This is my first sermon for my Introduction to Preaching Class.
A reading from the gospel of Mark (chapter 1 verses 40 - 45) (NIV)
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
This is the Word of the Lord. (Thanks be to God.)
Alone, alone, alone.
Eighteen-year-old Joanna and her parents communicate in verbal spars and glaring silent looks. They cannot seem to agree on any of the essentials in their family life. Her parents refuse to give her any of the independence she desires. In turn, she refuses to follow their rules without questioning. So her parents have asked her to move out. She leaves her small-town home and moves to the big city where she works and tries to finish up her senior year in high school. She is alone.
Ben, a professional educator and father of two young children finds himself always busy. Busy at work-- with lesson plans, research and writing. Busy at home--co-parenting his children and trying to maintain a good marriage. Busy at church-- with Sunday school, Session, and lay leadership. He just doesn’t seem to have the time and energy for any personal time with God. Even with people around him all day long, sometimes he feels alone.
Alison, a seventh grade girl watches as one by one, each of her friends walks past her and sits at a table on the other side of the school cafeteria. None of them have spoken to her in class for the last two days. She wonders why they have left her alone.
Do you know any of these people . . . or someone like them? Have you ever experienced what they are experiencing? Separation--Separation from family, separation from friends, separation from community, separation from God.
The leper in our text experienced separation--separation from community. According to the purity code in Leviticus, once his leprosy was discovered, he had to be expelled from civil and religious society. No longer could he pray in the temple or go to the synagogue with his friends. No longer could he share meals or living quarters with his healthy relatives. He had to live outside of the village--no one to talk with, no one to eat with, no one to hold onto. Cast out of the community, he is alone.
But he didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to be restored to his family and his community. So, in our text, he approaches Jesus, this rabbi who did not turn away at the sound of “unclean, unclean” or the sight of his torn clothing and disheveled hair. He approaches Jesus and he begs him on bended knee.
“If you are willing, you can make me clean.” The leper recognizes Jesus is his chance for restoration.
Mark tells us Jesus was filled with compassion. He reached out and deliberately touched the man. He touched this man, who had been denied the feel of another person’s skin. Jesus touched the leper and said, “I am willing. Be clean.”
When he touched him, Jesus broke down walls: walls that had been carefully constructed hundreds of years ago in that Levitcal code, walls that had been meticulously maintained by priests and other religious leaders ever since. No longer would this leper be closed off from others. He was restored--restored to community, restored to friends, restored to family--because Jesus had touched him.
About a year after she leaves home, Joanna’s parents reach out to touch her. They’ve decided to redefine “essentials” as listening with an open mind; as accepting Joanna as an independent person; as supporting her physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Joanna responds to their touch by trusting that they really do want to understand her and show her they love her, by acknowledging she can use their help, by accepting that help without looking for a catch, by coming home and being welcomed back into the family.
At his local bookstore, Ben finds a devotional book with a lectionary reading and a brief meditation for each day. It isn’t easy to get up 30 minutes earlier each morning, but he decides to begin each day with prayer and the devotional, on a trial basis, to see if it will begin to soften this hard place in his heart, to fill the hole in his soul. At first, his prayers are stilted and forced, but he perseveres daily. Within a few months, he realizes he is experiencing peace despite his busy days. His prayers are heartfelt and free. He feels God’s presence with him in times of distress as well as in quiet moments. His heart is softening, and that hole in his soul is mending.
Alison’s “friends” continue to shun her. Her mom drives her to and from school, since she no longer has a walking buddy. The two of them talk about how it feels to be cast out for no reason. Alison finds other people to eat lunch with, to talk to in class--new friends. She grows up, and as an adult, she finds herself conscious of those on the outside, left out, alone. She has a heart for inclusion, so she develops skills for inviting others into conversations, activities, and friendships.
