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Fr. Paul explains that when the Lord calls Israel "my witnesses" in Isaiah, the word means they belong to him, not that they testify to his saving acts; false deities have no such witnesses since they never deliver salvation as the Lord does . He tra
A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures.
Readings: Isaiah 43:9-14; Luke 12:2-12; Romans 8:28-39; Luke 21:12-19; Ephesians 4:14-19; Luke 4:16-22.
Fr. Paul explains that when the Lord calls Israel "my witnesses" in Isaiah, the word means they belong to him, not that they testify to his saving acts; false deities have no such witnesses since they never deliver salvation as the Lord does [2]. He traces the title go'el, redeemer, to the kinsman's duty to buy back sold property or a relative's freedom; by calling himself Israel's go'el, the Lord shows that duty still stands, even in the oracle against Babylon [3].
In his lectures on Luke, Fr. Paul notes that hypocrisy means hiding what is real, and everything hidden will be revealed at the last day [8]. Disciples should fear not those who kill the body but the one with power to hand them to judgment; not a sparrow is forgotten, so "fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows" [8]. To confess the Son of Man before men brings his confession before the angels, while blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, which Fr. Paul reads as retracting an endorsement already given that the Son of Man speaks God's name [10]. That warning runs from Mark through Luke, since "the Spirit is the final witness to the victory over the world a believer has in Christ" [13]. Before rulers, the Spirit will remind the disciple in that hour of the gospel already known [10].
In Romans, Fr. Paul cautions against reading "justified" and "glorified" as already completed simply because they share the aorist tense with "called," a reading he calls "falsely assumed as referring to a past action" [19]. The whole plan toward glory originates in God, not in human effort [17]. Since God did not spare his own Son, and the risen Christ intercedes at his right hand, no one can bring a charge against God's chosen [22]. Amid affliction or the sword, hardships fitting a slave or gladiator, Paul insists "we have to trust that we are more than conquerors" through the one who loved them [17,23].
The root pair of the day · י-מ-נ yod–mem–nun, יָמִין yamin · أ–م–ن hamza–mīm–nūn, آمَنَ ʾāmana · right hand; confirm; stronger. The root 'alam and 'alima names concealing, as when Job's snow 'hides itself' or the Lord 'overlooks' ignorance in Acts. Luke insists nothing hidden (lanthano) will remain so, matching the note's reading of hypocrisy as hiding what is real, destined for revealing at the last day, just as the woman in Luke 8:47 finds she is 'not hidden' before all. cf. The Consolation of Consonants
Sources: Tarazi, Isaiah: A Commentary, p. 164; Tarazi, Isaiah: A Commentary, p. 150; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, Luke (vol. 42), part 2, at 18:49; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, Luke (vol. 42), part 2, at 21:11; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 3, Johannine Writings, p. 274; Tarazi, Romans: A Commentary, p. 157; Tarazi, Romans: A Commentary, p. 153; Tarazi, Romans: A Commentary, p. 156; Tarazi, Romans: A Commentary, p. 158.
Opening music: Taksim Arbi, Bichi Slama, oud (Tunis, Archives de la Parole, 1930s), public domain. Source: gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.
A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures.
Every day: the readings of the Orthodox lectionary read in full, a short note on them, and a root pair from the Consolation of Consonants, Hebrew and Arabic, chosen for the day’s readings. About five minutes a day, from OCABS on the Ephesus School Network. Read each note, with its citations, at ocabs.org.