OUR LIFE IS TEMPORARY This chapter begins by bitter screams and pessimistic look toward man’s life, being of few days, and perpetually burdened with incessant troubles and afflictions; likened by ‘Job’ to the flowers of weeds that soon fade away under the heat of the sun of temptations, and a shadow that does not continue. ‘Job’ seems as though crying out to God to lift his hand up from him, to have rest from burden these temptations; and seems as well, as though he has no hope to live anew after his death. But if you look carefully into his words, you will find them full of hope in the Lord, as a Savior of mankind, who alone, can turn them around from sin to the true righteousness, and grand those the resurrection and the new life, after heaven and earth come to an end. You will find ‘Job’ looking at life as a temporary sleep that would be followed by awakening. This chapter therefore presents two actual aspects: bitterness of him, on whom bitter temptations dwell; and the glory he anticipates. Some believe that some of Job’s words, that look as though carrying great despair, were only because he put himself in the position of weakness; then, proclaiming his hope in the work of God, he became like his coming Lord, who: “being Himself tempted, can help those under temptations”. ‘Job’ finding out that talking to his friends was without benefit, he raised his heart up to God, to speak with Him concerning man’s life on earth, of which he draws a painful portrait, as of such short duration to earn the care of God; who, will not subsequently care for his punishment. If no one can make man clean (4), Why then, does not let him enjoy pleasures, as much as he can acquire, even if he noting more than a hired hand? (5-6). ‘Job’ comparing a cut-down tree to a dead man, says that the first can sprout again; whereas man cannot [10-12; see also 10: 21-22). If this is not the end: the abyss or the condition of death; and God will summon him again to confront him face to face; he would be able to endure the present sufferings, and would joyfully go to encounter God, feeling that He would take away his sins forever (13-17). Yet the light of hope would soon scatter, to appear again (in chapter 19). Man is not like a living tree, but as a mountain that God make makes it fall and crumble away! 1- Man’s life on earth 1 – 5 2- Death and the crossing over from suffering 6 – 15 3- Getting prepared for death 16 – 22 1- MAN’S LIFE ON EARTH: “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble (wrath)” (Job 14: 1). In this, ‘Job’ joins his friend ‘Elphaz’ in looking at man as born for labor and suffering; according to the words of the wise ‘Solomon’: “All his days, his work is pain and grief, even at night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2: 23). If man concentrates on what dwells upon him he would look at life with a bitter eye; Whereas if he lifts up his heart to God, he would find it a divine gift, and would realize 502 God’s plan behind the troubles that dwell upon him, and his soul would rejoice with the spirit of hope. When ‘Job’ look into himself, as well as into every man else, he would find nothing to boast about: he is born of woman; namely of a weak human seed. Pope Gregory the Great believes that ‘woman’ here refers to spiritual weakness. Man, born from a woman in weakness, would have his life of few days, whatever is the duration of his life, full of labor and sufferings; with rarely one single day without affliction. Man’s condition is indeed miserable! Although he is committed to present an account of his sin. Yet he cannot avoid it. It goes back to the beginning of childhood itself, before man acquires the ability to know right from wrong. He is indeed miserable. His life is but a few days, seduction is sweet; tribulations are doubling; frustration is a daily routine; and even in moments of pleasure, there is perpetual bitterness1! St. Ambrose St. Augustine, commenting on the expression “full of wrath” (14; 1), says that God’s wrath comes from His mercy and love, that led to the incarnation of the onlybegotten Son in the fullness of days, to renew us and to take away every burden of sin, whether the serious sin inherited along the generations, or that we practice2. The human race fell under just judgment, and all men became the children of wrath, of which it was written: “For all our days have passed away in Your wrath” (Psalm 90: 9); and of which ‘Job’ says: “Man born of woman is of few days, and full of wrath” (14: 1). And on this wrath, the Lord Jesus also says: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3: 36 – a talk by St. John the Baptist, and not by the Lord Christ). … As every man is born with this wrath, the apostle Paul says: “We were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2: 3) 3. St. Augustine “Man born of woman is of few days”; because God commanded that he return to dust (Genesis 3: 19); and, as being “full of wrath”, that started according to ‘Job’ at the moment he disobeyed the commandment he got from God (Genesis 2: 17; 3: 6). Father Hecechius of Jerusalem Notice the accuracy of the expression: “You are treasuring up for yourself wrath” (Romans 2: 5); namely, that the judgment is not coming from the Judge, but is a result of the work of the sinner himself. He does not say: “God treasures up for you ….”, but “You treasure for yourself…”. He tries hard to draw you along; yet if you persist on your stubbornness, “you would treasure up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”. But do not think that God’s wrath is just a strong reaction; but it is justice; a “revelation”; by which every man gets what he deserves4. St. John Chrysostom 1 The Prayer of Job and David, Book 1, 7:22. 2 On the Gospel of St. John, tractate, 124:5. 3 Enchiridion, 33. 4 In Rom. hom 5. 503 Whenever we read about God’s wrath and anger; we should not understand the word according to the human emotion; but with a meaning that is befitting to God who is beyond such kinds of indecent emotions; We should realize from this that He is Judge and the Avenger against all those oppressive things that are committed in this world. And according to the logic and meaning of these terms, we should fear Him, being the fearful Avenger on all our works, and should fear to do anything against His will. As the human nature is used to fear those known for their with fiery tempers, and be terrified from doing wrong against them. The avenging wrath is usually feared by those tortured by the accusations of their conscience; Yet the tendency of the judge toward them are governed by justice, impartiality, and respect of the law he applies; And whatever are his compassion and fairness, he would always be described otherwise by those whom he justly condemned1. St. John Cassian St. Gregory of Nyssa believes that ‘Job’ calls that man ‘the mortal’. “The (mortal) man born of woman, of few days and full of wrath” (1) That being called by the Holy Book in the history of creation as “man”, is called by ‘Job’ the ‘mortal’, and by heathen authors ‘a human being’, and by others ‘an uttering speaker’2. St. Gregory of Nyssa “He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue” (Job 13: 2). ‘Job’ describes the life of man by two symbols: 1- The flowers of the field, or the weeds, that appears for a short time, then soon withers and falls under the heat of the sun (Isaiah 40: 7; James 1: 11; 1 Peter 1: 24). 2- The shadow, with no existence, and according to Bildad: “Our days on earth are a shadow” (Job 8: 9). “He comes forth like a flower and fades away” (2). Man in paradise has flourished like a flower, and even gave names to all animals (Genesis 2: 20). But he fell when he was deceived by the serpent (Genesis 3: 4-5; 2 Corinthians 11: 3); after which he “fled like a shadow” from the face of God, when he found out that he became naked, and hid himself behind the trees in paradise, when God called his name, saying: “Adam, where are you?” (Genesis 3: 7-9). Once he was driven out of paradise, he lost every help, got corrupted and completely perished with no hope. Father Hecichius of Jerusalem Life in the body is like a flower of weeds; according to the words of the Psalmist: “As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes” (Psalm 103: 15); and of Isaiah: “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field” (Isaiah 40: 6). As man appears all of a sudden, he, day after day, and a moment after another, retreats to death “He flees like a shadow, and does not continue” (Job 14: 2). Why is man’ life likened to a shadow, and not to the sun; except that, according to the voice of the Truth: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24: 12). 