Sarx

N THE Eastern Rite, Holy Saturday has two liturgical contexts: one is the Harrowing of Hell – Jesus Christ, God incarnate, descends to the dark places. As God he is at once “eternally on the throne with his Father, in the tomb in his human body and in Hell with his human soul” uniting all the divided sections of the universe, filling all things with divine light. There is NO DARKNESS ANY MORE ANYWHERE. (If I could scream that louder I would.)

But this is noted in the second liturgical of the day: the mourning at the tomb of Our Lord, served in Matins.

Psalm 119 (118 in the Septuagint) is read at funerals in the Eastern Rite and, so, at Matins this morning, it is read before the tomb of Jesus. But in this context, unlike a human funeral, between the lines of the verses (read or chanted in a normal voice) are sung hymn verses of mourning and glorious triumph. We do not mourn for Jesus without knowing the Victory as well.

The Psalm is prayed in three sections, the first being here…Blessed are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.

In the tomb they laid you,
you, O Christ, who are Life;
in amazement angel armies lift up their song
as they glorify your self-abasement, Lord.

Blessed are those who search out his testimonies, they will seek for him with their whole heart.

Life, how can you perish,
or how dwell in a tomb?
Yet the royal hall of Death you now bring to nought,
and from Hades’ realm you raise the dead again.

For the workers of iniquity have not walked in his ways.

Now we magnify you,
O Lord Jesu, our King,
we pay honour to your Passion and burial
for from foul corruption you saved us through them.

You have commanded that your commandments be strictly kept.

King of all, O Jesu,
who established earth’s bounds,
on this day you make your home in a little tomb,
raising up the dead of ages from their graves.

Would that my ways might be directed to keep your statutes.

O my Christ, my Jesus,
king and monarch of all,
seeking what have you descended to those in Hell?
Was it not to liberate the mortal race?

Then I should not be ashamed when I look on all your commandments.

He who governs all things
here is seen as a corpse,
new the grave in which his body is laid to rest,
he the one who empties graves of all their dead.

I shall confess you in uprightness of heart, when I have learned the judgements of your justice.

In the tomb they laid you,
you, O Christ, who are Life;
death itself you brought to nothing by your own death,
and became the fount of life for all the world.

I shall keep your statutes, do not utterly forsake me.

Guilty with the guilty
you were judged, O my Christ,
at the moment you wrought justice for all of us,
from the ancient trickster’s foul and evil deeds.

How will a young man correct his way? By keeping your words.

Fairer he in beauty
than are all mortal kind,
now a corpse we see, unsightly, bereft of form,
he who beautified the nature of all things.

I have sought you with my whole heart, do not drive me from your commandments.

How could Hell endure it,
When in splendour you came,
and how not be swiftly shattered and plunged in dark,
blinded by the blazing glory of your light?

I have hidden your words in my heart, that I may not sin against you.

Light that saves, O Jesu,
you are sweetness to me,
in the darkness of the grave how can you lie hid,
O forbearance that no language can express!

Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes.

Angels are bewildered,
and the bodiless host
at a loss, O Christ, before that great mystery
your ineffable entombment, beyond speech.

With my lips I have declared all the judgements of your mouth.

O most strange of wonders,
What new deeds we now see!
He who gave me my life’s breath, lies unbreathing now
born to burial at noble Joseph’s hands.

I have been delighted by the way of your testimonies, as by all wealth.

Like the sun when setting,
to the tomb you descend,
yet, O Christ, your Father’s bosom you do not leave,
What strange paradox, what wondrous thing this is.

I shall reflect on your commandments and consider your ways.

As the sky’s true monarch,
as true king of the earth,
Though enclosed within the narrowest sepulchre
you were known by all creation, Jesu, Lord.

I shall meditate on your statutes, I shall not forget your words.

In the tomb they laid you,
Christ the maker of all,
then were Hell’s foundations shaken, they tremble now,
as the graves of mortal kind are opened wide.

A recompense for your servant: make me live and I shall keep your ways.

He who in the hollow
of his hand holds the earth,
in the flesh is put to death and lies in earth’s grasp,
as he now redeems the dead from Hades’ grip.

Unveil my eyes, and I shall consider the wonders of your law.

You rose from corruption
O my saviour, my life,
having died and gone to dwell there among the dead,
smashed and shattered Hades’ brazen bolts and bars.

I am a pilgrim on the earth; do not hide your commandments from me.

Like a burning lampstand
here the flesh of our God,
as beneath a bushel measure, now lies concealed
under earth and puts the gloom of Hell to flight.

My soul has longed to desire your judgements at all times.

Nothing can contain you,
yet the Heavenly hosts,
with the noble Joseph and with Nicodemus now
hasten to enclose you in a little grave.

You have rebuked the proud; those who turn aside from your law are cursed.

Willingly, my Jesus,
slain and laid underground,
fount of life, you gave me life when I lay in death,
when by bitterest transgressions I was slain.

Take reproach and contempt from me, for I have sought your testimonies.

By your Passion, Jesu,
all creation was changed,
all things suffered with you, Word, knowing you to be
the Maintainer and Sustainer of the world.

