The Holy Spear

This week's reading comes from the Malediction of Longinus. This reading concerns the history of the Holy Spear which slew Christ, that which gives our covenant its name: Lancea Sanctum, the Sanctuary of the Lance.

1 The Spearhead was the weapon that God had destined to strike Christ in the side. It had been made long ago in the days before the Deluge by Tubal-Cain the Smith, the son of Zillah, the second wife of Lamech, the son of Enoch. 2 Tubal-Cain’s son had struck his grandfather Lamech’s face, and Lamech had slain him. Tubal-Cain sought revenge, and prayed to God that his son be avenged. 3 On the night that Tubal-Cain prayed, a stone fell from the sky, and it was hard, and it was black, and Tubal-Cain saw that God had answered his prayer, and from the metal in the stone he fashioned a Spearhead, that he might kill Lamech.

4 But Tubal-Cain failed, for Lamech was a mighty warrior, and Lamech laid his foot on Tubal-Cain’s neck and seized the Spear, and impaled Tubal-Cain through the heart, and Tubal-Cain died. 5 And Lamech took the Spear for his own, and it became a sign for all who would see that Lamech was a mighty warrior before the LORD, and he slew all of his enemies and was made king, 6 and went forth on a war of conquest, and was victorious against every man he faced, until the LORD saw fit to strike down humanity in the flood, and Lamech was drowned, and the Spear was lost.

7 But the Spear was not marred by time, and its head did not rust or decay, and it remained as sharp and as hard as the day it was forged, when a ship captain from Tyre found it lying on a beach in the sand, and traded it to the merchant Phaecus, who gave it to Pontius Pilate that he might not be imprisoned or killed, 8 who gave it to Longinus, that he might strike Christ in the side and incur the curse of God, and become a sign to the Damned of God’s perfect will for them. - Mal. 9:1-8

There is a great deal to consider in these lines. A straightforward reading is that the Holy Spear was destined by God for great things, each of which it fulfilled in turn. Yet there is much more to look at here.

Tubal-Cain sought personal vengeance when he prayed to God. Given to him was a powerful gift. He forged that gift into a weapon. Yet even armed with this weapon, he was struck down. One could read this as a warning that even the righteous can fall, yet I have always read it as a failure in Tubal-Cain's heart. Here he sought to use a gift from God for personal vengeance rather than in service to God. Lamech, on the other hand was a warrior "before the LORD" and was only afterwards rewarded with kingship. Service to others brings the rewards of this world, while personal service using that which God has graced us with brings all low.

The Holy Spear has not yet had its final story told. The Lancea Sanctum keeps it to this night and when the time is right it will come forth again. On that night, like Lamech, we shall stride forth and slay all of our enemies. We must always make certain that what we do is in service to God's plan though, lest we share the fate of Tubal-Cain.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson

Augustus Inquisitor de Lacus Magni