Two

Two.

Two things today, with two 'parts' (for want of a better word) each...


The first thing that came to mind when thinking about 'two' was the idea that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.
There's an awful lot of mystery in that - it's not something that we can ever fully get our heads around...and that's been true from the very beginning of the Church. You only have to look back to the creed (discussed yesterday) to see that exactly who Jesus is was something that caused major debates and problems for the Early Church.

To paraphrase, the creed says roughly:

We believe in One God,
in God the Father,
and in Jesus...

...who was the Son of God,
the Son from the beginning of time,
God, from God the Father,
truly divine,
actually God,
coming from the Father, but not created (Jesus isn't part of creation)
indivisible from God the Father,
and who made everything with God the Father,
and for us came to earth and was born of the Virgin Mary,
and was truly human,
and died for us, and rose again for us,
and ascended into heaven and is equal with God the Father there...

...and in the Holy Spirit.
And we believe in the Church,
and the promises made by God, through Christ,
Amen.

It's pretty clear what most of the debate and disagreement was about in the Early Church - exactly who Jesus is.
(I say most... believing in God the Father was uncontroversial. The Holy Spirit less so - it was one reason for the split the Church in the West and the East! (Because of four words - 'and from the son' ...details here))

Christ helped bridged the gap between God and us, in a demonstration of the love of God for us all... ...as I pray at the Eucharist each time I add water to the wine, 'Lord by the mixing of this water and this wine may we share in your divinity who shared in our humanity'.


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The other 'two' that came to mind was the Old and New Testaments in the Bible.

They can be troublesome names - Old and New, if we're not careful, can suggest that the 'new' is better than, or more 'up to date' than the 'old', or that the old is not relevant or needed any more.

Especially when looking at the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, that's really unhelpful. (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob made a covenantal promise with the People of Israel. The idea that God would break promises is unthinkable.)

However, naming the two parts of the Bible is Hard...

'First Testament' and 'Second Testament' falls into similar problems as 'Old' and 'New'

'The Hebrew Bible' has fewer of these problems
...but is still not entirely issue-free. The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, is split into three sections - teaching, prophets and writings - Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim (which is where Tanakh comes from - Ta Na Kh)
This means that when we compare it to the Old Testament, the books are in different orders - and some of the verses aren't numbered in the same way either.


It's definitely a reminder of how even little things can communicate unintended messages - and that it's helpful to be aware of them!

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While we're thinking about 'two'....
As the lockdown continues, more and more couples' weddings are disrupted, a prayer for those who are planning to get married:

Lord of love,
we pray for all engaged couples.
Be with them in peace and uncertainty,
joy and sadness,
in all their preparations,
and on their wedding day.
Give them your love in their hearts
throughout their married life together,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

[prayer adapted from a prayer found here.]

♫ Some Hungarian Dances, written first as duets for two people at one piano.