The Lord teaches the humble his way. – He guides the gentle-hearted along the right path. READINGS First reading From the book of the prophet Zechariah 9:1–10:2 Salvation is promised to Zion An oracle: The word of the Lord is upon the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting place, For the cities of Aram are the Lord’s, as are all the tribes of Israel, Hamath also, on its border, Tyre too, and Sidon, however wise they be. Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the mire of the streets. Lo, the Lord will strip her of her possessions, and smite her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire. Ashkelon shall see it and be afraid; Gaza also: she shall be in great anguish; Ekron, too, for her hope shall come to nought. The king shall disappear from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited, and the baseborn shall occupy Ashdod. I will destroy the pride of the Philistine and take from his mouth his bloody meat, and his abominations from between his teeth: He also shall become a remnant for our God, and shall be like a family in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites. I will encamp by my house as a guard, that none may pass to and fro; No oppressor shall pass over them again, for now I have regard for their affliction. Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; The warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, for the blood of your covenant with me, I will bring forth your prisoners from the dungeon. In the return to the fortress of the waiting prisoners, This very day, I will return you double for your exile. For I will bend Judah as my bow, I will arm myself with Ephraim; I will arouse your sons, O Zion, [against your sons, O Yavan,] and I will use you as a warrior’s sword. The Lord shall appear over them, and his arrow shall shoot forth as lightning; The Lord God shall sound the trumpet, and come in a storm from the south. The Lord of hosts shall be a shield over them, they shall overcome sling stones and trample them underfoot; They shall drink blood like wine, till they are filled with it like libation bowls, like the corners of the altar. And the Lord, their God, shall save them on that day, his people, like a flock. For they are the jewels in a crown raised aloft over his land. For what wealth is theirs, and what beauty! grain that makes the youths flourish, and new wine, the maidens! Ask of the Lord rain in the spring season! It is the Lord who makes storm clouds, And sends men the pouring rain; for everyone, grassy fields. For the teraphim speak nonsense, the diviners have false visions: Deceitful dreams they tell, empty comfort they offer. This is why they wander like sheep, wretched: they have no shepherd. RESPONSORY Zechariah 9:9; John 12:14 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Jerusalem. – Look now, your king, the just one who will save you, is coming; he is lowly and seated on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus found a donkey and mounted it, as Scripture says: – Look now, your king, the just one who will save you, is coming; he is lowly and seated on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Second reading From a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop Behold, your king is coming to you, the Holy One, the Savior Let us say to Christ: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Let us hold before him like palm branches those final words inscribed above the cross. Let us show him honor, not with olive branches but with the splendor of merciful deeds to one another. Let us spread the thoughts and desires of our hearts under his feet like garments, so that entering us with the whole of his being, he may draw the whole of our being into himself and place the whole of his in us. Let us say to Zion in the words of the prophet: Have courage, daughter of Zion, do not be afraid. Behold, your king comes to you, humble and mounted on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. He is coming who is everywhere present and pervades all things; he is coming to achieve in you his work of universal salvation. He is coming who came to call to repentance not the righteous but sinners, coming to recall those who have strayed into sin. Do not be afraid, then: God is in the midst of you, and you shall not be shaken. Receive him with open, outstretched hands, for it was on his own hands that he sketched you. Receive him who laid your foundations on the palms of his hands. Receive him, for he took upon himself all that belongs to us except sin, to consume what is ours in what is his. Be glad, city of Zion, our mother, and fear not. Celebrate your feasts. Glorify him for his mercy, who has come to us in you. Rejoice exceedingly, daughter of Jerusalem, sing and leap for joy. Be enlightened, be enlightened, we cry to you, as holy Isaiah trumpeted, for the light has come to you and the glory of the Lord has risen over you. What kind of light is this? It is that which enlightens every man coming into the world. It is the everlasting light, the timeless light revealed in time, the light manifested in the flesh although hidden by nature, the light that shone round the shepherds and guided the Magi. It is the light that was in the world from the beginning, through which the world was made, yet the world did not know it. It is that light which came to its own, and its own people did not receive it. And what is this glory of the Lord? Clearly it is the cross on which Christ was glorified, he, the radiance of the Father’s glory, even as he said when he faced his passion: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him, and will glorify him at once. The glory of which he speaks here is his lifting up on the cross, for Christ’s glory is his cross and his exultation upon it, as he plainly says: When I have been lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. RESPONSORY Psalm 118:26, 27, 23 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. – The Lord our God has let his light shine upon us. The Lord has done this, and it is wonderful to our eyes. – The Lord our God has let his light shine upon us.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:17:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015