1 Cassian: De institutis caenoboum, 8:2-4. 2 Answer to Eunomius’ Second Book. 504 It is well said: “He does not continue” (2). He moves from the early childhood to childhood; then to youth; to manhood; to old age; then ultimately to death. We cannot have here a perpetual citizenship; We came to pass by; and with the same ways by which we live, we pass day after day from this life! Before his rebellion, the early man was not able to realize this fact of going forth from this life; But after his rebellion, man placed himself on a kind of his sloping temporary condition. Having eaten the forbidden fruit, he, on the spot, failed to “continue”! Pope Gregory the Great Pope Gregory the Great believes that this submission to outer change also goes hand in hand with an inner change; striving to do better works. His mind is perpetually in a condition of change; unless man is committed to self-control, to avoid sloping into a worse condition. [Having forsaken Him who is perpetually set, the mind lost his continuation on its condition; striving to practice better things, it is committed to face opposing currents. But if he is slothful in striving to ascend, he would be pushed downward to a worse condition. As ascension needs a greater effort than descent, the Lord instructs us to strive to enter through the narrow gate (Luke 13: 24). In case there is no strife from a flaring heart, the soul would slide to lower places]. “And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself?” (Job 14: 3). ‘Job’ stands astonished, that God, who knows that man’s life is just like a shadow that does not continue, but would soon vanishes; makes it a point to bring ‘Job’ to judgment! The Psalmist David cries out saying: “Lord, what is man, that you take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144: 3-4); and again he says: “What is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You visit him?”(Psalm 8: 4). In great humility, David believing that he is not worthy of God getting mindful of his transgressions, nor bringing him to judgment, says to God: “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant” (Psalm 143: 2). Who could be justified in the eyes of God, or could boast of his righteousness and the purity of his heart, if an infant of one day is not considered pure of sin1! St. Ambrose “Do You open Your eyes on such a one, and brought him to judgment with Yourself?” (3). this does not concern only Adam before his rebellion! God so cared for him not to sin, and not to be cast away from paradise, that he commanded him, saying: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die” (Genesis 2: 16, 17). He likewise cared for us, by providing us with the written law; then added to it the prophets (Matthew 11: 13); beside providing us with the grace of the gospel (Acts 20: 1 Death is Good, 11: 49. 505 24), through which He referred to us, how we can receive the preliminary honor, how to avoid the threat of hell (Luke 12: 5); and how to seek paradise (Mk 13: 33). He then brought man to judgment, to receive the reward according to his works (Matthew 16: 27). Realizing all that, we are committed to pass through our life in a sound way; knowing that everyone would either punished or crowned according to his works. Those who follow Adam’s lead, having not headed the lesson for their chastisement, would fall under punishment. Whereas those who keep the commandments (Matthew 5: 19), would be found worthy of getting a double reward from the just Judge (Matthew 5: 12); Being supported by the grace given to us through the new Adam (Romans 15: 15), that would be the way by which we can enjoy the happiness in the kingdom and the glory of God, the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit. Father Hecechius of Jerusalem “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one” (Job 14: 4). In great humility, ‘Job’ considers his life like a withered weed, or like a vanishing shadow; and at the same time he sees his life unclean, and wonders who can bring purity out of it! And like David who cries out, saying: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51: 5), no one can purify or sanctify man except his Creator; as the procedure of purification is like recreation. : Create in me a clean heart. O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51: 10). ‘Job’ believes that man carries the corruption of sin since the time he was conceived (see Psalm 51: 10). It is as though ‘Job’ says to God that, being a sinner, because all humanity got corrupted since the fall of the early parents, All need Your purification and sanctification; No one could be justified before You. Despite the fact that God’s ministers and friends, avoid the kind of sins that are for death; and practice numerous good deeds; yet we do not believe that they are without less serious sins; as God truly says: “There is no infant of one day old on earth, without sin”. Besides, the blessed St. John the evangelist, who is undoubtedly not less worthy than ‘Job’, proclaims: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1: 8). And the wise Solomon says: “A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24: 16) 1. Father Caesarius, Bishop of Arl Who can purify something of an unclean seed? Only the One pure in Himself! Man who exists in a corrupt body, has a built-in corruption that he draws from the nature of his birth, having been conceived through an unclean carnal pleasure; according to the words of the Psalmist: “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51: 5) … Man is tempted against his will; whereas he, who can control the emotions of his secret temptation, and overcome the uncleanness of his thoughts, should not refer this purity to himself; as nobody can make him, who was conceived in iniquity ,pure, except the One who is pure in Himself. The meaning here, is that the righteous ‘Job’, looking forward to the incarnation of the Savior, believes that it is that Man alone in the world who is to be conceived with 1 Sermons, 91:4. 506 no iniquity, with no seed of man or woman, but from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary; the only one truly pure in His body, for he does not come according to carnal pleasure. Pope Gregory the Great I quoted the following phrase from the book of ‘Job’: “In Your sight, no one is pure, even if he is an infant one day old on earth1”; to which is added: “We are all guilty because of Adam’s disobedience”; a point of view also proclaimed by the book of Nineveh, that clearly states that the little children of Nineveh were committed to fast together with the whole people. No man is without sin2, even if his life on earth is just one day, or he lived long years. If the stars of heaven are not pure in God does sight, how much more would it be for those who submitted to the sin of Adam’s disobedience3?! St. Augustine Who can be purified of uncleanness? No one, even he is one day old on earth. No one can boast and say: “I am pure?” except Christ “who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2: 22). An infant one day old, in whom there is no uncleanness, for he “does not know how to refuse the evil and choose the good” (Isaiah 7: 15), yet he carries the corruption of the old Adam (1 Corinthians 15: 42), that we all carry. But the grace of the new Adam, has taken away from us the old Adam, has also saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3: 5). Father Hecechius of Jerusalem “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (Job 14: 5). Looking at his life, ‘Job’ finds out that even his age is predetermined by God, who has full authority and might; he could never be able to exceed its limits; according to the words of the prophet Moses who says: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90: 12). God is the One to “kill and bring back to life” (2 Kings 5: 7). Nothing can happen haphazardly; man’s life is known to God, and his days are limited by Him. “You have decreed the number of his days, and set limits he cannot exceed” (5). For all mankind, it is limited by the Creator, not only by years and months, but even by days and hours; and never could be exceeded. Do not you know that many may be saved from deadly illness, while others, in excellent health, may be suddenly taken away from life?! Some fall down from very high places, and are not harmed, while others are taken away by death with a step amiss! And some may abandon a sinking ship, clinging on a floating piece of wood, and reach the shore safe and sound; while others may meet death in a sunken ship close to a harbor! Father Hecechius of Jerusalem I know that the human soul is spiritual and not carnal; is provided with mind and thought; is not of the same essence as God, but created after the life of God, which is alone a blessed life; and is eternal. It is indeed not indebted for being clothed in a 1 Jerome against Jovinian, Book 2. 