Baptism Address

Hello everyone at Eastminster, and also to my great friend Izabela. I just have a few words to say - I'll be very brief.

Certain things in life are easy: watching TV, ordering dim sum (they come around on the carts and you just point at the dishes you want), falling into or out of love.

Certain things in life are beautiful: the tuning of an orchestra before a show, the taste of a slice of carrot cake, the sound of rain falling on a porch.

Certain things in life are hard: stilted conversations between a son and his long estranged father, learning to sing The World Beloved, a Blue Grass Mass (which we perform next Sunday night, oh please do come!), making meaningful and ethical career choices - these are all hard things for me.

But there is only one part of life I've experienced thus far that's easy, beautiful, and hard all at the same time - and that is following Jesus and his call, reading and thinking about the Bible.  And as this part grows to become the whole of my life - I can say that I have never lived before I knew him, and now I am truly blessed to be baptised with all of you here.

Thanks be to God, and to you all.

May 1, 2011 - Eastminster United - Ron McKay, Ann McIlwraith, Izabela Medelete

Genesis

After 37 chapters, I've finally stopped struggling against the translation. Taking the advice of a friend, I reread the introduction to the New Living Translation (NLT), which I had skipped. I've stopped second guessing the read, and started appreciating the efforts of the translators and editors.

The NLT Bible is a humane translation, and the warmth of the translators emerge from between the lines of their footnotes. No, it's not the most precise nor the most detailed or accurate rendering of the good book, but it retains the illumination, the delight, the repetition and the intricate interconnections between chapters & verses, teachings & ideas. That is the Bible that I love, without the archaic construction of the KJV.

I will likely need to reread the book in another translation if I wish for a closer read, but I am happy with my choice for the first serious reacquaintance with the Lord in almost a decade.

Genesis is raw, filled with tales of faith against all odds. It tells of betrayal, lust, inhumanity, cunning, but always, there is the counterplay of the blessings of faith. Contradictions abound. Brothers turn against each other, families break and splinter. As boys become men in their own right, some grow powerful while others wither in wickedness.

I am captivated by the image of Israel ne Jacob wrestling with God. The circumstance of my leaving the faith before I even knew what is was, before I was baptised, was one of defiance. But without leaving, I couldn't have come back. I am thankful for these moments, when I can read, write, and reflect.

-----------

PS. so far, the most amusing anachronism of the NLT is the word bumper crops

Joseph, sold by his brothers and taken into Egypt as a slave, interprets dreams for the Pharoh. The dreams reveal that throughout the land there will be seven years of prosperity, followed by seven years of famine.

And of course, as the story goes, these events happen, and

NLT Gen 41:47 As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops.

The same passage in

KJV Gen 41:47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

NIV as reference:

NIV Gen 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.

The lyricism of the King James Bible is undeniable, but the word "bumper crops" couldn't be more apt. Whoever picked that word was truly inspired. I feel nerdy, but I chuckled.

PPS. pedantic note: a quick search found that the word is shared with the Message Bible as well.

-------------

Genesis is the source for many contemporary cultural, philosphical, and artistic works.

The story of Adam and Eve - Milton's Paradise Lost

The story of Abraham offering his son Isaac as a burnt sacrifice - Kierkegaard's philosphies, embodied in his work Fear and Trembling, and the commentaries by existentialist Sartre on the subject of anguish.

Joseph's beautiful robe (or robe of many colours), given to him by Jacob, his father - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

I'm sure there are countless more, but these are the three main ones that remind me of my adulthood, youth, and childhood.

reading the bible

There was a time when I loved the King James Bible - both as a literary artifact and as my window into the Christian faith.

It's time to come back and read through the Bible. Every project needs a target, and mine is a complete read through of the New Living Translation in 100 days, or approx 3 months.

So far, I'm a little behind. I will need to go through about 11 pages a day, or the equivalent of one large book a week.

At the moment, I'm not reading for Biblical or religious study but just to become reacquainted with the text of the Bible - the stories, the psalms, the prophecies, the teachings and the timelines. A fuller understanding can be explored in conversations, at church, etc.

I'm not sure why all of a sudden I needed to return to Christianity. I was never baptised, but for a short time when I was younger, I believed.

With the recent changes in my life, I've realised that the mould of my life hasn't set yet - I could still change my mind on issues and ideas that I hold dear, and so I return to the faith - this time as a man.