{"id":2331,"date":"2022-07-31T10:14:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T17:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=2331"},"modified":"2023-03-31T20:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T03:09:09","slug":"this-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=2331","title":{"rendered":"This Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The days of the week derive their names from gods: \u201cWoden\u2019s day\u201d and \u201cThor\u2019s day\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tuesday, is \u201cmartes\u201d in Spanish, for Mars, the god of war.&nbsp;&nbsp;Friday is \u201cviernes\u201d for Venus, the god of love.&nbsp;&nbsp;The pantheon changes according to the language and the culture, but the practice of respecting each day as sacred is good for the spirit any day of the week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uufkc.org\/post\/this-day\">Click here to watch a video of this sermon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cO we give thanks for this precious day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Every day is precious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You\u2019ve probably heard someone say, \u201cEvery day is a gift.&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s why they call it the present.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Emerson spoke of this in the reading we used for our Call to Worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He looks out his study window at the rose bushes growing outside and says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cThese roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is no comparison in them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Roses don\u2019t worry that they aren\u2019t beautiful enough, or wish they were a different color, or miss the stronger fragrance they had before they started to fade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cthey are for what they are; they exist with God today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Roses, don\u2019t recognize passing time.\u00a0\u00a0They exist through time, of course.\u00a0\u00a0They change as time passes.\u00a0\u00a0But they know nothing of the conscious qualities of remembering the past and imagining the future.\u00a0\u00a0All they experience of existence is the single present moment, and whatever state they find themselves in right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Emerson says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cThere is no time to them.&nbsp;&nbsp;There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Perfect in every moment of existence.&nbsp;&nbsp;O we give thanks for this precious day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Emerson observes that in every moment, the nature of the rose is perfectly matched to that moment.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was different before, but that was then.&nbsp;&nbsp;It will be different tomorrow, but that\u2019s for tomorrow, not for today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For now, the rose, and all existence is exactly what \u201cnow\u201d requires.&nbsp;&nbsp;It can be no other.&nbsp;&nbsp;The fullness of existence happens at every moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cBefore a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more, in the leafless root there is no less.&nbsp;&nbsp;Its nature is satisfied and it satisfies nature in all moments alike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Emerson\u2019s observation is that people experience our existence very differently from the way his roses do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cBut we postpone or remember.&nbsp;&nbsp;We do not live in the present, but with reverted eye lament the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround us, stand on tiptoe to foresee the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So his advice, for our spiritual health, is to live more like the rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cWe cannot be happy or strong until we too live with nature in the present, above time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Many years ago, I read a quote from Emerson that I have always loved and that I offer you for my worship theme today.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can\u2019t find the reference, so I can\u2019t quote it exactly but I\u2019m sure it was from Emerson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Emerson said that we should greet each new day as a god, or a goddess, if you will.&nbsp;&nbsp;That each new day is a divine being.&nbsp;&nbsp;That this divine being unique to the day comes into our lives as we awake each morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;And we have exactly one day with this particular divinity.&nbsp;&nbsp;And then as the day closes, and our eyes close to sleep, we say goodbye to that divinity never to see them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And thus, we should treat each new day with the exact, extravagant respect with which we would welcome a divine personage.&nbsp;&nbsp;We should let no day go by without acknowledgment and honor.&nbsp;&nbsp;We should humble ourselves beneath the gift of the day\u2019s presence.&nbsp;&nbsp;And we should make all the use we can of that day\u2019s particular divine powers, before we forever lose the chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That doesn\u2019t mean that every day has to be spent on our knees in worship.&nbsp;&nbsp;Each day has its own character and is honored in its own way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So it\u2019s perfectly OK to say that today\u2019s god is the god of naps.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or today\u2019s god is the god of sitting on the couch.&nbsp;Or today\u2019s god is the god of working in the garden, or the god of volunteering with my kid\u2019s soccer team.&nbsp;&nbsp;Today might be the god of writing the quarterly report, or the god of debugging the database, or the god of grocery shopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever the content of the day, the day itself is divine.&nbsp;&nbsp;An unrepeatable container for one divine experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even the god of feeling miserable.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or the god of hearing bad news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the day when my life happens.&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cFor all that is our life, we come with thanks and praise.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;Why give over the god of this day in lamenting what we did or didn\u2019t do with yesterday\u2019s god?&nbsp;&nbsp;Why stand on tip toe trying to see tomorrow, when there\u2019s a god already here today surrounding you with riches?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cO we give thanks for this precious day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s a great spiritual lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And we have this awesome reminder to regard each day as a divinity because in fact our days are actually named for gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Greco-Roman, and earlier Mediterranean cultures traditionally followed an eight-day week.