|
|
|
Today’s talk
will be on the Apostle and Gospel readings for this Sunday 1st November.
It is also the feast day of the Selfless Physicians Cosmas and Damian. In
the Church calendar there are three pairs of saints who were blood
brothers with the same names and same occupation of physicians, but came
from different areas. The first were from Rome, the second from Asia Minor
and the third from Arabia. They also all have the same epithet or title
which is English is usually translated as Unmercenaries or as I call them
Selfless Physicians. What do these titles mean? The Greek title is
“Anargyri” which literally means without silver. In other words without
money or without payment. As used in their title it means those who used
their professional skills without accepting payment for their services.
There is no English equivalent for the word Anargyri so they are usually
given the title Unmercenaries. As you know mercenaries are soldiers
belonging to a private army who are highly paid to fight in private wars.
So the word Unmercenaries, which doesn’t really exist in the English
language, was made up to mean the opposite of mercenaries and refers to
not receiving payment for services. Personally I have a great dislike for
the word because it still reminds me of soldiers and could be interpreted
as soldiers who fight and kill just for the pleasure of it without seeking
reward for their perversion. Thus I use the title Selfless Physicians
which although doesn’t refer to payment or non payment it explains that
they practiced their profession of medicine without seeking to better
themselves.
The Cosmas and
Damian celebrated on 1st November were from Asia Minor. They were brothers
both in the flesh and in the spirit, born of a pagan father and a
Christian mother. After their father's death, their mother Theodotia
devoted all her time and effort to educating her sons and raising them as
true Christians. They were learned in the art of medicine and ministered
to the sick without payment, not so much with medicine as by the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They were called “Selfless Physicians”, meaning
unpaid physicians, for they healed freely and thus fulfilled the
commandment of Christ: Freely ye have received, freely give (Matthew
10:8). So careful were they in healing men free of charge that Cosmas
became very angry with his brother Damian because he accepted three eggs
from a woman, Palladia, and ordered that he not be buried alongside his
brother Damian after his death. In fact, St. Damian did not accept these
three eggs as a reward for healing the ailing Palladia, but rather because
she adjured him in the name of the Most-holy Trinity to accept these three
eggs. Nevertheless, after their death in the town of Fereman, they were
buried together according to a revelation from God. The holy brothers were
great miracle-workers both during their life and after their death.
The Apostle
reading for this Sunday is for the feast of these two great saints. It is
that beautiful reading where Paul talks on love being the first and
foremost in the Christian life and without it we are nothing. Before we
hear the reading something must be said on the King James Translation
which I usually use for the English readings. The Greek word Agape meaning
love is translated as Charity which in our day and age could very easily
be understood as meaning charitable works. Of course charity is a fruit of
love but so that we can better understand the meaning I have changed every
use of Charity back to the word Love.
The reading is from
the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 12:27-13:8
Brethren, ye
are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some
in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all
teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do
all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best
gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am
nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not
itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her
own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.
27) “Brethren, ye are the body of Christ, and
members in particular.”
Paul is
telling us that all Christians are united in the one body of Christ and
just as our own bodies shouldn’t be divided then so much less should the
body of Christ not be divided. By members in particular he is referring to
the fact that the Corinthian church was not the Body of Christ by itself
but that it is a part of the Church existing every where and that the body
of Christ is made up of all the Churches together. Thus we are all a
member, a part of the whole body of the Church.
28) “And God hath set some in the church, first
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”
Here Paul sets
out in order of importance the Gifts of the Holy Spirit granted to each
and because the Corinthians thought highly of themselves in respect of
speaking in tongues he places it as the last and most inferior of the
gifts when compared with the other gifts. To show that he places them in
order of honour and importance he says first apostles secondly prophets
thirdly teachers etc. The apostles are first because they had all the
gifts in themselves. The prophets are second because when they prophesy
they speak all things from the Spirit. The teachers are third in line
after the prophets because whereas a prophet speaks in the Spirit, a
teacher also uses his own mind, in other words he speaks many things of
his own mind, agreeing however with the sacred Scriptures. After the top
three he places people who had the gift of power which in English is
translated as miracles. It is different from the next gift which is the
gift of healing. Although both are similar, the gift of power is higher
than the gift of healing because he that has power can use that power to
both heal and to punish whereas the person who has the gift of healing
only cures. But why does he place the gift of performing miracles low down
in the scale? Why is it a lesser gift that teaching for example? Because
it is not the same thing to declare the word of preaching and sow piety in
the hearts of the hearers, as it is to work miracles: a person who teaches
by his word and by his way of life in a sense gives healing to the soul
and guides it to salvation whereas a miracle is done merely to give
support to the teaching and usually involves only the body.
