Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for July 28, 2009

Time for the dramatic confession!

And then the people can repent of their hideous sins.

I see where this is going, Upton and Remona Lisa will be converted.

In the 90 year history of GA has there ever been a Jewish character? Has there ever been a rabbi delivering a sermon? Have the Wallet family ever been to a Jewish wedding? Oy veys mir!

Come on now, we have a Jewish GOD and we are all grafted in Jewish. The book teaches not to call no men or women Rabbi . The funny thing is the Jewish do not have a ” J ” in there alphabet and never did . Now you know,unless I miss my Guess the pastor pinched there car. 2 or 3 days from now our fill in preacher will be in the water over his head more than he is now .

Responding to marvee’s question yesterday (around 16:30)….

Those are cricket terms. “Holding wickets” means that the batsman has not been struck out yet, while “LBW” means “low-bowl-wicket” which does result in an out.

(I cannot use baseball analogy for the first part, but the second has the obvious counterpart of strike-out)

And it looks like Upton managed to salvage his game!

The only thing I know about cricket is the expression, “that’s not cricket!”

I once had a cricket in my garage and he chirped constantly for days.

Good grief, not norman would you like some cheese with that whine? You never like any storyline, you never like anything.

I’m looking forward to Upton’s conversion. Ramona may take a while longer.

I thought baseball was boring until I attended a cricket match. Oy vey!

436: Isn’t the book of Jonah in the old testament (the Jewish scripture)?

JanCinVV

So what is wrong with the Old Testament?

Actually, it is part of the Writings, which were not made part of scripture until after 100 CE (AD).

Interesting, it is the Haftarah portion read on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The reason it is read is precisely for the message that Upton cites today, the forgiveness of The Lord.

sjl

Yeah Upton, it is pretty neat. God can be a pretty cool guy, when we let him.

Compare the congregation in the church today with the crowd at the circus in Dick Tracy. I know that they are different styles of cartooning, but it makes me appreciate Scancarelli’s attention to detail. Even when there is little action, the folks are just sitting there, he takes the time to make them look life like. Like Upton said, neat!

I think Upton is well on his way to conversion. I’m still wondering if Ramona Lisa found something decent to wear. Maybe Rev. Peacegood is getting a much needed vacation. There’s nothing wrong with the Old Testament. Jesus quoted scripture a lot. Story of Jonah is an oldie but goodie. That’s the largest congregation I’ve seen since Easter and I think they are enjoying the sermon. I’m surprised we don’t see members of the Wallet clan there.

Some of the best accounts in Scripture involve extreme conversions, such as Saul of Tarsus going from persecuting Christians to having a moment on the Road to Damascus and then writing about two-thirds of the New Testament. Looks like Upton may be on a similar road, and that’s fine and dandy.

A correction about LBW. It means “leg before wicket” and basically refers to using the batter’s own body to keep the ball from hitting the wicket rather than batting it away.

Marvee, Clovia appears (back view) in the congregation, near the front. I think it was the first day of the preaching sequence. NotNorman, for Pete’s sake, this is like lapsed time photography. If you have a problem with it, save the week’s strips and view them all at once on Saturday. They’ll appear to go faster. And we’ll have to listen to your grouching only once!

With your can do attitude and willingness to believe I am sure the Buddhists will be glad to have you. You should run and find some today.

Technically speaking, Jesus considered the story of Jonah to be an important one. In Luke 11, Jesus referred to the story of Jonah as the only “sign” which that generation would be given: Among other things, the story of Jonah ALSO symbolizes the death and resurrection which Jesus was attempting to explain to His disciples. Luke 11:29-32

29And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

30For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

31The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

32The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

In Greek, the passage from Luke looks like this:

ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 11

29των δε οχλων επαθροιζομενων ηρξατο λεγειν η γενεα αυτη πονηρα εστιν σημειον επιζητει και σημειον ου δοθησεται αυτη ει μη το σημειον ιωνα του προφητου

30καθως γαρ εγενετο ιωνας σημειον τοις νινευιταις ουτως εσται και ο υιος του ανθρωπου τη γενεα ταυτη

31βασιλισσα νοτου εγερθησεται εν τη κρισει μετα των ανδρων της γενεας ταυτης και κατακρινει αυτους οτι ηλθεν εκ των περατων της γης ακουσαι την σοφιαν σολομωντος και ιδου πλειον σολομωντος ωδε

32ανδρες νινευι αναστησονται εν τη κρισει μετα της γενεας ταυτης και κατακρινουσιν αυτην οτι μετενοησαν εις το κηρυγμα ιωνα και ιδου πλειον ιωνα ωδε

In Hebrew, the passage from Jonah 1:16, which describes Jonah’s experience with the “great fish” looks like this:

יונה 1

16 וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֛ים יִרְאָ֥ה גְדֹולָ֖ה אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה וַיִּֽזְבְּחוּ־זֶ֙בַח֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה וַֽיִּדְּר֖וּ נְדָרִֽים׃

Jonah 3:5, which describes the repentance of the people of Nineveh, looks like this:

יונה

5 וַֽיַּאֲמִ֛ינוּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י נִֽינְוֵ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צֹום֙ וַיִּלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים מִגְּדֹולָ֖ם וְעַד־קְטַנָּֽם׃

An interesting coincidence(?) in this story is that the name of Simon Peter’s father was Jonas - which was the New Testament form of the name Jonah. On the night during which Jesus was arrested and taken away for trial, Peter denied even knowing Jesus three time before the rooster crowed in the morning. Later, following the resurrection, when Jesus met again with the disciples, He asked Simon Peter three times whether or not Peter loved him.

In John 21:16, Jesus asks Peter: “Simon, son of Jonah, Do you love Me more than these?” Jesus asks the same question three times. Each time, Peter replies that he DOES love the Lord. Once Jesus replies: “Feed My lambs,” and twice - Jesus replies - “Feed My sheep.”

So, apparently, there is a lot more to the book of Jonah than meets the eye. Let us hope that Upton managed to pick up the most important points of the story. I am liking this story. It is very much in keeping with the type of story which Gasoline Alley featured back in the 40s and 50s. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that this story is based on a story which was popular back in the 40s or 50s.

hector, you’re stupid. … and deborah, i’m glad you got all of that out.

People, please, the reverend is still speaking…

Wow. I’d try to explain it to you, Norman, but from the contradiction inherent in your post, you can’t even hear yourself.

Deborah - I like your point on Jesus’ view of the Jonah story compared to our own. It shows the difficulty of us being able to read and understand the Bible. Many people have difficulty understanding the archaic language found in our oldest literature and the Bible.

The only one I’ve had any problem with Not Norman is YOU. Oh and your friend augh who made another sexist comment. You were both flagged by me.