Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Wednesday 6 March 2019, Ash Wednesday

The Crucifixion and the Harrowing of Hell, depicted in a chapel in Saint John’s Monastery, Tolleshunt Knights, Essex (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Next Wednesday, 6 March 2019, is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

The readings for the principal service on Ash Wednesday are the same each year and do not vary.

Readings: Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58: 1-12; Psalm 51: 1-18; II Corinthians 5: 20b to 6: 10; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21.

There is a link to the readings HERE.

Introduction:

It is striking how often in the Bible encounters with God take place on a mountain top: Mount Sinai, Mount Zion, the Mount of Olives, Calvary and the Ascension from the mount called Olivet.

On Sunday [3 March 2019], in our Gospel reading, we hear the story of the Transfiguration, where Christ is presented on a high mountain as the Father’s beloved Son, and placed on either side of him are Moses and Elijah – for Christ is truly the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, of all of God’s promises.

In the Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday, we meet Christ as we as we listen to his Sermon on the Mount.

In Lent, we are preparing once again for Good Friday and for Easter. This season began not as a time of repentance, but as a time of preparation for the catechumens – those preparing for baptism at Easter, those preparing to die with Christ and to rise again with Christ.

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is a day that is often marked by the spiritual disciplines of fasting, abstinence from meat, and repentance. And so, the Book of Common Prayer designates Ash Wednesday as a day of ‘special observance’ and a day of ‘discipline and self-denial.’

For many in this culture, it is a day associated with long faces, the joyless giving up of some questionable pleasures – such as smoking – and of doing so in a way that sometimes amounts to self-indulgent penitence.

But, instead, this should really be the start of a time of preparation, a time to look forward to our real hope and joy. For the countdown is beginning – Ash Wednesday is only 40 days from Easter.

Perhaps Easter is in danger of losing all meaning in society today. Just like people readily sing Christmas carols even before Advent begins, people are now eating Cadbury’s crème eggs long before Lent begins – without ever thinking of the symbolism the egg once carried of the gravestone being rolled back on Easter morn and new life rising in joy.

But just as the whole point of Advent is looking forward with joyful anticipation to Christmas, so too should Lent be a time of looking forward with joyful anticipation to Easter.

And in so many ways that tone – that set of values or priorities – is captured by TS Eliot in his first long poem, ‘Ash Wednesday.’

This poem has been described as Eliot’s conversion poem. It was written to mark his conversion to Anglicanism over 90 years ago, on 29 June 1927, although it was not published until 1930. In this poem, he answers the despair found in The Waste Land, and this is a poem that is less about penitence and more about repentance.

In ‘Ash Wednesday,’ Eliot deals with the struggles that arise when one who once lacked faith turns and strives to move towards God. In this poem, he writes about his hopes to move from spiritual barrenness to hope for human salvation. And that is what Lent and the spiritual disciplines we associate with it are all about.

Burning Palm Crosses from Palm Sunday to prepare ashes for Ash Wednesday (Photograph: Barbara Comerford)

Ashes on Ash Wednesday

In some parishes, people come forward for ashes. The practice is more common among our neighbours and throughout the Anglican Communion than in the Church of Ireland. Despite its gradual introduction in the Church of Ireland, some people are more reserved, bearing in mind, perhaps, the words of Christ in the Gospel reading: ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting … But when you fast, put oil on your face and wash your face …’ (Matthew 6: 16-17).

Those words are not merely wise, but words that reprove those who would misrepresent the meaning of the Lenten fast. For I sometimes think that the misrepresentation and misinterpretation of Lent has, in turn, deprived many of its true meaning and significance.

Writing in the Guardian some years ago [2010], the Orthodox theologian Aaron Taylor wrote of how he hoped that the Lenten fast ‘must never become a source of pride on the one hand, or something oppressive on the other. It is a measuring stick for our individual practice … [it] is primarily about obedience, and thus humility. But it also creates a sense of need and sobriety. It teaches us to seek our consolation in things of the spirit rather than of the flesh.’

He pointed out that fasting ‘is merely a physical accompaniment to the real heart and joy of Lent: the prayer and worship that are intensified during this season …’ and he referred to the ‘joy-making mourning’ recommended by an early writer, Saint John Klimakos, in The Ladder of Divine Ascent, to the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent.

At Lent, we should remind ourselves that we have all fallen short, so that we are not the people we should be. We all too easily focus on ourselves. But true Lenten fasting allows us to experience a sense of freedom as we relinquish our self-centredness and can produce joy in our hearts – just what TS Eliot experienced, just what we pray for in the Collect of Ash Wednesday.

And Aaron Taylor added: ‘If we do not to some extent attain to this joy-through-mourning, we have entirely missed the point of Lent.’

He concluded his ‘Face to Faith’ column in the Guardian by saying: ‘As long as there is evil in the world, we can be sure that some of it still lies hidden in our hearts. And as long as we are able to shed tears over our condition, there remains hope that we will one day see the glorious day of resurrection.’

Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world … the Byzantine-style crucifix by Laurence King (1907-1981) in the crypt of Saint Mary le Bow, Cheapside, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21:

1 ‘Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

16 ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

A window ledge in the chapel in Dr Miley’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: Violet (Purple).

The Gathering:

The traditional Ash Wednesday invitation or exhortation in the Book of Common Prayer begins:

‘Brothers and sisters in Christ: since early days Christians have observed with great devotion the time of our Lord's passion and resurrection. It became the custom of the Church to prepare for this by a season of penitence and fasting.

‘At first this season of Lent was observed by those who were preparing for baptism at Easter and by those who were to be restored to the Church’s fellowship from which they had been separated through sin. In course of time the Church came to recognize that, by a careful keeping of these days, all Christians might take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and so grow in faith and in devotion to our Lord.

‘I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Lord to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.’

Silence may be kept.

Then the priest says:

Let us pray for grace to keep Lent faithfully.

Almighty and everlasting God
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent.
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we may be truly sorry for our sins
and obtain from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer suggests that at the Confession and the Commandments may be read (and should be read during Advent and Lent), but neither the Beatitudes nor the Summary of the Law is used at the Ash Wednesday service. The Book of Common Prayer suggests ‘there should be two readers if possible, one reading the Old Testament statement and the second the New Testament interpretation’:

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ says:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it.
You shall love your neighbour as yourself
On these two commandments depend all the law
and the prophets. (Matthew 22: 37-39)

Lord, have mercy on us,
and write these your laws in our hearts.

Penitential Kyries:

In the wilderness we find your grace:
you love us with an everlasting love.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

There is none but you to uphold our cause;
our sin cries out and our guilt is great.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed;
Restore us and we shall know your joy.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Book of Common Prayer (pp 340-341) also provides this form of Confession and Absolution:

After The Litany Two (pp 175-178), silence is kept for a time, after which is said:

Make our hearts clean, O God,
and renew a right spirit within us.

Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour,
in what we have thought, in what we have said and done,
through ignorance, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us.
We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

This prayer is said:

God our Father,
the strength of all who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers;
and because, in our weakness,
we can do nothing good without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in keeping your commandments
we may please you, both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or

The priest pronounces the Absolution:

Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness
and keep you in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The canticle Gloria in Excelsis may be omitted in Advent and Lent and on weekdays that are not holy days. Other versions of this canticle may be used, or when appropriate another suitable hymn of praise.

The invitation to Communion:

The invitation to Communion begins:

Most merciful Lord,
your love compels us to come in.
Our hands were unclean, our hearts were unprepared;
we were not fit even to eat the crumbs from under your table.
But you, Lord, are the God of our salvation,
and share your bread with sinners.
So cleanse and feed us with the precious body and blood of your Son,
That he may live in us and we in him;
and that we, with the whole company of Christ,
may sit and eat in your kingdom. Amen.

This prayer may be used in place of the Prayer of Humble Access (see p 342). As such it comes before the Peace and not as part of the Invitation to Communion (the Church of England usage).

Introduction to the Peace:

Being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5: 1, 2)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was in every way tempted as we are yet did not sin;
by whose grace we are able to overcome all our temptations:

Post Communion Prayer:

Almighty God,
you have given your only Son to be for us
both a sacrifice for sin and also an example of godly life:
Give us grace
that we may always most thankfully receive
these his inestimable gifts,
and also daily endeavour ourselves
to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing:

Christ give you grace to grow in holiness,
to deny yourselves,
and to take up your cross and follow him;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be with you, and remain with you always. Amen.

