Apr. 7, 2007 Can these dry bones live?
Last night we held Holy Saturday matins service. The Resurrection themes are getting a bit louder.
"The angelic host was filled with awe,
when it saw Thee among the dead.
By destroying the power of death, O Savior,
Thou didst raise Adam,
and save all men from hell."
Resurrection Troparion
sung at Matins for Holy Saturday
Once again we process the Winding Sheet, but this time we go outside and around the Church building. As we enter the church again we go under the Shroud as a reminder that we are buried with Christ at our Baptism.
The old testament reading is from Ezekiel 37 and the dry bones. "Oh son of man, can these bones live?" I noted with interest that Jesus also refers to Himself as the Son of Man - especially when He speaks of His death and resurrection. The reading is done in the step method, which I think is a Russian tradition. The only way to describe it is that the reader begins at a very low tone and "steps" up the scale about a 1/2 note at a time. He did this scale twice and by the time he is reading "I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it!" he's near the top of his range, singing out quite clearly. You can hear a pin drop. Very dramatic indeed.
This morning we have Saturday Vespers and Divine Liturgy and the Harrowing of Hell.
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Apr. 7, 2007 Great and Holy Friday Lamentations
Yesterday afternoon and evening were filled again with scripture and hymns. For the first time this week we had a service almost at its "normal" time (whatever that may be). Vespers for Holy Friday was held in the late afternoon remembering the death and burial of the Lord. Towards the end of the service a shroud with an icon of Christ in death, called a Winding Sheet, is brought out and carried above Father's head by four men. The funeral procession begins. Women follow the procession carrying icons of the Myrrh-Bearing Women while the choir sings:
"The noble Joseph, when he had taken down
Thy most pure Body from the tree,
wrapped it in fine linen, and anointed it with spices,
and placed it in a new tomb.
The angel came to the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb and said,
'Myrrh is meet for the dead,
but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption."
At the completion of the service our parish has the tradition of reading the Psalms in Vigil by the Tomb. This will done until the beginning of the Paschal services at 11:30 on Saturday night. I had considered signing up for one of these time slots but I now have 3 sick kids (one for the 2nd time).
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Apr. 6, 2007 Passion Gospels
Last night we had Matins for Holy Friday and the reading of the 12 Passion Gospels. Comfortable shoes are becoming a must at this point. My feet and legs were hurting on the way to church. We began again at the Last Supper and read to His burial. A cross has been placed in the church with an icon of Christ nailed to it along with an icon of the Epitaphios Thrinos. You can almost hear the wailing of Mary Magdalene. In some parishes this is brought out in the middle of the service and processed around the church before being placed in the center.
Its hard to stay focused for the entire time, and the Church, in its wisdom, knows this. Because we read the passion from all four Gospels, some incidents are repeated so if you zoned out during Jesus before Caiaphas in John 18, it is repeated again in Matt. 26. Interspersed with the readings are hymns of the Church interpreting or restating what has happened.
It was a slow methodical read. And shouldn't it really be so? This should not be rushed. No in and out of church in 60 minutes or less. There is time for reflection and tears. Letting the realization of what has happened sink in and the power of the Scriptures work on all of us.
Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the tree (3x)
The King of the angels decked with a crown of thorns.
He who wrapped the heavens with clouds is wrapped in purple of mockery.
He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped in the face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the cross with nails.
The Son of the virgin is pierced with a spear.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ. (3x)
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection!
15th Antiphon for Passion Gospels
Listen to the 15th Antiphon. This is from the Greek tradition and is slightly different. Click on the first "Quicktime" link (15th Antiphon) under Great and Holy Friday.
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Apr. 5, 2007 Matins for Holy Thursday
Last evening my youngest dd and I went to Matins for Holy Thursday. When looking at the service booklet labeled "Matins for Holy Thursday", I stop short... "Hey Wait!", I thought to myself, "Is this really Thursday? I forgot to - -- oh yeah, its Wednesday. Wednesday." I'm already confused. My ears caught up the call to "Let us complete our morning prayers to the Lord...." You definitely take notice of those words. I'm beginning to feel like the unprepared Virgin in the parable. Rather unprepared and too late to go back and fix it now.
More Psalms were chanted: Psalm 3, 63 and of course 50 along with others I don't recall. We also heard Luke 22:1-39. Last night's hymns were centered most especially on the betrayal by Judas. He is not just a guy who mis-interprets Jesus' mission or tries to push Jesus to take His earthly kingdom. Judas is "filled with avarice", dickering his price with the Pharisees. He knowingly betrays his friend to "gain the purse". And we sing of the ironies of Christ's passion:
"The Judge of the living and the dead, they prepare for judgment.
The Healer of suffering, they prepare for sufferings"
Afterwards my dd went up to receive Holy Unction since she wasn't able to come with me in the morning.
This morning's Vespers and Divine Liturgy continued the theme of Judas' betrayal along with the institution of the Mystical Supper. Again, we sing the 10 verses concerning Judas' betrayal:
"He let the Master wash his feet,
yet he deceitfully kisses Him in betrayal to the lawless men."
