Old and New
Epiphany
Serendipity
Dogs
A King’s Birthday
Yawning
Holocaust
Animal Groups
“Jeen”
F. D. R.

Old and New
06/01/01

        Even when we can understand words in a foreign language and correctly define them, we must remember that their precise meaning is related to the context in which they are used.  The meaning of such words as “cold” and “hot,” “big” and “small,” “long” and “short,” “young” and “old,” “old” and “new” vary according to their context.  For most readers of this message, this is the time when an “old year” has ended and a “new year” has begun, but when years begin and end depends on the calendar used in a particular culture or tradition.  For Muslims, Jews, Hindus and traditional Chinese, years begin at different times.  In the Gregorian calendar, used by most countries in the world today where English is the main language, the first month of the 12-month year is called January, derived from the name of the Roman god, Janus, the god of beginnings.  Janus was said to have two faces by which he could see in opposite directions at the same time, thus he could view both the past and the future.  In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse 8, it is written that “the end of a matter is better than its beginning,” but this also depends on the particular situation and context.  Looking back over the past year, there is much that may make us sad, about which we can complain, but there is also much for which we can be thankful—depending on our outlook, or faith.  There may be a hidden good  purpose even in sad events which we do not understand until later, but I hope and pray that this “new year” will be a very merry, happy and meaningful year for you and that these messages will help to make it so.  (924)

Epiphany
06/01/04

         As a common noun, “epiphany” denotes “a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something,” but as a proper noun with the first letter capitalized, it denotes a Christian festival held on January 6.  On this Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ’s divinity by 1) the visit of Magi from the east who came to worship him soon after his birth (Matthew 2:1-12), 2) the voice from heaven that was heard following his baptism (Matthew 3:13-17) and 3) his first miracle of turning water into wine (John 2:1-11) are remembered.  As a matter of fact, both December 25 and January 6 are Christian utilizations of pagan festivals related to the sun, and January 6 was first celebrated as the date of Jesus’ birth.  Now, however, it is considered the end of the twelve days of Christmas. In Eastern Orthodox churches, Jesus’ baptism is emphasized on Epiphany, but in Western churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, it is the visit of the Magi from the east that is emphasized.  According to the story in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Gentile Magi, also called “Wise Men,” from the east saw a star, which they considered a special sign of the one who had been born king of the Jews and they had come to worship him.  There is no mention of how many there were, but because they presented three gifts, it has been presumed that there were three men.  It also seems certain that the baby Jesus was no longer in the manger where the shepherds came to see him, as implied in later Christmas stories, pictures and dramas.  Their gifts of gold, frankincense (used as incense) and myrrh (used in embalming) have been considered symbols of royalty, divinity and death.  (925)   

Serendipity
06/01/07

        One of the advantages of living in a retirement community with other elderly residents is that we are able to understand and sympathize with one another’s physical or mental problems as we get older.  When we sit together around a table at mealtimes in the dining hall, our conversations are very interesting for residents here have served in many different countries in many different kinds of activities.  As we talk, we often hesitate because a particular word or name or place does not immediately come to mind.  Since most residents here have the same problem, there is no need to apologize, but recently, speaking about this situation, I came to a deeper understanding of the meaning of “serendipity.”  This word, meaning “making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident,” was coined by an English author, Horace Walpole, from the title of a Persian fairy tale, “The Three Princes of Serendip.” Serendip was an old name for Sri Lanka and in this story, the heroes "discovered, quite unexpectedly, great and wonderful good in the most unlikely of situations, places and people."  My “accidental discovery” came as I was talking to a resident about his service in the country of Costa Rica, from which he and his wife recently came directly to our community.  In the course of our conversation, I spoke of my poor memory and mentioned that I could not remember to whom I had lent a copy of one of my books, which I needed to make preparations for a coming talk.  The lady I thought I might have lent it to denied that it was so, but his surprising response was, “Maybe I am the one you lent it to,” and. sure enough, he was right and he returned the book to me.  That was a good example of “serendipity.”  (926)

Dogs
06/01/11

        In an old lunar calendar which has been observed in both China and Japan, there are twelve zodiacal signs.  Every year is related to one of those signs and the sign for this year of 2006 is the Dog.  According to paper place mats used in Chinese restaurants, a person born in a year of the Dog is loyal, honest, generous and works well with others, but may also be selfish, stubborn and critical.  There are a number of English expressions related to dogs.  A “dog in the manger” denotes one who prevents others from enjoying what he himself has no use for.  It comes from a fable in which a dog prevented an ox from eating hay he did not want himself.  “Dog days” are the hot, sultry days in the middle of summer.  To “lead a dog’s life” means to be unhappy and never left in peace, but to “put on the dog” means to make a display of elegance, wealth or culture.  To “let sleeping dogs lie” is good advice, cautioning us not to stir up trouble by making unnecessary changes.  When my wife and I attended language school in Tokyo many years ago, we often passed Shibuya station in front of which was the statue of a faithful dog which had continued to come regularly to that station to meet its master even after the master had died.  It was to remind passers-by of the importance of loyalty.  In the New Testament, dogs were not highly regarded and in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his disciples not to give dogs what is sacred or to pigs what is valuable (Matthew 7:6).  Animals cannot discern what is sacred or valuable and will corrupt or reject them, so we should be discerning regarding with whom we share sacred or valuable things.   (927)

A King’s Birthday
06/01/14

        In the United States of America, there are ten federal holidays set by law.  Five of them are not set according to dates, but are observed on certain Mondays to create three-day weekends for federal employees.  One such holiday, on the third Monday of January, which was first officially observed in 1986, is in honor of a King.  In this case, however, the King was not of royal lineage.  Rather, this King was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15,1929, the son of a Baptist minister. Martin Luther King, Jr., also became a Baptist minister and was the pastor of a church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 when 50,000 Afro-American residents protested segregation rules by a bus boycott that lasted for over a year and received the support of many conscientious citizens around the country.  This 27-year-old pastor became the leader of the protest and was arrested, but he continually emphasized peaceful civil disobedience and exhorted his followers, even “if we are arrested every day, don’t ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them.”  Until his assassination, on April 4, 1968, Rev. King continued to encourage others, both by word and example, to reject violent revenge and seek to peacefully implement his dream of a nation in which all people are respected regardless of color or creed which he emphasized in the meaningful and effective speech he gave to an audience of more than 200,000 people who gathered near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.   This holiday on the third Monday of January was created by the U. S. Congress “to reflect on the principles of racial equality and non-violent social change” that Martin Luther King, Jr. sought to realize.   (928)       

Yawning
06/01/18

        There are two kinds of “inspiration.”  One kind is often used by religious people to denote a divine influence.  True prophets and effective preachers are “inspired” by God to proclaim his word.  Among doctors and nurses, however, “inspiration’ may simply denote breathing or inhaling air.  That is its meaning in the dictionary’s definition of “yawning”: “To open the mouth wide with a deep inspiration.”  Recently a news article reported the results of university professors’ studies on yawning.  Why do people yawn?  When do they yawn?  What kind of people yawn most?  According to that article, yawning is an ancient, primitive act.  Some animals also yawn and humans may yawn even before they are born, opening their mouths wide while still in the womb.  For some people, yawning may be contagious; if they see someone yawn, they also yawn in response.  It seems that people who are very compassionate tend to yawn when they see another person yawn.  The basic yawn lasts about six seconds.  While men and women yawn equally often, men are significantly less likely to cover their mouths when they do so.  The physical root of yawning remains a mystery, but it is not because one needs oxygen and one cannot yawn on command.  Although yawning is done involuntarily, it is usually the result of fatigue, drowsiness or boredom.  Thus, preachers and lecturers are not happy to see many people yawn during their sermons or lectures.  Among some species of animals, yawning could be a way of showing off big scary teeth and staking a position of authority.  Finally, I hope that reading these messages does not cause you to yawn. (929)         

Holocaust
06/01/21

        In the traditions of certain religions, animals are killed and burned as sacrificial offerings to God.  This was the custom of the ancient Jewish religion and rules concerning “burnt offerings” are found in the first chapters of the Old Testament book of Leviticus.  The word “holocaust,” derived from Latin words meaning “whole burnt,” denotes a sacrificial offering that is consumed entirely by flames.  When spelled with a capital H, however, it refers to the persecution and massive slaughter of European Jews by the Nazis during World War II.  After Adolf Hitler was elected leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party in 1933, the racial superiority of the Germanic, or Aryan, race was emphasized; Negroes and Jews were relegated to the bottom of the racial ladder.   The citizenship of German Jews was cancelled.  Anti-Jewish rampages destroyed synagogues and Jewish-run businesses.  Jews were required to wear a yellow star to identify them and were prohibited from using public transportation.  Some Jews were placed on trucks or vans and asphyxiated with auto exhaust on the way to mass grave sites.  Special gas chambers were created where Jews could be killed and cremated in secret.  As many as four million Jews were killed in such camps and an estimated six million Jews died in various German offensives during the war.  After the war ended, the enormity of this Holocaust became known.  It is difficult to imagine how such a genocide could be carried out by a civilized nation, but today also, some citizens of some countries simply follow the orders of their superiors without thinking seriously of the moral implications. The memory of the Holocaust was influential in the decision to create the state of Israel in 1948.  (930)

