St. Mark, by Hendrick ter Brugghen…

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April 25 is the Feast Day for Saint Mark.  He wrote the first and shortest of the four Gospels.

“In Christian tradition, Mark the Evangelist, the author of the second gospel is symbolized by a lion – a figure of courage and monarchy.”  (See Wikipedia.)  But that “second Gospel” phrase doesn’t mean his wasn’t the first account of the life of Jesus.  As Isaac Asimov noted:

Matthew is [listed as the] first of the gospels in the New Testament because, according to early tradition, it was the first to be written.  This, however, is now doubted by nearly everyone.  The honor of primacy is generally granted to Mark, which is the second gospel in the Bible as it stands.

(770)  There’s more below on how Mark’s is (or was) the most “dissed” of the Gospels…

But first note that the word “gospel” is from the old Anglo-Saxon “god spell,” meaning “good news.”  The Greek form of the word is “evangelos,” which translates to “bringing good news.”

It should also be noted that the Gospels themselves were predated by one or more “letters” in the New Testament.  (Either Epistle of James or First Epistle to Timothy, depending on the cite.)

The writer of this first-in-time Gospel is generally identified as the same John Mark who “carried water to the house where the Last Supper took place” in Mark 14:13, or the “young man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested” in Mark 14:51.  (As shown at right.)  See also Acts 12:25:  “Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.“

And see Overview Of The Four Gospels – PBS, which said that it was Mark who made the “first attempt to tell the story of the life and the death of Jesus.”  And so it could be said that Mark “began the gospel tradition:”

The gospel of Mark is the second to appear in the New Testament, [but it] was composed first…  The way Mark tells the story suggests that his audience lived outside the homeland [i.e., outside present-day Israel], spoke Greek rather than Aramaic, and was not familiar with Jewish customs.  While there is disagreement about where Mark wrote, there is a consensus about when he wrote:  he probably composed his work in or about the year 70 CE, after the failure of the First Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple at the hands of the Romans.  That destruction shapes how Mark tells his story. (E.A.)

Which brings up the question of what message Mark wanted to convey, to his troubled audience.  The consensus is that he wrote his Gospel right after the First Jewish Revolt and the Roman army’s sack of Jerusalem.  Thus one answer is:  Mark deliberately constructed a “bleak and frightening picture because that was the experience of the people” he was writing to.  In other words he merely reflected the great persecution suffered by his audience.

Then there’s the matter of the Great Commission, generally placed at the end of his Gospel.  (See Mark 16:15, up to verse 18. )   The question is:  Did Mark himself write it at all?

According to some critics … Jesus never speaks with his disciples after his resurrection.  They argue that the original Gospel of Mark ends at verse [8, i.e., Mark 16:8] with the women leaving the tomb (see Mark 16).

Note that Mark 16:8 says, “they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”  (As shown at left.)  Which would of course have been a bad place to end a Gospel of hope.

But another scholar – Elaine Pagels – added an interesting twist herself.  She noted that those last words would have been “very bad news” indeed, “if it weren’t that underneath this rather dark story is an enormous hope.”

That is, just as the disciples experienced days of anguish the death of Jesus and Easter morning, there was a rest of the story.  And so it would be for Mark’s audience, even suffering as they did.

In other words, this “terrible anguished [original] ending is nevertheless not the ending:”

That there’s a mystery in it, a divine mystery of God’s revelation that will happen yet.  And I think it’s that sense of hope that is deeply appealing.

See Story Of The Storytellers – The Gospel Of Mark, part of the PBS article above, emphasis added.  And the emphasized word brings up the fact that Christianity has arguably been – all along – a “mystical” religion, full of mysteries; “secret, hidden, not readily known by all.”

For example, see 1st Corinthians 2:7, where Paul spoke of “the word of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom.”  He spoke of the “knowledge in the mystery of Christ” in Ephesians 3:4, and of the “fellowship of the mystery” in Ephesians 3:9.  In Ephesians 5:32 he wrote, “This is a great [or “profound”] mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”  Paul told Christians to “make known the mystery of the gospel” in Ephesians 6:19, and to hold “the mystery of the faith” – or the “deep truths” – in a “pure conscience” in 1st Timothy 3:9.  He said that “great is the mystery of godliness” in 1st Timothy 3:16, and in 1 Corinthians 4:1, Paul said that Christians were to be faithful “stewards of the mysteries of God.”

(And by the way, that “mystery” word doesn’t bode well for those who take the Bible too literally.  But we don’t want to beat that dead horse any more than already done throughout this blog…)

Suffice it to say:  Mark was the first to try to “explain this mystery,” a mystery that baffles many people “even to this day.”  (See 2 Corinthians 3:15, re:  the veil that “covers their hearts.“)

So anyway, you can see the full set of Bible readings for the Feast Day at St. Mark.  The readings: Isaiah 52:7-10, Psalm 2, Ephesians 4:7-8,11-16, and Mark 1:1-15 or Mark 16:15-20.

And before closing it should be noted that the Gospel of Mark itself presents a kind of Cinderella story.  As Wills noted in What the Gospels Meant, for many centuries the Early Church Fathers pretty much neglected Mark’s Gospel.  (St. Augustine – being “converted” at right – called Mark “the drudge and condenser” of Matthew.)

For one thing, Mark’s written Greek was “clumsier and more awkward” than the more-polished Matthew, Luke and John.  As a result, Mark’s was the “least cited Gospel in the early Christian period.”  But “this Cinderella got her glass slipper,” beginning in the 19th century.

That’s when Bible scholars finally noticed the other three Gospels all cited material from Mark, but “he does not do the same for them.”  The conclusion?  Mark started the process and set the pattern of and for the other three Gospels.  And as a result of that, since the 19th century Marks’ “has become the most studied and influential Gospel.”

He is long held by the Catholic church to be one of the four living creatures (the lion), along with Matthew (man), Luke (calf), and John (eagle) of Revelation 4/ four main 6 winged Seraphim of Isaiah 6 constantly shouting around the Heavenly Father’s throne “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;  The whole earth is full of His glory.”  Mark [is] said to have founded the Church of Alexandria, one of the most important episcopal sees of Early Christianity.  His feast day is celebrated on April 25, and his symbol is the winged lion.

