THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Observe a destitute man who prays openly, making his pleas known. This allows us to identify Him, questioning if He is indeed the one referred to by the apostle, "Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be enriched." 2 Corinthians 8:9 If He is that person, what accounts for His destitution? In what way can He, who is invisible, be considered wealthy? Who is wealthier than He who brought riches into existence, including those that hold no true value? Through Him, we receive the true riches of existence: our capacities, memories, virtues, health, senses, and the composition of our being; when these aspects are secure, even the impoverished find abundance. In Him are the genuine treasures: faith, devotion, righteousness, love, purity, and good conduct, for no one possesses them apart from Him who redeems the ungodly. Behold, how abundant are these riches! How can such wealth be associated with this impoverished figure? He states, "I ate ashes as bread, and mixed my drink with weeping." Has such great value dwindled to this? The stark contrast between this high state and lowly position is evident. Yet examine whether this impoverished figure is indeed He, for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14 Consider also the declaration, "I am Your servant, and the son of Your servant." Note that this servant is pure, chaste, and a mother, as He took upon Himself our neediness by adopting the form of a servant and emptying Himself; this way, there exists no reason to fear His wealth, nor to hesitate in approaching Him in our own state of need. In assuming the form of a servant, He embraced our poverty, thus making Himself destitute in order for us to be enriched. We are gradually coming to understand these matters concerning Him; however, we should refrain from hasty conclusions.
Let Him then add poverty upon poverty: allow Him to transform our lowly bodies into His own likeness: He is our Head, we are His members, that the two may become one flesh. Philippians 3:21 For He desires us to remain as His members. The repentant also belong to His body. They are not disconnected from His Church, and without these repentant souls, the Church would not be called His bride when He instructed, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2 Let us therefore give heed to the prayers of the head and the body, the bridegroom and the bride, Christ and the Church, who together form one unified being; yet the Word and flesh do not equate at every moment, for the Father and the Word are united in essence; similarly, Christ and the Church embody one Person, one perfect Being who encompasses His fullness. Thus, let us listen to Christ, who is poor in our midst and alongside us, and for our benefit. The very title alludes to this destitution. Ultimately, I discerned who this impoverished figure is: let us attend to His prayer and recognize His identity; and when you hear anything that doesn’t apply to His Head, do not err; it is with this understanding that I emphasize the necessity of comprehending this description as a sound emanating from bodily weakness, and recognizing the voice of the members in the Head. The title is "The Prayer of the Afflicted," which he articulated when he was tormented, pouring forth his supplications to the Lord. It is this poor man who elsewhere declares, "From the ends of the earth I will call upon Thee when my heart is in anguish." He suffers because he is also Christ, who, through the voice of the Prophet, identifies Himself as 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 referred to Himself as the Bridegroom and the Bride; for what is this but the Head signifying the former and the body the latter? Together, they become one voice, as they are one flesh. Let us recognize ourselves in these words; if we find ourselves outside, let us strive to be included.
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto Thee." Psalm 100:1 "Hear my prayer, Lord" conveys the same urgency as “Let my cry come unto Thee,” revealing the petitioner’s earnest emotion through repetition. "Turn not away Thy face from me." When did God avert His gaze from His Son? When did the Father withdraw from Christ? But for the sake of the meagerness of my state, do not turn Thy face away from me: in every day I grieve, lend me Thine ear. Psalm 101:2 ...You are in distress now, I am in distress; many will be in distress tomorrow, I too am in distress; after this generation, further descendants will come, and I continue to suffer; to the end of the earth, whoever faces trouble within my body, I remain troubled... Peter prayed, Paul prayed, the other Apostles prayed; the Faithful prayed in their times, they will pray in the times yet to come, the Faithful in the age of martyrs, the Faithful in our present age, and the Faithful will continue to pray for those in future generations. Soon and swiftly: for I am now asking for that which Thou art prepared to grant. I seek not for material desires but, having been redeemed from my past captivity, I yearn for the kingdom of heaven; answer me quickly: for You have stated, "Even while Thou speakest, I will say, Here am I." Isaiah 58:9 What draws you, in what anguish? In what desire do you implore? O poor soul, standing before the all-sufficient God, what longing prompts your requests? What need drives your petitions for relief?
