JE #25

Today is the commemoration of Jacob (Israel), Patriarch

 He [Jesus] will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33 ESV)

JE #24

Out my Window: After a very rainy Friday-Saturday (2+ inches!) the sun is out and we have enjoyed a bright and warmer Sunday-Monday. The forecast calls for sun and warm temps (70s) all week. Yes, I DO like Arizona winters.

Weighty Matters: I am working on adopting the DASH diet. Hypertension worries me, especially since it caused the deaths of my mother and my mother-in-law. With the DASH diet I don't need to count calories, just servings. Pretty easy. Right now the antibiotics for my abscessed tooth are wrecking havoc on my guts - yuck. But I will soon be done with those and back to norm. In the meantime I must eat more yogurt.

Churchy Stuff: I am enjoying observing the traditional liturgical year. I think Protestantism has devolved the church in many ways. For a many in the church there are only 2 holidays a year - Christmas and Easter. But in fact, there are many more observances and feasts. It is hard to explain, but for me it adds depth to my faith and to how I view Jesus. Worship is becoming less Sunday-centered.

Today is the Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple

Today is 40 days after the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas) and according to Mosaic law Mary must present herself and Jesus to the temple along with an offering:

 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, and he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” (Leviticus 12 ESV)

 

 The LORD said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” (Exodus 13:1-2 ESV)

 

 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24 ESV)

Today's holiday is also called Candlemas because it is often celebrated by a procession of candles due to part 2 of the presentation story:

 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:25-32 ESV)

 



I am keeping a candle burning today to remind me that Jesus is my light.

JE #23

Today we observe the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25)

“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:12-18 ESV)

JE #22

Today is the commemoration of John Chrysostom, early church father

 

“Do you wish to honor the Body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold. He who said, “This is my body,” and made it so by his word, is the same who said, ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.’ Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs is not golden chalices but golden souls.”

JE #21

Health News: The tooth is out. Now it REALLY hurts. But I know it will feel better soon and I'll be able to eat again. I'm down 4 lbs. since Christmas. That's good!

Today is the feast of St. Titus

 

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. (2 Corinthians 7:6-7 ESV)

JE #20

Health News: The toothache/loose crown turned out to be a broken tooth (above the gum). I see the oral surgeon on Monday for extrication. Yep, I'm losing a tooth. The cost of an implant is too much so I'm getting a flipper. Fortunately it is a premolar (#13) and not front-and-center. Pain got much worse and an abscess formed so I'm slugging down antibiotics and ibuprofen. Also on a liquid diet because chewing hurts like heck. But enough complaining...

Today is the feast of St. Timothy

 

 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (1 Corinthians 4:17 ESV)

Journal Entry #19

Hello, Little Blog! Sorry I forgot about you for a few months (again).

Out My Window: Beautiful sunshine, blue-blue sky. 60 degrees heading to near 80. Love Arizona winters!

On My Mind: I've got a toothache and a loose crown. I'm in pain and have got to see a dentist. Probably the worst thing about moving, after the heavy lifting, is finding new doctors, dentists and barbers. We now have good insurance with Mr. Bee's new job. That is a relief! But the dental coverage provided us a list of dentists and required us to pick one. Kind of hard when you are new in town. I did what research I could on the internet and decided on a guy who seemed okay. Small office and not part of a chain. I'll find out this afternoon. In the meantime I'm sipping green tea with honey & lemon (from my lemon tree). Could use a couple more ibuprofen.

Church Stuff: The new church is working out well. Liturgy has renewed my interest in keeping up with the daily lectionary. I have found 2 resources I like a lot: Liturgy Geek and Psalm Tones. A nice combination to start each day.

Reading: Time to start the list over for 2015. Currently not reading anything. My Apocrypha reading bogged down in Sirach and never recovered. I'd still like to read those books, just need to muster some motivation. I don't know what chapter I left off on and I really, really don't want to start over from the beginning. There are 51 chapters in Sirach - Ugh!

Today is the commemoration of Sarah.

 

For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (1 Peter 3:5-6 ESV)