1Advent Friday -Cabinet Christmas Party

Tonight was the Cabinet Christmas Party at the episcopal residence in Columbia. All the extended cabinet and spouses are invited and it is quite the festive event. Tradition is that we gather, have a meal, sing Christmas carols and then after gifts are exchanged between the bishop and cabinet, at least as long as I have been on the cabinet, the bishop offers some words to us around Christmas and appreciation.

I know that Advent is about looking for Christ's coming, but sometimes, you know, I forget that it not only DID it happen, but it still happens, sometimes for those who have eyes to see, and sometimes Christ breaks in when we aren't looking. Tonight, rs called his junior-in-high-school son Paul come and stand with him as he began his remarks...Bishop spoke in Spanish, and Paul interpreted--unplanned. What I saw, sitting on the couch, were two tall and bright men, one the father, the other the son, talking, Bishop speaking, Paul translating about how the work that we do, as cabinet members, is that of translation. How the work of ministry is about translation. How the work of Saint Paul was that of translation...translating the gospel, sometimes literally from one language to another, more often these days from one cultural context to another, one generation to another. It was just a really beautiful thing, that picture I hold in my mind just now of two of the Schnase men speaking and translating.

This icon is of the Trinity--and as I saw it tonight as I searched for images, I thought about how the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Ghost has been an emphasis in trinitarian theology over the past couple of decades...how the three persons of the trinity are in community with each other. I thought how really, one of the Persons of the Godhead is always interpreting the meaning and action of one of the other. I thought about how in that perfect translation we are blessed with the fullness of God. I thought about how the Son translated/interpreted the Father to the world. And I think somehow that was the metaphor before us tonight as Spanish was spoken by a father, and English spoken by a son so that we all could understand. I like it. I like it very very much...even though I am afraid that something here has been lost in my translation of it....