RaMbLeS
Welcome to RaMbLeS, a collection of weekly musings on life and Scripture. It all began in 2005 on Google’s blogspot as the aBeLOG (a name now recycled), a semi-autobiographical devotional that attempted to keep well-wishers abreast of my activities as I relocated to Scotland for a few years. Since my return, I’ve continued my RaMbLeS, and here’s its most recent incarnation on Homiletix, as random reflections usually based on current news articles and travel experiences and whatever else takes my fancy!
Blessing!
This past Easter, Father Timothy R. Pelc was caught in a quandary. How does one bless the flock when socially distanced? Especially when you want to sprinkle holy water?
One of Pelc’s parishioners, an emergency room physician, discussed possible safe options for the blessing of Easter baskets and attendees at the Detroit-area church—St. Ambrose Parish in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.
That’s when the good reverend had a smart idea.
Squirt gun.
Said Pelc:
We figured sterile
Screens!
What with COVID-19 and all that, you might be thinking you spend a lot of time staring at a screen—on your phone, your computer, or your TV. Well, you would be right in such thinking.
The average adult, the findings of a recent survey indicate, will spend not months, not years, but decades staring at their devices.
This was the result of a poll of 2,000 adults in the UK. Thirty-four staggering years (yes, 34!) were spent looking at phones, computers, and TVs. In brief,
Delivery!
With COVID-19, many Americans were caught unawares as they were traveling abroad. They were stuck, as most flights were canceled.
Among these was a friend of mine, a missionary in India. I’ll let her tell the story ….
“My plans for staying in India were disrupted by the coronavirus. I was given a choice by the US government to return home on a flight that would be chartered out of Chennai. After seeking advice from my friends and family I let the US embassy know that
Mobility?
Last month Apple released a “Mobility Data Trends Tool.”
The company is utilizing data coming from its iPhones, more precisely from its Maps app. The information is generated by analyzing requests for directions made by you and me and millions of others to Apple Maps. Data sets, current and historical, are compared to show changes in the volume of people driving, walking, or taking public transportation.
Apple’s assurance:
Privacy is one of our core values, so Maps
Detergent!
Yesterday, an unusually high number of New Yorkers contacted city health authorities over fears that they had ingested bleach or other household cleaners. The Poison Control Center, under the aegis of NY City’s Health Department, handled a total of 30 calls regarding possible exposure to disinfectants between 9 p.m. on Thursday and 3 p.m. on Friday, said a spokesperson.
This flurry of calls came in the eighteen hours that followed President Trump’s comments on injecting/ingesting
Ghost?
We have COVID. And with it COVIDspeak. The virus is changing the way we speak! All over the world. And quickly, too.
There’s “covidiot.” It’s even in the Urban Dictionary.
(If you don’t know who or what a covidiot is, it’s is exactly what you suspect it is. That dumbo with 300 rolls of toilet paper in their shopping cart. I.e., anyone behaving stupidly or irresponsibly in these days of crisis—covidiotic behavior: partying on beaches, spitting on items in a
Alive!
Several months ago, an eerie photograph sparked all kinds of bizarre conspiracy theories.
It showed someone who looked a lot like Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, aged 56, of a rare cancer of the pancreas. But this photograph was taken in the second half of 2019. In Egypt. In some random café. And shared on Facebook by one Ahmed Basyouney who wasn’t available for comment.
The guy is even barefoot, as Jobs often was.
One Twitter user captioned a photo of the
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching. 