WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.299 read the scripture again this is Matthew 5 verses 00:00:03.299 --> 00:00:07.879 1 through 12 and I'll be reading the NRS VUE 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:12.599 version if you have the digital app when Jesus 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.339 saw the crowds he went up the mountain and after 00:00:15.339 --> 00:00:18.399 he sat down his disciples came to him and he 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.579 began to speak and taught them saying blessed 00:00:21.579 --> 00:00:24.019 are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:29.199 of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:31.820 will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for 00:00:31.820 --> 00:00:34.399 they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:36.679 who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.539 they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.719 for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.679 pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:47.899 are the peacemakers, for they will be called 00:00:47.899 --> 00:00:51.280 children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:53.920 for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:57.020 the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people 00:00:57.020 --> 00:00:59.700 revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:02.979 of evil against you falsely on my account Rejoice 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:06.040 and be glad for your reward isn't is great in 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:08.500 heaven for in the same way They persecuted the 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:31.579 prophets who were before you through 12 from 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:34.480 a little different perspective than perhaps we're 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.099 used to. Today we're exploring Jesus's words 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:40.060 and the Beatitudes through the eyes of Bible 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:43.879 translation, particularly Bible translators working 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.280 to bring scripture to some of the most marginalized 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:49.560 people, groups, and language communities around 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:53.959 the world. So let's talk a little bit about what 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.319 these people, about these people and the task 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:59.840 of Bible translation. so that we can think about 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.260 this passage of scripture through their eyes. 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:06.560 Minority language Bible translators have to think 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:08.599 about the meaning of the text. And in simple 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:12.039 terms, this involves developing a sufficient 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.259 degree of comprehension of the source text, biblical 00:02:15.259 --> 00:02:19.560 Greek. The text is a collection of pairings of 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:23.759 forms and meanings in the language with particular 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:26.819 structures. And translators need to understand 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:29.800 how these meanings relate to the structures of 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.860 the language. After this comes a deliberative 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:36.879 process where the translators consider the numerous 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.139 ways that meaning might be expressed in a receptor 00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:42.139 language, the minority language that they're 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:44.900 working in. And then they must choose those appropriate 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:47.939 structures and forms in their minority language 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:51.180 that they're working with for communicating that 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:56.069 meaning. That's a very simple overview of the 00:02:56.069 --> 00:02:59.409 process of Bible translation. Translation requires 00:02:59.409 --> 00:03:02.330 many decisions. Different words can shift in 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:05.669 meaning depending on context. Think about how 00:03:05.669 --> 00:03:08.129 we understand the meaning of these following 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:11.650 sentences with the verb steal and how you describe 00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:14.729 those differences in meaning to someone who doesn't 00:03:14.729 --> 00:03:21.150 know these words. Jack stole second base. Mary 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:24.979 stole John's heart. Chloe stole the show last 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:28.939 night with her singing. Fred stole $10 ,000 from 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:32.719 the bank. Each of these sentences, the act of 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:36.139 stealing is a distinct kind with a variety of 00:03:36.139 --> 00:03:39.979 unique connotations. Or think of the word fire. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:43.039 If you say fire in a movie theater, it has a 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.240 very different meaning than if you say fire in 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:50.620 a board meeting where trustees are placing votes. 