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To transliterate means to transfer the sounds of a foreign word into another language rather than translating the meaning. A couple of common examples in modern Japanese are "be-subo-ru" and "arubaito". Among Christians, there are a few words that are usually transliterated rather then translated. The most common example is "amen", used at the conclusion of most Christian prayers in any language. It is a Hebrew word meaning "firm" or "established". As an interjection at the close of a prayer, it means "so be it" or "may it be so". Another common transliteration is "Hallelujah". This is also a Hebrew expression literally meaning "praise the Lord!" It is found often in the Old Testament book of Psalms, the last five of which all begin and end with "Hallelujah". These psalms give a number of reasons for praising God, noting his power and wisdom seen in the natural world he created and his mercy and love seen in the history of his chosen people. They also suggest musical instruments to be used in praising him. A basic purpose of Christians gathering together on Sundays is to praise God for his goodness and blessings. But true praise is seen in the daily lives of his people, not only in churches on Sunday mornings. -------There are many volcanoes in Japan. Volcanoes may be active, dormant or extinct. In Japanese, the word for "volcano" literally means "fire mountain". In English, the basic meaning of "volcano" is a vent in the earth's crust through which rocks, dust, ash, gases and molten lava are ejected. Secondarily, it denotes the cone-shaped mountain that is formed around the vent of the volcanic materials. The word "volcano" comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. He was also the god of metalworking and is said to have had a metal workshop deep in Mt Etna, an active volcano in Italy. The word "vulcanize" is also derived from his name. Rubber is vulcanized to improve its strength and resiliency by combining it with sulfur and subjecting it to heat. -------In the revolt of the American colonies against Great Britain over 220 years ago, France sided with and aided the revolutionaries. In 1865, a French historian proposed that a statue be built to commemorate the alliance of France with the American colonies during that revolutionary war. Funds were raised in France and a French sculptor designed a statue in the form of a woman with an uplifted arm holding a torch and called Liberty Enlightening the World. Built in France, the 46-meter-high statue weighing 225 tons, was dismantled and shipped to the United States in 214 packing cases in 1885. The pedestal on which the statue stands, which is almost as tall as the statue itself, was financed and built by the United States. On October 28, 1886, 111 years ago today, the last rivet to complete the erection of the statue was driven in and President Grover Cleveland dedicated the monument, now known as the Statue of Liberty and situated on an island in New York harbor. There are stairways inside the pedestal and statue. There are 167 steps from the land level to the top of the pedestal, 168 steps inside the statue to the head and an additional 54 rungs on the ladder leading to the arm that holds the torch. -------What does the word "turkey" bring to your mind? It makes a difference if the word is spelled with a capital "T". When spelled with a small "t", it denotes a bird, native to North America, that is eaten at traditional Thanksgiving Day dinners. For some reason, "turkey" is also used to mean a theatrical production that is a failure and as a slang term for an inept person, but to "talk turkey" means to speak candidly and bluntly. When spelled with a capital "T", Turkey denotes a country on the south coast of the Black Sea. Ninety-seven percent of this republic is in the continent of Asia, but the remaining three percent is in Europe for waterways linking the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea (the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles) form the division between the two continents. Today is the national day of Turkey, commemorating its proclamation as a republic on October 23, 1923, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Under the strong leadership of Kemal Ataturk, Turkey was forcibly westernized, resulting in changes in the religious, social and cultural bases of its society as well as its political and economic structure, changes which were more extensive than those of the Meiji Restoration in Japan. -------Earlier this month, a member of the church I pastor in the city of Takahama passed away. She was an 89-year-old lady who had been bedridden for some time. While engaged in various postmortem rites, I gained new insights into some Japanese and English words. I realized that the Japanese word "otsuuya" reflects the traditional Japanese custom of relatives keeping watch beside the corpse of a loved one throughout the night following that person's death. But I don't understand why, in this case only, the character usually pronounced "tsuu" is given the irregular pronunciation of simply "tsu". The English translation of "otsuya" is "wake", but I did not know that it was the custom in some Western traditions also for family members to keep a vigil or stay "awake" beside the body of the deceased throughout the night. In my experience, a "wake" was held in a home or in a funeral parlor where friends came to speak words of sympathy to the relatives and to view the body of the deceased. I also discovered why a person confined to a bed is said to be "bedridden", even though such a person would like to get rid of the bed. In this case," ridden" is related to "ride" and a bedridden person is "riding" the bed. -------Celts were a group of tribes living in Europe before the time of Christ. Celts believed in the immortality of the soul, that the soul of a person continued to live in another form after the death of the body. In Celtic tradition, November 1st was the first day of winter and the beginning of a new year. On the last day of the old year, a harvest festival was held at which spirits of those who had died during the previous year were believed to return to their homes. Bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits and at the end of the festival, people wore masks and costumes to escort the spirits out of town. Since the 9th century, November 1st has been observed as All Saints' Day in the Roman Catholic Church to honor all the saints, known and unknown. In medieval England, that day was known as All Hallows and the preceding day, October 31st, as Hallows' eve, or Halloween. Most of the customs related to modern Halloween festivities have pre-Christian origins and many of them are contrary to traditional Christian teaching. In fact, we should remember that, in the New Testament, the word "saint" itself denotes those whom God has chosen and consecrated, meaning all believers, while they are still alive. -------We left the bus in Nakhon Pathom near a large Buddhist temple around noontime. Walking through the temple grounds, we passed scores of Buddhist monks, all dressed in their characteristic saffron robes, sitting quietly in rows eating their lunches. Nearby, there were a number of three-wheeled bicycle carriages and their drivers, looking for customers. The front of this conveyance, called a samlor, is like a regular bicycle, but behind the driver is a roofed seat on which two people can sit. When our daughter approached this group of samlor drivers to bargain about the fare for transporting us to the park where we were expecting to meet her friend and family, the drivers all gathered around to hear what this foreigner had to say. Obviously she was encountering opposition in her attempt to negotiate a fair fare for the three of us, which would require two vehicles. She decided their price was too high, so we left them and walked to a street. There she found a samlor with an older driver who agreed to her proposal, so my wife and I got into the carriage and started on our way. Our daughter said she would find another samlor for herself and meet us at the park. While going up a hill, we felt sorry for the straining old driver. -------A common fixture at places of worship in Japan, whether Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples, is a "saisen-bako", or offering box. According to a Japanese dictionary, the basic meaning of "saisen" is an offering to express gratitude after a request has been granted, but I wonder what percentage of worshippers are offering thanks in comparison with those who are making a request or simply throwing in money as a part of a ritual without thinking of the meaning. At the end of the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Mark is a story of Jesus watching people putting money into a "saisen-bako" of the Jewish Temple. Many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow put in only two small copper coins. Then, Jesus told his disciples that the poor widow had put in more than all the others because they had given a small part of their wealth, but she, "out of her poverty, put in everything --all she had to live on." In this way, Jesus taught that, in the sight of God, the amount of the offering is not as important as the heart of the giver and the motivation for the gift. Jesus always emphasized that the condition of the heart is more important than the formal rituals worshippers perform or the words they chant or speak. -------As a verb, "yank" means to pull or extract suddenly, to jerk. As a noun with a capital "Y", it is a shortened form of "Yankee". And what, or who, is a Yankee? That depends on who is speaking. Many people in foreign countries consider all Americans Yankees, but many Americans reserve the term for a native or inhabitant of one of the six northeastern states known as New England. For those living in southern states, however, a "Yankee" is a Northerner. In the American Civil War, Yankees fought for the Union. There are various theories about the origin of this word, but the most common one is that it came from a disparaging term for a man from Holland, which is famous for cheese. It is said that Dutchmen in New York were called Jan Kees, meaning John Cheese. -------If Queen Elizabeth's eldest son, Charles, ever becomes king, he will be known as Charles III for there are two former English monarchs named Charles. And if his eldest son, Prince William, becomes king, he will be William V. Both Charles and William are popular names in many European monarchies. Today, November 4th, is the 347th anniversary of the birth of the man who became king of England, Scotland and Ireland, known as William III. It is also the 320th anniversary of his marriage to Princess Mary. This William was the son of William II, Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, but this Protestant prince became King William III after being invited to England following the deposition of his Protestant wife's Roman Catholic father, James II. Together they accomplished what, in English history, is called the Glorious Revolution. The second oldest college in the United States, the College of William and Mary in Virginia, is named after this couple. On Sunday afternoon November 30th, a meeting of listeners to/readers of these telephone messages will be held at the Nagoya City Josei Kaikan. The theme for the meeting is: Traditions, Thoughts and Memories about Harvest time and Thanksgiving Day. -------Originally "hybrid", spelled h-y-b-r-i-d, denoted a plant or animal that was produced by genetically different parents. Now, it may mean anything of a mixed composition. The Toyota Motor Corporation has announced plans to market a new kind of car with a hybrid engine which will help protect the environment by decreasing the pollution caused by gasoline engines as well as increasing fuel efficiency. The hybrid engine is a combination of a gasoline engine and an electric motor which will cut the emission of carbon dioxide to one-half that of normal gasoline engines. Furthermore, the car will go for 28 kilometers on one liter of gasoline. This car, named Prius, is scheduled to go on sale in December at a price of ¥2.15 million. Prius is the Latin word for "first" and this automobile, the first of a new breed, will have priority among such vehicles. An important question which must be faced not only by automobile manufacturers but by all individuals as well is what should be given priority in our planning and in our daily lives. In the last half of the 6th chapter of Matthew, Jesus teaches that priority should be given to eternal spiritual values rather than temporary physical or financial benefits. -------"Snakehead" denotes a tall plant which bears small flowers. Also called a "turtlehead", it resembles the head of a snake or turtle. But the word is also used for the Chinese gangsters who illegally smuggle people from China into Japan. These so-called "boat people" who arrive with simply a bag of clothes and a small amount of money hope to find a job that will pay much more than they could earn in their homeland. Many of them end up doing the menial work that most Japanese despise--one of the "three K" jobs that are kitanai (dirty), kitsui (hard) and kiken (dangerous). Japanese officials are seeking to halt the influx of these illegal immigrants sent in by the snakeheads, but their number has been increasing, year by year. Last year, Japan's coast guard captured 564 illegal immigrants from China near the coast, which was more than triple the number of the previous year. And in the first nine months of this year, 935 were taken into custody. Gangsters in Japan are known as yakuza, but do you know the origin of this word? It comes from the numbers 8, 9, and 3, which are unlucky numbers in a certain gambling game. Both snakeheads and yakuza (including sokai-ya) should be avoided and, in fact, eliminated. -------The extraordinary amount of money needed to finance presidential election campaigns in the United States is now a subject of concern and controversy in that country. The character of election campaigns in the United States has evolved over the years, but a new campaign style was evident in the election of 1840, which included slogans, parades, campaign hats and mud-slinging. The famous slogan of the winning candidate, William Henry Harrison, who became the 9th president was: "Tippecanoe and Tyler too". John Tyler was the vice-presidential