Ancient

Jesus, touch our eyes

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Andrey Mironov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 
Lord Jesus, touch our eyes,
    as you did those of the blind;
then we shall see
    in things that are visible
    those things which are invisible.

Lord Jesus, open our ears,
     heal our wounds and purify our lives,
     as you did those who came to you;
then we shall hear and perceive what is true
     amidst the sounds of the world,
     and find wholeness in ourselves.

after Origen, 185—254, Alexandrian Theologian
 
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They came to Bethsaida, 
    and some people brought a blind man 
    and begged Jesus to touch him. 
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. 
When he had spit on the man’s eyes 
    and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 
    “Do you see anything?”
He looked up and said, 
    “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. 
Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, 
    and he saw everything clearly.
 

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Who are you, that you love us so much?

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Francesco Londonio ~1750, photo by Dall’Orto, via Wikimedia Commons
 
How meek you are, Jesus, yet how mighty!
Your judgment is mighty, but your love is sweet.
Who can stand against you?
 
If we seek who you really are, your true nature is hidden in heaven,
    in the essence of the mighty Triune God.
But if a person were to seek your face,
    they could have found you in the lap of Mary.
 
Who can realize your depth, 
    you who are a great sea that made itself so small?
We come to see you as God, and see?
    You are a man!
Or if we came to see you as a man,
    the light of your Godhead shone brightly.
 
Who would believe that you are the heir of David’s throne?
From all his beds, you inherited an animal’s feeding trough.
From his palaces you received a cave.
And instead of his chariots, a young donkey.
 
How fearless you are, 
    allowing everyone to carry you in their arms.
You met all with a smile, 
    making no distinctions between family and stranger,
    between your mother and others.
 
Was it your love – you, who love all?
What moved you to let everyone have you,
    the rich and the poor alike?
How could you not return anger for anger, 
    fear for threat?
You are above returning injury for injury.
 
Who are you, Jesus, that you love us so much?
Amen.
 
Ephrem the Syrian, c.306-373, Syrian hymn writer and theologian
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And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 
She gave birth to her firstborn son. 
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, 
    because there was no lodging available for them.

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Decorate our homes with your goodness

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Highland Hospitality, John Frederick Lewis, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord, we want to invite you into our homes.
So we decorate them with giving to the needy, with prayers, with requests,
    and with vigils that focus increasingly on the needs of others.
There are the decorations of Christ the King.
 
We are not ashamed then of having a humble house,
    if it has this kind of furniture.
 
But the decorations that come from unstoppable greed
    are the enemy of Christ.
May those of us who are rich not pride ourselves 
    on having an expensive home.
Rather let us hide our faces, turn away from greed,
    and seek the other kind of decoration.
 
In so doing let us receive Christ in this life on earth,
    and there enjoy the eternal home,
by the grace and love you have for us in Jesus Christ,
    to whom be glory and might, world without end, amen.
 
John Chrysostom, c.349-407, Archbishop of Constantinople
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He said also to the man who had invited him, 
    “When you give a dinner or a banquet, 
        do not invite your friends or your brothers
         or your relatives or rich neighbors, 
    lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, 
    the crippled, the lame, the blind, 
    and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. 
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
 

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Equip us to fight the enemy

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Do not let us avoid the reading of the diving Scriptures, Lord.
For that would be Satan’s devising – not wanting us to see the treasure,
    otherwise we would gain the riches.
So he would say that hearing the divine laws means nothing.
Otherwise, if we did, we might become doers of the word,
    as well as hearers.
Knowing then his evil plan, Lord, 
    let us fortify ourselves against him on every side.
Fenced with this kind of armor,
    we can live unconquered lives,
    as well as strike a heavy blow to his head.
Then, crowned with glorious wreaths of victory, 
    we can attain the good things to come,
    by the grace and love towards others of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    to whom be glory and might for ever and ever, Amen.
 
John Chrysostom, c. 347- 407
 
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Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness 
    to be tempted by the devil. 
And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 
And the tempter came and said to him, 
“If you are the Son of God, 
    command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 
But he answered, “It is written,
    “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
        but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

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Glory to the Trinity

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Trinity image / Metropolitan Museum of Art / public domain
 
Grant, O God, of your mercy, that we may come to everlasting life,
    and there beholding your glory as it is, may equally say:
Glory to the Father who created us,
Glory to the Son who redeemed us,
Glory to the Holy Spirit who sanctified us.
Glory to the most high and undivided Trinity, 
    whose works are inseparable,
    whose kingdom without end abides,
    from age to age forever.
Amen.
 
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354 – 430 
 
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
    and the love of God, 
    and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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This is Jesus Christ

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image / pixabay
 
Born as a Son,
led forth as a Lamb,
sacrificed as a Sheep,
buried as a Man,
He rose from the dead as a God,
for He was by nature God and man.

He is all things:
He judges, and so he is Law;
He teaches, and so he is Wisdom;
He saves, and so he is Grace;
He begets, and so he is Father;
He is begotten, and so he is Son;
He suffers, and so he is Sacrifice;
He is buried, and so he is man;
He rises again, and so he is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.
 
Melito of Sardis, d. 180, Bishop of Sardis
 
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The Good News is about his Son.
In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 
and he was shown to be the Son of God 
when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

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