Confessions - Part 3

Discoursing on time and creation, Augustine begins to draw an end to his Confessions. While pondering the miraculous work of creation, he finds the Triune Godhead within the first two verses of Genesis: the Father – God, the Son – the Beginning, the Spirit – above the waters. All three are present at from the very first moment of creation. However, he takes an interesting stab at the formless darkness above which the Spirit hovered.

Rather than taking the traditional, modern interpretation of that passage, that it was a descriptive way to say that what would become earth was not yet anything but darkness, Augustine chooses a more spiritual route. He says, “It [the earth invisible and unorganized] is dark because of the disordered flux of spiritual formlessness; but it became converted to him from whom it derived the humble quality of life it had, and from that illumination became a life of beauty,” (276, section 6). The earth wasn’t dark merely because it was not yet physically formed but because nothing had been formed of the spiritual nature that would sustain all life. Only after being given to God to form and mold could it have any life. Yet it is not merely life that God gives but a “life of beauty.” When you come into the presence of God and everything is revealed in the light of His splendor, your life is completely altered; you begin to see things in a new way. The world once drab and dark is now beautiful and bright.

Confessions - Part 2

After rejecting the doctrine of the Manichees, Augustine begins looking elsewhere for truth and rest for his restless soul. In his searching he finds the Platonic texts which lead him to search within himself for how he sees the world. Eventually, he comes to accept that superior, unchanging things are preferable to inferior, changeable things. By accepting this, Augustine comes to accept that a changeable thing cannot know the desirability of an unchangeable thing unless the unchangeable has made itself known to the changeable.

In that moment, he caught a glimpse of the reality that is Christ, that he, being God and thus unchangeable, took on changeable flesh thus allowing inferior man to come to a place of union with the superior God. “They see at their feet divinity become weak by his sharing in our ‘coat of skin.’ In their weariness they fall prostrate before this divine weakness which rises and lifts them up,” (128, section 24). Man strives with everything within him to find that thing which is superior and unchanging, that thing which will satisfy beyond all else. Everything earthly is unfulfilling, even if its origins may be traced back to an unchangeable source, such as marriage. However, none of those are unchanging by nature; only God is unchanging. Thus the thought that God would put himself into the changeable flesh of man so that He could lift man from his place of weakness to one of strength startles to no end. What can we do but fall at the feet of him who was divine and became weak for our sake? Only by his hand may we be raised.

Confessions - Part 1

At the beginning of his Confessions, Augustine explains the way in which he was educated. As a boy, he learned Latin and Greek so that he could read the great epics of Homer and Virgil. Using them as their source, the students then used these texts and other works related to these texts as ways to learn new words and phrases. However, Augustine does not approve of such methods of teaching as the literature given promotes vicious behavior.

It is as if we would not know words such as ‘golden shower’ and ‘bosom’ and ‘deceit’ and ‘temples of heaven’ and other phrases occurring in the passage in question, had not Terence brought on the stage a worthless young man citing Jupiter as a model for his own fornication. . . . There is no force, no force at all, in the argument that these words are more easily learnt through this obscene text. The words actually encourage the more confident committing of a disgraceful action. (19, section 26)

By this teaching method, one would think that there was no other way in which to learn a language without having to promote immoral behavior. Even by speaking them, one would be more prone to act on these words and not let them be as mere learning tools.

So one might then ask how to get a good education in the midst of such muck. Augustine says that it is not so much the fault of the words themselves that the student is led astray to think immoral behavior as god-sanctified but that of the teachers and their erroneous thinking. “I bring no charge against the words which are like exquisite and precious vessels, but the wine of error is poured into them for us by drunken teachers. If we failed to drink, we were caned and could not appeal to any sober judge,” (19, section 26). Language and words themselves are not wrong or bad. However, when the idea that the only way in which to learn is by reciting or emulating passages praising sinful behavior, then the words are tainted. There is no reason why it would be better to learn words and phrases from an immoral passage than from an edifying one. It is the choice of the teachers what they choose to encourage in their students whether consciously or not.

Homilies on 1 Corinthians 13

One of the most famous passages in all of Scripture is 1 Corinthians 13, sometimes called the chapter of love. Through three of his homilies, St. John Chrysostom goes phrase-by-phrase and verse-by-verse of that particular chapter in order that the people of the church fully understand Paul’s meaning about what it means to love. He starts by saying that, without love, everything sacrificial that man may try to do is worthless if it is done without thought about one’s neighbor. Then he proceeds to show how love, when practiced rightly, prevents the practice or thought of vice and promotes and nurtures virtue. Finally, love is the greatest of all virtues that will not pass away even when all the rest of the world with its tongues and knowledge do.

What most intrigued me was when he quoted and explained 1 Corinthians 13:3, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.” I have always known this verse, even memorized it for Sunday school, but it was not until reading this homily that I finally tried to understand the significance of this verse. To me, I could understand giving away everything to the poor without love, such as if it were done for self-righteous reasons or for boasting rights, but it seemed nigh impossible to die without love. Wouldn’t they still be highly honored by God for what they’d done? And why would they die unless they loved someone? But then, St. John Chrysostom used a telling analogy. “[If] anyone had a beloved child in whose behalf he would even give up his life, and someone were to love the father, but pay no regard whatever to the son, he would greatly incense the father; nor would he feel the love for himself, because of the overlooking his son. Now if this ensue in the case of father and son, much more in the case of God and men,” (35). Yes, you could say that the person loved God and died for Him, but God would not honor it because the person did not care for the people around him. What good is dying for God if you do not love the people He loves? This point hit me the most.

