Daily Archives: June 19, 2024

Ten Dollars

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An old farmer and his wife always went to the county fair. And, every year they saw the same pilot offering to take people up for a spin in his airplane for $10.00 a ride. Every year, the old farmer asked his wife to give him $10.00 so he could go up. Every year, the wife responded by getting very mad at him and saying that ten dollars was ten dollars and they couldn’t afford to be so frivolous with what little money they had. He told her that he was now 80 years old and if he didn’t go up this year, he never would. In a very angry voice, she repeated that ten dollars was ten dollars. At this point they got into an argument about it. Continue reading →

Righteous Deeds

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I have always wondered about the practice of nonprofit fundraising and especially large capital campaigns that offer naming opportunities to attract seven-, eight-, and nine-figure donations from high-net-worth individuals. As far back as the first century CE, Roman general Marcus Agrippa had his name inscribed on the Pantheon temple. The practice continues today as expressions of civic responsibility, prestige, and power. Continue reading →

Divine Power over the Seas

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This coming Sunday is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We are people who live in a time when transoceanic sailing is routine, but for the people of Old Testament times, the seas, deep oceans, and their creatures held a mix of practical, symbolic, and theological significance. To the OT mind the sea is the place of chaotic power, the habitation of sea monsters, and the place from whence comes evil. Given that perspective, there are three primary OT motifs which arise, not only in Scripture, but also in the text of other Ancient Near East cultures:

  • The ability to control the sea and subdue storms is a sign of divine power
  • The image of the storm was a metaphor for evil forces active in the world and especially for the tribulations of just people from which only the power of God can save
  • The religious person should always trust in God even in the midst of the most terrible storm

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