Origen's Interpretation of Luke 1:35: “The Power of the Most High Will

Emmanuel Hirschauer Notre-Dame de Vie Institute Philippines

ORIGEN’S INTERPRETATION OF LUKE 1:35: “THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH WILL OVERSHADOW YOU”

Introduction Origen has been considered a Marian doctor by the Latin 12th century.1 According to him, Mary is the type, the model of the spiritual, the “pneumatic.” The words of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, answer- ing her question on how the conception of Jesus might occur, oě er a key passage to enter Origen’s Mariology: “The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God’” (Lk 1:35). We will focus on these words: “The power of the Most High will overshadow you.” According to Origen what is this “power”? What does its “overshadowing” Mary mean? Our method will consist in reading the most signię cant passages where Lk 1:35 is quoted and interpreted by Origen. We will start with the Homilies on Saint Luke and then, following in chronological order, we will open the Peri Archon, the Commentary and Homilies on the Song of Songs and the Homilies on Joshua. 1. Homilies on Luke Let us ę rst listen to the third-century teacher as he comments in his Homilies on Luke. Actually the only homilies on the New Testa- ment which we have from Origen are the 39 homilies on Luke which survived in Jerome’s Latin translation. This translation is remarkably faithful.2 Origen also wrote a Commentary on Luke in ę ve books, which

(1) Cf. H. CџќѢzђљ, Introduction, in: іёђњ (ed.), Homélies sur S. Luc (Paris: Cerf, 1962) (SC 87) 10ě . (2) “Contemporary scholarship has a high estimate of the accuracy of Jerome’s translation; it can be read with conę dence that one is reading Ori- gen himself, and not some other Origen whom it pleased Jerome to constuct” (J. T. Lіђћѕюџё, Introduction, in: Origen. Homilies on Luke — Fragments on Luke

Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 04:08:32AM via free access Emmanuel Hirschauer 33 are lost.3 Only a few commentaries on the Gospel according to Luke have survived and Origen’s homilies on Luke are the only extant work on either the Infancy Narrative before Hilary’s commentary on Mat- thew (ca. 355).4 The date of Origen’s Homilies on Luke must be some- where between Origen’s moving to Caesarea (probably in 233) and the Commentary on MaĴ hew (244), which mentions the Homilies on Luke.5 The 39 homilies on Luke are focused on the ę rst four chapters of the Gospel. Homilies 1 to 33 treat Luke 1:1 to 4:27, with the exception of three passages: 1:33–38, 2:3–7 and 2:18–20.6 Since Origen’s homilies on Luke treat six to ten verses each, it seems that three homilies were lost, and one of them may have contained some explanations on Luke 1:35. In the sixth homily, commenting on the ę rst part of the narrative of the Annunciation (cf. Lk 1:26–33),7 as expected Origen says nothing about Lk 1:35; and then in the seventh homily he passes over to the narrative of the Visitation (cf. Lk 1:39–45). Nevertheless, insights into Lk 1:35 can still be read in three homilies. First one has to go to the fourth homily. There Origen comments on the annunciation to Zachary (cf. Lk 1:13–17).8 “With the spirit and power of Elħ ah he will go before him” (Lk 1:17): Zachary’s prophecy about his son oě ers an interesting distinction between spirit and power; in order to give an account of it, Origen quotes Lk 1:35: “He will go before Christ in the spirit and power of Elħ ah” (cf. Lk 1:17). Luke does not say, “in the soul of Elħ ah”, but, “in the spirit and power of Elħ ah — in spiritu et virtute Heliae.” Power and spirit dwelt in Elħ ah — fuit in Heliae virtus et spiritus — as in all the prophets and, with regard to his humanity, in the Lord and Savior as well. A liĴ le

(Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1996) (The Fa- thers of the Church, A New Translation 94) xxxvi). (3) Jerome refers to this work in his preface to the Homilies on Luke (cf. SC 87, 93–94). (4) The Fathers commented and preached mainly on MaĴ hew and John, saying liĴ le about Luke, and practically ignoring Mark. Apart from Origen’s homilies on Luke, we still have 156 homilies by Cyril of Alexandria, preserved in Syriac, and Ambrose’s Exposition of the Gospel according to Luke, in ten books. (5) Cf. Lіђћѕюџё, Introduction..., xxiv. (6) Homilies 34 to 39 treat isolated passages from Luke, from chapter 10 to chapter 20. (7) Cf. Homilies on Luke, 6, 3–9; SC 87, 145–153. (8) Cf. Ibid., 4; SC 87, 129–135.

