“Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You! Glory to God in the highest, and peace, good will on earth.” (Matins prayer)
All of the Orthodox Church services of worship begin with either the terms “bless,” or “glory.” We continually thank the almighty Lord for the blessings of grace showered upon us, His unworthy servants, and we return those blessings with our love. We also express our gratitude with songs of glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It reminds us of who we are in God’s eyes—made from dust to rise in glory and live with God forevermore, long past the time when time and the universe will end. In that sense, all our prayers are meditations about this profound mystery of life.
We may begin our prayer with some request; either for ourselves or those we love in need of immediate comfort or attention. Maybe a family or national tragedy brings us to our knees. As we continue to pray, whatever prayer, psalm or phrases we murmur, if the prayer is to be complete, we should rise with the reawakening of God’s constant blessings showered on us, and for which we give Him blessings and glory.
Glory is a term we use throughout our prayers. Glory describes and defines us. We are the glory people par excellence. We know why we give glory, and to Whom we give glory.
He is the One who has enlightened us. He it is who opens our spiritual eyes, and He it is Whom we see with the eyes of our souls. We perceive Him to be God, and we discern that He is not just One, but Three Persons in One Essence.
It means that His light beams down on the earth and brings peace to the world. The function of the Church is to radiate His light, peace and glory on the earth. If we truly are the glory people, joy will radiate from our parish, our homes, and our lives.
The above prayer of glory is found at the climax of the daily worship called “morning,” [Matins or orthros]. We have gone through the darkness of night, and we greet the light of dawn. Spiritually we begin with the lamp lighting prayer at the start of vespers, and we proclaim the joy of the evening light. Although it is now sunset when the natural light of daytime is extinguished, a spiritual lambent glow warms our souls and comforts our hearts with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Through the long prayers of nighttime we recapitulate the history of salvation from creation, Eden, sin, expulsion from paradise, continuing the arduous journey through time highlighted by the election of Israel, the passage into Egypt, the return to the Promised Land, nation building and fragmentation, exile in Babylon, homecoming, temple building, suppression by empires, promises of the coming messiah, His appearance, ministry, rejection by Israel, crucifixion, resurrection, sending of the Holy Spirit upon His apostles and disciples, then again in the language of worship the dawn of a mystical new day. Glory and illumination break through the night’s darkness and the sunrise is celebrated not in a pagan manner, with praises for the sun itself, but for the Son of truth and justice, the Son of God, the God-man Jesus Christ. All of that is the precious euphoria of our glory. Light, peace and understanding fill our hearts and energize us to begin a new day fresh and full of vigor to go forth and proclaim the glory of God from on high, and our intention to pass the peace that comes with Him to all with whom we come in touch on that wonder-filled new day.