See Mark – Wikipedia.  Now about the lion being his symbol. The lion is traditionally “a figure of courage and monarchy.” See also Lion of Saint Mark, which said the symbolism began with Revelation 4:7, “The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.” The lion also symbolizes “the power of the Evangelist’s word, the wings symbolize the spiritual elevation, while the halo is the traditional Christian symbol of holiness.”

Which explains some of the symbolism in the Ter Brugghen painting, including the lion at Mark’s elbow and the open book he’s reading.  (The open book can be a symbol of peace, or as a symbol of public justice.  See Lion of Saint Mark, shown at left)  And so to summarize:

In Christianity, the four living creatures are Cherubim.   A prominent early interpretation has been to equate the four creatures as a tetramorph of the Four Evangelists where the lion represents Mark the Evangelist, the calf [or “ox”] is Luke the Evangelist, the man is Matthew the Apostle, and the eagle symbolizes John the Evangelist.  This interpretation originated with Irenaeus and was adopted by Victorinus.   Its influence has been on art and sculpture and is still prevalent in Catholicism and Anglicanism.

So April 25 celebrates the man the other three Gospel-writers followed and borrowed so freely from.  The man whose work – for 18 long centuries – was largely disregarded and disrespected.  The man who finally – after 1,800 years – got the recognition he deserved.

There’s probably an object lesson there too…

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The Four Evangelists, by Peter Paul Rubens…

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The upper image is courtesy of Hendrick Ter Brugghen “st. Mark” Painting – Image Results. See also Hendrick ter Brugghen – Wikipedia, about the Dutch painter (1588-1629), a “leading member of the Dutch followers of Caravaggio – the so-called Dutch Caravaggisti.”  Wikipedia added:

His paintings were characteristic for their bold chiaroscuro technique – the contrast produced by clear, bright surfaces alongside sombre, dark sections – but also for the social realism of the subjects, sometimes charming, sometimes shocking or downright vulgar.

For more information on other paintings of “St. Mark,” see FRANS HALS ST MARK – Colnaghi, a PDF file with the full title, “Frans Hals’ St. Mark[:] A Lost Masterpiece Rediscovered.”  The article compared paintings done of St. Mark by Ter Brugghen, Hals and others, as well as their common “painterly conventions.”  For example, the article said Mark is commonly shown “writing on a scroll” and that Mark and John “tend often to be portrayed as the more mystical figures among the Evangelists.”  It also noted the tradition of showing humanist “scholar-saints:”

However the pictorial conventions of the humanist scholar-saint, were easily transferred to the depiction of the Evangelists, and this was particularly true of St. Mark, whose iconography was so similar to that of St. Jerome, both writer saints sharing the common attribute of the lion, that the two were sometimes confused.  Since St. Jerome was a penitent saint, as well as a scholar, he was often shown at prayer accompanied by a skull[, again, as in the upper painting,]  and these penitential aspects of the iconography of St. Jerome in turn become attached also to the figure of St. Mark.  This accounts for the symbols of skull and candle which appear in the Ter Brugghen St. Mark, a version of which is described ambiguously in Slatkes’s monograph as ‘either St. Jerome or St. Mark.’  (E.A.)

Re:  Isaac Asimov.  The quote(s) cited above are from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One),  Avenel Books (1981), at page 770.  And just as an aside, Asimov (1920-1992) was “an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.  Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.”  His list of books included those on “astronomy, mathematics, the Bible, William Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.”  He was a long-time member of Mensa, “albeit reluctantly;  he described some members of that organization as ‘brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.’”  See Isaac Asimov – Wikipedia.

Re: the order-of-writing of the New Testament.  See Appendix 8: Chronological Order of the Books of the New Testament, which listed James as first to be written, or Bible – In what order were the books in the New Testament written, which listed “1st Timothy and Galatians” as first. 

The “Mark 16:8” image is The Three Marys at the Tomb, by Peter Paul Rubens, courtesy of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene.

Re: Wills’ “Gospels.”  See also What the Gospels Meant – Garry Wills – Book Review – New York Times:

Yet the paradox of modern Christianity is that the growth of biblical scholarship … has done so little to affect the mass of biblical illiterates who proclaim their convictions about what Jesus would do while knowing precious little about what he actually did or, more important, what he meant…   In this sense, Wills is a dangerous man. (E.A.)

Re: The symbolism of the Four Evangelists.  The skull in the upper painting generally symbolizes “the futility of vanity” and/or a “reminder of the certainty of death.”  See Symbols of the Saints – symboldictionary.net, and Vanitas – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The lower image is courtesy of Peter Paul Rubens: The Four Evangelists, which noted:  “Rubens portrayed the four evangelists while working together on their texts.  An angel helps them…   Each gospel author can be identified by an attribute.  The attributes were derived from the opening verses of the gospels.  From left to right: Luke (bull), Matthew (man [angel]), Mark (lion), and John (eagle).” See also Four Evangelists – Wikipedia, and/or Harry Truman and the next election.

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The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen, by Rembrandt  (1638)…

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Last week’s post was Holy Week – and hot buns.  This post features Resurrection Sunday, a.k.a.  Easter Sunday.  We’ll look at its implications for humanity “and beyond.” 

But first a word about Rembrandt‘s interpretation of Easter morning, shown above:

Mary Magdalen had just found Jesus’ grave empty, and asks a bystander what has happened. In her confusion she thinks the man is a gardener. Only when he replies with “Mary!” does she realize who she’s talking to.  To illustrate Mary’s confusion, Jesus is often depicted as a gardener in this scene.

And then there’s the matter of Easter Sunday as it’s celebrated today, complete with the “Easter Bunny, colorfully decorated Easter eggs, and Easter egg hunts.”  (See What is Easter Sunday?)

