The Shepherd, September 2009
“COME, YE FAITHFUL,
LET US WORSHIP THE LIFE-CREATING TREE”
BY THE VENERABLE THEODORE THE STUDITE, + 826 A.D.
THE PRESENT DAY is a day of joy and gladness; now there is set before us the sign of joy, the most holy Tree. O, most precious gift! This is not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, like that in Eden. No, this Tree is in very truth one of splendour and great beauty, for this Tree imparts life unto us and not death; it illumines us and does not cast us into gloom; it leads us into Eden and does not cast us out therefrom. This tree, on which Christ mounted, has shamed the devil, who had the power of death, and has freed the race of man from its wretched enslavement to him. This Tree is that on which Jesus Christ, like some champion gladiator, - though wounded in His hands, His feet and side during the engagement, - healed the wounds of sin in people, that is - in our nature which had been mercilessly struck down by that serpent who harms all. This is that Tree, on which the Blood of the Master was spilled, whereby the demons are cast down and the world is enlightened....
Who would not hasten here to delight in this longed-for sight? The Angels themselves meet this festival with joy; the Apostles, the assembly of the Prophets, the choir of the Martyrs, the whole company of the righteous rejoice with us, for is it at all possible that they should not all be filled with joy at the sight of this sign of victory, with which they themselves, imitating Jesus Christ, conquered the forces of the enemy? Even irrational nature itself, illumined with heavenly glory, feels within itself a certain joy, because through the suffering on the Cross of Jesus Christ; in all things there was effected a change unto the good....
For this cause, David cries out: Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet; for He is holy (Ps.98:5), and the Wisdom of Solomon proclaims: Blessed is the wood by which righteousness cometh (Wis. 14:7). For this cause too, the Church is now shown to possess in her midst the Tree of Life from Paradise, by which there is no longer a seducer, a demon, but on the contrary Angels of the Lord Almighty, who open unto us access to the tree of the Cross which has sprung up. Now worship is rendered unto the Holy Cross, and the Resurrection of Christ is proclaimed. Now the Tree is revered which has granted us life, and the whole world is moved to glorification. Now we keep festival in memory of the three-barred Cross, and the four corners of the world respond with joy to the keeping of this festal day. How beautiful are the feet of them that .... bring glad tidings of good things! (Rom. 10:15). Blessed are those eyes which witness this celebration of universal peace, - those lips which kiss this most cherished sign. Particular Grace is imparted unto all: the ever-flowing spring is manifest, from which flows sanctification, and no one is prohibited from access to this abundant source. The pure man it makes yet purer, and he who is defiled with the stains of loathsomeness it makes clean. The one who is careless and distracted it subordinates to its teaching; the one who is of a brutal disposition or is proud, it pacifies, and in general whoever approaches with a firm intention to correct his life, it does not reject, but it grants such an one Divine powers which are effectual unto life and piety.
By our contemplation of the life-creating wood of the Cross, healing is granted to the eyes of the one, who was led astray in Paradise by gazing upon the tree which brought death. By touching this wood with our lips, and setting it before our eyes, we are thereby set free from the tasting and touching of that tree which brought death. O, how great is the gift which is now presented in our festival! O, unspeakable beatitude! Once we were brought to death by a tree; now through the Tree we receive life. Formerly we were led astray by a tree, now through the Tree we banish that serpent of old. In very truth, the change is both wondrous and most glorious! In place of death, it grants us life; in place of corruption, incorruption; in place of dishonour, glory. And therefore it is not without reason that the Holy Apostle exclaims: [But God forbid] that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified to ma, and I unto the world (Gal. 6:14). From the Cross there shines forth the most exalted wisdom, which throws the proud wisdom of the world into shame, and manifests its unseemliness. The countless benefactions, granted us through the Cross, trample upon the seed of the malice of impiety. Every manifestation or depiction of this Tree was, from the very beginning of the world, a proclamation aforetime and a forerunner of great happenings.
|
