On the Ascension of the Lord

NOTICE ON THE FOLLOWING HOMILY WHICH IS INSCRIBED CONCERNING THE ASSUMPTION OR CONCERNING THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST

When I first encountered this homily, extracted from the Royal and Ottobonian manuscripts, I thought it was the second one which Chrysostom had delivered on the inscription of the Acts, though corrupted in some places by the audacity of copyists: for this reason, I announced in the Preface to the first volume, paragraph ^A, that it should be published in its proper order. But having considered the matter more diligently and examined it more accurately afterwards, I discovered that it is a cento stitched together from various homilies and, as it seems, from various writers, which includes no small part of that second homily of Chrysostom on the beginning of the Acts. Those homilies, five in number, dealt chiefly with the inscription and title of the Acts. Chrysostom commemorates them clearly and assigns the order in which they should be placed in his third homily on the beginning of the Acts, which, because the second—of which we are now speaking—has been lost, we have placed and inscribed as the third, even though it was fourth in number. In it, the following is read: "It happens that, although we have carried our exposition for four days now, we have not yet been able to pass by one inscription, but are still occupied with it." And a little later: "Therefore, on the first day ^B I said that the inscriptions should not be passed over rashly, at which time I read the title of the altar to you and showed Paul's opinion..." In this our entire instruction ended on the previous day: after that, on the second day, we inquired who the author of that book was, and we found, by the grace of God, Luke the evangelist, and we proved the matter in question with many demonstrations to you. And with a few words interposed, more clearly: "On the first day, therefore, about the inscription; on the second day, indeed, about the one who wrote the book; on the third day we discussed, before those who had arrived, about the beginning of the Scripture, and we showed what an act is, what a miracle is, etc." And in that homily which is inscribed as the fourth on the beginning of the Acts, it holds thus: "I said at that time by whom the book of Acts was written, and who the author of this work was; or rather, not who the author of the work, but who the minister. For he did not produce what was said, but ministered to those things which were said." From these facts it is clear that the second homily on the beginning, or on the title of the Acts, is that in which it was inquired who the author of the book of the Acts of the Apostles was; and it is no less evident that all those things which the articles and ^C below contain pertain to this homily: for there it is first inquired what that title, "Acts of the Apostles," signifies.

ON THE ASSUMPTION OR ON THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST IS INSCRIBED

The question is raised by many as to who the author of this book is, and it is proven to be Luke: this dissertation is truly worthy of Chrysostom; nor is it permitted to doubt, if I am not mistaken, that it pertains to the homily already mentioned. The article which follows, inscribed with the number 10, in which it is asked on what day Christ appeared after the resurrection, seems altogether to be an appendage of the same homily, even if perhaps it was not placed continuously.

All the rest are culled from various writers, and perhaps some from the homilies of Chrysostom. The title of the homily *On the Ascension of the Lord* does not square with the entire oration, but only with certain parts of it. The prologue is not unsuitable. In number 2, when the preacher says that he and his listeners were hindered by the inclemency of the weather from ascending the Mount of Olives, he indicates the homily, or at least this assumption, to have been pronounced at Jerusalem. In number 3, it is said that it was read on that day from the Gospel of John: *When it was evening on that day, the day of the Sabbaths, etc.*, which certainly does not pertain to the day of the Ascension; in the following numbers, up to the seventh, this locus of the Gospel is treated, and afterwards the unbelief of Thomas is treated at length. In number 7, there are a few things about the Ascension of the Lord. The eighth, ninth, and tenth numbers pertain to the second homily. In the other articles, various matters are treated, and thus this cento is closed, stitched together by some Greek from various places. The other manuscripts vary among themselves; for in the Royal manuscript, it ends with these words: *τῆς ἀναλήψεως καὶ δευτέρας παρουσίας*, which the second number closes, up to these words: *δεῦτε ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου*, all are absent: and conversely, the same Royal manuscript after these words in number 15, *ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἔσχεν μάρτυρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῶν μαθητῶν, οὕτως αὐτοὺς αὐτόπτας ποιεῖ τῆς ἀναλήψεως*, adds seven or eight lines full of questions, which are not in the Ottobonian.