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:55.240 on whether or not to oust the CEO. This is still 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:59.000 different from shouting fire in a prison with 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:07.479 a condemned prisoner blindfolded. When the same 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:12.180 words are used in different contexts, we interpret 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:15.340 them differently. In light of this, we must be 00:04:15.340 --> 00:04:18.240 careful how we interpret the words of the sermon 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:22.779 on the mount. If we alter the context we have 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:27.180 in mind, we change the way that we read the words 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:31.160 and how we see the text. Familiar texts like 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:34.720 the Sermon on the Mount tend to be read through 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:38.800 a 21st century American lens. We interpret the 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:42.459 words in our context, naturally. But Jesus' audience 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:46.300 wasn't 21st century Americans, his audience was 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:50.759 first century Jews. under the occupation of the 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:54.360 Roman Empire. The audience in front of Jesus 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.600 wasn't one guaranteed the rights, responsibilities, 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:02.220 and privileges of citizenship in the Roman state. 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:06.459 Instead, Jesus' audience was made up of Jewish 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:10.199 people from Galilee, from Judea, and surrounding 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.860 regions. They were physically occupied by colonizers, 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:21.069 physically poor. physically marginalized, living 00:05:21.069 --> 00:05:24.389 without the rights insured to those with citizenship 00:05:24.389 --> 00:05:30.029 and economic status. When Jesus opens his mouth, 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:34.509 he makes a series of statements that are diametrically 00:05:34.509 --> 00:05:38.250 opposed to the lived experience of the audience 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:43.110 in front of him. Jesus says that the poor, those 00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:48.199 who mourn, the meek, the hungry. Those who are 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:54.199 merciful, the pure ones, the peacemakers, the 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:59.540 persecuted, they are blessed and even fortunate. 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.300 These blessed groups almost certainly overlap 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:07.139 with each other, but in choosing them, Jesus 00:06:07.139 --> 00:06:10.500 is able to frame different relationships between 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:14.019 the people and the authorities and rulers of 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:19.180 the empire around them. It's often emphasized 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:22.420 in discussions of these blessed statements that 00:06:22.420 --> 00:06:26.879 Jesus speaks spiritually. If you are spiritually 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:29.540 poor, if you are spiritually hungry, then yours 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:32.339 is the kingdom of heaven where you'll find spiritual 00:06:32.339 --> 00:06:36.959 satisfaction in God's future realm. But Jesus' 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:40.019 audience in this passage is filled with people 00:06:40.019 --> 00:06:43.399 who are poor in spirit because they are poor 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:48.199 and oppressed physically. The gospel of Jesus 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:51.959 Christ is, as Jesus himself said, good news to 00:06:51.959 --> 00:07:03.040 the poor. Bringing hope to those in need. Think 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:07.060 of Jesus' reference to Isaiah 61, one and two 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.660 as he declares the gospel to be good news to 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:12.800 the poor. When you are physically in need and 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.560 physically marginalized, you are broken in spirit 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:20.420 is a result. In Jesus' thinking, those who are 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:25.560 poor, meek, and hungry are most likely those 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:29.180 whose outward circumstances force them to look 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:33.339 to God for help, but who also receive from God 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:36.680 the gift of the Spirit to look to him for everything. 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.920 Jesus points out that the lowly among the kingdoms 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:43.319 of the earth, the poor, the meek, the hungry 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:45.699 for justice, those who make peace instead of 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:50.879 war and declare that the poor and declares that 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:56.139 the poor in spirit, the kingdom belongs to them. 