I ran across this fascinating article this morning about ships that were stranded in the Suez Canal upon the start of the 6-Day War between Israel and Egypt in 1967. The ships remained stranded for eight years. What happened to the crew? the cargo? the ships? Enjoy the read.
The expression is attributed to Aristotle who articulated a belief that nature contains no vacuums because at the mere existence of a vacuum, the denser surrounding material continuum would immediately fill the void. He also argued against the void in a more abstract sense that by definition a void, itself, is nothing, and following Plato, nothing cannot rightly be said to exist. The idea was restated as “Natura abhorret vacuum” by François Rabelais (d. 1553), a French humanist and physician mainly remembered for his bawdy songs and poetry. The strictest criterion to define a vacuum is a region of space and time where all the components of the stress–energy tensor are zero. This means that this region is devoid of energy and momentum, and by consequence, it must be empty of particles and other physical fields (such as electromagnetism) that contain energy and momentum. But what does that have to do with today’s readings? Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Cycle B of the Lectionary. It is a familiar story as Jesus encounters a rich young man who asks what must he do to inherit eternal life. He doesn’t like Jesus’ answer and goes away sad. Peter hears this and “…began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and (the) last will be first.” (Mark 10:28-31) Continue reading
I have to admit I am not a fan of politics, politicians, and the milieu they create. I am reminded of the famous quote from Obi Wan-Kenobi: “Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.” Ok, that might be a bit over the top, but it is a great quote … and if you don’t know who Obi Wan-Kenobi is … well, I can’t help you. Continue reading
This morning’s email brought the news that the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the first vaccination for malaria. The vaccine, called Mosquirix, is not just a first for malaria — it is the first developed for any parasitic disease. Parasites are much more complex than viruses or bacteria, and the quest for a malaria vaccine has been underway for a hundred years. In this age of the covid-19 pandemic we are used to hearing vaccine efficacy of 95% plus. The malaria vaccine’s efficacy is only about 50% across all malaria pathogens, but that is a start. The vaccine targets plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of five malaria pathogens and the most prevalent in Africa. Continue reading
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” (Mark 10:23-27)
Before we address the question of wealth, the larger question is really “Who can be saved?” Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Cycle B of the Lectionary. It is a familiar story as Jesus is asked by a rich young man. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?…Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Mark 10:17, 21-22) Continue reading
The first readings so far this week have been from the Book of Jonah. Earlier this year I posted a series of 14 or so blogs, a kind of mini-commentary on the Book of Jonah. You can see the groups of posts here, with the beginning post at the bottom of the stack. But if you would rather see an overview of the Book of Jonah, our good friends at The Bible Project have this great video on Jonah. As always, I encourage you to support the not-for-profit work of The Bible Project.
There is a natural rivalry between the sea-going branches of the service – Navy and Coast Guard. The boasting of the “deep blue sailors” over the “puddle pirates” who patrol lakes. It is mostly good-natured. But as a submariner who was always able to avoid the storms at sea by going under them to the safety of the deep, there is no way I would want to be on one of the Great Lakes in a storm. There are some 1,500 shipwrecks in Lake Michigan alone. Those waters can be powerful and strike the fear-of-God into any sailor. A friend of mine served in the Coast Guard and his tales of South Florida drug interdiction are the stuff of action-hero movies.
So, as a homage to the brave men and women of the Coast Guard – BZ and for everyone, enjoy this clip from the movie, The Guardian. The commanding officer’s speech is over the top, but on target! Enjoy
This coming Sunday is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Cycle B of the Lectionary. It is a familiar story as Jesus is asked. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:17)
In the Hebrew Scriptures only God is called “good,” although it was permissible to speak of “the good man” (e.g. Proverbs 12:2 etc.) as a characteristic derived from one’s fidelity to God. But the expression “Good teacher” has no parallel in Scripture or Jewish sources. One can only take it as a true expression of the man’s estimation of Jesus as someone close to God who would teach with wisdom. Continue reading
