blessed time for you. (355)

Prohibition
01/12/05

Some societies, social or religious groups, or even nations have attempted to force their members to follow certain moral or ethical ideals by forbidding or prohibiting certain activities or customs that are considered degrading, unhealthy or seductive. In the United States of America, the 13 years between 1920 and 1933 are known as the Prohibition era. During that time, "the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors" was officially prohibited following ratification of the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. To amend the Constitution requires the approval of three-fourths of the states and approval of the 18th Amendment was gained after many years of effort by people with strong convictions regarding the ill effects of alcoholic beverages in January 1919 and took effect one year later. Efforts to enforce this Amendment, however, proved to be time-consuming, expensive and ineffective. The Prohibition laws were violated by both individual citizens and organized criminal groups. Both illegally distilled domestic liquor and beverages produced in foreign countries and smuggled into the U. S. A. were made available to those desiring them. Realizing the impossibility of fairly and consistently enforcing the law, a new Amendment was required to repeal the 18th Amendment. The required three-fourths of the states ratified the 22nd Amendment just 68 years ago on December 5, 1933. This difficult experience in the history of this nation made clear that true morality cannot be forced from the outside. It must have an inner, spiritual base. (354)

Pearl Harbor
01/12/07

Gems include precious stones such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, but the hard, rounded abnormal growth formed inside the shell of an oyster is a different kind of gem called a "pearl". Pearls are cultivated in Japan by introducing a tiny irritant into the shell of an oyster which is then placed in a cage and suspended into the ocean for a few years during which time a pearl is formed. Pearls are highly prized by fashionable ladies and in the vision recorded in the 21st chapter of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, the twelve gates of the heavenly city of Jerusalem are made of pearl. "Pearl" is the name of some women and of a couple of American cities. There are also three "Pearl Rivers" and one "Pearl Harbor" in the U.S.A. Pearl Harbor is a large, natural harbor on the southern coast of the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii where an important naval base is located. It got its name from the pearl oysters which once grew in its waters and it became famous after the sudden attack of Japanese airplanes on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Hawaiian time. On many calendars made in the U.S.A., that day is marked "Pearl Harbor Day". In that attack, nineteen naval vessels and 188 aircraft were destroyed and over 2,400 servicemen and civilians were killed. The next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan amidst complaints that warnings of the attack had been ignored. This Pacific War lasted for over three and a half years, officially ending on September 2, 1945, Japan time, when Japanese authorities signed the surrender documents on the deck of an American battleship in Tokyo Bay. (357)

Environment
01/12/11

The English word "environ" is derived from a Latin word literally meaning "in a circle". It means to surround or encircle. If an "s" is added to this verb, it becomes a plural noun denoting the districts surrounding a town or city. The hometowns of both my wife and me are in the environs of the city of Chicago in the state of Illinois in the United States of America. Her hometown is on the west side of the city and mine is on the north, but we met at a university in the neighboring state of Iowa. It may be that my hometown was too far away to be included in the "environs" of Chicago, for it was about 72 kilometers away while my wife's was only about 19 kilometers from the center of the city. Another English word from the same Latin root is "environment", meaning surroundings. This has become a very important word in our day because of the deterioration of our natural surroundings. Our environment includes the stars and planets in the sky, the lands and oceans that make up the earth along with the plants and animals that live on it. There is now a deep concern regarding the state of our environment. According to the stories of the world's creation, found in the 1st two chapters of Genesis, the first book in the Bible, human beings were the final and highest form of creation who were given the charge to subdue the earth and to "rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every living creature that moves on the ground" (1:28). This story makes clear that it is human beings who are responsible for the environment and they must take their responsibility seriously. (356)

Human Rights
01/12/12

In English, spelling and pronunciation are very irregular as is evident in the following sentence: Be careful when you write the word "rite" that you spell it right. In fact, the word "right" by itself may be used in a variety of ways with many different meanings. My dictionary lists 12 definitions of "right" when used as an adjective, 7 when used as a noun, 11 more when used as an adverb and 3 when used as a verb. Wow! That's extraordinary. This message is about "human rights" for this week is "Human Rights Week" in the U. S. A. December 10 is observed as "Human Rights Day" by most member countries of the United Nations commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the U. N. General Assembly on December 10,1948. It was on December 17, 1791 that the first ten amendments, known as the "Bill of Rights", were added to the U. S. Constitution, so the week begins and ends with special commemorative days. In this case, "rights" denote what belongs to a person by law, tradition or nature. There are 30 articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the following statements: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude." "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinions and expression." Unfortunately, many of these articles are not universally observed at the present time. (361)

