Jerome

September 30 is the remembrance of Jerome. I choose to remember his story because it's a reminder of the history of the Bible. Sometimes I think we think (actually, without thinking) the Bible has been around forever, and too, in people's hands. Yes, currently it's in about everyone's home and can be found almost anywhere. We take it for granted. In fact many of us probably have many copies and in many translations.

BUT, for thousands of years the Old and then the New Testament were oral tradition in churches and gatherings. The common populace could never own scripture, let alone read it for themselves till still a period of time after the printing press. For those thousands of years it had to be handwritten and not on today's abundant paper.

Grouping of texts were coveted and guarded. Some monasteries built up around one such text. But a whole canon of what we today know as The Bible didn't begin to come together until around AD400. And then not to the common people. The Hebrew canon was finally established about 100AD. The New Testament began first around the texts written or authorized by an apostle of Jesus. Initially what was used in churches was oral readings for edification of the body.

Jerome had devoted the bulk of his life preserving and caring for early church documents. Jerome was a master of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Chaldaic. In 383 Pope Damascus I commissioned Jerome, his secretary, to make a good, complete Latin translation of the Bible. It is called the Vulgate, meaning "common" or "popular". It took him 21 years to complete.

Jerome wrote many commentaries on books of the Bible and was doing the commentary on Ezekiel when Rome was being ransacked and fell, and likened the book to what was then happening. He lived his last years from 386 to 420 in Bethlehem, living as a monk and finishing the Bible translation.

There's so much history in connection to the Bible and it is fascinating. Throughout church history there are many people, who being able to read scripture, would tell the church leadership a thing or two!... And too, when the Muslim peoples started pushing on all the borders of Europe and Constantinople fell, Europe had not had any original language documents, and with the refugees came a lot of original manuscripts and art and all. Which began both the Renaissance and Reformation (both the arts and spiritual attraction to what had not been seen in Europe since the barbarians' destruction). And that starts a whole new era that we're just now maybe attempting to alter into a new era (like every 500 years a transformation of the church)?!

Jerome was noted as a cantankerous, codgy, feisty character, so I wonder about the spirit of his translation! But it was the only one for a thousand plus years and it did spread the Gospel through the known world.

Rosh Hashanah

"In the beginning ..." I posted earlier today about when the Christian calendar begins. The Jewish Year begins sometime around September. In Leviticus 23 God says, "These are My appointed feasts which you are to celebrate ... On the first day of the seventh month - mark it with loud blasts on the ram's horn ..." This year, since the Jewish calendar is lunar based and it never falls on the same date every year, Rosh HaShanah begins this evening.

Rosh Hashanah, or Feast of the Trumpets, is the Jewish New Year (year 5769 this year). In the rhythm of my own life I look at this time of year as a new year for me too. School starts, and I get the house cleaned and back together after the busyness of summer. Our January New Year doesn't do anything for me.

Because it's the beginning of the ten High Holy Days, or Days of Awe, leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it's a time of remembrance, of reflection, and of restoration - especially of relationship with God and others. It's a time of putting our physical and spiritual house in order. The shofar (a ram's horn) is blown as a call to awaken the conscience to a time of introspection, contemplation, and prayer, praise and worship.

Jews remember the story of the binding and release of Isaac every year at this feast. They also celebrate the beginning or the Birthday of the World. This would be a good time to bake a birthday cake and read Genesis 1 for the story of Creation.

God asks us to remember and retell the stories. When I read II Chronicles 34 and Nehemiah 8 I was shocked to find hundreds of years of gaps, where many generations of peoples did not tell the stories, and God was forgotten. And along with that would come a lack of identity of not knowing who they were (same with us).

The Hebrew feasts always have special symbolic foods for meals. I love anything that will give me ideas for supper! Rosh HaShanah is a sweet meal because of the hopes for a sweet new year ahead - like apples dipped in honey. I make a sweet challah bread. And instead of the typical sabbath day braid, it's a round loaf - desiring a full round year.

A typical greeting is, "May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year." I've often thought of sending out the yearly family news letter at this time instead of Christmas, but haven't.

"Keep your soul diligently, never forgetting what you've seen God doing, lest they slip from your heart as long as you live." Deuteronomy 4:9

Christian Calendar

The Christian Calendar begins with the season of Advent - when God incarnated Himself, entering our human history. God asks us more than 300 times in scripture to "remember", and the calendar is a great tool for remembering. Remembering what? All the God-in-our-midst stories - past, present, future - First and Second Testament, and then Third Testament stories. Rather than linear time, view it cyclically, revisiting the stories.

So, some current calendar things:
CS Lewis became a Christian September 28, 1931, while riding to a zoo in his brother's motorcycle sidecar. "When we set out I did not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and when we reached the zoo I did." Lewis had already become a theist, but his conversion followed a long talk he'd had the week before with two Christian frinds: JRR Tolkien and Hugo Dyson.

