From
THE LITURGICAL YEAR AS CURRICULUM
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
SESSION
3
III. The Meeting of our Lord
Great Vespers
Receive,
Simeon, Him whom Moses once beheld in
darkness granting the Law on Sinai.
Come,
and with divine songs let us also go to meet Christ
and let us receive him whose salvation Simeon saw.
Mine
eyes have seen the mystery hidden from the ages.
Made manifest in these latter days. (Colossians 1:26)
Search
the scriptures, as Christ our God said in the Gospels.
For
in them we find Him born as a child and bound in
swaddling cloths, laid in a manger, and fed upon milk
receiving circumcision and carried by Simeon. Not in fancy
nor imagination but in very truth has he appeared unto the
world. (John 5:39)
Adorn
thy bridal chamber, O Zion, and welcome Christ the
King. Salute Mary, the heavenly gate, a swift cloud. For
she has been made a throne of the cherubim and she carries
the King of Glory. (Psalm 79:2)
From
Joseph Simeon receives gifts fitting for God, a pair of
doves, symbols of the spotless Church and of the newly
chosen people of the Gentiles, and two young pigeons. For
he is the Originator of the two covenants, both the Old and
the New. (Leviticus 12:8; Luke 2:24)
Matins
"Isaiah
was cleansed by receiving the coal from the
Seraphim,"
cried the old man to the Mother of God, "Thou
did fill me with light as thou entrusts to me, with they
hands as with tongs, Him whom thou holdest,
Lord of the
light that knows no evening and King of peace." (Isaiah
6:6)
As a
light to lighten the Gentiles, has Thou made thyself
manifest, O Lord. You are the Sun of righteousness seated
upon a swift cloud. . . (Isaiah 19:1)
From THE
LITURGICAL YEAR AS CURRICULUM
Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of
SESSION 3
I.
The Feast of the Holy Cross
Great Vespers
Moses prefigured thee, O precious Cross, when He
stretched out his hands on high and put Amalek
the tyrant
to flight. For when he stretched out his arms in the
form of
a cross, the people became strong again. And now the
fulfillment of these images has come to pass for us. (Ex.
17:10-14)
The crossing of the hands by the patriarch Jacob at
the
blessing of his children foreshadowed the mighty token of
the cross. Having it as our safeguard that cannot be
overthrown, we drive out with invincible strength the hosts
of demons.
Matins
In times past Joshua, the son of Nun, stretched out
his arms
crosswise, o my Savior, mystically prefiguring the sign of
the cross, and the sun stood still until he had defeated
the
enemy that resisted Thee, O God. (Joshua 10:12-13)
Inscribing the invincible weapon of the cross upon the
waters, Moses marked a straight line before him with his
staff and divided the
went over dry-land. Then he marked a second line across
the waters and united them in one, overwhelming the
chariots of Pharaoh. (Ex. 14:21-29)
Moses set upon a wooden pole a cure against the deadly
and poisonous bite of the serpents. For crosswise upon
the
wood – as a symbol of the cross – he placed a serpent that
creeps about the earth, and thereby he triumphed over
calamity. (Num. 21:8-9; John 3:14)
The rod of Aaron is an image of this mystery, for when
it
budded it showed who should be a priest. So, in the
Church, that was once barren. The wood of the cross
has
now put forth flower, filling her with strength and
steadfastness. (Num. 17:8)
In the days of old Moses transformed with wood the
bitter
wells in the wilderness, prefiguring the brining of the
Gentiles to the true faith through
the cross. (Ex. 15:23-25)
The rock that was struck and gushed forth water for a
hardhearted
and disobedient people, made manifest the mystery
of the church, chosen by God, for the cross is her
strength
and steadfastness. (Ex. 17:1-6)