IN ASCENSIONEM DOMINI NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI, ET IN PRINCIPIUM ACTORUM II

1. Our wealth, and treasure, and sources of eternal life, are the economies of the Savior, which we thirst to speak of, and hasten to proclaim, yet we lack the power to speak of them according to their worth. But captured by our longing, and confessing our infirmity, we flee for refuge to that prophetic voice, as if to a quiet harbor: *Who shall speak of the powers of the Lord, shall make heard all his praises?* (Ps. 105: 2)? For if that great prophet, to whom God made known the hidden and secret things of His own wisdom, who was deemed worthy to be called the father of Christ, David, the blessed and great among prophets, the glorious among kings, the friend of God, whose heart was precious to Him, so that God Himself said: *I have found David the son of Jesse, a man according to my heart* (Act. 13: 22); if he, being such and so great, looking at the magnitude of divine knowledge, confessed: *Wonderful is thy knowledge from me, it is strengthened, I shall not be able* (Ps. 158: 6); if the prophet ^D fails when looking at the magnitude of His power; if Paul, that theologian and heavenly trumpet, cries out: *O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and unsearchable his ways* (Rom. 11: 33)! If the tongues of prophets and apostles, which poured forth such streams, with which the whole earth was filled to know the Lord, as much water covering the seas; if so many and such great rivers flowing, and constituting a sea of piety, confessed their defeat, in order to show the power of the One being proclaimed: where will a tiny droplet of speech appear, when such a sea of wisdom is set before us? But one must not become numb while looking at the magnitude of theology, but look to the purpose of God, and dare to engage in divine teaching. For God rewards not according to the worth of the things said, but according to the longing of those who proclaim and the love of those who hear. And just as affectionate parents, when they see their children babbling and limping in their speech, do not look at their inarticulate...

ON THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND ON THE BEGINNING OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

^A of the word, but rather to the desire of nature; and to them, the stammering of children is sweeter than any rhetorical amplification and philosophical sublimity. So too, God does not look to our tongues stammering about theology, but looks to our desire and our disposition; for we preach by faith and celebrate by love. For the human tongue cannot speak clearly, but whatever we say about God, we utter by stammering. Why? Because Paul himself cries out: "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part" (1 Cor. 13:9). Nevertheless, we stammer, and God has entrusted to us the preaching of peace. For this reason, Isaiah cries out: "And the tongues of the stammerers shall learn to speak peace" (Is. 32:4). Therefore, let us, stammering, address our common Father and Lord in a few words, who deigned to say to his own disciples: "Little children" (Jo. 13:33). For if he calls them children, he will bear with them as they stammer. And because he said that he was taken up into the heavens, and that this his Ascension is to be celebrated, the grace is not concluded by time, nor is theology circumscribed by days.

^B Now, because we wished to go up to the Mount of Olives, we were hindered, as Christ knows, and our intention was restrained by the turbulence of the air and the crowd of the people (I say these things to cut off the suspicion of those who would wish to blame me for it); and because, seeing the multitude of those who were present, we quickly made an end of our discourse, that we might not overwhelm your memory with a multitude of words, today we pay our debt. For the Law ordered that he who had not celebrated the Passover in the first month should pay his debt in the second month. But you ought to know that the Word of God is not circumscribed by times or days, but admits preaching every day: concerning the cross, and the passion, and the resurrection, and the ascension, and the second coming.

^C Since we have anticipated a few things from the divine words which were read earlier, and have drawn from the evangelical fountains, let us in this way come to the promise. "When it was late, on that day, the first of the sabbath, while the doors were shut where the disciples were gathered, Jesus came" (Jo. 20:19). From the time the Savior wrought the resurrection for us, he appears rarely; on other days than the Lord's day he shows himself to the disciples. For just as on each sabbath he would go to the synagogue to fulfill the Law, so, from the time he wrought the resurrection and brought the pledge to the world, he took care to appear on the Lord's day, the first of the sabbath, so that he might lay the foundation of the holy Lord's day. For the things that pertained to the sabbaths had an end, and the Lord's day, to wit that of the resurrection, was leading its beginning, as you remember from what was said earlier. How did the blessed Matthew, in recording the sabbaths and giving the beginning to the holy Lord's days, say: "In the evening of the sabbaths"? Because it was the end, and the evening of the former sabbaths, which dawns on the first of the sabbath (Matt. 28:1), on that very day of the holy feast of the Resurrection, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst (Jo. 20:19). Indeed, where fear is present, he comes who dissolves fear; where a storm rages, those things shine forth which provide tranquility; where he sees the boat tossed by waves, he brings the rudder of knowledge, he calms the storm, he leads the boat to a tranquil place, he applies a remedy to the disease of fear as it approaches. He stood in the midst; and what does he say? "Peace be to you." Lest your mind fluctuate, lest your thoughts be troubled, lest you be moved as if in war by fearful thoughts: "Peace be to you." Peace removes war from the midst, dissolves fear, eliminates enmity: "Peace be to you." Peace has often been given to men by God, yet not by the authority of his own presence and person, but through angels, through prophets, through just men; the Savior alone, being present himself, gave peace. Peace was given to Daniel, but through an angel. The angel was seen by Daniel and said: "Peace be unto thee, O man of desires, act bravely and manfully, the Lord is with thee" (Dan. 10:19). An angel was also seen by Gideon, and said: "Peace be unto thee" (Jud. 6:23). The angels, therefore, gave peace, but not yet the Lord of the angels; he sent it through messengers, that he might reserve the evangelical peace for himself. But the prophets, when they had often received peace from the angels, thirsted for peace given by his own person and authority. For this reason Isaiah cried out: "O Lord our God, give us peace" (Is. 26:12): not through others, but through thyself give us peace. Then, after the prayer, the response is brought forth: "My peace I give unto you." And when he had said these things, ^D he showed them his hands and his side (Jo. 20:20). Just as a general returning from war glows with victorious wounds, nor is he ashamed of those wounds—for they are more splendid than crowns themselves—so also the Savior does not hide, but reveals, the wounds received for the sake of the truth and for our common race, that he might demonstrate his fortitude. He showed the hands in which was the fixing of the nails; he showed also the side, from whence the fountain of mysteries gushed forth for us. He showed his hands, that he might give faith in the resurrection, that he might make those who doubted certain that he who had suffered had risen, and that the body truly dead and buried had been raised.

