OF OUR HOLY FATHER CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, PASCHAL HOMILIES. HOMILY I.
A 1. The bright splendor of our joyful and divine festival shines forth and radiates throughout the whole world, nor does it allow anything dark or gloomy to befall those who wish to keep the feast according to the rule of virtue. Therefore, the blessed Apostle, pointing out the profitable way for such men, says: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us walk honestly as in the day," so that, guided by the immortal light of the Savior, we may arrive at the Jerusalem above and pass our lives in heaven with the holy choirs of angels. The blessed David, therefore, gathering us into this noble assembly, bids us sing a song of victory to Christ, who for our sake became a wayfarer and, through the cross, blunted the sting of death, saying: "Come, let us exult in the Lord, let us shout with joy to God our Savior." For he invites those who are devoted to keeping the divine laws B to the saving choir and bids them to be united in one accord, so that, not distracted by a variety of opinions, nor divided in spirit, we may profess our faith in Christ, "but being of one accord, and, as Paul says, of the same mind," we may hold our confession in him to be steadfast and firm. For thus, as he urges us from now on to ascend to the spiritual
A Jerusalem and to hasten at a run toward piety, let us listen through the prophet: "Save yourselves, go out from the land, and stay not; remember from afar, O Lord, and let Jerusalem come into your heart." Since Paul, therefore, cries out, "So run that you may obtain," and since the holy feast is shining upon us like the sun, let us throw away the sluggish laziness of idleness; and having overcome the dim darkness of sloth, let us go forward with a brave and bright spirit unto every virtue, saying to one another what is written: "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his way, and we will walk in it." B For the Jews, indeed, not knowing how to depart from the worship of type and shadow, hear: "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats I do not desire, nor if you come to appear before me." But to those who have set out far from such things, and who have made it their study to show forth to God the true circumcision of the heart through worship in spirit, the prophet cries: "Seek the Lord, and when you find him, call upon him. When he approaches you, let the wicked man leave his way, and the unrighteous man his plans, and let him turn to the Lord, and he shall receive mercy, because he will abundantly pardon your sins." C Since, therefore, our Savior Christ has approached us by taking on our likeness, let us put off, as it is written, the old man, and let us put on the new which is being renewed after the image of him who created him; and forgetting the things that are behind, let us reach forward to those that are ahead, ascending pure to the divine assembly. And let us hear the prophet Jeremiah crying thus: "Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to those who inhabit Jerusalem: Break up for yourselves new ground, and do not sow among thorns. Be circumcised to your God, and circumcise the hardness of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem." Having cleansed the mind that is overgrown and desolate of piety—as if by fire—with the divine fear, let us receive the good seed of the Savior, who did not teach us to be attached to empty or shadowy worship, D but rather instructed us splendidly in new teachings for salvation. Therefore, let us show to God the Jew who is in secret, and the circumcision which is in secret, circumcising all malice from our own hearts, that we also may justly hear: "Keep your feasts, O Judah; render your vows to the Lord God."
2. To those, then, who have been sent for the work of preaching, not small is the fear regarding this task; and very rightly so. For not insignificant are the wages of negligence and sloth in these matters. "Cursed," he says, "is he who does the works of God negligently."
A And this can be clearly understood by one who contemplates the blessed Jonah, and the sea raging against him, and that terrible and most frightening sea-monster moving against him. Yet I also find that each of the saints dreaded the magnitude of the divine ministry. For Moses, the hierophant, when God commanded him to send forth the people, measuring the strength of human nature and seeing the ministry of proclamation as greater than it, said, "I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." And in agreement with this, the blessed Jeremiah, when sent to prophesy, cries out: "O Lord, Master, behold I do not know how to speak, for I am a child." For even if the saints show us a most beautiful example of modesty and reverence when they speak such things, yet the manner of fear in this regard is not small, nor does it beget for the weak a hesitation free from danger. For God does indeed urge us on and encourages us to cast away fear, saying to Moses: "Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the deaf and the dumb, the seeing and the blind? Is it not I, the Lord God? And now go, and I will open your mouth." And to the blessed Jeremiah: "Do not say, 'I am a child'; for to all to whom I shall send you, you shall go, and according to all that I shall command you, you shall speak." Therefore, even for me, the humble one, when He calls [me] to the dignity of the priesthood, fearing what is written, "Speak and do not be silent," I come of necessity to write these things. For when—by the judgment of God, B who has well directed the life of one among us and caused him to fly up to the heavenly mansions, namely our father, the of blessed and most famous memory, Theophilus, who became bishop (by what manner this happened, the Arbiter and Moderator of all things knows; I am ashamed to write it)—the succession of the episcopate came to me, the least of all, and since I hear Paul writing, "For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel," I have come to the proclamation, through fear and beyond my strength. Therefore, as our holy, pre-shining festival draws near, and calls us to pure and lawful holiness, it is necessary to say to those who are still shriveled in wickedness: "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." But to those who have fled the profane filth of sin and who cultivate the holy love of conduct, let the prophet evangelize, saying: "Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." For since all men inhabiting the earth under the sun, having become D "portions of foxes," as it is written, were divided into manifold and various wickedness, and being overcome by the darkness of ignorance, were falling into deep sin as if into a pit, necessarily the Psalmist, calling the God the Word from heaven to us, said: "He who pastures..."
Israel, attend; who leads Joseph like a sheep; you who sit upon the Cherubim, manifest yourself before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh! Awaken your power, and come to save us." A Since he perceived that his advent would be opportune for us, who had fallen and were lying low, he cried out again: "Why, O Lord, have you stood afar off? Why do you despise us in opportune times, in tribulations?" For the Savior, not yet having taken on our likeness, was afar off from us, according to the principle of the incarnation. For the Word of God had been separated from human nature by many spaces. For of us one of the saints says: "I am earth and ashes," [Gen. XVIII, 27] but of the substance of the Only-Begotten, the prophet Isaiah says: "His generation who shall declare?" [Isa. LIII, 8] It was opportune, therefore, for us, while suffering great tribulation on every side, that the Savior shone forth, having been born of a woman according to the flesh, so that he might bring salvation to the man born of a woman, and that, having freed him from the bonds of death, he might teach him to say rejoicing: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O Hades, is your sting?" [1 Cor. XV, 54, 55] For he does not only bestow upon us the gift of the resurrection, but having also broken the sting of Hades—that is, sin, which wounds the soul—he says: "Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you." [Luke X, 19] This, among other things, the advent of our Savior accomplished gloriously. Therefore, every sanctity of life is maintained on earth, and the darkness of ignorance has been driven away. And perceiving this long before through the power of the divine Spirit, the Psalmist said: C "In his days shall righteousness rise, and abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away." [Ps. LXXI, 7] For if, when we were enemies, as Paul says, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son [Rom. V, 10], abundance of peace shall rise for us. This having been accomplished, it is also necessary that the moon be utterly taken away—that is to say, the devil, the prince of night and darkness, who is figuratively designated here by the name of moon. Rays of such great and such lights, therefore, shine forth for us, and the radiance of our divine solemnity rises, and the brilliant feast again draws us to itself. On the one hand, it persuades us with urgent voice that it is necessary to depart from all baseness, saying: "Wash yourselves, and be clean; take away your iniquities from your souls before my eyes." [Isa. I, 16] D For if the wise Paroemiograph is correct when he says, "To all things there is a time, and a season to every business" [Eccles. III, 1], why should we not deservedly confess this time to be the enemy of all wickedness? And that it calls us only to those things by which honor is deferred to the divine law, and those who use them may not unworthily trust that they will bear a famous vote of divine benevolence. Therefore, those who among us are in the present life struggling
A to carry out these things, and by great loss of wealth purchasing for themselves this repute, propose a contest of sweat for the young, and although they honor the victor in other ways with rich prizes, yet the grace of those things given is small, and its enjoyment lasts only until the boundaries of this life. But God, the judge of athletes among the righteous, bestows upon the pious things which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man." For the mind, which is beyond nature, is discovered through those deeds whose manner of reward justly exceeds human understanding. For having displayed a way of life strange, and by reason of its difficulty unknown to the many, they shall find honor equal to their deeds, and having embraced the exceeding benevolence of the Master, they shall enjoy delights in goods that are above nature. B Come, therefore, let us also summon those who are lovers of piety to the annual struggle of labors, and since the prophet says: "Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, proclaim a cure," crying out with a great and piercing voice, let us sound the sacred trumpet of the Church, and with a signal and most manifest proclamation let us signify the coming of our holy feast; for as the all-wise God also commands Moses, the interpreter of sacred rites: "Make for thyself two trumpets, of silver shalt thou make them; and they shall be to thee for calling and for dismissing the assembly," we shall effectively adapt this to the force of the things we have spoken of. For He commands there to be two trumpets, because the word of the Church is twofold: one indeed calling those who are still ignorant to the right understanding of divine dogmas, but the other counseling that one must not be mixed up in absurd works. He commands the trumpets to be of silver, for the word is C brilliant and unspotted in both its functions: both in that which leads away and calls back from the error of dogmas, and that which teaches what things are to be chosen in actions. Let the word, therefore, go forth from here for us as if from the starting-line, let it call those who are far away to the tabernacle of the law itself, let it draw to the will of the lawgiver him who is still separated through sin, let it sanctify a fast, let it proclaim a cure, just as the prophet says. But how could we otherwise become workers of such things? How could we fulfill the divine commandment, if not by altogether fleeing from evil, and guarding ourselves against consorting with the most shameful things, while we strive to apply ourselves with great concern to all those things which are known to sanctify those who fast? For thus those who wish to feast well will serve our good God.
D 3. Let the disciple of Christ therefore come into our midst, let him teach us the manner of fasting, let us hear him saying: "Pure and undefiled fasting before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself"
A unspotted from this world." But how and in what manner we shall attain to the things that have been said, it is easy to discover. For I think that even the law of nature itself is sufficient for those who are well-disposed, which both teaches us to hate whatever seems to be contrary to the divine commandments, and urges us to let the will of the Lawgiver prevail within us. But if to anyone it seems that for this purpose we also need clearer precepts, let him hear Paul saying: "Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire." For we shall not surely find the truer grace of fasting in mere abstinence from food and the choosing of certain meats, nor shall we be entirely pure and holy by abstaining only from these things, but rather by casting out from our mind those things for the sake of which the remedy of fasting itself was discovered. Let us therefore hearken to the holy man, while he says: "Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." This is truly the manner of fasting: in these things is the demonstration of excellent deeds. Do not feed your mind with licentious pleasures; let the goad of fornication cease within you; keep your soul free from every B perturbation; flee the society of wicked men. By these things you will prove yourself to God, and by these you will acquire for yourself the crown of righteousness. For it is indeed honorable, when the time demands it, both to abstain from superfluous foods and to withdraw from luxurious tables, lest, by indulging in viands beyond what is necessary, we stir up the sin that lies dormant within us. For when the flesh is fattened and unrestrained through these things, it becomes difficult and morose, and stubbornly resists the desires of the spirit; but when it is weak, and not aided by a superabundance of things, of necessity it yields the victory to him. The blessed Paul also, teaching us this, says thus: "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward is being renewed day by day." For in those things where there is a contrariety of opinion and a manner of life altogether incompatible, making friendship impossible, the greater abundance in one of them grants it the ability to prevail over the other. And that victory belongs to the better side, no one, I believe, will gainsay. For there will come to us from this as much gain as, conversely, there would be damage from that, if it chanced that the better were overcome by the worse.
4. Let evil therefore cease within us, and let all D the delights of feasting depart, and let temperate fasting, which is the enemy of all sin, enter in; whose beauty I have thought it necessary to demonstrate to you by ancient examples, although it is not unknown to you, O beloved. For whence, I pray, did the blessed Baptist become such a man and so great? Whence came it that he was honored by that most distinguished proclamation of our Savior, who said of him: "Among those born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist"? And what prepared Moses, the interpreter of sacred things, to enter into the darkness and to stand in the presence of God? Was it not fasting, which gives birth to every virtue in us? Fasting, the
A image of the angelic life, the fountain of temperance, the beginning of continence, and the abolition of wantonness and lust. By its grace, the three young men were also found to be formidable and invincible among the Babylonians; for when it was in their power to partake of the royal table and the sumptuous feasts, they begged to be nourished on the seeds of the earth. By yielding the overly fat bodies and the craving of the flesh to the Babylonians, and by permitting them to have the mastery—in a matter where to be conquered is a glorious thing—they loved a simple and sober manner of food and living. But observe for me the fruit they derived from this: they were deemed worthy of heavenly visions, they appeared stronger than fire, they checked the king’s threats, and they conquered lions, changing them into a gentleness and docility contrary to their nature.
What, moreover, delivered the Ninevites from that great denunciation of wrath? The prophet, indeed, was proclaiming: "Yet three days, and Nineveh will be overturned." But they, seizing upon fasting as an impregnable fortress, averted the divine wrath and freed themselves from the evils that were expected. B Indeed, one might have much to say about the useful things of fasting. But to labor in showing its utility with many words, when it is known and evident to all, I consider altogether superfluous and vain. For it has the marks of the truth in itself. Since, however, its beauty manifests itself more clearly by the comparison of opposites, come then, let us also demonstrate the faults resulting from the luxury of foods; and, by unfolding the things that happened to certain people because of this, let us call those who suffered them as witnesses of what we have said.
The multitude of the Hebrews was once dwelling in the desert, and Moses had been called up to Mount Sinai, so that he might receive the law from God there. But they, having taken the absence of their instructor as an occasion for their own recklessness, and having become negligent of the discipline they had previously received, turned toward alien desires. C "For the people sat," it says, "to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." But "to play" in this passage means to fornicate, the divine Scripture covering that vice with the name of play, while it serves morality. And as to what evil came to those who fornicated, hear Paul saying: "Neither let us fornicate, as some of them fornicated, and fell by the serpents." And what bitterness did they suffer again, when they counted the heavenly food of manna as nothing and remembered the food in Egypt, saying: "Would that we had died, struck down by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, and were eating bread to our fill!" D Therefore, through these things also, I believe that the profit of fasting has been clearly demonstrated to you. But someone may perhaps say: "I know indeed that fasting is not without profit, but the labor attached to it is not free from discomfort, and is rather most hostile to nature." Then how is it not shameful and full of all absurdity, to desire what is better and to value the acquisition of what is advantageous, yet [not strive for] the benefit from them?
Or to show oneself quite negligent in the very acquisition of this profit, and while professing that fasting is useful, to avoid the labors through which we might attain that utility? A For just as the shoots that spring from the earth have the root as the beginning of their growth, and without it cannot even exist, so the quiet of a cheerful and tranquil mind draws its origin from labors, and through them it spreads itself abroad and is made manifest. We must therefore choose one of two things: for either, by resolving to labor not at all, we shall be destitute of all glory and honor, and shall be like the dead, taking no thought at all for our own salvation; or, by embracing for ourselves the labor of fasting, we shall justly acquire those things, the loss of which would necessarily occur if we avoided it. When we have B established our own best judgment, and prefer what is better—which is not of a nature to be useless—to those things that can profit us nothing, if we choose to be wise, it is clear to everyone. If indeed the fleeing from the fairest of human pursuits because of small labors brought with it no damage, and if those who chose not to do so were kept far from every harm and danger, I would hold them to be the most senseless of all men. But if, by refusing to suffer small things, we fall into greater and more grievous evils, how is it not consistent rather to choose to suffer that to which both the lesser labor and the greater good are attached? I would gladly ask those who are so disposed, whether they consider fasting more hateful, or being punished for eternity? They will admit, I believe, even if unwilling, that the punishments are to be judged as by far the worse of the two. Since therefore necessity proposes both to us, why do we not choose what is better and decide most correctly concerning ourselves? For it is necessary either to be freed from evils through labors, or, if you refuse them, to be condemned to unquenchable fire. C It is also good to add to what has been said, that the use of pleasures is then more delightful to those enjoying them, whenever it happens that they have experienced something of the opposite. For to those who are laid low by sickness, the good of health is more manifest. And those who are worn by poverty and the lack of necessities are for this reason more eager for gain. For they are forced to seek the enjoyment which they do not possess; and in a word, from the lack of pleasures, a greater desire for them is born. By the same artifice did the all-wise Creator of all things establish and organize this universe, who willed the sun to follow the night, and the night to follow the sun, so that by alternating with one another they might make the presence of each more delightful. D For it is the habit of the human mind to despise what is present, and, through the satiety of current things, to aspire to what is expected and future. This power, without a doubt, prevails in fasting and luxury alike. Therefore, fasting is not without profit, so that when the time comes you may enjoy it more sweetly.
PASCHAL HOMILY I
A 5. Therefore, let us embrace fasting as the parent of every good and of all gladness. The Greeks, as they seem to themselves to be wise, despise it; but the Jews, who surpass all men in the novelty of their impieties, do not indeed deny that they know it, yet they practice it so indecorously that you might perhaps find men to be better when they do not reach it at all. For, being—if I may say so—full of all wickedness and harboring every impurity within themselves, they applaud themselves for the mere name of fasting, and often seek an occasion for pride out of a virtue. For what would anyone say when considering that unskilled and most ignorant Pharisee, whom Christ our Lord describes in the Gospels as praying in the temple and crying out: "God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess"? What are you saying, you senseless man, boasting of fasting? Do you not yet perceive what a grave illness of arrogance you are afflicted with, and that you pursue such small matters with such precision? Do you not yet notice with what inflation of pride you are swollen? Will you not cease straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel, as the Savior says? And do you claim to be a master of the Law, while you do not understand what is written in the Law? "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful to men, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." For the mind of the Jews is truly full of every B uncleanness, and there is no evil that is not held in honor among them. For not having wished to know the divine Law, and having even spat upon the commandment given to them, they remained disobedient and recalcitrant. On account of this, God accuses them, crying through the prophet: "To whom shall I speak and testify, and he will hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord has become a mockery to them, and they do not wish to hear it." For the exhortation of what is beneficial is burdensome to those who are held by the habit of sinning; and to those who desire to live wantonly, temperance is not pleasant. For just as the mind of those who are drunk from wine is plunged into insanity, and for that reason cannot aspire to what is right, nor does it judge it harmful to embrace the most base things; so those who serve pleasure, and, like those sunk into the deep mire of sin, have fastened their sober mind to unclean passions, hold the evil within themselves unmoved, being wholly inclined toward it and looking only to it, and are indeed oppressed by this disease. C
A And the most senseless of all men, the Jews, contending with the magnitude of their own crimes by the impiety of their fathers, thought themselves worthy of disgrace and laughter if they should allow themselves to be surpassed in wickedness by them. For they did not imagine that they were being found to hold opinions worthy of those who begat them, unless they fell into the same or even worse enormities. On this account, the Lord of all, being grieved and justly indignant, said: "From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early; yet they did not hear me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their necks, more than their fathers." O you who have borne witness to your parents solely by the kinship of impiety, and who, by the sameness of mind, have made known whose children you are! B O you who have surpassed your ancestors in impiety, and by new inventions against the Law, have condemned them for excessive weakness! To you alone it was granted to conquer in those things in which it would have been far more beneficial to be surpassed. O you who have borne a victory more troublesome than any ignominy! To whom it has fallen to obtain such a victory, that the God and Judge of all condemns those who lacked it for having dared lesser evils, saying: "They have hardened their neck!" For this reason He bids the prophet to lament and mourn: "Cut off thine hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on thy lips; for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation that hath done these things. For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord." C Then, explaining the manner of their impiety, He says: "They have set their abominations in the house wherein my name is called upon, to pollute it, and they have built the altar of Tophet." For they were brought to such a pitch of madness that they did not even recognize their own Benefactor, and deemed it more useful to render worship to idols. And so, fashioning for themselves the names of gods, they offered sacrifices to them. Others, following their own passions, gave their minds over to monstrous desires; and choosing for themselves the most pleasant groves in the mountains, they offered sacrifices there to demons, invoking—as I suppose—nymphs, according to the poets of the Greeks, Hamadryads and Oreades. D Then, pouring themselves out into every shameful desire, they boasted more eagerly of those things which should have been most concealed, and caused no small grievance to the Author of the Law. Therefore, He says to the prophet Jeremiah: "Seest thou what the house of Israel hath done unto me? She hath gone up upon every high mountain, and under every wood that is leafy, and hath played the harlot there. And I said, after she had played the harlot all these things: Turn to me, and she hath not returned." For those to whom salvation itself is hateful hate the ways of their own utility; nor does he turn away from the occasions of pleasure, who finds it pleasant to serve pleasure.
