A Matter of Interpretation

The Rev. Dr. Whitworth Ferguson III

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

February 20, 2011

A Matter of Interpretation

Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-18

…(Frank Sinatra singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”)

It doesn’t get much better than that, does it:

Frank Sinatra singing Cole Porter.

There may be classic rock –

the music many of us grew up on;

and there may be classical music,

which we love to listen to.

But then there is music that is just simply classic:

Cole Porter,

George and Ira Gershwin,

Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer –

composers of such wonderful songs that

even classic rockers have been turning to them.

Who ever would have imagined Rod Stewart

with his version of the Great American Songbook:

…(Rod Stewart singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”)

When Cole Porter wrote “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” in 1936,

he put together music and words,

writing them down as he composed at his piano.

The song is a short piece, just four pages, 64 measures.

Look at the score and the pages look very ordinary,

like other songs.

The score doesn’t tell you much about how the song should sound;

the only notations are the words “allegretto sostenuto.”

“Allegretto” means play it lively, but not too lively,

and “sostenuto” means make it smooth, make it flow.

To Frank Sinatra and his arranger

the words together meant, “let it swing”

and his version does – it swings.

But if you want to hear a version that really swings,

listen to Ella Fitzgerald:                 

…(Ella Fitzgerald singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”)

A composer writes words and music,

writes a song to sound a certain way,

but then a singer puts her own stamp on the song as she sings it;
A singer interprets the song and makes it her own.

What singers and other musicians do with a song

is really not all that different from what you and I do

when we read the Bible,

when we read the words on the pages of the books

of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

We read the words,

words written by men and women

inspired by God to write,

and then we interpret them,

interpret them in the light of our own unique lives,

education, experiences,

age, how we lives our lives,

and, of course, where we are in our faith journey.

When Ella and Frank sang “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,”

even as they made the song their own,

singing in their own style,

they still wanted to remain faithful to Porter’s intent,

to sing the song as they thought Porter wanted it to sound,

trying to make the song as close as possible

to what the composer had in mind when he wrote it.

If a composer said, as Porter did,

“make the song lively and smooth”,

making it swing stays true, stays faithful,

to the composition and the composer.

If, though, a singer turns the song into a smoky, moody ballad,

as Diana Krall did, 

it may sound good,

but it raises the question of whether it is a faithful interpretation:

…(Diana Krall singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”)

The Four Seasons, those original Jersey Boys,

may have made the song too lively,

when they turned it into a Top 40 hit back in the 1960s.

…(The Four Seasons singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”)

We read the words of the Bible;

and then we are called to interpret,

always remembering that we are called to stay faithful

to the intent of the one who inspired the writing in the first place.

We don’t read the Bible literally, of course;

but we do read it seriously,

working hard as we read

to interpret God’s words to us faithfully,

God’s will for us faithfully.

We work hard in our interpretation

to discern what God wants us to learn.

And in the process, we make the lesson our own,

each of us, as God speaks to us individually

through the words on the page.

                                                                       

So how are we to interpret this morning’s lesson,

especially those first verses?

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them:

You shall be holy,

for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Were these words directed at a specific group of people

who lived in a specific time and place –

the children of Israel

as they followed Moses through the Wilderness?

Do these words have any meaning to you and me here and now?

        

Of course they do!

We too are called to be holy

in the same way the children of Israel who followed Moses

were called to be holy.

But what does that mean to us, to be holy?

Turn to the dictionary for synonyms for the words “holy”

and you’d find these words:

“saintly, godly,

pious, devout,

angelic, pure,

numinous, beatified.”

These sound like words we might use to describe

the Apostle Paul, St. Francis,

Martin Luther, Mother Teresa,

but us, any of us?

We’re just good worker disciples,

no halos here, right!

But when God spoke to Moses

did you hear him limit the call to holiness?

No! God said,

say to everyone,you shall be holy.

You shall ALL be holy, every one of you,

the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker.

Try to interpret this any differently,

try to get yourself off the hook

for what sounds like an impossibly high standard,

and guess who’d be the first to confront you?

Our Lord Jesus Christ.

He reinforced God’s call to holiness

with his words from the Sermon on the Mount,

“Be perfect,

as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

(Matthew 5:48)

Be perfect?

The call to be holy sounded like a big enough stretch,

and now Jesus calls us to be perfect!?

When you said yes to Christ, yes to faith,

did you have any idea that this was the life

you were called to?

As children of God and followers of Jesus Christ,

you and I are called to live holy lives,

you and I are to strive for a Christ-like perfection in our lives.

That’s the call;

God expects nothing less from us.

We cannot faithfully interpret the words of God,

the words of our Lord Jesus Christ,

in any other way.

When Eugene Peterson wrote “The Message”,

he was trying to interpret the words of both Old and New Testament

in more of a vernacular, colloquial way –

more the way we speak today;

“The Message” is not a translation of Hebrew and Greek into English;

it is a paraphrasing,

Peterson’s effort to interpret the written Word of God        

in his own words.         

It is not a substitute for the Bible,

but it is the ideal companion to whatever version of the Bible

you might have.

If we were to look at how he paraphrases our lesson,

we’d find that he doesn’t change the word “holy”.

When God said “holy,”

God meant “holy,”

and Peterson leaves it just as God wanted it.

Peterson does, though, re-interpret Jesus’ words,

in what I think is a very helpful way

a very helpful interpretation that still stays faithful

to our Lord’s intention:

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up.

You’re kingdom subjects.

Now live like it.

Live out your God-created identity.

Live generously and graciously toward others,

the way God lives toward you.”

(The Message, emphasis in the original)

“Live generously and live graciously toward others”,

all others,

just as God lives toward us.

That’s the life Jesus calls us to,

And to help us understand,

so we don’t misinterpret,

God provides us with very specific guidance in our lesson

of how to live a holy life.         

“When you reap the harvest of your land,

you shall not reap to the very edges of your field,

or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

You shall not strip your vineyard bare,

or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard;

you shall leave them for the poor and the alien.”

How do we interpret this since none of us are vineyard owners?

You and I are called to make sure that the poor,

the alien,

the stranger,

have food to eat;

God wants no one goes hungry.

No one.

God provides us with plenty of food;

we have to assure a fair distribution.

That responsibility has not changed in the three thousand years

since God spoke through Moses.

                 

“You shall not steal;

you shall not deal falsely with one another;

and you shall not lie to one another.

You shall not defraud your neighbor;

You shall seek justice…”

And on goes the list.

Live in obedience to God’s words,

and we’ll live holy lives.

We are kingdom subjects;

and as kingdom subjects,

we are called to live in obedience to God’s will.

We are called to live generously and graciously toward others,

especially the poor, the sick, those who are struggling;

the alien, the stranger,

because it is the way God lives for us,

generously and graciously toward us.

You and I have God deep in our hearts,

so deep that God is really a part of us,

God’s Holy Spirit filling us.

With the Spirit enabling and empowering us,

guiding us, filling our sails,

it really isn’t as big a stretch as it sounds

to live a holy life,

even to strive for Christ-like perfect.

God is deep in our hearts,

calling us to lives that are “allegretto,”

lively as can be,

even if not always smoothly “sostenuto”.

But still, a holy life is a joyful life,

filled with singing,

and, yes, even a little swinging.

It’s all just a matter of interpretation.

AMEN