Easter Work (prose version of the Easter Song)

Contents

Reading pages: 0.1–2.5 · 2.6–2.16 · 2.17 · 3.1–3.26 · 4.1–5.9 · 5.10–5.38

1. 0.1In the preface Sedulius invites the reader to a modest Easter meal of simple fare rather than the lavish banquets of learned writers.
2. 1.1Since pagan poets celebrate lies and crimes, Sedulius, a singer of the Psalms, will tell the saving miracles of Christ, who is equal to the Father in power and glory, and he calls the Greeks from pagan philosophy and idolatry to the waters of baptism.
3. 1.2Sedulius prays to God the creator, who restored fallen man through the food and drink of Christ's body and blood and prefigured baptism in the ark, asking him to guide him on the narrow way to the heavenly Jerusalem, though God's miracles are too many to tell.
4. 1.3Enoch, beloved of God, lived beyond the measure of human life and was taken away without dying.
5. 1.4Sarah, old and barren, conceives and bears Isaac, the hope of a future nation.
6. 1.5Abraham offers Isaac, and God provides a ram instead, a mystery foreshadowing Christ the Lamb offering himself for the human race.
7. 1.6Lot's wife, looking back at Sodom, became a pillar of salt, a warning that no one who turns back to the world will be saved, like the ploughman who looks back.
8. 1.7The bush that Moses saw burned without being consumed.
9. 1.8Moses' rod became a serpent that swallowed the magicians' serpents and then turned back into a rod.
10. 1.9Israel crossed the sea on dry ground, a rudimentary baptism with Christ the Word as leader, who by his coming opened the depths of the old law to the safe path of the new teaching.
11. 1.10God fed Israel in the desert with manna, the bread of angels, raining from heaven.
12. 1.11Water flowed from the rock for thirsty Israel; Christ was present in the sea, the manna and the rock.
13. 1.12Balaam's ass, seeing the angel, spoke with a human voice.
14. 1.13The sun and moon stood still at Gibeon until Joshua's victory, and the stars already saw in Joshua's name the Jesus who was to come.
15. 1.14Ravens fed Elijah, making amends for the raven that failed Noah; Elijah passed his spirit to Elisha and was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire, fitting for one whose name in Greek is close to 'sun'.
16. 1.15God added fifteen years to the life of the dying king Hezekiah.
17. 1.16Jonah, thrown overboard, was kept safe inside the sea-monster and brought to land.
18. 1.17The three young men who refused Nebuchadnezzar's idolatry were thrown into the furnace and unharmed, their faith burning hotter than its flames.
19. 1.18Nebuchadnezzar, for his cruelty, was driven to live like a beast for seven seasons.
20. 1.19Under Darius, Daniel was thrown to hungry lions, which left him unharmed.
21. 1.20Sedulius sums up these miracles and asks Nature who could so often overrule her laws, answering that it is the Creator, whose word all creation obeys.
22. 1.21Sedulius laments those who worship carved images and animal gods instead of their Maker.
23. 1.22The sun is no god but a servant that rises and sets, and it did not exist at the world's beginning.
24. 1.23Some worship the moon, though they see it wax and wane.
25. 1.24Some worship the stars, which flee at the dawn.
26. 1.25Worshippers of water and of fire dare not bring their gods together, lest one destroy the other.
27. 1.26Some pray to trees for their families and goods, though wood serves only to build houses or to burn.
28. 1.27Leaving the follies of idolatry, Sedulius turns to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of true freedom, which Christ called the city of the great King, where all who ask, seek and knock are answered.
29. 1.28Christ is the rejected cornerstone; having told the Father's works in the Old Testament, Sedulius will tell the Son's works in the New, all the works of the one God in three persons.
30. 1.29Arius, who made the Son less than the Father as among men, died a shameful death; Christ is begotten not made, equal to the Father, one with him, against Arius, and distinct from him, against Sabellius; both heresies are as foolish as the quarrels of philosophers.
31. 1.30At the gate of Christ's camp, marked by the cross, Sedulius asks for the least place among the citizens of the heavenly city, trusting God's generosity.
32. 1.31Sedulius prays to Christ, who took human nature without losing his divinity and is proclaimed by the four evangelists, symbolized by man, lion, ox and eagle, and the twelve apostles; Book 1 ends with the hope of reaping joy in Christ.
33. 2.1Book 2 begins with the fall, by which Adam, persuaded by Eve and the serpent, brought death on the whole human race, so that even the longest lives ended in death.
34. 2.2God in mercy restored his fallen image: as a rose springs from thorns, Mary, the new virgin, came from Eve's stock to undo Eve's sin, and through Christ's birth humanity is reborn.
35. 2.3Foretold by the prophets and announced by Gabriel, Christ is conceived in the virgin Mary, who will be mother of her own Creator.