Peace was given, fear was dissolved, grace blossomed. "He said therefore to them again, Peace be to you" (Jo. 20:21). Why again? Where he wishes to establish the gifts of grace, he even repeats the blessings: as he also did to Abraham: "Blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee" (Gen. 22:17). So he gives peace upon peace to those near and to those far. "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you" (Jo. 20:21). Observe, I pray, how he grasps human form for the economy. He did not say: "As the Father hath begotten me": for the mission shows the human form. That indeed we frequently indicate, because it declares the economy. Where, he says, he brings forward the bare nature, he proclaims the Father and the Son. "As he hath sent me." How hath he sent thee? Attend, I pray. Thou wast sent, Lord, from heaven; in what way art thou able to send as the Father sent thee?

it is, as it says, a sign of the mission, when I say, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you," but [it is a sign] of that power. I was sent to suffer for the world; I send you, that by your own sufferings you may crown the world. And because mortal nature could not attain to the likeness of the Master, He says: *And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and says unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit* (John 20:22). Attend. Why did the Savior breathe upon the apostles on the very day of the resurrection? Was He not able to give the Holy Spirit except by breathing? But because, when He fashioned the first man, He *breathed into his face, and he became a man into a living soul* (Gen. 2:7), and he lost the grace of that breathing through the transgression, and having lost the life-giving power, he was dissolved into dust, and in the grave He brought to an end His own creation; therefore, renewing the creature, and restoring the ancient gift, He breathed upon the face of the apostles, restoring to the creature that ancient and vital power; and at the same time the things foretold by the prophets were being fulfilled. For the blessed prophet Nahum, foreseeing that the Savior rising from the dead would breathe upon the holy apostles and fill them with a divine gift, bears witness to the people, saying: *Keep, O Judah, thy feasts, pay to God thy vows; they shall no more go on to come to decay. It is finished, it is taken away. For the one who breathes upon thy face has ascended from the earth, and is delivering thee from tribulation* (Nahum 1:15 & 2:1). Then He says: *Peace be unto you*. And when He had said this, He breathed, and says unto them: *Receive ye the Holy Spirit* (John 20:22). Because He saw that human nature was failing in its labors, and declining from the struggles because of weakness, He makes up what is lacking by the power of the Spirit, that He might comfort it while it is laboring through our infirmity; and as though it were iron, He tempered it with divine grace, that it might receive from grace what it does not have by nature, and might approach the struggles braced by the power of the Spirit. *Receive ye the Holy Spirit: as the Father has sent me, even so I send you.* But You, O Lord, having gone forth as Master, saw sinners and had mercy upon them; You forgave us our sins. Grace is higher; we fall into the abyss of sins; the sinners are many, [and] there is need of much philanthropy. We do not have the authority [to forgive]; how can we be sent according to Your likeness? For this reason, that the saying, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you," might be fulfilled, He says: *Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained* (John 20:23). What authority the Savior has, He gives to the apostles. For just as it is not possible for an official to be entrusted with a nation without having received authority from the king over pardon, over death, and over punishment; so also the Savior, being ^A about to appoint them rulers of the world, gives them the authority both of punishment and of pardon: "Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." For it is one of the impossible things, either to witness nobly, or to preach zealously, or to do any of the great and difficult-to-achieve things, unless ^B the power of the Holy Spirit braces the resolve of the martyr; for otherwise they cannot be martyrs. And by "martyr" I now mean, not only the one who is perfected through sufferings, but also the one who by his word bears witness to the grace. For every preacher of truth is a witness for God. Therefore, concerning John the Baptist, the Gospel says: *And John bore witness to the truth, saying, that this is the Christ* (John 1:32). He bears witness, not by suffering, but by crying out. It is impossible, therefore, to become witnesses of the divine Word without being braced by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Savior says to the apostles as He is being taken up: *But stay ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high; and ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you*; a power without which it is not possible to be witnesses.

5. Thomas, however, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them (John 20:24).

[LATIN COLUMN]

779 ^A ...who submits himself to the faith, to be a believer. One who investigates the side of Christ and the marks of the nails is similar to one who says, "How was he born?" Or rather, not similar. For he was seeking to see in the flesh the marks of the nails, which fell under sight and sense; he was desiring to see a completed fact, which he already knew. You, however, who curiously inquire into an invisible nature, an incomprehensible ^B substance, an ineffable generation, an inenarrable begetter, an incomprehensible begotten—do you not transgress more gravely? Are you not worse than the infidel? If the blessed Thomas investigated the side, he heard, "Do not be incredulous, but faithful": you who scrutinize the incorporeal and incomprehensible power, do not be incredulous, but faithful. Nevertheless, we give thanks to the indulgence of God, that the finger of Thomas was the reed of piety, which would subvert heretical snares and close the mouths of those who would dare to say that the Lord clothed Himself with a body in appearance, and died only in appearance. The finger of Thomas so dissolves the doubt of the heretics, as that finger against which the magicians ^C of the Egyptians could do nothing, saying: "It is the finger of God" (Exod. 8. 19). It was fitting then for Thomas, after that sure proof received, to bring forward that saying of David: "In the day of my tribulation I sought God" (Psal. 76. 3); and because he was probing with his hands, to add what follows: "I stretched forth my hands to him in the night, and I was not deceived." "Do not be incredulous, but faithful." He indeed perceived Him who had suffered both from the mark and from prior knowledge, and calls Him God: "My Lord and my God."

