July 2016 Philadelphia Chapter of Pax Christi U.S.A.

Poetry as Exegesis

Jacob of Serugh was born in 451 in Curtam, a town on the Euphrates, southeast Turkey. He received his education at the School of Edessa, like St. Ephrem before him. He lived a quiet life of prayer and avoided the theological controversies following the Council of Chalcedon. He was gifted as a preacher and spiritual guide and was consecrated as Bishop of Serugh near Edessa. He died in 521.

He is one of the great poets of the early Syriac tradition. Whereas St. Ephrem (d.373) with the depth of his insights can astound and even bewilder his readers – Jacob is more straightforward, beautiful, but ever concerned about pastoral care and the edification of the Christian faithful. Rather than theological discussions, he focused on Scripture and the history of Salvation. Like Islamic tradition growing around him, Jacob felt Christological controversy was not helpful. Unlike Muhammad he did not deny the Trinity, as Fr. Griffith discussed at the recent CPF annual retreat, just that one could understand it better by reading Scripture than by constructing dogmas about it. Griffith stressed that there are similarities between Jacob’s poetry and Islamic writings.

Jacob’s thinking is essentially symbolic; like Ephrem’s it shuns the logic and precision of Greek thought. He understood the very structure of Christian life to be human praise uttered in response to divine life: ‘the very pulse of my created being requires Your praise; and as by its nature it hastens to give praise in Your presence’. One might compare his prayers, from his homilies, to the invocations which are embedded in the book of Psalms, so intense are they in their praise of God and intercession for all humanity and the created world. The death of Christ is seen by Jacob not only as redemptive of mankind but also as restorative of creation. This resembles Ephrem who said Nature – creation – must be cared for because like Scripture it reveals God’s presence. He did not say Nature is Scripture which would have been borderline heretical, but like Scripture. Scholars have noted this environmental concern in Ephrem. The prayers of Jacob exemplify the sacramental character of his exegesis, likewise full of hope and mercy, for humanity and the created world.

the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto Leaven… (Mt.13:33) O Leaven of Life who was sent to us from the Most High,

knead Yourself into me so that I may acquire the taste of Your gentleness; O Son of God who has been mingled with us, becoming one of us,

may I become one with You, and may my tongue tell of You;

O Great One who has descended right down to the extremity of littleness,

may Your utterance grow in me, for I, with the iniquity of my hands, am so little. O Lord of the heights who willed to lower Yourself to the very depth,

grant to me, who am in the depth, utterance that will attain to the height of Your true place.

O Living Fire who cast Your fire into all the world, Lk 12:49; cf Mal 3:2 may the fire that cleanses away all sins flare up in me;

with Your fire which scours away iniquity refine me and make me pure, lest I burn in that fire at the End Time that so terrifies me.

You came to cast fire into the world and it has fallen upon those who listen to Your word, which itself is fire;

Your fire has caught alight in me as well: may I be fervent in speaking;

blow upon me so that I may burn brightly as a result of You, as I address You.

May the mind be stirred by the fire of Your love, and may it bear fruit in telling of You, for wherever this fire falls, it effects peace in its gentleness.

The whole world is full of the undergrowth of denial,

but fire has fallen upon it and devoured the thorns, and the earth is restored; the tangle of iniquity came about through the entire world’s sin,

but the Crucified One has cultivated it, and see how good seeds are sprouting there! With the nails and the lance He has cleared it, liberating it from the tares,

removing from it all plants that are bitter;

He has opened up all the remote rocky places, and now the entire earth bears crops of praise,

For uprooted from it are all bad plants with their wild growth and thorns, while the cypress and sweet-scented myrtle exult! cf Is 55:13

(As found in

The Prayers of Jacob of Serugh, ed. by M. Hansbury)

Mary Hansbury

Mary Hansbury, PhD, a member of CPF, is a Syriac Scholar and has translated numerous books and articles.