16. THE ANAPHORA- PART 2-
ETERNAL CHRISTMAS – EXCHANGE OF GIFTS (5-23-2004; 3-3-2019)
Remember last Sunday when we hoped that God would lift us out of this severe winter cold and snow? I don’t think God heard us or He just responded, “Not yet!” Remember last Sunday when we talked about the first part of the Anaphora in the Divine Liturgy as a “lifting up” and “return” bread and wine of the Holy Gifts? In actuality, it is we who are elevated and brought back to the Lord as the priest petitions “Let us lift up our hearts” and the people respond, “We lift them up to You!” How appropriate as we approach the doorstep of Great and Holy Lent--our journey to Pascha and our return to Paradise of communion with God. Today, in the second part of the Anaphora we examine the actual lifting up of the Holy Gifts.
Thus, after the faithful complete the “Holy, holy, holy…” hymn, and the priest finishes the Eucharistic Prayer, he points to the Gifts and repeats the words of Jesus Christ as said to His disciples at the Last/Mystical Supper:
Take eat, this is my Body, which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins. Amen (Mt.26:26; Mk.14:22; Lk.22:19; 1Cor.11:24).
Likewise, after the supper, He took the cup and said…(Basil – Likewise, He took the cup of the fruit of the vine, and having mingled it, offering thanks, blessing and sanctifying it):
Drink of this all of you, this is My Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Amen (Mt.26:27-28;Mk.14:23-24; Lk.22:20; 1Cor.11:25)
Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior, and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious coming. (Basil - Do this in remembrance of Me [Lk.22:20] For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim my death [1Cor.11:26], and you confess my resurrection. Therefore, Master, we also remembering His saving passion and life-giving cross, His three-day burial and resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven and enthronement at Your right hand, God and Father, and His glorious and awesome second coming.)
We offer to You this gifts, from Your own gifts in all and for all. [The priest, with arms crossed, raises the chalice and paten; the faithful kneel]
‘These gifts’ are of course, the bread and wine. ‘Your own gifts’ are the wheat and grapes that the bread and wine are made from. However, ‘in all’ implies ‘all things’ and tells us that everything we have in this life is a gift from God. Our offering is not individual—just between me and God. Rather, it is a corporate or community act. ‘For all’ implies for all people. It is personal and communal. Therefore, in this little phrase is summed up the meaning and purpose of the Christian life--to acknowledge all things in life as a gift from God, to take a portion of those gifts and fashion them in a glorious manner and offer them back to God with thanksgiving. (Greek – Eufcharistia)
Once again, we offer to You this worship without the shedding of blood. And we ask, pray, and entreat You: send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here presented…(Basil – Therefore, most holy Master, we also, Your sinful and unworthy servants, whom You have made worthy to serve at Your holy altar, not because of our own righteousness (for we have not done anything good upon the earth), but because of Your mercy and compassion, which You have so richly poured upon us, we dare to approach Your holy altar, and bring forth the symbols of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ. We pray to You and call upon You, O Holy of Holies, that by the favor of Your goodness, Your holy Spirit may come upon us and upon the gifts here presented, to bless, sanctify and make.
And make this Bread to be the precious Body of Your Christ. Amen. (Basil – of our Lord, God and Savior)
And that which is in this Cup to be the precious Blood of Your Christ. Amen (Basil – of our Lord, God and Savior…shed for the life and salvation of the world).
Changing them both by Your Holy Spirit. Amen, Amen, Amen. [the priest kneels down with the faithful and prays:]
This part of the Anaphora is called the ‘consecration’ or ‘epiclesis’ and it is the pinnacle of the Divine Liturgy. Epiklesis means “call down upon.” We are invoking the Holy Spirit to descend upon the gifts of Bread and Wine and make them become the very Body and Blood of Christ. At the same time, we ask that the Holy Spirit come upon each one of us to also bless, sanctify and make us into the Body of Christ—the Church/Ekklesia. That is why it is so important for all of us to be here.
If we truly believe in the power of prayer, in the word of God, in the Tradition of the Church, then we know that Divine Liturgy is a transformative experience. In other words, we are different people when we leave church than when we entered the Church. Some have debated about when in the Divine Liturgy this change occurs. I think the analogy of a washing machine is apt. In a wash cycle, there is no single point when the clothes go from completely dirty to completely clean. Rather it is the whole process of washing--the initial soaking, the agitation, the spin, the rinse, and the final spin. The Liturgy is the same way, it takes whole experience—the enarxis, the readings, the entrances, the consecration, the communion, the dismissal--to completely change us. If we put the clothes in at the end of the wash cycle, they don’t get clean, they just get a little wet. If we come late to Divine Liturgy, we’re not going to become holy, we’re not going to become truly different people. Think about it.
While the faithful sing: “We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks to You and we pray to You, Lord our God,” the priest continues praying:
So that they may be to those who partake of them for vigilance of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion of Your Holy Spirit, fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven, confidence before You, and not in judgment or condemnation.
Again, we offer this spiritual worship for those who repose in the faith, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and for every righteous spirit made perfect in faith.
(Basil - And unite us all to one another who become partakers of the one Bread and the Cup in the communion of the one Holy Spirit. Grant that none of us may partake of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ to judgment or condemnation; but, that we may find mercy and grace with all the saints who through the ages have pleased You: forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, teachers, and every righteous spirit made perfect in faith.)