2 Jerome on Jonah, ch .3. 3 Letter 166 to Jerome (A Treatise on the Origin of Human Soul, ch 3:6.) 507 body, to works it has done before that, but, being in man, it is never without sin, even in an infant one day old. As all those of the seed of Adam, is born without sin, it is necessary even for infants to be born anew in Christ through the grace of renewal. All this I know concerning the soul1. St. Jerome No sermon can cover the swarm of sins of the soul and the free will: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts” (Mark 7: 21; Matthew15: 19); then a list of the thoughts that defile us are added. So, if I swarm of sins are surrounding us on all sides, through the senses and the inner movements of the soul; Who then can boast that his heart is pure? (Proverbs 20: 9 LXX; Job 14: 4 LXX). A blemish that may come to the purity of the soul is the carnal pleasure that mixes with human life by various ways through the soul and the body, by thoughts, senses, voluntary movements and body behavior. Therefore, who can claim that his soul is free of such blemish? How can anyone be free of the strike of haughtiness, or treaded under the feet of pride? Whose feet never ran to evil? Who was never corrupted by his eyes wandering toward corruption, or by his ears getting out of control? Who was never preoccupied with some taste of pleasure; and who was never moved by vain emotions2? St. Gregory of Nyssa “No one is without a blemish, even if he is one day old on this earth”. David moans, saying: “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51: 5); And the apostle Paul proclaims: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood” (Romans 3: 23-25). That is why the remission of sin is granted to those who believe; according to the words of the Lord Himself: “For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sin” (Matthew 26: 28)3. St. Basil the Great The scholar Origen uses this phrase (see Acts 2: 38), to confirm that everyone, including infants4, should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. When have infants committed those sins?! Or how can we explain the cleansing by baptistery in the case of little infants, except by the interpretation we have already talked about: “No one is without sin even if he is one day old on earth” (Job 14: 4-5)? Through the sacrament of baptism this blemish by birth is taken away; as “Unless man is born from water and Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven”5. 1 Letter 144: 9. 2 The Lord’s Prayer. Sermon 5. 3 Concerning Baptism, Book 1, chapter 2. 4 Cf Homilies on Leviticus, homily 8: 3: 5. 5 Homilies on the Gospel of Luke 14:4-5. 508 According to the Holy Book (Job 14: 4-5),everyone entering this world is said to bear a certain corruption. This truly happens in the mother’s womb (Job 3: 11). Assuming a body from the parental seed, he is said to be “corrupted in his father and mother”. Do not you know that the male newborn infant, once he is 40 days of age, had to be presented to the altar to be cleansed (Leviticus 12: 2; Wisdom 8: 20).? As though he got corrupted when conceived through the paternal seed, or the maternal womb. Only my Lord Jesus Christ came to this world pure, and was not corrupted in His mother; He is about whom Solomon said before long time: “Being good, I entered an undefiled body”1. The scholar Origen “No one is pure of sin, even if he is one day old on this earth”. Not one of the apostles or saints dare to say ‘We are saints, or dared to say: “I will walk”, but said: “I may walk”; promising that he may do it in the future, and not claiming to have done it in the past! “That I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 116: 9). This present land is the land of the dead; the other land is the land of the living2. Take hold of the Savior’s feet; cleanse them with your tears; and dry them up with your hair. When you do that, you may reach His head. When you descend into the fountain of life together with the Savior; You may then learn to pour the oil over the Savior’s head. If “the head of every man is Christ” (1 Corinthians 11: 3), your head should be anointed; following your baptism, you should be anointed3. St. Jerome “In iniquity I was conceived” (Psalm 51: 5). Was David born in adultery, being the son of the righteous man Jesse and his wife?! Was it not the iniquity inherited from Adam; and the bond of death planted in the soul together with the iniquity itself?! No man was born, without the worthiness of punishment being brought forth together with him! As testified by the righteous ‘Job’ (14: 4-5)4. St. Augustine There are those who intend to make excuses for their sins, referring to the statement by “job’, that there is no one without sin, even if he is one day old on earth (14: 4-5). I very much doubt that they understand the meaning of what they utter. Here we shall try to respond to them in a concise manner, saying: [To be without sin, according to the Holy Book, has two meanings: either that man has never sinned, or that he stopped sinning. If they say that no one is without sin, we shall say ‘Yes’; We have all sinned one time or another, even if we stopped sinning later on! But if they deny that someone after sinning can practice virtues, and would not sin again; In that they are wrong! Because this is quite possible to happen; and he can be described as ‘without sin’. 1 Homilies on Leviticus, homily 12: 4: 1. 2 On Ps., homily 39. 3 On Mark, homily 84. 4 On Ps. 51 (50). 509 Our Lord Jesus Christ “has presented to Himself a radiant church without stains or wrinkles” (Ephesians 5: 27); Not because members of that church were always without sin , but because they later freed themselves from it. The Holy Book adds: “or wrinkles”; not that member of that church was never with the wrinkles of the old self (Ephesians 4: 22; Colossians 3: 9); but because they stopped being as such1! The scholar Origen This can also apply to the Spirit; as we sometimes try to make progress in gaining benefits in virtue and some other talents provided to us; but sometimes we are not able to do so … Nobody can achieve the level he wishes to; but God the Almighty, who is able to discern what is inside us, puts limits even to the spiritual benefit themselves. Likewise, concerning things that man tries to, yet fails to master, he cannot even boast being a master of things under his own authority! That is the reason that great preacher who was caught up to the third heaven, caught up to paradise (2 Corinthians 12), after gaining that proclamation, was not given the authority to rest in peace with no temptation. But because the Almighty God, has put limitations for man that he cannot surpass, raised him up to realize high things, then brought him down to submit to weaknesses. That was meant to keep him from having pride in him, but to be committed to humility; and commit to his limitations, in order to live in peace. Pope Gregory the Great In the Septuagint version it came as: “No one without blemish (uncleanness)”; on which the scholar Origen comments, saying: [It is not said: “No one is without (sin), but without (uncleanness)”; as every soul clothed by human flesh, has her own uncleanness; except Jesus, who took up a human body by His own will for the sake of our salvation (having taken in it our uncleanness)! Let us listen to Zechariah the prophet, saying: “Joshua (the high priest) was clothed with filthy garment” (Zechariah 3: 3); he says this to respond to those who deny that our Lord took up a real body, and who claim that His body was of spiritual heavenly nature2. The scholar Origen, in commenting on this same phrase, says that not one of the saints ever celebrates his birthday; On the contrary, in the Old Testament, we read how Pharaoh celebrated his birthday by killing and hanging his head baker (Genesis 40: 20- 22); And how Herod celebrated his birthday by beheading St, John the Baptist3. 