HS Latin class-revisited… in time for the holidays
Anybody else take 4 years of high school Latin JUST to prepare for the SATs back in the ‘90s? So what that means is that I sat through four lllllllllllllllllooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg years of learning a Romance/Romantic language, that incited zero spark and passion within me. Duh, me! I am today-years-old when I finally realize that “Romance” in this sense, has zip to do with love and passion…it has all to do with vulgar Latin languages of the Roman Empire. Ssssooooo, I’m re-learning a couple of reasons why I should’ve paid more attention in class at Manhattan Center For Science and Mathematics Latin classes (116th and FDR Drive-represent, Woot Woot!). Here’s what I vividly remember from class, though. In this public school environment, we translated the Holy Bible from Latin/Greek to English…now, this segment got all my attention. Word.
Why?
Ooooooohhhh, ‘cuz I loved reading the Bible, in any language, when I was in high school. At 15-years old, it was super clear to me that I would be living full-time as a Believer and there was no other option for me. And I didn’t want it any other way. So, I delved into those Latin-English translations and literally breezed through those assignments…and wanted more just for practice. Still, because I enjoyed the act of translation didn’t mean that I was in love with the language itself. What I was in love with, though, was the text in the Good Book which was popping off the pages to me, even at 15 years old.
30 years later, I still enjoy reading the Bible. What I enjoy even more though, is the expectation of Christ’s coming. That may read as ‘gushy’ to you. To me, though, I love a good story about great expectations. Which is exactly why the season of Adventus does something great to me. And here’s where I pick back up the joy of Latin.
Enter Merriam-Webster
Advent 2021 will begin on Sunday, November 28 and ends on Friday, December 24. I’m writing this as an open letter to prepare you for times such as these. You see, I spent the first 25 years in this Christian way getting excited for December 25th…oblivious to what led up to the birth of Immanuel (my favorite name for Jesus — meaning “God with us.’) I have nary a memory of learning about Advent after giving my heart to Christ at age 15 up until my late 30's. I do remember learning ‘the reason for the season’ and essentially remember seeing less and less presents with my name on them under the tree. I still love Santa (a whole other story is coming about that). So, it was cool; Jesus was ‘the gift’ and I got that. You got no complaints from me.
It must’ve been about 2016, though, after being a member of Second Baptist Church of Detroit for at least 8 years by then, that I actually saw something with new eyes. If you’re a Matrix triology fan like my hubby, Ken, then you’ll easily recall the scene in the original Matrix film where Neo tells Morpheus that his eyes hurt. Morpheus responds with something like, that’s because this is your first time using them. So yep, I had a Matrix moment in the 7th pew, middle aisle, center seat, when Rev. Dr. Louise Beamon stood on the pulpit, like she did every November prior, and lit the first of four candles on the Advent ring.
Soooooo, Advent is more about expecting and preparing for Christ’s second coming than it is about me buying chocolate-filled Advent calendars from the grocery store and Dollar Tree? Dang; how could I have missed that? The signs and ceremonies and sermons where right in my face and passing from one ear and right on out the other for at least 8 years. I felt like a dummie…to boot, the glass bowl filled with Dum Dum lollipops that sat outside of the sanctuary reminded me that I needed to open my ears and eyes before I missed another major lesson…that even little kiddies could pick up on some of these major Christian keys faster than I was. I began to pay closer attention to the Advent wreath, to the berry and pink-ish color candles that Dr. Beamon lit each week. Soon, I was memorized and spent an usual amount of time studying Adventus and planning ways to teach my children a new story behind the chocolate calendars that I’d been buying and hanging on the kitchen dining room wall each year.
Somewhere around 2018, Elena, my youngest daughter, and I committed to creating personalized Advent calendars for one another and giving each other one Advent-themed gift each evening. The gift could include chocolate, needed to be unexpected, and had to include some Christ-centric theme, scripture, or quote. We created conversation around each gift. It was magical (again, a reference, in part, to the man Santa and his magical appearance…and I really should write that story next). Our Advent calendars-brought-to-real-life have been my favorites. We did this for a few years and this deepened our understand of Christ’s birth and life. More importantly, these annual Advent experiences prepared us for the reality that Jesus the Christ (because there are other Jesus’s in the Bible, ya’ll) is returning. It is advantageous for Believers to expect Him…and to share the good news that we’ve known for millennia.
If you feel an urge to celebrate Advent this year or to bring Advent to real life in a new way, here are some ideas for creating a calendar that you will want to run to open each day:
One year, we invited my husband Ken to join our Advent calendaring experience, and he added a very different and unexpected twist. His twist was to prepare our meals each evening…we gave him physical gifts (small, but daily gifts) and he fed us consistently. The twist is that hubby doesn’t cook regularly and so his meals a real treat. Coming up with ideas to celebrate Advent with family and friends has helped our household arrive at one conclusion — proper preparation prevents poor performance…straight out of the mouths of babes…my son, Ken Jr., taught me that one.
As of this writing, I have 90 followers. Thank you. I’m asking for your follow. I’m pretty great at following back. Most of my writings are spirited and uplifting, until they are not…hey I’m human too. I’m a Hamilton fanatic and require frequent forgiveness for responding to questions with Broadway showtune lyrics. I cannot help myself with that.
One of the nicknames that I can share publicly is ‘The Small Business Cheerleader.”
So, cheers to all of the readers here,
please enjoy my most recent article here on Medium until the next time.
Be blessed and be encouraged.
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Storytelling with my pen and keyboard since 2014. ~ Tisha Hammond
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