Ps 39:1a
I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue; [...]1
Ja 3:7-10
For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind.
But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters.2
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| The hermitages of Qusur al-Izeila, Kellia, Sketis.3 |
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| Kellia—a typical simple hermitage.4 |
We’re leaving Antioch and heading south to Egypt, the land of secrets, where everyone (👀) wants to find a fabulous treasure. We do too, but a different kind! Once upon a time, among the endless wilderness, far from the noise of agglomerations and near the starry sky, there burned ‘living torches’, praying and praising God all the time. For many wandering aimlessly, “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching”5, contact with them inexpressibly made the thunderstruck soul forget about evilness and realize its own, long-betrayed beauty, desiring more and more to imitate the pattern it had found in them. Therefore, encouraged by their example, let us take part in this journey, starting with the first testimony.6
Pambos’s first testimony
Pambos being an illiterate man, went to some one for the purpose of being taught a psalm; and having heard the first verse of the thirty-eighth, “I said I will take heed to my ways, that I offend not with my tongue,” he departed without staying to hear the second verse, saying, this one would suffice, if he could practically acquire it. And when the person who had given him the verse, reproved him because he had not seen him for the space of six months, he answered that he had not yet learnt to practise the verse of the psalm. After a considerable lapse of time, being asked by one of his friends whether he had made himself master of the verse, his answer was, “I have scarcely succeeded in accomplishing it during nineteen years.”
It took just one verse of the Psalm to provoke reflection, throw him out of his comfort zone, forcing him to walk away and do penance. In his effort, he strictly followed the evangelic instructions such as those vividly illustrated in the Letter of James.7
But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to (ἀκροαταὶ) it and so deceive yourselves.
For if someone merely listens to (ἀκροατὴς) the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at (κατανοοῦντι) his own face in a mirror (ἐσόπτρῳ).
For he gazes at (κατενόησεν) himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was.
But the one who peers into (παρακύψας) the perfect law of liberty (νόμον τέλειον τὸν τῆς ἐλευθερίας) and fixes his attention there (παραμείνας), and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out —he will be blessed (μακάριος) in what he does.
This metaphor is uncommonly rich, and it would be a valuable activity for the soul to reflect on all its aspects, but as for now, let us focus on a few of them, i.e. doer vs listener, the background of the mirror metaphor, the verb ‘peer into’ and the term ‘perfect law of liberty’.
Doer vs listener
This aspect is the easiest to understand and the most difficult to implement. The listener saw his sinfulness in a mirror and did nothing. It is unclear if his behavior was temporary or permanent. Still, at this moment, he wanted to remain merely a passive observer, albeit a de facto active sinner as in the following Psalm.8
An evil man is rebellious to the core.
He does not fear God,
for he is too proud
to recognize and give up his sin.
The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;
he does not care about doing what is wise and right.
The doer, however, did the opposite. He listened attentively to the call of God and opened his heart. Again, it is unclear whether this decision came easily to him or had to breakthrough. The latter possibility is undoubtedly more common because if we experience such difficulties opening ourselves to the love of another person, as presented in the poem below9, then what about love for God?
Du, fühlst dich frei, und hast Angst dich festzulegen
Die Vernunft, sie spricht dagegen, Risiko, viel zu hoch
Du, brauchst nur dich
Und im Alleingang suchst du Wege
Ja es trifft mich in der Seele, sag wieso
Lass mich in dein Leben,
Tief in deine Seele sehen
Du bist doch irgendwie der andere Teil von mir
Lass mich doch einfach in dein Leben
Will den Mann in dir verstehen
In Deinem Herzens-Labyrinth ist eine Tür
Sie führt zu dir
The doer humbled himself and let the fear of God bloom. Maybe he placed a mirror on a table and bent over to examine himself more thoroughly. Maybe he did it many times. He tried to find all the imperfections visible to him to work on them because he knew that looking into the mirror is like looking into God’s eyes, and His eyes see everything.10
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.
And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
His effort was blessed with forgiveness, restored fear of God, and a renewed ability to love.
