On fruit

A gem from church yesterday, explicating Luke 6:44:

"If you go plant mango, you no fit get plantain."

It's a coup

VeggieTales is taking over my brain.

I'm not sure how this is possible, but it appears that both the
Cheeseburger Song and the Belly Button Song are stuck in my head
at the same time.

And when I was trying to think of songs to oust them from that
position, what came to mind? "I thank God for my food/ For the
sun in the sky..."

You know what's really scary? I haven't heard or seen two out of
the above three songs in over two years, except for the
recordings in my head.

To borrow my fiance's jargon: This must be the newest form of
neocolonial cultural hegemony.

Signs

The story of the Roman centurion (end of John 4) has always
puzzled me. He begs Jesus to come and heal his dying son, and
Jesus responds, "Must I do miraculous signs and wonders before
you people will believe in me?"

This has always seemed like, well, the wrong thing to say to a
distraught father. It also seems unwarranted, given the
circumstances we know: the centurion certainly doesn't seem like
a thrill seeker or a skeptic intent on testing Jesus' claims. He
just wants his little boy to get better. Obviously the fault is
in my understanding, not in Jesus' words... but knowing the
gospel of John, the incongruity is quite intentional and meant to
draw our attention to something.

I still don't quite understand why Jesus says it in the first
place... but something occurred to me as I read it recently.
It's not a rhetorical question. The answer's right there in the
passage. In fact, the passage IS the answer to the question.

The answer is no. No, Jesus doesn't have to do miraculous signs
and wonders for the centurion to believe in him. The centurion
already does, before his son is healed. He doesn't have to
answer Jesus' question (does he even hear it?). He simply
pleads, "Lord, please come now before my little boy dies." Jesus
doesn't come. He instructs the centurion to go home, and assures
him that his son will live. Without question, the centurion
heads back. This is when we learn that he's already travelled at
least a day's journey to find Jesus.

No, the centurion answers by his actions, I believe in you
already. You are the last hope for my little boy. I don't need
proof. But I do need help.

Faith seeking understanding: I don't need proof, but I do need
help.

Laugh... or cry?

This is what happens when I try to think about more than one
thing at once, as, making popcorn, rinsing dishes, running a
wringer washer, boiling water for said wringer washer, and making
twelve cups of tea. I give myself a second-degree burn, drown
the gas flame, cover the kitchen floor in water, and laugh
nonsensically at what wasn't intended to be funny.

I am finding the thought of me as the matron of a household
rather ludicrous at the moment.

Good appetite!

After being in Cameroon, I am much more accomplished at eating
fine.

At eating Food: Identification Not Established, that is.

Unidentified cuts of meat from an unidentified species. Yum,
chewy! Unidentified crunchy black specks in the pasta. Protein!
Unidentified dark streaks among the bits of cabbage. Well...
tastes good, so whatever it is must be harmless (that, and the
amount of pepe in there would kill just about anything). About
the only thing we don't do is unidentified beverages. (Amebas!
Giardia! Fun fun!)

The only problem is when fine turns into fi(shbo)ne.

Wistful

"We meet so seldom, yet we surely part
So often; there's a problem for your art!"

~C. R.

Observation

I just have to make this comment.

My fiance looks... really, really good... in a sarawol and
hufneere.*

I wish I could post a picture.

*These are the Fulfulde names for the Hausa-style robe and cap
that have become popular in Cameroon... talk about
intercultural...

Should I be frightened?

"The isle of Catan..." Jim intoned. The game board lay pristine
on the table before the four of us.

"Soon to be fought over by arrant colonialists," I added
whimsically. At which everyone looked up and pronounced how much
I sounded like my beloved (slightly cynical) grad school
historian.

They say that after fifty years of marriage, you start to look
and sound like your spouse. But what if both of you start off as
inveterate (and mostly involuntary) mimics?

Mighty thro' the dishpan are we

[Disclaimer: Those few who are fans of Tennyson's 'Idylls of the
King' will laugh with me... but be forewarned that if you haven't
read it, you probably won't find this very funny. Yes, we're
nerds... but hey, what better to do while you tackle Mt.
Dishmore?]

Select excerpts from the hit Broadway musical,
'Gareth and Lynette'
(courtesy of J. R. Harrington)

"You stink,
You stink,
You stinky kitchen-knave..."

"Mighty thro' the meats am I,
Mighty thro' the meats,
Mighty thro' the meats am I,
Mighty thro' the meats, hey!

[deep bass voice] And thro' the brewis..."

"It's more important to be beautiful
On the inside than the out,
You see, some men are stinky,
And some men are quite stout...

So take your spit-fork in your hand
And hold your head up high
Kitchen-knaves, through and through
So sing this song of mine..."

I especially liked the part where Gareth dances around with the
spatula.

Another note about Epiphany

(This guest author prefers to be known as Nat Whilk Clerk.)

Magi from the East: Zoroastrian priests. Devout monotheists, or
at least henotheists (the belief in one supreme God from which
all other gods flow). Heavily influenced by contact with the
large and influential Jewish population of the Persian empire.
Here are the first fruits of the Gentiles, the symbols of
Israel's work to prepare the nations to receive the Gospel. They
are also the redemption of the Exile: the fruit of God forcing
his people to do what he had always intended them to do: be a
light among the nations.