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:59.899 This phrase, the poor in spirit, is a term that 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:03.540 was used by the lower classes to distinguish 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:08.069 themselves from the arrogant upper classes. who 00:08:08.069 --> 00:08:11.529 lorded over them and oppressed them. By Jesus' 00:08:11.769 --> 00:08:14.370 day, it had become a moniker for the faithful 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:18.310 people who were humbly dependent on God's protection 00:08:18.310 --> 00:08:21.910 in the face of oppression, accepting the difficult 00:08:21.910 --> 00:08:24.649 way of life that he had marked out for them. 00:08:25.350 --> 00:08:28.389 So when Jesus says, blessed are the poor in spirit, 00:08:28.769 --> 00:08:31.189 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, the distinction 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:34.210 here is not a statement about where you go when 00:08:34.210 --> 00:08:39.500 you die. It's a statement about the kind of kingdom 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:43.480 that God establishes as distinct from the kinds 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:48.419 of kingdoms established by men on earth. And 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:51.679 we are mighty familiar with earthly kingdoms. 00:08:52.620 --> 00:08:54.980 Empires and kingdoms have been present with us 00:08:54.980 --> 00:08:58.659 throughout church history. Empires have consistently 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:02.179 tried to influence the church toward exclusion. 00:09:02.549 --> 00:09:05.629 exclusion of those who are considered other and 00:09:05.629 --> 00:09:09.870 unwanted. Think of the Third Reich in Germany, 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:13.490 influencing the German church to exclude its 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:17.009 Jewish disabled and Romani brothers and sisters. 00:09:18.590 --> 00:09:22.549 Or the Spanish and British empires as they co 00:09:22.549 --> 00:09:25.649 -opted the Catholic and Anglican churches to 00:09:25.649 --> 00:09:29.850 marginalize those they enslaved and colonized. 00:09:30.730 --> 00:09:35.169 The Russian Empire uses the Orthodox Church to 00:09:35.169 --> 00:09:38.990 legitimize its agenda of conquest and control 00:09:38.990 --> 00:09:42.450 of surrounding countries it feels it should possess 00:09:42.450 --> 00:09:47.629 by right. The American Empire tries to galvanize 00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:52.509 the American Church to fear refugees and immigrant 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:58.110 neighbors. And Jesus declares to these, you poor 00:09:58.110 --> 00:10:02.629 ones, You ones who are broken you who are broken 00:10:02.629 --> 00:10:08.830 in spirit you You belong somewhere You have a 00:10:08.830 --> 00:10:16.750 place Yours is the kingdom of God Minority language 00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:19.190 communities today who still need scripture in 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:21.809 their mother tongue have a similar experience 00:10:21.809 --> 00:10:25.470 as Jesus's first century audience This is because 00:10:25.470 --> 00:10:28.779 of their low status in relationship to the larger 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:32.659 societies in which they live. Minority languages 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:37.100 are typically those seen as smaller people groups, 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:39.679 with usually less than two million speakers. 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.659 Minority language speakers often do not have 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:47.620 official status in their country. They may not 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:52.000 be recognized at all by their government. Many 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:55.200 struggle to get access to education, health care, 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:58.230 in their language. And sometimes these languages 00:10:58.230 --> 00:11:01.730 are oral and not written down at all. Or they 00:11:01.730 --> 00:11:06.250 are deaf signers who live among the larger hearing 00:11:06.250 --> 00:11:11.090 population. As a result, minority language communities 00:11:11.090 --> 00:11:15.769 often feel unvalued. As among the poor, among 00:11:15.769 --> 00:11:19.509 the forgotten, their present realities are shaped 00:11:19.509 --> 00:11:22.389 by the long -lasting effects of colonization 00:11:22.389 --> 00:11:25.309 around the world. If you travel to countries 00:11:25.309 --> 00:11:29.529 of francophone Africa, including Chad, the Central 00:11:29.529 --> 00:11:32.909 African Republic or Cameroon, you will encounter 00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:36.269 people who use French as their language of wider 00:11:36.269 --> 00:11:39.289 communication, aside from their own indigenous 00:11:39.289 --> 00:11:42.809 languages as a result of colonization by the 00:11:42.809 --> 00:11:46.450 French. Bible translators who translate the words 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:50.649 of Jesus for their own people live in these realities. 00:11:51.590 --> 00:11:54.129 Their inheritance as a people isn't one of wealth. 