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later in the Gospel the angel says to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you — Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi” (Lk 1:35). So the spirit that had been in Elħ ah came upon John as well, and the power that Elħ ah had also appeared in John.9 Thus, according to Origen, spiritus and virtus are two distinct realities.10 The quotation of Lk 1:35 as an illustration of this distinction seems to lead to the conclusion that the power of the Most High is not the Holy Spirit. One has to distinguish the coming of the Spirit from the overshadowing of the power of the Most High. Two passages where Lk 1:35 is quoted point out the identity of the spiritus: The fourteenth homily gives the beginning of Origen’s exegesis on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:21–24).11 Joseph and Mary were fulę lling the scriptural commands: “As it is wriĴ en in the law of Moses, every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (Lk 2:23, formulated from Ex 13:2 and Num 8:16); and: “Three times in the year every male shall appear in the sight of the Lord God” (Ex 34:23). In a very concrete manner, Origen reĚ ects upon the opening of Mary’s womb: “Every male that opens the womb…” This phrase has a spiritual meaning. For you might say that “every male is brought forth from the womb” but does not open the womb of his mother, in the way that the Lord Jesus did. In the case of every other woman, it is not the birth of an infant but intercourse with a man that opens the womb. [8.] But the womb of the Lord’s mother was opened at the time when her oě spring was brought forth, because before the birth of Christ a

(9) Homilies on Luke, 4, 5, Lіђћѕюџё, 19; SC 87, 133–135. (10) In the Commentary on MaĴ hew, Origen comments on this same verse (Lk 1:17), underlying that John had the spirit of Elħ ah and not his soul. The spirit that John received from Elħ ah was not Elħ ah’s own spirit but the pneuma which may happen simply to be in him. Thus, Elħ ah had a special spirit, but it aĞ erwards rested on Eliseus, and when John was born it passed to him (cf. Commentary on MaĴ hew, 13, 2; GCS, 40, 178, 14–17). See J. DѢѝѢіѠ, « L’esprit de l’homme », Etude sur l’anthropologie religieuse d’Origène (Desclée de Brouwer, 1967) (Museum Lessianum section théologique 62) 129–131. Cf. also M. Mюџі- ѡюћќ, L’argomenta£ione scriĴ uristica di Origene contro i sostenitori della me- tensomatosi, in: G. Dќџіѣюљ and A. Lђ BќѢљљѢђѐ (eds.), Origeniana Sexta, Ori- gène et la Bible / Origen and the Bible, Actes du Colloquium Origenianum Sextum, Chantilly, 30 août – 3 septembre 1993 (Leuven: University Press, 1995) 254–255. (11) Cf. Homilies on Luke, 14; SC 87, 217–231.

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male did not even touch her womb, holy as it was and deserving of all respect. I dare to say something. At that moment of which Scrip- ture says, “The Spirit of God — Spiritus Dei — will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk 1:35), the seed was planted and the conception took place; without an opening of the womb, a new oě spring began to grow.12 Since Mary is a virgin mother, her womb was opened only at the very moment of Jesus’ birth and not at the very moment of his conception. Let us notice that here Origen modię es the original text of Luke which has: “The Holy Spirit.” Thus quoted, Lk 1:35 clearly aĴ ests to the divine origin of Jesus: the Spiritus is “the Spirit of God — Spiritus Dei.” Next, in the seventeenth homily Origen comments on Lk 2:35–38, that is, on Symeon’s prophecy about the Child Jesus and his mother. ReĚ ecting on Joseph’s fatherhood, Origen quotes Lk 1:35. Through the words of Gabriel at the Annunciation, Luke “clearly handed down to us that Jesus was the son of a virgin, and was not conceived by human seed.”13 Then, reĚ ecting on the nature of the sword which will pierce Mary’s soul, according to Symeon’s prophecy, Origen speaks of the scandal endured during Jesus’ passion by Mary as well as by the Apostles: You know, Mary, that you bore as a virgin, without a man. You heard from Gabriel, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk 1:35). The “sword” of inę delity “will pierce” you, and you will be struck by the blade of uncertainty, and your thoughts will tear you in pieces when you see him. You had heard him called the Son of God. You knew he was begoĴ en without a man’s seed.14 Mary’s scandal and suě ering come from the violent contrast between her certainty of the divine origin of her son and his passion. Ac- cording to Origen, Lk 1:35 is the plain aĴ estation of the divine origin of Jesus: he was not conceived by a human seed, but he is the Son of God and son of Mary. Listening to the Homilies on Luke, we learn that the power of the Most High has to be distinguished from the Holy Spirit who is the “Spirit of God.” According to Origen, when giving the account of the