The Crucifix on the Nave Altar in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Suggested Hymns:

The hymns suggested for Ash Wednesday in Sing to the Word (2000) edited by Bishop Edward Darling include:

Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17:

210, Holy God of righteous glory
538, O Lord, the clouds are gathering

Isaiah 58: 1-12:

647, Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed
535, Judge eternal, throned in splendour
592, O Love that wilt not let me go
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
497, The Church of Christ in every age
510, We pray for peace

Psalm 51: 1-18

630, Blessed are the pure in heart
297, Come, thou Holy Spirit, come
614, Great shepherd of your people, hear
208, Hearken, O Lord, have mercy upon us
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
305, O Breath of life, come sweeping through us
638, O for a heart to praise my God
557, Rock of ages, cleft for me

II Corinthians 5: 20b to 6: 10

643, Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
566, Fight the good fight with all thy might
352, Give thanks with a grateful heart
417, He gave his life in selfless love
322, I bind unto myself today (verses 1, 2, 8 and 9)
587, Just as I am, without one plea
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
487, Soldiers of Christ, arise
488, Stand up, stand up for Jesus

Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21:

207, Forty days and forty nights
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
619, Lord, teach us how to pray aright
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
625, Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire

The liturgical colours change to Violet in Lent (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Updated 27 February 2019 (acknowledgment, the Revd Ken Rue).

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 3 March 2019, the Sunday before Lent

An icon of the Transfiguration in the Analipsi Church in Georgioupoli in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

For these Sundays before, the Lectionary readings and the provisions in the Church of Ireland Directory offer two sets or options, and these may add to the confusion of planning liturgies, sermons, intercessions and the choice of hymns fot those Sundays.

Next Sunday [3 March 2019] is the Sunday before Lent, and we are offered two options: Option A follows the theme of the Transfiguration, while Option B is ‘Proper 4.’

The readings for Option A (Transfiguration) next Sunday are: Exodus 34: 29-35; Psalm 99; II Corinthians 3: 12 to 4: 2; Luke 9: 28-36, (37-43). There is a link to the readings HERE.

The readings for Option B (‘Proper 4’) are: I Kings 8: 22-23, 41-43; Psalm 96: 1-9; Galatians 1: 1-12; Luke 7: 1-10.

Dealing with confusion about the readings, once again:

Next Sunday, the Sunday before Lent, was known traditionally in the Book of Common Prayer as Quinquagesima. This name comes from the Latin quinquagesimus, meaning fiftieth. This refers to the 50 days before Easter Day, if we count both Sundays. Since the 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays, the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday comes only three days after Quinquagesima Sunday.

In the Western Church, these Sundays before Lent were a preparation for Lent: The refrain alleluia was forbidden in services, and the Alleluia acclamation at the Eucharist was replaced by the Tract, usually verses from the Psalms.

The liturgical colour was also changed, so that purple or violet vestments were worn.

In a very visible and audible way, the three Sundays before Lent became an extension to Lent, and the longer period was often called ‘the Greater Lent.’

However, while their traditional names have a certain nostalgic beauty associated with them, they have no real logical, liturgical foundation and they make no sense numerically.

In recent years, the ‘-gesima Sundays before Lent became part of Ordinary Time, and from the late 1960s on they were no longer regarded as a pre-penitential season, and this Sunday is now counted as the Sunday before Lent.

In the Revised Common Lectionary, the Sunday before Lent is designated ‘Transfiguration Sunday,’ and the Gospel reading is the story of the Transfiguration. Some Churches with lectionaries based on the RCL, use these readings but do not designate the Sunday ‘Transfiguration Sunday.’ This designation is used in the Book of Common Prayer, but is not clearly pointed out in the Church of Ireland Directory 2019. On the other hand, the traditional naming of 6 August as the Feast of the Transfiguration.

However, much confusion is created by the naming and numbering of these Sundays and the readings if we hop and move between the Book of Common Prayer, Common Worship, the Revised Common Lectionary, the Church of Ireland Directory, the readings on the Church of Ireland website, and the correlation of Sundays, readings, hymns and dates in Sing to the Word.

This confusion is compounded if people use desk diaries or pocket books produced primarily for use in the Church of England.

For clarity, these postings today and during the weeks before Lent have been based on the readings and calendar in the Church of Ireland Directory 2019 and the Book of Common Prayer (Church of Ireland, 2004).

There are obvious recipes for confusion here by picking and choosing between the two sets of readings, or by trying to follow the dates and readings in either Sing and Praise or various diaries and desk books produced primarily for use in the Church of England.

This posting seeks to bring clarity to these choices and to provide guidance by providing preaching and liturgical resources based on only on Option A in the Church of Ireland.

The Transfiguration … an icon in the parish church in Piskopiano on the Greek island of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Introducing the Readings:

Our Sunday readings all speak about the revelation of God, and who God is, on the mountain top.

In the Old Testament reading, God is revealed to Moses, who reflects the glory of God on his face and has to veil his face from view.

In the Psalm, God is enthroned above the people and above the clouds on the hill or the top of the mountain.

Saint Paul says, in the Epistle reading, that Christ has fulfilled the law and we no longer need a veil to screen us from the vision of God, for we see him in Christ.

In the Gospel reading, the inner circle of disciples, Peter, James and John, ascend the mountain with Christ, and in the clouds they see that he is the God of Moses and Elijah, and the vision is so dazzling that they dazzled and overshadowed by the cloud.

When they come back down the mountain, like Moses, there is a great crowd waiting for healing that restores them to their place in the covenant with God.

The statue of Moses in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Athlone is a copy of Michelangelo’s Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Exodus 34: 29-35:

While Moses was on Mount Sinai the first time, the people of Israel, under Aaron’s leadership, made a golden image of a calf as a symbol of God. Moses was so irate when he found out what had happened, he smashed the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 32: 19). God invites Moses to ascend the mountain again to receive a new set of tablets, they speak ‘face to face’ (verse 11).

Now Moses returns back down the mountain. His face is radiant, an expression of his privileged place as servant close to God, and he reflects God’s glory. It is interesting to note that the word karan, translated ‘shining’ in verse 30, was mistakenly transcribed in some manuscript sources as keren, meaning horn. This explains why Saint Jerome translated it as ‘horns’ in the Vulgate, and why Michelangelo later sculpted Moses with horns.

Moses dons a veil (verse 33) to avoid overwhelming the people with God’s reflected glory. Again, Moses speaks with God. Earlier, we are God and Moses speak ‘face to face’ (verse 11), but here we are told that God only allowed Moses to see his back (verses 20-33).

‘The Lord is … is enthroned above the cherubim: let the earth shake’ (Psalm 99: 1) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Psalm 99:

This is a hymn of praise to God as king. The endings of verses 3, 5 and 9 may be a refrain for the worshippers as they praise God. God, on his throne above the cherubim, is to be praised by ‘all the peoples’ (verse 2).

God has helped people in their need (verses 6, 8), given them just laws (verse 7), and has punished and forgiven people where appropriate (verse 8).

Moses, Aaron and Samuel, who are named in verse 6, were known for communicating with God and were his representatives. His holy mountain (verse 9) is Mount Zion, the hill on which Jerusalem is built.

‘Exalt the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill’ (Psalm 99: 9) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

II Corinthians 3: 12 to 4: 2:

Saint Paul contrasts his ministry with that of Moses. Earlier in this letter, he says his readers, supported and enabled by the Holy Spirit, are ‘a letter of Christ,’ prepared by him and his colleagues: a letter written on ‘tablets of human hearts,’ not on ‘tablets of stone.’ This is the ‘confidence that we have through Christ’ (II Corinthians 3: 3-4). He tells his readers that the dead letter of the Law has been replaced by the living letter of the Spirit.

Saint Paul interprets the veil Moses wears in our earlier reading as a temporary sign. In the past, when people heard the Law read, they could only see God’s plans dimly or through a veil (verses 12-14). But when we turn to the Lord, we can set aside the veil and in freedom see the ‘the glory of the Lord’ (verse 18).

In Christ, there is no need to hide any more or to feel any shame (4: 1-2).

The Transfiguration … an icon by Adrienne Lord in a recent exhibition in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Luke 9: 28-36 (37-43a):

Lent comes late this year. Lent begins next week with Ash Wednesday. Lent is so late this year because Easter comes quite late this year, almost at the end of next month [21 April 2019].

When I was growing up, Lent was once marked by people by giving up something: children giving up sweets, some adults giving up smoking or drinking alcohol. Lent has not gone out of fashion, completely, in the Church of Ireland … well, not just yet … and the Book of Common Prayer still talks about Lent as a season of ‘Discipline and Self-Denial.’

The pivotal day between the two seasons of Christmas and Easter is Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation, which was on 2 February 2019, a full month before the beginning of Lent.

Candlemas tells the story of two old people in the Temple, Simeon and Anna, who recognise who this small Christ Child Jesus is, not just for themselves, but for the nations of the world. It is a fitting culmination to the Epiphany stories that reveal who Christ is: the stories of the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Christ and the Wedding at Cana.