On Marriage and Family Life

In a series of sermons, St. John Chrysostom covers a variety of topics relating to marriage and family life within the context of the church. He instructs wives on why and how they should submit to their husbands as Paul instructs in his letter to the Ephesians. Interestingly though, he spends much more time on the role of the husband and how he ought to love his wife in the majority of his sermons. He repeatedly makes reference to how Christ loved and died for the Church despite seeming unlovable as the model for how husbands should love and treat their wives. Also, he speaks about the importance of raising children to pursue godliness. Finally, he gives instructions to unmarried people about how they ought to conduct themselves and what they should look for in their future spouses.

While reading, I noticed a thought that had been previously expressed in Plato’s Socratic dialogues, the idea that one ought to desire a beautiful soul rather than a beautiful body in the beloved. “Praise, hatred, and even love based on outward beauty come from impure souls. Seek beauty of soul,” says St. John Chrysostom (48). In today’s image-driven culture, it seems necessary to be beautiful if one wants to be loved. Girls and guys, though not as much, develop all kinds of disorders and pain in order to shape their bodies into what is deemed beautiful. In contrast, St. John Chrysostom and Socrates say that the outward appearance of a person should not be the ultimate criterion for a life-long companion. That is a sign of a soul that still needs growing. St. John Chrysostom goes on to say:

“The beauty of the body, if it is not joined with virtue of the soul, will be able to hold a husband for twenty or thirty days, but will go no farther before it shows its wickedness and destroys all its attractiveness. As for those who radiate the beauty of the soul, the longer time goes by and tests their proper nobility, the warmer they make their husband’s love and the more they strengthen their affection for him.” (100)

He acknowledges that physical beauty does attract and can even lead to marriage. That beauty though will not be able to cover for long the wickedness that lies beneath. However, if one finds a beautiful soul to love, that love will not only last but grow and beautify the one with the beautiful soul. Nothing can replace the resplendence of a beautiful soul in love.

Philippians and Colossians

Though short, the letters Paul wrote to the churches of Philippi and Colossians contain wonderful advice on how to live the Christian life on a daily basis. In Philippians, he encourages them to remain united under Christ and to not fall into the trap of believing that their righteousness is of any account because it is only through faith in the righteousness of Christ that they may attain holiness. Finally, he entreats the church to put God first in everything and to love one another. The Colossians, meanwhile, are praised for their good fruit. However, Paul warns them not to think that through any sort of rituals or actions that they may attain salvation but only through the saving work of Christ on the cross. As new creations in Christ, they are to put off old habits of sin and destruction and put on the garments of life, the most important of which is love. And lastly, they are to be kind and just to one another and gracious to those outside the faith.

In both these letters, I found Paul speaking of the goodness of suffering. Normally speaking, suffering is not considered a good thing, usually coming as retribution for a bad action. However, Paul says that suffering for Christ’s sake is an accompanying good to belief in Christ. In Philippians, he says, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,” (1:29). Granting something to someone implies that they would otherwise not have had access to it at a previous time. So here, Christ has granted that people believe in him and suffer for his sake. In the language used, the suffering seems to be a desired bonus. For Paul, it is a privilege to suffer for Christ and to bring Him glory through suffering.

He even goes so far to say that it is a proper role of minister. Colossians 1:24-25 says, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the rod of God.” Here, it sounds like Paul is suffering not only for Christ’s sake but also for the church. As one of its ministers, he sees that he is duty bound to protect the church and to act as an example of how they ought to live. So, it is his joy to suffer so that he may bring greater glory to his Lord as well as be an encouragement to those to whom he ministers should they ever encounter similar trials.

Galatians and Ephesians

Written to the churches in the cities of Galatia and Ephesus respectively, Galatians and Ephesians covers range of issues presented to early Christian believers. Galatians mostly covers the issues of converts from Judaism and how much of the Old Testament law to follow. In his letter, Paul reminds the Galatian church that they need not impress the law of Moses on Gentile converts because all have come under the law of grace. Ephesians presses the importance of being unified. From men and women to slaves and masters, Paul urges all to work together for Christ’s glorification.

At the beginning his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds them that it is through Christ that they are reconciled to God. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,” (Ephesians 2:7-9). Because of Christ’s shed blood, all people can be forgiven of their sins through his grace to mankind. But what caught my attention was the part just after where it says that he “made known to us the mystery of his will” and “the dispensation of the fullness of all things in Christ”. I have heard a lot of pastors preach on what God’s will is and what it means to follow His will. There are some who have said that it is the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel, making new disciples and baptizing them; others have said that it’s more specific and specialized to each person depending on their gifts and talents. But according to Paul, the mystery surround God’s will has already been revealed to us. If this is so, why are there so many different opinions then?