THE NEW LIFE The Lord Christ presents us a living program for his work of salvation. He has come for the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, and for all the mourners, to give comfort and glory through the renovation that He grants to those who believe in Him, to set them priests and kings for Him, and elect them a spiritual bride sanctified for Him. 1. Christ’s program of salvation 1-3. 2. New ecclesiastical life 4-6. 3. Glorified ecclesiastical life 7-9. 4. A joyful marital life 10-11. 1. CHRIST’S PROGRAM OF SALVATION The Lord Christ presents to us, on the tongue of Isaiah, a living program for His work of salvation, expressed concisely but deeply in the following: 1. Humanity enjoys the Holy Spirit, who renews and enriches the human nature, purifies it of its corruption, and grants it the new life, which is in Christ Jesus, hence enjoys the participation in divine life. This gift has been presented to us in the person of the Lord Christ, who says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me.” (Is. 61: 1). As we said in the commentary on chapter 11, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son; not a stranger to Christ, but through incarnation, He received Him in the name of the Church, and on account of those who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit deserted man, as it could not dwell in corruption, but now, a new Man appeared among humans, Who alone makes the return of the Spirit possible, since this Man is without sin. God promised to give the grace of the Spirit back to humanity and there was no other way to do that, but through Jesus Christ. It is an everlasting return, caused by a condition of stability and steadiness. Christ granted the Holy Spirit to His Manhood; and by that He once more harmonized the Spirit with our nature. The return of the Holy Spirit to man in Christ, the incarnate God, the second Adam, is an everlasting return. The Holy Spirit descended on the second Adam for His righteousness; and righteousness in Christ is steadfast one, because the union of divinity with manhood in the Person of Christ is steadfast... And this is a steadfast guarantee for humanity and its stability in the new life. St. Cyril the Great1 The name “Christ” implies the Anointer, the Anointed, and the Anointment itself. The Father is the One who anoints, the Son is One anointed, and the Spirit is the Anointment2. القمص متیاس فرید: التجسد والروح القدس، 1981 ، ص 1 .10 2 Adv. Haer 3:18:3. 7 St. Irenaeus The Holy Spirit shined in its fullness on Him since those who are similar dwell in one another. But as far as you are concerned, after you came up out of the baptismal font, you were granted the anointment, symbolizing Christ was anointed with, that is the Holy Spirit1. St. Cyril of Jerusalem As Lord Christ was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah, He read this chapter. “He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down... And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4: 17- 21) 2. The Lord Christ came to preach good tidings to the poor, heal the broken hearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captives; counting His coming as a year of Jubilee, acceptable to the Lord... to comfort those who mourn in Zion (Is. 61: 2; Leviticus 25: 9, 40). 3. His coming is “the day of vengeance of our Lord” (Is. 61: 2), in which He destroyed the authority of the forces of darkness: the devil, his fallen angels, and his evil works. 4. The Lord sets the believers as “trees of righteousness; the plantings of the Lord” in the divine paradise, “to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of despair” (Is. 61: 3); that is to say, to pour on them His beauty, joy, and praise, in place of humiliation, mourning, and despair! 2. THE NEW ECCLESIASTICAL LIFE The mission of the Lord Christ, whom the Father had anointed to preach good news to the poor, is “to rebuild the old ruins” (Is. 61: 4), which became desolate along the ages. The human nature, along all ages, became like ruined cities, which need to be demolished and rebuilt. This is the work of God the Creator, who sets His kingdom in us, turning us, by His Holy Spirit, from being a dwelling place for sin and evil, into a sanctuary for the Lord. As to the foreigners who tend to our sheep, guard our land, and work as vinedressers in our vineyards, they are the inner energies and motives of our souls, that became as though foreign or a stranger to the Lord and His kingdom. They submit anew, so as not to be obstacles on the way of our salvation, but, on the contrary, as supporter that helps the soul in its holy battle. This is similar to what the Hebrew people did in older days; when they carried with them the gold, silver, and precious clothing of the Egyptians, to use them to build the tabernacle, instead of using them in idol worship in Egypt2. He says, “You shall be named the Priests of the Lord” (Is. 61: 6). As carrying the new nature through baptism, we become spiritually priests, raising our hands in prayers, and presenting our bodies as sacrifices of love accepted by the Father. St. Jerome, calls that priesthood ‘Laic Priesthood3.’ 1 On Myst. 3:1. للمؤلف: الروح القدس بین المیلاد الجدید والتجدید المستمر، 1981 م، ص 2 .14 3 Dialogue against Luciferians. 