On the Lenten Fast III

Of the Holy Mar Jacob of Serugh Homily 23, On the Holy Fast of Forty Days Again concerning the narrative of the Fast, I intend to speak. My great hope is that I may speak and profit those who hear me. Concerning the days that follow the course of righteousness. Behold, I am eager; give me a discourse so that I may speak with you. My teacher is sad; my meditation is a narrative full of virtues. That its narrative might be established for the Church which has trusted in your piety. Behold, a teaching that I may speak clearly. Lovers of truth, give me your ear that I may delight you. Come, O fasters who are at the table of the king and are victorious, And who, without bread, are spiritually delighted day by day. Come, O athletes who have ascended to the arena of righteousness, And speak now concerning the visions of the fast, the teacher. Come, those who are clothed in the armor of the strong from the alms, Arrange for battle against the slanderer who lies in wait for his legions. Come, O valiant ones who cast spears of prayers, Subdue the battle against demons who threaten your fasts. Behold, a ladder is set in the air upon the sea; Run to heaven which is opened by the arena of your victories. Again, it is the fast that brings crowns of righteousness To the one who loves it and enriches him with victories. Again, it is that which makes the creditor poor before the fasters, And through humility lowers the pride of the head of the air.

of the fast, that it brings forth hidden mysteries from the house of God, and reveals to the world its Creator in great wonder. The fast is able to loosen bonds and dissolve knots, and it brings forth all hidden things, revealing them upon the tablets. The fast has made easy the power of the mountain for the understanding of the mind, and from the fleece it sprinkles dew upon the fasters. There is in it power that the fast teaches to the beasts, and it casts a bridle into the mouth of the mighty one of the lions. Moses, by fasting, attained to see the high place of his Lord, and hidden mysteries spoke with him from the cloud. As if he ate bread, Moses consumed the fast on the mountain, and he heard, and it was pleasing, and he rejoiced in it without food. He fasted from bread, and at the table of God he partook; he ate light and drank radiance, and he acquired beauty. He was delighted with wine pressed from the clouds, and he acquired the inner chamber of the flaming bush in sweet fragrance. The fast made for him a beginning of a life full of that food which has no end to its flavors. The vision of the Lord, his word, was sufficient for that faster, and by his revelations he was nourished spiritually. The fast brought him into the house of mysteries and stood to show him the inheritance of the world, while being nourished from nothing. He was purified from heavy foods, and his tent of hidden things was revealed and he saw openly.

from food the perceptions of the soul become heavy; from knowledge the hidden mysteries of God are concealed. Every disciple who increases his eating is not a learner; by his food his worth becomes heavy, away from teaching. Moses and Adam were two disciples of God: one fasted and learned, and one because he ate lost his book. Not at the proper time did the disciple eat the fruit, and by that cause his error increased, that he learned from God. His great teacher commanded him not to eat, and because he ate, he could no longer receive teaching. From his food his mind and heart became heavy, and he could not learn that law which was to give him life. He darkened his soul by the fruit he ate from the tree; his reasoning was darkened from spiritual understanding. He ate and became heavy from that order of spirituality, and he could no longer learn what would give him worth. That food which he took weighed upon him, and on the mountain it took his life and did not release it. But Moses, son of Levi, also learned and kept himself from food, that he might not become heavy by it. He perceived in Adam that because he ate, his master expelled him, and he restrained his mouth from foods that are heavy. By this great sign he pursues the fast, which can teach hidden mysteries and secrets of the house of God.

In his humility he taught the fast through which the eyes of the soul are opened, so that it may be attentive to the hidden things. See how because Adam ate, he was expelled from Paradise; and the one who fasted entered and saw the tree of life in its beauty. He established fasting against the desire for that food, so that he might be ready to receive many things. He abstained from heavy foods, so that he might grasp all the depths of divinity. Through fasting he became like a great lamp of light, until he illuminated all the folds of creation. Forty days he was with God, hidden in the beginning, and without bread he was refreshed by rays of light. Fasting exalted him until he became entirely light, and he went and saw beyond the world and returned from it. He rejected foods and despised bodily tastes, so that in his learning nothing would disturb what he meditated upon. Bread and water became his provision, for he knew that from foods the soul becomes dark and heavy. Through fasting Moses saw God and learned his mysteries; had he eaten, he would not have mastered that teaching. Through scarcity of bread and abstinence from foods, he made a spacious vessel for his mind, so that it might increase and grasp. He learned many hidden mysteries of divinity, and through his teaching he trampled upon the bread that he did not eat.