candidate, who succeeded to the presidency a short 31 days after the election when President Harrison died of the pneumonia he had contracted during the inauguration activities. Harrison was called "Tippecanoe" as a result of the battle between forces he led as a territorial governor and native Americans which occurred 186 years ago today, on November 7,1811. Called the Battle of Tippecanoe, it took place along the Tippecanoe River in what is now the state of Indiana. Though the battle was not a clear-cut victory for either side, it typified the aggressive expansion of the European settlers onto land that had been the home of American natives and their ancestors. -------In the Thai city of Nakhon Pathom, about 60 kilometers from Bangkok, my wife and I rode to a park in a three-wheeled vehicle called a samlor which was powered by the driver in front of us who pedaled vigorously. Such vehicles have been outlawed in Bangkok, purportedly to "modernize" the city and reduce traffic congestion. They are also giving way to motorized vehicles in provinces as well. When we arrived at the park, we were surprised to be met by our daughter who had engaged another samlor and taken a shortcut to the park. There, we met Linda, her American teacher friend, along with her Thai husband and their pre school-aged daughter. We went by their car to a picnic area where there were low tables around which people could sit on the ground beside a wide open area. At nearby stalls, simple food was being cooked, so some food was ordered for our table to accompany the fruit and sandwiches Linda had prepared. After eating and talking, we were taken to their home where we continued to chat for a time before we were taken by car to the home of our daughter's former landlord to see the place where she had resided for a few years when she was teaching at the university in that city. -------Daily news reports inform us of the many complicated problems facing the world today. On a more personal level, all of us face problems of one kind or another in our homes, schools, companies or other groups we belong to. Some of the more difficult problems are those within ourselves. How we view problems and how we seek to solve them is related to our basic perspective, which is finally rooted in a certain faith. Some people deny having any faith, but even atheists have faith. They believe there is no God. The nature of our faith determines how we confront and seek to solve problems. It makes a big difference if we believe the world is the result of chance and that human history is meaningless or if we believe the universe was created by God, that there is a divine influence that continues in nature and history and that our individual lives also have meaning. Many problems seem beyond the ability of scientists, philosophers or theologians to solve satisfactorily, but every scholar as well as each one of us has a faith on the basis of which we look at life and find meaning and hope or meaninglessness and despair. Jesus encouraged his disciples to have faith in God and God's good purpose even in sad events. -------In my Midwestern American English, the common meaning of the word "pants" is the outer garment covering the lower half of the body and divided into separate coverings for the legs. They are also called trousers when worn by men and boys. In recent years, women and girls have also been wearing such pants. A secondary meaning of "pants" is a short undergarment also called "underpants. "Pants" is a shortened form of "pantaloons", the wide, loose trousers often worn by clowns. This word comes from the name of a foolish old man in 16th century Italian comedies who wore them. An old expression about "who wears the pants in the family" used to refer to the man who was in charge, but nowadays more and more women are "wearing the pants in the family". -------Today, November 11th, is a holiday in a number of Western countries, commemorating the end of what is commonly called the First World War. Actually, this was a war between European powers in which troops from the United States and Canada also fought. In some countries, it is called Armistice Day, for it was on this day in 1918 that the armistice was signed which brought the war to an end. In Canada, it is called Remembrance Day and the end of World War II is also included in the "remembrance". In the United States, since 1954, it has been called Veterans Day. Along with commemorating the end of both world wars and remembering all those who died in battle in those and subsequent wars--including those in Korea and Vietnam, it is day to honor all veterans of the nation's armed forces. The word "veteran" is rooted in a Latin word meaning "old" and may be used for any older person who has a long record of service in a certain activity. In Britain, "veteran" is used only for a person who has served for a long time in the military, but in the United States, even a brief period of military service makes one eligible to be called a "veteran". In the U. S., parades, speeches and visits to cemeteries will be held today. -------One meaning of "code" is a system of rules. Some Japanese schools have dress codes, rules regarding the type of dress required or permitted. A recent news article noted that St. Peter's Church in Rome, the headquarters of Roman Catholicism, has a strict dress code. People wearing shorts or skirts above the knee and those with bare shoulders are not permitted to enter that church. The aim is to maintain an atmosphere in keeping with the sacredness of the place. One of the guards noted the difference in reactions of visitors who are turned away because of this dress code in relation to their nationalities. Japanese tourists are the most reasonable; they walk away calmly when told they cannot enter. Americans also remain calm and simply go back to their hotel rooms and change clothes. According to him, French tourists are the worst. They argue that it is hot and there is nothing wrong with wearing shorts. There will be no dress code requirements at the meeting of "Daily Word" fans which will be held on Sunday afternoon, November 30th, at 1:30 at the Nagoya City Josei Kaikan. The theme for the meeting is: Traditions, Thoughts, Memories about Harvest time and Thanksgiving Day. You are invited to attend. -------Many artists over the centuries have made paintings of Jesus Christ on the cross. Of course, none of them had ever seen the actual face of Jesus, so their depictions of his face reflect their own imaginations. Thirty-six years ago, a South African artist made a controversial painting of Jesus on the cross which was deemed sacrilegious by the government authorities at that time. The artist was arrested and his painting was banned, but it was later smuggled out of the country and displayed in St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Titled Black Christ, the black face in the painting was that of the president of the then-outlawed African National Congress, Albert Luthuli, who had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the year before. Two Roman soldiers depicted in the painting bore the faces of the South African prime minister and his justice minister, promoters of the country's racial segregation policy. Two weeks ago, that painting was returned to South Africa and unveiled before a racially mixed congregation attended by Luthuli's daughter. Unfortunately, there are political and religious groups today that still encourage discrimination against certain people in direct contradiction to the spirit of that lonely figure on the cross. -------Ever since I came to Japan, I have been impressed, usually unfavorably, with the extensive and indiscriminate use of what is called "wasei-eigo", or "made-in-Japan English". Though it is fashionable among some people to pepper their conversation or writings with such hybrid words, their use is a hindrance to the correct understanding and usage of proper English. Recently the Japanese government's Health and Welfare Ministry issued a directive to its department heads to cut back on the use of such "Japanized" English expressions to make their documents more easily comprehended. Terms such as "waakingu gurupu", "akauntabiriti" and "keaa manejimento" were to be avoided. It is true there are no exactly suitable words in Japanese to translate some foreign concepts, so the foreign word must either be transliterated or an inexact Japanese word must be chosen to express the idea. Thus transliterating the Portuguese term for "bread" and the English term for "golf" may have been unavoidable. From my standpoint as a missionary, however, I think it was a mistake to choose the Japanese term "kami" to express the Biblical concept of God. It would have been better to have kept an older term, "tenshu", meaning heavenly Lord. -------Last summer, when we visited our daughter in Thailand, we were happy to meet and talk with her former landlord and his wife and to see where she had lived for a few years in the city of Nakhom Pathom on the second floor of a small house on the same lot as her landlord's larger house. There was an outdoor stairway to her former apartment with only an open area underneath. While living there, she was bothered by insects and mice, but there was better circulation of air than in a ground floor apartment. Before she had gotten her own telephone, the landlord kindly went to her apartment and called her on the few occasions when we telephoned, so we had heard his voice before, but he did not speak English. He and his wife told us that they considered our daughter as part of their family as we talked with them in their living room. At the time of our visit, their own daughter, who is married to a Japanese and resides in Japan, was also visiting with her young son, but our conversation was carried on in English and Thai with our daughter as the translator. After our afternoon visit, her former landlord drove us in his car to the bus station where the three of us boarded a bus that took us back to Bangkok. -------There are many different kinds of religious structures where people go to worship or pray. They have different names depending upon their religious affiliation. In Japan, Shinto places of worship are called "shrines" and Buddhist places of worship are called "temples". Muslims go to "mosques" for their communal prayer while Christians gather in "churches" to worship and pray together. In India, there are many Hindu temples and the central place of Jewish worship was the Temple in Jerusalem until its destruction in 70 A. D. In the Old Testament, the Temple was called the "House of God" even though it was recognized that God did not reside there. The Bible teaches that God is spirit and does not need a material building in which to live. Although we commonly think of heaven as the place where God resides, in I Corinthians 3:16, Christian believers themselves are called "God's temple" because God's Spirit lives in them. If that is so, then believers should consider their bodies holy and take good care of them, keeping them clean and healthy. And if God's Spirit truly lives in us, that should be evident in the way we live -- how we speak and act and the kind of attitudes we show toward others. -------In English, "ambrosia", spelled a-m-b-r-o-s-i-a, denotes something that tastes or smells delicious, but in Greek and Roman mythology, it was the food of the gods. Rooted in Greek words meaning "not mortal", it was thought to confer immortality. In Greek mythology, the drink of the gods was called "nectar", spelled n-e-c-t-a-r. The root of this word means "overcoming death" and those who drank it were also considered to be immortal. In modern English, "nectar" denotes both a delicious or invigorating drink and the sweet liquid secreted by flowers of certain plants and gathered by bees to make honey. A "nectarine" is a kind of peach with a smooth, waxy skin. Today, you may eat some ambrosia and drink some nectar, but this is not the season of nectarines. -------A native of Poland is called a Pole, spelled P-o-l-e. If the P is not capitalized, that word denotes a long, slender object. A tent pole is used to hold up a tent and a telephone pole carries electric wires high above city streets. Thus, a Pole may carry a pole or climb a pole. But another kind of 'pol' , spelled p-o-l-l, may denote voting in an election or the place where the votes are cast and recorded. A survey of public opinion on certain subjects or on candidates prior to an election is also called a poll. These kinds of polls have been conducted since the year 1824 when two American newspapers organized "show votes" to determine the political preferences of voters prior to the presidential election of that year. Since then, many newspapers, magazines, commercial and political organizations have conducted polls to ascertain the viewpoint of the general public. In the 1930s, George Gallup, a professor ofjournalism, who was born 96 years ago today, on November 18, 1901, organized the American Institute of Public Opinion and the Audience Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey to make such polls more scientific. Now the Gallup poll is the most famous of American polls and some of those polled may be Poles. -------One of the elements of the so-called American dream is that honest effort and perseverance may bring success in spite of unfortunate circumstances related to one's birth. A good example of this is found in the life of a man who was born in a log cabin 166 years ago today, on November 19, 1831. His father died before his second birthday and his mother raised her family in poverty. Yet, this boy was determined to gain a college education and did so while working as a canal bargeman, farmer, carpenter and teacher. After entering politics, he faithfully stood by his convictions and led a group of volunteers against the South in the Civil War. He finally became the 20th president, but was shot by a mentally-disturbed office-seeker a few months after his inauguration and died a couple of months later, the second of four U. S. presidents who were assassinated in office. His name was James Garfield and he has left us these meaningful statements: "Poverty is uncomfortable; but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim." "The men who succeed best in public life are those who take the risk of standing by their own convictions." -------The Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. As