Letter 36: To Alahazeka the priest and teacher

To the beloved and friend of God, my honored brother, Mar Alahazeka, priest and teacher. Ishoʿyahb, by the Lord, sends greetings. Now then, O friend of God, the knot of the contraries of the climates, which is not to be found, has found you daily in the perversity that, with the heretics, with the firm and true covenants of your love, you turned toward the madness of error. And on account of this, in the abyss of distance, in the tumult of confusion, in the whirlpool of afflictions, you painted the rights of spiritual love with the freedom of thought. And twice you sought the strong man, who is I, with a praiseworthy diligence in the request for peace, and you brought forth honored goods of the former intimacy with exceeding zeal for your soul. For me, however, for the strong man, only the appearance of my worldly affairs suffices to delight many times, with the memories of necessity. And to cease at times from the beauty of that diligence which is owed by the spiritual law to the duties of love, yet not so in the things that happened. For it was not sufficient, as you supposed, that the help of such contraries be offered apart from distance and foreignness, for a zealous and hasty encounter which you, loving God, loved in your soul. In the things of the spiritual law, you sought the need of peace. But rather, with that, the same one for the madness of the tumults, with the help of God from my side, you despised. And again, that knot which, as if by the nails of necessity from the place of my dwelling, you stretched, was formed by me in a few words. From the brevity, however, of the bearers of trust, which by chance happened to be full, it was purified as much as it was purified until now. Now, then, when I read the letter of the second time, I also, with the love of the first, in the affection of my gratitude, am comforted.

And blessed is your soul, O lover of God, who gives the gift. For, in opposition to love alone, the cause of your letter is made glorious. But it is not that the pleasing elegance of it has pleased me—that by which many are led to the bonds of beauty through the custom of tranquility. And between the two, the choices of the distress of the door are delayed. For it is that which has not been corrupted by the pain of insensibility. It is fitting, as I think, for a free-born man who is moved by love: that he should openly, in a domestic manner, reveal himself before his beloved with complete confidence. And now, they are like the examples of the blessed. For they were moved by the spirit of love in a pure manner. They left spiritual models of the beauty of labor for their heirs. In them, the whole flock will be. And the help of God will accompany the examples of their excellence. By his grace and his mercies, they will be eternal. Concerning that which you wrote to me, O my brother: when you are oppressed by the weight of the burden of the high ones, do not be amazed at that circumstance. For the high one guards the high one, as it is written. But you, hope in the Lord and keep his path. And do the work of the one who is rebellious. For that is your standing. For he swallows lowly dust that is proud. And to the pride of the boastful, the rod of humility is subjected. And if he does not hasten, in them are the instruments of his armor. For it is possible that pain may conquer pain, as the saying goes. And if not thus, even if not thus, endure in humility so that you may be equal to the written blessings. And may God protect you from all that is evil. Amen.