In the beginning...

An imaginary Sermon: Matins for the Sunday of the Resurrection

Psalms 148, 149, 150
Exodus 12:1-14
St. John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

In the Divine Liturgy, we are accustomed to hearing this on the First Sunday after Christmas Day. In that context, it is the Incarnation as considered from a distance of many years. The angels singing Gloria in excelsis Deo, the shepherds coming “with haste, and [finding] Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger” (St. Luke 2:16) – all this has come and gone, and St. John, now an old man, seeks to find words to write about the Word, the Logos. He knew the stories of the Incarnation from the most direct of sources: St. Mary the Virgin, who had treasured all these things in her heart and whom her Son had entrusted to him as a Mother. But now St. John knew that he must say more; he must find a way to tell us what it meant, and still means. By the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he tells us that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

That Incarnation, that being “made flesh and [dwelling] among us,” led by a straight path to the Cross. And this is why we hear the Prologue to the Gospel according to St. John on the morning of Easter Day. It is upon the Cross that we “beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” St. John here declares the theme that permeates his Gospel: this Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, shows us who God is, and the message is most fully writ as he hangs upon the Cross:

... in the grace that rescued man
his brightest form of glory shines;
here, on the cross, 'tis fairest drawn
in precious blood and crimson lines.
(“Nature with open volume stands,” Hymn 434)

Thus it is that the corn of wheat falls to the ground, in order that it bear much fruit (12:24).

... as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (3:14)

The corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies. But a new thing springs forth, for this “love is strong as death” (Song of Solomon 8:6). “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Not in any sense of the word: the powers of darkness had no comprehension of what, or Who, was before them. Nor could all the powers of Death encompass or overcome this Light:

... it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (Acts 2:24-27).

Christ is the first-fruits of this new thing, the Blessing promised to Abraham, a Seed in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed (Genesis 22:18). We spoke of this in the Pascha nostrum (BCP p. 46) a few moments ago, quoting from St. Paul:

Christ is risen from the dead,
and become the first fruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Alleluia.

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me is love,” says Solomon (Song of Solomon 2:4). As soon as this Office of Matins is completed, the Holy Eucharist, the marriage supper of the Lamb, is at hand: “Come and dine,” he tells us (St. John 21:12). For “this month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year unto you.” (Exodus 12:2) “This day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it as an ordinance for ever.” (v. 14)

Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.
Praise ye the LORD.
(Psalm 150:4-6)