part of the commemorative events, the Institute held a series of robot seminars at 13 locations in different parts of the country. A robot is a mechanical device that, in some respects, resembles a human being and is able to perform some human tasks. In these robot seminars, competitions were held between robots controlled by children. The handmade robots had six legs and weighed less than one kilogram. The robot competition was similar to a Japanese sumo match in which one robot tried to push the other one out of the 1-square-meter ring or to knock it down. Children who participated in the final competition in Tokyo earlier this month included eleven Japanese district champions as well as eight U. S., Australian and Irish students from Nishimachi International School in Tokyo. In the final event, the robot controlled by the 13-year-old champion from the Hokkaido block, forced the robot controlled by the 11-year-old champion of the international school out of the ring on the third try, after draws in the first two rounds. For one of these boys, the saying that "the third time comes out nicely" proved correct. -------"Barrier" spelled b-a-r-r-i-e-r, is rooted in a Latin word meaning "bar". In a material sense, a barrier may be a fence or wall that is built to bar or block the passage of people. In a legal, social or spiritual sense, there are many other kinds of barriers that prevent the easy passage of people, products or ideas considered undesirable. There are also barriers that hinder disabled people from enjoying life more fully. A non-profit group made up of industrial designers, product developers, disabled people and welfare workers are actively seeking to develop products that can contribute to a "barrier-free" world--a world less inconvenient for the disabled. The tiny protrusion on the number 5 button on a pushbutton telephone, the surface protrusions on steps or platforms of train stations and the sounds emitted at the crosswalks of city intersections are examples of making life more convenient for the visually impaired. Toys for children, watches, microwave ovens which can be used by those who cannot see are also being developed or produced. In our daily lives also, if we have contact with those who, for whatever reason, are unable to enjoy life as we do, let us join the effort to work for a "barrier-free" society. -------The trip my wife and I took to Thailand last summer to visit our daughter there included one Sunday, which we spent in Bangkok. On that day, after our breakfast at the Christian Guest House, the three of us took a "metered taxi" to the Student Christian Center where the worship service of the International Church of Bangkok is held on Sunday mornings. Our daughter became a member of that church when she lived in Bangkok and continued her active participation in its activities after she moved to Nakhon Pathom. Its services are conducted in English and the congregation is made up of English-speaking people of various nationalities who reside in the Bangkok area or who are visiting there. In the worship service that day, our daughter played her flute for the musical prelude and offertory and accompanied the piano during the singing of hymns and I preached the sermon. Following the worship service, an informal fellowship time was held outdoors when we were able to talk with some of those who attended. At that time, we met a number of our daughter's friends. We also met a Japanese man from Tokyo, a Thai colonel who was serving on the constitution revision committee, his British wife and their son. -------The word "cheer" implies happiness or encouragement. We may tell a person who is sad or discouraged to "cheer up!" Sports fans will cheer their favorite players at sports contests and at some social gatherings "Cheers" is used for a toast in honor of some person or occasion. Thus, to be cheerful is to be happy or in good spirits. This word "cheerful" is found only once in the New Testament. Can you imagine in what connection believers are urged to be cheerful? The word is found in the 9th chapter of the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul is raising money among Gentile churches to help the poor Jews in Jerusalem. He urged his readers to be generous in their giving, but made clear that they should not give only out of sense of duty or social pressure. In verse 7, he wrote: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." All acts of mercy or love should be done with a cheerful spirit. The only New Testament use of the word "cheerfully" is found in Romans 12:8, where it is noted that "showing mercy" should be done "cheerfully". These verses should cause us to reflect on the attitudes or motivations related to our good deeds. -------If I speak Japanese to an American, he may say, "It's all Greek to me". This expression is used when what another person says is unintelligible, whether the other person is speaking a foreign language, explaining something complicated in specialized vocabulary or simply talking gibberish. The expression, "it was Greek to me", is found in Shakespeare's drama, Julius Caesar. To Spaniards, foreign accents or dialects were all called griego, meaning "Greek". In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the pronunciation was changed to gringo and the word was applied not only to the English language, but to English-speaking foreigners as well. Since it is considered an offensive term, Americans traveling in Mexico do not like to be called a "gringo". -------What does the word "Mercedes" bring to your mind? Actually, it is a female name derived from the Spanish word for "mercy". I do not know why this name was given to a German car produced by the Daimler Motor Company, but I do know why the name "Benz" was added to the name of that car. Today, November 25th, is the 163rd anniversary of the birth of Karl Benz, the German engineer who is credited with building the first automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine. That car had three wheels, an electric ignition and was cooled by water. In 1926, the company he founded merged with the one founded by Gottlieb Daimler and the Daimler-Benz company produced the Mercedes-Benz automobile. On Sunday afternoon at 1:30, we will hold a meeting of "Daily Word" fans at the Nagoya City Josei Kaikan, east of the Higashi Betsu-in subway station and talk about: Traditions, Thoughts and Memories of Harvest time and Thanksgiving Day. My wife and I would like to hear your thoughts or memories regarding Japanese traditions related to this season, why November 23rd is celebrated as Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan and what you know about American Thanksgiving Day customs. All "Daily Word" listeners/readers are welcome. -------One of the major activities of Buddhist priests in Japan is holding memorial services for the dead. The Japanese term for such services, "kuyo", is made up of Chinese characters meaning "offer" and "feed" or "support" and the offerings made at such services are considered to give support to the deceased loved ones. Such "kuyo", however, are not performed only for the spirits of dead people, they are performed regularly for used or broken needles that seamstresses and tailors have used and for dolls before they are discarded. But I was surprised to read a recent news article about the "kuyo" that was performed in the city of Handa, Aichi Prefecture, for discarded cars before they are broken up for scrap. The company which extracts both metal and other items from cars for recycling has been holding such "haisha-kuyo" services annually for twenty years. At the recent "kuyo", a Shinto priest performed a purification ceremony, "oharai", over cars before they were scrapped in the presence of about fifty company-related people. It is said that such a ceremony should remind people of both the beneficial and fearful aspects of cars. This is an example of how various religions and traditional concepts are often mixed together in Japan. -------Chinese characters are interesting symbols, but the reason behind their composition is often unclear. For example, the symbol for "rain" over two symbols meaning "tree" and "eye" becomes the symbol for "frost". This 11th month of the year in the Gregorian calandar is called "frost month", shimo-tsuki, in the old Japanese calendar. As the month draws to a close and frost begins to appear, Thanksgiving Day holidays are celebrated in both Japan and the United States. The Japanese Thanksgiving Day was celebrated at the beginning of this week and the American Thanksgiving Day is celebrated today, the fourth Thursday of the month. Harvest time is a time of thanksgiving and that is the theme of the meeting of "Daily Word" listeners and readers on this coming Sunday afternoon at 1:30, at the Nagoya City Josei Kaikan, east of the Higashi Betsu-in subway station. My wife and I would be happy to see you there and to hear your thoughts or memories about harvest time and Thanksgiving Days, whether in Japanese, American or other traditions. Living in this peaceful nation which had another bountiful harvest this year, we all have much to be thankful for, but to whom should our gratitude be expressed? -------In Japanese, names that are written in Chinese characters all have meanings, whether they are names of people or of places. Most of the time, those who use those names do not think of their meanings, but it is interesting to consider whether or not the meanings are significant. For example, in the center of Tokyo, which means "east capital", the Imperial Palace is located in the center of the ward called Chiyoda, which literally means "thousand generation rice paddy". Adjacent to the palace grounds, is an area whose name is connected with commercial activities. Maru-no-uchi literally means "within the circle" or "within the castle". Another nearby area, where the National Diet and Prime Minister's Residence is located is called Nagata-cho, literally meaning "long (lasting) rice paddy town". And then there is the adjacent area where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located. Do you think its name, Kasumi-ga-seki, or "haze barrier", may be significant? It reminds me of a term sometimes applied to the U. S. Department of State, which is related to the area where it is located. "Foggy Bottom" got its name from a gasworks which was formerly located there and released gaseous fumes into the atmosphere. -------Following the worship service at the Bangkok International Church, at which I preached and our daughter played her flute, we enjoyed eating some Thai fruit and sweets, drinking some soft drinks and talking with some of the congregation in the open area in front of the meeting place. Then our daughter took my wife and me by taxi to an Indian restaurant where she sometimes has Sunday lunch with her friends. She had arranged for two of the couples we had been talking to to meet us there to have lunch together. A Japanese girl studying at a Thai university also joined us there. Near the restaurant I noticed a money exchange office was open even on Sunday afternoon, so I stopped in and changed more yen into baht before entering the restaurant. I found the exchange rate there was more favorable than at the airport two days earlier. In the restaurant, there was a counter with various kinds of Indian food on it; we could try different dishes and come back for more. Both the conversation and the food were enjoyable. The lady owner and cook is well-known as the teacher of Indian cooking on a popular television program. She joined us for a few minutes at our table and we had a group picture taken with her. -------Problems about how to divide an inheritance are not new. In a story found in the 12th chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, a man came to Jesus and asked him to tell his brother to divide an inheritance with him, but Jesus refused to get involved in such an argument about money or material possessions. Rather, he used the incident to warn people against "all kinds of greed", stating that "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions". He then told a parable about a rich man who was troubled because he did not have enough storage space after an abundant harvest. He decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store the grain and his other goods. Then he thought that, for many years to come, he could "Take life easy: eat, drink and be merry" without any worries. But the man was called a fool because he was going to die that very night and would not be able to enjoy his material possessions. The point of the story is found in the concluding verse: "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Jesus taught that spiritual riches resulting from a healthy faith and deeds of love which accumulate for us in heaven are an eternal inheritance. -------These days, we sometimes see young people whose hair style or clothes may be described as "grotesque", spelled g-r-o-t-e-s-q-u-e. This word denotes something that is not only strange, but ludicrous, outlandish or bizarre. It is rooted in an Italian word meaning "from a grotto" or "in grotto style". A grotto is a small natural cave or artificial structure or excavation resembling a cave. Many grottos of ancient Rome have been discovered. On the walls of these grottos are paintings of strange, fanciful figures, including freakish human and animal forms, odd-looking fruit and exotic flowers and the word "grotesque" was coined to denote such ridiculous creations. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has written: "There is but one step from the grotesque to the horrible." -------An "emir" is an Arabian ruler, prince or military commander, and the territory ruled by an emir is called an emirate. Twenty-six years ago today, on December 2, 1971, seven emirates on the south coast of the Persian Gulf united to officially establish a new nation called the United Arab Emirates. Today is a public holiday in the U.A.E. celebrating that event. Prior to their union and independence, these emirates were called the Trucial States because their rulers, also called sheiks, were bound by truces concluded with Great Britain. (Incidentally, a "sheik" is the chief of an Arab family, tribe or village and the area he rules may also be called a "sheikdom".) The U. A. E. has an area a little less than the Japanese island of Hokkaido and a population of a little over three million. Today is Tuesday, and it is my custom to suggest a theme in Tuesday messages on which listeners or readers may write an essay and send it to me for correction and publication in "Daily Word" Echoes. The suggested theme this week is: Traditions, thoughts or memories related to harvest time or Thanksgiving Day and I would be happy to receive an essay from you. This is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama, Nagoya 463 Japan. -------Today, December 3rd, is the 179th anniversary of the admission of the 21st state to the United States of America. It is the Midwestern state of Illinois. Among the fifty states, it ranks 6th in population and 25th in area. Its name is derived from a Native American word meaning "men" or "warriors", but it was given a French ending. I was born and raised in the state of Illinois, so it is my home state and, even now, my legal residence is there. The address on my voter registration is that of my home church. That is also the address on my Illinois Drivers License, which needed to be renewed this month. A few weeks ago, my home church forwarded a letter to me from the Illinois Secretary of State which included a "Safety Citation" in recognition of my "driving for four years without a traffic violation". As a result, I was able to renew my drivers license by simply filling out a form and mailing it, since none of the details noted on my former license had changed--including my height, weight, sex or eye color, and the photograph on the license is still appropriate. Subsequently, I received a label that I have affixed to the back of my old license, which was to expire this month, giving the new expiration date: December 2001. -------Recently a 35-year-old man who has been paralyzed since birth received the happy news that his request to be one of the runners bearing the torch to the Nagano Olympics was granted. Hiroki Kawaguchi is in the rehabilitation program of Kobato Gakuen in Kasugai City, north of Nagoya. Though confined to a bed and a wheel chair, he has an active interest in sports. His dream to be an Olympic torchbearer will come true in January, when he carries the torch for one kilometer from Nagoya City Hall to Mizuho Stadium, escorted by a staff member and encouraged by cheers of supporters. A couple of months ago, three disabled men from Britain completed a two-week trip from Aomori Prefecture to Nagasaki by wheel chair. They reported that the biggest obstacle along the way was not narrow roads, steep hills nor unfamiliar road signs. It was impatient drivers who tried to overtake their caravan. Their tricycle wheel chairs had a front wheel for steering and hand-pedal attachment which they operated themselves. They had previously ridden for 2000 kilometers from the north to the south of Britain to encourage disabled people to become self-sufficient and to stimulate further research on treatment of spinal cord injuries. -------The Third Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is now meeting in Kyoto. They are discussing how to cut down on the emission of gases that produce global warming and its harmful effects on the environment. It is said that unless the emission of carbon dioxide and other gases are lessened, global temperatures will rise along with the level of the oceans, which would have disastrous results. What can be done to avoid such a catastrophe? Of course, every nation represented at the conference prefers measures that are most favorable and least upsetting to its present circumstances. Nevertheless the more advanced, industrialized nations that produce the major amount of such emissions and are wealthier have a special responsibility to make this conference succeed even if it requires self-sacrificial efforts that will benefit the whole world. When faced with a difficult choice between two different kinds of benefits which have temporary or long-lasting effects, it is well to recall Jesus' words in Matthew 16:26, although they were spoken in a very different context: "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" -------During our trip to Thailand last summer, my wife and I had only a short time to go sightseeing in Bangkok. It was on Sunday afternoon after we had attended a Christian worship service in the morning and ate at an Indian restaurant afterward. We were scheduled to leave by an overnight train from Bangkok that evening for Chiang Mai where our daughter now lives. We decided to visit the beautiful, ornate royal mansion built by a Thai king in 1900. The upper floors of this spacious former palace, called Vimanmek, was constructed of golden teakwood. As we began going up the stairs into the mansion, we realized that we could not wear shoes inside, so we went to a small room where shoes and other belongings could be put into a box and locked. I also put the coat I had worn at the worship service into the box because it was very hot. Then we again ascended the stairs to enter the mansion, when I was informed that cameras were not permitted, so I went back to the room and put my camera in with my shoes and coat. Then we joined a group that was led through the building by an English-speaking guide. We also walked around the garden outside before taking a taxi back to the Guest House where we were staying. -------There are different words in English to denote a group of animals. Among them are "flock" and "herd". A group of sheep is usually called a "flock" and a group of cows is called a "herd", but the person who cares for sheep is called a "shepherd", literally meaning a herder of sheep. In the Bible, people are often figuratively depicted as "sheep" and, sometimes, civil or religious leaders are called "shepherds". But one of the most famous passages in the Bible, the 23rd Psalm, begins with the words: "The Lord is my shepherd." In this psalm, the peaceful and satisfying life of sheep under the merciful, protective care of the Lord is poetically described. In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament, when Jesus was criticized by the religious leaders of his day for associating with sinners, he told a parable about a shepherd who left the sheep that were safe to go after one which had left the flock and gotten lost. Jesus later said he had come "to seek and to save the lost" (19:10). And in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus referred to himself as the "good shepherd [who] lays down his life for his sheep." Today also, there are different kinds of shepherds and we must choose which shepherd we will follow. -------As a verb, shamble, spelled s-h-a-m-b-l-e, means to walk in a lazy, awkward or unsteady manner, shuffling the feet. When an "s" is added to that word, however, it may be transformed into a plural noun that uses a singular verb. The present meaning of "shambles" is a scene or condition of complete disorder or ruin and a place of carnage or bloodshed in particular. Originally, "shambles" denoted benches or tables, especially those in a marketplace on which fresh meat was displayed. It then came to mean a meat market or a butcher shop and may still have that meaning in British English. American journalists, however, use it to describe a scene of material wreckage even if there is no loss of life or blood that reminds readers of a butcher's table. -------During the past week the attention of the world has been directed to problems caused by global warming. One of its effects is even now evident to residents of Japan who live within sight of the country's most celebrated scenic symbol, Mt. Fuji. The white snow covering of the mountain peak during the winter and its brown sandy slopes during the summer are being eroded by a green carpet of vegetation because the temperature at the top of the mountain is gradually getting warmer and less snow is falling. An estimated 30,000 people visit the 3776-meter volcano during the July-August climbing season, but according to a local environment agency official, both industrial pollution and exhaust from vehicles are affecting the natural environment there. The theme suggested this week for those listeners or readers who wish to write an essay for the next issue of "Daily Word" Echoes is: Mt. Fuji. What thoughts, memories or experiences have you had related to this famous mountain? Why does it hold such a prominent place in Japanese traditional thought? I will correct those essays sent to me before publication. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 Japan. -------Today, December 10th, is observed as Human Rights Day in most member countries of the United Nations in commemoration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the U. N. General Assembly on December 10, 1948. When the charter for establishing the United Nations was drawn up in San Francisco in 1945, it contained repeated references to "human rights and fundamental freedoms" which member nations were expected to support. In order to clarify the nature of these rights and freedoms, a Commission on Human Rights was appointed to prepare a statement of principles. When the document was presented to the General Assembly, it was adopted unanimously, although Saudi Arabia, the Union of South Africa and six Soviet bloc nations abstained. That Declaration of Human Rights consists of thirty articles, all of which are important, but the first article includes these words: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They . . . should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood." The ideals stated in this Declaration have still not been realized, but they should be recalled and efforts should be made on the part of government, business and society at large to fulfill them. -------Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living is the research division of a Japanese advertisement agency. This Institute conducted a survey of some 2200 men and 2150 women between the ages of 20 and 60 in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. Not surprisingly, the results indicated differences in interests and character traits between Europeans and Japanese. For example, 60 percent of the Europeans surveyed expressed a desire to spend more time with both family and friends, but only 40 percent of the Japanese wanted to spend more time with family and 50 percent wanted more time with friends. On the other hand, more than 60 percent of the Japanese were eager to spend more time on hobbies compared with 50 percent of the Europeans. Furthermore, just over 20 percent of Japanese want more responsible jobs and more than 70 percent preferred easy-going jobs, while among Europeans the ratios were reversed. The Institute concluded that, comparatively speaking, Japanese are more isolationist than individualist and tend to withdraw from families and society while Europeans give priority to family and society while maintaining a strong sense of self. Does this conclusion surprise you or would you agree with it? -------As you know, Washington is the capital of the United States of America, but do you know in what state it is located? The state of Washington, on the west coast, is far away from the capital city, which is near the east coast. In fact, there are over ten other cities and 31 counties throughout the country named Washington. But actually, the nation's capital on the banks of the Potomac River, is not in any state. Rather, it has a unique designation as a "district" and occupies land taken from the states of Maryland and Virginia. The city of Washington is coextensive with the District of Columbia. Columbia is also a popular place name in the United States for there are nine other cities and eight counties with this name. You must be careful how to spell that name, however, for those place names in the United States are spelled differently than the South American country of Colombia. That country has two "o"s in its name, but in the U. S., the second "o" becomes a "u", in keeping with the English spelling of the name of Christopher Columbus. On December 12, 1800, 197 years ago today, the decision was made to establish Washington, D. C. as the permanent capital of the United States government. -------On the Sunday afternoon we were in Bangkok, after visiting the Vimanmek Mansion, my wife and daughter and I returned to the Christian Guest House where we were staying. We had to prepare for our departure on an overnight train for Chiang Mai that evening. While my wife and daughter were taking a shower, I sat in the lounge and began reading the Bangkok Post, Thailand's leading newspaper. Its special Sunday feature called "Outlook" consisted of a full-page article and two large colored pictures related to the decline in use of the three-wheeled public conveyances like that my wife and I rode in the day before in Nakhom Pathom. You can imagine my surprise when I read under the title, "On the road to extinction", the words "Story and pictures by SUSAN OFFNER." After showing it to my daughter, she explained that she had submitted the article along with many pictures she had taken some time before, but the editor had replied that he would send out a newspaper photographer to take better pictures so she was not expecting the article to appear so soon. Evidently the editor had changed his mind and decided to use pictures she had sent, so the article appeared the very Sunday we were there and we were happy to read it. -------The two major divisions of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the "Old Testament", are: Law and Prophets. In the Bible, a "prophet" is not primarily a person who foretells the future, but one who communicates God's word to people. The final 12 books in the Old Testament are called "minor prophets" because these written messages are shorter than those of the so-called "major prophets". The major theme of the minor prophet, Zephaniah, is the judgment of God that will come upon the Jewish people and surrounding nations because of their sins. The "great day of the Lord" will be a day of wrath, distress and anguish, but the prophecy concludes with a message of hope and restoration following the judgment. This is a common prophetic theme: God will judge wickedness, but for the "meek and humble, who trust in the name of the Lord", there is always hope for the future. This Advent Season in the church calendar is a time of joyful expectation and preparation for the celebration of the advent of the Savior sent by God to save people from sin. In this season, these words from the final chapter of Zephaniah are pertinent. "Be glad and rejoice with all your heart". "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save." -------One kind of fan is held in the hand and moved back and forth to create a cool current of air on a hot day. A machine which creates such a current of air is another kind of fan. But enthusiastic supporters of a sport, team or performer are also called fans. Regular listeners to or readers of these telephone messages may be called "Daily Word" fans. It is our custom to hold meetings of such fans on the fifth Sunday of a month. Actually, this meaning of fan is derived from the word "fanatic", which is a person with an excessive zeal for and uncritical attachment to some cause or position. I don't recall meeting any fanatics at meetings of "Daily Word fans, but Winston Churchill defined a "fanatic" as a person who "can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -------The short English word spelled l-o-t and pronounced 'lot', has a number of different meanings. A piece of land may be called a lot. Another meaning of "lot" is a large number, so a rich landowner may own a lot of lots. A third meaning of "lot" is an object used in deciding a matter or choosing a person by chance. According to the 1st chapter of the New Testament book of Acts, lots were cast to choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus. A game of chance in which the winner is chosen by lot is called a lottery. A number of companies, private and public organizations conduct lotteries to attract customers, to raise money or to encourage dreams of riches at little cost. What do you think about lotteries? Have you ever participated in them? Have you ever won prizes or other benefits as the result of a lottery? What do you think is the most popular lottery in Japan? Do you think lotteries conducted by public organizations or government bodies are good or inappropriate? Why do you think so? I will correct essays on this theme sent to me and print them in the next issue of "Daily Word" Echoes. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama, Nagoya 463 Japan. -------Today, December 17th, is a public holiday in a country known as "land of the thunder dragon" and whose monarch is called the "Dragon King". The official language of this kingdom is Dzongka, spelled D-z-o-n-g-k-a, and its capital city is Thimbu, which has a population of a little over 30,000. The country has an area of 47,000 square kilometers, which is about 60 percent of that of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and a population of about 1.8 million. It is a landlocked country located between China and India with very high mountains, fertile valleys and thick forests. Over half of the inhabitants are Bhotias, who call themselves Drukpas, meaning "dragon people". Have you guessed the name of this country? It is Bhutan, spelled B-h-u-t-a-n. Both its official language and its main religion are closely related to Tibet, which lies just across the border. Until 1949, Bhutan was a British protectorate, but after it gained its independence in that year, it came under the dominant influence of India, which continues to guide its foreign relations. In 1971, it became a member of the United Nations. Forty-two percent of Bhutan's citizens are literate and there is one radio per 35 persons and one telephone per 400. -------There are three different English words pronounced 'noz' and all of them are spelled differently. They are an example of a major problem faced by students of English: its irregular pronunciation and spelling. How many of those words do you know? The one with the most irregular pronunciation begins with a "k". It is a form of the verb "know" and is spelled k-n-o-w-s. To know is to perceive or understand with the mind. We may say of an English student that "She knows how to spell nose." The nose spelled n-o-s-e denotes the part of the face between the mouth and the eyes, having two nostrils for breathing and smelling. A Japanese knows that a Japanese nose is smaller than the nose of a Westerner. Can you think of the other word pronounced 'noz'? It is not so common as the previous two words. Spelled n-o-e-s, it is the plural of "no", which may also be a noun. In voting on some matter, if the "noes" outnumber the "ayes" the motion is defeated. (In this case, of course, "ayes", spelled a-y-e-s, is not related to those two organs of sight on the face above the nose. They are spelled e-y-e-s.) Yes, it is true. English is a difficult language to learn and one reason is its irregular pronunciation and spelling. -------Recently, a discussion arose in our family about tomatoes. Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Checking an encyclopedia, I learned that the tomato is related to the potato and eggplant. Although cultivated in Mexico and Peru for centuries before the coming of the Europeans, it is one of the newest plants to be used on a large scale for human food. When Spanish explorers took back the seed from South America, the plant was grown mainly for ornament and called a "love apple". It was thought to be poisonous and only within the last century was it recognized as a valuable food. One dictionary states that it is a berry, along with grapes and bananas, which means it is a fruit. And the encyclopedia notes that, technically, it is a fruit although it is commonly considered a vegetable because of its uses. But in the article on "vegetable", the encyclopedia clearly states "There is no clear distinction between the vegetables and fruits." So that is the reason for our confusion. The part of the plant that is eaten and how it is eaten influences whether we call it a fruit or a vegetable. Words and ideas used in the speeches of some politicians are purposely ambiguous, but dictionary definitions of some words may be ambiguous also. -------On the last Sunday of July, my wife and I and our daughter had reservations on an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in Thailand. After packing our suitcases and checking out of the guest house, we faced a peculiar problem. Our daughter, like her father, prefers riding a bicycle in the city instead of taking public conveyances. Because her bicycle in Chiang Mai was in poor condition, a friend in Bangkok had left a bicycle in better condition at the guest house for her to take back with her. The problem was: how to get the bicycle to the train station with us. It seemed a bigger problem to my wife and me than to our daughter who is accustomed to how things are done in Thailand. With our suitcases and her bicycle beside us, we stood on the side of a street for a few minutes. When a small three-wheeled motorized vehicle, called a tuk-tuk, came along, our daughter hailed it and bargained with the driver. He agreed to tie the bicycle on the back of his vehicle and take us to the station at a reasonable price. The three of us with our suitcases completely filled up the back of the tuk-tuk, but we were able to keep our eyes on the bicycle as well as the traffic and other sights along the way. -------The first words of the Gospel of John are well-known even among non-Christians in Japan: "In the beginning was the Word." But many people do not know the continuation of that first verse of the 4th Gospel: "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". The first Japanese translation of this Gospel, made with the help of three shipwrecked seamen from Japan who had landed in Macao, which was published in 1837, was as follows: "Hajimari ni kashikoimono gozaru. Kashikoi-mono gokuraku tomoni gozaru. Kashikoi-mono wa gokuraku." Needless to say, that is a very poor translation, for the concept behind the words was unclear to the translators--and is still unclear to many people today. But the first 18 verses of this first chapter of the Gospel of John are an important theological basis for understanding the meaning of this Christmas season. There it is clearly stated that the divine Word, in which was life and light, became a human being and lived among us. This is the amazing event which Christians celebrate at this time of year. The grace and truth of the invisible God are communicated to human beings through this divine Word which became flesh. And that is the basic reason for the joy of Christmas. -------Do you ever take a siesta? You may not know what a "siesta" is. Spelled s-i-e-s-t-a, it is derived from the Spanish word for "sixth" and originally denoted the sixth hour of the day. Following the old Roman custom of counting hours from sunrise to sunset, the sixth hour of the day is noontime, the hottest time of day. In Spain and Latin American countries, it became customary to take a rest during this period. In some communities, shops are closed and business comes to a halt during siesta time, while people rest and take a nap. The Japanese translation of "siesta" is "hirune". In contrast to the present implication of siesta, the "sixth hour" (or noon) is noted in all four of the New Testament Gospels in relation to the time of Jesus' death on the cross. -------Today is a national holiday in Japan, the last of fourteen annual holidays in this country. There are no holidays in the months of June and August, but January, May, September and November have two each, making a total of fourteen. Today is the 64th birthday of the present Emperor, Akihito. It is also the birthday of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose adherents are known as Mormons, but no special celebration is held for him on this day. Various kinds of celebrations are being held these days, however, by both Christians and non-Christians around the world, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, traditionally commemorated on December 25th. In the United States, it is customary to celebrate birthdays of family members, friends or respected persons by having parties and giving gifts. What about the customs of your community and of your family? Do you have any thoughts, memories or general comments to make on the subject of: Birthday Celebrations? If you wish to write an essay on this theme and send it to me, I will correct it and include it in the next issue of "Daily Word" Echoes. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama, Nagoya 463, Japan. -------According to the 3rd chapter of Genesis, the first woman God made was named Eve. But "eve" is not only a woman's name. As a shortened form of "evening", it may also denote the evening or day before a special day. And since tomorrow is Christmas Day, today is called Christmas Eve. There are many different customs related to the celebration of Christmas Eve depending upon the country and national traditions. For centuries, a major religious observance has been celebrated in the small town of Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem in what is now the state of Israel. At that Church of the Nativity, which was completed in the year 333 on the site where it is thought Jesus was born, Christmas services by various religious groups are held on this day, the last of which begins just before midnight and is transmitted to a large screen erected in the public square outside, before which an overflow crowd has gathered. Another service is held in a field outside the town where it is thought shepherds were tending their sheep when an angelic announcement of the birth of the Savior was given. With the merrymaking that accompanies Christmas Eve celebrations, the original meaning of and reason for the celebration should not be ignored. -------Today, December 25th, is called Christmas. Obviously, this word is a combination of "Christ" and "mass". "Mass" is the term used for the religious ceremony performed in Roman Catholic churches in which bread and wine are partaken in commemoration of Jesus' last supper with his disciples and of his subsequent death on the cross. In many Protestant churches, this ceremony is called "Communion" for it symbolizes the communion of the partaker with Christ as these symbols of his body and blood are ingested. Christmas, however, is the day we celebrate Jesus' birth--even though the date of his birth is unclear. It was not until some 300 years after he was born that this date of December 25th was chosen because it coincided with ancient festivals held at that time in honor of various gods at the season of the year when the hours of sunlight are increasing. It thus became possible for Christians to celebrate at that time in their own special way. According to the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 12, Jesus called himself "the light of the world" and, according to the first chapter of that Gospel, he brought divine light into the world, so Christians consider this a fitting time to celebrate his birth. -------This day after Christmas is a holiday in about fifty countries. In the Republic of South Africa, it is called Day of Good Will and in the Republic of Namibia it is Family Day. In some European countries, it is Saint Stephen's Day, commemorating the first Christian martyr, whose martyrdom is recorded in the 7th chapter of the New Testament book of Acts. In many of the other countries it is called Boxing Day. This name is related both to the opening of church alms boxes for the poor on this day and to the giving of gifts (originally in boxes) to trades people, mail carriers and employees on this day. When used as a verb, "box" means to hit with the hand or fist and "boxing" is the sport of fighting with the fists. A mural depicting fighters wearing gloves which was discovered on a Greek island is thought to have been made about 1520 B. C., so boxing is one of the most ancient sports. When it was introduced into the Olympic Games in 688 B. C., fist fighting had no weight divisions; size, strength and skill were the only qualifications for those fighters. Personally, I am opposed to this kind of boxing and find it difficult to call it a "sport". I prefer the kind of boxing that symbolizes good will. -------On a Sunday evening last July, my wife, our daughter and I arrived at the train station in Bangkok from our lodging place some distance away. There, the driver of the three-wheeled, motorized vehicle in which we had ridden unfastened our daughter's bicycle from the back of his 'tuk-tuk' and we disembarked with our suitcases. Our daughter took her bicycle to a certain counter and checked it through to Chiang Mai, our destination. At a shop in the station, we bought food and drinks to take