Lectio#2
The wise men or Magi return to their homes by a different course after having visited the
Christ child: "And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own
country by another route" (Matthew 2.12). This choice of a different way home is a direct result
of Herod's treachery, but perhaps there is a deeper meaning. The wise men came to Christ by a
passage shown by a star. Later they see Christ or to apply the words of St. Paul, "To them God
chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1.27). The wise men represent the nations;
once they see the manifestation of God in the flesh they realize this mystery "among the Gentiles,"
that is, God's present among themselves. Because both the star and Christ have disappeared once
the wise men realize this mystery "in you," there is no need for a guiding star on the way home.
The different route they chose signifies an awakening of Christ "in you," a fact clarified by John
8.12: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me (that is, like the Magi following the star)
will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
Also, compare the Magi's coming with a passage from Luke 11.31: "The queen of the
South...came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something
greater than Solomon is here." This verse refers to 1Kings 10.1-10 where the queen of Sheba
brought gifts, a prefiguration of the Magi. She was not directed by a star to visit Solomon but by
the faculty of hearing: "Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning
the name of the Lord." In other words, her interest lay not with Solomon per se but "in (hearing
about) the name of the Lord." Then the queen "speaks to Solomon about all which was in her
heart." This close attention to detail is equivalent to the Magi's pondering over the mystery of the
Christ child. Once the queen saw all Solomon's possessions, verse 5 says "there was no more
spirit in her." That is, her spirit left her in amazement, an incident similar to the Magi's
"exceedingly great joy" before they entered the house where Christ was present. Note that one
version of the Septuagint has "in ecstasy."
As a result of her visit with Solomon the queen exclaims (verse 8), "Happy ('ashrey) are
your wives! Happy are these your servants who continually stand before you and hear your
wisdom!" The use of 'ashrey is important as found in Psalm 1.1: "Happy is the man who follows
the Law (Torah) of the Lord." Psalm 119 which praises this Torah is reminiscent of the queen's
praise.
Verse 13 says that Solomon "gave the queen all her desire (chephetsah), whatever she
asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty." Observe the similarity between
Solomon's bounty and the Magi's gifts.
* * *
Notice the long interval of time from Epiphany to the Baptism of Christ, approximately thirty years. The Church's commemoration of this time, of which we know hardly anything at all, takes place within one liturgical week. Except for the weeks from Advent through Epiphany, the liturgical year deals with a very brief span of time, Christ's ministry of approximately three years, and even part of this time concerns the last days of Christ, Lent, Passion Time and Easter.
Where does the thirty year period fit it? It is compressed between these two feasts, the
mystic seven days, which is comparable to the seven days of creation. These days (actually in
Hebrew, the Genesis account of creation has not "first day" but "day one," etc.) cover more time
than that period from the creation of Adam to the end of the New Testament. However, they are
not as significant when compared to the shorter period of Christ's ministry. Nevertheless, this
long period of Genesis, the pre-Adam duration, is a time when creation was taking shape under
God's Spirit or Ruah hovering (rachaph) over the waters. It resembles the era after the historical
Christ when the pneuma descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, that is, the beginning of the
Church right to the present day. The Holy Spirit continues to hover or rachaph over the Church
as over the waters in Genesis.
The week consisting of Epiphany-Baptism actually is symbolic of "common" time which
harmonizes with liturgical time from Christ's Baptism to the last Sunday of the year before
Advent. Why? Because the thirty years compressed into that week represent the period of
growth of each member of the Church, Christ's body extended in space and time. This example
demonstrates the difference between sacred time (kairos) and so-called secular time (chronos);
both obviously have disparate ways of calculating events.
* * *
Relate Matthew 2.9 to the wise men and Epiphany, a verse which contains to paidion, a
"young child," with mention of a house, oikia (verse 11). This suggests that the wise men came to
the holy family much later than Christ's immediate birth as traditionally maintained. Compare this
verse with Luke 2.16 which mentions to brephos, "baby," when the shepherds come to him. A
brephos is unable to comprehend the wise men's gifts and their significance, but a paidion could.
I assume that Christ as a paidion did comprehend what they meant. Matthew's account does not
have Mary marveling at the wise men's visit to Christ as paidion but Luke's does: "She kept all
these things and pondered them in her heart" (2.19). Mary had to ponder (sumballo) them
because Christ as brephos could not express himself. Matthew does not mention Mary and this
pondering or any related type of considering; she had Christ as a paidion who could explain to her
the Magi's visit. Note that the word "symbol" derives from the Greek word sumballoMary
received the sym-bolic meaning.
Luke 2.41-52 contains the story of Jesus when he was twelve years old (a mystic number
as found in the book of Revelation) in the temple. Here (verse 43) we see Christ as a pais
(paidion being a diminutive form) teaching the Jewish elders in the temple. The distinction
between paidion at the Magi's visit and pais when Christ was teaching in the temple is not that
crucial here. Nevertheless, this example intimates that Jesus, following the example of the
temple's teachers, had instructed Mary about the significance of the wise men's visit earlier.
Next we read about Mary in verse 51 who "kept (diatereo) all these things in her heart."
Compare sumballo or "ponder" of Luke 2.19 with diatereo of verse 51. The former's fundamental
meaning is "to bring together;" the latter means "to keep continually, carefully." Diatereo is
connected with Christ as a pais who is teaching Mary. Later he (John 17.11, 12, 15) prays to the
Father to tereo or "keep" his disciples. I assume it is similar to Mary's tereo. Since Mary bore
Christ, it is only natural that she stands at his cross. St. John is there too because he reclined
"close to the breast of Jesus" (John 13.23). Kolmos or "breast" bears a kinship to koilos, an
adjective which means "hollow." Given the connection between Mary and John at the crucifixion
which was taken as a figure of the future church, we could say that the kolpos of Christ equals a
womb or hollow space. That gives reason to understand why he commended his mother to John's
care who earlier has leaned "close to the breast of Jesus." John could easily receive Mary "into
his own house" (John 19.27) which literally reads "into his own," his own kolmos, which was
Christ's kolpos, a relatively natural step for Mary to do, for she had Christ as a fetus in her kolpos.
John probably obtained material for his Gospel from listening to Mary "in his own house."
John learned of Christ through Mary's earlier "pondering" or sumballo and diatereo experiences
mentioned above as related to Christ when he was young. Note that sumballo has the connotation
of symbol; Mary pondered the symbolic meaning of Christ's actions.
* * *
We can examine Christ's earthly life objectively as a model or archetype for our imitation.
In light of the New Testament's teaching, especially having obtained clearer perception through
the medium of contemplative prayer, we find that the mystery (musterion) of Christ cannot be an
object as though it were something existing over and against ourselves. This is made more
obvious by the word huiothesia, "adoption," literally, "son placing." When a person is in the Son,
he or she has no perception of the Son much like the Zen expression which says that an eye
cannot see itself. Nevertheless, such a person knows that a more inclusive reality is "containing"
him or her.
It is even more futile to perceive the Father as object because "no one has seen the
Father." We therefore end up with two inscrutable entities beyond our natural tendency to
objectify reality, Father and Son. This leads naturally to the Holy Spirit who is the union of
Father and Son (two persons) but exists as one distinct person. Because the Spirit is a unity of
two negatives (by negative I mean unknowability), we can follow, so to speak, the principle of
language that two negatives make a positive. This "positive" quality therefore allows us to posit
the Holy Spirit as objectivity. That is, Spirit is the only person whom we can address, humanly
speaking. Therefore by addressing the Holy Spirit, we "grasp" the Father and Son, rather, both
Persons who form a completely other Person.
* * *
In the month of January we have the onset of winter after having enjoyed the Christmas
season whose special charm made us generally unaware of the cold and darkness. Yet of all
months of the year, January contains the greatest number of feasts with monastic themes
according to the Cistercian calendar:
1: Basil and Gregory Nazianzus
2: Epiphany
3: Baptism of Christ
4: Gregory of Nyssa
5: Aelred of Riveaulx
6: Maur and Placid
7: Antony the Great
8: Conversion of St. Paul
9: Robert, Alberic, Stephen
* * *
Galatians 3.28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; you are all one in Christ Jesus." From the point of view of "in Christ
Jesus," consider Genesis 1.27: "God created man in his image and likeness, in the image of God
he created him; male and female he created him." God created "man" in his image after which he
creates "male and female" separately. This parallels Galatians just quoted where "man" equals
human nature.
* * *
F. Bertrand point out in an article entitled Mystique de Jesus chez Origene in Collection
Theologie #23 (Paris, 1951), p.46, five stages of touching which Origen delineates with regard to
the mystery of Christ:
1: toucher la frange du manteau de Christ
2: baigner ses pieds de larmes
3: de les essuyer avec les cheveux de sa tete
4: d'oindre la tete de Jesus de myrrhe
5: se tenir couche usr sa poitrine
* * *
John 6.45: "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'" Christ is
referring to Isaiah 54.1 in the larger context of the "living bread," chapter 6. In this fashion both
teaching and eating are associated. In verse 46 Christ says, "No one has seen the Father unless he
who is with God who has seen the Father." This is reminiscent of John 1.18 and Exodus 33.20,
"for no one can see my face and live." The latter verse was uttered in the desert and parallels
Christ as living bread, an image which he borrows from Moses in Exodus 16 which also takes
place in the desert.
The statement of John 6.45 is significant in light of Psalm 34.9: "Taste and see that the
Lord is good. Happy is the man who takes refuge in him." Christ is emphasizing the eating part
of this verse ("taste," taham) rather than seeing, for only he has seen the Father. The act of
tasting is a form of teaching which, in turn, becomes a seeing. If we examine the remaining verses
of chapter six we do not come across references to a person "seeing" the Father; rather, our
perception of him is indirect:
1: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (verse 44)
2: "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me." (verse 45)
3: "He who eats me will live because of me." (verse 57)
All the above references to the Father have a distinctly non-visual character. Christ never
says that the person who eats his body and drinks his blood will see the Father, but that he will
havepossesseternal life (verse 58). Even the frequent allusions to Christ as food in chapter
six do not pertain to seeing him either; they all deal with elementary functions of living through
ingestion, that is, related to Christ as food.
We see the reference point of Isaiah 54.13 by an examination of the preceding two verses.
God is depicted as building a city and establishing its boarders, the place-where of verse 3,
Jerusalem. The verb lamad ("All your sons shall be taught by the Lord") has the connotation of
being trained for warfare which is perhaps why verse 17 has "no weapon that is formed against
you shall prosper." All who are truly trained or taught by God listen to the Father ("what I have
heard from the Father," verse 45) and have revelation of the Son in the heavenly Jerusalem; they
keep this image in view of the Isaiah quote. It is important to keep in mind the notion of descent,
an action accomplished by the heavenly Jerusalem and foreshadowed by verse 33: "The bread of
heaven from God which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
The act of being taught by God does not refer exclusively to the Son; rather, it pertains
more to the Holy Spirit who is the true teacher in the Church. He descends upon the Apostles at
Pentecost; they speak foreign languages and begin to teach. Notice that all apostolic teaching
takes place in context of a descent pertaining to the Son (Incarnation) and the Spirit (Pentecost), a
direct result of John 14.26: "He will teach you all things and will remind you about what I have
spoken to you." We can never see the Father as I have pointed out above. The same applies to
the Son, but the Holy Spirit as a combination of both is present everywhere in the Church and
who is perceived by a manifestation of his nature, wind.