36. 2.4In the tenth month Christ, the Word made flesh, is born of Mary, who remains a virgin; he comes forth like a bridegroom, fairest of men and free of original sin, and the Lord of all lies as a servant in a manger.
37. 2.5Sedulius hails Mary, mother of the eternal King, at once mother and virgin, without equal among women.
38. 2.6The angels announce Christ's birth to the shepherds with 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will'; Sedulius explains the peace given to those who will the good, which God accomplishes in them.
39. 2.7Sedulius quotes Matthew's account of the magi and Herod; Christ rises from the East as the Dayspring; he rebukes Herod for plotting against the Lord's Anointed, whom even David would not harm in Saul, and foretells that another Herod will see the crucifixion.
40. 2.8The magi follow the star to Christ and adore him as true worshippers; they represent the Gentiles called into the one fold; their three gifts proclaim Christ king, God and mortal man, and their number the triune God, who is eternal, as Christ's 'before Abraham was, I am' shows.
41. 2.9Like the magi who returned by another way, believers who have found Christ must not go back to the devil but take the road to the heavenly homeland.
42. 2.10Herod, mocked by the magi, massacres the infants of Bethlehem like a lion robbing a flock, while the mothers lament; Christ, though away, shares the sufferings of these infants who died for him.
43. 2.11At twelve Christ showed himself wiser than the elders and teachers in the temple.
44. 2.12At about thirty Christ, supposed son of Joseph but born of a virgin, comes to be baptized; John hails him as the Lamb who takes away sin, which Christ destroyed without bearing it as his own, and his baptism sanctified the waters.
45. 2.13At Christ's baptism the heavens opened, showing that heaven is opened to the baptized; the dove signifies gentleness; and the Father's voice, the Son and the Spirit together reveal the one God in three persons.
46. 2.14Sedulius expounds Christ's three temptations: the devil, unsure whether Jesus was the Son of God, tempts him to make bread, to worship him for the world's kingdoms, and to throw himself from the temple, and Christ, answering as man from Scripture, defeats him.
47. 2.15The devil's flight and the angels' service after the temptation foreshadow Christ's resurrection, ascension and adoration by the angels.
48. 2.16Christ called humble fishermen to be fishers of men, for God chooses the foolish and weak of the world; he also taught a brief prayer, addressed to God as Father, his by nature and ours by grace.
49. 2.17Sedulius expounds the Lord's Prayer petition by petition: God is our Father by grace as Christ's by nature, making us brothers; his name is hallowed in pure hearts; his kingdom is endless day; his will defeats the devil; our daily bread is food, God's word and Christ's body; we are forgiven as we forgive; God leads no one into temptation but abandons the disobedient; and we ask to be delivered from evil to the right-hand path of the saved.
50. 3.1Book 3 begins with Christ's first sign at the wedding at Cana, turning water into wine.
51. 3.2Christ heals the official's son by a word, saying not that he will live but that he lives.
52. 3.3Christ heals throughout the land and cleanses a leper who trusts in his will.
53. 3.4Christ cures Peter's mother-in-law of fever, and she rises to serve him.
54. 3.5Christ casts out demons and heals great crowds.
55. 3.6Christ sleeps in the boat during a storm, then rises and calms wind and sea; Sedulius explains that the sea and winds were not rebelling against him but leaping for joy at his presence.
56. 3.7Christ meets two men possessed by a legion of demons; the demons, not daring to enter human beings again, are sent into the swine, which rush into the sea.
57. 3.8In his own town Christ first forgives the sins of a paralytic carried by four men, then makes him rise and carry his bed home.
58. 3.9Jairus begs Christ to raise his only daughter, who has just died, and Christ sets out to his house.
59. 3.10A woman who had bled for twelve years touches the hem of Christ's garment in silent faith and is healed, and Christ praises her faith.
60. 3.11At the house of mourning Christ says the girl is only asleep, to avoid human praise, and raises her to the astonished joy of her parents.
61. 3.12Christ gives sight to two blind men who call him Son of David.
62. 3.13Christ heals a mute and deaf demoniac.
63. 3.14Christ sends out the twelve to preach and heal among Israel, commanding them to give freely what they received; their teaching flows like the rivers of paradise, and ministers must be stewards, not merchants, of God's gifts.
64. 3.15Christ restores a man's withered hand in the synagogue by his command.
65. 3.16Christ frees a man whom the devil had made mad, mute and blind, restoring speech through the Word and sight through the Light.
66. 3.17Christ straightens a woman bent for eighteen years; the demon crushes, but Christ's light yoke lifts up.
67. 3.18Like a new Moses, Christ feeds five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fish, and twelve baskets of fragments are left.
68. 3.19Christ walks on the sea to the disciples' storm-tossed boat; Peter, recognizing him, walks on the water to him, upheld by his hand.
