Chops
I was driving by Randazzo’s Fruit Market the other day when up popped on their marquee: “BUTTERFLY CHOPS $3.98 lb.” My immediate question was, “How many butterflies do you get to the pound? Must be a lot!”
Ah, the old “imply/infer” conundrum. The bane of language, are the words that I send out received and processed with the same meaning attached to them? Philosophers have been working on this problem for thousands of years; we have suffered the consequences since “Has God really said…?” in Genesis 3.
It is a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible: God speaks, people get it wrong. So do we say with Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?” (John 18:38) Or do we ask as the Ethiopian official, “How can I understand unless someone helps me?” (Acts 8:31 CEV) I cannot answer that for you.
The Lord’s angel said to Philip, “Go south along the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So Philip left.
An important Ethiopian official happened to be going along that road in his chariot. He was the chief treasurer for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. The official had gone to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot, reading the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit told Philip to catch up with the chariot. Philip ran up close and heard the man reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone helps me?” He then invited Philip to come up and sit beside him.
The man was reading the passage that said,
“He was led like a sheep
on its way to be killed.
He was silent as a lamb
whose wool
is being cut off,
and he did not say
a word.
He was treated like a nobody
and did not receive
a fair trial.
How can he have children,
if his life
is snatched away?”
The official said to Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or about someone else?” So Philip began at this place in the Scriptures and explained the good news about Jesus.
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+8&version=CEV>
Is there a Philip you need to invite to sit beside you? Or are you close to someone who wants to understand? The thing about language is the more interactivity between people, the more meaning is preserved, and dialogue increases. Go, baptize, teach. (Mat. 28:19-20) What do you infer from this implication?
Any good recipes for butterfly chops? And what do you do with the rest of the butterfly?
Trust the Promises,
Steve Skiver