Showing posts with label after epiphany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label after epiphany. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Psalm 109/9: Prophesying Christ’s humility and the Ascension

Garofalo, 1510-20
Today’s verse is somewhat enigmatic, and needs some help to interpret properly, as Pope Benedict XVI points out:

“The evocative image that concludes our Psalm fits in here; it is also an enigmatic word: “He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head”. The king’s figure stands out in the middle of the description of the battle. At a moment of respite and rest, he quenches his thirst at a stream, finding in it refreshment and fresh strength to continue on his triumphant way, holding his head high as a sign of definitive victory. It is clear that these deeply enigmatic words were a challenge for the Fathers of the Church because of the different interpretations they could be given…”

The final verse of Psalm 109 is:

De torrénte in via bibet: * proptérea exaltábit caput
ἐκ χειμάρρου ἐν ὁδῷ πίεται διὰ τοῦτο ὑψώσει κεφαλήν
He shall drink of the torrent in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Looking at the Latin

De (de, from govern s ablative case) torrénte (abl of torrens, torrentis, a stream, brook or torrent)

in via (in +ablative governing via, way, road, path) bibet (3rd person indicative future of bibo, to drink) = on the way he will drink

The Diurnal translates in via as ‘on the march’, to give the flavour that this is a stop on a journey.

Still, the phrase is open to several different interpretations in the context of this psalm, on which see below.

De torrénte in via bibet = he will drink from a stream on the way

proptérea (therefore) exaltábit (3rd person indicative future of exalto, to exalt, dignify, elevate) caput (nom of caput, head)

To lift one's head up is a sign of triumph or success, and in this context, is often seen as a reference to Christ's Ascension.

proptérea exaltábit caput = therefore he will lift the head

Translations

The Monastic Diurnal gives this verse as “On his march He drinketh at the brook: therefore he lifteth high his head”. Coverdale make it ‘He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall he lift up his head’.

Vocab

torrens, entis, m. a brook, stream, torrent
bibo, bibi, bibitum, ere 3, to drink.
propterea, adv., therefore, on that account, for that cause; but now
exalto, avi, atum, are to exalt, i.e., to elevate in rank, power, dignity, or the like; to dignify

Drinking from the stream: three possible interpretations

Pope Benedict’s comments on this psalm, that I quoted above, suggest that this verse can be given several different translations.

Let’s consider first that offered by St John Chrysostom, who sees it as a reference to Christ’s humility in his time on earth:

“Here he shows the lowliness of his lifestyle, the meanness of his existence, no swagger about him, no bodyguards in attendance, no visible display when he performs this; instead, his way of life was simple to the extent of his drinking from a torrent. His drink matched his food in this: his food was barley loaves, his drink water from the torrent. He came, you see, to teach this reasonable way of life, to keep the appetite in check, trample on pomp and circumstance, shun conceit. Then, to show the advantage of this lifestyle, he added, Hence I shall lift up his head: this is the fruit of his humility and difficult life. These words refer not to divinity, however, but to humanity - drinking from a torrent, being raised up. You see, far from this insignificance doing him any harm, it even lifted him to an ineffable height.”

The moral, then according to St John, is that we too should “scorn a flashy and meretricious lifestyle, and aim instead for one that is lowly and unpretentious”.

St Augustine too sees the verse as a reference to Christ’s humble obedience, an obedience even unto death that results in God also exalting him. St Augustine though, interprets the stream as the sea of human life which Christ joins by his Incarnation:

“…what is the brook? The onward flow of human mortality: for as a brook is gathered together by the rain, overflows, roars, runs, and by running runs down, that is, finishes its course; so is all this course of mortality. Men are born, they live, they die, and when some die others are born, and when they die others are born, they succeed, they flock together, they depart and will not remain. What is held fast here? What does not run? What is not on its way to the abyss as if it was gathered together from rain? For as a river suddenly drawn together from rain from the drops of showers runs into the sea, and is seen no more, nor was it seen before it was collected from the rain; so this hidden rain is collected together from hidden sources, and flows on; at death again it travels where it is hidden: this intermediate state sounds and passes away.”

Drinking at the brook then, means becoming human:

“Of this brook He drinks, He has not disdained to drink of this brook; for to drink of this brook was to Him to be born and to die. What this brook has, is birth and death; Christ assumed this, He was born, He died.”

But Cassiodorus offers a third possible interpretation of the idea of drinking from the torrent, namely Our Lord’s persecution:

“This torrent was disordered persecution by the Jews, of which the Lord Christ drank on the way, that is, in this life, when He endured it in the flesh. The phrase, in the way, indicates the onset of violence and the great speed of the journey made by travellers as they drive to another lodging.”

Our Lord's humility: the Incarnation and Ascension

St Robert Bellarmine provides a commentary on this verse that I think synthesizes these competing ideas neatly, and has the psalm concluding with a reference to Christ’s Ascension. The purpose of the verse, he says, is to explain why the psalm has talked about his power to judge nations:

“He now assigns a reason for Christ being endowed with such power as to be able to break kings, to judge nations, to fill ruins, and to crush heads, and says, "He shall drink of the torrent in the way, therefore shall he lift up the head;" as if he said with the apostle, "He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God also hath exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name."

The stream or torrent, he argues, is the transitory noise of humanity:

“The torrent means the course of human affairs; for, as a torrent flows with great noise and force, full of mud and confusion, and soon after subsides without leaving even a trace of itself, so it is with the affairs of this mortal life—they all pass away, having, generally speaking, been much troubled and confused. Great battles and revolutions, such as those in the time of Caesar and Alexander, and others, have been heard of, but they and their posterity have passed away without leaving a trace of their power.”

