The opening session of Urbana 2012, we sang this song together. But... I could not sing. My throat closed and my eyes filled with tears, as I felt heavy pressure start building in my soul.... my body in a room full of Hearing people singing at the top of their voices, but my mind was miles away...
I love this song. It is full of truth. Divine realities. The whole premise based on the power of HEARING the SOUND of Jesus' name.
Yet, every time I hear it, I'm thrown into a mental battle of making it relevant in my world. HOW do you translate this song into the Deaf world? HOW can it be contextualized to be relevant to a Deaf mind?
This may not be a perfect interpretation but, when I see it, I no longer feel like you have to be hearing to be able to experience the power of Jesus' name. Because another reality is... you don't.
Wow, that is an incredible video. I've heard this song before in English, but seeing the ASL gave me a much deeper understanding of it. I love that the signer contextualized it and didn't just translate it directly.
ReplyDeleteI think about that contextualization question sometimes when I read Bible verses that talk about hearing God's voice, etc. It seems that even Deaf people who are fluent in a written language would have trouble connecting with these verses.