I would like to offer you this prayer by Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1842) that was set for choir by the late Sir John Tavener. The performance recording below was recorded by the Emulate Chamber Ensemble, at Eastern Mennonite University, from 2017. Many of you had the opportunity to hear this performance live when the ensemble visited Grace. Click Here to listen.
As we work through moments that seem dark,
having turned our hearts to prayer and repentance, the light of a new dawn
begins to break. We are comforted by the image of our sorrowful Mother Mary at
the foot of the cross. As we quiet our hearts and pray in thanksgiving for
Mary’s intercession on behalf of our suffering. Sir John Tavener’s Mother of God, here I stand is
a relatively short excerpt from his incredibly large work The Veil of the Temple.
Considered by himself to be his greatest and most important work, The Veil lasts more
than seven hours, modeled after the Orthodox all-night vigil service—another
image of our journey through darkness to morning light.
Much like Job, who waited for an encounter with
God, we hear God’s voice in our darkest moments—those moments when we are most
empty, when divine silence can penetrate our hearts.
Mother
of God, here I stand now praying.
Before
this ikon of your radiant brightness,
Not
praying to be saved from a battlefield;
Not
giving thanks, nor seeking forgiveness for the sins of my soul, nor for all the
souls
Numb,
joyless and desolate on earth;
but
for her alone, whom I wholly give you...
I hope each of you are safe and I hope that we will have the opportunity to see each other face to face, even if at a distance, very soon.
With love and peace,\
Ryan Keebaugh