Readings from the Four Gospels are read chronologically from the plot to kill Jesus in Matt. 26 to his meeting before the Caiaphas and the Chief Priests ending with "...and they bound Him and led Him away to be delivered to Pilate the governor."
**I wrote this mainly for myself because, as we were preparing to go, the other children (trying to figure out how long the service was and decide if they wanted to go) asked me what would be happening. Since I've only been to one other Holy Thursday service before AND it was a year ago, AND I'm now over 40 there was no way I could recollect a thing.... so this if for next year when the kids ask again :) |
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Apr. 4, 2007 Great and Holy Wednesday
I was able to make it to service of Holy Unction this morning. We had long readings: 7 Prokeimenons, 7 Epistles, 7 Gospel and 7 prayers. Beautiful passages and prayers about healing and restoration. One of my favorite stories read was of the Canaanite woman whose daughter is healed from demon possession. The readings remind us that in Christ healing is spiritual as well as physical.
Coming home the smell of myrrh on the 4 of us was intoxicating in the small car. |
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Mar. 31, 2007 Ever Wonder What Happened to Lazarus? *update* Mar. 30, 2007 Lent is almost over...Holy Week is coming
I'm trying to finish my Daily Lenten reading challenge by Sunday or Monday. I'm going to skip Leo the Great's Letter #28 and sermon on the Feast of Nativity. Next week will be full. Church everyday - sometimes twice. The crazy mixed up days with Vespers in the morning and Matins in the evening as the church prepares us for the upside down, out of time, moments of His suffering and Resurrection.
Tomorrow is Lazarus Saturday with a Liturgy in the morning celebrating the pre-figuring of Christ's triumph over death. This along with Palm Sunday is a 2 day celebration bridging Lent with Holy Week.
"When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus was already dead four days.... The four day burial underscores the horrible reality of death. Man, created by God in His own image and likeness, is a spiritual-material being, a unity of soul and body. Death is destruction: it is the separation of the soul and body....This mystery of death is the inevitable fate of man fallen from God and blinded by his own prideful pursuits."
Services of Lazarus Sat. and Palm Sunday
Introduction by Fr. Paul Lazor
pg.5
Then Palm Sunday with procession of the Palms and willows branches. In Eastern Europe, palms were not available to the early church so the tradition of using willow branches began and is still used today.
"This day [Palm Sunday] together with the raising of Lazarus are signs pointing beyond themselves to the mighty deed and event which consummate Christ's earthly ministry. The time of fulfillment was at hand. Christ's raising of Lazarus points to the destruction of death and the joy of resurrection which will be accessible to all through His own death and resurrection. His entrance into Jerusalem is a fulfillment of the messianic prophesies about the king who will enter his holy city to establish a final kingdom...
Finally, the events of these triumphant two days are but the passage to Holy Week: the "hour" of suffering and death for which Christ came. Thus the triumph in a earthly sense is extremely short-lived."
Services of Lazarus Sat. and Palm Sunday
Introduction by Fr. Paul Lazor
pp 7-8
By raising Lazarus from the dead before thy Passion,
Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God!
Like the children with the palms of victory, we cry out to
Thee: O Vanquisher of Death!
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.
Troparion sung for both
Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday
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Mar. 20, 2007 That time of year
The Sonlight catalog arrived today. I don't "do" Sonlight anymore. Sure, I love the idea of a literature based curriculum - great books, read-alouds, and narration... but when the rubber meets the road, the reality is that my kids don't particularly like it and I find myself struggling to feel like we accomplished something. Every few years I get the itch and buy some of their curriculum and by mid-year the kids are bored and I'm feeling guilty.
But I do love and will always love the Sonlight catalog. Such great ideas in there. And its where I first bought this more than 7 years ago...
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This Friday our parish is holding a traditional Akathist to the Theotokos, which is held the Fifth Friday of Lent. The meaning of the word is Akathist is: "not sitting"... which I find quite funny. When do Orthodox sit and pray? Occasionally during some of the later Litanies in church people will sit, but this is an exception rather than the rule.
Standing for prayer was probably one of the first things that became second nature to me when converting. Quite early on I found it awkward to even sit for grace at mealtime. There have been times when I have sat at home for private prayers but each time it seemed that my mind wandered more than normal. It was like sitting to pray was telling my mind it was rest time, not a time to pay attention. It would almost become a sleepy time. Perhaps the mere act of standing for prayer (and especially standing in front of my icon corner) was an inner way the Church calls me, even as it calls out many times during Sunday morning:
"Let us attend!"
Yes, pay attention, listen closely, pay attention. Its a battle I often have as I stand there praying. I've been reading about the Life of St. Anthony and its plainly obvious that here is a man acquainted with spiritual battles. However, St. Anthony never mentions the grocery lists, forgotten laundry, and age old conversations (or disagreements) as one way the devil tries to distract us from communion with God. As I've read his life I have been pondering the distractions that fill my mind during prayer... I have been seeing them as they really are - a battle - "not against flesh and blood..." I really must take them more seriously than I have in the past.
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