Can we believe that the Lord, who summarized the call to honor God and love one's neighbor with the words "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God ... and love thy neighbor" (Lk. 10:27), has suddenly nullified the significance of familial bonds and severed affections? Will we claim that He decreed the dissolution of the most cherished relationships? He is our peace, uniting all as one (Eph. 2:14)! How can He offer, "My peace I give unto you, my peace I leave unto you" (John 14:27), if His mission was to shatter family ties and separate parents from children and children from parents? Moreover, it is written that anyone who fails to honor their father is accursed (Deut. 27:16), yet one who forsakes them is deemed righteous?!
However, when we recognize that the primary focus is on honoring God, followed by love for our family, the answer to this question becomes clear. It is fitting to prioritize divine matters over human ones! We are to honor our parents, but our reverence for the Creator, the source of our parents, must be even greater; for Him, we express gratitude for our families! If they do not acknowledge the Father, how can we acknowledge them? Thus, the Lord instructs us to prioritize God above all else and does not call upon us to abandon our relatives. Another teaching states: "Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37). You are not prohibited from loving your parents; rather, you are cautioned against valuing them more than God. Your relatives are a blessing from the Lord; thus, one cannot love the gift more than the Giver Himself. Even those who interpret this literally with good intentions are not devoid of a pious understanding. Nevertheless, there remains a deeper interpretation, for the Lord added:
"From now on, five shall be divided in one house, three against two, and two against three" (Lk. 12:52). Who are these five? Further, it mentions the dynamics among six individuals: father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The term ‘mother’ can also encompass the idea of a mother-in-law, as a mother to her son is a mother-in-law to his wife, suggesting that even when examined literally, the number is significant. It is evident that faith transcends natural ties, as it liberates individuals bound by kinship.
It seems appropriate to delve into the enigmatic significance of these words. One house symbolizes one person, since every individual is either a dwelling for God or the devil. Thus, a spiritual house represents a spiritual being, as articulated in Peter’s epistle: "And you yourselves, as living stones, make of yourselves a spiritual house, a holy priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:5). This house experiences division, comprised of two against three and three against two. Often in Scripture, "two" signifies the soul and the body. When these two are in harmony on earth, unity arises from their pairing.
Furthermore, "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection" (1 Cor. 9:27) illustrates this dynamic, wherein one entity serves while the other obeys. Upon grasping the identities of these two, we discern the meaning of "three," derived easily from these two. The soul exhibits three faculties: the rational, the desiring, and the spirited, that is, λογιστικόν, πιθυμητικόν, θυμικόν. The division here is not simply two against two; rather, it is two against three and three against two because, with Christ's arrival, the unreasonable were made reasonable. Previously, we were akin to beasts, devoid of reason, living in the flesh and perishing. The Son of God came, sent His Spirit into our hearts, transforming us into spiritual offspring.
We could also assert that five other aspects inhabit this house: smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. If we separate sight and hearing from our observations and readings, we might exclude the excesses of bodily pleasures tied to taste, smell, and touch; thus, we potentially find a division of two against three. The soul typically steers clear of the allure of vices, preferring virtue and evading temptation. Hence, not all senses align in harmony that could lead to sin; instead, they become separate, alienating the desires of the heart from the duties of virtue.
If we interpret "five" as referring to the five senses, we see that bodily vices and sins are also set apart. Perhaps, when the rich man in the Gospel, engulfed in luxury, refers to these five as his brothers from his torment in the underworld, he implores them to abandon worldly pleasures, leading to a future reward of rest for efforts of virtue.
We may perceive this: that the body and soul, residing in one house, are divided against the allure of smell, touch, and taste associated with luxury, opposing the vices that assail them. The body and soul adhere to the law of God, distancing themselves from the law of sin. Following the fall of humanity into sin, the discord between flesh and spirit became essential to human nature. These two factions wrestle in the pursuit of virtue. However, through the Cross of our Lord and Savior, they are united in harmony, abolishing enmity and the law of commandments, since Christ descended from heaven. He is our peace, who makes both one and breaks down the barriers of division, abolishing enmity through His flesh and the law through His teachings, thereby creating in Himself one new man out of the two, reconciling them both to God in one body (Eph. 2:14-16).
