THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Behold, a destitute individual is praying, and his heart cries out loud. We can discern his identity: is he not the one the apostle refers to when he writes, "Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be enriched" (2 Corinthians 8:9)? If it is indeed Him, then why does He appear impoverished? How can he be considered rich when he cannot see riches? Who is wealthier than He who created all riches, including those that are not true riches? Through Him, we also possess our treasures: namely, faculties such as memory, character, physical health, and senses. When these gifts are secure, even the destitute can feel affluent. He also bestows upon us the priceless treasures of faith, devotion, righteousness, love, purity, and good conduct; for these virtues can only be found through Him who justifies the sinner. Consider the immense wealth! How can we recognize such wealth in this impoverished figure? "I ate ashes as bread and mixed my drink with weeping." Has such immeasurable wealth led to this state? The disparity between his high calling and this low condition is striking.
Moreover, confirm whether this destitute individual is indeed Him, as the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). Reflect on these words: "I am your servant, and the son of your servant." This servant is pure, a virgin, and a mother; for in this, He took on our poverty by assuming the form of a servant, emptying Himself so that you would not tremble at His riches or, in your need, hesitate to approach Him. Thus, He embraced our poverty, becoming poor that we might become rich. We are beginning to grasp the depth of these truths about Him, yet we must refrain from speaking presumptuously.
Let Him further embrace this poverty, transforming our humble bodies into His own, so that He may be our Head, and we His members, unified as one flesh (Philippians 3:21). He desires to claim us as His own. The penitent are also counted among His members, for they are neither estranged from His Church, and He would not have made the Church His bride without uttering those words: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Thus, let us tune our ears to hear the prayer of both the Head and the body, the Bridegroom and the Bride, Christ and the Church—two distinct entities yet one perfect man in the fullness of His being. Therefore, let us heed Christ, who is poor among us and alongside us and for us, for that title points to the poor.
Now, remember that I pondered who that destitute individual was; let us listen to His prayer and recognize His Person. Do not misinterpret anything that seems unapplicable to Him, for as I mentioned earlier, anything spoken of in this context should be understood as the expression of the body's weakness and recognized as the voice of the members in the Head. The title is ‘The Prayer of the Suffering Man,’ who was tormented and poured out his prayer before the Lord. This same poor man elsewhere states, "From the ends of the earth I will call upon Thee when my heart is in travail." He suffers because he is also Christ, who, as the Prophet indicates, calls 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 identifies as the Bridegroom and also as the Bride; what does this mean unless the Bridegroom signifies the Head, and the Bride signifies the body? They are one voice because they are one flesh. Let us listen and see ourselves in these words; and if we find ourselves outside, let us strive to be included.
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to Thee" (Psalm 100:1). "Hear my prayer, Lord" is synonymous with "Let my cry come to Thee," reflecting the intensity of the petitioner's emotions in this repetition. "Turn not away Thy face from me." When did God ever turn His face from His Son? When did the Father turn away from Christ? Yet, on account of the scarcity of my members, I plead, turn not Thy face away from me: on any day I grieve, incline Thy ear unto me (Psalm 101:2). You are in distress now; I am in distress; tomorrow others will be in distress, and I, too, will share in that burden; for generations to come, those who inherit the earth are in distress, and I am in distress; until the end of time, anyone suffering in my body, I also suffer.
Peter prayed; Paul prayed; the other Apostles prayed; the Faithful of that time prayed, and the Faithful in the ages to follow will pray, as will the Faithful of our time. Soon, for I now request that which Thou art ready to provide. I do not seek earthly gains, as a mortal would; rather, I who have been finally redeemed from my previous captivity long for the kingdom of heaven. "Hear me soon," for it is with such longing that Thou hast said, "Even while Thou speakest, I will say, Here am I" (Isaiah 58:9). What is the purpose of your call? In what distress? In what need? O destitute one, standing before God, who is all-rich, what longing drives your request? From what necessity do you seek relief? From what condition do you knock for the door to be opened for you?
"My days have vanished like smoke" (Psalm 100:3). O days! If days exist; for where the day can be perceived, light is understood. My days, my times, thus fleeting as smoke—can it be from the inflation of pride? Observe how smoke, akin to pride, rises, expands, and then disappears; hence it is justly transient, not enduring. "And my bones are burnt as in a furnace." My bones and my strength do not exist without sorrow; they are not free of the burning pain. Is there any strength in Christ's body greater than that of the holy apostles? Yet, you see that their bones suffer burning. Who is insulted, and I am not consumed? (2 Corinthians 11:29). They are valiant, sincere, capable interpreters and preachers of the Word, living as they speak and speaking as they live; they bear courage, but all who take offense serve as a furnace to them. For there is love there, and more so in the bones. The bones reside within every flesh, supporting all flesh. But should anyone be offended and jeopardize their soul, their bone burns in proportion to their irritation.
