The Fathers on Reading Scripture, XIV

St Ephraim the Syrian on the Book of Genesis:

I read the opening of this book
And was filled with joy,
For its verses and lines spread out their arms to welcome me;
The first rushed out and kissed me,
And led me on to its companion;
And when I reached that verse
Wherein is written
The story of Paradise,
It lifted me up and transported me
From the bosom of the book
To the very bosom of Paradise.

Hymns on Paradise 5.3 (CSCO 174:16); translation by Sebastian Brock, St Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns on Paradise.

The Fathers on Reading Scripture, XIII

St Augustine, commenting on Psalm 1:1, writes:

“Blessed is the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly” (ver. 1). This is to be understood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Man. “Blessed is the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly,” as “the man of earth did,” (1 Cor. xv. 47), who consented to his wife deceived by the serpent, to the transgressing the commandment of God. “Nor stood in the way of sinners.” For He came indeed in the way of sinners, by being born as sinners are; but He “stood” not therein, for that the enticements of the world held Him not. “And hath not sat in the seat of pestilence.” He willed not an earthly kingdom, with pride, which is well taken for “the seat of pestilence;” for that there is hardly any one who is free from the love of rule, and craves not human glory. For a “pestilence” is disease widely spread, and involving all or nearly all. Yet “the seat of pestilence” may be more appropriately understood of hurtful doctrine; “whose word spreadeth as a canker (2 Tim. ii. 17). The order too of the words must be considered: “went away, stood, sat.” For he “went away,” when he drew back from God. He “stood,” when he took pleasure in sin. He “sat,” when, confirmed in his pride, he could not go back, unless set free by Him, who neither “hath gone away in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of pestilence.”

Read the full exposition of Psalm 1 here.

The Fathers on Reading Scripture, XII

St Isaac the Syrian writes:

Do not approach the words of the mysteries contained in the divine Scriptures without prayer and beseeching God for help, but say: Lord, grant me to perceive the power in them! Reckon prayer to be the key to the true understanding of the divine Scriptures.

From Homily Forty-Eight of The Ascetical Homilies of St Isaac the Syrian.

Cradle and Convert IV

My original Cradle and Convert post made a few very modest arguments: a) that dividing Orthodox Christians into "convert" and "cradle/ethnic" camps is unnecessarily divisive; b) that the terms themselves are misleading (at some point one stops being simply a convert; none of us are ethnic-neutral); and c) that there isn't an American Orthodoxy in the same sense that there is a Greek or Russian Orthodoxy. None of these points seemed particularly radical or controversial as I was making them. Much of the ensuing discussion, as well as my subsequent posts, has had to do with the practical implications of these modest theses, and has grown rather contentious at times. Here are a couple of thoughts that have occurred to me while reading comments:

1) Convert = former Protestant. In all recent discussion on this theme, both on this blog and others, it's been taken for granted that "convert" means "former Protestant" (or, more specifically, former Evangelical Protestant); therefore, all potential converts are themselves Protestants. Hence the conclusion that Orthodoxy needs to be packaged and advertised to appeal to Evangelicals. This overlooks that people convert to Orthodoxy from a wide range of different denominations and religions; that not all Protestants are Evangelicals (what do High Church Anglicans and snake-handlers really have in common?); and that the majority of Americans are in fact not Evangelical Protestants. Is it really wise, then, to advertise Orthodoxy as an ancient form of proto-Evangelicalism? (Recall the dust jacket of the OSB: "Prior to the Reformation of the 16th century, the great voices of the historic Church were...")

2) Convert vs. Convert. Why is it that, if two "converts" disagree about something, their arguments necessarily cancel each other out? If you don't want your own arguments dismissed because you're a "convert," then don't dismiss others' arguments for the same reason. If you're Orthodox, treat both yourself and others as Orthodox. As I keep repeating, at some point one stops being simply a convert; if one thinks of oneself first and foremost as a "former Protestant," then something is wrong.

3) Quantifying Evangelicalism. It's been suggested a number of times, here and elsewhere, that the success of mission can be judged quantitatively. Those who convert more people "win," and Orthodoxy in America owes its continued existence to the conversion of Protestants. This sounds to me like a revival-meeting standard: the more souls one "saves," the better.

4) False dichotomies: convert or cradle; external piety or internal belief; ethnic or non-ethnic; diaspora or mission; evangelicalism or guardianship; Tradition or tradition.