(12) Homilies on Luke, 14, 7–8, 60; SC 87, 227. (13) Ibid., 17, 1, 70; SC 87, 251. (14) Ibid., 17, 7, 73; SC 87, 259.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 04:08:32AM via free access 36 Scrinium IV (2008). Patrologia Pacię ca descent of the Holy Spirit upon the virgin Mary for the conception of her son, Luke clearly aĜ rms Jesus’ divine origin. But here, due to the fact that the homily on Lk 1:33–38 has not passed down to us, we have no specię c development on the “overshadowing” of the power of the Most High. In order to discover what Origen draws from this expression about the identity of Jesus, one has to open his commentary and Homilies on the Song of Songs, his Homilies on Joshua and, ę rst of all, his great work: the Peri Archon. 2. Peri Archon Prior to the Homilies on Luke, Origen may have begun writing the Peri Archon, addressed to educated Christians who had philosophical training, in 222 when Origen was thirty-seven years old and had been the head of the Didaskaleion for nineteen years. Let us ę rst of all try to ę nd out what is for Origen the “power of the Almighty.” In Book I, Origen distinguishes the diě erent πΔϟΑΓ΍΅΍ of the Son of God, that is, many insights we can have on him, many scriptural or non-scriptural ways we have of considering him.15 The Son of God is Wisdom, the Word, Life, Light, Resurrection, Truth, etc. He is also “Power”: According to the expression of the apostle, that Christ “is the power of God,” it ought to be termed not only the breath of the power of God, but power of power.16 The power (ΈϾΑ΅ΐ΍Ζ) of the Most High is nothing but his Wisdom and his Word, that is, his Son, who performs all the activity of God ad extra, who is born from the Father like the Will that comes from the Intelligence.17 The Peri Archon calls him the Virtus Dei, the Vigor Dei.

(15) Cf. Peri Archon, I, 2, and Commentary on John, I, 23–42 (SC 120, §§ 125– 289). See also H. CџќѢzђљ, Le contenu spirituel des dénominations du Christ selon le livre I du Commentaire sur Jean d’Origène, in: H. CџќѢzђљ, A. QѢюѐ- ўѢюџђљљі (eds.), Origeniana Secunda (Rome, 1980) 131–150; J. WќљіћѠјі, Le recours aux πΔϟΑΓ΍΅΍ du Christ dans le Commentaire sur Jean d’Origène, in: Dќџіѣюљ, Lђ BќѢљљѢђѐ, Origeniana Sexta... 465–492. (16) Peri Archon, I, 2, 9, A. RќяђџѡѠ and J. DќћюљёѠќћ (eds.), Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4 (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994) 249; SC 252, 131. (17) Cf. H. CџќѢzђљ, Théologie de l’image de Dieu chez Origène (Paris: Aubier, 1955) (Théologie, 34) 89–90.

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So, the “power of the Most High” which has come over the Blessed Virgin Mary could be the Son of God. How can it be said as “overshadowing her”? What is this shadow? In the short chapter 6 of Book II, Origen meditates on the Incar- nation of Christ.18 He begins by reminding his readers of the Word’s remarkable aĴ ributes, and then shows what an extraordinary thing it was that he should come down and live among men. Existing from all eternity like all souls, the soul of Jesus (cf. Jn 10:18) is aĴ ached to him, “inseparably and indissolubly in Him, as being the Wisdom and the Word of God, and the Truth and the true Light, and receiving Him wholly, and passing into His light and splendor.”19 The soul of Christ has always been immersed in the Word.20 To illustrate this, Origen takes the comparison of iron heated in ę re,21 and then he comments on an inspiring expression found in the book of Lamentations: the soul of Christ is like the “shadow of Christ.” Let us quote this subtle passage: 7. I think, indeed, that Jeremiah the prophet, also, understanding what was the nature of the wisdom of God in him [Christ], which was the same also which he had assumed for the salvation of the world, said, “The breath of our countenance is Christ the Lord — Spiritus vultus nostri Christus Dominus —, to whom we said, that under His shadow we shall live among the nations — in umbra eius vivemus in gentibus” (Lam 4:20). And inasmuch as the shadow of our body is inseparable from the body, and unavoidably performs and repeats its movements and gestures, I think that he, wishing to point out the work of Christ’s soul, and the movements inseparably belonging to it, and which accomplished everything according to His movements and will, called this the shadow of Christ the Lord, under which shadow we were to live among the nations.22 As the nations who came to salvation through faith we live hidden in this “shadow of Christ.” In order to grasp something of this mystery which is perhaps beyond “the apprehension of the human mind,” Origen quotes other passages referring to the “shadow” and ę rst of all Luke 1:35:

