April Fool
Fruits and Vegetables
North Pole Discovered
Brooms/Broom Tree
Peter/St. Petersburg
Palm Sunday
Holy Week
Maundy Thursday/Good Friday
Easter
Rhapsody/Fantasy
Taxes and Taxis
Prejudice and Discrimination
A Piece of Peace

April Fool
03/04/02

The name of the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar is April. This name probably comes from a Latin verb meaning "to open" because it is the time when buds of trees and flowers open. The first day of April is called "April Fools' Day" in the United States of America for in England, Scotland and France, there is an old tradition to play practical jokes on people on that day. The following humorous verse, written by an Englishman is found in the 1760 edition of "Poor Robin's Almanac."

The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.

The aim of April fooling is to play a practical joke or make an impossible request on someone who does not yet realize what day it is. When the fooled person grows confused or realizes he has been deceived, the joker calls out "April fool!" A popular form of April fooling is to send someone on a "fool's errand" in which an unsuspecting person is sent on an absurd mission, such as to buy some pigeon's milk or to get some sweet vinegar. April Fools' Day comes only once a year, but in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, we find some relevant observations that should be remembered all year long. "A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue" (17:27-28). "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions" (18:2). (563)

Fruits and Vegetables
03/04/04

On one side of this Penney Retirement Community there is some open land on which some residents have garden plots and raise various kinds of fruits and vegetables, including strawberries. Recently, the annual Strawberry Festival was held. at which strawberries, shortcake and ice cream were served to those who gathered in the meeting hall. After we finished eating, humorous skits were performed by members of the Clown Club. It was an enjoyable time during which I wondered why the red fruit, which is quite different than such berries as blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, gooseberries and loganberries, was called a "strawberry." In the garden behind our house when I was a child, we picked blackberries and raspberries from bushes and I remember the interesting saying that "Blackberries are red when they are green." Strawberries, however, do not grow on bushes but on the ground and they are a different kind of "berry." One reference book suggests the following links between straw and this fruit: the straw-like appearance of the seeds on the fruit's surface, the use of straw to protect the plants and their frequent location under mown grass. While thinking about this, I realized that even the distinction between "fruit" and "vegetable" is also not as clear as I had imagined. Tomatoes, for example, are often considered vegetables, but according to a more exact definition, they are fruits. Needless to say, vegetables also bear fruit. And, according to Matthew 7:15-20, even human beings bear fruit, whether good or bad. What kind of fruit are we bearing? (564)

North Pole Discovered
03/04/06

The earth is a planet that revolves around the sun once a year. Although it appears to be flat, actually it has a spherical shape and rotates on its own axis once a day. Among the various kinds of "poles" in the world today are telephone poles, flag poles, fish poles and ski poles, but the two extremities of an axis are also called "poles." At the opposite ends of the earth's axis there is a North Pole and a South Pole. The existence of these poles was recognized in theory before they were actually visited by human beings, but 94 years ago, on April 6,1909, explorers reached the North Pole following extensive preparation. Representatives of the three major races participated in that historic event: a Caucasian engineer in the U. S. Navy, Robert E. Peary, his Negroid assistant, Matthew A. Henson, and four Eskimo guides. Following years of explorations in the Arctic, the 53-year-old Peary and his assistant spent the winter of 1908 at a base camp in the northernmost Canadian territory of Ellesmere Island and left on their final trip on March 1st, 1909. Traveling for 18 to 20 hours a day, they were exhausted by the time they reached the North Pole where they built an igloo and camped for more than 30 hours, making astronomical observations. In the Explorers Hall of the National Geographic Society's headquarters in Washington, D. C., there are a number of mementos of that expedition. Because of the poles, north and south have limits, but there are no such limits to east and west. So it is written in Psalm 103:12 that God has removed our transgressions from us "as far as the east is from the west." (565)

