Tag Archives: prayer

Apostle James & Prophet Job

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The prophet Job is seen in these two Byzantine manuscript illuminations and a Russian icon: the illuminations show Job’s initial affliction with boils and his arguments with his wife and friends as well as Job’s final discussion with the Logos at the conclusion of the Old Testament book (“Where were you when I made the world?” God asks Job). The Russian icon depicts Job as a king (which is how Job is described in the oldest texts of the Old Testament).

Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. You know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (James 5:10-11)

The figure of Job in the Old Testament has commonly been considered a prophet for most of Christian history because of his stalwart preaching to his friends during the afflictions he suffered and because he was thought to be a type–a prefiguration–of Christ because of his patient, innocent endurance. In the version of the Old Testament that James and his audience knew, the conclusion of the book of Job reads:

“And it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.

  “This man is described in the Syriac book as dwelling in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia; and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian wife, he begat a son whose name was Ennon. He himself was the son of his father Zara, a son of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraham. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over. First Balak the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba. After Balak, Jobab, who is called Job….”

(Job 42, LXX)

Job not only endured his unjust suffering patiently, he was expected to be among the just who would be raised on the Last Day. His suffering and promised resurrection were both seen by early Christians as pointing to the innocent suffering and promised resurrection of Christ as well as the innocent suffering of the early Christian community and the resurrection they expected to share as well at the Last Day. (It is this version of the conclusion of the Book of Job that is read on Good Friday afternoon by Eastern Christians each year.)

Patiently enduring undeserved suffering and affliction is one of the major themes of the epistle of James. Various sins–pride, hypocrisy, favoritism, slander–only bring more suffering to the community. James urges his readers to live with humility and godly–not secular–wisdom. Prayer is an essential part of this, James tells his readers.

Patience and humility are the direct result of the prayerful expectation of the coming Resurrection. Knowing they will be raised, James’ readers are able to see their experiences from a different perspective and in another light than those who think their deaths will mean the end of their existence. Expecting the resurrection, James’ readers no longer need to fear death and because they do not fear death, they can endure suffering with patient prayerful endurance. They can be like the prophet Job, sharing in Christ’s patient suffering and victorious resurrection.

“I Sleep, But My Heart Wakes”

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The Queen of Sheba before King Solomon (1649-1647)
Pauwels Casteels / Public domain
King Solomon is traditionally considered the author of the Song of Songs, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

“I sleep, but my heart is awake” (Song of Songs 5:2) is one of the most interesting verses for the Patristic tradition and the tradition of the prayer of the Church. This is generally understood to be the sleep of the physical senses while the spiritual senses are active and aware; often, this verse was cited in connection with visions or dreams in which a person had a direct experience of God while otherwise incapacitated.

Jacob, in the Old Testament, dreamed that he saw the Lord atop a ladder that reached from earth to heaven; the angels were ascending and descending the rungs of the ladder. Solomon himself was visited by God in a dream and given the choice of selecting which divine gift he preferred; he famously asked for wisdom. The apostle Peter, in the Book of Acts, thought he was dreaming when an angel came and helped him escape from prison. The prophet Joel promised that authentic encounters with God in dreams would happen when the Messiah arrived.

A direct experience of God, either awake or asleep, is often considered a sign that the person has reached the third stage of spiritual growth. These stages—purification, illumination, purification—often overlap and retract while still going forward. They are never linear and self-contained. No one is ever finished with purification before beginning illumination or experiencing moments of perfection. These moments of purification can be spurs to continue the work of purification or illumination.

“For many of [the Church fathers], the Song of Songs should be viewed as the last part of a trilogy written by Solomon, whose first and second parts were Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Consistently with the tripartite ascent of the soul – or the Church – towards God that we find in the ascetic theological tradition of the Church, which consisted of the stages of purification-illumination-perfection (or union with God), these three books represented precisely this triad: Proverbs was seen as a work that represented moral purification, while Ecclesiastes reflected on the vanity of the transient world and thus was seen as a work of illumination through the contemplation of the world. The Song of Songs therefore, coincides with the third and final stage of the ascent of the soul or the Church towards God, and its symbolism of the union between the man and the woman symbolize the union with God.” (A. Andreopoulos, “The Song of Songs: The Asceticism of Love“)

Lent is Coming!

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Incense smoke is said to be both a purification-exorcism and an act of veneration: it is a “silent absolution” that washes away sin and drives devils away–they cannot remain where incense burns because it reminds them of the fragrant air in Paradise, which they have lost access to–while honoring the image of God within each person.

Whether someone keeps Lent on the Western Christian or Eastern Christian calendar, Lent is like death: it is better for us to prepare for it but it is coming, whether we are ready for it or not. And like death, it is best to prepare for it by forgiving old grudges and re-establishing relationships neglected or forgotten. Lent is meant to be a re-establishment of the harmony of Paradise, in which people lived in harmony with each other as well as with all creation.

The traditional fasting practices of Lent are best summed up with the axiom: “Don’t kill.” We give up eating anything that has to be killed so that we do not preserve our lives through violence. We pray and give alms to repair our relationships with God and each other and with the poor and needy around us. We spend these weeks, a tithe of the year, living in harmony–or at least trying to live in harmony–with everything and everyone. Of course, we should try to live this way all year long. But we don’t. So we dedicate this tithe of the year to attempting to at least live this way for a brief few weeks. (The traditional fasting days each week during the rest of the year are weekly booster-shots for us to restore this harmony every week.)

Fasting is important but the point is not to embrace misery or difficulty. The prophets criticize and reproach those who fast with the wrong intentions or for the wrong reasons but they never say that we should not fast; they tell us to fast but with the right attitude.

I would like to borrow a few words about fasting from Nicholas Denysenko:

“… Ultimately, Lent is a chance to set aside distractions – whatever they are – and awaken to God, humankind, and the cosmos – and to love them….

“Three helpful guidelines for food during Lent.
1. Less is more. Stop eating when you’re full.
2. Keep it simple and inexpensive. An extravagant vegan dinner is not more “Lenten” than baked chicken.
3. Don’t boast, discuss, or inquire about others’ eating habits.

“Three final words about Lent – and they’re not “bright sadness” – they come from and are directed to God Almighty –
1. Gratitude
2. Joy
3. Liberty”