The background of the mirror metaphor
Ancient mirrors, flat and spherical, usually made of polished metal (bronze, sometimes silver), produced an indistinct image. Still, as an advantage, those of the convex shape provided an expanded viewing area, e.g., the face and the entire head and upper chest. The direction of the gaze was usually downwards, i.e. oblique or vertical, and horizontal only when the mirror was hung on the wall or held at face height. From the fifth century BCE onwards, throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the so-called ‘clamshell’, ‘case mirror’, or ‘box mirror’ gained popularity. This type was small (10 to 20 cm), handleless, and easily portable, with a decorated lid attached directly to the polished metal disk.11
The mirror had proven to be useful not only as daily life equipment but also as a medium to bridge the gap between the sacred and profane realms, therefore employed in the temple cults to increase the impression of the presence of a deity. The mirror metaphor has settled in philosophy as well because of the wealth of aspects it could express. Looking into the mirror provided valuable information not otherwise directly obtainable but also unconsciously deceived by creating the impression that the image seen is a true reflection of the inner self.12 Philo of Alexandria, acknowledging that a mirror can deceive the senses, compared idols to their passing reflection (De specialibus legibus 1:26). On the other hand, he used this metaphor for the mind capable of comprehending the truth of creation (De decalogo 105; De opificio mundi 77; De migratione Abrahami 190) and for the law (De vita contemplativa 75). The latter example is significant because it refers to the search for spiritual insights in the Holy Scriptures by constantly directing the mind to divine reality, unlike mirror-gazing at a body image only. These spiritual insights are also at the heart of religious sapiential literature, and it’s not surprising that the mirror metaphor also describes personified Wisdom.13
For she is a reflection (ἀπαύγασμα) of eternal light,
a spotless mirror (ἔσοπτρον) of the working of God,
and an image (εἰκὼν) of his goodness.
Though she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets
for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.
For she is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
Paul employs the mirror metaphor twice (1Co 13:12, 2Co 3:18). The first example reminds us that incompleteness is an inherent property of Christian recognition; therefore, no one has any reason to be proud. The second highlights the necessity of continually beholding the glory of the Lord, which transforms and conforms the soul to the pattern shown in Christ. It has a lot to do with James’s metaphor and will be covered later.
The verb παρακύπτω
The Greek verb παρακύπτω has the basic meaning of ‘stoop sideways’, ‘stoop for the purpose of looking’.14 In the NT it appears in the sens of ‘to bend over for the purpose of looking’ as John, Mary and Peter who bent over to look into the tomb (Jn 20:5.11; Lk 24:12).15 In the later Christian literature, the physical aspect of bending over possibly has gone out of use (or there is not enough data for analysis) and this verb has been used for ‘peer inquisitively, interfere’, ‘look into, inquire deeply into’, ‘obtain insight into’.16 Even if in Ja 1:25, this verb would appear in the basic sense, together with the participle παραμείνας (has remained there, having continued in [it]) and a warning not to become ‘a forgetful listener’ establishes the meaning ‘peer into’. For a modern reader, McKnight provides a rather illustrative comparison.17
[...] the sense of parakyptō here is “look into something in a receptive mode,” the way an art lover meanders through the paintings of an exhibition, a music lover attends to the music of an orchestral performance, an actress participates in a theatrical performance, a parent listens to the words of a child, or a lover absorbs the words of the one she loves.
But let us look at the usage of this word in the period closer to the Letter of James. There is a remarkably similar passage in the wisdom literature, where the students are required ‘peer into’ and ‘listen at’ during the quest for wisdom as presented in the first part of the Poem on Wisdom.18
Blessed (μακάριος) is the man who meditates on (μελετήσει) wisdom
and who reasons intelligently (συνέσει αὐτοῦ διαλεχθήσεται).
He who reflects in (διανοούμενος) his mind on her ways
will also ponder (ἐννοηθήσεται) her secrets.
Pursue wisdom like a hunter,
and lie in wait on her paths.