A but stretches himself always toward the worse, not knowing how to be wise. The stubborn and implacable disposition of the Jews will bear witness to what has been said, for they neither guarded themselves from falling into such things in the beginning, nor did they treat with honor the generosity of the Master. For if it were possible for them to be saved by repenting, and yet they neglected what was for their own benefit and counted such great philanthropy as nothing, how could they not reasonably decree against themselves that they should not be pitied? For how could they not be found to have run beyond all bounds of arrogance, they who, when it was present for them to find deliverance from punishment by departing from sin, summon a heavier chastisement upon themselves, always adding greater transgressions to those that went before? Now for those who are disposed in this way, it is more fitting to be punished than not to suffer evil. For no one would err who counsels that pity be withdrawn from such men. Yet the word is not mine. The Master of all says such things, when He turns away the prophet who was praying for them: "And do not thou pray for this people, and do not ask that they receive mercy, and do not make supplication, and do not approach me for them, for I will not listen. Or dost thou not see what these are doing in the cities of Judah and in the ways of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and their fathers kindle fire, and their wives knead dough to make cakes for the host of heaven, and they have poured out drink offerings to strange gods, that they might provoke me to anger." The children are gathering the wood, the fathers are kindling the fire, the women are kneading the dough, so that nothing may be found outside of sin; but by practicing sin in every way, they will justly hear: "Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, so that thou shalt not minister as priest to Me; and thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, and I will forget thy children." For the mode of punishment always contends with the magnitude of sins, and it is necessary that a penalty equal to the sins should follow. For what greater or more grievous penalty could justly be inflicted upon those who were found to be so guilty than to be barred from the priesthood, and for God to blot out from His mind and memory those through whom they had obtained the state of living happily, and—to use a single word—abounded in every comfort? Truly, prosperity is a heavy thing, and for the foolish it is intolerable. But when it falls even to those to whom it least ought to have come, it becomes for those very persons an occasion for madness. This is what happened to the Israelites, who, having contemned the Master’s philanthropy, did not consider that the care of keeping the divine law pertained to them at all, and, giving themselves over entirely to sloth, did not cease to hasten toward all manner of perverse desires: and they did not perform what had pleased the author of the law, but instead of the law they established for themselves their own lust, and solely those things which to themselves...
they judged appropriate to follow. Those who had such a disposition and were in this state of mind, the holy men not undeservedly lament, saying: “Hear the word of the Lord, for I take up a lamentation over you. The house of Israel has fallen, and shall no more rise.” And again: “Call the mourning women, and let them come; and send to the wise women, and let them speak, and let them take up a lamentation over you, because the flock of the Lord is broken.” B But the prophet Jeremiah, as if seeing those already oppressed by evils, and being not far from the punishment, introduces them lamenting their own lot with these words: “Our time has drawn near, our days are fulfilled, our end is come. Those who pursued us were swifter than the eagles of the heavens.” Since, therefore, ignorance and error had pervaded all things, and the devil had subjected the whole world to himself: “Hell has enlarged,” as the prophet says, “its soul, and opened its mouth, so that it does not cease.” For the Greeks, having slipped through great imprudence into polytheism, and having changed the glory of the great God into the likeness of an image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things, were rushing—as if with a favorable wind—toward the pit of death. But the Jews, despising the commandments given to them, or rather, having reached such a depth of ignorance that they thought it a disgrace to appear to be performing those things by which they would necessarily have gained the award for an excellently ordered life, were eagerly following in the same footsteps as those others. But when a kind of night and darkness had enveloped the lands and the seas, the Lord and God of all did not suffer the most beautiful of his works on earth—I mean man—to be lost and neglected by him; but as he saw human nature seized by an incurable disease, he sent to us his own Word, who alone could overthrow the tyranny of the devil and deliver us from the evils by which we were oppressed. He, assuming our likeness and having become man, and C born of the holy Virgin Mary, not setting aside what he was, but taking on what he was not, works our salvation. “He remains, however, as Paul says, yesterday and today the same, and forever,” nor did he endure any change of his divinity or alteration through his becoming man, but he is the same as he was before, and shall be forever. He, having come into the world, gave the devil, who once shouted, “I will seize the world as a nest with my hand, and like eggs that are left I will take them up, and there shall be none who will flee or speak against me,” over to the laughter and mockery of those who had believed in him. He, by the sin, under whose tyranny we were oppressed,
A having abolished it through the laver of regeneration, rendered the world back to its purity. He taught us the way of salvation, and having dispersed our ignorance like a mist or a cloud, he revealed to us a clear understanding of divine dogmas. He established us as fellow-citizens with the angels in heaven, with equal rights. He joined earthly things to heavenly things, and added human nature, which had once been separated and fugitive because of sin, as a companion to the supernal spirits, but which is now bound by a new bond of friendship through faith and piety in him.
The wretched Jews were unwilling to confess this man as Savior and Lord, but, as if they had been harmed by many things—seeing that he who came to benefit the race and save us from such destruction had arrived—when they ought to have acknowledged the favor and shown themselves grateful for the benefits conferred upon them, they delivered him to death and the cross. B And seeing him hanging upon the wood, the Jews again blasphemed and, mocking, said, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross, and we will believe you” (Matt. xxvii, 40).
After the Savior, therefore, had endured death for us all and descended into Hades, he plundered the wealth of the devil, saying to those in bonds, “Go forth,” and to those in darkness, “Be revealed,” as the prophet says (Isa. lix, 25). And having raised his own temple on the third day, as the first-fruits of them that slept (I Cor. xv, 20), he showed human nature free from the bonds of death, saying, “O death, where is thy victory? O grave, where is thy sting?” (Osee xiii, 14; I Cor. xv, 55). C Having made the way to heaven passable for it, after the work of the incarnation was perfected, he is taken up. Offering himself as a kind of first-fruits of human nature to the Father, he gives us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our future hope, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John xx, 22).
These are the evidences of the salvation wrought by our Savior; for these reasons we proclaim him Benefactor and Savior. But since our duty requires that we prove ourselves legitimate children by our very actions, and pay back an excellent return to the Lord for these things, let us listen to Paul who says, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution D of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. vii, 1).
In this way, then, we shall perform a pure fast to the Lord, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the fifteenth of the month of February; [beginning] the week of the saving Passion on the twentieth of the month of March; ending the fasts according to custom on the twenty-fifth of the same month; and celebrating the feast day of Pascha at the dawning of the Lord’s day, the twenty-sixth of the same month of March; adding, furthermore, the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. Thus, indeed, shall we inherit the kingdom of heaven with the saints in Christ for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY II
1. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." A And it seems to us highly fitting to use the same starting point for this celebration which we now proclaim. For who—if it is his purpose to invite us to recall with joy and sweetness the things gloriously accomplished by the Savior—could find an opening more appropriate than this one we have devised? We shall therefore fittingly use it; but we shall take care everywhere not to wander from our proposed goal, and by removing long digressions, we shall strive to bring forward at the appropriate time those things which we judge can be rightly spoken and will be profitable to the hearers. For we are admonished by the divine oracle that there is a time proper and suitable for everything. And if any time is especially suited to the need of our preaching, it is the present one. Now, our most glorious celebration, as it revolves in its annual cycle, has come to our doors, and, having almost crossed the threshold, it takes B up its abode in the souls of all. Would it not be, so it seems to me, most absurd if the Jews, who boast in the law, the shadow, and the figure, proclaim their own feasts with the sound of trumpets, while we—having chosen better things than those which are among them, and having rightly and justly judged that the truth ought to be preferred to images—appear to bring far less zeal to this matter, having imposed silence upon one another, sitting by idly, and passing over such a distinguished celebration in silence, even though God says: "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, on the distinguished day of your feast"? C Let the discourse therefore go forth into our midst, announcing the distinguished day of the feast with distinguished preaching. For whatever benefits have come to human nature through the kindness of the Savior, even if we were to remain silent, the stones will cry out, according to the very voice of the Savior himself.
2. To me, reflecting clearly on each of the things that have occurred, a vast throng of matters reveals itself, for which one might deservedly hold no small blame for having chosen to remain silent. For if we have trained ourselves to think right and just thoughts, and we judge it of the highest importance to send up thanksgiving to God for the benefits bestowed upon us, and yet we have no regard for this matter, how shall we not be engaging in war against our own D counsels, if we are unwilling to perform those actions for which we might justly accuse others of being negligent? Let us therefore offer to the Savior the debt of thanksgiving. But perhaps we shall use as a pretext for our sloth and fear the fact that we are unable to speak in a manner worthy of the things accomplished—though all, I think, would agree that yielding the victory to one’s superiors does not bring the imputation of weakness, but rather obtains the reputation of sound judgment.
A What, then, could be more magnificent than the Savior’s accomplishments? How could divine things not surpass all speech? For "the glory of God conceals a word," says divine Scripture. But the blessed Moses, though he had progressed so far in virtue that he heard God saying to him, "I know you above all others, for you have found grace with me," yet he was not ashamed to call himself a stammerer and slow of tongue, and ill-suited for the ministry of preaching. If in saying such things he was exempt from blame and every shameful charge—or rather, if one would instead deem the prophet worthy of all praise—how then shall we not reasonably concede that the ability to overcome every argument belongs to the Savior’s achievements, which excel above the Law? B Furthermore, it is consistent to say that we are not those who are trained in the contests of rhetoric, nor do we promise a display of Attic language. But to others, certainly, may such pursuits be a care, and may they have an illustrious diligence in cultivating speech; for us, beloved, both the discourse is brief, and writing is a mandate of necessity. "For woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, a stewardship has been entrusted to me. Hence, I do not think there is anyone who would justly accuse the simplicity of our speech. For what the grace of God may suggest to one who is reflecting, these things we shall set forth openly before you, drawing a veil of modest reason over untimely shame.
C Since Moses says, "Observe the month of new things, and you shall keep the Passover to the Lord your God," is it not then necessary for us, now that the time is at hand, to announce the season of the feast? For the grim threat of winter has departed; foul weather, darkness, rains, and the onslaughts of wild winds have been banished from our midst. The vernal seasons are rising again, D delivering the farmer from sluggishness and inactivity, and, as if with an emitted voice, declaring to plowmen that they ought to move toward their work. For meadows are blooming with the variegated image of flowers. Plants in the hills and gardens bring forth the growth conceived within them, as if breathing out their energy from the womb of their own nature. The fields already clothe themselves in grass, and this also they set forth as a monument of God’s kindness: "Who brings forth," he says, "hay for the cattle." And let no one think that we have brought these statements into our discourse without reason, or that we have constructed a vain speech about these matters, but rather that the usefulness of this precept might appear. For it was not in vain that the Law commanded us to observe the month of new things. It was, indeed, altogether consistent with reason that human nature should also vie in fertility with the budding fields, and, if I may say so, be seen blossoming with the fruits of piety.
A Let us now, transferring the nature of these things to ourselves and adapting the scope of our thought to profit, observe diligently whether our discourse will depart from the true and appropriate sense, if we interpret the "month of new things" as the time of the visitation of our Saviour Jesus Christ, at which it befits us all to celebrate a festive solemnity. For indeed, that primordial inventor of evil—the demon—who, like a winter storm, had occupied the minds of all, and, as if with a flood of rain, had bedewed us with perverse desires, has now been delivered to destruction. The power of the unclean spirits has been driven away, and the gloomy cloud of sin has been dispelled by the benefit of grace. B A vernal light has spread itself, as it were, over us; furthermore, the first-fruits of the Spirit that have been given, like some zephyr or gentle breeze, blow upon the minds of all, and in those in whom they dwell, they do not suffer them to be overcome by the fragrance of new flowers. "For we are the good odor of Christ unto God," as Paul says. And as if shedding a leaf, we have put off the old age of our past life, and are renewed unto another, flourishing and newly-grown way of life. Thus also the blessed Paul said: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old things have passed away, behold, they have become new." C But if it pleases anyone to see a discourse that does not stray far from the truth even through the divine Scripture, let him hear the Bridegroom speaking and signifying to the bride the true "month of new things": "Arise, come, my neighbor, my beautiful dove, for behold, the winter has passed, the rain has gone and receded, the flowers have appeared on the earth, the time of pruning has arrived." For in the same way that those who are well-versed in the art of agriculture prune away the useless branches of the vine, but allow those which seem fit for bearing fruit to remain upon it—being guided by the art they possess toward what is profitable—so too does our all-wise God, D searching the mind of each one, prune away those deliberations which are more slothful regarding piety, and, as one might say, those which have already become withered; but He allows the prudent reason to be loosened, to be saved, and to remain. Henceforth, already being tutored unto salvation, we put away the passions of the flesh, and, receiving within ourselves the pure grace of the Spirit, we are refashioned unto a better way of life, and we remember the words of Paul, who says: "Our old man was crucified, that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we might no longer serve sin. For he who has died has been justified from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." For we shall truly live with Him, and we shall reign with Him, if we turn away from the defilement of the body and hate, as one of the saints says, the garment stained by the flesh, while honoring the temperance which is dear to God, as a gift to Him who
died for us. Thus and the Psalmist said: A “All that are round about him shall bring presents.” Therefore, what sort of gift shall be from us to the Lord, or in what manner shall it be presented, and how again shall it be acceptable? It is worthy to investigate this and to learn it from the divine Scripture.
4. What, therefore, does it say? “And if a soul shall offer a gift of sacrifice to the Lord, fine flour shall be his gift, and he shall pour oil upon it, and he shall put frankincense upon it. It is a sacrifice.” The particles of fine flour, therefore, being compressed into one loaf, signify the multitude of virtues, which together constitute one piety, which is presented by us to God in the order of a sacrifice and a gift; and He commands that oil be poured upon it, which is a symbol of gladness. B For it is not fitting for a righteous man to be downcast because of the labors undertaken for piety, but rather, rejoicing in hope, to do battle with sin. And the frankincense strewn upon it signifies the sweet fragrance that comes from deeds. For one who desires to possess the boast of purity must be outside of all uncleanness and turn away from every wicked pleasure. For thus he himself would be full of all praise, and his incense will become acceptable.
Let us examine the nature of what is said, testing the divine matters by those things which concern ourselves. For if anyone desired to offer a gift to some illustrious man, would he dare to approach him smeared with mire over his body? Would he not be loathsome and an insulter? Would not such a person be worthy of every distaste? And if, among ourselves, we would not at all permit one who knows how to use things rightly C to deviate from the correct reasoning, would not someone justly be accused of the gravest crime who, not having yet washed away the filth of sin, does not fear to approach near to God? Especially when the divine law cries out clearly: “Every sacrifice which you shall offer to the Lord, you shall not make leavened. For you shall not add any leaven, and any honey, to offer as an offering to the Lord. You shall offer them as firstfruits to the Lord. But upon the altar it shall not go up for a sweet fragrance to the Lord. And every offering of your sacrifice shall be seasoned with salt. The salt of the covenant of the Lord shall not cease from your sacrifices, and upon every gift of yours you shall offer salt to the Lord your God.”
What, therefore, the leaven signifies, you will understand from Paul saying: “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.” For how will the oldness of wickedness be accepted by the Lord for a sweet fragrance, D when He seeks from us a new and guileless life? He rejects also the bringing of honey: for this also signifies pleasure. For the pleasure attached to each of the sins seems to be sweet, but it obtains an end more bitter than gall. We, therefore, if the care of pleasing God touches us, must not pursue the way of life which is placed in base conduct and pleasures,
A nor should we take delight in idleness, but rather we ought to show all zeal and contention to perform those things which are pleasing to the Lawgiver. Moreover, He commands that sacrifices be sprinkled with salt, bringing in this also as a symbol B of a sound mind and wisdom. For it is necessary, I think, that the mind of those who perform sacred rites to God be sprinkled, as it were, with salt through the fear of God, lest, having become relaxed and flowing towards more watered-down desires, it should easily be brought to what is worse, having despised what is better. And how shall we not deem worthy of every praise that which is shouted through Paul: C “Let your speech be seasoned with salt”? But I think that speech cannot show itself to be such unless the mind has first been rightly composed and established in us. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Therefore, let the mind of the pious be seasoned; let it cast away sin like excrement, and let it not, through being supine, soften when carried off to unseemly pleasures. D For this reason Paul also says: “Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” For by commanding us to be steadfast, he shows that those who do not yet have a composed and strengthened mind are altogether devoid of praise. And the Lord of all Himself also accuses them through the prophet, saying these words: “They have loved to move their feet, and have not ceased, and they did not please God.” But here, feet signify a certain transitory motion and an impulse of the mind in either direction—both towards those things, I say, which are evil, and towards those which are judged by the opinion of all as admirable—so that it is necessary for those feet to be altogether as if bound and fixed to the ground, which serve constancy with a tenacious habit and fear to tread the way of wickedness and vices. The blessed Psalmist showed himself to be such, saying: “He set my feet upon a rock,” designating by this way of speaking the solid and utterly immovable firmness of character. But the apostle Paul commands us to abound in the work of the Lord, as much as is permitted by human nature, and that we should show ourselves joined to God by inseparable love through good and honest actions. For it would not be, I think, the work of a sensible mind to apostatize at one time from the divine laws, and then again, as if awakened from sleep, to hold fast to them with every contention of strength. For such men seem to me to be like those who have fallen from a transport ship into the deep sea and the waves, to whom—when it was within their power to fear nothing by avoiding slothfulness—after they are already involved in the very evil itself, only then, with difficulty, do they perceive what is useful; and swimming back again to the transport ship, they seek the security they had lost. And yet it would have been better not to wait for the crisis of the danger itself, but to hate it while it was not yet present; for thus they would have consulted more wisely for themselves. But if anyone should altogether imitate such men, and should receive with admiration things that are rightly reprehended, he is a most foolish
A person in the estimation of all. But why is it not fitting for those who retain all alacrity of mind, to cling firmly to divine precepts, and to offer to God a perennial sacrifice, as it were, a life free from every stain? Hear, then, again what the divine law prescribes to us concerning these matters: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the holocaust. This holocaust shall be on the altar all night until morning: and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it, and shall not be extinguished." But how, beloved, being small and weak, could I explain according to reason the things signified by this precept? What discourse could lay open to us the exact power of its meaning? But since it is written: "Open thy mouth, and I will fill it," B come, let us again, trusting in the grace of our Savior, investigate the interpretation of these things also.
5. The philanthropic Word of God draws all to piety, and excites to virtue whoever brings ears obedient to His divine laws. But the zeal in this matter is not equal in all, nor is each one led by the same readiness of mind. For some approach God more fervently, and believing nothing to be more precious than piety toward Him, offer themselves to the Lord as a whole and indivisible victim, in the odor of sweetness. To these men, the name of "holocaust" is most appropriate; for this is truly a holocaust, when one offers himself wholly and entirely to God, C at no time committing evil. But see what the law of the holocaust says regarding such a person: "This is the holocaust, all the night upon the altar until morning. And the fire of the altar shall be burning in it, and shall not be extinguished." Now what else could the fire of the altar signify, if not the presence of the Holy Spirit within us? Which the Savior also indicated to us, saying: "I am come to cast fire upon the earth." D Whoever, therefore, according to the law of the holocaust, completely devotes himself to God, let him keep the fire perennial within him, and let the power of that holy flame ever be vigorous in him. For "all the night," it says, which is to be understood of the life we lead here. For it is not fitting at one time to grow cold, inclining toward what is base, and at another time to rekindle the mind, but rather to be in a certain way uniform, and always fervent in spirit, as Paul says. This might be clearer to us through other examples, if we look more diligently into the precise intent of the law. For thus God subsequently speaks again to the interpreter of sacred rites, Moses: "And these are the things which thou shalt do upon the altar. Two lambs of a year old daily, for a perpetual offering. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning, and the second lamb in the evening, and a tenth part of flour tempered with oil, beaten; the fourth part of a
A hin of wine for one lamb.” But it is possible even through these things for us to know clearly that it becomes us to let no time pass by wherein God is not duly honored, receiving from us the fragrance of good works as a kind of perpetual sacrifice. For the command to have one lamb slaughtered at the beginning of the day, and the second at its end, seems to signify all time, embracing the intermediate space through the extremities. He wishes the fine flour also to be tempered with wine and oil, not commanding the full measure to be poured out upon it, but only the fourth part of a hin; signifying by an enigma that those who honor B God with constant devotion—or rather, who offer themselves to the Lawgiver as a victim most pleasing of all—shall be suffused with mercy and joy; for in this present life they shall receive but a small part of the gift (for the fourth part of a hin is commanded to be poured out), but in the age to come, when the grace shall be rendered to them in most perfect fullness, then, as the prophet says: “Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, and sorrow, sadness, and groaning shall flee away.” Since, therefore, the law expressly forbids us to allow the mind to incline toward worse things or to slip into shameful acts, how shall we not be liable to every punishment C if we have neglected a discipline so honorable and so extraordinary? But if, while considering the weakness of human nature, a perpetual struggle of this kind appears to you in any way difficult (for you will perhaps say that you cannot, like an anvil, endure hard and unremitting labors forever), and if you argue that the summit of a perfect way of life is unattainable, the law itself refutes this excuse by revealing a more moderate mode of life—one inferior to that which we have mentioned, yet one that far surpasses and excels others. D As to what this may be, come, I will endeavor to make the image clear to you by again bringing forward a similitude from the divine Scriptures. For when God appeared to the children of Israel in fire, and darkness, and tempest, and prescribed the laws concerning their conduct, the most wise Moses, thinking it necessary to manifest also by some evident demonstration of an act the form of life pleasing to the Lawgiver—suited to their habit and capacity, as they were not yet fit to admit more perfect things—performs such a deed: “And Moses,” he says, “rising in the morning, built an altar under the mountain, and twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel; and he sent the young men of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings to God, even calves. And Moses taking half of the blood, poured it into a basin, and half of the blood he poured upon the altar.” But let us again see, by carefully explaining each of the things that are written, what kind of profit we can derive from this.
A Moses indeed rises early and erects the altar, teaching us by this that it becomes a man first to rouse himself as if from sleep and to stand up toward vigilance, having driven away like a dark night the mist of sin, and to run directly toward the light of knowledge; so that in this way, in order to be able from then on to perform priestly service to God, he may raise up his own mind as an excellent altar for Him. For I think that the prophet Isaiah also said this: “From the night my spirit watches toward Thee, O God, because Thy commandments are light upon the earth.” [*] Thus, this rising early of Moses signifies something of this kind. But in order that we may hold to the sequence of the thought, we shall proceed in order to investigate what follows. He establishes the altar not upon the mountain, but under the mountain, which indicates the mind of those who still fall short of perfection, who are not yet able, as if upon a mountain, to ascend to the height of perfect commandments, but are near these things, yet have come down, and are approaching God not upon the mountain, but under the mountain. B Then he deemed that twelve stones must be placed around the altar, for the twelve tribes of Israel: that we might learn even by this that we ought always to be present before God, in no wise falling into profligate sin. The Psalmist, declaring this more clearly to us, said: “And I will encompass Thy altar, O Lord.” [*] After this, he says again: “He sent the young men of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed calves as a peace offering to God.” Now we shall say that it is not the work of a sluggish or otherwise weak mind to be able to offer sacrifices to God, but of a youthful and noble disposition. For this reason he says that the ones sent were young men, and yet they offer calves as a peace offering. But it is possible, by this again, to see, as if from a type and figure being transformed into a difference of ways, that the intent of those offering is commendable, yet weaker, and falling short of that which is greater and more perfect. For it is not an ox, but a calf that is offered, lagging behind the perfect ox in both size and strength. C Receiving the blood, he poured half into a bowl, D and half upon the altar. Here, then, it is possible to see as in an enigma the life of the one who worships being divided. For the blood is taken as a type of the soul, whose life God divides in equal measure with us, so that we may not live only for ourselves, but also preserve the portion destined for the altar. Such a kind of life is this middle and more moderate one, having neither a harsh participation through excessive austerity, nor falling into sin’s license by being too much unlocked; but while it has risen above the more dissolute [life] due to piety, it is unable to be compared with the more perfect ones due to its lack of zeal. And hanging, as it were...
by the sickle of the keenness of the mind, the excess of license is pruned away, and it displays a way of life that is upright and blameless.