In the meantime:

As noted, last week I covered Holy Week – and hot buns.  This week began with Easter Sunday.  You can see the full set of Bible readings at “Easter Day Principal.”  They include Mark 16:1-8:

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus.  And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb…   As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him…

And that of course is a subject people have been discussing – and arguing about – ever since.

But first a note about Easter as a full season, and not just a single Sunday of the year.

Eastertide refers to the 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.  It’s the “festal season in the liturgical year of Christianity that begins on Easter Sunday.” See Eastertide.  Each Sunday in the season after Easter (the Day) is treated as a Sunday of Easter.  For example:  April 12, 2015 is celebrated as the Second Sunday of Easter.  And as noted, the Easter Season ends on Pentecost Sunday.  (Pentecost means “the 50th day.”)

So how did the “Easter Bunny” get mixed up in all this?

The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs.  Originating among German Lutherans, the “Easter Hare” originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient…   In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy, and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus or the Christkind, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holidays.

That’s from the Easter Bunny link, connected to the “bunny” postcard image below.  The accompanying text said that the Easter Bunny custom was first written about 1682.  (On that note see also social control, not unlike that practiced in the season before Christmas.)

And check out the origins of Easter link.  It’s included in the What is Easter link noted above.

The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions.  The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe.  A festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to honor her.  The goddess Eastre’s earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility…  Today, Easter is almost a completely commercialized holiday, with all the focus on Easter eggs and the Easter bunny being remnants of the goddess worship.

For another interesting article, see Ēostre – Wikipedia.  It referred to the “Germanic divinity” who was the “namesake of the festival of Easter.”  It noted that the “Ēostre” celebration was mentioned by the Venerable Bede in his “8th-century work The Reckoning of Time.”

Bede (circa 673-735) wrote that in the time before he was born, “pagan Anglo-Saxons held feasts in Eostre’s honor” during the equivalent of today’s month of April.  But – he added – the tradition “had died out by his time, replaced by the Christian Paschal month, a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.”

So it was apparently some time before the 8th century that “Christianity adapted itself to pagan customs” like these, as long as they didn’t “compromise the essential doctrines of the Church.  (See Asimov, 932-33.)

And speaking of “The Resurrection by El Greco:” That artist’s interpretation of Easter morning – shown above left – was viewed as “odd at the time,” by his contemporaries.  But these days El Greco’s version “stands out as a work ahead of its time.”  The painting itself shows Jesus – the Risen Messiah – “in a blaze of glory … holding the white banner of victory over death.”

Which is – after all – what Easter Sunday is really all about.

Isaac Asimov went on to note that many people – even to this day – still don’t believe in all this.  That is, they believe that “the tale of the resurrection must be put down to legend.”  But Asimov also noted that if the story had ended with the burial of Jesus – standing alone – it was highly likely “that Jesus’ disciples would gradually have forgotten their old teacher.”  In turn, few new disciples would have been recruited to gather in His memory, as they did in the years following His death.  (As described at length in the Acts of the Apostles – Wikipedia.)

In sum (Asimov noted), the history of the world would be “enormously different:”

However, even if we take the rationalist view that there was no resurrection in reality, it cannot be denied that there was one in the belief of the disciples and, eventually, of hundreds of millions of men – and that made all the difference. (E.A.)

(896-97)  The foregoing was from Asimov’s summary of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 27:61-28:3).  (See also Resurrection of Jesus – Wikipedia.)

So Asimov’s point seems to be that even though the “rationalists” among us can’t be persuaded by and through any direct evidence of the Resurrection, they can’t deny the circumstantial evidence.  (That is, the evidence provided by the millions of lives transformed by their own belief.)

And speaking of such Doubting Thomases:  The original, the prototype of such sceptics – as shown in the painting at left (by Schongauer) – is the subject of the Gospel reading for this upcoming Sunday, April 12.  See Second Sunday of Easter and/or John 20:19-31, and also Thomas the Apostle – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Then too there’s the fact that this otherwise-obscure former carpenter from Nazareth literally “split time in half.”  (A feat that hasn’t been done before or since.)

In the days before Jesus, people told time by whatever king held power in their particular time and place.  See Matthew 2:1, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.”  See too Jeremiah 1:2, on the Old Testament prophet “to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.” 

So if it hadn’t been for Jesus, this post would have been published on April 8, but not 2015.  The date would have been “in the days of Barack Obama, president of the United States, in the sixth year of his reign.”  The year I was born would be “in the days of Harry Truman, president of the United States, in the sixth year of his reign.”  And I would have graduated from high school “in the days of Richard Nixon, president of the United States, in the first year of his reign.” (All of which would have been extremely confusing.)

So that simplicity-of-numbering alone may have been worth the price of admission…

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“An Easter postcard depicting the Easter Bunny...”

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The upper image is courtesy of The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen – Art and the Bible.

The “Greco” image is courtesy of The Resurrection by GRECO, El – Web Gallery of Art:

Christ is shown in a blaze of glory, striding through the air and holding the white banner of victory over death.  The soldiers who had been placed at the tomb to guard it scatter convulsively.  Two of them cover their eyes, shielding themselves from the radiance, and two others raise one hand in a gesture of acknowledgement of the supernatural importance of the event…   By excluding any visual reference to the tomb or to landscape, El Greco … articulated its universal significance through the dynamism of nine figures that make up the composition [in] one of the greatest interpretations of the subject in art.

See also Resurrection, 1584-94 by El Greco, and El Greco’s Resurrection: Ahead of its Time:  “El Greco considered spiritual expression to be more important than public opinion and it was in this way that he developed a unique style … as one of the great geniuses of Western art.”

The lower image is courtesy of Easter – Wikipedia.

Re: Isaac Asimov.  The quotes – including the summary of the Gospel of Matthew – are from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One),  Avenel Books (1981), at pages 896-97 and 932-33. 

Asimov (1920-1992) was “an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.  Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.”  His list of books included those on “astronomy, mathematics, the Bible, William Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.”  He was a long-time member of Mensa, “albeit reluctantly;  he described some members of that organization as ‘brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.’”  See Isaac Asimov – Wikipedia.

The “Annunciation…”   (The white lily symbolizes Mary’s purity.)