He who peers through (παρακύπτων) her windows
will also listen at (ἀκροάσεται) her doors;
he who encamps near her house
will also fasten his tent peg to her walls;
he will pitch his tent near her,
and will lodge in an excellent lodging place;
Similarities with James’ metaphor are not only on the lexical level (μακάριος, παρακύπτω, ἀκροάομαι) but also at the theological level conveyed by the images used. Although James concludes with the expression ‘blessed man’, and Siracides begins with it, they describe the same effect, the happiness/blessing of someone who, after an intensive quest, found a perfect law/wisdom. Again, James introduces one cumulative activity (‘peer into’) that continues, but Siracides develops a similar thought with several progressive images. In the first, the beginner is called to leave his home and hunt. He got motivated to search for wisdom with great patience and without getting discouraged, just as in a hunting game. In the second image, he found the trail and tracked the object through the tiniest opening in the walls, which means using every, even the slightest, opportunity to learn something about the subject of his research. Having ensured the find, he sets up camp as close as possible, which conveys the metaphor of driving a tent peg into the house wall. The student wants to be as close as possible to not miss any opportunity when Wisdom opens the door. In the following image, as a reward for his persistence, he gets invited to the guest room (not everyone is worthy of it!), where all the goods of Wisdom (including freedom) are stored and generously shared among the guests. The student’s goal has been achieved, and now he wants to remain there and deepen his understanding.
The Hebrew version of Siracides renders παρακύπτω with the verb שׁקף in the hiphil which emphasizes the action of looking out and down. Syriac Peshitta employs here the verb ܕܘܩ in aphel (to look at, peer out at). Similarly, in Pr 7:6 personified Wisdom observes (שׁקף) through a window how the woman ensnares a simple youth and Peshitta renders it here with ܕܘܩ while Septuagint, as expected, with παρακύπτω. This observation is likely the reason for the use of the verb שׁקף in the modern attempt to retranslate Ja 1:25 into Hebrew.19 One would expect Ms Oo 1.32 from the Cambridge University Library20 to follow this pattern and use the verb שׁקף but it uses ראה. Similarly, Peshitta doesn’t use the verb ܕܘܩ, but ܚܪ (to look at, observe, behold, gaze) perhaps as a stylistic device to combine it with the word freedom, which contains the same root.
The verb κατοπτρίζω in 2Co 3:18
The second reference21 that bears a strong resemblance to the metaphor of James appears in 2Co 3:18 and is known to have divergent interpretations.22
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror (κατοπτριζόμενοι) the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
In a broader context (3:6-4:18), this verse separates two covenants. The former is being characterised by the ‘veil over the heart’, especially of Paul’s adversaries but also Christians before conversion (3:15, 4:3.6). All its exegetical methods (kal va-homer, gezera shava, pesher-like exegesis)23 point towards v. 18, which is a relatively short sentence but overloaded with theological concepts. In term of arystotelian theory of literarature one can classify it as anagnorisis (a change from ignorance to knowledge). In modern studies, although not a traditional literary device, the term ‘aperture’ could be used to describe a change in perspective. Similar to the way a camera aperture controls the amount of light, a tightly closed aperture might represent either a story shrouded in mystery or suggests restricted perspective, confusion and limited understanding. On the other hand slowly widening aperture could suggest the unveiling of secrets, gaining new insights or the gradual deepening of understanding. Aperture could be also understood as a symbolic lens through which the story unfolds, foreshadowing future events or developments in the plot, as in 4:7-15. An image passing through an aperture could act as a turning point in the narrative. This is precisely the function of verse 18, closing limited perspective and opening a new one marked by ‘but we all’ statement and illuminating the darkness of hearts with the image of Christ as a turning point.