Arranging Albums
01/12/14

Among the various tasks I had hoped to accomplish after my retirement was arranging the slides and snapshots I had taken over the past decades in an orderly way so that they could be found easily and shown to interested parties as needed. Recently, I began this stupendous job. Over the years, my wife and I tried to remember to write the date and any other important data on our snapshots and slides and to keep related pictures together, but did not always succeed. We both are in our seventies, have been married for over fifty years, have three children and four grandchildren. Furthermore, we have traveled around the world, visiting some 35 countries on all five continents and 48 of the fifty United States of America. Wherever we went, we always had at least one camera with us to take pictures to remind us of certain places or persons. In years gone by, I often showed slides to groups of people when telling of our missionary work in Japan or of our travels in a variety of countries, but slides are not so popular these days. Generally speaking, my slides are pretty well arranged according to time, place and subject matter, but the numerous snapshots of family and friends which have accumulated in recent years require hours of concentrated effort to arrange in an orderly fashion related to time or place or content. Some snapshots have already been placed together in the small packets received from the developer or in small albums focused on a certain event from which they must be removed to include in a larger album. Time, patience and a clear aim are all required to accomplish this purpose. (358)

Humility
01/12/16

"Humility" signifies a lack of pride, the quality or condition of being "humble". "Humble", derived from the Latin word for "ground", denotes a low rank or station (near the ground), a meek or modest attitude, showing submissive respect. We are told in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 12, that "Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor" and in the New Testament book of First Peter, chapter 5, verse 5, it is written: "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" According to Confucius, "Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues." And the French monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote: "It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment." The expression "eat humble pie" means to accept insult or shame, to admit one's error, apologize and behave meekly. The origin of this phrase is interesting. Actually, the original reference was to "umble pie". In the 18th century, "umble pie" was eaten by the servants and huntsmen while the lord of the manor and his guests feasted on venison. Umble pie was made from the "umbles", the internal organs such as the heart, liver and gizzard of a deer, but "venison" is the choice deer meat. Thus, to "eat umble pie" meant that one was in an inferior position. In British English, often the first "h" in a word is not pronounced, so "humble" and "umble" may be pronounced the same. In Philippians 2:5-8, we read of how the Son of God humbled himself to become a man. (362)

Emancipation
01/12/19

Emancipate means to free from oppression, bondage, or restraint, to liberate. One of the benefits of the tragedies that have been occurring in Afghanistan is the emancipation of women who have been severely oppressed or restrained by the ruling powers in that land. Although the conditions are different in each case, in many other countries, there are people who are or have been oppressed, restrained or even enslaved and need to be emancipated. On New Year's Day in 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made an Emancipation Proclamation in which he declared that all slaves within those states then in rebellion against the authority of the federal government "are and henceforward shall be free". Since this Proclamation applied only to those areas not controlled by the federal government, it had little immediate practical effect. But some eight months after the assassination of President Lincoln and the end of the war, that Emancipation Proclamation became effective when the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was ratified and it was 136 years ago, on December 18, 1865, that that amendment was declared ratified. According to the amendment, "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States." This is a good time to reflect on the present state of affairs and consider whether or not there are certain groups, classes or races in our countries today that are in need of emancipation and whether we ourselves may need to be liberated from prejudices against certain kinds of people who are different than us. (364)

Winter Solstice
01/12/21

In regard to climate, the earth is divided into five regions, called "zones". There is a Frigid Zone around both the north and south poles. The region along both sides of the Equator is the Torrid Zone, also known as the Tropics, for it lies between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Between the Frigid Zones and the Torrid Zone are two Temperate Zones, where the temperature is more moderate. In both the North and South Temperate Zones, there are four distinct divisions in a year, called "seasons". They are spring, summer, autumn and winter. The seasons are determined by the relative positions of the earth and the sun and begin with what is called an "equinox" or a "solstice". Spring and autumn begin with an "equinox", from Latin words meaning "equal night" for on these days, the length of day and night are approximately equal. Summer and winter begin with a "solstice", from Latin words meaning "sun stand". On these days, the sun has reached the limit of its apparent northward or southward movement and seems to "stand still". This year, the winter solstice is December 22nd, so the winter season will begin on that day. Although winter is the coldest season of the year, it may also be a heart-warming time when we consider the meaning and spirit of Christmas, celebrated at that time of year. In Psalm 74, verse 17, it is written that the Lord "made both summer and winter." God is in control of the seasons and his unchanging purpose is implied in the words of Genesis 8:22: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (363)

