Just got back from Danville. Like my new red running shorts?
I was in Danville to see the ENT about my ear. I've had otitis media with effusion for almost two months now and I still can't hear out of my right ear. Doc says there's no infection but that the plugged-up feeling can last for months so just be patient. I'll be back in June to get a hearing test and a follow up visit with the doc. (Sorry, this doctor stuff is TMI no doubt. You are already familiar with my tendency to provide TMI.) While in Danville (which is only an hour drive from the farm, so not too far) I got in a fantastic run at Anglers Park close to the Dan River.
Managed to get in a fairly decent number of steps as well, and why not -- the weather was perfect!
Before that, during my Bible time this morning in South Boston (how it got that name, I have no idea -- we're nowhere close to Boston, MA), I went through the first chapter of Mark word by word.
As you know, when I study the Bible, I labor over words. I then shape the words (by translating them) so that they fit together in ways that make sense to me. I do this through prayer. I do it through research. I do it over time, lots of time (a mere 30-minute Bible time is out of the question). God deserves this because, for me, Bible study is an act of worship. I love Mark's Gospel even though many scholars have quasi-dismissed its style and diction as being vastly inferior to that of Matthew and Luke (the two other Synoptics). I couldn't disagree more. One of the most gifted writers on Mark I know is my friend and Lutheran scholar Jim Voelz (pronounced "veltz").
I love what he says about this topic. "Close examination reveals in St. Mark a biblical author who did pay close attention to what he was doing grammatically, from his use of verb tenses to his word order to his selection (or omission) of conjunctions" (p. xv). Voelz is one of the leading New Testament exegetes of our day with a great eye for detail (he and I both were in Basel in 1982 sitting under the tutelage of the great and good Bo Reicke, who was as detail-oriented as it gets. Reicke was also a Swedish Lutheran -- so Voelz was his denominational brother). In his commentary (mind you, this is only volume 1, consisting of -- wait for it -- a "mere" 588 pages), Voelz pays close attention to even minor features of Marks' grammar as he seeks to show how Mark's "story" is presented and what features have allowed it to succeed. Voelz even writes, " ... this Gospel is not basic, neither is it the earliest" (p. 1). No theory of evolution from simple Mark to sublime Matthew and Luke here! Tomorrow or the next day I'll point out to you some of these features that Voelz seems to revel in. And make no mistake about it -- the man loves what he finds in Mark!
Otherwise, it's been another crazy week here at the farm. We're gearing up to farm about 200 acres this summer and there's tons of work to do before then. I seldom think about farming without picturing Paul's words to Timothy in which he praises "the hard-working farmer" (2 Tim. 2:6). But, I repeat (see yesterday's post), when you love what you're doing, there's an abundance of joy that accompanies it. The rhythm of the farm is healing to the frantic pace of normal life. At the farm you always have to slow down and pace yourself. There's no scurrying frantically from one thing to the next unless you're a grandson trying to outrun Papa B in a mock race. As the sun sets, you're always grateful for the transition from the activity of the day to the relaxation of the evening. You go to bed with fresh, new memories and an eager anticipation of the next day.
So do be prepared for lots of posts about farming in the weeks to come.
You've been warned.