Sovereign Surprise
Yesterday I spoke with Dan Heath, the Wycliffe/SIL translator who headed up the latest New Testament project to be completed. (I’ve mentioned it several times in previous posts and newsletters: the Makaa language.) It was a great encouragement to listen to him recount the Lord’s sovereign mercies—both tender and severe—along the lengthy road to creating an alphabet, translating the scriptures, working to grow literacy and nurture widespread use of the new Bible within the churches. His account included clearly miraculous works of healing, of unexpected timings and of radically changed hearts.
For most translators, the potential for their greatest joy or their greatest discouragement lies in how well the church embraces the new translation. Missionaries and their Cameroonian colleagues here frequently labor for a decade or two or more; if their translation ends up little used, if little fruit is seen from their efforts, it is profoundly disheartening! In the case of the new Makaa translation, there is both bad news and powerful good news (Good News!).
The primary (only?) Protestant denomination present within the Makaa community is Presbyterian. A great sadness is that these churches have, in the decades since they were planted by missionaries from the PCUSA, become deeply corrupt and dysfunctional. Almost to a person, the leadership is marked by rank immorality, bribery and drunkenness; they are consistently opposing the true Gospel and retaining a stranglehold on power and control. They are—ironically, especially in light of the next paragraph—in desperate need of a modern reformation. They are a case study in why Scripture in the heart language of the laity is so crucial.
It turns out that despite Dan and his Makaa [Presbyterian] colleagues’ tremendous labors, most of the Presbyterian clergy have resisted the work of the translation and have refused acceptance of it. This has been hugely discouraging! No doubt they had hope of the translation being welcomed and great fruit being borne from it. Nonetheless, there has also been a major positive surprise. The top-dog bishop (I don’t know the correct terminology) of the Catholic parishes in the region has made a dramatic switch from opposing the translation project to an earnest embrace of it. When the Presbyterian churches shunned the dedication ceremony, the bishop stepped in and presided over it. He gave a challenge to the people: With the scriptures now in your own language, the message of the Bible must move through your mind and all the way into your heart. Previously you have heard scripture [in French; most speak it in this Francophone country], but now you can receive it into the depth of your soul. It must transform you.
Wow! This endorsement and challenge was a stunning turnaround. The bishop’s other actions surrounding the translation project and dissemination have revealed that his own heart is truly in it; this was not a mere one-time speech. A vicar and some other Catholic clergy are on board as well. Dan and his Mekaa translators probably never envisioned that their work might spur revival and a new embrace of the Bible in the Catholic church, but it appears that this is where the Lord is moving first. The potential for the advance of the Gospel is colossal. Sometimes God’s ways are mysterious, but sometimes they’re simply surprising. What a joyful surprise! Praise the Lord.
