The auctioneer took a quick breather while staff cleared away from the sale just concluded and brought forth the next item up for bid. When all was in readiness, the mustached man who appeared to be in his early fifties, took a swig or two from a water bottle kept for his use on a shelf to the right of the platform. His presence once more required, he stowed the bottle away, stepped behind the microphone and asked politely for attention. He…
One of the most powerful, enduring, and universal self-delusions is that there will always be enough time to do the things we want or need to do. If this demonstrably false delusion is challenged, the usual comeback is that if ever we need more time, we shall just have to “find” it. An equally absurd expression is that everyone “makes” time for what’s truly important, as though by some mysterious manufacturing process that’s always on call in event of a shortage. Strangely, these irrational…
My name is Joseph. I come from Arimathea, in the Judean highlands. I am a disciple of the Nazarene, Jesus, called Christ. Ironic that this is the first time I’ve said that out loud. Until now, I’ve followed him in secret, because…because (God forgive me), I was afraid of the authorities—both the Romans (which goes without saying) and my peers—the leaders of my own people. Yet I am one of them—a prominent member of the supreme Jewish Council in Jerusalem, the Great Sanhedrin. I am one of 71 elites,…