When we are separated by barriers of whatever design and whoever’s construction, the Holy Spirit touches us, and we are restored. We pray or someone prays for us, and the Holy Spirit moves in our lives. Joanna’s grandparents prayed for Joanna and her parents. The Holy Spirit touched their hearts, and ultimately, their family was restored. Ben’s wife prayed for Ben. The Holy Spirit planted the seed for a morning devotional ritual. And Ben’s relationship with God, his spiritual life, was restored. Alison’s mother prayed for Alison. Through this junior high crisis, the Holy Spirit breathed compassion for others into Alison’s heart. Years later, she is an agent of restoration in other people’s lives.
Alone? Alone? Alone? Friends, we are not alone. For, in life and in death we belong to God. And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hallelujah.
(The grader suggested I remove the next to the last paragraph--barriers . . . Holy Spirit because I'm explaining too much. He said let the stories and their ending do the explaining. I agree with that, however I felt it was important to talk about the Holy Spirit's action in restoring us. Perhaps a good compromise would be to have just the first 2 sentences of that paragraph and omit the specific explanations of how the Holy Spirit worked in the 3 persons' lives.)
Peace, ML
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Halfway through the 1st semester
This is from an email I sent my RRISD friends in October 2009: (Thank you, C. E. for finding it for me.)
I'm halfway through my first semester in seminary and enjoying Fall Break. I think I needed it. Last week, mid-term week, I had a test or a paper due in each of my classes. The upperclass-persons (who had been through their own tough midterm week their first year) encouraged us and prayed for us. And . . . we made it to Fall Break!
I love the librarian, Lela Parish. She offers mini-classes at lunch time each week to introduce us to the library: library, online databases, academic honesty, MLA notation, etc. Surprisingly it's the older (40s and 50s) students who come to these--and only a few of us fit that category. I like attending these because I feel at home with the library/librarian, I get to know some of my classmates better, and I can use all the help I can get!
I have my own "study carrel" in the library --- top floor, at a desk that looks straight out the window and into a courtyard with trees. (Betsy, you contributed something important to my cubbyhole!) I have pictures of my family, a lamp, a sweater, a blanket [yes, it gets cold in there, even without Julie manning the thermostat ;=) , and a crate to prop my feet on for the long stretches of reading! I just have turned it into my own little space. Imagine me making myself at home in the library!
I suspect Sharon Taylor shared with you all that the closing on our house *did* go through as planned. We are ever so blessed to have sold the house in this particular economy and housing market. Many thanks to Sharon and Charles for all of their help---and to those of you who kept us in your prayers.
Mary and Sarah are doing well at Earlham and Agnes Scott, respectively. Each of them seems to be in just the right place. Mary has found a group of people as politically-minded as she and is keeping informed and volunteering for the upcoming election. Sarah is trying to make decisions about next year--graduate school? Her mentors at Agnes Scott are highly encouraging her to be a part of the Presbyterian Church Young Adult Volunteer program and volunteer either in the US or overseas for a year in an established Presbyterian mission program. I think that she's leaning towards that. I just hope she applies for a "safe" place.
Kevin is growing in his skills as a hospital chaplain (South Austin Hospital) and is still working part-time for Hospice Austin. He likes living on seminary campus and has a writing project for which he'll need to use the campus library. He also is beginning the necessary steps for chaplain certification. So, everyone in my family is testing, writing, and studying.
This is definitely where I'm supposed to be at this time, but I still miss y'all-- your smiling faces, your words of encouragement, your senses of humor, your sage advice.
I hope to attend Old Town's 20th anniversary, so perhaps I'll see you soon. If you're ever near W. 30th Street, come see me! I'll show you around the campus and the other sights to see/experience down here.
I'm halfway through my first semester in seminary and enjoying Fall Break. I think I needed it. Last week, mid-term week, I had a test or a paper due in each of my classes. The upperclass-persons (who had been through their own tough midterm week their first year) encouraged us and prayed for us. And . . . we made it to Fall Break!
I love the librarian, Lela Parish. She offers mini-classes at lunch time each week to introduce us to the library: library, online databases, academic honesty, MLA notation, etc. Surprisingly it's the older (40s and 50s) students who come to these--and only a few of us fit that category. I like attending these because I feel at home with the library/librarian, I get to know some of my classmates better, and I can use all the help I can get!