with us during our overnight ride. There were many cars on this train and our reserved seats were near the front, so it was a long walk from the wicket to our car. In that train there was a center aisle with seats on both sides. Each pair of seats which faced each other would later be folded into a bed and another bed from above would be pulled down from the ceiling, making a lower and upper bunk. Curtains would also be hung between the bunks and the aisle. My wife and I were in one pair of seats and our daughter was in an adjoining one. We were surprised to find the young man in the adjoining seat on the other side was a Japanese university student on a trip and he was surprised when we spoke to him in Japanese. -------It is customary in Japan to hold year-end parties called 'bonenkai'. This Japanese term literally means "year-forgetting meeting". I presume that drinking alcoholic beverages helps people to forget, and certainly there are experiences that we may want to forget, but if we wish to continue to develop both mentally and spiritually, we also need to remember and learn from the events of the past year. It may be well to hold some 'kakunenkai', year-remembering meetings at this time of year where tea is served instead of sake. Memory is a marvelous ability which should be utilized for higher purposes than preparing for entrance examinations. The main Jewish festival, called Passover, is a remembrance of God's wonderful deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity and many Old Testament psalms call on people to remember God's goodness and mercy. In Psalm 77, we find these words: "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds." As the year draws to a close rather than forgetting, let us remember and consider both happy and sad events of the past year and learn from them. -------Do you know how to spell the word pronounced 'kantroler'? A person or machine that controls is a controller, spelled c-o-n-t-r-o-l-l-e-r. Furthermore, the officer who audits accounts and supervises the financial affairs of a corporation or a governmental body in particular is also called a controller, but, in this case, the word may be spelled c-o-m-p-t-r-o-l-l-e-r. Although it is pronounced the same and has the same meaning, the different spelling developed from the mistaken idea that the word was related to the French word 'compte', meaning "account". The longer word looks a bit more elegant and it is the word used for certain officials in the United States government, including the Comptroller General and the Comptroller of the Currency. -------As one year is ending and a new year is about to begin,it is an appropriate time to consider the meaning of life and the importance of making good use of the time that is given us. About 150 years ago, an American poet and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "The days come and go like muffled and veiled figures sent from a distant friendly party, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away." Over 650 years ago, a Japanese poet and essayist, Kenko Yoshida, wrote: "If you imagine that once you have accomplished your ambitions you will have time to turn to the Way, you will discover that your ambitions never come to an end." The suggested theme for those who wish to write an essay for me to correct and publish in the next issue of "Daily Word" Echoes is: important events of 1997 from your perspective. You may write about events related to your personal experience or events of national or international significance. To you, what were the memorable events of the past year? I am also happy to read whatever comments or suggestions listeners or readers have regarding these daily messages. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463, Japan. -------In many places, on this New Year's Eve, much noise will be made at parties and other gatherings during the final hours of the old year. In some ancient traditions, it was considered important to make much noise to scare away evil spirits. In certain communities, fires are lit to "burn out the old year". In Japan, it is customary at Buddhist temples to ring large temple bells 108 times, representing the 108 'bonno' (passions, lusts or carnal desires) that trouble human beings according to Buddhist teaching. It seems that there are 36 different kinds of 'bonno, but when multiplied by the three time periods of past, present and future, the total number becomes 108. Traditionally, temple bells peal 107 times in the old year and once in the New Year. On the summit of Pike's Peak, a 4,300-meter-high mountain in the U.S. state of Colorado, on the edge of the Great Plains, men who climbed through heavy snow will set off spectacular fireworks at midnight. But in many Christian churches, quiet Watch Night services are held in which worshippers sing, meditate and pray as an old year ends and a new year begins. For conscientious people, this is a time for reflection, repentance, thanksgiving and rededication. -------HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today is the first day of 1998, according to the Gregorian calendar. In Japan, it will be known as the 10th year of Heisei. In Oriental tradition, years are divided into cycles of twelve and each year has an animal symbol related to it. This year is the year of the tiger. Characteristics of a person born in the year of the tiger are said to be "intense, warm, candid, somewhat vain and sensitive". Since I began sending out Japanese 'nenga-hagaki', or New Year's cards, I have tried to relate the animal symbol of that year to a Bible verse or Biblical story. The word "tiger", however, does not appear in the Bible. Nevertheless, I did find the name of a person that is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for "tiger", which is 'tora'. In English translations, this man's name is spelled T-o-l-a, but in Japanese there is no distinction between the "r" and "l" sounds, so I chose Tola as the subject of the Japanese portion of my New Year's card. This Tola is mentioned only in the Old Testament book of Judges, chapter 10, verse 1, where it is written that Tola appeared to save his people. I consider this Tora a good example for all of us in this year of the 'tora'. Let us work to save others, our society and our world. -------The word "calligraphy", spelled c-a-l-l-i-g-r-a-p-h-y, derived from Greek words meaning "beautiful writing", denotes the art of fine handwriting. In my education, writing beautifully was not emphasized. At least, I do not remember such an emphasis. In fact, my handwriting, or penmanship, is very poor. I wrote the original manuscript of my seminary dissertation by hand and my wife typed it, using a manual typewriter. I told her to leave blank spaces for words written in Greek, but sometimes she left blank spaces for English words she thought were Greek. In Japan, calligraphy is taught in some schools or in special classes. This second day of the new year is called 'kakizome', meaning "first writing". Traditionally, on this day, family members sat at a Japanese table in front of the 'tokonoma', or alcove, facing in a lucky direction and wrote a few Chinese characters on Japanese paper with a large brush pen. Sometimes, these writings included a motto or New Year's resolution and were hung on the wall to be viewed for a certain period of time. If it is true that one's manner of speech reveals the character of one's heart, I wonder if the person with a pure heart is better able to write beautifully. What do you think? -------During our trip to Thailand last summer, I made a call to Japan about 10:00 o'clock every evening (midnight in Japan) to record this "Daily Word" telephone message. It was after boarding the train for our overnight trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai that I realized I would not be able to make that phone call at the usual time. If I called from Bangkok station, it would be a couple of hours earlier than usual, but if I called after disembarking, it would be about nine hours later than usual. My daughter and I hurriedly ran out of the train to look for a telephone from which an international call could be made. It took a few minutes to get from our car at the front of the train to the concourse, but most telephones there could not be used for overseas calls. When we finally found one from which such a call could be made, it required many more coins than we had with us and my daughter was reluctant to deposit the number of coins required for fear that the call would not be completed satisfactorily and it was approaching time for our train to leave. So I decided to make the call from Chiang Mai instead. We returned to our seats and my wife was very happy and relieved that we got back before the train left. -------In Japanese tradition, various activities related to the end of one year and the begining of a new one make the year-end a very busy time, so Christmas festivities are limited to Christmas Day and preceding days. In the traditional church calendar, however, the festival of Christmas begins on Christmas Day and lasts for twelve days, so we are still in the Christmas Season, also known as Christmastide. One of the famous stories related to the birth of Jesus which is celebrated at Christmas is found in the second chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew. Some men from a foreign country in the east came to Jerusalem looking for the one who had been born king of the Jews. They reported that they had seen his star in the night sky and had come to worship him. The number of men is not stated, but because they offered three different gifts, there may have been three of them. The story teaches that the significance of Jesus' birth was not limited to the Jewish people. These Magi, or "wise men from the East", followed the star to the place where the baby Jesus was and worshipped him. For Christians, Christmastide is a season for joyfully offering themselves to God in thankfulness for God's gift of the Savior of the world. -------One kind of "pool", spelled p-o-o-l, is a small body of water. A "pool" for swimming is called a "swimming pool". But there are other kinds of "pools" that have a different linguistic root. "Pool" is a game played with hard balls on the soft surface of a pool table in a pool hall. Another kind of "pool" is a gambling game, similar to a lottery, in which contestants put money into a common fund that is later paid to the winnner. A mutual fund into which participants make contributions for some hoped-for future benefit is also a "pool", as is a grouping of resources for the common advantage of the participants. Workers at the same company may have a "car pool" in which drivers take turns driving the other to work. This not only cuts down on expenses but on pollution as well. -------On this first Tuesday of the New Year, I will suggest the final theme for an essay to be included in the March 29th issue of "Daily Word" Echoes. I will correct essays sent to me before publication, so writers who keep a copy of the original manuscript to compare with the corrected version will recognize what corrections have been made. Today I will suggest two different themes; You may choose which one appeals to you. Since this is the Year of the Tiger in Japan, the first theme suggested is: Tiger, Tigers or the Year of the Tiger. What do you associate with tigers? Have you ever seen a tiger? If you have, what was your impression? What kind of person is called a "tiger"? Why is this year the Year of the Tiger? Do you have any special hopes or expectations for this year? The second theme is about the peculiar Japanese food made from soybean curd called "tofu". "Tofu" has become popular among some Americans because of its exotic, yet healthful character. Do you like "tofu"? Do you eat it often? Do you like it plain or with other foods? How is it made and why is it considered good for the health? Please send essays to reach me by January 17th. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Offince Box 30, Moriyama, Nagoya 463 Japan. -------This seventh day of the first month is the day on which traditional Japanese families eat a special rice gruel cooked with seven different kinds of herbs in the hope that it will remove evil from the body and prevent illness. In some Western countries, January 7th has been called Saint Distaff's Day. Actually, there is no such person as Saint Distaff, but there is an interesting story related to the reason that name was given to this day. A distaff, spelled d-i-s-t-a-f-f, is the staff, or spindle, on a spinning wheel on which unspun wool or flax is wound. Women used to spend long hours at the spinning wheel to make yarn or thread from the material on the distaff. For this reason, "distaff" came to mean women's work or women in general. Even today, the female line of a family may be called the "distaff side". Following the twelve days of Christmas which end on Epiphany, January 6th, women in medieval days returned to their spinning wheels and distaffs. A medieval wit created an imaginary Saint Distaff to be the patroness of the spinning wheel and named this day in her honor for it was the day when women returned to their normal routines following the Christmas festivities. I hope you have a healthy, busy day! -------According to a recent news article, a new problem is facing children and their parents in the United States: the problem of obesity. Obese, spelled o-b-e-s-e, means extremely fat. Many Americans are fat, but obesity denotes excessive fatness or corpulence. The report stated that about eleven percent of American children between the ages of six and seventeen are obese, and that twice that number are overweight. It further stated that more than one-third of adult Americans are overweight and children tend to take after their parents. The reason for this problem is related to both genetic and environmental factors. One study showed that girls from unemployed and less well-educated families were more prone to be overweight. Researchers speculated that parental overindulgence might be a factor, along with too much sitting before a television set or a computer instead of going outside for exercise. One big little girl was the largest child in her kindergarten class. In elementary school her 100-kilogram body on her 150-centimeter frame became too much for her knees which collapsed under the burden. Now a third-grader, she walks with a cane. Adults and children