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:58.480 is in power, status, or empire, and they cannot 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:02.019 spend billions of dollars acquiring land, resources, 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:06.299 or people. Instead, their inheritance is a humble 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:09.919 one because they are in need. Indeed, such communities 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:13.019 are some of the most vulnerable peoples on earth 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:17.960 because of the realities of destruction that 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:22.019 empire has brought to their communities. Language 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:24.860 loss. cultural attrition, resource extraction, 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.919 labor, exploitation, climate change. And these 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:31.059 are some of the reasons why the work in Bible 00:12:31.059 --> 00:12:35.700 translation forces us to pay attention in order, 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:39.320 pay attention to the order of these blessings 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:42.740 that Jesus describes in the Beatitudes. This 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:46.960 is not a random list of well wishes. It is an 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:50.759 integrated path for living in the kingdom of 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:54.620 God. All of these groups he identifies might 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.039 be vulnerable or downtrodden, but as we progress 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:02.919 through each one, from poor, to those who mourn, 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:07.080 to meek, and then to hunger for justice, merciful, 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:11.000 pure in heart, peacemaker, and persecuted for 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:14.519 justice, we find a transition from the passive 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:18.840 victim to the active agent seeking God's change. 00:13:19.129 --> 00:13:21.549 and God's sense of justice and righteousness 00:13:21.549 --> 00:13:27.090 in the world. To that end, Jesus' Beatitudes 00:13:27.090 --> 00:13:30.370 are not merely blessings, but also a call and 00:13:30.370 --> 00:13:34.830 a challenge to those who would follow him. The 00:13:34.830 --> 00:13:37.570 Christ -followers of the Global South, especially 00:13:37.570 --> 00:13:40.350 those members of minoritized communities in the 00:13:40.350 --> 00:13:43.750 Global South, know poverty and marginalization. 00:13:44.129 --> 00:13:46.970 They know the mourning that comes from bereavement. 00:13:47.309 --> 00:13:51.169 or the effects of sin, and not merely personal 00:13:51.169 --> 00:13:57.049 sin, but in culture and in society. Zambian theologian, 00:13:57.190 --> 00:14:00.409 Joe Kapoyo, in his contribution to the African 00:14:00.409 --> 00:14:02.950 Bible commentary, check it out if you're interested, 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:07.909 writes, there is a sin in our lives, in our cultures, 00:14:08.389 --> 00:14:11.690 in our economic structures, indeed in everything 00:14:11.690 --> 00:14:15.129 that we put our hands to. Global warming has 00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:19.830 tragic consequences for human survival. Personal 00:14:19.830 --> 00:14:22.470 choices and actions demonstrate a catalog of 00:14:22.470 --> 00:14:25.350 human activities that must make us weep with 00:14:25.350 --> 00:14:28.889 deep grief. Isaiah shuddered with grief when 00:14:28.889 --> 00:14:32.710 he saw the purity of the Lord. We will shudder 00:14:32.710 --> 00:14:35.029 with the same grief when we look at the purity 00:14:35.029 --> 00:14:38.970 of Jesus and the challenge of his cross. The 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:41.970 Lord sees such grief and responds with comfort. 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:46.399 God forgives personal sin and wipes the slate 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.799 clean with the blood of his son Jesus, but God 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:55.059 also inspires and strengthens his mourners to 00:14:55.059 --> 00:14:58.539 work to remove the offenses that too often lead 00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:04.159 to personal and structural sin. And just this 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:07.220 past fall in the forward to the book, The Cross 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:11.580 and the Olive Tree, cultivating Palestinian theology 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:17.139 amid Gaza, Palestinian theologians, Palestinian 00:15:17.139 --> 00:15:22.679 theologian Naim Stefan Atik writes this. The 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.639 contributors of this book have written their 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.519 chapters as they watch their families being bombed 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.679 and starved in Gaza. Every word of this book 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:34.000 is accompanied by the screams of children, images 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:38.720 of destruction, bodies torn by violence. torture, 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.440 and rape, stirring in us a profound sense of 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:46.700 guilt rooted in our despairs and in the inability 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:50.820 to stop the forces of evil under the weight of 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:54.100 the empire. In essence, this book is written 00:15:54.100 --> 00:15:58.620 during crucifixion and in the expectation of 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:05.600 the hope of resurrection. As an aside, the Bible 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:10.740 Translation Project Into Palestinian Arab Arabic 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:13.860 to serve the Palestinian Christian community 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:17.960 in Gaza is still ongoing to this day Even in 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:21.139 the midst of the war we have colleagues working 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:26.379 God sees their grief and sees our grief when 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:30.019 we mourn as well and Jesus calls us all forward 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:35.179 beyond mourning To also hunger for justice to 00:16:35.179 --> 00:16:40.159 show