Musings on The Message
It's April 1...April Fool's Day. It also means that I have officially read 1/4 of The Message, which touts itself as, "The Bible in Contemporary Language." This is my 3rd time reading through the Bible in a year, but in 2008 and 2009 I used the trusty NIV Concordia Self-Study Bible that I had to get for Confirmation in 8th grade. I wasn't sure what I was going to think about majorly switching it up, but I promised I would keep you posted, so here goes:
Things I like:
--the section in Matthew entitled "Salt and Light"--it has never made more sense than when I read it in The Message
--perhaps somewhat surprisingly, most of Psalms and Proverbs. I could list a whole bunch of specific verses, but one of my favorites was the Bible Verse of the Month in my March newsletter: "God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries," (Psalm 19:10).
--the story of Jairus' daughter being raised from the dead. Check out my undeniable proof that the first Lutherans were Jairus' neighbors: "[Jesus] permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader's house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles," (Mark 5:37-38). I laughed out loud when I read it!
Things I don't like:
--mustard seed=pine nut
--The Message's version of the Lord's Prayer
--missing out on familiar Bible verses/song lyrics. There are so many Bible verses that I recognize as having memorized/studied at some time in my life, and countless others that were the inspiration for hymns, worship songs, and parts of the liturgy that I love, but since I don't always know the verse references, I usually read right over them without even thinking about it.
I'm sure there are more, those are just a few that stuck out in my mind so I jotted them down. Overall I think I like it more than I thought I would, I just occasionally come across something that really rubs me the wrong way. Pine nut, seriously? I'm going to keep plugging away though, and maybe report on my opinions again in another couple of months.
Until next time, blessings as you ponder and celebrate our Lord's Passion this weekend!
Things I like:
--the section in Matthew entitled "Salt and Light"--it has never made more sense than when I read it in The Message
--perhaps somewhat surprisingly, most of Psalms and Proverbs. I could list a whole bunch of specific verses, but one of my favorites was the Bible Verse of the Month in my March newsletter: "God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries," (Psalm 19:10).
--the story of Jairus' daughter being raised from the dead. Check out my undeniable proof that the first Lutherans were Jairus' neighbors: "[Jesus] permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader's house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles," (Mark 5:37-38). I laughed out loud when I read it!
Things I don't like:
--mustard seed=pine nut
--The Message's version of the Lord's Prayer
--missing out on familiar Bible verses/song lyrics. There are so many Bible verses that I recognize as having memorized/studied at some time in my life, and countless others that were the inspiration for hymns, worship songs, and parts of the liturgy that I love, but since I don't always know the verse references, I usually read right over them without even thinking about it.
I'm sure there are more, those are just a few that stuck out in my mind so I jotted them down. Overall I think I like it more than I thought I would, I just occasionally come across something that really rubs me the wrong way. Pine nut, seriously? I'm going to keep plugging away though, and maybe report on my opinions again in another couple of months.
Until next time, blessings as you ponder and celebrate our Lord's Passion this weekend!
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