The Astonishingly Mystical Power of Translation
ማዕከለ ፡ ዛቲ ፡ ቅድስት ፡ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ፡ ይዌልጦሙ ፡ በቅጽበት ፡ ኣባለተ ፡ ክርስቶስ ፡ ይኩኑ ፡ በኃይለ ፡ ጥበቡ ፡ መንክር ፡ ወዕፁብ ፡ ኪኑ ።
Be wary of any debate or argument regarding the word of God if only the English language versions of the Bible are being quoted from. There are problems when you translate. This does not mean that you should not be translating holy works. To the contrary, the Apostles, their direct disciples and the 9 Syrian Saints that came to Ethiopia all put the gospel before their own cultural preferences and languages. Never forget, the gospel is Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
The words tradition and teaching in the English language Bibles cause people to stumble and be angry with one another, but in fact they have the same root word in the original Ancient Greek that the Newer Testament was penned in. Teaching is traditioning. Verbs indicate action, and this gerund is no different. To tradition is to hand down what you know to the next generation or to others.
Jesus of Nazareth tells us that the Pharisees are sitting in Moses' seat, and that we must do what they say, but not what they do. They say fast, give alms, have professional priesthood, sing the Psalms, hear the prophets, hear the wisdom books, hear the law, respect the Sabbath and host temple worship. The Pharisees did the fasting, alms giving and Older Testament reading and hearing in public so that people can ooo and awe at their piety. This is what Jesus of Nazareth does not want us to emulate. He wants our outward piety to be filled with Him. That means we must do good in secret if we are bold enough to do good in public. Our reward will either be from men or from God. I prefer the reward from God, how about you?
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is on a precipice. She is not alone, all of Christendom is with her. God's favor toward her can be seen in the mass movements away from low-church worship to high-church worship. I think that if the Protestant project does not fully evaporate, what remains will be high-church (divine liturgy, church calendar, incense etc.) Protestantism. This is an opportunity for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to translate her wisdom into the English language. Our divine liturgies are beautiful, but they are not that unique. The most unique feature we have are the melodies of Saint Yareyd. I am not a man with a pretty voice, but I will do what I can for my Church with the talents the Holy Spirit has granted me. I love languages and I love to translate. If we remember the Tower of Babylon, division amongst mankind was wrought by miscommunication. If we want God's peace to be with us, we should love languages and work to communicate with the whole world that there is eternal life if we repent from our ways and follow The Way.
Here is a portion of the Ethiopian Orthodox divine liturgy that I translated. We remember Jesus of Nazareth's bold claim, that the early followers of The Way were accused of cannibalism for, that if we want eternal life we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Orthodoxy stands on the rock that is Jesus Christ's holy flesh and honorable blood. Enjoy this wisdom and have an open heart to bring the wisdom of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to English speaking and indeed all peoples.
ማዕከለ ፡ ዛቲ ፡ ቅድስት ፡ ቤተ ፡ ክርስቲያን ፡ ይዌልጦሙ ፡ በቅጽበት ፡ ኣባለተ ፡ ክርስቶስ ፡ ይኩኑ ፡ በኃይለ ፡ጥበቡ ፡ መንክር ፡ ወዕፁብ ኪኑ ።
In the center of the Holy Church, they (the bread and the wine) transform ,within a twinkle of an eye, into the members of Christ with the astonishingly mystical power of His wisdom.
Furthermore, we must love each other.