Some sad dates:
In 1498 a Tomas de Torquemada, of Jewish blood, died Sept 27. He had been made grand inquisitor in Spain. Thousands of people completely at a loss as to what they were supposed to have done, were tortured to death as 'guilty' victims. By 1492, he had all unconverted Jews expelled from all the Spanish kingdoms. (Makes me remember in sadness Salem Witch Trials and other inquisition stories, as well as the many persecutions and massacres of Jews throughout history.)

In 1565 nearly 500 Huguenot settlers in Florida - having fled persecution in their native France - were slaughtered Sept 29 by Spanish soldiers. (Makes me ask, "why do we not like people who are different from us?" Or remember the the apostle Paul, who as Saul, so thought he was doing what was right, when he was persecuting and killing Christians!)

Michaelmas

Today is Michaelmas Day. Ever hear of Michaelmas Daisies? They are perennials we can plant that are fall blooming every year. We have wildflower daisies that are purple with yellow centers that bloom in our area all fall - one of the last flowers of the year.

There's a permanent rafia wreath hanging over our kitchen table, and I just removed the summer bees (made of wool with tissue paper wings and yellow embroidery floss stripes) that were hanging from it. I made a felted dragon that I pull out this time of year (and again with my Christmas Nativity). It sits on a rock in the center of the kitchen table. A white sheep wool angel with gold threading and a sword, hangs over the table from the center of this wreath. This visual is for reminding my heart of stories to remember, and help me live my days fuller, because so many ordinary calendar days are full of meaning. Our daily small stories we live, are a part of a larger ongoing story that I want to be aware of!

"A woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and crowned with a garland of twelve stars, was giving birth to a child crying out in pain. There was also a huge dragon ... in front of the woman in childbirth, waiting, ready to eat up the child as soon as it was born ... War broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought the dragon..." What a fantastic story! That reads like Greek mythology ... Read Revelation 12:1-9.

Archangel Michael is mentioned throughout scripture. Like when Daniel was praying for three weeks and on the 24th day he was surprised by "a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold. His body glistening and as if sculpted from the precious stone beryl. His face radiated light like lightening, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like polished bronze, and his voice sounded like a huge choir of voices." He had been detained in spiritual warfare which is beyond our vision - that larger story.

If all the mentions of angels in scripture - bringing good news, warning of danger, guarding from evil, guiding and protecting, nourishing, and instructing - functioned as such then, wouldn't angels still be doing this on into today?! Do we live believing this? Each year I give a special focus to this piece of my faith in God, and thank Him for His angels.

Michaelmas is one of the four cardinal points of the year, opposite the Resurrection. In art, Michael is sometimes depicted with balance scales as if he's weighing the souls of men. Do we have our own dragons in our lives? An art piece has Michael gazing at the child lying in an animal feed trough - the child that asks to be born in each human soul. It's a time for contemplation and resurrection refueling of the soul.

"Thank you God for your awesome provision for me.
Help me see the realities of the spiritual realm all around me."

Wenceslaus and Vincent de Paul, and Marty

I went to a Quilt-a-Fair with my friend Marty yesterday. We had a full-of-fun day. Marty's and my paths crossed often since highschool and we are very good friends and we live an hour apart, so don't see each other as often as we could. In fact, if she weren't currently a Mentor Mom with me in the MOPS group, we'd see each other much less. And Marty's husband Jim had been one of Monte's housemates prior to us getting married. So there's lots of memories, and we carry on creating more memories together.

Our goal was to walk around seeing the many booths and beautiful quilts hanging around the building, but we first walked around a farmer's market in the parking lot. When you 'walk around' with Marty, everything is an adventure! Her enthusiasm for everything is infectious, and besides her striking grey hair and turquoise jewelry (she grew up on Indian reservations with Wycliffe Bible translator parents) people love her smile, her easy laughter, and talking with her. After the quilt thing, hungry, we ended up walking around downtown Boulder, then sharing a Mexican fajita. 

Today's Christian calendar remembrance is Wenceslaus, but why I don't know, since he was murdered January 6 (my source says) by his brother around 930. He was king of Bohemia and strove for unity amongst the pagans (who ruled) and Christianity (which was persecuted). I think of him around Christmas with the carol "good king Wenceslaus" who was killed on "the Feast of Stephen".

Yesterday was Vincent de Paul's day, dying in 1660. French, he dedicated his life ministering to the oppressed. Founder of the Vincentians, devoted to serving invalids, orphans, war victims, convicts, and galley slaves. Vincent himself once traded places with a convict in the galleys, having heard the man despair of ever again seeing his wife and children. Vincent slaved for weeks until his followers bought his freedom. His name to me is "St Vinny", since we always go to that second-hand store in Wisconsin (along with the Amish) when we visit Monte's parents.

