AN INVITATION TO THE CHURCH TO SING Having spoken of the redeeming passions of the Lord Christ He is now inviting the Church to a life of praise and joy; having found her heavenly Groom, who grants her spiritual fertility and an increasing fruition in place of barrenness and desolation. He lifted her up from humility to the glory of the children of God, from corruption to His heavenly righteousness, granting her a conquest over all powers of the enemy. 1. A praise for the sake of fruitfulness 1-3. 2. A praise for the heavenly Groom 4-10. 3. A praise for renovation of the Church 11-13. 4. A praise for victory of the Church 14-17. 1. A PRAISE FOR THE SAKE OF FRUITFULNESS “‘Sing O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not travailed with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,’ says the Lord.” (Is. 54: 1) Origen believes that the husband here, is the Law1, with which the people of the Old Testament were bound, and was fitting for it to present increasing fruits. While the Gentile nations, although deprived of it, yet, uniting with the Lord Christ, through faith in Him, gave birth to children, sanctified in the Lord. St. Augustine compares2 the Church of the Old Testament to that of the New Testament. The former although married to the Law, yet became with her children in servitude, because it sought worldly blessings. The later, on the other hand worshipped God for His own sake, for Him to be All in All. Her ministry is free, referring to children of a free woman and not of a slave. After being before a barren and childless woman, she has now many children, more than the former. This status gives her joy and cause to praise. What we say of the Church of the New Testament as a whole, we say of every soul related to her. Whatever barren and dry our past life has been, the mercy and compassion of God is capable of granting us spiritual fruits for our souls (sons), and for our bodies (daughters), through receiving the cross and enjoying the resurrection with Him. The Law came to make the people righteous, but could not. Yet the Lord Christ came to open the way of righteousness through faith, and realized what the Law intended to do. What the Law could not realize through the letter, He Himself could do through faith3. St. John Chrysostom The Church extends right and left, and does not anymore recall the shame of her widowhood4. She was called Jerusalem; yet the first Jerusalem refusing to listen, was told: “Your 1 Comm. On Matt. 10:23.. 2 Against 2 Letters of the Palagians, 3:13. 3 In Matt. Hom 16. 4 On Ps. 89. 7 house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23: 38). While that, of which it was written: “Sing O barren, you who have not borne…” did not despise Him who called her, who sends her rain and grants her fruits. He called the Church from all the over world after His resurrection; not to be weak on the cross, but strong in heaven1. That prophecy said by Isaiah, on your tongue to your Church -your holy city, is being realized; who has been once barren and desolate, have now more children than that who got a husband, to be truly told: “Sing, O barren, you who have not borne” more so than the Jewish nation with a husband, through receiving the Law; and more so than that with a visible king. Your King is concealed, yet you have numerous children from that concealed Groom. St. Augustine2 What are the results of this fruitfulness? “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations; do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left; And your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.” (Is. 54: 2, 3) The prophet looked at the Church of the New Testament as a Tabernacle of the Lord to which innumerable multitudes come, from the right (Jews), and from the left (Gentiles), in a consistent flow. And when the place is not wide enough to accommodate them He requests the enlargement of the place of the tent, stretching its curtains wide, lengthening its cords and strengthening its stakes. It is extending to embrace the whole earth for the Lord and for His Christ. It is transforming heathen nations into sanctuaries for the Lord, and desolate cities into holy dwellings for His people. This is a portrait of the believer who encounters the cross. He truly turns into a tent for the Lord; his heart gets wider day after day, to carry the image of the philanthropic Savior. He opens up His depths for the good (those from the right) and for the bad (those from the left), to embrace in love, every man to a life of fellowship with God in His Son by the Holy Spirit. It is as though the fruitful work of the cross, is pouring the Spirit of love in us, to share with the Crucified His love; to stretch the arms of our hearts to embrace all, in order to realize in us the divine words: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 35) If the cross has opened up the gates of hope before all nations by divine love, our testimony to the Crucified will not be realized, as long as the tent of our hearts is narrow, its doors closed, its curtains not wide, and its stakes not strengthened. Let us then give our hearts to the Crucified, to make of them His kingdom of love, wide enough to accommodate all humanity, of continuous growth! We often condemn others as being desolate cities, although it is more fitting for us to condemn ourselves, because we did not carry in us the love of the Crucified that makes the desolate cities inhabitable! It is not fitting for one to care only for himself. He should also care for others... What 1 On Ps. 102. 