A friend sent me this, asking if it would be my next project.
Very cool, and way beyond my skill level!
I had my first b'fast with Pam before she left for work at 7:30. I had my second b'fast alone an hour later. From there to the usual mid-morning snack, and then.... Yesterday's PR at the gym seems to have had an effect I didn't expect (besides the soreness I knew was coming).
Because we'll be at the car auctions next Thursday and Friday, (yes, "we"; more to follow) I'm working ahead for Sunday, the 19th. Which explains why I was sitting at a Starbucks table yesterday doing early-stage prep. While lost in that prep a man, 70-ish, approaches and asks if, when his friend arrives, they can take the other chair from my table to put at his which only has one. "Sure."
Then he says, "You look like you're deep in something. What are you working on?" Without first thinking how it might sound I answered, "Translating the next section of Philippians 3 from the Greek." (I often say the first thing that comes to my mind, which has been the beginning of a lot of my troubles.) The man responded, "Well, we're two retired clergymen, so we're past all that Greek and Hebrew stuff." Again, without thought I said, "I hope I'm never past it." To which he replied, with a hand gesture that I can best describe as one of dismissiveness, "There's other stuff in life."
That bothered me, and I think it said something about his approach to his clergying. (I just made that word up, in case you were wondering.) I wish I could have asked him why he went into ministry, and why he stayed in it. I'm going to guess it wasn't because he loved God's Word and learning it better. So did he have a heart for his people, or were they also just a necessary part of the job? Frankly, I think the Bible says both are essential requirements for the position. If you love the people but not the Bible you might as well be a confidant/counselor. (cf. mainline clergy) If you love the Word but not the people, become an academic.
I sure hope my people have a clear sense of my love for Scripture and for them.
This morning I took the results of yesterday's translation efforts and tried to figure out the import of what I learned.
Hebrew has an unusually high percentage of nouns that describe persons, places, and things in great variety and detail. The verb system, though nearly inscrutable, is relatively compact. Greek is just the opposite, with a disproportionately large number of verbs and a system of verb forms that drives first year Greek students bonkers.
In Phil. 3:12-16 Paul packs in a whole fistful of verbs, with five in just the first sentence. And almost every one of the verbs in this short paragraph is different from the others re. its form. But each with its particular form speaks volumes more than our crude English verb system can capture. That makes translating & preaching a real challenge.
To illustrate: "Not that I have already obtained (aorist, active, indicative) or am already perfect (perfect, passive, indicative)...."
The first verb form says, "I haven't already arrived at the point..."
The second verb form says, "I haven't already been brought to the point with the result that I continue to live in that state..."
Yes, these are nuances. But they're nuances that I get all geeked about. No, I won't go through these translation details in my sermon on this passage because if I did I'd lose everyone in the room. "They want the meal, not the recipe." But these details get me inside Paul's head and help insure that I'll be preaching what he was saying, not what I'm thinking.
So yes, "there's other stuff in life." Which is why we're going to the car auctions for two days next week and I'm taking along a rag to wipe the drool off my chin. But the day I stop getting a buzz out of digging in and learning more of God's Word better be the day I'm dressed in a body bag, or something's gone seriously wrong.
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