The bride sought that her garden be a place of sweet fragrance, carried by the midday breeze of the south, so that the laborer might partake in the fruits of the earth. It is well understood that fragrance, in any form, affords delight to the nose, while those who partake in vegetables find them less nourishing than bread. Yet He, who descended to His place of joy, has transformed the essence of these fruits into something far more significant and precious. He gathers the myrrh with its fragrances, for all things that are “good” exist within His domain, as the prophetic scripture sings (Zechariah 9:17). He causes the trees to yield not just fruits, but bread mingled with His honey. In addition, let the prophetic text declare that His honey and other blessings come from a single source, as wine is mixed with His honey: for “from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). Oh, how blessed are these gardens, where the plantings produce such fruits, transformed into every kind of nourishment to satisfy every desire! For he who finds joy in fragrance humbles himself, and, by subduing his earthly desires, he prepares the sweet ointment of a pure and fragrant life, cultivated from many diverse flavors of virtue. To the one seeking the ultimate sustenance, it becomes bread not paired with bitterness, as the law instructs (Exod. 12:8), for in this present age bitterness serves its purpose, but sweetness will be its seasoning when the fruits of virtue bring delight to the soul, as shown in the resurrection of the Lord when He served bread to the disciples, delighting in a honeycomb (Luke 24:42). To the thirsty, He offers a cup brimming with wine and honey, unlike the sponge dipped in bitterness that was offered to the Benefactor as a gesture of goodwill. This deeper mystery is indeed known to us, as Paul, who faced death daily (1 Cor. 15:31), declared, “the sentence of death” (2 Cor. 1:9), fragrant in purity and free from passion, became as a “scent of life” to those who are being saved (2 Cor. 2:16), similar to the vital plantings of the shepherd’s vineyard bringing bread to the Lord of the vineyard, evidenced by Him who sits upon the throne: “Come and let Me eat” (Matthew 25:35), for love is the bread of joy, blessed with the sweetness of His commandments, just like those fruitful plantings of the garden, to whom He proclaims: “I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink,” offering wine to the Bridegroom, blended with milk, not with water as tavern-keepers might do. But milk, indeed, is the first nourishment for human nature—both pure and simple, in an innocent and unpretentious manner, purged from all guilt. Upon saying this to the bride, the Word invites His companions, saying, “Partake, my companions,” “and drink, and be fulfilled, my brethren”; for to those who understand the hidden truths of the Gospel, there exists no disparity between the words here and the mystery available to the disciples, for the Word conveys the same message both here and there: “eat” and “drink.” However, the counsel to rest that the Word offers to the brethren, though it may seem contrary to the Gospel, reveals itself as harmonious with the Gospel's teachings upon careful examination. For what is commanded to the friends in words, the Word indeed acted upon in reality, since all intoxication normally incites a mental frenzy, brought on by wine. Thus, the advice given here reflects the outcome produced by Divine nourishment and Divine drink, continually resulting in a transition from the lowest to the highest state and an inner exhilaration. In this manner, as prophesied, those who partake from “the stew of the house of God” and are filled with “a flood of sweetness” (Psalm 35:3) find themselves intoxicated, just as the great David did when, consumed by fervor and out of himself, he beheld the unseen beauty and declared, “All men are liars” (Psalm 115:2), entrusting the mysteries of untold treasures to the Word. Likewise, so was the youngest Benjamin—Paul—when in ecstasy he exclaimed: “If only we marveled at God” (for our ecstasy was for God); “If only we were sincere towards you” (2 Cor. 5:13), demonstrating in his words to Festus that he was not insane, but spoke words of purity and truth (Acts 26:25). I acknowledge that the blessed Peter, in a similar state of exhilaration, was both “poured out” and “intoxicated,” for before the physical food was presented, when he was “poured out and desired to eat,” divine and sober euphoria overcame him, causing him to transcend his senses and witness the vision of the Gospel “shroud” descending from above at four corners, enclosing creatures of every sort: both unclean animals and birds, each displaying a form according to their sanctuaries, embodying an animal nature devoid of speech. He commanded the Word to Peter to slay them, that after their purification, the rest may be deemed suitable when the pure Word of godliness is imparted to them, reiterating the Divine voice: “What God has cleansed, you must not call common” (Acts 10:10-15). This proclamation was made thrice to signify, through a unified voice, that God who cleanses is the Father, and likewise that God who cleanses is the only begotten Son, and also that God who purifies all unclean things is the Holy Spirit. Thus, being filled with the intoxication from the wine offered by the Lord to His companions, engendering a spiritual indulgence in divine matters, it is remarkable that the Lord beckons those who have drawn close in virtue, rather than those who are distant: “Partake, my companions,” “and drink, and be filled with joy.” For “he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself” (1 Cor. 11:29). In a similar manner, He referred to those deserving of nourishment as brethren: “whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother,” as proclaimed by the Word (Mark 3:35).
THEOSIS