St. Ephrem of Edessa: Lyre of the Holy Spirit

June 9 is the memorial feast of St. Ephrem of Edessa, who is Doctor of the Church.

The Gospel Reading to honor his life is Luke 6:43-45, taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49).

These are the words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel Reading:

A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person, out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil,
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

In these words, Jesus teaches us the quality of our work of faith represent the quality of who we are. Therefore, if we are truly good, then, we produce good quality of work. And this is certainly the case with St. Ephrem.

 As a deacon of Edessa, St. Ephrem dedicated himself to serving the pastoral needs of the Church during a difficult time of the Church, plagued with heresies that would divide the faithful. With humility and love for the fellow faithful, whom he served, St. Ephrem put his penchant for poetic hymns into his theological acumens to spread the authentic teaching of the Church and defend the orthodoxy of her doctrine against heresies. For this reason, he is also known as “Lyre of the Holy Spirit”.  And this is what contributed to make St. Ephrem produce many good fruits through his pastoral service. In regard to this, Pope Benedict XVI commented:

The figure of Ephrem is still absolutely timely for the life of the various Christian Churches. We discover him in the first place as a theologian who reflects poetically, on the basis of Holy Scripture, on the mystery of man's redemption brought about by Christ, the Word of God incarnate. His is a theological reflection expressed in images and symbols taken from nature, daily life and the Bible. Ephrem gives his poetry and liturgical hymns a didactic and catechetical character: they are theological hymns yet at the same time suitable for recitation or liturgical song. On the occasion of liturgical feasts, Ephrem made use of these hymns to spread Church doctrine. Time has proven them to be an extremely effective catechetical instrument for the Christian community. 

Address to General Audience, November 28, 2007

In a way, St. Ephrem, for his hymn making, can be comparable to King David, for his Psalm making, as both are theologically profound while being poetic with application to liturgical services.

 Since St. Ephrem’s memorial feast (June 9) is rather close to the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, here is his well-known hymn of faith on the Trinity, Hymn 40.

In this imagery hymn, we see the Father as the sun, the Son as the sunlight, and the Holy Spirit as the heat of the son, as well as, of the sun light.

 

[40:1]

The sun is our lamp, and no one understands it.

As much as this is the case for a human being, how much

more for God!

The sun’s shining is no younger than the sun itself,

And there is no time when it was not.

Though its light is second and its heat is third,

They are neither less than it, nor are they the same as it.

Refrain: Glory to your Sender, from all who believe

in you!

[40:2]

Look at the sun on high, which appears to be one.

But bend down and look and see its shining—a second.

Test, touch, and examine its heat—a third.

They are like one another, and not alike.

The second is mingled with the first, though very different

from it. And the third is mixed—distinct, yet mingled and mixed.

[40:3]

Fire and sun are single natures.

Three things are mingled within them threefold—

Substance, heat, and, third, light—

And they dwell in accord with another.

Mixed without being confused, and mingled without being

bound by one another,

They are gathered together unforced, and free, yet without

wandering.

[40:4]

The tyrants are clearly silenced,

For look: one is three and three is one.

They are mingled, yet not fastened to one another. They

are divided, yet not cut.

This marvel silences us entirely.

A human, too, is established in a threefold way,

And will rise in the resurrection, being perfectly complete.

[40:5]

The sun, though it is one—a single nature—

There are three mingled in it, distinct, yet undivided.

Each one is entirely complete, yet all three are completed

in one.

Its splendor is one, yet not one.

That nature is marvelous, for it has given birth uniquely,

And then drawn together, and spread out threefold.

[40:6]

And if someone presumes to think that fire

Is not three, who will err with him,

Cleaving to his foolishness, and following his stupidity?

Who will deny the three that are seen,

Which, though equal, are distinct? One is glorious and

dreadful,

Another hidden and powerful, and [yet] another bright and

gentle.

[40:7]

The first one gathers all of itself to itself.

After it is another, which proceeds according to its will,

And the third is poured out abundantly.

A power rules inside the fire,

Though they neither command nor are commanded by one

another.

They are completed by one another, with love and order.

[40:8]

Three names are visible within the fire,

Yet each one stands alone on its own authority,

And each appears distinctly in its action,

Unique strengths mingled together.

Fire marvelously, heat distinctly,

And light gloriously dwell together with one accord.

[40:9]

If fire’s nature is such a marvel

It begets, yet suffers no loss; it spreads evenly, without growing cold;

Though its heat is distinct, it is not cut off from it;

Though it passes through everything, it does not privilege any

thing;

It spreads throughout bread and is mingled inside water,

And dwells in everything and everything dwells in it,

[40:10]

It bears the mystery of the Spirit—the type of the

Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit is mixed with water for absolution,

And mingled in bread for an offering.

And though they are so like one another,

Fire is still far different, for it cannot depict

The Trinitarian mysteries, which can never be depicted.

[40:11]

And if the investigation of this fire inundates us—

How can it be one? How can it be three?

How can those things that dwell within it be three?

How can its heat be divided and not cut off?—

A nature that we have received lovingly, in a threefold

manner,

Yet have not, along with it, possessed divisive debating,

[40:12]

How much more should we receive simply

These Three, with love that does not dispute?

Their nature does not come after us, to become like us,

For they are like each other in every way,

While the natures of creatures are distinct and dissimilar.

How much more distinct than all is the nature above all?

Once you make yourself familiar with this hymn, you cannot help but be reminded that experiencing the Trinity in your life of faith is like benefiting from the sun. At the same time, you see St. Ephrem’s theological insights on the Trinity expressed poetically, reminding that our triune God extends His love to keep us alive for eternity – just as our biological lives cannot sustained without the sun, as we would have no food to eat unless there were no photosynthesizing plants. And we see how we are related to the triune God, juxtaposing how our lives on earth are related to the sun. Though the sun may eventually end its life as it burns all its hydrogen and helium for nuclear fusion, God the sun, as imaged in this hymn of faith by St. Ephrem, will keep burning and shining eternally and will light the New Jerusalem at the eschatos (Revelation 21:23).