A Busy Month #2
Flowers
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Clergymen
Defective Modem
Dome of the Rock
Hats
Power Outage
Obesity
Different Viewpoints
"English" and "Dutch"

A Busy Month #2
03/08/03

It is my custom to provide an opportunity for those in the congregation when I preach a sermon to ask questions, make comments, request clarifications, etc. the next day. So, the day after my sermon this month, I met and talked with people in a room at the church. The following day, I drove my wife and 3 granddaughters to a city about 3 hours away and left the older granddaughter with a family there. She had met a daughter of that family last year at a church camp here in Florida and was invited to join the family and attend a high school in that city for her senior year, following which she hopes to enter a state college here. On the way back home from that city, we stopped at a motel and spent the following (tiring but enjoyable) day at the famous SeaWorld Adventure Park. The following week, I gave the Book Review noted in a previous message. Also during that time, nurses visited our home to take samples of my blood, listen to my heartbeat and take my blood pressure and I had a doctor check on my heart's condition. Then our elder son arrived from New Mexico. He spent two nights here before leaving with his daughter and niece for Japan, where our daughter from Thailand plans to join them and our younger son and family for a couple of weeks. Now, my wife and I are trying to relax, but I did play some tennis this week. Now, I plan to drive to the state of Michigan, over 1700 kilometers away, to attend the wedding of my nephew. There, my wife and I hope to meet my brother and 4 sisters and their spouses and some of their children, many of whom we have not seen for a long time. Yes, it has been a busy month. (617)

Flowers
03/08/06

My wife has a keen sense of beauty and works hard to keep our home beautiful, both inside and outside. Around the house, she has made an attractive flower garden that includes chrysanthemums, marigolds, snapdragons, lilies, heather, azaleas, roses, geraniums, gardenias, poinsettias, boxwoods, impatiens and pansies. Inside the house, there are a variety of cactuses, an air plant and a couple of others. In the world around us, there are countless kinds of beautiful flowers, each with their own characteristic size, shape and colors. A recent newspaper article explained how these different kinds of flowers with their individual peculiarities attract different kinds of insects or birds to distribute their pollen and thus ensure their survival. Some birds or insects are attracted by the sweet nectar of flowers. While obtaining it, their bodies or wings brush against petals whose pollen is then transferred to other flowers and new flowers are generated. Certain flowers attract certain kinds of insects or birds. Some attract bees, flies, wasps, moths or butterflies. Others attract large birds, such as crows, or tiny birds, such as hummingbirds. It is difficult for me to imagine how the existence and variety of so many different, beautiful, colorful flowers can be explained apart from a purposeful plan by a divine Designer. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus directed his disciples attention to the beauty of the flowers of the field as examples of God's loving care for his creation and urged them not to worry about material things but to focus their attention on more important matters (Matthew 6:28-33). (610)

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
03/08/07

In the official names of certain countries, a couple of words to indicate the type of government in effect in that country precede the name of the country itself. The most common such term at the present time is "Republic of," but there are still a number of countries whose names begin with "Kingdom of," including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and Great Britain. And the official names of a few former members of the "British Commonwealth of Nations" begin with "Commonwealth of," including Australia, The Bahamas and Dominica. A dictionary defines a "commonwealth" as "a nation or state governed by the people; republic." Thus, the "wealth" of that state (in the usual sense of the word) is not held in "common." It is interesting that there are a few states in the United States of America that are officially "commonwealths," including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which has a Secretary of the Commonwealth rather than a Secretary of State. This New England commonwealth is one of the smaller states in area (number 44 out of 50) but one of the larger ones in population (number 13). Massachusetts was one of the earliest states settled and its state constitution, drafted in 1780, is the oldest state constitution in effect today. The name of this state is derived from the name of a tribe of Native Americans, meaning "at or about the great hill.' The state motto is a Latin phrase meaning "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." Both peace and liberty are worthy goals but it is too bad that they are not always combined. (611)

Clergymen
03/08/09

In modern English, a "clerk" may be a salesperson in a store or a person who keeps records and performs the regular business of a court or legislative body, but an archaic meaning of "clerk" is "clergyman", a person ordained for religious service. In fact, the words "clergy" and "cleric" along with the name "Clark" are all related to this word. There are a number of different words for clergymen in Christian churches, each having a peculiar nuance. Because a clergyman is expected to minister to the needs of church members, he may be called a "minister" and a minister who preaches sermons regularly may be called a "preacher." The term "priest" is used in more liturgical churches for the person who performs certain rituals and is considered a kind of mediator between human beings and God. In the New Testament, a congregation of believers is sometimes figuratively referred to as a flock of sheep and the leader, or shepherd, of the flock is called a "pastor," and a clergyman who is the spiritual head of a certain area, called a "parish," may be called a "parson." A "chaplain" is a clergyman attached to a chapel, which is a place of worship smaller than a church, or a division of a larger institution. In the United States of America, there are "chaplains" both in the armed services and in state and national government assemblies. "Evangelists" hold special evangelistic meetings, but all conscientious Christian clergymen consider spreading the "evangel," the "Gospel," or "Good News" of God's love for all people as revealed in Jesus Christ as part of their vocation, or calling. (614)

