Seeing Our Faith Through New Eyes

by Tiffany Brooks

 

On the Sunday before Indigenous People’s day this past month, our scripture reading was Philippians 2:1-13. After it was shared in English, a member of our congregation who is also a member of the Cherokee tribe greeted us in Cherokee and then read the same passage of scripture from the First Nations Version. The joy and pride were unmistakable in her voice as she read from the Bible in the language of her ancestors and the original stewards and keepers of the very land on which we were currently worshipping.

Jesus’s name in that translation is rendered “Creator Sets Free (Jesus),” and as I listened to new words describing the familiar concepts of the passage, I felt like I was hearing it for the first time. “Creator Sets Free” evokes the meaning of the Greek word sōteria, which is usually translated in English as “salvation” but more literally means “liberation.” The liberation that Christ brought—and still brings—to those who follow him reminds us of the freedom we offer others when we follow Jesus’s example of living in love. A life in Christ means the Creator is perpetually setting us free.

And it reminded me of the importance of purposefully looking with new eyes to encounter our faith in fresh and exciting ways. Of course we find comfort in our tried-and-true patterns, but when we are willing to step away from our accustomed habits of worship to meet God in unfamiliar places, God will surprise us in return with new ways of seeing Creation.

 

About the Author

Tiffany Yecke Brooks is the lead or contributing writer for more than three dozen books, including seven New York Times bestsellers. She has also written numerous articles for publications such as Smithsonian, New York Archives Magazine, and various peer-reviewed journals.

Tiffany holds a PhD from Florida State University, an MA in Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary, and currently teaches nonfiction writing in the MFA program at the University of Oklahoma.