30 Oct 2005

Your Word or Mine?

1 Thessalonians 2:9-20

Let me begin today with a short story. I think the Kelly Family, who has been Bible translators and missionaries in Africa, might enjoy this one. James Buchanan wrote, "The Bible Society of South Africa reports that in an early draft of their translation of the Bible into Southern Sotho (one of many South African dialects), the typesetter typed "jwala" (which means "beer") instead of "jwalo" (which is translated "so"). The result of Genesis 1:9 was, "And God said: "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place. . . . And it was beer.?"   

Can you imagine the surprise of those who read the Bible for the first time? You mean God made beer, lots of beer?

This story reminds me of how difficult it is to translate the Bible. For example, there are a good number of Hebrew words that have multiple meanings and therefore multiple translations. However, it is important to note that none of those words significantly alter the overall meaning of the message of God. Yet, we continue to work and research these words to find out what is the best possible translation given the time when the passage was written, the context in which it was written and the overall intentions of the possible writer(s). It is a lot of work.

But, why do we do this? We do this, because we want to know what the Bible says. It is important for us to know what the Scriptures say. Why? Because we (Christian-Anabaptists) are Biblicist, we are people of the Word. Our theology, our world views, our moral codes, our ethical standards are drawn from the Bible. We hold the Bible as the Word of God that directs our beliefs and behavior.

Today we celebrate the Christian holiday "All Saints Day". Within the Christian calendar, on this day, Christians remember all those who suffered and perhaps died for the Gospel as well as celebrate their faithfulness of passing to us the Message of God- the Gospel. The Mennonite Church, like every historical denomination, has a long history of faithful believers who paid the price for their beliefs. Because of their faithfulness we have a Church that still holds on to and believes in the Message of God.

Within our Christian tradition and heritage we have historical documents that testify to the faithfulness of those who came before us. Of these documents the "Martyrs Mirror" is the best known.

Within it we have hundreds of stories of faithful believers who gave their lives for the Gospel. One of these stories is the story of Dirk Willemz who returned to save his persecutor after he fell into the frozen lake.

Dirk's compassion for this man was stronger than his wiliness to save his own life. After saving his persecutor he was arrested and killed in 1569.

We also have the story of Meyken Wens.

She was a faithful believer who died, burned at the stake in 1573. To prevent her from singing and testifying of her faith to others while being burned, her tormentors put a tongue screw in her mouth.

The picture you see is of her children looking for the tongue screw among their mother's ashes.

These stories give us encouragement and reaffirm our faith. What we believe, the message we have received, is worth keeping and dying for.

This is also the message Paul wanted to communicate to the faithful at Thessalonica. In chapter 2:2 he wrote,"we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.? Verse 13 read, ?We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as human word but as what it really is, God?s word, which is also at work in you believers."

The message Paul shared with the Thessalonians was more than his own words. They were more than human opinions or human thoughts. The Word he shared with them was the Gospel of God, the Good News of Jesus Christ. This Good News was worth sharing and was worth suffering for.

Yet, there is something interesting about Paul's message. The Word that he shared with the faithful at Thessalonica was not the New Testament, the Written Word. Scholars tell us that I Thessalonians was the first letter written in the New Testament. It was written even before the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). This first letter to the Thessalonians was written in the year 50, roughly 18 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This tells us that the faithful in Thessalonica responded not to a written Word, but an oral message from God. They responded to the message of hope and of salvation that Paul preached. Paul said, ?We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word (v.13).

Paul himself was the recipient of this message. What he shared with those in Thessalonica is the same message he had received. In I Corinthians 15:3 Paul wrote, "For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures [the Old Testament], and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures."

So, as Anabaptists, as people of the Book, the written Word, how should we respond to the reality that the Gospel Paul preached was not actually written? I believe these passages remind us of two things. First, that the Word of God, His message, goes beyond written words. This is to say that God?s message is not restricted by written words. In fact, His message, His Good News, is not the written words per se, but the message itself. The message is the one that touches our hearts and transforms our lives. This is why people who can not read the Bible and only hear the Gospel can be touched and transformed in the same way as those who do read the Scriptures. The words only testify to the truth that is beyond written words.

This is also why Christians translate the Bible to different languages and wrestle with translation, instead of insisting that everyone learn Hebrew and Greek. Human language is only a tool to the truth behind the words. In fact, no words in any language can fully describe God and the love He has for us. This is also why we do not revere the Bible as holy in it of itself. To do so, we might make the mistake of worshiping paper and not the living God.

Having said that, however, what Paul preached, the message that changed many lives, is the same message we have received today. Therefore, the second thing these verses should remind us of is that the Message of God, the Gospel, has been able to survive and stay the same for years. We read the Scriptures, we read the New Testament, because they speak to the truth about God's message. Scholars call the New Testament the written witnesses of the Gospel of God. In other words, the New Testament books testify to us about the transforming message of Jesus Christ. The same message that transformed the people of Thessalonica is the same messages that transformed you and me. This is why we are the people of the Book, of the Written Word, because in the Scriptures we find the Message of God, the good news of Jesus Christ. And in hearing, or reading about the good news of Jesus Christ, we are transformed.

Paul was also clear in his letter about the power of the Gospel. He said, "when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as human word but as what it really is, God?s word, which is also at work in you believers. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus." The Gospel was 'at work', moving, changing and transforming the lives of those who believed.

This is why today, we remember all the believers who came before us and were faithful to their faith. Their willingness to be transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ allowed the Message of God to be past on to us. Today we can talk about the power of the Gospel to give us hope and assurance in the midst of difficult times, because they were faithful believers in the midst of persecution.

Let us therefore, continue to preach the Message of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth we know.

Let us therefore, continue to be faithful to the Message of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and find in His message the hope, assurance and peace we need in the midst of difficult times.

Let us therefore, continue to be the people of the Book, those who embrace the Written Word, because in the written words we read about the love of God, the Message of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that has the power to move, change and transform our lives.

Amen.