A Marvelous Book, Part 2

As I continue my reading of The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality and the Scribe by Michelle Brown, I have learned some interesting facts about the Lindisfarne Gospels which may prove useful for our ministry today.

The ‘Lindisfarne Gospels’ is a Latin gospel book written in the early 700’s. In fact, it is the earliest exact copy of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate transcribed by a native of Britain. At the time there were many ‘mixed’ copies of the Latin Bible which included bits from Jerome’s Vulgate as well as earlier Latin versions, but none with such precise representation of Jerome’s Vulgate. Scholars believe the original maker of the Lindisfarne Gospels was working within the convictions of the Lindisfarne community to strengthen the ties of Celtic Christianity to traditions of the larger Roman Church (this was before the days of Church of England and Protestantism). It was an intentional move of solidarity with the wider, universal Church, or to use more modern terms, a display of ecumenical or interdenominational relations.

A few hundred years later in the late 900’s a scribe by the name of Aldred—a Christian of St. Cuthbert’s following—inserted Old English translations between the Latin lines (called a ‘colophon’). Aldred’s colophon is the earliest translation of the Gospels into English we have to date, and is more than 500 years before William Tyndale’s celebrated translation to Early Modern English. The community of Christians who followed St. Cuthbert knew the importance of translating the Gospels into everyday language. Incidentally, Aldred’s colophon shares in the original intent of the Latin Vulgate, for the root of ‘vulgate’ means ‘vulgar’ or ‘common.’

So, the Lindisfarne Gospels stands in the byways of a world in change. On one hand, it represents the Celtic church’s desire to maintain the orthodoxy of the universal Church. On the other, it is a visible reminder of the need to ‘translate’ the Gospel of Christ into everyday language. This powerful testimony encourages us in our mission and ministry at the Church of Jesus Christ. We stand upon the timeless truths of God’s redemptive history, handed down to us through the historic church. This we call Tradition. Yet at the same time, we are confronted with the daunting task of communicating this truth to a generation that no longer speaks ‘church.’ This we call Mission.

Blessings,
JON