(18) Cf. Peri Archon, II, 6; SC 252, 308–325. (19) Ibid., II, 6, 3, 282; SC 252, 315. (20) Scholars do not agree as to the nature of this union according to Ori- gen. Cf. C. Vюєюєєіћі, Maria nelle opere di Origene (Roma: Pont. Institutum Orien talium Studiorum, 1942) (Orientalia Christiana 131) 102–103. (21) Cf. Peri Archon, II, 6, 6, 283; SC 252, 321. (22) Ibid., II, 6, 7, 284; SC 252, 323.

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We see also very many other statements in holy Scripture respecting the meaning of the word “shadow,” as that well-known one in the Gospel according to Luke, where Gabriel says to Mary, “The Spirit of the Lord shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you” (Lk 1:35). And the apostle says with reference to the law, that they who have circumcision in the Ě esh, “serve for the similitude and shadow of heavenly things” (Heb 8:5). And elsewhere, “Is not our life upon the earth a shadow?” (Job 8:9). If, then, not only the law which is upon the earth is a shadow, but also all our life which is upon the earth is the same, and we live among the nations under the shadow of Christ, we must see whether the truth of all these shadows may not come to be known in that revelation, when no longer through a glass, and darkly, but face to face, all the saints shall deserve to behold the glory of God, and the causes and truth of things (cf. 1 Cor 13:12).23 Here Luke 1:35 is quoted in a passage dedicated to the explana- tion of a verse very dear to Origen: “The breath of our countenance is Christ the Lord — ΔΑνΙΐ΅ ΔΕΓΗЏΔΓΙ ψΐЗΑ ΛΕ΍ΗΘϲΖ ΎΙΕϟΓΙ — [has been taken with us in our corruptions], to whom we said, that under His shadow we shall live among the nations” (Lam 4:20). The literal sense refers to king Sedecias, the Anointed, that is, the “Christ of the Lord,” who was the last king of Judah: made prisoner by Nebuchad- ne££ar, he was brought to Babylon. Already present in the literature of early Christianity,24 Lam 4:20, tirelessly quoted and interpreted by Origen, is a key text for his Christology. Usually omiĴ ing the words “has been taken with us in our corruptions,” he applies it to Christ, stating that the “shadow” of the Anointed one is the soul of Christ, his humanity, in which we live here below on earth.25

(23) Peri Archon, II, 6, 7, 284; SC 252, 325. (24) On the quotations of Lam 4:20 in the literature of early christianity, see J. DюћіѼљќѢ, Christos, Kyrios, Mélanges J. Lebreton, t. 1, Recherches de Science Religieuse 39 (1951) 338–352. (25) See other passages where Origen quotes and interprets Lam 4:20: Commentary on John, II, 4 (A. RќяђџѡѠ, J. DќћюљёѠќћ (eds.), Ante-Nicene Fa- thers, vol. 9 (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994) 326); Commentary on the Song of Songs, III, 5 1957) (T. C. LюѤљђџ, W. J. BѢџєѕюџёѡ (eds.), Origen, the Song of Songs: Commentary & Homilies (ACW 26) 182; SC 376, 531); Homilies on Joshua, VIII, 4 (C. Wѕіѡђ (ed.), B. BџѢѐђ (trans.), Origen, Homilies on Joshua (Washington, D. C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2002) (The Fathers of the Church 105) 88; SC 71, 227); Dialogue with Heraclides, 27 (R. DюљѦ (trans.), Origen: Treatise on the Passover and Dialogue with Heraclides (New York: Pau-

