DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
2 Corinthians 4:6-15
(9/20)
Epistle for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Enlightenment: 2 Corinthians 4:6-15, especially vs. 6: "...God Who commanded light
to shine out of darkness...has shone in our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The New Testament supports the fact that
In the present passage, the Apostle Paul presents the three
fundamental purposes for which the Lord called him and all of us into His
service: 1) to enlighten the peoples of the world with the glory of God in
Jesus Christ (vs. 6), 2) to manifest the Lord’s life through himself to
many (vss. 9-11), and 3) to “...cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory
of God” (vs. 15).
At the Creation, God gave birth to light by His Word:
“'...Let there be light...'” (Gen. 1:3). In His new Creation, He causes His Light
and Word, the Lord Jesus, to illumine human hearts, so that many, like Saul of
Tarsus, may be united to Christ and His mission. Literally, the Apostle declares it is
“...God Who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).
Steeped in the Hebrew heritage of God’s People, Paul
used the Greek word, “prosopon,” 'face or
person' to connote 'personal encounter.'
God the Word placed His wonder and majesty within the human race as the
Person, Jesus Christ: to be touched and handled (1 Jn.1:1) as a man, a person
that human beings could receive.
The concept, 'knowing God,' changed entirely. We no longer know about Him; now
we may know Him. In time, as
Metropolitan Zizioulas says, the Fathers of the
Church would give history this concept of person “...an absoluteness
which still moves modern man even though he has fundamentally abandoned their
spirit.”
God enlightens our hearts within the “...earthen
vessels...” (2 Cor. 4:7) of our bodies, so
“...that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (vs.
9). Press a true Christian
on every side, perplex him, but it is not possible to crush him into despair
(vs. 8). Strike down men and women
who know Jesus, and they pray to God as did Saint Polycarp: “I bless
[Thee] because [Thou] hast considered me worthy of this day and this
hour.” In the faithful, one
sees “In the saints that are in His earth...” (Ps. 15:2) that the
Lord hath been wondrous. Christ the
Lord is “'...the light of the world'” (Jn. 8:12) and transforms
those united to Him to become “...the light of the world” (Mt.
5:14).
God’s uncreated light illumines - enlightens - us to
know Christ. He does so
“...that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal
flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11), and that His grace may be “...spread through
the many [and] cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God” (vs.
15). The light of God shining
through one human being who knows the Lord spreads to another and another and
another - on and on “to the many.” Christ the Light of the world enables
those He enlightens to worship, praise, and give thanks for a renewal that
renews many more.
Illumine our hearts, O Master Who loveth mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge
and open the eyes of our minds to Thy Gospel teaching.
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