The Eagles

This particular page is created from text contained in the Vision One Newsletter, Number 9, dated March 1991. It was released immediately prior to the final performance of the Third National Series of "The Jerusalem Passion" (which was at the Sydney Opera House).

Since the first performances of "The Jerusalem Passion" Vision One have received many cards and letters from people who have been blessed by the powerful message of the work. These letters have also contained many questions, the most common of which concerns the symbolism of the eagle.

In this article, the composer of "The Jerusalem Passion", Murray Wylie, explains some of the background of this Biblical symbol and again asks the question, "Where are the Eagles?"

It is reproduced in full, here, with acknowledgements to the source...

Where are the Eagles?

The enigmatic song title "Where are the Eagles?" is the culmination of evocative symbolism used throughout "The Jerusalem Passion". Elsewhere, we hear of the city, the temple, the body, and finally the eagles. What, or who, are the eagles?

Like the majestic bird itself soaring in wilderness flight, the symbolic image of the eagle wings its way through the whole oratorio. The first mention is in "6. They Shall Be One":

"From the highlands they shall march,
From the deserts they shall ride,
From the canyons they shall fly as the eagles,
And they shall be one."

Then in the narration "9. My Temple:My Body" we have:

"And men will look to find Me here ... but you will know where I will be, for where My body is, there will the eagles be gathered. Now I will show you what I mean - for here is bread and here is wine - eat and drink and so be Mine. For it shall always be that where the eagles eat drink and gather there as one, there is My body, there is My blood, there am I."

Here in this poetic interweaving of various scriptures, a compelling link is made between the preying of eagles upon a dead body, and the fellowship of believers partaking of the bread and wine, the elements which represent the slain body of Christ.

Last Supper

At the Last Supper, when Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Passover Feast, He invited His disciples to partake of the results of His atonement sacrifice. He offered them the bread and wine indicating that "this is (bread) is My body"; and of the cup, "this is My blood". (Matt 26:26-28)

Adding to this foundational understanding of our partaking of Christ, the apostle Paul emphasises the corporate fellowship involved when we eat and drink, for 'the cup' (as we partake together) "is the communion of the blood of Christ, and the bread ... is the communion of the body of Christ." (1Cor 10:16

Although we are many when we break bread, we partake of one bread, and therefore "are one bread and one body". (1 Cor 10:17. This is a remarkable statement - that when the many of us eat one bread, we are one bread and are one body. When Christians partake together, this is the crucial point of our identification as one body.

One table of friends

We often say we are one body, and yet the essential demonstration of this which is evident when we celebrate communion together, is not a reality. This is why all the various symbolic themes of the oratorio lead to the mention in the final piece "31. Communion Chorus" of the 'table of friends' - referring to the communion table. Surely the oneness of the body of Christ must be expressed and demonstrated by our eating and drinking the communion together at one table of friends. In the certain hope of this becoming a reality here and now and not just in the kingdom, the oratorio concludes with the benediction:

"I'll meet you here at one table of friends,
We'll meet at last at one table of friends.
Where there once were many, let there now be one,
And let the royal blood begin to flow"

The 'royal' blood of Christ flows through united members of the body of Christ, just as the cleansing and life-giving blood flows in the human body.

The eagles

To tie in the symbolic eagle theme, we should first of all refer to Job 39:27-30 where many of the characteristics of the eagle are compared with those of the Christian believer. The eagle's nest is said to be "on high"; its place of security "upon the rock". Likewise, the believer acknowledges his true home is also 'on high' or "in heavenly places" (Eph 2:6) through faith, and his place of security is upon the rock - Christ Jesus Himself. The eagle is a creature of vision and "sees afar off"; so also for the Christian. Furthermore, where the "slain" carcase and "blood" are, "there is she".

There are many other scriptures about eagles which highlight the characteristics of either the Christian believer or God Himself, the great parent Eagle, who "hovers over the young, spreads His wings, then carries and leads His people". (Quotations in the preceding passages are taken from Ex 19:4, Deut 32:11-12, Isaiah 40:31).

Eagles and the body

In Matthew 24:26-28 and Luke 17:37 we find New Testament scriptures which again link the symbols of the eagle and carcase, with the believer and the body. In relation to these verses it is important that the Greek word used means simply 'a bird of prey' and can refer to either a vulture or an eagle. Some Bible translations have preferred 'vulture', while commentators give credence to both interpretations.