Cosmas and Damian

Today is the calendar remembrance day of Cosmas and Damian, twin brothers from Arabia, that nothing is known of, other than that they were martyred during the persecution of Diocletian, around 303. But there are stories (typical hagiography :-) and art work-

Legend says they were skilled doctors, known as "moneyless ones" or "the silverless", because they took no money for their services. My fun saint book mentions a "famous feat of transplanting a healthy white leg onto a plack patient (or vice versa)." Though I didn't read of it elsewhere, there's a picture of it on Wikipedia! I drew a smiley face beside this in my book. Was it a mistake? or probably a shortage of leg possibilities!

The fun stuff of hagiography - like in describing their death. Most serious writings will just tell you they were tortured till beheaded. My book says their bodies caused stones and arrows to boomerang back to the executioners, until giving up, they beheaded them.

So why do I even remember their story? My imagination has fun with what the art piece was wanting us to remember - like living in that man's shoes after the operation! Consider the era - we have surgeons today who do amazing things, but back then? And why martyred? In what way was their life choices a threat?

Classic?

What makes a book a classic? When was the term first used?

On this day in 1904 a Joseph Malaby Dent began to flesh out an ambitious vision of reprinting classic books in what would be called the Everyman's Library.

Are books of old dry, uninspiring, and hardly suited for the fast-paced world the Industrial Revolution brought to the twentieth century - and what do we call today?

I've read, read aloud to my kids, and listened to audio classics for years. I have to put myself into the shoes of the characters and author, desiring to see from their perspective what was going on in their culture. What of their culture drove the events, the inventions - what were the era's questions?

What if all we read are current era/popular books?

CS Lewis said, "A good rule, after reading a new book, is never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between ... A new book is still on trial and has to be tested against the great body of Christian thought down through the ages."

How many of today's books will transcend beyond our culture?

This is what defines Classics: an ability to adapt themselves to various times and places and thus provide a sense of the shared life of humanity over the course of space and time. They stretch, shape, and confront us - and are ever new.

Could books help us rise to another level? Do we sometimes habituate ourselves to companions of small statures? I like to visualize it as standing on the shoulders of others, a great cloud of witnesses, for a better view. Reading can take us away from ourselves to where we can step back and see the whole, instead of just 'me, myself, and I', and self-success thinking.

Maybe the more books we can live in, we could be more rehearsed in life: knowing the stage, recognizing the plots and props - having tried out many characters and scenarios. With my kids I thought of the unencumbered time they had to invent their own images, explore thier own fantasies, to create their own possibilities - with both books and movies. They seemed able to get on with meaningful living when they left the nest of home.

Someone said, "In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read ... It is not true that we can have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish."

"A good book is not problem-centered; it is people-centered. It reveals how to be a human being and what the possibilities of life are; it offers hope," wrote Gladys Hunt in her Honey for a Child's Heart, speaking about how many books are agenda driven, with many children's books being moralizing and sermonette style stories. These do not touch the heart.

"The importance of poetry and novels is that the Christian life involves the use of the imagination - after all, we are dealing with the invisible [like God]. And imagination is our training in dealing with the invisible - making connections, looking for plot and character."

- Eugene Peterson

Dawson's Giraffe

I just have to post pictures of what Dawson made for his special girl, Splarah, for her birthday this week. I just downloaded them from my camera onto my computer, and looking at them ... they're TOO Cute!

I guess Splarah picked out the material and I find it interesting that Dawson cut the spots out of the patterned material with the brown material underneath, instead of just sewing brown spots onto the surface. He didn't have a pattern, so traced a giraffe from a book and figured the rest out.

After trying to figure out my sewing machine as a young boy (who wouldn't wait until I could be home and show him how everything works!)(and he made the cutest patchwork denim stuffed horse for his sister's birthday), he now knows how to sew. (Sometimes I think it's good to put my foot down and say, "No I can't right now!" cuz he's taught himself how to do a lot of things.)

But I do help him when he asks me and I'm able. He did ask me several times for suggestions with the giraffe. So when I woke this morning and the finished product was sitting on the kitchen counter, I could see how he made our dialogues turn into a cute thing. I'm always glad when suggestions work!

He needlefelted wool onto the giraffe for the hoofs and head detail. Too Cute! It's got personality!

The Hobbit

Two dates this week for JRR Tolkien fans. On September 22, 1921, Tolkien began to recount the stories of Bilbo and Froddo Baggins, hobbits of Middle Earth. And on the 21st, 1937, The Hobbit was published (see the link for the special 70th anniversary edition).

Professor of Anglo-Saxon and medieval literature at Oxford, Tolkien was grading papers, and he turned one of those papers over and wrote, "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit", not knowing what a hobbit was or what that meant. He started with drawing a map of the sort of world a hobbit might live in.

With 'a little help from his friends' like CS Lewis, Sayers, Williams - the Inklings - Tolkien was encouraged to write and finish the story. Which of course carried on into The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I'm posting the cover of the 70th anniversary edition because the picture is one Tolkien drew himself. How do I know this? I have his Father Christmas book that is full of all his pictures in letters he wrote to his children over the years, which includes cute postage stamps he drew too.

"Never laugh at live dragons."

JRR Tolkien 1892-1973

Albert Einstein Quote

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science."