|
July 14, 2020, Good afternoon everyone, " For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. " I Corinthians 13:12 In the original Greek, the New Testament has no punctuation marks. In the verse above, the NIV translators have put in one comma, two semicolons, one colon and one period. The translators do this so that when we read it in English, it makes more sense to us. The endings of all the nouns, verbs and other figures of speech make all the difference in structure and meaning. There are no question marks ! This makes it difficult to find an exact translation because you are moving from an ancient ( and dead ) language to our modern English. The Greeks had a whole different world view than us. I Corinthians 12:13 must be a difficult passage to translate. In the NIV, which is supposed to be an easier read than the King James, it is awkward and does not flow. Is " darkly" about seeing or is it about the glass ? What does face to face mean, with God or each other ? When exactly in my own life will I come to to know as I have been known. There is the great Greek philosophical statement, " know thyself " that was carved in the Temple of Delphi, Greece. Maybe Paul is thinking of this statement, as he writes to the faith community in Corinth. They would have known that writing. It is far away from us. I got my first pair of glasses in Grade 11. I was worried my friends and classmates would make fun of me. I could hear " four eyes " already. After I got them, I only wore them in class. I would take them off , as soon as the bell went off to change classes. I did not wear them to play football, basketball or softball. After a few years, I wore them all the time, being able to see film screens, my golf shots and across Lake Ontario to see the Toronto skyline. A few years ago I was told to get a " progressive " lens . You are to look down to read, in the middle to see the TV, and look up to see things farther away such as when you are driving. This is as confusing as the passage from I Corinthians 13:12. If you look too high while watching TV it gets fuzzy, and I cannot see the hockey puck. I must be wearing them wrong. I will keep trying with the new lens, as I will try to make sense of this and other Scriptures. I know that I only know in part, and from this side of death, I am fine with that. I am looking forward to a face to face with God. Until then I am good with life being a little fuzzy, and not knowing all things. Fred Tread on bold new paths ! Fireflies flash the direction Hope springs eternal Monica Pieper Landoni 2020 Fred Redekop Pastor Poole Mennonite Church
|
Ponder Anew 