Post-feast of the Ascension; The Holy Apostle Hermas; the Holy Martyr Hermes (138-61)
Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read
Acts 19:1-8; John 14:1-11
This translation lacks a little bit; it should read: “In my father’s house are many mansions.” This emphasizes the mysterious paradox of heaven. How do you fit a luxurious mansion inside a house? Cyril of Alexandria explains that this passage shows us that: “heaven is wide enough for all and that the world He has created needs no enlargement at all to make it capable of containing those who love him.” It is a challenge to our conventional categories of space and time and attempts an image to move us beyond.
The passage also teaches us a little bit about mystery. We sing about mystery all the time in the Byzantine Church. It might even be the most frequent quality used to describe Byzantine worship. But mystery in the Christian sense is not the same as a detective mystery. It is not a problem to be solved. Rather, it is something we dwell in and experience. Mystery means entering in the father’s house and exploring his many mansions. It means always learning something new about the mystery of God, in whom “are hidden the treasuries of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). It is a well that never goes dry. We begin this exploration of the mystery in the Church, the house of the Father, enjoying its revelation through the feasts, the fasts, the prayers, the sacraments, the lives of the saints, each is an instantiation of the mystery of God. It is to be enjoyed and dwelt in, for better is one day in the father’s house than a thousand elsewhere (cf. Ps 83:10)
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