Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC
April 14, 2023
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On Christmas Day, the feast of the Nativity, we saw him born in a cave, in the silence of the night, when the whole world became still at his presence. We saw him sleeping in peace, cradled in his Mother’s arms. And yet we knew that, in this tiny form, the fullness of the divinity dwelt, and though he slept in his infant flesh, as God he was ever active, arranging and sustaining the world.
Today, we see him asleep again—not in an obscure cave, but on a high hill, displayed before all the world. He has not fallen asleep at midnight, but in the strength of the day. And the creation, instead of falling silent, roars and rocks: the sky darkens and the mountains quake.
And yet we still find him in his Mother’s arms. At his Nativity, she was full of serene joy; today, her face is streaked with tears. Perhaps she once sang him a lullaby; today, she addresses him with a lament. Saint Simeon Metaphrastes gives voice to her pain:
“‘I see thee bruised and wounded, without glory, stripped upon the Cross, O my Child, and my heart burns,’ said the Virgin, sorrowing with a mother’s grief.”
Even here, even at the end, we find Christ in the lap of his Mother.
At the Nativity, we joined her in her joy; today, let us join her in her sorrow. In place of newborn life, we see a lifeless corpse, and yet he is our God all the same. Let us join his Mother in her sorrow, and also in her sorrowful adoration. Again, Saint Simeon imparts to us the words of the Virgin’s grief:
“Where, O my Son and God, are the good tidings of the Annunciation that Gabriel brought me? He called thee King and God and Son of the Most High; and now, O my sweet Light, I behold thee naked, wounded, lifeless.”
“My Son, how art thou laid in a narrow tomb, who dost by thy command raise all the dead from the tomb?”
At the Nativity, heaven’s host appeared in the vault of the sky, and we on earth joined in their song. Today, however, no legion of angels has made its appearance; the only sounds we hear are the click of the soldiers’ dice as they gamble for his raiment and the mournful song of the grieving Mother.
Of course, we know that this is not the end of the story. And Saint Simeon suggests that, among her tears, the Virgin, too, hears the voice of the Son whom she bore without corruption:
“ ‘How hast thou not seen the depths of my tender love?’ said the Lord to the pure Virgin. ‘Because I wish to save my creature, I have accepted to die. But I shall rise again and as God I shall magnify thee in heaven and on earth.’”
Or, in the words of Saint Cosmas:
“Do not lament me, O Mother, seeing me in the tomb, the Son conceived in thy womb without seed, for I shall arise and be glorified with eternal glory as God, and I shall exalt all who magnify thee in faith and in love.”
In a mystical manner, the Son assures his Mother that his apparent absence is temporary; he shall soon return. Though he keeps the Sabbath rest in the flesh, with his soul he has gone down to hades to rescue the righteous and break the power of death forever.
And when he returns, he shall both glorify his Mother and bless all those honor her.
Hearing these promises, let us stay close to the sorrowful Mother. Let us stay by her side and share her grief in the quiet desolation of Holy Saturday.
And on Sunday, in the deep dawn, the Mother now filled with sorrow shall be the first to behold her Son’s Resurrection. The myrrh-bearers will be met by angels; Magdalene will meet him in a garden and become confused. But according the holy Tradition of the Church, Christ, breaking the seals, first goes to see his Mother.
And so, if we stay by her side, we shall witness that bright return together with her. “We shall clearly hear him say, ‘Rejoice.’” And we shall receive the reward he promises to all who love the Virgin who gave him birth.
Today, Christ sleeps so that he might awaken the sleepers; he lays aside his glory to grant the glory of immortality and incorruption to fallen man. Through the prayers of the Theotokos, may we, too, be made worthy of such an awakening and such glories. May she, through her intercessions, give us the strength to stay by her side during these holy days of Christ’s Pascha, and through her mediation may we one day reach the eternal Pascha, the Supper of the Lamb, where she is magnified and he is adored unto the endless ages.
To Our Lady the Theotokos, the one who gave birth to Jesus Christ, be glory and praise from generation to generation. And to her Son, the Word of the Father and the Child of the Virgin, who accepted death in the flesh and burial in the body for the sake of our salvation, be all glory and adoration, together with his Father and the All-holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.