The Bible TI251 Fall 2020

While reading the first few sections of Matthew, I found it surprising that Herod would try to kill Jesus as an infant. Herod saw Jesus as a threat to his rule over Jerusalem, and thus ordered every child in Bethlehem born of the last two years to be killed. The three wise men that visited Jesus when he was born in Bethlehem were visited by an angel and were told to not report back to Herod and to return to their homes. Joseph was visited by an angel and was told to flee to Egypt until Herod passed. Reading through Matthew 3 and 4, it seems that Matthew is focused on the deeds and portraying Jesus as a role-model . Matthew writes in a way that highlights Jesus’s conviction and devotion to God is second to none.

As with many subjects in this course, the Gospels have much more to them than what churches tend to emphasize. I never knew that “gospel” means “good news,” and that fact adds much more meaning to the stories within them. Every Christian knows the story of Christmas and how Jesus’ family had to flee–but not the fine details. One interesting thought I also learned from class was who figured out what the “good news” was going to be. Kings and royalty from Jesus’ area had access to scriptures and books and census information, but it was the “lowly” shepherds who witnessed this momentous occasion. Even from a secular, academic approach, this is an important theme in the stories of the Bible.

Even though different translations tell unique stories, the Gospels give readers another chance to interpret what they want from the text. Certain aspects of the retellings (Joseph’s visions, Mary’s Song, etc) are slightly different or nonexistent across the other books. One of the defining features of the Bible is its translations, and everyone finds meaning in the passages that speak to them.

It is interesting to see how the gospels are different from one another including what information that is in each one. There are times that we get in a habit of letting our preconceived notions and beliefs shade the reading of the texts. The most significant time being when reading through the story of Jesus’ youth. From the manger scene, which was part of the house, to the number of magi, when they came and what their profession was. Our version of the Christmas story as shown in pageants most of the time is not representative of the real story as accounted for in the Bible. Moreover, this preconception makes it harder for us to accept some of the aspects of the Bible. Some of this might even feed into the understanding of each of the gospels. For Matthew, there is a focus on the inclusion of all people. This permeates into the message that God was trying to send to people on Earth through Jesus. The genealogy of Jesus includes women, the angel spoke to Mary instead of Joseph, and the crowds that Jesus spoke to were all diverse. When viewed in pieces the stories line up to have the aspects of Jesus including all people, but once we get out of viewing the stories from a shaded aspect, we can see that there is more to the scriptures than what meets the eye.

Since Christ was not just fully divine, He was also fully man that is, to take on a true flesh and soul. Christ’s mother Mary bore Him in the presence of Joseph and the Shepards and animals thereof. In the Icons, the nativity is often depicted in a cave with the three Magi, Joseph, and the Mother of God herself, often resting gracefully after the birth itself. As far as the monastic charter is concerned, many Orthodox fast (you’re essentially vegan) for forty days prior to Christmas in spiritual preparation for the feast day.

If you don’t know, historically accurate St. Nicholas is better than whatever consumerist abomination “Santa Claus” is. St. Nicholas was born in Myra, Greece and was ordained as a priest by his uncle who at that time was the residing bishop. Upon his ordination, he frequently distributed wealth to the poor, his legendary philanthropy is what attributed him to great generosity. The story he is most well known for is the time he was able to pay off the dowries of three women so that they could marry, not marrying would’ve most likely meant a reliance on prostitution. He then (but many scholars continue to debate this) attended the council of Nicaea in 325 where he slapped Arius out of his great love for the truth. Arius was proposing the Aryanism heresy which proposed Christ as a subordinate to God The Father. In short, tell you’re family about real St. Nicholas slapping heretics as you sit around the fireplace, happy holidays!

The canonical Gospels, also known as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, tell the stories of Jesus Christ. Today, I want to focus on the initial stories of Matthew and Luke. Both of these tell the same story, but differently. Each has different aspects that seem similar to the stories we’ve heard, which makes me think that details have been chosen from both stories and merged into the story told to us in Sunday School.

The Gospel of Matthew brings us the details that an angel came to Joseph when Mary was pregnant, telling him to stay by her side. This was an important piece of the story, but it was not in the Gospel of Luke. In the Gospel of Luke we have the detail that Mary and Joseph were turned away from the Inn due, and the fact that Jesus was laid in a manger. That detail is not in the Gospel of Matthew. However, it makes for a more cohesive story if those details are together, does it not?

Since I was a child I always thought that these were collective details. However, since the details are not collective, how can we tell what details of the story are true? I think that it all comes down to how you want to see it. Each of the Gospels tell the story differently because they are taking different angles and are different writers, who pick up different details. As time has passed, we have just seemed to merge the details together to make a conclusive story and every person reads into the Bible differently, so it really depends on how you as a person want to read it.