69. 3.20At Gennesaret all the sick who touch the fringe of Christ's garment are healed.
70. 3.21The Canaanite woman humbly accepts being compared to the dogs, and her faith wins her daughter's healing.
71. 3.22On the mountain Christ heals crowds of the lame, blind, deaf, lepers and maimed.
72. 3.23On the third day Christ feeds four thousand men, besides women and children, with seven loaves and a few fish, and seven baskets are left.
73. 3.24Though Christ bore a mortal body, his divinity shone out at the transfiguration, brighter than sun and snow; the apostles recognized Moses and Elijah, and the Father's voice proclaimed him his beloved Son, the Alpha and Omega.
74. 3.25After the transfiguration a father begs Christ to heal his possessed son, and Christ casts out the demon, which flees unable to harm the boy.
75. 3.26Christ pays the temple tax with a coin from a fish, teaching us to give to all who ask; he teaches that the humble like little children are greatest, for God lifts the lowly and casts down the proud; Book 3 ends.
76. 4.1Book 4 begins with Christ healing crowds in Judea; Isaiah's crooked made straight refers to human hearts, which God's power can turn.
77. 4.2The rich cannot enter the kingdom any more than a camel the eye of a needle, except by God; wealth is not evil in itself but in its use, and what is given to the poor is given to Christ and stored in heaven.
78. 4.3Leaving Jericho, Christ gives sight to two blind men by his touch.
79. 4.4In the temple Christ heals the blind and the lame.
80. 4.5Christ curses the barren fig tree, which withers; this is to be understood spiritually: a life that bears no fruit for God will be burned, like the fig tree in the parable, while the righteous flourish like the palm.
81. 4.6Christ frees a mute demoniac and restores his speech.
82. 4.7At a Pharisee's house a sinful woman washes Christ's feet with her tears and anoints them, and he forgives her; confession heals what concealment makes deadly.
83. 4.8In the synagogue at Capernaum Christ silences and casts out a demon that knows him as the Holy One of God; he heals many and forbids the demons to speak, for the fallen devil knew him from heaven.
84. 4.9Near Sidon Christ heals a deaf and mute man by his touch.
85. 4.10Christ spits on a blind man's eyes (continued in the next passage).
86. 4.11After restoring the blind man's sight, Christ teaches from Simon's boat and tells him to let down his nets; the catch is so great that it nearly sinks two boats.
87. 4.12At Nain Christ raises the only son of a widow and gives him back to his mother.
88. 4.13Christ drives seven demons out of Mary Magdalene.
89. 4.14Christ sends out the seventy-two disciples like lambs among wolves with power over serpents and demons, but tells them to rejoice rather that their names are written in heaven, for miracles without a holy life are worthless, as with Pharaoh's magicians.
90. 4.15At a Pharisee's meal on the Sabbath Christ heals a man with dropsy, since the Sabbath was made for man.
91. 4.16Christ cleanses ten lepers; one returns to adore him, showing faith and the prudence to present himself to Christ, the true high priest after the order of Melchizedek, to whom his body and blood are offered.
92. 4.17Blind Bartimaeus, crying out persistently, receives his sight; persistent prayer obtains what seems impossible, as the friend at midnight obtained bread by his importunity.
93. 4.18Thirsty at the well, Christ asks the Samaritan woman for water, reveals her many husbands, and offers the living water of baptism.
94. 4.19A woman caught in adultery is brought to Christ to be stoned; since none of her accusers is without sin, all depart, and Christ, in mercy, does not punish her but warns that returning to sin forfeits pardon.
95. 4.20Christ heals a man born blind with clay and the water of Siloam; spiritually, humanity is born blind from Eve and receives sight through Christ's flesh, born of the virgin, and baptism.
96. 4.21At Bethany Christ weeps for Lazarus as man and raises him, four days dead, as God, at the command 'Lazarus, come out.'
97. 4.22Christ enters Jerusalem humbly on a donkey, while the people spread their garments and greet him with palms and hymns, a glory given to no earthly king; Book 4 ends.
98. 5.1Book 5 begins as the Passover nears: Christ, troubled as man, prays to the Father, who answers from heaven; many say it thundered, fulfilling Isaiah's word about blindness, but the voice revealed the Father in the Son.
99. 5.2At the Passover supper Christ washes his disciples' feet, even Judas's, who is clean outside but foul within, and marks him as the betrayer by giving him bread.
100. 5.3After Christ institutes the gifts of his body and blood, Satan enters Judas, who sells him for thirty pieces of silver, a crime beyond any price; better that he had never been born; he leads the armed band and betrays Christ with a kiss.
101. 5.4Christ heals the ear Peter cut off, refusing human vengeance though he could summon legions of angels.
102. 5.5Christ orders the sword sheathed, having come to give his life, and foretells Peter's threefold denial.