^D 6. Let the heretics hear! If the Son truly is rejected, and is not equal to the Father, why does He not reject the honor that surpasses Him? He heard from a certain one, "Good Master," and said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except one, God" (Matth. 10. 16, 17). Although that word "good" may be in use even among us. To hear that "good," as you suspect, He sometimes refused; ought He not, therefore, have refused "God" and "Lord" much more? "Good Master," he says, "why do you call me good?" Here, however, "My Lord and my God," and He does not say, "Why do you call me Lord and God?" But there, because it was a word unworthy of Him (for he did not say, "Good Lord," but "Good Master"), He rejected the baseness and admitted the glorious thing to Himself. Here, also, He reproves, but He reproves for the contrary reason, because he had said it too slowly. He reproves him, not because he had said "My Lord," 780 ^A but because he had said it too slowly. "Because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed" (Joan. 20. 29). One was reproved, and we all have been called blessed; for that beatitude passes over to us all, and to those who shall be after us; because although we have not perceived those miracles by sight, but have received them by faith, we are yet partakers of that great and glorious beatitude.

7. But let us pass on, if you are not yet fatigued by the abundance of what has been said, to another prophetic voice. What voice then? "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord" (Mich. 4. 2). And indeed from the Mount of Olives the Savior was assumed. "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob." ^B And God honored that day with the dignity of a name of the same meaning as that by which the city was called. For there from the mount which was called of Olives the Savior was assumed, and here also the olive is planted, which by its proximity and community of name gives faith to the ancient history. For the Savior led the disciples to the Mount of Olives from the region of Jerusalem. Therefore, attend to both this and that: "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord." Let us ascend together by desire and by word, and let us see what that salutary assumption has wrought for us.

8. Concerning the inscription of the book of Acts; who is the author of the book of Acts.

I wish, therefore, to take up the book of Acts itself, and to examine it minutely from the beginning, that I may draw forth divine streams with you; and as dealers in truth, that we may investigate the treasures of Holy Scripture together; inasmuch as we are striving to grow rich in piety. "The Acts," he says, "of the Apostles." Even the title itself declares the whole force of the matters, and is a proem promising the whole work. And yet the acts of all ^C the apostles are not carried in this book; but if anyone should accurately scrutinize the matter, those things which are first carried in the book exhibit the miracles and doctrines of Peter, a few things concerning the rest of the apostles; but after these the whole book is completed concerning Paul. Peter, therefore, is mentioned, and Paul, and how are they called the "Acts of all the Apostles"? Truly because, according to Paul, when one member is glorified, all the members are glorified with it, therefore the historian did not inscribe it "The Acts of Peter and Paul," but "The Acts of the Apostles"; it is a common promise. ^D We ask, therefore, who adorned this book of Acts; for various persons, not knowing the author of the book, have been divided into various opinions; some say that its author is Clement of Rome, others Barnabas, others Luke the evangelist. Since, therefore, they go off into various opinions, let us take the writer himself as our interpreter, who he is, what he does; and whether he signifies anything about himself. "The first discourse I made about all things, O Theophilus" (Act. 1. 1). When he said, "The first," he sends our mind back to another, that we might seek which he calls the first discourse. For if he had issued this alone, he would not say, "I made the first discourse." This book, therefore, is found to be the second: for already he had made a first: but which one he made first, he himself indicates: "The first discourse I made about all things, O Theophilus, which Jesus began to do and to teach." Thus it is manifest that in the first discourse he did not compose the Acts, but the Gospel; the first discourse does not revolve around the things which Peter and Paul did, but around the things which "Jesus began to do and to teach." It is clear, therefore, that Luke, who wrote the Gospel, also issued the Acts. But attend, let us see if it is he: "The first discourse I made about all things, O Theophilus, which Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day in which, commanding the apostles through the Holy Spirit, whom he chose, he was assumed"; as if saying, I narrated the acts and teaching...