Next in line
are “helps and governments: what do these mean. Helps are those who have
the gift to help and give support to the weak. Paul considers this also to
be a gift of God because not everyone has it in them to be able to give
care, support and compassion to the poor and those in need. Governments
means the ability for administration which again is considered a gift
because it needs a special kind of person to be able to organise and put
in order everything needed for the smooth running of the Church.
And lastly
Paul mentions “diversities of tongues” placing it last to show that the
other gifts are of far more importance, but also because at that time
Corinth was greatly influenced by Greek paganism which included
demonstrations, frenzies and orgies all intricately interwoven into their
religious practices. When St. Paul preached to the Corinthians they were
still worshipping the pagan god Dionysius and were living under the
influence of Dionysiac religious customs. It was natural that they would
find certain similarities more familiar and appealing. Thus the
Corinthians began to put more stress on certain gifts like Speaking in
tongues. St. Paul was concerned about their ties and memories of the old
life and was compelled to warn them of using the gift of tongues
excessively.
Now after
giving them the catalogue of the various gifts there was the possibility
that many who had the lower gifts would have been offended and say: “And
why were we not all made Apostles? Why were we not all made prophets or
teachers?” He thus needs them to understand that for the body to work in
perfect order it needs the assistance of every one of its members. “God
has set every member of the body as it pleased Him:” from the head to
those that seem inferior, but all are necessary. Can the head say to the
feet I have no need of you, or can the tongue speak without the vocal
chords? Each member is part of the same body each having a different
function, but at the same time having the same care one for another. Thus
Paul says to them:
29-30) “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all
teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do
all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
Paul doesn’t
stop at the first and second gifts but proceeds to mention them all again
to show that not everyone can be all things. Each has his part to fulfil
in the body of the Church and even the lesser gifts are honourable because
they are not common to all. For as the greater gifts are not given to all
neither are the lower. But as if this understanding was not enough to
console those that didn’t have the higher gifts, he then says:
31) “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet
shew I unto you a more excellent way.”
In other words
“desire earnestly the better gifts. And still I will show you a more
excellent way. I will show you how you can possess these greater gifts.
The excellent way is of course through the virtue of love. Now by saying
this, he gently hinted that they were the cause of their own receiving the
lesser gifts, and have it in their power, if they would, to receive the
greater. But observe that Paul didn’t say to desire the greater gifts, but
“the better gifts” in other words the more useful, those by which they
would profit spiritually. But neither did he say that he would show them
how to receive a better gift but that he would show them a way and not
merely a way, but “a more excellent way” which leads to all these and
which is open to everyone. For whereas the gifts are vouchsafed, to some
these, to others those, here he now presents them with a way for all to
follow and obtain the most profitable gift of all.
1) “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal.”
Look now from
where Paul begins. Before he had told them that the gift of speaking in
tongues was the least of the spiritual gifts, but now he mentions it first
because it was the one gift that they considered so great and marvellous.
And he mentions it not to the degree that they had it in, but amplifies it
to sound even far more excellent for what does he mean “with the tongues
of men?” He means the language of every nation in every part of the world.
And neither was he content with this amplification, but he likewise uses
another much greater, adding the words, “and of angels.” By this it
doesn’t mean that he imagines angels having a body like us and speaking
with their mouth and tongues, but rather in the way that angels
communicate between themselves. He first exalts the gift and then casts it
right down by saying that if a man has no love then the gift is absolutely
nothing and he is become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal, a thing
senseless and inanimate. Indeed making a sound, but at random and in vain,
and disruptive and annoying to the ear. Thus a person with the gift of
tongues; but void of love is just an annoying and wearisome kind of
person: a burden to others.
2) “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.”
Again with
this gift he amplifies it with an excellency. For as in the case of
tongues he amplified it and said the tongues of all mankind, and of the
angels, and then signified that the gift was nothing without love: so also
here he mentions not prophecy alone but the very highest prophecy: for he
said: “If I have the gift prophecy and know all mysteries and all
knowledge;” thus expressing this gift also with intensity. He then
proceeds to mention the mother and source of all these gifts which is
faith. But again he is not content to just mention faith but says all
faith, a faith so strong that it could remove mountains and much much more
because he is quoting Christ who said that “If ye
have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you.” (Matth. 17:20). If faith as small as a grain
of mustard seed can remove mountains, what can all faith do? But even
someone who has such a great faith, if he has no love in him he is
nothing. Coming back to the gift of tongues which the Corinthians regarded
as being so great, Paul again, in a discreet and underhand manner lowers
its value and dignity. With the gift of prophecy he signifies the great
advantage arising from it, “the understanding of mysteries, and having all
knowledge;” with regard to faith nothing is impossible not even the
removing of mountains but when he mentioned the gift of tongues he didn’t
expound on it or give it any advantage: he just mentioned it and stopped.
