THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Behold a destitute man who prays, and his prayers are not uttered in silence. Thus, we can hear him and discern his identity: is he not the one referred to by the apostle, who stated, "Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be enriched" (2 Corinthians 8:9)? If this is indeed He, why does He embody poverty? In what way is it possible for one who is otherwise invisible to be rich? Who surpasses Him, the Creator of all wealth, even that which is illusory? Through Him, we receive true riches: ability, memory, character, bodily health, our senses, and the integrity of our being; when these are intact, even the impoverished become blessed. Additionally, He provides extraordinary riches: faith, devotion, justice, love, purity, and virtuous conduct; for none possess these virtues apart from Him who justifies the wicked. Behold, what splendid treasures! How do we recognize such wealth in one so poor? "I ate ashes as bread, and mixed my drink with weeping." Has such vast prosperity led to this diminishing state? The first fortune is exalted, while this one is abased. Test whether this destitute man is indeed He; remember that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Contemplate these words too: "I am your servant, and the son of your servant." Observe this servant—chaste, a virgin, and a mother—there He embraced our poverty, donning the form of a servant while emptying Himself; so you need not fear His wealth and feel unworthy to approach Him in your own impoverished condition. In that moment, He assumed the guise of a servant; thus, He embraced our destitution, making Himself poor in order that we might be enriched. We are gradually coming to comprehend these truths about Him, though we are still not boldly asserting.
Let Him then add poverty to misery; let Him transfigure our lowly body to be like His glorious body (Philippians 3:21). For He has chosen us as His members. The repentant are also counted among His body. They are not excluded from His Church, for He would not have taken as His bride a Church devoid of these words: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Therefore, let us heed the petitions of the head and the body, the Bridegroom and the Bride, Christ and the Church—both one Person. The Word and the flesh are not identical; however, the Father and the Word are unified. Christ and the Church are one—one complete man manifesting His fullness. Let us listen to Christ, who is poor within us, with us, and for us, for the very title identifies Him with the poor.
Finally, recall my insight on the identity of that poor man: let us listen to His prayers and acknowledge Him; do not let your understanding be clouded when you hear something that cannot be attributed to His Head. I preface my remarks with the reminder that whatever you hear in this description represents the expression of weakness in the body and reveals the voice of the body in relation to the Head. The title declared is, "The Prayer of the Suffering Man," who, amid anguish, poured out his prayer before the Lord. This is the same destitute individual who asserts, "From the ends of the earth I will call upon Thee when my heart is in travail." He suffers, for He is also Christ, who, through the Prophet, declares Himself both Bridegroom and Bride: "He hath put a diadem upon me as the bridegroom, and as the bride hath adorned me with jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). He addresses Himself as the Bridegroom and the Bride; does this not signify that the Bridegroom represents the Head and the Bride the body? Together, they form one voice, for they are one flesh. Let us reflect upon these words and recognize ourselves within them. If we find ourselves distant, let us strive earnestly to draw near.
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto Thee" (Psalm 100:1). To plead, "Hear my prayer, Lord," is akin to asking, "Let my cry come unto Thee," as the urgency of the petitioner becomes evident in the repetition. "Turn not away Thy face from me." When did God turn His face away from His Son? When did the Father forsake Christ? If only for my meager state of being, do not turn away from me; for any day that I mourn, incline Your ear to me (Psalm 101:2). You endure hardship today; I endure hardship. Tomorrow’s troubles loom over me; I feel the weight of burdens belonging to future generations. Even into the end of the age, anyone who suffers within my body shares in my affliction. Peter prayed, Paul prayed, the other apostles prayed; the faithful of days gone by prayed, the faithful yet to come will pray, and the faithful of our own time still pray. Soon, I ask for that which You are ready to provide. I seek not earthly things as an earthly man would; instead, freed at last from my prior captivity, I long for the kingdom of heaven. Hear me promptly, for it is with such yearning that You have promised, "Even while Thou speakest, I will say, Here am I" (Isaiah 58:9). For what do you call forth? In what grief? In what necessity? Oh, wretched soul, before the gates of the Almighty who is abundant: what desire compels you to ask? What need drives you to seek relief?
