Fashion the Fiery Chariot

Icon of The Holy Prophet Elijah by Emanuel. Photo from the new owner.

When he had been cleansed by fasting, great Moses saw the God for whom he longed. Eagerly follow his example, O my humble soul; make haste to cleanse thyself from evil in the day of abstinence, and so thou shalt behold the Lord who grants thee forgiveness, for He is all-powerful and loves mankind.

Let us now set out with joy upon the second week of the Fast; and like Elijah the Tishbite let us fashion for ourselves from day to day, O brethren, a fiery chariot from the four great virtues; let us exalt our minds through freedom from the passions; let us arm our flesh with purity and acts of compassion; let us make our feet beautiful with the preaching of the Gospel; and let us put the enemy to flight and gain the victory.

~ from Vespers Service for the Sunday of Orthodoxy in the Lenten Triodion

Today we celebrated the Triumph of Holy Orthodoxy. After this celebration, I was able to hand over this icon of the Prophet Elijah to a new home. And this evening I found the day concluding with these references to Moses and Elijah in the Triodion.

I wrote about Elijah not too long ago. What I did not mention in that piece was a kind of “Easter egg” reference in the design of the landscape.

Transfiguration Festal Icon. Andrey Davydov.

Many icons of the Transfiguration will depict the mount as having three “peaks” for Christ and Moses and Elijah to stand upon. I wanted to subtly point toward this with the mountain in my icon of the Holy Prophet.

I was amazed to see these two saints referenced as an exhortation to the faithful to keep the faith moving into the second week of Lent. We have heard of the Triumph of Holy Orthodoxy over the amalgam heresy of Iconoclasm at the end of our first week. We are reminded that God united himself to us and became man. We are reminded that we, though sinful and broken, can be restored to the image and likeness of God in the God-Man and thus share in God's glory. We are reminded that this life--these bodies--matter and that the gifts we render to God should be beautiful gifts.

And this last calling, to give our best to God, is essentially how our evening ends and our second week begins. Moses received the vision of Christ by fasting, the hymn tells us. His longings and hunger for God finally satisfied. He gave his whole body to God. Elijah, the hymn says, fashioned the chariot of fire that carried him to heaven out of four virtues: (1) an exalted mind free from passions, (2) a body protected by acts of compassion and defended by purity, (3) feet protected from stumbling by keeping the Gospel on his lips, and, (4) gaining victory by driving away the evil one. The way these old testament saints lived tells us how to acquire the transfigured life, and the hymns in honor of them exhort us to seek to acquire that life in the same ways.

I wish good strength to everyone for this week through the prayers of the Holy Prophets Moses and Elijah. May we each be diligent in fashioning our own fiery chariots!

Lastly, thank you to everyone for showing your support. I have felt a bit overwhelmed with how many people have gone out of their way to both reach out to talk, ask questions, inquire about how to get into iconography, and so on while also investing in my work. It makes a huge difference in my life and allows me provide a service to the Church that is needed. I'm writing Paid Subscriber posts this week and working on Founder Member icons. Later!