Defective Modem
03/08/12

A computer is a marvelous device. I make use of my computer everyday--to write letters, manuscripts of talks or sermons and messages for this "Timely Words" webpage. It is also used for viewing other webpages on the internet and for sending e-mail messages to our children, grandchildren, relatives and friends in many different states and countries. It is truly a marvelous device--when it works properly. At the end of last month, the day before my wife and I were scheduled to go by car to the state of Michigan to attend the wedding of my nephew, I was unable to go online with my computer and could not connect to the internet. Thus, the computer could not be used for correspondence nor for adding new messages onto my webpage. My phone calls requesting help or instructions regarding how to solve the problem were ineffective, but I took my computer with us on our trip. At a few places, I was able to go online but at other places I was unable to do so. We enjoyed the wedding and met many relatives and friends there. A week later, we returned to Florida--after driving about 4000 kilometers and were still unable to go online. It was suggested that the internal modem in my computer was defective. I did not know what a modem was, but I find that it is "a device that converts data from one form into another" and that the word is derived from the first letters of "modulate" and "demodulate." Fortunately, a neighbor who I often ask to help me when I have computer problems, had a new, unused modem on hand that he gave me, so now my computer is working again and I am able to go online. I am very thankful. (620)

Dome of the Rock
03/08/14

There are a number of English words that are derived from the Latin word, domus, meaning "house." They include "domicile," "domestic" and "dome." A "dome" is a hemispherical roof which is associated with Arabic architecture and Islamic mosques. Probably the most famous dome in the world today is the Dome of the Rock, which is located in Jerusalem. In this capital city of the state of Israel, there are a number of places that are considered sacred by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The most outstanding structure in this city is the octagonal mosque located in the southeast area with a domed roof. Called Dome of the Rock, this mosque is said to have been built on Mount Moriah, which according to the story recorded in the 22nd chapter of the Old Testament book of Genesis, was the place where Abraham was instructed to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Later, it was on this site that the great temple built by King Solomon, as described in I Kings, chapter 6, was built. Centuries after the destruction of that temple by the Babylonians, another temple was built on the same site by King Herod. The only remains of that temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A. D. is part of a wall, now found next to the Dome of the Rock, called the Wailing Wall where many Jews come to lament the destruction of the temple. According to Islamic tradition, it was from this site that Muhammed, the prophet, ascended into heaven, after meeting with Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Built in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock is the oldest extant Islamic shrine. (615)

Hats
03/08/17

It is customary in this retirement community to have an Ice Cream Social during the month of August, where people enjoy talking with each other and eating ice cream. All who attended the social this year were required to wear a hat of some kind. For those who did not bring a hat of their own, hats of various sizes and shapes were available to borrow at the entrance. About 150 people attended and, after going through the line where six kinds of ice cream and four kinds of toppings were available, we sat around tables. Songs were sung and one person from each table was chosen to talk about the particular hat he or she was wearing. Certain kinds of hats are related to certain countries or cultures. The large straw hat with a broad brim and tall crown, called a "sombrero" is popular in Mexico and the American southwest. In England, it is more common for men to wear felt hats with a narrow rim called a "derby" or a "fedora." A round, brimless cloth cap, called a "beret" is often worn by Frenchmen and in the eastern Mediterranean, some men wear a brimless cloth cap with a tassel hanging from the crown called a "fez." Neither my wife nor I usually wear a hat, but at this social, I wore the small cap I wear on the tennis court and my wife wore the largest hat of all which belonged to a neighbor lady who was in the hospital and could not attend. The tall crown of that hat had red and white stripes and the wide brim had white stars on a blue field. Thus, it resembled the American flag and It had to be inflated before it could be worn. Needless to say, it attracted much attention. (622)

