Hopewit

  ACTS 9: Paul Becoming ... some thoughts It’s hard to pick a single theme to pin to the story of Paul’s (Saul’s) conversion in Acts 9. That a zealous informer, agitator against people of “The Way” should become their most ardent advocate seems core, however. Conversions of people from the “wide road” to the “narrow” are common; the dramatic appearance of Jesus in a blazing light, the blindness, the three days of fasting and the recovery of strength are not common, at least not in my experience. Luke’s narrative seems necessary to establish Paul’s legitimacy as an apostle. Ananias’ first response when the Lord orders him to minister to the fasting Saul is skepticism; he’s aware of the man’s reputation of cruelty toward Christians; the knowledge of Saul’s treachery would have been common knowledge in the small circle of The Way. The story can serve as a study in conversion. A zealous anti-Christian has a born-again experience and exits as a zealous Christian … i.e. the ...

  All the talk of Joe Biden’s unfitness for the position of president of the USA must have others of his age—80 plus—wondering about their own fitness. Most of us octogenarians are well aware of our physical limitations, I think, but mentally? How can I know, for instance, if the lines I’m writing are logically sound, or if they fall somewhere between inane and gibberish? How can I know if my diminished capacity can be trusted to make such a judgment? And what if my friends are too kind to tell me when to close my laptop? Hearing an aging loved one tell the same stories to the same people every day has the able-minded nodding knowingly and cluckingly (that’s a word, isn’t it?). We’re obviously too kind and too hip not to know that people experiencing obvious dementia deserve to be “handled with care,” and we’ve devised places and strategies to preserve for them whatever dignity is still possible. But it’s not dissimilar from the pain-relieving, ointment applying, chair-exercisin...