7. B It is good, therefore, beloved, to emulate the better things, and to set more pleasure in that which has more of virtue. But as Paul says: "Each of you has his own gift from God, one in one way, another in another." For our Creator, who is good, provides opportunities for salvation even for the weaker ones. While He deems worthy of greater praise him who strives to excel among the more perfect, yet He does not permit him who possesses not so much virtue to be deprived of His kindness. For just as face is not like face, as Solomon says, so neither are the minds C of men. For although the nature of the body is one, and it is fashioned from the same members, the difference of the features in each one creates an alteration. We shall find it is the same with the mind; through the same operations, while it is composed of an equal [nature] in all, yet because of the qualities of the habits, you would perceive them to be diverse and dissimilar among themselves. I think that such a mind is also brought forth by the evangelical parable: "He went out," he says, "who sows, to sow his seed; and while he was sowing, some fell upon the paths and the rocky ground, some into the thorns, and others upon the good ground, and it produced fruit, some a hundredfold, D some sixty, and some thirty." You see how he asserts that the whole earth is good, but the inequality is apparent from the diversity of the fruits. Now the number one hundred designates those who are perfect in virtue, and those who have ascended to the highest pinnacle of piety. Sixty designates those who have stood at a small interval after these, but who themselves have also advanced with no small progressions in virtue. Finally, thirty designates those who are still inferior, yet not placed outside the best soil, nor are they those who are utterly deprived of fruits; although they are inferior both to the perfect one and to him who is next to the perfect one, they are consequently constituted as it were in a third order of those who contend for virtue. "For there are many rooms with the Father," as the Savior says, which define the measure of honor owed to each. This same thing is also indicated by that distribution of talents among the servants: "For to one, indeed," he says, "he gave five, to another two, to another one." And although the equality of their nature was set in all, and inasmuch as it is suited to its own reason, and towards the perfect, there should have been no difference defined among them, but the five talents should have been distributed to all equally. But now, the inequality of the gift introduces a certain dissimilarity of habits, since they do not receive piety in an equal measure. But surely he who [took] the five talents...
heard indeed: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord." But he who had gained the two talents is adorned with the same praises and honored with the same verdict. Yet God does not show Himself A unjust in these things, but rather good and generous. For the kindness toward him who has come after does not diminish the rewards for the better ones, nor does it subtract anything of what is owed to them to add it to the lesser ones; but the one will receive joyfully what is owed on account of his own labor, and grace compensates for what is missing from the reward. But if anyone possesses a frame of mind not free from envying the successes of others, he does not perceive that he is accusing the benevolence of God. For he says, B surely he who is inferior in virtue should not in any way be placed on an equal footing with the better ones, if judgment is to be passed justly upon both, and the measure of grace is to be weighed out in proportion to the actions of each, as if with scales. But let him hear our Savior Christ saying: "Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go. I choose to give to this last as I give to you." Therefore let Paul raise up the resolve of each one to every good work, and cut away the slothful dross of the mind, crying: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon you." For even if you have fallen asleep as a man, having gorged yourself on sin as if on strong wine, and have been carried away to drunkenness by dark and tumultuous thoughts, C yet the time is already at hand for you to become sober for salvation and to lift your eye toward the sun of righteousness. For the Lord, who is benevolent, will receive you; He will have mercy even on the fugitive; He will not turn away from you if you weep; He will render you pure if you repent of your error, and will restore you to the possession of piety. For this reason, our discourse will again be led by examples; for a more expansive discussion on this subject brings no small benefit.
8. When, therefore, God wished to deliver from the slavery in Egypt the race which is from Israel, He then sent the seer Moses in haste to them, to interpret the benevolent will of the Master. But since it was necessary that the persuasion of those listening should be accompanied by a demonstration through signs, He says to him: D "What is that in your hand?" And he said: "A rod." And He said: "Cast it on the ground." And it became a serpent; and Moses fled from its presence. And the Lord said to Moses: "Stretch out your hand, and take by the tail." And it became a rod in his hand. But, as I suppose, by these things the blessed Moses was being taught that those who had fallen ill with the Egyptian error, and who had wandered far and wide into sin, by means of the reverence due to the Divinity, [8 Matth. xxv, 21. 9 Matth. xx, 13, 14. 10 Ephes. v, 14. 11 Exod. iv, 2-4. ]
A shall be transformed. For it sprouted like a rod from the ground; but when, by declining toward the passions of the flesh, it falls in a certain way from the hand of the Lawgiver, then, having cast off its gentle and mild manner, it is found to be a venomous serpent, bitter unto sin, and terrible in wrath. But when the Lawgiver takes hold of it again, it shall be beautiful, being transformed into the archetype of the most excellent habit. For we shall clothe Moses with the person of the Lawgiver. That God, therefore, raises up and changes again the one who has slipped through sloth into things that are not fitting, should be manifest to everyone, as I believe, from what has been said. And the voices of the prophets bear witness no less to this, advising those who sin, both high and low, to turn back to God. For our B man-loving Master has left out no time in which He did not call all men unto salvation. It is possible, therefore, to hear Him rebuking the hardness and intractability of sinners, and accusing the habit of those sinning that had grown firm in evil. For He said at one time: “Will you not fear me, says the Lord, or will you not tremble before my face? Who placed a boundary for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, and it shall not overstep it? But to this people has been given a heart that is disobedient and exasperating. They turned aside and went away, and they did not say in their heart: Let us fear the Lord our God.” And at another time, rebuking those who fled more impudently, He said more harshly: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? And will you be able to do good, having C learned to do evil?” For the parent of all sin held such power over the race, that those who honored God and knew that they must remember the Lawgiver were in fact entirely few. But we shall not have need of any great effort to demonstrate these things, since the Psalmist cries out plainly: “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one.” For with sin thus exercising tyranny over all, and diffused over the whole earth like a certain fog, the saints besought the Word of God to descend to us and shine forth with saving light upon the minds of all. They cry out, therefore, saying: D “Send forth your light and your truth.” Accordingly, the true light was sent forth to us, which illumines every man coming into the world; that is to say, the Word of God, who is God Himself, and having taken up the likeness to us, is born through the holy Virgin and brings salvation to the human race, having restored our nature to the antiquity of incorruptibility, just as Paul asserts: “Opening up for us a new way, He joined the earthly to the heavenly, having dissolved the middle wall of the partition, and having abolished the enmity in His flesh, by the law of commandments in decrees.” And it is for this reason that even the blessed angels, struck with wonder, said: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men.”
A For when our Savior Christ showed Himself benevolently disposed towards us, and endured the cross for our sake, the manifold bonds of death were loosed; and every tear was wiped away from every face, as the Prophet says: “And mourning has been turned into joy,” so that we too may appropriately say: “You have turned my mourning into joy for me; you have torn my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” For over what should we still grieve? What further occasion for weeping will there be for us? Or rather, how should everything that has been done for us through the Savior not awaken every cheerfulness in us? For He did not only show us the way of salvation, but also, having gone to the spirits in Hades, B He preached to those who were once disobedient, as Peter says. For it was not fitting that the philanthropy should be partial, but that the demonstration of the gift should extend to the whole of nature. For through the prophets it was aptly said: “One part shall be rained upon, and one part on which I do not rain shall wither.” But to the Savior is the voice appropriate: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Having therefore preached also to the spirits in Hades, C “and to those in bonds: Come out in peace, and to those in darkness: Be revealed,” He in three days raises up His own temple, and innovates for nature even the ascent into heaven, offering Himself as the firstfruits of humanity to the Father, having bestowed as a pledge of grace the participation of the Spirit to those living on earth.
9. On account of such great things, beloved, let us celebrate; not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, honoring our King with all thanksgiving; and let us receive fasting, from which all good things proceed, with the readiness that befits us. And let us indeed hold fast to mutual love among ourselves, pursuing hospitality with more intense zeal, shining with mercy bestowed upon the poor; being mindful of those in bonds, as though bound with them; of those tormented, as though we ourselves were still dwelling in the body, and, in a word, intent upon the cultivation of every virtue. For thus we shall also accomplish the truer [way of life], beginning the holy Quadragesima from the fifth of the month of Phamenoth; the week of the saving Pascha, from the tenth of the month of Pharmouthi; loosening our fasts on the fifteenth of the same month, on the evening of the Sabbath, according to custom; and celebrating the feast day of Pascha on the following day, the Sunday dawning on the sixteenth of the same month of Pharmouthi, according to the prescription of the law, joining together the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus, together with the saints, we shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
Homily IV
Homily three is missing.A 1. Once again the season of the holy festival shines upon us, B as the labor of endurance beckons, preceding it by a short interval, and, as if to pay an annual debt, it bids us render to God, the governor of all, the gravity of our life and a demonstration of every other virtue. For no exhortation that urges obedience is absurd to those who are wise, who perceive the utility of the matter at hand. For the fruit of labors undertaken in well-doing is glorious; but there is nothing more grievous than sloth and idleness, and he who is unwilling to endure anything for the sake of what is to be profitable is bitterly punished; and one should not say that the words are spoken about trivial matters, but that they pertain to the very destruction of the soul. Since, then, the matter is so constituted, and its nature is such, I myself deeming it most fitting of all at this time to hold discourse with you concerning useful things, and as it were to cry out that prophetic saying: "Prepare the way of the Lord" (Isa. XL, 3; Luc. III, 4), I come forward again into your midst. I by no means think that I shall be burdensome to the prudent if I profess to advise them to pursue with greater honor the things in which they are, especially at this present time. But if anyone thinks that I am not bringing forth the best things, although I strive not inconsiderably to do so, let him see to it that, while pronouncing a malicious judgment against us, he does not join himself to the order of those among whom evil is held in esteem, and be cast out from the roll of the wise without knowing it. For to rejoice in those things which one might justly censure, C but to consider what has been judged to hold a place among better things as next to evil, or even to be offended by discourses that surpass their own understanding—is this not a sign of the utmost wickedness? For my part, while I think that those who have chosen to follow the better path should be cherished with encouragement and consolation from those who speak best, so that they may strive to pursue them with more intense zeal; yet for those who are still led by wayward senses, I think a remedy should be provided by which they may be brought to good fruit, and that one should labor to ensure they D turn out better in the future. Therefore, our discourse of the teaching we have initiated will be most profitable in both respects, granting to each part what is owed to it.
HOMILY IV
A 2. Now, the choir of prophets urges us toward this proclamation and toward declaring the glorious festival; for they are, on the one hand, elated by the noble deeds accomplished by the Savior, and on the other, they exhort us to cast silence regarding these matters as far away as possible. And indeed, they even cry out: one says, "Cry out with strength, and do not spare; lift up your voice like a trumpet"; another, who teaches and thinks things akin to him, says, "Go up to a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Sion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, fear not." B Having therefore removed every obstacle that might hinder our zeal in these matters, I shall ascend to a boldness of speech appropriate to the doctrine, and, as if seeing from a mountain-watchtower the season of continence hastening toward you from afar, and as if signaling with my hand to the athletes of piety, I will say: "Strip off, young men, put away the old man." The season of fasting has come to us again, demanding a demonstration of every virtue. And this stadium is judged not by the strength of bodies, nor by the leaps of the wrestling-floor; nor should it be thought that the victory will fall to him who is believed to abound most in these things. "For our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness C in the heavenly places." I believe that those who have resolved to oppose the plots of these foes must be so equipped for battle that they might deservedly be judged to excel others in fortitude; or else, if they are not such, they will cast themselves into open danger, and whatever they might boastfully proclaim of themselves will be entirely a matter of haughty display. For a man of humbler station, if he attributes to himself more than he is, is both worthy of laughter and exposed to dangers. And if such things are deservedly to be shunned (and that they are to be shunned, all will surely admit who lack nothing in the prudence of caution), and if it is not useless to repel the whole baseness of wickedness with every effort, is it not then necessary to seek better things, and to labor with great zeal in common, that we might be superior to our adversaries? And since the war of evil spirits is bearing down upon us, it is necessary to be fervent in spirit and to appear D confident in wielding weapons against them; and since neither the art nor the strength of bodies benefits us in this, it follows, according to the voice of Paul, that we should: "Put on the whole armor of God, and fit well upon yourselves the breastplate of the piety toward Him." For thus would the fiery darts of the adversary be extinguished; and furthermore, those who have proven themselves men will attain to being immune from any wound. But that I may turn my discourse back to the contests in the lists, I say this: for those who have been eager to do this and to rise up must draw help from every side.
A I understand that the presiding officials of the gymnastic contests—to whom it perhaps does not appear difficult to spend money for the sake of the glory therein—when they are about to commence the event, announce the contest with a trumpet; and having summoned under it all that is by nature adapted to be helpful, and those accustomed to distinguish themselves in these things, they send away those who would engage in combats in which the display of skill is of a slower kind. For they have judged—and they have done so most excellently—that it is not right that those who are renowned for valor, or who might possess an experience of another pursuit more honorable, should be mixed with those who are more shameful, nor that they should be defiled by their foulness, when a better reputation clearly belongs to them. B But if their purpose is so noble even for small and paltry wages, and one may see every eagerness lying within them, out of shame lest they seem to be left behind by the strength of others, how is it not worthy of concern that we should become better than they, and so much the more, by how much the difference between the crowns is greater? For, truly, one who shrinks from labor when the prizes set before him are altogether small and trivial, and who expends only sluggish effort, there might perhaps be some room for excuse for those who have done so. For they will say it is not right to be won over to such long labors by meager rewards. But if we are not permitted to use such language, to whom a crown far more excellent than the measure of our labors is proposed, what else hinders us from entering the contest strenuously? Nothing at all. Therefore, whatever remains in its entirety is the charge of sloth C and idleness, and of that inclination which, since it is borne along toward worse things, carries away all zeal for laudable matters. For my own part, I am persuaded that each one of those we have mentioned has been moved to undertake the labors of the contests not so much by a desire for money as by a desire for glory and honors. For such things also have a certain pleasantness among them; and not to obtain what each might wish is reckoned a loss of glory—I mean, of the glory that is held in honor among them. And since they are established in such a frame of mind and have attained to such a youthful spirit that, if anyone were to approach and ask each of them: "Since there are many other occupations in life, why, D I pray, have you arrived at this appearance and intent? And for what reason, having left aside other things, have you honored the pastimes in the wrestling schools? What in the world do you think you will gain from this? Honors or money? And to work so hard in the contests, of which would you prefer to be the procurer for yourself?" I believe that each would immediately answer: "Dismiss the money; I would much more gladly buy victory with the abundance of these things, and, if the moment called for this, I would even sacrifice my life to avoid being laughed at." Since they are disposed in this way, how is it not very strange that we, to whom greater rewards are set forth, are not seen to be vying with their enthusiasms, but are bound by sluggishness and wasting away in a poverty of good things, not even pressing on to gain the better vote.
A having such an abundance of aids from God, through which it would be possible for us to conquer? For those men, in their own experiences and the strength of their bodies, have the ability to overcome their opponents, so that if any one of them were lacking in the aforementioned, he would certainly be placed outside the joy of victory. B But for us, the matters of the contest are not judged in this way; rather, the situation is set in exactly the opposite. Even if you lack strength, ask the Umpire, and you will receive it readily. Even if your skill in some of the wrestling maneuvers is wanting, the trainer is nearby, knowing the entire method of the stadium. For God will supply the ability. But how it is fitting to contend again against opponents, you will learn by examining the divine Scriptures. There you will find Paul saying: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." There you will admire the Psalmist singing sweetly and crying out to God: "In you we will push down our enemies, and in your name we will disregard those who rise up against us."
And I believe it is necessary, in addition to what has been said, to state other methods for you, ones capable of whetting [the spirit] toward courage. For in the contests of the present life, whoever should happen to prevail over all—either by excelling others in the experience of the art, or by the vigor of his body affording the ambition for this—to that man the provider of the crowns will surely be C most hostile. For by as much as the praise of the victors is raised to a height, by so much the more will the loss in money increase for those who provide the games; and by as much as they are held in greater esteem, by so much more will they increase what pertains to the largesse, since it is fitting that the reward should correspond to the magnitude of the achievements. But the stadium of piety is not managed by such laws. The provider is rich; he rejoices as much over those who are performing well as he is grieved by those who are defeated, if they chance to suffer anything human. For he says somewhere through one of the prophets: "Woe is me, for my soul fails for those who have been slain." D Because of this, he even raises up those who have fallen; although, according to the laws of those men, those who are once judged for such a thing are put outside those in honor, and are removed from the dignity of victory. And, in fact, God blames those who, having fallen, make long delays in that state; and through the prophet he says: "Does he who falls not rise again?"
3. It is, indeed, fitting as much as possible to avoid suffering this; and there is no one among existing beings who does not—
A I say, human nature—look toward sin. If it should happen that someone endures any of these unpleasant things, I consider it a second way of distinction, as it were, to yearn zealously to become among the better sort, and to return quickly to that mindset which they ought to have shown from the beginning and preserved until the end. And let no one from what has been said think that victory is absolutely harsh and difficult to achieve; rather, let Paul exhort such a person by crying out: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation will provide the way out, so that you may be able to endure it." For that he will grant this, according to the voice of Paul, I shall bring before you Christ Himself saying: "Behold, I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." For Christ generously bestows—through the energy of the Holy Spirit and the saving cross—the ability for us to truly accomplish all things that look toward virtue. B Yet the Greeks mock this—they who are wise only in tongue and who ornament themselves with mere words, but in the search for truth are so slow that they seem to be nothing else than that which is commonly called "donkeys," which, while offering their ears to those playing the lyre most sweetly, are yet led by no sense of the musical art at all. Therefore, when they ought to be suffused with shame at their own thoughtlessness and, by sitting near those who are able to instruct them in the truth, be helped, they mock those whom they ought to emulate, and they carp at those whom, if they had been wise, they ought entirely to have imitated. Truly, they bring into human life gods besides Him who is by nature, whoever might please each one; and since they shrink from our teachings, they deservedly hear what they hold that one of their own poets said: Not good is the rule of many; let there be one ruler, One king..... C God who is in all, and through all, and over all. And those faults of theirs I shall pass over for now; but those things that seem to pertain more to our subject and to be more appropriate to the present time, these, as it seems, we ought to bring into the middle. 4. Therefore, they are offended at the cross of our Savior Christ— D the Jews, who have reached the absolute zenith of impiety; and to such an extent, I think, do they surpass the madness of the Greeks that, if someone were established as a judge between both, I am persuaded that he would immediately condemn these, and pronounce that those are burdened by lesser evils. For as to those, he will perhaps say, who have not yet read the divine Scriptures, it is no wonder if they have hallucinated in recognizing the decrees of the truth. But those who, through the Law and the prophets...
have been tutored in piety, were so much more foolish than the Greeks, that while the latter were able to offer a plausible excuse for their ignorance, to the former nothing remains by which to defend themselves, nor can they plead that the disease of ignorance was in any way unavoidable. A If one wishes, one may also see Christ himself subscribing to my words. For he says somewhere concerning them: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin." Matters have already reached such a point for them, that it would not seem to be a form of insult if anyone were to claim that they ought to be numbered among the ranks of the Gentiles and those who have no knowledge of God at all. Perhaps there is nothing to prevent us—or rather, it seems necessary—to provide the proof from the facts themselves; for in this way we shall easily escape the charge of slander, and we shall clearly demonstrate to those listening that we have striven with great effort to speak the truth. B I proceed to the very beginning of the race, I mean the race of the Hebrews. For from there that which is being indicated will become manifest. The blessed Abraham, then, being a Chaldean by race, and having been reared under a father who did not know the God who is in truth, lived for a certain time governed by the laws of his progenitor, and was numbered among the ignorant, and for a time he was reckoned among those who worship idols. For youth is accustomed to being guided by the counsels of others, and not very accurately perceiving what is profitable—the time of which I would attribute to that circumstance rather than to him. But since God wished to plant the race of the Hebrews, he calls him to the knowledge of himself, and extracts him, as it were, like a noble root from thorns, and changes him to piety, C and he has become what he is now, having been changed as if into another person by the addition of the knowledge of God, and, by the mere fact of his wishing to worship God, surpassing all who had come before him. Therefore, if the way of piety and the power of worship towards God show that a man has been transformed, the falling away from the things mentioned will again call back to his former state the one to whom this has happened. For it is good to strip away the discourse from the person of the righteous man and bring it to the fruit that has sprung from the root; for in this way it will be manifest and true that, through their disobedience towards Christ, they have deserted all piety. Hear what the Savior says through one of the prophets: "Woe to them, for they have started away from me! D They are miserable, for they have acted impiously against me." For that is, in the first place, the chief charge inscribed upon the heads of the Hebrews. And if anyone should wish to enumerate other charges in addition to this, he will find such a multitude that it is impossible to be content with the narratives concerning them, nor can one who is most experienced in these matters...
and has so trained himself in the art of eloquence as to yield to no other among those who have deemed the glory of this study to be preferred above all other happiness—nor can such a one, I say, persuade me that he is sufficient for the task of recounting them. But, lest we stay entirely silent, being as it were struck dumb by the multitude of their crimes, I shall strive to bring forward a very few points, from which we may understand how they abandoned God.
