“Vigil”
Our God is the Living Word who calls into existence the things that are not and endows them with the joy and power and complexity of being. Nebula and neuron, quark and quasar, moon and mountain, snowflake and Serengeti, cherubim and chlorophyll: All that is, seen and unseen, known and unknowable.
Go here for the poem entire, a suitable text on which to reflect on Holy Saturday.
The texts of Holy Saturday in Eastern Orthodoxy and Greek Catholicism include: Psalm 104 [103] (the proemial Psalm); Psalm 141 [140]; 142 [141]; Ps 130 [129]; (1) Genesis 1:1-13; (2) Isaiah 60:1-16; (3) Exodus 12:1-11; (4) Jonah 1:1-4:11; (5) Joshua 5:10-15; (6) Exodus 13:20-15:19; (7) Zephaniah 3:8-15; (8) 1 Kings 17:8-24; (9) Isaiah 61:10-62:5; (10) Genesis 22:1-18; (11) Isaiah 61:1-9; (12) 2 Kings 4:8-37; (13) Isaiah 63:11-64:5; (14) Jeremiah 31:31-34; (15) Daniel 3:1-68 (including the Hymn of the Three Youths); Romans 6:3-11 (the Epistle, on baptism); Psalm 82 [81]; Matthew 28:1-20 (the Gospel).
The texts read in churches indebted to the Latin rite include, but are not limited to (1) Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26; (2) Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13 and Psalm 46; (3) Genesis 22:1-18 and Psalm 16; (4) Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 and Exodus 15:1b-13, 17-18; [Isaiah 54:4a.5-14;] (5) Isaiah 55:1-11 and Isaiah 12:2-6; [Baruch 3:9-15, 3:32-4:4 or Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6 and Psalm 19;] (6) Ezekiel 36:24-28 and Psalm 42, 43; (7) Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Psalm 143; [Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Psalm 98;] Romans 6:3-11, Psalm 114; Matthew 28:1-10.
The intertexts of "Vigil" by Jennifer Agee overlap with the above and extend beyond; a selection is offered here. All translations are my own.
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Romans 4:17
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|---|---|
| καθὼς γέγραπται ὅτι | As it is written, |
| Πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε | "I have made you a father of many nations" |
| κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσεν θεοῦ | in the presence of the God |
| τοῦ ζῳοποιοῦντος τοὺς νεκροὺς | who gives life to the dead |
| καὶ καλοῦντος τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα | and calls into being what did not exist. |
| Isaiah 40:26 | |
| Lift your eyes heavenward and see: | שְׂאוּ־מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם וּרְאוּ |
| who created these? | מִי־בָרָא אֵלֶּה |
| The one who leads out their array one by one— | הַמּוֹצִיא בְמִסְפָּר צְבָאָם |
| he calls each by name; | לְכֻלָּם בְּשֵׁם יִקְרָא |
| By his great strength and vast power | מֵרֹב אוֹנִים וְאַמִּיץ כֹּחַ |
| not one is missing. | אִישׁ לֹא נֶעְדָּר |
| Psalm 104:1-4 | |
| Bless the LORD, O my soul! | בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יהוה |
| O LORD my God, you are magnificent!. | יהוה אֱלֹהַי גָּדַלְתָּ מְּאֹד |
| You are clothed with splendor and majesty, | הוֹד וְהָדָר לָבָשְׁתָּ |
| wrapped in light like a robe. | עֹטֶה־אוֹר כַּשַּׂלְמָה |
| You who stretched out the heavens like a curtain, | הַנּוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם כַּיְרִיעָה |
| who built his high halls on the waters; | הַמְקָרֶה בַמַּיִם עֲלִיּוֹתָיו |
| who turn clouds into his chariot, | הַשָּׂם־עָבִים רְכוּבוֹ |
| who travels on wind’s wings; | הַמְהַלֵּךְ עַל־כַּנְפֵי־רוּחַ |
| who makes winds his messengers, | עֹשֶׂה מַלְאָכָיו רוּחוֹת |
| his ministers flashing fire! | מְשָׁרְתָיו אֵשׁ לֹהֵט |
| Psalm 147:15-18 | |
| He sends his command to earth, | הַשֹּׁלֵחַ אִמְרָתוֹ אָרֶץ |
| swiftly runs his word, | עַד־מְהֵרָה יָרוּץ דְּבָרוֹ |
| who makes snow like fleece | הַנֹּתֵן שֶׁלֶג כַּצָּמֶר |
| and scatters frost like ash, | כְּפוֹר כָּאֵפֶר יְפַזֵּר |
| who hurls down his ice like crumbs— | מַשְׁלִיךְ קַרְחוֹ כְפִתִּים |
| who can withstand his cold? | לִפְנֵי קָרָתוֹ מִי יַעֲמֹד |
| May He send his word and melt them, | יִשְׁלַח דְּבָרוֹ וְיַמְסֵם |
| may his breath blow, and waters flow! | יַשֵּׁב רוּחוֹ יִזְּלוּ־מָיִם |
| Ezekiel 37:5-6 | |
| The Lord GOD's message to the bones: | כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יהוה לָעֲצָמוֹת הָאֵלֶּה |
| I will cause breath to enter you and you will live! | הִנֵּה אֲנִי מֵבִיא בָכֶם רוּחַ וִחְיִיתֶם |
| I will lay sinews on you; | וְנָתַתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם גִּדִים |
| I will put flesh over you; | וְהַעֲלֵתִי עֲלֵיכֶם בָּשָׂר |
| I will cover you with skin; | וְקָרַמְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם עוֹר |
| I will put breath in you and you will live. | וְנָתַתִּי בָכֶם רוּחַ וִחְיִיתֶם |
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