You Made Them Equal to Us (Tu Li Hai Trattati Come Noi)

Matthew 20:1-16 tells una parabola, a parable, of a landowner who hired different men to work in his fields throughout the day. It ends with the teaching that the last (ultimi) will be first (primi), and the first last.

It's a truth that I've accepted because the Word of God says it, but I confess I didn't fully understand it. At least not until I read it as part of my daily Bible reading… in Italian! It's amazing how much of your understanding opens up just by reading in Italian day by day. And this time, it wasn't because of the words used in the Italian version. It was just because my understanding of the language is growing and I'm able to see more while reading in Italian because I don't have to work as hard to understand what the Italian is saying. I can just focus more on what God's word is saying and receiving insight and revelation from Him.

In this story, some workers are hired at the very beginning of the day and others at different times throughout the day, even at the eleventh hour, l'undicesima ora. Yet at the end of the day, they were all paid the same.

This bothered the workers who started at the beginning because they felt they should have been paid more than those who worked fewer hours. But the landowner reminded them that they received what he agreed to pay them. And also that it was his right to do whatever he wanted with what was his. Did his goodness bother them because there was something impure in their own hearts?

My Yoke is Easy (Il mio giogo è dolce)

I remember a time when I'd become very weary of all that was going on in my life and greatly in need of God's rest, as it talks about in Matthew 11:28. We all get to this place at times; several times even. But let's be real. What Matthew 11:30 says it takes to get that rest, accepting that Christ's yoke is easy... just doesn't come easy. When you think of a yoke or a burden, it's something that you know you must bear, but is still difficult to endure. Yoke, easy. Burdens, light. These are pairs of words that don't seem to go together. And if you read the verse in the Italian, it takes this even further. In the Italian Bible, the word used for easy is dolce; which as many know means "sweet."

Can this really be true? Can a bitter trial we experience actually be sweet? Well getting back to the time when I was truly burdened, I felt like it was more than I could bear. Having already walked with Christ for some years, my prayer life had become pretty strong. But under the weight of my trial I found myself going to God in prayer even more. And as I did, something pretty amazing began to happen. I was spending a lot less of that time agonizing over my circumstances and a lot more in delightful fellowship with God. Right in the middle of my troubles!

I remember that this was also a lonely period in my life when no one really seemed to have time for me. There were days when I would literally stare at the phone hoping it would ring, and I'd have someone to talk to. But the truth was, part of my trial was learning how to walk alone, when necessary. And it was really the fact that I didn't have anyone to turn to as I went through this trial, that pushed me to spend more time in the presence of God.

And even though I didn't know anything about the Italian Bible at the time, looking back now I can truly say, that was when I had my first taste. Taste of what you might ask? My first taste of Christ's yoke being dolce, sweet.

All These Things Will be Added (Vi Saranno Sopraggiunte)

I once saw an episode of a TV show where a man looked up one day and realized he was almost broke. Now usually that's the type of thing that  causes someone to panic. But this man didn't. And when asked repeatedly why he didn't; he gave pretty much the same answer each time. Something will come up, he'd say. Or, something will turn up.

The man wasn't worried because he knew that financially and career wise, he'd built on a good solid foundation. And he was confident that some opportunity would arise for him before things got too out of hand. And sure enough. By the time the show was over… out of the blue, something "came up."

The man's finances got back on track and he was able to continue having all the different things he needed.

In a similar way, Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 that we should not worry when there are unfulfilled needs in our lives. As it says in Matthew 6:33, if we are faithful in carrying out the things of God and we seek to walk in His righteousness; the things we're in need of will be supplied.

That's the way the English Bible puts it. It says, all these things will be added to us. But the word used in the Italian gives us another way of looking at this.

You Shall Call His Name (Tu gli Porrai nome…)

I must confess. When growing up, I wasn't too crazy about my first name, Marcie. It wasn't the most common name and it seemed like most people I interacted with had a hard time saying it (at least at first). And forget about anyone spelling it right.

I use to imagine myself with a few other names I thought were more fitting. It wasn't a huge issue for me. I just would have preferred being called something else. That is until as a young Christian, I found out what my name meant… Warrior!

How awesome, I thought. All of a sudden, I liked my name; was proud of it. Even to this day when it seems like life is knocking me  around just a bit too much, I try to remember the name I've been given and remind myself that I can't get stuck being timid and fearful. I have to act more like my name. I have to put up a better fight.

Now I don't think that my parents intentionally picked a name for me that meant warrior. But over and over again in the Bible, we definitely see this happen. And with the opening chapter of the New Testament, we see God setting the stage for Christ's life and work on earth by telling Joseph what His name was to be before He was born.

"You shall call His name Jesus" (Matthew 1:21). That's powerful in and of itself.

But what made this stand out even more to me was the phrase used in the Italian language Bible, "gli porrai nome Gesù." The literal translation of this is more like, you shall put  or set upon him the name Jesus.

The Italian language is known for being a very expressive and colorful language that often describes things differently than many others. This is one of the reasons I've come to love reading the Bible in Italian. After being both a student and teacher of God's Word for more than 20 years, phrases and wording like this allow me to see the Scriptures in a whole new light. The phrase "tu gli porrai nome…" is a perfect example of this.

To say that a name is  placed or set upon a newborn child implies so much more than just something to identify him by. It's more like assigning a role, a calling or  even a destiny to someone. It reflects what or who he is to be.

The name set upon King David meant Beloved of God and we know that God thought of David as a man after his own heart. Before the birth of David's son who was to be the next king, God said his name was to be Solomon which means peace. And during King Solomon's reign, he indeed had a great time of peace.