Rhythms on the Nativity of Christ
Rhythms on the Nativity of Christ
continued
Rhythm 12.
1 THE Babe that I carry carrieth me, saith Mary, and He pp. 22, 23. hath lowered His wings, and taken and placed me between His pinions, and mounted into the air, and a promise has been given me that height and depth shall be my Son's. I have seen Gabriel that called him Lord, and the high priest the aged servant, that carried Him and bare Him. I have seen the Magi when they bowed down, and Herod when he was troubled because the King had come. Satan also Ex. 1, 16. who strangled the little ones that Moses might perish, murdered the little ones that the Living One might die. To Egypt He fled, who came to Judea that He might labour and wander there: he sought to catch the man that would catch Himself. In her virginity Eve put on the leaves of shame. Thy Mother put on in her Virginity the garment of Glory that sufficeth p. 51. for all. She gave the little vest of the Body to Him that covereth all. Blessed is she in whose heart and mind Thou p. 36. wast! A King's palace she was by Thee, O Son of the King, note y. and a Holy of Holies by Thee, O High Priest! She had not ref. 2. the trouble nor vexation of a family, or a husband! Eve, again, was a nest and a cave for the accursed serpent, that entered in and dwelt in her. His evil counsel became bread s adv. to her that she might become dust. Thou art our Bread, and Serut. 1. Thou art also [of] our race and our garment of glory. He that §. 5.
2 Men in all conditions invited hath sanctity, if he be in danger, lo! here is his Guardian! He that hath iniquity, lo! here is his Pardoner! He that hath a devil, here is the Pursuer thereof! They that have pains, lo! here is the Binder up of their breaches. He that hath a child, let him come and become a brother to my Well-Mat. 12, beloved! He that hath a daughter or a young woman of his race, let her come and become the bride of my Glorious One! He that hath a servant, let him set him free, that he may come and serve his Lord. The son of free men that beareth Thy yoke, my Son, shall have one reward; and the slave that beareth the burden of the yoke of two masters, that above and that below, there are two blessings for him, and two rewards of the two burdens. The free woman, my Son, is Thy handmaid: also if she who is in bondage serve Thee, in Thee she is free: in Thee she shall be comforted, because she is Cant. 2, freed; hidden apples in her bosom are stored up, if she love
3. Thee! Ochaste women, long ye for my Well-beloved, that He may dwell in you, and ye also that are impure that He may hallow you! ye Churches also, that the Son of the Creator Who came to renew all creatures, may adorn you! He freshened the foolish who worshipped and served all the stars, He freshened the earth which was worn out through Adam, who sinned and waxed old. The new formation was the creature of its Renewer, and the all-sufficient One repaired the bodies along with their wills. Come ye blind, and without money receive lights. Come ye lame, and receive your feet! ye deaf and dumb, receive your voice; come thou also whose hand is cut off; the maimed also shall receive his hands. It is the Son of This passage is to be observed as one of the many in which the Fathers encourage masters to set slaves free, although they pretty uniformly held (as St. E. here seems to do also) that slaves, if they had the choice, should use slavery rather. See Justiniani on 1 Cor. 7, 21.
4 See pp. 15, 33. On Gen. 49, 22. p. 113, he says, "As Jacob leaned upon Joseph instead of Reuben his firstborn; so instead of Adam the firstborn, and the embitterer, the world had one Son of its old age in the latter time of the same, that as upon a pillar the whole world might lean upon Him, and be stayed by Him. As he by the brethren and children, so the world, in the strength of our Lord, was supported by Prophets and Apostles. For Joseph was a wall of plenty to his brethren in the time of hunger, and our Lord a wall of knowledge to the world in the time of its errors." This passage is to be noticed as shewing that St. E. did not think a man with a distorted limb merely could be meant by the word employed in the text. 5 the Creator Whose treasure-houses are filled with all manner of helps. Let him that is without eyeballs come to Him that maketh clay and changeth it, that maketh flesh, that enlighteneth eyes. By the small quantity of clay He shews that it was with His hand that Adam was formed: the soul of the dead also beareth Him witness, that by Him it was that the breath of man was breathed in; by the last witnesses He was accredited to be the Son of Him Who is the First. Gather ye together and come, O ye lepers, and receive purification without labour. For He will not wash you as Elisha, who baptized seven times in the river: neither shall He annoy you as the priests did with their sprinklings. Foreigners and also strangers have betaken themselves to the great Physician; the rank of strangers hath no place with the King's Son; the Lord doth not make Himself strange to His servants, [or conceal] that He is Lord of all. For if the Just maketh the body leprous, and Thou purifiest it, then, the Former of the body hateth the body, but Thou lovest it. And if it be not Thy forming, being Just, Thou wouldest not have healed it, and if it were not Thy creature, when in health, Thou wouldest not have afflicted it. The punishments that Thou hast cast upon it, and the pains which Thou hast healed, proclaim that Thou art the Creator's Son.
