Joseph of Arimathaea

Joseph of Arimathaea 31 July NT The Gospels tell us (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42) that after the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathaea, wealthy, a member of the Council, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, and buried it with honor in the tomb he had intended for himself. This is our only information about him from writers of his own century. Later tradition has embellished this account. (If not interested in folklore, skip to the closing prayer.) It is said that Joseph was a distant relative of the family of Jesus; that he derived his wealth from tin mines in Cornwall, which he visited from time to time; and that Jesus as a teen-ager accompanied Joseph on one such visit. This is the background of the poem "Jerusalem," by William Blake, which begins: And did those feet in ancient timeWalk upon England's mountains green?And was the holy Lamb of GodOn England's pleasant pastures seen?And did the countenance divineShine forth upon our clouded hills?And was Jerusalem builded hereAmong those dark satanic mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold!Bring me my arrows of desire!Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!Bring me my chariot of fire!I will not cease from mental fight,Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,Till we have built JerusalemIn England's green and pleasant land. -- William Blake (1757-1827) After the Crucifixion, we are told, Joseph returned to Cornwall, bringing the chalice of the Last Supper, known as the Holy Grail. Reaching Glastonbury, he planted his staff, which took root and blossomed into a thorn tree. The Grail was hidden, and part of the great national epic ("the matter of Britain") deals with the unsuccessful quest of the knights of King Arthur to find the Grail. The Thorn Tree remained at Glastonbury, flowering every year on Christmas day, and King Charles I baited the Roman Catholic chaplain of his queen Henrietta Maria by pointing out that, although Pope Gregory XIII had proclaimed a reform of the calendar, the Glastonbury Thorn ignored the Pope's decree and continued to blossom on Christmas Day according to the Old Calendar. The Thorn was cut down by one of Cromwell's soldiers on the grounds that it was a relic of superstition, and it is said that as it fell, its thorns blinded the axeman in one eye. A tree allegedly grown from a cutting from the original Thorn survives today in Glastonbury (and trees propagated from it stand on the grounds of the Cathedral in Washington, DC, and presumably elsewhere) and leaves from it are sold in all the tourist shops in Glastonbury. Has the Glastonbury legend any basis at all in history? Two facts and some speculations follow: Tin, an essential ingrediant of bronze, was highly valued in ancient times, and Phoenician ships imported tin from Cornwall. It is a pretty safe guess that in the first century the investors who owned shares in the Cornwall tin trade included at least a few Jewish Christians. Christianity gained a foothold in Britain very early, probably earlier than in Gaul. It may have been brought there by the traffic of the Cornwall tin trade. If so, then the early British Christians would have a tradition that they had been evangelised by a wealthy Jewish Christian. If they had forgotten his name, it would be natural to consult the Scriptures to see what mention was made of early wealthy Jewish converts. Joseph and Barnabas are almost the only ones named, and much of the life of Barnabas is already accounted for by the book of Acts (see People, right), which makes him an unsatisfactory candidate. Hence, those who do not like to be vague would say, not, "We were evangelised by some wealthy Jewish Christian whose name we have forgotten," but, "We were evangelised by Joseph of Arimathaea." Why spend time on any of the above? Because the folk-tales of a community are part of the heritage of a community. Someone wishing to understand the United States will be well advised to familiarize himself with the stories of George Washington's cherry tree and Paul Revere's ride, although he ought not to confuse them with history. Prayer Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. written by James Kiefer

1933

Today's Mobile paper ran a section with news from 75 years ago... July 30, 1933. They make mention of my mother's family being "afar off by the lapping blue waters of the Aegean....". Papa John, Grandma Hazel, mama and Aunt Dessie had left Mobile to live in Skopelos, Greece for a while...this was my grandfather's home and relatives were there. It was during the depression years.

William Wilberforce, July 30, 1833

William Wilberforce was born in 1759 and served in Parliament from 1780 to 1825. A turning point in his religious life was a tour of Europe. In the luggage of a travelling companion he saw a copy of William Law's book, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. He asked his friend, "What is this?" and received the answer, "One of the best books ever written." The two of them agreed to read it together on the journey, and Wilberforce embarked on a lifelong program of setting aside Sundays and an interval each morning on arising for prayer and religious reading. He considered his options, including the clergy, and was persuaded by Christian friends that his calling was to serve God through politics. He was a major supporter of programs for popular education, overseas missions, parliamentary reform, and religious liberty. He is best known, however, for his untiring commitment to the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. He introduced his first anti-slavery motion in the House of Commons in 1788, in a three-and-a-half hour oration that concluded: "Sir, when we think of eternity and the future consequence of all human conduct, what is there in this life that shall make any man contradict the dictates of his conscience, the principles of justice and the law of God!" The motion was defeated. Wilberforce brought it up again every year for eighteen years, until the slave trade was finally abolished on 25 March 1806. He continued the campaign against slavery itself, and the bill for the abolition of all slavery in British territories passed its crucial vote just four days before his death on 29 July 1833. A year later, on 31 July 1834, 800,000 slaves, chiefly in the British West Indies, were set free. Prayer Let your continual mercy, O Lord, enkindle in your Church the never-failing gift of love, that, following the example of your servant William Wilberforce, we may have grace to defend the children of the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. written by James Kiefer

...and TODAY is Gilbert IV' birthday

It was a happy day 29 years ago....the day of birth of my firstborn child. Gilbert F. Douglas, IV.

the 4 Gilberts.....

