THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Behold a man in destitution who prays openly—not in silence. We can hear him and discern his identity: is this not the One referred to by the Apostle when he says, "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 indeed that individual, why does He appear impoverished? In what manner is He wealthy when He cannot be seen? Who possesses greater wealth than the One through whom all riches were conceived, including those which are not true riches? Through Him, we receive countless blessings: abilities, memories, virtues, health, and bodily integrity; when these are intact, even those who are destitute become rich. Through Him as well come the profound treasures of faith, piety, justice, love, and purity; for no one can possess these apart from Him who justifies the unrighteous. Behold, what great wealth! How do we recognize those words from such a wealthy individual? “I ate ashes as bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.” Has magnificence fallen to such depths? The first wealth is lofty, the latter humble... And yet, let us examine whether this humble persona is He; for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Consider His words: "I am Your servant, and the son of Your servant." Notice this servant, chaste and pure, the mother: for He embraced our poverty, assuming the likeness of a servant, emptying Himself; lest you fear His riches and hesitate to approach Him in your own lowly state. This is where He took on the form of a servant, where He embraced our lack; there He became poor in order for us to become rich. We are beginning to grasp these truths about Him; yet we are not yet ready to speak boldly...
Let Him then add poverty to poverty, transforming our humble flesh as He becomes our Head and we His members, that the two may become one flesh (Philippians 3:21). He has chosen us as His members. The penitent are also included among His body. They are not separate from His Church, and He would not have made the Church His bride without the implication of repentance, as it is written, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Hence, let us listen to what the Head and the Body, the Bridegroom and the Bride, Christ and the Church— one person in essence—offer in prayer; yet the Word and the flesh are not one and the same at all times; the Father and the Word are unified, and Christ and the Church are one person, one complete being in the fullness of His divine reality. Therefore, let us listen to Christ, who is poor in us, with us, and for us. The very title indicates the impoverished state. Finally, consider that I have conjectured who this humble man is: let us heed His prayer and recognize His identity; and be mindful that if you hear anything that cannot be applicable to His Head, it reflects the voice of the body in its frailty. The title presented is “The Prayer of the Afflicted One,” when he was tormented and fervently cried out to the Lord. This is that same poor individual who elsewhere states, "From the ends of the earth will I call upon Thee when my heart is in distress." He suffers because he is also Christ, who, as the Prophet says, refers to Himself both as Bridegroom and Bride: "He hath put a diadem upon me as the bridegroom, and as a bride hath adorned me with jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). He called Himself both the Bridegroom and the Bride; for what is this except to indicate that the Bridegroom symbolizes the Head, and the Bride represents the body? They are one voice, as they are one flesh. Let us listen and see ourselves depicted in these words; and if we find that we exist outside of this, let us strive to enter in.
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto Thee" (Psalm 100:1). "Hear my prayer, Lord" corresponds to: "Let my cry come unto Thee;" the plea of the supplicant is emphasized by repetition. Do not hide Your face from me. When has God concealed His face from His Son? When did the Father turn His back on Christ? But for the sake of my weak members, do not avert Your gaze from me: in any day of my sorrow, incline Your ear unto me (Psalm 101:2). You are in distress now, I am in distress; tomorrow another will be in distress, I am in distress; after this generation, descendants to follow will face anguish, I am in distress; to the end of the world, whoever suffers in my body, I suffer too. Peter prayed, Paul prayed, the other Apostles prayed; the Believers of those times prayed, the Faithful in future days will pray, and the righteous will pray today. Soon it will come: for I now ask for that which You are ready to bestow. I do not seek earthly things as one of this world; having been redeemed from my former bondage, I yearn for the heavenly kingdom. Hear me quickly: for it is only with this longing that You have stated, "Even while you speak, I will say, Here am I" (Isaiah 58:9). For what reason do you call? In what suffering? In what need? O impoverished one, before the gates of God, who is All-Wise, in what longing do you request? From what necessity do you seek relief? From what state do you knock for entrance?