* * *
The following relates to what was just said, Psalm 51.14 (Septuagint): "Give me the joy
of your salvation and establish a guiding (hegemoniko) spirit in me." It is intriguing to compare
this phrase, pneumati hegemoniko, as related to the "Spirit who will teach you all things" in John
14.26. Note, however, that it is linked to the Hebrew sheshun yeshehaka, "the joy of your
salvation" which may be translated as "the joy of your Jesus." The prayer of verse 14 is
addressed to the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit; he in turn adopts a person, that is, "son-places" this person as indicated by the word huiothesia. Christ is making an appeal to the Father
for the restoration of our divine likeness which is why we read "turn to me," a request to return
what was lost, our likeness or homoiosis. The psalmist makes this request by remembering his
pristine image or eikon-nature which is reminiscent of John 14.26: "and (the Holy Spirit) will
remind you of what I have said to you." Through the word hupomeno (remember) we get a
picture of the Spirit remaining under (hupo) the memory or hovering (Genesis 1.2) over our
divine image for the purpose of restoring it to the divine likeness or the Son. That is why the verb
hupomeno is identified with "all which I said to you."
* * *
A definition of work and meditation: "The work at hand should be given a place in the
framework of the meditation, as an illustration of its subject (italics are mine). For example, the
function of eating may easily be related to contemplation on the impermanence of the body."
Heart of Buddhist Meditation (New York, 1971) p.50, by Nyanaponika Thera.
* * *
"Psalm 1.1: 'Blessed ('ashry) is the man who walks in the Law of the Lord.' On the surface
the Hebrew root to 'blessed' or 'ashr indicates an accumulation of power or material goods.
However, another word comes from this verbal root, 'ashur, 'step,' as found in Proverbs 4.14
and 23.19, the former being quoted here: 'Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not
walk in the way of evil men.' This verse indicates a truer meaning for 'asher, not necessarily
the possession of material wealth, but the progress towards the eventual attainment of such
wealth or more accurately, a 'striding forward.' Even the relative pronoun 'asher used to
introduce the predicate to a subject or object, expresses a step forward in thought, the resting
of an idea without an additional predicate and its enrichment with a new characteristic. Thus
'ashry denotes all possible progress. "Striding forward," advancement in all that which is
desirable, is the basic motive and goal of all our thoughts and actions. That progress for
which we strive is actually only with that person who does not follow evil principles, but,
instead, derives all his principles, endeavors and views solely from the Torah. David begins
Psalm One where Moses left off in Deuteronomy 33.29, 'Happy are you, Israel!'" The
Psalms by Damson R. Hirsch (Jerusalem and New York, 1978), p.1. (NB: the author
translates Psalm 1.1 as "forward strides that man."
With the above passage on 'ashry in mind, refer to Psalm 84 where it occurs three critical
times:
1) "Happy are they that dwell in your house; they will still be praising you" (verse 4): notion of continued praise.
2) "Blessed is the man whose strength is in you; in whose heart are the ways of them" (verse 5): notion of continual movement.
3) "Blessed is the man that trusts in you" (verse 13): notion of continued reliance upon
God.
All three uses of 'ashry are bound up with forward, eternal movement which fits in well
with the root of this Hebrew verb as described above. Verse 7 reads "They will go from strength
to strength, every one of them appears before God in Sion." This "from strength to strength" is
reminiscent of 2Corinthians 3.18: "We shall be changed from glory to glory" Keep all this in
mind when reading the beatitudes as in Matthew 5.3-11 where 'ashry is translated as makarios,
"blessed."
* * *
In his Eighth Sermon On the Song of Songs St. Bernard comments upon Song 3.1: "In
lecto meo per noctes quaesivi quem diligit anima mea" ("On my bed through the night I have
sought him who my soul loves"). Lectulus is diminutive of lectus, "chosen, picked" whose root is
lego, "to collect, gather, pick." Lectulus is related to lectio divina, the monastic practice of slow,
meditative reading which thus means a se-lective type of reading.
* * *
In his Rule St. Benedict says of Lent, "A monk's life ought to have about it a Lenten
character" meaning that Lent is symbolic of our existence on earth. Benedict then makes
allowance for the rigors of the Lenten observance, an insight which perhaps derives from an
appreciation of the sacred meaning associated with the number "forty." Two notable examples
are the Israelites' forty years of wandering and Christ being in the desert for forty days and nights.
* * *
The synoptic Gospels depict Jesus Christ as being sent into the desert after his baptism:
"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit" (Luke 4.1).
Christ is both full of the Spirit from his baptism and led into the desert by the same Spirit.
Compare this verse with one related to Pentecost, Acts 2.4: "And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit."
Christ is in the desert after Luke gives his genealogy starting from the present and working
backwards to "Adam, son of God" (2.38). Adam too was tempted but while he was in paradise.
It is significant that Christ is also tempted right after Luke gives us his genealogy. Because Christ
was "full of the Spirit," he was able to resist being tempted by hunger. All satisfaction was met by
his being "full," (pleros). The mention of Pneuma in Luke's temptation story points to his
function. The Spirit's function was to teach Christ as a man the Israelite experience, that is of
being in the desert for forty years. He does this by way of the memory, that is, by bringing to
Christ's mind the desert period of forty years. The Spirit can transform this historical period into a
symbolic one for Christ. Such "mystic" teaching, it seems, is implied in John 14.26: "He (the
Holy Spirit) will remind (literally, 'stand under,' hupo) you." The Spirit teaches us in the same
fashion he taught Christ. Then we, like Christ, can teach others as the beginning of his ministry
which follows the temptation demonstrates.
Deuteronomy 2.7 infers the "fullness" of Christ in the desert: "He knows your walking
through this great desert. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you lacked
nothing." In other words, the Holy Spirit was working in the Israelites by reminding them of their
desert years.
In Song 3.6 we have Solomon coming up from the desert "with all the powers of the
merchant." This may signify Christ's completion of the forty days in the desert at the point when
he is about to commence his ministry. King Solomon's "powders" are scented, 'avqth. The gifts
offered by Christ are not visible but intangible, that is to say, the Holy Spirit is a breath or
scent...powder...in his manifold forms. Note that the Song reads "Who is this coming up." Here
emphasis is upon an upward movement. Christ does not raise himself up from the dead, but the
Spirit effects this. Refer to Romans 8.11: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
gives life...through his Spirit dwelling within you." Paul says that the
indwelling...enoikountosSpirit will resurrect us. Such indwelling implies a continuous abiding,
a divine presence which literally in-forms--places his form in---our faculties.
Since memories generally define our lives, issuing as they do from the past into the present
and then on into the future, this circumscribing function is superseded in favor of a divine
presence composed, as noted above, of two other divine Persons, Father and Son. Thus the type
of memories we have from daily experience are quite different in that they come into existence
just long enough enabling us to function in accord with normal situations, after which they
dissolve in deference to the Holy Spirit's presence. Therefore, the Spirit hovers over our
memories much as depicted by the creation narrative of Genesis.
* * *
Luke 9.29: "And his garment became dazzling white." Compare this transfigured garment
of Christ to Ezekiel 1.4: "As I looked, behold, a stormy wind...with brightness round about it,
and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming bronze." Also
consider verse 7: "Their legs...sparkled like burnished bronze." Later in 2.1 Ezekiel hears a voice
speak and then "the spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet." This verse may be compared
with Luke 17.7: "Jesus touched them saying, 'Rise, do not fear.'" Here the Spirit does not enter
the disciples because "the Spirit was not yet given." Luke 9.36 adds, "And they kept silence and
told no one in those days anything of what they had seen." The reason for this silence is because
the Spirit was not yet bestowed, the power enabling the disciples to announce the Gospel.
Why is there no intermediary mentioned in the book of Ezekiel? Upon closer examination,
God addresses the prophet as "son of man" ninety-three times. This is a title preferred by Christ
himself, so we could see Ezekiel as a figure of Christ. Note that Mark 9.9 has: "(Christ) charged
them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead."
Another indirect reference to the Spirit not having been given yet. Mark has "the Son of man,"
the same title as Ezekiel. The latter first gets this title in 2.3 right after the Spirit enters him.
Then we may say it is the Voice addressing the Son of man in the Spirit. After the Spirit enters
Ezekiel, he "disappears," that is to say, he is no more after Enoch's example (cf. Genesis 5.24);
only now the title "son of man" remains for the rest of the book.
Luke 9.28 starts the account of Christ's transfiguration with "Now about eight days after
these sayings." These "sayings" refer to Christ speaking about his passion, death and resurrection.
Luke specifies eight days, that is, the day after the Sabbath, the day of the resurrection.
Luke 24.2: "Behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel." This appearance
occurs "on the first day of the week" or during the pre-dawn darkness of day eight, after the
Sabbath. The word batheos coupled with orthros ("early dawn") suggests the time of deepest
darkness. Again we encounter the verb astrapto as in the transfiguration and with Ezekiel's
vision.
* * *
Deuteronomy 34.1-6: "And Moses went up...to the top of Pisgah...and the Lord showed
him all the land. This is the land...I will give to your seed. I have caused you to see it, but you
shall not go over there. So Moses died there...and God buried him...but no man knows of his
sepulchre unto this day." Relate this intriguing passage to St. Joseph whom "the Lord (also)
knew face to face" (verse 10). There is good reason for Joseph's silence, that is, after he had
foreseen (in the person of Moses) the promised land now realized in Christ. There is no need to
utter words, for God "caused him to see it with his own eyes." This "causing to see" means being
taught by God himself like Adam in Eden; however Moses was on the mountain, not within the
garden of Eden. Tradition has no burial place for Joseph just like for Moses. Also note that
Joseph of the Old Testament died in Egypt and did not cross the Red Sea while alive, however,
the Israelites brought his bones into the promised land (Exodus 13.19).
Due to the extraordinary like of Joseph and Moses whom "God knew face to face,"
Joseph of the New Testament really did not die which is hinted at by the fact not we have no
record of his burial place. Therefore we could see Joseph as a type of Enoch "who walked with
God and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5.24). Joseph (Yoseph) means the "Increaser."
He does not die but continually increases like the first Adam whose generations increase until
they reach attainment in the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. Everyone "begotten by God" (John
1.13) has the Increaser for his or her father.
* * *
Definition of Midrash: "The Midrash being to the Bible what imagination is to
knowledge." Messengers of God by Elie Wiesel (New York, 1977), p.60
* * *
The Trinity has everything to offer when it comes to matters divine. Some religions offer
a purely impersonal being as God while others stress the personal aspect. Still others have a
combination of both, yet never quite reach the right proportion between these two poles. The
Trinity, however, gives the complete transcendence (impersonality) of the Father, the complete
knowability of the incarnate Son who leads to the Father, and the "mixed" nature of the Holy
Spirit who gives us the both extremes of transcendence and corporality in a Person completely
different from these other two Persons. Therefore, the Trinity offers something for everyone who
comes to it. Not only that, the Trinity leads...teaches...the opposite to what one may be attracted,
at least at the beginning. For example, if you happen to favor the impersonal aspect of life, this
impersonality will lead to personality and visa versa. The Spirit is the key Person who effects this
shift without giving partiality to either side. A person is always in "tension" when coming to the
Trinity precisely because he moves from Person to Person in another Person (Spirit).