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According to this exegetical context of Peri Archon II, 6, 7, the shadow of the Power of the Almighty in Lk 1:35 is the soul of Christ which was united with the human body born of the Blessed Mother. Indeed the union of the soul of Christ with the Word models it entirely on him. But, although it possesses the plenitude of the divinity, it is only a shadow, it soĞ ens the divine light, so that our human eyes could bear it. Let us notice that here the theology of the Incarnation comes into line with the exegesis. Studying the Scriptures we proceed from the visible leĴ er to the invisible Word; enjoying the visible humanity of Christ, the believer is led towards the treasure of Wisdom which is hidden in him. The shadows are the starting point; they already oě er presence and knowledge of the Beloved, but not yet in their fullness. One has to walk from shadow to Reality, from the soĞ radiance of the humanity of Jesus to the splendor of the Word.26 This enables us to understand the meaning for Origen of Lk 1:35, “The power of the Most High will overshadow you”: the shadow of the power of God who will come upon Mary is nothing else but the Shadow of the Word, the preexistent soul of Jesus. Origen concludes in a very humble way, aware of the grandeur of the mystery he tries to explore: The above, meanwhile, are the thoughts which have occurred to us, when treating of subjects of such diĜ culty as the incarnation and de- ity of Christ. If there be any one, indeed, who can discover something beĴ er, and who can establish his assertions by clearer proofs from holy Scriptures, let his opinion be received in preference to mine.27

3. Commentary on the Song of Songs According to historians, Origen began composing the great commentary on the Song of Songs around 240. Eusebius says that Origen composed the ę rst ę ve books in Athens around the year 240, and wrote the other ę ve somewhat later at Caesarea in Palestine.28 list Press, 1992) (ACW, 54) 78); Commentary on MaĴ hew, XV, 12; FragLam. 116 (GCS, III, 276). (26) Cf. J. DюћіѼљќѢ, W. Mіѡѐѕђљљ (trans.), Origen (London: Sheed and Ward, 1955) 264–265. (27) Peri Archon, II, 6, 7, 284; SC 252, 325. Such a kind of statement is frequent; it can be found also for instance in Peri Archon, II, 3, 7; SC 252, 271– 273. (28) Cf. EѢѠђяіѢѠ, The History of the Church…, VI, 32,2.

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Since the Commentary has not survived in its original text, one has to make use of the Latin version made by Ruę nus. Whatever may be the possible shortcomings of the translation, here we listen to Origen as a mystic master. As Jerome says, referring to this commentary in the Prologue to the translation of the homilies, “while Origen surpassed all writers in his other books, in his Song of Songs he surpassed himself.”29 Origen sings of the nuptials of Christ and the Church, and, with increasing importance as the commentary goes on, of the bridal union of the Logos with the human soul. In book III, section 5, Origen explains Ct 2:3: “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Nephew among the sons; in his shadow I desired and sat, and his fruit was sweet in my throat” (Ct 2:3). What is this shadow in which the Church is looking forward to sit? To understand something of its mystery, according to his usual method, Origen quotes other passages containing the same expression. AĞ er having cited Lam 4:20, his commentary draws upon a new quotation: You see, then, how the prophet, moved by the Holy Spirit, says that life is aě orded to the Gentiles by the shadow of Christ; and indeed how should His shadow not aě ord us life, seeing that even at the conception of His very body it is said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you” (Lk 1:35). As therefore, at His body’s conception the overshadowing was that of the Most High, His own shadow will justly give life to the Gentiles. And justly does His Bride the Church desire to sit beneath the shadow of the apple tree, in order, surely, that she may be made partaker of the life that is in His shadow.30 The shadow under which the Church is willing to sit is a shadow which gives life: it is the life-giving shadow of Christ. Quoting and interpreting Lk 1:35, it seems that Origen distinguishes the overshadowing of the Most High and the very shadow of Christ. According to the insights received from the reading of the Peri Archon and from the text of Luke himself, we can say that the “overshadowing of the Most High” is precisely the overshadowing of the Power of the Most High, that is, the overshadowing of the Son himself, the Word; at the same