For rulers sat and spoke against me, but your servant reflected on your statutes.

Death who eats up all things
swallowed you, Rock of Life,
when you entered in his belly he vomited
spewing forth the dead gulped down from every age.

For your testimonies are my meditation, and your statutes my counsels.

There, O Christ, they laid you,
in a newly made grave,
and the nature of us mortals you then renewed,
when from death you rose in majesty divine.

My soul has been stuck to the ground; make me live according to your word.

Down to earth, O Master,
to save Adam you came,
and not finding him on earth, you descended, Lord,
to the depths of Hades, searching for him there.

I declared my ways, and you heard me: teach me your statutes.

All the earth was shaken
and it trembled in fear,
and the light-bearer, O Word, hid its rays away
to see you, the greatest Light, hid in the earth.

Make me understand the way of your statutes, and I shall reflect on your wonders.

Willingly as mortal,
O my Saviour, you die,
but as God you raised the dead back to life again,
from their graves and the abysmal depths of sin.

My soul slumbered from listlessness, strengthen me by your words.

Tears of lamentation
she pours out over you,
as your mother the pure Virgin, O Jesu, cries,
How, my son, am I to lay you in the tomb?

Remove the way of injustice from me and by your law have mercy on me.

Like a wheat grain buried
in the bosom of Earth,
you have yielded harvest in great abundance, Lord,
raising up all Adam’s mortal progeny.

I have chosen the way of truth, and have not forgotten your judgements.

Now you have been hidden
like the sun ‘neath the earth
and been covered over, veiled by the night of death.
Dawn again, O, Saviour, dawn more brightly yet.

I have clung to your testimonies, O Lord; do not put me to shame.

As the moon eclipses
the sun’s disk, Saviour Lord,
now the sepulchre has hidden you from our eyes,
in the flesh you undergo eclipse by death.

I ran in the way of your testimonies, when you set my heart at large.

Life itself, Christ Saviour,
having tasted of death,
freed all mortal kind from death, liberated us,
and the gift of life he now bestows on all.

Lay down for me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I shall always seek it.

By your death, O Saviour,
you lead back into life
Adam, who of old by envy was brought to death,
as in flesh as a new Adam you appear.

Make me understand, and I shall search out your law and keep it with my whole heart.

The angelic orders,
were amazed to behold
you, our Saviour, for our sake laid out as a corpse
with their wings they veil their faces from the sight.

Guide me in the path of your commandments, for that is what I have wanted.

Noble Joseph takes you,
as a corpse, from the Tree,
new the grave, O Word, in which he now buries you,
But as God arise , save all of human kind!

Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to covetousness.

To the angels, Saviour,
you are gladness and joy,
but a cause of grief you now have become to them,
as they see you in the flesh a lifeless corpse.

Turn my eyes from seeing vanities; give me life in your way.

Lord you lift up with you,
lifted up on the Tree,
every living mortal, but now laid under earth
all who lie beneath it you raise up again.

Establish your word for your servant, for him to fear you.

In the flesh, O Saviour,
like a lion you slept,
as a lion cub he rises, our Mighty Dead,
sloughing off the flesh’s feebleness and age.

Take away my reproach, which I dreaded; for your judgements are good.

Mother Eve you fashioned
from a rib, which you took
from the side of Adam, Lord, now your side is pierced,
and from thence there gush forth purifying streams.

See, I have longed for your commandments; in your justice make me live.

Sacrificed in secret,
was the lamb slain of old,
under open skies, O Saviour long-suffering,
cleansing all creation, you were sacrificed.

Let your mercy come upon me, O Lord, your salvation according to your word.

Who is there can tell it,
this dread thing, truly new:
see, the Master of creation today accepts
death and suffering, and dies now for our sake.

And I shall answer those who reproach me that I have hoped in your words.

‘How can life’s Dispenser
now be seen as a corpse?’
cried the Angels in amazement, ‘How can our God
be confined here, be shut up within a grave?’

Do not take the word of truth utterly from my mouth, because I have hoped in your judgements.

When the lance, O Saviour,
pierced your side, you let fall
drops of life on Eve, who from life had banished me,
giving life to her you gave me life as well.

And I shall keep your law always, for ever and for ever.

Mortal kind you gathered
into one, Jesus, Lord,
when stretched out upon the Tree, and your side was pierced
from that life-source you pour pardon forth for all.

And I walked in freedom, because I sought your commandments.

Noble Joseph, Saviour,
filled with dread lays you out,
nobly readies you and buries you as a corpse,
trembling awe-struck at the sight of your dread form.

And I spoke of your testimonies before kings and was not ashamed.

Willingly as mortal,
you went down ‘neath the earth;
from the earth’s depths you lead back up to Heaven’s height
all of those, O Jesu who lay fallen there.

And I meditated on your commandments, which I loved greatly.

Though a corpse we see you,
yet alive as our God
you gave life again to mortals who once were slain,
put to death the one who brought me to my death.

And I lifted up my hands to your commandments which I loved, and reflected on your statutes.

O the joy, the gladness,
O the boundless delight,
with which, Jesu, you filled those who lay bound in Hell,
when you made light blaze throughout its murky depths.