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Wednesday, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation.

The full title is the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which I discussed back On the readings for December 21.  (And also The original St. Nicholas.)  I did it that way – in that order – as a kind of metaphor.  It’s a good metaphor for how the early Church “figured it backwards.”

It all started with the birth of Jesus.  The early Church Fathers decided first that the celebration would be on December 25. (For reasons explained further below.)  Then they figured backwards, nine months.  Since they said Jesus was born on December 25, He had to have been “conceived” on the previous March 25.  That’s where the Annunciation comes in.

It celebrates “the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation.”  (More on Incarnation below.)   Then it’s not much of a leap to conclude that Conception and Annunciation happened the same day.  “She would conceive” became in effect “she did conceive.”

You can see the full set of Bible readings for the day at The Annunciation.  The readings are:  Isaiah 7:10-14, Psalm 45 (or a portion thereof), Hebrews 10:4-10, and Luke 1:26-38.

But first a word on how December 25 got chosen as the date to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

It started back in the olden days.  Nowadays we know all about the winter solstice, which “marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.”  (In 2014 it was December 22.)  We also know that from that date onward, the days do start getting longer and the nights start getting shorter.

But back in those primitive olden days, “there was never any certainty that the sinking Sun would ever return.”  (As Isaac Asimov noted.)  So about mid-December those old-time people kept worrying that the days would keep getting shorter and  shorter, until there was nothing but eternal night.

But then around December 25 they noted that the cycle had stopped and the days were getting slightly longer.  They always felt great joy and gladness, and  the time when the sun started returning “was the occasion for a great feast in honor of what one might call the ‘birth of the sun.'”  That time of raucous celebration became known as Saturnalia in Roman times.

At the Saturnalia, joy was unrestrained, as befitted a holiday that celebrated a reprieve from death and a return to life…  It was a season of peace and good will to all men… Naturally, the joy easily turned to the extremes of licentiousness and debauchery, and there were, no doubt, many pious people who deplored the uglier aspects of the festival.

Among those “pious people” were the early Church Fathers.  They felt the festival was “a great stumbling block to conversions to Christianity.”  So the early Church “adapted itself to pagan customs” like Saturnalia.  In essence they transmogrified Saturnalia; they said Christians needed only  “to joyfully greet the birth of the Son rather than the Sun.”  (Asimov, emphasis added.)

Note also that the Annunciation pretty much coincides with the “northern vernal equinox:”

An equinox occurs twice a year, around 20 March and 22 September.  The word itself has several related definitions.  The oldest meaning is the day when daytime and night are of approximately equal duration.  The word equinox comes from this definition, derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night).

So the Annunciation is celebrated about the time of the vernal equinox.  (Vernal is from the Latin word for “spring.”  The photo at right is Vernal Sunshine on Azaleas.)  In turn the birth of Jesus is celebrated about the time of the winter solstice.  (The summer solstice is the longest day of the year.)

Which brings up the matter of the Incarnation.  As Wikipedia put it:

The Incarnation … is the belief that [Jesus], “became flesh” by being conceived in the womb of Mary…   [The idea is that the Son of God] took on a human body and nature and became both man and God.  In the Bible its clearest teaching is in John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…”  The Incarnation is commemorated and celebrated each year at Christmas, and also reference can be made to the Feast of the Annunciation; “different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation” are celebrated at Christmas and the Annunciation.

See also Liturgical year – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  Then there’s a book, The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life.  (Which looks to be a pretty interesting read…)

It first noted that technically the liturgical year begins with Advent and goes through next November.  More to the point, the liturgical year “sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus.”  (It’s not just an “arbitrary arrangement of ancient holy days.”)  Instead:

It is an excursion into life from the Christian perspective [and] proposes to help us to year after year immerse ourselves into the sense and substance of the Christian life…   It is an adventure in human growth; it is an exercise in spiritual ripening.

I couldn’t have put it better myself.  On the other hand, you could say that while “technically the liturgical year begins” with Advent, it’s the Annunciation that gets the ball rolling…

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The upper image is courtesy of Annunciation – Wikipedia.  The full caption:  “Annunciation by Paolo de Matteis, 1712.  The white lily in the angel’s hand is symbolic of Mary’s purity  in Marian art.”  De Matteis was an Italian painter (1662-1728), who was  born in Salerno and died in Milan.  While in Rome (1723-25) he “received a commission from Pope Innocent XIII.”

The “winter solstice” – rotating image – is courtesy of the Wikipedia article.  The caption reads:  “Winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere over Asia.” 

See also Solstice and Summer solstice – Wikipedia. 

The lower image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article on the Incarnation, contained within the article on  the Annunciation.  The caption reads:  “The Incarnation illustrated with scenes from the Old Testaments and the Gospels, with the Trinity in the central column, by Fridolin Leiber, 19th century.”

Re: Isaac Asimov.  The quotes about the “dating” of Christmas and the “olden days” are from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One),  Avenel Books (1981), at pages 930-34. 

Just as an aside, Asimov (1920-1992) was “an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.  Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.”  His list of books included those on “astronomy, mathematics, the Bible, William Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.”  He was a long-time member of Mensa, “albeit reluctantly;  he described some members of that organization as ‘brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.’”  See Isaac Asimov – Wikipedia.

The “Vernal Sunshine” is courtesy of bearspawprint.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/blooming/vernal.

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We have two Feast Days coming up.  One is major and one is minor.  But the “minor” festival is the far better-known of the two.  (And celebrated more, usually with lots o’ beer…)

That is, March 19, 2015, is the Feast Day for St. Joseph.  That’s the Major Feast Day coming up, but it’s way overshadowed by St. Patrick’s Day, today, March 17.   I figure there’s some kind of object lesson in all of this, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet.