Much discussion is caused by the use of middle present participle (κατοπτριζόμενοι), the hapax legomenon of the NT.24 It occurs in extra-biblical literature in the sense of ‘look into a mirror, behold oneself in it’25 or even figuratively ‘look at someth. as in a mirror, contemplate someth.’ as in Philo’s exposition on Exodus 33:13ff (Legum allegoriae III:101).26 The active form has the meaning ‘show as in a mirror or by reflexion’.27 The idea that on occasion the middle can take on the transitive sense ‘to serve as a mirror’ or ‘to reflect’ in the times close to the New Testament lacks a strong evidence.28 Often-quoted in support references from the late patristic exegesis29, keenly interested in the deification (Gregory Thaumaturgus, Pan. Or. 11; Athanasius, Contra Gent. 2; Chrysostom, Homilies on Second Corinthians Homily VII) actually prove the opposite. The earliest allusion to v. 18 occurs with the different compound (ἐνοπτρίζομαι) in the First Epistle of Clement 36:1-2, where beholding is a precondition for the dark mind to be illuminated: “It is through Him that we look straight at the heavens above. Through Him we see mirrored God’s faultless and transcendent countenance. Through Him the eyes of our heart were opened. Through Him our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into the light. Through Him the Master was pleased to let us taste the knowledge that never fades [...]”.30 The earliest exegesis of v. 18 can be found in Adv. Marc. 5:11 of Tertullian. He translates ‘τὴν δόξαν κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι’ as ‘contemplantes Christum’ which results in spiritual revelation and clarity. The Vulgata, on the other hand, uses a verb ‘speculor’. This word is used in two different traditions of thought “[...] bezeichnet zuerst eine bestimmte Stufe und Weise der Gottesbetrachtung, die von anderen (cognitio, contemplatio, visio) unterschieden wird. Mit dieser Bedeutung eng verbunden, jedoch etymologisch von ‹speculum› (‹Spiegel›, s.d.) abgeleitet, ist die Auslegung von S. als einer spezifischen Erkenntnisform der Reflexion (s.d.), in welcher Spiegelndes (Geist, Natur) und Gespiegeltes (Gott) in ein sich gegenseitig verdeutlichendes Verhältnis gestellt sind”.31 The Syriac Bible, however, does not use a single term but a combination of the participle ‘seeing’ (ܚܙܝܢܢ) with the noun ‘mirror’ (ܡܚܙܝܬܐ) reiterating the root ‘to see’ (ܚܙܐ).
Paul distinguishes between two simultaneous activities: beholding the glory of God ‘in our hearts’ (4:6) and the transformation of the mind into the image of Christ, ‘that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies’ (4:10). The idea that Christ is the image of God and an enduring mirror of the glory of God is found in other writings as well (Jn 1:14, He 1:3, Ws 7:25-26). The source of the transformation is glory of God in Christ. The resulting glory is reflected gradually in us, beginning upon repentence, when the fear of God blooms and the main veil is being taken away, continues as we live and brightens more and more when the deeper layers are removed, and finally is completely removed in the eternity. Thus the Christian life is a life of making continuously an honest effort in inner obedience by contemplating God’s reality, and only then the progressive transformation can happen. Holy Spirit regenerates and gradually carry on the work of grace upon the soul that finally leads to the assimilation to the image of the Lord and the soul becomes image bearer. The more we become like Him, the more it is visible to those around us mostly in sufferings (6:1-10).
An attentive reader may have already noticed that Paul and James express the same idea using just different vocabulary. Paul speaks about beholding (or contemplating) the glory of the Lord, and James about peering into the perfect law. Both expressions presupose the same, i.e. inner transformation (theosis), although formulated in different circumstances. James emphasizes the necessity of perseverance, which is the prerequisite of successful transformation and the freedom, while Paul focuses on the progressive transformation so badly needed by the Corinthians. For him, perseverance is also a key element (2Co 6:1-10) of the transformation into Christ’s image, God’s greatest blessing upon man achievable in this life and the true freedom (2 Co 3:17). And James reaches the same conclusion when he says: “he will be blessed in what he does”, because of being assimilated to the image of Christ. What an excellent example of the unity between James and Paul’s theology!
