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FRIDAY, FOURTH
WEEK OF LENT, YEAR II
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
(The Cloud upon
the Tabernacle and the silver trumpets: Numbers 9:15 – 10:10, 33-36)
On the day that the
tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the
testimony; and at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of
fire until morning. So it was continually; the cloud covered it by day, and the
appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the
tent, after that the people of Israel set out; and in the place where the cloud
settled down, there the people of Israel encamped. At the command of the LORD
the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they encamped; as
long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, ...
A
Reading from the
Adoration and Worship of God in Spirit and in Truth by
St Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of
Alexandria (444). Nestorius was
condemned in 431 by the Council of Ephesus at which Cyril presided, and Mary’s
title, Mother of God, was solemnly recognized. The Incarnation is central to
Cyril’s theology. Only if Christ is consubstantial with the Father and with us
can he save us, for the meeting ground between God and ourselves is the flesh
of Christ. Through our kinship with Christ, the Word made flesh; we become
children of God, and share in the filial relation of the Son with the Father.
The fiery cloud
The
glory of Christ filled the true Tabernacle, which is the Church, from the very moment it was set up on earth. This,
surely, is what is signified by the cloud that covered the first Tabernacle.
Christ has filled the Church with his glory, and now like a fire, he shines
forth to give light to those who live in the darkness of ignorance and error.
He shades and protects those already
enlightened by the dawn of his day in their hearts. He refreshes them with the
heavenly dew of his consolations sent down from above through the Spirit. This
is what we should understand by the saying that by night he appeared in the
form of fire, and by day in the form of cloud. Those who were as yet
uninstructed in the teaching of Christ required spiritual enlightenment to
bring them to a knowledge of God; but the more advanced, whose minds had been
illumined by faith, were in need of protection from the scorching heat of the
day, and of courage to bear the burdens of this present life. For all who
desire to live a godly life in Christ will suffer persecution.
Whenever
the cloud moved forward, the Tabernacle went with it; when the cloud settled,
the Tabernacle came to rest with it and the Israelites broke their journey. Now
the meaning of this for us is that wherever Christ leads, the Church, the holy
multitude of believers, follows him. The faithful are never separated from the
Saviour who calls them to himself. We may not be able to find any special
meaning in the constant halts and new departures throughout our spiritual
journey under Christ's guidance. It is the whole journey, following the cloud
whether it moves forward or settles, that symbolizes our desire to be with God.
Nevertheless,
if we would have a more subtle interpretation, we could perhaps say that our
first departure is from unbelief to faith, from ignorance to knowledge, and
from having no perception of the true God to clear recognition of the Creator
and Lord of the universe. The second stage, and an essential one, is conversion
from sin and licentiousness to a desire for amendment both in thought and deed.
But the best and most glorious is the third part of the journey, because in it
we leave behind what is deficient and move onward toward what is perfect both
in our actions and in our belief.
So,
little by little, we advance toward the ideal we see in Christ, to become the
perfect man, sharing in the perfection of Christ himself. This surely is what
Saint Paul means by saying: Forgetting
what lies behind me and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on to
reach the goal, the heavenly reward to which God calls me in Christ Jesus.
St
Cyril of Alexandria, The Adoration and Worship of God in Spirit and in Truth, (Lib. 5: PG
68:393-396); Word in Season II, 1st
ed.
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