I have my own "study carrel" in the library --- top floor, at a desk that looks straight out the window and into a courtyard with trees. (Betsy, you contributed something important to my cubbyhole!) I have pictures of my family, a lamp, a sweater, a blanket [yes, it gets cold in there, even without Julie manning the thermostat ;=) , and a crate to prop my feet on for the long stretches of reading! I just have turned it into my own little space. Imagine me making myself at home in the library!
I suspect Sharon Taylor shared with you all that the closing on our house *did* go through as planned. We are ever so blessed to have sold the house in this particular economy and housing market. Many thanks to Sharon and Charles for all of their help---and to those of you who kept us in your prayers.
Mary and Sarah are doing well at Earlham and Agnes Scott, respectively. Each of them seems to be in just the right place. Mary has found a group of people as politically-minded as she and is keeping informed and volunteering for the upcoming election. Sarah is trying to make decisions about next year--graduate school? Her mentors at Agnes Scott are highly encouraging her to be a part of the Presbyterian Church Young Adult Volunteer program and volunteer either in the US or overseas for a year in an established Presbyterian mission program. I think that she's leaning towards that. I just hope she applies for a "safe" place.
Kevin is growing in his skills as a hospital chaplain (South Austin Hospital) and is still working part-time for Hospice Austin. He likes living on seminary campus and has a writing project for which he'll need to use the campus library. He also is beginning the necessary steps for chaplain certification. So, everyone in my family is testing, writing, and studying.
This is definitely where I'm supposed to be at this time, but I still miss y'all-- your smiling faces, your words of encouragement, your senses of humor, your sage advice.
I hope to attend Old Town's 20th anniversary, so perhaps I'll see you soon. If you're ever near W. 30th Street, come see me! I'll show you around the campus and the other sights to see/experience down here.
My "first" sermon at Grace
This is the sermon I preached at Grace on 2/15/2009
It is the first time I preached as a seminarian and the 2nd sermon ever.
(I "preached" once at Grace about 8 years ago--when we were about 60 members large and still meeting in the garage of the church house. Actually, I read a great children's book and talked about how it's main character, a young boy taking care of sheep, was a metaphor for God taking care of us.)
Lectionary reading for this Sunday was:
Old Testament Reading II Kings 5: 1 - 14
New Testament Reading Mark 1: 40 - 45
I remember, as a child, hearing this story about Naaman. I liked it then, and why not? It has water (and back then, I loved swimming); it has a miracle healing, and it has a young heroine--the young girl servant from Israel. We don’t know her name, and she’s in the story only briefly, yet she plays a crucial role in this story. It is she who calls attention to Naaman’s problem-- speaking the words that identify his skin disease--and it is she who directs Naaman to the solution--he can be healed by the prophet in Israel’s capital, Samaria. She says, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.” Do you hear the faith and certainty her voice?
Heeding his servant girl's advice, Naaman goes to Israel, looking for the prophet--seeking the cure. Ultimately, he arrives at Elisha’s place. Now Elisha does not even come out to meet Naaman, but sends a message to him--take 7 dips in the Jordan River "and your flesh will be restored, and you shall be clean." At first, Naaman refuses. How dare Elisha not even come out to meet him--he, Naaman, the great general of the mighty and victorious army of Aram. And how dare Elisha send him instructions to go bathe in some dirty Hebrew river. A great commander like himself should be the recipient of some lavish healing ceremony, presided over by the prophet himself. Ah, now we see that perhaps Naaman suffers from 2 diseases: the skin disease--leprosy, and the soul disease--pride. He is about to storm off because his pride has been offended. It's as if his sense of entitlement is blinding him and paralyzing him. He no longer recognizes his need for healing and he's stopped in his tracks--no longer moving toward the one who can heal him.
Has this ever happened with you? Have you ever let something come between you and the one who can heal you? Have you ever let pride or guilt or shame cut you off from our God who is always seeking relationship with you, our God who is always seeking to heal you of your broken-ness, our God who is always seeking to cleanse you?
