I would
like to conclude this commentary series on the Divine Liturgy (or at least the
first part of the Liturgy, the so-called “Liturgy of the Catechumens”) with a
reflection on the reading of the Gospel. In the Liturgy, after the reader
chants the prokeimenon and the epistle, the Gospel lesson is then chanted. But
it is not chanted without a somewhat elaborate preparation. Prior to the priest
taking the Gospel book from the altar table and giving it to the deacon who
will read it, the Gospel is censed from all four sides. The Church recognizes
the holiness of objects by censing them, so that it censes the holy icons on
the icon-screen before the start of the service, the holy Gifts of bread and
wine before they are moved to the altar table, and the holy people of God as
they assemble for worship. In the same way the holy Gospel book is also censed
before it is picked up because the book represents Christ—we show our reverence
for Him by showing reverence to the volume containing His words.
It is
easy to miss the significance of this censing, since (for some reason unknown
to me) the deacon censes not only the Gospel book but also the interior of the altar,
the people within the altar, the icons on the icon-screen, and the people
standing in the nave. The rationale for the censing is thus easy to lose sight
of, as one might suppose the deacon is censing the altar table along with
pretty much everything else in church. But he is not censing the altar table;
he is censing the Gospel book, which happens to be resting on top of the altar
table. The focus and rationale for this censing is even easier to lose if the
comprehensive censing is done during the reading of the epistle, for one might
then imagine that the censing has something to do with the epistle. It does
not. It has nothing to do with the epistle, and everything to do with the
Gospel.
The
censing of the Gospel book at this point shows the importance of the reading.
The epistle is important too, but we do not cense the epistle-book before
reading it. The Gospel book, alone among the books we use, is censed before
being read. This reveals the supreme importance of those words—among all the
other holy words, these words represent the Holy of Holies, the very words of
the Master, the ipsissima vox of Christ Himself, and in them Christ even now
stands in our midst to speak to our hearts.
Hearing
these words brings with it a tremendous responsibility, for we will no longer
be able to claim ignorance of the divine will if we fail to carry it out. The
Lord warned us, “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48), and
once we receive the gift of hearing the words of Christ, we will be required to
fulfill them. We need therefore to let these words sink not just into our outer
ears, but also into our inner hearts. That is why in every Christian liturgical
tradition a prayer precedes the reading of the Gospel, asking that we might be
worthy of hearing it. The Gospel prayer in our present Liturgy asks that God
might illumine our hearts with the pure light of His divine knowledge and open
the eyes of our mind to the understanding of His Gospel teachings so that we
might think and do such things as are well-pleasing to Him. The prayer, too
often said silently, is clearly meant to be said aloud, for it represents not
the private devotional prayer of the priest, but the prayer of the entire congregation
about to hear the words of the Gospel. It is only after that prayer is said
that the deacon dares to read the Gospel to the people of God.
To do
this, he stands among them, not reading the Gospel from the ambo at the front
of the Church facing the people, but standing in their very midst. That is
because it is not the deacon who speaks so much as Christ Himself, dwelling in
the midst of His assembled people, and speaking His words. We honour the Lord
who thus manifests Himself in our midst by holding candles before the book
containing His words, standing as a kind of honour guard around Him. The psalm
sung as a prokeimenon between the epistle and the Gospel always has as its
refrain the cry, “Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!”, because the words of the Lord
always produce joy in the hearts of those who hear them with faith.
Before
reading the Gospel, the deacon asks for a blessing, since he is mindful of the
importance of the work he is about to do. The celebrant responds by blessing
him as he requested, asking that God, through the prayers of the Evangelist
whose book he is about to read, may indeed enable him to proclaim the good news
with great power, fulfilling the purpose of the Gospel. It is only after
receiving this priestly blessing that the deacon reads the Gospel. And the
people also require a blessing to hear the words of Christ fruitfully: the
priest therefore blesses them also, saying, “Peace be unto all!” The words of
Christ are chanted to the cry, “Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You!”, for these
are not the words of someone long dead, but those of One even now alive in
their midst.
All this
extra ritual emphasizes something fundamental, not only about the Gospel
reading, but also about the Liturgy as a whole—that in the Liturgy, Christ Himself
comes to meet and transform us. Liturgy is not like a funeral, wherein someone
offers a eulogy praising someone no longer among them. It is a banquet given by
our divine Host who sits among us as we come to His festal table. Even more
than that, Christian Liturgy represents the voice of Christ Himself, praising
His Father from the midst of His people. That was the insight of the writer of
Hebrews 2:11f: the verse from Psalm 22:22, “In the midst of the church I will
sing hymns to You” finds its fulfillment in Christ. In the midst of the Church
He sings our hymns to the Father, for we are His Body. He stands among us, in
the midst of His lampstands (Revelation 1:13), healing us with His Word,
feeding us with His Body and Blood. Every Liturgy is our saving rendezvous with
this ever-living and saving Son of God.
By Fr. Lawrence Farley
Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/nootherfoundation/commentary-divine-liturgy-gospel/
CONVERSATION