By Fr. George Dorbarakis
“Jacob mourned the loss of Joseph, while the noble one sat in a chariot, honored as a king; for, having not been enslaved to the pleasures of the Egyptian woman, he was glorified by Him who sees the hearts of men and bestows an incorruptible crown” (Kontakion of Orthros, Great Monday).
The kontakion refers to one of the two themes that our Church commemorates on Great Monday: the person of the all-comely Joseph, son of the Patriarch Jacob, who prefigures — prophesies without words — the Lord Jesus Christ; his freedom from resentment and his humility point to the very author of our faith. The other commemorated event is the fig tree that the Lord cursed because of its barrenness — a symbol of the barrenness of the Jewish Synagogue of His time and, by extension, the barrenness of every person who is considered a believer in God throughout the ages, whose lack of fruits in life, that is, virtues, results precisely in his withering, as a cutting off from God.
What we particularly wish to emphasize, then, is the spiritual law that we see set forth by the Holy Hymnographer — a law that is grounded in and continually proclaimed by Jesus Christ Himself. What is this law? That what a person does, whether positively or negatively, brings about a corresponding result. Does one perform what is good? The Lord will look upon him with favor, glorifying him and offering him the “incorruptible crown,” that is, His very grace — the flooding of His presence within one’s being. Does one deny God, in the sense of turning passionately toward evil and sin? He will “receive” the corresponding outcome: the Lord will turn His face away from him, which means He will withdraw His grace, leaving the person exposed to the workings of the Evil One, literally at the mercy of his destructive intentions. For certainly no one remains “uncovered” and “ownerless,” alone with himself. Man is always “serving” somewhere. Thus, either he “serves” the Lord and is thereby exalted as His son, abiding within His blessed and beatifying embrace, being one with Him; or he “serves” his passions and the Evil One who stirs and inflames them, and thus becomes a slave to the most turbulent being in creation, already tasting that being’s hell even in this life.
The example is unique! Joseph, the son of Jacob, receives the “fire” of his brothers’ jealousy — they essentially lead him toward death! Yet the plans of the almighty God are different! Looking upon him because of his faith and innocence, He leads him to Egypt, where, through various wondrous events, he comes to the point of becoming a kind of second king, honored by all. A decisive moment in this course of his life is his entry into the service of a ruler of Egypt. And there he encounters the “temptation” in the person of his master’s wife. Young, handsome, and endowed with inner virtues, he becomes the object of the Egyptian woman’s desire. But we are speaking of Joseph, the man of God! Raised with great faith and a virtuous life, he offers strong resistance, saying what all the saints usually say in the face of the provocations of sin: “How can I do what you propose and sin before the Lord my God?” Joseph lives continually under the “fearful eye” of his God — his thoughts, his words, and his deeds pass through the “sieve” of the all-present, almighty Lord. With a pure heart he has the grace of God active within him — even, one might say, in an external manner, since the Son and Word of God had not yet been incarnate. Thus he prefers to “lose” the promising future offered by the adulterous woman in order to preserve the living presence of his God.
The Holy Hymnographer describes it in a concise and yet majestic way: “The dragon, finding the Egyptian woman as a second Eve, hastened through flattering words to trip up Joseph; but he, leaving behind his garment, fled from sin, and though naked he was not ashamed, like the first-formed Adam before disobedience” (The dragon, that is, the devil, found in the Egyptian woman a second Eve and hastened with flattering words to ensnare Joseph. But he, leaving his garment, escaped from sin. And though he was naked, he was not ashamed because he was clothed with the grace of God, just as the first-formed Adam before his disobedience).
Thus Joseph avoids sin, being wholly turned toward God, and God grants him what is highest of all: Himself — His grace, His glory! The spiritual law at its summit! Is this not what the Lord promised from the beginning of creation, and even more when He was incarnate and became man? “Keep My commandments, and I will reveal Myself within you.” “Keep My commandments, and you will become a dwelling place of the Triune God.” Therefore, the extension is clear and remains God’s constant call to all of us. At the moment when we too, by the grace of God, choose to keep our heart pure from evil thoughts; at the moment when we “bite” our tongue so as not to respond to an insulting word spoken against us by our fellow man; at the moment when we overcome any movement of injustice toward our neighbor for the sake of our own interests — at that very moment the grace of God becomes active toward us: He offers us His glory and His crown. God awaits our “little” contribution in order to multiply it and make it “infinite.” Is this not how all our saints were sanctified? The example indeed of Saint Joseph the All-Comely brings before us with striking immediacy how the love of God operates toward man. The “key” to His presence in our being lies in our own hands!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