mercy to live with pure hearts and act as 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:44.100 makers of peace. In this way, we are able to 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:49.320 stand with the poor of the first blessing. So 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:53.440 pay attention to our word here. So many of our 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:58.320 English Bibles give a translation of righteousness 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:00.919 here. And that's because we Christians have an 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:04.279 expectation that the important words are translated 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:09.599 the right way. But usually the right way ends 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:13.720 up meaning, sorry, but oftentimes the right way 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:17.119 ends up meaning the usual way. In this case, 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:19.619 the word righteousness is a translation that 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:23.200 goes all the way back to our earliest English 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.740 translation from the Greek New Testament, 500 00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:31.319 years ago this year by William Tyndale. And in 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:36.680 1526, the word righteousness meant justice. Over 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:39.740 the time, it has slowly changed to primarily 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:43.000 mean to act in accordance with divine or moral 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:48.940 law, free from the guilt or sin. And effectively, 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:51.980 all mainstream Bible translations today have 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:55.440 kept righteousness because it sounds right to 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:58.900 the audience. So much that changing it risks 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:02.099 rejection of the translation by the people who 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:04.930 would read it. And that doesn't mean that every 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:09.069 time you encounter the word righteousness that 00:18:09.069 --> 00:18:11.890 we shouldn't think of moral uprightness. That 00:18:11.890 --> 00:18:16.529 was part of the meaning in 1526. But minimum, 00:18:16.569 --> 00:18:20.569 we must pause and ask ourselves, could this passage 00:18:20.569 --> 00:18:25.470 be about justice? And we think it is here. Jesus 00:18:25.470 --> 00:18:30.069 blesses those who hunger for justice. Then he 00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:33.859 blesses people who show mercy. and practice compassion. 00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:38.140 Our longing for justice can easily shrink into 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:41.539 self -righteousness that lacks that quality of 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:45.740 mercy. But true justice doesn't cancel out mercy. 00:18:46.579 --> 00:18:49.759 If we forget mercy, we may be tempted to take 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:52.319 pleasure in other people's pain. But for Jesus, 00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:57.579 hungering after justice is expansive. It includes 00:18:57.579 --> 00:19:01.309 caring for the pain of people. even those we 00:19:01.309 --> 00:19:08.329 might perceive as enemies. In the layman's view 00:19:08.329 --> 00:19:12.069 of Bible translation, it's a simple process of 00:19:12.069 --> 00:19:14.829 linguistic transfer. You just choose the right 00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:16.990 words equivalent to the Greek and Hebrew words 00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:20.589 of the Bible and you're done. But this is rarely 00:19:20.589 --> 00:19:23.470 what translation looks like in practice as I 00:19:23.470 --> 00:19:28.400 imagine you would imagine. Offering a word -for 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:31.440 -word translation can result in a mistranslation 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:35.359 for a people group. Consider the case of showing 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:40.039 mercy and receiving mercy in Matthew 5 -7. Ancient 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:43.940 Greek and modern English both express many abstract 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:47.339 concepts through single words. Have you noticed 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:50.880 that? Like grace and mercy and righteousness, 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:54.259 those are very abstract, big concepts, but we 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:57.740 only use one word. But there are languages around 00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:07.099 the world that do not use abstract nouns. And 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:11.259 so they have to find an equivalent. Many minority 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:14.420 languages do not have a one -to -one equivalent 00:20:14.420 --> 00:20:16.819 where they can just choose one word for another. 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:19.779 So they have to find a culturally appropriate 00:20:19.779 --> 00:20:23.319 concept that fits into the target culture. For 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.059 instance, some cultures express the idea of mercy 00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:29.099 through metaphors of the body. These are fun. 