Christmas Day/Decorations
01/12/23

This week there are national holidays to celebrate the births of respected persons in both Japan and Western countries. In Japan, December 23rd is the 68th birthday of the Japanese emperor, who is sometimes called a "kami". Unfortunately, "kami" was the Japanese word early Christian missionaries chose to translate the word "God" although the meaning is very different. As a result, there has been much misunderstanding. Because that day fell on a Sunday this year, December 24th was the substitute holiday. On December 25th, the birth of Jesus is celebrated, even though neither the day, the month nor the year of his birth is known for sure. It seems that December 25th was chosen by the church at Rome in the 4th century to provide Christians a reason to celebrate at the same time as the pagan winter solstice celebrations honoring the sun which were held at that time. The story of Jesus' birth in the Gospel of Luke, however, implies that Jesus was born at a warmer season of the year. Miscalculations resulted in the so-called Christian era beginning in 1 A. D., but now it is recognized that Jesus was born a few years before that. Christmas decorations usually begin to appear following Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of November. Those relating to trees and greenery, including the Yule log, Christmas trees, wreaths, mistletoe and holly, are related to pagan customs which preceded Christian celebrations. Sometimes, making use of existing words or customs when introducing new ideas, whether religious or otherwise, is helpful, but it can also be very confusing and misleading. (365)

Christmas Memories
01/12/27

This message consists of memories of how Christmas was celebrated in my home when I was a child. A week or two before Christmas, father brought home a pine tree which was put in the living room in a small can of water to keep it fresh. At a convenient time, our whole family, including father, mother and six children, gathered to decorate it. First, father strung colored lights through the branches and fixed the ornament at the top that almost touched the ceiling. Then, we all attached the other decorations. We did not have a fireplace, but a large picture of a fireplace was tacked on a window sill behind the tree on which we children each hung one of our stockings for Santa Claus to fill. It was our custom for everyone to exchange gifts with everyone else so, as Christmas approached, the white sheet under the tree became full of prettily wrapped gifts with the names of giver and receiver on them to be opened on Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve, we heard a sleigh bell outdoors, after which the doorbell rang and Santa Claus appeared with his bag full of gifts, one of which was given to each of us. I do not recall how old I was when I realized that father was never present when Santa arrived and when I recognized father's ring on Santa Claus' finger. On Christmas morning, early risers were able to take the small gifts out of their stockings and play with them until the whole family was together. After father read from the Bible about the birth of Jesus, God's gift to us, the gifts from under the tree were distributed and opened. It was a truly happy time. I hope you have a joyful, meaningful Christmas this year. (366)

St. Stephen
01/12/28

In some Christian churches, December 26th, the day after Christmas, is celebrated as the Feast of St. Stephen. Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches, however, observe St. Stephen's feast day on December 27th. St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr. The story about him is related in the 6th and 7th chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, the New Testament book that relates the early history of the church. Stephen, whose name means "crown" in Greek, was one of the seven men chosen to distribute food to the widows and thus enable the apostles to concentrate on prayer and preaching. But Stephen also was an effective preacher and finally was forced to testify before the Jewish Council, where he gave a very impressive testimony. As a result, the councilmen were enraged and sentenced him to death. As he was being stoned, he prayed for his executioners, following the example and teaching of Jesus, his Lord. One of those who witnessed his execution was a young man who was very impressed and later became the great evangelist, known as Paul. In the speech recorded in chapter 22, Paul speaks of Stephen as the "martyr", or "witness", of Christ (verse 20). The Greek word "martus" meaning "witness", is the root of the English word "martyr" which denotes a person who chooses to give up his life rather than deny his faith. We are happy that our elder son, Steven (the spelling of whose name is derived from my wife's maiden name which was "Stevens"), drove 2500 kilometers from the state of New Mexico along with his daughter, Danielle, to spend Christmas with us. (367)

Yearend Customs
01/12/31

As the year draws to a close, many different yearend customs are observed in particular countries or among specific groups. In northern and central Europe, men and boys dress in grotesque costumes to scare away demons. Austrians drown a straw figure known as The Death. In remote parts of the British Isles, huge bonfires are lit to "burn out the old year." In Japan, the final month of the year, called "shiwasu", literally meaning "teacher run", denotes the very busy time it is for Buddhist priests and others. Yearend gifts are given to show appreciation to those to whom one feels obligated and homes, offices, churches, factories, etc. undergo a thorough house-cleaning at the end of the year. On the grounds of Buddhist temples there is a structure in which a large dome-shaped bell is hung. A long, wooden pole is hung beside the bell. When this pole is pulled back and released to strike against the bell, the result is a sonorous tolling of the bell, quite a different sound than that of Christmas bells that have a different shape and a clapper within. On the final day of the year, the bells in Buddhist temples are slowly tolled 107 times. The final, 108th toll, is sounded as the New Year begins. This symbolizes the elimination of the 108 evil passions or carnal desires in Buddhist teaching and beginning the New Year with a purified heart. In the United States of America, many New Year's Eve parties are held to welcome the New Year in a boisterous way, but many Christians will gather in churches on the final day of the year for the watchnight service in which the New Year is begun quietly in prayer. (368)