Why Messiah belongs to Easter and doctors once cut hair

Handel’s father, Georg Handel, was a barber-surgeon, a term for physicians in the middle ages who did surgery and cut hair. Surgery was primitive and dangerous due to no anesthesia and no antibiotics to treat infection. Most surgery was done to treat war injuries.

bright light shining through heavy wood doors

 The King of Glory

Psalm 24:7-10, ERV

 Gates, proudly lift your heads!
Open, ancient doors,
and the glorious King will come in.
Who is the glorious King?
He is the Lord, the powerful soldier.
He is the Lord, the war hero.
 
lightstock_254158_medium_aletha

 
 
 Gates, proudly lift your heads!
Open, ancient doors,
and the glorious King will come in.
Who is the glorious King?
The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King.
 
 

 

 

Copyright © 2006 by Bible League international

Handel’s masterpiece-Messiah 

Even though Messiah tells the story of Jesus, whose life unfolds in the Bible’s New Testament, many of the lyrics come from the Old Testament, like this passage today from Psalms. Several Isaiah passages referring to Jesus are also lyrics for music in Messiah .

music for Christmas or Easter

We usually associate  Messiah with Christmas, but Handel wrote it to be performed at Easter. For the lyrics, he used  words  from Scripture, choosing passages that tell the story of God sending Jesus to earth to redeem His people.

a doctor who cut hair

Handel’s father, Georg Handel, was a barber-surgeon, a term for physicians in the middle ages who performed operations and cut hair. Surgery was primitive and dangerous due to no anesthesia and no antibiotics to treat infection. Most surgery was done to treat war injuries. 

sharing faith, hope, and love

FAITH, HOPE, LOVE in wooden block letters
Faith Hope and Love, graphic from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate link

Here is another Christmas story from my archives.

The pharmacist who changed Christmas

After his release from prison William began publishing yearly collections of his short stories. People enjoyed his tales because they dealt with common people in ordinary circumstances but with endings that were unexpected and surprising. Whether humorous or tragic, his tales taught lessons about life in a way that left his readers pondering their own…

Keep reading
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Author: Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.

As a family physician, I explore the HEART of HEALTH in my work, recreation, community, and through writing. My blog, Watercress Words, informs and inspires us to live in health. I believe we can turn our health challenges into healthy opportunities. When we do, we can share the HEART of health with our families, communities, and the world. Come explore and share with me.

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