pinion
2B • FEB. 16, 2024
BY CYNTHIA J. THOMAS Staff Writer
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n a room full of die-hard Chiefs fans last Sunday evening, I joined my family in celebrating the amazing play that sealed the Super Bowl win. But I’ll also admit to being one of those folks who are equally into critiquing the commercials. Among a bunch of mediocre offerings, I think I’ll go with State Farm for the best ad, but I’m also intrigued by
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he Dying Gaul is an ancient statue discovered in Rome in the early 17th century. I learned about the statue some 20 years ago when my Celtic studies began in earnest. The piece, likely inspired by battles in the second century before Christ in what is now modern-day Turkey, is of a wounded Celtic warrior. The naked warrior is slumped to one side, sword wound in lean and muscular chest, death imminent. Someday I hope to see the statue for myself, but in
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BY TIFFANY GRAVETT Staff Writer
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he book of Romans is probably the most widely used Pauline epistle when it comes to sharing the gospel. The Greek translation of gospel is good news. However, it may come as a surprise that Paul begins his gospel message with an exposition on the righteous wrath of God against sin. You see, if we are to have a clear understanding of God’s righteousness, we must first understand the reality of hu-
God expects, Jesus tells his followers to love one another (v. 12, 17). Jesus himself sets the example, alluded to in v. 13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Back to the Super Bowl commercial, though. Personally, I believe it made a valuable point about showing the love of Jesus to a broken, troubled world, but it fell short by implying that it is only the Christ-follower who must alter their behavior to be more “loving.” Yes, we should show love to the prostitute or the woman considering abortion, but that does not mean those things are okay. We are doing that broken world a great disservice if we fail to
also tell them God has standards; Jesus himself upheld those standards (Matthew 5:17). Showing Christ-like love might include helping address difficult circumstances that led to immoral behavior; but remember that Jesus’ loving interaction with the woman caught in adultery (John 8) also included telling her, “Go and sin no more.” I hope conversations about the He Gets Us commercials, or any other opportunities that come up, help believers build relationships that lead to sharing the whole gospel. Only when our loving actions lead others into right relationship with God, do we become the fruitful branch Jesus describes.
the meantime, I will settle with documentaries and the internet. Nonetheless, the stark imagery never strays far from my heart. The Romans waged near genocidal war against the Celts (also called Gauls) for centuries, finding the independent-minded peoples north of the Alps both terrifying and oddly fascinating. It is said the Celts oft-fought naked, impressing Roman legions with both physical stature and martial ferocity. For Rome, the Celts were the “other,” a strange and exotic race. It was perhaps those same Romans’ childlike fascination with the “other” which helped the legions crush the Celtic peoples with totalitarian zeal. All too often, boys like to smash the iridescent bugs which enchant them. But were the Celts really destroyed? Not really. Instead, the Celts mi-
grated beyond the reach of the Roman Empire, to frontiers like Galicia, Breton, Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and Ireland. When the British Empire, that strange and monolithic great-grandchild of Rome, continued their fascination with — and destruction of — the Celtic peoples, the Scots, Irish and Welsh moved again, this time to the remote and rugged mountains of North America. The Dying Gaul is a reminder for me, a reminder that my people don’t roll over and die quite as efficiently as they are told they should. The Gaul is also a reminder — set in marble — that perhaps the original Greco-Roman sculptor did not intend. Not surprisingly, the man’s spiky hair, high cheekbones and thick mustache is not the “barbarian other” for me, but instead a very old and personal call. I
can almost — mirror like — see myself in his eyes and find it ironic that a sculptor celebrating the triumph of Rome would in some way imbue his enemy, my ancestor, immortality. I am grateful one great Celtic warrior’s death was so preserved but as I leaf back through the years, I can but imagine the deaths that went unremembered. It is said every man or woman is an encyclopedia of knowledge, most often lost at death. How many shamans, druids, healers, warriors — our invaluable keepers of secret and life-changing knowledge — passed from this life knowing their bodies of knowledge would be lost forever. They died alone. No one but the old forests remember them or their names and now the forests themselves are gone. We call ourselves educated
and we are, if only in a limited way. Modernity has its way about it, calling us to bland, indifferent, stratus-seeking stations and perhaps nice retirements. If only in myth, the Ozarks have stood apart from our domesticated flatlands, mountains reputed to be full of enigmatic hillbillies and wise granny women, of Cherokee legend sand enchanting beauty so different from the muddy creeks and treeless prairies nearby. That strange imagery has called many of us to the hills. How much was myth, how much misplaced poetry or just tourism kitsch? Hard to say these days. But the human spirit’s longing for something meaningful that stretches beyond place and time? That longing is very real. And at times, the metaphysical can be closer than we think, if only over the next rocky Ozark hill.