The writer of a devotion I read this week says because Naaman "had already decided for himself how his healing should take place, he came very close to missing out on his healing altogether.” It’s like saying, “God, I have a better idea about how to solve my problem. I realize you are all-knowing and can see the big picture, while I am aware of only that which is around me---and not even all of that. But, my idea---is better than yours. Let's handle my concerns about my grade, about my class, about my boyfriend, about my girlfriend, about my job, about my health, about my marriage . . . Let's handle my concerns my way.
Naaman is about to storm off--and not be healed--when another servant speaks up. “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash and be clean?’” Did you notice how the servant addressed Naaman as “Father”--instead of “Lord” or “Master”? He diverts Naaman’s thoughts from his greatness by referring to him using a family term. This family language, "father" makes me think of relationship. Approaching concerns with my pride leading me, with an attitude of entitlement, is not going to foster relationship with those I find myself in conflict with. And relationship, particularly loving relationship, is what God is all about.
Naaman's servant calls Naaman back to the reality of his sickness by using relationship language. Naaman reconsiders his decision to storm off, and makes his way to the Jordan River where he dips 7 times. He goes under the water. He has to stoop. He has to bow down. He has to crouch real low to get completely submerged. He probably scrapes his knees. He probably gets silt all over himself. 7 times--and each time he goes under the water, he sheds a little more of his pride. When he finally emerges from the river, he is healed. The scripture reads, “His flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.”
Naaman was healed in two different ways. Not only was his skin healed, but also his soul was healed--when he shed his pride and put on humility. When he accepted God’s solution (dip in the Jordan River 7 times), he got the healing he really needed--release from the chains of pride, release from the bondage of entitlement. With that healing, the healing of his soul, he could be truly grateful for the other healing--the healing of his leprosy.
The leper in our gospel reading today approached Christ differently from the way Naaman approached Elisha. The gospel says the leper kneeled and begged Christ. His knees were probably scraped, and he probably got dirty as he knelt before Christ, the living water. The leper said, "if you choose, you can make me clean." No "I am entitled to this" attitude. He knows his healing is totally dependent on Christ, entirely dependent on Christ's decision. Interestingly, he says, "you can make me clean." The word translated here as "clean" from the Greek can mean to cleanse as in "to make whole," it can mean to cleanse as in "to heal" or it can mean to cleanse as in "to make ritually clean". It's as if the leper is saying, Jesus, I know it's your choice whether to cleanse me, I know it's your choice how to cleanse me, and I know it's your choice what kind of cleansing to offer me--whether it's physical healing or relational wholeness. And I'm leaving all of that up to you, Jesus. What a contrast from Naaman .
Both this leper and Naaman are thrilled to be healed, and both want and need to express their thankfulness. Like the psalmist we heard earlier today, (Psalm 30: 2-3, 12) they are compelled to praise God. Naaman says “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.” Mark's gospel tells us that the leper told everyone he met, "he went out and began to proclaim it freely, spreading the word". Each of them knows he has been healed by the grace of God.
It’s only with humility that we can be truly thankful for what we have. It’s only when we acknowledge we deserve nothing from God, that we can recognize the blessings God has bestowed on us as blessings. What good we receive, God gives to us out of love and grace.
This week, I found myself wrestling with this sermon--first wrestling with what to say and then wrestling with how I, too, was suffering from leprosy of the soul. This week, I found myself reacting to situations at school in a prideful manner, approaching issues with an attitude of entitlement. My relationship with God has been rocky this week as I refused to let go of "how I would have handled this," as I refused to stop thinking of "what I'm entitled to." When I finally began to shed my pride, when I finally began to put on humility, I was able not only to see the (many) blessings around me, but also to recognize the obstacles in front of me as opportunities for growth. I'm reminded of H __ C__ saying, "There is no comfort in your growth zone, and there is no growth in your comfort zone." There's a reason for my discomfort right now. God is growing me.