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:35.380 Having good intestines in Marasay, a language 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:41.099 of Indonesia. Having a wounded interior in Baray, 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:45.220 a language of Papua New Guinea. Or his abdominal 00:20:45.220 --> 00:20:49.839 weeps in Akateko, a language of Guatemala. Or 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:53.960 finally, doing a good belly to someone. Knowing 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:56.960 the person didn't deserve it, he deserved the 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:03.160 opposite. In Kara, a language of Chad. The same 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:05.720 challenge arises as translators deal with how 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.160 to express the phrase pure of heart in verse 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.859 eight. Translators in the world's languages might 00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:14.019 approach this abstract expression with varying 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:17.680 strategies. Some translators find a comparable 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.799 body part metaphor, such as the Yakatan language 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:24.059 in the Philippines. Better off are the people 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:27.240 with straight livers, because they and God will 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:31.559 see each other. For Yakatan speakers, the liver 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.180 is the seat of emotion, not the heart. Likewise, 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:38.539 the metaphor of straight versus bent provides 00:21:38.539 --> 00:21:41.579 an alternative conceptualization for understanding 00:21:41.579 --> 00:21:45.670 purity versus impurity. Another approach that 00:21:45.670 --> 00:21:48.890 translators use is to negate a term that is the 00:21:48.890 --> 00:21:52.569 opposite of pure and holy. The translators for 00:21:52.569 --> 00:21:56.069 the Otomi language in Mexico adopted this strategy 00:21:56.069 --> 00:22:00.049 with their rendering, the good fortune will be 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:03.369 met by the people who do not let any evil settle 00:22:03.369 --> 00:22:06.670 in their hearts, because these are the people 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:10.630 who will see God. In each case, the translators 00:22:10.630 --> 00:22:12.609 work to consider the meaning of the original 00:22:12.609 --> 00:22:15.839 forms and seek out effective ways to communicate 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:18.700 that meaning in their own tongues. And in both 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:22.380 cases, something is either straight or not. Something 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:26.660 is either pure or it is not. A pure heart, a 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:29.920 straight liver, cannot have mixed motives before 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:34.680 God. Those whose hearts are pure will see God 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:37.740 at work in the present and will see him with 00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:41.519 their own eyes in the age to come. The purity 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:46.789 of our intentions motives in this life to find 00:22:46.789 --> 00:22:49.529 our behavior and actions with regard to those 00:22:49.529 --> 00:22:53.569 around us. And we will respond to those intentions 00:22:53.569 --> 00:22:57.670 and motives first by pursuing God's peace in 00:22:57.670 --> 00:23:06.029 the world around us. And who is more in need 00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:09.630 of a peacemaker in our world today than the poor 00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:13.259 and those who are disregarded? When violence 00:23:13.259 --> 00:23:19.140 comes, who is the first to be harmed? But those 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:23.299 who the powerful of the world view as the unimportant 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:27.460 ones, the ones forgotten. Perhaps here today 00:23:27.460 --> 00:23:30.440 we Americans can see and comprehend the burden 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:34.819 of being overlooked and disregarded by a national 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:38.119 government because maybe your language or your 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:42.039 ethnic community lacks legal standing. The raids 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:45.240 of ice against undocumented families across our 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:48.700 country are a bitter reminder of the kinds of 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:51.660 treatments certain communities experience around 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:56.400 the world, even in their own nations. Wealth 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.140 and capital forced the First Nations of the Americas 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:03.839 off their lands and the same is happening today 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:08.140 as the Tanzanian government displaces the Maasai 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:11.839 from their ancestral homes and Palestinian homes 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:15.500 are bulldozed in the West Bank for new settlements. 