Say What?
If I told you that it would take me a day to get somewhere, you might assume I would be traveling a great distance, like from New York to China.
If I told you I was traveling on a holiday, it could take a day to go from New York to Hawaii or even California, depending on the congestion.
And if I was traveling by car, I might not make it from New York to Florida in a day, depending on traffic, weather, and road conditions.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. - Acts 1:12
In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke takes us on a journey. We begin that journey with a short distance to cover, from Olivet to Jerusalem. Mt. Olivet is just up the hill, not a great distance at all, but there was a limit to the distance one could travel on the Sabbath, and that makes all the difference in how we understand this simple sentence.
What we say may have a different meaning from what others hear.
It is something I try to keep in mind when I read of hear Scripture, but it is also something I should recognize in many more circumstances.
Context matters.
It reminds me of a quote I heard years ago:
I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. - Robert McCloskey
On Sundays, during coffee hour, after our celebration of the Eucharist, some of us gather together to talk about what we think we understood from what was read and what was said about it during the homily.
Yesterday, we discovered that a single word could make a big difference in meaning, and that different translations of the text may steer us in different directions.
Sounds obvious, I know, but it can pose a problem when we go out into the world quoting chapter and verse. Not only do we have to get the quote right, we should have some idea if there are many variations or translations of that quote.
But even if there was only one true and definitive translation, we could still miss the meaning, and I refer back to the quote from the first chapter in Acts as an example.
I could easily assume the journey from Olivet to Jerusalem took a whole day, even though there is no way it would take that long for the average person on foot.
Does it matter?
It does to me.
People expect me to get it right when I share these stories, and I should, to the best of my ability. But we all should, shouldn't we? It isn't just about Scripture readings, but in everything we do, understanding each other is critical to building and growing relationships. And, if there is one thing I know Jesus wants us to do is that. Of course, he may not have said it in those words. His words were a lot simpler to say than do.
Love one another.
Say what?
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