8 3. THE GLORIFIED ECCLESIASTICAL LIFE God grants His Church a flood of inner glory, heavenly comforts, and everlasting joy. a. Double reward instead of the old troubles: “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.” (Is. 61: 7) What is this double reward that we shall enjoy instead of our shame? It is the enjoyment of the forgiveness of our sins, and gaining the righteousness of Christ. In other words, uprooting the shame of sin to enjoy the glory of Christ in us, forgiving us as rebellious slaves to accept us as children of God in Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son. The redeeming work of Christ did not stop at paying back the debt that burdened our souls, but He presented us with righteousness to partake His glory. The apostle says, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3: 3, 4) He probably also means by the double inheritance, the two resurrections: the first which we get, here in our contemporary life, enjoying the resurrected life; and the second, when the Lord of glory comes on the clouds, to be resurrected with Him and be with Him in His glory. St. Augustine says, [We, who died a double death (of the soul and of the body), will enjoy a double resurrection. So far, we have had one resurrection, which is that from sin, since in baptism, we have been buried with Him, and raised with Him by His resurrection. This resurrection is the salvation from our sins, while the other one is the resurrection of the body. He has given us the greater resurrection, and here we are, waiting for the lesser one! The first resurrection is greater than the second, as salvation from our sins is far greater than resurrection of our body1.] If the kingdom of the devil is marked by selfishness that brings about hate, the shame into which we have fallen, is getting marked by that killing feature. In place of that shame, we gained the double inheritances that are, love in its two consummated aspects: love of God and love of the neighbor. It is as though the work of Christ in us is to destroy our ‘ego,’ in order to grant us an exalted love for God and His creation. b. “Everlasting joy shall be theirs.” (Is. 61: 7) As long as the ecclesiastical life here is a pledge of the heavenly life, featured by double glory instead of shame, with love instead of selfishness, it bears by this the nature of joy and happiness! The cause of our joy is that we carry our Christ in us, to set His heavenly joyful kingdom in our depths. c. ”I will make with them an everlasting covenant.” (Is. 61: 8) The book of Isaiah often talked of that everlasting covenant between God and His Church, proclaimed in the body of the crucified Christ, as a mystery of an everlasting reconciliation. d. Blessings in their spiritual fruits as well as their descendants: “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.” (Is. 61: 9) Who are these blessed descendants acknowledged by the Gentiles? He does not الحب الإلهي، ص 1 .683 9 mean our children according to the flesh, but those who have become disciples to the Lord through us; those who would get to know salvation and gain the new birth through our living testimony to the gospel of our salvation. He probably also means by descendants and posterity, the holy works, that are the fruits of the Holy Spirit of God in us, and the free gift of His grace in our life. 4. A JOYFUL MARITAL LIFE The true ecclesiastical life is an everlasting wedding filled with joy and endless rejoice, through which we are clothed with the garments of salvation as an everlasting wedding garment, or a general priestly garment... “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God. For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Is. 61: 10) In some of the traditional Churches, the priest repeats this phrase, as he puts on his priestly garments to partake of the sacrament of the Eucharist, counting that he is approaching a joyful wedding, that necessitates getting clothed with the hidden garments of salvation, righteousness, and the adornment of the Spirit. What is this garment but the Lord Christ Himself? By whom the believers are clothed with as they enjoy the water of baptism. (Galatians 3: 27) Truly, Christ is the adornment of the bride. He who is, was, and will be the blessed now, and forever, Amen1. St. Gregory of Nyssa Now, (after baptism), having taken off the old garments, and put on the white ones spiritually, it is fitting to keep on wearing what is white. Of course we do not mean by that to wear only white attire, but to clothe ourselves with garments, that are white with truth, spiritually shining, thus saying with Isaiah: “ My soul rejoices in my God, who clothed me with the garment of salvation2.” Keep the holy day, clothed with the garment of salvation, Jesus Christ3. St. Cyril of Jerusalem The prophet clarified what he means by the garment of salvation, saying, “For as the earth brings forth its bud; as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” (Is. 61: 11) It is as though the garment of salvation is the righteousness of Christ and His praise that He grants us is a free gift from Him. 1 On the Baptism of Christ. 2 On the Myst. 4:8. 3 Ibid 5:10.
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