The semester is shaping up to be strange in other ways as well. Despite history being my primary major, for the first time ever at Fox I'm not taking any history classes. I'm finished with general education classes as well, so I'm spending all my time in Bible classes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; I'm excited about my classes. It will be a weird transition though. If that weren't weird enough, I only have classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be devoted to homework and working for Paul.
Quick Class Rundown:
- Biblical Theology: This is the capstone class to the Biblical Studies major. I don't consider myself any kind of a theologian. If I can ever divert a Bible conversation from theology to history, I do. The professor isn't super well organized so I have no idea what kind of a commitment this will be right now.
- The Prophets: I've had Brian for about a million other classes so I know his deal. This one will be a little different though because it is an upper division course as well as a hybrid course with online activities. Each student has been assigned a particular prophet on which to write their research paper and other projects. The prof said he was embracing the idea of prophetic destinies so he made little slips of paper with names of prophets on them and gave them out. He did this randomly. At least, he did this randomly until he got to me. Standing at my desk, he looked through the slips and hand-picked one for me. He gave Jonah, which I read in its entirety in Hebrew with this professor last year. I'm also reading it 10 times in a row for Relational Bible Teaching this semester. God wants me to learn something from Jonah I guess.
- Hellenistic Greek: I enjoyed the first semester of Greek and it wasn't very difficult so I'm not worried about this one. My compatriots Alex and Devon bailed on me though. That's sad.
- Relational Bible Teaching: When I had Steve for Bible Survey he encouraged me to become a Bible major. I haven't had him since, so I'm excited to have him again. I'm not 100% sure what to make of this class either, but it shouldn't be overly stressful.
I also have my Juniors Abroad class, but that doesn't meet until Wednesday night so I'll have to report on that later. Overall, this doesn't look like a super stressful semester. That makes me happy. :)
In chapel this morning, university president Robin Baker gushed at us about Les Miserables. No really, he did. We couldn't convince him to sing, but he read lyrics at us. His point was that Les Mis aptly demonstrates the Christian idea of being redeemed for a purpose. To this end, he quoted the Bishop's song near the beginning of the story. Jean Valjean betrayed the kindness of this bishop by stealing silver from him. When Valjean is hauled back to the church by the constables, the Bishop, recognizing his plight, sympathizes with him and plays along with his lie that the silver was a gift, even handing him more valuables to take with him. The key, said President Baker, is the last few lines of the Bishop's song, when he says,
"And remember this, my brother,
See in this some high plan.
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man.
By the witness of the martyrs,
By the passion and the blood,
God has raised you out of darkness:
I have bought your soul for God."
Befitting his status as a man of God, the Bishop
plays the role of Christ here. Not only does he forgive the guilty Valjean, but
in place of deserved punishment, he gives him an even greater gift. Instead of
silver, we as Christians receive the precious gift of forgiveness and eternal
life. Like Valjean, though, there is a catch. Redemption comes with
responsibility. For us, the responsibility to serve God in our lives, for
Valjean, the responsibility to "become an honest man." Sometimes I
feel as if I'm not fully living into the gifts and opportunities the Lord has
given me. This is something I'm going to think about this semester.
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