These are stories of light and they are enlightening stories.

Now, before we move into Lent, we have a story of light and a revelation of who Christ is and who he is for the world. These stories that point to the Resurrection and who Christ truly is.

The Transfiguration of Christ is the fulfilment of all of the Epiphany and Theophany stories. We could say the Transfiguration is the culmination of Christ’s public life, just as his Baptism is its starting point, and his Ascension is its end. As the late Archbishop Michael Ramsey has written, ‘The Transfiguration stands as a gateway to the saving events of the Gospel.’

The Transfiguration by Aidan Hart ... in the Transfiguration, we see both the humanity and the divinity of Christ

Part 1: Verses 28-36:

As I travel through airports, I notice how we find ourselves stuck in three moments in time: coming from somewhere in the past, either from a holiday or getting away from work; on our way to the future, that holiday or back to work; and in that moment in chaos where we find ourselves in a present filled with angst – am I going to get away, am I going to be stuck here on the ground, is my flight going to be delayed, am I going to get back?

The Transfiguration is a moment that brings the experience of the past and the promise of the future together in the moment of the present.

I saw this recently in two icons of the Transfiguration in two different places.

I was visiting a new church built in a village in the mountains above the tourist resorts in Crete in 2017. There I was shown an icon of the Transfiguration presented to that Church in 2007, shortly after it opened.

A few weeks earlier that summer [2017], I was invited to open an exhibition in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, of icons by Adrienne Lord. The poster for the exhibition, and one of the principal exhibits, was an icon of the Transfiguration.

In both icons, we see on the left, Christ leading the three disciples, Peter, James and John, up the mountain; in the centre, we see these three disciples stumbling and falling as they witness and experience the Transfiguration; and then, to the right, Christ is depicted leading these three back down the side of the mountain.

In other words, we are invited to see the Transfiguration not as a static moment but as a dynamic event. It is a living event in which we are invited to move from all in the past that weighs us down, to experience the full life that Christ offers us today, and to bring this into how we live our lives as Disciples in the future, a future that begins here and now.

The Transfiguration is both an event and a process. The original Greek word for Transfiguration in the Gospels is μεταμόρφωσις (metamorphosis), which means ‘to progress from one state of being to another.’ Consider the metamorphosis of the chrysalis into the butterfly. In our epistle reading, Saint Paul uses this same word (μεταμόρφωσις) when he describes how the Christian is to be transfigured, transformed, into the image of Christ (II Corinthians 3: 18).

This metamorphosis invites us into the event of becoming what we have been created to be. This is what Orthodox writers call deification. Transfiguration is a profound change, by God, in Christ, through the Spirit. And so, the Transfiguration reveals to us our ultimate destiny as Christians, the ultimate destiny of all people and all creation – to be transformed and glorified by the majestic splendour of God himself.

Can we describe the Transfiguration as a miracle? If so, then it is the only Gospel miracle that happens to Christ himself. Saint Thomas Aquinas speaks of the Transfiguration as ‘the greatest miracle,’ because it complements Baptism and showed the perfection of life in Heaven.

The Transfiguration points to Christ’s great and glorious Second Coming and the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God, when all of creation shall be transfigured and filled with light.

According to Saint Gregory Palamas, the light of the Transfiguration ‘is not something that comes to be and then vanishes.’ It not only prefigures the eternal blessedness that all Christians look forward to, but also the Kingdom of God already revealed, realised and come.

The Transfiguration (Theophanes of Crete, Stavronikitas Monastery, Mount Athos) ... the Transfiguration is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Church

Part 2: Verses 37-43a:

The second story in this Gospel reading may not seem to be related to the first story. But it is oh so intimately connected with it.

The Transfiguration is not just an Epiphany or Theophany moment for Christ, with Peter, James and John as onlookers. The Transfiguration is a story of, a miracle that reminds us of how God sees us in God’s own image and likeness, sees us for who we are and who we are going to be, no matter how others see us, no matter how others dismiss us.

And immediately, then, Christ sees the potential of the child, the only son, that a distressed father is troubled and paralysed child. Christ sees the boy’s potential as the image and likeness of God and restores him to being seen as such.

When we become adults, do we love the child we have been in our childhood?

When we become adults, many of us are messed up and mess up in life, not because of what is happening in the present, but because of what has happened to us as children in the past.

Are we going to blame your problems in the future on what happened to us in the past?

In the present and the future, can we take ownership of who we have been as a child. Do we remember always that we are made in the image and likeness of God? No matter what others say about us, how others judge us, how others gossip or talk about us, God sees your potential, God sees in us God’s own image and likeness, God knows we are beautiful inside and loves us, loves you for ever, as though you are God’s only child.

The Transfiguration ... a Romanian copy of an icon in Stavronikita Monastery in Mount Athos

Reflections on the Gospel reading:

But let’s be practical about the Transfiguration.

In a lecture in Cambridge some years ago [2011], Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware], the pre-eminent Orthodox theologian in England, spoke of the Transfiguration as a disclosure not only of what God is but of what we are. The Transfiguration looks back to the beginning, but also looks forward to the end, to the final glory of Christ’s second coming, because through the incarnation Christ raises our human nature to a new level, opens new possibilities.

The Incarnation is a new beginning for the human race, and in the Transfiguration we see not only our human nature at the beginning, but as it can be in and through Christ at the end, he told us.

But with the Transfiguration comes the invitation to bear the cross with Christ. Peter, James and John are with Christ on Mount Tabor, and they are with him in Gethsemane. We must understand the Passion of Christ and the Transfiguration in the light of each other, not as two separate mysteries, but aspects of the one single mystery. Mount Tabor and Mount Calvary go together; and glory and suffering go together.

If we are to become part of the Transfiguration, we cannot leave our cross behind. If we are to bring the secular, fallen world into the glory of Christ, that has to be through self-emptying (κένωσις, kenosis), cross-bearing and suffering. There is no answer to secularism that does not take account of the Cross, as well as taking account of the Transfiguration and the Resurrection.

The Transfiguration provides a guideline for confronting the secular world, he said. And Metropolitan Kalistos reminded us of the story from Leo Tolstoy, Three Questions. The central figure is set a task of answering three questions:

What is the most important time?

The most important time is now, the past is gone, and the future does not exist yet.

Who is the most important person?

The person who is with you at this very instant.

What is the most important task?

‘This task is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!’

The light that shone from Christ on the mountaintop is not a physical and created light, but an eternal and uncreated light, a divine light, the light of the Godhead, the light of the Holy Trinity.

The experience on Mount Tabor confirms Saint Peter’s confession of faith which reveals Christ as the Son of the Living God. Yet Christ remains fully human as ever he was, as fully human as you or me, and his humanity is not abolished. But the Godhead shines through his body and from it.

In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. But at other points in his life, the glory is hidden beneath the veil of his flesh. What we see in Christ on Mount Tabor is human nature, our human nature, taken up into God and filled with the light of God. ‘So, this should be our attitude to the secular world,’ Metropolitan Kallistos said.

Or, as the Revd Dr Kenneth Leech (1939-2015) once said: ‘Transfiguration can and does occur ‘just around the corner,’ occurs in the midst of perplexity, imperfection, and disastrous misunderstanding.’

Metropolitan Kallistos spoke that day of the Transfiguration as a disclosure not only of what God is but of what we are. The Transfiguration looks back to the beginning, but also looks forward to the end, opening new possibilities.

The Transfiguration shows us what we can be in and through Christ, he told us.

In secular life, there is a temptation to accept our human nature as it is now. But the Transfiguration of Christ offers the opportunity to look at ourselves not only as we are now, but take stock of what happened in the past that made us so, and to grasp the promise of what we can be in the future.

The Transfiguration is not just an Epiphany or a Theophany moment for Christ, with Peter, James and John as onlookers. The Transfiguration reminds us of how God sees us in God’s own image and likeness, sees us for who we were, who we are and who we are going to be, no matter how others see us, no matter how others dismiss us.

The Transfiguration is a challenge to remember always that we are made in the image and likeness of God. And, no matter what others say about you, how others judge you, how others gossip or talk about you, how others treat you, God sees your potential, God sees in you God’s own image and likeness, God knows you are beautiful inside and loves you, loves you for ever, as though you are God’s only child. You are his beloved child in whom he is well pleased.

