As you may possibly have noticed, I am not known for my cheery, optimistic demeanor. Whenever I get together with Mark Steyn for brandy and cigars, he says to me, “Chill, dude. Things aren’t that bad.”
So if I counsel you not to despair, and to act on hope even when you feel none, you’ll know I’m speaking from conviction, if not from enthusiasm.
Today I was reading from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 15, verses 42-43.
It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
What struck me about this passage was the apparent futility of Joseph’s action. As a member of the Sanhedrin with suspicious connections to the Nazarene sect, in a city occupied by Romans, he had absolutely nothing to gain by bringing himself to the attention of the authorities on either side. The Rabbi was dead. Nothing could be done about that. Wouldn’t the prudent thing be to keep a low profile until feelings subsided?
But for some reason we can only guess at, Joseph went to the hated Roman procurator and ask for the body. Perhaps he went right into Pilate’s house, though that would pollute him ceremonially, since he was planning to handle a corpse anyway. It was a quixotic gesture, like a Confederate soldier flying the Stars and Bars in a city occupied by Federal troops. There wasn’t a thing to be gained by it, and much to lose.
But unbeknown to himself, he was participating in a victory he couldn’t conceive of.
When I read Two Years Before the Mast, I came across a sailor’s proverb, quoted by Richard Henry Dana. It’s passed into our language in abbreviated form since then– “Never say die, while there’s a shot in the locker.”
The moral of this story seems to be that we should never say die even when the locker’s empty.
“I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH.” – William B. Travis.
“Vi faccio vedere come muore un Italiano!” (“I’ll show you how an Italian dies!”) – Fabrizio Quattrocchi.
“..we shall fight our battle in the shade.” – Dienekes of Sparta.
“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me.” – Martin Luther
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” – Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.