^A...instead of: "I have recounted the deeds of the Savior and His teachings up to the ascension." Attend, I beg you. "My first treatise," he says, "contains the works of the Lord and His teachings," and the first discourse reached as far as the ascension. You find, therefore, that neither Matthew entirely, nor Mark except in part, nor John completed the Gospel up to the ascension, but Luke alone. For Matthew has this as the end of the Gospel: "But the eleven disciples went into the mountain of Galilee, where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him; and He said: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." And this is the end of the Gospel. But how He was taken up he did not say. Mark speaks similarly: "And the women went out from the tomb, and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid." And after some other things, he speaks concerning the ascension briefly, thus: "So then the Lord, after He had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." This is the end of the Gospel. There is no mention of the ascension at length in Mark. John spoke of the appearance of the Savior upon the lake of Tiberias; he says to Peter, "Peter, lovest thou me?" and completed the discourse. And John stopped, and did not mention the ascension, but says: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." Neither John, therefore, entirely, nor Matthew entirely, nor Mark at length, mentioned the ascension. Luke himself, however, carried his narrative through to the ascension at length. For this reason he says: "The former treatise have I made of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen."

9. But who is this Theophilus? In those times he was a ruler, and he received the preaching at the beginning; and just as the proconsul of Cyprus once, at the very time of his proconsulate, received the preaching of Paul, so also Theophilus, being a ruler, at that time received the preaching through Luke. He asks him, the blessed Luke, to compose for him also the Acts of the Apostles. "You have taught me," he says, "the works of the Savior; teach me hereafter also the works of His disciples." For this reason he addresses to him also the second discourse. For indeed the Gospel according to Luke was written to Theophilus. Whence is this clear? Luke himself says: "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed." And the [word] "most excellent," is like "most noble"—for at that time this degree of dignity was used for the most noble. Whence is this clear? Festus the ruler says to Paul: "Thou art beside thyself, Paul"; but he: "I am not mad, most excellent Festus." Therefore, just as the ruler was the person to whom Luke first dedicated the Gospel, calling him "most excellent," so also here he addresses the second [book] to the same Theophilus. Which is this? The one where he says: "The former treatise have I made of all, O Theophilus, that Jesus began both to do and teach." And how far did you make the discourse? "Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen." ^B It is by hyperbaton [i.e., transposition]. "I have composed the Gospel from the beginning," he says, "until the day in which He was taken up, having given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen." Attend, I beg. "To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion." Behold the boldness of the evangelist; not even in the Acts of the Apostles does he depart from theology. He did not say, "To whom manifesting Himself," but, "To whom He showed Himself alive." — "Destroy this temple," He says, "and in three days I will raise it up." — "To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

10. Attend, I beg. ^C "By many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." He did not appear to them every day of the forty. For after the resurrection He had added much strength to the flesh, so that the magnitude of His power might not dissolve [the viewer], so that it was necessary for Him, having risen in the flesh, to appear now with divine tokens, not with the familiarity of sight; for this reason he says: "By many infallible proofs for forty days." For it was not simple sight, but certain proofs that He was the same. For He appeared to them in another form, with another voice, in another guise. He stood among the apostles many times, and was not recognized. He stood among the fishermen with Peter and says to them: "Children, have ye any meat?" and they did not recognize Him, not the form, nor the voice, and He says: "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find"; and having cast, they caught many. Not recognizing Him, therefore, by sight, they recognized Him by the proofs of His power. Therefore also the evangelist John says to Peter, "It is the Lord," not being assured by sight, but by a proof of power. For this reason Luke cries out: "By many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking." Not simply being seen, but appearing from time to time. And we find, having observed accurately, that after the resurrection the Savior was seen eleven times by the holy apostles, and then was taken up to the Father. Why? Because as He had eleven disciples, Judas having been cast out, and having lost his own place and dignity on account of the wicked betrayal which he wrought, He appears to the apostles eleven times, and not all at once, but in different ways, sometimes to some, sometimes to others, just as [it happened]...

^A ten to those, he appeared, with Thomas absent; he appeared again, with Thomas present. We are looking for the number, how it can be established that he appeared eleven times for the eleven apostles. First, he appeared to Mary at the monument as she was going away, and also to the other women. For the women saw him before all others, whom the blessed Isaiah also calls: "Women coming from the spectacle, come and tell us." He appeared, therefore, to the women. If someone wishes to calculate, let him see if we are mistaken about the number. First to the women, Mary and the others: then to Peter; afterwards to Cleopas and his companion on the way, when they were going to Emmaus, and when he was recognized in the breaking of bread. Whence is this clear? From the fact that he appeared to Peter before he appeared to those two. Those two, Cleopas and his companion, arrived in the evening to announce to the disciples that they had seen the Lord; and they found the apostles saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon." While those two were announcing what they had seen, the report had preceded them that Peter had seen the Lord. Paul also signifies this with these words: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he rose again, and was seen of Cephas, then of the eleven." First to Peter, then to them. Therefore, he appeared first to the women, then to Peter, afterwards, when the doors were shut, for the third time to Cleopas and his companion, then to the ten disciples, Thomas being absent; then to the eleven disciples, Thomas being present. ^B Behold, he now appears five times. Afterwards to the five hundred brethren; for Paul indicates this with these words: "Then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater number remain unto this present time"; behold, now the sixth. Afterwards he appeared to those seven on the Sea of Tiberias fishing: then to James, according to Paul: after this to all the apostles. Pay attention, I beseech you. You have, then, first the women, Peter, Cleopas and his companion, the vision of the ten brethren with Thomas absent, the vision of the eleven apostles, the vision of the five hundred brethren: behold now the sixth; seventh, to those seven; eighth, to James; ninth, to the seventy disciples; tenth, on the mount in Galilee; eleventh, on the Mount of Olives. Since the Lord repeated peace many times at his resurrection, it would be absurd for us not to repeat this calculation for the sake of confirmation. You have, therefore, first the women; second, Peter; third, Cleopas and his companion; fourth, the ten apostles; fifth, the eleven apostles; sixth, the five hundred; seventh, those seven; eighth, James; ninth, the seventy disciples; tenth, on the mount of Galilee; eleventh, on the Mount of Olives.