I don’t deserve to go to seminary. It is a gift from God to help me answer my call from God. My experiences at seminary--academic and relational, are opportunities for learning and for growth to prepare me for this call. I don’t deserve Kevin’s love and support--they are gifts from Kevin. I didn’t earn the right to preach here at Grace. This opportunity is a gift from our pastors and from the Session. I haven’t earned your support, your care, or your love. Your open hearts, your smiles, your encouraging words and your prayers are gifts from you. Rising from the cleansing water, I can recognize and appreciate these gifts, these blessings.
Let us pray.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A sad day
Originally posted Monday, March 9, 2009:
Today we received news that 8 of our wonderful seminary staff are casualties of the awful economy. We will miss them terribly, and we pray that they will each find positions where their uniqueness, creativity, compassion, and hard work-ethic will be appreciated.
Hebrew--January term 2009
From an email sent to RRISD friends January 16, 2009
Hi, Friends,
Tonight, I am taking a break from my Hebrew studies (long weekend and we had a test today) and thought I'd email you.
This has been my schedule (and will continue to be throughout January): Up at 6 am, devotional (keeping me sane), eat, get ready for class, study, walk the dog, go to class for 4 hours, come home to walk the dog & eat lunch, go to study hall until right before supper, when I walk the dog, cook & eat supper, go to study hall until 9:30, come home make vocabulary cards, study, go to bed. Recycle for the next day. (Study hall=work with classmates on homework which we can do *only* as a group as it seems only one brain is not enough to figure all this stuff out.)
It *is* intense right now, but I am officially halfway through it. The best thing about Hebrew is that I'm building relationships with my classmates. We struggle over the language in class and out of class in study hall. We cry, we laugh, we swear (we made up a Hebrew swear word), we go bonkers--all together! After a mentally grueling 2nd week (and a particularly difficult homework the night before---think of 40 minutes per sentence of translation, 5 sentences to translate--and this is with us working together trying to figure out the words), we basically lost our marbles for about 30 minutes last night while we were studying for our test. After our good laugh/cry, we found those marbles and went back to studying.
The seminary is very supportive--wanting us to pass. They have provided 5 Teaching Assistants for our class of 40 (1 for each of 4 "sections"--meet for 30 minutes after class to go over the lecture and ask questions-- and 1 to work with those students who are having a particularly hard time--like Karen B does for OTE students) and often the TAs NOT on duty at study hall show up to help us--even though they don't get paid if it's not their day to do study hall. Our professor has shown up both Thursday evenings before our Friday tests, checking on us, boosting our morale and answering questions. We study in the cafeteria. We need to have access to food!
It *is* hard, but there will be some reward when I am able to read scriptures in Hebrew and see the nuances in the language. Our professor read Genesis 1: 1 -3 to us this week and then began to translate--starting with "As God was creating" instead of "In the beginning". He said that reading/interpreting the text this way indicates that we are invited into relationship with God at the very moment God was creating--that's how much God loves us--very powerful to me. Today he talked about how the Hebrew people viewed this language as a gift from God. They understood that it was a hard language, but that made sense to them. If it was easy, it would be from humans. They felt gifted that God would allow them to try to understand God's language.
So, I'm looking at this experience through the lens of gratitude--that I have this opportunity, that my acquaintances are becoming close friendships, and that (hopefully) this will be a door to understanding the texts and consequently sharing that understanding with others.
By the way, I suspect I'm gaining the reputation in this neighborhood (off- campus area where I walk the dog) of being the crazy lady who talks gibberish to herself since I use dog-walking time to review---the Hebrew alphabet, vowels, conjugating verbs, reciting pronouns, pronominal suffixes, performatives and afformatives, etc. But can I sing those suffixes!
Peace,
Mari Lyn
Hi, Friends,
Tonight, I am taking a break from my Hebrew studies (long weekend and we had a test today) and thought I'd email you.
This has been my schedule (and will continue to be throughout January): Up at 6 am, devotional (keeping me sane), eat, get ready for class, study, walk the dog, go to class for 4 hours, come home to walk the dog & eat lunch, go to study hall until right before supper, when I walk the dog, cook & eat supper, go to study hall until 9:30, come home make vocabulary cards, study, go to bed. Recycle for the next day. (Study hall=work with classmates on homework which we can do *only* as a group as it seems only one brain is not enough to figure all this stuff out.)