The Transfiguration, an early-15th century icon, now in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, attributed to Theophanes the Greek

Luke 9: 28-43:

28 Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ [καὶ] παραλαβὼν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσεύξασθαι. 29 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ προσεύχεσθαι αὐτὸν τὸ εἶδος τοῦ προσώπουαὐτοῦ ἕτερον καὶ ὁ ἱματισμὸς αὐτοῦ λευκὸς ἐξαστράπτων. 30 καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνδρες δύο συνελάλουν αὐτῷ, οἵτινες ἦσαν Μωϋσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας, 31 οἳ ὀφθέντες ἐν δόξῃ ἔλεγον τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἤμελλεν πληροῦν ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ. 32 ὁ δὲ Πέτρος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ ἦσαν βεβαρημένοι ὕπνῳ: διαγρηγορήσαντες δὲ εἶδον τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας τοὺς συνεστῶτας αὐτῷ. 33 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ διαχωρίζεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ εἶπεν ὁ Πέτρος πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, Ἐπιστάτα, καλόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς ὧδε εἶναι, καὶ ποιήσωμεν σκηνὰς τρεῖς, μίαν σοὶ καὶ μίαν Μωϋσεῖ καὶ μίαν Ἠλίᾳ, μὴ εἰδὼς ὃ λέγει. 34 ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ἐγένετο νεφέληκαὶ ἐπεσκίαζεν αὐτούς: ἐφοβήθησαν δὲ ἐν τῷ εἰσελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν νεφέλην. 35 καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης λέγουσα, Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος, αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε. 36 καὶ ἐν τῷ γενέσθαι τὴν φωνὴν εὑρέθη Ἰησοῦς μόνος. καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐσίγησαν καὶ οὐδενὶ ἀπήγγειλαν ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις οὐδὲν ὧν ἑώρακαν.

37 Ἐγένετο δὲ τῇ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ κατελθόντων αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους συνήντησεν αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς. 38 καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου ἐβόησεν λέγων, Διδάσκαλε, δέομαί σου ἐπιβλέψαι ἐπὶ τὸν υἱόν μου, ὅτι μονογενής μοί ἐστιν, 39 καὶ ἰδοὺ πνεῦμα λαμβάνει αὐτόν, καὶ ἐξαίφνης κράζει, καὶ σπαράσσει αὐτὸν μετὰ ἀφροῦ καὶ μόγις ἀποχωρεῖ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ συντρῖβον αὐτόν: 40 καὶ ἐδεήθην τῶν μαθητῶν σου ἵνα ἐκβάλωσιν αὐτό, καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν. 41 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν, ω γενεὰ ἄπιστος καὶ διεστραμμένη, ἕως πότε ἔσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ἀνέξομαι ὑμῶν; προσάγαγε ὧδε τὸν υἱόν σου. 42 ἔτι δὲ προσερχομένου αὐτοῦ ἔρρηξεν αὐτὸν τὸ δαιμόνιον καὶ συνεσπάραξεν: ἐπετίμησεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ, καὶ ἰάσατο τὸν παῖδα καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτὸν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ. 43 ἐξεπλήσσοντο δὲ πάντες ἐπὶ τῇ μεγαλειότητι τοῦ θεοῦ.

Luke 9: 28-43 (NRSVA):

28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ – not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’ 41 Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

The Transfiguration, by Jyrki Pouta, a Finnish teacher from Vaajakoski

Liturgical resources:

Liturgical colour:

Option A (Transfiguration): White

Option B (Proper 4): Green

Collect

Almighty Father,
whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
Give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

or

O God, our teacher and our judge:
Enrich our hearts with the goodness of your wisdom
and renew us from within:
that all our action, all our thoughts and all our words
may bear the fruit of your transforming grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Holy God
we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
May we who are partakers at his table
reflect his life in word and deed,
that all the world may know
his power to change and save.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.

or

Lord,
in this sacrament you have nourished us
with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your dear Son.
Not only with our lips
but with our lives may we truly confess his name,
and so enter the kingdom of heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

These variations may be used on the Sunday before Lent if the Transfiguration option is taken:

Penitential Kyries:

Your unfailing kindness, O Lord, is in the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
and your justice as the great deep.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

For with you is the well of life:
and in your light shall we see light.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Introduction to the Peace:

Christ will transfigure our human body
and give it a form like that of his own glorious body.
We are the Body of Christ. We share his peace.

(cf Philippians 3: 21, 1 Corinthians 11: 27, Romans 5: 1)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
whose divine glory shone forth upon the holy mountain
before chosen witnesses of his majesty;
when your own voice from heaven
proclaimed him your beloved Son:

Blessing:

The God of all grace,
who called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus,
establish, strengthen and settle you in the faith:

‘The Lord is great in Zion and high above all peoples’ (Psalm 99: 2) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Suggested Hymns:

The hymns suggested for this Sunday (Option A, The Transfiguration) in Sing to the Word (2000) edited by Bishop Edward Darling include:

Exodus 34: 29-35:

325, Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here

Psalm 99:

686, Bless the Lord, the God of our forebears
688, Come bless the Lord, God of our forebears
431, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
281, Rejoice, the Lord is King!
8, The Lord is king! Lift up your voice

II Corinthians 3: 12 to 4: 2:

300, Holy Spirit, truth divine
616, In my life, Lord, be glorified
195, Lord, the light of your love is shining
634, Love divine, all loves excelling
106, O Jesus, King most wonderful
490, The Spirit lives to set us free

Luke 9: 28-36 (37-43):

325, Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here
643, Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
501, Christ is the world’s true light
205, Christ, upon the mountain peak
52, Christ, whose glory fills the skies
331, God reveals his presence
209, Here in this holy time and place
101, Jesus, the very thought of thee
195, Lord, the light of your love is shining
102, Name of all majesty
60, O Jesus, Lord of heavenly grace
449, Thee we adore, O hidden Saviour, thee
112, There is a Redeemer
374, When all thy mercies, O my God

‘He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud’ (Psalm 99: 7) … ‘and they were terrified as they entered the cloud’ (Luke 9: 34) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Transfiguration ... a fresco in an Orthodox church in the US

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 24 February 2019, Second Sunday before Lent

‘He woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm’ (Luke 8: 24) … window in a church in Rush, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

For the next two Sundays, the Lectionary readings and the provisions in the Church of Ireland Directory offer two sets or options, and these may add to the confusion in planning liturgies, sermons, intercessions and the choice of hymns on those Sundays.

Next Sunday [24 February 2019] is the Second Sunday before Lent, and we are offered two options: Option A follows the theme of Creation, while Option B is ‘Proper 3.’ The following Sunday [3 March 2019] is the Sunday before Lent, when Option A follows the theme of the Transfiguration, while Option B is Proper 4.

The readings for Option A (Creation) next Sunday are: Genesis 2: 4b-9, 15-25; Psalm 65; Revelation 4; Luke 8: 22-35. There is a link to the readings HERE.

The readings for Option B (‘Proper 3’) are: Sirach 27: 4-7 or Isaiah 55: 10-13; Psalm 92: 1-4, 12-15; I Corinthians 15: 51-58; Luke 6: 39-49.

Dealing with confusion about the readings, once again:

Next Sunday, the Second Sunday before Lent, was known traditionally in the Book of Common Prayer as Sexagesima.

The Sunday Sexagesima, although falling 57 days before Easter, was given this name representing 60 days before Lent.

In the Western Church, these Sundays before Lent were a preparation for Lent: The refrain alleluia was forbidden in services, and the Alleluia acclamation at the Eucharist was replaced by the Tract, usually verses from the Psalms.

The liturgical colour was also changed, so that purple or violet vestments were worn.

In a very visible and audible way, the three Sundays before Lent became an extension to Lent, and the longer period was often called ‘the Greater Lent.’

However, while their traditional names have a certain nostalgic beauty associated with them, they have no real logical, liturgical foundation and they make no sense numerically.

In recent years, the ‘-gesima Sundays before Lent became part of Ordinary Time, and from the late 1960s on they were no longer regarded as a pre-penitential season, and this Sunday is now counted as the Second Sunday before Lent.

However, much confusion is created by the numbering of these Sundays and the readings if we hop and move between the Book of Common Prayer, Common Worship, the Revised Common Lectionary, the Church of Ireland Directory, the readings on the Church of Ireland website, and the correlation of Sundays, readings, hymns and dates in Sing to the Word.

This confusion is compounded if people are using desk diaries or pocket books produced primarily for use in the Church of England.

For clarity, these postings today and during the few weeks are based on the readings and calendar in the Church of Ireland Directory 2019 and the Book of Common Prayer (Church of Ireland, 2004).

There are obvious recipes for confusion here by picking and choosing between the two sets of readings, or by trying to follow the dates and readings in either Sing and Praise or various diaries and desk books produced primarily for use in the Church of England.

This posting seeks to bring clarity to these choices and to provide guidance by providing preaching and liturgical resources based on only on Option A in the Church of Ireland.

Genesis 2: 4b-9, 15-25:

This reading is a second account of the Creation narrative in the Book Genesis (for the first account, see Genesis 1: 1 to 2: 3).

