w YODER NEWSLETTER - Yoder Family Information

over tne Devil , wno is see,,
tne air in defeat. rris long
af-uer. This time his wings
flyir.g away through
wavy tail followirg
are outstretched.
(8) "How bad weather die8-.clryed the building
of brrose who worked o,. St. Joder's Day"
The building sho$rn is not mucn higher
tllan the melr who are working on it. One is lying
prorre in front of xne doorway, while anotner
nolds ni-s nands to nis head. He and tne man wo!.king
at tne slde of the building look Lrp in what
must be astonishmenr at the wonderfullv large
hailstones (Or is it heavy snowfall?) ttrat fiave
taken them by surprise. Apparently the painter
wanted to instruct us on proper reverence for a
great bishop.
The o1d church calendars show the feast dav
for St. Joder to be August 16, the day believ6d
to be the time of hls death. (You can greet your
kin on that day with "Happy St. Joder's Day:" or
perhaps for us simply "Happy Yoder's Day!").
It is appropriate at this point to mention
that St. Joder was also cal1ed upon as a Dowerful
protector against bad weathei. According to
some documents of 14pl, people sang at a service
the following Antiphon after the Magnificat in
their mass:
"Oh glorious pontifex, worker with your
devotions, save us from hailstones fron cold
and frost--that you may be eternally praised
by the productiveness of our fruits."
Associated with reference to weather was also
another picture handed down during the Middle
Ages (but not hanging in the ctrapet). St. Joder
was shown kneeling in the foreground blessing the
grape vines. In the background was a church in
front of which a sexton wringing his hands in the
midst of an excited throng. He was to have rung
the bel1 in warning of an approaching storm but-he
could not do this, for the Devil had possession of
it and was shown grinning maliciously-behind St.
Joder. This picture seems to have been more intent
on telling a story than teaching a lesson.
(9) "How a priest who threw away a picture of St.
Joder saw his hands dry up"
The partial image of St. Joder, with a staff
but no mandorla at his head, lies in a doorway. The
priest, with three others behind him, looks at his
own outstretched hands. This is again a reminder
that St. Joder was to be held in reverence and there
could be dire consequences for those who did not.
A11 this lore ab6ut St. Theodore, bishop of Sion,
il-lustrates a number of thinEs about Christianitv in
the Middle Ages. We feel we have quite outgrown the
need or use of magic and supersti.ti_on to guide and
(continued next column)
6.
encourage us in our daily li-ves or to foster our
proper respect for good people. However we think
we have our own ways to determi-ne who are the good
and worthy persons, and we sti11 want to appreciate
rnd no