"For my days have vanished like smoke." Psalm 100:3 O days! If we consider days, light is understood wherever day is acknowledged. My days, my seasons; thus, like smoke, is it not a result of inflated pride? Behold how smoke, akin to pride, ascends, expands, and ultimately disappears; consequently, it justly fades away, not enduring. "And my bones are burned as in a furnace." My bones and my strength are not absent of sorrow, not absent of affliction. Is there any strength greater than that of the holy Apostles, represented as Christ's bones? Yet even they are burned. Who is offended, and yet I am not burned? 2 Corinthians 11:29 They are courageous, faithful, devoted proclaimers and interpreters of the Word, living authentically, yet speaking with conviction; they endure challenges with bravery, while those who take offense become a furnace for them. For such love exists there, even more deeply within their bones. The bones reside within all flesh, sustaining it. Should any take offense, and endanger their soul; the burning of the bone escalates as their desire increases...
Consider Adam, the root from which humanity emerged. From him came forth all misery. From him stems this inherited poverty. Let him who once languished in despair within his flesh now, within the body of Christ, express hope, "My heart is afflicted and withered like grass." Psalm 101:4 Deservedly so, for all flesh is grass. Isaiah 40:6 But how come this upon you? It is because I neglected to partake of my bread. God commanded concerning the bread. For what is the bread of the soul? The serpent who coerced, and the woman who sinned, he engaged with the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:6 In doing so, he disregarded the command, which resulted in his heart being struck, withered like grass, due to forgetting to consume his bread. By neglecting to eat his bread, he imbibed poison: his heart was wounded and withered like grass... Now consume that bread which you have forgotten. That providential Bread has come, through whose body you may recall the sound of your neglect and cry out in your poverty for riches. Now eat, for you are within His body, proclaiming, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven." John 6:41 You have forgotten to eat your bread; however, after His crucifixion, all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. After forgetting, let remembrance come; let us partake of the bread from heaven, that we may have life; not merely manna, since they ate and perished; John 6:49 but that Bread for which it is said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Matthew 5:6
"From the voice of my groaning my bones have clung to my flesh." Psalm 101:5 Many groan, and I too groan; concerning this, I groan upon hearing groans about wrongful deeds. When that individual loses a coin, he groans; yet if he loses faith, he remains silent: I measure monetary loss against the loss of faith and find more cause for lament in his silence over that which truly matters. He indulges in wrongdoing and finds joy. What gain is there, and what loss? He has amassed wealth while sacrificing righteousness. Hence, the one who knows how to groan truly groans; he who remains close to the Head and clings righteously to the body of Christ draws forth this groaning. Yet the materialistic do not groan for this reason, and they produce false groans because their concerns are not rooted in righteousness; and we cannot disdain them, even if they are not groaning at all, or groan for misguided reasons. For we aspire to correct them, and when we cannot, we groan; and even in our groaning, we are not separate from them...
"I have become like a pelican in the wilderness, and like an owl among the desolate ruins." Psalm 100:6 Here are three birds and three locations: the pelican, the owl, and the sparrow; and these three settings separately: the wilderness, the ruined walls, and the roof of the house. The pelican in the wilderness, the owl among the desolate walls, and the sparrow on the roof of the house. First, we ought to interpret the significance of the pelican: it is born in a habitat that makes it virtually unknown to us. It arises in secluded environments, particularly along the banks of the Nile in Egypt. Whatever bird it is, let us comprehend what the Psalm conveys about it: it says it inhabits the wilderness. Why inquire about its form, its attributes, its voice, or its behavior? As far as the Psalm narrates, it is a solitary bird. The owl is a creature that loves the night. The ruins, or what we refer to as parietines, are walls devoid of a roof, without inhabitants; this is the domain of the owl. You are also aware of roofs and sparrows. I find among the body of Christ a preacher of the Word, compassionate to the feeble, pursuing the conquests of Christ, mindful of his ultimate Lord. Matthew 25:26 Let us examine these three elements from the perspective of His stewardship. Did such a man engage with those outside the faith? He is a pelican in the wilderness. Was he among Christians yet receded? He becomes an owl in the ruins, for he does not abandon even the darkness that those who dwell in night experience; he seeks to enlighten them also. If he fails to reach believers who appear to have forsaken their faith, yet still walk warmly in belief, the sparrow cries out to them—not amidst the wilderness, because they are Christians; nor in the ruins, for they have not collapsed; but because they reside beneath the roof; rather underneath the roof, for they reside within flesh. The sparrow above the flesh calls out and does not recoil from God's commandments nor yield to a carnal submission to the covering. "What you hear in the ear, preach on the rooftops." Matthew 10:27 There are three birds and three locations; one individual may represent three birds, and three individuals may separately embody three birds; yet these three locations signify three classes of people; but the wilderness, the ruined walls, and the roof of the house depict merely three types of individuals.