Faith, hope, and charity

I was attending one Sunday school class in the states via Skype a few weeks ago.  It was a bit awkward, because they asked me to be there, but the teacher had prepared a lesson and I didn't want to push him aside.  So I sat in my living room in front of my computer and listened to the lesson on 1 Corinthians 13.

My problem with people who watch church on TV is that they miss the element of community.  I'm sure that if I knew this teacher personally, I would have enjoyed his lesson much more.

I remember from my days with the Curtis Trogdon Wesley Class, that as each teacher took his or her turn, that different people had different skills as a teacher.  Everyone had different faults.  Some spoke too slowly, others prepared poorly, still others (present company included!!!) couldn't remember the roving, rotating schedule and were often surprised into the pulpit and asked to lecture on Leviticus on more than one occasion.

I never heard a bad lesson.

One of my mentors told me once, "If you love your church and your church loves you - you can't preach a bad sermon."  I can't imagine the horror and pain of standing in front of a church that hates you.

And I was very bored by this man's lesson.  I'm sure he's a nice man.  I'm sure that his Sunday School class just loves him dearly and they all loved his lesson.  But, his highlight was on the final verses and his translation had "Faith, Hope, and Charity..."  and I had never heard this translation before.  Love is the greatest of these.  It felt so strange to hear that "charity" was the greatest of the three - because to my mind, "charity" wasn't even on the list.

Because, for me, switching from love to charity really changes the meaning of the text.  And I know that it is complicated because English only has one word for love - but it is simple because English only has one word for love.

And now that I translate from time to time, I understand was an extraordinary and fascinating challenge translating the Bible must have been.  English is such a weak language with so few really great words and so many missing concepts.  Isn't that a strange thought?  We always assume that everything can be expressed in our mother tongue, but in reality each language has it's own weaknesses and faults.

Like, in the Beatitudes, the beginning phrase (blessed are) turns each one into an ironic greeting.  In Ukrainian they are understood as originally spoken - but not in English.  And we aren't even touching on the gigantic cultural differences that separate us from the words of Jesus.  Think about how a firm Calvanist might translate many passages and how an Armenian might translate them differently.  When we read the word "Hell" in the New Testament, Jesus often isn't speaking about the physical place we think of.

And I will be charitable (as it is the greatest of the three!) and concede that Bible translators work in teams of extremely gifted and brilliant people.  I'm not saying they are making mistakes.  I'm not speaking against the authenticity of the Bible.  But, isn't it interesting to think that how we understand the Bible is shaped by our very language and culture.

I am reminded again how easy it is for our language and culture to shape the Gospel instead of allowing the Gospel to shape our language and culture.

The Gospel.
It means Good News.  But, it is a word used in relation to the word Eklesia - a word which has become synonymous with our word "church."  But Eklesia meant "the called out ones."  When a news crier would walk up and down the streets crying out the news, those who gathered around to hear would be called "Eklesia" and if he pronounced Good News it would be called Gospel.

And today we call the people who reside inside the large building (or the large building itself!) the "church."  Not the called out ones, but the gathered and tamed ones who once heard the Good News and responded.  And we have too often reduced the "Good News" into a three minute salvation pitch.

And how different would the Gospel sound to fresh eats without the baggage of a different culture and language.  How fresh and new would this old faith sound without our old buildings and notions.

But, I'll try to remain charitable, it's the most import component of our faith.