Thoughts from the Manger
Martin Luther once said that the Bible is the ‘manger into which the baby Jesus is laid.’ He wasn’t talking about the physical Bible. Rather, he was talking about the Living Word, coming to us through the Bible.
These words, spoken Sunday by our guest pastor, Dave Brauer-Rieke, follows his show-and-tell presentation of three different translations of the scriptures from his “weird and wonderful Bible collection.”
The first, an English Standard Version, is the text in an illuminated volume of the four gospels. It includes gorgeous, modern full color artwork by a 21st century Japanese Christian artist, Makoto Fujimura.
Secondly, the New Revised Standard Version is the text in the Lutheran Study Bible. It contains introductions to each book, commentaries, timelines, and maps. In short, it lives up to its name; it is an excellent study Bible.
The third translation, the King James Version of 1611, is found in the God Bless the USA Bible. Although Pastor Dave really enjoys the KJV, he admitted the further contents of this Bible: pictures of the US flag, the Statue of Liberty, and of its bird, the bald eagle. It also contains the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and its first ten amendments (the Bill of Rights). However it doesn’t contain the other 14 amendments which grant voting privileges to those of African descent (the 15th), to women (the 19th), and Presidential term limits (the 22nd).
Pastor Dave presented these Bibles because each of them affects him in differently important ways. “ART affects and informs my engagement with the Word. SCHOLASTICISM affects and informs my engagement with the Word. And POLITICS affects and informs my engagement with the Lord. All of these things are important because all of them are part of the world Jesus died to redeem.”
These versions are just three of many modern versions intentionally published for different purposes as well as the overriding, general purpose of spreading God’s truth through print. However the version is presented, its text reveals the “Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Therefore . . .
May we believe God’s Word in our hearts and our actions.
May we study both God’s Word as well as the world around us.
May we be aware of beauty, expressed in various types, designs, and colors.
Jesus, thank You for coming to us through your Word, even in its varied versions because they all speak truth. Amen
Interesting that I received your Wordsworth today, because at lunch today, I talked with a woman who is very anti-Bible. She gave reasons why… the Bible tells stories of “miracles” that were recorded in other literature before the Bible was written… e.g., the virgin birth of Jesus. I have noticed that those who are anti-Christ and anti-Bible become very adamant and raise their voices in almost a defiant way. Have you had experiences like that? Shirley
Thankfully, I have not. We can talk more about your encounter when we see each other three weeks as well as about different versions of the same basic text. Looking forward to it.