* * *
If the Jewish people were to have sacraments, they would immediately place study the
chief and perhaps the only one. As a parallel to this example of learning, most Benedictine and
Cistercian saints are depicted with either a book, scroll or pen in hand. The same applied to saints
portrayed by Christian Orthodoxy such as icons.
* * *
In John's Gospel sung on Good Friday we hear the leaders of the Jewish people
demanding of Christ, "Crucify him, crucify him" (19.6)! We could and should join with them
shouting these words with the same intensity but for different reasons. Our demand to have
Christ crucified is intended to hasten his arrival upon Calvary in order that his sacrifice may be
brought to completion. We eagerly await the nails to be fixed that we may hide in the sacred
wounds. This desire to "crucify him" is even more intense than that of the angel Gabriel awaiting
Mary's acceptance to be the Mother of God (cf. Luke 1.38). Note that this verse concludes with
"and the angel departed from her." That is, he need wait no longer and returned in haste to God
in order to tell him about Mary's decision. Note that verse 39, which comes right after Gabriel's
departure, says "Mary rose and went with haste into the hill country" to be with Elizabeth, future
mother of John the Baptist. Mary's "haste" resembles that of Gabriel's departure back to heaven;
Mary was eager to relay the good news not only to Elizabeth but to John in the womb.
* * *
St. Cyril of Alexandria refers to Mary Magdalene as a new Eve who announces the joy at
Christ's resurrection to his disciples (PG#74.698b-c). He quotes Isaiah 52.7: "How beautiful
(ma-n'wau) upon the mountains are the feet that bring good tides (mevshar), that publish
peace;...that publish salvation (yeshuah)." This "publishing" or bashar is similar in form to besher,
"flesh." It can read as Yesuah, Jesus, as assuming flesh or our mortal human nature.
* * *
The seven days after Christ's resurrection are similar to the first seven days of creation.
The Church was born seminally on Calvary with the blood and water flowing from Christ's side.
These last seven days were a time to savor the result of this out-flowing and to experience being
re-created or restored to new life. Instead of God forming man from earth, he now forms him
from Spirit, Pneuma. Consider Revelation 1.10: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." This
"Lord's day" is the day when Christ forms us in the Pneuma, participation in his risen life. The
rest of Revelation can be read as a struggle to give birth to a new creation, a parallel to the
Genesis narrative of the first creation. Notice how St. John in 2.1-3.22 gives messages to seven
churches; one could equate this process with the seven days of creation. Afterwards John "was in
the spirit" (4.2) again, only this time to behold the heavenly realm, the vantage point from which
to watch the remaining drama depicted in the Book of Revelation unfold.
In most resurrection appearances Christ comes either in the early morning or evening;
never is there explicit mention of coming in full day. Parallel this with Jacob's wrestling with an
angel in Genesis 32.23-33. It is also intriguing to see in the Genesis creation narrative the refrain
at the end of each day's account. For example, a literal rendering of1.13 follows as: "And there
was evening and there was morning, day three." This method of relating the seven days of
creation instead of saying "the third day" is not only more poetic but bestows each respective day
with a dignity and unity intended by God for our appreciation.
Genesis says that God rested on the seventh day after six days of activity. Christ rose on
the first day or day one, not the "first day," which further suggests that the resurrection is
continuously creative. Christ does not rest but creates and is actively involved in this creation.
Notice too how the angel must depart from Jacob before dawn when wrestling with him.
Similarly, the Passover lamb in Egypt was eaten at night (Exodus 12.8). Nothing of it is to remain
until the morning, verse 10, but any remains are to burned. Also, the observance of the Sabbath
commemorates seven days.
* * *
John 21.4: "Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach." Christ appears at this
special time of day, the threshold between two phases of human existence, sleep and waking. St.
John recognizes him after commanding the disciples to cast the net again which brings in a large
catch of fish. John exclaims, "It is the Lord." The disciples were about one hundred yards from
shore, a considerable distance from which to recognize a person at dawn. John, whose apostolic
symbol is the eagle, penetrated this dim light and fog of early morning to recognize Christ. The
eagle is noted for its keen vision, so John was able to perceive the risen Christ clearly. Rightly do
the Greek Fathers of the Church call John "the Mystic."
* * *
Luke 24.39: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a
spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." The Greek verb for "handle, pselaphao,
means "to feel, grope about, search after, caress." This desire on Christ's part for us to touch him
resembles feeling a piece fruit in a market in order to determine its quality. A notion of searching
with a somewhat skeptical mind fits the mood here. Luke has "Touch me and see." Compare
with Psalm 34.9: "Taste and see that the Lord is good." The act of tasting, taham, is a
discernment, another meaning for this Hebrew word. The discernment leads to vision as in Psalm
34, yet it is based upon contact and experience. John's opening remarks in his first epistle make
sense in light of the resurrected Christ. It is as though his touching extended down through the
centuries through the Holy Spirit who breathes (ruach) this touching, bearing the witness to
Christ future generations.
Romans 8.27: "And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the
Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." This verse has
two aspects: 1) the Father's searching of men's hearts, 2) his knowing the Spirit's mind,
phronema, present in these same hearts. The Father himself does not know from first-hand
experience, so to speak, about human nature but knows what the Spirit "thinks" while the Spirit
acts as a medium within men's hearts. Phronema means an understanding with purpose to do
something. Parallel this with Luke 24.39 and Psalm 34.9...the Father's searching basically has the
same sense as phalaphao and taham as used in this instance. The Father is discerning what is in
men's hearts by the Spirit who presents evidence to the Father or to make the Father see (again,
refer to Luke and John) what is there. In other words, the Father "tastes and sees" by means of
the Holy Spirit. The second part of Romans 8.27 reads "because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the will of God." As the Greek has it, kata Theon, "according to God." That
is, the Spirit is vision for the Father according to the Father's two-fold of searching and taste.
Note that the Spirit is in men's hearts but only intercedes "for the saints" or those who freely
choose to accept the Spirit's presence or mission of being an agent for the Father's "searching"
and "tasting."
How does Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, fit in here? Christ only "takes hold"
where the "saints" are discovered by the Holy Spirit. Paul continues in verse 29 with "For those
whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he
might be the first-born among many brethren." The notion of "conformed" (summorphos) is akin
to that of psalaphao, "touch," only with the difference that it is aiming to a concretization of the
probing nature of "touch." Here we have something more than the realization or presence of
Christ. The Father's tasting and the Spirit's seeing merge to form Christ. Notice the words, "the
first-born among many brethren:" a singular "first-born" in the "many brethren." The use of
"first-born" is significant, since it indicates the coming to birth or realization of the Father's tasting
and the Spirit's seeing.
When reading 1.1, the sense of seeing Father and Spirit comes out more clearly. In his
resurrected state Christ is a focal point for the other two Persons. John is aiming for a sense of
being-in-Christ which is not a consciousness of Christ. Such being-in implies permeation through
and through which does not require reflection from the outside, as it were.
John's contemplation upon the mystery of Christ can be put in the words of 2Corinthians
5.16: "From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we
once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer." Paul elevates
himself to the same plane as the Apostles who knew the earthy Christ; he validly receives such a
claim through the Holy Spirit. What is the knowledge of Christ not "according to the flesh," but
in terms of Romans 8.27 above, "according to God?" The Spirit intercedes for the saints
"according to God." His task is to make the second Person present according to the same way he
is the Spirit is present. Also 2Corinthians 5.16 contains this phrase, "we regard him thus no
longer." A knowing, not knowledge but a dynamic, ongoing knowing, of creation participates in
the knowing of Christ "according to God."
The "from now on" is the first realization that one is "in Christ," that is, keeping in mind
the "taste and see" of Psalm 34.9, the Spirit's seeing has been actualized and turned towards the
Father's tasting. Perhaps we could take this initial realization as an interpretation of 1John 1.1,
"he who was from the beginning," followed by having made contact with Christ. Contrast it with
John 1.1, "in the beginning was the world" followed by the statement of divinity "and was with
God" where the pronoun pros implies direction-towards. The first "beginning" or arche deals
with the presence of Christ as activated by psalaphao-taham (touch-taste) or Father and Spirit. It
is John's way of saying "from now on," from the time of realizing the resurrected Christ within
oneself. You could say that this first "beginning" is the origin of the second arche in John 1.1;
later is a statement of reflection emanating from the former. While the latter is "objectively" real,
the former is "subjectively" real, or the existential starting point of theological reflection. The
"from the beginning" with its genitive case express birth or becoming aware that one is "in
Christ." The "in the beginning with its dative expresses an eternal place-where from which the
"from the beginning" ex-ists. In time "from the beginning" is first but in eternity or mythic time,
"in the beginning" is first.
It may be helpful to paraphrase 1John 1.1:
-That which was from the beginning, which we have heard
-That which was from the beginning which we have seen with our eyes
-That which was from the beginning which we have looked upon
-That which was from the beginning which we touched with our hands, concerning the
word of life.
I added the phrase "in the beginning" in conjunction with each sense perception to show
that these four modes of perceiving the world are grouped about ("with...para...God") the
resurrected Christ as activated by the Father's psalphao and the Spirit's taham. The sense
perceptions are not directed towards Christ as towards an object but paradoxically flow outward
towards (pros) the Father. I say paradoxically because the focal point of one's life, Christ, is
constantly being defined or pointed to and simultaneously being pointed away from and towards
the Father.
Getting back to Luke 24.39, we can read this verse in a different light now. The verse
begins with "See my hands and my feet, that it is myself." Christ does not begin with "touch"
which comes later in the verse. It is important to see that he brings the Apostles' attention to his
wounds in the extremities of his body. These wounds show that the power of Christ extends to
the four extremities (mythically speaking) of the universe and have the power to transmit life to us
now that Christ bears these same wounds in his resurrected body. Gregory of Nyssa deals with
these wounds, On the Resurrection (PG#46.624a-b).
This quote is preceded by Gregory having Paul say that he received the revelation of the
cross in heaven (621d) and he revealed it in Ephesians 3.18-19 ("to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and depth"). In other words, Paul received the "form (schema) of
the cross" imprinted within him.
After the above passage (624a-b) Gregory of Nyssa quotes Psalm 138.7+ as outlined here:
1) If I ascent into the heavens ("height")
2) If I descend into hell ("depth")
3) If I take the wings of the dawn which is the rising of the sun ("breadth")
4) If I dwell in the utmost part of the sea ("length")
Gregory speaks of the symbolic meaning of Christ's cross:
"To the Ephesians, (cf. 3.18) moreover, he describes by the figure of the cross the power that
controls and holds together the universe, when he expresses a desire that they may be exalted
to know the exceeding glory of this power, calling it height, and depth, and breadth, and
length, speaking of the several projections we behold in the figure of the Cross by their proper
names, so that he calls the upper part 'height,' and that which is below, on the opposite side
of the junction, 'depth,' while by the name 'length and breadth' he indicates the cross-beam
projecting to either side, that hereby might be manifested this great mystery, that both things
in heaven, and things under the earth, and all the furthest bounds of the things that are, are
ruled and sustained by Him Who gave an example of this unspeakable and mighty power in
the figure of the Cross." Against Eunomius, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977), p.177.