5. Therefore, God, the common Lord of all, being angry at their impieties, speaks as follows: B « All their princes are disobedient; Ephraim has made his roots, he is dried up; he shall bring forth no more fruit. And if they should beget, I will slay the beloved offspring of their womb. God will cast them off, because they have not hearkened to Him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations. » Does not experience itself cry this out more clearly than our speech? Does not the very outcome of events attest to the truth of what we have said? For after they fell away from the religion of God, being both stubborn and refractory, they were condemned to sterility and were already almost withering away, like trees planted far from watercourses. Then, in the first place, their roots were poorly affected when the discourse of the prophets was directed toward them; finally, having repudiated faith in Christ, they were utterly destitute of vital moisture. Consequently, being also excluded from His friendship, they rightly hear: C « I have hated, I have rejected your festivals, and I will not smell [the savor of] your solemn assemblies. But if you should offer me holocausts and your gifts, I will not accept them, and I will not look upon the offerings of your fatlings. Remove from me the noise of your songs, and I will not hear the canticles of your lyre. » For since God has loved the truth, He did not esteem it proper to be pleased with honors that were merely shadowed forth, but He indicated that the time for that adoration which is in spirit was now drawing near, during which, indeed, having removed the ancient rites, He demonstrates that better things are to be substituted by Him. And He declares this most openly through the voice of one of the prophets: « And it shall be in those days, says the Lord, they shall say no more: The Ark of the covenant of the Lord; and it shall not come up upon the heart, nor shall they remember it, nor shall it be visited, nor shall it be done any more. » If, however, anyone is eager to know that time which the prophet confirms in which the Ark is no longer to be thought of, nor its name to be employed, let him look at the things that are now being enacted, and let him fix his eyes upon the mysteries of the Christians. D For God has not willed that we should worship Him according to the rites of the Hebrews, nor is there an Ark among us, gleaming with gold on the outside, but holding within the books of Moses; but each one of those who embrace faith in Christ is made a temple of the Holy Spirit, and receives within himself a fountain, so to speak, of holiness. Nor indeed does any one of the hearers [next page begins]
the laws established through him. For never would I be so wildly insane as to aim my speech at that target, when the divine Scriptures speak quite otherwise. For the law is indeed holy, and the commandment holy and just and good, as Paul says; yet it lay there until a time of amendment, not yet introducing the true worship. For this reason God promised that He would change it for the better through one of the prophets, saying: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will establish with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant." Understanding this most excellently, Paul says: "In saying 'new,' He has made the first old; and that which is becoming old and growing aged is near to vanishing." And again: "For if that first had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second." Since, therefore, he asserted that the first was not free from blame—"For the law made nothing perfect"—he necessarily insists that the second was to be substituted for the salvation of the world.
B 6. How long, then, O Jew, will you be stubborn? When will you listen to the voices of the saints? But perhaps you will say: "Paul is yours, O friend, not mine." I would indeed be the most foolish of men if I were to submit to the words of those who have no connection with me at all, in the same way as if one in the heat of battle should willingly offer his own body to be lacerated by the wounds of the enemy. A fair and just argument, in my judgment. Yet, since you reject Paul, who is a Hebrew, and exclude him from your own kindred, you do not act rightly. For I hear him saying: "For I also am an Israelite, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee." But since it seems to you somehow troublesome that we should remember the apostolic words and try to convict you of ignorance from them, I shall pass over this for the present; and though I could bring forward countless things that were explained by Moses and the prophets, I shall depart C after asking only a brief question. Come then, O best of men, tell me more clearly, passing over the deeper considerations of the questions; if you do not expect the law to be changed in truth, but are persuaded that it will always remain effectively the same, with no change supervening, what is it that prevents you from holding fast to the same observances? Why do you so neglect the observance of divine worship, that you abandon the customs of your ancestors and count as nothing those things that were of the highest value among them? For where has that temple gone for you? Where have the altars built within it, and the offerings of sacrifices, departed? Where D
A have those little bells hung from the fringes fallen silent, and why is no one able to explain? For this was a name assigned to the stone, derived from what it actually stood for, through the exchange of its colors, in accordance with the will of God, it used to set forth the foresight regarding things to come. And tell me, for what cause do you yourself refrain from the sacrifices according to the Law? If you say that the negligence in these things is by your own volition, you are convicted as lawless, and I shall use you yourself as a witness against the scripture written against you; I shall not need others for this purpose. But if you hold that the idleness in these things is against your will, and you admit that you are held fast by the bond of some necessity, observe then, lest you fall under the charge of obstinacy, by making your disobedience so prolonged. For who has had such power as to impose a law of necessity upon him who was aided by God—for I know well that even in this you boast—and no one has that power. Therefore, divine wrath—for this is what remains—having fallen upon those from Israel, showed that the whole race was bereft of every joy, no longer allowing it to boast in the Law, but exacting penalties for the impiety toward Christ from those who advised B against Him. And God has at once transferred the manner of worship, along with grace, to something better. Now, I shall also show you that this time of your cessation was indicated beforehand by the voice of the prophets. For I suspect that you are ashamed of your calamities and strive to hide them from us, things which are by no means unknown to you, of course; but for fear of infamy, because you do not wish it to be understood that you have been driven far away and excluded by God, you pretend in your ignorance that they have not become known to you. Regarding these things, therefore, the blessed prophet Hosea speaks thus: • Many days the sons of Israel shall sit, without king and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without altar, and without priesthood, and without revelations. » Who among you will deny that these things are in your books, and will reach such shamelessness as to dare to say that things seen by all have never come to pass C ? This could never happen. For the fulfillment of what was spoken is manifest even to the casual observer. But you perhaps will refuse again, and cherishing your innate disobedience, you feel that you differ in nothing from inanimate stones. For the prophet speaks the truth, saying, • All the house of Israel are contentious and stiff-hearted. » And God speaks the truth in every way, explaining your impudence through one of the saints: • For I know, he says, that you are stiff-necked, and your neck is a bar of iron, and your forehead is bronze. » And the Savior Himself reproaches the magnitude of your disobedience, saying: • All the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people. » And tell me, what is the reason for such long-continued disobedience? Did you not know, having been taught by the divine Scripture, him who was owed to you by promise? Were you ignorant D that the Word of God was to visit you? Did you not hear the prophet Zechariah saying: • Rejoice and be glad,
filia Sion, for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord? A Was it then not right that you should rejoice and be filled with every pleasure and gladness, as the coming of our Savior Christ was so brightly proclaimed by the saints? For since the devil, swooping down like a whirlwind, had enslaved the whole of human nature—if I may so speak—and there was thereafter no one who was untried by his greed, and all were in sins, making no account of shame, but even glorying in all their evils as if they were great noble deeds (for each man’s goal was to excel in wickedness, both him who had already come to be and him who was expected to be, and as Paul says, our glory was in our shame), the Creator of all things, of necessity, searching out many ways of healing, sought from every side to save the human race. B Indeed, prophets were sent forth from time to time, introducing the way to salvation for all. But since no one was who would obey them, they called down from heaven the King of all, the Word of God, saying at one time: “O Lord, bow down your ear, and come down”; and crying out at another: “Send forth your light and your truth.”
The Only-begotten Word of God, therefore, who is the most exact image of the essence of the Father, C having assumed our likeness, and having become man, appeared on earth and walked among men, as one of the wise men said. And seeing that human nature had run to complete ruin and was able to do nothing of what is good, He did not grant the grace of righteousness to works, but bestowed it on him who believes, calling all to salvation. Yet, when it was fitting, on account of such great philanthropy and all other things, to recognize Him and worship the Word of God who had become man for our sake, the all-daring race of the Jews, on the contrary, nailed Him to a cross, and having brought upon Him every kind of wickedness and dishonor at once, they delivered Him to death. D But since, as the divine Scripture says, it was not possible for Him to be held by death, He rose again on the third day, having said even to the spirits in Hades: “Come forth!” and having plundered all the wealth of the devil. He also broke the power of death, having placed within us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of the future hope and an earnest of the expected good things, while He Himself, as if bringing the first-fruits of the fruits of paradise, offered Himself for us to the Father, appearing in the form of man. For He came, that He might also make man a citizen of heaven, and join him to the choirs there. For all these things, dearly beloved, even if the Jews do not wish it, how is it not necessary for us to render great thanksgivings, and to offer to the God who has honored us, and
testify, it would not be right, that he revived again after an interval of three days, saying to those spirits who were detained in the lower world: "Come forth," and plundering all the rich spoils of the demons. He also overthrew the empire of death, and placed in us the Holy Spirit as an earnest and pledge of the future goods which we expect. He himself, in the form of man, as the firstfruits of fruits from a garden, offered himself to the Father for us. For this reason he came to us, that he might enroll man also in the heavenly country, and aggregate him to the orders of that same supernal city. B Because of all these things, beloved, however much the Jews may clamor, it is necessary for us both to render immense thanks to God, and in truth, because he has heaped such honors upon us and embraced us with such great love, to render what is, as it were, a just return: namely, seriousness of morals, mutual benevolence, hospitality, charity, brotherly love, and, what is the greatest remedy against sins before all others, mercy toward the imprisoned. For we ought to be mindful of the imprisoned as though we were imprisoned with them, and of those who are suffering as though we ourselves were abiding in the body. In this way, we shall both spend the feast days holily, and truly we shall celebrate the fast, from which all good things proceed, in the manner that is fitting; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twenty-sixth of the month of February; and the week of the saving Pascha on the Kalends of April; releasing the fasts indeed, as is sanctioned by the evangelical constitutions, on the evening of the Sabbath, the sixth of the same month of April; but celebrating the feast day of Pascha, as the Lord’s day dawns thereafter, on the seventh of the same month of April, adding then also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost, and believing that we shall receive the heavenly goods promised to us from God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, for ever. Amen.
HOMILY V
C 1. The sacred Scriptures testify that there is a time for every thing: which opinion I for my part am persuaded is most appropriate and suited to the nature of things. For nothing is accustomed to happen so inconveniently in affairs as when anything is done without observing the opportunity of time. Since therefore no one will deny that this is an evil, but rather all who are endowed with a sound mind will confess that what is contrary to it is necessary to judge as right and praiseworthy, as indeed that we should observe in all things what time requires, and what is adapted to each individual business. Therefore, this is a time of festive celebration, and again it must be heard what the divine Scripture commands us. "Blow the trumpet at the beginning of the month," it says, "in the day of your notable solemnity." D For what time could appear more noble than that in which we now act? What is so notable as this our celebration, never to be praised enough, which truly reveals the new beginning of the month, that is, the new age in which the Savior migrated to us: "In which all things have become new, and the old things have passed away," as Paul asserts? Let the trumpet of the Church therefore cry out, and exultantly pour forth for us again the sound of the annual preaching. But will it imitate those [sounds] that are in the armies? Does it signal to us that the ranks of the enemies are already present, and that the threat of battle and the fear of death are being proclaimed; and is it necessary to lift up the instruments of war as quickly as possible against those who are attacking? By no means. I know of another voice for my trumpet.
It will not sound anything of that sort, but will sound a triumphal song, most delightful to the hearers. A “Come,” it will say, in the words of the blessed Psalmist, “let us exult in the Lord, let us cry aloud to the God our Savior” (Ps. XCIV, 1). What then is the occasion for which one might see a timely cry? That we ought to exult and to raise up a solemn celebration to the Savior for his death, will be affirmed by the psalmist, and I myself shall explain it to you, even though you already know it. Death has been defeated, it which was loath to be defeated. Corruption is made new. Death is rendered null, a passion which was unconquerable. And Hades, which was suffering from insatiable greed and had never received any satiety from the dead, was taught, even against its will, what it had never before endured to learn in its mind. For it no longer contends to be the possessor of those who are still falling; rather, it has even cast out those it had already captured, having suffered a beautiful desolation by the power of our Savior. B For he arrived and said to those in bonds, “Come forth,” and to those in darkness, “Be revealed” (Isa. XLIX, 9). And having preached to the spirits in Hades who were once disobedient (1 Pet. III, 19), he ascended as a victor, having raised up his own temple as a sort of firstfruit of our hope, and having opened the way of resurrection from the dead for our nature, and in addition to these things, he has worked other good things for us.
2.
B In these things, beloved, we have the brilliant tokens of the festival; and for these reasons I think we ought to leap up and say, “The right hand of the Lord has wrought power, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me” (Ps. CXVII, 16). For among all others, according to whatever custom of festive assemblies is honored, it is pursued with the utmost zeal to be as elegant as possible in dress, and to think it a matter of the utmost sloth or wickedness if one does not appear conspicuous with all the ornaments that are of any value. And so, whenever cities draw out their public holidays, one may see the citizens in them adorned with the brightest flowers, and eagerly going to more sumptuous tables, and delighting in the damages of the stomach rather than being pained by them. But for us, the things concerning a festival do not come through these things, nor is it customary or desirable to use the public standards. But our garment is the most pure of all, Christ: C for “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” says Paul (Rom. XIII, 14). And the table is one not burdened by the variety of expensive dishes, and giving birth to wanton ambition, but rather one far more beloved, to which Wisdom calls us, crying out: “Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mixed for you” (Prov. IX, 5). For to fill the stomach with delicacies of the earth, and this not because we are constrained by the needs of nature, nor because we are overcome by the indispensable requirements of the body, but to be poured out rather into pleasure and D looking at nothing else, is to emulate the ways of irrational beasts.They rejoice however all the more when they irritate and satiety, with insatiable desires, rises far above what is enough. But to be fond of divine teachings, and to consider the words of wisdom a sumptuous feast, A a thing most worthy of account and most admirable, everyone who is wise will say that this is right, and truly fitting for a man endowed with reason and fashioned according to the image of the Creator.
But I perceive that I have left to silence that which is most dear to those who celebrate. What do I mean by this? Those people arm torches against the darkness of the night, and they do not suffer their house to be covered in shadows when evening arrives; but having decorated the whole room with lamps, they drive away the gloom caused by the darkness with the radiance from them. But for us, in turn, it is not a light made by hand, so to speak, nor lamps shining with moderate glow that drive away the darkness, but Christ himself, who says: «I am the light of the world.» This also the blessed Isaiah promised would come to us, crying: «Be enlightened, be enlightened, Jerusalem, for your light has come.» For the grace of the Savior has visited us, illuminating the whole with a law of light, and dissolving the gloomy cloud of ignorance—which, having spread out over us like a ceiling-vault, the devil had cast over the whole earth under the sun, so to speak, B and had subjected to his own rule, so that no one was permitted to turn the sharp edge of their mind upward, nor to gauge the power of the Creator from the goodness that shines forth in created things, from which indeed not a little help could have come to those who were wandering. And so that they might not, by gaining anything that appears to contribute to salvation, recover their natural freedom, he blinded their minds, as Paul says, so that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ might not shine upon them. But the wretch was deceived in his hope. For He who called them to salvation was greater. And so a great multitude of the nations was saved from destruction, and though late, still they recognized their Maker. C But the Jews, they whom the Law was tutoring toward the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ, and whom the decrees given through Moses were leading as if taking them by the hand, «have abandoned, as it is written, the ways of their own vineyard, and have wandered in the furrows of their own crops.» For they did not recognize the Word of God who became man for our sake, «who for our sake became poor,» as Paul says, «that we might become rich in Him.» Wherefore the prophet Jeremiah rebukes them not insignificantly, crying: «How will you say that we are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain has the lying pen become for the scribes, D the poor have been ashamed, they were terrified and were taken. What wisdom is there in them, because they rejected the Word of the Lord?» For they truly rejected the Only-begotten Word of God, but He has become the head of the corner.
and there is no wisdom in them. They have indeed rejected the Only-begotten Word of God, but He has become the head of the corner.
A Therefore, the prophet rightly says somewhere concerning them: “The children are foolish and not prudent.” And how, pray, does that which was spoken concerning them not appear true to everyone? How are they not imprudent and mindless, when, though it was possible for them to learn the mystery of piety from the prophetic readings, and likewise possible for them to be constantly instructed about Him through the Mosaic writings, they were found to be so negligent of their own salvation that they did not even equal the zeal of the Gentiles in this matter? And thus God says somewhere to them: “I have set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet,’ and they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore the nations have heard, and those who feed the flocks among them. Hear, O earth, behold I am bringing evils upon this people, the fruit of their conversion, because they did not heed my law and they rejected my word.” For they did indeed reject the word of God, neither knowing that they ought to follow the preaching of the holy apostles, nor thinking they ought to apply their minds to the more ancient books. For surely, if they were truly concerned about gaining profit, they ought to have avoided letting their minds be deceived, puffed up with arrogance under the name of legal learning; and, for fear of not appearing to adhere to precision, they ought B to have avoided suffering the loss that comes from it, and instead examined more closely the things spoken about the Savior through the saints, or even those things formed as images and types. For one can see, in the sayings of the Spirit, many images of events that have the clearest representation of the coming of our Savior.
But now, various modes of contemplation are rising in my mind, and as I move towards the memory of the Holy Scriptures, an innumerable swarm of thoughts comes to inhabit it. Yet I think it is necessary to make the beginning of my discourse from the more ancient C events, and to proceed through those things which will make them more ready to believe. Let us therefore examine, if you please, the very way of life of the blessed Abraham, and how and in what circumstances he lived; and let there be investigated, in addition to this, the much-desired conception and sowing of Isaac. For you will see in these things, O Jew, even at the very root, so to speak, of your race, the mystery concerning our Savior, skillfully and artfully molded as if in bronze. But so that you may not think that I am trying to deceive you with plausible arguments whilst having nothing of the truth to say, I will set before you the very explanation through Moses, and I will unfold the history clearly; for in this way you will understand more readily the things we are to say. D
3. Sarra, then, had been joined by law to the forefather of the race. There was with him also a handmaid—I mean the Egyptian, A whose name was Agar. But she who was a free woman born of free parents was inexperienced in birth and the pangs of labor; and seeing no fruit from her own womb, and being led on by the most keen desire of nature for the love of children, she was heavily burdened with great despondency. But that which most of all persuaded one to sympathize with her was this: Abraham had already reached the number of eighty years, at which time it was reasonable that the warmth of nature for the generation of children had by then grown cold within him. She herself, lamenting the barrenness of children and mourning exceedingly over the fruitlessness of her womb, had reached the very limit of advanced age. Wishing, therefore, to be wise in her desire for children, and blunting the goad of nature within her, she urged her husband to enter into marriage with the handmaid, since she had not been deemed worthy of legitimate children, so that she might at least be called a mother of children begotten from a surrogate. B Now, the matter stands thus in the holy Scriptures: "Now Sarra, the wife of Abraham, did not bear him children, but having an Egyptian handmaid, whose name was Agar, Sarra said to Abraham: Behold, the Lord has shut me up so that I do not bear; go in to my handmaid, that you may beget children from her." Let no one imagine that the patriarch was lured unseasonably to pleasure or was in any way driven to incontinence by the words of Sarra. That was not her purpose; far from it. But as I have said, blaming her own nature for being unfit to beget, she considered it hard and grievous if no offspring should survive from a man endowed with such integrity, even if it were by another woman. Such, therefore, was Sarra's feeling toward her spouse; and indeed the plan was carried out by the patriarch, and a base-born child, Ishmael, was begotten by him from the Egyptian woman. C At this, the desires of the free woman wandered. For she thought indeed to rejoice in legitimate labor, but while she suffered the deeper grief from not being able to bring forth, she became, as it were, intoxicated with the suffering and was overwhelmed. But God, the source of all good hope and the One who governs all things according to His own will, has mercy upon her, saddened as she was by what had happened; and her who was long barren and childless, and deprived of the ability to bear by the length of time, He immediately rendered capable of easy labor and fit for the generation of a child. He says to Abraham: "Sarai your wife shall not be called Sarai, but Sarra shall be her name. And I will bless her, and I will give you a child from her, and I will bless it; and it shall be for nations, and kings of nations shall come forth from it." D And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his mind, saying: "Shall a son be born to a man of a hundred years, and shall Sarra, being ninety years old, bring forth?" And God said to Abraham: "Yes, behold, Sarra your wife shall bring forth a son, and you shall call the name of him
A Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him." 81 This, then, was the promise made to Abraham, true. But after the thing foretold was brought to pass and she who was barren learned to give birth, and the child was already before their eyes, and he appeared as the heir of his paternal house, then the bondwoman, as henceforth superfluous, was driven out from the master's house, carrying with her the bastard child Ismael from Abraham. And while she was fleeing, and had already journeyed as far as possible from her home, an angel from heaven addressed her, saying: "Agar, handmaid of Sarra, whither go you?" 81 And she replied to this: "I flee from the face of Sarra my mistress." And the angel of the Lord said to her: "Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands." 81 The history indeed required longer narration, but this is enough to have concluded it for our purposes here. It remains, therefore, from this point to show you the image of our Savior; for it is precisely for this reason that this wide-ranging discourse has been ridden unto us. Now the divine Paul, summarizing the history in a few words and gathering the roll of long narrations into one single insight, transformed what was unlovely in the event into an image of most graceful things. For he writes to some as follows: "Do you not know the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman, and one by the freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, but he who was of the freewoman through the promise. Which things are allegorized. 82 For these are the two Covenants: the one from Mount Sinai, which brings forth to bondage, which is Agar; for Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, and it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother." 82 But I, beloved, although I vehemently admire the power of this allegory—and deservedly so—yet, since the field for discussing those things which are contained in the divine Scriptures is wide, I think it proper that, besides those things which have been correctly said by others, other sentiments also, drawn from our own ingenuity, should be offered. Not, indeed, that I am about to pronounce something better (far be it that we should progress to such madness as to assert that anything greater or more excellent than what the herald of truth has indicated can be discovered by our own thinking!), but since nothing prevents us at least for the sake of exercise from speaking, come, let us clothe natural reasons with speculations, and, as if adorning an image with various colors from all sides, let us proceed by the same tracks to the same form of allegory in a different way.