Who are these two, if not the outer and inner man? This statement touches upon the soul’s faculties while referring to the bodily senses. They harmonize in a single pursuit, when the flesh, having submitted to the ultimate authority, obeys the salvific commands—not due to the flesh resembling the soul's essence but because, purging itself of vice's indulgences, it embarks on a path of spiritual renewal, no longer resisting the spirit’s law. By the law of the Spirit and the Spirit of life, released from the law of sin, the flesh becomes a member of the soul, a collaborator and servant of virtue instead of harboring vice.
The soul, too, ceases to indulge in bodily desires and flees from carnal pleasures. The mind, purified and freed from worldly service, draws the bodily senses towards its spiritual pleasures, engaging in reading or contemplation, delighting in the growth of virtues, untied from hunger, finding nourishment from its inner essence. This mind nourishes the soul with sweet sustenance, enhancing bodily members, transforming them into an ornament of creation rather than a jest. What was once a playground of desires is now sanctified as the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19), and the home of vice is turned into a sanctuary of virtue. This transformation occurs when the flesh, returning to its intended state, acknowledges the soul as its source of strength, shedding its arrogance and yielding to the soul’s governance. Such harmony once existed in the secret recesses of paradise, prior to the serpent's fatal temptations, when insatiable desire led to the disregard of divine edicts held within the soul.
From that sin arose, producing a joint consequence of body and soul. When the body faced temptation, the soul, lacking reason, suffered alongside it. Had the soul restrained the fleshly urges, the seed of sin would have been eradicated before it took root! Alas, the soul, as if accepting the seed from the male-driven impulses of the body, was seduced by its own power, ultimately bearing the weight of passion.
As the soul reflects on its past disgrace, it repudiates its unlawful progeny, forsakes its indulgences, and begins to loathe sin. In turn, the weary flesh, burdened by the guilt it has endured and tired from unrighteousness, upon feeling the thorns of its own passions, hastens to shed its old self, ensuring that unsuitable offspring do not annihilate their careless origin. The relentless assault of passions pulls the flesh toward enticing pleasures, akin to a deceptive charm, binding it to indulgence and coercing it to coexist. Pleasure, like a daughter-in-law to flesh and soul, binds itself through errant desire.
So long as the unbreakable concord of vices existed within one house, it appeared that no division was present. But when Christ sent fire upon the earth, purging the flesh of its offenses, and wielded a sword—an emblem of potent action—penetrating deep into the spirit’s essence (Heb. 4:12), then the renewed flesh and soul forget their former selves and transform into beings they previously were not. They forsake the union with old vice, once cherished, severing ties with prodigal offspring: parents become antagonistic to children as moderation in the body relinquishes excesses, while the soul disengages from sin, leaving no room for outside temptations.
Children also stand opposed to their parents, as outdated vices reject the wisdom of the renewed individual; pleasure, akin to an adolescent, rejects the firm expectations of an honorable household. This may also be interpreted as children distancing themselves from parents, seeking to surpass them; as the Lord states, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own soul, he cannot be My disciple" (Lk. 14:26). Let us understand this: a son who follows Christ is prioritized over his Gentile parents, for honoring God surpasses familial bonds.
In a deeper sense, sin originates from the flesh and operates as if within its womb, as the Apostle remarks, "If I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me" (Rom. 7:20). With the blood of the Lord shed for the world’s salvation, sin is obliterated, allowing for a transition from transgression to grace, for where sin abounds, grace superabounds (Rom. 5:20). Thus, it seems that genuine repentance from sin begets a transformed intention, stirring a longing for divine grace. What was meant for death now turns to salvation (Rom. 7:10).
Sin, cleansed by pure water from the spring, becomes estranged from the flesh that birthed it, and since every person yearns for atonement, the resulting desire emerges to gain proper instruction. The Word of God morphs the longing for wicked actions and the fiery assault of desire into a quest for divine love. The same nature portrays distinct behaviors, as both soul and body become infused with heavenly teachings. The spirit thrives on knowledge, lifting itself up and recognizing the promises of the future, thus turning away from the past actions of the soul. Yet the spiritual person can’t embrace the doctrines of God’s Spirit, for he perceives them as folly… But the spiritual individual discerns all things, and no one can rightly judge him (1 Cor. 2:14, 15).
THEOSIS