Practical application
When analyzing those metaphors, one would sometimes like to see how searching for wisdom, peering into the perfect law, or contemplating the glory of the Lord was carried out in practice. What is common to them is the willingness to learn God’s way, and luckily, in this case, we have the rare opportunity to see the atmosphere of practical studying of the Scriptures based on a precious testimony at the dawn of Christianity.32
[...] when the guests have laid themselves down arranged in rows, as I have described, and the attendants have taken their stand with everything in order ready for their ministry, the President of the company, when a general silence is established—here it may be asked when is there no silence—well at this point there is silence even more than before so that no one ventures to make a sound or breathe with more force than usual—amid this silence, I say, he discusses some question arising in the Holy Scriptures or solves one that has been propounded by someone else. In doing this he has no thought of making a display, for he has no ambition to get a reputation for clever oratory but desires to gain a closer insight into some particular matters and having gained it not to withhold it selfishly from those who if not so clear-sighted as he have at least a similar desire to learn. His instruction proceeds in a leisurely manner; he lingers over it and spins it out with repetitions, thus permanently imprinting the thoughts in the souls of the hearers, since if the speaker goes on descanting with breathless rapidity the mind of the hearers is unable to follow his language, loses ground and fails to arrive at apprehension of what is said. His audience listen with ears pricked up and eyes fixed on him always in exactly the same posture, signifying comprehension and understanding by nods and glances, praise of the speaker by the cheerful change of expression which steals over the face, difficulty by a gentler movement of the head and by pointing with a finger-tip of the right hand. The young men standing by show no less attentiveness than the occupants of the couches. The exposition of the sacred scriptures treats the inner meaning conveyed in allegory. For to these people the whole law book (νομοθεσία) seems to resemble a living creature with the literal ordinances for its body and for its soul the invisible mind laid up in its wording. It is in this mind especially that the rational soul (λογικὴ ψυχή) begins to contemplate the things akin to itself and looking through the words as through a mirror (κατόπτρου) beholds the marvellous beauties of the concepts, unfolds and removes the symbolic coverings and brings forth the thoughts and sets them bare to the light of day for those who need but a little reminding to enable them to discern the inward and hidden through the outward and visible.
The description of the listener’s attitude and comparing the law with a mirror for the rational soul brings to mind irresistible associations with James’s metaphor. Philo’s writings further show that keeping the cosmic law brings inner freedom.33
Moreover, as among cities, some being governed by an oligarchy or by tyrants, endure slavery, having those who have subdued them and made themselves masters of them for severe and cruel tyrants; while others, existing under the superintending care of the laws and under those good protectors, are free and happy. So also in the case of men; those who are under the dominion of anger, or appetite, or any other passion, or of treacherous wickedness, are in every respect slaves; and those who live in accordance with the law are free.
The freedom described here means inner abstention from deadly desires and the ability to comprehend reality in a novel way. It makes a direct analogy to the often debated formulation: ‘the perfect law of liberty’. However, it is not James’s way of expressing or high context that causes interpretation difficulties; the problem lies primarily in the inability to relate the theological concepts that make up this phrase coherently, and hence the core content of the gospel and the Mosaic Law.34 Therefore, let’s analyze this expression by breaking it down into its components.
The perfect law of liberty
Freedom is such a universal concept that every person, regardless of the circumstances he grew up in, can spontaneously define it more or less similarly, sometimes highlighting these or other aspects. Of all the aspects, three seem to be the most significant for the Christian worldview, i.e. ‘freedom from’, ‘freedom for’, and the uphill road that must be followed to move away from what enslaves towards what enables.35
Multiple examples characterize the ‘freedom from’ in the Letter of James, e.g. being free from envy, quarrels, hypocrisy, lying, desires, pride, slander, etc., free from human selfishness. Being controlled by destructive emotions is actual slavery. The entire chapter is devoted to holding back the tongue: “For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind. But no human being can subdue the tongue”.36 And just a few centuries later, the illiterate man again struggled with the same problem that James so colorfully described. And it’s no wonder that it took Pambos so long to sort out this aspect of the Christian life. The ‘freedom for’ is described as the Royal Law (Ja 2:8), which variation is known as the Golden Rule, equated with the commandment to love God (Mt 22:39). The third aspect is the most blurred concept of the gospel, often hidden behind images, onetime situations, feelings, requests, etc. And even if we unpack certain expressions and their content, will it ignite a stone, fuel the fire, unite with the flames, or just go out? As we meditate on the Word, the Spirit of God cleanses the heart, renewing the mind and enabling obedience for the first time. Man does not become free immediately. It is a process, an uphill road, just like in this short story.37
A little child sits enraptured, watching his mother play the piano. The music is thrilling. As her fingers fly over the keys, he recognizes simple melodies and then listens with amazement as she embellishes them with harmony and chords until there is only a hint of their original simplicity.
