A COLLECTIVE INVITATION FOR SALVATION God revealed His work in the Church that He transformed from a state of widowhood, into one of everlasting wedding, and from ruins to the precious exaltingl beautiful city of the Lord. Now, God is opening its gates wide to all, to come to the fountain of living water, to drink and quench their thirst; to find food that fulfills the needs of everyone; and to enter into a new eternal covenant. Before this invitation, it is fitting for the thirsty to proclaim their response, practically through seeking the Lord, rejecting evil, together with complete deliverance into the hands of the Savior, with joy of heart and praise. 1. An invitation to salvation 1-5. 2. Response of man 6-13. 1. AN INVITATION TO SALVATION The divine invitation to enjoy God’s free salvation came carrying the following aspects: a. A collective invitation to the thirsty: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Is. 55: 1) It is a general invitation to all; the gates of the Church are open before all; to which, all who feel the need (the thirsty), will listen; as the Lord also said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5: 6) As we often said before, water in the Holy Scripture sometimes refers to the Holy Spirit that works in the water of Baptism. It is as though, the invitation here is directed to all, to freely enjoy Baptism. St. Gregory Nazianzus speaks about the gift of Baptism saying, [Do not hesitate, however long the trip is, either by land or by sea; or whatever few or many the obstacles are; as long as the gift is offered to you. Isaiah is proclaiming: “Come, everyone who thirst…” How swift is God’s compassion! How easy is the covenant! You will be granted this blessing, as soon as you want it. He is accepting your wish as a great price; He thirsts for your thirst, and satisfies all who wish in mystery... He offers compassion to everyone who asks for it... He is ready to give in abundance... He rejoices in giving more than those who get]1. b. A gift that fulfills all: This free gift, that is not purchased by gold or silver, provides everyone with his needs; the mature will get the wine in which they rejoice, and the infants will get the milk to support them. The spiritual wine enjoyed by the mature, refers to the state of joy enjoyed by those of high spiritual stature, “their soul delights itself in abundance of the Lord” (Is, 55: 2); and as St. John Saba says, [Blessed is he, who always thinks of You in his heart; his soul is always drunk by Your sweetness.] The spiritual milk offered to the young, refers to God’s compassion towards the 1 On Holy Baptism 28. 7 beginners, giving them what fits their spiritual stomach, until they grow and mature. He knows how to offer to every one what is good for his edification, peace, and satisfaction. Do you want satisfaction? How can you have it? The body yearns to satisfaction, yet to become hungry again after digestion, that is why the Lord Christ says, “Whoever drinks from this water will thirst again.” (John 4: 13) I wish we hunger and thirst for righteousness, to get our satisfaction. I wish our inner man hunger and thirst, to get the food and drink suitable for him. The Lord says, “I am the Bread which came down from heaven.” (John 6: 41) This is the Bread for the hungry. I wish we thirst for the live water: “For with you is the fountain of life.” (Psalm 36: 9)1 Blessed is he, who forgot all about world talk through talking with You, as with You all his needs are consummated. You put the Spirit of your Son in his heart; and that Spirit gave him the privilege to ask of you all what you have, exactly as a son asks his father! His talk is with You all the time, as he knows no other father!2 St. John Saba Oh! I shall not get fulfilled, unless Your glory is transfigured before me! Whoever possesses You, will have all his needs fulfilled! How horrible is my misery! My heart tends to escape from You! From the true wealth and the true joy, to go after the world, where there is nothing but sorrow and pain!3 St. Augustine I wish they feel their need to be worthy of satisfaction; as while displaying their haughtiness, they deprive themselves of the bread that would grant them a healthy life! Seek the Lord, you needy, hungry, and thirsty, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6: 33. 51). Seek the Lord to live. You seek the bread for your flesh to live, while the Lord seeks you for your souls to live!4 “His eyes are darker than wine; and his teeth whiter than milk.” (Genesis 49: 12). His eyes are darker than wine; these are His spiritual people who are drunk with His cup; and His teeth are whiter than milk, which are the words on which the infants, still unable to receive solid food, feed (1 Corinthians 3: 2; 1 Peter 2: 2)5. Get drunk, yet beware of the source: If you are drinking out of the splendid cup of the Lord, this would show through your deeds, your love for righteousness, and finally through the departure of your mind away from the earthlies to the heavenlies6. 