According to Apostles, Major Saints and Feast Days, St. Joseph is third on the list of important figures who have Feast days.  (He comes in third only to Christ the King and Mary.)  St. Patrick on the other hand didn’t even make that list.  But again, his Feast Day far overshadows that of “St. Joe.”  (Who might be called at least the lesser of the two father figures of Jesus:)

Christian tradition places Joseph as Jesus‘ foster father [but] represents Mary as a widow during the adult ministry of her son.  Joseph is not mentioned [at] the Wedding at Cana at the beginning of Jesus’ mission, nor at the Passion at the end.  If he had been present at the Crucifixion, he would under Jewish custom have been expected to take charge of Jesus’ body, but this role is instead performed by Joseph of Arimathea.  Nor would Jesus have entrusted his mother to the care of John the Apostle if her husband was alive.   (E.A.)

Saint Joseph – Wikipedia, which added that Joseph is venerated as a saint by many, including the Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist faiths.  In some traditions he is the patron saint of workers.  And, with “the growth of Mariology, the theological field of Josephology has also grown and since the 1950s centres for studying it have been formed.”

See also St. Joseph – Saints & Angels – Catholic Online, which added that he is also patron saint of the dying.”  That’s because, “assuming he died before Jesus’ public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.”  And finally, this:

The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” man…   By saying Joseph was “just,” the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.

That’s from St. Joseph, Husband of Mary | Saint of the Day.  (And points the way for all of us.)

The full readings for the Feast Day can be found at St. Joseph.  They are:  2 Samuel 7:4,8-16, Psalm 89 (or portions thereof), Romans 4:13-18, and Luke 2:41-52.

Now about St. Patrick.  We don’t know when he was born, but he is said to have died on March 17, now celebrated as his Feast Day.  In Irish his name would be Padraig.  That’s often shortened to “Paddy,” and is seen as a derogatory term for Irish men.  See Saint Patrick – Wikipedia, and also The Free Dictionary.   That in turn  gave rise to the “Paddy wagon:”

The name came from the New York Draft riots of 1863.  The Irish at the time were the poorest people in the city.  When the draft was implemented it had a provision for wealthier people to buy a waiver.  The Irish rioted, and the term Paddy wagon was coined.

Urban Dictionary: paddy wagon, about the “police vehicle used to transport prisoners.”

But we digress!!!

According to legend, St. Patrick was born in Britain but at 16 was captured by Irish pirates.  He was taken as a slave back to Ireland, and lived there for six years before escaping.   He got back to his family, then studied became a cleric, and in the fullness of time returned to Ireland.

Legend further says Patrick used the native shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity to the Irish.  And finally, legend says Patrick “banished all snakes from Ireland,” though there’s debate whether snakes were there in the first place.  An alternate theory: the “snakes” referred to the “serpent symbolism of the Druids.” (Wikipedia.)

See also St. Patrick | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org:

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission.  In a relatively short time, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe. (E.A.)

See also, How the Irish Saved Civilization.  That book argued that the Irish played a “critical role in preserving Western Civilization from utter destruction by the Huns and the Germanic tribes” after the Roman Empire collapsed.  (Those Germanic tribes included Angles and Saxons and Jutes.  Oh my!)   The book told the story of the “pivotal role” played by members of the Irish clergy in preserving Western civilization, with a “particular focus” on St. Patrick.

Or as Kenneth Clark put it, “In so far as we are the heirs of Greece and Rome” – after the collapse of the Roman Empire about 500 A.D. – “we got through by the skin of our teeth.”  We were saved in large part by a “group of monks huddled off the coast of Ireland.”

(There they were safe from the rampaging Vandals, Huns and other barbarians from the east.)

Now about that celebration.  See How America Invented St. Patrick’s Day | TIME, which began:   “Immigration and nativism transformed a quiet religious celebration into a day of raucous parades and shamrock shakes.”  That transformation began in America.

In Ireland – up until about 1904 – March 17 was a “quiet day with no parades or public events.”

The first recorded public American celebration came in Boston in 1737.  Around 1766, Irish soldiers in the British Army stationed in New York started holding a parade to honor “the Irish saint” that day.  Then came the end of the Civil War and more and more Irish immigrants:

Facing nativist detractors who characterized them as drunken, violent, criminalized, and diseased, Irish-Americans were looking for ways to display their civic pride and the strength of their identity…    Irish-Americans celebrated their Catholicism and patron saint … but they also stressed their patriotic belief in their new home.  In essence, St. Patrick’s Day was a public declaration of a hybrid identity [including] a strict adherence to the values and liberties that the U.S. offered them.

(See also Anti-Irish sentiment – Wikipedia.) By the 1890s, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated not only in cities with large Irish populations; Boston, Chicago, and New York. It was also celebrated in cities like New Orleans, San Francisco, and Savannah. The tradition “grew across the U.S. and became a day that was also celebrated by people with no Irish heritage.  By the 20th century, it was so ubiquitous that St. Patrick’s Day became a marketing bonanza.”  (There’s probably a lesson there too…)

The TIME article ended with this:

The holiday also spread by becoming a means for all Americans to become Irish for the day. The shared sense of being Irish, of wearing green and in some way marking March 17, has resulted in St. Patrick’s Day being observed in a similar fashion to July Fourth or Halloween.  It’s the closest thing in America to National Immigrant Day, a tribute not only to the Irish, but to the idea that Americans are all part “other.” (E.A.)

See also St. Patrick’s Day – Facts, Pictures, Meaning & Videos, and St Patrick’s Day 2015: From London to Uganda – the 10 best Irish pubs outside Ireland.  (An FYI:  the list of best Irish pubs includes The Irish Haven in Brooklyn and Finn McCool’s Irish Pub in New Orleans.)

So Here’s to You, St. Joseph, patron saint of all workers and of the dying.

And Here’s to You, St. Patrick, who – among other things – helped to save Western Civilization from those barbarians, including the Angles and Saxons and Jutes.  (Oh my!)

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See Saint Joseph – Wikipedia, which also noted that the “Pauline epistles make no reference to Jesus’ father; nor does the Gospel of Mark.”  The caption for the painting:  “Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus, Guido Reni (c. 1635).”