It *is* intense right now, but I am officially halfway through it. The best thing about Hebrew is that I'm building relationships with my classmates. We struggle over the language in class and out of class in study hall. We cry, we laugh, we swear (we made up a Hebrew swear word), we go bonkers--all together! After a mentally grueling 2nd week (and a particularly difficult homework the night before---think of 40 minutes per sentence of translation, 5 sentences to translate--and this is with us working together trying to figure out the words), we basically lost our marbles for about 30 minutes last night while we were studying for our test. After our good laugh/cry, we found those marbles and went back to studying.
The seminary is very supportive--wanting us to pass. They have provided 5 Teaching Assistants for our class of 40 (1 for each of 4 "sections"--meet for 30 minutes after class to go over the lecture and ask questions-- and 1 to work with those students who are having a particularly hard time--like Karen B does for OTE students) and often the TAs NOT on duty at study hall show up to help us--even though they don't get paid if it's not their day to do study hall. Our professor has shown up both Thursday evenings before our Friday tests, checking on us, boosting our morale and answering questions. We study in the cafeteria. We need to have access to food!
It *is* hard, but there will be some reward when I am able to read scriptures in Hebrew and see the nuances in the language. Our professor read Genesis 1: 1 -3 to us this week and then began to translate--starting with "As God was creating" instead of "In the beginning". He said that reading/interpreting the text this way indicates that we are invited into relationship with God at the very moment God was creating--that's how much God loves us--very powerful to me. Today he talked about how the Hebrew people viewed this language as a gift from God. They understood that it was a hard language, but that made sense to them. If it was easy, it would be from humans. They felt gifted that God would allow them to try to understand God's language.
So, I'm looking at this experience through the lens of gratitude--that I have this opportunity, that my acquaintances are becoming close friendships, and that (hopefully) this will be a door to understanding the texts and consequently sharing that understanding with others.
By the way, I suspect I'm gaining the reputation in this neighborhood (off- campus area where I walk the dog) of being the crazy lady who talks gibberish to herself since I use dog-walking time to review---the Hebrew alphabet, vowels, conjugating verbs, reciting pronouns, pronominal suffixes, performatives and afformatives, etc. But can I sing those suffixes!
Peace,
Mari Lyn
End of Fall 2008 term
From an email sent to RRISD friends December 18, 2008
I thought I'd send a note to mark the end of my 1st semester in seminary. This has been a good semester for me. I had much trepidation and concern over the decision to leave RRISD--librarianship, teaching, friends, the known--and to go to seminary--the unknown. Some of you will find this hard to believe, but I was one of the shy, quiet students early on. But, I've
come out of my shell and begun to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and to contribute in class. Study groups, peer editing papers, eating lunch in the dining hall regularly, and getting to know my new (on-campus) neighbors all helped.
The last 3 weeks were tense and intense. But, just like at mid-term, I survived! I did well in 2 classes, (the ones I've received papers and tests back). I was doing well in the other 2 classes up to the final, and I felt confident about those finals, so . . . I'm hoping my grades will reflect my confidence in those classes as well.
Sarah arrived home Monday evening, and Mary flies in tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to spending the next 2 weeks with my girls, Kevin, and my mom. Then, January 5 I begin intensive Hebrew for "January term". My "upperclassmen" friends (who have already taken Hebrew) told me I will live, breathe, sleep, and eat Hebrew. With that kind of intensity, I sure hope I learn it, too. ;=)
Thank you for inviting me to Old Town's 20th anniversary. I wanted to be able to visit Old Town without imposing in any way on the new librarian. Thank you also for inviting me to the librarians' Christmas book exchange/party where I got to speak librarian-ese again ;=) We have a wonderful public services librarian here--teaching lessons on using the Ebsco databases, academic integrity--citing sources--how to get reliable info on the web--I felt right at home in her sessions!
I wish you all a wonderful holiday, time to relax and be renewed, time to enjoy your families.