11. Appearing to them for forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God

^C "And eating with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard of me." O the great tolerance of the Savior! O the abundant goodness! O the ineffable humanity! Were you, Lord, before the passion, accustomed to live, accustomed to recline with the disciples, why do you eat with them after the resurrection? That from these things, he says, I might make Thomas certain concerning the resurrection. For if, after it was done in such a way, even now there are those who do not believe in the resurrection; if this had not been done, if he had not eaten and drunk with them, who would have restrained the unbridled mouths of those who dare to utter whatever they wish rashly concerning the economy of the Savior? Hence we learn to honor the divine and mystical table. It often happens that what sermons have not corrected, the table corrects. Often hundreds of counselors could not solve even one enmity, and one table quelled wars. Take the proof of this matter from what preceded. We did not cease to be enemies of God, waging war against the divine Word, as Paul says: "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." We were enemies. The Law was sent, and it did not reconcile: the prophets came, and did not persuade; those who were enemies of God remained enemies and foes. Many tyrants were against the truth, many were enemies of God against pious religion, many words and many doctrines existed, nor did they settle the war. Christ came, he founded his table, he proposed himself as food, and said: "Take, eat," and immediately he solved the war, and brought victory to peace. In Egypt, he afflicted the enemies of God with plagues, and no one obeys: he struck down tyrants, and no one submits. Here he proposes himself as food, and all are ashamed and obey. He did not persuade with scourges, and when he is eaten, he persuades: when he is eaten, I say, at the mystical table. For "I," he says, "am the bread that came down from heaven, and gives life to the world." And eating with them he spoke of the kingdom of God: and he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, "which you have heard of me." ^D Truly, we heard it from you, Lord: for you said, "I ascend to my Father, and I will call upon him, and I will send you the Spirit of truth, the Paraclete." You said these things, but when did the Father promise? He did not say, "That they should wait for the promise," but "the promise of the Father, which you heard of me." Indeed, he says, the Father promised, I warned. And where did the Father promise? If you unfold the entire Gospel, you will not find the voice of the Father promising that he will give the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Where, then, did he promise? In the prophets, as Paul says: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning his Son." my own, he also promised that he would give the Holy Spirit. Where is that promise of the Spirit? I inquire with you as one of you; since I am truly one of you in faith and charity toward Christ. For I have often said to your charity, that sheep and shepherds are so called from human division: for toward Christ we are all sheep. For both the shepherds and those who are fed are fed by the one supernal shepherd. Where, then, did he promise? God says through the prophet Joel: "In the last days,"

of the prophet Joel: *In the last days, says the Lord Almighty, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy* (Joel 2:28). Behold, therefore, the promise. Where, then, is the fulfillment? When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, and distributed to them the division of tongues, and they spoke in tongues. They were suspected of being drunk, and Peter says: *Men of Israel, why do you heed these men as though they were drunk? For it is the third hour of the day.* But this is that which was said by the prophet Joel, that *In the last days, says the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.* This is the promise of the Father. But whence is it clear that the promise was from the person of the Father? Since I know the Son also speaking in the prophets, whence is this, if it was the Father who was saying: *I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And I will give,* he says, *signs in heaven above, and in the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.* I have ^A said often that the blood is that which came forth from the side; for it was a very great sign to see it coming forth from a dead body: blood flowing from the side, fire descending upon the apostles. *Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and illustrious day of the Lord comes.* See the speaking God the Father, how he interprets the Son, saying: *Before the day of the Lord comes;* and he does not say: "My day." What then? If you are giving signs, how do you transfer the meaning to another, saying, *Before the great and illustrious day of the Lord comes?* Pay attention. Perhaps someone will say that the prophet is speaking in his own person: *Before the day comes.* But the prophet could not have said: *I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, before the great and illustrious day of the Lord comes. And it shall be, that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.* This, then, God says in the prophets. And Paul adds to it, saying: *The same is Lord of all, rich unto all who call upon him. For everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.* Then, showing that this was said of Christ, he says: *How then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without one preaching? And how shall they preach, unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace, of those who preach good things!* (Rom. 10:12–15). Pay attention, I beg you. He commanded, he says, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, *which you have heard from me, that John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.* For after forty days, ten ^B were the days until Pentecost, in which the Holy Spirit appeared, and baptized the apostles, not with water, but with...

13.