Ancient peoples thought that there were waters under the earth, and that although this water seeped up into the earth, rains and rivers were needed for growth and cultivation. Without rain and without human presence ‘to till the ground,’ there was no growth in the soil.

This second account of creation therefore presents humanity as co-creators with God, or partners with God in God’s plan for bringing creation to full fruition and growth.

Humanity is given responsibility for creation, but there are limits on the use of creation. We are not to see everything as ours to do with it what we decide. We are created from the soil of the earth – the Hebrew name adam means ‘from the dust of the ground’ – and we are to cultivate and care for the earth (verse 15). Being God’s partners in the creation brings responsibilities for caring for that creation.

Psalm 65:

Psalm 65 is a song of thanks for the Earth’s bounty.

All flesh, all people, all humanity, praise God for the harvest of the earth. He answers prayers and he forgives us our transgressions. The place to thanks God for the goodness of creation is in prayer and in worship, for God is ‘the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas’ (verse 5).

This psalm praises him for creation, for the earth and the seas, for soil and the rain, for the pastures and the hills, for the meadows and the valleys.

The elders before the Lamb of God on the Throne … the Altar in a church in Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Revelation 4:

In his exile on the island of Patmos, Saint John the Divine has been writing letters to the seven churches in Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

Having written these seven letters, he has an ecstatic vision of the heavenly throne. But much of his vision has images that are unparalleled in other apocalyptic literature.

Around the throne of God are 24 thrones with 24 elders who are wearing white robes and golden crowns. The number 24 could be read as symbolising a new or perfect creation, doubling the number of disciples, who double the number of the days of creation.

Around the throne too are four living creatures – a lion, an ox, a human person and an eagle – who came in later iconography in the Church to represent the authors of the four Gospels.

God is worshipped by these 24 elders or priests and by these four living creatures or evangelists as the Lord God who has created all things and by whose will all things exist and are created (verse 11).

Later, as this vision continues to be described, we are told that this is Lamb on the throne (see Revelation 5: 6-8).

The elders on the thrones could also represent, in the Greek text of the Book of Revelation, the priests at the altar, robed liturgically, and the Lamb on throne also corresponds to Greek references to the Bread of the Eucharist on the altar. In our liturgy and worship, the Church invites the whole of Creation into the Kingdom of God.

‘He got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake’ (Luke 8: 22) … fishing boats in the harbour in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 8: 22-35:

This Gospel reading introduces two miracles of very different kinds. One shows that Christ is the Lord of Creation, the other shows he the Lord of humanity. Together they show that he has authority over chaos in nature and in humanity. We see the calming of the storm seas, and the calming of a stormy personality, the calming of the waves and the calming of the mind.

What are your worst fears?

Perhaps some of our worst fears at the moment may be related to Brexit, the Trump presidency, and the stormy instability these bring to the political and economic future of these islands, of Europe and the world. Or perhaps our worst fears for the future are centred on climate change and the future of our global environment.

As we grow up and mature, we tend to have fewer fears of the outside world, and as adults we begin to cope with the fears we once had as children, by turning threats into opportunities.

The fears I had as a child – of snakes, of the wind, of storms at sea, of lightning – are no longer the stuff of recurring nightmares they were as a child. I have learned to be cautious, to be sensible and to keep my distance, and to be in awe of God’s creation.

But most of us have recurring dreams that are vivid and that have themes that keep repeating themselves. They fall into a number of genres, and you will be relieved to know if you suffer from them that most psychotherapists identify a number of these types of dreams that most of us deal with in our sleep at various stages in adult life.

They include dreams about:

● Drowning.
● Finding myself unprepared for a major function or event, whether it is social or work-related.
● Flying or floating in the air, but then falling suddenly.
● Being caught naked in public.
● Missing a train, a bus or a plane.

● Being caught in loos or lifts that do not work, or that overwork themselves.
● Calling out in a crowd but failing to vocalise my scream or not being heard in the crowd or recognised.
● Falling, falling into an abyss.

There are others. But in sleep the brain can act as a filter or filing cabinet, helping us to process, deal with and put aside what we have found difficult to understand in our waking hours, or to try to find ways of dealing with our lack of confidence, feelings of inadequacy, with the ways we confuse gaining attention with receiving love, or with our needs to be accepted, affirmed and loved.

The plight of the disciples in this Gospel reading seems to be the working out of a constant, recurring, vivid dream of the type that many of us experience at some stage: the feelings of drowning, floating and falling suddenly, being in a crowd and yet alone, calling out and not being heard, or not being recognised for who we are.

Christ falls asleep on the boat and seems unaware of the peril at sea as they sail towards the other side of the lake.

When Christ shows his power over the stormy reality of creation, he challenges the disciples and asks ‘Where is your faith?’

They are afraid and amazed. Are they more afraid and amazed when it comes to Christ’s command of the wind and the waves than they are of the wind and the waves themselves?

Jesus and the disciples have left the crowd behind them (see Luke 8: 19), they get into the boat, and Jesus sends them to the other side of the lake crowd away. The act of sending is at the heart of mission. Mission begins with God so loving the world that he sends his only Son so that we may know that love. And Christ then sends those who care with him on a journey that is fraught with danger to a strange place where they expect to find disturbing realities and disturbing people.

Sending is the foundation of mission – and the sending of the disciples is a sending on mission, just as our dismissal at the end of the Eucharist marks, not so much the end of the liturgy, but the beginning of mission.

Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and go to a strange place. From the writings of the Early Fathers, we know that the boat or barque was an early symbol of the Church (Apostolic Constitutions 2: 47; Tertullian, De bap., 12; P.L., 1: 1214; Clement of Alexandria, Pæd. 3: 2; P.G., 8: 633).

But the disciples, instead of finding that the boat or the church empowers them for mission, treat it as a place to take them away from the crowds and the world. They see it as their own cocoon, their safe territory.

How wrong they were. When the storm comes, when the waves batter them, when the wind rises up against them, they find that we cannot be in the church and be without Jesus and without the crowd.

In their rush to get away from the masses and the world, they left Christ behind too. And when the storm comes, they realise their need for him. But when he responds, they do not know who he truly is.

Their faith has been tested, and it has been found to be weak, in the deep waters it is found to be shallow.

On the other side of the lake, they arrive in the country of the Gerasenes. Gerasa was a city 30 km east of the Jordan, deep in Gentile territory.

Ancient ideas of dementia were very different from ours. Demons were spirits of an evil kind, thought to do battle, as a ‘legion’ with God and his allies (verse 30). They were thought to invade human bodies and personalities, causing mental and physical illnesses, taking control of people.

The wilds or the desert were regarded as places where demons and destructive forces lived, and the abyss was the realm of Satan and home to demons.

The man who wears no clothes and lives among tombs, lives both like a prisoner who has been deprived of his personal dignity and identity, and as someone who is ritually unclean. Unlike the nakedness of Adam and Eve in our Old Testament reading, this man is aware of his desperate plight. Yet, he falls down before Jesus in an act of humility and worship.

This man has recognised Jesus for whom he is, ‘Son of the Most High God’ (verse 28), unlike the disciples in the earlier part of this reading, who have just asked, ‘Who then is this …?’ (verse 25)

The swine are both ritually unclean and a symbol of both pagan religion and of Roman rule. Yet, they too are subject to Jesus and his authority.

When the people come to see Jesus, this man is now sitting at the feet of Jesus, like a disciple sits at the feet of a teacher or master. Like the disciples in the boat in the first miracle in this reading, they too are afraid.

Later, after this reading, we are told that this man becomes a missionary to his fellow Gentiles (verse 39). This is a dramatic story with dramatic consequences, and this man is about to tell people ‘throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him’ (verse 39).

‘A man of the city who had demons met him … he did not live in a house but in the tombs’ … Lycian tombs in Fethiye in south-west Turkey (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 8: 22-35 (NRSVA):

22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, 23 and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. 24 They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’

26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’ – 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

‘One day he got into a boat with his disciples …’ (Luke 8: 22) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: Green

The Collect:

Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
Teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
reigns supreme over all things, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God our creator,
by your gift the tree of life was set at the heart
of the earthly paradise,
and the Bread of life at the heart of your Church.
May we who have been nourished at your table on earth
be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s Cross
and enjoy the delights of eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lamb of God surrounded by worshipping creatures … a stained-glass window in a church in Charleville, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Suggested Hymns:

The hymns suggested for this Sunday (Option A, The Creation) in Sing to the Word (2000) edited by Bishop Edward Darling include:

Genesis 2: 4b-9, 1-25:

293, Breathe on me, Breath of God
58, Morning has broken
102, Name of all majesty
305, O Breath of life, come sweeping through us
34, O worship the King all-glorious above

Other hymns on the Creation theme are suitable

Psalm 65:

612, Eternal Father, strong to save
645, Father, hear the prayer we offer
42, Good is the Lord, our heavenly King
581, I, the Lord of sea and sky
709, Praise the Lord! You heavens, adore him

Revelation 4:

398, Alleluia! Sing to Jesus
346, Angel voices, ever singing
686, Bless the Lord, God of our forebears
688, Come, bless the Lord, God of our forebears
694, Glory, honour, endless praise
331, God reveals his presence
696, God, we praise you! God, we bless you!
221, Hark! the voice of love and mercy
355, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
321, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty
714, Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might
715, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Lord Almighty
427, Let all mortal flesh keep silence
592, O Love that will not let me go
238, Ride on, ride on in majesty!

