My News & Views

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Lent History, Facts, and Contemplation


**"Our Lamb has conquered. Let us Follow Him."

Re-posted - second week of Lent, 2012.
First posted during the First Week of Lent, 2011. Bookmark if you wish to return to review thoughts and facts here.

All churches that have a continuous history extending before 1500 observe Lent.

-Loretta Sword, Pueblo Chieftan

"Some people give up things during Lent. Others choose to develop a new habit, such as daily Bible verse, or reading, or a devoted time for prayer, and so forth."

Lent through History

1. Lent through history has been recorded differently. Some say it began in the first century (see list below), while others say it began in 325 A. D. (Anno Domini [Latiin], "Year of the Lord") as part of the Council of Nicea (hence, Nicene Creed).

2. When Lent began, it was a 40-hour period of preparation, in keeping with the three days between Jesus' bodily death and bodily resurrection and appearance to His followers.

3. Third century, Lent became a six-day period called Holy Week. Holy Week extended to more than one month, 36 days, which are one-tenth, a tithe, of the 365 days of a year.

4. Eighth century, reign of Charlemagne, saw four days added, making Lent 40 days. Added days included Ash Wednesday (repentance) plus three days leading up to the First Sunday of Lent.

5. The Sundays of Lent are excluded from the 40-days counted for Lent, "for they are the Lord's Day, which includes a celebration of the resurrection..."*

Lent is a preparation.

Lent is set aside to help believers in Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the world, as they
prepare, worldwide, to rejoice in worship, remembering

the Resurrection of Jesus, bodily, on the third day after His bodily death

on the Cross of crucifixion.

Facts of Contemplation during Lent

We repent of our sins.

Daily we are sorry for our sins.
During Lent, as at any time, we make a special renewal of thanks to God
for relieving us of the burden of sin.
Jesus began His public teaching saying, "Repent"; we search our hearts regarding

hidden sin, known and deliberate sin, against God in the

things we do, say, or think that our true lives as

children of God.

We contemplate the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.

We daily receive forgiveness from God as we confess and repent, desiring to keep ourselves
open to the Life and Light of God. During Lent we continue to

rejoice over the Lamb of God, "slain for the sins of the world."

"...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time,
apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:28-NKJV).

We joyfully, and with amazement, contemplate the Gift that God
gave the world:
His only begotten Son.

"For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved" (John 3: 16, 17-NKJV).

We contemplate forgiveness, acceptance,

and Eternal Life, through Christ

We strengthen our devotion, by faith (Acts 15:9).

We rejoice in Christ's Resurrection
and pray (John 17:17; 1 Tim. 4:5).

We share.

We rejoice over the Resurrection of Jesus. In Him, we have love, hope, faith, fellowship, and service,
with the help of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

We rejoice in salvation, which we have by faith in Christ, the Lamb that was slain (Revelation 13).

We rejoice that in Christ we overcome whatever is against God:
"Yet the devil's power and success are
limited. Christ has a chosen remnant, redeemed by his blood,
recorded in his book, sealed by his Spirit; and though the devil and antichrist may overcome the body, and take away the natural life, they cannot conquer the soul,
nor prevail with true believers to forsake their Saviour, and join his enemies.
Perseverance in the faith of the gospel and true worship of God, in this great hour of trial
and temptation, which would deceive all but the elect, is the character of those
registered in the book of life. This powerful motive and encouragement to constancy, is the great design of the whole Revelation."
(from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the book of Revelation, chapter 13)

Sources

*Lent through history

**"Our Lamb Has Conquered"- the seal of the Moravian Church (photo),
Agnus Dei [Latin], meaning "Lamb of God."

Friday, February 25, 2011

A Devoted Witness of Christ to Nepalese People - Prem Pradhan

Image via Wikipedia

In honor of the life and ministry of Gerald C. Primm, my brother

From "Christianity in Nepal," The Watchman, Vol. 12,2011, M.O. Owens, Jr., Editor, Gastonia, NC/USA.

