Unlock the spiritual magic of Handel's Messiah this Advent season!
Delve into the hidden treasures of Scripture that inspired Handel's timeless masterpiece. This elegant volume offers forty captivating reflections that harmoniously blend the libretto from Handel's Messiah with corresponding passages from the NRSV, accompanied by insightful commentary from respected scholars and pastors. Whether you savor it at your own pace or follow one reflection per day during Advent and Christmas, this transformative journey will enrich, challenge, and inspire your spirit.
This devotional balances the musical and biblical aspects of Handel's masterpiece, inviting you to explore its profound story and its impact on your daily life. It's a perfect companion for the Advent season, offering deep biblical scholarship that challenges you to re-think, work for justice, and embrace the marginalized. Every Valley is a must-have for classical music enthusiasts and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Scriptures that inspired Handel's magnificent opus. Share this book with friends, family, or church leaders, and embark on a shared journey of spiritual growth and reflection this Advent season.
Klappentext
Handel's Messiah is one of the most beloved musical works of the western world, playing an especially sentimental role in many people's Christmas traditions. The libretto of the work, taken directly from the King James text of fourteen books of the Bible, has turned many otherwise forgettable phrases into memorable, singable, cherished lines of Scripture.
This gift-worthy book will delight and inspire classical music fans and those for whom Messiah is a beloved Christmas tradition with essays exploring the theological, historical, and pastoral implications of the Scriptures that make up Handel's Messiah.
Forty reflections journey in order through the oratorio, taking the reader deeper into less-often studied texts like Malachi 3:3 and bringing new light to oft-recited passages like Luke 2:9-14. Each reflection offers the libretto from Messiah, the same passage in NRSV, and a brief commentary on the text, written by a respected scholar or pastor. Readers can peruse the book at leisure or examine one reflection per day throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons.
Inhalt
PART 1: CHRIST'S BIRTH AND ITS FORETELLING
1. Comfort Ye My People (Isaiah 40:1-5) Movements 1-4
2. I Will Shake All Nations (Haggai 2:1-9) Movement 5 (Part 1)
3. He Shall Come (Malachi 2:13-3:1) Movement 5 (Part 2)
4. And He Shall Purify (Malachi 3:2-4)
Movements 6 and 7
5. God with Us (Isaiah 7:10-16)
Movement 8
6. O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings (Isaiah 40:6-9)
Movement 9 (Part 1)
7. Arise, Shine (Isaiah 60:1-6)
Movements 9 (Part 2) and 10
8. The People That Walked in Darkness (Isaiah 9:1-2)
Movement 11
9. For unto Us a Child Is Born (Isaiah 9:3-7)
Movement 12
10. Keeping Watch (Luke 2:8-10)
Movements 13-15 (Part 1)
11. Born This Day (Luke 2:11-12)
Movement 15 (Part 2)
12. Glory to God (Luke 2:13-20)
Movements 16 and 17
13. Rejoice Greatly (Zechariah 9:9-12)
Movement 18
14. The Lame Shall Leap (Isaiah 35:1-7)
Movement 19
15. He Shall Feed His Flock (Isaiah 40:10-11)
Movement 20 (Part 1)
16. His Yoke Is Easy (Matthew 11:16-30)
Movements 20 (Part 2) and 21
PART 2: CHRIST'S PASSION AND RESURRECTION
17. Behold the Lamb (John 1:29-34)
Movement 22
18. He Was Despised (Isaiah 52:13-53:3)
Movement 23
19. He Bore Our Griefs (Isaiah 53:4-5, 9-12)
Movements 24 and 25
20. All We Like Sheep (Isaiah 53:6)
Movement 26
21. They Laugh Him to Scorn (Psalm 22:1-15)
Movements 27 and 28
22. There Was No One to Comfort Him (Psalm 69:7-20)
Movement 29
23. Sorrow Like unto His Sorrow (Lamentations 1:1-12)
Movement 30
24. He Was Cut Off (Psalm 16:9-11)
Movements 31 and 32
25. He Is the King of Glory (Psalm 24)
Movement 33
26. Let All the Angels Worship Him (Hebrews 1:1-8)
Movements 34 and 35
27. Even from Thine Enemies (Psalm 68:1-12, 17-20)
Movements 36 and 37
28. How Beautiful (Romans 10:8-15)
Movement 38
29. Into All Lands (Psalm 19)
Movement 39
30. Why Do the Nations Rage? (Psalm 2:1-3, 7-8)
Movements 40 and 41
31. The Lord Shall Break Them (Psalm 2:4-6, 9-12)
Movements 42 and 43
32. Hallelujah (Revelation 19:6-16)
Movement 44
PART 3: CHRIST'S ETERNAL REIGN
33. My Redeemer Liveth (Job 19:23-27)
Movement 45 (Part 1)
34. For Now Christ Is Risen (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)
Movement 45 (Part 2)
35. All Shall Be Made Alive (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
Movement 46
36. We Shall Be Changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
Movements 47 and 48
37. Death, Where Is Thy Sting? (1 Corinthians 15:54-58)
Movements 49-51
38. If God Be for Us (Romans 8:31-39)
Movement 52
39. Worthy Is the Lamb (Revelation 5:11-13)
Movement 53 (Part 1)
40. Amen (Revelation 5:14)
Movement 53 (Part 2)