Light That Breaks Forth Early
Tomos 4. “Then your light will break forth early, and your healing will spring up quickly; your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will wrap around you. Then you will cry out, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking he will say, ‘Here I am’” (Isaiah 58:8–9).
If you fast purely, he says, and show God hands washed clean and a mind set free from every stain; that is, when you scrub yourself clean of striking the lowly with your fists, of goading those under your hand into lawsuits and quarrels, and of following your own wishes and pleasures (Isaiah 58:3–4); when you break your bread for the hungry, clothe the naked, and bring the homeless poor into your house (Isaiah 58:7): then your light will break forth early.
The word carries very great force. For he did not simply say, “The light will be given to you by God,” but rather “it will break forth,” like a flash of lightning sent down from God with rush and speed. This clearly shows the eagerness of the Giver. And by saying “early” he teaches that it will come down even before its time.
For God, the steward of our affairs and the giver of spiritual gifts, knows, yes he knows, the time that suits his generous gifts to each person. But if someone proves good and upright, and compassionate and easy to guide besides, to him the rewards from God will be given early, so that they spring up in him like ears of grain. So too will his healing, that is, the casting off of every sickness and the entry of better things in its place.
For when someone is freed from the sicknesses of the soul, he will surely bear the fruit of longing and eagerness for every good thing whatever. So when the divine and spiritual light has dawned in us, healing surely rises with it in every way, as God dresses our wounds, saps the strength of our passions, and puts in their place within us the will to do good and to excel in righteousness.
That is why he says, “Your righteousness will go before you.” It will go before us, plainly, by making the road to godliness easy in advance, turning what is rough into what is smooth and passable, bringing down what is steep, and, as it were, setting straight our course toward all that is best.
He adds something else as well: “For the glory of God,” he says, “will wrap around you,” that is, it will surround you, make you someone all eyes turn to, and make you a benefit shared by many. For the brightness of the saints …
Greek
ΤΟΜΟΣ ∆ʹ.}1 9Τότε ῥαγήσεται πρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου, καὶ τὰ ἰάματά σου ταχὺ ἀνατελεῖ, καὶ προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου, καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ Θεοῦ περιστελεῖ σε. Τότε βοήσεις, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς εἰσακούσεταί σου. Ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῖ· Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι.9 Εἰ καθαρῶς, φησὶ, νηστεύσειας, καὶ διεσμηγμένας τὰς χεῖρας ἀποδείξειας τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ῥύπου παντὸς ἀπηλλαγμένον τὸν νοῦν, ἤγουν ὅταν ἀποσμήχῃ τοῦ καταπαίειν πυγμαῖς ταπεινὸν, καὶ ὑπονύσσειν μὲν τοὺς ὑποχειρίους εἰς κρίσιν καὶ μάχας, ἕπεσθαι δὲ τοῖς αὐτοῦ [γρ. σοῦ] θελήμασι καὶ φιληδονίαις, ὅταν διαθρύψῃς πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον, γυμνὸν ἀμφιέσῃς, πτωχοὺς ἀστέγους εἰσαγάγῃς εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου· τότε ῥαγήσεται πρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου. Ἔμφασιν ἔχει πλεί- στην ὅσην ὁ λόγος. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἔφη, ∆οθήσεταί σοι παρὰ Θεοῦ τὸ φῶς, ῥαγήσεται δὲ μᾶλλον, οἷον ἀστρα- πῆς τινος δίκην, σὺν ὁρμῇ καὶ δρόμῳ καθιέμενον παρὰ Θεοῦ, δι' οὗ διαδείκνυται σαφῶς τοῦ χορηγοῦν- τος ἡ προθυμία. Πρώϊμον δὲ λέγων, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ καιροῦ καταφοιτήσει, διδάσκει. Οἶδε μὲν γὰρ, οἶδεν ὁ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ταμίας Θεὸς, ὁ πνευματικῶν χαρισμά- των δοτὴρ, ταῖς ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ φιλοτιμίαις τὸν καιρὸν ἐοικότα. Ἀλλ' εἴ τις γένοιτο καλός τε καὶ ἀγαθὸς, καὶ προσέτι φιλοικτίρμων καὶ εὐήνιος, τούτῳ καὶ πρώϊμα τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ δοθήσεται γέρα, ὥστε καὶ ἀσταχύων δίκην ἀνατέλλειν ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ τὰ ἰάματα αὐτοῦ, τουτέστιν, ἁπάσης ἀῤῥωστίας ἀποβολὴν, 455 καὶ τῶν ‹70.1289› ἀμεινόνων ἀντεισδρομήν. Ψυχικῶν γὰρ ἀῤῥωστημά- των ὅταν ἀπαλλάττηταί τις, καρποφορήσει πάντως τὴν εἰς ἅπαν ὁτιοῦν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔφεσίν τε καὶ προ- θυμίαν. Φωτὸς οὖν ἐν ἡμῖν διαυγάσαντος τοῦ θείου τε καὶ νοητοῦ, συνανατέλλει πάντη τε καὶ πάντως καὶ τὰ ἰάματα, Θεοῦ μοτοῦντός τε ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπονευροῦν- τος τὰ πάθη, καὶ ἀντεισκρίνοντος ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ θέλειν ἀγαθουργεῖν, καὶ διαπρέπειν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ. Ταύτῃτοί φησιν, ὅτι "6Προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡ δικαιο- σύνη σου."6 Προπορεύσεται δὲ προεξευμαρίζουσα δηλονότι τὴν εἰς εὐσέβειαν ὁδὸν, καὶ τὸ τραχὺ μεθ- ιστῶσα πρὸς τὸ λεῖόν τε καὶ βάσιμον, καὶ τὸ ἄναντες καταφέρουσα, καὶ τὸν ἐφ' ἅπασι τοῖς ἀρίστοις οἱονεὶ κατευθύνουσα δρόμον. Προσεπάγει δέ τι καὶ ἕτερον. "6Ἡ γὰρ δόξα τοῦ Θεοῦ, φησὶ, περιστελεῖ σε,"6 τουτ- έστι, κυκλώσει σε, καὶ ἀπόβλεπτόν σε καταστήσει, καὶ κοινὸν ὠφέλημα πολλοῖς. Ἡ γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων φαιδρό