3) “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the
poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it
profiteth me nothing.”
Again Paul is
amplifying and going for all or nothing. He doesn’t say if I give to the
poor the half of my goods,” or “two or three parts,” but, “though I give
all my goods.” But Paul doesn’t make it so simple as just giving. The word
“bestow” or “give” is a wrong translation. In Greek the word is ψωμίσω
which literally means to distribute in morsels, in crumbs - bit by bit,
thus there is the added personal work and expense of going around to the
poor and giving to each according to what is needed. But even these two
examples of giving away ones belongings and giving up one’s life is
nothing if the person has not love, neither actions will be of any
spiritual profit. Yet what does Christ say on almsgiving and death? To the
rich man He said, “If thou wouldest be perfect, sell what thou hast and
give to the poor, and come, follow me.” (Matth.19:21) And when talking on
having love for one’s neighbour, He said, “Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man may lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Thus
it is evident that even before God this is greatest of all. But, Paul
said: “that even if we should lay down our life for God’s sake, and not
merely lay it down, but to be burned, we shall have no great advantage if
we do not have love for our neighbour.” With all these examples Paul is
telling us that all the spiritual gifts will not profit us if we do not
have love for all people.
4) “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth
not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.”
Having then
shown us that faith, knowledge, prophecy, tongues, healing, a perfect life
and martyrdom are of no advantage to us if love is absent from our way of
life, Paul now sets out to tell us the matchless beauty of what love
really is.
Love suffereth long - in other words it is the virtue of patience and all
self denial. A certain wise man said “A man that is long-suffering is slow
to anger and is of great understanding; but he that is hasty of spirit is
a great fool. A man with patience is more secure than a strong city
because his patience is like an invincible weapon and a sort of
impregnable tower, easily beating off all annoyances. Whatever attacks a
long-suffering soul is like a spark that falls into the deep waters and
vanishes. The soul remains impenetrable and unharmed. This excellence of
patience is born of love and can withstand anything that comes its way.
But Paul doth
not stop here, but adds also the other high achievements of love, saying,
“Love is kind.” He mentions it straight after saying that it is long
suffering because there are some who practise their long-suffering with a
view not to their own self-denial, but to the punishment of those who have
provoked them, to make them burst with anger; thus if someone uses
patience to provoke his attacker then Paul is warning us that if our
patience is the fruit of love then it cannot have this defect because love
is kind and seeks to cure and not to hurt. “Love Envieth not.” Because it
is possible to be both long suffering and envious Paul mentions that a
Christ like love has no room for envy. If we envy others then our love is
not true.
“Love
Vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” in other words love is not
arrogant, it does not praise and boast of its accomplishments, is not vain
by vaulting itself in self importance, is not proud and egotistic, is not
impertinent and insolent, does not inquire into matters which do not
concern it. Love accompanied with any of the above is not a virtue but a
vice, but perfect love cleanses us off all these things.
5) “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her
own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil”.
Love does not
behave indecently or in a worldly, outrageous or shameful fashion. But it
also means that love considers many things contrary to what might seem to
the world as unseemly. Love is ready to suffer the most shameful things
for him whom it loves, because it doesn’t consider the thing as
unseemliness?” Love suffers unseemliness, but bears the shame nobly. It
will refuse nothing whatsoever for the safety’s sake of those whom it
loves, nor will any thing that it can suffer shame it. Our Lord Jesus
Christ was both spit upon and beaten with rods by pitiful slaves; and not
only did He not count it an unseemliness, but He even exulted and called
the thing glory. He spoke with a harlot, which scandalized the Pharisees
who stood by and accused Him, but He didn’t count the thing to be
disgraceful, but both allowed her to kiss His feet, and to wash his feet
with her tears, and to wipe them with her hair, in front of those who were
his enemies; “for love doeth nothing unseemly.”
“Love
seeketh not its own” Having said that love does not behave unseemly Paul
shows us also the frame of mind of the person. What is this frame of mind?