As for me . . . I'm about to take the first in a series of practice Bible content exams on the internet. I take it (Bible Content Exam), the first of my 5 required exams for Presbyterian ordination, in February. (And since my brain will be Hebrew mush in January, I'm taking the practice test now.)
Peace to you all,
Mari Lyn
I thought I'd send a note to mark the end of my 1st semester in seminary. This has been a good semester for me. I had much trepidation and concern over the decision to leave RRISD--librarianship, teaching, friends, the known--and to go to seminary--the unknown. Some of you will find this hard to believe, but I was one of the shy, quiet students early on. But, I've
come out of my shell and begun to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and to contribute in class. Study groups, peer editing papers, eating lunch in the dining hall regularly, and getting to know my new (on-campus) neighbors all helped.
The last 3 weeks were tense and intense. But, just like at mid-term, I survived! I did well in 2 classes, (the ones I've received papers and tests back). I was doing well in the other 2 classes up to the final, and I felt confident about those finals, so . . . I'm hoping my grades will reflect my confidence in those classes as well.
Sarah arrived home Monday evening, and Mary flies in tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to spending the next 2 weeks with my girls, Kevin, and my mom. Then, January 5 I begin intensive Hebrew for "January term". My "upperclassmen" friends (who have already taken Hebrew) told me I will live, breathe, sleep, and eat Hebrew. With that kind of intensity, I sure hope I learn it, too. ;=)
Thank you for inviting me to Old Town's 20th anniversary. I wanted to be able to visit Old Town without imposing in any way on the new librarian. Thank you also for inviting me to the librarians' Christmas book exchange/party where I got to speak librarian-ese again ;=) We have a wonderful public services librarian here--teaching lessons on using the Ebsco databases, academic integrity--citing sources--how to get reliable info on the web--I felt right at home in her sessions!
I wish you all a wonderful holiday, time to relax and be renewed, time to enjoy your families.
As for me . . . I'm about to take the first in a series of practice Bible content exams on the internet. I take it (Bible Content Exam), the first of my 5 required exams for Presbyterian ordination, in February. (And since my brain will be Hebrew mush in January, I'm taking the practice test now.)
Peace to you all,
Mari Lyn
1st update from seminary: early fall 2008
From an email I sent to RRISD friends September 20, 2008:
I just finished my 3rd week of classes and I'm still in seminary. They haven't kicked me out yet for heresy. (I'm keeping quiet.) I'v onley hadd won test (2 daze ago), so they hav'nt had the oppertoonity to re-think there decizhun to admitt mee in the firste plase.
I have 4 classes, and I'm enjoying all 4 of them, but from different perspectives. While others find the church history (apostolic age to reformation, 1650) to be somewhat dry, I'm relishing both the stories and the facts--names, dates and places. Our Old Testament class is stretching me--my time and my mind. Along with reading the Old Testament (Genesis through Judges so far), we're also reading 2 different texts which shed light (or are supposed to) on the history of the literature, the culture in which it was written, etc. One of the texts is actually fascinating, but the other one (copyright 1973) refers to "recent" scholarship in the 1930s. zzzzz You Language Arts teachers will appreciate our search for clues about the genre of various passages and none of you will be surprised that I had my hand up (in the small discussion section--I keep my mouth shut in the big classes---yes I do.) constantly asking for those clues. How else would I be able to figure this stuff out on my own in the future? Yes, I'm still detail-oriented.
In both our worship and theology classes, the profs are stressing the big picture/conceptual thinking. Our theology prof read an Everybody book in class yesterday which he felt illustrated something about the glory of God as John Calvin attested. (Bagels from Benny) At the end, he teared up and had to collect himself before proceeding. Sound familiar? I much preferred that to reading John Calvin and Thomas Acquinas (Yes, we've been studying a Catholic theologian in a Presbyterian seminary.) Talk about obtuse. Those guys are obtuse--most of the time. But, it's cool when our prof points out Calvin's maternal images of God. (Hmmm, did John Calvin set the stage for feminist theology 400 years in the future?) We are also reading texts from theologians in this century--connecting our Reformed tradition to Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology, and Womanist Theology (and yes, I really enjoy those texts.)