Brooms/Broom Tree
03/04/09

A "broom" is a brush made of twigs or straw with a long handle used for sweeping. In industrialized countries, vacuum cleaners are used to clean floors or carpets, but brooms are still used, especially to sweep leaves, snow or dirt off of the sidewalk or driveway outside the house and they are commonly used both inside and outside houses in countries where electrical appliances are not available. In Shakespeare's drama, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," we find these words: "I am sent with broom before, To sweep the dust behind the door." I am not sure of the context of that quotation, but "to sweep something under the rug" implies trying to hide something from another's sight. Inspectors in Iraq were trying to discover whether anything had been "swept under the rug" in that country. According to an Italian proverb, "A new broom is good for three days." The long handle of a broom is called a "broomstick" and, for some reason, witches are thought to ride on broomsticks, accompanied by black cats, and we often see pictures of them around Halloween. The word "broom" is derived from the name of a tree, or bush, with small leaves and slender branches or twigs which were used to make brooms. According to one modern translation of the Bible, it was under a "broom tree" that the prophet Elijah sat and "prayed that he might die" (I Kings 19:4). Other translations call it a "juniper tree" or "furze bush", so the particular type of woody plant referred to seems to be uncertain. Although I would not advise people to pray "to die," I think it is a good idea to regularly engage in prayer to the almighty, merciful God. (537)

Peter/St. Petersburg
03/04/11

The state of Florida is a peninsula on the southeastern part of the United States of America. Recently, my wife and I, along with our son and his wife and son who were visiting us from Japan, took a trip to the city of St. Petersburg, about halfway down the west side of the peninsula, about 330 kilometers south of our home in Penney Farms. While there, I wondered why the city was called St. Petersburg and discovered many interesting facts about cities and people named Peter. As a common verb, "peter" means "to come to an end slowly; diminish, dwindle," but the name Jesus gave to his chief disciple in John 1:42 is derived from the Greek word meaning "rock," which is also noted in Matthew 16:18. From the name of this disciple, who was later canonized by the Roman Catholic Church and thus is called a "saint," many men have been given this name. There have been three czars of Russia, four kings of Aragon, five kings of Portugal as well as kings of Serbia and Yugoslavia who bore this name. The Russian seaport city founded in 1703 by Peter I, or Peter the Great, was named St. Petersburg and the city in Florida was given that name in 1875 by the president of a local railroad whose name was Peter and who came from St. Petersburg. There are cities named Petersburg in seven states, but Florida is the only state with a St. Petersburg. There is a famous tale about Peter Pan, a little boy who never grew up, and the term "Peter Principle" is defined as "the notion that an employee within an organization will advance to the highest level of his incompetence and remain there." (567)

Palm Sunday
03/04/13

One meaning of "palm" is the inner surface of one's hand, extending from the wrist to the base of the fingers. It may also indicate a unit of length equal to either the width or the length of the hand. "Palm" may also signify the blade of an oar or paddle or a certain kind of tree found in the tropics. Palm trees do not have branches coming out of their trunks, but they have a cluster of huge leaves at the top which may be called "fronds." Some palm trees produce coconuts; others produce dates. For some reason, from ancient times, the large leaves of palm trees have been used as emblems of victory, success or joy. In the 1st century B.C., the Latin poet, Horace, wrote of the "victor's palm" and the expression "bear the palm" means to win the prize in a contest. There are two passages in the New Testament that mention palm branches. In the vision related in Revelation, chapter 7, beginning with verse 9, there was a multitude of people wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And according to John 12:13, just a few days before his crucifixion, as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the symbol of peace, people took palm branches and went out to meet him and greet him, shouting "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!" In commemoration of that "Triumphal Entry," the Sunday before Easter in the church calendar is called "Palm Sunday." In some churches, palm branches or small crosses made of palm branches are distributed to worshippers on that day, which falls on April 13th this year. (562)