I was never familiar with the infancy stories before. All I had heard of was that Jesus was born by the virgin Mary. I also heard the Christmas was celebrating the birth of Jesus. I also knew that he was a carpenter. Other than this, however, I did not know anything else. It is interesting to think of the Bible as a biography of Jesus. Thinking of the infancy of Jesus is an interesting concept. When I think of Jesus, I think of him as an adult. I can’t even picture Jesus growing up and being a child. One part of the reading that was interesting was the Jesus supposedly performed exorcisms on sick and disabled people. It is a bizarre concept to think about Jesus performing exorcisms. I see how it would make sense that a sick person has an evil spirit that is making them ill. This was a new idea to me, however.

In class, we discussed the book of Psalms and how it related to music, especially in popular culture. I actually never fully realized that these passages were meant to be put to song. It’s quite frustrating that we don’t, and probably never will, know how they were originally put to sound. I’m mad at myself for not knowing that they were supposed to be songs, but then I remembered that it’s kind of hard to tell since they don’t rhyme. In class I learned that they do in fact rhyme, but since it’s translated to English, it looses that rhyming scheme. Personally, I really enjoyed the songs that we listened to in class and hearing the different interpretations that the bands put on the psalms. I really enjoyed the “Rivers of Babylon” song by both The Melodians and Boney M.—I actually added both to my music playlist and have been listening to them a lot ever since.

An important conversation that arose within class was the Bible and its relationship to “covers” of songs in pop culture. I never realized how important the role of ancient language was in the interpretation of Psalms. Originally, these were written to rhyme in ancient language, which explains how the meaning has evolved over time. Many different translations try to match the rhyming quality of the original author, skewing the definition of the word slightly. This is a lot like covers of songs in modern society, as different techniques and genres of the remakes can completely change the experience for the listener. I never thought of this analogy before, and also often forget that there is music in the Bible at all. Hearing the same passages in Christian pop rock in the same few songs on the radio, it’s hard to remember that these Psalms are part of a larger work, with much more context.

I have been exposed to many Psalms and translations into songs because I grew up in the church and was part of a choir. Just a short time ago, I took on the task of reading through the whole book of Psalm. Through the influences around me, I have found a liking in Psalm 139. This is because in choir we sang a song composed by Alan Pote titled Psalm 139 and it is one of the chapters that I refer to it often as it relates to my life. What the verse encompasses is simply that God knows you and knows your every movement, struggle, and who you truly are. Each year the people who graduated from our choir would come back and we would all sing this song. With every year we would have a bigger and bigger group because of the number of people who graduated. When we sang this song together it was such a powerful moment in which we could all relate to each other and unite in this one song that we all knew. The message always rang clear through the congregation and through the singers. I know it resonated with me. It is something that I can find strength in and other people can too. When there is a shared feeling of comfort, people can unite with a common goal. Not just in this one Psalm, but in many Psalms, people can relate to the struggles and joys that are felt by the narrator. I believe therefore the book of Psalms is one of the most relatable books in the Bible. It is so convenient to get to as well (most of the time you can open the Bible in the middle and you will be in Psalm). It is easy to find something that is in Psalm that at one point in time anyone could relate to.

Psalms, and music in general, have had a huge impact on my faith life.  Starting from a young age, I often listened to Christian music, attended Mass regularly, sang along with the songs (because they say singing is praying twice:), and getting involved in the ministry.  Having played instruments for 15 years, I have been able to be more insightful to how music can give so much meaning to words that initially don’t make much sense to us.  Often times, when singing the psalms during Mass, I have a realization or connection that all of a sudden comes to me, and I suddenly know why the psalm was chosen to go with the particular Scripture readings for the day.  The psalms are often some of the more catchier tunes that are short and easy to get stuck in my head, so I will end up singing them all throughout the day.  Additionally, I thought the idea of interpretation and the use of music to convey a particular meaning was very interesting.  It got me thinking about some of the Gregorian chant that I have heard videos of, and I got to thinking about how far our “music” has come.  I attended an Eastern Orthodox Church one weekend and was very surprised to find that a lot of their songs are just chants.  There were only a few pieces that had maybe a few notes or chords on piano, which I found very different from my typical Mass.  Because I have had music in my life since a very young age, I have learned how much work goes into creating expression and emotion in what is initially words typed on a page.  Starting as a poem, it’s interesting to see just how one line can turn into what seems like a struggle to get through by notation and rhythm selected.  I also find it very interesting to see how each Church may adapt its own “style” to their psalms that they sing.  Often at my church, our piano player will write a different tune to go with the words of the psalm, or sometimes they use the same tune for two different psalms.  I find it very interesting to compare and contrast music between churches.  It has allowed me to reflect on my personal preferences with music involved in the Mass.