Ornament - Burning Bush
Materials - Scrap booking stickers from Hobby Lobby - a tree (removed the trunk) and a camp fire (removed the logs)
Read Exodus 3:1-20
(Vespers for 11th Sunday after Pentecost)
The shadow of the law passed away when grace arrived; for, as the bush wrapped in flame did not burn,
so did the Virgin give birth and yet remain a virgin. In place of the pillar of fire, the Sun of
righteousness hath shone forth. Instead of Moses, Christ is come, the salvation of our souls.
-St Romanos the Melodist - On the Annunciation
I see I am not able to understand, for it passes human understanding. How is the bush that endures fire
not consumed? How does the lamb endure the lion, or the swallow the eagle, and the servant his
Master? In mortal womb, in a manner uncircumscribed, Mary bears my Savior as He wills it, So that
every man may proclaim "A virgin gives birth, and after the birth remains a virgin."
-portion of Prayer of Preparation for Holy Communion by St. Symeon the New Theologian)
And rejoicing and trembling at once,
I who am straw partake of fire,
And, strange wonder!
I am ineffably bedewed,
Like the bush of old
Which burnt without being consumed.
- St Nilus of Mt Sinai
If Moses was forbidden to approach the earthly burning bush until he had loosed his sandals from off
his feet (Exodus 3:5), how can you not cast away from yourself every passionate thought when you
wish to see Him, Who is above all feeling and thought, and to converse with Him?
From the Prologue from Ohrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, December 3
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
Brethren, whatever God desires to reveal to men is revealed, and whatever He does not desire to reveal
remains concealed. Moses, the one who beheld God, could say nothing more about heaven than that in
the beginning God created it. Having said that, he continued to describe in detail the creation of the
earth. Why does Moses not speak in detail about the creation of heaven? Because God did not want to
reveal any more to him, since the men of his time were neither mature enough nor capable of
understanding heavenly matters beyond their senses. Only when many centuries had passed and God's
New Testament had come to men, did God reveal much more of the heavenly world to His faithful and
chosen ones. Only Christians began to see the heavens opened. St. John the Theologian bears witness
to this: After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven (Revelation 4:1). St. Stephen the
Protomartyr witnesses: Behold, I see the heavens opened (Acts 7:56). The Apostle Paul, who was
caught up to the third heaven … and heard unspeakable words (II Corinthians 12:2, 4), speaks of the
angelic choirs, about the thrones, dominions, principalities and powers, and says: All things were
created by Him, and for Him (Colossians 1:16). His disciple, St. Dionysius, describes the celestial
hierarchy in as great a detail as Moses describes the earthly world at its creation. This is how the
unfathomable wisdom of God wanted it; that which God did not wish to reveal to Moses, He revealed
to the apostles and their followers. What could not be told to children is told to mature men. The
revelation of mysteries came through spiritual maturity.
Here is a beautiful lesson for us all. Let us be diligent in seeking the truth, still more diligent in
purifying our hearts, patient in waiting, and unwavering in faith that God will give us everything in due
time, in the way and to the measure necessary for our salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment