The Ancient Witnesses

146 • The Ancient Witnesses: A Journey to Discover Our Sacred Roots

It is old in that it is the law, new in that it is the word; temporary in that it is a type, eternal in that it is grace; perishable through the slaughter of the sheep, imperishable through the life of the Lord; mortal by means of the burial of the sheep in earth, immortal by means of the rising of Christ from the dead. His poetic stanzas were filled with pictures, especially of sheep and their sacrifice. The law is old, but the word is new; the type is temporary, but the grace is eternal; the sheep is perishable, but the Lord is imperishable— not as a lamb, broken, but as God resurrected! For though he was led off to the slaughter as a sheep, yet he was not a sheep; although he remained speechless, as a lamb, he was not really a lamb. For the type indeed existed, but then the reality appeared. His recitation was dramatic: the pace of his words and the tone of his voice rose and fell as he narrated the Exodus. As a son he was born, as a lamb he was led, as a sheep he was slain, and as a man he was buried, he rose from the dead as God, being in very nature God and Man. With a crescendo in his voice, Melito announced the thesis of his sermon: He is Jesus, the Christ, to Him be glory for all ages. Amen. “Amen, amen!” resounded from the gathered worshippers. Several children at my table asked questions