Tag: Faith

A Banquet That Doesn’t Smell Like Corruption

Not every feast is what it seems—sometimes the table hides more than it shows.

Saint Matthew’s Story

In the time of Jesus, tax collectors were the definition of corruption. They worked for Rome—the foreign power squeezing their own people. They overcharged and pocketed the extra. They dealt daily with Gentiles (their Roman bosses and other non-Jews), making them “unclean” in Jewish society. To their neighbors, they were traitors, thieves, and outcasts.

When Jesus said “Follow Me,” Matthew didn’t stall or negotiate. He stood up and left everything—his job, his power, his wealth, his safety net—and followed Jesus.

Then Matthew prepared a banquet. Not a show to cover up his dirty past, but a feast where fellow sinners could meet the same Jesus who called him.

Today, too many feasts exist only for show—to keep power, to protect stolen wealth, to survive another cycle.

We see too many fake banquets in our country—projects and handouts that sparkle outside but leak corruption inside. Saint Matthew showed us that what we need is change—not the loose coins, but the life-transforming change.

ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Traces of courage, silence, and sacrifice—this is Saints.

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Old

Old doesn’t mean done. Saint Theodore of Tarsus proved that age can still build, lead, and leave a mark no one else can.

What Saint Theodore of Tarsus teaches about age

In the seventh century, average life expectancy was barely forty. At fifty you were ancient. At sixty you were expected to stay quiet, wait for death, and disappear.

But Theodore of Tarsus was sixty-six when Rome chose him to be Archbishop of Canterbury. He was only a monk in Rome, known for his learning. A scholar, not a bishop. To take the post, he first had to be ordained—all in one quick step, before being sent across the sea.

England’s Church was weak and divided. They needed a leader to bring order. People thought Theodore was too old. Too late. Too weak. Too close to the grave.

He could have believed them. He could have stayed behind. Instead, he crossed the sea and started again. He fixed what was broken. He gathered leaders. He built a school that lit up Europe. Younger men died before him, but he kept going. He lived to eighty-eight.

That is the truth of old. It feels heavy. It feels lonely. People look past you. Sometimes you even look past yourself. But inside, there is still fire.

Today, the world worships youth. The old are pushed aside. Many stop believing they can still matter. But the story of Saint Theodore of Tarsus says otherwise. Old doesn’t mean done. Old means tested. Old means strong. Old means you still carry something no one else can.

Old • Darem Placer

ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Thoughts drift like clouds across a fading sky, until you find yourself in a quiet room—Alone with a Piano.

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Alone with a Piano includes Old