He showed the disciple the poverty of the fasts, until the whole face of the great light became visible. He taught the teaching, and concerning how he was abstinent from food, he entered further until he saw all the hidden things. That head of the race, from food, became mortal, and Moses, the great one, through fasting, taught creation. Because Adam ate, he expelled him from Paradise, and the one who fasted, Moses, into his cloud, concerning God. To the mountain of the Lord the faster ascended and saw there creation that comes from nothing, that something becomes from nothing. The vision of his self was the cause before the hidden things, and he learned and brought to the world their revelations. Through the great fast, the great Hebrew acquired a great vision, by which he arranged in it the beings and the worlds and their orders. He was terrified and in his cloud he dwelt with God, and there he taught him all the seals of creation. On two tablets his teacher wrote for Moses the book, that he might know that he is ready and receives many things. He saw that his teacher of fasting was and desired to learn, and two tablets filled with treasures he gave him as wealth. He gave him two, that one be read and one be preserved, for the New Testament that his son would make when it is revealed. On one tablet he wrote the Torah and its ordinances, and gave the Gospel the other tablet, that it might be interpreted in it.

One covenant on one tablet was written, and two tablets were required: one for the Law, which speaks of it practically, and one for the Gospel, which is interpreted spiritually. He gave him two, that which is new in its sacrifice of the old. Do not say that the two were not renewed for us, for the generations, ages, and peoples of the earth know that from one covenant, both new and old come. On the two tablets the great prophet looked, that there is another sacrifice for God, which speaks of him. In this sacrifice he gave teaching to the world through his hands; in the other sacrifice he teaches the whole earth through his son. The prophet stands like me after you, that he also teaches the earth through fasting, and the light from it. Through the fast of Moses, this one of our Lord was revealed, and that one was filled with that thought, and was completed. To that one, the son of God was joined in it, and he kept the honor of Moses in his fast while he was fasting. Also Elijah, who was the son of the mystery of divinity, in that same fast ran his course on the path of the pure fast. Moses began and our Lord completed the great fast; also Elijah ran in the middle of the mountain that reached him. In our Lord, both Elijah and the great Moses saw, and because of his fast they were pure, fasting in him.

In his fast, Moses taught creation about its Lord: how it was made and how it came from nothing. Through that of Elijah, the revelation was opened and gave him strength, so that he might pass over kings and establish kings in their thrones. Through that of our Lord, the demons were cast down from their ranks, and the rulers were deprived of their authority. The head of Hagar fell like lightning and was scattered. And Adam, the thrower, his mercy supported him, and he rose and was strengthened. It was a vision, and the Son of God descended to the arena, and in place of Adam, he took his generation and was strengthened in it. He ran on that path which the prophets, his fathers, had trod, so that the world might learn that he was not a stranger to his begetter. He fasted like Moses for forty days, while being strengthened, and like Elijah, he hastened in the contests of righteousness. For the Lord, the servants fasted, who were of his own kind. But the Lord, for Adam's sake, fasted and was strengthened. For Moses fasted, and Adam was not helped at all; and Elijah fasted, and the sin within was not atoned. Nor did they fast for Adam's sake and receive help, but rather to show how their Lord fasts on their behalf. To his fast, the Son was a pattern from their fasts, so that the earth might be stirred by the goodness of his way and know how to walk in it. When, then, he came and began his fast, the Lord of Adam, the prophets rejoiced in him, who came to fulfill their revelations.

He had witnesses, both the first and the middle ones: that he is the Lord who, on behalf of his servant, descended to the furnace. He descended to renew the generation of Adam and of nature. And because of this, fasting became for him a contest, for that food which the serpent brought in, fasting repays it. Hand in hand, he conquers Adam from his sins. For he who first ate, his Lord later withheld from food, so that this perversity might be exchanged for righteousness. The generation in the garden and among the trees was guilty. Because of this, the battle in the desert was renewed. Forty days he extended the generation, that victorious one, so that through it he might repay the sins of the interior while contending. For he said now, "Forty, why thus?" That number is arranged in Scripture, that count throughout all the books. To the woman who bears a male, the law commanded: that for forty days she should bring an offering that purifies her. And to the woman who bears a female, it commands again thus: that for forty and forty she should be in blood and then be purified. Also Moses, the treasury of books and of revelations, fasted forty days and learned the mysteries of divinity. Also Elijah, who exalted the image of the Son of God, walked forty days, so that he too was initiated into the mystery. And without considering the many, you have learned that the number is very clear throughout all the books.

The Son of God fasted forty days and was strengthened. And if you hear spiritually, come and observe. For this nature he descended, that he might purify the generation of the Lord. And on behalf of the whole, he descended to the furnace, while he was pure. For the elements, however, there are four elements from which the world stands. Four that are equal and opposite in their forms. And when that nature fell into the generation of that curse, the elements fled from that course of righteousness. And because of this, to each element he gave ten days, a course, and it was adorned with athleticism. For the measure of this, that ten was the sum, and beyond it, again, you cannot find a measure. Because he gave ten days to each element, as if to say the whole course of righteousness. And these ten, four times, he encircled and went, so that the whole nature stands righteously in these. Forty days they gave to the four that fell, the furnace, so that they might stand in complete victory, being triumphant. Because of this, the opportunity came down to the generation of the Lord, that the whole nature might be purified in him, who was guilty. Because of this, the hidden mystery that is set in the scriptures was being revealed in these forty days among the readers. In the Gospel, however, fifty days (he gave us) a course. And if not, in fifty, forty, you cannot run.

This mystery shows that the senses and the elements also stand in the fast from the fall that the serpent cast. For the five senses, fifty days of righteousness, and also the purification of the sin that conquered the house of Adam. But from the fifty, forty stand as if they were cut off, so that in them the four that were in the midst of the trees might conquer. This is the mystery of this fast, full of victories. Rise up, O valiant ones, run in the arena of righteousness. Raise your mind here a little, O hearer, for this discourse is not ordinary from the speaker. The mysteries of the fast are spiritually stirred within me, and what goes forth corporeally does not hear me. In forty days he fasted and contended with the Evil One, and gave victory to all nature in the great generation. And fifty days, behold, the fast is extended for the Church today, and the forty are those that are in the arena. And in the canon, it is that you may read spiritually: the mystery of the fifty you can find in it clearly. The week of fifty is the week of weeks, and it is the week of forgiveness and of remission and of purification. In it all the lands that were sown are watered, and to their former lords they return for renewal. Poverty compelled them to sell, and in forgiveness they were heirs to their inheritors.

The fifty-year cycle purifies the boundaries for their ends. Also the fields for the former lords who abandoned the earth. As one who lost his land through a sale and became alienated from it. In the fifty-year cycle he washes his hands and sanctifies it. The barren heirs who sold and abandoned their properties. In the fifty-year cycle the boundaries stand fixed in their limits. Here is the resurrection and the great day of the Gospel. Which comes at fifty and was depicted in the Law. On the fiftieth day the heir stood in the garden from the tomb. And took the Eden that the serpent sold through its deceit from him. On the fiftieth day the Lord comes upon his lands. And that merchant who consumed and sold what is his loses. After fifty days he grieves over the souls. That were sold like fields and like boundaries of the earth. The accuser stirs up and sells and leads astray and cuts off. And after fifty their lords purify the boundaries of the earth. The year was spiritually signified for the day. So that even Ezekiel took the day for the year then. In the fifty-year cycle is the release and the remission. And in it are joys for the heirs who cut off their properties. On the fiftieth day is the comfort and the petition. And in it the souls purify for God the boundaries of the earth. At the end of the fast the resurrection of the Son is given to us. And like that fifty-year cycle it turns the seasons.

All the souls of the Jubilee take back whatever was sold. It redeems them, and the Jubilee returns them. In these mysteries Moses spoke with the Hebrews. That in that year the cycle of weeks becomes a release. Because of this great mystery of righteousness, he wrote fifty, and at the end he named it release. Fifty days the fast runs, and at its end, a release makes resurrection for all sinners. In these fifty days righteousness runs, and at their end a release stood and renewed the face. In the fifty days of purification, generation, and severity, and after these a great crown and also victory. This fast stands in these hidden mysteries. O fasters, do not slacken from your labors. In these days the image of righteousness is formed. It brings every man, chosen from his defects, from his poisons. Because of these fifty days Moses wrote, that the year of fifty should be for the people a year of release. Because of this, the nature of beauty and of justification stands forty days, the generation with the victorious. In forty they conquer, but in fifty they are not avenged. At the end of fifty, the redeemer stands for the land. Blessed is the fast, blessed is he who is formed in you, that all the mysteries and all the types are found in you.

