Praying the Venite before the image of the Crucified Lord brings the whole of the faith into focus. To say before the Crucified: "O come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation... The sea is His for He made it and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker."
Also in singing Benedictus, that St. John the Baptist giving knowledge of salvation to God's people in the forgiveness of their sins, that perhaps it should be capitalized: "in the Forgiveness of their sins." For that is who Jesus is as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; He IS Forgiveness. Also, is the reference to "light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death" meaning the harrowing of hell?
4 comments:
Very excellent point Pastor Weedon. It's amazing how the crucifix before our eyes opens up the Scriptures, especially the Psalms and Canticles.
Amen! And you know, in its season, the image of the Nativity does the same.
Many translations render it "knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins."
How do you receive knowledge of salvation? By having your sins forgiven. Then you know what salvation is.
Beautiful.
I always wondered why we sang those words in the Benedictus. It never made sense to me. Why would we be singing the words of which were spoken regarding John the Baptist? Then someone once explained to me (and it may very well have been you Pastor Weedon)that those words now apply to the Church. Then it made sense.
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