U.S.A.Motto
Providential Rescue
"The Lamb of God"
Political Expressions
Sports Day
Labyrinth
Weekend
Friesland and the Frisians
"Unity in Community"
Shigechiyo Izumi
Thinking and Feeling
Enigma/Sphinx
Daylight Saving Time

U.S.A.Motto
02/10/02

Newcomers to the United States of America may be surprised to see the words "In God We Trust" on all the currency in this country, whether paper money or coins. It was in 1956 that the United States Congress designated these words as the national motto, but they had appeared on some coins since 1861, from the time of the American Civil War. A "motto" is "a brief statement used to express a principle, goal or ideal." This word entered English from Italian, but it is rooted in a Latin word meaning "mutter," and in some cases, mottoes are simply muttered without thinking of their meaning. Many organizations, companies and communities have a motto and every state in the U. S. A. has a state motto. When my hometown of Zion in the state of Illinois was founded as a Christian community one hundred years ago, the motto chosen for the town was "God Reigns," and this motto was included in the town seal which was affixed to all official documents. About ten years ago, a member of an atheist association brought a legal suit against the town charging that the seal violated the separation of church and state. He won the suit, but then the town council changed the motto to "In God We Trust." The judge then rejected the complaint of the accuser, stating that although these words suggest the same intention and message as the previous motto, they do not convey a religious meaning for it is a common civil phrase and the Supreme Court had already refused to hear an appeal on the constitutionality of the phrase. Actually, many people who use American money are trusting in money rather than God. (484)

Providential Rescue
02/10/04

This amazing story which appeared in the Los Angeles Times reminds us that not all recent events are sad ones. A U. S. Navy ship on counternarcotics patrol about 500 kilometers off the coast of the Central American country of Costa Rica received word from a drug hunting airplane that a broken down sailboat was bobbing in the water not far away. The frigate approached the sailboat and lowered a small boat to investigate. On the sailboat was a 62-year-old man who had come to the U. S. A. as a refugee from Vietnam in 1976. He had left Long Beach, California in his 8-meter long sailboat for a 35-kilometer trip to an island which should have taken about three hours, but a storm caused the mast to break. His outboard motor and radio also failed. During the next three-and-a-half months he had drifted about 4000 kilometers. Since he had no family and had not filed a sailing plan, he was not reported missing. He collected rain water in a bucket to drink and caught fish and sea birds which he roasted on a makeshift grill made from wood paneling he tore off his boat. During the day, he stayed below deck to keep out of the sun, but since his solar-powered generator worked, he was able to watch videos on his small television set. When rescued, he refused medical treatment and only wanted a new sail and mast so he could continue sailing. He thought he was somewhere near Hawaii. The sailors convinced him that his sailboat was beyond repair and dropped him off in Guatemala, where he was able to buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles with money they had collected for him, so the story has a happy ending. (485)

"The Lamb of God"
02/10/06

Every language has its own characteristics. In some ways, Japanese is more complicated than English. One of the difficult features of written Japanese is the hundreds of Chinese characters that are used and the different pronunciations of those characters. The pronunciation of the Japanese syllabic symbols (kana), however, are very regular. In contrast, English has an alphabet of only 26 letters, but the spelling and pronunciation of English words is very irregular. In some ways, the use of Chinese characters makes communication much simpler. The addition of a character meaning "male," female" or "small" before characters meaning "horse," "cattle," "deer" or "sheep," for example, convey meanings which require completely different words in English. A male horse is a "stallion;" a female horse is a "mare;" and a young horse is a "foal." In the case of cattle, the male is a "bull," the female is a "cow" and a young cow or bull is a "calf." The words used for deer are: "stag," "doe" and "fawn," while those for sheep are: "ewe," "ram" and "lamb." Japanese speakers of English find it difficult to distinguish the "r" and "l" sounds, so "ram" and "lamb" are often confused. In the Old Testament, both rams and lambs were offered as sacrifices to God to receive forgiveness for sins committed. In the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah, the suffering servant of the Lord is described as both "a lamb" and "a sheep." This chapter is the background of the statement of John, the Baptist, in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 29, in reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (487)

