Orthodox follow Palm Sunday with Bridegroom Vespers, Unction

Nestled in the latently green hills of east Livermore, on Tuesday night, a dozen or so of us have gathered in a warehouse. The OCA parish of Saint Innocent has been establishing itself at this location for the past five years or so. Tonight we are taking part in the third of three "Bridegroom Vespers." In unison we sing:

I see Your Bridal Chamber adorned, O my Saviour,
and I have no wedding garment that I may enter in,
O giver of Light, make radiant the vesture of my soul and save me

The series of Bridegroom vespers help prepare us for the horrific incongruity of the imminent Good Friday. Each one commemorates a particular event, parable, theme, or character. The third and final service remembers and contrasts the sinful woman who anoints Jesus' feet three days before his execution with the close friend of Jesus who should have known better than to betray him.

These services call us not merely to re-enact, but to become involved in the events themselves, to be members of the surrounding crowd, with all the same excitements, hopes, suspicions, fears, and despairs as those who were there for that final week. It backs us into a corner and presents us with a profound dichotomy. Who will represent our chosen role model: the sinful woman who repents and responds with an outburst of love, sacrifice, and gratitude? Or the charlatan who impresses his witnesses with his feigned love for God only to wait for the right opportunity to stab him in the back? By the Tuesday night service, we have three days left to decide.

But the week we're experiencing is not about Good Friday. "The Church exists not because Christ died on the Cross," says Fr. Alkiviadis C. Calivas, "but because He has risen from the dead."

It's Wednesday, but Sunday's comin'!

Everyone and his brother

Tonight, all Orthodox worldwide (with the exception of those in Finland...long story, really, for another time) take part in the sacrament of Unction. This is a re-establishment of the same "seal" that took place at our Baptism and/or Chrismation, when we were made members of God's holy Church. In this Sacrament, our hands,  cheeks, forehead, ears, and chin will be anointed with oil that has been blessed by the Priest. It has been made holy with words--the same tools that God used to create everything in existence--in the hopes that we will submit our wills to the power and volunteer ourselves to be made holy as well.

At Saint Innocent, this time there were 40 to 50 folks, most dressed rather casually. The choir chanted and sang with its usual predilection for angelic tones, undistracted by the occasional outbursts and interruptions from the handful of young children in attendance. The remaining participants were likewise undaunted. There is no requirement for formality here, no somber scowls from annoyed elders believing that youngsters should be seen and not heard. This is a family of families, from an octogenarian priest to the infants in carriers, arms, and even homemade wraps. Some of the preschoolers arrived already clad in pajamas, and slept comfortably on the carpeted floor, with the remaining conscious folks stepping nimbly around them to venerate icons, be blessed by physical contact with the Gospel book, or receive the oil for which we came. The point is that we are here, that we are participating, us and our households. This crowd is not every man for himself.

Preparing for Easter

The Orthodox do not find themselves at Easter Sunday by accident, or surprised. There is preparation. There is the preceding 40 days of a deeply regimented lifestyle. There is constant awareness of when this special day is and what still remains to be done to get there. The goal is spiritual growth, transformation, theosis.

Theoretically, by this point in the week we already received another sacrament, Confession. Just as we sand wood before it is stained, we consider it proper to follow a prescribed order for events.  We are cleansed spiritually and cathartically by our honesty about ourselves and our weaknesses and limitations.  Afterwards, we are properly protected by the Sacrament of Unction for so long as we cooperate with its effect.

Tonight, we come one day closer to actively participating once again in the worst day in human history. And, thus, one day closer to realizing the greatest triumph ever known: the rescue of humanity from corruption by one whom death could not hold.

Only two days remain until the celebration of the Resurrection, with a richly symbolic service emphasizing the triumph of light over darkness. Along the way, tomorrow morning, the Last Supper is commemorated. And tomorrow night, the Orthodox will participate in one of the longest services of the year. Twelve Gospel passages will be read, corresponding to the traditionally understood twelve last sayings of Jesus at the Crucifixion. Several of the passages are extremely long. Some attending in ethnically mixed parishes will have the added honor of readings in English and in the predominant language of the community.  All twelve sayings are fundamentally important to understanding the meaning and accomplishment of the Death of God.

Those of us who attend will likely head back home feeling somber, morose, despairing of the woeful immensity and baffling inanity of the Source of Life becoming lifeless. But it is only Thursday. Things will actually get worse before they get better, but we remind ourselves once again that Sunday is comin'.

Next post: Prophet speaks, no one listens