2- DEATH AND THE CROSSING OVER FROM SUFFERING: “Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day” (Job 14: 6). As his anguish became unbearable, which ‘Job’ counted as allowed by God, he asks him to lift up His hand from him that he may rest from what dwelt upon him. As the Psalmist says: “Look away from me, that I may regain strength, before I go away and am no more” (Psalm 39: 13). As though he says to God: My best days are full of labor and misery; allow me to breathe and have rest from the continuous anguish. The hired hand looks forward with 1 Homilies on Luke, homily. 2: 2. 2 Homilies on Luke, homily. 14: 4. 3 Cf Homilies on Leviticus, homily 8: 3: 2. 510 hope toward the end of his day of work to have rest from labor. So, count my days like those of the hired hand; let there be labor in them, but let there also be periods of rest. “Look away (temporarily) from him that he may rest, till he, like a hired man, rejoices for the end of his day” (6). By “Look away from him” he means, take away the ferocity of the strike. But who can rest if God gets away from him; As God alone is the rest and comfort?! And the further man goes away from him, the further the rest goes. The further away the hired man is from the end of his day’s work, the further away would be the wage for his labor. That is why every saint in this life, would grieve more when he sees that the day of his departure from this life is far away, would grieve that he is far from the eternal blessing. Pope Gregory the Great “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease” (Job 14: 7). ‘Job’ looks at his life on earth, as one life which, if passes away, it would never come back; while a tree, if it is cut down, and its root is left in the soil, would sprout new shoots, as though it is planted anew. The humidity of the soil and the rain of heaven would work on the stump of the cut down tree, to live again; whereas man, once he is buried in his grave, would never come back to this world. “Job’ believes that life for trees is better than for man; as when a tree is cut down, a new one can sprout out of her stump! When Isaiah prophesied about the reform of the cities of Judah that were devastated, he gave the following analogy: “As a terebinth tree or as an oak whose stump remains; when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump” (Isaiah 6: 13). The house of Jesse – namely Israel – is cut down, as you cut down a great terebinth tree; Yet God, with His great mercy allows the stem of that oak tree to sprout anew and produce a new splendid shoot; the Savior Messiah, of the tribe of Judah: “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him …” (Isaiah 11: 1). Pope Gregory the Great provides us with a prophetic interpretation, as he sees in these phrases a prophecy about the death and the resurrection of the Lord Christ. He could have died because of His sufferings; but, by the glory of His resurrection, he came back again to the green life. His sprouting shoots are His believers, who, by His resurrection, would multiply, spread, and grow. His stump may look as though it has grown old in the soil, as preaching Him for the non-believers among the Jews, has been something like an insult. “His stump dried up in the dust”, as the hearts of His opponents were so held fast by their lack of faith, for Him to become as though “despised and cast away”; He could have died by the body; but, “by the scent of water, He sprouted again” by the power of God. And His body after His death rose from the dead “whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 3: 15) … “and sprouted leaves like a new plant”. The weakness of the disciples; who, at the time of His death, their fear and denial made them ‘dry’; but, by the glory of His resurrection, they became alive again by faith. Compared to that tree, what would every man be but dust?! Pope Gregory the Great 511 If there is hope for a seen tree to live again after it is cut down, as long as its stem is intact, How much more would it be for a rational tree? As there is an ax for this tree, there is an ax as well for the rational tree (Luke 3: 9). Father Hecichius of Jerusalem “Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground…” (Job 14: 8). What is the root of the righteous but the holy preaching, being his source to which he holds fast? And what is the earth or the dust but the sinner? To whom the Creator’s voice said: “You are dust, and to dust you will return”? The root of the righteous may look as though grown old in the earth, and his stump as though has died in the ground’ … As according to the words of the wisdom: “In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster” (Wisdom 3: 2). Whereas he, whose root has grown old in the earth, and whose stump died in the ground; By the scent of water will bud again, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, according to his conduct, and because of the shoot of virtue in the hearts of the chosen ones. Water sometimes refers to the irrigation by the Holy Spirit; as it is written: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink; He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7: 37; 4: 14). “And bring forth branches (leaves) like a (new) plant” (9); branches after the cut down tree; as the righteous may die by the body; yet, according to his passion, the hearts of many will set forth; and by his straightforward faith, the green truth will bud, “like a new plant”. All what the righteous does here is ‘a second plant’, as the ‘first plant’ does not lie in the practice of goodness, but lies in the prior knowledge of the Creator. While all what the chosen ones do, look as though seen for the first time, it is rather settled down in them, then comes out. It is well said: “It brings forth branches (leaves) like a new plant” (9); namely, the green appears by the practical execution of what is actually there, according to the prior knowledge of the Creator. St. Gregory the Great “Yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a (new) plant” (Job 14: 9). If water gives life to the root of a dead plant to bud anew, the Holy Spirit gives new life to the believer in the water of baptism; gives her the resurrection, the resurrection of the soul from her death, that the body would enjoy the resurrection, as well, in the day of the Lord; for the soul to partake of the eternal life with body. In the water of baptism, the Holy Spirit brings us forth to burial and resurrection together with Christ; to come out baptism as members of the body of Christ, raised from the dead, that never gets old, but incessantly and perpetually grows, enjoying the new life. By that, our union with the Lord Christ is realized, to enjoy the sons hip to God, becoming through the only-begotten Son, sons together with Him by adoption; namely, not by nature, but through free grace. That is what the apostle Paul meant by saying: “Not by work of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3: 5); and the apostle Peter, saying: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus 512 Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1: 3-4). This is also what the Lord Christ Himself meant in His talk to Nicodemus, saying: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven” (John 3: 5); which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel could not understand, as he still did not realize that Jesus, with whom he was talking, embraces to Himself, those who believe in Him, in baptism by the Holy Spirit; to grant them His resurrected life, as the gift of the new spiritual birth. Was it possible for the rod of the righteous Moses to be transformed into a serpent, and not possible for the bodies of the pious to live and rise again?! Was it possible for the former to do it against nature; and not possible for the later to live again, according to nature?! Aaron’s rod, although dead, sprouted without smelling the scent of water (see Job 14: 9); although being under a roof, yet it produced flowers and fruits, as though it was in the fields. Was it possible for Aaron’s rod to rise from the dead and not possible for Aaron himself to do as well?! Was it possible for God to do miracles with the wood to guarantee priesthood for him, and would not do it for Aaron himself1?! St. Cyril of Jerusalem “At the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a (new) plant” (9); that by the