Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks through the Prophets, sometimes in His own name and at other times in ours, establishing a profound unity between Himself and humanity, as emphasized by the phrase "two shall be one flesh.” This is why He declares in the Gospel concerning marriage that they are no longer two but one flesh. The one flesh signifies that He assumed human nature due to our mortality, yet He remains distinct as the Creator, whereas we are His creation. Therefore, anything our Lord expresses through the humanity He embraced relates both to His exalted Head in heaven and to the members still journeying on earth. Let us listen to the words of Jesus Christ conveyed through prophecy. The psalms were composed long before the Lord’s birth from Mary, although He did not become Lord until that time; for He has been the Creator of all from eternity, yet in the fullness of time, He was born of His own creation. Let us embrace this divine truth and, to the best of our ability, comprehend His equality with the Father. However, this divine nature, being equal to the Father, became intertwined with our mortal existence—not from His nature but from ours—so that we could partake in His divine essence—not from our own but from His.
"Lord, Thou hast tried me, and hast recognised me" (Psalm 138:1). Let us hear the Lord Jesus Christ say this; let Him also address the Father: "Lord." For His Father is only His Lord because He chose to take on human flesh. He is the Father of God, the Sovereign over man. Do you grasp who His Father is? It's the Son, equal to Him. The apostle declares, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians 2:6-7). This form, in which the Father exists, is the same that the Only Begotten Son, from His own essence, possesses. For our sake, to reshape and enable us to share in His divine nature, He took on our mortal form; the Apostle teaches that "He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and found in human appearance." He, who was in the form of God, equal to the Father, embraced the form of a servant so that He could become less than the Father for our redemption.
"You have recognized my sitting and my rising" (Psalm 138:2). What does it mean to sit? What does it mean to rise? The one who sits humbles himself. Thus, the Lord sat during His Passion and rose in His Resurrection. You, He states, were aware of it—signifying your approval; it was accomplished by your will. If you choose to consider the words of the Head in the context of the Body, a man humbles himself in repentance when he sits and rises when absolved of his sins, ascending towards the hope of eternal life. Do not elevate yourselves until you have first humbled yourselves. Many wish to stand before they kneel; they seek to seem righteous before they acknowledge that they are sinners.
"You understand my thoughts from afar; You have marked out my path and my limits" (Psalm 138:3), "and all my ways You have seen before" (Psalm 138:4). What does it mean to be afar? Even while I am journeying before I reach my true home, You are aware of my thoughts. The youngest son traveled to a distant land. After enduring toil, anguish, and need, he thought of his father and resolved to return, declaring, "I will arise and go to my father." He said, "I will arise," before he sat down. Here we see him affirming: "You know how I sat down and rose up." I sat down in want; I rose up desiring Your sustenance. "You have understood my thoughts from afar." Truly, I have traveled far; yet where can I flee from You, whom I have abandoned? Therefore, the Lord’s words in the Gospel affirm that his father met him on his way home; indeed, for he comprehended his thoughts from afar.
"My way, what was but a wrong path, the route by which he distanced himself from his father...?" What is my journey? That by which I traveled. What is my limit? What I have attained. You have delineated my journey and my boundaries. Despite the distance of these limits, they were never hidden from You. I have come a long way, yet You were present. "And all my ways You saw beforehand." He did not simply say “saw,” but “saw in advance.” Before I traversed them, before I engaged in them, You perceived them beforehand; this allowed me to journey in labor, that if I chose not to toil, I might return to Your paths. There is no deception on my tongue. What did he mean by this? Behold, I confess to You—I have wandered astray, have distanced myself from You, whom I should cherish, and have found that being without You is a burden.
"Behold, Lord, You know all my deeds, both recent and ancient" (Psalm 138:5). You knew my last deeds while I fed the swine; You recognized my ancient actions when I requested my portion. Those early actions brought about my latest sorrows: the original sin at our fall and the current punishment as we entered this tiresome and perilous life. If this is indeed the finality for some, then it's also true for those who wish to return. There remains a last judgement awaiting the wicked, when it will be stated, "Depart into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41). You have made me and laid Your hand upon me. Where did You shape me? In this mortal realm, destined for the labor to which we are all born. There is no human born who was not created by God's hand within their mother's womb; every creature owes its existence to Him. Yet, You fashioned me for this labor and imposed upon me Your hand of retribution, Your hand that humbles the proud, such that He humbles those who are arrogant for healing’s sake, that He might exalt those who are humble.
