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The Entry into Jerusalem,
Bodleian Library, Oxford, |
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The Entry into Jerusalem,
Bodleian Library, Oxford, |
Andrew of Jerusalem, Oratio 9 in ramos psalmarum, PG 97, 990-994.
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FROM
A
SERMON
[on
PALM
SUNDAY] |
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. blessed is the King of Israel. |
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| Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he returns from Bethany and proceeds of his own free will toward his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. | ἀλλά μοι δεῦρο, συναναβάντες ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τῶν ἐλαιῶν, Χριστῷ συναντήσωμεν ἐκ βηθανίας ἐπανιόντι σήμερον, καὶ πρὸς τὸ σεπτὸν ἐκεῖνο καὶ μακάριον ἐθελουσίως χωροῦντι πάθος, ἵνα πέρας ἐπιθῇτῷ μυστηρίῳ τῆς ἡμῶν σωτηρίας. |
| He who came down from heaven to raise us from the depths of sin, to raise us with himself, we are told in Scripture, above every sovereignty, authority and power, and every other name that can be named, now comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem. | ἔρχεται τοίνυν τὴν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ πορείαν. στελλόμενος ἐθελοντὶ, ὁ δι' ἡμᾶς κατελθὼν ἄνωθεν, ἵνα ημᾶς ἑαυτῷ συνυφώσῃ κάτω κειμένους, ὡς ἡ ἐκφαντορία, <ὑπεράνω πάσης αρχῆς, καὶ ἐξουσιν́ας, καὶ δυνάμεως, καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου. > |
| He comes without pomp or ostentation. As the psalmist says: He will not dispute or raise his voice to make it heard in the streets. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity. | ἔρχεται δὲ,᾿ οὺ φανητιῶν οὐδὲ κομπάζων· < οὐκ ἐρίσει φησὶν, οὐδὲ κραυγάσει, οὐδὲ ἀκούσει τις τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ· > ἀλλὰ πρᾶος καὶ ταπεινὸς εὐτελῆ τὴν εἵσοδον ἐνδεικνὺμενος. |
| Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us. | ἄγε δὴ καὶ πρὸς τὸ παθεῖν ἐπειγομένῳ συντρέχωμεν, καὶ τοὺς ἀπηντηκότας μιμώμεθα, μὴ κλάδους ἐλαίας ἢ ἔπιπλα, μὴ βαΐα καταστρωννύντες αὐτοῦ τῇ ὁδῷ, ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπυστρωννύντες ὡς ἐφικτὸν, ψυχῆς ταπεινότητι καὶ γνώμης ὀρθότητι, ἴν' ἥκοντα τὸν λόγον δεξώμεθα, καὶ χωρηθῇ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν ὁ μηδομοῦ χωρούμενος. |
| In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. | χαίρει γὰρ οὕτω πρᾶος ἡμίν γενόμενος, ὁ πρᾶος καὶ < ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ δυσμῶν > τὴς ἡμετέρας ἐσχατιᾶς, ἥκειν τε καὶ ὁμιλεῖν, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀνάγειν ἢ ἐπανάγειν, τῷ λόγῳ τῆς συμφυϊας. |
| And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens - the proof, surely, of his power and godhead - his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven. | ὃς εἱ καὶ τῇ ἀπαρχῇ τοῦ ἡμετέρου φυρὰματος < ἑπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατ' ἀνατολὰς > λέγεται, τῆς οἰκείας, οἶμαι, δόξης καὶ θεότητος· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀνήσει φιλάνθωπος ὢν, πρὶν < ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν > τὴν ἀνθρώπου φύσιν χαμόθεν ἄρας, ἑαυτῷ συναποδείξῃ μετάρσιον. |
| So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. | οὕτως ὑποστρωτέον ἡμᾶς ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Χριστῷ, μὴ χιτῶας ἢ κλάδους ἀψύχους, καὶ φυτῶν ὄρπηκας, ὕλην μαραινομένην, καὶ εἰς ὤρας ὀλίγας τὸ τερπνὸν τῆς ὄψεως ἔχουσσαν· ἀλλ' αοὐτοῦ τὴν χάραν, ἣ ὄλον αὐτὸν ἐνδυσάμενοι· < ὅσοι γὰρ εἰς Χριστὸν βεβαπτίσμεθα [ Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε, >] χιτώνων δίκην ἑαυτοὺς ὑφαπλωσωμεν. |
| Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of his victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the children’s holy song: | ὡς δὲ φοινικοὶ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν πρότερον, τῇ ῥύψει δὲ τῆς νίκης βραδεῖα τῷ νικητῇ τοῦ θανάτου προσάγωμεν. Εἴπωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς σήμερον μετὰ τῶν παίδων τὴν ἱερὰν ἐκείνην φωνὴν, τοὺς νοητοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπισείοντες κλάδους· |
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel. |
< εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου, βασιλεὺς τοῦ ἰσραήλ. > |
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This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 2004