manity’s unrighteousness. God’s wrath and God’s grace are essentially two sides of the same coin: His righteousness. Godly wrath is not to be confused with the fury of the Greek gods of Paul’s day, arbitrarily zapping humans dead or tormenting them for petty infractions. “Paul never uses the verb ‘to be angry’ (orgizein) with ‘God’ as its subject.” Neither does God leave man alone to clamor blindly for the existence of something greater than themselves, for His fingerprints can be seen all over His magnificent creation. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without ex-
cuse” (Romans 1:20, KJV). Though God has made himself known since the very beginning, humanity has also tried to make his own way since the beginning. Many would rather worship created things instead of giving glory to their Creator. Paul doesn’t only indict the gentiles, but he also sheds light on the Jews who judge the gentiles yet do the same things. Forgetting that God’s goodness, forbearance, and patience are intended to draw them to repentance, they presume on His kindness as a free pass to do as they please and still get into heaven. Paul is trying to make the point that we are all subject to the human condition: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10). Three times in Romans 1, Paul says the phrase, “God gave them over” or “gave
them up” to their sinful lifestyles. “In brief, God’s wrath is his act of turning man over to man’s own deliberate choices (Rom 1:24, 26, 28), allowing man to self-destruct if man deliberately chooses not to have God in his knowledge…. God’s righteousness is present even in his “wrath,” for God keeps faith with man’s freedom, making himself knowable to man, yet never overriding man’s freedom to accept or reject, acknowledge or refuse to know God. God honors the choice given man, even though the option be so exercised as to result in the breakdown of the individual (vs. 24-27) and the breakup of the community (vs. 28-31).” So where is the good news in this? God is righteous and just, but He is also the justifier of the un-
righteous (Rom 3:26)! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). When Jesus Christ died upon the cross, the wrath of God was forever satisfied for all who believe and follow Him! “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:23). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom 10:9-10). The Romans Road to Salvation: Romans 3:10, 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10, 10:13
Stock Market Insights: A strong start for the stock market
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Jesus are thrown away and burned. What is the key to remaining (or “abiding”) in Jesus? Check v. 10: “If you keep My commandments.” Verses 7 through 15 seem to show a progression: Obedience leads to abiding. Abiding leads to indwelling by the Holy Spirit. That leads to joy—not just temporary happiness, but extended favor and gladness in God’s goodness, regardless of earthly circumstances. Jesus promised such joy to his followers even though He knew they would experience persecution. And the obedience, abiding and joy lead to fruitfulness: “I appointed you to go and bear fruit.” As part of the fruitfulness
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the varied reactions to the “He Gets Us” spot. While many people seem glad to see Jesus getting some publicity, a large contingent have also expressed concern that the “He Gets Us” campaign presents a woke, progressive Jesus with no standards for behavior. Deciding to study the issue for myself took me to John 15. The chapter opens with Jesus’ analogy of himself as the true Vine and God as the keeper of the vineyard. The analogy includes pruning, the removal of unfruitful branches and trimming others to make them even more fruitful (v. 2–3). The key to fruitfulness, Jesus says, is to “remain in Me.” Followers—branches—who do not remain in
Been thinkin’ about...The Dying Gaul
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Reflections: Obey, abide, love, bear fruit
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y wife and I started our relationship fast. Our first date was February 3, we got engaged on May
11, and were married six months later. It was a fast start, but after twenty-seven years, things look good. The stock market this year might be moving even faster than we did. How about that January market? With November and December so strong, we were all bracing for a negative month, but thankfully, we were wrong. January continued where December left off by adding gains to stocks. This January, the S&P 500 was up 1.6%, which might not
sound like much, but if it kept that pace all year, it would have an annualized return of over 19%. Though I expect the market to be good, I doubt it will be that good. This year’s positive January makes me hopeful for the rest of the year because of the Stock Trader’s Almanac adage, “As goes January, so goes the year.” The adage has been correct 75% of the time in the last almost 80 years. In that time, when stocks are positive in January, they average about
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12% for the rest of the year. On top of that, stocks have also historically done well after the S&P 500 index reached a new all-time high, as it did in January for the first time in over two years. When there has been more than a year between two market highs, stocks have averaged almost 12% in the 12 months after a new high. It begs the question, are stock values too high? They are a little high for the current interest rates, no doubt, but the market expects in-
terest rates to begin dropping, making stock values a better deal. Another reason for high valuations is that stock earnings are strong and show more potential. As of February 8, with over half of S&P 500 stocks having reported earnings, they are beating market expectations by over 4%, showing the economy’s continued resilience. I feel good about the market this year but realize there could be some challenges. As I plan for SEE STOCK MARKET, PAGE 8B
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