Eastertide
April 28, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Revelation 5:11-14
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice,
‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!’
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,
‘To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!’
And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and worshipped.
I confess when I read scriptures sometimes the most irrelevant things pop into my head. Today, as I read Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered, I lost and missed the melody of Handel’s Messiah which started playing in my head the minute I read Worthy is the Lamb. Why did the NRSV translators choose slaughter instead of the more archaic slain, the word that is musically welded into many of our brains?
Two lessons came to me from this experience. One, reading different translations of the Bible is helpful in preventing our becoming complacent in our understanding of the scriptures. The whole thought that the bible says it I believe it that settles it (original source unknown) fades as we delve deeper into the understanding of scripture that was written in ancient languages that, too, have changed over time. The other lesson is that music remains a wonderful, spiritual way to take in the Word of God whether in scripture or as we attempt to model our lives after the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) Music lifts us to higher ground and greater depths of spiritual communion.
Prayer:
I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground*. Amen.
*Chorus of I’m pressing on the upward way by Johnson Oatman Jr. see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/396
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.