The lower image is St. Joseph and the Christ Child, courtesy of El Greco – WikiArt.org.  See also, On art history: El Greco’s Sensibility: A Painting of Saint Joseph:

Saint Joseph and Christ Child [the one by El Greco] is one of the first Western paintings in which Saint Joseph is the principal protagonist.  We see his enormous figure in the first plan, shown as a walker, and as a figure of trust and protection to the Child Jesus, who embraces the waist of His Father.  [He is] presented as a young man with a crook in his right hand, shows his paternal love toward Jesus, and is crowned by the three [angels] in the [upper] part of the painting.  These angels in full movement bear lilies, which symbolize the purity, and laurel and roses, symbols of triumph and love respectively.  Here we see that the agitated postures of the angels contrast the calmness of the group of St. Joseph and the Infant Christ.  Behind them, a view of Toledo is included.

Re:  the “skin of our teeth,” and/or the Irish saving Western civilization.  See  Civilisation (TV series) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and CIVILIZATION by KENNETH CLARK – Culturism.

One final note, the phrase Here’s to You is generally translated, Bottoms Up, “an expression said as a toast when people are drinking together.”  

St. Michael, “reaching out to souls in purgatory…”

 

March 11, 2015  –  Back on August 10th I did a post on St. Michael and All Angels.   It was about an Episcopal church  –  “Saint Michael and All Angels”  –  that Mi Dulce and I passed on the way out of Stone Mountain.  (That’s a park east of Atlanta.)

Which led to a question, “Who the heck is this St. Michael guy?”

There’s more on St. Michael below.  But first let me say that last Sunday, March 8, “we” attended the 11:00 a.m. service at St. Michael Catholic Church on Tybee Island.  (An island on the coast of Georgia east of Savannah.  The Episcopal Church around the corner had a service at 10:00 a.m., but that was actually 9:00 thanks to the time change, so it was way too early…)

The sanctuary itself was nice and cozy, and the Bible readings were the same as those described in The “Big Ten” and Jesus with a whip.  That is, “Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, and John 2:13-22.  For the full readings see the Third Sunday in Lent.”  (The Catholic Church and Episcopal Church share the same Revised Common Lectionary.)

St. Michael’s has been on Tybee since July 5, 1891, as noted in the Morning News:

See St. Michael, under “About Us” and the parish history.  The history noted that the church on the beach cost the then-whopping sum of $2,000 to build.

Now, about Tybee Island.  It’s a small island and a small city east of Savannah, and the easternmost point in the state of Georgia.  Long known as a “quiet getaway for the residents of Savannah,” it has recently become equally popular for other tourists as well:

It is one of the few locations where the U.S. Air Force dropped an atomic bomb – by accident (during a botched 1958 military training exercise).  Though the “Tybee Bomb” did not detonate … there has been ongoing concern, since the Mark 15 nuclear bomb lost during the mishap was never found…  [On a lighter note,] Tybee Island has had an annual Beach Bum parade … down the main road in Tybee, Butler Avenue, and when parade floats come by onlookers have been known to shoot each other with water-guns.

See Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   There’s also The Breakfast Club, a “legendary” way to start a bright Sunday morning, before going to mass at St. Michael’s.  (Just be sure to get there before the line starts forming outside the front door.)

But we digress…

For more about the original St. Michael, see the Book of Revelation at 12:7-10:

[T]here was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.  And prevailed not…   [T]he great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.   And I heard a loud voice saying … the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Note that both the Hebrew and Greek words “Satan” (“Satanas” in Greek) translate as “an adversary,” while the root word for devil is “diabolos,” which is Greek for “slanderer.”

Or see Michael (archangel) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which included this:

Michael ([which translates] “who is like God?” … ) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings.  Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as “Saint Michael the Archangel” and also as “Saint Michael. . .”   In the New Testament Michael leads God’s armies against Satan‘s forces in the Book of Revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan.

Also, St. Michael has a Feast Day – called Michaelmas Day – on September 29.

I’ve included two images of St. Michael.  The one below shows him “trampling Satan.”  The upper image shows him in another of his jobs, “reaching out to souls in purgatory.”  That means he might end up being the archangel who saves my own spiritual butt.

On the other hand, there is that part of the Book of Common Prayer which calls the idea a “Romish doctrine.”  But for myself I say, “Hey, I’ll take all the help I can get!”

 

 

The upper image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article on St. Michael.  The full caption: “Archangel Michael reaching to save souls in purgatory, by Jacopo Vignali, 17th century.”

Dulce is Spanish for “Sweet,” or in the alternative Mi Dulce or “My Sweet.”   (See also the posts On “St. James the Greater”, and On the “Infinite Frog.”)

As to the definitions of Satan and/or the “Slanderer,” see the New International Dictionary of the Bible, Regency Reference Library, 1987, Page 899.

Re:  “shared lectionary.”  Wikipedia noted, “This lectionary was derived from various Protestant lectionaries in current use, which in turn were based on the 1969 Ordo Lectionum Missae, a three-year lectionary produced by the Roman Catholic Church following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.”

The lower image is also courtesy of the Wikipedia article, with the full caption: “Guido Reni‘s painting in Santa Maria della Concezione, Rome, 1636 is also reproduced in mosaic at the St. Michael Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican.”

For more information, see the notes for On “St. Michael and All Angels.”

 

 

“The Wind River … Indian Reservation, Wyoming,” where Father Roberts preached…

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Tuesday, February 24, 2015, is the Feast of St. Matthias, the Apostle who came “after” Judas:

[A]ccording to the Acts of the Apostles, [he] was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and suicide.  His calling as an apostle is unique in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended to heaven, and, it was made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church.

See Saint Matthias – Wikipedia.  Note also that this St. Matthias is not to be confused with St. Matthew, the Gospel-writer whose Feast Day is September 21.

Or for that matter Mattathias, who rebelled against the occupying power before Rome, just before Jesus.  In turn he fathered Judas Maccabeus, the greatest guerrilla in Jewish history.

But we digress…

We were talking about St. Matthias, also known as “Unremarkable Matthias” or the “Overlooked Apostle.”  See Feast | First Things and The Overlooked Holy Apostle, Matthias.

