Sermon – Fr. Brad Neely
28th Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Sts Peter and Paul: Oct 12, 2008
Is 25: 6-10a; Phil 4: 12f; Mt 22: 1-14
Mass Translation Changes
Let’s say that someone comes along,
and claims that all gatherings
in this church, since day one,
have been to remember
the Lord Jesus Christ
with bread and wine--but that it stays bread and wine--it just symbolizes
the body and blood of Christ--but is really not
the body and blood of Christ?
What if this person started gathering
momentum and a lot of people
started to stand behind his claim?
What if all of these people
took this claim to the Vatican,
proposing that the world
has been duped for the last 2000 years?
Would we do the modern thing
and affirm them
in what they believe to be true?
Not likely.
[The game buzzer goes: ―baaaaaaa!‖]
We would set them straight.
Today, I’m going to speak
about another facet
of the new English Mass Translations
coming at the beginning of Advent--in particular, the changes
in wording for the Nicene Creed.
The word ―creed,‖ is taken from Latin—
and the ―first person singular‖
of the word is credo, = ―I believe.‖
The Nicene Creed clarifies belief.
The formulation of the Creed
took place as a result
of something similar
to the misconception I just described
relating to someone’s erroneous observation
of our Catholic Mass.
Approximately around the early 60’sAD,
the question of how the God the Son
was related to the God the Father
started to bubble up
in a number of theological circles.
The Tradition of the Roman Catholic
Church
had always been that Christ
was truly the Son of God,
and truly God.
The Church worshipped the Son,
and never consented to separate Him
in idea or in reality,
from the heavenly Father.
During these early centuries of the Church,
she held to what was [T]raditionally taught
by the apostles.
It was how the apostles understood matters
as related to them by Christ himself.
However, the technical terms of a formal
doctrine
were not yet flushed out in writing.
In the early part of the 4th century,
one theologian named Arius,
started gathering a large following
who denied that the Son
was and is of one essence, nature,
or substance with God;
that Jesus is not exactly like Him--not co-eternal---―always existing.‖
Arians, the name of those who followed
Arius,
believed that Jesus was only
a creation of God the Father--a Creature--God's first, yet perfect production.
As such, the Arians claimed
that there was a time
when Jesus the Son had no existence.
The Council called at Nicea,
comprised of bishops of the Church,
formally clarified
that the Father and the Son
were/are of the same substance
and were/are co-eternal.
Again, this understanding had been handed
down
from the Apostles.
This declaration and clarification at Nicea
is known as the Nicene Creed.
It is a declarative summary
of the Christian faith.
At that juncture in Church history,
precision concerning the identity of Christ
was absolutely was crucial.
[. . .as it still is today].
Here are a few of the translation changes
that are coming in the Nicene Creed,
which of course, we proclaim during Mass.
First, we will start the creed
with ―I believe‖ versus ―we believe.‖
It is thought that the ―we‖ in ―We believe‖
actually refers to the council of bishops
that assembled at Nicea.
The creed was not originally
something specifically designed
to include in the church’s liturgies.
It was a formal statement of faith
used for catechesis.
It gradually came ―into‖ the Church’s
liturgies
as continuing instruction.
As it became a part of the Church’s liturgy,
it was professed most often
with the words, ―I believe,‖
because the reference of belief
was that of the individual person.
The translations from Latin
many other languages
have been using,
already reflect, ―I believe.‖
―God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father.‖
The word consubstantial is new
for the English translation.
The formulators of the creed
had to have a key word
to describe the relationship
between the Father and the Son.
Jesus is, ―consubstantial,‖ with the Father.
In other words, Jesus ―shares
in the same substance‖
as the Father.
―Consubstantial‖ is not a word
found in Scripture,
though its meaning is expressed in other
ways
within the New Testament.
―for us men and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit
was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.‖
Incarnate is another new word
for the English translation.
The Latin word that translates
to the English incarnate,
points to conception rather than birth.
Using the phrase that we currently have,
―born of the Virgin Mary,‖
could suggest that Christ
became human only at birth.
The word incarnate takes us
to the precise beginning of Christ’s
enfleshment.
―For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.‖
In Latin version of the Creed,
the phrasing is used
that Jesus ―suffered and was buried.
English inserts the word death,
saying that Jesus ―suffered death
and was buried.‖
The words, ―rose again,‖
take an interesting path
from the original language
of the Creed, Greek.
The Greek word used originally
is – anastasis.
The prefix, ana---means again or above.
It doesn’t seem that those two meanings
are at all similar.
When translated to the Church’s
language of Latin,
the prefix ana is used
to denote ―above,‖
as in, Jesus ―rose above.‖
However, the English translation
continues to use the prefix ana
as ―again‖--so we will still use ―Jesus rose again.‖
If this bit of translation
ever comes up for discussion again,
I am sure it will be a long, long time.
Nothing happens quickly in ―Church time.‖
S0--did you know there was so much
involved
in a statement of faith,
and so much involved
in translation of languages?
Aiming for precision is the ultimate key.
It doesn’t take long
for human pride
and individual tinkering with words
to begin a shift in a change of meaning.
So, it is imperative to be precise,
and hold to the Church’s discernment
on precision,
so that what is passed to us
generation after generation
is truly what we believe.