A SHINING HOPE IN THE MIDST OF THE DARKNESS This long lamentation represents the heart and center of all the lamentations, and a turning point from looking at the sufferings that dwelt upon Jerusalem under chastisement, to the divine Savior, in passion, bearing our iniquities on the cross. It is the song of the Crucified Lover of mankind. The prophet talks about the reaction in his depths, while meditating in what dwelt upon the city of whole destruction; For us to find out that in his sorrow, the sensitive and gentle spirit of the prophet himself, has so unified with his suffering people; that it would be difficult to distinguish whether the one who talks is the prophet or the whole nation. Perceiving the greatness of this lamentation, our Coptic church chose it – as we said in the introduction – for the bishop or the priest to sing it at the beginning of the twelfth hour of the great Friday, as a memorial of the burial of the crucified Lord Christ, and of His crossing over to Hades to carry the souls of those who died in hope, and to bring them forth to paradise. Do not marvel to see that this lamentation starts by parading the sufferings endured by the prophet Jeremiah, being a symbol of the Lord Christ, suffering to the account of humanity. He mentioned about 25 kinds of sufferings that represent what the Lord Christ has endured on my behalf, to bring me forth to the gladness of His resurrection, and to lift me up to His heavens. THE SUFFERINGS OF THE ONE CRUCIFIED ON OUR BEHALF: 1- “He has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath” (1). “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed” (Isaiah 53: 4-5). It is a glorified affliction of love! An affliction of the gladness of salvation! He endured affliction to grant me fellowship in the eternal glory. 2- “He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light” (2). Our Christ – the Light of the World – entered into the darkness of Hades to scatter it, and to shine on us with His light and splendor, to make us enjoy His divine light dwelling in us. 3- “Surely, He has turned His hand against me” (3). Namely, He appeared as though in the position of animosity; having taken the position of the first Adam and his descendants, who bore animosity against God, gave Him the back instead of the face; and persisted on disobedience and rebellion against Him. He presented Obedience to take away from us the disobedience and animosity, and to bring us forth to reconciliation; “For when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5: 10) 4- “He has aged my flesh and my skin” (4). So that, by bringing our old man to death, our new man is renewed, in His image (Colossians 3: 10). 5- “And broken my bones” (4). On the cross, He appeared as though His whole being has collapsed, or that His bones were broken, to grant us the enjoyment of the deposit of the risen body, capable of challenging the sin. 6- “He has besieged me” (5). Being a representative of humanity, it is as though the Father became His enemy; although He is One with Him in essence. 7- “He surrounded me with bitterness and woe” (5). He accepted every bitterness to bear our bitterness, and to grant us instead, the sweetness of fellowship with Him. 8- “He has set me in dark places, like the dead of long ago” (6).Although He is the Grantor of life and eternity, He endured death, was buried in a tomb, and came to be among the dead, in order to destroy the pit, and to liberate the dead from its eternal chains. 9- “He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out” (7). He, who liberates the captives (Isaiah 61: 1), became as though captivated by the tomb, that was tightly shut by a great stone, and sealed. 10- “He has made my chain heavy” (7). The devil assumed that he has bound Him to bring Him forth to the pit, like the rest of mankind, and did not perceive that He came down by His own free will to liberate us from the chains of sin. 11- “He shut out my prayer” (8). On the cross, when He cried out as though for help, He was scoffed by His crucifiers, not perceiving that He is the only begotten Son of the Father, who receives prayers; who was crucified to grant us in Him the daring of sonhood before the Father, and to appear before the throne of His glory. 12- “He has blocked my ways; He has made my paths crooked” (9). The hosts of darkness assumed that He has fallen into a trap from which there is no escape; although He is the Way who grants us Himself, opens the gates of heaven before us, and brings us forth to union with the Father. 13- “He has been to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in ambush” (10). The devil, the roaring lion to devour us (1 Peter 5: 8), assumed that the Father will devour Jesus, not perceiving that He is His only begotten Son, coming from the tribe of Judah, by whom we destroy the devil, and enjoy prevalence on him. 14-“He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces” (11). According to the prophet Isaiah: “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53: 4). He came down to us to grant us the straightforward way, and to become Righteousness for us. 15- “He has made me desolate” (11).Through His cross, He revealed the extent of the desolation we reached, to grant us the non-corruption instead of our corruption. 16- “He has bent His bow, and set me up as a target for the arrow” (12). It so appears as though the Father has set Him as a target for His arrows; while the Lord Christ presented Himself as the arrow of love which wounds the heart to cure it from denial. 17- “He has caused the arrows of His Quiver to pierce my loins” (13).The “loins” refer to emotion. On the cross, it is as though all His emotions and feelings were destroyed; while He, by the cross, granted us holy emotions toward God and men, instead of those destroyed by the quiver of sin. 18- “I have become the ridicule of all my people” (14). About Him it was written: “And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, ‘He saved others, Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen from God;” (Luke 23: 35). …. By His cross, we enjoy the heavenly glories. 19- “He has filled me with bitterness. He has made me drink wormwood” (15). He tasted the bitterness in our place, to offer us His body and blood an eternal exultant life. 20- “He has also broken my teeth with gravel” (16). For us to enjoy the taste of His commandments, which are sweeter than honey. 21- “He covered me with ashes” (16). To let me enjoy the heavenly banquet. 22- “You have moved my soul far from peace” (17). So that He, Himself, would be my true peace. 23-“And I said, ‘My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord” (18). The Lord Christ consented to appear as though with no hope in the sight of His crucifiers, to grant me hope to become a dwelling place for the Holy Trinity, to work in me, and to grant me conquest. 24- “Remember my affliction and roaming” (19). I have come to have heavenly glories, and the gates of heaven opened before me. 25-“My soul sinks within me” (20). To grant me the upright soul, that does not look down to the earthly things, but sets forth toward the high up heavenly things. THE PERSON OF THE SAVIOR LORD: If this lamentation has abundantly revealed the wounds of the Lord, and His passions, so as, by weakness, he would reveal what is greater than strength; it revealed the following true features of the Savior Lord; that He is: 1- Merciful (22, 32) 2- Compassionate 3- Faithful (23) 4-Good (25) 5- Savior 6- Righteous and just (30) 7- Longsuffering (31) 8- Beneficent (22) 9- Does not afflict nor grieve men 10- Caring for men, He kooks down at them from heaven (50) 11- He listens to prayers (56) This lamentation ends up by a prayer, saying: “Repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands; Give them a veiled heart; Your curse is upon them. In Your anger, pursue and destroy them, from under the heavens of the Lord” (64- 66). 1- The passions of the Lord Christ 1 - 21 2- The hope in God’s mercies 22 – 39 3- A call to repentance 40 - 42 4- The fruits of sin 43 - 54 5- A comfort for the believers 55 - 63 6- A perdition of the enemy 64 – 66 1- THE PASSIONS OF THE LORD CHRIST: “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath” (1) Concerning the feelings of all toward Him: kings, priests, false prophets, and common people, Although it filled the soul of the prophet Jeremiah with bitterness; from putting him in prison, to plotting to kill him, to casting him into a dungeon, to resisting his prophecy; Yet he loved them! … I may say that having the Spirit of the Lord prevail on him, his feeling of fatherhood toward his people, his understanding of his mission, and his perception of the value of his spiritual children, made him partake of their afflictions, and suffer for their sufferings; even though they might not felt them themselves; He felt humiliated when they fell into captivity. He perceived that their bitterness during captivity was his own portion. Although he warned them several times, yet as a father, feeling that their bitterness was as though his own, he refused to get honored in Babylon, and insisted on being humiliated together with his people, crying out to the Lord, saying: “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath” (1)….. Who is “this Man” but the Word of God who incarnated to bear all our sufferings, was humiliated, and endured the rod of wrath of the Father in our place! In this lamentation, Jeremiah speaks in the name of Him, who carried the humiliation instead of all humanity. Before the incarnation of the Word of God, the first Adam was counted as the firstborn among men; and by his falling they have gone astray, their nature was corrupted, their will collapsed, and their concept of God was distorted, to see Him as an enemy, to come to be under the divine wrath. Then came the second Adam to occupy his place, and to consummate the reconciliation by His precious blood – the only begotten Son in whom the Father is well pleased -- to embrace us to Him to let us enjoy the Father’s pleasure in us. He has truly become Man, accepted the humiliation and suffered; He took what is ours, for us to have what is His. “The rod of His wrath”: refers by some, to that God did not use the sword to utterly destroy all his people, but used the heavy rod of chastisement to train and reform them (Hebrew 12: 7-11). At the same time it refers to an aspect of the cross, being “a sacrifice of iniquity”. Indeed He was a sacrifice of favor and pleasure to the Father who “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16); Yet, this cross which is the “the rod of His wrath” was accepted by the Word of God, and was the object of His pleasure, that “He obeyed even to death on the cross”. … Namely, the cross bore another aspect, which is the obedience to the Father. + In the sight of the Jews He had “no form or comeliness” (Isaiah 53: 2) but in the eyes of David, “He was fairer than the sons of men” (Psalm 45: 2). On the Mount of Transfiguration, “His face shone like the sun” (Matthew 17: 2), referring to us the secret of the future. (St. Gregory the Nezianzen) + He who is fairer than men, we seen on the cross of no form or comeliness, His face was bowed down. Yet the lack of beauty of your Savior came as a price of your inner beauty; for “The royal daughter is all glorious within” (Psalm 45: 13). (St. Augustine) + He consented to endure insult because He is honorable; For when the honorable is insulted, it is not counted as an insult. It would be counted as insult for someone in disgrace If the honorable is insulted and ridiculed when He is not worthy of such a treatment, it would be counted as a conquest. If they spat in Adam’s face for his disobedience of the divine commandment, it would be counted as an insult and shame; Having compassion on the weak, the Lord endured the shame in his place, and having not done wrong, He did not feel shame. He was insulted and ridiculed, yet He did not complain; For when the innocent is insulted it would be glory for him; He was reviled, stricken, and insulted, while tranquil, gentle, humble, pure, and undisturbed. (St. Jacob El-Serougi) “He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light” (2) Concerning Jeremiah, he was put in a dark dungeon; Concerning the people, having rejected God, they denied themselves of His light, and became in darkness; But concerning the Lord Christ, the enemy intended to quench His light through burying him in a tomb after His death, not perceiving that the light scatters the darkness. Saying: “He has led me and made me walk”, He proclaims that He came in obedience to the Father, with Whom He is One in the same essence, to let us enjoy the membership in His body, and no longer be counted as the children of disobedience. He intended to save us; But He fulfilled the salvation for the sake of His obedience to the Father; to let us carry the fellowship of the feature of His obedience. What does he mean by saying: “in darkness and not in light”? If the darkness refers to intense affliction, and the light to prosperity; He did not fulfill the salvation while still in His heavens, through issuing a proclamation of amnesty, but did it by entering into the way of passion even to death of the cross Having declared that He is the light of the world, As we have been in darkness before He came to bear our iniquities, to scatter the darkness that crawled into our nature, He granted her of His light and splendor, so that we may partake of His eternal glory. It is as though He says: The Father has led me to the darkness of the tomb; But by My resurrection I grant those sitting in the darkness the enjoyment of the heavenly light. God is light, and who gets attached to Him will walk in the light (1 John 1: 7); Whereas he who gives Him the back, will walk in the darkness (Amos 3: 3). + We stand in awe and look at how the Conqueror stood in the court of justice; At how the Son of the free was smitten on the face; At how the Sun embraced the pillar (to which