\u00a0\u00a0The change to a seven-day week occurred gradually, from between the first and third centuries of the common era, corresponding with the rising influence of Christianity, which inherited the seven-day week from Jewish culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Originally, the seven days were named for the seven celestial objects that visibly move against the background of the stars, each of which was also associated with a particular divinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So we had the Sun\u2019s day<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then the moon\u2019s day.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Spanish Monday is Lunes, related to the word Lunar for the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tuesday is Martes is Spanish, from Mars, the planet, and the God of War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wednesday was named for Mercury or Hermes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wednesday is Mericoles in Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thursday is Jupiter\u2019s day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jove or Zeus is the god.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jueves is the Spanish name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Friday is Viernes in Spanish.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or the day for the goddess of love, Venus.&nbsp;&nbsp;Keep that in mind when you\u2019re planning your next date night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And Saturday is Saturn\u2019s day.\u00a0\u00a0The god of time.  Or Sabado, in Spanish, for the sabbath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In English, some of the Greco-Roman gods are still represented in our names for the days, plus we substituted a few others from the Norse and Germanic deities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So Sunday is still the Sun\u2019s day<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And Monday is still the moon\u2019s day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tuesday is named for the God named Tiw.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s T I W in Old English, or T Y R in Old Norse.\u00a0\u00a0Tyr is the Norse god of war, the same way that Mars is associated with Tuesday, or Martes in Spanish.\u00a0\u00a0Tyr is also the God of justice.\u00a0\u00a0Tyr is a one-handed god.\u00a0\u00a0His lost his right hand when he and other god\u2019s were working to trap a giant wolf that was causing trouble and the wolf bit off his hand.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s a funny story in Norse mythology where Tyr\u2019s brother, Thor (who we will get to in a moment) tells Tyr that he can\u2019t serve as the right-hand of Justice when he doesn\u2019t even have a right hand!\u00a0\u00a0Tyr is associated with man-to-man combat, and also the god of making pledges.\u00a0\u00a0So Tuesday might be a good day to sign a contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wednesday is Woden\u2019s Day.&nbsp;&nbsp;The same god as Odin.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tyr is a son of Wodin.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wodin, like Mercury, who gives us the name of the day in Spanish, is a god of magic and wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thursday is Thor\u2019s day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thor is the god of thunder.&nbsp;&nbsp;Which also relates to Thursday being Jove\u2019s day, who is also the god of thunder, and the guy who throws lightning bolts down to Earth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thor is Tyr\u2019s brother and another son of Wodin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Friday is Frige\u2019s Day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Frige\u2019s is Wodin\u2019s wife.&nbsp;&nbsp;She\u2019s the goddess of marriage, childbirth, the home, the earth, and the harvest.&nbsp;&nbsp;Frige is associated with the planet Venus, called Frige\u2019s star, which matches the Spanish name for Friday, Viernes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course there are many variations in the day\u2019s names from language to language and culture to culture.&nbsp;&nbsp;But it\u2019s surprising how many cultures name the days in the same order and for the same celestial objects.&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s true in the Hindu cosmology, and in Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It has to do with those particular seven celestial objects being visible to the naked eye, and arranged in descending order of brightness.&nbsp;&nbsp;First the sun, then the moon, mars, mercury, Jupiter, venus, lastly, Saturn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In Hebrew the names of the days are simply numbered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yom is the Hebrew word for \u201cday\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yom rishon means first day.&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s Sunday.&nbsp;&nbsp;Monday is second day, \u201cYom Sheni\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;And so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shabbat, though, doesn\u2019t mean seventh day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Shabbat means, \u201crested\u201d or \u201cstopped working\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;Shabbat is simply the name for Saturday.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you wish someone, \u201cShabbat Shalom\u201d all you\u2019re saying is, \u201cHappy Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From Shabbat, we get the English word Sabbath, which is the weekly day of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Originally, Saturday was the Sabbath for Christians, just as for Jews.&nbsp;&nbsp;But when the Romans adopted Christianity they switched the Sabbath day to Sunday so it would coincide with the day that was already the festival day in the Roman religion.&nbsp;&nbsp;Christianity has a long tradition of putting its holidays on top of existing festival days in the indigenous culture.&nbsp;&nbsp;That way you can\u2019t tell whether someone is celebrating the old pagan holiday or the new Christian holiday, and eventually the two assimilate into the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The reason the Seventh Day Adventists worship on Saturday is that they feel it\u2019s important to preserve the original day of rest commanded by God in the Jewish tradition and not follow the bastard Roman practice of worshipping on the day of the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sunday was originally the first day of the week, with Saturday being the seventh day, when God rested after the work of creation.\u00a0\u00a0When Sunday became the Sabbath day, in Christian cultures, they started to call it, \u201cThe Lord\u2019s Day.