Wednesday Safro

Like all the offices, the time it refers to in the day is not limited only to the temporal circumstances of that literal day but to the greater eschatological context. In particular, I refer to a very commonly used image in Syriac tradition - the Lord as the master of the vineyard who hires laborers at different hours of the day and pays everyone equally.

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I mention this image because it is one of the many beautiful allegories of the Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16) that presents the love of God past mechanical justice to the extent where He confounds the human senses. The particular relevance to Safro, in general and this particular office, is the imploring of mercy and receiving of recompense on the "great morning" as Syriac is wont to call it. The sooghito eloquently draws a typology:

Lord of the vineyard who agreed on a denarius for the hired laborers whom He hired in the time of the morning – at the third hour, He called the prophets and brought them for His labor.

At the sixth hour, He called the righteous and sent them to the bridal chamber of light. At the ninth hour, He called the apostles and clothed them in the armor of the Spirit.

At the eleventh hour, He called to the Thief and sent him to the place full of blessings; He gave him a passport – a key, which would open the door which Adam closed.

In the soteriological scheme, God has a gradual plan for acquiring the necessary vineyard laborers and they each have individual roles. The prophets were the first to be called and prepared the foundation for the entirety of salvation, the last to be called being the Thief who stands as an archetype for the redeemed Adam. Whether one is in the first or last camp, if justified by the grace of God, the same reward will be attained. It is not man's justice that achieves salvation - if we were judged on whether we by ourselves were just we would all be condemned to Gehenna. Fortunate for us, God is merciful and there is a definite hope of salvation.

Our Lord, accept our service, our prayers, come to our aid and have mercy on us!