My Silver Star

I am the recipient of a silver star. Not just a plain star, but one with a word on the back. On Epiphany Sunday the minister placed silver stars on the floor in the front of the church-- small ones for adults and large stars for children.

" You'll find a word on the back of each star. Don't peek under a number of stars to find the one -- just pick a star. Place the star where you'll see it throughout the year. Mediate on the word, look it up, see where it appears in scripture, see how it applies to you."

" God willing next year we will share some of what we learned during the year."

So I walked to the front of the church-- behind the others who were marching to the stars. When I arrived back at my seat I turned the star over to read my word-- release.

The star is on my computer table--silver side up, word down. Maybe that's not the best way. Maybe one week up and one week down.

My Roget's Thesaurus lists twenty-five different possible meanings for release and each of these probably has twenty to forty words. Imagine a riff on all the words under acquittal as one meaning of release.

Disculpate:

v. t. 1. To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exculpate.
[imp. & p. p. Disculpated; p. pr. & vb. n. Disculpating.]

I almost fear you think I begged it, but I can disculpate myself.
-- Walpole.

A related word is absolution.

And to exculpate means to clear from a charge of guilt, free from blame, vindicate.

All that from the word release. It's hard to think that the word choice was arbitrary. I wonder if I was one pew back?