It happens all the time...
Illustration
It happens all the time in our Sunday morning worship. A lay person comes forward at an appointed time to read aloud the Holy Scriptures selected for the day. So it happened in Jesus' time. People stood up to read aloud the Scriptures in the synagogue. In today's Gospel we see Jesus himself performing this function.
Had the people truly known who was reading to them (as Jesus subtly informed them after the reading), no doubt they would have listened with far greater care and attention.
In this regard, the story is told how Felix Mendelssohn, beloved in his day as a church organist and composer, was once visiting in a town distant from his own in his native Germany. At a beautiful church in the town square, Mendelssohn approached the church's music director and requested permission to play the fine pipe organ. The director replied, "I cannot give just anyone permission to play this fine instrument. Who do you think you are? Mendelssohn?"
Had the people truly known who was reading to them (as Jesus subtly informed them after the reading), no doubt they would have listened with far greater care and attention.
In this regard, the story is told how Felix Mendelssohn, beloved in his day as a church organist and composer, was once visiting in a town distant from his own in his native Germany. At a beautiful church in the town square, Mendelssohn approached the church's music director and requested permission to play the fine pipe organ. The director replied, "I cannot give just anyone permission to play this fine instrument. Who do you think you are? Mendelssohn?"
