Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness

AM Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38 • PM Psalm 73
Jer. 22:13-23 • Rom. 8:12-27 • John 6:41-51

On February 17, 2021, the derelict Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City was demolished for reasons of public safety. People did not mourn its passing but rather cheered the dynamite-driven collapse.

Jeremiah says of a notorious ruler who famously cheated the contractors for his gaudy palace: “They will not mourn for him....He will have the burial of a donkey.”

While Jeremiah was a hard case, he was not John the Baptist who lived off locusts. Jeremiah didn’t demand ascetism of the king but rather said: “Did not your father have enough food and drink?.....He did what was right and just, so all went well with him.”

But as a biographer of a modern-day man who would be a king put it about his greed: “Too much and never enough.”

Now it may be hypocritical for a very fat man to write this reflection, but I say in my own defense that I am not “seeking dishonest gain, nor do I shed innocent blood.” Rather, every Saturday morning, I get on the scales at Weight Watchers, hoping that I have shed pounds, and since someone else records my weight, dishonesty is alas, just not possible.

Written by Tony Stankus

Tony, who will be 70 by the time you read this, is the first U of A librarian ever promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor. He became an Episcopalian at age 66 because he could no longer resist the transcendent joys of the liturgies at St. Paul’s nor the warmth of its priests and people.