1 .46- الحب الإلهي، ص 45 الحب الإلهي، ص 2 .51 3 .47- الحب الإلهي، ص 46 4 On Ps. 70. 5 City of God 16:41 6 On Ps. 104. 8 St. Augustine Let us then approach our Christ to purchase His wine and milk for free, according to His promise and invitation. c. Entrance into an everlasting covenant to establish the fallen kingdom of David, according to the true divine promise: “I will make an everlasting covenant with you - the sure mercies of David” (Is. 55: 3) Through that covenant we become kings (Revelation 5: 10), referred to the King of kings, of whom is said: “I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples” (Is. 55: 4) He is the King, who set the law of the New Testament and the New commandment, not to a certain people in particular, but to all peoples. d. Receiving the heathen nations that returned to God in faith: “Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.” (Is. 55: 5) This issue was not well received by the ancient people; even after the door was opened before the Gentiles. The Church in the whole world, remained in awe before God’s love for the whole humanity, drawing them from paganism and its defilement, to proclaim the glory of God. In awe, St. Augustine says, [How did the Gentiles enter so quickly into faith?... If we ask them what they want, they would answer: ‘a knowledge of the glory of God’1.] 2. RESPONSE OF MAN Before this holy, free, and general invitation to the thirsty, it is fitting for man to respond to it, and receive it through the following means: a. Through prayers, namely seeking to encounter the Lord: “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.” (Is. 55: 6) God loved us first, descended to us to proclaim that He is not far from us, but standing at the doors of our hearts, knocking and seeking entrance (Revelation 3: 20). It is fitting for us to seek Him and ask Him to take over the keys of our hearts, in order to open and enter then to close, to let none else share our hearts with Him, being the One who “opens and no one closes, and closes and no one opens.” Proclamation of our acceptance of God’s love through prayer is responding to love with love; and proclamation of the soul’s acceptance of her unique Groom, who eternally asks for her hand. b. Through repentance: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Is. 55: 7) What does repentance mean, but proclaiming the acceptance of light and not darkness, Christ and not Belial (2 Corinthians 6: 14)? Repentance is the way that John the Baptist paved for the Lord Christ, and that which the disciples preached to prepare humanity to receive His Kingdom within them. c. Through leaning upon God’s wisdom, and trusting in His plans and ordinances 1 On Ps. 135. 9 for us, saying, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Is. 55: 8, 9) Our faith in the heavenly Groom implies an absolute trust in His wisdom, and love, and in His capability to plan for His bride, for her edification and salvation, however severe His plans might look, and however bitter His ordinances might seem. d. Through quenching our thirst with the word of God, Grantor of fruits: “For as rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is. 55: 10, 11) The Word of God was incarnated to quench the thirst of humanity with His blood, as a unique rain capable of renewing its creation, of transforming it from being a desolate wilderness inhabited by wild beasts into a fruitful paradise, dwelt by the Holy Trinity, and rejoiced by both the heavenlies and the earthlies. So it is fitting for us to receive the written word of God, not for the sake of a mere mental study, but as a life that gives divine fruits. e. Through continuous praise, a sign of hearty acceptance of the Groom, and an inner response to Him: “You will go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Is. 55: 12) Going out with joy means the departure of the soul from the ego to get it wide enough to accommodate her Groom and His entire beloved, the heavenlies and the earthlies, to go, then to come back with all, in peace and reconciliation with God, angels, and humans. This extended love creates an atmosphere of joy, in which mountains and hills will burst into song, namely the congregation of believers around you, who are beholding the eternal wedding set within you. As to the trees of the field that clap their hands, this means that the joy will not be just by the tongue, but will be proclaimed through action by hands. f. Through positive and increasing fruition: It would not be enough to take away the thorn-bush and briers, but pine-trees and myrtle have to appear, a sign of getting sealed by the name of the Lord, Grantor of spiritual fruits. In other words, our acceptance of His invitation does not imply just forsaking evil, but practicing the righteousness of Christ, and living His holy fruitful life, through the work of His Holy Spirit in us.
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