Exodus 5:10-8:15

Today I went with my wife to the Cloisters in New York City.  It is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a monastery building that was built in the 1930's based on elements of several medieval abbeys of Europe, and it is filled with beautiful medieval art, including altarpieces, triptychs, tapestries, reliquaries, etc.  

The Cloisters

But today's visit was to take in a performance of The Song of Daniel, a beautiful musical piece that I can only describe as part opera, part chant, part religious play. It dates back to somewhere in the late 13th or early 14th century, and seems to be an early ancestor of opera, as it is a drama, but completely sung. It recounts the story of Daniel in the lion's den, with a song stuck in the middle and another at the end celebrating the Nativity of Jesus.  It was wonderful, with music played on medieval instruments, and the singing was marvelous.  As for today's reading, we have an obstinate Pharaoh, doubting Israelite foremen, and a set of magicians who match Moses wonder-for-wonder until the plague of the gnats. After which those magicians tell Pharaoh that "this is finger of God." (Interestingly, it is the finger of God that writes on the wall in the story of Daniel that we saw today.)  I am struck by the conversations Moses has with God: they are numerous and Moses is constantly "protesting" to God about something God has instructed Moses to do. I find it curious and humorous, since God seems to have more patience with Moses than with others both before and after him. One last point, I spent some time in Venice with my family a few years ago, and we stayed very near Chiesa di San Moise (St. Moses Church). An Old Testament saint. Pretty cool.  












Chiesa di San Moise                                                        San Moise