Throughout the above quotes we come across the key word schema, the outward form or
likeness, as opposed to the reality or substance of a thing itself. Schema is not exactly the
presence of Christ but a type of initiation into his life. Luke 24.39 presents the disciples with the
schema of his wounds, the outward signs, to show that they indicate an inward reality. It is
significant that Ephesians 3.18-19 with its outward directions of the four cardinal points mentions
in verse 16 the "inner man:" "to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man."
The appearance in Luke 24.39 has this purpose, and I can say perhaps that Paul had this same
confrontation with Christ.
The schema makes sense, as it were, as an outward form to an inward reality if we
consider Luke 24.39 again. First Christ has the disciples look at his hands and feet and then says
"It is I." This can be a statement of his divinity similar to God's revelation to Moses in Exodus
3.14. The act of seeing is subservient to acknowledgement of the divinity, so we have:
taste-> see-> participate in his being
Above I mentioned the words of Psalm 34.9, "taste and see." Verse 9 continues with
"happy is the man who takes refuge in him." In another place I had discussed the word for
"blessed," 'ashrey but here wish to draw attention to "take refuge in him" which is parallel to Luke
24.39, "touch me and see." Here we may equate "touch" (psalaphao) with "take refuge"
(chashah) which also has the meaning of having trust. In secular Greek psalaphao has the
significance of conducting a medical exam, of feeling and probing the patient. In light of taste->see->take refuge, chasah has the connotation of probing Christ's body. Refer to Song 2.14:
"My dove in the covert of the cliff." Once the Apostles psalaphao-chasah Christ, they are able to
reach his Spirit and can say with 2Corinthians 5.16 above, "even though we know Christ
according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer." Paul continues in verse 17, "Therefore, if
any one is in Christ, he is a new creation," that, is a creation according to the Holy Spirit. This
gives a good perspective of Paul's constant talk about being "in Christ" along with the Holy Spirit.
* * *
Genesis 2.15: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and
keep it." Refer to the verb "to keep," shamar which means "to keep, watch, guard" as you would
a house, garden or flock. In a wider sense shamar means to keep safe, preserve, observe, attend
to. God puts man in Eden in order that he may closely pay attention to what transpires there after
he ask the man to till (havad) it, rather, serve it with reverence much like he would with a dear
friend.
Note the two types of "tilling" (havad) in Genesis. The first tilling within Eden implies a
keeping, whereas the second lacks this custodianship, a telling commentary on how we fail to
maintain the heritage entrusted to us:
2.15: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep (shamar) it."
3.23: "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from
which he was taken."
In Psalm 119 we find frequent reference to shamar in conjunction with the Torah as in
verse 4: "You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently." Shamar is a loving attention
or beholding. As just noted, first in the sequence of Genesis 2.15 is "till," then "shamar." An
active "till" or havad precedes a passive shamar, though both have elements of close attention and
observation in Eden.
Even prior to this in verse 25 we have God's act of taking man and putting him in Eden.
Note the verb nachah which has the sense of leading as in Psalm 143.10: "Let your good spirit
lead me on a level path." Here the ruach or Spirit is doing the leading into the "level path" or way
to Eden and may be equated with the verb tarah. After man's expulsion from Eden God gave him
the Torah for his new paradise. To study...to guard...in the sense of shamar and tarah with its
similar sense of guarding means to protect this second Eden in the form of the Law. When you
shamar the Torah, that is, the Bible, God brings all sorts of delights much as when he brought all
the animals to the man to see what he would name them (cf. Genesis 2.19).
* * *
The visitation by the angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1.26-35) can be viewed as a marriage
between Mary and the Holy Spirit. This makes Mary a bride and the Spirit a bridegroom, and
together they beget Christ, their son. Such a union enables Mary to have a "detached" association
to Jesus. Why so? Genesis 2.23-4 speaks about Adam's urge towards his wife which is stronger
than the bond between mother and son. Mary views Christ and his life's events from the Spirit's
point of view.
At Pentecost Mary is not mentioned as being present with the disciples. This can be
confused with explicit mention of her presence with the eleven disciples after Christ's ascension,
Acts 1.14. Mary is not present when her bridegroom (Spirit) comes upon the others. These
people are not exactly in the same situation as Mary, that is, as wife of the Holy Spirit, although
they receive the Spirit to begin their mission. Mary already received the Spirit at the
Annunciation. It was necessary for the Apostles to be with Christ at his Ascension though again
Mary is not mentioned as present. One may ask if she really needed to be present at the event;
she was watching what transpired with the Spirit, her spouse, from Jerusalem (refer to Acts 1.14).
Compare this with John 11.20: "When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and
met him, while Mary sat in the house." Although this is a different Mary, the verse's sense can be
applied to the other Mary. We may equate Martha with the Apostles in Jesus' company at his
ascension and Mary with Christ's mother in Jerusalem during this event. The words "sat in the
house" refer now to Jerusalem.
Compare the Annunciation to Mary with Pentecost and Apostles. The angel says to Mary
(Luke 1.35), "The Holy Spirit will come upon (epieleusetai epi) you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow (episkiasei) you." Notice the three prepositions, epi, "upon." The Spirit
does not come within Mary but only Jesus Christ, the fruit of her womb. The use of epi here
show the marital aspect of the encounter between the Holy Spirit and Mary. It is fitting that the
Spirit as bridegroom be epi or upon Mary as bride to consummate the marriage. As a side note,
pneuma is neuter; he can change function, so to speak, becoming male or female whenever
necessary. Even the verb episkiasei ("overshadow") has the aspect of a marital relationship taking
place at night and in secret.
Acts 2.4: "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." Here the Apostles were filled,
that is, the Spirit entered into them from the outside as opposed to the epi of the Spirit with
regard to Mary. They began to speak, that is, they began to proclaim Jesus Christ, whereas Mary
begot Christ who received the Invisible and begot the Visible. The Spirit "stopped outside" Mary
but went right through her and out to the Apostles. The latter imitate the birth of Christ through
Mary, yet only she combines the element of invisible Spirit with the visible Christ. I wonder how
Mary viewed this encounter with the Spirit at Pentecost and how the Apostles viewed her since
she did not receive the Spirit but already had it from the beginning. In light of Genesis 2.23-4
with regard to a man marrying his wife...this urge for a spouse (Mary to Spirit and visa versa) is
important, enabling Mary to view all the events of Christ's life in a unique manner.
* * *
Matthias was chosen to be an Apostle in place of Judas who committed suicide after
betraying Christ. In other words, he was singled out to complete the mystic number twelve
mentioned in Revelation 21.14, "the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb." You
might say that the Apostles realized the new heavenly Jerusalem, represented in their person, was
off balance or became unsteady and therefore required another support. Matthias was chosen as
this twelfth support, and immediately afterwards (2.1), the Spirit descended upon the band.
* * *
Genesis 2.23: "This one now (z'th hapaham) is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh."
Adam utters these words about the woman God gave him after all the other beings were created
and which were not suitable for him as a partner. Despite their necessary functions, such beasts
could never become an equal to Adam, so this utterance about the first woman came straight from
the heart.
In light of this marital bond, consider to Matthew 10.34: "Do not think that I have come
to bring peace on earth...but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes
will be those of his own household." Christ gives the family relationships which he will sunder.
However, Christ does not mention the one between husband and wife.
But refer to Matthew 12.50: "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother and sister and mother." Once again Jesus applies family relationships to himself; however,
he does not mention the one of husband and wife. A spouse does not fall under the doing of the
Father's will; they are outside it, so to speak, for the marriage bond does not follow a command or
will but only that special z'th hapaham or the "this one now" uttered by Adam.
* * *
Quoting Habakkuk 2.3-4 (Septuagint), Hebrews 10.38 says, "The righteous man (tsadyq)
lives by faith." I prefer to substitute "lives by taste." The Holy Spirit is multiple and so is this
faculty on the natural level.
* * *
John 3.8: "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not
know whence it comes or whither it goes (hupegage)." This last word, hupago, is found only
once in the Septuagint, Exodus 24.21: "Moses extended his hand over the sea and the Lord drove
the sea back." The verb hupago has a sense of leading or bringing under or receding.
The Exodus reference has three persons, Moses, a symbol of Christ; the Lord or the
Father; wind or the Holy Spirit. The "stretching" of Moses' hand equals the stretching of Christ's
body upon the cross. The Lord drove the sea back at night, that is, he is fond of performing
deeds at night such as the resurrection of Christ. Note that Exodus 14.27 has "the Egyptians fled
into (hupo) it," literally, under the water.
We read later in Exodus 15.20 that Miriam, Aaron's sister and a prophetess, sang a song
about God's victory. It is one of the oldest poetic couplets of the Old Testament, probably
composed by an eyewitness, and we equate Miriam with Mary, Christ's mother. Just as the
Apostles chose Matthias as a successor to Judas at Mary's suggestion and so fulfill that mystic
number twelve, so in a sense Miriam suggested to Moses that he stretch out his hand over the sea.
* * *
The following is an outline to Luke 1.39-40 with emphasis upon the prepositions en ("in")
and eis ("into"):
-In those days Mary arose
-went with haste into the hill country
-to a city of Judah
-and she entered the house of Zechariah
-and Elizabeth greeted Mary
-the child leapt in her womb
-and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
Such uses of the prepositions en and eis culminate in the last verse where Elizabeth is filled
with the Spirit. As mentioned above with regard to Pentecost and Mary's role vis-a-vis the
Apostle Matthias, Mary is bride of the Holy Spirit and therefore able to transmit this Spirit, as it
were, to Elizabeth much after the Spirit being sent upon the Apostles. Her role also applies to the
forerunner of Christ, John, who leapt in his mother's womb.
* * *
The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is followed the next day by that of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary has a certain pious quality about it which may not be suitable for
every taste. Despite this fact, these feasts are worth examining within the larger context of the
Church's liturgical year as it has evolved through more recent centuries. These feast days come at
the tail end of the great Lenten-Easter cycle which includes almost one third of the calendar year.
Start for example, with Ash Wednesday; from this beginning of Lent through Easter Sunday
(forty days), the fifty days of Pentecost and finally the feasts of Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi,
Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary we have a grand total one hundred and fifteen
days.
Furthermore, the Gospel for Ash Wednesday is usually from Matthew 6-16-18 where emphasis is upon "your Father who is in secret" (in kruphaio). Contrast this Gospel with that for the Immaculate Heart of Mary which contains the sentence from Luke 2.35, "And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (apokaluphthosin). Thus at the beginning of this one hundred and fifteen day cycle emphasis is upon concealment; at its end, upon disclosure. It is interesting to view the intervening events which celebrate our redemption in terms of these two passages, that is, of proceeding from concealment to revelation. We may also exchange the Gospels, putting Lent at the end (concealment) and the Immaculate Heart at the beginning (disclosure or revelation) and thus get further insights into the drama of our salvation. No matter how you look at it, both methods revolve around the axis of Easter, the midway point of our procession through all these liturgical feasts.
* * *
Consider the following passages which may be related to the feasts of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
-"But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water." John 19.34
-"And again another scripture says, 'They shall look on him whom they have pierced'" (Zechariah 12.10). John 19.37
-"And a sword will pierce through your (Mary) own soul also that the thoughts out of
many hearts may be revealed." Luke 2.35
Common to all three verses is the notion of piercing and of revelation. With regard to
Jesus Christ, the first verse traditionally has been applied to the birth of the Church and suggests
the Passover (Exodus 12) with the outflow of blood and water. Later at Pentecost the Holy Spirit
is characterized by "tongues of fire" and the "rush of a mighty wind" (Acts 2.2). We may say that
these features come from the heavenly Father's "side" that is, his Son.