The child finally crawls up on the bench next to his mother and waits for her to stop. He wants a turn. Expecting to produce what he heard Mother play, he moves his fingers over the keys in imitation. The chaos of sound is pure freedom, unbound by such things as a coherent tune, order, or music theory. For a moment it is fun to make noise, but noise gets dreary. “When can I play like you, Mommy?” he asks.
“After a while,” she answers, remembering all those boring lessons and the endless drills and scales. Then she smiles as she remembers those glorious days when, having somehow internalized all those lessons, she suddenly realized she was actually, wonderfully, freely playing the piano. The freedom to play only came through learning and practicing the law of the piano.
This process of freeing oneself from the bondage of sin is closely related to the term ‘the law’, which often causes consternation as to the author’s intentions because, in uneducated ears clashes with the often-repeated Pauline formulation: “you are not under the law, but under grace”.38 But even Paul himself foreseeing difficulties in understanding, he felt obliged to add, “though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ”.39 That means Paul voluntarily imposed restrictions on his malformed personality. Within those boundaries, he found freedom (Ga 5:13; 6:2), adhering to God’s rules of conduct and thinking, knowing that as long as he keeps God’s law, he is free and happy since “the precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart”.40 Crossing the border back, the man becomes a slave to sin, e.g., disordered emotions.
Why ‘the law of liberty’ is perfect? Not only because it requires perfection (Mt 5:48), but most of all because it leads step by step towards perfection, i.e. assimilation with Christ. This progressive transformation is the bloodstream of the early Christian tradition, as witnessed by Clement of Alexandria.41
As there is one sort of training for philosophers, another for orators and another for wrestlers, so, too, there is an excellent disposition imparted by the education of Christ that is proper to the free will loving the good. As for deeds, walking and reclining at table, eating and sleeping, marriage relations and the manner of life, the whole of a man’s education all become illustrious as holy deeds under the influence of the Educator. The education He gives is not overstrained, but in harmony [with man’s needs]. (100) That is why the Word is called Saviour, because He has left men remedies of reason to effect understanding and salvation, and because, awaiting the favorable opportunity, He corrects evil, diagnoses the cause for passion, extracts the roots of unreasonable lusts, advises what we should avoid, and applies all the remedies of salvation to those who are sick.
This is the greatest and most noble of all God’s acts: saving mankind. But those who labor under some sickness are dissatisfied if the physician prescribes no remedy to restore their health; how, then, can we withhold our sincerest gratitude from the divine Educator when He corrects the acts of disobedience that sweep us on to ruin and uproots the desires that drag us into sin, refusing to be silent and connive at them, and even offers counsels on the right way to live? Certainly we owe Him the deepest gratitude.
Do we say, then, that the rational animal, I mean man, ought to do anything besides contemplate the divinity? I maintain that he ought to contemplate human nature, also, and live as the truth leads him, admiring the way in which the Educator and His precepts are worthy of one another and adapted one to the other. In keeping with such a model, we ought also to adapt ourselves to our Educator, conform our deeds to the Word, and then we will truly live.
Pambos’s other testimonies
Let’s look at two more examples from Pambo’s life.42
A certain individual having placed gold in his hands for distribution to the poor, requested him to reckon what he had given him. “There is no need of counting,” said he, “but of integrity of mind.” The same Pambos at the desire of Athanasius the bishop came out of the desert to Alexandria; and on beholding an actress there, he wept. When those present asked him the reason of his doing so, he replied, “Two causes have affected me: one is the destruction of this woman; the other is that I exert myself less to please my God, than she does to please obscene characters.”
The last example is a valuable illustration of how to find yourself in a modern digital world dominated by ubiquitous images—not succumbing to the content, but filtering and extracting what is helpful for the soul.
We started this post with the story of listening to only one verse of Psalm, and, as we saw, it sufficed to change a life. This is the evangelic power of Psalms that can make the desert of heart bloom (Is 35). But this transformation doesn’t come from anything. It is God who invisibly works and prepares the so[ui]l long beforehand to produce a little bloom first and then a ‘super bloom’. The latter does not come up that often and some desert flowers must stay dormant for many years until the right weather conditions are met.43 Knowing how magnificently God cares for Nature, let us desire the same for us and beg Him to irrigate our souls to blossom with the words of the following Psalm.44
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
|
| Desert lilies blooming in the California Desert.45 |
Pior’s testimony
And now, really the last example of another individual46, perhaps a contemporary of Pambo.