We got moved into our seminary apartment in early August, and it's great to be on campus. We have a buyer for our house and expect/hope to close at the end of the month. I am typing this to y'all from my (Apple) laptop sitting in my swing among some of my plants transported from my backyard. The other residents in our building (affectionately called "the bombshelter" due to its cinderblock construction from the 1950s) are enjoying my "garden". One is looking into getting an outdoor fire pit to burn logs in this the winter, so we can use this garden area year-round as a community space.
Speaking of my swing--I was sitting in it when I first "heard" the call to go to seminary back in summer 2007--Last weekend, I met with the Committee on Preparation for the Ministry and have been approved by them to become on Inquirer. That's the first step in the ordination process in the Presbyterian Church. Seminary (education) and Ecclesial (ordination) preparation are 2 separate (but parallel) tracks I have to follow for the next 3 years.
Well, I hope I haven't disappointed anyone who was hoping I'd learned to write brief emails with this lengthy discourse.
I'm very close to UT, so you're welcome to come visit anytime you're in the UT area.
I just finished my 3rd week of classes and I'm still in seminary. They haven't kicked me out yet for heresy. (I'm keeping quiet.) I'v onley hadd won test (2 daze ago), so they hav'nt had the oppertoonity to re-think there decizhun to admitt mee in the firste plase.
I have 4 classes, and I'm enjoying all 4 of them, but from different perspectives. While others find the church history (apostolic age to reformation, 1650) to be somewhat dry, I'm relishing both the stories and the facts--names, dates and places. Our Old Testament class is stretching me--my time and my mind. Along with reading the Old Testament (Genesis through Judges so far), we're also reading 2 different texts which shed light (or are supposed to) on the history of the literature, the culture in which it was written, etc. One of the texts is actually fascinating, but the other one (copyright 1973) refers to "recent" scholarship in the 1930s. zzzzz You Language Arts teachers will appreciate our search for clues about the genre of various passages and none of you will be surprised that I had my hand up (in the small discussion section--I keep my mouth shut in the big classes---yes I do.) constantly asking for those clues. How else would I be able to figure this stuff out on my own in the future? Yes, I'm still detail-oriented.
In both our worship and theology classes, the profs are stressing the big picture/conceptual thinking. Our theology prof read an Everybody book in class yesterday which he felt illustrated something about the glory of God as John Calvin attested. (Bagels from Benny) At the end, he teared up and had to collect himself before proceeding. Sound familiar? I much preferred that to reading John Calvin and Thomas Acquinas (Yes, we've been studying a Catholic theologian in a Presbyterian seminary.) Talk about obtuse. Those guys are obtuse--most of the time. But, it's cool when our prof points out Calvin's maternal images of God. (Hmmm, did John Calvin set the stage for feminist theology 400 years in the future?) We are also reading texts from theologians in this century--connecting our Reformed tradition to Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology, and Womanist Theology (and yes, I really enjoy those texts.)
We got moved into our seminary apartment in early August, and it's great to be on campus. We have a buyer for our house and expect/hope to close at the end of the month. I am typing this to y'all from my (Apple) laptop sitting in my swing among some of my plants transported from my backyard. The other residents in our building (affectionately called "the bombshelter" due to its cinderblock construction from the 1950s) are enjoying my "garden". One is looking into getting an outdoor fire pit to burn logs in this the winter, so we can use this garden area year-round as a community space.
Speaking of my swing--I was sitting in it when I first "heard" the call to go to seminary back in summer 2007--Last weekend, I met with the Committee on Preparation for the Ministry and have been approved by them to become on Inquirer. That's the first step in the ordination process in the Presbyterian Church. Seminary (education) and Ecclesial (ordination) preparation are 2 separate (but parallel) tracks I have to follow for the next 3 years.
Well, I hope I haven't disappointed anyone who was hoping I'd learned to write brief emails with this lengthy discourse.
I'm very close to UT, so you're welcome to come visit anytime you're in the UT area.
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