The Fathers on Reading Scripture, XI

St Peter of Damaskos writes:

'Sing the psalms with understanding,' says the psalmist (Ps 47:7); and the Lord says, 'Search the Scriptures" (Jn 5:39). He who pays attention to them is illumined, while he who pays no attention is filled with darkness. For unless a person attends to what is said in divine Scripture, he will gather but little fruit, even though he sings or reads them frequently. 'Devote yourself to stillness and know,' it is written (Ps 46:10), because such devotion concentrates the intellect: even it if is attentive for only a short time, none the less it knowns 'in part,' as St Paul puts it (I Cor 13:12). This is especially true of the person who has made some progress in the practice of the moral virtues, for this teaches the intellect many things related to its association with the passions. Nevertheless, he does not know all the mysteries hidden by God in each verse of Scripture, but only as much as the purity of his intellect is able to comprehend through God's grace. This is clear from the fact that we often understand a certain passage in the course of our contemplation, grasping one or two of the senses in which it was written; then after a while our intellect may increase in purity and be allowed to perceive other meanings, superior to the first. As a result, in bewilderment and wonder at God's grace and His ineffable wisdom, we are overcome with awe before 'the God of knowledge,' as the prophetess Hannah calls Him (cf. I Sam 2:3).

I am not speaking here about the mere act of listening to a passage of Scripture or to some other person; for this does not by itself involve purity of intellect or divine revelation. I am speaking about the person who possesses knowledge but distrusts himself until he finds another passage from Scripture or from one of the saints that confirms his spontaneous knowledge of the scriptural passage or from some sensible or intelligent reality. And if instead of one meaning he should find many as a result of giving attention to either the divine Scriptures or the holy fathers, he should not lose faith and think there is a contradiction. For one text or object can signify many things. Take clothing, for example: one person may say that it warms, another that it adorns, and another that it protects; yet all three are correct, since clothing is useful alike for warmth, for adornment and for protection. All three have grasped the single purpose assigned by God to clothing; and Holy Scripture and the very nature of things themselves confirm it. But if someone whose intention is to rob and pilfer should say that clothing exists in order to be stolen, he would be an utter liar, for neither the Scriptures nor the nature of things suggest that it exists for this purpose; and even the laws punish those who do steal it.

The same applies to everything, whether visible or invisible and to every word of the divine Scriptures. For the saints neither know the whole of God's purpose with regard to every object or scriptural text, nor on the other hand do they write down once and for all everything that they do know. This is because in the first place God is beyond comprehension, and His wisdom is not limited in such a way that an angel or man can grasp it in its entirety. As St John Chrysostom says with regard to a certain point of spiritual exegesis, we say about it as much as should be said at the moment, but God, in addition to what we say, knows other unfathomable meanings as well. And, in the second place, because of men's incapacity and weakness it is not good for even the saints themselves to say all that they know; for they might speak at too great a length, thus making themselves offensive or unintelligible because of the confusion in their reader's mind. As St Gregory the Theologian observes, what is said should be commensurate to the capacity of those to whom it is addressed.

This next passage can be read here.

St Peter of Damaskos, Book I: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, Chapter XXIII (Holy Scripture) in volume three of The Philokalia, pp. 263-266.

Why Have We Fasted?

Today the following lesson (Isaias 58:1-11) was read during the Sixth Hour.

Thus says the Lord: Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities. Day by day they seek me, and desire to know my ways; like a people that had done justice, and had not abandoned the judgment of their God, they now ask me for just judgment, and desire to draw near to God, saying, Why have we fasted, and you did not see? Humbled our souls, and you did not know? Because, in the days of your fasts you find your wishes, and all those under your power you goad. If you fast for quarrels and fights, and smite the humble with your fists, why do you fast for me as you do today, for your voice to be heard be heard in your cry? I did not choose this fast, nor a day for a person to humble their soul. Even if you bend down your neck like a ring, and spread under you sackcloth and ashes, you shall not because of this call it an acceptable fast. I did not choose such a fast, says the Lord. But untie every bond of iniquity, unfasten the knots of hard bargains, send the bruised away with remission, and cancel every unjust account. Break your bread for the hungry, and lead the poor who have no shelter into your house: if you see someone naked, clothe them, and you are not to disregard the relations of your own seed. Then your light will break forth as the morning, and your healing speedily spring forth: and your justice will go before you, and the glory of God will surround you. Then you will cry, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If you remove the bond from yourself, and the stretching out of the hands, and murmuring speech; and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humbled soul; then your light will spring up in darkness, and your darkness will be as noon-day: and your God will be with you continually.