Epiphany

Epiphany: not only pictures of camels and ornate boxes of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. Think about this: it's the revelation
of the glory of God to the Gentiles for the first time.

May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face shine with favor upon us.
May your ways be known throughout the earth,
Your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
How glad the nations will be, singing for joy,
Because you govern them with justice
And direct the actions of the whole world.
May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Then the earth will yield its harvests,
And God, our God, will richly bless us.
Yes, God will bless us,
And people all over the world will fear him.

The day before Epiphany

Ok, this is completely facetious (that, and I'm running out of
posts...), but since camels are a big part of Christmas imagery
(even if they properly belong on Jan. 6, not Jan. 5)... and since
Rachel recited this last night and did a great job!!...

A Camel's Complaint

Charles E. Carryl

Canary birds feed on sugar and seed,
Parrots have crackers to crunch,
And as for the poodles, they tell me the noodles
Have chicken and cream for their lunch.

But there's never a question
About my digestion;
ANYTHING does for me.

Cats, you're aware, can repose in a chair,
Chickens can roost upon rails;
Puppies are able to sleep in a stable,
And oysters can slumber in pails.

But no one supposes
A poor camel dozes;
ANY PLACE does for me.

Lambs are enclosed where it's never exposed,
Coops are constructed for hens;
Kittens are treated to houses well heated,
And pigs are protected by pens.

But a camel comes handy
Wherever it's sandy.
ANYWHERE does for me.

People would laugh if you rode a giraffe,
Or mounted the back of an ox;
It's nobody's habit to ride on a rabbit,
Or try to bestraddle a fox.

But as for a camel, he's
Ridden by families;
ANY LOAD does for me.

A snake is as round as a hole in the ground,
Weasels are wavy and sleek;
And no alligator could ever be straighter
Than lizards that live in a creek.

But a camel's all lumpy
And bumpy and humpy;
ANY SHAPE does for me.

Merry twelfth day of Christmas!!

Stories

This year, I've been on the lookout for classic Christmas short
stories... you know, the kind you can read over and over again,
every year, and glean more each time. This is the beginning of
my list, some of my all-time favourites... if you have some to
add, please comment!

George MacDonald, "The Gifts of the Child Christ"

O. Henry, "The Gifts of the Magi"

Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"

Charles Dickens, "The Cricket on the Hearth"

Merry ninth day of Christmas!

Christmas carols

I realised during Advent this year that one of the things I miss
most about being in the States for Christmas is the Christmas
music. Choir cantatas... the Festival of Lessons and Carols...
impromptu instrumental ensembles with Sunnyside folk...
handbells... Silent Night in a candlelit nave accompanied by a
sole guitar... and especially Christmas caroling.

So it was an incredible gift this year to be in on the beginning
of what will hopefully be a tradition of vernacular Oroko
Christmas carols. These are the first two, from Luke 2:11 and
2:14, respectively. My heart is glad!

Yoboni e, Mosungeli ajabele,
O mboka ja Dabiti,
Yoboni e, Mosungeli ajabele,
O mboka ja Dabiti.
Dina ile Sango Yesu wa Abosobi
Dina ile Sango Yesu,
Dina ile Sango Yesu wa Abosobi,
Dina ile Yesu.

[Today, oh, a Saviour is born,
In the village of David,
Today, oh, a Saviour is born,
In the village of David.
His name is Lord Jesus, the Chosen One,
His name is Lord Jesus,
His name is Lord Jesus, the Chosen One,
His name is Jesus.]

Elube ebe na Obase,
Na Obase wa Ona,
Mosango mobe ose,
Na bato ba Obase abokanake nenyo.

[May glory be to God,
To God who is high,
May peace be below,
To people with whom God is happy.]

Merry tenth day of Christmas!

"Espoused to a man whose name was Joseph"

Reading the Christmas story from the perspective of an engaged
couple has been rather illuminating. We hope this will be the
only Christmas we spend as an engaged couple... but as it is, it
is precious.

The greater the gift God is giving, the more likely it is to look
like an utterly ruined life. Father, help us to see your gifts
for what they are, and to accept them wholeheartedly. Make us
large enough to receive and not wither.

Merry eleventh day of Christmas!

Acclimation

For those of you who are shivering in Fresno tule fog, and those
of you who are enjoying, or not enjoying, actual snow in other
places... here are some warm thoughts. :-)

I've figured out why it is that I now find Southern California
such a cold place.

It's not because Africa is so terribly hot. It actually doesn't
get much above 95 F here (though the humidity rarely gets below
60 percent either, and I'm not sure what that does to the heat
index).

The real issue is that it's the same temperature everywhere. No
air conditioning, no hermetically sealed spaces, only shade from
direct sunlight. We basically live in the outside air (with
screens to keep out the bugs). Room temperature, the normal,
comfortable one, is about 85 F... at 95 F we perspire freely...
when it gets down to 75 F, Rachel's teeth begin to chatter.

No wonder that just when I start to get comfortable back in So
Cal, someone turns on the air conditioner. Brrrrr.

Do you think it helps that we have myriad paper snowflakes
hanging from the ceiling?...

Merry eighth day of Christmas!