washing of regeneration (Titus 3: 5), at the time of the resurrection from the dead. Having hope in the resurrection, through the grace of baptism, we gain a harvest as a new plant, being planted in the new Adam (1 Corinthians 15: 45), and would, no more, be connected to the old Adam. But in case we grow old through slothfulness; if death gets attached to us through sin; let us have the scent of water through weeping like David and Peter and others (2 Samuel 12: 21; Matthew 26: 75); as the scent of baptism is called by some2 ‘the scent of compunction’. Father Hecechius of Jerusalem Having seen the fall of human nature, the eternally indivisible and unutterable Holy Trinity; and having, at the same time, created water from non-existence, , he set for man the quick cure to be consummated in the water. That is why, the Holy Spirit, having been carried on the water, appeared as granting it sanctification … and connecting it to the procedure of giving birth. It is thus befitting for us to combine the two facts together; and to know that, at the very moment Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down and settled on the waters of the River Jordan3. St. Dedymus of Alexandria Behold those born from God; from that material womb; from the water of baptism. We have two births: one earthly and the other heavenly. The first from the body, while the second from the Spirit. The first originating after a mortal principle; whereas the second, after an eternal one. 1 Catechetical Lectures, 18:12. 2 St. Gregory Nazainzus: Oration 39: 17. 3 PG 39:692. 513 The first by a man and a woman; whereas the second by God and the church. The first makes us children of the body; whereas the second makes us children of the Spirit. The first makes us children of death; whereas the second makes us children of the resurrection. The first makes us the children of this age; whereas the second makes us the children of God. The first makes us the children of curse and wrath; whereas the second makes us the children of blessing and love. The first shackles us with the chains of the original sin; whereas the second loosens us from the bonds of all sins1. St. Augustine “But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last; and where is he?” (Job 14: 10). When man dies, his body rots and fades away, transforms into dust; while his Spirit sets forth, and would never return to the body in this world. Although it may seem from certain words by ‘Job’ in this book, as though he does not believe in resurrection; Yet here, he calls death ‘lying down’, and the resurrection ‘awakening’ from sleep; which confirms his living belief in resurrection from the dead. “When man dies and is laid away; … Ask: where is he?” (10). No one with no sin, except the One who came to the world with no sin; whereas all of us, bound to iniquity, die through losing righteousness. In paradise, we were given a robe of innocence; then lost it and became naked; that nakedness of the prodigal son, that was covered by his father who said as he saw him coming back: “Bring out the (first) robe and put it on him” (Luke 15: 22) The (first) robe is the robe of innocence, that man truly received when he was created, then lost when he was deceived by the serpent. About that nakedness it was said: “Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walks naked and they see his shame” (Revelation 16: 15). We keep our garments when we keep the commandments of innocence in our hearts; and once we lose it, we appear naked with iniquity before the Judge. With compunction we are covered, and we regain the innocence that we have lost. It was well said: “Ask: where is he?”; As the sinner would not stand there, where he was created … By his own will he lost his home, and against it he is brought back from captivity in which he rejoices. Therefore, where is he, in whom there is no love of God; where is his true being?! Pope Gregory the Great Prophets have always grieved on our miserable condition, in which man finds no comfort in his life, and would lose everything through the sudden and inevitable death, from which, as they are told by the Holy Spirit, he will not rise for a long time, until He comes, who would not sew what is old on what is new, or binds a new material to an old one (Matthew 9: 16); but as He says: “I will make all things new” (Revelation 21: 5); because He is the resurrection (John 11: 25); “the firstborn from the dead” 1 In Joan. hom 19. 514 (Colossians 1: 18; Revelation 21: 5); in whom we truly receive the privilege of the coming resurrection; But up till now, He is the only One perpetually resurrected1. St. Ambrose “As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dries up…” (Job 14: 11). Man’s mind is like the sea, and his thoughts are like waves of the sea. Sometimes, like the sea it is swept by anger, and sometimes, by grace, it calms down; and can go from hate to bitterness. But once man dies, “water disappears from the sea; and the riverbed becomes parched and dries up”; the soul retreats, leaving the body empty, without life, like a parched and dried up riverbed! Pope Gregory the Great “So man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep” (Job 14: 12). The word ‘death’ is taken away from the dictionary of the church that practices it no more. No one among her true members is dead, all are alive; she is the Lord’s secret living body; and as long as the Head is living, all members are living. She is one living church; a body for one living Head; knows no dissension, but all, along the generations, bind in one unity that is beyond the limit of time. We do not believe in two churches: one for the living, and one for the dead; but in one church, some of her members, having consummated their strife, departed to paradise, waiting for us, their fellow servants to consummate our strife and cross over to join them; for all to get the reward on the Day of Judgment. We are one church, some of whose members have consummated their strife, and have overcome; some are still striving; and the rest are to come in the future generations. All are one living church; regardless of the physical encounter in this world. By this faith concept, we do not look at those who departed as dead, but who slept to be eventually awakened! That is concerning their bodies; but their souls would never sleep. The souls of those departed would find rest after the strife, the labor, and the suffering, they went through, but they would never become separated from us; as our bond is not carnal; We love them, and they love us; we give them the beatitude for the sake of their strife; and they pray for us. “So man lies down, and does not rise, till the heavens are no more” (12); which probably means, till heaven becomes new; as it is written: “It will be new heaven and new earth” (Isaiah 65: 17 LXX); the old will either go away or will change. Listen to the Psalmist saying: In the beginning, O Lord created the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. They shall perish, and you stay, all Ksoub wear, garment change them solved. We, as well, can weave the garment; as what is old will fade away, whereas what is new will be (taken by force); “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Matthew 11: 12). The Jewish Synagogue passed away by few, whereas the church is laid hold by thousands. The meaning would probably also be that heaven now may seem fading away, mingling with clouds, mist and night darkness, that will be followed by the rising of a 1 The Prayer of Job and David, Book 1, 7:25. 