Political Expressions
02/10/09

Certain words or expressions have developed particular meanings in American politics. A "lame duck," for example, is an elected official who continues in office during the period between his failure to be re-elected and the inauguration of his successor. A "mugwump" is a politician who refuses to follow the directives of a particular political party. "Gerrymander" means to divide a voting area in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one political party. And "Tammany Hall" denotes political corruption, improper or unethical conduct by elected officials. How did that term acquire that negative meaning? Actually, Tammany was the name of a 17th century chief of a Native American tribe who was noted for his wisdom and "St. Tammany" was the name given to anti-British groups before the revolution, ridiculing loyalist societies named for saints. The Tammany Society was founded in 1789 as an exclusive social club to champion democracy and to oppose aristocratic tendencies. It became an effective political group under Aaron Burr and played an important role in the election of Thomas Jefferson as president in 1800. The Tammany Society met in Tammany Hall which became the headquarters of the Democratic Party in New York City and State. During the 19th century, this party was associated with widespread corruption and "Tammany Hall" became a figurative expression to denote wholesale and widespread political or municipal malpractice. Some proper names are associated with positive or negative feelings. So it is that we do not hear of boys in Christian families named Judas. (486)

Sports Day
02/10/10

In Japan, traditional festivities were held on days of odd-numbered months that corresponded to the number of the month: January 1st, March 3rd, May 5th, July 7th, September 9th. The "Double Tenth Day" is a holiday in Taiwan, commemorating the revolution that resulted in the establishment of the Republic of China and since 1966, it has also been a holiday in Japan: "Physical Education Day." In Japanese thought, a well-rounded education includes the development of intellectual, moral, aesthetic and physical capabilities. Previously, the first Saturday in October was known as "Sports Day," but the date was changed to October 10th and became a national holiday following the Tokyo Olympics which began on that day in 1964. The most popular Japanese sports are baseball and soccer, or football. In the United States of America, baseball, American football and basketball are the most popular team sports. In my school days, I considered these "seasonal sports": baseball during spring and summer, football during fall and basketball in the winter. In my high school days, I played on both the baseball and basketball teams, but I was not attracted to football for two reasons: it was a rough game and practice sessions began before the end of the summer vacation when I was still working at a summer job. There are also individual sports such as tennis, golf and "sumo" which attract enthusiastic observers. In the New Testament book of I Timothy, chapter 4, verse 8, we find these words: "physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (489)

Labyrinth
02/10/13

Fish have gills which enable them to breathe while in water and most fish cannot exist for very long out of water. Certain kinds of fish found in Africa and Southeast Asia, however, are able to remain out of water for several days. They are able to walk with jerky movements and may even climb low trees. Such fish, called "walking fish," or "climbing perch," are members of the "labyrinth fish family" for they have a labyrinthine chamber over their gills that enables them to absorb atmospheric oxygen. A "labyrinth" is an intricate structure of winding passages that is hard to follow without losing one's way. In ancient times, such structures were built in Egypt, Italy and on the island of Crete to confuse people who entered them. In 1800 B. C. E., an Egyptian king built himself a funeral temple in the form of a great labyrinth having 3000 apartments. A small labyrinth made of high hedges is an attraction of Hampton Court in London. This weekend at Penney Retirement Community is "Spiritual Enrichment Weekend." A special speaker is giving messages on "The Fulfilled Life," based on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and strips of canvas have been laid on the floor of the meeting hall to make a "Prayer Labyrinth." On Saturday morning and afternoon, residents may quietly and slowly walk along the complex, circuitous route to the center of the labyrinth while meditating or praying and then retrace their steps to the entrance, passing other walkers along the way. In this way, prayer and meditation have both a private and public character. (488)

