Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Revelation ...

... Franz Wright on Language as Sacrament in the New Testament. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

This deserves not only to be read, but to be re-read and pondered. There is so much that resonates with me personally. I have always been moved by what Wright calls "the mood, incomparably expressed, of valedictory tenderness and concern" in the Fourth Gospel. The story of the encounter on the road to Emmaus has also always struck me as being especially significant. Here is just one except from this splendid piece:

If one thing distinguishes the Gospels from any other comparable works, or any works conveyed by language, it is their eerily childlike diction, their utter clarity and translucence. And this extreme simplicity, apart from facilitating multiple superimposed levels of interpretation, must also surely have served as a mnemonic aid as well as allowing Jesus’s particular audience to identify with what he had to say. This style must have helped people to recall his meaning and message, which is so deep and clear and unforgettable that its rephrasings in the hands of different authors could not alter it.


But read the whole thing.

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