2 On Ps. 59. 8 is the use of a lamp that does not give light to those sitting in the darkness? And what is the use of a Christian who does not bring anyone back to virtue?1 St. John Chrysostom 2. A PRAISE FOR THE HEAVENLY GROOM Although the cross is a “stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the nations” (1 Corinthians 1: 23), as far as we are concerned, as we carry its fruits, we appreciate it as “God’s power and wisdom,” and we are not ashamed of it. That is why the prophet says, “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; nor be disgrace for you will not be put to shame. For you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.” (Is. 54: 4) At the Cross the soul encounters her Groom, Grantor of life and Conqueror of death. She remembers no more her past widowhood and the shame of her youth, when she lived for so long lonely and rejected, with no one to fill up the void of her heart. Looking up at the crucified Groom fulfills all her inner depths, and lets her disregard the ridicule of the daughters of Jerusalem who reject salvation. In the strength of love she says, “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field. Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.” (Songs 3: 5) St. John Chrysostom presents us with the following conversation between the heavenly Groom and the human soul: [How great is my dowry! He came and took me, and named my dowry, saying, I shall give you my wealth! Have you lost the paradise? I shall give it back to you... Yet, He did not give me my whole dowry back here; why? To grant it to you, when you enter the Royal premises. Was it you who came to me? No, but I did... not to let you stay where you are, but to take you back with me. So, do not claim your dowry while you are still in this life, but be filled with hope and faith2.] This is the mystery of our joy, and the object of our persistent praise. The cross has turned our widowhood into a unique wedding in which we unite with the Lord Himself. “‘For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name. And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. He is called the God of the whole earth. For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,’ says your Lord.” (Is. 54: 5, 6) We were in shame and disgrace, like a wife who was deserted by her husband, because of her adultery and uncleanness; but here she became a bride of the Lord of hosts, of the Holy One of Israel, God of all the earth Jesus Christ. As she encounters her Groom, and enjoys His glories, she remembers no more the time of her widowhood with all its bitterness, and counts her whole past as not more than a moment or a blink of eye. The grace of the Lord of glory, and our unity with His Father, make us comprehend with joy His words: “‘For a mere moment I have forsaken you. But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment. But with للمؤلف: القدیس یوحنا الذهبي الفم، 1988 ، ص 1 .211 للمؤلف: القدیس یوحنا الذهبي الفم، 1988 ، ص 2 .215 9 everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,’ says the Lord, your Redeemer.” (Is. 54: 7, 8) Before God’s everlasting compassion we count all days of our affliction as though a brief moment that passed to let us enter the heavenly glories. As to His saying, “I will gather you,” that means gathering the holy Church together from all nations, peoples, and tongues, as one body for the head, or as one bride for her heavenly Groom. In it also, believers gather together, those of the Old and those of the New Testaments; the heavenly hosts with the men; and the priests with the congregation etc. Yet all that would not be realized, unless man gets together with himself as a whole: the soul submitting with the body, with all its senses and feelings, the mind with the heart and faculties etc., to become in his wholeness sanctified to the Lord. That matrimonial love between Christ and the human soul, is everlasting and unending. Thus as God swore to Noah that He will never again, in His anger, cover the earth with flood (Is. 54: 9); so He likewise presents us with a promise, never to desert us or deprive us of His compassion, saying, “‘For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed. But My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” (Is. 54: 10) In short, He elected us a bride, taking away the shame of our widowhood, confirming His love and compassion for us, presenting us with sure, renewable, and everlasting promises. He brought us out of the house of adultery, cleansed, and sanctified us as His bride, to enter into His heaven, and to sit as a queen on His right. St. John Chrysostom says, [God, having elected a whore, He does not take her into His heaven in such condition, but because she is incapable of ascending up, He descended to earth, came to that harlot, and did not hesitate to hold her in her drunken condition1.] 