... as we gather to the dead body we are an expression of the living body of Christ

The context of the two scriptures within the discussions on the coming of Christ (Matt 24) and of those who are taken and of those who are left (luke 17) leads us to link the verse, not with an image of judgment, but with an image of salvation. Matthew Henry comments:

"Wherever Christ is, believers will flock to Him and meet in Him, as eagles about the prey, by the instinct of the new nature. Wherever the body is, wherever the gospel is preached, thither will pious sould resort."

This image of believers gathering, by sinstinct of the new nature, as if with an eagle's instinct, is a glorious picture that befits the thread of symbolic images right throughout the scriptures.

In the Matthew 24 passage, the Greeek word used to describe 'a carcase' or 'dead body' is used. However, the other passage uses the New Testament word for the living body, the body of Christ.

The more powerful and compelling then becomes the image of the Christian whose very nature, like the eagle's, draws him to feed upon the body and blood of the slain Lamb. As we do, and particularly as we gather together with others to eat and drink the communion and thus express one bread and one body, we find that in the action of gathering to the dead body (the elements of His sacrifice), we have become vital parts of the living body of Christ, of His church on earth.

Where are the eagles?

In Part II of the oratorio, the link between the eagle and the believer is focussed with the statement: 'Here is My body; where are the eagles?' When the slain body is so clearly represented in the communion celebration, and when the living body is so clearly evident and demonstrated in this gathering, surely we can sing: "There's a body gathered here, but where Lord, where are the eagles? Why don't they hear, why don't they see, and why don't they fly home?"

As the nature of the eagle is to gather to the slain body and blood, so it is, or should be, the compelling motivation and desire of every believer to partake of the elements of Christ's atonement in living communion with Christ and with all other members of His body.

... the nature of the eagle is to gather to the slain body and blood

The symbolic theme of the eagle highlights the cry for Christian unity which dwells within the new born nature of every Christian. "The hope of unity is planted deeply within me". The anthem "27. Hope of Unity" has all the feeling of a national anthem, for it touches the deepest desire within us - to be one nation with an united national identity and destiny to be one body manifest in every place on earth.

Where is Christ?

Sadly however, the communion is celebrated in many diverse ways and has actually become the symbol of doctrinal and denominational distinction rather than of the distinctive unity in Christ which sets the Christian apart.

We are now in the time of the end when an united body of Christ is going to be brought together by the Spirit of God before a watching world. This is the answer to jesus' prayer: "that they all may be one, as You father are in Me and I in You; that they may be one in Us, that the world may believe" (John 17:21). It's no use becoming one when we arrive in the kingdom. Those looking for Christ so that they may see Him and believe in Him, need to see and find Him now. He is not to be found "in the desert, or in the secret chamber" (Matt 24:26), but rather "wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt 24:26.

"Where there once were many, let there now be one."

Where Christians do begin to gather as one, that's where Christ is truly to be found. Of all our pursuits, valid as they may be, the pursuit of the unity of the body of Christ must surely become the most urgent.

Why don't we see? Why don't we hear this important message that the Spirit is addressing to the churches? In this matter of Christian unity, we are in an indefensible position. When the man on the street looks for Christ, where is he to look? He should not have to "hiss and shake his head" (Lam 2:15) as he watches a constant parade of arguments over fine points of religious practice. He needs to see an united body body of eagles flocking to one communion celebration.

... the unity of the body of Christ must become our most urgent pursuit

In the days of the New Testament church, there was only the one body of believers in any city in the Asian (Asia Minor) region. So too today, wherever the tide of spiritual renewal is flowing, thousands of believers are being revived in the hope of Christian unity - believing to see it in these days in which we live, not just after the resurrection.

A splendid vision is on the rise - of a numberless company of believers (Rev 7:9) gathering in a glorious procession from every nation, tribe, kindred and tongue to be one church, one body; "from the highlands ... the deserts ... from the canyons they shall fly as the eagles, and they shall be one."

The body is here. Where are the eagles?

check the words of "Where are the Eagles?" and listen to the track in RealAudio format from the 1991 Brisbane Concert Hall performance.

Created 9th October 1999
from a file on "The Jerusalem Passion" website http://go.to/jerusalempassion
using the Australian HTML Editor 'FlexED' V2.04b by Infoflex