Daily Retreat 11/20/08
2008 Nov 20 Thu: Ordinary Weekday
Rv 5: 1-10/ Ps 149: 1b-2. 3-4. 5-6a and 9b/ Lk 19: 41-44
From today’s readings: “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling Him to open the scroll with its seven seals.... The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.... They will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Symbolic Language
Taking the Bible seriously does not mean always taking the Bible literally. For instance, chapter five of Revelation introduces the Lamb of God. Now we all know the Lamb is a symbol of Jesus - John the Baptist, for instance, (in chapter one of the Gospel of St. John) pointed to Jesus, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In the book of Revelation alone, Jesus is addressed as the Lamb 28 times!
Now does this mean that Jesus is not only human and divine, but He also literally has the nature and appearance of a lamb, and what’ s more, a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes? Of course not! It would be idiotic to take the Bible that literally. The image of a lamb poetically helps us recall and focus on the sacrificial nature of Christ’s life, the seven horns represent the fullness of His power, and the seven eyes allude to His omniscience, His ability to see and know everything. The Book of Revelation is reduced to nonsense if the figurative language is taken literally. In fact, sometimes the Apocalypse itself provides explanation for its poetic, figurative language, such as the explanation in this chapter five (and repeated in chapter eight) that incense in the Heavenly court represents the prayers of the saints.
But unfortunately, such forthright explanations do not appear often enough in the Book of Revelation. So, for most of the imagery, the reader must attempt to decipher the symbolic meaning, and as you can imagine, there’s a wide range of conjectures about that.
Rv 5: 1-10/ Ps 149: 1b-2. 3-4. 5-6a and 9b/ Lk 19: 41-44
From today’s readings: “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling Him to open the scroll with its seven seals.... The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.... They will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Symbolic Language
Taking the Bible seriously does not mean always taking the Bible literally. For instance, chapter five of Revelation introduces the Lamb of God. Now we all know the Lamb is a symbol of Jesus - John the Baptist, for instance, (in chapter one of the Gospel of St. John) pointed to Jesus, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In the book of Revelation alone, Jesus is addressed as the Lamb 28 times!
Now does this mean that Jesus is not only human and divine, but He also literally has the nature and appearance of a lamb, and what’ s more, a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes? Of course not! It would be idiotic to take the Bible that literally. The image of a lamb poetically helps us recall and focus on the sacrificial nature of Christ’s life, the seven horns represent the fullness of His power, and the seven eyes allude to His omniscience, His ability to see and know everything. The Book of Revelation is reduced to nonsense if the figurative language is taken literally. In fact, sometimes the Apocalypse itself provides explanation for its poetic, figurative language, such as the explanation in this chapter five (and repeated in chapter eight) that incense in the Heavenly court represents the prayers of the saints.
But unfortunately, such forthright explanations do not appear often enough in the Book of Revelation. So, for most of the imagery, the reader must attempt to decipher the symbolic meaning, and as you can imagine, there’s a wide range of conjectures about that.
posted by FrPitstick | 11/17/2008
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