515 golden red-colored day; as according to St. John: “There will be no night there; They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light” (Revelation 22: 5)1. St. Ambrose “Man, who lies down (in death) does not arise himself; As long as heaven is still there, his members do not come back together, and he will not wake up from his sleep”. By calling death (lie down), ‘Job’ provides us an obvious hope for resurrection. Yet he says that we shall not wake ourselves up, as long as the seen heaven is still there, and did not pass away. This is a testimony that “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken” Matthew 24: 29); “And the Son of Man will send His angels with a great sound of trumpet” (Matthew 24: 30-31; 1 Corinthians 15: 25; 1 Thessalonians 4: 16); to wake us up from death, as though from sleep. Those words were said by the Lord, as He was telling them about His second coming, when the sign of His cross will appear in heaven. Concerning us, I wish we would carefully listen to the words: “come back together”. He proclaims how, when the heavens pass away (Matthew 24: 34), we shall have our resurrection; our members, now separate and scattered on earth, and returned to the dust, will, by the breath of God, “come back together” and go back to life (Ezekiel 37: 10). The Creator will not give us another body, but it will be on all aspects, our actual bodies; though not of the same nature, but will rise in non-corruption and non-mortality; as according to the words of the apostle Paul: “This corruptible must put on in corruption , and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15: 53). Thinking about this, and contemplating in the glory of the future and of the eternal life, as well as about the lowly present life, “job’ holding fast to the idea of transformation from this life, soon to fade away; and to hope in the coming life, we hear him say: “I wish somebody keeps me away from hell!” Father Hecechius of Jerusalem “So man lies down, and does not rise”. That is very difficult to imagine! Why should we labor and strife, if we do not get the reward of resurrection?! How is it said: “does not rise”, when it is written that “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15: 51) ”; and also: “If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15: 19); and the Truth Himself says: “ The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5: 28, 29). But the last phrase, saying: “… they do not rise, till the heavens are no more, they will not awake, nor be roused from their sleep”, indicates that, unless the world comes to an end, mankind would not wake up to life from the sleep of death. Moreover, let us notice, that, after previously calling man dead, he refers to him now as not dead, but falling asleep; and that he would not wake up again from his sleep, until the heavens disintegrate; These phrases only mean that, drawing an analogy to the tree that sprouts again to life, a sinner is referred to as dead; namely devoid of a righteous life. But when he speaks about the death of the body, he prefers calling it here, falling 1 The Prayer of Job and David, Book 1, 7:24. 516 asleep, rather than calling it death. This actually gives us hope in resurrection; as man wakes up from sleep, from the death of the body, in just a moment, through a mere nod from his Creator. Because, while the word ‘death’ terrifies those with weak minds, and that of ‘falling asleep’ does not, Paul instructs his disciples, saying: “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonian 4: 13-14). Pope Gregory the Great “Oh that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!” (Job 14: 13). ‘Job’ longs to the grave, as a place where he would hide temporarily from the wrath of God; which has a different goal from when he sought death and grave (Job 7: 9- 10; 18-21). He refers what is dwelling upon him to God’s wrath; knowing that the righteous is always blessed, and tribulation would never dwell upon him like the wicked. Amid his bitter suffering, he longs for death; knowing that, although this entails his going down to the pit, yet it would be temporarily, anticipating the work of the divine salvation, when wrath goes away, and he would enjoy the glorious resurrection. If ‘Job’ moans, looking at human life as weaker than that of a tree; Yet, amid his sufferings, he longs to die, believing that death is to be hidden in the grave, whose keys are in God’s hands, to open and let His children in, then to bring them out on His great day. Looking at the bodies of believers in the grave, he sees certain indications of wrath; until the body rise and enjoy glory; Bodies when all traces of wrath completely come to an end; and the authority of death is rooted out. Bodies are brought into the graves, up to the appointment of the time to heed to the new eternal life; the same way ‘Noah’ and his family entered into the ark, and were shut in by God, not only to keep them from perdition, but also to bring them over to the new world. It is as though the days in the grave are better than the present ones. St. Ambrose believes that in this phrase (Job 14: 13-17), there is an indication that God spoke to ‘Job’, who knew by the Holy Spirit, that the Son of God, will not only come to earth, but will descend to the pit to raise the dead; and that what actually took place in His days, were a testimony to the present things, and a model for the future ones1. What a magnificent phrase that strengthens us concerning the resurrection! How this phrase seems in harmony with the words said by the Lord in the gospel: “Then they will begin to say to the mountains: ‘Fall on us’, and to the hills, ‘Cover us’” (Luke 23: 30); as the wrath of God will come at the end of the world. That is why the righteous ‘Job’ prefers to rise on the day of judgment, rather than in the time of God’s wrath, which would be terrifying, even for the righteous. “You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!” (Job 14: 13). From this we understand that ‘Job’, as it came in, prophesies that he would be among those whom the Lord will raise at the time of His passion, as is obvious from what came at the end of 1 cf. The Prayer of Job and David, 1:; 8: 26. 517 the book (Job 42: 17 LXX); and according to the Septuagint version. Yet he does not stop wailing; and the more he realizes that resurrection is waiting for him, the more he longs to escape from this life, in which he is delivered in the hands of his adversaries, and falls under the authority of the wicked1. St. Ambrose Before the coming of the Intercessor between God and men, every person, even though his life is pure and justified, has undoubtedly went down to the prison of Hades. Man, who fell by his own work, became unable by his work to return to the comfort of paradise; as it is stated that, following the sin of the first Adam, a flaming sword, flashing back and forth was placed at the entrance of paradise. “That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past” (13); The wrath of the Almighty produces power every day, by which those who lead an unbecoming life, are swallowed through appropriate punishments. We should know that the term “wrath” or “anger” is unbefitting to the divine Being, whose nature is devoid of worry; as it is said to Him: “Although You are sovereign in strength, You judge with mildness, and with great forbearance You govern us” (Wisdom 12: 18). But as the souls of the righteous were to be, one day, liberated from Hades, by the coming of the Intercessor; the righteous ‘Job’, prophesying that future coming of our Savior to Hades, pleads to God, saying: “Appoint me a set time and remember me” (13); Yet he adds: “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (14). Amid His passion, our Lord uttered with the voice of the weak, saying: “O My Father, If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26: 39). To chase away the fear of men, He took their fear over Himself! But He demonstrated power by obedience, adding: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will”. This teaches us that in our weakness, we should pray to be spared of what we fear; yet, to confirm that we are ready to submit to the will of our Creator, even though it may be against our will. According to this example, it is sometimes befitting for the strong among us, to adopt words of weakness, so that by their strong preaching, they would make the hearts of the weak even stronger. The blessed ‘Job’, when he uttered words that might show some doubt, saying: “If a man dies, shall he live again?”, he promptly added other words that confirm his strong faith, saying: “All the days of my hard service, I will wait, till my change comes” (Job 14: 14). Pope Gregory the Great In a message from St. John Chrysostom to a young widow of a Governor, he wrote saying: This death is not death, but it is a kind of immigration and change from a bad to a better situation; from the earth to heaven; from being among men to being among angels and archangels; and even to be with God, the Lord of the angels and archangels. As much as you grieve, on account that God took away a man who was good and respectful, you should rejoice that he departed to some place more dignified and secure; and that he got away from the serious afflictions of the present life, to one of perfect tranquility. 1 The Prayer of Job and David 1: 8: 26- 27. 