Power Outage
03/08/20

Fifty years ago, when my wife and I were living in a small city in Japan, we frequently experienced what was called "teiden." This Japanese word is composed of two Chinese characters literally meaning "stop electricity." At such times, the electric power in the community was temporarily cut off. We were reminded of those experiences a few months ago when the electric power supply in this retirement community suddenly and unexpectedly ceased. For two or three hours we were without electricity and realized how different life is without electric power. Not only were we without lights. Our television, videocassette and radio were unusable, along with the washing machine and drier, oven and air conditioner or heater. We were forced to consider how dependent we are upon electric power in our daily lives at the present time. We recalled such experiences recently when we heard and read about the power outage in a large area of the northern United States and southern Canada. Although the word "blackout" was often used during the war to denote the extinguishing of lights that might be visible to enemy aircraft during an air raid, this term may also be used for the lack of illumination due to an electrical power failure. This power outage left 50 million people without power for many hours. Not only were homes affected, but offices, laboratories and public facilities were closed down. Elevators suddenly stopped. Subways and trains did not run. In the light of this experience, we should consider how dependent we are upon others and upon a source of power that is beyond our control. (623)

Obesity
03/08/22

My wife and I spent most of our adult lives in Japan. Although we did not eat Japanese meals every day, our weight has never been higher than normal. Whenever we returned to our homeland, however, we were impressed both with the number of very fat people here and with the very large portions of food served in restaurants. Recent newspaper articles have reported on the increasing number of "obesity-related health problems" and many in the medical community consider obesity one of the gravest threats to the nation's long-term health. "Obesity" is the condition of being extremely fat. According to the report, 64 percent of the adult population and 30 percent of children are overweight. 69 million adults and 15 percent of children are considered obese. Lawmakers are considering new laws to confront this problem. They include laws requiring fast food and chain restaurants to post nutrition information such as caloric, fat and sugar content on menus, restrictions on the sale of soda and candy in schools and imposing physical education standards in the schools. Americans have been getting heavier for three decades which has resulted in an increase in the number of people with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and kidney failure. The nation's Health and Human Services Secretary has called obesity "the fastest-growing disease in America." Some schools send parents health report cards and encourage them to supervise the diets and exercise programs of their children. While seeking to maintain a healthy body, we should also be concerned about a healthy mind and spirit. (621)

Different Viewpoints
03/08/25

It is common to consider Japan to be located in the Far East, but on world maps which have the United States of America in the center, Japan is actually located in the Far West. It is on maps that have Europe in the center that Japan is in the Far East. Maps printed in Japan have Japan at the center, and on such maps, the U. S. A. is in the Far East. Thus, our particular view of the world depends on our perspective, or viewpoint. From what standpoint do we look at the world? It is natural for us to view the world from the standpoint of the land we consider our homeland, but we need to recognize that there are other viewpoints which are also legitimate, depending on the standpoint and the direction one is facing. There are many kinds of problems in the world today--political, cultural, religious, economic, etc. Not only problems between nations in Africa, in the so-called Near East, Middle East or Far East, but problems within countries, including the United States of America and Japan, can be viewed from different perspectives with their different ways to find solutions. Even if all people agreed on a common legal or moral base, there are still different ways to interpret or apply the legal or moral principles. While we will never reach universal agreement on all matters, it is important for us to try to understand the viewpoints of others and to respect them. Those who consider the teaching of Jesus as their norm should remember his words in Matthew 7:1-5, where he taught us not to judge others and to take the plank out of our own eye before seeking to remove a speck from another's eye. (625)

"English" and "Dutch"
03/08/27

Most readers of these "Timely Words" messages will think of a language when they hear or read the word "English." Some of them will also think of a place or people where that language is spoken. But very few of them will think of "the spin given to a ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist" which is another definition of "English" found in my dictionary. Among the tennis players in this retirement community, I am known as the player who puts English on the ball, but in my case, some opponents call it "Japanese" because of my long residence in Japan. It seems that this meaning of "English" was first used in the game of billiards, when the billiard or pool ball was struck to the right or left of its center which caused it to spin to the right or left after it struck an object or a rail. But why was such an action called "English?" One explanation is that the rosin applied to the cue tips was originally imported from England and a player would "apply a bit of the English" before making his stroke. But a more persuasive explanation is that the word refers to the tricky or deceitful effects of such a stroke at a time when the English were unpopular. There are a number of derogatory expressions which Englishmen originated using the word "Dutch" to indicate their negative impression of Dutch men, including "Dutch courage" (resulting from drinking liquor), "Dutch uncle" (a stern adviser), "Dutch treat" (guests pay for their own expenses), "Dutch reckoning" (guesswork) and "Dutch defense" (retreat or surrender). I am sure many nations could create expressions using the term "American" in them also. (618)