Post for 20th April; Contemplating Luke 22; 35-37

copyright info; https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-last-supper-27358

ere's the passage, from Biblegateway; you can follow the link to read the full chapter, which is relating the events of The Last Supper

35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

“Nothing,” they answered.

36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’[b]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

The issue we had with this passage is that Jesus is now contradicting what he instructed the disciples to do when he sent them out earlier in the gospels. 

Footnote [b] takes you to Isaiah 53;12

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Post for Thursday 13th April - Contemplating Isaiah 30:15, 30:18

 We are starting a new series now that our travels through Narnia are ended.

The idea is to contemplate a passage from the Bible for five minutes, and then share, note down, follow any thoughts, ideas, paths that come from this.

This is a bit close to reading random verses without any context... but we can deal with any problems as they arise. 

On Thursday 13th April we considered these two verses from Isaiah;

(some context is needed; the people of Judah have asked Egypt to save them from the Assyrians, instead of trusting in God)

15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.

1!18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!

Here are the two pieces of music that came to my mind; 'I Waited for the Lord' by Mendelssohn

and, in recognition of how difficult it is to keep one's mind focused; 'Lady in Church', Joyce Grenfell

 

Monday 20th February - Rev Andrew Dotchin's Lent Course in Narnia

 Here's the link to all the posts, from Tuesday 21st February (Shrove Tuesday) through to Easter. There are no posts for the Sundays in Lent.

This is course from some years back, and I am pleased to have the opportunity of revisiting it!

His daily emails for Lent are going to be on The Screwtape Letters; if you are signed up for his emails, as I am, then that's what is going to be coming through. I shall probably ignore them this year, and concentrate on Mice and Marshwiggles.

I shall put a link to this page on my homescreen for easy access.   

Thursday 15th December - Antiphon 4; O Clavis David

 O Clavis David – O Key of David (usually sung on December 20th)

 Read through the prophecy and the words of the anthem and hymn. Listen to the plainsong a couple of times, and take five minutes to reflect. Note down thoughts that come to mind. Listen to the plainsong again.

  

from the Bible

"I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open."                 Isaiah 22:22

"His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore." Isaiah 9:7

"To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."                                 Isaiah 42:7.

 

The Antiphon; 

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

 

Translation

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

The Plainsong 

from the Hymn

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Thursday 8th December - O Radix Jesse

 (Ready for next week's meeting!)

O Radix Jesse – O Root of Jesse (usually sung on December 19^th)

Read through the words below; listen to the antiphon being sung, reflect for 5 minutes...

The prophecies;

"A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."                                                                                                                  Isaiah 11:1

"On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious."                                      Isaiah 11:10

 

The Antiphon in English;

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;

before you kings will shut their mouths,

to you the nations will make their prayer:

Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

 

The Antiphon in Latin;

O radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,

super quem continebunt reges os suum,

quem Gentes deprecabuntur:

veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

 

The verse from the hymn O Come, O come Emmanuel; 

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Thursday 1st December - O Adonai

This is the second of the seven 'O' Antiphons, usually usually sung on December 18th

Take some time to read the words below, then listen to the Antiphon being sung. Reflect for 5 minutes, picking out themes and words that particular come to mind.

Then listen again. 

This Antiphon takes its inspirations from these prophecies;

"[…] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins."                                                                                                                                                Isaiah 11:4-5

"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us."                                                                                                            Isaiah 33:22

Also compare Exodus 3:2 and Exodus 24:12

 In English

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,

Who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush

And gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

 

In Latin

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,

Qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,

Et ei in Sina legel dedisti:

Veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

  

From the hymn 'O come, O come Emmanuel';

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.  

Music;

Thursday 24th November - O Sapienta

 This is the first of the seven 'O' Antiphons (this is the wikipedia link) 

It is usually sung on 17th December, at vespers, the others following every evening until the day before Christmas Eve.

O Wisdom,
coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Here is the entry from https://www.themathesontrust.org/library/the-o-antiphons

O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” 

Isaiah had prophesied, 

“The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3)

“Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).

And here is the antiphon sung by Cantate Regensburg

The suggestion is that you read the words of the antiphon, and the related prophesies, and listen to the music once or twice. Then give yourself at least five minutes to reflect. Make a note of what comes to mind.

Then listen to the music again.

You could commit the words of the antiphon to memory, and use them as a starter for prayer through the week.