Behold, the Lord shall appear upon a white cloud, * and with Him thousands of the Saints with Him; and He shall have written upon His garment and on His thigh, ‘King of kings, and Lord of lords.’ ℣. He shall appear at the end, and not lie; if He tarry, wait for Him, because He will surely come. And with Him... (The first responsory at Matins of Gaudete Sunday.)
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| An illustration of the 19th chapter of the Apocalypse, from which the text of this responsory is drawn, ca. 1255-60, by an unknown English artist. (Ms. Ludwig III 1 (83.MC.72), fol. 40; public domain image from the website of the Getty Museum.) |
From the commentary on the Apocalypse by St Bede the Venerable (book 3): “And He hath upon His garment and on his thigh written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” This is the name that none of the proud knows, but it is inscribed upon the Church, not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God. (2 Cor. 3, 3) For by the thigh is signified the descent of one’s offspring; whence also Abraham, lest his descent be mixed with strangers, adduced his thigh as a testimony between himself and his servant. (Gen. 24, 2.) Of this the Apostle writes as one raising up a descent to his deceased brother (Deut. 25, 5), “For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.” This can also be understood to mean that the Church by serving rules in Christ, and lords over lords. The same name is also written upon the garment, because in the mystery of His nativity, and in the work of His passion, His majesty and kingdom are opened to us. (This last sentence refers to the very ancient interpretation of Isaiah 63, 1-7, that the “garment” of Christ is the human body which He took on in the Incarnation, and in which He was born, died and rose.)