4. Accept, therefore, Abraham as the ancient D time, and, if I may so say, the decrepit age, and the nature of humanity; for through the female
sex, A while she is such, she shows herself capable of bearing; but through senile age, she indicates antiquity. For the human nature is most ancient and most prolific, having lived through a long age, and having been enclosed, as it were, in a bridal chamber, within the domicile of this starry world. Therefore, the free nature of man—for to it have been granted by divine gift both liberty and authority over all things—which almost equaled the antiquity of time, as if led by the hand by it, although it had not conceived any legitimate offspring given by God, was taking from the sons of others the pleasure which can be perceived from spurious ones, from those sons, I say, whom the Egyptian woman, that is to say, one wrapped in darkness, had brought forth; for we interpret Egypt as darkness. But whom shall we deem this dark woman to be? Certainly that one who falsely claims this name for herself, the wisdom of the world, through whom, if I may say so, the wise men of old were brought forth, and as it were sent forth into the light from the womb of the error that gave birth to them; and they were sons of the age—for by this name the Savior also called them—yet they were nonetheless illegitimate and raised in servitude; for they served gods that were not gods by nature. B But after the age was already growing old and verging toward the end, the Son of the promise was given, and the free nature of humanity, which before, in many offspring—yet idle and useless—had behaved as if it had never borne any children, and was for that reason called barren and childless, brought forth that noble infant, that one, I say, chosen out of thousands; and at last the heir, our Lord Jesus Christ, appeared, and the handmaid is cast out together with her sons. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the inquirer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" as Paul says. Yet he who was born of the free woman is the heir. "Ask," says the Father in heaven to the Son elsewhere, "of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession." But the divine goodness does not allow the handmaid, when cast out with her children, to perish. For it recalls her, and commands her to submit herself humbly to the authority of the free woman. "Return," it says, "to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands." C For that falsely-named wisdom of the world, which once mocked at free marriages, now serves the nobility of the sons of God, and with the most fitting arrangement of words serves the divine contemplations. Therefore, the birth of Isaac, who is of the promise, signifies nothing other than Christ, who was born at the consummation of the ages. And let it not seem difficult to anyone if not all parts of the history are fittingly and appropriately applied to the truth. For it is sufficient if the allegory corresponds to the things signified, as far as it is possible for it to do so. For often the righteous man is likened to a sheep, on account of D the gentleness inherent in that animal; but to say that he grows horns or otherwise relies on hooves is altogether implausible. We must therefore proceed to the proof of the things set before us. For I think it is necessary that Christ should appear in the birth according to Isaac, as if through a type.
But that I may not appear to be employing some superfluous and curious words, and attempting to play the sophist with the truth from every side, or otherwise stringing together rhapsodies and fabricating fading images of idle concepts, come, let us again set forth from the divine Scripture itself that I am saying what is true.
A 5. For the sake of nothing else did God make the promise unto Abraham—I mean that which came regarding Isaac—except for the sake of the advent of our Savior, toward whom the conclusion of the blessing flows. And I shall set before you the divine oracle itself, speaking thus: “And I will bless her,” God says concerning Sarah, “and I will give you a son out of her, and I will bless him, and he shall be for nations, and kings of nations shall come out of him” (cf. Gen. xvii, 16). And again: “I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” But it is surely plain to everyone that Isaac became the father of one nation, and no other, with only the blessed Jacob born from him; to whom there were sons in number twelve; but of them only one race was delivered, namely that of the Jews. B How then shall that which says, “He shall be for nations,” be fulfilled? For even if the race that is from Israel is divided into twelve tribes, yet it is one nation, composed of many members as it were, which is filled out into one body through them all.
And that the covenant given by God to those from the seed of Isaac through Moses will not have the force of an everlasting covenant, we shall know from the prophet Joel saying: “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make a new covenant for the house of Israel and for the house of Judah” (Jer. xxxi, 31). Understanding this most excellently, Paul says: “In saying ‘new,’ he has made the first old; and that which is becoming old and growing aged is near to destruction” (Hebr. viii, 13). C And therefore, “there has been an annulling of the preceding commandment,” according to his voice again, “and an introduction of a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (Hebr. vii, 18-19).
Since, therefore, it is clearly demonstrated from every side that he who was born of Abraham became the father of one nation; but another line of reasoning again compels us to demonstrate that what was written concerning him is true (for it is impossible for God to lie), it is necessary then to refer the outcome of the promise to Christ himself already. For he, as I said before, was being portrayed in that man. D He became the father of many nations, drawing all men to himself through faith, and truly rejoicing not a little in the multitude of the nations, and saying: “Behold, I and the children whom God has given me” (Isa. viii, 18). And these things, then, are our words concerning these matters. Let the witness of the truth himself also enter, and let him contend for...
A Let the most wise Paul come forward now to bear witness to the truth, and let him support what we have brought forward, crying out with me: «He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? As it is written: Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.» You understand, I suppose, that they who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. B The power of the promise, therefore, will by no means proceed to those who were born according to the flesh, but rather to those, clearly, who through faith in Christ have inscribed Abraham as their father. For this, it seems to me, is exactly what the blessed Baptist was saying clearly to those who were born of Israel, when they boasted only in their communion according to the flesh and put forward Abraham as the founder of their race: «Bring forth therefore,» he says, «fruits worthy of penance, and think not to say within yourselves: We have Abraham for our father. For God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.» By stones here he refers to those whose minds are still hardened, and in whose heavy hearts there seemed to be no sense at all. But if anyone considers the Gentiles more attentively, he will find them to be exactly such people, and not different at all; they who have been awakened through faith, and adopted as children to Abraham, and declared co-heirs of Isaac, and have become partakers of the blessing given to him. Of this matter, Paul shall be witness, crying out: «And the scripture, foreseeing that God justifieth the Gentiles by faith, told Abraham before: In thee shall all the nations be blessed. Therefore they that are of faith, shall be blessed with the faithful Abraham.» C That the Isaac born of Abraham is modeled upon our Lord Jesus Christ himself, one can demonstrate from every side, and very easily. And I think that it will persuade even the most dull-witted person, from what the blessed Paul cries out, writing to the Galatians: «Brethren, I speak after the manner of man. Yet a man’s testament, if it be confirmed, no man despiseth, nor addeth to it. To Abraham were the promises made and to his seed. He saith not: And to his seeds, as of many: but as of one: And to thy seed, which is Christ.» And that the promise made to Abraham has been fulfilled in those who believe in Christ, and that we must not of necessity transfer the promise to the race according to the flesh, forcing the grace, D Paul himself will assure us, saying: «For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ’s, then are you the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.» I believe that the wealth of what has been said is sufficient to prove the scope proposed for this discourse. But if I seem to you to say little, O Jew, and deem it worthy of no account...
A that these things must be in this manner, it is not my fault, O man, but the crime of your own disobedience. For as to those who have earnestly striven to speak the best things, no blame, I think, can rightly be brought against them for not being able to persuade those who hear them. For they, having most zealously performed what was in their power, would deservedly be free from all charge. But for those who hear what is best, the very act of not wishing to agree with what anyone may rightly say will testify to a most shameful character; just as, indeed, if someone borrowing a loan from another were found both ungrateful and unmindful, he would show not the lender to be wicked, but himself. Since, however, by looking at the experience of physicians, I realize somehow that their professional practice is wise, B and that the remedies they devise for the sick do not fall outside the reasoning of a prudent mind, come let us, emulating their method, treat the slow-to-learn Jew with the same medicines, so to speak. For physicians, when they restore the diet of one who has fallen into illness, if they see that their patient's appetite for food has been destroyed by the disease, suggest that a great variety of dishes be brought forward, and that they gather from all sides what is sufficient for him, acting in this with very good judgment. We, therefore, whose purpose it is to imitate their arts, besides what we have already said, let us add other reflections, and let us strive to bend the Jew, who is suffering from a grave disease of madness, to docility by arguments gathered from every side. Let him see again our Lord Jesus Christ also prefigured of old in Isaac.
3.
Accordingly (for I shall now take up the words regarding this matter), let the most famous Abraham come in again, to whom God said: C “Take your son, the beloved one, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the high land and offer him for a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall tell you.” Gen. XXII, 2. And perhaps to some the command will seem paradoxical and, reasonably, harsh. For if he was an only son and beloved, and born late, the son barely given to him in his old age, how can God advise that he must sacrifice him? And tell me, how could it be anything but filled with every impropriety for a just man to kill his child? Who is so cruel, and so accustomed to the savagery befitting beasts, as to arm his right hand against his child and to treat his own offspring as if he were one of his enemies? What then was the patriarch being taught by such a command? It is necessary, therefore, as far as one can, to speak of it at once. For it is surely manifest to everyone that by our silence, we bury the economy displayed in this event, and we pass judgment on a most gentle nature as if it were inhuman. Since, therefore, it is not otherwise D that the illustrious Abraham, whom God once thus addressed, is again led in: “Take your only-begotten son, whom you love, Isaac, and go into the land of vision, and there offer him as a holocaust upon one of the mountains, which I shall show you.” And an unexpected and perhaps bitter sort of mandate this must seem to have been to Abraham, anyone would rightly judge. For an only and beloved son, born in the twilight of life, whom the parent had received at such a late age after long desire, why does God command that he be immolated? Is it not, I ask you, the behavior of the most reckless and demented temerity for a just man to slaughter his son? Who is then so iron-hearted, and so transformed into the likeness of beasts in the human figure, that he would arm his right hand against his child, and rage after the manner of a foe against him who was born from himself? Therefore, it is necessary that we now explain, as much as the matter itself allows, what the patriarch was being taught by this mandate. For by remaining silent, we allow the mystery of this precept to remain in darkness.A Since the promises that were shown in Isaac were not to be fulfilled by God in any other way than through the cross of Christ, through whom the blessing was to be transferred to all nations, God necessarily willed to demonstrate how great and how significant a grace He was bestowing upon him. For the salvation of the seed descended from him, He delivered His own Son to death, and says to him, and most emphatically, "Take your son," B thereby, as it were, rekindling in him the affection proper to a parent for his one and only child, and He adds, with an addition and repetition, "The beloved one, whom you love, Isaac; and bring him up onto one of the mountains which I shall tell you of," as if to say: so that you may learn, by suffering, what the Father of all later endures, when He offers up to the heavenly essence the Son whom He loved. On which account the Savior Himself, marveling greatly, noted this elsewhere when He said: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Therefore, the patriarch did not sluggishly obey God commanding such things; but, considering the divine command to be better than his affection for his child, and setting aside [his concern for] his son, "Having risen in the morning, as it is written, he saddled his ass, and took with him two servants, and Isaac his son. And having split wood for the burnt offering, he arose and set out, and came to the place which God told him, on the third day. And Abraham, looking up, saw with his eyes the place from afar, and said to his servants: Sit here with the C ass; I and the boy will go over there, and having worshipped, we will return to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son. And he took in his hands the fire and the sword, and the two went together. And having both proceeded, they came to the place which God told him; and Abraham built an altar there, and placed the wood, and having bound Isaac his son, he laid him upon the altar atop the wood; and Abraham stretched forth his hand, taking the sword to slaughter his son. And the angel of the Lord called to him, and said: Abraham, Abraham. And he said: Behold, I am here. And He said: Do not lay your hand upon the lad, and do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, and you have not spared your beloved son for my sake. And Abraham, looking up with his eyes, saw: and behold, a certain ram caught in a thicket of Sabek by its D horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering instead of Isaac his son." 7. This, then, is the order of the narrative as recorded in the monuments of the divine Scriptures, being through and through a prefiguring of the mystery of the Savior.
A It is necessary for us to adapt the beauty of the truth to those things that have occurred in figure, and clearly to unfold each of the things that have been said. For in this way, the profound mystery of piety becomes easily visible to those who hear. The thrice-blessed Abraham, therefore, takes the lad and presses on toward the place pointed out to him by God. He arrives there with difficulty on the third day, having ordered two servants to follow. Now, the fact that the lad was led by the father to the sacrifice signifies, by way of symbol and image, that it was not human power nor the greed of those plotting against Him that led our Lord Jesus Christ to the cross, but the will of the Father—if I may so speak—who economically permitted Him to undergo death for the sake of all. B The Savior Himself also once signified this when speaking to Pilate, saying: "You would have no power against me, unless it had been given to you from above." And another time, when addressing the Father in heaven, He said: "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." The lad does not contradict the Father; "for he humbled himself, although he was God, the Son, becoming obedient to the Father even to death, and death on a cross." Wherefore also through the prophet Isaiah He says: "I do not disobey, nor do I contradict." And that they arrived at the place with difficulty on the third day signifies the final time during which the Savior lived among us. For the first and middle times having gone before, the third will necessarily be the one at the end. C The pair of servants, moreover, who were commanded to follow, indicated again by way of an image that the two peoples D were to follow Christ as He ascended to the saving passion. And that the blessed Abraham saw the place from afar signifies the eternal foreknowledge which the Father has, and which is seen in relation to His own offspring—that is to say, Christ; for thus also Paul says concerning the Savior, that He was "foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in the last times." Then again, following this, the blessed Abraham says to the servants: "Sit here, along with the donkey; as for me and the lad, we will go on until there." What is further signified to us by this, I will explain again as best I am able. He who has just been called to faith, and has desired to follow Christ the Savior, yet is still servilely subject to sins and not yet called to the freedom of righteousness through holy baptism, but still abides in the foolishness and ignorance—which is signified by the donkey—will not clearly see the saving passion, nor will he participate immediately in the sacrifice of the true Lamb. He will remain down below, and will persevere in the humble word of instruction, until
by divine mercy, having shaken off the burden of sin A he is able to ascend, as if to some most radiant and lofty summit of a mountain—to the highest understanding of the divine mystery, according to what has been said by some: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his way, and we will walk in it." And it comes to me with great wonder to consider the blessed Abraham speaking to his servants, as I have already said: "Wait here; I and the lad will go across to that place, and after we have worshipped, we will return to you." He prophesied indeed, as a just man; for it was about to come to pass that they would return. But he kept silent, as a wise man, and did not reveal the mystery to those still uninitiated—leaving us also an example of this very thing in his own person, regarding which the Savior himself also says somewhere: "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." By "pearls," he means the bright and transparent oracles B of the Spirit. Then he says again, that "Abraham placed the wood of the burnt offering upon his son." For the Father, in his dispensation, not only permitted it, but was in a way co-operating; and the Jews, not violating the divine power against its will, placed the cross upon the Savior's shoulders. And we shall find as an untruthful witness to this the prophet Isaiah, who says concerning Him: "The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we were healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; every one has turned aside to his own way, and the Lord has delivered him up to our sins." But when the patriarch had finally reached the place pointed out to him, he built the altar very wisely, so that we might again understand through this, that while to human eyes what was seen upon our Savior was a cross and wood, nonetheless in the eyes of the Father of all, it was a truly great and high altar, C raised for the salvation of the world, and smoking with a holy and most pure victim. That Isaac was placed upon the wood, but the ram was slaughtered in his stead, clearly indicates that although the Word of God ascended the cross, and was in the temple that was hanging, yet the Lord suffered, and not He who is by nature impassible. For the knife was not brought against Isaac—that is, against the Word who proceeded from the substance of the Father—but in his stead, and as He himself led to the slaughter, was the temple from the holy Virgin, which is signified through the sheep. The Word takes the suffering upon himself, and very rightly so; for it was His body, and not that of another. Indeed, even when the body was being scourged again, and spat upon none the less by the all-daring Jews, He himself says through the prophet Isaiah: "I have given my back to D the scourges, and my cheeks to the palms of my hands." For there is one God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed unto the ages. Amen. He who through...
our salvation, having despised shame according as it is written, and having become obedient to the Father, humbled himself even unto death, A so that having died for us and on our behalf, he might raise us up again from the dead with himself, having quickened us through the Holy Spirit; and might open to us the gates of the heavens, and lead us into them, and present before the eyes of the Father the nature of man, which had formerly fled away because of sin. Because of such great achievements of our Savior, beloved, let every mouth be opened unto praise, and let the work of every tongue be the hymnody unto him, and let it cry out as if releasing some clear melody: "God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet." For he has gone up having fulfilled the economy concerning us; and he has gone up not simply, but "having led captivity captive, and given gifts to men." For he has snatched all of us away from the hands of the devil, for he redeemed us who were remaining captives, and he has fulfilled [us] with good doctrines. For manifold are the gifts which have passed to us through the Spirit.
8. Being therefore filled with every blessing from Christ, let us keep the festival, beloved, not becoming gloomy over the profitable labors, nor regarding the sweat in our fastings as some burden, but going toward the struggles with a cheerful mind; and rejoicing in hope, as Paul says, and exulting from here in the good things that are expected. But before all things, let us hold fast to the love toward one another; let the bitter demon of backbiting be driven away; let envy be banished from our souls; let wickedness and guile flee; let falsehood depart, and that which holds the first place among evils, perjury. But let us not swear at all; but let our 'yes' be 'yes', according to the voice of the Savior, and our 'no', 'no'. Let us look upon those who are struggling with the very cruel beast, I mean, in poverty; let us take to ourselves the orphan and the widow; let us soothe the maimed with the fitting treatments; let us be found affectionate and compassionate toward those who are in bonds. For then, then we shall perform the truly true and purest fast to Christ; beginning the holy Forty Days from the sixteenth of the month Phamenoth; and [the week] of the saving Pascha, from the eleventh of the month Pharmuthi; ending the fasts on the twenty-sixth of the same month Pharmuthi, on the evening of the Sabbath; and celebrating [the festival] on the next day, the dawning Sunday, the twenty-seventh of the same month Pharmuthi; joining together in order the seven weeks of the holy
and the twenty-first of the same month of April, adding thereafter the seven holy weeks of Pentecost. For so shall we discern the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory and power, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY VI
A 1. Now that the light of our holy feast is shining forth, and summoning those who have been accustomed to shine with good works to the glorious contest of endurance, it is fitting, I think, for us all to assemble at the spiritual theater, employing these words: "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob," so that we may constitute a most holy band therein, and, knit together by the unity of the Spirit toward one another as if into a single lyre, we may sing to the moderator of our symphony, saying: "All you nations, clap your hands, shout to God with a voice of exultation." For one would justly incur the charge of sloth and hesitation regarding things that are better, if one were not able, as if in discharge of a debt, to render the thanksgiving due to the Savior. B It is He who adorned human nature with innumerable gifts, and by the immense power of His might restored it wholly to the splendor of its former glory, and stripping it of the most shameful garment of sin, transformed it to the form of the archetypal image, delineated in the colors of its own nature, so that whoevercknowledges Him, together with that most wise disciple, may say: "My Lord and my God." To that blessed prophet Isaiah, the voice of the Holy Spirit spoke in these words: "Cry out in strength, do not cease; exalt your voice like a trumpet." Since, however, the rule of the priesthood, and the hereditary office from of old, and a custom worn out by the passage of long time, gives us to understand that this same thing must also be performed by us with great alacrity of mind, C come, let us shout more ringingly than a trumpet; mindful also of that oracle which is written in the Psalms: "It is time for the Lord to act." For that this is the time for the Lord to act, no one, I suppose, will deny. But what it is that ought to be done, someone more eager for learning might justly ask of us. As for me, having greatly admired him who intended to inquire into these matters and to use such an interrogation, I shall not reply to the man badly, but with the holy prophets. Let him therefore hear Isaiah saying: "Let us make peace with Him, let us make peace, we who enter." Since this is somewhat more obscure than that anyone could easily understand and interpret it, D come, let us, imitating the custom of those who are accustomed to bring into the light that which has hitherto lain hidden from ancient times, explain more clearly the meaning of this saying.
2. There is, therefore, naturally inherent in the members of our flesh
A a certain law, so to speak, which arms us against the command of God the Creator, and opposes its own impulses to the desires of the Spirit. Hence, an innumerable swarm of perverse thoughts and unruly desires rises up against the impulses of a will inclined toward better things, and, like an equipped battle line, throws itself in the way of those desires of the soul that strive toward what is useful. This law of the flesh, so wanton and weighing upon us with its tyrannical rule, the blessed Paul also points out clearly in a certain place, crying: "I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." B Therefore, as long as such a law dominates in us and boldly rises up against the desires of the Spirit, and forces our own choice, once despoiled, to be subject to it in all things and to obey it, it renders us entirely most hostile to God, bars peace, and does not allow those over whom it exercises power to enjoy in any part the kindness of their Creator. On the contrary, if, with the mind striving more keenly toward piety, this law itself is weakened, and presents the appearance of those who are defeated in battle, and eventually throws away its shield and turns its back, it leaves an easy and level path for him who has resolved to live rightly and according to the prescription of the divine law toward friendship with God. Hence, the attack of those who oppose us being broken, C we shall easily obey the things that the Spirit commands; and having no antidote, because we shall think that we ought to cherish the peace toward God for which we, who have attained salvation through faith in Him, are striving, "Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness with all these." Let the law of the flesh die, pierced as if by a sharp sword by better desires. Let whatever is earthly and impure in our sense fall. Let the divine law prevail, and let it rather put the enemy to flight than flee itself. For while it is more powerful and superior to the strength of its adversaries, it sows in us every kind of virtue, and renders those who were formerly fugitives most acceptable to the Lord, D and fills the souls of those who lacked it with the hope of the saints, than which nothing is more desirable. But if, by chance, it is agitated by bodily stirrings, like the opposing blast of winds, and retreats backward, then indeed all our security will fall to nothing, as sin gains strength against us—with our own consent—and we shall become "portions of foxes," as it is written, and we shall surrender all the virtue from our souls, handing ourselves over as the wicked and unclean demons take it away; and, like a vineyard that is fenced by neither hedges nor any diligence of keepers, we shall be exposed and left to the license of predators. But if it is desirable for anyone to escape these evils, let everyone strenuously
embrace the exercise of fasting from the heart, the fountain of all holiness, and let him chastise his body and bring it into subjection, and by his willingness to labor, A let him hedge around his own property with thorns, just as one of our wise men has said. For those who are more perfect in habit, and able to taste of more solid doctrines, I think that these things will suffice for them to be able, and very easily so, to set out upon the hunting of what is necessary, and from all sides to glean whatever may appear to them to be advantageous. And they have need, in my opinion, of no long labors. For readiness of mind will suffice for them to be able to succeed, like a river’s current, which, as it were, always washes away the opposing banks, and with irresistible force causes whatever withstands it to vanish. But that which is the greatest of all in the aforementioned hazards, it is hereafter necessary to add. For to those who are disciplined in this way, God himself, who overcomes all things, brings aid; and He becomes for them the strength and power of all, B both rod and staff. And the wisest Psalmist will witness this, saying: "Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me." That the fruits of peace reconciled and maintained with God are brilliant and worthy of admiration, no one, I think, who is endowed with a sound mind, will deny.
