LAWTON CHURCH OF GOD, LAWTON,
OKLAHOMA
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HOMILY 25
1.
Those upon whom the divine law is stamped not with ink and letters, but
implanted in hearts of flesh, illumined with the eyes of the mind and intent
with a constant yearning for a hope that is not sensible or visible but interior
and immaterial, have the power to conquer the stumbling blocks of the wicked
one, this by the power that can never be surpassed. But those who have not been
honored by the Word of God nor instructed in the divine Law are “vainly puffed
up” (Colossians 2:18). They believe that by their own free will they can
abolish the sources of sin, something which is condemned only by the mystery
found in the cross. For that free deliberation lies in the power of man to
resist the devil, but this power is not absolute control over the passions.
“Unless the Lord builds the house” (Psalm 127:1). 2.
It is in vain to go against the asp and the basilisk (Psalm 91:13) and tread
under foot the lion and the dragon, unless one also first purges himself as far
as one has strength and is strengthened by him who said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I have given you power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and
upon all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). If
man’s nature had the ability outside of the complete armor of the Holy Spirit
“to stand against the deceits of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11), the Apostle
would surely not have said: “The God of peace will bruise Satan under your
feet shortly” (Rom 16:20); and again: “Whom the Lord will destroy with the
Spirit of his mouth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). This is why we have also been
commanded to beg the Lord: “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us
from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). If we are not delivered by the more
powerful assistance from the fiery darts of the evil one and not deemed worthy
to be the adopted sons, then we live on this earth with no purpose. We are found
far from the power of God. 3.
Therefore, whoever wishes to become a partaker of the divine glory and to see,
as in a mirror, the form of Christ in the ruling power of his mind, must, with
unquenchable love and inexhaustible desire, with all his heart and strength, by
night and day, seek the help of God which powerfully comes from him, in which
help it is impossible to share unless, as I said before, a person abstains from
the pleasure of the world, from the desires of the opposing power, which is
foreign to the light and is an activity of evil, having no likeness to good
activity and is completely alien to it. Therefore, if we want to know why we,
since we were created for honor and placed in Paradise, became finally
“compared to the beasts that possess no understanding and were made like to
them” (Psalm 99:12, 20), having fallen from the pristine glory, know that we,
by transgression, became slaves of carnal passions. We excluded ourselves from
the blessed region of the living (Psalm 116:9) and were led into captivity. We
still sit along the shore of Babylon (Psalm 137:1). The fact that we are still
held in Egypt means that we do not yet possess the land of our inheritance,
“flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). We have not yet been immersed in
the leaven of sincerity (1 Corinthians 5:8), but we are still in the leaven of
evil. Our heart has not yet been sprinkled by the blood of God, for “the snare
of hell” (Proverbs 9:18) and the hook of evil is still lodged in it. 4.
We have not yet accepted the happiness in Christ’s salvation, for “the sting
of death” (1 Corinthians 15:55) has its roots in us. “We have not yet put on
the new man who has been created after God in holiness” (Ephesians 4:24),
because we have not yet put off “the old man that is corrupt according to the
sinful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22). We have not yet “given birth to the image of
the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:49) nor have we been made “conformed to his
glory” (Philippians 3:21). We have not yet adored “God in spirit and in
truth” (John 4:24), since “sin reigns in our mortal body” (Romans 6:12).
We have not yet seen “the glory of the incorruptible” (Romans 1:23), because
we work under “the moonless night” (Psalm 11:2). We have not yet put on the
armor of light (Romans 13:12) because we have not yet thrown off the armor and
the spears and the works of darkness. We have not yet been “transformed by a
renewal of the mind,” since we are still “conformed to this world” (Romans
12:2) “in the vanity of the mind” (Ephesians 4:17). We
are not yet “glorified with Christ” because we have not yet “suffered with
him” (Romans 8:17). We do not yet “carry the marks of him in our body”
(Galatians 6:17), since we do not live in the mystery of Christ’s cross. For
we are still “in the passions and lusts” of the flesh (Galatians 5:24). We
have not yet become “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17)
because the “spirit of bondage” is still in us and not that “of
adoption” (Romans 8:15). We have not yet been made “the temple of God” (1
Corinthians 3:16) and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, for we are still
the temple of idols and the receptacle of evil spirits because of our attachment
to the passions. 5.
Indeed, we have not yet attained to the simplicity of a life-style and to the
enlightenment of our mind. We have not yet been deemed worthy to receive “the
guileless and spiritual milk” (1 Peter 2:2) and intellectual growth. The day
has not yet dawned upon us, nor “the day star risen in our hearts” (2 Peter
1:19). We have not been mingled with “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi
4:2), nor do we yet shine by his rays. We have not yet received the likeness
(Genesis 1:26) of the Lord nor have we become “participators of the divine
nature” (2 Peter 1:4). We have not yet become the true royal purple nor the
authentic image of God. We have not yet been captivated by divine love nor
wounded by the spiritual love of the Bridegroom. We have not yet known that
ineffable fellowship and have not known the power and peace that are found in
sanctification. In a word, we are not yet “a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people set aside” (1 Peter 2:9), because we are
still “serpents, a brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:33). 6.
