by the Rev. Edward Chinn, D.Min.

Pastor, All Saints' Church

Sunday, 16 January 2000

In 1997, I was a patient in Episcopal Hospital. The Hospital is in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. The surrounding neighborhood has many Spanish-speaking people living there. The Hospital employed "interpreters" who would act as go-betweens for the English-speaking hospital staff and the Spanish-speaking patients. One of the interpreters was a man named Wally. A nurse told me that Wally worked in the Emergency Room. Several other interpreters were stationed on the floors of the hospital and in the offices of the physicians. These interpreters were a necessity.

What does it means to "interpret?" It is to explain the meaning of a word. Matthew, the writer of the first Gospel account does this. He wrote, "They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:23). Further, to "interpret" means to bring out the meaning of written material. An actor interprets the words on the page of the script. Again, to "interpret" is to understand, to place a meaning on an action or an event. A person might say, "We interpreted your silence as consent." An interpreter is a person who interprets words, ideas, events, even life itself. Today, we celebrate interpreters in our lives.

· Parents are interpreters to their children.

· Teachers are interpreters to the students.

· Actors are interpreters to their audiences.

· Physicians are interpreters to their patients.

In Greek mythology, Hermes, son of Zeus, was the messenger of the gods. He was the god of speech. His name gives us the word "hermeneutics," the science of interpretation, especially of the Holy Scriptures.

A Man in Ceylon Interpreted a Parable

There was a man named H.B. Tristram. He wrote a book titled Eastern Customs in Bible Lands. People in Ceylon invited him to preach there. He preached to the people through an interpreter who turned his English words in the language of Ceylon. Later, he realized what a mistake he made in his choice of subject. He chose to talk about the parable of the lost sheep. When he finished his sermon, the interpreter said to him, "Are you aware, sir, that there is not a single person listening to you who has ever seen a sheep?" Mr. Tristram replied, "What did you do with the story of the lost sheep?" The interpreter said, "I turned the sheep into a buffalo that had lost her calf and who searched in the bush until she found it."

An Episcopal Priest Interpreted Christlikeness

Three Episcopal priests had decisive roles in my college years. They were Gustav Meckling, Hamilton Aulenbach and Robert Harris. Father Harris was the rector of the Episcopal Church near Temple University. He opened his home to students. We Episcopalians attended worship services and often had breakfast there. I used his home as a study hall off campus. One day nearly fifty years ago now, I had a terrible cold. I closed my books and laid down on the sofa in his living room. Father Harris came in from outside. He was wearing his clergy cloak. He took off the cloak and laid it over me as I shivered on the sofa. Here was a black man covering up a white boy, a very tired and sick white boy. All these years later, I remember how, by that action, Father Harris interpreted Christlikeness to me. We remained friends until his death in the early 1990s. I celebrate him as one of the interpreters of life to me.

Rosa Parks Interpreted the Feelings of Blacks

On December 1, 1955, a 42-year old black woman, a seamstress boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She took a seat in the back of the bus where black people had to sit. By law in Montgomery, white people sat in the front of the bus and black people sat in the back. The black woman's name was Rosa Parks. After a few bus stops, the bus driver ordered Mrs. Parks to get up and give her seat to a white man. Mrs. Parks refused to stand up and give up her seat. Two policemen came on the bus and arrested her. Black people in Montgomery met at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church to show their support for Rosa Parks. The pastor of this church was a 26-year old black man named Martin Luther King, Jr. That night, people formed the Montgomery Improvement Association. For more than a year, the blacks stayed off the busses. The young pastor became the spokesman for the group. By her action, Rosa Parks interpreted the feelings of Black Americans in the 1950s. She is known as "the mother of the civil rights movement."

Men in the Bible Interpreted Events for Others

Look at three men who interpreted events for others in the Bible. Moses chose 12 men to act as spies and check out the land of Canaan. Moses and his followers hoped to enter this land and occupy it. The majority of the spies came back with a negative interpretation of the chances to take over the land. Caleb gave a positive interpretation of the situation. Think how often people face the same objective facts and arrive at different interpretations. Look at a man named Ananias. He interpreted to Paul the meaning of the blinding light Paul had seen and the vision on the road that spoke to him. Ananias helped Paul to see again physically and to see with his mind what God wanted him to do. Third, look at an old, nearly blind Jewish priest named Eli. The 12-year old boy Samuel slept in the Temple. God spoke in the boy's mind as he lay sleeping. The boy thought he was hearing the old priest Eli calling him. Three times he heard his name being called. Three times he went to Eli. Finally, Eli realized what was happening. God's voice was not a sound he could hear with his ears. God spoke in the boy's mind. Eli interpreted what was happening to the boy Samuel. God puts startling, creative, insightful thoughts into our minds today.

Jesus of Nazareth Interpreted His Life

At Passover time in the first century, Jesus of Nazareth reclined at a last supper with his friends. These men formed a "chaburah," a society of friends. As they ate together, Jesus put his own interpretation on his life and on his approaching death. By the broken bread at the beginning of the meal and by the shared cup of wine at the end of the meal, Jesus interpreted his life as a sacrifice, a gift from God to human beings: "This is my body . . . This is my blood which is given for you." Today, in this service of Holy Communion, we repeat Jesus' interpretation of his life.

Cheers,

(The Rev.) Edward Chinn, D.Min.

Rector, All Saints' Church