A summer message
“Pour out on us, O Lord, that same Spirit by which your deacon Ephrem rejoiced to proclaim in sacred song the mysteries of faith; and so gladden our hearts that we, like him, may be devoted to you alone”
~ a great cloud of witnesses, a calendar of commemorations
As we live through these summer days, I have been reflecting on the past program year, and also preparing for the next. In doing so, I have become starkly aware of the unsung saints of God, who by their life, witness and example teach us so much.
On June 10, the church remembered Ephrem of Edessa, Syria, who was a Deacon in the church. It is my prayer that the following excerpt, from “a great cloud of witnesses,” will give us all hope and encourage us on our journey during this summer, and beyond.
Ephrem of Edessa, Syria
Deacon, 373
“Ephrem of Edessa was a teacher, poet, orator, and defender of the faith—a voice of Aramaic Christianity, speaking the language Jesus spoke, using the imagery Jesus used. Edessa, a Syrian city, was a center for the spread of Christianity in the East long before the conversion of the western Roman empire.
The Syrians called Ephrem “The Harp of the Holy Spirit,” and his hymns still enrich the liturgies of the Syrian Church.
Ephrem was born at Nisibis in Mesopotamia. At eighteen, he was baptized by James, Bishop of Nisibis. It is believed that Ephrem accompanied James to the famous Council of Nicaea in 325. He lived at Nisibis until 363, when the Persians captured the city and drove out the Christians.
Ephrem retired to a cave in the hills above the city of Edessa. There he wrote most of his spiritual works. He lived on barley bread and dried herbs, sometimes varied by greens. He drank only water. His clothing was a mass of patches. But he was not a recluse, and frequently went to Edessa to preach. Discovering that hymns could be of great value in support of the true faith, he opposed Gnostic hymns with his own, sung by a choir of women. An example is, “From God Christs Deity came forth.” (Episcopal Hymnal # 443)
During a famine in 372–373, he distributed food and money to the poor and organized a sort of ambulance service for the sick. He died of exhaustion, brought on by his long hours of relief work. Of his writings, there remain 72 hymns, commentaries on the Old and New Testaments, and numerous homilies. In his commentary on the Passion, he wrote: “No one has seen or shall see the things which you have seen. The Lord himself has become the altar, priest, and bread, and the chalice of salvation. He alone suffices for all, yet none suffices for him. He is Altar and Lamb, victim and sacrifice, priest as well as food.” ~ a great cloud of witnesses, a calendar of commemorations
As we enjoy these summer days, may we be challenged to follow his example, with a song in our hearts, as we seek to serve those in need around us, and in or world.
Alan Dennis