When they brought Jesus to the place where his dead friend lay, Jesus wept. It is very easy to sentimentalize the scene and very tempting because to sentimentalize something is to look only at the emotion in it and at the emotion it stirs in us rather than at the reality of it, which we are always tempted not to look at because reality, truth, silence are all what we are not much good at and avoid when we can. To sentimentalize something is to savor rather than to suffer the sadness of it, is to sigh over the prettiness of it rather than tremble at the beauty of it, which may make fearsome demands of us or pose fearsome threats. Not just as preachers but as Christians in general we are particularly given to sentimentalizing our faith as much of Christian art and Christian preaching bear witness - the sermon as tearjerker, the Gospel an urn of long-stemmed roses and baby's breath to brighten up the front of the church, Jesus as Gregory Peck.
But here standing beside the dead body of his dead friend he is not Gregory Peck. He has no form or comeliness about him that we should desire him, and as one from whom men hide their faces we turn from him. To see a man weep is not a comely sight, especially this man whom we want to be stronger and braver than a man, and the impulse is to turn from him as we turn from anybody who weeps because the sight of real tears, painful and disfiguring, forces us to look to their real source where we do no choose to look because where his tears come from, our tears also come from.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
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.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
Hey I just had a great idea for a Christmas gift exchange! It's of the reduce/reuse/recycle variety. Here it is:
We all have more than we need. But most of us also have other things that we need or want. Now, I personally don't mind used things (you know, depending on what it IS). Used books, used shelves, etc. Wouldn't it be great if instead of boxing up all our old stuff and hauling it over to Goodwill (which is a great idea, in and of itself) that we did a 'gift' exchange with local family and friends? Here's how it works... (reminiscent of Freecycle but with people you know and around the holidays):
1) Make a 'want' list of those things you need that you don't mind receiving used.
2) Make a 'have' list for things you're thinking of getting rid of.
2b) Swap the lists within a group of family/friends.
3) If someone wants something you have, wrap it up and give it to them for Christmas!
4) Hope they do the same for you.
5) If you have anything left that you still want to get rid of, swing over to Goodwill or offer it on Freecycle.
Just an idea I'm throwing out there!
We all have more than we need. But most of us also have other things that we need or want. Now, I personally don't mind used things (you know, depending on what it IS). Used books, used shelves, etc. Wouldn't it be great if instead of boxing up all our old stuff and hauling it over to Goodwill (which is a great idea, in and of itself) that we did a 'gift' exchange with local family and friends? Here's how it works... (reminiscent of Freecycle but with people you know and around the holidays):
1) Make a 'want' list of those things you need that you don't mind receiving used.
2) Make a 'have' list for things you're thinking of getting rid of.
2b) Swap the lists within a group of family/friends.
3) If someone wants something you have, wrap it up and give it to them for Christmas!
4) Hope they do the same for you.
5) If you have anything left that you still want to get rid of, swing over to Goodwill or offer it on Freecycle.
Just an idea I'm throwing out there!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Yep, I grew those!
Here's my first harvest. Thanks Jesse for letting me know I could start enjoying my garden!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Daily Bread: The Easiest Bread I Know
It's so tasty, too.
3 3/4 to 5 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons active yeast
1 scant tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups warm (100 degrees) water
2 tablespoons molasses
Combine 3 3/4 cups flour with yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the molasses in the water. Stir water and molasses mixture into the flour. Stir until well combined and there are no dry streaks of flour. If the dough is too runny to mound into a ball in the bottom of the bowl sprinkle on more flour 1/4 cup at a time. Stir after each addition until there is no dry flour left.
Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm (75-80 degrees), draft free place for 2 hours or until a little over double in size. Grease and flour a 5X9 inch loaf pan.
Using a greased rubber spatula, deflate the dough by pushing it down into the center of the bowl. Turn it out into the greased and floured loaf pan and smooth the top of the dough with the spatula. You may want to keep a little bowl of oil handy to re-oil the spatula. The dough will be very sticky. Cover the pan with oiled plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
While the oven is heating, let the dough rise in a warm area until it just begins to peak over the top of the pan.
Gently place it into the hot oven. Because the bread is not kneaded the gluten structure is fairly weak, so it's easy to cause it to fall if you slam it down. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Check coloring. If it is browning well, reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake 20 more minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. If it is not browning, leave the temp at 450 for the remaining 20 minutes.
ps If you had ginger carrot soup and bread with me recently, this is the same stuff.
3 3/4 to 5 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons active yeast
1 scant tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups warm (100 degrees) water
2 tablespoons molasses
Combine 3 3/4 cups flour with yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the molasses in the water. Stir water and molasses mixture into the flour. Stir until well combined and there are no dry streaks of flour. If the dough is too runny to mound into a ball in the bottom of the bowl sprinkle on more flour 1/4 cup at a time. Stir after each addition until there is no dry flour left.
Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm (75-80 degrees), draft free place for 2 hours or until a little over double in size. Grease and flour a 5X9 inch loaf pan.
Using a greased rubber spatula, deflate the dough by pushing it down into the center of the bowl. Turn it out into the greased and floured loaf pan and smooth the top of the dough with the spatula. You may want to keep a little bowl of oil handy to re-oil the spatula. The dough will be very sticky. Cover the pan with oiled plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
While the oven is heating, let the dough rise in a warm area until it just begins to peak over the top of the pan.
Gently place it into the hot oven. Because the bread is not kneaded the gluten structure is fairly weak, so it's easy to cause it to fall if you slam it down. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Check coloring. If it is browning well, reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake 20 more minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. If it is not browning, leave the temp at 450 for the remaining 20 minutes.
ps If you had ginger carrot soup and bread with me recently, this is the same stuff.
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