How can we be found to be anything but serpents, we who do not obey God but are
in the disobedience that has come by the serpent? I cannot discover how to weep
befittingly over this situation. I do not know how to cry aloud and weep to him
who can expel from me the error planted within me. “How shall I sing the song
of the Lord in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4). How shall I weep over
Jerusalem? How am I to flee from the severe slavery of Pharaoh? How am I to
abandon the foul dwelling place? How shall I deny the bitter tyranny? How shall
I go forth out of Egypt? How shall I pass over the Red Sea? How shall I journey
through the vast wilderness? How shall I not perish, if bitten by the snakes?
How shall I conquer the foreigners? How shall I destroy the pagans within me?
How shall I receive the messages of the divine Law upon my tablets? How shall I
see the true pillar of light and the cloud from out of the Holy Spirit? How
shall I take delight in the manna of eternal delight? How shall I drink the
water from the life giving rock? How shall I pass over Jordan and come into the
good land of promise? How shall I see the Leader of the Lord’s army whom, when
Joshua, son of Nun, saw, he fell down at once and worshiped him? 7.
For unless I pass through all these and kill the pagan tribes living within me,
in no way will I enter and find rest “in the sanctuary of God” (Psalm 73:17)
nor will I become a participator in the King’s glory. For this reason work
diligently so as to become a child of God, having no fault and “to enter into
that rest” (Hebrews 4:11) whither the precursor, Christ, has entered on our
behalf (Hebrews 6:20). Strive
to be numbered in the heavenly church with “the firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23)
so that you may be found “on the right hand of the majesty” (Hebrews 1:3) of
the Most High. Strive to enter the holy city, the Jerusalem, full of peace, that
is above where Paradise is. You have no other way to become worthy of these
amazing and blessed types, except that day and night you pour out tears
according to him who says: “Each night I wash my bed and water my mattress
with my tears” (Psalm 6:6). For you are not ignorant that “those who sow in
tears will reap in joy” (Psalm 126:6). For this reason the Prophet boldly
declares: “Do not silence my tears” (Psalm 39:13). And again: “Keep my
tears before your sight as you have promised” (Psalm 56:8). And, “My tears
have been my bread day and night” (Psalm 42:3). And in another psalm: “I
have mingled my drink with weeping” (Psalm 102:9). 8.
For such a tear, that truly is shed out of much sorrow and anguish of heart in
the knowledge of the truth and with the burning in the bowels, is food for the
soul, supplied by the heavenly Bread of which Mary preeminently partook as she
sat at the feet of the Lord and wept, as the Savior himself testified. For he
says: “Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken from her”
(Luke 10:42, 7:38). Oh, what precious pearls, those contained in the flowing of
blessed tears! Oh, that immediate and prompt hearing! Oh, what a strong and wise
mind! Oh, the intensity of the love of the Lord’s Spirit that moves powerfully
toward the spotless Bridegroom! Oh, what a concentration of desire in the soul
toward God the Word! Oh, what intimate communion of the bride with the heavenly
Bridegroom! 9.
Imitate her, O child, imitate her, I say, who saw nothing but him alone who
said: “I have come to cast fire on the earth and how I desire but that it be
already enkindled” (Luke 12:49). For there is a burning of the Spirit which
puts hearts on fire. For that reason the immaterial and divine fire enlightens
souls and tests them as pure gold is tested in the furnace. But it burns out any
evil, as if it were thorns and stubble. For “our God is a consuming fire”
(Hebrews 12:29), “taking revenge on those who do not know him in flaming fire
and who do not obey his Gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). This fire exerted its
power over the Apostles when they spoke with tongues of fire (Acts 2:35). This
fire surrounded Paul in the voice that enlightened his mind while blinding his
sense of sight (Acts 9:3). For it was not in the flesh that he saw the power of
that light. This fire appeared to Moses in the bush (Exodus 3:2). This fire, in
the form of a chariot, caught up Elijah from the earth (2 Kings 4:11). The
blessed David, while seeking out the power of this fire, said: “Search me,
Lord, and try me. Burn out my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:2). 10.
This fire inflamed the heart of Cleophas and his companion when the Savior spoke
to them after the resurrection. From the same source also angels and the
ministering spirits partake of the shining fire according to what has been said:
“Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire” (Hebrews
1:7). This fire burns up the beam in the interior eye; it renders the mind pure
so that recovering its natural power of seeing, it may constantly gaze on the
wonderful works of God according to him who says: “Open my eyes and I will
ponder the wonders of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). This fire also drives out
demons, takes away sins, and has the power of resurrection. It develops
immortality, the illumination of holy souls, and the strengthening of the
rational powers. Let us beg that this fire come also to us so that, constantly
walking in the light, we may never for even a moment “dash our feet against
the stone” (Psalm 91:12), “but shining as lights in the world,” we may
“hold forth the word of eternal life” (Philippians 2:15), so that, enjoying
ourselves among the saints of God with the Lord, we may find rest in life,
glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
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