Preparing The Way

Ἑτοιμάσατε τὰς ὁδοὺς Κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. Ἀπόλεκτος εἰς ἀποστολὴν καὶ τέλος ἦν προφητῶν ἁγίων ὁ Ἰωάννης. Ὅθεν ὡς μὲν οὔπω παρόντος Κυρίου, τὸ, Ἑτοιμάσατε, φησὶ, τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου· τουτέστιν, Εὐτρεπίσθητε πρὸς παραδοχὴν ὧν ἂν βούλοιτο νομοθετεῖν ὁ Χριστός· ἀποστήσατε τὰς καρδίας τῆς τοῦ νόμου σκιᾶς· καταλήξατε τῶν τύπων· παύσασθε τοῦ φρονεῖν τὰ διεστραμμένα. Κατέδειξε δὲ καὶ παρόντα, λέγων· Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. Τί δὲ βούλεται τὸ, Εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν; Εὐθεῖα μὲν πᾶσα λεία τε καὶ εὐχερὴς ἡ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἀποφέρουσα τρίβος· διεστραμμένη γε μὴν ἡ ἑτέρα, τουτέστιν ἡ εἰς φαυλότητα κατασύρουσα τοὺς δι' αὐτῆς ἐρχομένους. Γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων· Ὧν αἱ τρίβοι σκολιαὶ, καὶ καμπύλαι αἱ τροχιαὶ αὐτῶν. Οὐκοῦν ἡ τῆς διανοίας εὐθύτης, ὀρθή τις ὥσπερ ἐστὶν ὁδὸς, οὐκ ἔχουσα τὸ διεστραμμένον. Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ θεσπέσιος Ψαλμῳδὸς, ψάλλων τε καὶ λέγων· Οὐκ ἐκολλήθη μοι καρδία σκαμβή. Καὶ ὁ μὲν τοῦ Ναυῆ Ἰησοῦς παραγγέλλων ἔλεγε τῷ λαῷ· Εὐθύνατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν Ἰσραήλ· ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης, Εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους ὑμῶν. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι, τὸ εὐθεῖαν εἶναι τὴν ψυχὴν, τὸ κατὰ φύσιν νοερὸν αὐτῆς ὡς ἐκτίσθη δεικνύειν. Ἐκτίσθη δὲ καλὴ καὶ λίαν εὐθής· ὅταν δὲ ἐκκλίνῃ καὶ ἐν διαστροφῇ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν γένηται, τοῦτο κακία καὶ διαστροφὴ ψυχῆς λέγεται. Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἔστιν δυσχερὲς τὸ πρᾶγμα· ἐὰν γὰρ μείνωμεν ὡς γεγόναμεν, ἐν τῇ ἀρετῇ ἐσμεν. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ τινὸς ἀνταναφωνοῦντος καὶ λέγοντος, Πῶς ἑτοιμάσομεν τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου, ἢ πῶς εὐθείας αὐτοῦ τὰς τρίβους ποιήσομεν; πολλὰ γάρ ἐστι τὰ μεταξὺ παρεμποδὼν τοῖς εὖ βιοῦν ἐθέλουσιν, ὁ μισόκαλος Σατανᾶς, τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων ἡ ἀνοσία πληθὺς, αὐτὸς τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ νόμος ὁ ἐν τοῖς μέλεσι τῆς σαρκὸς ἀνθοπλιζόμενος ταῖς εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦ νοῦ ῥοπαῖς· πολλὰ δὲ πρὸς τούτοις ἕτερα πάθη, τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου διανοίας κατακρατεῖ· τί οὖν ἄρα δράσομεν, τοσαύτης δυσχερείας κειμένης; πρὸς ταῦτα τῆς προφητείας ὁ λόγος ὑπαντᾷ λέγων· Πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται, καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται· καὶ ἔσται ἡ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν, καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας· καὶ ὄψεται πᾶσα σὰρξ τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφα. Β' Source: Migne PG 72.511a-c

Prepare the ways of the Lord, make His paths straight. 1 John, chosen for Apostleship, was also the last of the holy Prophets, whence, as the Lord had not yet come: 'Prepare the way of the Lord.' That is: 'Make ready for the reception of whatever Christ may wish to decree; withdraw your hearts from the shadow of the law, be done with types, think no more perversely.' And receiving the presence, he says: 'Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' 2 And what does it mean: 'Make the paths of our God straight?' That every path that leads to good is straight and smooth and easy, but the other is crooked, that is, it leads down to wickedness those that walk on it. For of such it is written, 'Whose paths are crooked, and the tracks of their wheels awry.' Therefore straightforwardness of mind is like a straight path, having no crookedness. Such was the divine Psalmist's character, who says in his songs: 'A crooked heart has not cleaved unto me.' 3 And Joshua, exhorting the people, said, 'Make straight your hearts unto the God of Israel.' 4 And John: 'Make straight your ways.' And this means, that the soul must be straight, exhibiting its natural intuition as it was created. And it was created beautiful and very straight, but when it turns aside and its natural state is perverted, this is called evil, and the perversion of the soul. This, then, is not a difficult matter, for if we remain as we are made, we shall be in a virtuous state. But someone, as it were, cries out against us, saying, 'How shall we prepare the way of the Lord?' Or 'How make His paths straight?' For there are many impediments in the way of those that would live well: Satan, he who hates what is beautiful, the unholy crowd of wicked spirits, the law of sin itself that is in our members of flesh, and which arms itself against the inclinations of the mind to what is good, 5 and many other passions besides, that have mastery over the mind of man. What, then, shall we do, with so great difficulty pressing upon us?' The word of Prophecy meets these objections, saying, 'Every valley shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked way shall become straight, and the rough ways shall become smooth: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3 1. Lk 3.4 2 Jn 1.29 3 Ps 100.3 4 Jos 24.23 5 cf Rom 7.23