Two Are Better Than One (2)
Last week, I spoke to you about the saying of the Bible, “Two are better than one…” (Eccl. 4:9).
Tonight, I would like to continue with you in meditating on the same verse: “Two are better than one… and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Two are better than one
This phrase is especially fitting for these days of fasting.
For many people fast physically, but physical fasting alone is of no benefit.
The spirit must participate with the body in fasting, because two are better than one. And when the spirit participates, fasting truly becomes fasting…
Man was created from these two—the spirit and the body—and both should participate together in fasting. Our worship is spiritual, not merely physical: the body abstains from food, while the spirit frees itself from the love of material things. The body and the spirit both take advantage of the opportunity of fasting to grow in the spiritual life….
Also, if the spirit is strong, it can support the body in its fast. “And woe to him who is alone when he falls, for there is no second to lift him up.”
The phrase “two are better than one” also applies to the rites:
The body and the spirit participate together in all matters related to the rites. You light a candle before an icon of a saint. The physical senses see the candle, while the spirit reflects on the similarities between the saint and the candle: how he shone like it, how he was aflame like it, and how he melted like it, giving himself for others. He was also pure like it….
In prostrations, before the altar and before the people, the body and the spirit participate together:
The body bows before the altar, but the bowing of the body alone is of no benefit, because our worship is not merely physical. The spirit must participate with it, for two are better than one. As the body bows, the spirit also bows in reverence….
In prostration, the head reaches the dust, and in the spirit you feel that you are dust.
As the Prophet David said, “My soul clings to the dust,” not my body…. Many people’s prostrations are not accepted because they are not accompanied by the spirit…. Likewise, if you remove your shoes before the altar, let this not be merely a physical act. Rather, remember the holiness of the place, and let your heart become reverent. Let your spirit participate with your body, for two are better than one….
Prayer is not merely words; understanding must be added to the words. Words alone are not enough, because two are better than one. And how do we arrive at the threefold cord that is not quickly broken? When we add emotion….
Therefore, the hymn says, “My heart and my tongue,” for two are better than one..
When the heart participates, many things are added to the words and understanding. Faith, contrition, love, humility, understanding, and spiritual fervor enter into prayer…. And the threefold cord is not quickly broken….
In reading the Holy Bible, a second element should be added to the reading..
Understanding should be added, because two are better than one. And what, then, is the threefold cord that is not quickly broken? It is when the element of action is added to reading and understanding. The Lord spoke of the one who both learned and acted upon what he learned, and this person is called great….
Reading alone is not enough. It must conceive and give birth through the Holy Spirit: it must produce works; it must produce life…. That is why we say in the Prayer of the Gospel, “Make us worthy to hear and to act upon” both together….
The phrase “two are better than one” can also be found in the virtues..
To the virtue of giving, we add a second virtue: secrecy. These two virtues are then joined by mercy, and thus we arrive at the threefold cord.
“Two are better than one”: add other people to “I.” Do not be centered only on yourself. Rather, embrace everyone, for this is the love of one’s neighbor, without which a person cannot be truly spiritual.
And how do you reach the threefold cord? When you add your love for God to your love for people: God, people, and you….
In all your actions, do you take the good of others into account, and do you also take God’s pleasure into account?
There are some people who have only social virtues, not spiritual ones, in their dealings with others, without God entering into them.
For example, our service to the poor, which we call “social service”: we try to provide them with their material needs without bringing God into the matter or caring about their spiritual lives. Thus, the threefold cord is absent, and their relationship with the Church can quickly be broken. Or, for the sake of money, they may lie to the Church and deceive it….
Your service to people is a partnership with God in caring for them. This is the spiritual understanding of service! God is part of it….
In this way, you add a spiritual relationship to the social relationship in all your dealings with people, and two become better than one.
The Lord said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Two are gathered together—this is a social relationship; “I am in their midst”—this is a spiritual relationship.
Some people sometimes ask, “What do people say about me?” But they should also ask, “What does God say about me?”
The expression “two are better than one” also applies to doctrine:
Faith is something beautiful. But it needs a second element alongside it: works. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2). Two are better than one: grace and striving together.
In works also, two are better than one: your own work joined with the work of the Holy Spirit.
This is the fellowship of the Spirit: you enter into fellowship with the Spirit. The Spirit works in you and with you. Human effort alone is not virtue. Virtue is not self-righteousness, nor reliance upon human strength; rather, it is fellowship with the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6). This is the threefold cord that is not quickly broken…. God gives the increase. He causes our work to grow, and in this work our will participates with God’s will, because “two are better than one”….
Therefore, spiritual people combine all their works with prayer, asking God to participate with them in their work. And in wisdom and intelligence, we see that two are better than one.
The one who looks at a matter from two or more angles is better than the one who looks at it from only one angle.
And when you sit with a spiritual guide who helps you see things clearly, he explains to you the other aspects of the matter that you had not noticed. He enables you to realize that two are better than one….
What, then, is the threefold cord in seeing matters correctly?
It is represented by the Cherubim, of whom it was said that they were “full of eyes,” meaning that they had insight in every direction. Therefore, the meaning of the word “Cherubim” is “fullness of knowledge”…. Thus, the wise person is one who is “full of eyes,” looking at every matter from every direction.
Even when it comes to the purpose of a single action, the same verse applies:
A person may carry out one action and accomplish several purposes at the same time. This is the height of wisdom. God also works in this way: He carries out one action, and its benefits extend in every direction. Many people think that this divine action is for them alone, while it is actually for everyone.
Indeed, God can make all things work together toward one goal at the same time: “All things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28). It is as though they are all radii of a circle meeting at one center, which is the good that God desires….
“Two are better than one” also applies to the past and the present….
Do not say, “We are the children of the Pharaohs,” or “We are the sons of the martyrs,” and live only on the past without a worthy present. A glorious past together with a righteous present—two are better than one. And what is the threefold cord that is not quickly broken? It is when the past and the present work together for a bright future….
“Two are better than one” appears in justice and impartiality:
A biased person cares about only one side of the scale, placing all his love, concern, and support on it while neglecting the other side. This is not justice. Justice cares about both sides, because two are better than one.
Thus, when you encounter any dispute, do not take one side against the other. Rather, look at both sides with the same love, concern, and care….
In matters of doctrine, we see this verse clearly when we recognize the danger of using a single verse.
A single verse may not constitute a doctrine, because half-truths are not complete truths. Taking one verse without considering the other verses that support and explain it can lead to heresies….
Arius used a single verse: “My Father is greater than I.” If he had understood the principle that “two are better than one,” he would have added another verse: “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30).
Another important point is the danger of having only one virtue.
Here too, “two are better than one.” All the virtues come together and support one another…. Virtues without wisdom are not truly virtues; neither are virtues without love, nor virtues without humility.
Wisdom, love, and humility form a threefold cord that is not quickly broken…. A father who acts firmly without love or tenderness does not give a true picture of fatherhood. Two are better than one. The same applies to the rest of the virtues….
May we put this principle into practice in our lives, so that our lives may be complete and well-balanced.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Al-Keraza Magazine, Year Ten, Issue Eleven, on March 16, 1979.
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