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

 

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. 

Thursday 10th November - Last video from Ephesus - St Polycarp

 Here's the link to the video and commentary

Next week we'll start a series on the 'O' Antiphons... if you want to find out more before then, well, google, google google!

Music

It it is well with my soul

In Paradisum - Faure

In paradisum deducant te angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

"May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once (a) poor (man), may you have eternal rest."

 

Thursday 3th November - Paul and John's writings

 Ephesus Videos from The Bible Society - set 2 video 5

And here's the link to the video and the commentary that follows.

Music... two rather solemn items to start

Men's choir version of 'Abide with me' - lovely harmonies - click on 'show more' for the words

St Patrick's Breastplate, set by Arvo Part (again, click on 'show more' for words)

and something different...

He's got the whole work in his hands - Duncanville High School Choir

Saturday 29th October - Miletus - Paul's tearful farewell

 

Here is the Link to this week's video and commentary.

Paul meets up with all the elders at Miletus before leaving - forever.

(If you want to recap on any of the videos in Part 2, here's the link to the complete set) 

Music;

Forth in thy Name O Lord I go (one of my favourites!)

 Gloria Gloria, Taize

Thursday 13th October - The Fish - Ancient Christian Symbols

 

And the link to the video and commentary on the Bible Society Website  

We are all very familiar with the fish symbol below in all its many forms. But this shape is NOT the one in the video!

This site has more to say about the symbol that is scratched into the stones at Ephesus. There is a story that the shape scratched into the stones was used to play a game called tabla. What a wonderful way to spread the story of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire - if the story were true...

Jesu, joy of my desiring (Voces 8)

Alleluia alleluia for the Lord God Almighty reigns

Psalm 23 - You restore my soul

Thursday 6th October - The Shopping Mall

This is the link to video and commentary.

I was struck by the way the ruins in Ephesus remind me of the ruins of so many cities and towns in Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan.... the list won't be comprehensive.

I haven't been inside a shopping mall for years (think Covid!). My appetite for 'materialistic culture' has been partially satisfied by on-line shopping. However there is nothing to beat going round the shops, touching the real good rather than relying on pictures and description.

Music;

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum irreprehensibilis est. This place is made by God, inestimably sacred, irreprehensible.

When the music fades - Matt Redman

The Lord's Prayer in Swahili

Another version with words in Swahili and English

 

Saturday October 1st - The Second Set of Bible Trek Videos on Ephesus

 Last week we watched the final video from the first set of Ephesus videos, so here's the link to the second set.

First up is The Riot!

This is video with accompanying commentary - click on the link above and scroll down until you find the video with this picture. 

Acts 19 gives the full story.

As for music - here we go...

From the Iona album 'Beyond These Shores' - This song is called Edge of the World - click on 'read more' for the lyrics which are so beautiful 

I'm Gonna Trust in God - 1999 Stoneleigh Band

 

Thursday 22nd September - Ephesus - the one about Luxury

 

This is the last of the first group of 6 videos about Ephesus. Next week we will move on to the second group.

Here's the link to the video and the associated commentary

And a set of hymns sung by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, in the style of the Gallery Musicians, heard in rural churches until the church organ gradually took over in the 19th century.

 The first one is 'who would true valour see' - one of my favourites and appropriate for this week.