Isaiah 2:2-3 (6-13-13) 1st Vesperal Reading, the Feast of the Ascension of Christ our God The Ascension ~ Restoring Human Nature: Isaiah 2:2-3, especially vs 3: “For the law of the Lord shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem.” When the Lord ascended to the heavens He did not divest His humanity. Rather, He raised “the likeness of Adam, cast into the vaults of hades, and lifting it with [His] Ascension to the heavens making it equal in rank to [His] Father’s throne.” The raising of human nature to the right hand of the Father by Christ assures the faithful that the way now is open to any who will diligently seek the restoration of their own humanity. The elevation of our nature gives everyone from every nation on earth the motivation “go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob [that] He [may] proclaim His way to us [so that] we [may] walk in it” (vs 3). Understand that the Prophet’s allusions to the mountain of the Lord or the house of the God of Jacob (vs 3) refers to none other than Christ’s Church. As Saint Nikolai of Zicha teaches: “The mountain, or heights, of the Lord’s house is indeed established....in the heights of heaven - for the Church of Christ is primarily not of the earth but of heaven, and one part of the members of the Church (and now that is the greater part) is in heaven, while the others are here on earth.” Further, the Church of Christ is “exalted above the hills” (vs 2), that is, above all earthly and human dimensions. The great philosophies and art of the world’s cultures, all the earthly heights, are only foothills below the distant mountains of the Church of Christ, “for the Church would have no difficulty in creating these ‘earthly heights,’ while not one of them....would be able to create the Church.” Once we understand that Isaiah is speaking of the Church in this passage, it becomes obvious that the voices he mentions, those who call to us from a multitude of nations, are, as Saint Athanasios discerned, the Saints, the Holy Fathers and Mothers of the Church who invite us: “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob” (vs 3). They discovered the riches of God’s truth, for the Lord revealed to them “the way wherein [they] should walk,” for unto the Lord they lifted up their souls (see Jer 49:3; Ps 142:10). However, the way that the Holy Ones reveal is not, as Saint Athanasios knew, “for the impure...nor is the ascent thereto for sinners; but it is for the virtuous and diligent, and for those who love according to the aim of the saints.” This Divine task is possible because our humanity has been borne into the heavenly places, carried there by the Incarnate Lord Himself. As a result, through union with the reigning Christ Jesus, Who is both God and man, His Deity can penetrate our humanity, cleanse, and restore it to that pristine beauty that was ours from creation. The purifying Mystery begun in Baptism may now be realized in us by the Holy Spirit. Understand what the Prophet means when he proclaims that “the word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem” (Is 2:3). Concerning the language of this verse, Theodoret notes that Isaiah “calls word not God the Word, but the teaching of the divine word. For God the Word did not come out of Zion, but it was in Zion that He taught the truth.” Let us understand two points: first, that the Lord literally taught in the Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, crying out to all, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38). Second, “the word of the Lord [is going forth] from Zion,” from the Church (Is 2:3). Many who heard Jesus in the ancient Temple only received His words in terms of the old Law, but failed to see Him as Life. Today, He offers all men Life in and through the Church. O Christ our God, enable those whom Thou hast illumined with the fire-breathing Spirit to attain purification, that our hearts may be enlightened and set afire with Thy grace. dynamispublications.org/061313.htm
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:05:06 +0000
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