518 If we are so sure that heaven is much better than earth, how can we mourn those who departed from this world to the other one?! If your husband was leading a disgraceful life that does not please God, you would have reason to mourn and weep; not only after his departure, but even while he was still living here! But having been a friend of God, we should rejoice for his life, as well as for his departure! In this concern, you should recall the words of the blessed St. Paul, saying: “I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1: 23)1. St. John Chrysostom “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service, I will wait, till my change comes” (Job 14: 14). God takes no pleasure in the death of man, but in that he returns to him and live. That is what makes ‘Job’ endure the burden of his strife, until his present days are changed into the new eternal life. Job’s friends, miserable comforters as they were (Job 16: 1), tried to convince him that, in order to return to what he was, he should confess his hidden hypocrisy and wickedness, and present a true repentance to God! ‘Job’, on the other hand, found comfort in counting himself as dead, and would not return anew to life on this earth. Although he asks: “If a man dies, shall he live again?”, Yet, not led to slothfulness nor despair, he adds: “All my days of my hard service, I will wait, till my change comes”. What kind of change is ‘Job’ waiting for? It is what the apostle Paul meant by saying: “who will transform our lowly body” (Philippians 3: 21). This is the change: Instead of the very dry bones scattered all over the valley, his life would be transformed into an exceedingly great army (Ezekiel 37: 10). The soul with all its energies, and the body with all is possibilities, partaking of the glory of the Lord Christ, would turn into a great and glorified army for the Lord; according to the words of the Psalmist: “My flesh also will rest in hope” (Psalm 16: 9). That is the joyful change, when the corruptible would be clothed with the incorruptible, and the mortal with immortality. To Job’s question: “If a man dies, shall he live again?”, came the positive answer from Jesus, the Lord of glory, and what came in the books of the New Testament (John 11: 23-26; 1 Corinthians 15: 3). “If a man surely dies, shall he live again, having already completed the days of his life? … I anticipate existing again!” In this ‘Job’ calls resurrection (a new existence). He earned commendation, not on account of his words, but of his actual works and intentions, while overwhelmed by sickness and sores. While being utterly naked, and laying on a heap of trash, he had more splendor than anyone clothed in gold, and lying on a bed covered with gold and precious stones. God was personally speaking to him, angels were surrounding him, and all creation was proclaiming the glory of the wrestler, who conquered his opponents without lifting a finger! Father Hecichius of Jerusalem “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all” (Romans 6: 10). He died by flesh, to put an end to sin; while holding on His unfading life as God2. 1 Letter to a Young Widow, 3. .( 2 تفسیر رومیة 10:6 (ترجمة مار سویریوس اسحق سكا، 1997 519 Son of Salibi Being the Philanthropic One, He welcomed death, without which the world would have perished in sins1. St. Cyril of Jerusalem He was buried alone, Yet He raised all; He descended alone, to lift us all; He carried the sins of the whole world alone, to purify all in His person; As according to the apostle: “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubleminded” (James 4: 8). Christ, who needed no purification, was purified for our sake. St. Ambrose Be crucified and dead together with Christ, to be raised, glorified, and reign together with Him. St. Gregory, the Theologian “You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands” (Job 14: 15). God in His Justice rejects transgression, and does stand iniquity; Yet, ordaining for salvation, He longs for man, the work of His hands. Amid his anguish, ‘Job’ cries out to God, as though He does not hear him. But when it is the time for resurrection, God will call on ‘Job’, and he will answer Him. He will encounter God, who desires the work of His hands; as ‘Job’ bears the reflection of the glory of God. “You shall call, and I will answer You” … As long as we submit to corruption, we cannot answer God; as the corruptible is far from incorruptible. But, concerning the ‘change’ spoken of by ‘Job’, it is written: “When He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3: 2). Then, we shall answer God who calls, when we rise in non-corruption. But, because the creature cannot be qualified for this on his own, but this is to be only realized by the gift of God the Almighty; namely to change into the exalted glory of non-corruption; he added: “You will (stretch Your right hand) to the work of Your hands)”. As though he clearly says: [That is why, Your corruptible creature could be held in non-corruption, raised by Your authority, and kept by the grace of Your care. The human creature, although has inherited in himself the possibility to collapse to a level lower, but he gains by the right hand of his Creator, that of being raised to a higher one. Who can appreciate the generosity of the divine mercy, to bring man, after his sin, to such a high level?! Although God takes in consideration the evil things we do, Yet with His mercy and compassion He forgives it; So ‘Job’ adds: “For now You number my steps; But do not watch over my sin” (16). Pope Gregory the Great 3- GETTING PREPARED FOR DEATH: “For now You number my steps, But do not watch over my sin” (Job 14: 16). The wise Solomon says: “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and examines all his paths” (Proverbs 5: 21). 1 Cat. Lect. 13. 520 “You number my steps; not a single one will escape Your eyes” (16). He says: I want to be saved, not for being the work of Your hands, not of being righteous in any way; nor do I seek justice from You, or ask You to forget my iniquities; as it is not possible for any transgression to escape Your eyes. St. John Chrysostom “My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You cover over my iniquity” (Job 14: 17). The Lord says: “Have I not kept them in reserve and sealed this in my vaults?” (Deuteronomy 32: 34). This is concerning the anticipated Day of Judgment. But now, so it seems to ‘Job’ that God numbers his steps and keeps his transgressions sealed in a bag; the way the documents of prosecution against a suspect are kept. ‘Job’ feels as though God is watching over every one of his behavior, and register every single sin he commits. “It is as though You seal all my transgressions in a bag; but You cover up my iniquities” (17). As everything we do, if we do not cleanse it with regret, would be kept in the secrecy of God’s judgments, until the day comes for them to be moved from the bag of secrecy to the publicity of condemnation. The Lord said to the prophet Moses: “Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults? It is Mine to avenge; I will repay” (Deuteronomy 32: 34). But, if we are crushed here by the strike of chastisement for the evil things we do, then grieve on them in regret, “He will cover”… and “heal” our iniquities; so that He would not leave anything without punishment, to be kept for punishment on the day of judgment. That was how He acted with ‘Saul of Tarsus’ who persecuted Him, when He cast him down to the ground; namely, “covered’ and ‘healed’ him; and said to Ananias about him: “He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” Acts 9: 15). Pope Gregory the Great “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place …” (Job 14: 18). If the three friends blamed ‘Job’, because, instead of repenting and returning to God, according to them, he accused God of injustice; ‘Job’, on the other hand, makes it clear, that if he is showing weakness and seems to be losing his hope; it is because of the burden of his strike; he is like a mountain that crumbles, like a rock that moves from its place under pressure, and like stones worn away by the persistent drops of rain, and washed away by torrents. He likens himself here to a mountain, a rock, and stones; Yet the temptation is extremely violent! “As water wears away stones, and as torrents wash away the soil of the earth …” (Job 14: 19). Amid his sufferings, ‘Job’ struggles between his inability to endure pain, and his hope for enjoying