Mark 15:38 Symbols are very powerful things. A flag draped casket. The picture of a soldier greeting their child with open arms. The Twin Towers in flames. A wedding ring. The title “Married.” A red cross. The Washington Monument. The Eiffel Tower. The Great Wall of China. The Statue of Liberty. The Berlin Wall.Continue reading “Open for Business”
Tag Archives: Mark
Volunteer
Mark 15:37 We hear about people who volunteer for suicide missions, most of them Muslim. It seems to be in the news almost daily. Just for the record, there have been over 24,600 deadly attacks since 9/11 carried out by followers of Islam. Not all of them involved suicide, but many of them did.Continue reading “Volunteer”
Mistaken Words
Mark 15:33-36 Not understanding, or perhaps misunderstanding what someone says can lead to all sorts of wrong conclusions. Wars have been waged over words. Duels have been performed. Divorces have happened. Brawls have started. Riots instigated. Let’s just say that bad things can happen over words spoken. Jesus has been on the crossContinue reading “Mistaken Words”
Final Moments
Mark 15:33-41 One of the mysteries that some people try to explore is the period of time right before and after death. They get fascinated with stories of people who die and then are revived somehow. They love to hear about the “white light” and any other information that for them takes the mysteryContinue reading “Final Moments”
Insult Pile
Mark 15:27-32 It can be hard to stop a train wreck. The inertia of the train, the sheer weight of the cars moving in one direction, means that they will continue moving in that direction until all the energy has been used up or absorbed. That is why when you look at pictures ofContinue reading “Insult Pile”
Written Charges
Mark 15:25-26 Murder. Terrorism. Genocide. Chemical weapons attack. Conspiracy. Assassination. Serial rapist. Child molester. Bubblegum thief. Jay walking. The charges leveled against people over the years are almost endless. Charges against someone in a court of law shape a person’s future. Some crimes deserve death. Some don’t. And as we have seen inContinue reading “Written Charges”
Mundane Tasks
Mark 15:22-24 It was just another day at work. Nothing unusual, nothing special. Life is made up of many days like this. Not much going on, and not much different from the day before. Take a moment and think about the most exciting job you can imagine. What tasks would have to be doneContinue reading “Mundane Tasks”
Why Me?
Mark 15:21 Have you ever been given a task that you just wish someone else would have been given, anyone else! Soldiers when they get deployed to a band new outpost must deal with their own toilet facilities. To get rid of solids they often use a barrel. Someone gets the duty of tendingContinue reading “Why Me?”
Divergent Convergence
Mark 15:21-32 Oil and water. They normally don’t mix. But some years ago scientists figured out some ways to make it happen. If you have milk in your house, chances are it is homogenized. The fat parts of the milk have been so broken up by passing through small holes that it stays separated.Continue reading “Divergent Convergence”
Cleanup
Mark 15:17-20 The world gets messy sometimes. This includes our lives. Sometimes we are the ones who have made the mess. Sometimes the mess gets made by someone else but we end up at the bottom of their mess. Either way, someone has to clean it up. My children have trained their childrenContinue reading “Cleanup”
The Arnold Journey 