Haoran's blog

[Hi Blog, remember me?]

This week, we're saying goodbye to SMBC. It's nice that it doesn't drag on too long: a week of hectic project-work, a week of exams, and now a week of saying goodbye. We had the project fair on Tuesday, our Graduates Retreat yesterday (Wednesday), the End of Year Dinner on Friday, and Graduation on Saturday.

Don Carson made the remark that what we call Graduation (the end of an era), Americans would call Commencement--i.e. that this is the beginning of the rest of our lives.

Something strange that occurs to me about Hebrew culture--at least as preserved in the Bible.

Hebrew culture is really not interested in heroes going out in a blaze of glory. There is no celebration of a noble death at a young age--no King Arthur. No Ned Kelly. No Horatius, single-handedly warding off an army on a bridge. No Custer's last stand. No Charge of the Light Brigade, or the wasteful slaughter of Anzacs. No noble sacrifices.

I think I've just become a dispensationalist!
First dispensation: No meat. (Creation).
Second dispensation: Certain kinds of meat--i.e. no pigs (old Covenant)
Third dispensation: All kinds of meat (new covenant)
Fourth dispensation: Endless supplies of meat (new Creation)

Adam lived for 930 years. The vast majority of that was after the fall, where through his actions (or perhaps, his inaction) he condemned the rest of humanity to a lifetime out of relationship with God, and the hope of death, in his own pattern.

Did he spend those years pining for the relationship he had had with God in the beginning? One wonders if Cain or Abel was more like Adam. Did he offer genuine sacrifices in worship to God? Did he try to buy back a relationship with God through his offerings?

Strangely, there are tones I feel uncomfortable in my own house. I've been wondering why that's the case. I think that's because the way I think about houses is conditioned somewhat by tradition, rather than function. For instance, I have a study. That's a pretty traditional sort of room to have; a place to hide with your books, to work on sermons and do the accounting. It's also become the modern den (not that we really have dens much in Australia), with boys toys.a far computer to play computer games and hide from your family.

An enormously insightful throwaway comment by our OT lecturer today: "Ezekiel, like the other exilic prophets, is attacking Israel's presumption.

The context: Part of the pervasive "orthodoxy" in Jerusalem, prior to its fall in the 6th century BC, was that as the city of God, in which Yahweh himself dwelt with his temple, Jerusalem was inviolable and impregnable, regardless of the moral laxity within the city.

You'd think that by this stage in my college career, I'd have it all figured out. Essay-writing is tricky business, fraught with procrastination, and I wonder if the Carsons of the world, the paper-publishing professors of academia continue to struggle and play minesweeper instead of writing their papers.

I don't write much any more.

I feel like that ought to be infused with a gratuitous amount of poignancy. Something like: I don't even notice she's gone... most of the time. [note! gratuitous Bob Dylan reference.]

Like lots of thing in my life, it's something that I love doing--I loved doing--which I don't get a chance to do very much anymore.

Leah Joy En-Lai Un was born today.

11:30am, 28th May, 2011. 3.32kg, 50cm. A posterior water-birth, complete unassisted by drugs.

Haoran Un is thankful for: midnight babysitters, providential parents, competent midwifery, Sarah Un's awesomeness (entirely drug-free posterior birth, peoples!), Leah Joy En-Lai* Un, Campos coffee, undisturbed family time, Micah's lack of jealousy, cheerful visitors, food, a quiet night to reflect, nightcaps, and sleep.

* which means: Grace has come