00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:20.839 In what ways can we as the body of Christ together 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:27.039 resist the exclusion of earthly empires and proclaim 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.880 the kingdom of God that is inclusive of all of 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:38.400 our poor and marginalized neighbors. As you ponder 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.339 this question for yourself, also consider that 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:46.000 Jesus's blessings come with a cost. The kingdoms 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:51.099 of the earth will always and inevitably commit 00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:55.789 injustices in the world. So this final blessing, 00:24:56.349 --> 00:24:59.589 blessed are the persecuted for justice because 00:24:59.589 --> 00:25:04.049 theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Showing mercy, 00:25:04.430 --> 00:25:08.190 hungering, thirsting for justice, living as a 00:25:08.190 --> 00:25:12.230 peacemaker. All of these actions will necessarily 00:25:12.230 --> 00:25:17.130 put you, put us into conflict with the kingdoms 00:25:17.130 --> 00:25:21.430 of the earth. The powerful do not want us to 00:25:21.430 --> 00:25:24.910 care for the poor. and the marginalized. And 00:25:24.910 --> 00:25:30.210 this Jesus emphasizes in his final blessings, 00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:34.230 hungering for justice, showing mercy, acting 00:25:34.230 --> 00:25:37.569 as peacemakers with pure motives will necessarily 00:25:37.569 --> 00:25:40.750 bring us into conflict with the power centers 00:25:40.750 --> 00:25:43.710 of the world, earthly nations, earthly kingdoms. 00:25:44.529 --> 00:25:47.970 The American church has a history of imagining 00:25:47.970 --> 00:25:52.160 itself persecuted. However, the realities of 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:58.240 persecution truly come when we stand with the 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:02.519 poor and stand against human authorities and 00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:08.839 the power with God's justice in solidarity. The 00:26:08.839 --> 00:26:11.539 reality of persecution truly comes when we stand 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:14.299 against human authorities and power with God's 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:18.240 justice in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized. 00:26:19.379 --> 00:26:23.279 Jesus calls us into the kingdom of God not as 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:26.380 someone who speaks down to the poor Not as someone 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:29.460 who speaks down to the marginalized He comes 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:33.920 to the margins and lives with them Living as 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:36.799 a first century Jewish Palestinian victim of 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:40.039 violence unjustly accused and executed by the 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:49.329 Roman Empire So as we close Jesus knows what 00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:53.890 it's like to be broken in spirit. He knows what 00:26:53.890 --> 00:26:57.650 it's like to mourn. He knows what it's like to 00:26:57.650 --> 00:27:02.910 take on humility, to hunger and thirst for justice 00:27:02.910 --> 00:27:08.150 and for righteousness, to give mercy and to receive 00:27:08.150 --> 00:27:12.769 mercy. He knows what it's like to long to see 00:27:12.769 --> 00:27:17.990 God and maybe not see God. and what it's like 00:27:17.990 --> 00:27:21.690 to be a peacemaker among people who do not seek 00:27:21.690 --> 00:27:25.289 peace. He knows what it's like to be falsely 00:27:25.289 --> 00:27:29.950 accused, but he says we who follow him are blessed 00:27:29.950 --> 00:27:35.670 because he's with us, always. He has come down 00:27:35.670 --> 00:27:39.829 once before, crucified and buried on Good Friday. 00:27:40.809 --> 00:27:44.329 On Resurrection Sunday, which we most recently 00:27:44.329 --> 00:27:48.960 celebrated, He makes things whole again. We live 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:53.960 in an era of a holy Saturday waiting in the dark, 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:58.720 but with hope. As we close today, let us pray 00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:06.619 for ongoing Bible translation projects in progress 00:28:06.619 --> 00:28:10.019 both around the world and in the United States. 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:16.200 Let's pray. Father, we lift up Bible translators 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:19.500 to you among the Bokoto people and the Gbaya 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:23.119 communities of Central African Republic. We lift 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:27.380 up to you the Ch'ol and the Zapoteco de las 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:32.000 Delicias of Mexico, and the Banyamulenge refugees 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:35.559 from the Democratic Republic of Congo now living 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:38.960 and working in the United States on a Bible translation 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:43.859 for their own people. May we all gain the blessings 00:28:43.859 --> 00:28:47.700 that you have listed here, the blessings of the 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:53.119 kingdom, as we learn to be pure in heart, as 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:56.759 we learn to love justice, and as we learn how 00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:02.019 to make peace in the world. Amen. Thank you for 00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:05.779 allowing us to share with you today. We welcome 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:09.039 your questions about Bible translation, about 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:12.089 language, and we would love to talk with you 00:29:12.089 --> 00:29:15.009 after the service. Come and talk with us, ask 00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:19.349 us questions. We would love to share more. Just 00:29:19.349 --> 00:29:21.349 to let you know, don't be a stranger.