(29) Prologue to the Homilies on the Song of Songs (ACW, 26) 265; SC 37, 59. (30) Commentary on the Song of Songs, III, 5, R. P. LюѤѠќћ (trans.), Origen: The Song of Songs, Commentary and Homilies (Westminster, MD: New Press, 1957) (ACW 26) 182; SC 376, III,5,10–11, 529–531.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 04:08:32AM via free access Emmanuel Hirschauer 41 time we can also aĜ rm that the very shadow of Christ is his soul, his humanity. 4. Homilies on the Song of Songs The two Homilies on the Song of Songs were pronounced very likely only a few years aĞ er the composition of the Commentary, probably before 244. In other words, they are works of maturity, since Origen was more than ę Ğ y-ę ve years old. They survive only in the Latin translation made by St. Jerome. Although the identię cation of the Bride with the Church is predominant, some passages still make room for the in- dividual soul as Christ’s bride. In his second homily, commenting again on “Beneath His shadow I desired and sat” (Ct 2:3), Origen tries to unveil the nature of the “shadow” in which the Bride is willing to sit. He explains: Indeed, strictly speaking, we cannot converse with Him at ę rst; rather, we enjoy at the beginning what may be called a sort of shadow of His majesty; and it is for that reason that we read also in the prophets: “The breath of our face, the Lord Christ, to whom we said: ‘Under His shadow shall we live among the Gentiles’” (Lam 4:20), and pass over from one shadow to another; for “to them that dwelt in the region and shadow of death, to them light is arisen” (Isa 9:2); so that our passing over is from the shadow of death to the shadow of life. Advances are always on this paĴ ern: a person desires at the outset to be at least in the shadow of the virtues. And I think myself that the birth of Jesus also originated from — not in — the shadow, but was consummated in the truth. “The Holy Spirit,” it is said, “shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you” (Lk 1:35). The birth of Christ took its inception from the shadow; yet not in Mary only did His nativity begin with overshadowing; in you too, if you are worthy, the Word of God is born. See, then, that you may be able to receive His shadow; and, when you have been made worthy of the shadow, His body, from which the shadow is born, will in a manner of speaking come to you; for “he that is faithful in a liĴ le will be faithful also in greater things” (Lk 16:10).31 Following the paĴ ern of Jesus’ birth which originated from (ab) the shadow, the dialogue with the Bridegroom has to start from his life- giving shadow, in order to be consummated in the Truth. Contrasted

(31) Homilies on the Song of Songs, II, 6 (LюѤѠќћ, Origen: The Song of Songs…, 293–294; SC 37, 91).

Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 04:08:32AM via free access 42 Scrinium IV (2008). Patrologia Pacię ca with image and shadow, Truth is the divine realities which are preę g- ured by the earthly symbols. If Jesus’ soul is the shadow of the Word, the Word is the Truth of this shadow. From shadow into Truth, the birth and growth of the Word within the soul of the faithful is one of the favorite themes of Origen. In this way, the motherhood of Mary has an exemplary role: she has to be imitated by every Christian.32 Luke 1:35 expresses the fruitful starting point of this path. The conception of Jesus in the Virgin bears its fruit of salvation only if Christ is born in each one of us: For what does it proę t if I should say that Jesus has come in that Ě esh alone which he received from Mary and if I should not show also that he has come in this Ě esh of mine?33 But it is not enough to allow Christ to be born within oneself, one has to make room for him in order to allow him to grow. One has to move forward in order to reach the Truth, to move from Christ’s humanity to his divinity. 5. Homilies on Joshua The Homilies on Joshua seem to belong to the last years of Origen. They could be contemporaries of the persecution of Decus (249/250).34 They were preserved only in Ruę nus’ Latin translation, the faithful- ness of which is very reliable. Bearing witness to the concerns of a pastor for his Ě ock, these homilies draw the story of the Christian life from baptism to resurrection and the heavenly rewards. In the eighth homily, Origen tries to explore the “mystery” of Jos 8:29, “the king of Ai was hanged on twofold wood — rex Gai in ligno gemino dicitur esse suspensus — ΘϲΑ Ά΅Η΍Ών΅ ΘϛΖ ̆΅΍ πΎΕνΐ΅ΗΉΑ πΔϠ ΒϾΏΓΙ Έ΍ΈϾΐΓΙ” (Jos 8:29). Looking for the deep meaning of this verse, Origen says: Truly, one coming of Christ in lowliness has been accomplished, but another is expected in glory. By a certain mystic word in Holy

(32) Cf. C. Vюєюєєіћі, Maria nelle opere di Origene (Roma, Pont. Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1942) 113–114. (33) Homilies on Genesis, 3 (R. E. Hђіћђ (trans.), Origen. Homilies on Genesis and Exodus (Washington, D. C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1982) (The Fathers of the Church 71) 101; SC 7, III, 7, 123. (34) P. Nautin favored other dates: according to him they could have been pronounced earlier in the years 239–242 (cf. P. NюѢѡіћ, Origène. Sa vie et son œuvre (Paris: Beauchesne, 1977) 401–405).

