This is the Sixteenth Century : no festivity can do without the Church of England\u2019s blessing. Besides that, 31 July is the Eve of St. Peter\u2019s in Chains. A regular holy day, and this evensong may be important enough to be under England\u2019s Law an obligation to attend. Today\u2019s lesson from the New Testament is from Acts 12. The community knows the bible by heart, but there is no harm in refreshing the cultural memory of less devout future\u00a0 generations :<\/p>\n
\n\u00a01) Now\u00a0 about that time, Herod the King stretched forth his hand to <\/em>vex certain of the Church,\u00a0 2) And he killed James the brother of <\/em>John with the sword.\u00a0 3) And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, <\/em>he proceeded further, to take Peter also (then were the days of <\/em>unleavened bread.)\u00a0 4) And when he had caught him, he put him in<\/em> prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to be kept, <\/em>intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.\u00a0 5 ) So <\/em>Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer was made of the Church <\/em>unto God for him.\u00a0 6) And when Herod would have brought him out <\/em>unto the people, the same night slept Peter between two soldiers, <\/em>bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door, kept the <\/em>prison.\u00a0 7) And behold, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and a <\/em>light shined in the house, and he smote Peter on the side, and raised <\/em>him up, saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. <\/em>8) And the Angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. <\/em>And so he did. Then he said unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, <\/em>and follow me.\u00a0 9) So Peter came out and followed him, and knew not <\/em>that it was true, which was done by the Angel, but thought he had seen a vision.\u00a0 10) Now when they were past the first and the second watch, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them by its own accord, and they went out, and passed through one street, and by and by the Angel departed from him. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
Geneva Bible<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Consistency demands the use of the 1568\/1572 Bishops\u2019 Bible. Which was the standard bible on Church of England lecterns. But this was essentially a Geneva Bible without its marginal notes, that were too Calvinistic to an Elizabethan bishop\u2019s taste. It was this annotated version that Shakespeare knew by heart, and its number of notes expanded a lot between 1560 and 1599, which years\u2019 editions are available on internet. The limited choice, unfortunately, prevents an exact dating of this note from verse 12, that is not in the 1560 edition, and that establishes a firm link between the day\u2019s lesson and the two great love scenes in Romeo and Juliet<\/em> : \u2018Holy meetings in the night as well of men as women (when they cannot be suffered in the day time) are allowable by the example of the Apostles.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is the Sixteenth Century : no festivity can do without the Church of England\u2019s blessing. Besides that, 31 July is the Eve of St. Peter\u2019s in Chains. A regular holy day, and this evensong may be important enough to … Continue reading