"Don't wish me happiness I don't expect to be happy all the time....It's gotten beyond that somehow. Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor. I will need them all." Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Wednesday 21 August 2019

Bethel United Church part 2


On what I thought was the last visit to Bethel United Church to view a discrepancy between my tapestry cartoon and the weaving in my mind I saw lilies that were not yet blooming across the road from the historical church located amongst the fields. So I returned mid summer to sketch their blooms. In the botanical book, " Wild Flowers of the Pacific Northwest Lewis Clark had this to say about the tiger lily (Lilium Columbianum) "Lily has become one of the best known of plant names. And that name is very familiar from the superb translation of the authorized version of King James: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:28,29 Yet the derivation of lily is obscure. Professor George Black has been kind enough to compare the above passage, both in original Greek, and in the Latin translations. He points out: Letter for letter transcription of the Greek words there used for 'the lilies' is ta krona. However for lily early Greek had also leirion which is considered cognate with Latin lilium - whence comes the English lily." This tiger lily is not Columbianum as the leaves are alternate and not in whorls of 6-9 leaves. So the mystery of what it is and how it got here remains.  Sadly, the lesson of God's love designed to comfort us is bypassed in this botanical literature. The scripture says in NIV, "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

Sent from my iPhone

7 comments:

  1. Love the passage about the lilies!

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  2. "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

    Amen!

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  3. Thank you, Rhonda, for sharing your drawing of the lovely lilies!

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  4. Your sketch of the lilies is charming and I have a special interest in gardening with plants mentioned in the Bible. In fact, I am writing a book on that.

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  5. Your sketch is so beautiful and really does them justice!

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  6. I have a bed of those orange tiger lilies. An elderly woman brought a huge pot of them, dug from her yard, to the farmer's market and asked if anyone wanted them. They've spread over the years, and many of them are doubles, which are just stunning! Thanks for sharing.

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