Remember your words to your servant, by which you gave me hope.

Lord, your pains I worship,
and your burial praise,
and I magnify your might, Lover of mankind.
By them I am freed from passions which destroy.

This comforted me in my humiliation, that your word had given me life.

A great sword was sharpened
against you, O my Christ,
but the strong one’s mighty sword has been blunted now,
and the sword that guarded Eden is turned back.

The proud have utterly transgressed; but I have not swerved from your law.

When the Ewe that bore him
saw the Lamb that was slain,
shot with anguish she lamented and cried aloud,
rousing all the flock to join its cry to hers.

I remembered your judgements of old, Lord, and I was comforted.

Buried in a tomb, Lord,
and descended to Hell,
yet, O Saviour, you have emptied the sepulchres,
mighty Hades you stripped naked, O my Christ.

Dejection has taken hold of me because of sinners, who abandon your law.

Willingly, O Saviour,
you went down ‘neath the earth,
granted life again to mortals whom death had slain,
in the glory of the Father led them up.

Your statutes have been my songs in the place of my pilgrimage.

Shameful death he suffered
in the flesh for our sake,
who is one of the divine holy Trinity.
Quails the sun, and all earth shudders at the sight.

I remembered your name in the night, Lord, and I kept your law.

From the tribe of Judah
from that bitterest source,
came the offspring who cast Jesus into the pit,
him who furnished them with manna for their food.

This happened to me, because I sought your statutes.

Judge he stands for judgement
before Pilate as judge,
and the unjust judge condemns him to unjust death,
to be put to death upon that Tree, the Cross.

You, Lord, are my portion; I have said that I would keep your law.

Why so boastful Israel,
people tainted with blood?
why did you deliver Barabbas from his pains,
yet hand over Christ the Saviour to a Cross?

I have begged for your presence with my whole heart; have mercy on me according to your word.

With your hand you fashioned
Adam out of the earth;
for him you became by nature a man, O Lord,
and were crucified for him by your own will.

I have thought over your ways and turned back my feet to your testimonies.

You obeyed your Father,
and descended, O Word,
to the depth of dreadful Hell, to the realm of Death,
and raised up again the race of mortal kind.

I was prepared, and not troubled, to keep your commandments.

Bitterly lamenting,
‘Woe is me, O my light!
my heart’s longing and the Light of the World, alas!
Woe is me, my heart’s desire’, the Virgin cried.

The cords of sinners entangled me, and I did not forget your law.

Murderous, malicious,
men whose deeds for vengeance cry!
See the graveclothes and the napkin left lying here,
as Christ rises from the dead: are you not shamed?

At midnight I rose to confess you, for the judgements of your justice.

Murdering disciple,
blood-stained man, show me now
all the manner, all the ways of your wickedness,
through which you became betrayer of our Christ.

I am a companion of all who fear you and keep your commandments.

Monster of destruction,
blind, implacable fool!
How can you pretend to act from philanthropy,
when you sold the Myrrh for thirty silver pence?

The earth is full of your mercy, O Lord; teach me your statutes.

How much did they pay you
for the heavenly Myrrh?
What did you receive as price of the precious One?
You found raving madness, Satan, most accursed.

You have shown goodness to your servant, O Lord, according to your word.

If you suffered anguish
as a friend of the poor,
when for mercy on a soul precious myrrh was poured,
how, then, can you sell the fount of light for gold?

Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge, because I have believed your commandments.

‘O God’s Word, my gladness,
my Lord and my God,
how can I endure your burial for three days?
As a mother now my heart is torn with grief.’

Before I was disciplined I offended; for this reason I have kept your word.

‘Who will give me water,
give me fountains of tears,’
cried the Virgin bride of God, ‘that I may lament
and may weep for my sweet Jesus, who lies slain?’

You are good, O Lord, and in your goodness teach me your statutes.

‘Mountain heights and valleys,
all the whole human race,
come, all creatures, come lament and shed tears with me,
weep with me, who am the Mother of your God.’

The injustice of the proud has been heaped upon me, but with my whole heart I shall search out your commandments.

‘Saviour, light eternal,
the delight of my heart,
when shall I see you, my gladness, my only joy?’
cried the Virgin most afflicted in her grief.

Their heart has curdled like milk; but I have meditated on your law.

Like a rock, O Saviour,
sharp and flinty and hard,
you received the blow, but poured forth, as source of life,
streams of living water, bringing life to all.

It is good that you disciplined me, that I might learn your statutes.

As if from one fountain
as from only one spring,
from the double stream that flows from your side we drink,
and we pluck the fruit that grants immortal life.

The law of your mouth is good to me, beyond thousands of gold and silver.

By your will we see you,
as a corpse in the tomb,
but you live, O Word, and Saviour as you foretold,
by your Resurrection you raise mortal kind.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Word, we sing your praises,
as the Lord God of all,
with the Father and your most Holy Spirit, Lord,
and we glorify your burial divine.

Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Now we call you blessed,
All-Pure Mother of God,
and in faith we hold in honour and venerate
the three day entombment of your Son our God.