Holy Week
03/04/16

The first four books of the New Testament are called Gospels. "Gospel" means "good news" and these books describe the life and ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe was/is the Son of God. All four Gospels emphasize the final week of Jesus' life, which began with his "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem and ended with his resurrection from the dead following his crucifixion. In the church calendar, the week before Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday is Holy Week. The date of Easter changes from year to year in order to coordinate this festival with the Jewish feast of Passover, which is determined according to the lunar calendar. This year, this week is Holy Week. Other than Palm Sunday and Easter, special days of this week are called Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The most common calendars used in the world today are divided into days, weeks, months and years. Days, months and years are determined by natural changes: a day is the period during which the earth makes one rotation on its axis; a month is the period of one revolution of the moon around the earth; and a year is the period of one revolution of the earth around the sun. But a week, a period of seven days, is derived from the story in the first chapter of Genesis, the first book in the Bible, that the earth was created by God in seven days. The word "holy" denotes something sacred, something set apart for a divine purpose. For Christians, the Bible is a "holy book," the church is a "holy place" and this week is a "holy week" during which the deep meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection is considered. (568)

Maundy Thursday/Good Friday
03/04/18

This week before Easter in the Christian Church Calendar includes the special days of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. On the Sunday before his death, Jesus entered Jerusalem welcomed by people waving palm branches and singing his praises, which is remembered on Palm Sunday. On the day before his crucifixion, Jesus ate a final meal with his twelve disciples which is commonly called the Last Supper. It was at that time that he instructed his disciples that the bread and wine they ate and drank symbolized his body and blood which was about to be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and that they should continue to partake of those elements in remembrance of him. So in churches today, bread and wine are regularly received by believers to remind them of Jesus' sacrifice. It was also at this Last Supper that Jesus, their teacher, became their servant by washing their feet. Furthermore, he commanded them to follow his example and wash one another's feet (John 13:1-17). "Maundy" is derived from the Latin word for "commandment," which was the first word of a song sung during a foot-washing ritual. On the following day, now known as Good Friday, Jesus was crucified. It may seem strange that Christians consider the day of Jesus' death as a "good" day, but it was only after his resurrection on that first Easter Sunday when his disciples experienced the new life that came from faith in Christ and recognized the profound meaning of his death on the cross that the cross became a symbol of God's infinite love and the day of his crucifixion came to be called "Good Friday." (570)

Easter
03/04/20

Because of the commercialization of Christmas, including the decorating of public places and the giving of gifts at that time of year, it is generally thought that Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, is the most important festival of the Christian Church, but it is not. The basic festival of the Church is Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and the new life which invigorates those who believe. In order to keep this celebration in connection with the Jewish festival of Passover, over the centuries most churches have celebrated Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. Thus, the date changes from year to year and, this year, Easter falls on April 20th. In many cultures, spring is celebrated as a time of rebirth and renewal as plants and animals that appeared to be dead are revived. The word "Easter" seems to have been derived from the name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. In many places, Easter Sunrise services are held early on Easter morning in commemoration of the early morning visit to the empty tomb recorded in the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. In many homes, colored Easter eggs will be a part of the decoration or food since eggs are a symbol of new life. And in some homes, new clothes are worn on Easter Sunday to symbolize newness of life. Phillips Brooks, an American clergyman, has written, "The great Easter truth is not that we are to live newly after death, but that we are to be new here and now by the power of the resurrection." I hope that you may experience renewal at this time of year. (571)

Rhapsody/Fantasy
03/04/23

In the Penney Retirement Community where my wife and I reside, there are various opportunities to stimulate the artistic inclination of residents. My wife is now attending a special kind of art class and has become a bell-ringer in a handbell choir. Both of us are also members of a group that attends a "Coffee Concert" of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at the Symphony Hall in the city of Jacksonville once a month on a Friday morning. We take the community bus for the 50-minute drive to the Symphony Hall; others go in their own cars. Before the concert begins, coffee, tea and cookies are made available without charge in the hall lobby by the Jacksonville Symphony Guild. Recently, we attended a concert which was named "Rhapsody-Fantasy." "Rhapsody" may denote an excessively enthusiastic expression of feeling in speech or writing or a literary work written in an impassioned or exalted style but, in music, it is a composition in an irregular form. "Fantasy" is related to one's fancy or imagination and in music, it denotes a free composition structured according to the composer's fancy. The music played at that concert were fascinating selections by well-known European composers, including Mozart, Copland, Chopin and Schumann. But a more international flavor was introduced by two of the major musicians involved. The conductor of the orchestra is a Brazilian who became an American citizen last year and the featured pianist who was born in Hong Kong, is a Canadian citizen. Both rhapsody and fantasy may be expressed not only in music but in daily life as well--making life more interesting. (569)