Weekend
02/10/16

Following last week's message entitled "Sports Day," I received word from Japan that that Japanese holiday had been changed from October 10th to the 2nd Monday of October. This change took place after my wife and I left Japan in 1999. I presume the holiday was changed for the same reason that "Columbus Day" was changed in the United States of America from October 12th to the 2nd Monday of October in 1968. The reason this and some other public holidays were changed to Mondays was to provide citizens with three-day weekends. Which raises the question of what is a "weekend?" The 7-day week (beginning with Sunday and ending with Saturday) is followed in Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions because of the Old Testament story of the earth's creation in 6 days, followed by a day of rest, or "Sabbath." In the "Ten Commandments," we read: "in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Exodus 20:11). For Jews, Saturday, the 7th day, is the holy day. Christians observe Sunday as the Lord's Day, for it was on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead. Muslims observe Friday as the day of gathering at mosques to pray, for it was on the 6th day that Adam (man) was created. Nowadays, in many countries, Sunday is considered a "holiday" if not a "holy day," and Saturday also has become a kind of rest day. It may seem strange to use the word "weekend" to denote the period from Friday evening to Sunday evening or Monday morning, but that's the way it is. (491)

Friesland and the Frisians
02/10/18

The English word "symposium" is derived from Greek words meaning "with" and "drink." Thus, it means "to drink together." In ancient Greece, a "symposium" was a drinking party, which included music and intellectual stimulation. In English, it denotes a meeting on a particular topic followed by discussion. At the Penney Retirement Community, a symposium is held twice a month at which one of the residents reads a scholarly paper he or she has prepared, after which questions or comments are made by the listeners. At a recent symposium, the topic was "Friesland and the Frisians." The speaker was a resident who was born in Friesland and lived there until she was 15 years old when she emigrated with her family to Canada. Before her retirement, she had taught for 33 years in Christian schools in Dutch Guyana and Japan. Friesland is a province of the Netherlands, as are North and South Holland, and she made a clear distinction between "The Netherlands" and "Holland," which many people mistakenly equate. Friesland, established on the coast of the North Sea by independent-minded Frisians in the first century before Christ, has its own history and its own language. Frisian is spoken in the home, but Dutch is learned in school along with English, so most Frisians are trilingual by the time they graduate from high school. While explaining about her homeland, she answered questions from the audience and we were again impressed with the variety of cultures and traditions represented in this community and of the intellectual stimulation which results from communication with one another. (490)

"Unity in Community"
02/10/19

While driving on streets or highways in the U.S.A., we often see short slogans attached to the bumpers of cars. They are called "bumper stickers." Some of them are a kind of advertisement. Others aim to make readers laugh or think. In the area around Penney Retirement Community, we see many bumper stickers that read "Unity in Community". These bumper stickers were distributed to the residents of P.R.C. as a reminder that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of this community. Both "communion" and "community" are derived from the Latin word for "common," and just as "union" is an important element in "communion," so "unity" is an important element in "community." Residents in this retirement community have served in many different countries under a variety of organizations with their divergent traditions, but as a Christian community we do have a sense of unity despite our diversity. Descriptions of the first community of the followers of Christ in the New Testament book of Acts indicate that they practiced a form of "communism," for "all the believers . . . had everything in common. Selling their possessions, they gave to anyone as he had need" (2:44-45). "No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." "There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales . . . and it was distributed to anyone as he had need" (4:32-35). But this idealistic situation did not last long and subsequent "communes" also have collapsed because of human greed. (493)

Shigechiyo Izumi
02/10/23

Recently, I read in the Guinness Book of World Records that "the greatest authenticated age to which any human being has ever lived is . . .120 years 237 days in the case of Shigechiyo Izumi of . . . Japan." Reading this statement, I recalled the message I had composed for my "Daily Word" telephone service in Japan related to Mr. Izumi's 118th birthday on June 29, 1983. I had read an article about him in a Japanese newspaper the previous day and decided to tell about him in my message on his birthday, including his prescription for a long life: "Don't worry nor let little things bother you and eat lots of vegetables." Since the pronunciation of Chinese characters used in names is irregular, before recording the message, I called a newspaper reporter to make sure that my pronunciation of the name "Shigechiyo" was correct. In Japanese, the gender of subjects in sentences is unclear, but since I knew women whose names ended with the same character pronounced "yo," I had assumed that Shigechiyo was a woman and spoke with the newspaper reporter with that in mind. In my English message, I used such words as "she" and "her" in reference to Shigechiyo Izumi which I recorded on a telephone tape that night. You can imagine my surprise the next morning when I read a new article that included a picture of Shigechiyo with a white beard. I immediately rushed to the telephone and recorded a corrected message after 15 calls had already been made. I was again impressed with the vagueness of the Japanese language and the difficulty of making an accurate translation from one language to another. (492)

