Crooked And Straight

Διεστραμμένον γὰρ φησὶν οὐ δυνήσεται ἐπικοσμηθῆναι Tουτέστιν, οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο τῇ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κοσμηθείσῃ κτίσει οἰκεῖον τὸ ἐνδιάστροφον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ τεχνίτης ὁ κατὰ πρόθεσίν τι ἑαυτῷ τεκταινόμενος, κανόνι καὶ σπάρτῳ διευθύνει τὰ μέρη τὰ τὴν ἐπεργασίαν τοῦ σκεύους διὰ τῆς τεχνικῆς πρὸς ἄλληλασχέσεως συμπεραίνοντα· εἰ δέ τι τούτων μὴ κατὰ τὴν σπάρτην διευθυνθέι, οὐ παραδέχεται πάντως τὴν διαστροφὴν ἡ εὐθὴς ἁρμονία, ἀλλὰ χρὴ κακεῖνο ὑπαχθῆναι τῇ σπάρτῇ καὶ εὐθὺ γενέσθαι, εἰ μέλλοι τῷ εὐθεῖ συναρμόζεσθαι· οὕτω φησὶν ὁ Ἐκκλησιατὴς, ὅτι ἡ παρὰ τῆς κακίας διαστραφεῖσα φύσις τῇ κεκοσμημένῃ ὑπὸ ὀρθοῦ λόγου κτίσει ἐγγενέσθαι οὐ δύνατα. Καὶ ὑστέρημα, φησὶν, οὐ δυνήσεται ἀριθμηθῆναι. Ὑστερεῖσθαι τὸ λείπεσθαι, ἡ γραφικὴ συνήθεια νοεῖν διδάσκει· καὶ τοῦτο ἑκ πολλῶν ἔστι πιστώσασθια. Ὁ γὰρ ἐν πατνὶ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι μεμνημένος Παῦλος, οἴδε καὶ ὑστερεῐσθαι καὶ περισσεύειν· καὶ ὁ διὰ τῆς ἀσωτίας τὴν πατρικὴν δαπανήσας οὐσίαν, λιμοῦ κατασχόντος, ἤρξατο τοῦ ὑστερεῖσθαι· καὶ περὶ τῶν ἁγίῶν ὁ Παῦλος διεξιὼν, τὰ τε ἄλλα φησὶ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐν οἴς ἐκακοπάθουν τῷ σώματι, καὶ τοῦτο προστίθησιν, ὅτι ὑστερούμενοι καὶ θλιβόμενοι. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὑστέρημα ὁ λόγος εἰπὼν, τὸ λεῖπον διὰ τῆς φωνῆς ἐνεδείξατο· τὸ δὲ λεῖπον ἐναρίθμιον τοῖς οὖσι γενέσθαι οὐ δυναταυ. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ μαθηταὶ, ἕως μὲν πάντες ἦσαν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ πληρώματι, δυοκαίδεκα ἧσαν τὸν ἀριθμόν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπώλετο ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ἐκολοβώθη ὁ ἀριθμὸς, τῷ μή συναριθμεῖσθαι τοῖς οὔσι τὸ λεῖπον· ἕνδεκα γὰρ μετὰ τὸν Ἰούδαν καὶ ἧσαν καὶ ὠνομάζοντο. Τὸ οὖν ὑστέρημα, φησὶν, οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἀριθμηθῆναι. Τί τοῦτο σημαίνει διὰ τοῦ λόγου; Ὅτι ἧν ποτε καὶ τὸ καθ' ἡμας τῷ παντὶ ἐναρίθμιον· συνετελοῦμεν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς τὴν ἱερὰν τῶν λογικῶν προβάτων ἑκατοντάδα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀπεβουκολήθη τῆς ὀρείου διαγωγῆς τὸ ἕν πρόβατον, ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις, διὰ κακίας πρὸς τὸν ἀλμῶντα τοῦτον καὶ αὐχμηρὸν τόπον κατασπασθεῖσα, οὐκέτι ὁ αὐτὸς ἀριθμὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ ποιμνίου τῶν ἀπλανῶν μνημονεύεται, ἀλλ' ἐνενήκοντα καὶ ἐννέα κατονομάζονται· τὸ γὰρ μάταιον ἔξω τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τῶν ὑφεστώτων γίνεται, διότι ὑστέρημα οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἀριθμηθῆναι. Ἤλθεν οὖν ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλὸς, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἀναλαβὼν ἀποκαταστῆσαι τοῖς οὖσι τὸ τῇ ματαιότητι τῶν ἀνυπάρκτῶν ἐναπολλύμενον, ἵνα πάλιν ἄρτιος γένεηται ὁ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀριθμὸς, ἀποσωθέντος τοῦ ἀπολωλότος τοῖς μὴ ἀπολλυμένοις. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἐκκλησιασην, Ὁμιλια Β' Source: Migne PG 44.640c-641c

'That which is crooked,' he says, 'cannot be made straight.' 1 That is, nothing crooked befits a creature arranged by God. For as the Creator, who designed everything for Himself, set aright with a ruler and measuring line the parts which contribute towards the whole by having each part carefully related to the others, so if any part is not set right by a measuring line, the measured harmony does not admit that which is crooked, for it is necessary that it conform to the measure if all is to be in harmony. Thus Ecclesiastes says that nature made crooked by evil cannot be arranged to right reason: 'Deficiency,' he says, 'cannot be numbered.' 1 To be deficient is to lack, Scripture is accustomed to teach, and it is confirmed by many examples. One among the many is the celebrated Paul who knows what it is to be deficient and what it is to abound; 2 and also that one who having consumed his inheritance was seized by hunger, suffering deficiency, 3 and speaking of the saints, Paul, along with bodily affliction, adds that they were destitute and afflicted. 4 Therefore, when Scripture speaks of deficiency, it means lack, though lack is not mentioned. For the disciples in their fullness numbered twelve but when the son of perdition perished, 5 their number was incomplete, for their lack was him who was not counted among them, and so a twelfth disciple was named to take the place of Judas. 6 Thus he says: 'deficiency cannot be numbered.' What does he mean by this? That we were once counted with the full group, that is, among the holy one hundred rational sheep. 7 When one sheep strayed from the heavenly way of life, our nature by evil was led to an arid uncultivated place; no longer does that number pertain to the flock which have not wandered but they are reckoned ninety-nine, for vanity does not belong to the number who are included, and so: 'deficiency cannot be numbered.' Therefore He comes to seek and save the one who is lost, and lifting him up on his shoulders he restores that which was lost in the vanity of insubstantial things, that again the whole number of God's creation be made whole, by the saving of the lost along with those who have not been destroyed. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Ecclesiastes, from Homily 2 1 Eccles 1.15 2 Phil 4.12 3 Lk 15.14 4 Heb 11.37 5 Jn 17.12 6 Acts 1.15-26 7 Mt 18.12