Reflect on Adam, from whom the human race was derived. From him misery spread; it is from him that this inherited poverty arises. Let him who once despaired in his body, now placed within the body of Christ, confess with hope, "My heart is afflicted and withered like grass" (Psalm 101:4). Deservedly so, for “all flesh is grass” (Isaiah 40:6). But how did this come to pass? "Because I forgot to eat my bread." For God commanded regarding bread. What then is the soul's bread? The serpent intervened, and the woman yielded; he touched the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6), forgetting the commandment, his heart was struck as it deserved and withered like grass because he neglected to consume his bread. In forgetting his bread, he drinks poison; his heart is smitten and withered like grass.
Now, partake of that bread which you have neglected. But behold, that very Bread has arrived, in whose body you might remember the voice of your forgetfulness and cry out in your poverty for riches. Now eat, for you are in His body, declaring, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41). You have forgotten your bread; however, after His crucifixion, all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. After forgetting, let memory be restored; let us receive the heavenly bread, that we may live—not the manna, for they who partook perished (John 6:49), but rather the bread of which it is declared, "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). For many groan, and I too lament; I grieve for this, as they groan for a sinful deed. A man seeks a lost coin, he laments; he has lost faith, yet does not weep. I compare money to faith and find greater reason to mourn for him who does not lament as he ought or does not mourn at all. He engages in wrongdoing and feels joy. What has he gained, and what has he lost? He has gained wealth but lost righteousness. For this reason, he who knows how to lament does so; he who is near the Head, who clings rightly to the body of Christ—this is where his lament arises. But the fleshly do not groan for this cause; they force themselves to mourn, as it is not for this reason that they grieve. We cannot scorn them, even if they do not groan at all or lament for the wrong reasons. We desire to amend their ways; we wish to correct them; but when we notice we cannot, we too lament; and in our lamenting, we remain connected to them.
"I have become like a pelican in the wilderness and like an owl among the broken walls" (Psalm 100:6). Here we recognize three birds in three locations: the pelican, the owl, and the sparrow, corresponding respectively with the wilderness, the ruins, and the house's roof. First, let us clarify the significance of the pelican: it is born in a locale that makes it unfamiliar to us, particularly nesting in hidden places, especially along the banks of the Nile in Egypt. Whichever bird it may be, let us consider what the Psalm conveys. It declares that it lives in solitude. Why then inquire about its shape, limbs, voice, or habits? As far as the Psalm reveals, it speaks of a bird that dwells alone. The owl, conversely, favors the night. Ruins, or parietines as we label them, are walls standing bare, and without a roof, they serve as the owl's habitat. The sparrow is well known, especially for its presence on rooftops.
Thus, I find among the body of Christ a preacher of the Word, compassionate towards the weak, seeking victories for Christ, ever mindful of his future Lord (Matthew 25:26). Let's analyze these three roles concerning His stewardship. Did such a figure appear among non-believers? He is as a pelican in the wilderness. If he approaches Christians and retreats, he becomes an owl in the broken walls; for even amid the darkness, he does not abandon those who dwell in the night; he seeks to find them as well. If he neglected the Christians who reside in the house as if they had not believed or abandoned their faith, yet still walk warmly within their belief, he becomes like a sparrow calling out to them—not to the wilderness, for they are believers; not to the fallen walls, for they have not crumbled; but under the roof, for they exist under flesh. The sparrow, thus, cries out over flesh, unyielding to God's commandments, refusing to succumb to the flesh. What you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27).
Indeed, we see three birds and three locations; one individual can embody the three birds, and any three individuals can individually represent these birds. The wilderness, the broken walls, and the house's roof delineate three categories of people.
Let us not overlook what is mentioned about the pelican; we must thoughtfully consider it without making rash assertions and without neglecting what remains to be read and expressed by those who have discussed it. It has been said that these birds will strike their young with their beaks, mourning for three days when they inadvertently kill them in the nest, by which they restore life. This observation may be true or false; yet, if true, observe how it parallels Him who granted us life through His blood. It aligns with Him, for the flesh of the mother, by her blood, gives birth to her offspring; this notion resonates deeply. For He identified Himself as a hen nourishing her chicks (Matthew 23:37). If this indeed holds true, this bird bears a striking likeness to the flesh of Christ, by whose blood we are summoned to life. But how does it fit with Christ that the bird slays its own young? Does this not conform to His declaration: “I kill and I make alive; I wound and heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39)? Would Saul, the persecutor, have perished (Acts 9:4) had he not been stricken from above, or would the preacher have been revitalized without receiving life through His blood?