Thinking and Feeling
02/10/26

It was our custom in Japan to have a time of informal fellowship around a table in the church following the Sunday morning worship service. All those who attended the service, who had the time and the interest, were invited to attend. At that time, while drinking green tea and eating a few cookies, we talked about recent events, future plans or other matters of general interest. That was also a time for those who had questions about what was said in the sermon to ask them. I considered it a very helpful time and made it my custom to provide an opportunity for those who had questions or comments related to sermons I preached in my homeland also to attend a "sermon feedback" session on the day following my sermon. Now, in this retirement community, there is a meeting on Monday mornings to talk about the worship service of the preceding day--not only about the sermon, but about the service as a whole. Those who attend are encouraged to share what they heard in their head and what they felt in their heart during that service. Some people make a clear distinction between what they think with their minds and what they feel with their hearts. Others find it more difficult to distinguish between "thinking" and "feeling," between what is intellectual and what is sentimental, but a healthy faith will be both mentally and emotionally satisfying. And true belief cannot be separated from daily life. What we truly believe will be evident, not only in our verbal profession of faith, but in the way we live. The basic decisions we make are influenced by our faith, whether consciously or unconsciously. In James 1: 22, we are encouraged to be doers of the word and not hearers only. (495)

Enigma/Sphinx
02/10/27

Tracing the origins of words, stories connected to them and how words are translated into different languages is very interesting. Take the word "enigma," for example. An "enigma" is "a perplexing statement that is difficult to understand." This word is derived from a Greek word meaning "to speak in riddles." In Japanese, "enigma" is translated "nazo," the Chinese character for which is composed of two characters meaning "word" and "perplex." And a "nazo no jinbutsu," or "enigmatic person" who seems a bit mysterious may be called a "sphinx," which is a Greek word denoting "the strangler." In Greek mythology, the sphinx was a winged monster with the head and breasts of a woman and the body of a lion. In the legend of Oedipus, she posed a riddle about the three ages of man: "What walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?" She killed those who could not answer her question, but when the answer was given by Oedipus ("Man crawls on all fours as a baby, walks upright in the prime of life, and uses a staff in old age"), she then killed herself. The sphinxes of ancient Egypt symbolized the Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh, as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. Egyptian sphinxes usually had the head of a man and the body of a lion, but some were constructed with the head of rams or hawks. They were usually represented in a reclining position, like the Great Sphinx of Gizeh, a colossal figure sculptured out of natural rock, 18 meters high and over 54 meters long. Winston Churchill once spoke of the action of Russia as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." (496)

Daylight Saving Time
02/10/30

The correct answer to the question "What time is it?" depends on the time zone in which the question is asked. There are 24 time zones around the world, 12 to the east and 12 to the west of the meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. The amount of daylight on a given day of the year is fixed but the hours of sunrise and sunset vary from day to day. During the summer months, the sun rises earlier and sets later so there are more hours of daylight. In order to make more effective use of the daylight hours and to reduce the cost of artificial lighting, in some countries clocks are set ahead one hour in the spring and turned back an hour in the fall. This custom was first adopted in European and North American countries during the First World War. Now, in the United States of America, Daylight Saving Time officially begins at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October, so those of us living in this country were reminded to reset our clocks before retiring last Saturday night. Daylight Saving time has been compared to the action of a man who cut off his blanket at one end and sewed it on the other end to make it longer, but it does make it more enjoyable to play tennis at 7:00 a.m. throughout the year in the bright, cooler time of day. I am reminded of Jesus' words in John 11:9-10: "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles." These words should be compared to Jesus' words in John 8:12. (497)