must take good care of their bodies--and their minds--to keep healthy. -------A couple of months ago, Chelsea, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton moved out of the White House, the official residence of U. S. presidents, to begin her university studies in California. I presume her parents are a bit lonely without her. Although I am sure that Chelsea is irreplaceable, last month, a new occupant was admitted to the White House. It is a chocolate-colored, 4-month old, male Labrador retriever, which the President has named Buddy. It was noted that there are 54 million dog owners in the United States and it is thought that they will feel closer to a president who has a dog. The dog will have to compete for the first family's attention with the cat, named Socks that Chelsea left behind. America's first president, George Washington, owned 37 dogs and most succeeding presidents have also been partial to dogs. George Bush, Clinton's predecessor in the White House, had a dog named Millie, which became famous. A writer who co-authored a book on dogs owned by presidents noted that it is very therapeutic for a president, who is under such great pressure, to have a dog to help him relax. And President Harry Truman made the famous observation: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." -------As the overnight train pulled out of Bangkok Station last July, my wife and I and our daughter were seated on seats facing each other on one side of the aisle. I noticed a man in a seat on the opposite side of the aisle was making use of a cellular telephone. Since I had been unable to make a call to Japan to record the "Daily Word" message for the following day, I inquired whether it was possible to make an international call on his telephone, but his reply was negative. We had brought some hamburgers and French fries from a fast-food restaurant on the train with us, so when vendors came down the aisle to take orders for meals, we did not respond. We watched as a porter quickly and efficiently made up a lower and upper bunk and pulled curtains to shield them from the aisle and its light. My wife was in a lower bunk; I was above her and our daughter was in an adjoining lower bunk. We arrived in Chiang Mai, after a fairly restful sleep, about ten hours later. At the station, we picked up our daughter's bicycle and she hailed a public conveyance with a large space in the back having two long seats facing each other. We placed our suitcases and the bicycle in the space between the seats and rode to our daughter's residence. -------In Japanese tradition, this eleventh day of the first month is 'kagami-biraki', the day for breaking open the special rice cakes, called 'kagami-mochi', which have been a part of the New Year's decorations and which, originally, were offerings to a deity. I was interested to read that these cakes should not be cut with a knife. They should be "broken" with the hands before being added to the special New Year's soup called 'zoni'. Reading that, I was reminded of the words used in the New Testament when Jesus broke bread and gave it to his disciples at his last supper with them, saying, "Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me". These words, found in the classical translation of I Corinthians 11:24, are repeated during the communion services regularly held in Christian churches. The bread Jesus broke was hard, unleavened bread, similar to Japanese 'senbei', that was used at the Jewish festival of the Passover. Since that time, Jesus' disciples have continued to break bread together in remembrance of his broken body that was offered up on a cross as a sacrificial atonement for our sins. That sacred ceremony with bread and wine is the most important and meaningful ritual for Christians. -------I presume you know what a "paddy" is. It is spelled "p-a-d-d-y. When spelled with a capital P, it is a nickname for Patrick and is an offensive, slang term for an Irishman, whose patron saint is Patrick. "Paddy wagon" is another slang term for a police van in which suspects are taken for questioning. As a common noun, however, it is commonly used to denote a specially irrigated field where rice is grown. Traveling in Japan in the summertime, we may see many paddies, or paddy fields. This word is a transliteration of the Malayan word for rice and in English also, the basic meaning of "paddy" is rice, especially rice which is still in the husk, whether harvested or in the field. Thus, in Japanese, this word may be translated 'ine', 'momi', 'ta' or 'tanbo'. -------American-style fast food restaurants have become popular in Japan, specializing in fried hamburgers and fried chicken. But a peculiar Japanese fast food restaurant is now found in American and European countries also. In 'kaiten sushi' bars, small dishes of various kinds of raw fish and rice along with other foods usually served in a Japanese sushi-ya circulate on a conveyor belt in front of customers seated on stools. Diners do not need to read a menu or give an order to anyone. They simply choose the dish they desire from the many varieties that pass in front of them and pluck it off of the moving belt. The color of the dish indicates the price. An employee counts the number of dishes and notes their color as the bill is computed and the cashier is informed. All is done in a very impersonal way, quite different than traditional sushi shops in Japan. 'Kaiten-sushi' originated in the city of Sendai in 1968. Although the quality of food at fast food shops is lower than that of traditional restaurants, the cost also is lower and many people today prefer the impersonal, faster service. In fact, a characteristic of modern, industrialized societies is to prefer speed and individual convenience to quality and personal relationships. -------On January 14, 1875, 123 years ago today, a child was born in France who became world-famous as a musician, a theologian, and a medical missionary. His name was Albert Schweitzer. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he first became recognized as an outstanding organist, who specialized in compositions by Bach, and his biography of this master musician, written in 1905, is still considered authoritative. Determined to become a medical missionary, he obtained a doctorate in medicine and left the comfortable life of a famous man in Europe to go to eastern Africa where he established a hospital. His theological writings have made him a respected, if controversial, theologian, but it was the sacrificial, humanitarian service he rendered in the spirit of Jesus that attracted the attention of the world and for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. Albert Schweitzer said: "heavy guilt rests upon us for what the whites of all nations have done to the colored peoples. When we do good to them, it is not benevolence--it is atonement." He also stated: "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." -------In Japan, this 15th day of January is a national holiday called 'Seijin no Hi', Adults Day, celebrating the formal advance to "adulthood" of young people who reached their 20th birthday during the past year. In the United States, a public holiday celebrating the birthday of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr, who was born on this day in 1929, is held on the third Monday of January rather than on his birthday. Dr. King, the son of a Baptist pastor who became a Baptist pastor himself, led the struggle for racial equality using non-violent tactics. He was assassinated a couple of months after his 39th birthday. In the South American country of Venezuela, today is called Dia Del Maestro, Teachers' Day. It is a national day of tribute to educators. I am not sure of the kind of activities that are held there on this day, but since teachers have a great influence on a nation's children and help to guide them on their way to adulthood, along with Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day, it is commendable to have a Teachers' Day also. Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu nationalist leader who also emphasized non-violence, wrote: "It is for teachers to make attractive and intellligible what to the pupils may first appear repulsive or uninteresting." -------In the past, people who arranged marriages in Japan took into consideration the zodiacal sign under which a person was born. For example, it was said that a man born in this year of the tiger should marry a woman born in the year of the rat. Now, times have changed and these days blood types seem more important in determining a suitable mate. I do not understand the difference between the various blood types designated by the letters A, B, O and AB, but it is said that many Japanese young people now decide to pursue a relationship with a friend of the opposite sex or to break it off depending on the other's blood type. I understand that As are nit-pickers who give great attention to details, Bs are free-wheelers with loud voices who tend to ignore rules, Os are said to be highly motivated and intent on controlling situations, and ABs manifest both contradictions and originality. According to the Japan Red Cross Central Blood Center, 40 percent of Japanese have type A blood, 30 percent are O, 20 percent are B and 10 percent are AB. People may have the same type of blood despite differences in skin or hair color and other visible external characteristics for human beings are ultimately of one universal family. -------Our daughter lives in the city of Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand. She had recently moved from the Bangkok area when we visited her there last July. The four-storied house in which she lives is located in a quiet, residential area a few minutes' walk from a main street. Her house looks the same as a number of other houses along the street. It is owned by a couple she became acquainted with in Bangkok. They plan to make use of it in the future as a center for a social welfare program, but they kindly offered to let her live there for a very nominal rent until they have need of it. It is a very comfortable place, larger than she needs. She does not use all of the rooms and uses the garage only to park her bicycle. It is a bit inconvenient, however, since the kitchen, dining room, living room and bedroom are all on different levels and she must go up and down the stairs many times during the day. From the fourth floor window, one has a clear view of the nearby athletic ground of Chiang Mai University where we often saw students jogging around the track --even in the rain, or playing a game of soccer. Although it was the rainy season when we visited, it only rained a couple of times during the day while we were there. -------The longest book in the Bible is the Old Testament book of Psalms which includes 150 psalms written at different times by different poets. The second longest book is the Old Testament book of Isaiah which is divided into 66 chapters. Obviously, the prophecies written in the latter part of the book were delivered in very different circumstances than those in the earlier part. The later prophecies include exhortations to a captive people in a foreign land. Chapter 60 begins with the words: "Arise, shine, for your light has come". If these encouraging words are believed, they will inspire new vitality and hope in discouraged minds of people in all ages. Another command follows: "Lift up your eyes and look about you". If we look about us with the eyes of faith, we will see possibilities that are not visible to the eyes of skeptics. Because of the economic, political, social and moral problems of the past year, many people may have doubts about the events of this new year, but our outlook is affected by our faith. Those with a healthy faith in God, who have experienced in their own lives a bit of the light and love God has sent into the world, can arise and shine regardless of the surrounding circumstances. -------The Japanese word for the bird called a "pheasant" in English is 'kiji' and the word for a "pigeon" or "dove" is 'hato'. When these two words are combined to form the word 'kijibato', can you imagine the English name of the bird it denotes? Surprisingly, it is a "turtledove". In this case, "turtle" is derived from the Latin term for that bird which was related to the characteristic 'turtur' sound the dove made while cooing. In old English, this bird was also called simply a "turtle", which is found in the classical translation of the Old Testament book, Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 12, where the signs of spring are noted: "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." -------98/01/20 (Tuesday) Aristotle Socrates Onassis/Grandmother's Day (5886) Two of the most famous ancient Greek philosophers are Socrates and Aristotle who lived in the 4th century before Christ. I presume the Greek parents of the baby boy born 92 years ago today, on January 20, 1906 had high hopes for him when they gave him the name Aristotle Socrates. This child did not become a philosopher, however. Rather, he became a wealthy shipowner and pioneer of the supertanker. He became famous when, in 1968, he became the 62-year-old husband of Jacqueline Kennedy, the 39-year-old widow of former U. S. president, John F. Kennedy. His full name was Aristotle Socrates Onassis. In Bulgaria, this 20th day of January is called Babin Den, Grandmother's Day. It is interesting that in both Bulgarian and Japanese, 'baba' is a term used for an old woman, especially an old woman who helps to deliver babies, or a grandmother. It was believed that each 'baba' passed some of her wisdom to the baby she delivered and on this Grandmother's Day, parents, along with their children, used to visit these 'babas' and bring them flowers. The custom continues even today as children who were born in hospitals bring flowers to the doctors and nurses who attended their births. -------Do you know the difference between a "homonym" and a "homophone"? Both of these terms denote English words that have the same sound but different meanings. "Homonyms" may have the same spelling, but "homophones" are spelled differently. Thus, the two words pronounced 'sed', spelled s-e-e-d and c-e-d-e, are homophones. You probably know the meaning of the former word. When that kind of 'sed' is planted in the ground, a new plant begins to grow. Such a 'sed' is associated with an increase of something, but the second kind