Luke 8: 22-35:

563, Commit your ways to God
612, Eternal Father, strong to save
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
584, Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
588, Light of the minds that know him
528, Son of God, eternal Saviour
47, We plough the fields and scatter

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with icons and the Jesus Prayer: (2) Praying with the Jesus Prayer

An icon of Christ seen in an antique shop in Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

11 February 2019,

Ministry Education Workshop and Training Day,

‘Praying with icons and the Jesus Prayer’

Saint Mary’s Rectory, Askeaton, Co Limerick,

1.30 p.m.: Part 2, Praying with the Jesus Prayer

Reading: Luke 18: 9-13.

Introduction:

The Jesus Prayer … an image from Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ,
Υἱὲ Θεοῦ,
ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλό

There is a dictum in The Philokalia, ascribed to the Desert Father Evagrios the Solitary (Evagrios Pontikos), that says: ‘If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian’ [Treatise on Prayer, 61].

To pray truly, we can learn from the traditions of others. There are rich treasures in each and every Christian tradition that we can draw on without compromising our own Christian tradition, experience and spirituality. The Orthodox insights into and traditions about prayer have influenced many Anglicans, including Archbishop Michael Ramsey, Archbishop Rowan Williams and Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward. Many in the Western world have been helped to pray through the books of Metropolitan Anthony Bloom.

To pray does not mean to think about God to the distraction of thinking about other things, or to spend time with God in competition with spending time with our families and friends. To pray means to think and live our entire life in the presence of God. The Russian theologian, Paul Evdokimov (1900-1969), the biographer of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, remarks: ‘Our whole life, every act and gesture, even a smile must become a hymn or adoration, an offering, a prayer. We must become prayer – prayer incarnate.’

The practice of the Jesus Prayer (Η Προσευχή του Ιησού) is one of the rich treasurers of the Orthodox tradition that can help each of us to develop our own practice of prayer.

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is one of the best-known traditions within Orthodoxy. Its words say simply:

Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ,
Υἱὲ Θεοῦ,
ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλό

Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
have mercy on me the sinner.

The Jesus Prayer is a short, simple prayer that has been widely used, taught and discussed throughout the history of Eastern Christianity.

In order to enter more deeply into the life of prayer and to come to grips with the Scriptural challenge to pray unceasingly, the Orthodox tradition offers the Jesus Prayer – which is called the ‘Prayer of the Heart’ (Καρδιακή Προσευχή) by some Church Fathers – as a means of concentration and as a focal point for our inner life.

The exact words of the prayer have varied from the most simple possible involving the name ‘Jesus,’ or ‘Lord have mercy,’ to the more common extended form: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

For the Eastern Orthodox, the Jesus Prayer one of the most profound and mystical prayers and it is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice.

Theology and practice

‘The Ladder of Divine Ascent’ … the Jesus Prayer is recommended by Saint John Klimakos

The practice of repeating the prayer continually dates back to at least the 5th century. A formula similar to the standard form of the Jesus Prayer is found in a letter attributed to Saint John Chysostom, who died in 407. In this Letter to an Abbot, he mentions two prayers being used as ceaseless prayers: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy,’ and ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.’

However, the earliest verifiable mention of the Jesus Prayer is in the writings of Saint Diadochos of Photiki (400-486), a work found in the first volume of The Philokalia (Η Φιλοκαλία), a collection of texts on prayer compiled between the 4th and the 15th centuries. In that collection, Saint Diadochos ties the practice of the Jesus Prayer to the purification of the soul. He also teaches that repetition of the prayer produces inner peace.

The Jesus Prayer is also described by Saint John Cassian (died 435) in his account of the repetitive use of a passage of the Psalms.

The use of the Jesus Prayer is recommended by Saint John Klimakos (Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, 525-606), a monk of Mount Sinai, in The Ladder of Divine Ascent, and in the work of Saint Hesychios (?8th century), Pros Theodoulon, found in the first volume of The Philokalia.

Later, the theology of the Jesus Prayer was most clearly set out by Saint Gregory Palamas (1296–1359). Its practice became an integral part of Hesychasm, and the subject of The Philokalia. Today, Mount Athos is a centre of the practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Introduction to the West

The life of an Orthodox Christian is one of prayer ... inside the monastery church in Arakadi, south of Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The use of the Jesus Prayer according to the tradition of The Philokalia is the subject of the Russian classic, The Way of a Pilgrim. The Russian pilgrim in The Way of the Pilgrim discovers the Jesus Prayer and with it finds the answers to many of his questions in that key compendium of Orthodox spirituality and prayer.

In The Way of a Pilgrim, the anonymous pilgrim recounts his desperate longing ‘to pray without ceasing.’ He wanders, with a Bible in hand, in search of someone who can teach him. Eventually, the pilgrim finds a wise monk who becomes his spiritual father or staretz (стáрец). This monk instructs the pilgrim in prayer, and gives him The Philokalia to read.

The pilgrim recalls the conversation: ‘Read this book,’ he said. ‘It is called The Philokalia, and it contains the full and detailed science of constant interior prayer, set forth by 25 Holy Fathers. The book is marked by lofty wisdom and is so profitable to use that it is considered the foremost and best manual of the contemplative spiritual life …’

‘Is it then more sublime that the Bible?’ I asked.

‘No, it is not that. But it contains clear explanations of what the Bible holds in secret and which cannot be easily grasped by our short-sighted understanding.’

The staretz compares the Bible to the Sun and The Philokalia to a small piece of glass that allows a person to view its rays, and he reads to the pilgrim instructions from Saint Simeon the New Theologian quoted in The Philokalia:

‘Sit down alone and in silence. Lower your head, shut your eyes, breathe out gently, and imagine yourself looking into your own heart. Carry your mind, that is, your thoughts, from your head to your heart. As you breathe out say, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” Say it moving your lips gently, or simply say it in your mind. Try to put all other thoughts aside. Be calm, be patient, and repeat the process very frequently.’

At first, the pilgrim is bored, is sleepy and is distracted by other thoughts. The staretz encourages him to persevere, gives him a prayer rope (Greek κομποσχοίνι, komboschini; Russian чётки, chotki), and tells him to use it as a counter as he repeats the Jesus Prayer. He tells him to repeat the Jesus Prayer 3,000 times a day, ‘quietly and without hurry … without deliberately increasing or diminishing the number. God will help you, and by this means you will reach also the unceasing activity of the heart.’

After the first few days, the pilgrim no longer finds that he has been set a hard task, but soon finds that he is praying again, both ‘easily and joyfully.’ His spiritual father increases the number to 6,000 and then to 12,000, so that the pilgrim reaches the point where the prayer wakes him up early in the morning. Now his whole desire is fixed on saying the Jesus Prayer and he is filled with joy.

The use of the Jesus Prayer is the subject of the Russian classic, ‘The Way of a Pilgrim’

The Pilgrim, the anonymous author of The Way of the Pilgrim, reports that the Jesus Prayer has two very concrete effects upon his vision of the world:

1, Firstly, it transfigures his relationship with the material creation around him. The world becomes transparent, a sign, a means of communicating God’s presence. He writes: ‘When I prayed in my heart, everything around me seemed delightful and marvellous. The trees, the grass, the birds, the air, the light seemed to be telling me that they existed for man’s sake, that they witnessed to the love of God for man, that all things prayed to God and sang his praise.’

2, Secondly, the Jesus Prayer transfigures his relationship to his fellow human beings. His relationships are given form within their proper context: the forgiveness and compassion of the crucified and risen Lord. ‘Again I started off on my wanderings. But now I did not walk along as before, filled with care. The invocation of the Name of Jesus gladdened my way. Everybody was kind to me. If anyone harms me I have only to think, “How sweet is the Prayer of Jesus!” and the injury and the anger alike pass away and I forget it all.’

The Scriptural foundations

This story in The Way of the Pilgrim became familiar to many readers in the west in the 1960s through the popularity of JD Salinger’s novel, Franny and Zooey, when the distressed young woman describes the Jesus Prayer to her boyfriend over lunch in a restaurant.

