Daily Retreat 11/26/08
2008 Nov 26 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
Rv 15: 1-4/ Ps 97(98): 1. 2-3ab. 7-8. 9/ Lk 21: 12-19
From today’s readings: “I, John, saw in Heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring.... Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God almighty.... They will seize and persecute you....”
Magnificent Harmony of Scripture
One of the pervasive characteristics of the Apocalypse is the seamless string of Old Testament allusions. Often enough, one book of the Bible will directly quote or borrow a verse from another book, but it’s even more common (especially in the Apocalypse) for words and images to be bolstered by veiled but nonetheless deliberate allusions to Old Testament antecedents.
Consider, for instance, the victorious hymn chanted by the heavenly host at the beginning of Chapter Fifteen of the book of Revelation: "Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O king of the nations! Who will not fear You, Lord, or glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy - all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed!"
This hymn "sounds" so scriptural because, not only do the words appear here in the Apocalypse, but almost all of the words had prophetically already appeared earlier in the Bible - see, for instance, Deut. 32:4, Jer. 10:7, Amos 4:12, and many psalm verses such as 85(86):9. Once again, we see how the full impact of scripture comes from taking it altogether, instead of isolating verses and going off on tangents.
Rv 15: 1-4/ Ps 97(98): 1. 2-3ab. 7-8. 9/ Lk 21: 12-19
From today’s readings: “I, John, saw in Heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring.... Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God almighty.... They will seize and persecute you....”
Magnificent Harmony of Scripture
One of the pervasive characteristics of the Apocalypse is the seamless string of Old Testament allusions. Often enough, one book of the Bible will directly quote or borrow a verse from another book, but it’s even more common (especially in the Apocalypse) for words and images to be bolstered by veiled but nonetheless deliberate allusions to Old Testament antecedents.
Consider, for instance, the victorious hymn chanted by the heavenly host at the beginning of Chapter Fifteen of the book of Revelation: "Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O king of the nations! Who will not fear You, Lord, or glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy - all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed!"
This hymn "sounds" so scriptural because, not only do the words appear here in the Apocalypse, but almost all of the words had prophetically already appeared earlier in the Bible - see, for instance, Deut. 32:4, Jer. 10:7, Amos 4:12, and many psalm verses such as 85(86):9. Once again, we see how the full impact of scripture comes from taking it altogether, instead of isolating verses and going off on tangents.
posted by FrPitstick | 11/24/2008
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