Isaac Asimov gave a pithy description of how this Matthias became an Apostle:

Peter arranged to have a new individual selected to take the place of Judas Iscariot in order to bring the number of the inner circle back to the mystical twelve that matched the twelve tribes of Israel.  Two were nominated, Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias.  To choose between the two, lots were used: Acts 1:26….  and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.   Neither Joseph Barsabbas nor Matthias are mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament.

(Asimov, 998)   The problem is there are few if any images available – pictures or paintings – of St. Matthias.  So to get a lead-in and lower image for this post, I had to check the church calendar.  I found a “trial” Feast – February 25 – for Reverend John Roberts (1853-1949).

There’s more about “Father Roberts” below, but first some points about St. Mattathias.

As noted in St. Matthias – Wikipedia, some scholars think he’s really someone else:

Eusebius calls him … not Matthias but “Tolmai,” not to be confused with Bartholomew (which means Son of Tolmai) who was originally one of the twelve Apostles;  Clement of Alexandria says some identified him with Zacchaeus;  the Clementine Recognitions identify him with Barnabas;  Hilgenfeld thinks he is the same as Nathanael in the Gospel of John.

Another site said Peter and the other apostles studied Old Testament Scripture and “found a prophecy of Judas’ betrayal in Psalms 69 and 109.”  (As I wrote back in October 2014, “It pays to know the psalms!”  See also Jesus and the Psalms – Ligonier Ministries.)    Further, “the prophecy in Psalm 109 included the instruction, ‘let another take his office.’”  See Feast | First Things, which added, “We too, should search the Scriptures [especially the Psalms] to find God’s will…”

The Overlooked Holy Apostle agreed that “Matthias was originally Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus climbed the sycamore tree because he could not see Jesus due to the crowd of people and his short stature (Luke 19:1-10).  He repented of his former life after meeting the Lord.”  This site included a gruesome account of St. Matthias preaching in a city of “man-eaters” – cannibals – and of the trials and tribulations he suffered there.  (See also Zacchaeus – Wikipedia.)

So whether St. Matthias died by being first stoned and then beheaded, or had his eyes gouged out and then “sat for thirty days waiting to be eaten and die,” the point is this:  spreading the Gospel isn’t always a whole lot of fun.  Which brings up a more recent “Gospel spreader” who had a bit more luck, the Reverend John Roberts, “Father Roberts.”

As Wikipedia noted, “John Roberts [1853-1949] is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 25 February.”  See John Roberts (missionary), which noted he was born in “north Wales” but grew up yearning to be a missionary.  His first mission was to the Bahamas, but among people who “were already Christian.”  He wanted “greater challenges, particularly among American Indians,” and was eventually sent to the Diocese of Colorado and Wyoming.  He asked “for missionary work in the diocese’s most difficult field.”

The site John Roberts, Missionary to the Eastern Shoshone, added some interesting footnotes.

For one thing, there was his memorable eight-day trip out to the Wind River Reservation:  “He took the train to Green River and then traveled the last 150 miles by stage.  This journey came in the midst of a blizzard with temperatures nearing 60 degrees below zero.” (E.A.)

Another note addressed Father Roberts’ befriending Chief Washakie of the Shoshone:

The chief’s son, Jim Washakie, was shot and killed in 1885 by a white man in an argument over a liquor purchase.  When Chief Washakie heard of this, he became distraught and vowed to kill every white man he saw until he himself was dead.  When Roberts heard of this, he …  offered his own life instead.  Washakie reconsidered and said, “I do not want your life.  But I want to know what it is that gives you more courage than I have.”  Roberts used the occasion to talk about his personal faith and converted Washakie to Christianity. (E.A.)

Which brings up the work of missionaries in general.  One definition said a missionary is a “member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.”  Certainly the last five “ministries of service” have the potential for much good.  On the other hand there are concerns “that missionaries have a perceived lack of respect for other cultures.”  And there is the “potential destruction of social structure among the converts.”  See Wikipedia.

Other web articles are more blunt, saying missionaries in the past have attacked native spiritual ceremonies as “pagan,” adding that among “uncivilised people,” missionaries are “agents of destruction.”  And some say missionaries have destroyed the “bonds of the people to the forests, land and animals,” and spread ideologies and technologies that make native people “slaves to the extractive system which defines colonialism.”  See e.g. Against Missionaries, A Case Against Missionaries, and/or Do Missions Destroy Culture? | RELEVANT Magazine.

On the other hand, see John Roberts, Priest, 1949 | Commission on Liturgy and Music:

Unlike other missionaries who sought to change the culture and lifestyle of Native peoples … Roberts believed it was important to preserve the language, customs, and culture of the people.  Roberts sought to honor and respect the ancient ways of the Native peoples while at the same time proclaiming the Gospel among them, inviting them to faith, establishing congregations, and serving their needs in the name of Jesus. (E.A.)

In this case – it seems – Father Roberts is one missionary who got it right.  He got to know the people he’d be ministering to, and he “learned their language.”   Here’s to his Feast Day.

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“…never take me away from my Indians”

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The upper image is courtesy of the link, Wind River Indian Reservation, contained within John Roberts (missionary) – Wikipedia.

The lower image is courtesy of The Reverend John Roberts, Missionary to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes.  The caption: “‘I hope you will never take me away from my Indians,’ the Reverend John Roberts told his bishop.”

Re:  “Mattathias.”  This Mattathias – who died in 165 BC – was “a Jewish priest whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Syrian Greeks is related in the Books of the Maccabees.”  See Mattathias, which said he was perhaps best known for fathering Judas Maccabeus, who in turn is best known for being a leader of the Maccabean Revolt.  In that revolt – from 167 to 160 BC – Judas (or Judah) Maccabee “led an army of Jewish dissidents to victory over the Seleucid dynasty in guerrilla warfare.”  See Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which noted that the “Jewish festival of Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple following Judah Maccabee’s victory…”

Re: Isaac Asimov.  The quote is from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One),  Avenel Books (1981), at page 998.  Asimov (1920-1992) was “an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.  Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.”  His list of books included those on “astronomy, mathematics, the Bible, William Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.”  He was a long-time member of Mensa, “albeit reluctantly;  he described some members of that organization as ‘brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.’”  See Isaac Asimov – Wikipedia.

