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Originally scheduled for
October 16
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Have you ever seen a leaf out of the 1611 King James Bible?
It's rather hard to read, as the English language has changed quite
a bit (not to mention the art of the printer).[1]
But the style is unmistakable. It is the same style used in the
Middle Ages by monks copying the Bible. It is highly ornate and the
letters are rather fancy. That style was continued by the early
publishers for the simple reason that people expected it. They knew
what a "real Bible" was supposed to look like that.
The tradition carried over into the words themselves. The spoken
word was also "ornate." The expectation was that the Word of God
would sound like the word of God. If it started with "hey dude" it
wasn't the real thing. We know the Bible should look like; we also
know what it should sound like.
Christ, the word of God, meets a similar test. We have expectations
of the word of God who became flesh. To put it simply, we expect him
to act like God. But because he is also human, we expect him to act
like a human as well. So it is that God gave us the miracle of the
incarnation; Christ was born of Mary because that's how human beings
get started.
The Scripture tells us[2] that he is
the image of God. The word used for image is now our word "icon." If
you see Jesus, you have seen God. More than that, we are also told
that he is the exact representation of God's nature.[3] So we may
well ask, what is God's nature?
Volumes could be written about the answer to that question, but we
may point out two very prominent things. First God's nature is that
of justice and righteousness; second, God's nature is that of love.
To be the exact representation of that nature Christ went to the
cross – satisfying the justice and righteousness of God with the
overpowering display of the love of God. It is the most important
event in human history.
We remember important days in history. The Christian world
celebrates Christmas; America celebrates the Fourth of July; some of
us even still celebrate our birthdays. The most important day in
history is celebrated here at communion. In the wine we are reminded
of the blood shed by Christ; in the bread we are reminded of his
body. There is a certain style in God's memorial; simple and direct.
By his body and blood he reminds you of the sacrifice on the cross
and the victory over the grave.
[1] An example
may be found at
http://www.greatsite.com/ancient-rare-bible-leaves/king-james-1611-picture.html