the Lord was bound to be scourged); At how the Fire was scourged by the whips (Matthew 27: 26); At how the Light was despised by the darkness (John 8: 12; 1: 5); At how the Flame was stabbed by the spear (John 19: 34) At how He who provided the sun with rays, was crowned by a crown of thorns (Matthew 27: 29). (St. Jacob El-Serougi) “Surely He has turned His hand against Me, time and time again throughout the day” (3) Concerning the prophet Jeremiah, his whole life up till his last breath has been a continuous chain of troubles and afflictions, even from the inhabitants of his own village ‘Anathoth’ who saw him as a persistent pessimist, who destroys the psyche of the leaders, the army, and the people; by words that would never be realized. He was even accused of being a national traitor who is not worthy of living among his people. Concerning the Lord Christ, What dwelt upon Him from the time He was conceived, until that of His burial in a tomb, has been a way of passion and of the cross. The Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish” (John 3: 16), “has turned His hand against Him with afflictions”, to realize the salvation of the world. By saying: “time and time again, throughout the day”, he refers to that His life on earth was a continuous chain of passion. And he may also refer to the day of the cross, when passion of every kind came upon Him. And concerning every believer among us, It may so seem that God became against him, chastises him time and time again, Yet He will not cease to love him: He is not against us, but against our sins. “He has aged my flesh and my skin, and broken my bones” (4) Concerning the prophet Jeremiah, up to the time he wrote these lamentations, we did not hear that his flesh and skin have aged, nor his bones were broken and scattered. The talk here should not be taken in the literal sense. And the same thing applies to the Lord Christ; whose body has never seen corruption, and not one of His bones was ever broken. But what dwelt upon Him of insults, scourges, and crucifixion, were so unbearable, that His body and skin were as though utterly aged, and His bones had no more strength; as though they were broken and scattered. The passions that dwelt upon Him made Him unable to carry the cross, that they brought forth someone to carry it with Him. He truly endured unbearable passion; The Lord paid a dear price to grant us the heavenly glory for both our soul and body together. The prophet likens the people to an elder man with a shrunken skin, and with broken bones that make him unable to move. According to some fathers, the disciples and the congregation of believers are the bones of the Lord Christ, who scattered in weakness during the moments of His crucifixion; But by His resurrection, they gathered together as one body with no broken bones. + “All my bones are out of joint (scattered)” (Psalm 22: 14). Although the bones of the Lord Christ were not scattered, and not one of them was broken, Yet, by the realization of the true and perfect resurrection of the Lord Christ, all the members of His body, those who at that time were like dry bones, gather together, every single bone will come to attach and to bind to the other bones, to reach, therefore, to the full measure of the stature of Christ; and the multitude of members will come to be one body. (The scholar Origen) + He was crushed and wounded, to heal every illness and every weakness. (St. Gregory the Nezianzen) “He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe” (5) He may mean the siege mounds and the re-enforcements built by the Chaldeans around the walls of Jerusalem to be ready to take the city over when they have the chance during their siege The devil, through his followers, the hosts of darkness, who did their best, and made all plans to ensure that the Lord Christ would never escape from death, that even after His death and His burial, they sought from Pilate to put guards over the tomb, so that none of His disciple would claim that He resurrected, as He did say beforehand. Like the city which was put under siege; the prophet Jeremiah – as a symbol of Christ – was besieged by all: the king, the priests, the rulers, the false prophets, and the people, even the inhabitants of his own village, who accused him of national treason. “He has besieged me”. The Father became an enemy of His only begotten Son, as a representative of the fallen humanity, although He is alone without sin; and although He is One with the Father in essence. “and surrounded me with bitterness and woe”. They were previously warned by the prophet Moses, on the level of individuals and congregations, against perversion to idol-worship; saying: “So that there may not be among you, man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood” (Deuteronomy 29: 18); And the prophet Jeremiah said, “The Lord our God has given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Him” (Jeremiah 8: 14); And we were warned by the apostle Paul, saying: “Looking diligently, lest anyone falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrew 12: 15); And having carried our sins, the Lord Christ said on the tongue of the Psalmist: “They gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69: 21). + If you discover a root of this kind (of bitterness), do not let it grow but hasten to cut it off before it bears fruit, so that it will not defile and corrupt the others. For good reason he called sin “bitterness”, for there is nothing more bitter than sin. (St. John Chrysostom) + Among the other things prophesied about Him, it is written: “They gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69: 21); all of which, as we know from the gospel, did happen to Him; While on the cross, “Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said “I thirst” (John 19: 28). “They filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished’” (John 19: 30); Namely, All that were prophesied about my passion have been fulfilled. (St. Augustine) “He has set me in dark places, like the dead of long ago” (6) Here he probably refers to that, when he (Jeremiah) warned the rulers against falling into captivity, they said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in the city, and the hands of all the people by speaking such words to them”;… The king delivered him into their hands; they took him and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire (Jeremiah 38: 4-6). That was a prophecy about the burial of the Lord Christ in a tomb. “He set me in dark places, like the dead of long ago”. How amazing that He, the Resurrection and Life, who arose the dead by His authority, would, for our sake, enter into the darkness of death!. According to (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian, He is the lamb devoured by death as by a wolf. But, as it was impossible for death to keep hold of Him, He exploded its stomach to set free those whom He has previously devoured. + The Lord delivered His body to death, to let us be sanctified through the forgiveness of sin, fulfilled by the scattering of His blood. We are committed to give thanks to the Lord from our depths, for He has told us about the past things, gave us wisdom concerning the present things; and did not leave us with no understanding of the future ones. (The letter to Barnabas) + By death, He arose the dead from death; having borne the curse, saving us from it. (St. John Chrysostom) “He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy” (7) With the Babylonian invasion, Judah came to be in closed prison from which there was no hope of getting out. “He hedged me in” like a condemned criminal, chained to be kept from escaping. The Chaldeans made the siege so tight around Jerusalem; that no one could escape from hunger and plagues inside, to the sword outside. Then they led the majority chained captives to Babylon; and left the few for lowly jobs for a high price. About the harlot kingdom of Israel, it was written: “Their mother has played the harlot … ; For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink. Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths” (Hosea 2: 5, 6). That could be fitting for a harlot who persist on going after her lover; But, for the Lord Christ, to be (hedged) by the wicked, and to be bound as though to keep him from escaping -- the Holy One who came down to earth by His own free will, and that of His Father, for the sake of the salvation of the world -- that would be an extremely painful and horrible portrait, something that He readily consented to have, for our sake. He consented to be tried and to be crucified, for us to be justified and liberated. “He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He made my chain heavy”. Death by the cross is, undoubtedly, of the most horrible way to die. They counted Him as hedged by the Father, so that He cannot save Himself from death, nor to come out of the pit, but to remain chained in it. Those who passed by, blasphemed Him wagging their heads, and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself’; … Likewise, the chief priests, also mocking with the scribes and elders, said ‘He saved others, Himself He cannot save; If He is the king of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, Let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him” (Matthew 27: 40-43). + Although they saw Him risen from the dead, yet they did not believe that He could come down from the cross, if He has chosen to do. … What a lack of faith, O Jews! … I shall let you judge yourselves!... What would be more amazing: a dead man risen from the dead, or a living one to come down from the cross? … You sought a little thing, to see a greater one happen!. But your lack of faith could not be healed by more wonders and miracles than what you have seen!. (St. Jerome) + Our Lord Savior intended to be known as a Savior, not through saving Himself, but through saving others. For a good physician would not be counted one, by healing himself, but by using his expertise to heal others. So is the Lord, being the Savior, does not need to save Himself. Coming down from the cross would not make Him a Savior, but such a great salvation of humanity is truly fulfilled by His death more than by coming down from the cross. (Pope Athanasius the apostolic) “Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayers” (8) When the people of Jerusalem cried out in captivity, God did not listen to their cry-outs, for it was not out of true repentance, or of a longing to return to God. When the Lord Christ, representing humanity, and paying the price of her disobedience, cried out: “My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?”; He seemed as though his prayer was shut out. + Christ was not forsaken by the Father, nor by His Godhead, as some assume; Or as though, out of fear of the passions, His Godhead separated from His humanity during His passions …; But as I already said, He represented us in His Person, we who were forsaken; But now, through the passions of Him who should not have been subjected to passion (according to Godhead), He caused us to be risen and saved. (St. Gregory the Nezianzen) + What did our Lord mean by saying, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?”, when He Himself is God? … Why has He used those words, unless we are present in His Person; for the church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1: 23). He meant to draw our attention to that that psalm was written about Him. + By the death of the Righteous that happened through His own free will, He took away the death of the sinners that should happen as a well deserved verdict. (St. Augustine) + He so chose to walk along all the paths of men, even to enter through the gate of death, to cut Adam loose. He started by His birth, then consummated the way until He encountered death.. … He humbly walked with the feet of Adam, to where Adam has fallen in the depths of the pit; For his sake He Himself has fallen, to draw him out. “He has blocked my ways with hewn stones; He has made my paths crooked” (9) Whoever refuses to walk along God’s paths, God will block his ways to keep him from evil behavior, and to make him return to the way of truth. “Whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in” (Job 3: 23); who lost all hope to mend his ways; saw no door of escape, nor a path to\ take; Being hedged in by God, he became unable to move, or according to Hosea: “I will hedge up your ways with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths” (Hosea 2: 6). “He has blocked my ways with hewn stones; He has made my paths crooked”. He put obstacles on my ways that could not be overcome; He shut up every route of escape before me.. “He has been to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in ambush” (10) The righteous, when afflicted, praises the Lord and seeks His mercies; whereas the wicked counts Him as a bear lying in wait, or a lion in ambush waiting to devour him. Having readily consented to carry the reproach of the cross instead of man, He sees what dwelt upon Him as Man, as though a bear or a lion are waiting to devour Him. He truly suffered in His body and soul as Man; But according to His divine plan and ordinance with the Father, it was the subject of His pleasure. + I was like a prey to the lion, taking hold of me and leading me to death, roaring: “Crucify Him, crucify Him” (John 19: 6). + “Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me” (Psalm 22: 12). Those were the people, the many bulls, and the rulers the strong bulls. (St. Augustine) “He has turned aside my ways, and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate” (11) “He has turned aside my ways”, meaning, he seems to scatter all his counsels and plans; to make him divert to dangerous routes full of fierce wild animals. It is amazing how the Holy and blameless One, in His humility, allowed the wicked to accuse Him of being “out of His mind” (Mark 3 21), and of that His ways are crooked and evil; and even counted Him as ‘Beelzebub’ the rulers of the demons (Mark 3: 22). What could be a more disturbing?! + He endured all those things, to make us follow His lead, and endure the like ridicules, that disturb more than any rebuke. (St. John Chrysostom) “He has bent His bow, and set me up as a target for the arrow” (12) Through His true love, the Lord Christ accepted the cross as an arrow by which He is wounded for the sake of His beloved. At the same time, the Crucified pierces our hearts, to make us enjoy the healing divine wounds of love; and our souls would sing to Him saying: “Refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick” (Songs 2: 5). The secret of the soul wounded by love, according to the scholar Origen, is Christ Himself, the living and active Word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword, that enters into the depths of the soul, and wounds her by the divine love. + In case someone is enflamed by true love for the Word of God; … In case someone receives one of those sweet wounds of the “chosen arrow”, as it is called by the prophet, … In case someone is so pierced by the spear of His knowledge, worthy of every love; that he longs for Him day and night; never talks of anything else but of Him, never listen except to Him, never thinks except about Him, and is never inclined to, or hope for, any desire except for Him; When someone has so become, his soul would truly say: “I am lovesick”; she would readily receive her wound from Him about whom she would say: “He made me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden me” (Isaiah 49: 2) It is befitting of our souls to be stricken by God with such a healing wound, and with such arrows and spears. The soul that is enflamed with the longing for the wisdom of God, namely, which can behold the beauty of His wisdom, will say in the same way: ‘I am lovesick with wisdom’; … The soul which meditates in the exaltation of His might, and is amazed by the power of His Word, can say: ‘I am lovesick with His might’. She would be the one who said: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27: 1); … The soul enflamed with the love of God’s justice, and meditates in the ordinances of His care, will truly say: ‘I am lovesick with His justice’; …The soul, watching the greatness of His goodness and the compassion of His love will, utter in the same way. … The wound that includes all these things is the wound of love by which the bride proclaims: “I am lovesick”. (The scholar Origen) + The Holy Book teaches us that “God is love” (1 John 4: 8); For He aimed His only begotten Son “the chosen arrow” (Isaiah 49: 2) toward the chosen ones; planting in them its triple point full of the spirit of life. The head of the arrow is faith, that binds the one who aims the arrow with those stricken by it; It is a good wound and a sweet pain; by which “the life” pierces the soul. As through the tears of the “arrow” the soul opens up the door, its entrance. (St. Gregory of Nyssa) + I wish the unhealthy are so wounded; For through getting wounded they would become healthy “He has caused the arrows of His quiver to pierce my loins” (13) + It is befitting of us to understand “the loins” as the deep thoughts and the inner desires … I always see “the loins” to refer to the sensual perception and the sound thinking …. The Holy Book, when it proclaims some secret hidden (sacramental) thing, to say: “The righteous God tests the hearts and minds” (Psalm 7: 9). He refers here to His death on the cross; For the cross touches the depths of love of the Lord Christ for us; having delivered Himself as redemption and salvation; by the wounds of His exalted love for us. In truth, by the cross, the Holy Spirit of God carries us, as though into the depths of the heart of the Lord Christ; to get in touch with the divine love in a magnificent image. And at the same time, by carrying the Crucified One in our depths, we, ourselves, would enjoy “the arrows of His quiver”, to desire to be crucified together with Him, and to work perpetually for the sake of the salvation of everyone. “I have become the ridicule of all my people, and their taunting song all the day” (14) That is a portrait of those who ridiculed the Lord Christ, the rulers, the people, and even the two robbers who were crucified on His right and left sides; who were reviling Him as well. The prophet here reveals that the Lord Christ died a death of reproach (Matthew 27: 39-44). + “I am a reproach of men, and a despised of the people” (Psalm 22: 6). My humility made Me the object of ridicule of those people, who said with the spirit of blaspheming: “You are the disciple of that one” (John 9: 28); leading the mob to despise Him. “All those who see Me, laugh Me to scorn: They shoot out the lips; they shake the head” (Psalm 22: 7). Silent with their hearts, they uttered only by their lips. (St. Augustine) “He has filled Me with bitterness; He has made me drink Wormwood” (15) In His exalted divine love, the incarnate Word of God endured every bitterness, to let every embittered soul resort to Him, to find comfort in Him. By love, our Christ became bitter in soul to our account; And by repentance, we return to Him in the bitterness of the soul for the sake of our sins, to enjoy an inexpressible sweetness. + Come and see the banquet set by the (Jewish nation) before Him. They brought forth the myrrh, mixed the vinegar, and drew the sword. Instead of the manna, they gave Him vinegar; and instead of the sweet water they gave Him bitter water, which He turned, for their sake, into sweet water!. + Look at how Christ endured from the wicked! How could that ignorant spit in His face?! How could you, O tongue, do such a horrible thing?! How could you, O earth, endure scorning the divine Son?! All that happened for the sake of Adam, he who was worthy of being spat at for his transgression; But instead of the servant, the Lord endured everything. He delivered His face to receive spitting; For He promised “not to hide His face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50: 6). Having compassion on Adam’s weakness, the Lord received the reproach in his place. (St. Jacob El-Serougi) + The Father listen to you while talking within yourself, and hastens to encounter you; While still far away, He sees you, and runs toward you. He sees what is inside your heart, and hastens lest anyone would delay you, He even embraces you; By “encountering you”, he proclaims His previous recognition; and by “embracing you”, He proclaims His mercy, and expresses His fatherly love. He falls on your neck, to set you up, after falling under the burden of sins, and to bring you back to heaven, to seek Your Creator, after falling down to earth. The Lord Christ falls upon your neck, to save your neck from the yoke of bondage, to put on it instead His easy yoke (Matthew 11: 30). He falls on your neck, saying: “Come to me, all you who labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28). So, the Lord embraces you when you repent. (St. Ambrose) “He has also broken my teeth with gravel, and covered me with ashes” (16) Here he portrays the unbearable bitterness; as though the Father put gravel in His mouth to crush with His teeth; and ashes over His head, as a sign of intense grief on the dead; to become like someone who has lost every hope in life. He endured all that in order to present to us every sweetness, having become for us the secret of gladness and exultation. + Our Lord! Let me think of Your love with discernment; and with love, let me describe the events of Your trial.. Only by love can the mouth talk about You; For it is love that has drawn You to suffer for our sake (John 3: 16). Through great love, the Father allowed for His Son to be killed; “For He so loved the world to deliver His only begotten Son for our sake”. How would He love us to deliver His Son to death to save us!; … Let us then talk about our Savior with that same kind of love. For him who acquire it, there is nothing stronger than love. Who could force the Father to deliver His Son, but the love which is “the greatest of all” (John 15: 13; 1 Corinthians 13: 13)?. By this sign, man approaches the Lord, who, in turn, approached us with love, and became one of us. At the time of the killing, mercies came down to the battle; But of all the mercies, only those of the Son have conquered. The rulers (the disciples) were defeated; But the Shepherd did not flee away from His flock; to let them know who loves them. (St. Jacob El-Serougi) “You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity” (17) Whoever looks at the cross will see how the plan was elaborately put to make the Crucified lose every hope of being rescued; and to make Him forget every peace He previously had. The Lord Christ received all that, so that by His cross He would grant peace to our souls and bodies, through our reconciliation with the Father, and our enjoyment of the gift of the Holy Spirit; As He reconciled the people with the peoples; the earth with heaven; and the humans with the heavenly hosts. According to the apostle Paul: “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful” (Colossians 3: 15). + Whoever seeks peace, seeks Christ; for “He is our peace” (Colossians 1: 20); who makes the two one (Ephesians 2: 14); making peace through the blood of His cross whether on earth or in heaven. (St. Basil the Great) + The perfection of peace will be where there is no oppression. The children of God are peace-makers; for the children should liken their Father. They are peace-makers within themselves, having authority on the movements of their spirits, having them submitted to reason; namely, to the mind and the Spirit; and having an utter control over their bodily desires. So will the kingdom of God appear in them; and so will be man: Everything exalted and honorable in him will have the authority, with no Resistance, over all the other carnal elements. That exalted element should, in turn, submit to what is more superior; namely to “the Truth” – the Son of God – For man cannot have authority over the lowly things, unless his own self submits to Him who is more superior. That is the kind of peace that gives the good will; That is the kind of life of the wise man, the peace-maker. (St. Augustine) “And I said, ‘My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord’” (18) Whoever looks at the lord Christ on His cross will think that He came to be without hope; Yet, by His cross He opened before us -- sinners, the door of hope; and He, Himself, even became our hope. + Being Himself a Man, He talks bearing my fears; For when we are in the midst of dangers, we may assume that God has forsaken us. Hence, being Man, He got depressed; being Man, He wept; And being Man, He was crucified. (St. Ambrose) + Do not ever fall into despair because of your offences. … I do not mean to say that you are committed not to suffer from them, but you are committed not to count them un-curable. It is better to be wounded than to be dead. There is the healing Truth; He who, on the cross prayed for the sake of His crucifiers; He who forgave His killers. Christ came for the sake of sinners; Hence He says: “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted; to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind” (Luke 4: 18). And the apostle Paul says: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1: 15); And His Lord also testifies: “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2: 17) (St. (Mar) Isaac the Syrian) “Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall” (19) The mere attempt to portray what has dwelt upon Him, bears the bitter remembrance of wormwood and gall; And will make the soul collapse and bow down (See Psalm 137: 1, 5). + He surely has taken the bitterness of our life in the body of His humanity. “My soul still remembers and sinks within me” (20) The worst enemy of the human soul is despair; And unfortunately, as some remember God’s chastisements on them, instead of meditating in His love, they let themselves fall into despair of their salvation. Looking at the Crucified, some may assume that He Himself has fallen into despair, and bowed His head as though to the dust or to the grave. This kind of thinking corrupts their look at the cross; in which the apostle Paul sees “The power of God for salvation” (1 Corinthians 1: 18). + We should not feel ashamed of the cross of our Savior, but should rather boast of it. “ForThe message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us, being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1: 18) . For, as I previously said, it was not a mere man who died for our sake, but it was the Son of God, the incarnate God. Whoever denies the power of the Crucified, let him ask the demons! Whoever does not believe in the words, let him believe what he sees. Many have been crucified in the world; yet the demons were never terrified by any of them; But once they saw the mere sign of the cross of Christ who was crucified for our sake, they were shocked. For all the others were crucified because of their iniquities, while Christ was crucified because of the iniquities of others … “He committed no sins, nor was guile found in His mouth” (Isaiah 53: 9; 1 Peter 2: 22). Peter was not alone who uttered such a testimony, lest we may assume that He said it on account of being His disciple; but Isaiah, who was not present together with Him in the body, has prophesied by the Spirit about His coming in the body. Why would we quote the prophet alone here, when Pilate, the Roman Governor who condemned Him proclaimed: “I have found no fault in this man” (Luke 23: 14); And when he delivered Him, he washed his hands, saying: “I am innocent of the blood of this just person” (Matthew 27: 24). There is also the testimony to the righteous Jesus, who was without sin, by the robber crucified on his right hand, who was the first to enter into paradise; when he rebuked his fellow robber, saying: “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? We indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this Man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23: 41). (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope” (21) The previous verses portray what dwelt upon the Lord Christ of passion by His own, particularly between the time He was put under arrest in the garden, until bringing Him down from the cross for burial. … Now, at the time His soul set forth to liberate the captives from Hades, the light of hope has shined, and the renewable, and the un-perishable mercies of God were revealed. According to the Coptic rite, the church, while starting the twelfth hour of the Great Friday by reading this prophecy, it moves to take off the signs of grief, and to put on the attires of joy and gladness for the salvation consummated by the Lord Christ on the cross; He who broke down the gates of the pit, and took away the authority of the devil and his hosts, for the believer to live in the glorious liberty of the children of God, as long as he holds the hand of his Savior. If the first part of this lamentation constitutes a description of the Lord Christ as a Man of passion, in particular while under the civil and the religious trials, the crucifixion, and the burial; Now, as the Lord has yielded up His Spirit, and the light of the cross started to shine, hope dwelt in the life of those who believed in Him. By His death and crossing over to Hades, as He set the captives free, the cloud scattered, and the divine plan started to be revealed; the tune of the prophet’s talk changed; and instead of looking at the events of the cross from outside, his insight opened up to perceive the secret of the cross, as being “the power of God for salvation”, and the fountain of His exalted mercies that flow every morning abundantly without ceasing. In the two previous lamentations, the prophet revealed his sufferings flowing from his depths, having been a witness of what dwelt upon his country and his people. Now, as his prophetic look turned toward the One bearing the sufferings of humanity in His body by the cross, the secrets of the divine love was revealed before his eyes, his heart was filled with hope in the Lord, got in touch with His goodness, and perceived that His mercies will never get old, but will keep on flowing every morning, new in its activity in the life of the church and that of those who believe in Him. 2- THE HOPE IN GOD’S MERCIES: The hope expressed here by the prophet Jeremiah, is not set upon belittling the worth of the sufferings and the miseries that dwelt upon the city and its inhabitants, but is fulfilled through turning the insight away from the apparent events to God, His plan and dealings. The key of this section is “His compassions fail not” (22). If God has set a covenant with His people, it is to offer to them every morning new experiences of His love and mercies. How beautiful are the expressions of hope in the prophet’s experience, saying: a- “Therefore I hope in Him” (24) b- “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him” (25) c- “Let him put his mouth in the dust; There may yet be hope” (29). “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (22) The righteous ‘Job’, looked at life since his birth, as a curse and a calamity, as far as he was concerned, and counted death as the greatest blessing that would dwell on him (Job 3: 11); contrary to what the prophet Jeremiah presents, in the midst of his bitter lamentation, of a praise of thanksgiving to God for the “gift of life”, saying: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (22). + The world is protected by the divine care; for there is no place on earth. not reached by this care.. The divine care is the fulfillment of the promises of the divine Word, who gives form to the material from which this world is formed; whose Artist and Architect is God. All these things would never have their beauty, if not for the Word, the image of God (the Father), His mind, wisdom, and care. (St. Anthony the Great) “They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (23) These are the perpetual feelings of the Christian, seeing the faithfulness of God on him new every morning; desiring to pay God’s love back with love; At the beginning of every morning, he starts by a new encounter with God; saying in the prayer of the “Prime” hour:[Bring us to a good start]. : It is amazing how St. Agnatious of Antioch, on his way to Rome to get martyred, says: [I am starting to be a Christian]. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers; He makes us see every moment as a beginning of life with God; as it is the case of the mother who, in her love of her suckling, always looks at his face as though she sees him for the first time. That is probably why the Jews set “the feast of renewal (or dedication)” that was attended by the Lord Christ in Jerusalem (John 10: 22). According to the Syrian rite, they celebrate the second Sunday of the great lent, as the Sunday of “the renewal of the church”, in which the priests and the people re-evaluate their life at the beginning of the lent; to set forth to a new relationship with God. The prophet Jeremiah’s life, turning into bitter lamentations, because of what dwelt upon the priests, the religious leaderships, the king, the statesmen, and all the people, he cries out saying: “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night, for the slain of the daughter of my people. Oh, that I had in the wilderness, a lodging place for wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them. For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men” (Jeremiah 9: 1 2).; “O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace” (Jeremiah 4: 19). … Yet, in the midst of this bitterness, looking from afar, by the spirit of prophecy, to the coming of the Lord Christ, who renews man’s life, he sings, saying: “The Lord’s compassions fail not; for they are new every morning” (Lamentations 3: 22, 23). God casts our sins into the depths of the sea of His forgiving love; not to remember them any more. With every morning we look at Him as a Father who forgives the sins of His children, who pours love in their hearts, and perpetually brings them back to Him. He casts our sins, as though into the Red Sea together with Pharaoh and his soldiers, so as not to remember them again. … As it is written about the repentant man: “None of the transgression he has committed shall be remembered against him, because of the righteousness, which he has done, he shall live” (Ezekiel 18: 22); And the Lord says: “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions; and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you” Isaiah 44: 22); And, “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7: 19). The repentant hearts would say together with the prophet Jeremiah: “His mercies are new every morning; Great are His faithfulness” (22). Whereas the adversaries, on the other hand, are committed to anticipate God’s chastisements every morning. If God threatens the slothful sinners that the day of judgment is at hand; yet He does not wish for bitterness nor grief to dwell upon men, but He so threatens to provoke them to repent, to open before them the doors of His exalted mercies. It is befitting of us to enjoy the salvation work of Christ, that will never get old; to perpetually present a new praise with a new heart and a renewable mind. With every conquest we have, we perceive the amazing power of God, working in our weakness, to grant us the holy life, and the conquest over evil; And we opens our hearts to others with love. The perpetual amazing works of God, bring forth to us an inner joy, as though new, and a continuous gladness. The work of the church is to reveal the divine possibilities, granted to believers in baptism; and to bring her children forth into the hands of the Holy Spirit, who unceasingly renews their minds; according to the words of the apostle: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12: 2); And; And, “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (Romans 4: 16).; “Since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3: 9, 10). Putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new man, is a new birth; the setting forth of “the renewal of knowledge”; namely, the unceasing growth, which is a sign of life. That is confirmed by the Holy Book, saying: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40: 31). “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103: 5). This is the perpetual feelings of the Christian; Seeing the faithfulness of God new for him every morning, he desires to pay His love back with love. As though he begins every day with a new encounter with God, saying in his Prime prayer: [Bring us to a good start].. The renewal here is not on the part of unchangeable God, but on that of man, who, every day, is in his increasing growth, perceives God’s faithfulness more deeply, as though new. Being a living, changeable man, he transforms every day by the renewal of his mind , saying to God: “Renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51: 10). According to St. John Chrysostom, In this world we are like a new fetus by baptism; where we are given the possibility of having in us the image of our parents – Christ and the church. This image will be perfectly consummated the day the world casts us off to the moment of judgment. If, while still in the womb of the world, continuously growing, we are counted as living, then emerging out of the darkness of the womb to life, Otherwise we would be like a dead fetus that goes out from darkness to a greater darkness. Growth is a sign of vitality. A teacher who, every year, keep on presenting the same lessons with no renewal of the content, nor the way of teaching, will be judged as dead in his knowledge. The way a child, as well as an animal or plant, who does not grow, would be counted as ill or dead; Whoever feels satisfied of our Lord Jesus, and counts himself as completely saved, and in need of no more strife, nor of new daily experiences, and a deeper life with the Lord, Such a man will be counted as dead, even if he is a hermit, a priest, a bishop or a patriarch. The early morning is considered the best time for prayer (Psalm 88: 13): “O Lord, be gracious to us; We have waited for You. Be their arm every morning” (Isaiah 33: 2). “God’s faithfulness are new every morning” (23), which we anticipate to get in our (morning) prayers; For praying in the early morning is a persistent seeking of God, before resorting to others for help. Whoever offers the firstfruit of his waking thoughts to God, will not deny Him the rest of the hours of the day. Morning, as well is the time convenient for the temple service (Exodus 29: 38-40; Leviticus 2: 12-13; 2 Kings 3: 20). Actually, the morning and evening sacrifices in the temple were the basis on which the system of the morning and evening prayers of praise and the offering of incense for the Christians are set; which is bound to offering incense. The morning is also a symbol of the liberation of the people from Egypt (Exodus 14: 20-24), from the Assyrians (Isaiah 37: 36), and from the night, namely, from the darkness of sin. This concept comes often in the psalms; as the faithfulness of God is mostly anticipated in the morning (Psalm 59: 16; 90: 14); In the morning God sends His help to the holy city, and saves it from falling (Psalm 46: 5; 101: 8). The morning, here, probably refers to the intervention of the angel of God against Sennacherib – king of Assyria (2 Kings 19: 35); And probably to the resurrection of the Lord Christ. + Prayers are recited in the morning in order to dedicate to God all the early movements of the soul and the mind; so that we would have no other preoccupation beside our exultation, joy, and the satisfaction of our hearts in thinking of God; according to what is written: “I remember the Lord and be glad and rejoice in Him” (Psalm 77: 4 – The Septuagint version).; and that the body would not be burdened with any other work before the consummation of the words: “For to You, I pray; My voice, You shall hear in the morning, O Lord” (Psalm 5: 2, 3) (St. Basil the Great) “The Lord is my portion, says my soul; Therefore I hope in Him” (24) Could any man say these words, in spite of being stricken with the rod of God’s wrath, if he does not experience the goodness of the Lord, His faithfulness, and His mercies, which will never fail? … Having experienced all that, he gives Jerusalem the same experience through which he went, hence he says: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him; to the soul who seeks Him” (25). Our portion in the world will not endure; Whereas the Lord is our eternal portion (Psalm 73: 26). The faithfulness of God is realized, not in giving temporal goods, and lifting the sufferings up; but rather in what is greater; in presenting Himself a portion to be acquired by whoever seeks Him. + O soul, robbed by the evil one from the Lord; You will not enjoy eating his bread; for “He is a murderer from the beginning” (John 8: 44) Return to God, as did Sarah to Abram; For He is your portion; Do not trust in the liar (Genesis 17: 5; Psalm 16: 5). Sarah was taken to the household of Pharaoh against her will. As for you, your reproach is great on account of that you were enslaved by your own free will. O soul, remember the great image portrayed on yourself, and the salvation God has done to you through His only begotten Son. Remember how He mixed you with Him, how He gave you His name, and how you became His own. … Who is he who drew your attention by force, and captivated you from Him? The world has disturbed you by its seductions, has taken you, and bound you by its comforts as by tight chains; It is better for you, O soul, to live with God, and not with the world, filled with death for him who looks at it. The evil Pharaoh intends to take you from God. … Beware! Do not corrupt your marriage, full of beauty; O daughter of Sarah, return like Sarah to the righteous, and do not defile yourself with the wicked who seeks you. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him; to the soul who seeks Him” (25) In the Hebrew version, the three verses begin with the words “It is good” , the verses that exhort us to seek God Himself as our portion; to submit to His wisdom and the fulfillment of His promises in the time He chooses; and for the believer to receive God’s chastisements through bearing the yoke in his youth. + From the beginning He said to them: “Peace be with you”; and by peace, he taught them wisdom. In everything, He approached them with peace and love; to let them acquire His sweet fragrance, and follow His lead. From the time He came until the time He departed to Him who sent Him, Everything ran forth with peace on every path; He said to His apostles: “My peace I give you”; My personal peace I will leave you. My personal peace which is not from this world, with its deceitful love; My personal peace, which is not deceitful, I leave to you. He never walked around without covering His path with peace; Everything ran over a garment woven of peace; like a King walking over a scarlet carpet. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (26) It is good for the believer, while getting in touch with the salvation of the Lord, to praise, saying: “Your will be done” “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth” (27) Behind every yoke he receives from the hand of the Crucified, God’s mercies will shine with a new experience that touches the depths of the soul. Let us bear the yoke; Let us be crucified in our youth together with the One crucified; Let us not rebel like a bull untrained to bear a yoke. God, for the sake of His fatherhood, allows for His children to suffer afflictions from others, as a heavy yoke on them. But counting it as a chastisement from the Lord for their salvation, they receive it with joy. Whoever bears the yoke of affliction would perceive the cruelty of the yoke of sin. But through the cross, he perceives the sweetness of the yoke of the cross, the yoke of the giving love, for the Lord Himself says: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest; Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me … For My yoke is easy (sweet), and My burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28-30). He calls on us to cast our yoke underneath His feet; … not to live without a yoke, but to exchange our heavy yoke with His sweet and light yoke. Instead of the cruel yoke of sin, to bear the fellowship of the yoke of Christ; namely the fellowship of His passion emerging from His giving love. Talking to us about His sweet yoke and its activity in our life, He says: “I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love; And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck; I stooped and fed them” (Hosea 11: 4). Seeing His Christ bearing the yoke in his place, man would desire to have the glory of fellowship with Him in carrying this yoke. He desires to bear it in his youth, fulfilling the words of the prophet Jeremiah: “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth” (26, 27). + Listen to the words of the prophet David, saying: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119: 71); And: “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth” (Lamentations 3: 27); And, “Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord” (Psalm 94: 12); And, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord” (Proverbs 3: 11); And: “My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing” (Sirach 2: 1).; And as said by the Lord Himself to His disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16: 33); And, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy” (John 16: 20); And, “Narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7: 14)….. See how affliction is commended everywhere?! (St. John Chrysostom) -------------------------------- CHAPTER 3 (Part 2) “Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him” (28) Receiving the yoke from God, man dedicates his heart wholly to God; while seemingly as though cast into isolation from others. Sitting alone does not mean physical retreat, but means not to trust in human arm, to enjoy trusting on the bosom of God, and having fellowship with Him. Silence here means accepting the will of God, and not complaining to others. + The Lord Christ exhorts us, not only to avoid wicked men, but to cut them off from our life, saying: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you” (Matthew 5: 29). Here, He does not talk about eyes; for fault would the eye do if the intention is sound; But He refers to the friends and relatives, who are like body members to us, and could do us harm. He commands us to resist the friendship of such people, that our salvation would be secure. Hence the psalmist also says in another situation: “I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor I go with hypocrites” (Psalm 26: 4). Jeremiah, as well advises us to sit alone, and to bear the yoke in our youth. (St. John Chrysostom) + In the world, it is easy for the enemy to attack us by his weapons, hidden and manifest, using some of his followers to help in stirring up war against the believer, like some women of lowly moral values; spreading their nets on a wide extent. When Ezekiel saw the four creatures each with four faces, giving glory to the Lord, it was not in a city or a village, but out in a plain, according to God’s command: “Arise, go out into the plain, and there, I shall talk with you” (Ezekiel 3: 22). Knowing that solitude finds favor in the sight of the Lord, Jeremiah said: “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent” (27, 28). And knowing that too much talk would not find favor in His sight, he did not cease to repeat: “Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place for wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them” (Jeremiah 9: 2)…. Again, when the prophet Elijah took food from angels, it was not among a crowd of people, nor in a city or a village, but in the wilderness. I wrote all these things that happened to the saints, to exhort you to imitate those who loved solitude, through which they could communicate with God. Strive then to become well founded upon quietness to be able to encounter God; namely to have great spiritual meditation in Him. + An elder was asked: [Why did St. Anthony say to his disciple St. Paul: Go, dwell in quietness, to receive the temptations of the devil? To which the elder answered: ‘For the perfection comes to the monk through the spiritual behavior, which originates from the tendencies and the purity of the heart; that come from the tendencies of the mind; and the way of thinking is based upon the unceasing prayer, and the struggle against the devil. But the unceasing prayer, and the struggle against the devil, whether in the thoughts or in visions, will have no chance to exist, without the quietness and solitude]. (The paradise of the fathers) + The monk who always try to get along with his fellow monks in anything they say or do, is a hypocrite, with the face of a demon. (St. Filoxinus El-Monbagi) + God said to Abram: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12: 1). And Abram obeyed and went. I assure you that you have received the same divine command received by Abram; and you therefore partake of his blessing: “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent” (Lamentations 3: 27, 28). That is the meaning of your exit from the world. You did not care for the riches, nor for the beauty of women, which may lead you to perversion. It is as though you had no body; and by the fear of God you have trampled by your feet upon the evil tendencies. You have separated yourselves from the thoughts of the world, Yes, you even fled from its vanities. + Once a brother said to St. Maccari: [O father! My mind tells me to go and visit the sick; which is a great divine commandment]. To which the saint answered: [The unchangeable word of prophecy says: “It is good for man to bear the yoke in his youth; Let him sit alone and keep silent” (Lamentations 3: 27, 28). As to the saying of the truthful mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ: “I was sick and you visited Me” (Matthew 25: 36), He said it to the common people. But to you, O monk, I say: [Staying in your cell is far better for you than visiting the sick; For the time will come when they will ridicule those who stay in their cells, as, according to St. Anthony: ‘they will say about anyone who is not like them ‘Your are out of your mind’; And I say to you my son: Unless Moses has left the people behind, and entered into the cloud alone, he would not have received the two tablets of the law, written by the finger of God, for the sake of glory] (Exodus 24: 12-18). (The garden of monks) + Beloved friend! The steady and perpetual habit of the godly men, is to feel awe before the whole creation in silence; and in joy, to cry out praising and giving thanks to God, the Beneficent to all. That is what is written in the Holy Book, particularly in the words saying: “Let him set alone and keep silent”; In quietness he should care for his own affairs (Lamentations 3: 28); Namely, he should do everything with discernment, alertness, care, and according to the commandment of God. (St. Athanasius the apostolic) + Actually, the goal of the life of fellowship, is for the monk to crucify all his desires, to seek perfection, and not to think about the morrow. But, as far as the solitary hermit is concerned, is definitely obvious that such perfection will be by emptying his mind of every earthly thoughts, and bind it to Christ, as far as the human weakness allows; whom the prophet Jeremiah describes, saying: “It is good for man to bear the yoke in his youth; Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him” (27, 28); And as also said by the prophet David: “I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop” (Psalm 102: 7). (Father John) + Out of the fellowship monastic system came some other kind of those who seek perfection, namely (the solitary hermits), for whom trampling with their feet upon the hidden tricks of the devil, while living among their fellow monks, is not conquest enough; but they longed to enter into an open war and battle against the enemy. They did not fear to go deep into the wilderness, following the lead of John the Baptist who spent there his whole life, of Elijah, and Elisha, about whom the prophet says: “They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrew 11: 37, 38). About them the Lord spoke to ‘Job’ in a symbolic way, saying: “Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager, whose home I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwelling? He scorns the tumult of the city; he does not heed the shouts of the driver. The range of the mountain is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing” (Job 39: 5-8); The prophet Jeremiah, says: “It is good for man to bear the yoke in his youth; Let him sit alone, and keep silent, because God has laid it on him” (Lamentations 3: 27, 28); In the book of Psalms, the prophet David says: “Let them whom the Lord has redeemed from the hand of the enemy; They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in; Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses” (Psalm 107: 4-6); and from his heart, the words come out, saying: “I am like an owl of the desert; I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop” (Psalm 102: 6-7). (Father Beamon) “Let him put his mouth in the dust; There may yet be hope” (29) While sitting alone in silence, man, discovering his self-weakness, and the futility of leaning upon human arm, will stop complaining to men; be humble before God, put his hope and completely submit to God, and will receive His will with joy. + Being dust, Do not dare to boast before the Might; … Being mire, why should you think of what does not concern you? In despite, God rebuke man, saying to him: “You are dust, and to dust you will return”. Meditating in that commandment, he would perceive that there is a Lord more exalted than him; Hate pride, for it is a serious trap, full of death, by which the enemy, himself, has fallen since the beginning; By it, as well, Adam and Eve were driven out of the glory with which God has clothed them in the garden of Eden; Nothing is more hateful to God than pride and boasting. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and be full of reproach” (30) If the yoke refers to servitude, striking the cheek is a reproach, only done to a slave. It was befitting of the Kingdom of Judah not to grumble; for the strike that dwelt upon them by the Babylonians was only allowed by God to chastise them for their persistence on disobedience. The Lord Christ, the One without sin, “was afflicted, yet he opened not His mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearer is silent” (Isaiah 53: 7). How much more befitting of us, we sinners, not to grumble when we fall under chastisement. In a frank and a clear tone, the prophet Isaiah talked about the events of the cross, saying on the mouth of the Savior: “I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50: 6). + [You have manifested to me the economy of Your tender mercy You have borne the oppression of the wicked. You have given Your back to the scourge. Your cheeks You have left open to those who smite. For my sake, O my Master, You have not hidden Your face from the shame of spitting] ( T h e L i t u r g y o f S t . G r e g o r y ) + Once in their foolishness, they intended to stone our Lord; But having not done it, they kept the stones for Steven. In Steven, what is lacking in the passion of the Savior was consummated. The cup of the passion of our Lord, the Jews consummated in His servant. Although no prophecy came about stoning the Savior; The bitterness, the vinegar, the spear, the cross, the scourging, the distribution of His clothes, the piercing of His hands, the spitting on the face, and the smiting on the cheeks, all of which were written in the prophesies were consummated.. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “For the Lord will not cast off forever” (31) The Lord will not cast off forever; His chastisements are temporary for the sake of the enjoyment of the eternal glories. In the midst of the chastisements, the Lord will not take His mercies away from His people, but intends to renew the covenant with them. God chastens, not to judge, but to open up the way of amnesty and forgiveness before the sinners through their return to Him. “God wounds and bandages; strikes and binds up” (Hosea 6: 1); Being a great Physician, together with the chastisement He pours His mercies over us, if we keep on seeking it. + Arise to prayer, O you who is worthy and true; and all what you seek from God, you will get. In case you seek His mercies, why would you hasten to quit, when you are not yet given? keep disturbing the physician, keep seeking from him; Wet his threshold with your tears; Keep seeking; If He will not give you out of love, He will do for his persistence. Be persistent at the door of the Physician; Do not be slothful; For if you so become, He will not bandage your wounds; Why, then, have you come to Him in the first place?!. The persistent knows how to get His mercies. O repentant, be persistent; for then, you will get from the Grantor of goods, as much as you seek. + Do not get tired of seeking; Do not think that you will go back emptyhanded; Do not say: I sought much, yet I have not got; and I may not ever get. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion, according to the multitude of His mercies” (32) + The humility, wisdom, and teachings of the Son of God, have all shined; His mercies, compassion and intention have been demonstrated; for every one to live, wherever he is; How he healed without exposing those whom He healed; How He bandaged their wounds with longsuffering and humility; When the young man asked Him, saying: “Good Teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19: 16); Although the Lord surely knew that he was not ready to receive His teaching; Yet, He did not rebuke him before everyone present; for He is not used to expose those who approach Him; He did not say to him: Go away, because you will not be able; you are not true, you are a liar. But He listened to him with compassion, bandaged his wounds, and he would be healed if he listened to Him. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men” (33) Being a heavenly Father, He has no pleasure in punishments; if He chastens, it will be as though He has come out of His place, namely out of the mercy full of compassion; as it is written: “Behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity” (Isaiah 26: 21). It is our iniquity and disobedience that make Him come out of His place to punish. Yet even then, He seeks to bring us back to the throne of His mercy. If God chastens and allows for us to go through affliction, He so does while sitting on the throne of mercy; In all our affliction He is afflicted; for He is our compassionate Father; who seeks our edification and our salvation, and not our humiliation, even during the moments of chastisement. + The rod does not imply the absence of love; For love is hidden behind its strokes, although not perceived by him who is stricken. (The scholar Origen) + The Lord condemns us for the sake of chastisement; so as not to be condemned later, together with the world; As, according to the prophet: “The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death” (Psalm 118: 18). (St. Clement of Alexandria) + God rebukes to reform; And He reforms to keep us (for Himself). (St. Cyprian) + You have stricken me, not as a Judge, but as a Father to reform me, (Father Hesichius of Jerusalem) “To crush under His feet all the prisoners of the earth” (34) In verses 34-36, the prophet intends to turn the sight of those who suffer of their experience in dealing with men, to dealing with God. Man sometimes finds pleasure in humiliating his opponents; and if given the authority, he will not commit himself to justice, but will cross the line in chastisement. Whereas God in Heaven, seeing everything, is wholly Just and righteous; and even in His chastisement, He works for the benefit of His oppressors. Here, the prophet presents the grievance of the people fallen under chastisement; as though he says: Will god have pleasure to see the pagan Babylon trample His people under her feet? Will He accept such a humiliation for His own people? “To turn aside the justice due a man, before the face of the Most High” (35) God will never disregard the right of man, even while under chastisement. … Yes, He used Babylon and the like as tools to chasten His people; But at the same time, He will not endure the tyranny or the violence of the tools He uses. For the sake of the salvation and edification of His people, He allowed for them to be captivated by Babylon; But, when Babylon humiliate them and refuse to set them free from bondage, that He does not endure. He punishes Babylon herself for her iniquity, oppression, and violence. “When one’s case is subverted – does not the Lord see it?” (36) It was befitting of Babylon to keep within her limits, even if God allows it to captivate His people; And it was befitting for those captivated, as well, to perceive that nothing is hidden from the sight of God, even if Babylon has gone beyond her limits. “Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it?!” (37) The prophet intends to confirm that all things are in the hands of God, who wishes to renew the covenant, and to offer new mercies. ….As long as man is still living, why does he complain from what dwell upon him of sufferings? When all what he needs is repentance! “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and wellbeing proceed?” (38) Babylon, by her military might, and the alleged greatness of her pagan gods, assumed that she has overcome the people of God and captivated them; They even set victory processions parading their idols before the eyes of the captivated Jews to humiliate and to mock the Lord their God; not perceiving that they would never be able to captivate them without the allowance of God Himself. By “woes” or (evil) here he means the calamity that dwelt upon the people, which they saw as such; when, in the sight of God they are chastisements which He allowed for their edification. According to the prophet Amos: “If there is a calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?” (Amos 3: 6). Many father often discerned between two kinds of “evil”: the one which is so by nature, contrary to virtue or goodness, and that which implies the endurance of affliction or tribulation, considered by man as “owe”. That is what St. John Chrysostom has confirmed in more than one situation. + By such words, he does not mean that God Could be the cause of “evil”; For the word “evil” may used in two ways, and in two meanings: It sometimes means the “evil” by nature, contrary to virtue, and to the will of God; And some other times it implies what is evil according to our feeling; namely, the sorrows and calamities, which may seem as evil because they are painful; when they actually are good, for they imply a warning for the sake of transformation and salvation; which, according to the Holy Book come from God. (Father John of Damascus) When the divine Judge intends to speak to men, He does so in their language, and according to their human feelings. Like the Physician who may cut off or burn a certain infected area of the body for the sake of the safety of his patient; which is sometimes looked upon by those who cannot endure pain as evil. (Father Theodor) “Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?” (39) It is befitting of us not to grumble against God on account of His chastisements on us; but we should confess our sins and present a repentance. Filling his heart with hope, Jeremiah found in the cross the divine medication, and set forth to admonish the whole people, saying: “Why should a living man complain , a man for the punishment of his sins?”. Yes, if he judges God, Who will be justified before Him? But the way to salvation is open before all, on the personal, as well as on the collective level. Jeremiah posed the question in the singular tense, saying “man”, then gave the answer or the remedy in the following verse, in the plural tense, saying: “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord” (40). + Shall we persist on doing evil all the way? … God, being a Lover of mankind, He seek our salvation… I wish we would not surrender to despair; For falling is not as serious as staying fallen; Nor the wound is as serious as rejecting the treatment after being wounded … I say this, not to make you slothful, but to keep you from despair. 3- A CALL TO REPENTANCE: This section includes two divisions: The first is a prayer put by the prophet Jeremiah on the mouth of the people (40-47); And in the second the prophet adds his tears to those of the people (48-51) “Let us search out, and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord” (40) Instead of grumbling, we are committed to sit with ourselves, search out and examine our ways, and lift our hearts to God, seeking from Him to mend our depths. Here, the prophet Jeremiah presents to us an evangelic concept of repentance. If by searching our ways we discover our sins, let us concentrate our eyes on God, the Forgiver of sins: “Let us return to the Lord”. + O sinner! Have compassion on your soul, full of beauty; For, by your free will, you have submitted her to evil desires. It was not robbers nor the thieves who took away her beauty; She complains against you, for defiling her by the iniquity of your hands. It is the temporal comfort, and the evil desires that brought the soul down from her spirituality. For the sake of nothing, something great in you has fallen from its exaltation; for you, O sinner, have relaxed by the iniquity you have committed. Beware of what you have lost, and look for it, lest you bring to perdition the good soul, purchased for such a high price. It is an exalted creation, glorified and full of beauty; No other creation is more exalted than she is. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven” (41) The prophet wishes to provide the people with a proper prayer of repentance; not only by lifting up the hands, but by lifting up the whole inner being (the hearts) to God dwelling in heaven. + Without the hidden beauty of God, you will not see yourself, or be worthy of God, nor it would be easy for you to discover your own shortcomings. That is the main beauty of your mind, to recognize your shortcomings! (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned” (42) In the people’s name the prophet sits with himself, and confesses that all what dwelt on him or on them, was because of their transgressions; and that the remedy will not be realized, except through God Himself, who has the right to forgive. … Having not forgiven, it would not be because of lack of might nor of mercy on His part; but of not presenting a repentance as is befitting. + Having been preoccupied to defend your sins, you were defeated … Your defense was not adequate; … For who are you to defend yourself? … It was befitting of you to accuse yourself instead! … Do not say: I have done nothing!; Or: What wrong have I done? Or: “Everyone else is doing it!. If you commit a sin, and said that you have done nothing, you, yourself, will be nothing; and will not get anything from God. God is ready to grant forgiveness; But you are closing the door on yourself! God is ready to give; So do not lock the door, Open up the bosom of confession, saying with the prophet David: “Make me to hear joy and gladness” (Psalm 51: 8). (St. Augustine) 4- THE FRUITS OF SIN: “You have covered Yourself with anger, and pursued us; You have slain and not pitied” (43) If God has covered Himself with anger, and used a firm chastisement, it is because of the disobedience and rebellion of Israel. + Supplication could cancel or alter the words of threat. And when they hear that God promises goodness, they should not despise His love, nor count Him slothful or not jealous; and allow themselves, accordingly, to commit evil. By his words, Jeremiah teaches us (Jeremiah 18: 7-9) that God loves when He threatens; and strikes when He is jealous; But that does not mean that His promises ore not valid! (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Seougi) “You have covered Yourself with a cloud, that prayer should not pass through” (44) The Old Testament often refers to God being hidden from human eyes as though behind clouds or darkness (Exodus 20: 21; 40: 34-35; Leviticus 16: 2; 1 Kings 8: 10, 12). But that was never used it to keep prayer from passing through. + How could I be certain that I shall get my request from God?... By not seeking what is contrary to what God is ready to give; By not asking what is not befitting of the great King; Nor by seeking what is temporal, but the spiritual blessings. If you approach God with no anger, and by pure and holy hands, used to giving. You will certainly get your request. (St. John Chrysostom) “You have made us an offscouring and refuse in the midst of the peoples” (45) This is a painful portrait of the people’s sufferings caused by their sins, and of being defamed by their enemies (1 Corinthians 4: 13). It is, as well, a portrait of the passion of the lord Christ, having been defamed by the Jews God looks down from heaven, with grief, on the daughters of Jerusalem; like what the Lord Christ did while He was carrying the cross, when He turned to the women who were mourning and lamenting Him and said to them: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children’ (Luke 23: 27, 28). + Whoever lives in evil pleasure is dead while living; he lives for the sake of his stomach, and not for the rest of his (holy) senses; He does not see what he should see, hear what he should