Baltimore Bridge Collapse – Who Pays?

Posted on by
Reply

For those interested in keeping up with the maritime story behind Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse, Sal Mercogliano – maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner – provides an update on MV Dali and discusses the insurance ramifications of the accident.  You can watch the full video or just the segments you are interested in.

00:00 Update on MV Dali and Key Bridge
03:36 Review of Power Outage on Dali 
07:15 Dali Sitting on Gas Lines
10:18 Insurance Implications
19:08 $3.1 Billion in Insurance!

The Easter Praise of Christ

Posted on by
Reply

“We should understand, beloved, that the paschal mystery is one once old and new, transitory and eternal, corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortal. In terms of the Law is it old, in terms of the Word it is new. In its figure it is passing, in its grace it is eternal. It is corruptible in the sacrifice of the lamb, incorruptible in the eternal life of the Lord, It is mortal in his burial in the earth, immortal in his resurrection from the dead.

Easter Homily by St. Melito of Sardis

What had been a full day

Posted on by
Reply

This coming weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle B. In the Johannine narrative our gospel occurs on what has been a full day: “On the evening of that first day of the week.”  It was only that morning that Mary Magdalene had visited the tomb and confessed, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him” (20:2) – ironically echoing one the decisive misunderstanding of Jesus’ ministry: from where did Jesus come and where is he going (e.g. 7:33-36, 8:21-23).  Mary became the first disciple of the good news of the empty tomb conveying the word to Peter and “the one whom Jesus loved.” Slowly the implications of the empty tomb and the burial linens come to the disciples and they begin to understand – each in differing ways and to varying degrees. The disciple whom Jesus loved “saw and believed” (20:8), however “they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (v.9). Continue reading →

Act 4

Posted on by
1

There are lots of ways to tell a story. Just start at the beginning and move ahead to the end. That’s one way. One you see used a lot in television is to show a scene where the protagonist is in mortal peril with the outcome uncertain. For example, the scene opens, Jesus is standing before Pontius Pilate and the crowds are shouting “crucify him, crucify him”, then Pilate washes his hands, and the screen fades to black with the on-screen title, “Five Days Earlier.” There are lots of ways to tell a story. Continue reading →

Easter Sunday According to John

Posted on by
Reply

Up until now, I had never written a commentary on the gospel for Easter Sunday. Perhaps it was left undone by all the activities leading up to Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Holy Week, and Easter itself. But now it is done. This Easter Sunday the gospel reading is taken from John and describes the scene at the empty tomb:

1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 3 So, Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. (John 20:1-9) Continue reading →

Being Hopeful

Posted on by
Reply

There are no Scripture passages that describe Holy Saturday. There are no accounts of disciples huddled in the Upper Room wondering how the life of Jesus came to an end on Calvary. There are no stories of what the disciples were thinking… or not thinking. Their world had been torn asunder. But were they hopeful? Were they well grounded in the meaning of the word “hope“? Are we?

Image credit: Pexels

Gallicantu

Posted on by
1

There have been many a Good Friday in the course of my life. I have heard the Passion narrative. I led the Passion narrative during Good Friday liturgies. Over the many years of Bible study I have covered the Passion narrative more than a few times. And now thru the gift of my friends Jerry and Maureen, I experienced Good Friday in a way not to ever be forgotten. Continue reading →

The Long Way

Posted on by
1

A few years ago, William J. O’Malley wrote about “taking the long way home.” It was a wonderful “musing” on the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz.” We were reminded about the archetypal scene when Dorothy’s house lands on the Wicked Witch and then Glinda, the good witch, shows up and magically transfers the ruby slippers to Dorothy. As the ending of the movie makes clear, all Dorothy had to do was click her heels and proclaim, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” Why didn’t Glinda tell Dorothy that at the very beginning? Continue reading →