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Scriptures, this ę rst coming in the Ě esh is called his shadow, just as the prophet Jeremiah declares saying, “The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord, of whom we said to ourselves, ‘In his shadow we shall live among the nations — Spiritus vultus nostri Christus Dominus cuius nos diximus: in umbra eius vivemus in gentibus’” (Lam 4:20). But also Gabriel, when he was proclaiming to Mary concerning his birth, says, “The power of the Most High will overshadow you — Virtus altissimi obumbrabit tibi” (Lk 1:35). Because of that, we understand how many things are dimly shadowed at his ę rst coming, the completion and even perfection of which will be consummated by the second coming. And the apostle Paul says, “He raised us with him and made us sit with him in the heavens” (Eph 2:6). Certainly we do not yet see believers either to have been already raised or to have sat down in the heavens, yet these things have indeed been dimly shadowed through faith; for by the mind and by hope we are liĞ ed up from earthly and dead works, and we raise up our heart to heavenly and eternal things. In his second coming, however, this will be fulę lled: those things that to now we have only anticipated by faith and hope, we shall then also physically hold in their eě ective reality.35 Once again quoted in connection with Lam 4:20, which is chris- tologically interpreted, Luke 1:35 expresses the same event: the ę rst coming of Christ in our Ě esh. Origen invites his audience to the journey already exposed in the second homily on the Song of Songs: starting with the shadow one is called to enter the plenitude of truth. The ę rst coming of Christ in our Ě esh is a shadow: the shadow of a reality that his second coming will bring to completion. Nevertheless, one has to start, by faith, with what is oě ered in the Incarnation. In this shadow the anticipation of what is to come is present. Conclusion The reading of Origen’s exegesis of Lk 1:35 provides us with some of his major theological and mystical themes. It is linked with the exegesis of Lam 4:20, a key verse for Origen’s Christology. According to the three passages of the Homilies on Saint Luke, Lk 1:35 clearly bears witness to the divine origin of the Son of Mary. Not explored in these remaining homilies on Luke, the nature of the “overshadowing” of the power of the Most High is unveiled in the Peri Archon: this shadow which will come upon Mary is the shadow of the Word, the preexis-

(35) Homilies on Joshua, VIII, 4 (Wѕіѡђ, BџѢѐђ, Origen. Homilies on Joshua…, 88–89; SC 71, 227.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 04:08:32AM via free access 44 Scrinium IV (2008). Patrologia Pacię ca tent soul of Jesus. Quoted and interpreted both in the Commentary and the Homilies on the Song of Songs in reference to Ct 2:3, Lk 1:35 is an invitation to commune with Christ in the shadow of his glory. From shadow to reality, Lk 1:35 describes the initial and fruitful stage of the journey of the soul. The preparation for the full revelation of his glory is the contemplation of his incarnation. At last, in the Homilies on Josh- ua, quoting Lk 1:35 in order to explain the twofold wood of Jos 8:39, Origen invites his listener to enter the very dynamism which links the two comings of Christ: from shadow to reality. Reading and studying our ę le of texts, we are able to observe Ori- gen at work: he is inseparably exegete and mystic, and he invites his hearer or reader to become both as well. His exegesis corresponds to Christian growth. Lk 1:35 expresses the fruitful shadow from which everybody has to start: “The birth of Christ took its inception from the shadow; yet not in Mary only did His nativity begin with overshadowing; in you too, if you are worthy, the Word of God is born.”36

SUMMARY

Starting from the Homilies on Saint Luke, this paper intends to inves- tigate Origen’s understanding of Lk 1:35. The power of the Most High is nothing but his Wisdom and his Word, i.e. his Son. The shadow of the Word seems to be the preexistent soul of Jesus. The maternity of Mary has an exemplary role, since our life here below on earth also takes place in the shadow of the Word, which is his humanity. The growth of Christ within the soul leads from the shadow of his humanity to the Truth of his divinity. Thus, Origen’s interpretation of Lk 1:35 enables us to discover some of his major mystical themes.

(36) Homilies on the Song of Songs, II, 6 (LюѤѠќћ, Origen: The Song of Songs…, 293; SC 37, 91).

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