"For my days have vanished like smoke" (Psalm 100:3). O days! If they are named days, for where day is recognized, light is also understood. My days, my seasons; thus, as smoke: does it not rise due to prideful accolades? Behold how smoke, akin to pride, ascends, expands, and disappears: hence is it rightly deemed fleeting, lacking permanence. "And my bones are burned as in a furnace." My bones and my strength are not without grief, not devoid of scorching. The strength of Christ's body, the vitality of His frame, who could be greater than that of the holy apostles? Yet you see that their bones endure suffering. Who is offended, yet I do not feel the burn? (2 Corinthians 11:29). They are valiant, faithful, competent interpreters and proclaimers of the Word, living authentically in their speech, and speaking what they hear; they appear bold, yet all who take offense form a furnace around them. For there exists deep love there, especially within the bones. The bones dwell within all flesh and support it. But if anyone suffers offense and jeopardizes his soul, the bone suffers in the measure of its affliction...
Look at Adam, from whom humanity emerged. From whom but him did misery proliferate? From whom but him comes this inherited lack? Let him who once despaired in the flesh, now placed within the body of Christ, declare 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 befall you? Because I neglected to partake of my bread. For God issued His command regarding bread. But what constitutes the bread of the soul? The serpent compelled, and the woman sinned; he partook of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6), neglected the commandment; his heart was stricken as it deserved, and it withered like grass, for he forgot to consume his bread. Forgetting to eat his bread, he drinks poison: his heart is marred and withered like grass... Now eat that bread which you have overlooked. But that same Bread comes now, in whom you may recall the voice of your neglect and cry out in your poverty for riches. Now consume, for you are in His body, as He proclaims, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41). You have forgotten to eat your bread; yet following His crucifixion, all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. After forgetting, let remembrance arise, let us partake of the bread from heaven, that we may have life; not the manna, for they consumed and died, (John 6:49) but the bread of which it is spoken, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matthew 5:6).
"From the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my flesh" (Psalm 101:5). Many groan, and I too groan; I also groan regarding this, for they groan about wrongful acts. That man has mislaid a coin—he groans: he has lost faith—yet he does not groan. I weigh money against faith, and I discover greater cause for lamentation for him who does not mourn as he ought, or who mourns not at all. He engages in deceit and rejoices. With what profit or what detriment? He has acquired wealth and forfeited righteousness. For this very reason, he who knows how to groan, groans; he who draws near to the Head, who clings righteously to the body of Christ, groans from this place. But those who are of the flesh do not groan for this reason; they fabricate their own groaning, because they do not mourn for this cause; and we must not scorn them, even if they do not express lamentation at all, or do so for a misguided reason. For we desire to help them, to guide them, and should we fail in that, we groan; and in our groaning, we are not estranged from them...
“I have become like a pelican in the wilderness and like an owl among the ruins” (Psalm 100:6). Here we find three birds and three distinct places: the pelican, the owl, and the sparrow; and these three birds are attuned to their separate environments: the wilderness, the broken walls, and the roof of the house. The pelican roams the wilderness, the owl inhabits the ruined walls, and the sparrow perches on the roof of the dwelling. Firstly, we need to understand what the pelican signifies: it is born in a setting that renders it unknown to us. It emerges in secluded areas, particularly along the banks of the Nile in Egypt. Regardless of the bird’s identity, let us take note of what the Psalm expresses regarding it. It dwells in the wilderness. Why inquire about its form, its limbs, its voice, its customary behavior? As far as the Psalm tells you, it is a bird that lives in solitude. The owl is a creature of the night. The ruins, or parietines as we refer to them, are remnants of walls that stand roofless and uninhabited—these are the preferred shelter for the owl. And regarding the roofs and the sparrows, you are aware of them. So I see someone from within the body of Christ, a preacher of the Word, compassionate towards the weak, seeking the victories of Christ, mindful of his impending Lord (Matthew 25:26). Let us examine these three instances through the lens of His stewardship. Did such a man approach non-believers? He is like a pelican in the wilderness. Has he approached believers, only to retreat? He becomes an owl in the broken walls; for he does not abandon even those who dwell in darkness—he wishes to find them as well. Has he not reached those believers residing in the house—those who seem to have not believed, or those who have forsaken their faith yet thrum warmly within it? The sparrow calls upon them not in the wilderness, for they are Christians; nor in the broken walls, for they have not collapsed; but rather because they are under the roof; and in essence, under the roof because they are wrapped in flesh. The sparrow above the flesh cries aloud and does not shy away from God’s commandments, nor does he become carnal to succumb to the roof. "What you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the rooftops" (Matthew 10:27). There they stand: three birds and three places; a single individual may represent all three birds, just as three distinct individuals may each represent them; and three varied locations are emblematic of three classes of persons; yet the wilderness, broken walls, and the roof of the house symbolize different sorts of people.