"Your art has marvelously manifested itself in me; it has become strong; I shall not be able to attain it" (Psalm 138:6). Now hear this, dear brethren, something that might seem obscure yet is vibrant in understanding. Moses, the holy servant of God, received divine communication through a cloud, for, in human terms, God had to interact with him through His visible works. He yearned to behold the truth of God's appearance and implored God, "If I have found favor in Your sight, show me Yourself" (Exodus 33:13). When he earnestly sought this and humbly petitioned God, wishing to see His Glory, God responded, "My Face you cannot see; for no man may see My Face and live" (Exodus 33:20). But I will place you in the cleft of the rock and let My glory pass by. You will see My back, but My face shall not be seen. From these words arises a subtle mystery, a profound truth wrapped in figurative language: when God says, "You will see My back," is it as though He has a countenance and a rear? Such thoughts concerning His Majesty are false! For if someone conceives of God in this way, what use is it to him that temples are closed? He builds idols in his mind. These words contain profound mysteries.
Those who were once antagonistic towards the Lord when they beheld Him now seek counsel on how to attain salvation, and it is said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, and your sins shall be forgiven” (Acts 2:38). Behold, they glimpsed His back, though they were unable to face Him. For God's hand was not forever covering their eyes; it was only while He was moving past. After He had departed, the veil was lifted from their eyes. When this occurred, they prematurely turned to the disciples, asking, "What shall we do?" First, they exhibited cruelty, then tenderness; first they conveyed outrage, but later fear; they transitioned from hardness to gentleness; initially blind, then enlightened.
"Behold, a fugitive in a distant land cannot evade the gaze of the one from whom he is fleeing." Where can he go, whose limits are exhausted? Is that what he states? "Where can I go from Thy Spirit?" (Psalm 138:7). Who can flee from the Spirit that fills the world? "And where shall I flee from Your presence?" He seeks a refuge from God's wrath. Where can the fugitive find safety? Those who provide refuge for fugitives inquire who is pursuing them; when they learn that the pursuer is weaker than themselves, they shelter him without worry, thinking, "He has no master to chase him." However, when they discover a mighty lord is after him, they either refrain from offering refuge or do so with trepidation, as even a powerful figurer may be deceived. Where is there no God? Who can mislead God? Who is unseen by God? From whom does He not demand accountability for their flight? Where can that fugitive escape the gaze of God? He twists and turns, desperately searching for an escape.
"If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I descend into hell, You are present" (Psalm 138:8). Finally, wretched fugitive, you have learned that there is no way to separate yourself from Him from whom you sought to escape. Behold, He is everywhere; and you, where will you go? He has found counsel inspired by Him, who remembers it. If I, having sinned, descend into the abyss of wickedness and refuse to seek Your forgiveness, saying, "Who sees me?"—for who confesses in Hades?—"You are there to punish." Where can I flee from Your presence so that I may avoid Your righteous gaze? Such was his plan: “I will evade Your countenance, I will escape Your Spirit; from Your vengeful Spirit, from Your wrathful visage, thus I will flee.” How? "If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the distant sea" (Psalm 138:9). Thus may I evade Your countenance. If he runs to the remotest sea, will he not encounter the One from whom he fled? What is the end of the sea but the end of creation? Let us now hope and long for redemption; let us seek rest only in the furthest reaches of the ocean. For if we desire peace in any other place, we shall be toppled headlong into the abyss. Let us soar to the shores of the sea, rising upon the wings of renewed love, while we steadfastly run towards God in hope, meditating on the other side of the sea.
Now listen to the One who will guide us there—He from whom we wish to hide in anger. What follows? "And there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall guide me" (Psalm 138:10). Let us reflect upon this, dear brethren; let it be our hope and comfort. Let us reclaim through love the wings we lost in lust. For lust has weighed down our wings; it has caused us to fall from the freedom found in the Spirit of God. As we descend, we lose our wings and appear as captives, yet He has redeemed us with His blood, from which we fled. He grants us the wings of His commandments; we must now lift them in freedom. Therefore, we need wings, and He must lead us, for He is our Helper. We possess free will; yet, without His aid, what can we do?
Contemplating the intensity of the journey, what did he say to himself? "Perhaps darkness will encompass me." But behold, now I believe in Christ; I am lifted on the wings of renewed love. Regarding my long journey, I reflected: even at night, there was light in my joyous anticipation. The night became bright in my delight because I despaired at crossing such vast seas, struggling through a long path, yearning towards distant shores, enduring to the end. I give thanks to Him who sought me when I was a fugitive, who struck my back with the scourge of correction, who called me back from destruction, who illuminated my darkness. For as long as we reside in this life, night will fall. How did the night become illuminated? Because Christ descended into the night...
THEOSIS