Here is another portion of a hymn, sung in the Orthodox Church in a Holy Saturday (between Good Friday and Easter) service.\u00a0 More good writing, the use of juxtaposition and imagery, to drive home a point.<\/p>\n
Today a tomb holds Him who holds
\ncreation in the hollow of His Hand.
\nA stone covers Him who covered the heavens with glory.
\nLife sleeps, and hell trembles.
\nAdam is set free from his bonds.
\nGlory to Thy plan of salvation!
\nBy it Thou hast fulfilled all things,
\ngranting us an eternal Sabbath rest:
\nThy most holy resurrection from the dead.<\/p>\n
(from The Matins of Holy Saturday)<\/p>\n
Here is another image from Holy Saturday Orthodox hymnody that is especially vivid for me:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The Seed that gives life to the world,
\nTwofold in nature,
\nSown today with tears in earth’s dark furrows,
\nTomorrow will sprout forth life.<\/p>\n
(from the Matins of Holy Saturday)<\/p>\n
This is a reference to Jesus’ words in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”\u00a0 As a gardener, I witness the power of seeds, how one seed, planted, grows and produces scores, hundreds or more of new seeds.\u00a0 This stanza from the hymn compares Jesus, buried, with a seed, planted: both will come out of the ground and be the source of new life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is another portion of a hymn, sung in the Orthodox Church in a Holy Saturday (between Good Friday and Easter) service.\u00a0 More good writing, the use of juxtaposition and imagery, to drive home a point. Today a tomb holds … Continue reading