DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Fri., Dec. 7, 2007 Nativity Fast Venerable
Gregory, Founder of Gregoriou Monastery
1st Vespers Hierarch: Proverbs 10:7,6;
3:13-16;
8:6,32,34,4,12,14,17,5-9;
1:23 LXX
Epistle: Titus 1:15-2:10
Gospel: St. Luke 21:37-22:8
The Constant Luminaries: Selections from Proverbs (see above), especially vs. 1:23: “Behold, I
will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in
my speech.” These verses from Proverbs are much like
a quilt, carefully selected and sewn together that we might “read, mark,
learn, and inwardly digest” them and acquire wisdom. They are appointed for the feasts of the
Church’s most beloved Hierarchs: Nicholas of Myra, Sergios
of Radonezh, Innocent and Tikhon
of Moscow, and Raphael of Brooklyn.
The chapters lead in steps (chap. 10) from thoughts concerning the
Saints, to (chap. 3) an overview of the Wisdom that characterized them, to
(chap. 8) a direct appeal from Wisdom to attain Wisdom’s benefits for
one’s self, and finally to (chap. 1) a concluding appeal to accept
Wisdom’s instruction.
The Saints, constant Luminaries for the
Church, enlighten us by their words, deeds, and miracles, and, as
“favored ones” with God, “plead for our souls.” Thus the opening verses from this
passage from Proverbs contrasts the Saints, called here the “just,
righteous, or innocent” (from dikaion),
with the ungodly, the asebous, or
impious. The reading meets us in
our commemoration of the righteous and affirms our honoring them in hymns and
songs. Men praise them (vs. 10:7)
and God blesses them (vs. 10:6).
But who is a Saint, one “blessed”
by God (vs. 3:13)? “The man who has found Wisdom, and the mortal who knows
prudence” (vs. 3:13).
The key that unlocks the impenetrable mystery of spiritual superiority
is Wisdom. No wonder our Lord Jesus
Christ Himself is called Wisdom, and the Great Church of Christendom honoring
Her Lord was known as Hagia Sophia. The mistake of the worldly is to place
supreme value in gold, silver or precious stones - in material wealth, even enduring
valuables. It is the mad obsession
of consumerism and acquisitiveness.
The Truth is, “no precious thing is equal to her in value”
(vs. 3:15).
Why is Wisdom called her? It is a function of grammar in both
Greek and Hebrew that arbitrarily assigns masculine, feminine, and neuter to
nouns. Ships came to be called her
in the same way that Wisdom was called her. Thus ancients, before the Incarnation of
the Word of God in the man Jesus Christ, personified Wisdom as a woman. “She carries law and mercy upon
her tongue” (vs. 3:16). But
the discovery of those who “heard...looked upon, and...handled...the
Word of life” (1 Jn. 1:1), the Incarnate Lord,
was to see that He is the Wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24).
Look over the profile of Wisdom in the verses
from Proverbs 8: Who speaks “solemn truths” and produces
“right sayings” from His lips” (vs. 6)? Do we not read these words honoring His
Saints because they invariably hearkened to Him and kept His ways, watching and
waiting for Him (vs. 32)? The
Church learned from the Lord Jesus to “crown with songs of praise”
those who attained their glory from Him, our common Master, Christ our God, so
that we might all gain “glory from the presence of Christ the
Savior.”
Our Lord, the very Wisdom of God, exhorts (vs.
8:4), counsels (vs. 8:14), loves (vs. 8:17), meditates truths (vs. 8:7) and
persists with us: “I will bring forth to you the utterance of My breath, and I will instruct you in My speech” (vs.
1:23). Christ our God does this, as
St. Seraphim of Sarov says, so that we should
“trade in virtue. Distribute
the Holy Spirit’s gifts of grace to those in need of them....For earthly
riches when distributed are diminished, yet when the heavenly riches of
God’s grace are distributed, the more they increase in him who
distributes.”
Let the brightness of the Lord our God be
upon us, and the works of our hands do Thou guide aright upon us, yea, the work
of our hands do Thou guide aright. (Ps.
89:19 LXX)
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