DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS

The Sunday of Zacchaeos                                    Tone 7                                   January 21, 2007

2nd Vespers Monastic: Wisdom 5:15-6:3   Epistle: 1 Timothy 4:9-15   Gospel: St. Luke 19:1-10

 

God’s Intervention: Wisdom 5:15-6:3, especially vs. 16: “Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord, because with His right hand He will cover them, and with His arm He will shield them.”  Earlier in the Wisdom of  Solomon (3:1-9) the wise Seer reveals the source of the strength that all great ascetics exhibit in the face of pain and death.  Is it not their disciplined lives characterized by prayer, fasting, godly reading, and the rigorous practice of the virtues accompanied by the grace which God showers upon their efforts?  This Orthodox manner of living, as St. Thalassios asserts, calls the righteous to “the forceful practice of self-control and love, patience, and stillness [to] destroy the passions hidden within us.”  Truly, God blesses His Saints who labor to unite themselves to Him, for He makes them “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4) - despite all that this life brings against them.

In this reading from the Wisdom of Solomon, he shows further that God works through the social, natural, and political orders of this present age to shield the righteous and even to intervene for them in their struggle to obtain “a glorious crown” (Wis. 5:16).

First, Solomon portrays a well-known theme of Holy Scripture - the Lord as a warrior putting on His armament: “righteousness as a breastplate...impartial justice as a helmet...holiness as an invincible shield...and stern wrath for a sword (vss. 18-20).  The imagery is echoed in Isaiah: “The Lord saw...that there was no man...then His own arm brought Him victory, and His righteousness upheld Him.  He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself in fury as a mantle” (Is. 59:15,16,17).  St. Paul draws upon this same imagery (Eph. 6:13-17).

Isaiah himself saw the Lord act in this manner, actually forcing the withdrawal of the siege forces of Sennacherib, King of Assyria, from the fortress walls of Jerusalem (2 Kngs 18:13-19:37).  During the siege, God led Isaiah to counsel the King of Judah: “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it” (2 Kngs 19:32); and he saw that “the angel of the Lord...slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies” (2 Kngs 19:35).  God is quite capable of intervening in the affairs of nations to achieve His will in men’s actions.

In addition, Solomon reveals how the Lord may even use the forces of nature to effect His will on behalf of His righteous ones; for He can employ “Shafts of lightning...as from a well-drawn bow of clouds, and hailstones full of wrath...as from a catapult [or] the water of the sea ...and rivers” to overwhelm, as well as mighty winds and tempests to winnow His mortal enemies (Wis. 5:21,22,23).  Do remember that the Lord Jesus “arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm” (Mk. 4:39).

As Solomon pondered the Lord’s capacity to intervene in the affairs of men and nations through many means, he concluded this present reading with a warning to the leaders of this world “that rule over multitudes, and boast of many nations: Your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty from the Most High, Who will search out your works and inquire into your plans” (Wis. 6:2,3).  Later, the Lord Jesus would say to the Roman Procurator, Pontius Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (Jn. 19:11).  Let each one consider, both for himself and the nations, that God does guide and direct.

Teach us, O Lord, to treat all that comes to us throughout the day with peace of soul and with the firm conviction that Thy will governs all.

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