When I was in seminary and was learning Greek, one of the Greek words that stuck with me was skubala. It is found in today's reading from Philippians. Skubala not only has a catchy sound to it (the accent is on the first syllable), but it is one of those words that turns out to have been "cleaned up" in translation.
Paul writes of how knowing Christ has made everything else seem worthless by comparison. "I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish..." Rubbish is how my Bible translates skubala, but while it can mean rubbish, its more literal meaning is dung or excrement. In seminary one smart alec thought it funny to translate this verse "...and I regard them as sh--." Everyone laughed, but the professor then added that this humorous translation likely came closer to what Paul meant than our Bibles did.
No doubt Paul is employing a bit of hyperbole, but still I find his words striking. Very often in our world, religion is an add-on or a pick-me-up. I know that in my own life, it is easy for faith to live at the edges, not making significant contact with a great deal of my day to day activities, even though I am a pastor. But to know Jesus so deeply that this experience dwarfs all of life, puts everything else in a distant second place...
Perhaps Holy Week would be a good time to reflect and meditate on this. As we consider the events of this week, may they become so real to us as to move everything else aside.
(Click here to learn more about the Daily Lectionary.)
I really like what you are sharing here. After my most recent trip to the most special place on earth, I have a strong desire to learn Greek and Hebrew.
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