the eternal reward. Although he reveals his hope for changing even his body, yet he fears that his hope would be shaken during the long duration of affliction. Watching some mountains crumble with time, some rocks move from their place, and stones worn away under persistent drops of rain, and washed away by torrents like the soil of the earth, he cries out with fear that his perseverance would not endure! There are two kinds of temptations that man may face: 521 A kind that all of a sudden and unexpectedly crosses over man’s mind, to strike him with vertigo, and knocks him down to the ground. And another kind that proceeds in his mind a bit by bit; and by seemingly good suggestions, and through consistent nagging, it would corrupt the resistance of the soul, and its power of righteousness. With the sudden impact of the first kind of temptation, it may cast the righteous man down to the ground, “a mountains may fall and crumble away, and a rock may move from its place” (18); namely, that the mind, the center of righteousness, would suddenly be moved to sin. On another aspect, concerning the other kind of temptation that pours itself quietly in the heart of man, to exhaust and corrupt his solid abidance, it is said: “Water wears away stones”. This way, the consistent smooth flirtation of lust would absorb the abidance of the soul; and the slow creeping of bad habits, would break down the resistance of the strong and standing fast minds. The way the soil of the earth are slowly worn away, so are the evil habits would quietly and persistently swallow even the strong mind of man. Let us remember how David, that high mountain of a man, who could, with the spirit of prophecy, contemplate in the great secrets of God, collapsed under a sudden fall; when he coveted another man’s wife, and killed her man on the expense of his army! The mind that used to dwell among the heavenly secrets was knocked down by a sudden strike of temptation, and descended into such a horrible deep pit of evil. Let us likewise see how “water wears away stones, and torrents wash away the soil of the earth”, slowly and consistently, in the case of the wise Solomon, who, through his feminine relationships, went down to the extent of building temples for the idols; he, who has previously built the great temple of the Lord! The righteous ‘Job’ puts before his eyes, both kinds of temptations, while contemplating in the falls of his fellows in creation; namely the mountains, the rocks, the stones, and the soil of the earth! As from understanding what happens to them, he could find a key to his own meditations. Pope Gregory the Great “You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away” (Job 14: 20). ‘Job’, without any hope, seeks the divine involvement before the dwelling of the hour of his death. At the moments of death, man’s countenance undergo so much change, because of sickness and frailty that makes him lose his past beauty and splendor, that his own family members consider his burial far better for him; which made Abraham say: “Sell me some property for a burial site here, so I can bury my dead” (Genesis 23: 4). Father Hecichius of Jerusalem says that is reason why David says: “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck” (Psalm 69: 1). For as our parents Adam and Eve fell into the sin of disobedience, they were driven out of paradise, and a verdict was issued against them, saying: “You are dust, and to dust you will return”; and the ground started to produce for them thorns and thistles; What hope remained for Adam after such a curse?! That is why ‘Job’ goes on to say: “You have forever rejected him, and sent him away”. 522 “His sons come to honor, and he does not know it. They are brought low, and he does not perceive it” (Job 14: 21). Father Hecechius of Jerusalem believes that, ‘Job’ looks at Adam, his father, cross over to Hades, not any more aware of what happened to his children; namely, to humanity, that is his seed; “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16: 26). If the Lord’s mission in the body has not taken place, the Savior would not have been impelled to death as a price; and would not have destroyed the authority of death by His power. If the body that submitted to death was different from the body that was taken over by the Lord, the works of death would not be brought to naught; the passions of the incarnate God would be without benefit; and we, who had died in Adam, would not be able to live in Christ1. St. Basil the Great We know Him as the firstborn of those who have reposed; the firstborn of the dead. With no argument, He is of the same features and nature of the rest of the fruits … That is why, as the firstborn of death was in Adam, the Firstborn of resurrection is in Christ2. St. Ambrose Pope Gregory the Great believes that, this is the situation of those souls who did not enjoy salvation; Whereas those souls of the righteous; namely the holy souls, seeing the splendor of the Almighty God within them, would never imagine, not for a single moment, that there is anything they do not know of. The carnal people, who concentrate all their care on their children (namely, on temporal things), they, as proclaimed by ‘Job’, would not be aware, any more, of the issues they care for with their whole heart: “whether their children are honored or brought low, they do not perceive!”. “But his flesh will be in pain over it, and his soul will mourn over it” (Job 14: 22). Despite his amazing longing for death, to escape from his vicious anguish, he fears the horrible hour of death just the same; It is as though his soul seems to mourn the body it would leave back! “His soul will mourn over it”. Everyone intending to rejoice for his own soul, will eventually, for the same reason, be in woe, being away from the true source of joy; as the true joy for the soul is the Creator. It is thus more befitting for man to stay in eternal grief within himself, for forsaking his Creator, and searching for joy in his own soul. Pope Gregory the Great 1Letters, 261, to the Citizens of Sozoplis. 2 On His Brother Satyrus, 2:91. 523 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF JOB 14 BY YOU ALONE, I CAN CHALLENGE DEATH Amid the successive afflictions that surround me, In weakness, I CY out to You: I, who is born of a woman, is all weak. My life is full of trouble. How can I endure all these temptations? My life is like the grass of the field; the sun of temptations has almost burned me. My life, like a shadow, flees away; but where can I go? My days, You have determined; You have appointed the number of my days, which I cannot pass! Grant me rest at the last moments of my life. In my weakness, my eyes are too weak to see the resurrection. I envy the trees that, if cut down, their roots can bud again. When I see my life passing with no return! I think that the trees practice life better than me. In my foolishness, I covet the water that makes the stump of a tree sprout again! And do not recognize the living water, Your amazing Holy Spirit, Who sets out of me, a son of God, to enjoy an eternal life. I get excited to see a tree planted on the bank of running river; That if cut down, their roots would produce a new stump; And would not realize that You have planted me on the streams of the Holy Spirit. Where, even if the devil with all his hosts and plots, are set against me, They would not be able to destroy my glorified eternity. Aaron’s rod would not need all the water of the world, to make it sprout and produce flowers! Grant me, not to thirst for the water of this world. But to seek the water of the Spirit, the Grantor of righteousness and holiness. Seeing a river that became perched and dried up; I assume that I will lie down, never to rise again. But I know now that I shall not rise, till the heavens are no more. When Your word will wake me up. I know that I was temporarily hiding, to have some rest from temptations. Then there You come, my Intercessor, and my change; You call me to resurrection, and I will be roused from my sleep. You call me to the eternal life, and corruption would flee from me. I would then realize Your longing for the work of Your hands. And I would enjoy Your eternal love amid Your exalted glories. The steady mountain may crumble away; The rock may be moved of its place; And the stones may be worn away by the consistent drops of rain; But Your grace would always lift me up from corruption to non-corruption.
Welcome