July 28th... Bach's birthday.....

J. S. Bach 28 July 1750 Johann Sebastian Bach (picture), widely regarded as the greatest of all composers of music for Christian worship, was born in 1685 in Eisenach (note: music on this page starts automatically), Thuringia, Germany, into a family of distinguished musicians. In 1708, shortly after marrying his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, he became court organist to the Duke of Weimar, where he wrote his principal compositions for the organ. In 1717 he became music director (Kapellmeister) to Prince Leopold of Coethen. In 1720, his wife died, and in 1721 he married Anna Magdalena Wuelcken, for whom he composed a famous set of keyboard pieces. From 1723 until his death in 1750 he was at Leipzig, where he taught, conducted, sang, played, and composed. He had 20 children, of whom nine survived him, four of whom are also remembered as composers. In addition to his secular music, Bach wrote a considerable amount of music for worship. He drew on the German tradition of hymn-tunes, and arranged many of them as cantatas, with elaborate choir settings for most stanzas (see Definitions, right), and a plain four-part setting for the final stanza, to be sung by the congregation with the choir. Normally each stanza is unique, using the melody traditional for that hymn, but with variations, particularly in the harmony, that reinforce the meaning of the words of that stanza. He wrote altogether about two hundred cantatas, including at least two for each Sunday and holy day in the Lutheran church year (matching the subject of the cantata with that of the Scripture readings prescribed for that day). Two of the better known are "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (music starts automatically) (Christ lay in the bonds of death"), based on an Easter hymn by Martin Luther; and "Jesu, meine Freude" (music starts automatically) (Jesus, all my gladness). It is an ancient custom that during Holy Week the Gospel readings shall be from the accounts of the Passion (=suffering and death) of Our Lord, and that, where possible, these accounts shall be read, not by a single reader, but with the speeches of different persons read by different readers (and the crowd by the choir or the the congregation). This may be said, or chanted to a simple tune. Bach wrote, for the St. Matthew Passion (see Audio files, right), and again for the St. John Passion (see Audio files, right), an elaborate musical setting, with the Gospel narrative sung by a soloist, with the dialog by other singers, and commentary by the choir in the form of hymns and more elaborate pieces. He also wrote a setting for the traditional Latin Liturgy, his famous B Minor Mass. The Liturgy (or Order for the Celebration of the Lord's Supper and the Administration of Holy Communion, Commonly Called the Mass) is divided into the Ordinary (the parts that are the same every time) and the Propers (the parts that vary from day to day, such as the Bible readings). The choral parts of the Ordinary include the KYRIE ("Lord, have mercy" or "Hear us, O gracious Lord"), the GLORIA ("Glory to God in the highest," based on Luke 2:14), the CREDO ("I believe in one God, the Father Almighty..."), the SANCTUS-BENEDICTUS ("Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord", based on Isaiah 6:3 and Matthew 21:9), and the AGNUS DEI ("O Lamb of God," based on John 1:29). Bach wrote choir settings for these (in case anyone is wondering why a devout Lutheran would write choir settings for a Mass, I point out that the language of the Liturgy is ancient, and contains nothing not taught by Lutheran and Methodist and Presbyterian churches), and his work is not simply a matter of supplying pleasant-sounding melody and chords. For example, in the Creed, there occurs the line, "And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church." In Bach's setting of this line, there are two melodies sung by the choir simultaneously. One is a traditional plainchant melody, most frequently sung by Roman Catholics. The other is a Lutheran chorale melody. The two melodies are interwoven, and they harmonize perfectly. Bach was not just a musician. He was a Christian, and a preacher of the Gospel. Prayer Almighty God, beautiful in majesty, majestic in holiness, who have shown us the splendor of creation in the work of your servant Johann Sebastian Bach: Teach us to drive from the world the ugliness of chaos and disorder, that our eyes may not be blind to your glory, and that at length everyone may know the inexhaustible richness of your new creation in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Cweet

Cweet for the Sweet-Toothed If you’re hankering for an alternative to artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose, keep watching supermarket shelves. Within 12 to 18 months, you could be satisfying your sweet tooth— calorie-free—with an African plant derivative called brazzein, marketed under the brand name Cweet. Although brazzein’s sweetening potential has long been known, until recently it wasn’t practical for mass production. Breakthroughs at the University of Wisconsin have solved that puzzle with a process now licensed to California-based Natur Research Ingredients. Ounce for ounce, brazzein is said to be 1,000 times sweeter than ordinary sugar, making it effectively zero calories, with no undesirable aftertaste. Heat-stable as well as water-soluble, brazzein is touted as suitable for everything from cookies to sodas. Once greenlighted by the FDA, brazzein is expected to be priced similarly to sucralose. from Tuft's University Health and Nutrition Letter Jan 2008

Hermeneutics

We had a mini-Bible conference at church this past weekend and Dr. Peter Leithart spoke on the topic of hermeneutics.