The person who has perfect love does not selfishly seek his own benefit
and interest but does all things for the persons that he loves. Thus
elsewhere Paul also said, “Let no man seek his own, but each his
neighbour’s good.” (1Cor. 10:24) For your own profit lies in the profit of
your neighbour, and his in yours. Seek not therefore thine own, that thou
mayest find thine own. Did not Christ do the same? Did he not suffer
everything because he loved us and for this love he willingly accepted
death on the Cross?
“Love
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” See again how love not only
overcomes every vice but doesn’t even allow it to come to the surface,
because Paul did not say that when provoked it overcomes it, but that it
is not provoked. As for evil, Paul did not say that it works no evil but
that it doesn’t even think of evil. Not only does it not contrive anything
evil but it doesn’t even suspect it in others who it loves. Love does not
remember the evil does against her, but because it forgives totally it
does not allow the slightest memory of evil to remain in the heart.
6) “Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the
truth”
Love does not
rejoice in other people’s misfortunes, it does not feel pleasure over
those that suffer ill, it does not desire harm for its enemies, it does
not seek for divine justice to punish them. Love is void of all these
defects, but it knows how and when to rejoice for it rejoices with the
truth and feels pleasure with them that are well spoken of and as Paul
says in Romans: it “Rejoices with them that rejoice, and weeps with them
that weep.” (Rom.12:15)
7) “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.”
Love bears all
things - from her long-suffering, from her goodness; whether they be
burdensome, or grievous, or insults, or stripes, or death, or whatsoever
else. Love believes, hopes and endures all things. What is “hopeth all
things?” It does not despair of those it loves for even though someone is
worthless it does not give up hope for him and continues to correct, to
provide and to care for him.” And it does not merely hope, but also
believes from its great affection. And even if these good things should
not turn out according to its hope, but the other person should prove yet
more intolerable, it bears even these. For love “endureth all things.”
“Love
never faileth” for it puts up with everything: and whatever comes its way
it accepts with humility, whatever will happen love can never hate. This
then is the greatest of its excellencies. Love understands and separates
the man from the deed. One must hate the doctrine of a heretic but not the
man, one must hate the wicked conduct and the corrupted mind, but never
the man, because the man is God’s work, but the deceit is the devil’s
work. Thus we must learn not to confuse the things of God and the things
of the devil.
That then is the interpretation of the Apostle reading:
Let's now hear the Gospel reading for this Sunday. The Reading is from the
Holy Gospel according to St. Luke 16:19-31.
The Lord
said: There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to
be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the
dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died,
and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also
died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and
said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he
is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and
you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence
to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him
to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto
them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto
him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said,
Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
We have seen
this parable before in February of 2007 in the talk on death. It is a
parable where Christ gives us an insight into what to expect after death.
But it is probably more than just a parable because he calls the beggar by
name signifying that he was a real person. The rich man’s name is not
mentioned probably because his name was not written in heaven in the book
of life. The parable mentions the way of life of these two men while in
this life and their rewards in the life after death. The rich man never
believed that there was a continuation of life after this biological and
temporal existence. Like many others, he believed that everything ends
here and after death there is nothing. This resulted in his life being
void, without purpose and content and without any relationship to God. His
only aim in life was to satisfy his selfish worldly needs. He ate foods
fit for a king and drank the choicest wines, he dressed in purple and fine
linen. Purple was a colour worn mainly by kings, thus the mention of
purple in the parable signifies how the rich man thought of himself as
equal to royalty and wanted to appear to others as a king. His denial of
God was also his denial of even the smallest trace of love for his fellow
humans. The absence of God is the absence of love. To have love in one’s
heart means that it is there through he grace of God who abides in us
after our repentance.
The rich man took
great care to satisfy his worldly passions, but never once considered that
he has a soul which also needs to be cared for. He never even gave a
thought to death or to God and created by his continual denial of God a
great gulf separating himself from eternal life which is in fact hell. The
poor beggar Lazarus sat at his gate everyday hoping to fill his hunger
with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. The rich man never
once opened his hand to help him because his heart was void of love. He
probably also thought of the beggar as a burden and something that lowers
the standards of his neighbourhood. In contrast, Lazarus’ life is a
continuous trial of hardships. His permanent companions in life are his
poverty, his illnesses and his pains. But these trials do not obstruct him
from living a life according to God’s will. He never complained for his
difficulties, he never once blamed God for the injustice between the rich
and the poor. He was satisfied with little; he was satisfied with the
crumbs and leftovers which the rich man’s servants threw out. He never
once asked for anything more than he had. It would seem also that he even
had love for the rich man. He wasn’t envious of him, he never badmouthed
him or had evil thoughts on seeing him everyday enjoying the good things
of this life. Quite the opposite, he forgave the rich man for his hardness
of heart. Lazarus’s poverty, his illnesses and all his trials do not
obstruct him in finding salvation, but contribute to it and help him find
eternal life.