But what are the Scriptural and theological foundations of the Jesus Prayer?

Saint Paul preaching in Thessaloniki … a fresco in the Cathedral Church of Saint Gregory Palamas (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Apostle Paul urges the Christians of Thessaloniki to ‘pray without ceasing’ (I Thessalonians 5: 1). In his letter to Rome, he instructs the Christian community there to ‘be constant in prayer’ (Romans 12: 12). He not only demands unceasing prayer on the part of the Christians in his care, but he practices it himself. ‘We constantly thank God for you’ (I Thessalonians 2: 13), he writes, and he comforts Timothy with the words: ‘Always I remember you in my prayers’ (2 Timothy 1: 3).

Whenever the Apostle Paul speaks of prayer in his letters, two Greek words appear repeatedly: πάντοτε (pantote), which means always; and αδιαλεπτος (adialeptos), meaning without interruption or unceasingly.

Prayer, then, is not merely a part of life which we can conveniently lay aside if something we deem more important comes up. Prayer is all of life, must be all of life. Prayer is as essential to our life as breathing. But how can we be expected to pray all the time? How can we fit more time for prayer into our already overcrowded lives?

The Jesus Prayer, in its simplicity and clarity, is rooted in the Scriptures, and its words are based on:

● the cry of the blind man at the side of the road near Jericho, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me’ (Luke 18: 38);

● the cry of the ten lepers who called to him, ‘Jesus, Master, take pity on us’ (Luke 17: 13);

● the cry for mercy of the publican, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’ (Luke 18: 14);

● and the sentiments of the cry of the penitent thief on the cross (Luke 23: 42).

Listening:



Let us listen to a similar theme in The Cry of the Thief Crucified by the Russian composer Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov (1877-1944), who suffered greatly under Stalin – when the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where he was the last choirmaster, was torn down, he stopped writing altogether. The tenor singing here is the Russian Evgeny Akimov (1910-1949).

Play: ‘The Cry of the Thief Crucified’ by Pavel Chesnokov (Track 13, Authentic Russian Sacred Music).

Three levels of praying the Jesus Prayer:

Saint Theophan the Recluse … distinguishes three levels in the saying of the Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is a prayer in which the first step taken on the spiritual journey is recognising my own sinfulness, my essential estrangement from God and the people around me.

The Jesus Prayer is a prayer in which I admit my desperate need of a Saviour. For ‘if we say that we have no sin in us, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us’ (I John 1: 8).

In order to offer some broad, general guidelines for those interested in using the Jesus Prayer to develop their inner lives, Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894), a 19th century Russian spiritual writer, distinguishes three levels in the saying of the Jesus Prayer:

1, It begins as oral prayer or prayer of the lips, a simple recitation which Saint Theophan defines as prayers’ ‘verbal expression and shape.’ Although it is very important, this level of prayer is still external to us and is only the first step, for ‘the essence or soul of prayer is within a man’s mind and heart.’

2, As we enter more deeply into prayer, we reach a level at which we begin to pray without distraction. Saint Theophan remarks that at this point, ‘the mind is focused upon the words’ of the Jesus Prayer, ‘speaking them as if they were our own.’

3, He describes the third and final level as prayer of the heart. At this stage, prayer is no longer something we do but who we are. Such prayer is a gift of the Spirit, and is to return to the Father as the Prodigal Son did (Luke 15: 32). The prayer of the heart is the prayer of adoption, when ‘God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit that cries that cries “Abba, Father!”’ (Galatians 4: 6).

This return to the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit is the goal of all Christian spirituality. It is to be open to the presence of the Kingdom in our midst.

The practice of the Jesus Prayer

The Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights … the Jesus Prayer is a communal practice for four hours each day (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

There is a very great emphasis on humility in the practice of the Jesus Prayer. There are many warnings about the disaster that will befall those who would use it in pride, arrogance or conceit. And in many texts, it is said that those who use the Jesus Prayer must only be members of the Orthodox Church in good standing.

When it is practised on a continuing basis, the Jesus Prayer becomes automatic.

In the Eastern tradition, the Jesus Prayer is said or prayed repeatedly, often with the aid of a prayer rope (Greek κομποσχοίνι, komboschini; Russian чётки, chotki). It may be accompanied by prostrations and the sign of the cross, and sometimes it is integrated into the liturgical life of monasteries.

I try each year to spend a day in prayer at a monastery. Last year, this included visits to Mount Athos, to the Monastery of Vlatadon in Thessaloniki, and to the Monastery of Saint George in Karydi in western Crete. But for many years, this was an annual visit to the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights, near Maldon in Essex. It involved an early start, catching a bus from Cambridge at 6 a.m. to be there in time for the Divine Liturgy.

The community was founded in an old Anglican rectory in 1958 by Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov (1896-1993), with the help of Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom). When he was founding the monastery, Father Sophrony wanted to be sure his community would not just have outward conformity, but also focus on inner asceticism. The typicon of the monastery consists of the repetition of the Jesus Prayer about four hours a day (from 6 to 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 to 8 p.m.), as well as the serving of the Divine Liturgy three or four times a week.

The monastery was founded by is found inspiration in Elder Sophrony, and he was inspired to introduce this practice of the Jesus Prayer from his experiences as a monk on Mount Athos monk, and by the lives of Saint Silouan, Saint Nicodemus and Saint Paisius Velichkovsky.

The American Orthodox blogger and writer, Frederica Mathewes-Green, gives a vivid and realistic example of how the person who uses the Jesus Prayer constantly prays throughout the day and deals with ordinary, everyday thoughts and distractions.

The person praying the Jesus Prayer never treats it as a string of syllables whose ‘surface’ or overt verbal meaning is secondary or unimportant. He/she considers a bare repetition of the Jesus Prayer as a mere string of syllables, perhaps with a ‘mystical’ inner meaning beyond the overt verbal meaning, to be worthless or even dangerous.

While s/he maintains this practice of the Jesus Prayer, which becomes automatic and continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week, s/he rejects all tempting thoughts, paying extreme attention to the consciousness of his/her inner world and to the words of the Jesus Prayer, not letting his/her mind wander in any way at all.

The practice of the Jesus Prayer is in the mind in the heart, free of images. The stage of practice known as ‘the guard of the mind’ is a very advanced stage of ascetical and spiritual practice. But attempting to accomplish this prematurely can cause very serious spiritual and emotional harm.

To pray does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God in contrast to spending time with our family and friends. To pray means to think and live our entire life in the Presence of God. The practice of the Jesus Prayer is one of the rich treasurers in the Orthodox tradition offers to those who would pursue the task of developing their own practice of prayer.

As Paul Evdokimov (1901-1970) says: ‘Our whole life, every act and gesture, even a smile must become a hymn or adoration, an offering, a prayer. We must become prayer – prayer incarnate.’

In his Ages of the Spiritual Life, Paul Evdokimov writes:

‘In a special manner the invocation of the name of Jesus makes the grace of his Incarnation universal, allowing each of us our personal share and disposing our hearts to receive the Lord … When the divine Name is pronounced over a country or a person, these enter into an intimate relationship with God … The “prayer of the heart” frees and enlarges it and attracts Jesus to it … In this prayer … the whole Bible with its entire message is reduced to its essential simplicity … When Jesus is drawn into the heart, the liturgy becomes interiorised and the Kingdom is in the peaceful soul. The Name dwells in us as its temple and there the divine presence transmutes and Christifies us …’

Here, as with Saint Seraphim of Sarov, the prayer of the heart is much more than an arcane spiritual practice. Rather, its genius is that it summarises all that the scriptures say, the whole of life is to be ‘in Christ’ and the Spirit.

A note on the Hesychast tradition

The shrine of Saint Gregory Palamas in the Metropolitan Cathedral Church in Thessaloniki … he defended the practice of the hesychasts (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The practice of the Jesus Prayer is integrated into the mental ασκήσεις (ascésis) undertaken by the Orthodox monk in the practice of Hesychasm. This mental ascesis is the subject of The Philokalia.

Monks often pray this prayer many hundreds of times each night as part of their private cell vigil. Under the guidance of an Elder (Greek γεροντας, gerontas; Russian starets), the monk aims to internalise the prayer, so that he is praying unceasingly, thereby accomplishing the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians to ‘pray without ceasing.’

And so, perhaps, a brief note on the Hesychast tradition may be helpful.

Hesychasm (Greek ἡσυχασμός hesychasmos, from ἡσυχία hesychia, ‘stillness, rest, quiet’) is an eremitic tradition of prayer in Eastern Orthodoxy, practised (Greek: ἡσυχάζω, hesychazo, ‘to keep stillness’) by the Hesychast (Greek: Ἡσυχαστής, hesychastes).

