“When the glorious disciples were enlightened
at the washing of their feet before the supper,
the impious Judas was darkened by the disease of avarice,
and to the lawless judges he betrayed You,
the Righteous Judge.”
-Hymn for Holy Thursday
Category Archives: church
A hymn for a birthday.
It’s the birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and in his memory I share with you a small part of his choral work, The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which he composed in 1910. It is the hymn, “Let Our Mouths be Filled with Praise”:
Sunday of the Last Judgment
The Gospel for today: Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Let us be candles pure and sweet.
As part of our celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, in the Orthodox Church we bless candles. Maybe some other Christian traditions still do this, as it is the ancient feast of Candlemas, and many cultures and nations have their many practices around it. I’d be interested to hear of any that linger among my readers’ communities.
As to candles, I found this helpful article from St. Gabriel Orthodox Church in Ashland, Oregon, about some of the symbolism in our use of of them, “handed down to us from St. Symeon of Thessaloniki (c. 1381–1429).”
1 – As the candle is pure (pure beeswax), so also should our hearts be pure.
2 – As the pure candle is supple (as opposed to the paraffin), so also should our souls be supple until we make it straight and firm in the Gospel.
3 – As the pure candle is derived from the pollen of a flower and has a sweet scent, so also should our souls have the sweet aroma of Divine Grace.
4 – As the candle, when it burns, mixes with and feeds the flame, so also we must struggle to achieve theosis.
5 – As the burning candle illuminates the darkness, so must the light of Christ within us shine before men that God’s name be glorified.
6 – As the candle gives its own light to illuminate a man in the darkness, so also must the light of the virtues, the light of love and peace, characterize a Christian. The wax that melts symbolizes the flame of our love for our fellow men.
So let us pray that the Light of Christ may illumine us as well!
Gladsome Lights 