In telling us this
Parable, the Lord wants to make crystal clear that we understand that life
in the future age depends clearly on this present life. For example, if
the joy and gladness of the righteous in the future age is the communion
of loving persons with the God of love in their midst, which is none other
than paradise, the state of this eternal bliss begins from this our
earthly life. According to the proportion and degree in which we love God
and our fellow men, we live Paradise and foretaste the fullness of the
future. If on the other hand sinners live isolated and completely cut off
from God and from the fellow men, which is their hell and eternal fire,
this state again begins here in this life and is fulfilled in the next.
This is now
where the parable takes us – to two different ways of living eternity.
After Lazarus' soul left his body, it was received by the angels and
carried to Abraham's bosom. This means that there are angels at death and
of course, each person’s guardian angel as his personal protector, who
receive the souls of the just and take them to God.
The rich man
also died, but we are told nothing about angels coming to receive his
soul. In fact all that is said is that he died and was buried. If his
wealth provided his empty shell with a grand and ceremonious funeral. it
is of no concern to the soul and eternity. But as Lazarus’ soul was
received by angels can we assume that something similar happened with the
rich man? In another parable it says that the demons receive the souls of
unrepentant sinners. The foolish rich man who planned to build greater
barns to store up his harvest, heard a voice from God saying: "You fool!
This very night your soul will be demanded from you”. (Luke 12, 20) The
verb `demand' suggests the demons, who claim the soul of the sinful person
in order to control it forever. As in life the two men had completely
different lives, here also in the after life they are separated from each
other. Lazarus soul went to Abraham's bosom and the Rich Man’s soul went
to Hades. In hell the Rich Man "saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom". To be in Abraham’s bosom was a phrase that the Rabbis’ used to
denote a close communion with God. So the person of Abraham can be
understood as meaning God.
Lazarus does
not seem to be troubled about the terrible hardship of the Rich Man. He
does not see Hades, while the Rich Man does see the glory of Paradise, but
could not share in it. In contrast, Lazarus both saw it and participated
in it. This is a very significant point, for it shows that in that other
life everyone will see God, but the righteous will have communion,
participation, while the sinners will not. A characteristic example is
what Christ said about the coming judgement. All will see the Judge, all
will converse with Him, but some will enjoy His glory and others will
experience the caustic energy of divine grace. In Hades the rich man is
suffering. He is burning but not in hell. Here Hades and not Hell, is
being referred to. For Hell will begin after the Second Coming of Christ
and the future judgement, while the souls of sinners experience Hades
after their departure from the body. According to the teaching of the holy
Fathers, Hades is an intelligible place; it is the foretaste of Hell, a
place of suffering. This is what the Rich man was experiencing. In this
place of suffering, the rich man, for the first time gives recognition to
the existence of Lazarus. He now recognizes him as the beggar who he saw
everyday by his gate. The beggar for whom he had great disdain and whom he
totally ignored. But seeing him in Abraham’s bosom he was a familiar face:
he probably also thought of himself as his benefactor because he allowed
his servants to throw out the few crumbs that fell from his table. Thus
Lazarus owed him for this small mercy.
Thus he dares
to ask Abraham to send Lazarus to cool his tongue with a drop of water,
because, as he expressed himself, "I am tormented in this flame". But as
Abraham answered him there is a great gulf fixed between them so that
neither those in Hades nor those in Paradise can pass from once place to
the other. This is not a question of particular places, it refers to
particular ways of life. There is a clear difference between Paradise and
Hell as particular ways of life. The gulf separating them is not a visible
barrier but love. The only kind of love the rich man knew was self love
which was void of any love for God and others. He could not experience the
joys of Paradise because Paradise is being in God’s love. Thus his place
in Hades was not a punishment from God, but a state of existence void of
God’s love which he freely chose. Note also that he doesn’t ask Abraham to
deliver him from that place of torment, but only to quench his thirst.
Thus he accepts his place in Hades because it is the particular way of
life he chose to follow – to live without love - to live without God.
|
|
|