3. But reflecting more attentively, and, as those who have climbed to the summit of a hill, endeavor to see as far as the sharpness of their eyes can manage, so I also, casting the eye of my mind in every direction, and carefully contemplating the nature of things as much as possible, believe it right that not only those whom we lately mentioned should be persuaded to be anxious about making peace with God, but another multitude of men also presents itself to me. And just as the fresh and tender C shoots of trees, which just now emerge from the earth that brought them forth, being cultivated by the skill of farmers and irrigated by the introduction of springs, increase, in the same way those also, having just now sprung up in the gardens of the Church, require the diligence of teachers in aiding them, as if they were an irrigated fountain. Among whom I think it to be most appropriate to employ that celebrated voice of the prophet: "Let us make peace ourselves, let us make peace who are coming." But whence these come, or to what place they are eventually proceeding, it is worth observing. For it is clear to everyone that the nations proceed through faith from ignorance to instruction, from rashness to prudence, from a long and congenital error to a truer judgment concerning the things that are, to the knowledge of God, to piety, to a rule of life far different from the former, to liberty, to a D renewing of morals, and, to say it in a word, to a perfection of virtue and a manner of living befitting human nature—beffiting man, I say, gifted with reason and fashioned in the image of his Creator.
A For those who have had their minds led astray by the machinations of the devil, and who are distracted by the fleeting phantoms of idols, saying to the wood, according to the prophet, "You are my God," and to the stone, "You gave birth to me," would justly be considered full of every foolishness, and this verdict is passed upon them by those who have made it their business to judge things rightly. And they seem—for I shall say what is more true—insofar as the nature of the body is concerned, still to preserve the human form, and to declare by their mere appearance and attire that they were born as human beings; but as far as the mind and the things associated with it are concerned, they vie quite eagerly in slowness and dullness with brute animals. One might even grant that they excel in this competition, if one were to observe their actions more attentively. B But lest I appear to be reviling them rather than attempting to prove how far removed they are from their duty, let them hear the very God and Lord of all, pronouncing through one of the prophets the following: "Observe that their heart is ashen and they are led astray." For indeed they are truly led astray, having departed—if I may put it so—from the straight path of the knowledge of God; and being dragged down into every folly by certain senseless deviations and the deceits of distorted reasonings, they go so far as to offer the honor due to an ineffable and transcendent nature to wood and stone, and they judge things fashioned by human industry to be more excellent than men themselves; and those things of which they are by nature made masters, they profess themselves to be, in turn, the slaves. Or could anything seem more absurd to those who examine all things with right judgment?
4. But, as I consider the argument concerning these men, it does not escape me that, alongside these things, there are many who reject such low and abject opinions about the divinity, C and, as if treading a path of error with more sublime steps, think they ought to take refuge in those things among created beings which excel others in nobility. With their eyebrows lifted up to their foreheads, emitting a certain broad and sonorous sound, and stroking a long beard with their hands, they stand in admiration of the structure of the heavens, insofar as it encompasses in its circuit all things that are under the sun, and contains all things as if in a bosom, and is spread over other things like a canopy. Then they curiously examine the positions of the stars within it, and are struck with wonder at the courses of the sun and the moon; and they introduce fire, water, air, and earth as the principles of existing things, and they recount in fabulous terms that the union of these elements D was the root of generated things. When instead they ought to have sought the commander and leader of these things, and to have made a step from the beauty of created things to the knowledge of God, the Author of their beauty, by whose grace they are seen to be adorned, they bestow the entire wonder upon the created things themselves. And how, tell me, could they have fallen more greatly, or how could one have contemplated the nature of existing things more foolishly? Although, I believe, to all beings...
it is most evident that if anyone were to gaze upon a house, or a ship, or anything of that sort, A constructed with the highest art, he does not employ his wonder without judgment, but rather with regard to the position, the construction, the beauty of the things viewed, immediately he imagines the architect, and muses upon who and how great he might be in his mind, the creator of things so beautiful. But these men, occupied only in the volubility of words, and exercised in various disciplines—as they persuade themselves—directing their mind only to what they see, and not carried forward any further in thought, do not recognize God, the creator and parent of all things, nor, having for Him the honor due to the Lord and Maker of all, do they admit any order in created things—in which matter they might have proved themselves prudent and truly wise. But now, they have lapsed into such folly, feeling nothing, that I believe if they had put all their study and effort into this, as the most foolish of men, they could in no way have been more successful in obtaining what they wickedly desired. Yet let Paul come forth for me into the midst and confirm my opinion on this matter with his own testimony: "The wisdom of this world," he says, "is foolishness with God" (I Cor. III, 19). And that this voice of the holy man is consistent with the truth, we shall easily discover C by examining the nature of the whole matter. For, first of all, they bring into life a crowd of gods, unknown even to those who venerate them; then, they strip some of them of this very human form, and in its place attach parts of swine or dogs, so that they present to us a nature polluted, as it were, by adultery; and by an adulterous commixtion of forms, they corrupt the most beautiful figure of all that are seen on the earth. But why do I discourse at greater length about such ridiculous things? Why do I not rather pass on to that which is now necessary to address? What, then, is that? A certain dark night of ignorance has occupied the minds of the Greeks, and like a mist cast upon their understandings, it does not allow them to lift up their eyes and investigate what would be profitable for them; but rather, deceived by uncertain and false reasonings, it fixes them in the greatest ignorance of the doctrines that are handed down from the truth. For what, in the end, have these insane men devised beyond the rest? They deprive man of that which is most excellent within him, and they destroy the great gift of nature. For they do not say, nor do they even wish, him to be master of his own will, or to act with free choice in his own conduct, in such a way that the movement D of each action should lie not in his own desires, but should be assigned to the votes of others. For "Fate" and "Genesis," as they say, according to its own whim, weighs out the life of each; and it assigns to some the most beautiful things, and those with which one might justly wish to associate; but to others it extends again those which one would not choose to follow into—if indeed it be a spontaneous thing—walking in nothing, neither having authority for good things, nor indeed for the reverse; but as if by chains and by necessity, so that...
A nothing remains in which this animal, which has been granted dominion over all things by the decree of heavenly providence, differs from the brute beasts. They act exactly the same way, in my opinion, who subscribe to such dogmas, just as if someone, after appointing a charioteer and placing him upon a chariot, were soon to entrust the care of steering the horses to another. But neither will such a one carry away the glory of victory, nor, if he should fall and be crushed, could he be considered responsible for the mishap himself. For both are the task of others—namely, those who hold the reins—not of him who sat in the chariot to no purpose. For how could a man be justly demanded to give an account for things over which he does not have authority? But that which lies within the choice of the one acting, wherever it may come to or be performed, is clearly his own, and he will not attribute the causes to others.
But that we might demonstrate more clearly to our listeners, by means of facts from the tales B they have woven into their account of life, and through the myths from their own stores—gleaning the refutations of their own folly—that their dogma is filled with no ordinary ignorance, and that the view that man does not use his own counsel in matters to be done, nor walk with autonomous judgment toward whatever he might wish, bears the condemnation of the utmost foolishness, I shall mention a few cases, as I said before. The stories of a certain Tantalus, and Tityus, and Ixion, and the misery of Sisyphus, which are remembered among them, insist—and very much so—that they are paying the penalties, and quite justly, for the things they themselves, naturally, were responsible for. For they say that Tantalus is being punished by a stone hanging most heavily over his head, and by the fear of dangers ever expected. Then, if one were to ask the cause of the evil, he will hear them shouting that he had an unrestrained tongue, and they ascribe the name of the most shameful disease to his passion. And they say that Tityus—the one so named—is stretched out over nine full plethra, and that his liver is being torn apart by a pair of vultures; and they insist that a manner of profligacy became for him the pretext for his incurable calamity. And as for Ixion and Sisyphus, they say that the one is being punished, laid out under never-ceasing rotations and the cycles of a wheel, and the other under long, wearying labor. C Then, in order that they might appear to be being punished justly, they subject them to specific charges of transgressions.
But if, according to their own judgment and understanding, we were to hold that man is subject to the necessities of fate, then, as it seems to me, those transgressions for which they have suffered would not be theirs, but rather those of the Fate that called them to these things, and which holds its own hand under control—partly because it is able to master the judgment of each person. Let those, then, be released from their incurable punishments and their eternal misery, and let the Birth that gained the advantage be condemned instead, and let it be subjected to the executioners, whoever they might be who have decided to do this; or if anyone says that they are being punished justly, he is—in plain, naked terms D
A introducing man into necessity, and destroying the greed of fate, so that the crimes of Tantalus and Sisyphus appear. For if, even among us, the law of justice knows it to be most absurd that the guilty parties themselves should not sooner pay the penalty, but that others should pay it in their stead, how will it not be manifest to everyone, that of the gods considered by them, one could reasonably say that none is more wretched, since the distributors and stewards of all things, trusted with the power to judge, do not possess the ability to judge correctly? And how are ours not better, who deliver a straight judgment on each case, and having discerned that the just man B is worthy of honor, think they ought to hate those who have been shown to be guilty of baser things, chastising them in proportion to the illegal acts for which they have been convicted? But those things, my friend, are what your poets and eloquent men believe concerning these matters. Hear also something of current wisdom among us: “The foolishness of a man subverts his ways, and he rages against God in his heart.” So, if anyone were free from foolishness, he would not have a subverted way, nor would he blame the divine nature at all, as if it were calling him to that which it had even forbidden by law. For those who have established their own mind as a guide and teacher, and as the best judge, always hasten to excel in those things which one would most rightly choose; C and as for all things that alienate them from the best counsel and action, they reject them with a great deal of effort. Therefore, it is not fate and birth—bestowing upon each according to what seems good to them—that make a man either a laborer of evils or a lover of good things; but all men walk voluntarily toward both, and wheresoever it may seem good to each to direct his own affairs, there is nothing to stop him from doing so of necessity. But if, finally, it is necessary to add something to what has been said, and to signify the originator of the Greeks' lack of instruction and how it came about that they fell into such thoughtlessness, I will speak, and quite readily.
5. That ancient demon, the father of sin, D having shown man to be a transgressor of the divine law, and having taken him as one of his captives of war, and, appearing as a tyrant over us through deceit, feared the freedom of nature to which he was naturally prone. For he knew that he knew man had been taught to despise the rule of the divine law, and he had compelled him to serve him, as if captured in war, and was usurping for himself, through fraud, a tyranny over us all, [whereas] nature, which might be carried in whatever direction it pleased, was ruled by its own right.
A For it was eager to flee always toward the better, pricked by the stings of conscience; it hated sin as something alien to nature, and displayed its sorrow in its very countenance whenever it happened to transgress; and if it were somehow stolen away toward this by the titillation of a slight pleasure, even then, so that it might not, having made use of its own autonomy, destroy that pleasure which had played the tyrant—by the tension that draws back toward liberty—and, lamenting long for its sins, ascend to the advantages from the beginning, and, lingering in the works of righteousness, find itself invincible through the assistances from above, the deceiver devised another method, one which he has always made a weapon for his own B malice, stealthily stealing away the greater part of the sorrow felt for sins, and always fighting through guile against the stings of conscience. "You yourselves," he says, "are not the cause to yourselves of the inability to do the better things; nor has God placed temperance in your own powers. He has laid upon you a necessary yoke; fate and birth rule, and it is a necessity to do what is pleasing to them." By such deceptions does the evil one take man captive, and, having beguiled him away from the doctrines of truth, renders him readier for every sin; for by attributing the outcome of his own actions to fate and saying that he is subject to the inescapable bonds of birth, he supposes that he will undergo no punishment for whatever transgressions he may appear to commit. C But those are matters for those who have put aside temperance. Let the heralds of the Church speak, those who have put on Christ and bear the mind of the truth. For we are not ignorant of his thoughts. But that those who are guilty of the deceits just now set forth, and who set their own intellect against the will of the Lawgiver, may not—by being thus long sick of folly—have war against Him against whom they ought least to have it, let them hear what we said from the beginning: "Let us make peace with Him, let us dissolve the enmity; let battle and war depart, let us reach out our right hands to the Savior." Let us seek peace through faith; let us say with the prophet, and we ourselves: "O Lord our God, give peace to us. Lord, take possession of us, for apart from You we know no other, we call upon Your name." (Isa. XXVI, 12.)
D 6. Now, for the children of the Greeks and for those who have just entered the gates of the Church, these things are sufficient for their benefit. But since another multitude is also revealed to me—the one that, on the one hand, is equipped with the weapons of ignorance for the most thoughtless of soldiers, and, on the other, sets its own judgment against the Savior through shadow and type and letter, and holds "the form of knowledge in the Law," as it is written (Rom. II, 20), thinking that it must war against the truth of the realities—come, let us also toward them, for the sake of the love we bear one another, call out: "Let us make peace with Him." How long, O Jew,
A fixed to the letter and the figures, do you repel every force of the truth from yourself? When shall we see an end to your ignorance? When will you withdraw your mind from the shadow in the Law? Or what day shall provide you to us as wiser? When will you offer worship in spirit to God, the King of all? "For God is Spirit, as it is written, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." B But you, abandoning the worship in spirit, and having chosen the path that leads to the worse rather than the one that directs to all that is best, delight in the grossness of the letter; and then you think you are honoring God through this, and while you cast off the most precise discernment of the Law, as if you possessed all knowledge of what is written, you do not perceive that you are babbling. Come, then, let us also discuss for your sake a few things regarding those matters which are held in honor among you. For you will understand, I think, and quite easily from this—if it is possible for you to want to be wise—that you have been spending long periods of time in error.
C 5. You accept, indeed, as a great thing, and as most opportune for worship, circumcision in the flesh. You marvel excessively at the cessation of work on the Sabbath, and you delight in the slaughter of sheep; but you persuade yourself that you greatly please God when you appear to Him sacrificing oxen. And regarding the kinds of foods and the discernment of them, there is much and precise talk among you; you boast in these, as if these exercises were bringing forth for you the fruit of absolute virtue; here you have set for yourself the extreme limits of glory. But I declare the wisdom and understanding of the Lawgiver, from whom the Law was promulgated, to be admirable beyond what can be said or thought. D I would accuse the Jews, and with very good reason, of stupidity and temerity. For not only are they dull and sluggish of themselves in discerning matters, but they refuse to be corrected by others when they err, and they deliver themselves over to be ruled by their own folly, so that they remain perpetually destitute of every fruit of good things. But let them also hear the voice of the prophet: "Awake, you who are drunk from their wine." Come, then, let us consider what utility exists from being circumcised, or what benefit the Author of the Law intended to impart to us through this. For indeed, to cut off the secret parts of the body, which nature uses for generation, unless it has a most beautiful reason underlying it, would surely be ridiculous. Nay, rather, it would imprint a certain mark upon the supreme Artificer, as if He had degraded the body fashioned by Himself throughout as an empty and superfluous work. But then, if the matter is so, and we believe there is no other force in what has been said, must it not necessarily be confessed that the divine Mind erred through ignorance of what is becoming? For if, in circumcision, those things which are more suitable to the nature and dignity of the body are preserved, why was this not, by all means, better and superior in the beginning? Tell me, then, who would suggest that the unerring and incorrupt nature has set anything in sins—
or, seeing that God, the Creator of all things, fashioned the kinds of irrational animals, is it not evident that in their construction there appears nothing lacking with respect to the most exact beauty, nor anything appended superfluously? He is entirely free from blame on both counts, and has escaped the charge in either matter. A How could God, the most consummate craftsman, who has exerted such providence in lesser things, have failed in the most precious of all? And, while bringing him who is after His image into the midst of the irrational animals, could He have caused him to appear more base, if indeed in them there is nothing, but in him there is some space allowed for sin? But I believe that the Jews themselves would agree that, unless something of the good things were signified by the circumcision in the flesh, it would be worthy of laughter that they should appear superior to those in whom the Saviour dwells and the Holy Spirit resides.
Come now, once again applying the speech appropriate to the ordinances of the Lawgiver, let us demonstrate that the meaning contained within them is most worthy of account. B Why, therefore, does the law given through Moses command that the infant be circumcised on the eighth day and be presented to the Lord God, after the customary sacrifice has been performed for him? Then, what is the contemplative truth we are to be taught, which is indicated through the circumcision in the flesh? It is time, at last, for us to reveal this as clearly as possible, and so that everyone may be persuaded that the reasoning concerning it has been best investigated by us.
C The mind within us, therefore, is the most fruitful of all things by nature, having within itself the seeds of every virtue, and, as if from the earth, being ever supplied with the desires for each of the noblest things from its own movements; for it was made thus by the Creator. But upon it runs about, like a covering, an oblivion sprouting as if from an innate root, which is indeed the nurse and mother of all impurity. This, spread like a mist, wraps around and feeds upon the better desires, and after it has covered the love of the best things as with shadows, it trades the sense of memory in us for the earthly mindset instead of the spiritual, and so it shows D man to be filled with every impurity.
And so, those to whom this has happened are addressed through the prophetic voice: "Remember, you who are far from the Lord, and let Jerusalem come up into your hearts." For it was necessary, it was necessary, as if water being poured upon a fire, for the memory of good things to be poured upon the evils caused by oblivion; and through contrary remedies to cause the rest to vanish. Therefore, as long as the mind within you is covered over by the evils from oblivion, and—naturally disposed as it is to give birth to the most beautiful things—is clouded over by the ignorance arising from them,
A we truly become at that time impure and most loathsome; and why, indeed, should we not be judged as such by God? By casting off the oblivion of better things, and by cutting away the faults that spring up from thence like excremental offshoots, we shall preserve a mind within us that is free from all depravity, bare of evils arising from wickedness, manly, and most fruitful. Thus, having made the obsolescence of sin a stranger to our own souls, and having transformed ourselves into the infancy of innocence, we shall stand before God with confidence. Yet we shall not present ourselves entirely on our own, just as even the newborn infant does not present itself to God. Rather, Christ, who regenerated us through faith, will present us, offering Himself up as a sacrifice to the Father on our behalf; and He will present us on the eighth day—that is, after the B observance of the Sabbath which was prescribed by the Law. For this day marks the time of the coming of our Savior, since Christ is the end of the Law and the prophets. For this reason, I think—or rather, to speak more precisely—the eighth day has been named "the Lord’s day" C among us, as it is a day that finally closes the time of the Law, while introducing for us the beginning of the Lord’s times, in which all things have been made new. As, indeed, Paul himself also says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We should think that this is the pattern of the concepts that He brings to us, concerning the circumcision of the flesh, which was performed, as I said, on the eighth day, and brought the newborn into the sight of God. Let the most wise Paul, the steward of the Savior’s mysteries, also bear witness to these things, and let him come forward and cry out: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” And let him again write to others about these same things, saying thus: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” For the boasting of D circumcision according to the flesh, if it is considered by itself and does not receive any radiance from the accompanying contemplation, would, in the judgment of the wise, be considered to be nothing at all. But if it bears the pattern of spiritual circumcision and is understood to signify the purification of a cleansed mind, then perhaps someone might commend it, inasmuch as it most aptly adumbrates and indicates that which was more difficult to grasp by the intellect, and, with the pain of the body omitted, will think only of the cleansing of the mind. And this is exactly what the prophetic word, which the Israelites were urged to practice, also advised, saying thus: “Thus saith the Lord: Break up for yourselves new ground, and sow not upon thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and circumcise the hard-
- A ness of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Consequently, if anyone is circumcised in the flesh, he cannot be said to be circumcised to God in any absolute sense; but he who receives spiritual circumcision through the evangelical preaching is circumcised to the Lord of all himself, not by the legal letter, which exhibits only a kind of shadow of the truth. But let us hear Paul most clearly declaring that the force of circumcision in truth is not placed in any cutting of the body, but in the sole will to obey divine precepts: “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing.” And, lest he who declares that that which is judged worthy of great honor in the Law is nothing should seem to be merely making a noise with words, he explains it still more B clearly, saying: “For circumcision indeed profits if you observe the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. If, therefore, the uncircumcision keeps the righteousness of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And he who is uncircumcised by nature, yet fulfills the Law, will judge you who are a transgressor of the Law through the letter and circumcision.” Since, therefore, he declares that circumcision is seen to be profitless in those who have undergone it, when it does not lead them to approval through their deeds, while those who still preserve their uncircumcision by nature are found to be better keepers of the Law than those who are not like them, I should gladly learn from the most insipid Jew what pride remains for it. Moreover, if it pleases C one to add something to what has been said, the same Paul affirms that circumcision was a symbol of another thing as well, and like a seal of that faith which the patriarch of the race, Abraham, had in uncircumcision, that he might be the “father of many nations,” not only, he says, to those of the circumcision, “but also to those who follow in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had in uncircumcision. For he believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness,” not having yet received circumcision; but after faith and the justification resulting from it, circumcision became to him a sign of that which had been done.
D 9. Receive therefore, O Jew, the sword of the Spirit; put off the hardness of your heart, as it is written, “Be circumcised to the Lord.” Learn to keep the Sabbath, not as you yourself think to be good, but as the will of the Lawgiver ordains. For it is worth seeing what the Lawgiver says regarding this matter as well. He commands to abstain from works and to be released from bodily labors on the Sabbath. He does not wish anyone to go out of Jerusalem, nor to stretch out on long journeys. And he requires that one not use foods prepared at the moment, but that bodies be tended with feasts already prepared beforehand.
