Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight...
Categories: hymns, bushwalking-hiking, holy-week
Date: 09 April 2012 22:55:24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyrUVmOHnss
Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight,
and blessed is he whom He shall find watching;
but unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless.
Beware, therefore, O my soul, not to be weighed down with sleep,
lest you be given up to death, and be shut out from the Kingdom.
But rouse yourself crying:
"Holy, Holy, Holy are You Our God,
through the prayers of Theotokos have mercy on us."
As we Orthodox enter Holy Week, we have the beautiful Bridegroom Services from Great and Holy Monday to Wednesday, reflecting on Christ as the Bridegroom as per Christ's Parable of the Ten Virgins and Isaiah 54. The readings and hymns have a different focus for each of the three services, including Joseph the beloved son of Jacob, the cursing of the fig tree, the parable of the Ten Virgins, and the sinful woman who anointed the head of Jesus and Judas' response and fall, the hymns showing the contrast between them. They are beautiful services. We had a moment that sent the choir into laughter on Sunday evening; a huge storm swept through and the young son of the choir director yelled out in fright as a crack of thunder came unexpectedly; Father continued the hymns while the choir composed themselves.
Taking advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday, and after a few days mainly spent at home recovering, to escape I went on a bushwalk in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Unlike usual bushwalks, despite the beautiful scenery and creeks, small rapids and waterfalls, and narrow paths through the bush and on top of ridges, I still felt ill at ease and impatient and frustrated; such an odd feeling as nature usually helps to relax me. As the struggles of Great Lent enter their final week, it seems the fight against the misdirected passions of the body is becoming fiercer; may God grant me the patience, strength and wisdom to continue the journey to the Feast of Feasts, Pascha.
