Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Koine
I've been considering the idea of the koine Greek in light of today's sermon which was on Acts 2:42-47. The text says that these early believers held everything in common. I have always thought of this in terms of pooling their paychecks and living from one checking account so to speak - as though they sold their homes and bought a single building on a city block and converted it into apartment housing with common kitchens, gardens, and living space. This holds certain appeal to me but I'm not sure this is actually what Luke is suggesting.
Koine Greek was the lingua franca, or, the commonly spoken Greek. I remember back in seminary when I had to do a unit study on linguistics in the midst of mastering Greek II level verbs. We learned that the common meaning of the word was the way to go in interpretation even if it conflicted with the etymologically correct meaning. Language that is living always defers to the common or ordinarily understood meaning. Language that was dead when it was used can be interpreted according to etymological meanings. But do you think of penultimate as meaning 'second to last' or in terms of something that surpasses the five senses. The latter would coincide with etymological meaning while the former is more consistent with the common use of the word.
In Acts 2, Luke talks about the believers living day by day together and having all things in koina, or, in common. Suddenly it occurred to me that these believers probably did ordinary life together. Holding all things in common, they perhaps shared the quotidian things and then ate dinner together before heading home for the night.
This week a friend came over for dinner because her husband was out of town. We laughed as my husband unsuccessfully snaked the kitchen sink in search of the clog. He found other means to apprehend the offending food stuffs and beautifully fixed the problem. My point is that the work of the 'honey do plumber' became funny when we realized that I had not a clue how a siphon worked. We held our breath as my husband 'sucked' Draino until it flowed into the bucket and the sink was cleared of liquid. We made jokes about babies on the floor in the morning if I didn't make a speedy effort to mop before heading to bed. And then she spent the night and was delightfully with me for breakfast. Later that day we made cheese together and shared a pizza dinner. This was holding all things in common. This was a quotidian koine experience.
I get worn out trying to do extra activities that don't relate to my ordinary day. By ordinary I'm referring to the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and errands routine of my stay at home momma lifestyle. Its in the midst of these tasks that my day grows weary. Sometimes I try to stay busy with Bible studies, mom groups, luncheons, etc but these things are not the koina or lingua franca of my day. When Luke wrote about the church holding all things in common in a day by day way, I feel prety confident that he was referring to the ordinary things of life that they did together like a family and not to the bazillion extra things that could be added to a day to keep one super busy.
I'm rethinking ways to take my Rio Rancho suburban life out of the fragmented and private and to incorporate it into a koine sort of experience. I want to invite people into my messy home, to let them see the clogs I create in my sink and my heart and to stand by with me as it all gets siphoned out by one means or another. If I wait till all my sheets are clean to have a friend spend the night or until dinner is planned or until my kid can behave then I will never have anyone sharing the ordinary things of life with me. I long for a community that can break down these barriers and come alongside me to participate in the common things of my day with me. Perhaps then I will not be so lonely and perhaps then I will experience the blessing rather than the burden of the church in my day to day life.
Koine Greek was the lingua franca, or, the commonly spoken Greek. I remember back in seminary when I had to do a unit study on linguistics in the midst of mastering Greek II level verbs. We learned that the common meaning of the word was the way to go in interpretation even if it conflicted with the etymologically correct meaning. Language that is living always defers to the common or ordinarily understood meaning. Language that was dead when it was used can be interpreted according to etymological meanings. But do you think of penultimate as meaning 'second to last' or in terms of something that surpasses the five senses. The latter would coincide with etymological meaning while the former is more consistent with the common use of the word.
In Acts 2, Luke talks about the believers living day by day together and having all things in koina, or, in common. Suddenly it occurred to me that these believers probably did ordinary life together. Holding all things in common, they perhaps shared the quotidian things and then ate dinner together before heading home for the night.
This week a friend came over for dinner because her husband was out of town. We laughed as my husband unsuccessfully snaked the kitchen sink in search of the clog. He found other means to apprehend the offending food stuffs and beautifully fixed the problem. My point is that the work of the 'honey do plumber' became funny when we realized that I had not a clue how a siphon worked. We held our breath as my husband 'sucked' Draino until it flowed into the bucket and the sink was cleared of liquid. We made jokes about babies on the floor in the morning if I didn't make a speedy effort to mop before heading to bed. And then she spent the night and was delightfully with me for breakfast. Later that day we made cheese together and shared a pizza dinner. This was holding all things in common. This was a quotidian koine experience.
I get worn out trying to do extra activities that don't relate to my ordinary day. By ordinary I'm referring to the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and errands routine of my stay at home momma lifestyle. Its in the midst of these tasks that my day grows weary. Sometimes I try to stay busy with Bible studies, mom groups, luncheons, etc but these things are not the koina or lingua franca of my day. When Luke wrote about the church holding all things in common in a day by day way, I feel prety confident that he was referring to the ordinary things of life that they did together like a family and not to the bazillion extra things that could be added to a day to keep one super busy.
I'm rethinking ways to take my Rio Rancho suburban life out of the fragmented and private and to incorporate it into a koine sort of experience. I want to invite people into my messy home, to let them see the clogs I create in my sink and my heart and to stand by with me as it all gets siphoned out by one means or another. If I wait till all my sheets are clean to have a friend spend the night or until dinner is planned or until my kid can behave then I will never have anyone sharing the ordinary things of life with me. I long for a community that can break down these barriers and come alongside me to participate in the common things of my day with me. Perhaps then I will not be so lonely and perhaps then I will experience the blessing rather than the burden of the church in my day to day life.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
I love Freecycle.
It's a New Year and Hubby has been cleaning out the garage. We 'were' going to take a bunch of stuff to Goodwill, but I thought - maybe someone could really use this stuff...and would like to receive it for FREE!
So, I posted a bunch of stuff this afternoon on Freecycle and already had requests for:
2 bowls and miscellaneous cutlery
A toddler piano toy
A leap pad
A boppy and baby robe
2 plastic bibs
Daisy shaped shower curtain rod hooks
A bunch of size 3 boys t-shirts and shorts
Miscellaneous men's clothing
WOW! I'm just excited because it feels really good to be giving it away. I haven't traditionally been what you would call a 'generous' person - so it's nice to see that God's been helping me to grow in that area.
So, I posted a bunch of stuff this afternoon on Freecycle and already had requests for:
2 bowls and miscellaneous cutlery
A toddler piano toy
A leap pad
A boppy and baby robe
2 plastic bibs
Daisy shaped shower curtain rod hooks
A bunch of size 3 boys t-shirts and shorts
Miscellaneous men's clothing
WOW! I'm just excited because it feels really good to be giving it away. I haven't traditionally been what you would call a 'generous' person - so it's nice to see that God's been helping me to grow in that area.
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