"For my days have vanished like smoke" (Psalm 100:3). Oh days! And if they are days; for where the day is known, there light is understood. My days, my moments; they can become like smoke, not simply arising from pride's inflation. Observe how smoke, akin to pride, rises, billows, and then evaporates; this fate justly awaits, as it is not enduring. "My bones are burnt as in a furnace." My bones and strength are not without sorrow or without pain. The bones of Christ’s body—what greatness compares to that of the holy apostles? Yet, you see that even their bones endure burning. Who is offended while I remain unscathed? "Who is weak, and I am not weak?" (2 Corinthians 11:29). They stand brave and unyielding, competent interpreters and proclaimers of the Word, living as they speak and speaking what they have heard; they are evidently courageous, yet all who take offense are as an inferno to them. In them resides love, more so even within their very bones. The bones, hidden within all flesh, sustain the entirety of the flesh. However, if anyone suffers from offense and jeopardizes their soul, their burning reflects their desires.
Look to Adam, the progenitor of the human race. From him, misery has spread throughout. From him, this inherited poverty arose. Let him who previously despaired in his body now, having been incorporated into the body of Christ, declare with hope: "My heart is afflicted and withered like grass" (Psalm 101:4). Rightly so, for all flesh is grass (Isaiah 40:6). How did this occur? It transpired because I neglected to consume my bread. God established His command concerning bread. What constitutes the bread of the soul? The serpent tempted, and the woman transgressed; having touched the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6), he disregarded the commandment, causing his heart to be afflicted and wither like grass, due to his neglect of bread. Forgetting to partake of his bread, he instead partakes of poison: and so his heart becomes afflicted and withered like grass.
Now eat the bread you have forgotten. That very Bread has arrived, in whose body you may recollect the voice of your forgetfulness and cry out in your destitution for wealth. Eat, for you dwell in His body, for He has declared, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41). You have forgotten to eat this bread; yet, after His crucifixion, all the ends of the earth will return to the Lord. After neglecting, may remembrance awaken, let us partaking from heaven's sustenance, that we may thrive—no longer the manna they ate and perished (John 6:49), but the bread of which it is stated, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6).
"From the voice of my groaning my bones have cleaved to my flesh" (Psalm 101:5). Many groan, and I too groan. Even that is worthy of lament, for they mourn over a wrongful act. Should a man lose a coin, he laments; but should he lose his faith, he remains silent. I weigh both money and faith and find that one has more reason to lament for the one who does not grieve as he ought, or who does not grieve at all. He engages in deceit and revels in it. What is gained? What is lost? He procures wealth, yet forfeits righteousness. For this reason, he who desires to groan indeed groans, as does one who is close to the Head and clings righteously to the body of Christ—this is the source of his lamentation. Yet the worldly do not groan for this reason and produce groaning because it is not for just cause; we ought not to scorn them, even if they do not groan at all or groan for errant reasons. We desire to correct them, and when we cannot, we groan; and when we groan, we do not distance ourselves from them.
"I have become like a pelican in the wilderness and like an owl among the ruins" (Psalm 100:6). Here are three birds and three environments: the pelican, the owl, and the sparrow; and these three places: the wilderness, the broken walls, and the rooftop. The pelican inhabits the wilderness, the owl in the devastated structures, and the sparrow on the roof. First, let us reflect on what the pelican signifies, for it is born in a realm that makes it unfamiliar to us—primarily along the banks of the Nile in Egypt. As for what kind of bird it is, let us look to what the Psalm declares: it dwells in the wilderness. Why question its features, its limbs, its voice, or its habits? As indicated by the Psalm, it is a solitary bird. The owl, too, is a creature of the night. The parietines—ruined walls—are those absent a roof and inhabitants; that is the dwelling of the owl. As for rooftops and the sparrow, you are well aware of them. Thus, I contemplate someone from the body of Christ—an evangelist of the Word, compassionate towards the weak, pursuing the victories of Christ, mindful of his future Lord (Matthew 25:26). Let us analyze these three representations in regard to His stewards. Did this man come to the unconverted? He is a pelican in the wilderness. Did he visit Christians only to withdraw? Then he becomes the owl among the broken walls; he does not shy away even from those dwelling in darkness, as he seeks to find them. Has he not reached those believers who occupy the house as though they no longer believed, or as if they have abandoned their faith, yet proceed warmly in their beliefs? The sparrow calls out to them not in the wilderness, for they are Christians; nor amidst the ruins, for they have not collapsed; but instead call them from the rooftop; indeed they are under the roof, for they dwell under the flesh. The sparrow cries out from above the flesh, not shrinking from God’s commandments, nor becoming carnal by submitting to the roof. What you hear in the ear, proclaim from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27). Therein lies three birds and three environments; a single individual may represent all three, yet comparisons may keep each represented separately; and the three types of places symbolize distinct categories of individuals—all the while the wilderness, the broken walls, and the roof of the house illustrate three classes of people.