Also, I have a paper due Monday and I have been very slow to get going on that, even by my own procrastinator-y standards. It is a short paper (5-7) pages about a parable and how it might be read. For this paper, I have selected the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke chapter 15.
Oh it is oft used, but it keeps coming up for me, it reminds me of my own story. Girl takes treasure and runs. And runs. Riotous living ensues. Girl loses all and returns home. Fatted calf and gold rings follow ginormous embrace from father. Brother gets pissed off, he *did* stick around and behave after all. Harumph!
When I went on my unlikely journey to Medjugorje, which I wrote about recently, I went to confession. The priest was about 25 years old, just a kid. He did not scold me for my long absence but was so welcoming and joyful. He told me that I was the Prodigal daughter and honestly, I had no clue what he was talking about. Yes, I knew the story sort-of, but could not take it in then.
So I am off to work on my paper and I need to do some prep work on my second paper as well as begin to work on my group project. The second paper is on the role that Scripture plays in my life and its importance along with how it has developed and changed over time. Then I must chose a pericope from any of the four Gospels and explain how it might be interpreted from the perspectives of both "high" and "low" Christology.
The group project calls a team of 3 of us to choose a contemporary theologian and explore their work regarding their basic theological beliefs and the challenges that this person offers to our faith community. We have chosen Elizabeth Johnson.
And hey- I am going to be published in print again. My review of "Why Is There a Menorah On the Altar? Jewish Roots of Christian Worship" by Meredith Gould will be published on Thursday. If you are so inclined, send Meredith your good wishes; she has lost two of her beloved cats in a very short time.
I will supply a link to the review come Thursday and give some background on Meredith, who is a true menschette beyond all reasonable menschettery. That said, she has chops. You can also read her words, which spare no one, regarding the latest Catholic-Jewish mishegos, which has been the source of a lot of tsouris. Oy, anti-semitism seemingly never goes out of style and tragically so.
OK, so much for a short post, now I must run.
Do some people still not realize that Jesus was born a Jew, lived as a Jew and died a Jew? Just sayin'.
Wow, you certainly have a lot on your plate...I can relate to the school work anyway--papers every week. You seem to truly be in your element with your studies and I couldn't be happier for you! Good for you for following your heart. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou bring back memories of me taking Scripture classes at OST. The parables and pericopes we write about stay with us. I compared Jesus restoring one to wholeness in the community by comparing the Widow of Nain and the friends lowering the paralytic through the roof. Physical healing (from death and from paralysis), but also communal restoration.
ReplyDeleteI know you feel overwhelmed, but appreciate the learning and growing, too. Love to you, Fran.
Oy! So is not being total loss, may the prodigal blogger return soon, with a title, even!
ReplyDeleteI almost miss writing papers. Really, what I miss is writing ABOUT writing papers.
ReplyDeleteLove you, Fran. Study hard.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the published piece, Fran! I'm happy to hear your richly insightful (and very well-written) work is getting wider notice.
ReplyDeleteYou ask if some folks still don't realize Jesus was a Jew. Reminds me of a question one of my cousins asked me when she was--embarrassing to admit this--in her early 20s: did Jesus speak King James English or some older form of English?
Lots of work to do out there, even to get people to read that bible they quote so freely--to read it carefully, thoughtfully, and reverently.