Anna Karenina: Part V, Chapter 22

Girl with Washed Linen on the Yoke, Ivan Kramskoy

In Part V, Chapter 22 of Anna Karenina, Alesky Aleksandrovich Karenin is alone and in despair. His wife Anna has left him for Count Vronsky, a military officer. He feels he can not endure the "weight of universal contempt and exasperation" which he sees in the faces of all he meets. At his most bitter moment, his friend the Countess Lydia Ivanovna comes to him. The warmth of her affection causes Karenin to break down.

"Dear friend!" she said in a voice breaking with emotion. "You must not give way to grief. Your sorrow is great, but you must find consolation."

"I am crushed, I am annihilated, I am no longer a man!" said Aleksey Aleksandrovich, . . . gazing into her brimming eyes. "My position is so awful because I can nowhere find support, not even in myself."

"You will find support; seek it -- not in me, though I beseech you to believe in my friendship," she said, with a sigh. "Our support is love, that He has vouchsafed us. His burden is light," she said, with the look of ecstasy Aleksey Aleksandrovich knew so well.

"He will be you support and your succor."

 Though it seemed evident that she was moved by her own lofty sentiments, and by that new mystical fervor which had lately gained ground in Petersburg, and which seemed to Alekesey Aleksandrovich excessive, still it was gratifying to hear this now. 

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Our support is love, that He has vouchsafed us.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

His burden is light

²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30 

*All Scripture quotes are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.

(Source: BibleGateway. Image Source: WikiPaintings)

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Anna Karenina: Part V, Chapter 11

Pilate Washes His Hands, Duccio di Buoninsegna

In Part V, Chapter 11 of Anna Karenina, Anna is admiring a painting of Christ standing before Pilate by a painter named Mikhailov. (Mikhailov later paints Anna's portrait.)

"How marvelous Christ's expression is!" said Anna. Of all she saw she liked that expression most of all, and felt that it was the center of the picture, and so praise of it would be pleasant to the artist. "One can see that He is pitying Pilate."

This again was one of the million true reflections that could be found in his picture and in the figure of Christ. She said that He was pitying Pilate. In Christ's expression of love, of heavenly peace, of readiness for death, and a sense of the vanity of words. Of course there is the expression of an official in Pilate and of pity in Christ, seeing that one is the incarnation of the fleshly and the other of the spiritual life. All this and much more flashed into Mikhailov's thoughts.

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...Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?³⁴ Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?³⁵ Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?³⁶ Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.³⁷ Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.³⁸ Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

John 18:33-38 

...what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

1 Peter 2:20-24 

*All Scripture quotes are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.

(Source: BibleGateway. Image Source: WikiPaintings)

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Anna Karenina: Part V, Chapter 4

The Parasol,  Franciso Goya

We have four connections to Scripture from today's passage. I focused on the first two last week and we'll look at the final two in this post.  And in case you are wondering if this will wrap up the wedding of Kitty and Levin -- no, it will not!

The following is from Part V, Chapter 4 of Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy:

"Thou who didst from the beginning create male and female," the priest read after the exchange of rings, "from Thee woman was given to man to be a helpmeet to him, and for the procreation of children. O Lord, our God, who hast poured down the blessings of Thy Truth according to Thy Holy Covenant upon Thy chosen servants, our fathers, from generation to generation, bless Thy servants Konstantin and Yekatrina and make their throth fast in faith, and union of hearts, and truth, and love . . ."

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". . . O Lord, our God, who hast poured down the blessings of Thy Truth according to Thy Holy Covenant upon Thy chosen servants, our fathers, from generation to generation . . ."

^{Hebrews 9:15
English Standard Version*}

Therefore [Christ] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

For more about the "Old Covenant" which was referred to previously in the wedding of Kitty and Levin go HERE. 

"...make their throth fast in faith, and union of hearts, and truth, and love."

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Shall I just quote the whole Bible? 
Here's a couple verses drawn out of a hat, so to speak -- I'm sure many of you have a favorite you could add! 

John 15:12

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Ephesians 4:3

 ^[Endeavour] to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I Peter 1:22-23

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently . . .

John 17:21

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

I would also like to add the next thing Tolstoy wrote after the blessing (because it's just too good not to share):

Levin felt more and more that all his ideas of marriage, all his dreams of how he would arrange his life, were mere childishness, and that it was something he had never understood  and now understood less than ever, though it was happening to him. In his breast a tremor rose higher and higher, and tears that would not be checked came into his eyes.

*All Scripture quotes are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.

(Source: BibleGateway. Image Source: WikiPaintings)

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