hear, utter what he should utter, nor consummate the works of the living … he is dead! + How about it, If man is rich or one of the elites; Once he is captivated by sin, he would become more corrupt than any corruption. If he is a king, and was captivated by the barbarians, he would be the most miserable of all. So it is with sin, it is a barbarian, that captivates the soul. Sin plays the role of a tyrant who destroys all who get in contact with it. (St. John Chrysostom) “All our enemies have opened their mouths against us” (46) Confessing their unworthiness of having their prayers listened to by God, Judah, having lost their relationship with God, and their friendship with the other nations, became the ridicule of their enemies, without the possibility of defending themselves, “Fear and a snare have come upon us, desolation and destruction” (47) “My eyes overflow with rivers of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people” (48) In this whole lamentation, the prophet did not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem except in the verses 48-51. + Let us remember those tears; Let us weep when we see our children in evil. + Such tears are not painful; … Yes indeed! The tears that flow because of such kind of sorrow, are sweeter than the tears that flow because of any worldly pleasure. Listen to the words of the prophet, saying: “The Lord has heard all my weeping; The Lord has heard my supplication” (Psalm 6: 8- 9). (St. John Chrysostom) “My eyes flow and do not cease, without interruption” (49) The prophet persist on weeping for the sake of his people, until God listen to him, until He looks down from heaven to see how he suffers bitterness caused by what dwelt upon his people. + Dealing with a sinner, we should weep and sigh with grief. And when we counsel someone and he does not head our council, but goes forth to perdition, we should weep. For those are the tears of the heavenly wisdom. But when someone is in poverty, suffering from a bodily disease, or even dead, we should not weep for his sake, for all that are unworthy of shedding tears. (St. John Chrysostom) “Till the Lord from heaven looks down and sees” (50) Our Lord Jesus longs to set out of our souls a new heaven, or a new Jerusalem. He promised us, saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.(Matthew 3: 2). By repentance He will set His kingdom in us; will look down upon us, while dwelling in our depths. + I do not deny that the first Jerusalem became desolate because of the evil of her inhabitants; But I wonder: Is it not befitting of you to weep for the sake of your spiritual Jerusalem?! If someone sins after receiving the truth, he would be worthy of weeping; for he was once of Jerusalem, and now is no more. Let us weep upon our Jerusalem; for, because of her sin, she is surrounded and besieged by the enemy (the evil spirits), not one stone shall be left here upon another; particularly if such a man has previously practiced chastity and purity for a long time; then the lusts of the body, stirred up in him, caused him to lose his purity and chastity, to fall into adultery; For then, according to the prophet Ezekiel: “All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered” (Ezekiel 18: 24). (The scholar Origen) “My eyes bring suffering to my soul, because of all the daughters of my city” (51) The author of the biography of St. Ephraim the Syrian (referred to St. Gregory of Nyssa), telling us how he cared for shedding tears for the sake of the enjoyment of the eternal salvation, says: [Whenever I remember the flow of his ears, I, myself start to weep; for it was very difficult to pass with dry eyes through the flood of his tears. There was no day or night, or a part thereof, or any moment, however short, during which his watching eyes appeared not swimming in tears. As he said, he sometimes wept for the sake of the affliction of all and their foolishness; and other times he wept for a specific transgression. You will find him weeping and wailing, not only when he talks about the remorse, the ethics, and the control of life, but even while reciting the prayers of praise]. + Tears are the flood that sweeps the sins away, and purifies the world. (St. Gregory the Nezianzen) “My enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird” (52) As it was not possible to portray his condition by a single analogy, he used three of them: The first as a bird, hunted, not by a regular man, but by an enemy without a cause, who finds pleasure in tormenting him; The second, casting him in a pit which they shut, not by one rock as usual, but by several rocks, to make him lose every hope in coming out of it till he die; And the third analogy is water flowing over his head to ensure his utter drowning. “They silenced my life in the pit, and threw stones at me” (53) He would have been spared of that horrible destiny, if he retracted his prophecies, and forsook the word and mission of God …; but when he refused, they threw him in a pit to die of hunger with no need to shed his blood; Not perceiving that they were killing themselves, through being deprived of the bread of angels – the Word of God. He preferred to die physically of hunger for the bread of the world, to dying of hunger for the bread of angels + Jeremiah was forsaken alone to praise God in a pit full of mire; when his soul was more precious than the whole people. Do you wish to know what a single man could do? Joshua the son of nun, alone, against the whole inhabited world, commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, and so they did. … A man gave a command, and heaven responded and listened to him; for he listened to the Lord. Jeremiah said, “I sat alone … for you filled me with indignation” (Jeremiah 15: 17). How would he be alone in a city? … For there were none to share his goal. “He rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed” (Matthew 27: 60).. Proclaiming ahead about the burial of the Lord Christ, Isaiah said: “For the transgression of my people He was stricken; And they made His grave with the wicked – but with the rich at His death” (Isaiah 53: 8-9); And he also said, “Look at the Rock from which you were hewn” (Isaiah 51: 1). As to the door of the tomb, Jeremiah said: “They silenced my life in the pit, and threw stones at me” (53). + Let us meditate in how “the chosen and precious rock” (1 Peter 2: 4) of offence to the Jews, and of salvation to the believers, lie behind the rocks. … When the tree of life was planted in the earth, the earth that was cursed, enjoyed the blessing and the resurrection from the dead. + He (the Lord Christ) chose to walk along all the ways of men, until He entered through the door of death, in order to loosen Adam. … He started by His birth, and consummated the way until he encountered death. Humbly, He walked along the way of Adam; toward where Adam fell into the depths of the pit, There he entered, fell for his sake, drew him along and came out. ( S t ( M a r ) J a c o b E l - S e r o u g i ) . “The waters flowed over my head. I said, ‘I am cut off’” (54) He portrays death by the waters that flowed over his head. According to the Jews, the kingdom of the devil is set in the depths of water, where the great dragon is; In the lifeless barren wilderness; And in the air where there is always disturbance. In the Old Testament, it was often referred to the waters as a source of trouble. 5- A COMFORT FOR THE BELIEVERS: “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the lowest pit” (55) “The princes of the court took Jeremiah and cast him into a dungeon” (Jeremiah 38: 4-6). In the lowest pit, his life turning into a prayer, he cried out, saying: “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the lowest pit. You have heard my voice; Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help. You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, ‘Do not fear’. O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life. O Lord, You have seen how I am wronged; Judge my case” (55-59) As all the doors were closed shut before his face, he found those of God open; He found God’s ears incline to listen to him while in the pit, to hear the inner cry outs of his heart. By saying to him “Do not fear”, the Lord confirmed to him his past promises since the day he was called; and by partaking of his sufferings, he counted the adversities against Jeremiah as against Himself; By that the Lord became the Judge and the advocate who pleaded Jeremiah’s case against his persecutors. If the book of Jeremiah revealed the role played by ‘Ebed Melech the Ethiopian’ (Chapter 38), in the salvation of Jeremiah, his lamentations revealed that it was God who carried out the actual role, who listened to the cry-outs and the sighs of the oppressed, and moved Ebed Me;ech by compassion to save Jeremiah from the pit. As to the Lord Christ, the prophet portrays the Lord descending to Hades – the lowest pit – to carry the captives from there to paradise. “You have heard my voice; Do not hide Your ears from my sighing, from my cry for help” (56) The Father accepted the sacrifice of the cross, and responded to the atoning intercession of Christ for the sake of the sinners. Having been cast into the sea, Jonah entered into the whale, not to see death by his eyes, but to see, through the shadow, the Lord Christ Himself – as He was cast into tribulation together with us, and for our sake; So that when He cried out, while being blameless, the Father responded to Him, and lifted us up, together with Him above tribulation. He came down to our lowliness, He who is blameless, so that in Him, we would come to be the subject of pleasure for the Father; to listen to us in our tribulation, and to lift us to Him, As according to St. Jerome: [For our sake, the Lord humbly descended to us, so as to ascend to Him in security and confidence]. In his tribulation, Jonah called the Lord, and promptly enjoyed His response. He found himself ascending, not out of the belly of the whale, but out of Hades, in the crucified Christ Jesus! … Here he talks in the past and not in the future tense, saying: “You have heard my voice”; a sign of the true enjoyment through the symbol, and of the surety that carries no doubt. Carrying those same feeling, and perceiving those same concepts, when he was cast into the dungeon, Jeremiah said: “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the lowest pit; You have heard my voice; Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help” (55-56). You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, ‘Do not fear’” (57) God sent Ebed Melech the Ethiopian to save Jeremiah from the dungeon (Jeremiah 38: 7-13), And the Father responded to the supplication of the greatest High Priest – our Lord Jesus, to open up before us His fatherly bosoms. + Why should you fear, O Christians? Christ Himself says: “Do not fear”…. Why should you be disturbed by such things? … Why should you fear? He has already told you that those things will definitely happen … “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid. The they willingly received Him into the boat; (John 6: 20). Having recognized Him, they rejoiced and were liberated of their fear. “and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going” (John 6: 21); An instant move from the water to the shore; from disturbance to peace; from the way to the goal. (St. Augustine) “O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life” 58) What was that case but the one caused by the devil, which the Lord Christ pleaded against him, who seeks our eternal perdition, presenting to us the conquest.on him.. + In the passion and the resurrection of the Lord, we enjoy the crossing over from this mortal to the everlasting life; Namely from death to life. (St. Augustine) + It was such a tribulation and an intense grief that dwelt upon the demons and their hosts, on the day our Lord was crucified; For by His death and descending down to Hades, He did to them what He previously did to Pharaoh and his soldiers; He set Adam and his descendants free from their prison, the way He did to the children of Israel from the land of Egypt. (St. Ambrose) “O Lord, You have seen how I am wronged; Judge my case” (59) Seeing how the demons have deceived us, the Lord Christ, Himself, became our advocate. + “Away with you, Satan” (Matthew 4: 10) It is a gift given by the Lord Christ to those who believe in Him … Having the authority to utter these same words by Christ in them, they could say:: “Let the devil be ashamed through us” … For what the Lord say is for our sake, so that the demons would flee through the Lord who has rebuked them by such words. S t . A b b a A n t h o n y t h e G r e a t ) “You have seen all their vengeance; all their schemes against me” (60) + Jesus came strong to the battle, to bring to perdition all our enemies, to save us from their snares, to liberate us from those who hate us. “You have heard their reproach, O Lord; all their schemes against me” (61). All along the eras, the devil did not cease to reproach God, on the tongues of his proud, ignorant, and idol-worshipping followers; who reproach the believers. “Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me” (Psalm 69: 9) “Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily” (Psalm 74: 22) “A fool is ungracious and abusive, and the gift of a grudging giver makes the eyes dim” (Sirach 18: 18) “Mockery and abuse issues from the proud, but vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion” (Sirach 27: 28) “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their reviles” (Isaiah 51: 7) “You have heard their reproach, O Lord; all their schemes against me” (Lamentations 3: 61). “I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the reviles of the people of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people” (Zephaniah 2: 8) “There was very great joy among the people, and the disgrace brought by the Gentiles was removed” (1 Maccabees 4: 58) “For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written: ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me” *Romans 15: 3) ‘While you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated” (Hebrew 10: 33) + How can we follow the role of Christ? … By practicing everything for the sake of the public interest, and not merely for our own. According to St. Paul: “For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me’” (Romans 15: 3). I wish no one seeks what is only for his own sake. What is for the good of the neighbor is for our own good; for we are all one body, members for one another. + The Savior says: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6: 38). When the Jews opposed Him and condemned Him to death as a sinner; the psalmist, putting himself in the position of Christ, says: “The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me” (Psalm 69: 9). (Father Ambroseaster) “The lips of my enemies, and their whispering against me all the day” (62) St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi portrays for us how the devil does not endure the salvation of man; If he sees a sinner start to walk along the way of repentance, he commands his hosts to intensify their efforts to destroy him by evil thoughts, vain glory, and by every way possible. The saint wrote to two harlots, by the names of Lantia and Maria, who repented and lived in seclusion, warning them against the wars of the devil, and his opposition against them with violence, saying: + Now, because of his animosity against you, the devil’s command to his hosts are as follows: [Do not make war against the pure and the perfect, nor against any of my strong enemies; But against these two (harlots) who were of my own, then despised and scoffed me, and became among the ranks of the saints. Bring forth over them the cut off hope; Fill them with laziness; Plant in them envy toward one another, to submit to weakness, and to burn by the lust for food; Wake up in them the thoughts of their early life; Disturb them by the adulterous thoughts; Hinder their prayers, lest if they are strong, they will consummate their pledges; Let them stand on the edge of the cliff of pride; and bind them up by the love of glory; Let them think that they have already become good; Send the sick to them to pray for their sake; Let the later say to them: ‘We are healed by your prayers”. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Look at their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their taunting song” (63) The devil intends to mock us, by making us his taunting song; But, by Christ Jesus, the conqueror of the hosts of darkness, we can sing together with the psalmist, saying: “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snares of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124: 7, 8). + While we are still in the midst of the battle, fighting and being wounded, we ask ourselves: ‘Who is going to prevail?’ It is, brethren, he who trust in God’s support while fighting, and not in his own strength. … The devil is experienced in war; But if God is on our side, we shall conquer him. … The devil fights by himself; If we do the same, he will overcome us…. Being an experienced warrior, it is befitting of us to call the Mighty One to confront him. Let Him who is unconquerable dwell in you, to conquer him who is used to conquer.; For he conquers those whose hearts are empty of God. + God, aware of your good will, anticipates your strife, supports your weakness, and will crown your conquest. (St. Augustine) + If the hosts and the rulers of the world of darkness, and the evil spirits, are tempting us, we are not supposed to enter into a debate with them, nor to reconcile with them; but, on the contrary, we should fight them. … Once we prevail upon them, and gain the authority to “trample upon the serpents and the scorpions” (Luke 10: 19); then it would be time for peace. … Crushing the devil under the feet of the saints has to come first. When it is time for the war, it is befitting of man to trample upon the strength of the enemy; And when we conquer them, we could live in steadfast peace, and our mind would be liberated from disturbance. (St. Dedymus the blind) 6- THE PERDITION OF THE ENEMY: This prayer was responded to, by the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 46: 47; Jeremiah 50- 51; Daniel 5); And will be fulfilled in a greater way by the end of time and the fall of the kingdom of the devil – the great Babylon, the mother of harlots (Revelation 19, 20) “Repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands” (64) In his comment on the saying of the Lord Christ that He came to the world, not to bring peace on earth, but a sword (Matthew 10: 34), St. Jerome says that the Lord refers to what happened to the devil (Lucifer), who was cast down by the cross, and brought down to the lowest depths of the pit (Isaiah 14: 15); he who used to shine in the morning (Isaiah 14: 13); and once resided in the paradise of joy. + Follow the lead of the heavenly Groom; Stand fast before the unseen enemies; Make war against the principalities and the rulers (Ephesians 6: 12). First, draw them away, to have no portion in you; Then you can drive them out from those who may resort to you seeking the protection of your counsel; as their leader and defender. … Deny all those debates against faith in Christ. … By the godly word, fight against the bad and evil counsel; as according to the apostle: “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10: 5). … And above all, put your trust in the arm of the great King; before whom all His enemies fear and are terrified. (St. Basil the Great) “Give them a veiled heart; Your curse be upon them. In Your anger, pursue and destroy them, from under the heavens of the Lord” (65, 66) The devil intends to liken God in everything. As God intends to make out of men, ambassadors for Himself, and stewards of heaven, who bear the fellowship of the divine nature; So the devil, whose goal is to destroy the kingdom of God on earth, intends, to make those who follow him ambassadors and stewards for himself, bearing his features of violence, oppression, and corruption. + The fears of him who strives would become for him a cause of salvation; And on the contrary, it will be a cause of reproach and scoff for his enemies; He stands fast against all their attacks, makes them void, and rejects all their seductions … The enemy -- Lucifer who has fallen down from heaven (Isaiah 14: 12) moves in a horrible way between heaven and earth – on account of that the saints on earth did not let him have comfort on it; nor fulfill his desire to enjoy our destruction. … Having been defeated many times by the righteous ‘Job’, he did not quit the battle, but kept it on to exhaust the righteous man. (St. Hesichius of Jerusalem) ----------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS (Chapter 3) Let me sing underneath Your cross + Is there a place where my soul will find comfort, except to collect all my energies, To sing underneath Your cross? Allow me, O my beloved, to talk about Your life-giving passions; And to sing the secrets of Your joyful cross! On the cross You were raised in my place; In humiliation, You bowed before the divine wrath, enduring it on my behalf; On the outside wounds, contrite, and humiliation; And in the depths, love, resurrection, salvation, and gladness for every believer; I wonder, was Your cross a humiliation for you, or a proclamation of the secrets of Your glory? + How can I call You, O my good savior? You are the Sun of Righteousness; You did not fear to enter into the darkness To search for me, a very precious pearl in Your sight; to exult in me; You scattered my darkness, and poured Your splendor on me; And introduced me -- the lost pearl -- to Your Father , the Lover of mankind; You nailed the animosity; And You set me a son of Your Father; I shall never give the back to the Father; But, by You, I shall enter into His bosoms. + You entered into death through the bitter-most of its gates; On the cross, Your body was all covered with wounds; From the head down to the feet; What should have dwelt on me, You received by Your own free will, and Your love; You nailed my old man, to let me enjoy the new man; Your Holy Spirit makes me beautiful every morning; To become Your living icon; Instead of the frail body, You granted me in it the resurrected life. + You received the tribulation in its most horrible form; You drank the bitterness instead of me; You turned the bitterness of my life into the sweetness of fellowship with You. + Entering into the pit by Your own authority; Its foundations were shaken, its gates were destroyed; You did not refrain from lying among the dead; To carry them as a spoil. And to set them free from the bondage of the devil and death; And to bring them forth to Your joyful paradise. + The devil and his hosts could not help dancing for joy; All of them were ready to carry the chains; By which to bring You forth into the pit; They assumed that You will be carried chained into an everlasting prison; They hedged You in, lest You may escape; You, instead, loosened my chains, and set me free from their captivation; To make me enjoy the glorious liberty of the children of God. + For the sake of my salvation you became truly Man; You cried out on the cross as though the Father has forsaken You; The devil, his hosts, and all the hosts of darkness scoffed You, saying: Let Him cry out! No one can rescue Him from our hands; The straw scoffed Your fire; and assumed that it could burn it; They set the snare of death; They assumed that they hid it from You, to catch You; They did not perceive that “You have the power to lay Your life down, and the power to take again” (John 10: 18) They, themselves fell into the snare they have set for You; And You set forth, O the true Way, to open the gates of heaven before Your beloved. + The deadly lion used to roam around, and no soul could escape from him; All mankind came to be its prey; It counted that You, as well, will not escape his fangs; But, by Your death broke down his fangs; And turned death for us to an enjoyable journey to heaven in Your company; The lion (the devil) became a prey; And the divine Lamb a lion, a Grantor of resurrection. + The devil counted that You have lost the way; That You had no more place among the living; Yet You have borne us in You, a unique Way; That would bring us forth into the divine bosoms; By his multitude of accusations against You, the enemy assumed that he could get rid of You; Yet, instead of the accusations, You became our righteousness, sanctification, and our eternal life. + The enemy assumed that Your heavenly Father has destroyed You; And that death has torn You apart, to become desolate; Mockingly, he sang, saying: [Behold! the divine arrow will kill Him as a deceiver]; But the deceiver did not perceive that it was he who deceived himself The Father’s arrow is no one but You! Whom He aims toward the hosts of darkness, to scatter them by Your light; He aims You toward men, to wound their hearts by the wounds of exalted love; You turned my heart from the curse to the eternal blessing; In it You planted Your cross, instead of the thorns and thistles; In it, instead of the dust, You set your heavens. Which the heavenly creatures desire to look at. + Tell me, how could the devil assume that You have been destroyed by the cross; When, by Your cross, You turned my depths into a second heaven! Together with Your Father, You came to dwell in it; Welcome, O Crucified! My heart became Your paradise; Which You planted by Your right hand, and watered by Your precious blood; To carry the fruit of Your Holy Spirit. + Let me stand together with the righteous ‘Job’, who saw Your cross through the shadows; And saw him who intended to make You the laughing stock of everyone; He himself turned into a toy; To be scoffed by every believing child; Let me sing together with ‘Job’, saying: “Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you leash him for your maidens? (Job 41: 5); He even refrained to play with him as with a bird; He tied him with a thread and delivered him to the kids to play with; By the cross, the devil became not worthy to be scoffed by a believer; He fell out from his heart, as he fell down from heaven; And came to be underneath his feet. + You tasted bitterness, O You Sweet in Your words and promises; By You, I came to taste sweetness in any suffering together with You; And the bitterness itself has gone forth to the hosts of darkness; In the civil and the religious trials. The enemy intended for you to grind the pebbles; Let him do anything he likes, for You turn the pebbles into eternal salvation; That I would sing, saying: “His mouth is most sweet, Yes, He is altogether lovely” (Songs 5: 16); + The enemy assumed that in You, the divine verdict against the first Adam, will be fulfilled; Saying: “You are dust, and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3: 19); At Your tomb he set a tight watch; To make sure that You will turn to dust like all mankind; But instead of that verdict, a new one was issued for those who believe in You: Saying: “You are heaven, and to heaven you will return”; By Your life-giving cross, You set Your resurrection a deposit for every true believer; You opened wide the gates of Hope; All the hosts of heaven exulted to receive You, O Lord of glory; The heavenly hosts came to have a new praise; They cry out to You to hasten Your ultimate coming; To welcome Your bride whom You gathered from the time of Adam to the end of time; In a flaring zeal, they anticipate the day of Your eternal wedding. + Now, I sing the song of Your crucifix, saying: Your soul bowed down to bear the cross in our place; You granted me uprightness instead of bowing; My eyes will no more look down to earth like the rest of animals; But will concentrate on the things high up in heaven; Glory be to You, O who granted me the sweet praise of the crucifix.
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