Pior was accustomed to take his food as he walked along, assigning this as a reason to one who asked him why he did so: “That I may not seem,” said he, “to make eating a serious business, but rather a thing done by the way.” To another putting the same question he replied, “Lest in eating my mind should be sensible of corporeal enjoyment.” Isidore affirmed that he had not been conscious of sin even in thought for forty years; and that he had never consented either to lust or anger.
This is amazing, isn’t it?
Notes
[1] The New American Standard Bible. 1995 update. La Habra: The Lockman Foundation.
[2] The NET Bible. Second edition. 2019. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3] Kasser R. 1984. Le site monastique des Kellia (Basse-Egypte): recherches des années 1981-1983. Louvain: Peeters. (Kellia). p. 14. Wikimedia Commons. This image in grayscale and its enlargement appeared earlier in Alès J-M., et al. 1983. Survey archéologique des Kellia (Basse-Égypte) : rapport de la campagne 1981. Fascicule II: Planches. Louvain: Peeters. (Kasser R, editor. EK 8184 : Projet International de Sauvetage Scientifique des Kellia / MSAC, Mission Suisse d’Archéologie Copte de l’Université de Genève. Sous la direction de Rodolphe Kasser; vol. I). p. 329 (PL CXCIII) and p. 330 (PL CXCIV).
[4] Patrich J. 2004. Monastic landscapes. In: Bowden W, Lavan L, Machado C, editors. Recent research on the Late Antique countryside. Leiden ; Boston: Brill. (Late Antique archaeology; vol. 2). p. 413–445. The picture appears on p. 417 and is referenced as ‘(Kasser 1984)’, but this is not a valid reference.
[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Ep 4:14.
[6] Socrates Scholasticus. 1844. Ecclesiastical history : a history of the church in seven books, from the accession of Constantine in A.D. 306, to the 36th year of Theodosius, Jun., A.D. 445, including a period of 140 years. London: Samuel Bagster and Sons. (Greek ecclesiastical historians of the first six centuries of the Christian era; vol. 3). Book 3, Chapter 23.
[7] The NET Bible, op. cit., Ja 1:22-25.
[8] Ibidem, Ps 36:1-3.
[9] Fischer H. 2008. Lass mich in dein Leben. In: Zaubermond. Written by Jean Frankfurter and Kristina Bach. [accessed 2021 Jan 9]. YouTube, Spotify.
[10] The NET Bible, op. cit., He 4:12-13.
[11] Bonati I, Reggiani N. 2020. Mirrors of women, mirrors of words: the mirror in the Greek papyri. In: Gerolemou M, Diamantopoulou L, editors. Mirrors and mirroring from Antiquity to the Early Modern period. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Academic. (Bloomsbury classical studies monographs).
[12] The power of this influence is even visible in contemporary poetry (Hanson E. 2020. Never trust a mirror. The Healing Poems. Online Literary Journal. [accessed 2022 Feb 6]. thehealingpoems.com.
[13] The Revised Standard Version. Catholic edition. 1994. New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Ws 7:26-30.
[14] Jones HS, Liddell HG, McKenzie R, Scott R. 1940. παρα-κύπτω. In: A Greek-English lexicon. Ninth edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Perseus.
[15] Arndt W, Bauer W, Danker FW. 2000. παρακύπτω. In: A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. Third edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 767.
[16] Lampe GWH, editor. 1961. παρακύπτ-ω. In: A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Oxford: At The Clarendon Press.
[17] McKnight S. 2011. The letter of James. Grand Rapids; Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. (New international commentary on the Old and New Testament).
[18] The Revised Standard Version, op. cit., Si 14:20–15:10.
[19] The Hebrew New Testament. 2000. Jerusalem: The Bible Society in Israel.
[20] Van Rensburg MJ, Van Rensburg J. 2022. The Hebrew Revelation James and Jude. Transcripts + translations of amazing Hebrew manuscripts of Revelation, James and Jude. Based on Ms Oo.1.16 and Ms. Oo.1.32 from the Cambridge University Library. hebrewgospels.com.
