Friday, June 13, 2014

The Knight and the Jew

P.J. Hereford at 1:50 May 18, 2014
The final aria in Act ll scene 2 by Rudolph, the knight and page to Frederick Barbarossa while on the Third Crusade, in the exchange between the Jew and the knight, from the opera "DIE EHRE EIN" (The Honor of One) 

As he bound himself he secured his end
Where is freedom under your law?
You killed Him who came to fulfill and amend 
That magnified code you call law

Were I to believe in your hide-bound state
Surly I too would die.
For as you believe so will be your fate;
Unrepentant sin is death to deny

I grasp this vessel and yet I live.
For me there is no curse.
For me there is no sin to forgive;
As meat to idols you still stand accursed

Go back to your trials and self imposed burdens.
But mark me, you're toiling alone.
What debt was incurred by God toward man,
For which you expect Him to humbly atone?

You are sadly lost in your lexicon of law
As evidenced here today.
His death, my life, challenges me with awe
That the ultimate price be paid.

This cup will be taken regardless of use
And rendered for Christ's faithful.
I can vouchsafe; there will be no abuse,
Upon my life most awful.

The chasm between us is bridged by grace.
We are divided by your law and its works,
Which will never suffice nor ever replace
The freely bestowed bounty of Heaven's Divine Clerk!!

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