INTERPRETING THE SIGNS

 

INTERPRETING THE SIGNS

Meteorology as a science is growing better all the time. Our ancestors were accurate enough at a local level, as Jesus recognised (Mt 16:3), but now we can predict cyclones anywhere in the world. Interpreting is our way of advancing. As we approach Christmas we read of the unusual birth of Samson as a herald of John who was himself a herald of Jesus. Samson slaughtered the enemies of Israel and this was interpreted as ‘salvation’ (Jud 13:5). By the time we reach John, salvation meant condemnation and judgement (Lk 3:7). Then Jesus comes along and announces compassion and forgiveness.

There is a shift in interpretation. One more example. Isaiah wrote in Hebrew in 736 BC that ‘a young woman will conceive’ (7:14). By the time the Greeks came to translate the text some five hundred years later they chose a word which could imply the woman was a virgin. Then Matthew got hold of the text in the time of the early Christian community and he expressed the accepted interpretation of the Church as it had evolved after the Resurrection, ‘the virgin is with child’ (1:23). The interpretation of what God was doing shifted and developed over time.

Moving into the history which brings us to our own time, we see how the interpretation of how humans see themselves has also shifted. We used to be welded to ‘the group’. Both in sacred and secular history our ancestors did not think for themselves; they constantly referred to the chief or king – whether it was David of Israel or Lobengula of the Ndebele. When Prestage tried to introduce the plough in Empandeni Mission, south of Bulawayo in 1887, the people waited for Lobengula to turn the first sod. He never did. The people were locked into the will of the ruler. They had no will of their own.

This ‘group responsibility’ persisted, and persists, up to today. Yet, more and more, ours is a time of individual choice and responsibility. To the confusion of many parents, young people often make wild choices which the parents know will land them in trouble but they are powerless to prevent. Individual responsibility is our interpretation of what we are meant to be and clearly this is a great advance in human history. People feel free to explore and make amazing choices which benefit humanity. There are examples too many to mention: the railways began with the choice of one person, so did flying, so did the internet.

What is the good news of Christmas? Every year it comes round and there is a tendency perhaps to concentrate on family and fun. That is good and a blessing. But perhaps we can also rejoice in the growing realisation of who we are. Despite all the pitfalls, it is truly wonderful and ‘good news for all the people’ (Lk 2:10).

18 December 2022          Advent 4A  Is 7:10-14   Rm 1:1-7     Mt 1:18-24