The Language of St. Paul

The language of Saint Paul is beguiling and by it the reader is subtly guided to an appreciation of the Apostle’s arguments. Likewise, the reader is first reproached, brought to a resolution and then made all the more determined. In his writings, Paul urges his readers onward and the hearts of his hearers are inflamed with zeal.

It is Paul who uncovers the significance of the mysteries of God and it is he who gives them profound meaning by applying them to the salvific event which is Christ. Beginning with the paschal lamb, the exodus from slavery and the crossing of the Red Sea, the Apostle leads us to Christ who is our Passover in whom we pass from the house of slavery to the house of freedom. He is the new Lamb and the new Passover meal by which we are transferred from the universe of ignorance to the kingdom which is the domain of the Father. All this has been achieved in Christ who was sacrificed for us.

Two thousand years after his birth, men and women still seek to appreciate fully all that the Apostle to the nations taught and preached. Indeed, it would seem impossible to plumb the depths of ocean that is his theology. However, all those who endeavour to scale the heights with Paul will be filled with divine graces, and, whoever sets sail with him upon the seas will be enlightened with the light of Christ.

In today’s epistle (2Cor 4:6-15) Paul speaks about the Light of God which Jesus pours into our hearts that we might come to know the Glory of God, and, in our turn, become missionaries of Divine Grace. He speaks of the suffering of the apostle persecuted yet not betrayed, already enduring death as did his Master that the word might be made alive in us. Paul warns us that if we truly believe there comes the obligation to proclaim the Good News that others might share in our good fortune and the number of the Children of God increases.

Issam John Darwish BSO, DD

Eparch

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