Letter Iii
LETTER III
A.D.331
Again, brothers and sisters, Easter day is coming! This day above all others should be given over to prayer and praise, as the Scriptures command. As your bishop, I dare not forget to give you a message for the season. Those who trouble us have tried to make it impossible for us to announce this season to you. Nevertheless, thanks to God, "who comforts the afflicted"
(2 Cor. 7:6), we have not been silenced or overcome by the wickedness of our accusers. Rather, obeying the voice of truth, we join you in announcing the Feast.
The God of all has commanded, "Speak and the children of Israel shall keep the Passover" (Num. 9:2). And in the Psalm the Spirit exhorts, "Blow the trumpet in the new moons, in the solemn day of your feast" (Ps. 81:3). Similarly, the prophet cried, "Keep your feasts, O Judah" (Nah. 1:15). So I'm not sending this letter to you as if you did not know what is going on. I'm sending it to people who understand, so that you will be aware that although men have separated us, God has brought us back together again. We come to the same Feast together and always worship the same God.
CHRIST: OBJECT OF THE FEAST
We do not keep the Easter festival as people who are superstitious about days having power in themselves. The apostle Paul chided those who do that sort of thing when he said, "You observe days, and months, and times, and years"
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(Gal. 4:10). Rather, we consider the day to be special and holy because of the Feast. With that attitude, all of us who serve the Lord everywhere will be pleasing to God. When the blessed
Paul announced the nearmess of this joyful time of the Christian year, he did not stress the day. Instead, he spoke of the Lord, because of whom we keep the Feast: "Christ, our Passover is sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7). He wanted all of us to turn our thoughts to the eternity of the Word —the Son of God—and draw near to Him. For what, after all, is the Feast, but an act of serving
Him with the soul? And what is that service but extended prayer and continuous thanksgiving to God?
Unthankful people, having strayed from prayer and thanksgiving, deprive themselves of the resulting joy. For joy and gladness are truly "taken from their mouth" (Jer. 7:34).
Consequently, the divine Word does not allow them to have peace, "For there is no peace to the wicked, says the Lord"
(Isa. 48:22). Rather, they end up with anguish and sorrow.
That is why the one who owed ten thousand talents was not forgiven by the Lord (Matt. 18:34). Having been forgiven of a large debt, he was unkind to those who owed him small ones.
In the end, he paid the penalty for both the large and the small debts. That was quite proper, because the right thing for him to have done, after having experienced kindness, would have been to be merciful to his fellow servant.
Similarly, the man who received one talent, tied it up in a napkin, and hid it in the ground was thrown out as an unthankful person. Because of his attitude he was told, "You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I sowed not, and gathered where I have not strewn; you ought therefore to have put my money into the bank, and on my return, I should have received my own. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to the man that has ten talents" (Matt. 25:26-28).
Since it was his duty to return to his lord what belonged to him, he should have acknowledged the kindness of the one who gave it to himn—and the value of what he had received. His lord wasn't really a hard man; if he had been, he wouldn't have given it to him in the first place. Nor was that which was given something unprofitable and useless, for then there would have
THE RESURRECTION LETTERS
been no fault. No, his lord was really good, and that which was given was capable of bearing fruit.
USE PROFITABLY THE GRACE OF GOD
There is a proverb that says, "He who withholds corn in seed-time is cursed" (Prov. 11:26). In the same way, someone who is careless about grace and hides it without allowing it to work in him is appropriately thrown out as a wicked and thankless person. On the other hand, those who increase their talents are praised: "Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in a little, I will place you over much; enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. 25:23).
Now, dear brothers and sisters, our will to do should keep pace with the grace of God. For if our will sits idly by, neglecting His grace, the enemy will discover our emptiness and move in on us. That was what happened to the one from whom the demon went out: "for having gone through dry places, he took seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and returning and finding the house empty, he dwelt there, and the last state of that man was worse than the first" (Matt. 12:43-45). Why?
Because turning away from virtue makes room for unclean spirits.
In addition, we have an apostolic injunction that the grace given to us should not be unprofitable. The things St. Paul wrote to his disciples personally, he lays on us through them, as for example, "Neglect not the gift that is in you" (1 Tim. 4:14).
And there is a proverb to the same effect: "He who tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but the paths of the lazy man are strewn with thorns" (Prov. 12:11; cf. 15:19).
Further, the Holy Spirit warns us not to fall into such things, saying, "Break up your fallow ground, do not sow among thorns" (Jer. 4:3). The reason is that when someone thinks so little of the grace God has given him that he neglects it, he is headed for trouble. Without doubt he will soon be all wrapped up in the cares of life, and shortly he will be living just for the pleasures of the flesh. Then when persecution comes, he rejects the faith and his life is barren.
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SPIRITUAL ZEAL COMPARED WITH FIRE
As Jeremiah pointed out, such negligence is dangerous:
"Cursed is he who is careless in the work of the Lord" (Jer.
48:10). Anyone who enlists in the service of the Lord should be diligent and attentive. Then when he has wiped sin out of his life by his zeal, he will be prepared to draw near to God—who the Scripture calls a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24; 9:3; Heb.
12:29).
We must remember that God, "Who makes His angels spirits," is Himself a spirit, and He makes "flames of fire His servants" (Ps. 104:4). Thus, when Israel had left Egypt, He forbade the people to even touch the mountain where He was giving the Law, because they were far from being "on fire" for the Lord. He did, however, call the blessed Moses to that mountain. Moses was totally committed to Him and clung to His grace, so God said, "Let Moses alone draw near" (Exod.
24:2). So Moses climbed up the mountain into the cloud, and although that mountain smoked with the heat and presence of the Lord, Moses was unharmed. Rather, through "the words of the Lord which are pure silver refined in a furnace" (Ps. 12:6), he came down more pure than when he went up.
QUENCHING THE HOLY SPIRIT
We can thus see why Paul, not wanting the grace of the Spirit given to us to grow cold, exhorts us, "Quench not the Spirit" (1
Thess. 5:19). The only way we can continue to be partakers of Christ is to cling until the end to the Holy Spirit, who was given to us at the beginning (Matt. 10:22; Heb. 3:6). Paul said,
"Quench not" not because the Spirit is under the power of men, but because evil and unthankful men certainly do wish to quench the Spirit. Demonstrating their impurity, they drive the Spirit away by their unholy deeds. "For the holy Spirit of admonition flees from guile, and dwells not in a body under the influence of sin; but departs from foolish thoughts."! But people
1Wisdom 1:4,5.