"The first Nepalis* to accept Christ did so while outside the country, in India and such places as Hong Kong and Singapore. But more of these were afraid to return home lest they be killed or imprisoned. One notable exception was a man named Prem Pradhan. He went to Calcutta as a foreign student, joined the British Air Force in World War II, and after the war served in the army of the newly independent India. There he heard the Gospel as preached on the streets. He believed, was baptized, and was given a Bible which he read through 12 times while still in the Indian army. Three years after becoming a Christian, he resigned his commission, and returned to Nepal as an apostle of Jesus Christ, preaching from village to village in the mountains of Nepal, but with little result. The homes in the area, built on hillsides, kept their animals in the lower level, while the family lived on the upper level. Prem was permitted often to stay in a home, but had to sleep with the animals. In one such home, he learned that the oldest member of the family lay helpless with one side of her body completely paralyzed. He took her by the hand and said, 'In the name of Jesus rise up and walk.' And she did, going outside shouting for joy. That lady, her family and many of their neighbors then listened as Prem gave them the Word of God. The result was the first assembly of baptized Christians in the history of Nepal.

"He baptized those first Christians openly. The result was he was sentenced to six years in prison, and those baptized--five men and four women--each sentenced to one year. Prem was confined in seven different prisons in his first five years, and started a church in each of them. He was released in 1966. At that time there were less than 30 baptized believers in all of Nepal. Today there are close to one million believers. Current information indicates that every week hundreds more are being added. And there has never been a 'foreign' missionary allowed to serve in that country.

"Prem's last prison sentence was for 55 years in prison. Through American help, he was released, but soon died in 1998. But he lived to see his nation being rapidly changed underneath. It is one of the most significant chapters in all church history."

*In modern times, the persecuted Christian faithful having died out, emigrated, or gone underground.
Note by Jean (Primm) Purcell, blog manager

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

As Digital Grows, the Personal Touch Slows

Image via Wikipedia

by Jean Purcell

The rap says, "As digital grows, info flows, and the personal touch goes."

It would take a while to list the many digital gadgets that we use, buy, or think about. We use them to talk, write and exchange information with each other. We write across the world or across a room...digitally! We do, you know, sometimes e-mail when we're in the same space! Never done that, but I hear it happens!

Rupert Murdoch's digital news team and Apple's iPAD team announced and launched The Daily, the first-ever daily news service, exclusively for iPAD users, at a cost of 14 cents a day.

I have Kindle on my Android, though I read via Kindle only when desperate not to wake my husband up by keeping a reading light on. (He tells me he doesn't mind the sound of pages turning at two in the morning. He's a great guy!)

Now I wonder if I want an iPAD primarily to become part of this expansive development for news and information. I have learned that most young people never read a print newspaper; they get their news online. For them, the iPAD development will be tempting.

What is missing has finally fallen into place for me, a matter that I could not latch onto when looking for it with Kindle:

It's not only that the gadgets remove a "regular" book, although I do miss the touch of paper and its rustle when turning pages. It's not that the print is on a smaller platform than most "regular" books are.

What's missing is... the personal touch. I can return to my e-book anytime during any day, at my leisure or time ability. The same goes for e-news. It's there for...? For me and only me! But...I not only like the touch and feel of "regular" books. I like and embrace the irreplaceable personal touch that comes from sharing titles--giving, lending, or borrowing them in hard cover or paperback.

With newsprint, I often pass parts along. I cut out articles to put on my husband's desk or I clip something to send to a daughter, grandson, or a friend...not often, yes, but when I do I feel more in touch, personally...because of the personal touch, the time put into that kind of sharing that way rather than the easier, digital way.
Is that weird? Not to me, although it is a fading practice that others also lament losing. I know how I feel on the rare occasion when personal mail with a note or a clipping comes from a relative or friend.

I would not likely pass my Kindle or Nook gadget to another person to borrow for a while! I cannot leave a part of my e-news with a friend, either, except by a link...which would work. However, it's all on my gadget. It's all for me, to take anywhere I go, to read and enjoy anywhere, but not so much to share.
     Not to have that enjoyment of handing a book to a friend, or giving it and looking at it together, as happened at Christmas with my grandsons...that would be a loss, personally.
     If we pass around a gadget, we know one of us will need it back. We cannot keep it for a while, to enjoy, to share, to return or keep.
     But a book? It's transferable in special ways, between us!

Think about how much the personal and the face-to-face encounters are dwindling due to digitized living. Think about how we can reverse much of this!

I opine: we should!

Note: To those who read this blog post earlier, thanks for bearing with me. I had to go out of town suddenly, and this posted before I finished and spell-checked. Now it's done.

Friday, February 18, 2011

I Never Joined a Union

The Union Steward's Complete Guide: A Survival Guide, 2nd Edition

A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution

Restoring the Power of Unions: It Takes a Movement

Commentary

This is not meant as criticism of unions per se; it is not to critique those who join unions. After all, the objectives of unions include protecting employees' safety and pay for services or products their work provides.

