Born
as a son,
led
forth as a lamb,
sacrificed
as a sheep,
buried
as a man,
he
rose from the dead as a God,
for
he was by nature God and man.
He
is all things:
he
judges, and so he is Law;
he
teaches, and so he is Wisdom;
he
saves, and so he is Grace;
he
begets, and so he is Father;
he
is begotten, and so he is Son;
he
suffers, and so he is Sacrifice;
he
is buried, and so he is man;
he
rises again, and so he is God.
This
is Jesus Christ,
to
whom belongs glory for all ages.
--
Saint Melito of Sardis from
his “Prayer
in Praise of Christ”