Your forty [days] and your fifty [days] are richly abundant. A generation pressed and completed, a great crown. Great is the fast, and great is the mystery that is ministered through you. Through you all victories are given to all the victorious. Through you the great staff of the sons of Levi blossomed, and became for the people a sun of flesh in the radiance it put on. Through you he was revealed and ascended to the depths of divinity, and came forth and proclaimed life to the world with great hope. Through you Elijah was beautiful and shaded, and stood on the heights, and flew and ascended to the place where death does not enter. Through you the Redeemer cast down the adversary in the generation, and through your completion he destroyed the fortresses of Sheol. The fast is armor, and a weapon that, if one puts it on, he is adorned by it, and what is hidden is not revealed. Rise up like strong shields that have reached the fast of Moses, and according to the order of the fast, run its course righteously. In the faith that is the mystery of the beautiful ones, in the mercy of the physician who offers you to God. In the armor of the strong one in prayers and in alms, in righteousness on the right and on the left. In the humility that gives rest to those who sleep in it, in pure love that is not troubled over its neighbor. In the gifts that go forth from your order to the weapon that is sharp, and in the alms that fly from you toward the companions.

In all the portions that you give, a hand to the beautiful ones. In all the courses that are served through you, righteousness. In everything that the chosen fast requires from the fasters. Run, O faster, that your soul may find purification. It is a great contest, and strength is required in it. Do not be in a crowd, and look at the crown that is from victory. Do not be slack, and sleep little, and sleep little, and do not sleep. And you will lose the opportunity that gives to the soul many lives. This fast is a house of visions, of asceticism. That one falls and dies, and one does not fall; behold, it is demonstrated. That the faster is from the order that keeps the air. For behold, a messenger stands and hastens, offering with the fasters. Take Jesus for yourself, for unless through him, a man does not conquer. And through him, he can subdue all the heights. The fast is a weapon, and Jesus gives it to all the victors. The servants of the king took the keys in the contest of blood. This fast is that crowd in which a man stands until the blood that his life is spent from the contest. In this contest, the soul kills or is killed. Victorious and standing, or defeated and falling greatly. This fast is ordained for the generation of righteousness. And that a man be slack, he cannot from the contest. There is the fast, and there are fasters, and there are distinctions. And this fast is singular for the contestants.

To the Israelites ten fasts in one year. The law gave them on many mountains. And these fasts were given for various reasons. For the sake of salvation and for the feasts of the whole year. But this fast is solitary and divine. And it is a great thing, for the whole nature is renewed by it. The entire order of the righteous fasts, so that it may be justified. The Son of God, and great is its cause among the causes. Forty days, like the firstborn of the mountain, he set it. For the whole nature and its weakness, which the beauty that was being corrupted had. By his great fast he humbled the pride of the adversary. And he set up the fallen who had been cast down from eternity. The sin of the interior is now being atoned for by the fast of the Son. And every guilty person receives forgiveness with him in place of his salvation. And if the righteous one on behalf of the guilty ones descended to the abyss, what place does the guilty one have to be freed from punishment? By this fast three powers were arrayed. With the righteous one and he humbled his pride in their three. Three snares of three pains the adversary wove. And their three he broke, the Son of God. Love of the belly and love of glory and desire for wealth. He arrayed in the generation with the faster who was hungry and thirsty. All these by which Adam was condemned. All these by which he was victorious over the abyss.

And when the righteous one arose vigilantly and kept his palms, he broke the fast vigilantly and made it a victory. For the love of the belly he trampled it with the hunger that he endured, and the love of glory was purified in his humility. For the desire for wealth he trampled it with the love of poverty, and in one fast three passions were humbled. He taught the solitaries through his fast how they might conquer the glutton in their struggles. He reproached Adam, for if it had pleased him to struggle, he would not have been guilty of the generation of desire and lust. He shut the gate of his brother to the generation and rose up to struggle, and the righteous one sinned and conquered the nature that had been condemned. In the person of Adam, the son of God struggled, and this victory that the Lord won he gave to his servant. So that Eve might show her son, the virgin repaid her debt. Blessed are the fasters who triumphed through his fast in their struggles. The end of the third homily on the fast.