Patristic Comments on the First Monastic Reading

 READING FROM THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON [3:1-9].

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever. They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect.

When St. Augustine uses this passage in response to the heretical Manichaeans, he places much emphasis on the revelation of eternal life in this passage:

And if eternal life had not been clearly made known in the Old Testament, the Lord would not have said, as He did even to the unbelieving Jews: "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think that ye have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me.” And to the same effect are the words of the Psalmist: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." And again: "Enlighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." Again, we read, "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and pain shall not touch them;" and immediately following: "They are in peace; and if they have suffered torture from men, their hope is full of immortality; and after a few troubles, they shall enjoy many rewards." Again, in another place: “The righteous shall live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord, and their concern with the Highest; therefore shall they receive from the hand of the Lord a kingdom of glory and a crown of beauty.” These and many similar declarations of eternal life, in more or less explicit terms, are found in these writings.

And somewhat related (that is, in speaking of life after death), St. John Chrysostom uses this passage to combat the belief that men’s souls becoming demons after they die:

But what can be the reason that they love also to dwell in the tombs? They would fain suggest to the multitude a pernicious opinion, as though the souls of the dead become demons, which God forbid we should ever admit into our conception. … Nor indeed is it possible for a soul, torn away from the body, to wander here any more. For “the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God;” and if of the righteous, then those of children’s souls also; for neither are they wicked: and the souls too of sinners are straightway led away hence.

Elsewhere, St. Augustine refers again to this passage, but this time in speaking of the theme of purification, that the struggles of this life are a purifying fire for those who will endure:

If he who is over thee be a good man, he is thy nourisher; if a bad man, he is thy tempter. Receive the nourishment in the one case with gladness, and in the temptation show thyself approved. Be thou gold. Regard this world as the furnace of the goldsmith … Does it not purify the gold? Stand fast then, Brethren, in the Lord; greater in power is He who hath called you. Be not afraid of the threats of the ungodly. Bear with your enemies; in them ye have those for whom ye may pray; let them by no means terrify you. ...This similitude is not our own, it is out of Holy Scripture. Ye have read and heard, “As gold in the furnace hath He tried them, and received them as a burnt-offering.”

St. Gregory Nazianzen picks up on the light theme: they shall shine. He preaches this homily in Constantinople on January 6th, (as the editors of NPNF clarify) “being the day following the delivery of that on the Holy Lights”. St. Gregory starts off, “Yesterday we kept high Festival on the illustrious Day of the Holy Lights.” He ties together this brilliance and the purification just mentioned.

“Light is also the brilliancy of heaven to those who have been purified here, when the righteous shall shine forth as the Sun, and God shall stand in the midst of them, gods and kings, deciding and distinguishing the ranks of the Blessedness of heaven. Light beside these in a special sense is the illumination of Baptism of which we are now speaking; for it contains a great and marvelous sacrament of our salvation.”

When St. Gregory says, “and God shall stand in the midst of them”, he might be quoting from Baruch 3:36, 38, This is our God; no other shall be compared to him. … Afterwards, he was seen upon the earth and lived among men. It would be a fitting reference, for his homily was on Theophany, and the services for Theophany and Nativity were once one service, and this passage from Baruch is read for Nativity.

Bibliography

Just in case you want to look up any of those references, here is a list of where I found them:

• St. Augustin, Reply to Faustus the Manichaean (NPNF1, IV, p252).
• John Chrysostom, The Gospel of Matthew (NPNF1, X, p191-2).
• Augustin, Sermons on New Testament Lessons (NPNF1, VI, p303).
• St. Gregory Nazianzen, Oration on Holy Baptism (NPNF2, VII, Gregory:XL:VI, p361).