103. 5.6Christ is brought to Caiaphas, where the council's false witnesses burn out like fire in stubble.
104. 5.7The crowd strikes, slaps and spits on Christ, who bears it patiently for our salvation, so that his blows heal us and his slaps set us free.
105. 5.8Peter denies Christ three times, and at the cock's crow weeps bitterly and is forgiven; Sedulius urges prompt repentance for past sins, not presumption on pardon, citing David's prayer for the sins of his youth and ignorance.
106. 5.9Peter's denial was a lapse of forgetfulness, not a deliberate betrayal, as his earlier courage in walking on the sea shows.
107. 5.10At dawn Christ is led to Pilate; Judas, a new serpent, returns the silver in vain and hangs himself, his death between earth and sky marking his fall from apostle to apostate.
108. 5.11Before Pilate Christ is accused of calling himself king; the people choose Barabbas, as they once chose Baal, and call his blood on themselves until baptism washes it away; Pilate, though he washes his hands, is guilty of putting Caesar before God.
109. 5.12The soldiers' mockery is full of meaning: the scarlet cloak shows his bloody death, the crown of thorns the sins he bore, the reed the frailty of worldly rule.
110. 5.13Christ is clothed again in his own garments, a sign that he will lay down his body and take it up again in the resurrection.
111. 5.14Christ tastes and refuses the wine mixed with gall, a sign that he would taste death and then reject it.
112. 5.15On the cross Christ turned the punishment into a sign of salvation; the cross, stretched to the four quarters of the world, deserves veneration.
113. 5.16The soldiers would not tear Christ's seamless tunic; schismatics who tear apart the church's unity commit a worse sacrilege.
114. 5.17The title 'King of the Jews' in three languages proclaims one King in threefold speech; Pilate wrote 'of the Jews' to avoid offending Caesar, but spiritually it means Christ is King of all who become sons of Abraham, as Gentiles are grafted into the olive by the anointing of chrism.
115. 5.18Christ is crucified between two robbers: one mocks him, the other repents and asks to be remembered, and Christ promises him paradise that day, showing that God is present everywhere; one robber goes to hell, the other steals heaven.
116. 5.19Darkness covers the earth at Christ's death for three hours, a sign of his three days in the tomb, as a star had shone at his birth.
117. 5.20The earth quakes at Christ's death, fearing the end of the world, as Christ descends to the underworld to restore the lost.
118. 5.21Christ's crucifiers are unmoved by the signs, and give him vinegar to drink, which Sedulius takes as a figure of a people turned sour.
119. 5.22Christ freely lays down his soul, with power to take it up again, dying in body but not in divinity; the gates of hell break, rocks split, and the bodies of the saints rise.
120. 5.23The temple veil is torn, opening the law's secrets to the nations; Death has lost its victory and sting, for Christ came down to it; God did not make death, which was born of the serpent and sin.
121. 5.24Christ's side is pierced and blood and water flow; body, blood and water are the three gifts of baptism and the Eucharist, by which believers become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
122. 5.25Christ's enemies, fearing the disciples will steal the body, have the tomb sealed and guarded, but no guard can hold God.
123. 5.26Christ rose on the first day of the week, the Lord's Day, the day of creation, which keeps the primacy among all days.
124. 5.27The women, among whom Sedulius names the virgin mother, come to the tomb with spices and find it empty; an angel, terrible to the guards and joyful to them, announces that Christ lives.
125. 5.28The terrified guards are bribed to say the disciples stole the body while they slept, but the grave-clothes left behind expose the lie; Christ is taken from the synagogue and joined to the church as his bride.
126. 5.29The church is represented in Mary, ever mother and ever virgin, to whom, Sedulius says, the risen Christ first appeared.
127. 5.30At Emmaus Christ, the true bread, is recognized in the breaking of bread.
128. 5.31The risen Christ appears to the disciples and eats fish and honeycomb to show that his body is real.
129. 5.32Christ appears to the frightened disciples behind closed doors, greets them with peace, and shows them his wounds.
130. 5.33Christ lets doubting Thomas touch his wounds, showing that he is no deceiver, and the proof serves the faith of many.
131. 5.34At the sea Christ tells the disciples to cast their nets to the right, and they haul in a great catch, a figure of God's commands gathering the saved.
132. 5.35The fish, bread and fire of the meal by the sea signify baptism, the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit, who came as fire at Pentecost.
133. 5.36Christ asks Peter three times whether he loves him and entrusts him with his sheep and lambs, undoing his threefold denial; Peter, given the keys of the kingdom, is fittingly entrusted with the just who will enter it.
134. 5.37Christ commands the apostles to teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
135. 5.38Christ ascends from Bethany and sits at the Father's right hand, showing the disciples the way, since he is the way, the truth and the life; they worship him and go to teach all nations, having written only a few of his countless deeds.