Behold, a humble man prays openly, not in silence. We may witness his identity: is he not the one of whom the apostle wrote, "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 him, why does he appear destitute? In what manner can one who is unseen be wealthy? Who surpasses Him who created all riches, even those that are not genuine wealth? Through Him, we receive blessings such as ability, memory, integrity, health, senses, and the proper function of our bodies; indeed, when these are secure, even the impoverished find themselves wealthy. He also bestows upon us profound treasures: faith, godliness, righteousness, love, purity, and virtuous living, for none possesses these gifts except through Him who justifies the sinner. ...Look at the opulence of such a man! How can we discern these words from one so rich? "I ate ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with weeping." Has such great wealth dwindled to this? The first fortune is immensely valuable, while this state is utterly lowly. Yet, let us test if this impoverished man is He, since the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14 Also consider His expression: "I am your servant and the son of your handmaid." Note well this servant, who is chaste, a virgin, and a mother; for in Him, He accepted our poverty by adopting the form of a servant, choosing to empty Himself; this way you need not fear His riches nor feel undeserving to approach Him in your destitution. Thus, He took on the form of a servant, and in doing so, He embraced our shortcomings; He became poor so that we might find wealth. We are now drawing closer to an understanding of Him, yet we cannot hastily declare...
Let Him then add poverty to poverty; let Him transform our lowly bodies into His own image, let Him be our Head while we are His members, unified into one flesh. Philippians 3:21 For He has desired to regard us as His members. The repentant also belong to His body. They are neither separate nor isolated from His Church, which He would not have taken as His bride had it not included those who heed the cry, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2 Therefore, let us listen to the words uttered by the Head and the body, the Bridegroom and the bride, Christ and the Church, who together form one Person; for while the Word and the flesh are distinct, the Father and the Word are one, and Christ and the Church are one entity, a consummate man manifesting His fullness... Let us, therefore, heed Christ, who is poor in us, with us, and for us. The title itself indicates the poor. Ultimately, I have discerned who that destitute man is: let us attend to His prayer, recognize His identity, and do not mistake words that cannot apply to the Head; this is why I stress that whatever you hear from this description should be understood as stemming from the frailty of the body, capturing the voice of the members in the Head. The title is "The Prayer of the Afflicted Man," voiced in distress, pouring His supplications before the Lord. This same poor man declares elsewhere, "From the ends of the earth will I cry unto Thee when my heart is overwhelmed." He suffers because He is also Christ; who in the prophetic words identifies Himself as both Bridegroom and Bride: "He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10 He refers to Himself as the Bridegroom and the Bride; what does this signify except that the Bridegroom represents the Head, and the Bride signifies the body? Thus, they share a unified voice, for they are one flesh. Let us listen and see ourselves reflected in these statements; if we find ourselves outside, 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," is akin to saying, "Let my cry come unto Thee," revealing the deep sentiment of the supplicant through this repetition. "Turn not away Thy face from me." When did God turn away His face from His Son? When did the Father forsake Christ? But for the lack of my members, turn not away from me: in whatever day I mourn, incline Thine ear to me. Psalm 101:2 ...You are afflicted now, I am afflicted; tomorrow, someone else will suffer; I am afflicted, even generations yet to come will suffer. To the end of time, whoever experiences tribulation in my body, I share the plight of their suffering... Peter prayed, Paul prayed, the other Apostles prayed; the faithful prayed in those days, and the faithful will continue to pray throughout the ages. I now seek that which You are eager to grant. I do not ask for earthly things like an earthly man; I long instead for the kingdom of heaven, freed at last from my former bondage. Hear me swiftly, for it is only in such longing that Thou hast said: "Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 58:9 What reason do you have to call out? What sorrow weighs on you? What need drives your request? O poor one, before the gates of the all-rich, with what hopes do you ask? From what depths do you seek relief?
