Status Report: October

Sitting…on the couch in the living room.

Drinking…an after supper cup of Earl Grey tea.

Watching…the sun get lower and the days get shorter.

Waiting…for bedtime. I had a full day with the grandchildren after a night with insufficient sleep. I am tired. 

Feeling…sad that yesterday’s snowstorm and winds took down a big section of my May day tree. My son says it’s time to take down the whole tree and I agree—reluctantly. Last summer another big section came down, and I don’t want to live my life waiting for the next branch to fall. Still, I can’t bear to think of my front yard without that beautiful tree.

(Yes, we really did have snow. Four or five inches of heavy wet stuff. It was very hard on the trees that still have leaves.)

Also feeling…happy to have all the garden carrots harvested. I scraped the snow away and dug the rest this morning while the grandkids played in the back yard. 

Laughing…at this: Two-year-old granddaughter to three-year-old granddaughter, “Let’s go have privacy in the bathroom.”

And this, too: Three-year-old to two-year-old (who had just had a potty accident): “That happens to me, too … (long pause) … when I was really little.”

Thanking…God for my oldest granddaughter, who turned three today. This time three years ago she was on a medevac plane to a children’s hospital, so I am especially thankful that she is here and healthy and bringing me joy.

Still reading…Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know by J. I. Packer, but almost finished.

Finished reading…The House of Wittgenstein: A Family at War by Alexander Waugh. I loved this history of the family of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Strange story (suicides, world wars, wealth), compellingly written.

Thinking…I need another historical book to read. Any suggestions?

Complaining…that I need more quiet in my life. Still, I know that my life, with people in and out daily, interrupting my plans and muddling my focus, is the life I’ve been given, and most of the time, I love it. I never get bored or lonely, and that’s a blessing, isn’t it?

Wishing…you an October filled with service to God and the people you love.

Theological Term of the Week

source criticism
The field of biblical studies that seeks to “establish the literary sources the biblical author/editor drew upon.”1

• From 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert L. Plummer:

Source criticism seeks to establish the literary sources the biblical author/editor drew upon. For example, Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918), a liberal Old Testament scholar, argued that the Pentateuch was composed of four literary strands: the Yahwist or Jehovist (J), Elohistic (E), Priestly (P), and Deuteronomistic (D) sources. The evidence for the JEPD construction is actually quite tenuous. The data support traditional Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, while obviously allowing for some gathering and editing of the Mosaic material. 

In the New Testament, source criticism is especially applied to Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels) because of their close similarity in wording and order. The majority of New Testament scholars believe that Luke and Matthew used two main sources in their composition—the written gospel of Mark and “Q.” “Q” is an abbreviation for the German word Quelle (source) and stands for a collection of written and oral sources that Matthew and Luke had in common. Indeed, Luke explicitly indicates that he drew upon multiple sources in the composition of his Gospel (Luke 1:1-4). As many early church fathers comment on the literary sources behind the Gospels (i.e., which Gospel author(s) were dependent on others), source criticism is truly an ancient discipline. 

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Heidelberg Catechism

Question 55. What do you understand by “the communion of saints”?

Answer: First, that all believers, as members of Christ, have communion with him and share in all his riches and gifts; (a) and second, that everyone has a duty to use his gifts readily and cheerfully for the advantage and well-being of the other members. (b)

(Scriptural proofs after the fold.)

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