However, I probably would not consider joining a union today unless working conditions in my workplace were horribly unfair or dangerous to physical or health safety. The unions came into being decades ago in response to gross violations of human dignity and professional work ethics. Federal and state laws now address those concerns. Any protections not addressed have other recourse, in most cases.

My experience with unions began when I was just out of college, newly married, and in my first year of teaching in public schools. I did not join the teacher's union, nor was any pressure put on me to do so (New York state). Yet, my attendance at the state teacher's conference was covered by the school district.

I could have joined a US government employee union years later, when I worked in DC. But I did not. And I felt strongly about not doing so in that case. First, I had no complaints, although I did have aspirations for upgrades, but they came on schedule. Second, the union rep in our building spent way too much time walking around our offices, not his, visiting and trying to enroll new members. When does he work?!, I often wondered.

I also declined to join my peers in complaints having to do with lacking overtime pay. Although we had profitable per diem pay for out-of-office training weekends where we also honed skills.

If abuses are present in the workplace, that's another matter. Yet, today, abuse seems to be a convenient label for just about anything uncomfortable or not agreeing with one's own views and preferences.

Sick leave to help a child or other family member in distress? That's good because it is essential.

Extended maternity leave? I never knew what that was like, and I handled it, as did my husband who helped me, along with neighbors. Also, family members drove long distances to help. We felt proud, not offended, to pull together at such times. But, not everyone can work these things out.

I realize, too, that not every employer is "reasonable." Those instances do bring in the need for some outside help or resolution, surely.

Recent protests in Wisconsin concern me, especially regarding questionable, possibly unethical, behaviors of some (not all, and maybe not many) teachers. For any American teacher of the 21st century not to go to work in order to protest robs students and is shameful. Many of us consider teaching to be a profession, almost a calling, and definitely a privilege.

I never joined a union, so what I learn I get from what the union leaders say and in many cases these days I just don't buy it...distracting teachers from their professional work and contract obligations.

One good that may come from the events in Wisconsin, as teachers and other employees of the state protest budget changes proposed, is that some teachers have shown parents their true colors. Some are bright, and others are...well, dull. If it's "all about the children," it's also about honest and peaceful actions, not dishonest and raucous/rude threats.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Her Admiration Taught Me

Jackson circa 1962, photographed by Carl Van V...

Image Wikipedia-Mahalia Jackson, whom she admired

Remembrance

SHE LOVED TO be involved, a southern woman in a small North Carolina town. It was not too much to have an ill mother living in her home, a husband beset by business hurdles, a son at home just after a war and married a year to a wife now pregnant and also bedridden in her in-laws' home, due to health problems, and... a young daughter. The tiny home she kept on schedule had three bedrooms, a narrow galley-like kitchen, an eating area that included access by and egress from a circle that led into the small living room...and one bathroom for seven people.

She went to the First Baptist Church regularly, and the church women service/missions group; she was active in the town's Woman's Club's book and garden groups (she loved her rose bushes), and a bridge group. Amazingly (I see now), she did not seem absent from or overwhelmed at home.

She collected favorite people from book club and church club meetings: an opera singer who overcame polio challenges (Margaret Lawrence); a popular singer who beat alcoholism; a preacher-author popular at the time (Peter Marshall); and Mahalia Jackson, a singer of jazz, then only gospel, with operatic range. What was said about these famous people erupted in the admirer's brief phrases that came naturally from her lips; they seemed to be thoughts expressed randomly, in passing, as they would say.

In hindsight, it appears that she was intentionally teaching as well as spontaneously speaking. It seems that as she thought of someone she wanted to mention, among that group of admired people, she chose her few words carefully: "She said she often wanted to give up (the opera singer), but she so wanted to sing, that she kept resolving to learn how to walk again (polio)"; "She had to go to the bottom before she would work to save her singing career by leaving alcohol"; "He had to have faith to overcome"; and, "She said she decided to commit her life to sing for God, only gospel songs."

Who growing up cares a lot about whom their elders admire, who their heroes are? Children are so caught up in childish things. But...they do hear, even if they seem not to care. And...they remember more than we imagine. Sometimes...they remember who their mothers admired, and why. So...it somehow makes a big difference in the larger and longer picture of what really makes a life and a hope... and whom we admire.

by Jean Purcell
(c) 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Lent History, Facts, and Contemplation

Friday, February 25, 2011

A Devoted Witness of Christ to Nepalese People - Prem Pradhan

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