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[LATIN COLUMN]

baptized only. But it is not yet clear that he had baptized the apostles. How, then, is this evident? Listen prudently. For when Peter resisted, saying, "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" the Savior replied, "If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me." Peter answered, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head"; the Savior answered, "He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet" (John 13. 8–10). Do you see how he confirmed the washing? For where the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are not named, it is a baptism of repentance; but where they are named, it is a baptism of adoption. The Savior did not abrogate the baptism of repentance, but fulfilled it, and added to the baptism of the Trinity the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The heretics, however, as far as they were able, abrogated the baptism instituted in the Trinity. For those wretches did not revere the dominical voice: "He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet." But you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence. From this is shown the greed of human nature and its curiosity: since it is proper to men always to inquire, "When is the consummation? When will Christ come? After how many years will the end be? When will the kingdom of heaven appear?" The apostles, exercised by human weaknesses, make inquiries of the Savior. Therefore, those who had gathered together asked him, saying, "Lord, if in this time wilt thou restore the kingdom of Israel?" (Acts 1. 6). Since he had said to them, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory," they said to him, "if in this time?" They wanted to learn whether the expectation was close at hand, or far off. To whom the Savior replied, "It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Ibid. v. 7). It was not lawful for the apostles even to explore the times; and shall it be permitted to heretics to scrutinize the substance that transcends times, and an eternal nature? When some heretic asks in such a way, "In what manner did the Father beget? What is the mode of the divine generation?" you should answer him with the dominical voice: "It is not for you to know the times or moments; it is not for you to know the generation and substance of God; and not only is it not for you, but neither is it for angels, nor archangels, nor for any created power." But whose is it to know? "No one knoweth the Father but the Son, nor does anyone know the Son but the Father only" (Matt. 11. 27); "nor do the deep things of God [know], but the spirit of God." It is not for you to know the times or moments. Do you not revere the example of the apostles? They who had lived with the Savior, to whom he himself appeared, who were illuminated by him, yet are not permitted to know this, but are taught not to transcend their measure, and heard that: "It is not for you to know the times or moments" — and do you scrutinize it? Daniel indeed learned to know the times and moments: for he says, "Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people. From the word of the days of the going forth, that the temple may be built; seven weeks, and sixty and two and one week" (Dan. 9. 24). Behold, here he was able to learn the times; yet from that calculation of times he restrains the audacity of men, so that they may learn that, if they are not permitted to learn these times, much less ought they to scrutinize the divine generation. "It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power." Therefore, did not the Son put them in his own power; but are the ages and times in the power of the Father, and does the Son have nothing in common with him? If the Son has nothing in common with him concerning times, moments, and ages, Paul lies when he says: "In these last days hath spoken to us in his Son, by whom he also made the ages" (Heb. 1. 1–2). If the Son is the builder of the ages, then they are in his power: and that is what Paul means by "which the Father hath put in his own power." He calls the Son, therefore, the power of the Father, just as he also calls him the virtue and wisdom. For "Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1. 24). "But you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you" (Acts 1. 7–8). You shall receive the power, not so that you may scrutinize times or moments, but so that you may believe in the Lord: "And you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth." Do not measure the text of the words, but the power of the authority. He said here, "Preach everywhere": that indicates his authority, if the words are followed by the event of the matter. I can also, using authority and arrogance, say to the few standing by, whether domestics or brothers: "Go forth to the nations, and teach all, convert all, kill the barbarians, cut down all who oppose the empire": the words go forth; but if the deeds themselves do not follow, I am detected not only as a liar, but I am also punished as arrogant and rash. Therefore, let the words of the Savior be examined, not from those things which he said, but also from those which he performed. He said, "Teach all nations" (Matt. 28. 19); if that saying had not gone out into work, it would have been arrogance, and not divine authority. He said, "Preach to the end of the earth": if there were any end or extremity of the earth that remained void of preaching, the prediction would be false; but if the facts themselves shine brighter than the words, the witnesses are truthful, and he to whom they bear witness is truthful. And when he had said these things, "while they looked on, he was raised up" (Acts 1. 9). He could have ascended not in public; but just as he had the eyes of the disciples as witnesses of the resurrection, so he constituted them as eyewitnesses of the assumption. "While they looked on, he was raised up" (a); he was carried up from them, and being borne into heaven, and a cloud received him: "and when they looked on him going into heaven" (Ibid. and Luke 24. 51; Acts 1. 10), he was assumed, raised up, carried upwards, and entered: "For Jesus has not entered into heavenly places made with hands, but into heaven itself, that he might appear before God" (Heb. 9. 24). And he not only entered, but also passed through: for Paul says: "Having a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus" (Heb. 4. 14). He ascended, he went, he was assumed, he departed, he passed through. Observe. He ascended as one having authority, so that the oracle of the prophet might be fulfilled: "God ascended in jubilation." Here the prophet brings forth manifest confidence. "God ascended in jubilation" (Ps. 46. 6). [alt-version omitted]

lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall enter in (Ps. 23: 7, 8). He shall enter: for Jesus entered not into the holy places made by hands, but into heaven itself the King of glory shall enter. Two things, therefore, have come to pass: just as the earth was astonished at seeing the Savior clothed in a body, and as it is our custom, when we see a strange person, to say, "Who is this?"—for no one asks thus about an acquaintance—so too the earth, seeing the Savior possessing divine power and giving orders to the winds and the sea, says: "Who is this, that the sea and the winds obey him?" (Matt. 8: 27). Just as the earth, then, being astonished at the sight, said, "Who is this?", so also heaven, being astonished at seeing the Godhead in the flesh, says: "Who is this King of glory?" (Ps. 23: 8).