Rhythm 13.
1 In the fifth year, the Sun glistened unto the earth. With its breath let it praise our Sun Who brought His breadth down low, and humbled His mightiness, that the subtle eye p. 27. of the unseen soul might be able to look upon Him. Blessed be His brightness! In the sixth year again, let the whole air praise Him with us, in whose wide space it is that all things are made glorious, which saw its mighty Lord that had become a little Child in a little bosom. Blessed be His dignity! In the seventh year, the clouds and winds rejoiced with us and sprinkled the dews over the flowers, for they saw the Son who enslaved His brightness and received disgrace and foul spitting. Blessed be His Redemption! In the year that is eighth also, let the fields give praise, S. wilderness that suckle their fruits from His fountains. They worshipped because they saw the Son in arms and the pure One sucking pp. 23, pure milk. Blessed be His good pleasure! 24.
2 In the ninth year, let the earth glorify the might of her Creator, Who laid seed in her in the beginning that she might bring forth all her produce; for it saw Mary, a thirsty p. 2. land, who yielded the fruit of a Child that was a wonder, yea, a marvel. [Then] it praised Him more exceedingly, for that He was a great Sea of all good things. To Him be exaltation! In the tenth year, let the mount Sinai glorify Him, it which trembled before its Lord. It saw that they took up stones against its Lord; He received stones, Who should build His Church upon a Stone. Blessed be His building! In the eleventh year, let the great sea praise the fists of the Son that measured it, and it was astonished and saw that He came down, was baptized in a small water, and cleansed the creatures. Blessed be His noble act!
3 In the twelfth year, let the holy Temple praise Him, that saw the Child when He sat amongst the old men: the priests were silent when the Lamb of the Feast bleated in His feast, p. 32. Blessed be His propitiation! In the thirteenth year, let the crowns praise with us the King who conquered, that died and was crowned with a crown of thorns, and bound upon Adam a great crown at His right hand. Blessed be His Apostleship! In the fourteenth year, let the passover in Egypt praise the Passover that came and passed over all, and instead of Pharaoh sunk the Legion, instead of horses choked the devil. Blessed be His vengeance! In the twenty-second year, let arms and the sword praise Thee: they sufficed not to kill our adversary. It was Thou that killed him, even Thou who didst fix the ear on, which Simon's sword cut off. Blessed be Thy healing!
4 In the twenty-third year, let the ass praise Him, that gave its foal for Him to ride on, that loosed the bonds, that opened the mouth of the dumb, that opened also the mouth of the wild asses when the race of Hagar gave a shout of praise. Blessed be the praise of Thee! In the twenty-fourth year, let the Treasury praise the Son. The treasures marvelled at the Lord of treasures, when in the house of the poor He was increasing, Who made Himself poor that He might enrich all. Blessed be Thy rule! In the twenty-fifth year, let Isaac praise the Son, for by His goodness he was rescued upon the Mount from the knife, and in his stead there was the victim, the type of the Lamb for the slaughter. The mortal escaped, and He that quickeneth all died. Blessed be His offering! In the twenty-sixth year, let Moses praise Him with us, for that he was afraid and fled from his murderers. Let him praise the Lord that bore the spear and that received the nails in His hands, in His feet. He entered into hell and spoiled it, and came forth. Blessed be Thy Resurrection!
5 In the year which is the twenty-seventh, let the eloquent speakers praise the Son, for they found no cloke to save our cause. He was silent in the judgment-hall, and He carried our cause. Honour be to Him! And in this year let Moses and Joshua praise Him, who, as being just men, killed the ungodly; let them praise the Son who died for the wicked, as being good. Though Son of the Just One, He gave them all manner of good things in abundance. Blessed be His bowels of mercy! In the eight and twentieth year, let all mighty men of valour praise the Son, because they delivered not from him who took us captive. He only is to be praised, who being slain shewed us life. Blessed be His delivery! In the twenty-ninth year, let Job praise Him with us, who bore sufferings for himself, and our Lord bore for us the spitting and the spear, and the crown of thorns, and scourges, contempt and reproach, yea mocking. Blessed be His mercy!
6 In the year that is thirtieth, let the dead praise Him with us, because they are quickened, and the living, because they have turned to repentance, because height and depth were set at one by Him. Blessed be He and His Father!