ABSTRACT
Origen (c. 185–c. 254 ce), the great third-century Christian theologian, utters this prayer to Jesus the Footwasher in his Fifth Homily on Isaiah. 1 As one of the premier theologians of the early Church, Origen is perhaps most well known as the author of the treatise On First Principles. However, Origen's greatest contribution to the Church is surely to be found in his exegesis, which has come down to us in the form of commentaries and homilies. 2 In his commentaries Origen treats the biblical text in exhaustive detail. In contrast, his homilies are less detailed and more pastoral in nature, in so far as they are tailored to the needs of the congregation and the constraints of preaching. The Fifth Homily on Isaiah exemplifies these characteristics, for Origen's primary concern is to explain to his congregants how they too might contemplate the things revealed to the prophet in the vision recounted in Isaiah 6. Origen elucidates for his audience what it means to see God, and how they might share the prophet's experience.