With regard to Mary, a sword or rhomphaia (which is a very large broad weapon) does
the piercing with the object of revealing "thoughts" or dialogismoi. Such "thoughts" connote a
certain evil intent. Although no specific mention is made of this event later, the piercing of
Mary's soul (psuche) traditionally has been taken to refer to her being at Calvary beside her son
hanging on the cross. Christ entrusted her to John's care (19.27) who "from that hour took her
to his own home" (eis ta idia) which may be read as "into his own." This is possible because it
was John who "was lying close to the breast of Jesus" (13.23). Although the terms in 19.34 and
13.23 differ (pleupa and kolpos), the same careful attention to these events is implied.
* * *
Psalm 34.21 (also, cf. Exodus 12.46): "He keeps (shamar) all his bones; not one of them
shall be broken (neshvrah)." This reference to bones not being broken is found in John 19.36
which pertains to Christ as Paschal victim on the cross. Note the play on words in Psalm 34:
shamar regarding the bones and shabar regarding their admonition against breaking. Shamar is
used frequently regarding the Torah's observance as well as throughout Psalm 119.
Also consider Psalm 34.18 which reads: "The Lord is near to the broken hearted
(leneshebry), and saves the crushed in spirit." God prefers the heart to be shabar as opposed to
"bones." Psalm 34.8 also has "taste and see," words commented upon earlier, which set the tone
for this psalm as being sapiential, literally, dealing with taste-as-wisdom. Note that John 19.21
reads "they shall look upon him who they have pierced" where emphasis is upon sight.
We may also view John 19.37's quote of Zechariah 12.10 in light of Psalm 34.6, "Look to
him and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed." The use of nabat for "look" means to
behold, consider carefully, which is also used in the Zechariah quote in John's Gospel. Once you
nabat Christ on the cross, you become radiant, nahar, or enlightened; the Hebrew verbal root
demonstrates it better in that you will "flow" (like a river). This has further implications regarding
John 19.34: "and immediately there came out blood and water." Then 1John 5.6 has "This is he
who came by water and blood." Christ comes...flows outin the sense of nahar through blood
and water on the cross, a traditional reference to the Church's birth.
In is interesting to observe that the Church as Christ's body will not "have its bones
broken." We come full circle: the heart may be broken (shavar) as in Psalm 34.18, that is, the
side or heart of Christ on the cross, but his bodily members, the Church, may not experience this
fracture.
* * *
Peter receives the keys of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Matthew 16.19) with the power of
binding and loosing what is in heaven and on earth. Paul was snatched up into Paradise
(2Corinthians 12.4) and "heard things which men were not allowed to speak of." The fact that
both Apostles are associated with the mystery of heaven is cause enough for them share a single
feast day.
* * *
At the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, all the disciples except John ran away and hid
themselves. This parallels the running and hiding of Adam and Eve from God; both fled as a
result of having eaten from the tree of life (Genesis 3.8). The Spirit "found" the disciples at
Pentecost; the "voice of God" found Adam and Eve in the garden, but both had quite different
outcomes.
* * *
Luke 10.25 begins the parable of the Good Samaritan with the nomikos or lawyer seeking
to test Jesus with regard to the Law. Verse 29 says that this nomikos sought to justify himself.
Right after recounting the parable of the man who fell in with robbers, Jesus visits Martha and
Mary (verses 38-42). Mary "sat at the Lord's feet (parakathestheisa pros) and listened to his
teaching." Note the contrast between the lawyer and Mary. The "para" verb in conjunction with
the preposition pros with the sense of "towards, in the direction of," is quite vivid. It contains the
sense of remaining-about or around the Source of Life, Jesus Christ, while being directed towards
his teaching. This parallels 1Corinthians 7.35, "to secure your undivided devotion to (euparedron
pros) the Lord." Here we have a similar sequence to Luke, only in reverse order. The word
euparedros is difficult to translate, meaning something like sitting constantly by, just like Mary at
Christ's feet.
Consider Isaiah 52.7 in the context of Mary at Christ's feet: "How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of him who announces news of peace." This verse is quoted in Romans
10.15 with regard to those send to preach the Gospel. While missionaries are to engage in the
active work of preaching, Mary participates in their mission by remaining at the feet of Jesus.
* * *
Luke 11.8: "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his
friend, yet because of his importunity (anaideia) he will rise and give him whatever he needs."
The word anaideia means shameless persistence, a good image of prayer, especially in this context
with regard to seeking and knocking to obtain the Holy Spirit: "How much more will the
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!," that is, with anaideia (verse 13).
Such anaideia is akin to parresia, boldness, confidence, assurance, freedom of speech as in
Hebrews 4.16: "Let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Such parresia was a common feature in ancient
Greece where citizens could freely express themselves in an assembly.
I include other references to parresia: John 7.4, 13, 16.25; Acts 2.29, 4.13, 29;
2Corinthians 3.12, 7.4; Ephesians 3.12, 6.19; Philippians 1.20; Colossians 2.15; 1Timothy 3.13;
Philemon 8; Hebrews 3.6, 10.35; 1John 2.28, 3.21, 4.17, 5.14.
* * *
The twelve verses of Ephesians 1.3-14 contain twenty-three references to God and Jesus
Christ with the prepositions en ("in") or eis ("into"). In this relatively brief excerpt, considerable
emphasis is upon a being-in divine life:
-who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
-in the heavenly places
-in Christ
-he chose us in him
-he destined us before him in love
-to be his sons (in other words, into adoption)
-in him
-to the praise of his glorious grace
-in the Beloved
-in him we have redemption
-in all wisdom and insight
-in him
-as (i.e., in) a plan for the fullness of time
-to restore all things in Christ
-in him
-in whom
-accomplishes (energountos) all things
-to be (that is, eis to einai)
-for the praise of his glory
-in Christ
-in him
-until we acquire possession of it
* * *
A sentence from the Commentary on the Song of Songs by St. Bernard, Sermon 7.7
(quoting Psalm 62.9, "My soul clings close to you"): Adhaesit anima mea post te...Videndo
adhaerebat, et adhaerendo videbat. In other words, Bernard equates adhering to God with seeing
God. First comes the adhering, then the vision. Refer to Psalm 34.9: "Taste and see" which is
along the same theme. Where does this adhering take place? It is located in our being made in
God's image or eikon as in John 1.4: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." This
indirectly locates "light" within a person where the emphasis is upon "life" as found in God
himself.
Consider Psalm 63.9: "My soul clings after you." Such clinging (davaq) represents
single-mindedness as found in Psalm 86.11, "Unite my heart to fear your name," which is "make
one" (yached) and relates to the theme of light. Now refer to Luke 11.34, "When the eye is simple
(aplous), the entire body is full of light." Aplous is a refinement of the Hebrew word 'chad (one)
implying a relaxation or naturalness with no tension. It is how we are to realize the light-life of
John 1.4 within our eikon-nature.
John 1.9 re-states verse 4 a little differently: "The true light that enlightens every man was
coming into the world." Verse 12 adds, "But to all who received him, who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God." This "power" or exousia is the ability to recognize
through the Holy Spirit the light within oneself as that of Christ.
* * *
The Hebrew word sod means a sitting together, assembly, deliberation, familiar
conversation, acquaintance. It is used to show the familiarity God has with people as in Psalm
25.14: "The friendship (sod) of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them
his covenant." This sod lies in contrast to the one of the wicked who take counsel secretly as
Psalm 64.3 shows: "Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked." Much of scripture can be read
with sod in mind, for by it God reveals himself secretly; in other words, wisdom is given through
sod as in Proverbs 8.22: "The Lord created me at the beginning of his way, the first of his acts of
old."
We may locate sod, as it were, "at the beginning of his way" where it is present right with
God before creation. Also this phrase implies that "point" where Father and Son meet or where
the Father begets his Son. Here God gives insight into creation as in Wisdom 7.17: "For it is he
who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the
activity of the elements." Then we have further details about wisdom's qualities as summed up in
8.1: "She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well."
The word "reaches," diateino, is important, for the sod where wisdom is given not only remains
transcendent from creation but is within (dia)extends... it.
Matthew 6.4: "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you." "In secret" is this sod
where God watches our activities and thoughts. Later Christ speaks about treasure in heaven,
verses 19-21: "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also." The act of laying up treasure can be applied to sod as remaining centered
there. Note the connection of this action with "heart."
We can elaborate all this a bit further in the words of Colossians 3.1-4: "Seek the things
that are above...for you have died...When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear
with him in glory." Sod is located with "things that are above" (ano) which are invisible. They
become visible "when Christ appears" "who is your life." Such is the picture of our being made in
God's eikon or image which has "two sides," one of God and the other belonging to a person;
together they equal one sod. When Christ appears, he will "break through" his side, so the
coming of Christ consists in a intense awareness rather than in an exterior coming. Such is the
meaning of the Book of Revelation: it is about things now hidden which will be revealed. Note
that Colossians says, "You will appear with him in glory," that is to say, you will be with him in
that sod much like the "beginning of his way" in Proverbs. It is a matter of visibility versus
invisibility, yet essentially both share the same reality.
* * *
In Chapter Five of his Rule St. Benedict speaks of obedience: "Dropping the work they
were engaged in and leaving it unfinished, with the ready step of obedience follow up with their
deeds the voice of him who commands. And so, as it were, at the same moment the master's
command is given and the disciple's work is completed, the two things being speedily
accomplished together in the swiftness of the fear of God (in velocitate timoris Dei) by those who
are moved with the desire of attaining life everlasting." Benedict discusses the willingness of a
monk to "drop" the work in which he is engaged in order to take up something else. Upon
assuming this work, eventually the monk may find it much to his taste and therefore develop an
attraction for it. The other side of the coin, as it were, is the ability to drop this (good)
attachment in the same "swiftness (velocitate) of the fear of God" which often is more difficult to
accomplish.
* * *
Some of the variant forms of the two Hebrew verbs yare', "to fear" and ra'ah, "to look,
resemble each other" are quite close in form; even their respective pronunciations are similar and
came be interchanged, thereby allowing us to play with their respective forms. For example,
consider Psalm 34.7: "The angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear him." Also verse 8:
"Taste and see;" Psalm 86.11: "Unite my heart to fear your name," and verse 17, "those who hate
me may see."
If we reflect on the various aspects of mysticism, apophatic ("negative") and cataphatic
("positive"), they deal with the basic symbols of darkness and light, not seeing and seeing. "Fear"
or yare' with its kinship in form to ra'ah, "to see," concerns the close attention of an object or
situation. At least this is how the relationship appears which is intended to effect a unity between
beholder and object beheld. And example of this is Psalm 34.11: "Those who seek the Lord lack
no good thing." Here "seeking" or darash implies vision but its root is "to rub, tread, trample,"
signifies an action of treading with one's feet. Again note the lack of vision with respect to God.
Consider Revelation 20.11: "Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it;
from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them." This fleeing of sea
and earth or that which forms the warp and woof of our creation, space and time, occurs before
the throne, the only true reality. Then verse 12 adds, "And I saw the dead...standing before the
throne." Once creation flees, only this element of awareness of our being made in the divine
eikon or image remains before the throne. We "see" this reality in the sense of tasting (taham) as
presented in Psalm 34.8 ("Taste and see that the Lord is good."). Note too the absence of anyone
sitting on this throne.