Re:  Father Roberts’ “personal faith.”  In other words he was “singing his song,” not a warmed-over rehash.  (He was not a “carbon copy Christian.”)  See e.g. “Another brick in the wall.”

For more on Father Roberts, see also John Roberts – Satucket.com:

Assigned to minister to the Shoshone and Arapahos on the Wind River Reservation, he set about his work by learning all he could about Native American customs and beliefs, believing that by knowing the people he hoped to minister to he would be more effective.  He also learned the native languages, eventually translating the gospel for his Native American congregates…  His translation of the Gospel of Luke into Arapahoe is online at Project Gutenberg.  Translations of the Lord’s Prayer, Apostles’ Creed, Ten Commandments, etc., into Arapaho and Shoshone are also online.

For another blog-post on Father Roberts, see The Good Heart: The Rev. John Roberts (1853 – 1949).

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Tuesday, February 17, 2015 –  Even as we speak … I am doing advance penance for the upcoming season of penance.  I am folding what seems to be an endless stream of church bulletins, one set for the noon service tomorrow and one set for the service at 6:00 p.m.

Which brings up the whole topic of Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent:

According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan.  Lent originated as a mirroring of this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter.

See Wikipedia.  See also Lent 101 – The Upper Room.  So the “40 days of Lent” are supposed to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus spent “wandering in the wilderness.”  That act by Jesus mirrored the 40 years that the Hebrews – led by Moses – spent also “wandering around.”

In turn, Lent – a season devoted to “prayer, penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial  – is preceded by “Fat Tuesday,” the day before Ash Wednesday.  This year Ash Wednesday is February 18.  That’s preceded by Fat Tuesday, February 17 this year.

The French term for Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, now a generic term for “Let’s Party!!”  As Wikipedia put it, “Popular practices on Mardi Gras include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, debauchery, etc.”

See also A Brief History of Mardi Gras – Photo Essays – TIME, which noted, “Mardi Gras isn’t all nudity and drunken debauchery (though, yes, there is definitely nudity and drunken debauchery).”  (Emphasis in original.)   But the origin of Fat Tuesday was more spiritual:

In earlier times, people used Lent as a time of fasting and repentance.  Since they didn’t want to be tempted by sweets, meat and other distractions in the house, they cleaned out their cabinets.  They used up all the sugar and yeast in sweet breads before the Lent season started, and fixed meals with all the meat available.  It was a great feast!  Through the years Mardi Gras has evolved (in some places) into a pretty wild party with little to do with preparing for the Lenten season of repentance and simplicity.

Lent 101, emphasis added.  Incidentally, there are actually 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.  That’s because Sundays don’t count in the calculation.  Sundays in Lent are essentially “days off,” when you can still enjoy whatever it is that you’ve given up for Lent.  (A fact overlooked by the writer/producers of 40 Days and 40 Nights, a “2002 romantic comedy film” which showed the main character “during a period of abstinence from any sexual contact for the duration of Lent.”  As noted, the main character could have “taken Sundays off.”)

Getting back to the subject at hand…   You can see the full set of Bible readings for tomorrow at Ash Wednesday.  The highlight is the Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6,16-21, where Jesus warned of “practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.”

On the subject of fasting (and abstinence) –  primary components of the Lenten discipline – Jesus said, “Do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting.”  Instead (basically) put on a happy face, “so that your fasting may be seen not by others, but by your Father who is in secret.” (Emphasis added.)

As for almsgiving, Jesus said, “Do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do … so that they may be praised by others.”  Instead, “When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret.”  (Which is where the expression the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing comes from…)

And finally Jesus said this about praying in public (and by extension, school prayer):

Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.  Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret;  and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Are we getting the picture here?  The one thing Jesus kept mentioning over and over was hypocrisy, which includes “the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.”

I wrote about this whole controversy in On praying in public.  I concluded with a variation of the classic Henny Youngman one-liner,  “Take school prayer…  Please!“

 But we digress…

If you’re interested in more history on Ash Wednesday see The History and Meaning of Ash Wednesday.  That site noted the “pouring of ashes on one’s body” as an “outer manifestation of inner repentance” is an ancient practice.  The earliest mention seems to have come at the end of the Book of Job, “older than any other book of the Bible.”  In Job 42:6, after he is rebuked by God, Job says, “I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”  (Not to mention “dressing in sackcloth, a very rough material.”  See also On Job, the not-so-patient.)

And finally see The ‘Splainer: Ash Wednesday and dirty Christian foreheads, about “washing:”

No one is required to keep the ashes on his or her face after the ritual.  But some Christians choose to, perhaps as a reminder to themselves that they are mortal and fallible, while others may choose to leave them on as a witness to their faith in the hope others will ask about them and open a door to sharing their faith.

Here’s wishing you a happy and spiritually-fulfilling Lent!

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Jesus, tempted in the wilderness during His own “40 days…”

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First off, see the article A Brief History of Mardi Gras … TIME, captioned:

Mardi Gras’ reputation as an alcohol-fueled, nudity-filled bacchanal is not completely unearned.  In 1973, a ban was established on Krewe parades in the increasingly rowdy and narrow streets of the French Quarter.  In subsequent years, tourists and other drunken fools descended on the Quarter (especially the particularly saucy Bourbon Street) en masse, and the tradition of showing skin for beads began.  Native New Orleanians despise the reputation, and rarely venture into the Quarter during Carnival season.

Emphasis added, which means “there’s probably some kind of object lesson there…”

The lower image is courtesy of Temptation of Christ – Wikipedia, with the caption, “James Tissot – Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness (Jésus tenté dans le désert) – Brooklyn Museum.”

As to Job being older than any other book in the Bible, see Dating the Book of Job (PDF), which concluded that the book chronicled “events that took place between 1280 and 1270 BC – about 100 years before the Exodus.  As explained in the below excerpt, it is also evident from the text of the book of Job itself that it is older than any other book of the Bible.”

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