A Furthermore, he entirely forbids the carrying of anything, or the lifting of any burden, clearly commanding this by the voice of Jeremiah: "Do not carry burdens on the Sabbath day, nor bring them through the gates of Jerusalem, nor cast out burdens from your houses on the Sabbath day." These are the things by which the Law prescribes for you the observances of the Sabbath.
But let him come forth into our midst again, he whose heart is set on tenaciously defending the letter, and let some one of the Jewish party tell us whether any wise reason is underlying what is ordained by God, or whether the power of the divine mysteries does not reach at all beyond the meager expressions and the naked letter. For if he would acknowledge with truly prudent counsel that the thickness of the letter is laid over the hidden meanings like a veil, he should investigate the secret senses, and not, by lingering too willingly on the things pronounced in figure, begrudge himself the understanding of the most beautiful things; but if he has persuaded himself that one must cling only to the naked letters and think nothing beyond them, and then strives to persuade others also, the word spoken by the Savior will be fitting for him: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven before men. For you do not enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to enter."
B Come now, since we have begun a discourse concerning the Sabbath, let us consider more attentively the nature of the matter, and examining the force of the arguments more subtly, we shall easily discover from this, too, that the mindset of the Jews is full of the most foolish rashness.
C 10. For what, I ask you, was the reason that impelled the Creator of all things, besides all the other things which he knew to have been rightly constituted, to think also of ordaining a cessation on the Sabbath, while all created things continue to be moved by the movements of nature, and do not interrupt, on account of any Sabbath, the action which each has been allotted? For the sun rises and does not cease to complete its accustomed course with restless turning; nor is the earth, clad on all sides with trees and conspicuous for its manifold variety of plants, deprived of its adornment on the Sabbath, nor does it cease to nourish the fruits D born from itself. And likewise the springs and the mothers of cold waters do not at any time withhold their flow by compressing their breasts, nor do they provide a smaller supply of waters than that which they are accustomed to bestow.
But do not now say, O Jew, that you believe that such laws were established by the Creator for every created thing, according to which it is natural for them to be moved, and to live and be preserved. For if, as you think, he wished the Sabbath to be honored by cessation, and no other benefit came to us through such a law, why did he not bind all things completely to it? And what, I ask you, is this one point [which is the subject of—*remainder of page ends mid-sentence*]
A of the argument concerning rest, which introduces a twofold contemplation?
11. For after the Israelites, having departed from the land that bore them, settled in the land of the Egyptians, as time passed C they did not even continue to keep in memory that they were Hebrews by race and sprang from the root of Abraham, as is accustomed to happen. For, forgetting the ancestral customs and having renounced the piety they had received from their forefathers, they turned to the idolatries of the inhabitants. As if they believed that they would be inflicting a notable insult upon those who had received the refugees into their land unless they themselves also slipped into the same errors to which their hosts were addicted, they considered that it was necessary to worship the sun; and they thought that the glory due to God D ought to be assigned to the sky and the earth, to the moon and the stars, and indeed to which of the elements did they not think this should be given? For deep was the darkness of ignorance for them; and, as Paul says, they served the creature rather than the Creator. Since, however, it was of the utmost concern to the Lawgiver to deliver them from the cruelty of the Egyptians and that bitter slavery, and to call them to the land of promise, he commanded them, without any preamble, to cast off the errors accepted in Egypt: "Watch," he says, "lest, lifting up your eyes to heaven and seeing the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all the host of heaven, you be led astray and worship them. The Lord your God, the Lord is one." But since it was fitting, even through [(column b)] ...evil, as far as we are concerned, to cook some food for oneself, or to buy flour on the day of the Sabbath, or to prepare other foods in haste for the nourishment of the body? Yet the Law, signaling it as a matter of great importance and one not to be neglected, first forbids that any work be done, then allows no burden to be carried out from the house, but does not even permit anyone to travel far from the gates of Jerusalem, and orders that feasts—not prepared with present care, but provided by counsel already before—be consumed at the table and in the banquet, and attaches a capital penalty to those who transgress these things. Yet these things are of such a nature that no one would bear any accusation of sin if they did something of this sort at any other time; nor would any sane man say that these things are counted in the place of crimes by the decree of the law itself, which, however, very clearly explains other things from which one must abstain altogether. For those things: "You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false witness," B and whatever things similar to these are placed in one and the same order, must be avoided by a man desirous of escaping punishment not only on the Sabbath, but one shall completely avoid them at all times. From which it is easy, I think, for all to understand that there is no fault in those things which are forbidden to be done on the Sabbath, but that rather a beautiful image of realities is depicted for us in them, which I shall not be unwilling to explain to the best of my ability for your benefit. And first indeed we shall institute a discourse on cessation, in which it is permitted to contemplate and explore in the mind two things.
11. For after the Israelites had stood fast in Egypt, with the passage of time, they no longer even exercised the memory, as is wont to happen, that they were sprung from the Hebrew race and from the stock of Abraham. Hence, forgetting the ancestral customs and having renounced the piety which they had received from their forefathers, they were converted to idolatry by the contagion of the inhabitants, as if they were persuaded that a notable injury would be inflicted by them upon those who had received the refugees into their homes, unless they themselves also slipped into the same errors to which they were addicted. Therefore they believed that the sun was to be worshipped as God, then they thought that veneration owed to God ought to be granted to the sky, the earth, the moon, and the stars, and finally to all the elements. For they were held bound in the dense darkness of ignorance, and, as Paul says, they served the creature rather than the Creator. But when it was of the greatest concern to the author of the Law to deliver them from the cruelty of the Egyptians and that hard servitude, and he was calling them into the land of promise, he ordered them—every allure of words being removed—to lay aside the errors adopted in Egypt: "Watch," he says, "lest, with eyes lifted to heaven, and seeing the sun and the moon and the stars and all the ornament of the heaven, you be deceived by error and adore them. For the Lord your God, the Lord is one." But since besides
A there was need of some token sought from the very things themselves, whereby they might be compelled even against their will to confess that the heaven was made by its Creator, and that the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, and all the rest of creation were set in motion to exist by the arts of Him who created them, He bids them imitate the Creator. And by resting on the Sabbath, He wishes them to know the cause of the festival: "For God," he says, "rested from all His works on the seventh day." But those who strive to rest along with the Creator, how could they not confess, and that very clearly, that all things were made, and that there is one Maker and Artificer of all? It has happened, therefore, through the rest on the Sabbath, that word concerning the Divinity is brought to those from Israel, and the nature of the Artificer and Creator of all is recognized, and the servitude of the visible elements is not unknown. This is one reason for the rest on the Sabbath.
B There is, moreover, a second reason, and one full of gravity, and most suitable for those who have a more absolute perfection of virtue. "For stronger food of instruction should not be set before those who are still infants, but before those who by use have their senses exercised," as Paul says. This rest, therefore, and the cessation from works enjoined on the Sabbath, signifies the future rest of the saints at the end of time; when, having shaken off their toils, and wiped away the sweat they had contracted in the stadiums, and having returned to the city above, the heavenly Jerusalem, they will spend all time in rest and delight; no longer occupied with works and the burdens of labor, but having the noble deeds of their past life as a viaticum for salvation, they will nourish their souls for immortal life. For this, I believe, is what is signified by the command that food should be prepared beforehand on the Sabbath.
C And as for the fact that it was not permitted to any to weigh themselves down with burdens, that is, with loads, on the Sabbath, it seems to signify, according to our understanding, that after the resurrection from the dead, in the Sabbath that will be celebrated in the city above, the burden of sin will no longer weigh upon us; nor will the enemy again torment us, enticing us into lawlessness. He, indeed, will be enduring the punishments of eternal fire in hell, but we shall be entirely freed from the sin that works in us. The fact, moreover, that they remained within the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath seems to signify, through these same things, that they will stay within by the same means. For those who once have reclined among the choirs of the saints, and have entered into the Church of the firstborn, will never depart from the security of D joy; nor will they depart from the gift given to them, but will remain in it forever, having their minds fortified by the grace of the Spirit. For so it is written: "Everlasting joy shall be over their heads." For by
their heads, indeed, is praise and glory; sorrow, and pain, and sighing have fled away. And they shall forget their first tribulation, and it shall not come into their heart. B That the Sabbath implies the rest which will be for the saints at the consummation of the ages, let Paul himself be our witness, and let him speak to the Hebrews, writing about the ancients: “Let us fear therefore, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them.” And because it might seem to those who do not know how to understand that he is here calling the entry into the land of promise—which was fulfilled under the leadership of Jesus (I mean Jesus, who was called Nave)—rest, to show more clearly that he is not even thinking of that rest in the least, but is pointing to the future one we await, and is directing the aim of his thoughts toward that as a goal, he adds immediately afterward: “For if Jesus had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day after this. There remaineth therefore a sabbatism to the people of God,” calling it a “sabbatism” here most clearly: the rest of the saints at the end of time. And he gives an accurate sign of the meaning immediately thereafter, by adding: “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Perceive clearly, and understand, O Jew, through these words spoken by him who was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, who possessed the knowledge of the entire Law, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee according to the Law: that he is saying the typical cessation, that according to the Sabbath, which is brought in through the letter of the Law, is nothing at all, but rather he terms it an image of the good things we hope for, and of the rest to be given to the saints at that time, when the Savior of all shall come from heaven in the glory of his Father, as it is written, and distribute the rewards to the saints. But I think our discussion concerning these things has been sufficient, and so it is time to move on to matters that are customary and more suitable.
Since, therefore, the children of the Greeks were led astray, serving the creature rather than the Creator, and, poured into polytheistic error, they were rushing headlong into the broad gate of death, while the Jews, on the other hand, so sinned against their own souls that they took no care of the Law at all, but considered it burdensome, and supposed that those who suggested the best things were speaking nonsense, crying out openly to those whom grace from above had taken by the hand and was leading: “Speak unto us other things, and announce to us another error; take away from us this path, and turn away from us the word...
of Israel.” A Necessarily, therefore, the Lord of all no longer employed certain ministers and servants as curators of our salvation, but, setting Himself against the devil who tyrannized over us, He became man. And indeed, He is born through the holy Virgin, and while offering many signs and wonders together with His teaching words, He transformed all things for the better, and, reshaping the human nature that had withered away into the newness of life, He brought it before the Father, as if freed from chains, and called to Himself those who had been crushed by sin, with a most gentle decree, saying: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” B Such, then, was the state of our affairs. But the tyrant, inflamed with madness at the glorious deeds of our Savior, was carried away by rage, and he reckoned our salvation as his own calamity; and, as if cast down from the dominion which he had acquired for himself with impotent greed, he was consumed by deep sorrow. For when he perceived the divine preaching shining everywhere like the sun, and the mist of ancient impiety already being dissipated, he received sharp pangs on this account; and seething with anger and consumed on all sides by the goads of envy, he strove to envelop Life in the shroud of death. And the utterly demented one, having supposed that he could make the Lord, who had arrived to provide salvation for the world, subject to the bonds of corruption, persuaded certain of the Jews who shared his opinion to become ministers to him in this drama and supporters of his impious audacity. These men, even by delivering the Lord of all to the cross, surpassed even the opinion of the devil in the magnitude of the crimes they committed, and by outdoing him in audacity, they caused him, the master and author of the struggle of this kind, to appear as a novice. The Savior of all, however, having managed perfectly and most skillfully those things which pertained to the salvation of our race, laid down, as it is written, His life for us, inasmuch as He was a good shepherd and did not refuse to face danger on behalf of the flock of His sheep. C But the leader and author of the Jewish crimes, and he who had constructed the trap for himself, at length perceived that he was frustrated in his hope, when he learned from the result that the matter had fallen out in a way entirely contrary to what he had wished. And like a ship's captain among the sea's waves—when the ship is being driven by a favoring wind but is tangled in its own rigging—he was tormented by the realization that the outcome of events in no way corresponded to his expectation. For he who had hoped to usurp dominion and to oppress us with a tyranny more harsh than before was deprived of all power to dare anything thereafter. For like a wild beast, being bound with indissoluble chains, and being drained of the strength he possessed, he made his place and city the deepest abyss of death; and, deceived by cold hopes, he who had once seemed like to the Most High and had meditated upon establishing his throne above the heaven could not name anything more wretched than Hades. For the souls of men D
A which had been ensnared to destruction by his wickedness, came forth from the subterranean gates, and escaping the abyssal recesses, they fled from the sunless gloom of death. Having swum through that deep darkness, they proceeded toward the light of the Savior. For He who said to those in bonds, "Come forth," and to those in darkness, "Show yourselves," stood present. B Since hell had been despoiled of spirits and the power of death had been undone, the Savior rose as victor; by restoring His own temple on the third day, He depicted in a very effective manner, as if by an example, the resurrection of bodies. And having established in us all hopes rooted in good things, having given instructions to His own disciples and commanded them to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, He ascended into heaven itself, C so that He might show to the Father the human nature, which had been crushed by the blemish of sin, now blooming again through the gift of grace unto immortality, and might offer Himself to the Begetter as a kind of first-fruits of the harvest.
Therefore, beloved, in rendering small returns to the Savior and gladdening the Benefactor with thanksgivings to the best of our ability, let us confess our own poverty, saying: "What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to me? I will take the cup of salvation, and will call upon the name of the Lord." For indeed, he truly drains the cup of salvation, whoever gives thanks to God; but while we give thanks with words and prayer, let us offer to Him those same things accompanied by righteous deeds: keeping the body far removed from all impure pleasure, D and likewise purifying the spirit, and striving to render it free from all wickedness, visiting those who are maligned, consoling those in poverty, lightening the burden of calamity for orphans and widows, binding ourselves in the sympathy of pain to those in chains, and succoring the oppressed, as if we ourselves were still in the body. For by holding to such a venerable way of life, and performing all things according to the divine law, we shall be well-pleasing to Christ our common Savior, beginning the holy Quadragesima from the first day of the month of Phamenoth; and the week of the saving Pascha from the sixth of the month of Pharmouthi; ending the fasts on the eleventh of the same month of Pharmouthi, on the evening of the Sabbath, according to the evangelical tradition; and celebrating the feast on the following Sunday, the twelfth of the same month of Pharmouthi; joining next the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost directly to it, so that we may be deemed worthy of the communion of the saints in the heavens in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father be the glory and the power with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
societatem in cœlis consequamur in Christo Jesu Domino nostro, per quem et cum quo Patri gloria et imperium cum sancto Spiritu, nunc et semper et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
HOMILY VII
A “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). For behold, by the same annual cycles, the season of our most desired holy feast arrives and rises upon us, similar to those who are being brought from a foreign land back to their homeland; now it is seen in the harbor, and next it fastens its cables to the shore. Since it is already present, and has almost become a resident among us, I think it is fitting and appropriate that we, especially if we have taken upon ourselves the divine priesthood and carry the sacred trumpet upon our tongue, should announce the festival with brilliant signs, and gather everyone from all sides into one, as it were, choral dance, saying according to the holy Psalmist: “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 34:11). For to allot to each time what is appropriate to it is, I think, something very good and wise. And to strive to miss nothing in the search for what is beneficial is something I say is most appropriate for those alone who are in the habit of doing good. Therefore, since the season of glorious sweat has been shown to us, let us promptly seize it while it is here. Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement, and through good fasting let us mortify the members which are upon the earth: fornication, impurity, passion, and evil desire (Col. 3:5). For thus, yes, thus shall we be associated with the all-pure God, who says: “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44). B Indeed, the most skilled physicians of our bodies, by means of various invented remedies, provide medicine for human bodies; and to those who are troubled by those things which are wont to harm the properly tempered constitution of the elements within us, they apply annual cleansings. These cause a little distress at the moment to the one approaching them, but they send him away free from no small diseases. Therefore I think it is incumbent upon us in turn to consider it of great importance to store up for ourselves safety for the future; and by choosing to endure moderate pain from things that are beneficial—that is, by not refusing to suffer a little—we avoid falling into harsher and greater, or rather, into cruel and unavoidable, torments of punishment. C Since we know and are convinced of these things, what else remains for us to do, but to put on a manly spirit, and in place of purgative medicines, to admit into our souls the most pure fasting—fasting, I say, from which all virtues are born, which points the way toward holiness, and whose task it is to keep the mind assiduously urged to desire first place in honorable things? For it contends against the perverse motions of the soul; it destroys the law of the flesh that rages more fiercely in our members; and it calms the mob of pleasures that D [are set in opposition against us], and—as if crying out something great and resonant—it says: “Present your members as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your rational worship” (Rom. 12:1). But I do not think that anyone, having such a glorious victor
A in our midst, would struggle—shouting almost with a vehement and intense voice—unless he were to come forward full of youthful confidence and, furthermore, willingly undergo as many labors as possible for the sake of virtue, accounting B the toil undergone for the sake of goodness his own glory. For just as those who exercise themselves in the wrestling schools—though they abound in great bodily strength and pride themselves no less on the skill of their art—if they enter the arena gloomy and trembling before the very sight of their adversaries, and, already defeated by fear, commit themselves to the dust of the stadium, they fall immediately (inasmuch as they have enervated themselves through fear before they even grapple with their adversaries); whereas those who have suffered nothing of the sort, and who often by the mere bearing of their bodies disturb the boldness of their antagonists, carry off the victory: so too, I think, and no otherwise, it happens with those who, obeying the divine law, strive to pursue a manner of life that is exceptional. For the person who is courageous and most steadfast rejoices in laboring rather than feeling burdened, and he counts the struggles as wealth and luxury. But the cowardly and effeminate man, held fast by the slothful disease of inaction, shudders and recoils even at the mere hearing that one must labor to be wealthy. Therefore, the Wise Man somewhere attacks such people with these words: “How long, O sluggard, will you lie down? You will sleep a little, you will doze a little, you will fold your hands a little to sleep. And poverty will come upon you like a traveler, and destitution like an armed man” (Prov. 6:9-11). Let us therefore flee the losses arising from sloth; let us avoid the poverty of virtues; and let us drive away destitution of good things as the most shameful of all diseases. “Let us act manfully, and let our heart be strengthened,” as it is written (Ps. 26:14). For of this very virtue our Lord C Jesus Christ Himself gave us the sign, saying: “Amen, amen I say to you, whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38). I think it necessary—nay, I maintain that it is accepted by all—that he who is willing to follow Christ should be superior to all cowardice, and that he should, in truth, be above all fear, having taken up his own cross upon his shoulders. Just as, therefore, it is impossible for a newborn infant, with small and most tender feet, barely able to walk a little way, to equal the speed of the youth who pursues, so it is impossible for a mind that looks only to ease to follow in the footsteps of Christ; who endured the cross, despising shame, and tasted the bitterness of death for our sake, even though He is God, impassible and immortal, as He is the Word and the Only-begotten of the Father, so that by setting Himself before us as a pattern and example, He might call us to the emulation that is within our power. For on account of this very accomplishment, the great Paul also boasted in his own boldness, saying: D “Be imitators of me”
A even as I am of Christ.” With what prerogatives, then, did the disciple of Christ, the soldier of Christ, hasten to crown himself—he who was also justly and deservedly appointed a leader over us because of the virtue he possessed? Surely he was such a lover of Christ that he considered suffering all things as nothing, provided that he might be found a genuine disciple of Christ. For listen, if you will, to him crying out to some of his acquaintances who were attempting to discourage him from the prizes set before him: “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Such, then, was the faith in that man. As for what pertains to his life and actions, when you hear how he conducted himself, you will be struck with wonder. For this man, who had advanced so much in virtue, in the battle that he waged against his own body, made use of fasting as his chief weapon; and like a most seasoned soldier, girding himself with the honorable motions of his intellect, he overcame the laws of the flesh. B And having captured, as it were, like a prisoner of war, the pleasure that holds sway in our members, he subjected it to the commands of the Spirit. Yet, so that he might benefit us through these things, he writes in his Epistles, at one time saying that he had been “in fastings often,” and at another time, “I buffet my body and bring it into bondage, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” For he remembered, as was fitting, his own Lord crying out: “Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Therefore, what he himself had preached to others, he hastenened to perform, putting a bridle of fasting upon his flesh C and taking up abstinence as a helper, by which he might more easily strive toward such an admirable virtue. Nor do we learn these precepts from him alone, nor did he wish his disciples to remain within the limits of temperance alone. For it was not enough for glory if one were destitute of all other virtues. Rather, he rightly points out the way to each of those things by which we can be helped, and leads us to the chief of all good things—I mean mutual love, which the Lord also defines as the most accurate mark of those who are his genuine followers, saying: “By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” And it is worth seeing by what words the divine Paul also guides us toward this virtue. For, writing to the Corinthians, he says thus: “And yet I show you a way still more excellent. If I speak with the tongues D of angels and of men, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I distribute all my goods, and if I...
deliver my body that I may be burned, but have not love, I am profited nothing. A You see how, in the absence of love for God and for one another, he declares that the assembly of the other virtues, however praiseworthy, is seen to be unsightly and stripped of beauty; but when it is present, it renders for those who possess it a most fitting and renowned splendor? Could someone say, then, that while he praises love as a great and admirable thing, he has not defined its method, nor explained how one might fulfill it? Do not speak ill, O man; the sober disciple passes over nothing that is necessary. For he was not only eager to teach that love toward God and toward one another is to be held in high honor, but he also demonstrates how one might become a worker of it. For he adds again immediately: B "Love suffers long, love is kind; love does not envy, does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; all things bear, all things believe, all things hope, all things endure. Love never fails." You hear how for those who desire to ascend to the dignity of love and mutual affection, the way is not difficult, but appears already ready and prepared? You see the road to the resulting excellence, not hidden, but shining forth like the sun? If, then, we walk through this road, and moving as it were along the saints' thoroughfare according to it, we shall reach the city above, whose maker and builder is God. But turning toward the opposite, and failing from an upright and straight mind, then driving along the distorted path of life, we shall arrive at the depths of hell, as the wise author of Proverbs says. I consider it strictly necessary that we, being rational humans, and created in the image of the immortal Creator, should be tamed by the laws of love, and should strive rather to imitate the Lord who says: "Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." We should not slip into the wildness of untamed beasts, and instead of love, whet ourselves into a state of mutual hatred, or rather, be seen as wilder than wild beasts and more irrational than irrational animals. For beasts—and in addition to them the multi-formed kinds of irrational animals—although they are not governed by reason toward an excellent disposition, yet they somehow love to live together and have common dwellings. For an ox gladly feeds with oxen, and sheep with sheep. Even dogs, which have often been rabid against many others, and which have a ferocity that is as it were their own particular advantage, have been admired for loving one another as those of the same race. Bears indeed [love] those of their own kind, and lions... D
B lions. But man, to whom the right of dominion over all these things has been granted, and who is guided in all things by wisdom and reason—as if by a rudder—does not perceive that he has fallen into the deepest folly. For he considers a savage manner to be a mark of bravery; and to look for the most part toward ferocity, he considers to be a manifest glory; not respecting our common nature, not honoring Him who created it, and not contemplating anything whatever that might lead him toward a healthy state of mind. Instead, he boastfully prides himself, without any instruction, in those very things over which he should rather blush and mourn, so that Paul might justly say: "Whose glory is in their shame" (Phil. 3:19). And the blessed prophet, C marveling at this, says: "Have not all one God created us? Have not one Father created all of us? Why do you forsake each one his brother?" (Mal. 2:10). For all of us who inhabit this terrestrial region are found to have sprung from one father. For there is one forefather of our race, Adam; and one God created us—not that we should be divided against ourselves and fall into discord, but rather that, blooming as it were from one root and bound together by certain natural ties of love, we might put aside the passions that are contrary to nature, and command the anger that rages in fratricide to be banished from the bounds of our minds.
