Letters seem like such an elegant way to correspond. Long before e-mail and the simple but miraculous telephone, people used flourished words and language to convey thoughts, news, love and concern. These are the things that provoked some thought this morning as I read from Galatians.
I once found a cache of old letters that my mother had saved. In reading some of them I could not help but notice the exquisite penmanship and the thoughts conveyed so elegantly with words that seem almost abandoned today. Communication today seems relegated to emojis and sound bytes. Hidden in these letters was an excellent lesson involving words. There had been a mention of thanks in this particular letter, a notation of a birthday gathering which apparently was great fun. 'There was coke and everyone was so gay'. One might think Granny was a coke fiend and that in spite of being a lesbian, she managed to create a wonderful family for us. Only the latter is true however, we have a wonderful family. There was no cocaine (coke) and being gay was a notation of happiness, perhaps giddiness and a genuine good time.
Such is a lesson taken from a mere 100 years ago when words we use now can convey such a different meaning than it had such a short time ago. One needs to look at the historical context of the letter writer. The times and phrases can mete out radically different meanings than we suppose. We need to step back with our minds eye.
This lesson is never more true or important than with Holy Scripture. I often note the inclusiveness, love and generosity of Jesus in curing the Roman Centurions' 'pais'. What is a pais? How was that word translated and retranslated and interpreted and re-interpreted with a specific agenda and hopefully some amount of linguistic skills. Pais, at the time, was easily and acceptably a junior same sex lover. A pais was a loved member of the Centurions household. Not a prostitute. Not a slave. He was a younger lover. Is that how you learned it to be translated? What up tight religious agenda was used to whitewash the word 'pais'?
How often are we mislead by letters and language, misused and guided by an agenda? Care needs to be taken. In today's world of google, texting and emojis we can easily lament the loss of elegance in writing letters to one another or the speed of snail-mail. But what google and modern technology can counter with is the speed and thoroughness with which we can research and study scripture and what it can offer us with relative ease. Resources formerly known only to scholars are at our finger tips. Scriptural study and knowledge is not just the domain of a few lofty religious men and women.
We can lament the lack of letters but we should learn the true meanings of words and always emulate the love, inclusiveness and purity of Jesus' love above all, no matter what Scripture appears to say
Galatians 4:12-20
Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them. It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
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