of sed, spelled c-e-d-e, is related to a decrease of something. When one country gives up a part of its territory to another, it is ceding it. On January 20, 1841, 157 years ago yesterday, China ceded Hong Kong island to Great Britain. This was confirmed by a treaty signed the following year at the close of the so-called Opium War, in which Britain forced China to end its restrictions on foreign trade. Later, the nearby peninsula of Kowloon was also ceded to Great Britain, but the adjoining New Territories from which the port's water supply came was simply leased for a 99-year period. Since that lease expired in 1997, Hong Kong was formally returned to China last year. -------We sometimes read stories in the newspaper of seemingly unbelievable events. Some people would call them miracles, but if they are true, they remind us of the saying that "truth is stranger than fiction". This is actually a quotation from the masterpiece of one of the greatest of English poets, Lord Byron. George Gordon Byron was born with a clubfoot 210 years ago today, on January 22, 1788. After years of poverty and experiencing both the excessive tenderness and violent temper of his mother, he inherited the title of Baron upon the death of a great uncle. His lameness may have increased his sensitivity and his flair for satire, but his good looks, showy life style and romantic attachments to both women and men in different European countries all contributed to the creation of a Byronic legend and he is now considered the embodiment of romanticism. The short quotation given above is from Don Juan, an epic-satire which illustrate his ability as a storyteller and lyricist as well as his detestation of convention. The full quotation is as follows: "'Tis strange --but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction." We could say this about some of the truths found in the Bible also. -------Queen Elizabeth II became queen of the United Kingdom because her father had no sons. If she had a brother, even a younger brother, he would have become the king, for male heirs have priority over female heirs in the present system. In English, "queen" is used both for a female sovereign and for the wife of a king. The husband of a queen, however, is not a "king". He is, simply, a "prince". In Japan, the monarch is an "emperor" and, at the present time, the term "empress" is used only for the wife of an emperor. But in the past, there were female rulers in Japan also. The list of Japanese monarchs includes seven empresses, but the last one ended her rule in 769. The children of an emperor, a king or a queen are "princes" or "princesses". Last year, the British House of Lords supported a bill that would give princesses equal rights with princes in the succession to the throne. If the bill becomes law, the eldest child of Prince William, the elder son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, would be next in line to the throne, regardless of sex and Elizabeth's younger sister, Princess Anne, would leapfrog over her younger brothers, Princes Andrew and Edward, to be fourth in line after Prince Charles and his two sons. -------One of the sightseeing spots my wife and I visited in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand last summer was an ornate Buddhist temple on the top of a high hill on the outskirts of the city. Accompanied by our daughter, we took a taxi to the entrance and began our climb up the long flight of steps to the top. On the way down, I counted the steps. There were 308 of them. The balustrades, or banisters, on both sides of the staircase were in the form of a long dragon, with its head at the bottom and his tail at the top. Before entering the temple area at the top, we took off our shoes and walked on the tile floor. There were a number of murals depicting Buddha's life and many Buddhist statues, including a group of seven in a line: one for every day of the week. Near the temple area at the top, there were small shops selling souvenirs and simple Thai food. Although our visit was made during the rainy season, very little rain fell during the daytime while we were in Thailand, but on this day it began to rain as we began our descent. While we were on our way down, we met our taxi driver coming up with an umbrella for us to use. We were deeply impressed with his kindness and took his taxi back to our daughter's residence. -------Regular listeners to, or readers of, these "Daily Word" messages know that the Sunday messages have a religious character. Today's message is about "prayer". There is a well-known Japanese expression, "kurushii toki no kami-danomi", "seek divine aid in time of trouble." For many people, prayer is limited to requests for divine help at certain crucial times, but in the Biblical sense, prayer denotes spiritual communion with our heavenly Father. Petition is only one element in prayer, ranking lower in importance than praise, thanksgiving and confession. The New Testament letters of Paul always begin with words of praise or thanksgiving. In the first chapter of his Letter to the Ephesians, following his usual greeting, he offers praise to God and then gives thanks for the faith of the Ephesian Christians which was evident in their love for others. His petitionary prayer for them is that they will be given greater wisdom, enlightenment and power as they continue to grow in their Christian life. Healthy bodies and minds continue to grow and develop as long as they are alive, for there is always further progress to be made, whether in our faith, in our understanding of the meaning of life or of a foreign language. -------The Greek word "mikros" means "little" or "small". This word is used three times in Matthew, chapter 18 (verses 6, 10 and 14), for little children. There are a number of English words that begin with "micro", including "microphone" and "microscope", but do you know what a "microbe" is? Spelled m-i-c-r-o-b-e, it is a shortened form of "micro-bios", meaning "small life". It denotes a tiny form of life, a kind of microorganism. There are many kinds of microorganisms which are studied by microbiologists. Some of these tiny, one-celled organisms are called bacteria, which may be either beneficial or harmful to human beings, but the word "microbe" is especially used for those microorganisms that cause disease. I hope you don't have any microbes in your body. -------Japan has many traditions related to values and virtues which have been considered important in Japanese society, but anyone who is acquainted with the present social, economic, political or moral situation in Japan knows that times are changing and so are traditions and ways of thinking--whether for better or for worse. Some changes are the result of influences from abroad--both positive and negative, and others are the natural result of Japan's particular circumstances. One obvious change is seen in the mutual relationship between employers and employees. Traditionally, workers felt a strong loyalty to their employer and remained in the same company until their retirement. They willingly worked overtime and on holidays and put their company ahead of their family and everything else. For their part, employers guaranteed that loyal employees would not be discharged. Nowadays, however, some companies recognize the need to discharge some employees and the employees themselves do not feel obligated to remain for many years with the same company. Whether, in the long run, this trend is good or bad remains to be seen, but it could result in happier, healthier families and more efficient companies. -------Names of some Americans and Englishmen may be used either as given names or surnames. My given name of Clark is one example. Many Japanese who hear this name immediately think of Dr. Clark who taught at a new agricultural school in Sapporo for only nine months but whose influence upon future generations of Japanese farmers and Christians was great. Another example is Gordon, one of the most respected surnames in British aristocracy. Today is the 165th anniversary of the birth of Charles George Gordon, a famous British soldier and administrator who became known both as Chinese Gordon and Gordon Pasha. After serving in the Crimean War, he went to China, took part in the capture of Peking and became a mandarin. He then served in Egypt under Ismail Pasha. Later, as governor of the Sudan, he waged a vigorous campaign against slave traders. He also served in India, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, and Cape Colony, on the southern tip of Africa. According to one biographer, Gordon's "reading was confined almost entirely to the Bible; but the Bible he read, and re-read with an untiring and unending assiduity. There, he was convinced, all truth was to be found, and he was equally convinced that he could find it." -------The names of over half of the fifty states in the United States of America are derived from languages of the native inhabitants who lived there before the invasion of Europeans. The state in the center of the country which was admitted to the Union as the 34th state 137 years ago today on January 29, 1861, is one of them. Can you guess the name of that flat, Midwestern "Sunflower State? The name of its largest city, Wichita, comes from a Native American word meaning "the men", and its capital city of Topeka is derived from a Siouan word meaning "potato-good-place". Its second largest city is Kansas City and the state's name means "south wind people". Kansas became a state during a turbulent time in American history as the controversy about slavery between North and South deepened. Battles preceding the Civil War were fought in Kansas between those who wanted a free state and those who insisted that slavery be permitted. The year that Kansas became a state was also the year the Republican Party was organized to oppose the extension of slavery and this day commemorating the anniversary of Kansas' statehood, called Kansas Day, is also an occasion for celebration by the Repiblican Party. -------Our house is located in a wooded area and in the summertime, we are often bothered by centipedes. Do you know what a centipede is? You may know other words that begin with c-e-n-t or c-e-n-t-i. A "century" is a period of 100 years. In the currencies of a number of countries, the term "cent", "centavo" or "centime" is the smallest coin, worth 1/100 of a dollar, peso or franc. A centigram is 1/100 of a gram and a centimeter is 1/100 of a meter. Thus, it is clear that "centi" is related to a hundred. Words beginning with p-e-d often are related to the foot, including "pedal", "pedestal" and "pedestrian". So can you imagine what a "centipede" is. Literally, it means one hundred feet, but it denotes a wormlike insect that has many pairs of legs. In Japanese, it is called a "mukade", which may be written with Chinese characters meaning "hundred legs". There are many different kinds of centipedes and the number of their legs vary. According to one reference book, the greatest number reported on a centipede was 177 pairs of legs. For some strange reason, the Chinese characters used for "millipede", or "yasude", mean "horse land". I'm glad we are not bothered with such "thousand-legged" creatures. -------The main reason my wife and I took a trip to Thailand last summer was to visit our daughter who lives and works there. On this second trip to that country, we were also interested in meeting friends and associates of our daughter, doing some sightseeing and broadening our knowledge of another part of the world. My wife also had a more specific aim in mind. Some years before, she had been given some fine silk material from Thailand which could be made into a dress or suit. She had never gotten around to going to a seamstress in Japan to have something made, so she took it with her to Thailand in the hope that a Thai seamstress could make an appropriate garment quickly, cheaply and expertly. So, the day after our arrival in Chiang Mai, our daughter took us and the material to a seamstress she knew. My wife looked at pictures of dresses and finally chose one she liked and had her measurements taken, while I walked around the neighborhood. A couple of days later, we went back to the dressmaker and she tried on the new two-piece suit. Since a few minor alterations were needed, she went back the following day to pick it up. Now she is happy to wear that suit made of Thai silk and sewn by a Thai dressmaker. -------According to the New Testament, from among his many disciples, Jesus chose twelve men to whom he gave special instruction and whom he sent out to proclaim the Gospel, or Good News. In the Christian Church, these men are often given the title of "saint", so we may call them St. Matthew, St. Peter and St. John. But these men were very ordinary men with the same weaknesses that other men have. It seems that they frequently had foolish arguments about which of them was the greatest. On one occasion, following such an argument (recorded in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, verses 33-35), Jesus asked them what they were arguing about, but they were ashamed to tell him, so they did not answer. But Jesus knew what the argument was about, so he gave them the following important instruction: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Jesus repeatedly taught his disciples that they should seek to be humble servants rather than arrogant rulers. But Jesus' teaching was not limited to words. He also taught by example. According to the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John, he washed his disciples' feet and said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." -------There are a number of English words that begin with the prefix "mini", spelled m-i-n-i, denoting something very small. Some of them are also used in Japanese, including "minicar" and "miniskirt". Peculiar Japanese words have also been coined using this prefix, including "mini-con" and "mini-su-pa-". This prefix is derived from a Latin word meaning "red lead". Red coloring was used to illuminate the first, more elaborately written letters in certain medieval manuscripts. These ornate letters in red needed to be written very small. Thus, the word "miniature" came to mean something very small, especially something that has been greatly reduced in size from the original object. Etymologically, "mini" is not related to minute (minoot) or minute (minit). ------- |