November 27, 2005
Time for bed...
I actually made a genuinely funny joke tonight. (Usually I think of the funny remark the next day.) Charlene and I were talking about St Martin de Porres, OP, whose statue we had noticed after Lessons and Carols tonight. Charlene said, "He was 'Blessed' when I was young. But once they get to Blessed they almost always become Saints." And I replied, "It's the Peter Principle."
Posted by John Weidner at November 27, 2005 09:43 PMYou're right - that's genuinely funny. Witty AND funny. Good for you! Don't forget that The Man himself wrought Thou art Peter (pietra) and upon this rock (pietro) I will build my church. You're in good company.
Posted by: j.anne at November 28, 2005 07:22 AMI've heard it said that Jesus didn't display a sense of humor, but I'd tend to disagree. I've always suspected that the Parable of the Talents was received with a smile, because a Talent was a huge sum of money--maybe comparable to several million dollars today...
Posted by: John Weidner at November 28, 2005 09:48 AMMy mother used to provide many examples of his sense of humor. I should have paid more attention! I don't know the Parable of the Talents, though. What's the story?
Posted by: j.anne at November 29, 2005 07:22 AMMatthew 25?
A man is going away and leaves 10 Talents with one servant, 5 with another, and 1 with another. The first two invest their money, and when the master returns are able to give him back double the amount. The third is afraid, and buries his Talent, and when the master returns he is turned away as an unworthy servant.
The analogy is to God, expecting us to use whatever gifts he has given us. and not waste them. And our English word "talent," meaning skills or abilities, derives from the parable...
Posted by: John Weidner at November 29, 2005 05:02 PMWouldn't it be funnier if you spelled "principle" right?
Posted by: ah at December 1, 2005 04:16 PMOoops. I'll correct it...
Posted by: John Weidner at December 1, 2005 06:38 PM
