Leave-taking of the Feast of the Encounter. Our Venerable Father Boucolus, Bishop of Smyrna. Holy Priest-Martyr Sylvanus, Bishop of Emessa and Those with Him.
Jude 1-10. Luke 22:39-42. 22:45-23:1.
Read Luke 22:39-42. 22:45-23:1
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
If you want to learn about Byzantine theology, one way is by listening to the priest’s dismissal at the end of the liturgical services. Most of the time, this is fairly standard – “Christ our God (…) will have mercy and save us, for he is good and loves mankind.” The part that changes most often (the part in brackets) is the list of saints whose prayers we seek. But during certain times of the year, certain phrases are added that say something about what Christ has done. On Sundays, the priest says, “Christ our God, risen from the dead…” and on Christmas, he says “Christ our God who was born in a cave and lay in a manger for our salvation…” There are more than a dozen of these different phrases, and they all point to something important about our salvation.
Today’s gospel reminds me of the dismissal during Holy Week: “Christ our God, who is going to his voluntary passion for our salvation…” That phrase gets repeated over and over during Holy Week, making clear to us that Jesus accepts the passion in obedience to his Father. He says the same thing during his prayer in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done.” The fact that God is in control, that Jesus goes to his passion willingly, is hinted at again when Jesus tells the mob coming to arrest him that this is their hour, “and the power of darkness.” That phrase – “your hour” – suggests that the power of darkness will not last indefinitely: the hour of evil will pass, and God’s kingdom will be established. As we enter Lent, let’s remember that Jesus’ accepted his passion willingly, in obedience to the Father, for our sake. How can we turn our will over to God? And what will be the benefit when we do?