Through his Incarnation, Our Lord joins this torrent:

“The Son of God, through his Incarnation, came down this torrent, and "in the way," that is, during his mortal transitory life, drank the muddy water of this torrent in undergoing the calamities consequent on his mortality; nay, even he descended into the very depth of the torrent through his passion, the waters of which, instead of contributing to his ease and refreshment, only increased his pains and sufferings, as he complains in Psalm 68. "The waters are come in even unto my soul. I stick fast in the mire of the deep, and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me."

But the conclusion of the story lies in his Ascension, Resurrection and Second Coming:

"In consideration, then, of such humiliation, freely undertaken for the glory of the Father and the salvation of mankind, he afterwards "lifted up his head," ascended into heaven, and, sitting at the right hand of the Father, was made Judge of the living and the dead.”

And that brings us to the end of this mini-series on Psalm 109.  If you have found it useful, or have any comments, questions or suggestions, please do leave a  comment.

For an introduction to the next psalm of Sunday Vespers, Psalm 110, follow the link here.



And you can find notes on the second psalm of Sunday Vespers, Psalm 110, starting here.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Who stole Epiphanytide? Notes on Psalm 96


Flemish c16th
I want to take a brief look today, at the psalm featured used for the Introit and Alleluia of the (Third &) Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Psalm 96.

Epiphanytide?

Dom Gueranger's famous series The Liturgical Year starts the volume on the four Sundays after Epiphany with an essay dealing with the idea that in this period we are still in Christmastide; alas, due to the reforms of 1955 (Pius XII) and 1962 (John XXIII) this is no longer actually the case!

The 1962 calendar did, however, retain the traditional Mass and Office texts set for these Sundays. 

The result is that though we are technically in time 'throughout the year' or 'time before Septuagesimatide', in practice the forty days between the nativity and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin  retain a focus on the early manifestations of Our Lord's divinity during his mission on earth.

Fourth Sunday

Today's Gospel (the calming of the storm at sea) deals with the early part of Our Lord's ministry.  And the psalm that is particularly featured in the propers is Psalm 96, which speaks of the joyous message of Our Lord's coming.

Here is the full text of the psalm, first in Latin then in English:

Dóminus regnávit exsúltet terra: * læténtur ínsulæ multæ.
Nubes, et calígo in circúitu ejus: * justítia, et judícium corréctio sedis ejus.
Ignis ante ipsum præcédet: * et inflammábit in circúitu inimícos ejus.
Illuxérunt fúlgura ejus orbi terræ: * vidit et commóta est terra.
Montes, sicut cera fluxérunt a fácie Domini: * a fácie Dómini omnis terra.
Annuntiavérunt cæli justítiam ejus: * et vidérunt omnes pópuli glóriam ejus.
Confundántur omnes, qui adórant sculptília: * et qui gloriántur in simulácris suis.
Adoráte eum, omnes Angeli ejus: * audívit, et lætáta est Sion.
Et exsultavérunt fíliæ Judæ: * propter judícia tua, Dómine:
Quóniam tu Dóminus Altíssimus super omnem terram: * nimis exaltátus es super ones deos.
Qui dilígitis Dóminum, odite malum: * custódit Dóminus ánimas sanctórum suórum, de manu peccatóris liberábit eos.
Lux orta est justo, * et rectis corde lætítia.
Lætámini, justi in Dómino: * et confitémini memóriæ sanctificatiónis ejus.

The Lord has reigned, let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him: justice and judgment are the establishment of his throne.
A fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about.
His lightnings have shone forth to the world: the earth saw and trembled.
The mountains melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord: at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens declared his justice: and all people saw his glory.
Let them be all confounded that adore graven things, and that glory in their idols.
Adore him, all you his angels:
Sion heard, and was glad.
And the daughters of Juda rejoiced, because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you are the most high Lord over all the earth: you are exalted exceedingly above all gods.
You that love the Lord, hate evil: the Lord preserves the souls of his saints, he will deliver them out of the hand of the sinner.
Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord: and give praise to the remembrance of his holiness.

The literal meaning

St Robert Bellarmine, in his commentary on this psalm, suggests that it can be interpreted at the literal level two ways: firstly as speaking of God's kingdom 'absolutely', that is, of his continuing governance of the world invisibly; and secondly, of Christ after the Resurrection. 

But in fact, I would suggest, the Church here gives it a third level of meaning, referring back to the nativity and the epiphany. 

At the nativity, after all, we have the adoration and rejoicing of the angels (Adoráte eum, omnes Angeli ejus); the shepherds, representing the people of Israel (audívit, et lætáta est Sion), and the Magi (læténtur ínsulæ multæ).  The link to the Magi is also reinforced by the use of Psalm 101 in the Gradual, which refers to the kings of the earth fearing the Lord's glory.

The Spiritual meaning

The texts remind us then to retain our Christmas joy, to reflect that joy in the worship of him, and above all, to put our trust in his saving power.

But above all, the series of Gospel's speaking of the manifestation of divine power should remind us of our own duty to manifest Christ to others.  If we truly believe in heaven, then we will want to do everything possible to reach it ourselves.  And we will also want others to be there with us - particularly our friends and family, but also the whole world. Thus we are all called upon to evangelise through prayer, actions and words.

Other liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

NT references
Rev 11:5 (3); Heb 1:6 (8); Lk1:74 (11)
RB cursus
Friday Matins; 
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc
Nativity, Epiphany, Ascension, Trinity, Sacred Heart, Transfiguration, Christ the King, All Saints, Common of Apostles, Common of BVM, Common of Virgins
Roman pre 1911
Friday Matins
Ambrosian

Brigittine

Maurist
Thesauris schemas
A: ; B: ; C: ; D:
Roman post 1911
1911-62:Wed Lauds  . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)