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God's Endless Mercies // Jackson Riddle

Liturgical dramas, where have you been all my life? Such poetic history seems like it should be something worth mentioning in the church today, as it holds so much weight in the history of the church. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Ordo Virtutum. Giving each virtue a voice to share their purpose and meaning gave so much depth to each one, and made them more than just a word. I particularly enjoyed how, when the Soul calls out to the Virtues saying "Woe is me therefore, because I fled from you", the Virtues responded with grace and mercy, accepting the Soul (Bingen, 8). Regardless of the fact that the Soul fled from Virtues and served the Devil, Virtues was quick to forgive and take back the Soul.

After this exchange between the Soul and Virtues, the Devil butts in saying "You embraced me, and I led you forth, but now by turning back you defy me. Yet my assault will hurl you down." The Soul, having been rescued by Virtues, has a new vigor, and responds with "I recognized that all my ways were evil, and so I escaped from you. But now, deceiver, I fight against you" (Bingen, 10). I love this. This right here feels like an epic scene in an action movie where the hero, having been beaten down, rises up in defiance of the villain and says, "Not today". This play is symbolic of mankind's relationship with God. We stray from Him, satisfy our earthly pleasures and serve the Devil in doing so, but once we realize our mistakes God is always right there to forgive us and offer mercy. I love it.


Commented on Clabo and Abbie's posts.

Comments

  1. ClaboMarch 30, 2021 at 12:49 AM

    I agree with you man. These dramas are very inspiring and it's sad that we don't see more things like this today. The crazy part is that we can only wonder how inspiring it was to the people back then if it is still able to inspire us today.

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