Let us say to Christ: Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Let us hold
before him like palm branches those final words inscribed above the cross. Let
us show him honour, not with olive branches but with the splendour of merciful
deeds to one another. Let us spread the thoughts and desires of our hearts
under his feet like garments, so that entering us with the whole of his being,
he may draw the whole of our being into himself and place the whole of his in
us. Let us say to Zion in the words of the prophet: Have courage, daughter of
Zion, do not be afraid. Behold, your king comes to you, humble and
mounted on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.
He is coming who is
everywhere present and pervades all things; he is coming to achieve in you his
work of universal salvation. He is coming who came to call to repentance not the
righteous but sinners, coming
to recall those who have strayed into sin. Do not be afraid, then: God
is in the midst of you, and you shall not be shaken.
Receive him with
open, outstretched hands, for it was on his own hands that he sketched you.
Receive him who laid your foundations on the palms of his hands. Receive him,
for he took upon himself all that belongs to us except sin, to consume what is
ours in what is his. Be glad, city of Zion, our mother, and fear not. Celebrate
your feasts. Glorify him
for his mercy, who has come to us in you. Rejoice exceedingly, daughter of Jerusalem,
sing and leap for joy. Be enlightened, be enlightened, we cry to you, as holy Isaiah
trumpeted, for the light has come to you and the glory
of the Lord has risen over you.
What kind of light is this? It is that which enlightens every man coming into the world. It is the everlasting light, the timeless light revealed in time, the light manifested in the flesh although hidden by nature, the light that shone round the shepherds and guided the Magi. It is the light that was in the world from the beginning, through which the world was made, yet the world did not know it. It is that light which came to its own, and its own people did not receive it.
And what is this glory
of the Lord? Clearly it is
the cross on which Christ was glorified, he, the radiance of the Father’s
glory, even as he said when he faced his passion: Now
is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him, and will glorify him
at once. The glory of
which he speaks here is his lifting up on the cross, for Christ’s glory is his cross
and his exultation upon it, as he plainly says: When
I have been lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of
Readings
From a discourse by St Andrew of Crete
Image taken from Waiting for the Word
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your interest in our blog! Your comment will be viewed shortly to be added to our blog. :)