Christians can often feel as if the messages they receive from the prevalent culture are in opposition to the messages at the core of Christianity. In many ways, Jesus helps us understand who we are as Christians in the midst of these conflicting messages; He becomes our interpreter.
Many readers may remember the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004. What readers may not know is how that revolution was inspired by a 48 year-old Ukrainian mom who worked as a sign language interpreter.
In November 2004, Ukraine’s very popular opposition candidate, Viktor Yuschenko, was running against the Russian-supported prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych. All polls leading to the election and all exit polls on the November 24 election had the reformer Yuschenko way ahead of Yanukovych. The problem was that the Ukrainian political establishment was behind Yanukovych, and they ran the balloting.
That night, much to the shock of the Ukrainian people, Yanukovych was declared the winner. The people of Ukraine were in a state of shock and did not know what to do.
The next morning, Natalya Dmytruk went to her job as a sign language interpreter at the state-run television station, UTI. During news reports, Dmytruk’s face and hands always appear in a little box at the bottom of the screen for hearing-impaired viewers.
When Dmytruk walked into the studio in preparation for the 11 a.m. broadcast she was sure she would, in her words, “tell people the truth that day.”
So, while the anchors repeated verbally the results of the previous day’s “winner,” Yanukovych, Dmytruk was boldly and repeatedly signing this to all hearing-impaired viewers all over Ukraine: “I am addressing everyone who is deaf in Ukraine. Our president is Victor Yushchenko. Do not trust the results of the central election committee. They are all lies. And I am very ashamed to translate such lies to you. Maybe you will see me again.” Her last sentence hinted at the fate she thought would await her. Fortunately, no one in the UTI studio knew sign language.
This act of defiance is seen as one of the most important catalysts for Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. After seeing Dmytruk’s bravery, many Ukrainian journalists subsequently rejected doctored news reports in favor of truthful reporting. Spurred on by that courage, millions of people flooded the streets. The government finally caved in, a rerun was scheduled for December, and this time, Yushchenko was declared the winner and became president.
You see, our culture tells us all kinds of lies, but Jesus is the sign language translator, in the little box of our daily lives, who says, “Don’t believe the big screen, it’s lying.”
The doctor tells you that you have a disease that can’t be cured. Don’t believe the big screen. Jesus will either cure you or bring good things out of it, and help you find joy even in the midst of it.
Your marriage is breaking down. The culture says you ought to move on, the love is gone, and it can’t be fixed. Don’t believe the big screen, Jesus can make it new and renew your love.
The culture says that the way to happiness is through acquiring more and bigger things. Don’t believe the big screen. Jesus stands in the little box and tells us clearly that following Him brings joy and peace.
You’re out of work and worried about your finances. The culture says there’s no hope, and that you ought to be afraid. But Jesus says He will never let you out of His hand, and that He will care for your needs. In Jesus, there is no trap that can hold you, no door so locked he can’t open it, no wall so high he can’t get over it. Not the times we’ve failed or the times we’ve been failed.
Yes, Jesus is our interpreter. Hardship, famine, persecution, the sword? We may experience those things, but because He lives they cannot win and they don’t define us. And that is what we mean when we Christians say, “Jesus Christ is risen!”