3. A PRAISE FOR THE RENOVATION OF THE CHURCH The cause of our praise is that, having been like barren, God granted us many children, and like deserted we found in Him a Groom for our souls, and like an afflicted city God took over its renovation: “O afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones.” (Is. 54: 11, 12) What a fabulous portrait that reveals the extent of corruption that humanity reached, then the unutterable exalted glory it was granted. As a desolate devastated city, it was humiliated through the enemy who captivated its people, and deprived them of all hope, leaving them uncomforted. But now God is rebuilding it in the following way: a. Building it with stones of turquoise, a sign of strength and sturdiness. These stones are the souls that received faith in the Savior, turning into living stones in the temple of the Lord, that the devil cannot break or take away. b. The foundation with blue sapphires. The foundation is our Lord Jesus Christ (the Heavenly-blue); the Corner Stone who binds all together in Him. للمؤلف: القدیس یوحنا الذهبي الفم، 1988 ، ص 1 .213 10 c. The battlements of transparent rubies, a reference to the inner glory of the believer, set upon Christ’s righteousness and the holy life in Him, which is reflected on the outside battlements. d. The gates of sparkling jewels; referring to sanctification of senses, caring, without destroying or disregarding them. e. All the walls of precious stones, referring to complete sanctification of the soul and body. f. “All (its) children are taught by the Lord” (Is. 54: 13). The loyal members of the Church will be taught by the Lord Himself, every priest or teacher will vanish before their eyes, to see only the Lord Himself working in all. And as said by St. John Chrysostom: [Behold the dignity of faith, they will not be taught by a human, but by God Himself... Yet, the word ‘all’ in the prophecy here does not mean, that ‘all’ inhabitants will be taught by the Lord, but all those who have the will to learn. The teacher sits there ready to give all his knowledge to everybody1.] St. Augustine says about the grace of being taught through God: [This grace is called ‘teaching,’ as God teaches those He calls according to His will, granting them whatever they need to know, and at the same time to apply whatever they are taught2.] It is a divine gift that carries two integrated aspects: The true spiritual Gnosis, and the enjoyment of applying it in our daily life. He grants us to know the truth and to live it in Him! Through this education, the children of the Church enjoy exalted peace: “Great will be the peace of your children.” (Is. 54: 13) By sitting at the Savior’s feet hearkening His voice and experiencing truth in Him, we are granted the inner peace of spirit, as a special gift for His children. St. Athanasius described St. Anthony after spending a long period of his severe asceticism, saying, [His physical appearance did not change... nor his attitude; his soul was not afflicted by grief, indulged in lust, or affected by laughing or despair3.] Peace is the inheritance, the Lord promised His disciples before His crucifixion; saying, “Peace I give you.” Whoever wishes to inherit the Lord Christ let him dwell in Christ’s peace4. St. Augustine g. The mystery of peace of the Church, its edification, and strength, is the righteousness of Christ, saying, “In righteousness you shall be established. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.” (Is. 54: 14) The apostle says, ”Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4: 25). 4. A PRAISE FOR THE VICTORY OF THE CHURCH What makes the heart of the Church rejoice - that Church, built by the Lord Himself, elected to be His bride, and a heavenly queen; teaching its children and granting 1 In John hom 46:1. 2 On the Grace of Christ 13. 3 Vita Antonii 14. الحب الإلهي، ص 4 .960 11 them His peace; offering them His righteousness; working in them to live by righteousness and to reject all evil and oppression - is that it is, at the same time, faced by opposition from all powers of darkness; yet granted by the Lord victory over them, and conquest even over death. a. The powers of darkness unite together against her: “Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.” (Is. 54: 15) They assemble, counsel, and work together against the Church of Christ, as did the forces of evil before, when they requested the crucifixion of her Groom, to have their deed turn into salvation for the whole world: God “out of the eater gave something to eat, and out of the strong gave something sweet.” b. Their unity led them to fall under the feet of the Church: “Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.” (Is. 54: 15) c. Their gathering together is allowed by God: “I have created the spoiler to destroy.” (Is. 54: 16) So we should not fear him or become disturbed by his violence; he is completely controlled by God’s hand. d. Every opposition will defiantly come to an end; the Church will be crowned, to be granted as a heritage, the eternal righteousness: “‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord.” (Is. 54: 17)
Welcome