Taxes and Taxis
03/04/25

April, the name of this fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, is probably derived from a Latin word meaning "to open," for it is the season when the buds of trees and flowers open. In Japan, it is also the beginning of a new school year and of a new financial year. Many people in the United States of America associate the month of April with taxes, for April 15th is the deadline for filing federal income tax returns. It was in 1913 that the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving Congress the power to "collect taxes on incomes." For many Americans, the weeks preceding April 15th are busy ones as they obtain and record documents related to taxes. There are many different kinds of taxes, including sales taxes, property taxes, an inheritance tax, excise tax, import tax, export tax and others. And there is a connection between taxes and taxis. A "taxi" is a vehicle that carries passengers for a fare. There are different kinds of taxis. In industrialized countries, most taxis are automobiles, but I have also ridden in a taxi pulled by a horse and one propelled by a man pedalling in front of me. "Taxi" is a shortened form of "taxicab" which is a cab with a "taximeter" to calculate the fare, or tax, based on the distance traveled and waiting time. Such meters were first installed in French horse-drawn cabs before motor-cabs appeared on the roads. "Taxi," as a verb, may denote the slow movement on the ground of an airplane before takeoff or after landing. A couple of months ago, I was surprised at how far the airplane taxied in Narita Airport in Japan before it took off for Sapporo. (573)

Prejudice and Discrimination
03/04/27

The United Nations has declared 2001-2010, the first decade of the 21st century, the "Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World" and the World Council of Churches has designated it an "Ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence." Although we are now about one-third of the way through this decade, the hopes expressed in these names are not being realized. At the Wednesday evening meetings of the Penney Memorial Church during the five weeks after Easter, a study series prepared by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program is being followed to focus our attention and effort on "Living for a Change--Toward a Culture of Peace." Following a short period of worship, we separate into smaller groups for discussion of various matters related to the theme. In the discussion groups at the first meeting, it was recognized that one obstacle to a "culture of peace" is the prejudice and discrimination reflected in our culture toward people of a certain race, gender, class, culture or faith. "Prejudice" is defined as "an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts" and "discrimination" is "an act based on prejudice." An objective view of the culture of any people or nation will recognize the presence of both prejudice and discrimination, whether overt or covert, and the need to eliminate them in order to achieve genuine peace. Our session began with the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:9: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" and ended with Psalm 34:14: "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it." (574)

A Piece of Peace
03/04/30

A "piece" is a portion of a larger element, so at the end of a meal, we may have a piece of pie or a piece of cake as our dessert. The term "piecemeal," however, is not primarily related to food. Rather, it means "piece by piece" or "gradually." A homonym of "piece" is "peace." One meaning of "peace" is the opposite of war or other hostilities. Another meaning is inner contentment or serenity. This brings to mind a question: Is it possible to have a "piece of peace" or to have a "piecemeal peace?" In the ultimate sense, this is not possible. In both the social and the spiritual sense, there may be stages or degrees of peace, but finally either we have peace or we do not. As the world hopes for and works for peace in Iraq and elsewhere, we must consider how genuine peace is attained, whether peace between nations, within a nation or within one's heart. Here are some significant words about peace and how it is achieved. According to Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding." Former American President Eisenhower stated: "there can be no assured peace and tranquility for any one nation except as it is achieved by all. So long as want, frustration, and a sense of injustice prevail among significant sections of the earth, no other section can be wholly released from fear." The ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus, wrote: "Only the just man enjoys peace of mind." And according to the Apostle Paul, "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding" will be given to those who trust in God (Philippians 4:7). (566)