^C 16. And see the wondrous thing. The Savior came, and coming He brought the Holy Spirit, and having ascended He brought up a holy body, in order that He might give to the world a pledge of salvation, the power of the Holy Spirit. Let the Christian say that the holy body is the pledge of salvation again for the same world. And when I say this, I mean you and every person of a Christian. I am a Christian, and I am of God: whence this? I have the Holy Spirit who descends from heaven. Do you wish for another proof? I have received the Spirit of God from heaven, I have my pledge certain. What kind of pledge? His body is above, His Spirit is below with us. Do you doubt, O heretic, that we are of God? One kinship was formed, of God and of men. For just as marriage unites separated parts, and he who does not know someone’s origin, when one [lineage] is joined to one, unites two whole families, and one is ranked as a cousin, the other as an uncle; so too, Christ having taken on flesh, through that flesh the whole Church was made a kinsman of Christ: Paul is a kinsman of Christ, Peter likewise, every believer, all of us, every pious person. For this reason Paul says: "For we are also His offspring" (Acts 17: 29). Yet I know the intention with which it was said; it is not my purpose to expound the whole theory, but only that Paul confirms the kinship. And elsewhere again: "We are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Cor. 12: 27), from His flesh. That is to say, because of the flesh He assumed, we are His kinsmen. We have, therefore, His pledge above, that is, the body which He took from us, and below, the Holy Spirit with us. And see the wondrous thing: I do not say that the Spirit descended from heaven and is no longer in heaven, and exchanged the body for heaven and the Spirit for earth, but that the Spirit is with us, and everywhere, and above; for "Whither," He says, "shall I go from Thy Spirit?" (Ps. 138: 7). And why do you marvel if the Spirit is both with us and above, and the body of Christ is both above and with us? Heaven had the holy body, and the earth received the holy Spirit; Christ came and brought the holy Spirit, Christ ascended and brought up our body. And it was possible to see the image of Adam buried in the tomb, no longer appearing with the angels, but seated above the angels with God, so that He might also seat us with Himself. ^D O the fearful and strange dispensation! O the great King, who is great in all things, who is so great and wonderful! And as the prophet said: O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth! For Thy magnificence was exalted above the heavens (Ps. 8: 2). The Godhead was exalted; it is written of Him: While they beheld, He was taken up, He who is great in all things, great is God, great is the Lord: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised (Ps. 47: 2). And if God is great and the Lord is great, He is also a great King: A great King over all the earth (Ib. v. 3). Mount Sion, the sides of the north, the city of the great King. A great prophet, a great priest, a great light, great in all things. And Scripture always speaks of Him with the addition of "great," as when Paul says: "Of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2: 15); just as David also says: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." A great King, a great prophet; for when Jesus was performing miracles, the crowds said, "That a great prophet is risen up among us, and that God hath visited His people" (Luc. 7: 16). For He is great not only according to the Godhead, but also according to the flesh; for just as He is a great God, and a great Lord, and a great King according to the Godhead, so again He is a great priest, and a great prophet. Whence this? Paul says: "Having therefore a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession" (Hebr. 4: 14). And if He is a great high priest and a great prophet, rightly has God visited His people, and raised up a great prophet in Israel. And if He is a great prophet, a great priest, a great King, and a great light: Galilee of the Gentiles, the people that sat in darkness, saw a great light (Isai. 9: 1, 2); and also His great day, as the prophet says: "Before the great and terrible day of the Lord come" (Joel 2: 31). Hearing "great" everywhere, and great are the works of the Lord, whence does it occur to you, O heretic, to split and to diminish the great One? We have then a pledge of our life in heaven, we have been taken up with Christ. Again, therefore, we shall be caught up in the clouds, if we are worthy to meet Him in the clouds. The defendant does not meet the judge, but appears standing before Him, yet he does not meet Him as one who has no boldness. Let us all, therefore, beloved, pray that we may attain, even if it be in a low rank, to those who meet Him. For just as those who meet a king, even if they are not all of equal honor, still are honored by him, so shall it be then. For not all followed the same way of life. For "each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor" (1 Cor. 3: 8). Let the word of Christ, therefore, never be hindered; but let us all speak boldly with truth, nourishing the people in the love of Christ, watering souls, divided in souls, but not divided in opinions. The enemy of peace has the judge. And since, brethren, we persuade men, but to God we are made manifest as to what we are, the witness is the observer of thoughts, who will demand an account from everyone who speaks falsehood, that we have never been, nor wish to be, enemies of peace. For if we lose peace, we are enemies of those who have heard from Christ;