The tradition dates back to both the Cappadocian Fathers and the Egyptian anchorites in the Western Desert, although the traditions strongest roots can be traced from the 6th to 8th centuries and The Ladder of Divine Ascent written by Saint John of Sinai (523–603).

The term Hesychast is particularly associated with the integration of the continual repetition of the Jesus Prayer into the practices of mental ασκήσεις (ascésis) already used by hermits in Egypt. By the 14th century on Mount Athos, Hesychasm refer to the practices associated with the Jesus Prayer. The books used by the Hesychasts include The Philokalia, a collection of texts on prayer and solitary life written from the 4th to the 15th centuries; The Ladder of Divine Ascent; the collected works of Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022); and the works of Saint Isaac the Syrian (7th century or 8th century).

Hesychastic practice may involve specific body postures and be accompanied by very deliberate breathing patterns. However, these bodily postures and breathing patterns are treated as secondary both by modern Athonite practitioners on Mount Athos and by the more ancient texts in The Philokalia, the emphasis being on the primary role of Grace.

Hesychasts are fully inserted into the liturgical and sacramental life of the Orthodox Church, including the daily cycle of the Divine Office and the Divine Liturgy. However, Hesychasts who are living as hermits may have a very rare attendance at the Divine Liturgy and might not recite the Divine Office except by means of the Jesus Prayer, which often happens on Mount Athos.

The Hesychast practices acquiring an inner stillness, ignoring the physical senses and rejecting tempting thoughts. In solitude and retirement, he repeats the Jesus Prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ He prays the Jesus Prayer ‘with the heart’ – with meaning, with intent, ‘for real.’ He never treats the Jesus Prayer as a string of syllables whose ‘surface’ or overt verbal meaning is secondary or unimportant. He considers bare repetition of the Jesus Prayer as a mere string of syllables, perhaps with a ‘mystical’ inner meaning beyond the overt verbal meaning, to be worthless or even dangerous.

While he maintains his practice of the Jesus Prayer, which becomes automatic and continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Hesychast rejects all tempting thoughts, paying extreme attention to the consciousness of his inner world and to the words of the Jesus Prayer, not letting his mind wander in any way at all.

The practice of the Jesus Prayer is in the mind in the heart, free of images. The stage of practice known as ‘the guard of the mind’ is a very advanced stage of ascetical and spiritual practice, and attempting to accomplish this prematurely can cause very serious spiritual and emotional harm to the would-be Hesychast. ‘The guard of the mind’ is the condition in which the Hesychast remains as a matter of course throughout his day, every day until he dies. It is from the guard of the mind that he is raised to contemplation by the Grace of God.

The Hesychast usually experiences the contemplation of God as light, the Uncreated Light of the theology of Saint Gregory Palamas. The Hesychast, when he has by the mercy of God been granted such an experience, does not remain in that experience for a very long time, but he returns ‘to earth’ and continues to practise the guard of the mind.

The Uncreated Light that the Hesychast experiences is identified with the Holy Spirit. Experiences of the Uncreated Light are allied to the ‘acquisition of the Holy Spirit.’ The highest goal of the Hesychast is the experiential knowledge of God. In the 14th century, the possibility of this experiential knowledge of God was challenged by a Calabrian monk, Barlaam, who asserted that our knowledge of God can only be propositional. However, the practice of the Hesychasts was defended by Saint Gregory Palamas.

It must be said that there are many warnings that seeking after unusual ‘spiritual’ experiences can itself cause great harm, ruining the soul and the mind of the seeker. Such a seeking after ‘spiritual’ experiences can lead to spiritual delusion in which a person believes himself or herself to be a saint, has hallucinations in which he or she ‘sees’ angels, Christ, etc. This state of spiritual delusion is in a superficial, egotistical way pleasurable, but can lead to madness and suicide, and, according to the Hesychast fathers, makes salvation impossible.

A note on the Athonite and monastic tradition today

The domes of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos … two monks of the monastery – Saint Silouan the Athonite and Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov – were influential in introducing the Jesus Prayer to Western spirituality (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Mount Athos is a centre of the practice of Hesychasm, and the most important centre of monastic life in the Orthodox world today. There has been a recent revival in the fortunes of many of the monasteries on the Holy Mountain, with new monks arriving from Cyprus, Romania, Russia and Australia.

But the mountain is loved among the Orthodox for nurturing great writers in spirituality and on the life of prayer. Three of the better known of these writers in the 20th century were Saint Silouan (1866-1938), his disciple Archimandrite Sophrony (1896-1993), and Father Joseph (died 1959).

Although some of these great writers also lived the lives of hermits, they gathered many followers, and were particularly known for their practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Additional notes of the prayer rope:

A prayer rope is often used as an aide to praying the Jesus Prayer (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

A prayer rope is a loop made up of complicated knots, usually made of wool, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Rite Catholics to count the number of times they have prayed the Jesus Prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Historically it typically had 100 knots, although prayer ropes with 50 or 33 knots can also be found in use today – with the number 33 signifying the years of Christ’s earthly life. There is typically a knotted cross at one end, and a few beads at certain intervals between the knots. Longer prayer ropes frequently have a tassel at the end; its purpose is to dry the tears shed because the deep sorrow for one’s sins.

It is said that the Prayer Rope has its origins from the Father of Orthodox monasticism, Saint Anthony. He started by tying a leather rope for every time he prayed his Kyrie Eleisons, or Lord have Mercies, and the Devil came and would untie it to throw his count off. He then devised a way, inspired from a vision by the Theotokos (Mother of God), of tying the knots so that the knots would constantly make the shape of the cross. That is why Prayer Ropes today are still tied by seven little crosses being tied over and over. The Devil could then not untie it because the Devil is vanquished by the sign of the Cross.

Others attribute its origin to Saint Pachomius in the 4th century as an aid for illiterate monks to accomplish a consistent number of prayers and prostrations. Monks were often expected to carry a prayer rope on their left wrist almost constantly, to remind them to pray constantly in accordance with the Apostle Paul’s injunction: ‘Pray without ceasing’ (I Thessalonians 5: 17).

In some Russian Orthodox service books, certain liturgies can be replaced at need by praying the Jesus Prayer a specified number of times, anywhere from 300 to 1,500 times, depending on the service being replaced. In this way prayers can still be said even if the service books are unavailable for some reason. The use of a prayer rope is a very practical tool in such cases, simply for keeping count of the prayers said.

In the Silence:

The Pantocrator in the Dome of the Church of Analipsi in Georgioupoli, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

In the silence, we have opportunities to:

1, pray, using the Jesus Prayer, or adapting it to our needs – feel free to walk in the garden or find your own quiet corner in one of the rooms on this floor in the Rectory, or on the landing upstairs;

2, there are some icons placed around the Rectory that you might like to use to help you in your prayer;

3, you may want to sit silently and meditate on some of the Scripture passages we have been discussing.

Closing Prayers:

1, The Collect of the Day:

O God,
you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
Grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2, The Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father …

3, The Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Selected readings:

(Metropolitan) Anthony Bloom, Living Prayer (Springfield IL: Templegate, 1966), pp 84-88.
Paul Evdokimov, Ages of the Spiritual Life (Crestwood NY: Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998).
RM French (translator), The Way of a Pilgrim (London: SPCK, 1977).
(Father) Lev Gillet (‘A Monk of the Eastern Church’), The Jesus Prayer, with a foreword by Kallistos Ware (Crestwood NY: Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1987).
Frederica Mathewes-Green, Facing East (San Francisco: Harper, 2006), pp 144-145.
Frederica Mathewes-Green, The Jesus Prayer: the ancient desert prayer that tunes the heart to God (Brewster MA: Paraclete Press, 2009/2010).
E Kadloubovsky, GEH Palmer (eds), Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart (London: Faber and Faber, 1992).
GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, (Metropolitan) Kallistos Ware (eds), The Philokalia (London: Faber and Faber, 1979, 4 vols).
(Brother) Ramon SSF, Praying the Jesus Prayer (Basingstoke: Marshall Pickering, 1988).
JD Salinger, Franny and Zooey (various editions).
(Father) Sophrony, On Prayer (Crestwood NY: Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998).
(Bishop) Simon Barrington-Ward, The Jesus Prayer (Oxford: BRF, 2007 ed). (Bishop) Simon Barrington-Ward and (Brother) Ramon SSF, Praying the Jesus Prayer Together (Oxford: BRF, 2001).
(Metropolitan) Kallistos Ware, The Power of the Name: the Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality (London: Marshall Pickering, 1989).

Earlier: Praying with icons and the Jesus Prayer: (1) Praying with Icons

Prayer ropes and other religious goods from Mount Athos in a shop in Ouranoupolis (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

11 February 2019