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In English, we still call it Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0But in Spanish and other languages descended from Latin, Sunday is \u201cDomingo\u201d or the Lord\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And now, officially, according to the international standard for software, Monday is the first day of the week, and Sunday is the seventh day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So gods and goddesses are threaded through our days.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gods of war and justice, and pledges, and wisdom, and magic, and the earth, and love.&nbsp;&nbsp;The god that rested and commands us to rest, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Today is a god, as Emerson reminds us.&nbsp;&nbsp;The day of the sun god, perhaps.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or the Lord\u2019s Day, perhaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And although Sunday will come again next week, this Sunday will never come again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cOh we give thanks, for this precious day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As my time with you comes to a close, I am perhaps especially cognizant of the preciousness of each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We have only this day, to do this day\u2019s work.&nbsp;&nbsp;We have only this day, to spend this moment of our lives together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each morning is an experience of saying \u201chello\u201d to a brand new creation.\u00a0\u00a0A day of possibility.\u00a0\u00a0A day of freshness.\u00a0\u00a0Of becoming.\u00a0\u00a0Each of us is a brand new person each morning.\u00a0\u00a0Say hello to the new you.\u00a0\u00a0And each of your friends and every person you meet throughout the day is brand new that day, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn\u2019t them you met yesterday.&nbsp;&nbsp;That was someone else.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is someone new, today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And each evening is an experience of leave-taking, of saying goodbye, to a day that will never come again.&nbsp;&nbsp;And saying goodbye to that person we were this morning who we have outgrown by the evening.&nbsp;&nbsp;We will never again be the person we are today.&nbsp;&nbsp;And the person we were yesterday, well that\u2019s already yesterday\u2019s news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And every other person we meet throughout the day, a stranger, a loved one, will only be that person for just this day.&nbsp;&nbsp;We will never meet them again.&nbsp;&nbsp;As much as we love them, each day, we must let them go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The days walk in, like divinities.&nbsp;&nbsp;And then they walk out again.&nbsp;&nbsp;They walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Our children will soon outgrow being children.&nbsp;&nbsp;As we age we won\u2019t be the younger selves we used to be.&nbsp;&nbsp;As our loved ones age, we need to love them for who they are today, rather than clinging to the person they were when we first fell in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Julie Means shared a meditation with me last week that eloquently expresses this lesson of our need to get comfortable in life with the ever-leaving quality of existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is by a psychologist and author named Heidi Priebe<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8220;To love someone long-term is to attend a thousand funerals of the people they used to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The people they&#8217;re too exhausted to be any longer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The people they don&#8217;t recognize inside themselves anymore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The people they grew out of, the people they never ended up growing into.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We so badly want the people we love to get their spark back when it burns out; to become speedily found when they are lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But it is not our job to hold anyone accountable to the people they used to be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is our job to travel with them between each version and to honor what emerges along the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes it will be an even more luminescent flame.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes it will be a flicker that disappears and temporarily floods the room with a perfect and necessary darkness.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If each day is a particular divine being, then each day\u2019s version of ourselves is also a particular form of divinity.&nbsp;&nbsp;We are the divine person we need to be today.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe that\u2019s a divinity who is necessarily sad today.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or a goddess nursing a headache.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or a god receiving a challenging diagnosis.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe today\u2019s divinity is bright and energetic, or creative and calm, or strong, or fired up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe today\u2019s divine person is thoughtful, or quiet, or removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We can be no other person than the person we are.&nbsp;&nbsp;Today.&nbsp;&nbsp;A person of inherent worth and dignity.&nbsp;&nbsp;Like the rose, whether bud, or flower, or leaf-less bare root,&nbsp;\u201cperfect in every moment of its existence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And tomorrow we and our world will be a new divine creation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Welcome the divinity of the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let it walk among you.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let it bless you with whatever gifts it has to give.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pay it notice, and honor.&nbsp;&nbsp;Give thanks, for this precious day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And when the day is done.&nbsp;&nbsp;Send it off with farewell.&nbsp;&nbsp;Say goodbye \u2013 God be with you.&nbsp;&nbsp;And let it go.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let it go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The days of the week derive their names from gods: \u201cWoden\u2019s day\u201d and \u201cThor\u2019s day\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tuesday, is \u201cmartes\u201d in Spanish, for&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=2331\">Read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">This Day<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","category-writing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2331"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2331\/revisions\/2704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}