* * *
Psalm 40.3: "He set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm." First comes a
setting or rising upon a rock, after which footsteps are made firm. The Hebrew verbal root regel
simply means a foot. 'Asher means a step, from 'asher, "to be fortunate, happy," as in Psalm 1.1.
Also keep in mind 'asher as relative pronoun. All these signify a constant movement with a lack
of stability in a given location. Psalm 40.5 contains the other two meanings: "Happy (asher) is
the man who ('asher) places his trust in the Lord. The word for "rock," selah, connotes a height
as well as stability upon which one's footsteps are grounded. This resembles getting ready to
spring off as in a race; one is fully alert and muscles are taut. The verb kun, "make firm," means
to stand upright or to direct as arrows.
* * *
Luke 13.22-30 speaks of Christ heading towards (literally, eis or "into") Jerusalem,
symbol of the universe's center. He as Door says in verse 24, "Strive to enter (eiselthein) by the
narrow door." To those who knock on this Door trying to get in (that is, Christ himself), he says,
"I tell you, I do not know where you come from" (verse 27). Note the motion of Christ's
progress into Jerusalem which is parallel to those men coming to Christ and to whom he says,
"Depart (apostete ap'emou) from me (note the two uses of apo), or return to the realm of chaos,
the opposite direction which brought you to the Door.
Later Christ says, "Men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at
table in the kingdom of God." In other words, people will come from the symbolic four corners
of the world to its center, Jerusalem, and enter by the Door built upon the twelve foundations of
the Apostles.
Instead of the command "depart from me," Christ says after his resurrection, "Go into all
the world" (Mark 16.15), an example of exiting the Door. John 10.9 makes better sense now:
"They will go in and out and find pasture." The going-in represents those coming to and entering
the Door of the New Jerusalem; the going out represents the spreading and permeation of
creation by this same Jerusalem as depicted in Revelation.
A person could miss entry through Christ the Door which is why he says, "the narrow
door," symbolic of narrow sheep gates which allow only one sheep at a time to pass and thus be
recognized by the shepherd. Because to the Door's narrow access, we see the value contained in
the Hebrew verb yarah ("to lay a foundation, cast [arrows], instruct) from which is derived Torah,
"Law." Yarah pertains to motion outside the Door and towards it. Consider Psalm 119 with its
twenty-five uses of Torah and verse 72, "The Law of your mouth" where "mouth" equates the
Door or gate.
In light of these observations, Matthew 5.17 now has special significance: "Do not think
that I have come to abolish the Law (or Torah) but to fulfill it." The action of "fulfill" or pleroo
consummates, as it were, the Torah once its observance directs a person to the entrance of Christ
the Door. "No one can come to (pros) me (the Door) unless the Father who sent me draws him"
(John 6.44). With this image of a Door in mind, imagine the Father as keeper of the city, the New
Jerusalem, looking out through the Door and drawing a person inside. Such is the meaning of
Psalm 102.20, "that he looked down (hishqyph) from his holy heaven." The verb shaqaph means a
leaning out a window to gaze on the street below as in 2Samuel 6.16: "Michal the daughter of
Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord."
As a final note, refer to the opposite movements in John 6.44: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Such "coming" to Christ depends upon the Father's "drawing."
* * *
In John 12.27-36 Christ speaks of his being "lifted up from the earth" and of the necessity
of walking while "you have the light." After making these disclosures about himself, we have in
verse 36, "When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them." Christ's hiding can
be taken as a means to protect himself from the Jews' hostility, yet there is another meaning.
Christ reveals himself both by being lifted up and as by light; then he immediately hides which is
contrary to the outward direction of revelation. His statements are thus clues to a deeper
understanding of what he really means.
* * *
2Corinthians 3.18: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are
being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another." The words of Exodus 16.7
enhance our understanding of this verse: "And in the morning you shall see the glory of the
Lord." This sentence is taken in conjunction with manna from heaven. The continuous progress
"from glory to (literally, "into") glory" can be likened to one's appetite for food represented by the
heavenly manna.
God's glory is to be seen in the "morning," yet verse 10 says that God's glory or kavod
appeared in a cloud from the wilderness which is not the morning but the day before. In fact, no
mention of glory is made for the rest of chapter sixteen. Moses tells the people to gather only
what manna is needed for the day and not to hoard it. Again, this relates to the progressive stages
of movement "from glory into glory" where each step of glory or doxa is something like a self-contained unit with no satiety in relation to what preceded or what will follow. However, by
"gathering it (manna), every man according to his eating" (verse16), the correct measure or
balance will be maintained. Such a balance consists in seeing one's present state of glory in
relation to the others without the intervention of avarice. When the Israelites gathered more
manna than needed, it rotted.
We have another reference which can be related to 2Corinthians 1.18, namely, Exodus
24.17: "Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the
mountain in the sight of the people of Israel." Note the word 'akeleth for "devouring" with its
subject of ravenous appetite. The vision of God is the goal of the Israelites' pilgrimage. Only
Moses ascends the mountain into the "devouring fire" which is the true source of glory, kavod.
How does Moses comport himself while being on the mountain top with God, the source
of "from glory into glory?" He abides there "forty days and forty nights" (verse 18). The mystic
number four or forty is symbolic of Moses living in God's presence while still retaining his
physical body. You might say that Moses constructs a cloister of four sides about this divine
kavod thereby enabling him to remain with God, to contain that "devouring fire," as fulfilled later
by Christ's high priestly prayer in John 15-17.
In Isaiah 33.14 we see a problem which sinners experience in coping with this "devouring
fire:" "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?" The upright shall live there as verse
16 says, "He will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his
bread will be given him, is water will be sure." Again, here are references to food or eating and
drinking. Only this time such consumption will take place around the "table" of those four
boundaries as in Moses' example above. The next verse reads, "Your eyes shall see the king in his
beauty; they shall see the land that is very far off." We have a two-fold vision, that of the king
(God) and the distant land. Later verse 20 has "Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities"
(mohadnu). Zion represents an earthly form of Revelation's New Jerusalem. It is interesting to
see the use of mohadah for "solemnity" or place for liturgical worship.
* * *
In his Commentary on the Song of Songs, 13.4, (Spencer, Massachusetts, 1971), p.90,
St. Bernard speaks of Joseph not usurping Pharaoh's wife because a wife is a man's glory (cf.
1Corinthians 11.7):
"Gifted with the wisdom of God he(Joseph) perceived that a husband is extremely concerned
about his wife'' honor because identified with his own; so much his own that he will not
entrust her to another. Hence he would not presume to tamper with what was outside his
control."
To tamper with the husband-wife relationship would interfere with the deepest bond in
human life. Then later in section four Bernard quotes Isaiah 48.11, "I will not yield my glory to
another." Parallel these two glories: "glory" is equaled by Bernard as a wife which cannot be
shared by another person.
* * *
Psalm 43.3: "Sent out your light and your truth; let them lead me, let them bring me to
your holy hill and to your dwelling." Here is a double exiting or emanation from God through
"light" ('or) and "truth" ('emeth). First comes light to illumine the way; the psalmist asks for them
as guides first to lead and then to bring him to God's "holy hill and dwelling." We could expand
this text by saying that "light" leads to the "holy hill" and "truth" leads to "your dwelling" which is
at the center of the holy mountain.
Psalm 14.1: "Who will sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?" The
question is posed with regard to who will dwell there. Again, a distinction is made as in Psalm 43
above where it is a question of moral behavior. Psalm 23.3 raises the question again, only put a
little differently: "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?"
Here is a distinction between ascending and standing; the "holy place" is a refinement of "the hill
of the Lord" after the example of Mt. Sinai and Moses' ascent, Exodus 19.
* * *
"The myth is a myth because it is muein ('to be closed, shut up, silent') and not legein ('to
speak') because it is silence and not speech." Faith, A Constitutive Dimension of Man an article
by R. Panikkar in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 8, 1971.
* * *
The Syriac verb chalam means "to dream" as well as "to be firm, healthy, cured, restored."
Consider those references in the Gospel where Jesus cures ill persons. We may assume that the
notion of dreaming formed part of these various cures.
* * *
"Where is your mother's bill of divorce with which I put her away" (Isaiah 50.1)? He who
created that one from the beginning which was made in (God's) image when he made the
man was in the form of God (cf. Philippians 2.6). Indeed, the woman was the Church
adorned to be his image (cf. Colossians 3.10). And the Lord who is man, because he left
his father for the church who was seen to be in the form of God (Philippians 2.6), indeed
left his mother. He is the son of the heavenly Jerusalem, clung to his wife who had fallen
and the two became one flesh. For her sake he assumed flesh as it is written, "The Word
became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1.14) and "They are no longer two but one flesh"
(Matthew 19.6) because he said to the wife, "You, however, are the body of Christ and
individually members of it" (1Corinthians 12.27). No one belongs to himself who belongs
to Christ's body except the Church which composes his body and its members. They are
not two, but God has joined them together into one flesh, prohibiting that a person does
not separate the Church from God. Indeed, the one who recommended against such
separation is confident as that it will never be separated for as he says, "Who will separate
us from the love of Christ" (Romans 8.35)? It is written of the Pharisees, "What God has
united no one can separate" (Matthew 19.6), including neither principality nor power."
Origen, Commentary on Matthew, PG# 13.1232A-C
I have quoted this passage in some length because it contains a number of scriptural
passages which lead to the Incarnation. The impulse which led to the Son of God assuming our
human condition is no other than that of "at that moment" (zo'th hapaham) in Genesis 2.23 when
Adam first saw his newly created wife. Such an impetus is so strong that it compels a man to
forsake his parents for a person of the opposite sex. Applied to Christ, it causes him to leave the
heavenly Jerusalem for his earthly spouse. The liturgical season of Advent is so appealing because
it constantly emphasizes a "coming" which is representative of "at that moment."
This excerpt from Origen deals with Matthew 19.1-12, the question of divorce. Christ
quotes from Genesis (Matthew 19.4-5) which presents two creation accounts of the human race:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created him" (1.27). And, "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (2.7). The first account
presents the distinction between man (in other words, humanity) in God's image and likeness and
the two genders, male and female. The second simply has the creation of man without gender
distinction. Note that the second has "the Lord God" creating man from dust, haphar, whereas
the first has simply "God" performing the creative act.
God, more specifically, "the Lord God" which occurs in the second account, makes
woman from man's side. When the man awakes, he exclaims, "This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh" (2.23). The single 'adam ("man")--who is composed of "male and female"
while being created in God's image--makes this spontaneous movement towards another being, his
wife, who in turn is made in the man's image, not God's.
Note that Genesis 1.26 has God saying, "Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness," but when it comes to effecting this plan, God only makes man in his image, not his
likeness. Also verse 26 did not mention the two genders which appear in the next sentence; it is
as though a time gap (where a contingency plan was fashioned) occurred between verses 26 and
27. Perhaps this is one explanation why we have a second creation account: to bring out the
fullness of verse 26 with image and likeness through the urge of "at last." This impulse, once
expressed, shows more clearly the original plan of verse 26.
Since verse 26 has the famous sentence posed in the form of a deliberation "Let us make
man in our image," we may infer that the image and likeness, vis-a-vis "at that moment," reflects
the attraction and union between Father and Son through the semblance of bridegroom and bride.