[21] The New American Standard Bible, op. cit., 2Co 3:18.
[22] Heath JMF. 2013. ‘Beholding in a mirror we are being metamorphosed’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). In: Paul’s visual piety: the metamorphosis of the beholder. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 215–225.
[23] Stockhausen CK. 1989. Moses’ veil and the glory of the new covenant: the exegetical substructure of II Cor. 3,1-4,6. Roma: Ed. Pontificio Istituto biblico (Analecta biblica; vol. 116). p. 24-28.
[24] Weissenrieder A. 2005. Der Blick in den Spiegel: II Kor 3,18 vor dem Hintergurnd antiker Spiegeltheorien und ikonographischer Abbildungen. In: Weissenrieder A, Wendt F, Gemünden P von, editors. Picturing the New Testament: studies in ancient visual images. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe; vol. 193). p. 313–343; Wright NT. 2002. Reflected glory: 2 Corinthians 3: 18. In: Hurst LD, Wright NT, editors. The glory of Christ in the New Testament: studies in Christology in memory of George Bradford Caird. Reprinted edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press ; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 139–150; Belleville LL. 1991. Reflections of glory: Paul’s polemical use of the Moses-Doxa tradition in 2 Corinthians 3.1-18. Sheffield: JSOT Press (Journal for the study of the New Testament. Supplement series; vol. 52). p. 278-286.
[25] Jones HS, Liddell HG, McKenzie R, Scott R. 1940. κατοπτρ-ίζω. In: A Greek-English lexicon. Ninth edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Perseus.
[26] Arndt W, Bauer W, Danker FW. 2000. κατοπτρίζω. In: A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. Third edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 535.
[27] Jones HS, op. cit.
[28] Hafemann SJ. 2005. Paul, Moses, and the history of Israel: the letter/spirit contrast and the argument from scripture in 2 Corinthians 3. Bletchley: Paternoster (Paternoster Biblical monographs). p. 407.
[29] Belleville LL., op. cit., p. 280; Lampe GWH, editor. 1961. κατοπτρίζ-ομαι. In: A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Oxford: At The Clarendon Press.
[30] St. Clement of Rome. 1946. The Epistle to the Corinthians. In: Quasten J, Plumpe JC, editors; Kleist JA, translator. The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. 1st ed. New York; Mahwah: Paulist Press. (Ancient Christian writers; vol. 1). p. 31.
[31] Ebbersmeyer S. 2017. Spekulation. In: Ritter J, Gründer K, Gabriel G, editors. Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie. Onlineversion. Gesamtwerk. Basel: Schwabe Verlag. [accessed 2024 Apr 14]. Link.
[32] Philo Judaeus. 1941. On the contemplative life or suppliants (De vita contemplativa). In: Colson FH, Whitaker GH, translators. Philo. Vol. IX. London; Cambridge: William Heinemann Ltd; Harvard University Press. (The Loeb classical library). Chapter X (75).
[33] Philo of Alexandria. 1995. Every good man is free. In: Yonge CD, translator. The works of Philo: complete and unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson. Chapter VII (45).
[34] Forde GO. 2007. The law-gospel debate: an interpretation of its historical development. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
[35] Fromm E. 1942. The fear of freedom. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (International library of sociology and social reconstruction).
[36] The NET Bible, op. cit., Ja 3:7.8a.
[37] Barton BB, Veerman D, Wilson NS. 1992. James. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers.
[38] The New International Version, op. cit., Ro 6:14.
[39] The Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers. 1Co 9:21.
[40] The New International Version, op. cit., Ps 19:8.
[41] Clement of Alexandria. 1954. Christ the educator of little ones. Wood SP, translator. Washington: The Catholic University of America Press. (The fathers of the Church. A new translation; vol. 23). Book 1.12.99-100.
[42] Socrates Scholasticus, op. cit.
[43] Dimmitt M. 2020. Predicting desert wildflower blooms - the science behind the spectacle. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. [accessed 2020 Dec 27]. desertmuseum.org.
[44] The Revised Standard Version, op. cit., Ps 139:23-24.
[45] Wick B. 2017. Desert lily preserve. Wikimedia Commons.
[46] Socrates Scholasticus, op. cit.
