Moses and the Mystical Ascent to God.
Gregory sees an example of the mystical ascent to God in the
figure of Moses the Lawgiver and in the appearance of God on Mount Sinai. The
people were ordered to purify themselves, and the mountain was covered with a
cloud and illuminated by fire. "By the power of God alone and without any other
implement the air formed itself into individual words. These words were not only
distinct, but they proclaimed the divine commandments." The people were afraid
to ascend the mountain to listen, and only Moses entered the cloud. He himself
became invisible when he penetrated the ineffable mystery of the Divinity and
was in communion with the Invisible One." The appearance of God begins with
light, and Moses had once seen God in His radiance in the Burning Bush. Now,
having become closer to perfection, he saw God in a cloud and, sheltered by a
cloud, he participated in eternal life. In Gregory's interpretation the first
steps away from the path of error are light. A closer examination of that which
is hidden leads into a cloud, which replaces visible things. Finally the soul
enters the innermost sanctuary of the knowledge of God "which is enveloped on
all sides by the divine cloud. Everything that can be seen and comprehended
remains outside, and all that is left for the vision of the soul is that which
is invisible and incomprehensible. In this cloud is God." The Divinity is
"beyond the reach of the understanding."
As man ascends, the "inaccessible nature of Divinity" gradually
becomes revealed to him and reason sees God in "the invisible and
incomprehensible," in "a radiant cloud." Even when it reaches this cloud the
soul realizes that it is as far from perfection as if it had never set out.
According to Gregory, it is exactly this that is the highest truth of all. Our
true knowledge is that we do not and cannot know because that which we seek is
beyond our cognition. By its very nature the Divinity is higher than knowledge
and comprehension. The first principle of theology must be that God is
inaccessible. That which can be contemplated cannot be conceptually expressed.
Whoever claims that God can be known merely shows that he has abandoned the One
Who truly exists in favor of something which exists only in the imagination and
which does not contain true life, for this life cannot be expressed by
concepts.
Moses was led into the sanctuary not made by man and this is
the ultimate extent of contemplation. He later reconstructed a material image of
this divine temple at the command of God so that this miracle would not be
forgotten and would be transmitted by the people of the lower world. In
Gregory's interpretation this immaterial sanctuary is Christ, the Strength and
Wisdom of God. Within the sanctuary Moses saw the intellectual powers which
support the universe. Gregory follows the example of Philo in interpreting the
symbolism of the priestly robes.
Moses descended to his people with the ten commandments of God,
Who was the author of their essence and of their physical being. The people,
however, had sinned and had made them selves unworthy of this gift. Moses broke
the tablets and was commanded to inscribe new ones, and on these, which were
made from an earthly substance, God again set forth His law. Gregory interprets
this as an allegory of mankind. Men were once indestructible and immortal. They
were fashioned by the hand of God and His law was imprinted on them as their
adornment. They were shattered by their fall to earth but were restored by
Christ, the true Lawgiver, who cut their stone again with His own flesh. For
Gregory the highest stages of contemplation reveal Christ, the Word Incarnate,
the "manifestation of God in the flesh which was achieved for our sakes." It is
He who was seen by the prophetic mystics of the Old Testament, and the Song
of Songs was written about Him.
Gregory sees Moses as a great mystic. Moses was purified and
ascended the mountain where he was initiated into the mysteries of God. He is an
example for every soul. Each soul should have the faith to draw nearer to God in
His impenetrable cloud, and should become its own stonecutter so that the
commandments of God are carved on it as they were on the tablets of Moses. Then
the soul will be embraced by the "divine night," and the Bridegroom will come to
it. The Bridegroom will not reveal Him self, however, for how can anything be
revealed at night? He will stand at the door and beckon. He will give a sign of
His presence, but He will not enter, for He has come to call. Even as it reaches
its highest point the path must begin again. "That which is incomprehensible is
infinitely greater than that which we can understand. The Bridegroom appears to
the soul many times but by His voice He reveals to His bride that she has not
yet seen Him." A man who stands on the shore of a river will always be at the
starting point of his observation because the waters flow continuously and their
streaming is only beginning.
Gregory also comments on God's appearance to Moses in the
crevice of the rock (Exodus 33:18-23). Moses asked God to show him His
glory and to reveal the path to Him. "A voice from above," Gregory writes,
"agreed to this request and did not refuse to grant this grace, but it only
caused Moses to despair, for it revealed that what he desired is not possible
for man." Moses only saw the "back of God."
All of this has a greater significance. It is the very effort
of knowing God that is man's true knowledge of Him. "He who strives for God sees
only His back." "Moses was impatient for God but all he learned was how to see
Him. This is accomplished by following behind God and walking in the path He has
left us." This is the only way for the one who is led to see the One who leads.
"Whoever is following this path and then steps aside, or tries to see the face
of the One who is leading him, sets for himself a path that has not been lain by
his true Leader." God told Moses that He could not see His face. In Gregory's
interpretation this signifies that "you will never stand face to face with the
One who leads you because, if you do, your journey will be from the direction
opposite Him. That which is good never looks directly at goodness but follows
after it." For this reason God reveals that man cannot see His face and remain
alive. To see the face of God one must be coming towards Him. Man should follow
after God and not try to approach Him from the opposite direction. The path
which leads from the direction opposite the path of virtue is the path of
sin.
Gregory comments on other aspects of the Biblical narrative.
God told Moses to stand on a rock. This rock is Christ, Who is absolute
goodness. God placed Moses on this rock not so that he could rest, but so that
he would be free to move forward. "Whoever ascends does not stand still and
whoever stands still does not ascend." The man who ascends must be firm and he
must not be distracted from the path of virtue. God showed compassion for Moses
because "his desire to perfect himself could never be satisfied, and he was
always striving for greater virtue." God appeared to Moses but this did not
satisfy Moses' longing for Him. "God would not have shown Himself if this vision
could have satisfied the yearning of His servant."
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