Serva sum

Qui voluerit inter vos primus esse, erit vester servus. Matt 20:27 (He that will be first among you shall be your servant.)
... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matt20:28

Qui maior est vestrum, erit minister vester. Matt23:11 (He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.)
... For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matt23:12

Latin and the Bible... aahh... food for my mind, soul and spirit.

In principio - Verbum: In the beginning - the Word.

Learning Latin is not easy, but extremely rewarding. It has a logical and systematic structure and grammar. And it opens up a world of thought and meaning behind many words and expressions because English was much influenced by Latin. It is used liberally in law, science, literature.

Eg. the legal dictum: nemo dat quod non habet means no one gives what he does not have. It is used in the law of transfer of title and property to show that if one is not the legal owner of a property, he cannot transfer its title to another. So a purchaser of a car or house from a thief or fraudulent party gains no title and the title remains with the true owner. The purchaser's remedy would be to sue the seller, if of course he can find him and if not, he bears the loss.

How about common phrases like semper fidelis, status quo, in toto, homo sapiens, mea culpa, modus operandi, alma mater, magnum opus, post mortem, carpe diem, alter ego, anno Domini, et tu Brute, et cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum?

Of course, Latin is still used in the Vatican city by the Roman Catholic Church. When recently, the new Pope was elected, the phrase was Habemus Papam! (We have a Pope.)

This is the Lord's Prayer in Latin:

Pater noster qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum:
adveniat regnum tuum:
fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie:
et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris:
et ne nos inducas in temptationem:
set libera nos a malo.

Lingua latina est pulchra. Intellegis?

sms n john milton

Last night, as I was turning in tired and weary still after a busy Friday cooking for the care group and the long evening, I received an sms from Jennifer, at 10.45 p.m. It said: "1 who idles fr day 2 day is a consumer of life, 1 who is active n useful is a creator of life. Good nite."

This morning, before we went to church, I sent her this: "John Milton's On His Blindness: ...
'They also serve who only stand and wait.' Be still and know that I am GOD ... Ps 46:10 Good morning and Happy Sunday!

She replied: Tq.

It so happened that I had been reading poetry and had come across this poem by Milton who is best known as the Puritan author of the epic poem Paradise Lost which was, as I learnt to my surprise, apparently written at the time when he had become completely blind.

On His Blindness

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."

About Schmidt

We showed the movie "About Schmidt" at the home fellowship last night. It is about a 66 year old man (acted by Jack Nicholson, brilliantly as usual) retiring after a lifetime of working as an insurance actuary in the same company and facing the meaninglessness of his very existence. The excellent script brought to the screen the reality of aging, death, broken relationships, and amidst it all, the humour and pathos of ordinary lives of ordinary people very much like ourselves, the viewers.

Everyone of the dozen of us were quiet and sober at the end of the show. One young man in his 20's kept saying, "It's so sad, it's so sad." Well, it is sad, as Moses put it in Psalm 90:

"For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

What more if life is lived without God? In the words of the Preacher who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes,

"Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun; But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. ... Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. ...
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 11:7-8; 12:8,13-14