Animal Groups
06/01/24

            All languages have their particular, or peculiar, characteristics.  In Japanese, any group of animals may be included in the term “mure” (even though the Chinese character for this term includes the character for “sheep”).  In English, the term used for the particular group varies according to the kind of animals involved, and some of the words, or their homonyms, are often used with very different meanings.  For example, a “school” is not only a place where people study.  It may also denote a group of fish.  A “pack” is not only a bundle that may be carried on one’s back.  It may also denote a group of dogs or wolves.  And, along with the high opinion one may have regarding one’s self, “pride” may also denote a group of lions.  It is not only a group of criminals or unruly people who are called a “gang.”  This term is also used for a group of buffalo or elk.  And “sloth” is not only related to laziness.  It may denote a group of bears.  “Flock” is used for a group of sheep or goats and “herd” may be used for cows, elephants or geese.  The term used for groups of insects, such as ants, bees and wasps is “swarm.”  And the term for the enclosure in which animals are kept may also vary according to the animals kept there.  A “warren” may denote either a group of rabbits or the enclosure where rabbits are kept, and the enclosure where sheep are kept may be called a “fold.”  In the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 1 and 16, the same Greek word denoting the enclosure where sheep are kept has been translated “fold,” “sheepfold,” “pen” and “sheep pen.”  Which word is used in the Bible translation you have?   (931)

“Jeen”
06/01/29

        In Japanese, there are many different words that have the same pronunciation.  The meaning of such words becomes clear when the Chinese characters used in them are known.  English also has many homonyms, many of which have the same spelling even though the meanings are different.  Today’s message focuses on words/names pronounced  “jeen.”  Looking up the word spelled g-e-n-e in my dictionary, I find the definition too difficult to understand, but it denotes the basic unit by which characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another in animals/plants. Clothes made of “jean” (derived from Genoa), a “heavy, strong, twilled cotton” are called jeans.  In the past, jeans were considered work clothes, but many young people today consider blue jeans fashionable and some older folk are wearing them also.  And there are names of both women and men which are pronounced “jeen.”  Checking the currrent directory of the 530 residents in this retirement community, I found one male resident whose name is Gene (the shortened form of Eugene, derived from Greek words meaning “well-born”) and seven female residents named Jean plus two more whose names are pronounced the same but are spelled J-e-a-n-n-e.  (Jean[ne] is derived from the feminine Latin form of John, which comes from Hebrew and Greek names in the Bible meaning “Yahweh [God] has been gracious.”)  Other feminine residents’ names related to Jean are Joan (5), Jane (4), June (3), Jan (2) and Joann (1).  In Japan, the meaning of the Chinese characters used in names is seriously considered by parents before giving the name to their children, and for some, even the number of strokes in the Chinese characters is a matter of concern.   (932)  

F. D. R.
06/01/31

George Washington became the first president of the United States of America in 1789. In the 217 years since then, 40 different men have served as president, four of whom have the same surname as a previous president; two of these, including the present president, were sons of previous presidents. One was a distant cousin of another and the initials, F. D. R., were often used to identify him, the only president who served more than two terms, who died in April 1945, three months after beginning his fourth term as president and four months before the end of the 2nd World War. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, was born on January 30, 1882. From his youth, he was interested in politics and was elected to the New York State Senate in 1910. His political future seemed to have been ruined by the poliomyelitis attack he experienced when he was 32 years old, but he was determined to regain his health and followed a strenuous exercise program. He made use of a wheelchair, braces and canes in his two successful campaigns to become governor of New York and all four campaigns for the presidency. His personal experience and optimistic attitude were important as he formulated and enacted a New Deal to lead the nation through the Great Depression followed by his energetic leadership during the Second World War, which he hoped would result in a “ world founded upon four essential human freedoms”?freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. In the state of Kentucky, January 30 is a holiday to commemorate the birthday of F. D. R. and an annual ceremony is held on that day at his graveside in Hyde Park, New York. (933)