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| exert, pause, sermon, scarce, "masterpeace".Image from the Internet.
The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed! And couching them in Poetry is definitely NOT required.
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.
18 comments:
This poem refers to a practice I recently read about--by which churches raise more than a single offering can collect.
"(To) Rake (and) Fleece"
The expert theologian paused in his sermon
to thank our pastor for inviting his speech:
"Scarcely have I rec'd a request so kind
as being asked to come to St. John's to preach."
Then our reverend spoke up to say our guest was here
because of a certain star power in offering help.
"Our donations of late have been falling off,
and our visiting minister rates high on Yelp
for drawing more tithes to the collection plate.
I'm told he's gifted with gab. We'll see
if his reputation is really that great."
That said, he gave a signal to three
of the burliest ushers to lock the doors.
The speaker resumed, re-starting his droning.
While the collection began from aisle to aisle,
the ushers ran a tally how the money was growing.
As the sums increased but slowly with each pass
they kept the plates in motion for the gifts to repeat
till the congregation realized they'd be giving all day
while the theologian rumbled into afternoon heat!
Following a nod at last from the usher-in-chief,
our pastor interrupted his distinguished guest.
"Give thanks to our visitor for 'raking the moolah'
& showing how thoroughly our church has been blessed!"
~ OMK
Oops!
I mis-read one clue word, early in my poem.
I can't say which one without giving it away, but you can spot it by my insertion of an additional letter in it--a "P."
Amen.
~ OMK
I did my CC and J on Thursday. But couldn't get the riddle-solution. Why???
Because I had MOROSE for #3. Hasty? Ya think? I finally realized my error when I saw the extra O's
One of the words in the riddle-solution was obvious, the key was where to put it and where
And here's the second part of Chets share at the Speaker meeting. As you see he's willful, self absorbed and powerless, not to speak of an unmanageable life
WC
Chet in next post
BTW, I've combined Thursday and Friday. I was on the road yesterday. I'm up in Dunnellon as I post
The sermon from the Registrar scarcely halted my downward spiral
Perhaps for a week or so I exerted myself before a new cycle
Of booze , broads , licentiousness and lethargy
Collectively advanced upon a life soon to become a tragedy
If my life was a painting by Van Gogh or better yet Salvatore Dali,
It would be a floral masterpiece of aimlessness juxtaposed with vanity
By day a valet at a downtown hotel parking expensive cars,
By night, with scarcely a pause, cavorting in cheap. seedy, smoke-filled bars.
WC
Did I get all 8 J's? I know I got thec2 riddle-solutions
Fln. I should have read the (for me) late comments. Thank you, I'm glad some folks appreciate "Crash". Non rhyming was a style I was using for awhile. One has to focus on the other elements of poetry , like rhythm.
Which brings me back to Ms Wylie. Re. "Atavism". Yes, Sandy, there's a foreshadowing in there. A consciousness of a "spiritum" to echo Jung. The opposite of spiritual which is healthy and productive.
I wonder how the prevalent use of rhyme, which ee Cummings and others tried to get away from, affected her poetry. It certainly made it readable as in Atavism but is constraining.
But at the same time it unconsciously moves the poem into unforeseen directions. As in my latest doggerel.
WC
What for me is 'late'(11 pm) is not so for California nor Arizona for that matter.
"Sermons"
The church acquired a German pastor
who was an excellent sermon master.
He avoided trying to exert
himself as a moral expert.
When explaining religion's laws
he always treated sin with a pause.
He focused on human needs and cares
and kept talk of commandments scarce.
He was not a disastrous priest,
but a wonderful master of peace.
Brava, Misty!
Your pastor was clearly devoted to a less materialstic course than my guy.
A while back I visited several churches in the city where I worked for over a decade. It was an eye-opener to compare (and contrast!) the sermons that were offered up. In the wealthier part of town, the emphasis was consistently on commandments and personal responsibility. I'm sure the collection plates were stuffed, judging only by the opulence of the religious "decor."
In the poorer neighborhood the sermons offered comfort & understanding. Your pastor would be well rec'd in such an environment, with his focus on "human needs and cares."
The music was better there, and the theme of both prayers and hymns was solace.
They might be said to offer serenity, these "master-peaces."
I guess it's not surprising how much variation there can be from church to church.
~ OMK
Wilbur ~ Chet is still plunging downward. His occasional pauses "for a week or so" don't seem to brake his dark descent much at all.
In his own low-rent way, he's running a Jekyll/Hyde existence, at least on a material level. (Ya can't look too seedy grabbing the keys to expensive wheels.)
I expect you will let us know in the not-distant future when he hits his turn-around.
We have come to like Ol' Chet, so hope he "discovers" AA pretty soon.
~ OMK
Thank you for your very kind words, Ol' Man Keith, and for your fascinating discussion of the contrasts in sermons you noticed in two churches with very different settings and congregations. I haven't been to a church in such a long time that churches and their practices are entirely off my radar at this time. But your account is very interesting.
Interesting how the Jumble words "sermon" and "peace" prompted both of our verses to focus on similar topics. Your own poem offers an interesting parody of a church's need for donations as a matter of financial support, with your reverend making no bones about the visitor's sermon as a money prompter. Very clever.
Wilbur, is that Chet giving us his account of not being swayed by sermons? If so, I do hope he figures out how to sober up soon. I want him to be a decent partner for Lois.
In my research into tithing, Misty, I was surprised to find it is mentioned in the Bible only as a tenth or portion of one's income to be "set aside for God." Nothing about giving it to a church. "Setting aside for God" is perhaps better understood as either reserving a portion for hard times to come, or giving a portion to the poor.
It was church councils of course that decided to make tithing a rule for giving to... the church!
What surprised me is that some churches actually pass the plate multiple times--until a target goal is reached. In some cases people surrender their rings and other jewelry.
~ OMK
Of course we know the end of Chet's story. Here we have the early days. It's similar to a fella I've heard share that roamed academia for decades before completely bottoming out*. He had the best line I've ever heard from a Dean: Your aptitude is hopeless; the only Major you can possibly succeed in is Economics. Which was my major and where the Advanced Calculus detritus ended up.
WC
** And of course was rescued by AAers, listened, accepted and acted and has decades of sobriety and success
Well, it will be highly interesting, even exciting, to see what finally makes the differencecp for Chet. Looking forward to it, Wilbur.
LOL, help me out, Wilbur.
There are no quotation marks in your last posting.
Is the "best line" to be attributed TO the dean, or is it ABOUT him? When he--or you?--say(s) it "was my major," whose was it?
~ OMK
OMK, The dean told the student "your aptitude is hopeless; the only Major you can possibly succeed in is Economics."
OIC.
And Econ was YOUR major then?
The dismal science...
~ OMK
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