With Fervent Desire (Ho Grandemente desiderato)

"Luca 22:15 Allora egli disse loro: 'Ho grandemente desiderato di mangiare questa Pasqua con voi' prima di soffrire»" (LNR)

"Then He said to them, 'With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer'" (NKJV)

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I once read about a conversation an Americano man had with a man from l'Italia. And not surprisingly, the conversation turned to the topic of food, il cibo.

The man from l'Italia shared about the importance of il cibo in their everyday lives. Not just for the goodness of il cibo itself, but also for its seemingly inherent power to bring people together.

L'Italiano went on to talk about what he would want his last meal to be if he were dying, and even who he'd eat that meal with.

Obviously he was on to something. For he even pointed out that the last act of Jesus, Gesù, before He died on the cross was to eat dinner with friends. We see this here in Luca chapter twenty-two.

As They Went, They Were Cleansed (Mentre Andavano, Furono Purificati)

"Vedutili, egli disse loro: «Andate a mostrarvi ai sacerdoti». E, mentre andavano, furono purificati." (Luca 17:14  NR)

"So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed." (Luke 17:14 NKJV)

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One of the many things I love about La Parola di Dio, the Word of God, is that there are so many different ways Jesus gave healing to those who were sick.

Luca 17 tells one of those ways that I just find so amazing.

It's the story of ten lebbrosi, lepers, who came to Jesus, seeking to be healed, guarito. But here's the thing. Jesus, Gesù didn't touch them as he often did. He told them  in 17:14 to Andate a mostrarvi ai sacerdoti, go and show yourselves to the priest. And what was the significance of this?

Back in those days, lebbrosi  were considered to be unclean and had to live outside the city/village. And if ever they needed to come inside the city they had to warn people by crying out "unclean."

The only way they could live and move freely within the city would be if for whatever reason, the leprosy was gone from their bodies. And this had to be verified by a priest.

(Stay with me, I'm trying to bring out a point.)

I Shall be Perfected (Giungo al Termine della mia Corsa)

I was never much of a runner; at least not a very fast one. But late in my teens, I discovered something I was better at… running distance. I may have lacked speed but I did have some endurance. This is similar to how our Christian walk is. As we mature in Cristo we learn that this is not a sprint but more of a long distance marathon.

And not only is our walk like a marathon, it's also like an obstacle course. We see an example of this in the life of Christ.

In Luca 13:31 Jesus, Gesù, received a warning that Herod was out to kill him. (I'd say that qualifies as an obstacle.) But He didn't respond in fear. He knew that these "obstacles" were an unavoidable part of His mission. Gesù remained confident because He also knew that He had entered His final lap.

Today and tomorrow I cast out demons and heal, He said in versetto 32. And the third day I shall be perfected. But what did He mean when He said I shall be perfected?

Full of Light (Illuminato)

During Week 9 of our journey through il Nuovo Testamento, we looked at Marco 13:24 which talks about not just the light of the moon but its splendore, splendor. 

(See: The Moon and its Light/La Luna e il suo Splendore)

I love it when the Word, la Parola uses grand words like these to describe God and the things of God. Sometimes I think that in our demand for everything to be simple, quick and easy, we unknowingly strip away the full meaning of things which make God's word so… well splendido, splendid. Don't get me wrong, simple and easy definitely has its place. But if we are ever going to grasp the greatness of God in this life (as much as possible anyway), then sometimes we're going to need some adjectives that at least try to capture how awesome our God and His Kingdom really are.

So here in Luca 11, we see la Bibbia once again teaching us about the wonders of God's light, la luce.

Luca 11:34  tells us that the lamp of the body is they eye, so that if your eye is good, your whole body will therefore be full of light. And Luca 11:36 adds that when you are filled with light on the inside, it's like a bright shining lamp or candle that when lit gives off its light to the space it's in. But again as in Marco 13:24, the Italian version of  Luca 11:36 uses the phrase il suo splendore. God's light within us is no ordinary light but one that is full of splendor.

She Brought Forth her Firstborn (Diede alla Luce)

The second chapter of Luca, Luke, tells the story of the Birth of Christ. Specifically, Luca 2:7 tells us that Mary gave birth to, or brought forth, her firstborn son.

But if you read Luca 2:7 in an Italian version of the Bible, you won't see a literal translation of gave birth or brought forth. It says, diede alla luce.

This phrase literally means, she gave to the light, her firstborn son. What an awesome way to describe Christ's birth into this world. Now lest you think this is a specific way of describing the entrance of the Son of God into the world, let me point out that Luca 1:57 uses this same phrase, diede alla luce, when speaking of the birth of John the Baptist as well. In fact, this wording is used throughout the Italian version of the Bible and throughout Italy in general.

The Moon and its Light/La Luna e il suo Splendore

La Bibbia, the Bible, constantly reminds me of how awesome God is.

God can take a single passage of scripture, and from that one passage, reveal to us multiple truths. A single verse can hold different meanings for different people. And a single story can hold many additional gems that aren't really the main focus of the story.

For example, Mark 13 speaks of the last days. But in v. 24, I found a little gem of truth buried like hidden treasure.

It talks about a time when the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. But the real treat is in how the Italian version describes the moon's light. It's called il splendore of la luna, the moon.

Astonished at His Teaching (Rapita in Ammirazione)

I don't know about you, but there are times when the Word of God fills me with such awe, that I can't find a way to fully express what it stirs up inside of me… But that doesn't stop me from trying.

So I really love the places where the Bible records the words of the people in reaction to something profound that Christ has spoken. This is what we see here in Marco, Mark 11:18. The English Bible uses the word astonished, saying the people were astonished at His teaching. Other ways of saying this would be amazed, enthusiastic, in admiration, or even spellbound. (I really like that last one.)

 
But after I read this in Italian, it brought me a step closer to being able to express what I often feel in response to God's Word.

In Italian, it says that the people, or the crowd, was rapita in ammirazione.

Rapita, can be translated here as captivated. It literally means kidnapped or taken captive. The words that Christ spoke were so profound that the people were taken captive by it.

But that's not all!