Wisdom's Feast

Σοφία ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐαυτῇ οἶκον Χρσιτὸς, φησὶν, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς σοφία καὶ δύναμις, ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐαυτῇ οἶκον, τὴν ἐκ Παρθένου σάρκωσιν, καθὼς προείρηκεν· Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν. Ὡς μαρτυρεῖ καὶ ὁ σοφὸς προφὴτης· Ἡ πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος, φησὶ, καὶ παρεκτικὴ ζωῆς, ἡ ἄπειρος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ ᾠκοδόμησε τὸν οἶκον ἑαυτῇ ἑξ ἁπειράνδρου μητρὸς, ναὸν γοῦν σωματικῶς περιθέμενος. Καὶ ὑπῄρησε στύλους ἑπτὰ· τὴν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος εὐωδίαν, ὡς φησὶν Ἠσαϊας· Καὶ ἀναπαύσεται ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἄλλοι δὲ λέγουσιν εἴναι στύλους ἑπτὰ, τὰ ἑπτὰ θεῖα τάγματα τὰ διὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς αὐτοῦ καὶ θεοπνεύστου διδακαλίας τὴν κτίσιν βαστάζοντα, ἤγουν τοὺς προφήτας, τοὺς ἀσκητὰς, τοὺς ὁσίους καὶ τοὺς δικαίους. Τὸ δὲ, ἔσφαξε τὰ ἑαυτὴς θύματα, τοὺς προφήτας φησὶ καὶ μάρτυρας, τοὺς κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν καὶ χώραν καθ' ἐκάστην ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπίστων ὥσπερ ἄρνας ἀναιρουμένους ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ βοῶντας· Ἕνακά σου θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν. Ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς. Καὶ ἐκέρασεν εἰς κρατῆρα τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἴνον, εἰς τὴν παρθένον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θεότητα ἐνώσας τῇ σαρκὶ ὡς οἴνον ἄκρατον, ὁ Σωτὴρ ἑγεννήθη ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀσυγχύτως Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος. Καὶ ἠτοιμάσατο τὴν ἑαυτῆς τρὰπεζεν, τὴν ἐπιγνωσιν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος κατεπαγγελλομένην· καὶ τὸ τίμιον καὶ ἄχραντον αὐτοῦ σῶμα καὶ αἵμα ἄπερ ἐν τῇ μυστικῇ καὶ θείᾷ τραπέζῃ καθ' ἐκάστην ἐπιτελοῦνται θυόμενα εἰς ἁνάμνησιν τῆς ἀειμνήστου καὶ πρώτης ἐκείνης τραπέζης τοῦ μυστικοῦ θείου δείπνου. Τὸ δὲ, ἀπέστειλε τοὺς ἑαυτῆς δούλους ἡ Σοφία, ὁ Χριστὸς δηλονότι, συγκαλοῦσα μετὰ ὑψηλοῦ κηρύγματος. Ὅς ἐστιν ἄφρων, ἐκκλινάτω πρὸς μὲ φάσκουσα τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλος πρόδηλον, τοὺς εἰς τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον διαδραμόντας καὶ προσκαλέσαντας τὰ ἔθνη εἰς τὴν ἐκείνου ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθῶς τῷ ὑψηλῷ καὶ θείῳ τούτων κηρύγματι. Τὸ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐνδεέσε φρενῶν εἶπε, τοῖς μήπω κεκτημένοις τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος δύναμιν δηλονότι· Ἤλθετε, φάγετε τὸν ἐμὸν ἄρτον, καὶ πίετε οἶνον ὄν κέκρακα ὑμίν, τὴν θείαν αὐτοῦ σάρκα καὶ τὸ τίμιον αὐτοῦ αἷμα δέδωκεν ἡμῖν, φησὶν, ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν εἰς ἂφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. Ἅγιος Ἱππόλυτος Ρώμης, Εἰς Τας Παροιμίας Source: Migne PG 10.625c-628c

'Wisdom has built her house.' 1 Christ, it says, the wisdom and power of God the Father, has built His house, that is, His nature in the flesh derived from the Virgin, even as it is proclaimed: 'The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.' 2 So the wise Prophet testifies: that which was before the world and is the source of life, the infinite Wisdom of God, has built her house, by a mother who knew no man, that is, as He assumed the temple of the body. 'And she has raised seven pillars,' 1 That is, the fragrance of the all holy Spirit. As Isaiah says: 'And the seven spirits of God shall rest on Him,' 3 But others say that the seven pillars are the seven divine orders which sustain the creation by His holy and inspired teaching; that is, the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Hierarchs, the Ascetics, the Saints, and the Righteous. 'She has killed her beasts,' 4 Speaks of the Prophets and Martyrs who in every city and country are slain like sheep every day by the faithless for the sake of the truth, and who cry aloud, 'For your sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted sheep for the slaughter.' 5 'She has mixed her wine in the bowl,' 4 Tells of the Saviour, uniting He is Godhead, like pure wine, with the flesh of the Virgin, being born of her at once God and man, without confusion of the one with the other. 'And she has prepared her table,' 4 Which is the promised knowledge of the Holy Trinity. And it also refers to His honoured and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever memorable table of the spiritual divine supper. And 'She has sent forth her servants,' 6 Which is the Wisdom that is Christ summoning them with lofty announcement. 'Whoever is simple, let him turn to me,' 7 She says, clearly speaking of the holy Apostles, who traversed the whole world, and called the peoples to true knowledge of Him, with their lofty and divine preaching. And to those that want understanding she said...' That is, to those who have not yet obtained the power of the Holy Spirit. 'Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mixed for you,' 8 Which is that He gave His Divine flesh and honoured blood to us, to eat and to drink it for the remission of sins. Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Fragment On Proverbs 1Prov 9.1 2 Jn 1.14 3 cf Isaiah 11.2 4 Prov 9.2 5 Ps 44.22, Rom 8.36 6 Prov 9.3 7 Prov 9.4 8 Prov 9.5