taste of seminary, day 2

i'm wiped out again. this time, not only physically but emotionally as well. oh, but there was so much deep, deep gladness! here are some fragmented thoughts-

today, the lecture was on biblical studies. according to my m.div'ed small group leader, our two professors teaching today managed to squeeze about three weeks worth of materials in two hours. needless to say, it was a lot to take in and i cried after the lecture. it was my first time crying in front of a professor. observations and thoughts from the lecture-

• the writers of the scripture wrote from a specific context, with intentions and motives that can be very human. i read the scripture through cultural lenses that are different from theirs, with my own interpretations. this is also very, very human. so my question was...where is the divine amidst this?
• in the interpretation of a passage, i resonated more with gerhard von rad, a german lutheran pastor from 50 years ago than with a fellow woman of color of my time
• first exposure to mainline protestantism. the profs presented information that was already familiar in a way that opened a can of worms that i didn't know existed.
• seeing the love for God and the passion with which frank and margaret (the profs) obey their callings as teacher-preachers were beautiful, hopeful and redemptive despite our different views
• thankful for my moments of dialogue and connection with frank, margaret and JEN I-M. jen was basically my staffworker for the day.
• a highlight: very brief convo with tatiana, an african american student in the bathroom right after the lecture was over. she asked me how i was doing, and i was almost in tears. i asked her how she felt, and she triumphantly said that she felt freed. how beautiful to hear that the same presentation that burned a hole in my gut freed another person!
• another highlight: conversation about interpretation of the scripture with rashad, the morehouse student whom i'm such a fan of. we talked about how the word was an inspiration both to justify injustices and awaken freedom. subsequent question: in the ways i interpret the scripture, do i unintentionally draw boundaries that marginalize those i see as "the others"?

those were some gritty stuff that came out of that lecture. other highlights and things worth remembering:

• walking around hyde park, sorta seeing obama's house (you're only allowed to peek from across the street and the trees obscured the view). the secret service was parked in the intersection and i wanted to take a picture with them (didn't happen)
• 1 hr-turned-3 hr debrief with my small group was contemplative, healing and joy-filled. i really, really like them.
• finally, remembered once again that God is sovereign over everyone and all of the things we talked about and struggled with. his sovereignty appears to me even greater and deeper in light of the differences i have with these people.

i end today remembering a quote shared by a fellow small group member:

"in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity"

-st. augustine