Christ rightly adds in Matthew 19.6: "So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore let no
man sunder what God has united." God truly "yokes" (sunezeuxen) or unites man and woman as
two separate genders through that single "at last" which graphically depicts the attraction between
two spouses. Since this impulse is so strong, separating its bond would be like attempting to
separate the one between image and likeness.
The Septuagint has the word "ecstasy" for sleep" when God put Adam in a deep sleep:
"So the Lord God caused a deep sleep (ekstasis) to fall upon the man" (Genesis 2.21). In his
Commentary on the Song of Songs (J.309), Gregory of Nyssa develops this theme of ekstasis
found in other places of Septuagint version:
"As the prophet says (cf. Psalm 35.9), those who drink from the richness of God's house and the stream of his delight become inebriated. Similarly, the great David became inebriated because he went out of himself and into ecstasy: he saw the invisible beauty and exclaimed in that inspired voice of his, 'Every man is a liar' (Psalm 115.2). By that statement David explained those ineffable treasures. Thus Paul, the new Benjamin, was inebriated and said in ecstasy, 'whether we be sober, it is for you' (2Corinthians 5.13). In a similar way, Paul showed to Festus that he was not insane but uttered words of sobriety and righteousness (cf. Acts 26.25)."
* * *
Psalm 63.4: "For your mercy is better than life." The Hebrew particle m is a form of min
meaning "a part, portion, from, than." A part taken from the whole is implied here. The very use
of min shows a complete separation of God's mercy (chesed) from life or human existence
(chaym). Of course, life is the dearest thing to us all, and for something to be greater than this
supreme good, it must be unusual indeed. Such is God's chesed which signifies an "eager, ardent
desire" or even "envy." This verb is practically impossible to translate; since chesed is prized
above life, getting in contact with the reality of God reality should be our priority.
Chesed is an active driving force much like qin'ah, "jealousy." This jealousy is an
important feature of the Holy Spirit, Ruach. Such jealousy, like chesed, reaches out and separates
a person from the thing dearest to us, life. Refer to Exodus 20.5: "For I the Lord your God am a
jealous (qan'a) God." God's jealousy is so intense that he punishes up to the fourth generation
(verse 5).
* * *
Origen, In Genesem, Homily Thirteen: In uniuscujusque nostrum anima est puteus aquae vivae, est quidam coelestis sensus, et imago Dei latens. Consider the following words by a noted Origen scholar with regard to this passage:
"...mais chez les logika il verra leur logos qui est le rapport (le seu mot logos semble avoir ici a la fois les deux sens de raison det du rapport) commun a tous les hommes pour les realities divines et celestes; petu-etre verra-t-il en eux le Dieu de l'universe, et c'est pourquoi ils sont dits faits selon l'image de Dieu: car l'image du Dieu de l'univers est son Logos...la qualite de logikon est expliquee souvent par la presence du Logos-Dieu en personne au centre de l'ame."
NB: rapport expresses a relationship between logikos and Logos in a non-intellectual, holistic
manner. Theologie de l"imagede Dieu chez Origene by Henri Crouzel (Paris, 1955), pp. 172-3.
* * *
Psalm 19.6: "He comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong
man runs its course with joy." This verse is a good summary for the Incarnation of Jesus Christ
who assumes a descent following the prophet Hosea (1.2) who takes an adulterous wife because
"the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the Lord." Christ leaves the Father to descend to
humankind out of desire to rectify this blunder. Note the words from Genesis 3.16, "and your
desire (teshuqah) will be to your husband." Perhaps Christ's incarnation reflects something of this
teshuqah. (NB: A Cistercian hymn used for the Office of Vigils during Christmas begins 'Jesus
the heart of all desire.').
In Psalm 19 God resembles the sun as a bridegroom, chatan, from the Hebrew verbal root
chatan, "to give one's daughter in marriage." Also implied is "to circumcise," for the term used
for the festival of circumcision was applied to that of a marriage. The chatan leaves his chamber,
chephah, which properly means a covering, from the root chapaph. It is a bridal chamber or bed,
which may signify Christ leaving the Father in order to dwell with the human race.
The first half of Psalm 19.6 treats an issuing-forth of Christ from the heavenly chephah,
whereas the second half describes a destination. Emphasis is now upon a determined object which
is actually the first thought in the bridegroom's mind, Jesus Christ, before he left his chamber. The
bridegroom (in the words of Psalm 19.6) rejoices as a gibor or champion to run the course set
before him. To do this means that he knows the end result of his course or 'orach even before
starting out. Since a race implies competition, the opposing champion may be seen as the devil.
Yet Christ "rejoices" because he knows the full result of the race, that is, taking and redeeming an
"adulterous wife" like Hosea. Keep in mind the fascination Christ must have for this person
before he left his chamber. While there, Christ must have been plotting what to do about her then
suddenly breaks away like that gibor or champion. We could say that Christ was motivated for
the adulterous woman by that teshuqah or desire of Genesis 3.16 above.
A good description of Christ's care for his earthly wife is Ephesians 5.29: "For no man
ever hates his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it as Christ does the church." The identity
between Hosea's image of an adulterous woman and Christ as bridegroom comes out clearly
through that nourishing (trepho) and cherishing; trepho means a rearing-up from childhood. This
in turn is based upon trepho, "to make firm, congeal, thicken, curdle, increase, rear, maintain."
Thus the same verb extrepho is used in 6.4: "Fathers... bring up your children in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord." Here a masculine aspect ("fathers") is used, whereas a feminine
ektrepho is implied in 5.29 in relationship to Christ.
Ektrepho may be found in Psalm 22.3 (Septuagint): "He restores my soul." The Hebrew
sense contained in the word yeshuvev implies a causing to sit, dwell, endure; in other words, an
abiding presence is conveyed. Gregory of Nyssa compares the presence of Christ though his
incarnation to "dough" (phurama):
"Paul said that the pure and undefiled divinity of the Only-Begotten (Son) assumed man's mortal and perishable nature. However, from the entirety of human nature to which the divinity is mixed, the man constituted according to christ is a kind of first fruits of the common dough. It is through this (divinized) man that all mankind is joined to the divinity." A Treatise on First Corinthians 15.28, PG#44.1313b.
Psalm 19.7 continues with "there is nothing hid from its heat." Chamah, "heat," means
that of the sun, an image of the bridegroom's chamah for his adulterous bride. Song 7.11
illustrates this: "I am to my beloved and his desire (teshuqathu) is to (haly) me." Haly reveals a
physical side to this love as the bridegroom situation on top of his bride.
* * *
The balance of movements in the Incarnation and Ascension is striking. The former
represents a descent, whereas the latter an ascent. Both are summed up in St. Athanasius' famous
sentence, "God became man in order that man might become God." The Incarnation and
Ascension hinge upon Christ's death and resurrection, thereby separating the two facets. A
balanced person keeps both the descending and ascending motions in equilibrium; he or she feels
both the downward force of the Incarnation and the upward force of the Ascension and merges
them into one force. Of course, the Paschal mystery is that point-where between the two.
* * *
Torah means "the Law, doctrine, instruction," coming from the Hebrew verbal root tur
which means "to travel about, follow after." In Numbers 13.16 Moses said "I send you to spy out
the land." The spies' purpose was to reconnoiter Canaan, to examine it much as a devout Jew
would tur the Torah.
Also derived from tur is tor, "turtle dove." Doves make a deep-throated, soothing cooing
sound which the word imitates by its pronunciation. A dove's coo conjures up an image of caring
for something with great tenderness. That is what the Torah does as it serves to guide..."to spy
out"...the mysteries of God.
Song 2.12: "The voice of the turtledove (tor) is heard in our land." With the Numbers
13.16 reference in mind, "our land" may refer to that relationship between the Song's Bride and
Bridegroom where the tor is making its cooing sound. Both sound (cooing) and vision (spying
out) form a single entity.
* * *
Luke 2.4: "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to
the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David."
King Herod inquired from the rulers and scribes about the place of Christ's birth. They responded
that it was Bethlehem, taking their cue from Micah 5.2: "But you, O Bethlehem Ephratha...from
you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from old, from
ancient days." This verse is also quoted in part in John 7.42: "from the seed of David, and he will
come from Bethlehem." The crowd's division over the origins of Christ occurs after the people
heard Christ speak of living waters in verse 38, "He who believes in me, as scriptures says (in
other words, Isaiah 58.11 and Proverbs 18.4), 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'"
In both the case of Herod and his advisors as well as the crowd and rulers of a later time,
division arose over Christ's origins. Luke 2.4's use of Micah 5.1 foreshadows the fuller sense of
John 7.38, Christ as "living water." While Herod and the crowd looked for the origin of a person,
Christ was announcing the "origin" of the Spirit: "Now this he said about the Spirit, which those
who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified" (verse 39).
The birth of Christ and the wise men (Magi) are associated with light, that is, a star. The
"origins" of Micah as shown in the John verse above implies water. This in turn is applied to the
Spirit as wind, ruach. A germinal manifestation of ruach is present in Epiphany, where the Micah
quote is implied regarding "origin."
John 7.37: "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, 'If
any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.'" This is the eighth day or First Day of the New
Creation which is foreshadowed in mystery. The waters of life flow out on this day. Note that
Christ made his proclamation in the temple on this day to announce the Spirit's coming. Compare
it to his Presentation forty days after his birth in the temple (Luke 2.27). This is preceded by the
Circumcision eight days after his birth (2.21) when the name "Jesus" was given. Implied is the
notion that Jesus had no name for seven days.
The theme of the eighth day was important for early Christian theologians in their attempt
to develop a theology for the Resurrection. Eight passages are worth noting:
"The economy of the ark at the deluge, in which eight persons among Noah's relatives were
saved, indicates the salvific Ogdoad. Similarly, David was the eighth child among his
brothers. The circumcision occurred on the eighth day, for it manifests the circumcision of
the Ogdoad on high. The scriptures, then, when pointing to the number eight for our belief,
have in mind the mystery of the Ogdoad." Irenaeus, Against Heresies, PG#7.645B
"The sixth day represents life here below: 'God made the world in six days' (cf. Genesis 1.31).
During this sixth day one must gather and put in reserve provisions sufficient for the (seventh)
day to come. If you amass during this time treasures of justice, mercy and pity, they will serve
as nourishment in the age to comebut if one gathers good works, they will live for the next
day. (This 'next day' is the Sabbath represented by the Ogdoad)." Origen, Homilies on
Exodus, PG#12.346C
"The octave is the day of Christ the Lord's salvific resurrection on which we believe occurs
the purgation of all sins. It is also symbolic of an infant's circumcision by which the soul is
purged through regeneration by being begotten by God. This day is better than the seventh
because on it the Law is dissolved." Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms,
PG#23.120A
"What is the octave? It is the day of the Lord's resurrection on which we receive the fruit
of our labors. Indeed our enemies have been turned back with shame and confusion. This
psalm (six) sings of that blessed time of repentance made for sin." Athanasius, Treatise on
the Psalms, PG#27.75D
"Psalm six contains a more divine sense in its verses. It sings about the end, because (these
verses) are the most perfect contemplation on the octave. The person is circumcised
spiritually by God, for it is not carnal. Circumcision is perfected in the octave because it is
extolled above the six days in which the world was made and attains the seventh day, the tru,
holy and delightful Sabbath. Since perfect beatitude cannot be obtained through created
things, we must assume a transcendent state, the octave." Didymus, Treatise on the Psalms,
PG#39.1173D-76A
"The day of the Lord is without evening, without succession and without end. It is not
unknown to scripture, and it is the day that the Psalmist calls the eighth because it is outside
this time of weeks. Thus whether you call it day, or whether you call it eternity, you express
the same idea." Basil the Great, The Hexaemeron, PG#29.52A
"For the number seven, multiplied by itself, produces fifty minus one day, and we add this by
taking it as the world to come: it is at once the first and the eighth, or rather one and
indestructible. And indeed we must there cease the Sabbath-keeping of our souls, so that one
part of seven may be given to some, of eight to others, as certain men who have come before
us have explained." Gregory the Theologian, On Pentecost, PG#36.432B
"What is the octave? It is that great and glorious day of the Lord, a bright furnace at whose
sight the Virtues tremble and which manifests the hastening of the King. The octave calls
him, declaring him to be a change of condition and a renewal of the future live. For the
present life is none other than seven days which commences from the first day and is perfected
in the seventh day." John Chrysostom, On Compunction, PG#47.415D-16A
* * *
Leviticus 12.4: "Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her
purifying; she shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of
her purifying are completed." This prohibition against touching (in the sense to violate) a holy
object pertains to a woman who gives birth to a male child. She cannot touch/violate anything for
thirty-three days plus seven (for birth to circumcision) which totals forty days. Hence the origin
to our current observance of the forty day Christmas cycle from Christmas Day to the
Presentation, February 2. This forty day cycle is a great counterbalance to the other forty day
cycle of Lent; they both complement each other like two majestic galaxies in the night sky.
* * *
In Origen's First Principles, iii, 6, i to which Henri Crouzel refers (Theologie de l'Image
de Dieu chez Origene, p.218), a relationship is seen between Genesis 1.26-7 ("Let us make man
in our image") and 1John 3.2 ("We know that when he does appear, we shall be like him because
we shall see him as he is"). The image is indelibly printed within man from the start. The verse
from John shows that likeness comes with man's advancement in his already-achieved perfection
of being God's image.
* * *
The hiddenness of Jesus Christ from his birth to his baptism some thirty years later
permeates the entire liturgical year, even though it is contracted into a small period of liturgical
time. We gain better appreciation of such hiddenness through Luke 2.52, "And Jesus increased in
wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." This sentence is based upon both
1Samuel 2.26 ("Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the
Lord and with men.") and Proverbs 3.4 ("So you will find favor and good understanding in the
sight of God and man"). One can imagine the young Jesus growing up and reading the Hebrew
scriptures as well as hearing them proclaimed in the synagogue in addition to the yearly visits to
the temple in Jerusalem. Hearing the texts must have contributed to making him aware of his
divinity. For instance, take Proverbs 3.4 which treats a son learning and keeping God's Law as
well as his search for wisdom.
Reading these same texts today in Hebrew kindles that divine image and likeness within
oneself which is similar to the way Christ awakened to his divine nature. Christ's growth "in
wisdom" means none other than that wisdom or chakmah found in Proverbs 3.13 and in other
parts of this book. His growth "in stature" refers to his growth as a person. Also such
development is "in grace" before God (realization of divinity) and man (the gradual recognition of
his mission to save humankind).
The same growth is applied to John the Baptist in Luke 1.80: "And the child grew and
became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his manifestation to Israel."
Both Christ and John increase in realization of their respective roles until they meet in the context
of water, Christ's baptism or the "day of manifestation." You can tell that the Old Testament
triggered something within John whose first recorded words are from Isaiah 40.3: "A voice
crying in the wilderness."
Christ and the Baptist descended into the Jordan River in order to be baptized, "to fulfill
(plerosai) all righteousness" (Matthew 3.15). This may be taken as a fulfillment of their respective
realization in light of the Old Testament in whose shadow they each were raised as indicated by
Luke 1.80 and 2.52. Matthew 3.16 continues with "And when Jesus was baptized he went up
immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and alighting on him." The text rightly says that Jesus Christ alone saw
this happen, although we can be sure that John must have witnessed Christ react to it which
completed the realization of his mission.
John the Baptist too realizes the completion of his role as John 3.29 says, "Therefore this
joy of mine is now full." That is to say, "all righteousness" regarding John is fulfilled since the
New Testament order has now commenced. Note that verse 30 follows with "He must increase
and I must decrease." This means that the Old Testament order is now definitely completed.
Note that John does not come up out of the Jordan but only Jesus. John remains there to replace
those twelve stones which Joshua removed from the Jordan's bed (Joshua 4.3). John stands in the
center of the twelve stones, as it were, a symbol of the twelve disciples whom Christ calls. That
is why Luke 7.28 says "Yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
John became so small (elattousthai) in the Jordan River that even the least (mikroteros) in
heaven is greater. The opening of the heavens when Christ ascends the waters testifies to this.
One remains under the water while the other is above it where the Spirit descends. Note: Luke's
genealogy of Christ (3.23-38) works backward to Adam, "the son of God." In other words, this
genealogy is an ascent backwards to God which continues the ascent from the Jordan into heaven
and God.
* * *
To escape Herod's wrath, Joseph is warned in a dream (Matthew 2.19) to flee into Egypt;
his flight parallels the Israelite's journey there under the leadership of the Old Testament Joseph.
Once it is safe to return to Israel, the holy family set on their way. Although the text says nothing
about their crossing the Red Sea, they invariably did. Again, Joseph is told in a dream (verse 22)
that Herod is dead.
A dream brings the holy family into Egypt, and a dream returns them home. This power
of a dream enabled them, as it were, to cross the Red Sea. When Jesus grew older, Joseph must
have told him about these dreams and their mystic import; perhaps they had a role in awakening
Christ with respect to his divinity.
* * *
In Matthew 5.13-16 we have two elements applied to Christians, salt and light:
1) "You are the salt of the earth (ge)." Salt is placed within the earth itself much like leaven within dough. The salt pervades the soil to give it flavor and richness.
2) "You are the light of the world (kosmos)." Here light is placed within the "world"
much like the salt mentioned above. Note use of ge and kosmos, two terms for "earth."
* * *
Psalm 65.12: "The tracks of your chariot drip with fatness, the hills gird themselves with
joy." The first part of this verse literally read, "drop fatness." The Hebrew word for "track"
(mahgal) suggests a rut in which the chariot's wheels run wildly, splattering mud all over the
place. Also suggested is a joyful abandonment. Dashen for "fatness" represents the richness of
God's word. The image here is of God driving his chariot and wildly scattering this dashen.
Another reference with "track" or mahgal is Psalm 23.3: "He leads me in right paths (mahgal).
More properly, the psalmist asks to be led in a narrow rut. Note that he says "for his name's
sake," the name being of course Jesus or the Anointed One, that dashan or "fatness" which lies in
the tracks, as it were.
The psalmist's soul is "restored" (yeshuvev) first before being led in "right paths," that is,
his soul is situated in the "tracks" beforehand so that he may partake of the "fatness." All this
occurs before verse 4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." Here
"valley" is opposite to "tracks of fatness," and the psalmist is prepared for it by first going through
them. The "right paths" are diametrically opposed to "valley of the shadow of death" where God
conducts the psalmist by his "rod and staff."
* * *
Psalm 63.6: "My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat." These words show a fullness, a
satisfaction, on the spiritual level. The psalmists' "soul" (nephesh) is "feasted" (shabah); compare
the Hebrew verbal root shabah to the number "seven," shevah, usually considered a holy number.
Chelev means "fat" or the best part of anything; deshen also means fat but with the sense of
marrow, the essence of a thing. In other words, nephesh is filled with both of them to signify a
wonderful type of satiety.
* * *
In Romans 5.15.15-21 St. Paul makes a contrast between Adam and Jesus Christ which
may be broken into two sections according to verses:
Adam
15: -not like the trespass
-if many died through one man's trespass
Christ
-the gift
-much more have the grace of God and the gift in the grace of that one man Jesus
Christ abounded for many
Adam
16: -the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation
Christ
-the gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin
-the gift following many trespasses brings justification
Adam
17: -if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man
Christ
-much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of
righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ
Adam
18: -as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men
Christ
-one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men
Adam
10: -as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners
Christ
-by one man's obedience many will be made righteous
Adam
20: -law came in to increase the trespass
Christ
-where sin increased, grace abounded all the more
Adam
21: -as sin reigned in death
-grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ
* * *
The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 19, deals with the monk's attention at the Divine
Office. It has such arresting phrases as:
-oculos Domini in omni loco speculari bonos et malos: the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place.
-servite Domino in timore: serve the Lord in fear.
-psallite sapienter: sing praises wisely.
-in conspectu angelorum psallam tibi: in the sight of the angels I will sing praise to you.
-in conspectu divinitatis et angelorum eius esse: in the sight of the Godhead and his Angels.
-et sic stemus ad psallendum, ut mens nostra concordet voci nostrae: let us take part in
the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.
In conjunction with these sentences I was also struck by Ephesians1.10, "to restore all
things in Christ." The act of "restoring" or anakephalaioo (literally, "heading") means that
"everything in the heavens and on earth" are made aware in Christ. By reason of creation,
everything is already "in Christ," but it is a question of becoming aware that this is so. With this
in mind, I am especially intrigued by the Rule quote above, mens nostra concordet voci nostra.
The act of making a sound is intimately bound up with awareness maintained by our minds.
* * *
Psalm 18.2: "I love you, O Lord, my strength." Here the psalmist has "love" or racham
towards God whose Hebrew root means beholding with tender affection, compassion as used by
parents towards their children. The noun from this verbal root, rechem, means a womb; the
plural, rachamym, means "bowels," the seat of emotions which is translated as ta splagchna in
2Corinthians 6.12. Usually rechem is used by God towards persons, not the inverse as Psalm
18.2 has it here. The person as object is in the "female" or receptive position and calls God by
eight names in this same psalm: my strength, rock (twice), fortress, deliverer, shield, horn of
salvation and stronghold.
* * *
Philippians 3.10: "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share
in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." Note the use of koinonia for "share" which
indicates true intimacy in suffering borne for Christ. The result is being "conformed"
(summorphizomenos)--sharing-the-same-form-with--"his death." Verse 11 continues, "that I may
attain the resurrection from the dead." The word for "resurrection" here is exanastasis which
suggests a shooting up; the verbal form means "to speak in the assembly" as in Acts 15.5
* * *
The risen Christ says to Mary, "Do not lay hold of me" (John 20.17), yet he says to
Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands; put out your hand, and place it in my side"
(verse 27). Note the correspondence between "put...and see" and "taste and see" of Psalm 34.8.
* * *
1Thessalonians 5.19: "Do not quench the Spirit." St. Paul wishes the Holy Spirit to burn
without abatement. Compare this verse with Ephesians 4.30, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit."
Here Paul does not wish us to disappoint the Spirit, that is, to frustrate his desire to burn in us.
Perhaps this is a take-off of "I baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire" (Luke 3.16). Also refer
to Hebrews 12.29: "Our God is a consuming fire," a quote from Deuteronomy 4.24 and 9.3
which demonstrates God's jealousy towards his people as well as his own honor.
* * *
The feast of the Annunciation is the only one which the Church celebrates three times each day, that is, at each critical juncture of the day, morning, noon and evening. It is as though the Church were attempting to get the mystery of Christ's i