We see two themes in these prayers: 1) how Holy Communion can help us, and 2) remembering the saints who reposed before us but have delivered the deposit of Faith to us. The Eucharist grants strength of soul, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, God’s kingdom, confidence, and it unites us together. However, there is also an implicit warning: if we do not receive Eucharist, we miss out on these benefits. And if we do receive Holy Communion, that it could be for judgment or condemnation. In today’s Gospel of Meatfare Sunday, Jesus reminds us that judgment is real. The clear message is: We should partake of the Eucharist but we must be prepared.
After completing these prayers, the priest exclaims, “Especially for our all-holy, ever-blessed, glorious Lady Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary.” Now the choir chants the hymn in honor of the Mother of God. “It is truly right to bless you, Theotokos, ever blessed, most pure, and mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Word. We magnify you, the true Theotokos.” She is example, par exellance, of what it means to be Christian. We must follow her!
While this hymn is sung the priest continues the prayer that emphasizes the point of “in all and for all”:
For Saint John the Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist; for the holy glorious and most honorable Apostles, for Saints [Name(s)] whom we commemorate today; and for all Your saints, through whose supplications, O God, bless us. Remember also all who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection unto eternal life. (Here the priest commemorates the names of the deceased.) And grant them rest, our God, where the light of Your countenance shines. Again, we ask You, Lord, remember all Orthodox bishops who rightly teach the word of Your truth, all presbyters, all deacons in the service of Christ, and everyone in holy orders. We also offer to You this spiritual worship for the whole world, for the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, and for those living in purity and holiness. And for all those in public service; permit them, Lord, to serve and govern in peace that through the faithful conduct of their duties we may live peaceful and serene lives in all piety and holiness.
St. Basil’s Prayer: For Saint John the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist; for the holy, glorious and most honorable apostles; for Saint(s) (Name-s-) whom we commemorate today; and for all Your saints, through whose supplications, O God, visit us. Remember also all who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life (names). And grant them rest, our God, where the light of Your countenance shines. Again, we pray to You, be mindful of Your holy, catholic and apostolic Church, which is from one end of the inhabited earth to the other. Grant peace to her which You have obtained with the precious blood of Your Christ. Strengthen also this holy house to the end of the ages. Remember Lord, those who have brought You these Gifts and for whom and through whom and the intentions for which they were offered. Remember Lord, those who bear fruit and do good works in Your holy churches, and those who remember the poor. Reward them with Your rich and heavenly gifts. Grant them in return for earthly things, heavenly gifts; for temporal, eternal; for corruptible, incorruptible. Remember Lord, those who are in the deserts, on mountains, in caverns and in the chambers of the earth. Remember Lord, those living in chastity and godliness, in asceticism and holiness of life. Remember Lord, this country and all those in public service whom You have allowed to govern on earth. Grant them profound and lasting peace. Speak to their hearts good things concerning Your Church and all Your people that through the faithful conduct of their duties we may live peaceful and serene lives in all piety and holiness. Sustain the good in their goodness; make the wicked good through Your goodness. Remember Lord, the people here presented and those who are absent with good cause. Have mercy on them and on us according to the multitude of Your mercy. Fill their treasuries with every good thing; preserve their marriages in peace and harmony; nurture the infants; instruct the youth; strengthen the aged; give courage to the faint-hearted; reunite those separated; bring back those in error and unite them to Your holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Free those who are held captive by unclean spirits; sail with those who sail; travel with those who travel; defend the widows; protect the orphans; liberate the captives; heal the sick. Remember Lord, those who are in mines, in exile, in harsh labor and those in every kind of affliction, necessity or distress; those who entreat Your loving kindness; those who love us and those who hate us; those who have asked us to pray for them, unworthy though we may be. Remember, Lord our God, all Your people and pour out Your rich mercy upon them, granting them their petitions for salvation. Remember, O God, all those whom we have not remembered through ignorance, forgetfulness or because of their multitude since You know the name and age of each, even from their mother’s womb. For You Lord, are the helper of the helpless, the hope of the hopeless, the savior of the afflicted, the haven of the voyager and the physician of the sick. Be all things to all, You who know each person, his requests, his household and his need. Deliver this community and city, O Lord, and every city and town, from famine, plague, earthquake, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreign enemies and civil war.
At the end, the priest exclaims: “Above all, remember Lord, our Archbishop (Name): Grant that they may serve Your holy churches in peace. Keep them safe, honorable, and healthy for many years, rightly teaching the word of Your truth. We must remember to pray for our leaders, both religious and governmental. The devil tempts us to be consumed with criticism and complaints so that we will not pray. But they truly need our prayers in order to carry out and fulfill their ministry. A general rule is the more responsibility a person has, the more prayers they need.
After this, the priest says, “Remember also Lord, those whom each of us calls to mind and all your people.” The faithful respond: “And all Your people.” This reminds us that each one of us needs to pray for those that God brings into our life: family, friends, and as today’s Gospel says, “the least of My brethren” (Mt.25:40,45). Worship and liturgy are simultaneously communal and personal.
In conclusion, the original title of this sermon was “Eternal Christmas” because in every liturgy there is an exchange of gifts. God gives us all of creation to enjoy in sobriety and sharing including the wheat and grapes. We return the gifts of Bread and Wine to God as “an offering of peace and a sacrifice of praise.” And in His great love and goodness, God gives us the gift of Himself in the Body and Blood of the Eucharist. What more can be done other than to say “Thanks” and prayer for each other? One of the greatest gifts we can give to someone, is to pray for them. The power of prayer is real, and we need to tap into and use this supernatural power to effect change in our life and in the lives of others according to God’s will. Amen!