Shaming words, by which we all stand judged.

(The OSB's helpful gloss: "Fasting and other ascetic acts do not necessarily indicate virtue.")

Theology, Salvation, and Eggheads

Here is an excerpt from St Basil the Great's On the Holy Spirit (1:1-2), which strikes me as especially relevant in lieu of recent discussion on this site and others:

1. Your desire for information, my right well-beloved and most deeply respected brother Amphilochius, I highly commend, and not less your industrious energy. I have been exceedingly delighted at the care and watchfulness shewn in the expression of your opinion that of all the terms concerning God in every mode of speech, not one ought to be left without exact investigation. You have turned to good account your reading of the exhortation of the Lord, "Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth" and by your diligence in asking might, I ween, stir even the most reluctant to give you a share of what they possess. And this in you yet further moves my admiration, that you do not, according to the manners of the most part of the men of our time, propose your questions by way of mere test, but with the honest desire to arrive at the actual truth. There is no lack in these days of captious listeners and questioners; but to find a character desirous of information, and seeking the truth as a remedy for ignorance, is very difficult. Just as in the hunters snare, or in the soldier's ambush, the trick is generally ingeniously concealed, so it is with the inquiries of the majority of the questioners who advance arguments, not so much with the view of getting any good out of them, as in order that, in the event of their failing to elicit answers which chime in with their own desires, they may seem to have fair ground for controversy.

2. If "To the fool on his asking for wisdom, wisdom shall be reckoned," at how high a price shall we value "the wise hearer" who is quoted by the Prophet in the same verse with "the admirable counsellor"? It is right, I ween, to hold him worthy of all approbation, and to urge him on to further progress, sharing his enthusiasm, and in all things toiling at his side as he presses onwards to perfection. To count the terms used in theology as of primary importance, and to endeavour to trace out the hidden meaning in every phrase and in every syllable, is a characteristic wanting in those who are idle in the pursuit of true religion, but distinguishing all who get knowledge of "the mark" "of our calling;" for what is set before us is, so far as is possible with human nature, to be made like unto God. Now without knowledge there can be no making like; and knowledge is not got without lessons. The beginning of teaching is speech, and syllables and words are parts of speech. It follows then that to investigate syllables is not to shoot wide of the mark, nor, because the questions raised are what might seem to some insignificant, are they on that account to be held unworthy of heed. Truth is always a quarry hard to hunt, and therefore we must look everywhere for its tracks. The acquisition of true religion is just like that of crafts; both grow bit by bit; apprentices must despise nothing. If a man despise the first elements as small and insignificant, he will never reach the perfection of wisdom.

Yea and Nay are but two syllables, yet there is often involved in these little words at once the best of all good things, Truth, and that beyond which wickedness cannot go, a Lie. But why mention Yea and Nay? Before now, a martyr bearing witness for Christ has been judged to have paid in full the claim of true religion by merely nodding his head. If, then, this be so, what term in theology is so small but that the effect of its weight in the scales according as it be rightly or wrongly used is not great? Of the law we are told "not one jot nor one tittle shall pass away;" how then could it be safe for us to leave even the least unnoticed? The very points which you yourself have sought to have thoroughly sired by us are at the same time both small and great. Their use is the matter of a moment, and peradventure they are therefore made of small account; but, when we reckon the force of their meaning, they are great. They may be likened to the mustard plant which, though it be the least of shrub-seeds, yet when properly cultivated and the forces latent in its germs unfolded, rises to its own sufficient height.

If any one laughs when he sees our subtilty, to use the Psalmist's words, about syllables, let him know that he reaps laughter's fruitless fruit; and let us, neither giving in to men's reproaches, nor yet vanquished by their disparagement, continue our investigation. So far, indeed, am I from feeling ashamed of these things because they are small, that, even if I could attain to ever so minute a fraction of their dignity, I should both congratulate myself on having won high honour, and should tell my brother and fellow-investigator that no small gain had accrued to him therefrom.

While, then, I am aware that the controversy contained in little words is a very great one, in hope of the prize I do not shrink from toil, with the conviction that the discussion will both prove profitable to myself, and that my hearers will be rewarded with no small benefit. Wherefore now with the help, if I may so say, of the Holy Spirit Himself, I will approach the exposition of the subject, and, if you will, that I may be put in the way of the discussion, I will for a moment revert to the origin of the question before us.