For "my days have vanished like smoke." Psalm 100:3 O days! For where days are recognized, light is understood. My days, my seasons are, therefore, vanishing like smoke—doesn't this stem from pride? ... Observe how smoke, akin to pride, rises, swells, and ultimately dissipates; thus, it rightly fades away, not sustaining. "And my bones are burned as a furnace." The strength of my bones and my spirit are laden with sorrow, enduring searing pain. The foundations of Christ's body, the strength of His body, is there anyone greater than that of the holy apostles? Even so, the bones are burned. Who finds offense, and I remain unscathed? 2 Corinthians 11:29 They are brave, faithful interpreters and heralds of the Word, living as they speak, speaking as they hear; they are undoubtedly courageous, yet all who take offense become a furnace to them. Therein lies the love, and even more so within them. The bones are amid the flesh and uphold all flesh. However, should someone suffer offense and compromise their soul, the bone is burned proportionate to their affection...
Look at Adam, from whom humanity emerged. For from him, did not misery ensue? What of him did this hereditary poverty arise? Let him who once dwelled in despair now that he is incorporated into Christ's body speak with hope, "My heart is pained and withered like grass." Psalm 101:4 Rightfully, for all flesh is grass. Isaiah 40:6 But how did this befall you? Because I neglected to partake of my sustenance. For God commanded us regarding our bread. What is the soul's bread? The serpent enticed, and the woman fell, touching the forbidden fruit, Genesis 3:6 forgetting the divine command, resulting in a heart stricken as it rightfully should be, withering like grass, because he forgot to eat his bread. Forgetting to partake of his bread, he ingests poison: his heart is wounded and withered like grass... Now partake of that bread which you have neglected. This very Bread has come, in whose body you may recall the echo of your forgetfulness and cry out in your need from poverty toward abundance. Now partake, for you are in His body, hearing Him declare, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven." John 6:41 You have forgotten to eat the bread; yet, after His crucifixion, all corners of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. After forgetting, let memory awaken, let us consume the heavenly sustenance that grants life; not the manna, for they who ate it died; John 6:49 that bread of which it is said, "Blessed are they which do 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; so too since I groan over these wrongs. When a man loses a coin, he laments; yet if he loses his faith, how often does he fail to grieve? I discern value in both coin and faith, and find more cause for lament in the one who does not groan as he should, or not at all. He commits fraud and revels. What is gained, and what is lost? He acquires wealth but forfeits righteousness. This explains why those aware of their need groan; they who are near the Head, who cling righteously to the body of Christ, groan for this reason. Yet the carnal do not groan for this, and they manufacture their own groans, as their anguish stems from a different source; and we cannot disdain them, even if they do not groan at all or groan for the wrong reasons. For our desire is to guide them, our aim is to correct them, and if we cannot, we groan; and in our groaning, we remain connected to them...
"I have become like a pelican of the wilderness and like an owl among the ruins." Psalm 100:6 Here we find three birds residing in three different places: the pelican in the wasteland, the owl in crumbling walls, and the sparrow on the roof of a house. To begin, let us clarify what the pelican signifies since it is born in areas that render it foreign to us. It is found in remote places, particularly along the banks of the Nile in Egypt. Regardless of its qualities, the Psalm describes it as one that resides in solitude. The owl, a creature of the night, dwells in ruins, areas absent of a roof, devoid of inhabitants; this is the habitat of the owl. As for roofs and sparrows, you are familiar with those too. Thus, I uncover someone from the body of Christ, a messenger of the Word, sympathetic to the weak, seeking to advance Christ's presence, mindful of his future Lord. Matthew 25:26 Let us examine these three phenomena through the lens of His stewardship. If such a one ministers to non-believers, he is akin to a pelican in the wilderness. If he engages with believers and retreats, he is like an owl in the broken walls; for he does not abandon even those engulfed in darkness, he desires to redeem them too. If he does not approach the Christians who dwell in complacency as if they no longer believe or as if they have forsaken their faith but continue to walk in what they profess, the sparrow calls out to them not in the wilderness, for they are Christians; nor among the ruins, for they have not crumbled; but because they are within the confines of the flesh. The sparrow cries out over the flesh without shrinking from the divine commandments, nor does it succumb to the flesh in submission. "What you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the rooftops." Matthew 10:27 There are three birds and three locations; one individual may embody all three birds, and likewise, three individuals may represent each bird separately; these three spaces signify three distinct groups of people; yet the wilderness, the crumbling walls, and the roof of the house are ultimately portrayals of three communities.
THEOSIS