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| Source: orthodoxartsjournal.org |
"We need to take refuge with the Church, to drink milk at her breast, to be fed with the Scriptures of the Lord. For the Church has been planted in the world as a paradise."
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons
"We are said to drink the blood of Christ not only when we receive it according to the rite of the mysteries, but also when we receive his words, in which life dwells, as he said himself: 'The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life'."
- Origen
To follow up on an introductory meditation on the Divine Liturgy from last week, here are a few brief words about the purpose of the Scripture readings during the Liturgy. The following is the briefest of outlines of the first part of the Liturgy.
+ My former professor, Fr. John Meyendorff, a great Orthodox historian and theologian, would always stress the paschal nature of the Liturgy. This passage from darkness to light; and from death to life is the basic and most fundamental truth of the Liturgy. It is the crucified, risen and glorified Lord who is in our midst.
+ When we come to the reading of the Scriptures and the ensuing homily, we have reached the culminating point of the first half of the Liturgy - the Liturgy of the Word or of the Catechumens, as it is usually called. The two texts cited above from St. Irenaeus and Origen already reveal to us the great power of the Scriptures. We are proclaiming the "words of the Word" (of God) at every Liturgy. That is why we first hear: "Let us Attend" before the actual reading. It is one thing to hear the Gospel; and another to listen with attention. In a very real sense, we commune with Christ in and through his living word, before we commune with him in the Eucharist. There is this "double Communion" at every Liturgy which we need to be mindful and respectful of. Therefore, arriving at the Liturgy after the Gospel means that one is not properly prepared to receive the Eucharist and should refrain from doing so.
+ The first part of the Liturgy is filled with litanies, antiphons and prayers. The first two antiphons and their preparatory prayers that we share together, are based on psalmody. The hymn attached to the second homily, "Only begotten Son of God," is thoroughly paschal in nature and is one example of how the paschal mystery permeates the Liturgy.
+ This is the immovable structure of the Liturgy - what remains unchanging; but every Sunday we sing and chant the various troparia and kontakia which change from Sunday to Sunday. The resurrectional troparia and kontakia rotate in an eight-week cycle according to the appointed tone of the week. The number eight is chosen for its symbolic value: the Liturgy is celebrated on the "eighth day" of the week - the day of the Kingdom which takes us beyond the time of this world signified by our seven-day week. We also sing troparia and kontakia commemorating the particular saints or events which fall on a given Sunday. This coming Sunday, we will sing in honor of one of our American saints: Jacob Netsvetov, Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska
+ On Sunday, we will hear of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. This miracle, by anticipation, is a very eucharistic passage that will serve to prepare us the Liturgy of the Faithful, when Christ will "feed" and nourish us with His Body and Blood. This is a communal meal, uniting those who have gathered in the Name of the Lord.