Here are some remarks from my notes:

Eisogesis is of the essence of interpretation. A good interpreter knows what outside information is relevant. Interpretation is not just re-stating. The text has fixed parameters and yet has to have outside information for interpretation. In the joke tradition .... one has to have information from outside in order to "get it." As with jokes in interpreting Scripture, look outside of the text to "get the point." He told the story of Jesus putting mud on the blind man's eyes and healing him (John 9:1-14) .....looking outside of John 9 to get the fullness of the story.

The second session of the conference focused on seeing the text as music.....he told the story in a different key...i.e. from the perspective of the blind man, from the perspective of the pharisees, in the keys of trials/judgment, discipleship, exodus, Genesis, and chiasms.

If we don't read the text as joke and the text as music, we run the risk of missing things God is conveying to us.

I am not doing justice to the lectures, but perhap you get a sense of his view of hermeneutics. His next book will be out soon on the topic.

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Gospels as being among the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and His disciples, and who was present at His Crucifixion and Burial, and who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday to annoint His body. She was the first to see the Risen Lord, and to announce His Resurrection to the apostles. Accordingly, she is referred to in early Christian writings as "the apostle to the apostles."
Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus), and the unnamed penitent woman who annointed Jesus's feet (Luke 7:36-48) are sometimes supposed to be the same woman. From this, plus the statement that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2), has risen the tradition that she had been a prostitute before she met Jesus.
Because of the assumption that Mary Magdalene had been a spectacular sinner, and also perhaps because she is described as weeping at the tomb of Jesus on the Resurrection morning, she is often portrayed in art as weeping, or with eyes red from having wept. From this appearance we derive the English word "maudlin", meaning "effusively or tearfully sentimental." There is a Magdalen College at Oxford, and a Magdalene College at Cambridge (different spelling), both pronounced "Maudlin."
written by James Kiefer

Tallis Canon

Tallis Canon Click to hear the musicNetscape 4+ users click here (one verse introduction) All praise to you, my God this night, for all the blessings of the light, Keep us, O keep us, King of kings, beneath your own Almighty wings. Be with us, Lord, and keep us strong, to stand with those who do us wrong. Teach us to live, children of love, with grace and strength sent from above. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, you heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Music: Thomas Tallis (16thC)

4th of July AND my birthday party!

On the 4th of July, we took John to the airport and he left for Quantico, Virginia for OCS. He'll be there for six weeks. We drove down to mama's house in Arlington where we celebrated the fourth of July AND my birthday (which was July 6th) with some really serious feasting!!!! My sister came up from Florida, J/G AND Bella (their dog) came down, my brother Johnny and family, Kakki Glover, Chad Austin, Rosemary.....and Mama were together for every meal. On Sunday afternoon, Sam, Cole, Rebecca Moseley and Elena stopped by for lunch after their weeend visit in Niceville, Florida at the Moseleys.

I think I'll try this recipe!

Couscous Salad-Tabbouleh Style Serves 4-6 1 cup dry couscous 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1 cup water 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 large handful of flat leaf parsley chopped fine (about 1 cup or more if you like) 1 small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped fine (or about 1/4 cup or more if you like) 4 scallions diced, both green and white parts 1 red bell pepper chopped 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes drained and rinsed In a small sauce pan mix together the salt, ground cumin, lemon juice, olive oil and water. Bring to a boil and add the couscous. Remove from heat and put lid on top of pan. Allow to set for 5 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Toss together the remaining ingredients and then gently toss with the cooked couscous. It's nice served over a bed of hearts of romaine leaves as as a simple side to a nice piece of grilled chicken. Serve warm or cold.

Are you registered to vote?

-- did you know you can register to vote (almost) on-line? If you are in Alabama, click here http://www.sos.state.al.us/downloads/election/vr/nvra-2.pdf and print out the voter registration form, fill it in, and mail it!! Pretty kewl!! Wherever you are, if you know someone who wants to register to vote, just go to the Susan B. Anthony webpage (see below), click your state, and it will take you to the registration form!! Susan B. Anthony List - Register to Vote Please pass this information along to your friends and family!

PeruMission slideshow

Here's a link to a nice slideshow of PeruMission...... http://www.perumission.org/content/about-us/peru-mission-slide-show.php