Interpretation of Time

Scriptures: “Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?” (Luke 12:56)

The church I am attending is an ethnic church. Every now and then, due to various occasions, we would have guest speakers from other churches to share messages of God in English. As a result, I have been blessed with opportunities to translate the messages into the language our folks know.

There are, of course, many ways of translating a message. One can translate a message in summary which saves a lot of time. One can also translate the message sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph. These usually depend on the speakers’ preferences. Sometimes, at the request of the speaker, I was required to do some synchronized interpretation, which basically means the speaker would continually give the message while I would be required to translate alongside. This usually was done with me doing the translation in another room sending the translation through a microphone that sent messages to the listeners’ ear buds.

Regardless of the ways of translation, the main challenge for the interpreter is to understand what the speaker is saying. Most speakers would give me the message in written form ahead of time so I can study and look up information I need. Some would only give me an outline, with scriptures. In some rare cases, there was nothing in written form at all. I would have to be very attentive and had to work really hard to remember whatever the speaker had said so as not to miss anything he/she said. Sometimes, the speakers would have such a great time sharing the message that they forgot to pause for me to translate. With so much been said and so little could be retained in the small brain I have, I could only translate the summary. This made the understanding of the main points from the speaker all the more important.

In most cases where a translation is needed, it usually also means that the interpreter is not just translating a language, he/she is also translating the message from one culture to another. Finding the equivalent across cultures are not always feasible. Therefore, up-front studies and preparation are essential to good translation.

In the book of Luke, Jesus rebuked people of His time that, as much as they could interpret the signs of this natural world, they were not able to interpret the time in God’s time table. He seemed to be telling us that, in each generation, God has in mind messages for us to learn and to live by. These messages are not readily available. They require efforts on our part to study and to interpret in order to understand. After all, these messages are indeed cross-cultural messages, coming from the divine culture intended for this sinful culture we live in.

Just like the translations I had done before, these divine messages are more than for the interpreters’ benefits. As interpreters, to accurately interpret the time as our Lord instructed us, we need to study and understand both cultures involved. Then, we need to learn how to relay the messages in the words and expressions that our audiences can understand so as to faithfully pass on the messages. We also need to be sensitive to the things going on in both cultures because, in many situations, the messages are actually in the events, not in the words, just like the parables used by our Lord.

I am convinced that, as long as we frame our interpretations in the correct context, the messages resulting from the interpretations will be correct and powerful as they are from God for our benefits. Our challenges are, as always, do we know what’s going on in the Kingdom of God? What’s going on in our world? What do these events mean from the perspective of who sent the messages? What do they mean to us? How can we apply what we learned to living?

May the Spirit of God help us to remove all obstacles and barriers in us so we can see clearly what God meant for us through this seemingly wicked and hopeless generation and help us to live, as Apostle Paul instructed us, “…as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8-10)

Prayer Requests:
For interpreters

Prayer:

Our heavenly Father, thank You for Your presence in our lives and for Your guidance through Your Spirit and all messages You have in store for us through the people, events, and circumstances placed in our lives. We ask that You bless us with divine wisdom and obedient hearts so we can be sensitive and responsive to Your leading and instructions, written or not, so as to live as children of light in this dark and depraved generation. In the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen!