THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
We, who were formerly in bondage to sin and had surrendered ourselves to the adversary through wicked desires, are now justified in Christ through faith. We will rise to experience genuine and sacred rest, and by grace, we will be adorned with liberty and radiate with heavenly blessings.
Palladius. Thus, it appears that the Sabbath presents us with idleness, but only from sinful actions, if we are to speak truthfully, as the ancients understood it through symbols and shadows. Cyril. That is indeed so. But when interpreted differently, it can distinctly reveal Christ's mystery. Palladius. What do you mean by that? Cyril. The law states: ‘If thy brother, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years; and in the seventh year, you shall let him go free; and when you let him go free, you shall not let him go empty, but shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor, and from your winepress: of that wherewith the Lord your God hath blessed you, you shall give unto him’ (Deuteronomy 15:12-14).
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This signifies that prior to the advent of our Savior, Israel was bound by the spirit of slavery, under the burdensome law. But when, in the last days—a period foreshadowed by the Sabbath—Immanuel appeared, the spirit of captivity was lifted. Having brought nothing as a ransom to the Lord, they were kindly called to freedom and to share in the glory of sonship; for those who have faith are justified not by the works of the law but by faith itself (Romans 3:28). This, I assert, is the essence of letting them depart freely. Yet, when it states, ‘let him go free, do not let him go empty, but furnish him abundantly from your flocks, from your threshing floors, and from your winepress,’ can you not see the power of Christ's command radiating through this message? We are redeemed and liberated by our Savior’s grace, freely. For ‘not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His abundant mercy,’ as it is written (Titus 3:5), we partake in such an immense blessing. Having set us free from our sins and enriched us with the grace of sonship, He approached us as a beautiful offering, ‘like a sheep He was led to the slaughter’ (Isaiah 53:7; cf. Acts 8:32), sacrificing Himself for us and providing us with the life-giving communion of His holy Flesh and Blood. This signifies that those called to freedom by the Lord’s grace during this seventh time—on a spiritual Sabbath—shall receive sheep, grain, and wine. This was the law's decree. However, when the Jews, having become careless, neglected these matters, God then began to admonish those who had been steadfast. For it is recorded, ‘And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and I said, At the end of seven years let every Hebrew man his brother, who has sold himself to you, go free; let him serve you for six years, and then you shall let him go free from you; but your fathers did not heed Me, nor did they incline their ear. You have now turned and done right in My sight, proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before Me in the house that is called by My name; but afterward, you turned back and defiled My name, and you brought back to yourselves every man his servant, and every man his maidservant, whom you had let go free, and you compelled them to be your servants’ (Jeremiah 34:12-16). Do you see how He does not permit the rejection of symbols, nor, more significantly, the dishonor of truth itself while still casting shadows? ‘For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable,’ as it is written (Romans 11:29). Yet the Jews, after having re-enslaved those who had been set free, failed to observe this transgression, thus offending the power of the sacrament by disregarding and failing to honor it, even though it remained represented in images. Palladius. You have articulated this quite rightly.