There’s nothing quite like going back to school after decades away than by jumping into a semester long class in biblical Greek and cramming it all into two weeks. I guess this is my “What Did You Do This Summer?” essay. Because that is exactly what I did…started a new graduate degree with what is known at United Lutheran Seminary as summer Greek.
That was 10 class days of English grammar, Greek grammar, vocabulary quizzes, memorizing, learning software, dissecting scripture passages from the Greek and writing translations, a midterm, a final, and theological sidebars. Also included in the two weeks were Haribo raspberries and dark chocolate M&Ms, lots of sandwiches for lunches, mush brain, good music, stories, puns, eye-rolling references, substantivizing substantives, interpretive dance, and a few I-L-L…I-N-I’s.
Sugar, caffeine, and humor are school supplies for this class. It was at times exhausting, frustrating, and discouraging. School isn’t, nor should it be, always easy, but going back after decades away is terrifying and in many ways looks very different. Cramming a semester into two weeks is not for the feint of heart. Persistence, friendships, and believing that you are where you are meant to be, go a long way towards getting you to the other side successfully.
It has been an emotional two weeks with the fire hydrants open to full blast. It has also been humbling, empowering, and affirming. New friendships were forged among a diverse group of people that span 4 decades in ages, represent a large geographic area of the country, and a variety of backgrounds.
In the fall of 2021, I participated in a discussion series on the book Short Stories by Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine, which looks at many of the well-known parables. One that we discussed was the story of the pearl of great price. The story is of a merchant searching for pearls of great value and sells all to acquire THE pearl. Often explained as “finding” Jesus or salvation being the pearl, the author puts forth a different understanding. What if the pearl and this story, is about living our lives to the fullest? About being willing to do the terrifying yet exciting thing? There’s a blog post here that digs into that.
Today we closed our last session with a verse from that very parable. The intent was to close the class with a final touch of humor. When I saw it, I immediately remembered that we had pointed this out in our book discussion.
Matthew 13:45 in English…
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;
In Greek…
Πάλιν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ ἐμπόρῳ ζητοῦντι καλοὺς μαργαρίτας
The last word in Greek, it is the word for pearls…can you switch the letters to Roman letters and sound it out?
To get your pearl of great value and to make it through a summer Greek intensive, you need plenty of support and encouragement from family (meals and chocolate chip cookies) and friends (both old and new)…and lots of humor.
Now, go find your pearl, even if it’s hard and terrifying, because it’s also exciting and enlivening.
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