I really love the Byzantine new year. It took me awhile to get it, but once I did its meaning slowly seeped into my soul, creating a measure of hope that I did not have before. September is generally the beginning of the autumn harvest, the time of gathering in, the time of preparation for the winter. The time of the dying of the physical light in our world is coming.
And this is the first Vespers reading for that time of preparation for the coming darkness:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast.
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant.
Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”
-Isaiah 61:1-9
That actually reminds me of Vespers being the start of the liturgical day. The beginning of the day in the mind of the Church is not actually when the sun, the physical light, rises, but as it sets, with the oncoming darkness of the physical world portended. Which is when the Eastern rite mandates O Gentle Light:
O Gentle Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father, O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life. Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.
The Church is trying to prepare us for the coming darkness, by reminding us who the real Light is: Christ. Both in the cycles of the day and the year, the focus is upon getting people ready to face the external and internal darkness in the world.
The Byzantine New Year is a call to arms, a comfort in the gathering gloom. God is with us! Even when everything that gives us sensible light fails, internal or external, He is still there.
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
Luke 4:16-22, Gospel of the New Year
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