2. And this discourse is directed most especially to you, C all who inhabit the region of the Egyptians. For it was fitting, greatly fitting, that there should be spiritual fathers to admonish you well, leading you as children toward the things that are profitable and toward an orderly way of life. But now, grave rumors reach us, indicating that the foulest and most atrocious crimes of all are being committed by some among your number. For young men, it is said, trusting in the strength of their bodies and abusing the gift of their youth for those things least appropriate, and acting with the utmost audacity, arm their right hands with fearful swords, and make them accustomed to wielding heavy clubs, far more savagely than the law of local custom allows. Then, they spend the vigor of their bodies on unholy pursuits. For they either gather causes for anger against their neighbors D and rage against those nearby in an insane manner, or, loving the ruinous taking of another’s money, they do not realize they are binding themselves with inescapable nets, and subjecting their own heads to death and bitter dangers. For thus it is written: "Iniquities hunt a man; and each one is bound by the cords of his own sins." But, O children, according to the
A apostle Paul—for I protest with a loud voice already—"Admonish the disorderly, instruct" those who, from unbridled youth, are still governed by thoughtlessness, to whom I myself now shout: Put an end to such advantages; cease from grieving and provoking against yourselves the King and Lord of all, and shake from your hand the murderous sword, and cast from your mind the unjust desire for others' possessions. Repress the impulses you have against one another; restrain your anger; cease from lawless undertakings. Do not be seen like that Cain, I mean the fratricide, the savage one, the teacher of impiety through blood. But to him the Creator of all said: "The voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground." The message reaches all who are of the same character. For let each of those who dare such things listen, as even now God cries out no less: "The voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground." But even as it was said to him again: B "Groaning and trembling you shall be upon the earth," so too will the God of love say again to each of those like him. For what is more cowardly than the one doing lawless deeds? Or what speech does not make him tremble? Whose glance, even just seeing it turned toward himself, does he not shrink from? For the conscience always flags within, failing, weakened by the judgments of the committed crime. "But the righteous, as a lion, is confident," and being witnessed to by a free conscience in every kind of honest action, he easily disdains every crime brought against him. Nothing is more abject than a soul given over to sins. Therefore, that we may speak with the prophet: "Awake, you who are drunk from your wine; weep and wail, all you who drink wine to drunkenness, because gladness and joy have been removed from your mouth." For is not such a word truly seen upon us by experience itself? O farmers of Egypt, what story is there for us at the present time? What speech has gladness and joy? And who among you, small or great, because of the recently conceived wrath, has been seized by such stupor C that he can refrain from weeping and complaining, and does not show a face suffused with tears, so that that prophetic word may also deservedly be said of us: "Farmers, weep for the wheat and barley, because the harvest has perished from the field. The vine has withered; and the fig trees have been diminished. The pomegranate, and the palm, and the apple, and all the trees of the field have withered; because the sons of men have shamed their joy." For God, who is by nature good and merciful, showed us the land flourishing with most cheerful fruit; and the clusters of the ears of corn were high, giving birth to most abundant hope for those who had labored, and making the soul of the farmer full of cheer; but they shamed their own joy.
A For since some turned themselves to manslaughter, and drenched the fruit-bearing earth with human blood, and drew the fratricidal sword against one another, making the iron which had been most excellently provided by God for cultivating the earth—and created by Him primarily for that very purpose—the minister of the greatest impiety, our God, who loves virtue, was moved to anger as was just. He made the fruit-bearing earth sterile with fire, and, checking the expected hopes of joy as if with a bridle, he transformed [their] gladness into sorrow. And this is indeed that very thing which one of the holy prophets declared in this manner: “Thus saith the Lord God of hosts: In all the broad ways there shall be lamentation, and in all the streets it shall be said: Woe, woe! And they shall call the husbandman to mourning and lamentation, and such as are skillful to lament, in all the streets there shall be lamentation: for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the Lord.” B Observe now, I pray, how greatly this discourse agrees with the truth. For who would deny that those things which have come to pass must be pursued with howling and infinite force of tears? Behold, famine, a wild beast, is consuming our entire region. She who is, so to speak, the nurse of the whole world, stands in need of imported bread and of a kind of food not very suitable to human nature, so that for this reason also, the prophet Jeremiah not unjustly laments and says: “All her people are sighing, seeking bread.” And again: “The tongue of the sucking child hath cleaved to the roof of his mouth for thirst. The young children have asked for bread and there was no one to break it unto them. They that were fed delicately have died in the streets.” “For we have sown much, and brought in little,” as it is written, “because we have provoked the Spirit of the Lord to anger.” Let us therefore repent, and let us cease from our ancient transgressions; but let us draw near to the all-merciful God, shedding abundant tears from our eyes, and saying with one of the prophets: “Who is a God like unto thee, that takest away iniquities, and passest by transgressions, and hast not retained his anger for a testimony, because he is a lover of mercy?” And again: C “Our iniquities have stood against us, O Lord; do thou it for thy name's sake, for our many sins are in thy sight; for we have sinned against thee, O hope of Israel, O Lord, and thou savest in the time of evil.” For to those who, led by repentance, have thus returned to their senses, He will speak with that discourse full of sweetness: “Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be filled with them. Fear not, O land, rejoice and be glad, for the Lord hath done greatly. Fear not, ye beasts of the field, for the pastures of the desert have sprouted. For the tree hath brought forth its fruit; the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate have given their strength. And the children of Sion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, because he hath given you food unto righteousness, and he will send down to you the early and the latter rain as before. And the threshing floors shall be filled with wheat, and the presses shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will repay you for the years that the locust and the caterpillar have eaten, and
the palmerworm. And you shall eat and be filled, and you shall praise the name of the Lord your God, who has performed wonders with you. A For do not doubt, O man, nor think to yourself that if you were to approach Him in repentance, He would not readily bestow His mercy. You have even now a not-to-be-despised pledge of the hope that is according to your prayer; you already have a token of His loving-kindness: behold, He has flooded the whole earth with riverine streams; behold, He grants to those who still sin a more abundant enjoyment than His customary bounty. Your tear has not yet appeared, and yet God has already shown Himself to be merciful. But He who does not refuse to have compassion even on those not yet weeping, how should He not easily gladden those who repent? Therefore, let the Fathers among you hear—the fathers and ministers of the holy altars: B "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, and proclaim a cure, gather the people, sanctify the Church, choose out the elders, gather the infants that suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his bridal chamber, and the bride from her closet. Between the porch and the altar the priests, the ministers of the Lord, shall weep and say: Spare, O Lord, Thy people, and give not Thine inheritance to reproach, that they should not say among the nations: Where is their God?" In such a way, if we approach without negligence, He will receive us and have mercy, saying: "I am, I am He who blots out your transgressions, and I will not remember them." For how would He be in any way harsh toward us, He who, according to Paul, "did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all"? C For because in such transgressions the ancients were held fast, the devil, if I may so say, held sway over the world. But sin so ruled over us, and was so baneful to the entire human race, that there was nowhere to be seen one who did good; or rather, as the Psalmist says, "there was not one. For all have turned aside, they have together become unprofitable." Therefore, of necessity, the only-begotten Word of God, existing in the form of God the Father, as it is written: "did not count it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant." And for our sake He was counted among those like us, having been born of a woman, and having truly appeared as a man upon the earth, so that, as Paul says, He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God; D that, as it is written again, having borne the sins of us all in His own body upon the tree, He might blot out the handwriting that was against us; that, having made the weaknesses of our flesh His own, He might deaden the pleasure that tyrannized in our members; as though to a raging sea He might say to the passions within us: "Be silent, be still"; and having rearranged all things within us into a better order and stability, [He might reform] all virtue.
A just as the first exemplar to which it was created and configured from the beginning. Nor, indeed, did the Only-begotten bestow upon us these gifts alone through the incarnation. For since His nature is life itself, just like the nature of Him by whom He was begotten, He rendered the flesh in which He had dwelt the victor over death. The Jews, then, wretched and full of every impiety, delivered Him to the cross and to death, obeying in all things the stratagems of the devil. But He conquered by suffering, and He set forth His own death as the cause of our salvation. For having immediately despoiled Hades entirely, and having thrown open those gates which were impassable to the spirits of those who had slept, B and having left the devil there deserted and alone, He rose on the third day, "having loosed the pains of death," as it is written, "inasmuch as it was not possible for Him to be held by it." And having pioneered for human nature the path of resurrection from the dead, He ascended into heaven itself, "to appear now in the presence of God for us," according to the voice of Paul, that He might also make the bright dwellings of the angels accessible to those who are on earth. For "He Himself is our peace, who has made both one," and who joined men to angels in the bond of friendship, and brought the benevolence of the angels down to us, so that we might reign with Christ, and be found participants and fellows of the immortal glory. Therefore, having cast away all sloth, and having banished from the confines of our mind any weariness toward good things, let us most joyfully take delight in the toils undertaken for the sake of virtue. "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all," C not spending our time in revelries and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, but "put on the Lord Jesus," let us take on bowels of mercy and kindness, let us cultivate love for one another, gentleness, humility, temperance, mercy toward all; and, to sum it up in one word, let us hold fast to piety toward God, and religiously apply every caution in all things. For thus, yes thus, with a pure conscience and with great cheerfulness of spirit shall we celebrate the most holy festival, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twenty-third of the month of Mechir, and the week of the saving Pascha on the twenty-eighth of the month of Phamenoth, D releasing the fasts on the third of the month of Pharmouthi, on the evening of the Sabbath, according to the apostolic traditions; and celebrating on the following day, which dawns as Sunday, the fourth of the same month of Pharmouthi; and joining together in sequence the seven weeks of the holy Quadragesima. For thus we shall also inherit the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power, with the Holy Spirit, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY VIII
A 1. "Sound the trumpet in Sion," [a] as the sacred Law says, demanding the Church’s annual homily to stir us to our accustomed studies, and compelling those who have chosen the best way of life to come forth and give the signal for entering the divine contests. For behold, behold again to us, as if by some cycle and rotation of our holy feast, a season arises, with the fast obviously going before it, and the contest of endurance rising in advance like the morning star. For the fast, practically sending forth a voice to those who have an industrious mind, indicates the rays of the sun and, so to speak, having stepped inside the doors, exhibiting the light of day, advises that we forthwith shake sleep from our eyes, and turn away from seeing the things that befit the night. B But this all-holy and purest fast, leaping forth before the arrival of our holy feast and shining with splendor, brings to the recollection of those who care for virtue the things that were announced spiritually by the voice of Paul: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light; let us walk honestly as in the day. Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ," [b] the truly splendid garment of the pious. And as for those who delight in navigation, and to whom the practice and habit of sailing are dear, refreshing breezes blowing from the stern easily lead them, so that they may depart from the harbors as quickly as possible, and, casting aside all fear, C cast off the cables from the land immediately. But also, the grapes in the vineyards turning black, and showing berries already burst and full of must, invite men in a way to sing the vintage song. Already the ears of grain bristling in the fields, and gleaming now with golden stalks and bowing down with fuller kernels, are offended, I know not how, by the delay of the harvester. For I think the opportunity of time is welcome to all, and necessary for all useful matters. Since these things are thus determined, would it not be utterly shameful, and deserving of all loathing, if we were to wander from sound reason, and show ourselves to God as truly and rightly laughable, if we do not zealously embrace the opportunity offered by this time, by which whoever shall be pressing forward at a swift pace toward it might be able to attain the notable perfection of virtues? D For if we draw back from better things and are always casting away the haste to pursue what is best, and have foolishly brought upon ourselves the loss of good things, we shall justly hear the proper saying regarding sloth: "Slothful men will be in need of wealth."
A Now, as for doing good and seeking to be honored through the most excellent ways, I would say to the devout that it is indeed most becoming; for, in my opinion, the end of justice would be the beginning of wickedness. But to add something more to the usual kindness is not out of place at the present time, just as if one were commanded by the order of a debt to lay out our zeal in these matters. For just as those who have prized the robustness of the body, and who have determined that faring better than all others before the trainers is their own happiness, must always be exercising themselves—and it is not useless for the need to proceed through the training in the wrestling schools; but if at any time the games-master calls them to a demonstration of the courage that is within them, then most of all they should ponder how they might render a fruit of such long-continued kindness B—not without wonder—as they walk with all their might, wishing to appear more distinguished. In the same way, I suppose, so also must those to whom the divine law is set forth as a kind of contest and exercise, worship God at all times and hold the desire of the Legislator in great esteem. But when the time of fasting calls for more illustrious proofs, then truly must we cast off the sloth that emasculates men, and rather bring to bear the power of the soul, and significantly exercise the fortitude of a noble heart. Come, then, let us again gird ourselves with the zeal for good things; and preferring those things that can benefit us to the deceits of impure pleasure, and repelling the company of wicked men out of a desire for useful things, let us present ourselves as true worshippers to Christ. Let us keep whole and unadulterated the faith in Him, and guard unshaken and firm the confession which we have confessed before many witnesses, I mean the holy angels. C For many, putting on the image of piety for themselves like a mask, but having denied its power, as Paul asserts, plunder the minds of the simpler ones, dragging them aside with deceptive words, and persuading them to slip with them into the trap of death and into the abyss of hell, as it is written. For they do not consider it necessary to speak to those who approach them of the things which are attested in the Sacred Scriptures, but whatever their own unapproved mind dreams of, this they persuade them to hold, not knowing either what they say or about what they are confidently asserting. D But you, remain in what you have learned, as Paul says, distancing yourself from empty wranglings, and rejecting the old-wives' tales of the heretics, and turning away from foolish myths. Hold the faith in simple reasonings, and deposit the tradition of the Church like a treasure in the storehouses of your heart, holding to the teachings that are pleasing to God, so that you may not only be bright in faith, but...
A et ex his ipsis pietatis operibus multo gloriæ splendore insignis effulgeas.
Homily PASCHALIS VIII
2. Multifold is the path that leads to the acquisition of virtue, and only by a varied journey may someone eventually arrive at the prize of the upward calling. Yet the whole sum of our virtuous living is bound together in one thing, namely this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. xix, 19). And it is not difficult to show that the account we have given is true. For the most wise Paul acts as a champion and struggles most valiantly for those things we have said, writing thus in his epistles: "Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. xiii, 8-10). Do you hear how the whole discourse is bounded by the limits of love? For whatever actions appear to have stepped beyond the divine law have altogether slipped outside the circles of love. B But those to whom admiration is rightly owed, we see that they have this attached to them, that they are seen through their actions to be within the bounds of love. For he who does injustice does not love his neighbor; but he who hates injustice loves him surely, and in this way fulfills the whole law. For the desire to honor love produces the fulfillment of those things contained in the law; whereas slackness regarding love is the origin of those things condemned by the law. For tell me, who, out of regard for the fear of causing grief through love, would enter another man’s house and leap upon a marriage he has no right to? Who, I ask, would not with every effort decline to commit murder, being held back as if by a bridle toward gentleness and kindness by the shame and honor he feels toward the one who might suffer this? To what person, moreover, would not the taking of another’s property appear abominable and most loathsome, when he considers that it is bitter, and counts the defrauding of a brother among the basest of evils? Therefore C the law that guides us toward every virtue finds its fulfillment in love.
But I think it is appropriate to look more closely at the parts of the virtue we have just named, and to explain what results from it. Therefore, I will use here too the voice of Paul: "Love," he says, "is patient, is kind; love does not envy; love does not boast, is not arrogant, does not act dishonorably, does not seek its own things, is not provoked, does not reason the evil, does not rejoice over injustice, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things" D
A Charitas nunquam excidit. Do you see what a multitude of good things the power of love brings forth for us? “Love,” he says, “is patient,” that is to say, it does not falter in bearing the faint-heartedness of one's neighbor; for he who is utterly patient, surely, in some regard, is patient even against the absurd things done to him by someone, and struggles against those things that are wont to cause distress. But the man who is wise does not obey anger when it incites him to retaliate in kind. For injustice is indeed a burdensome thing, capable of kindling violent rages; and the fact of having been provoked by some random person, even if he is by nature wicked, arms itself as an ally and pleads the cause of anger; for it persuades one that it is perhaps a duty to resist when wronged, and urges one to strike back at the one who caused the grief. But those who look to the law of love with a youthful mind, and who consider that it is fitting for them to be patient, curb their boiling anger—like a colt jumping about with unruly leaps—with the reins of forbearance, as it were; and appearing better than their oppressors even after this, they win the vote of [those who judge] all things well.
But that which is most beautiful in love almost escaped me. For what, pray, does the champion of virtue say again about it, and what else does he command to be performed that is worthy of admiration? Let us set it forth. “Love,” he says, “does not seek its own things, is not provoked.” The accurate and more rule-bound interpretation of these things would be that it shows him not seeking his own things, [namely, the one] who has made it so that he does not consider his own affairs [of importance], so long as the B usefulness of the many is accomplished by him. What do I mean by this? Let me go forth and explain the argument by way of examples: The leaders of the Jewish ranks once ordered the holy apostles to speak to no one in the name of Christ; yet they, being moved by no such trifles, even though extreme dangers were hanging over them, returned to the crowds and taught them, having rightly understood that it was fitting to aid those who were being led astray, and yet being entirely indifferent to the plots resulting from this. For they were not seeking their own things, but the things of others, never stepping outside the God-beloved boundaries of love. But even if the subject before us demands some such observation from us, yet for the sake of those who are wont to think about these matters more simply, come, let us dwell upon the same [subject] C again, and adapt it to the words of the Savior. Therefore, in order to lead us to the highest gentleness and mutual love, and to prune away from our souls like sprouting thorns the desire for dissensions and the zeal for contentions and the [desire] for those things that do not concern us, he says, “To everyone who asks you, give; and from him who takes away what is yours, do not ask it back.” Do you hear how D he commands us to shrink from what is another's? He does not even wish for us to offer resistance if anyone should rob us of our due; but rather to be seen to be better even than these provocations from loss, that is to say, to those
who are suffering in an unrestrained manner, to be accustomed to be inflamed into unseemly anger.
C 3. But what, I ask, will the robber reply to these points? He who lies in wait at the crossroads like a wild beast, and sets an ambush for the passerby who has done him no harm, just as if he were one of an enemy force, and who spreads out the net of his brigandage in the river currents—and should anyone be snared, he leaps out immediately, and is all inflamed with a boldness that is contrary to nature. Tell me, where have you placed the law of the Savior, even though you claim to be a Christian? For you violate the decree of love; and, having been transformed, as it were, into one of the untamed wild beasts, and having fallen into an unnatural savagery, you no longer have any sense of it. D Indeed, you count as nothing the one who was created according to the divine image—I do not know if you actually kill him, but certainly you dare to attack him with the sword in an impious manner. Yet, seeing your fellow human being—at times still breathing as he lies upon the earth—do you not wish for the earth immediately to open up for you? Or does it not occur to you, while you dare to undertake such savage deeds, that it is your custom to till the earth, to cut up the fields with plows, then to bury in them what you please, and again to harvest with the sword what has been brought to maturity through God? And at that time you marvel at the earth as a mother of good fruits, and as one that most excellently provides you with the supply of necessary things, and you praise, as is to be expected, the utility of the iron. How then are you not ashamed, while acting unjustly toward those things through which you have the means to sustain life? For you have made the one a murderer, and you have stained the other with innocent blood. How then do you still beseech the mother to produce fruits for you, whom you have treated unjustly without sparing? How can you lay hands on the gleaming iron, which, having diverted from its proper use, you have rendered a tool of homicide? B How, tell me, could you at all, holding such thoughts, ask the earth to be watered for you by the annual streams from God, when you do not sit among the river reeds for any good purpose, nor do you row your boat for the sake of hunting that which is in the waters; but rather, your pursuit is greed, and you pollute with unjust blood the stream granted as a gift by God, and you surrender your own kin, the human being, to be devoured by river beasts? What sort of hands, then, tell me, will you lift up to God? What will you say at all when praying, or how will you ask for good things, when God says through one of the prophets: "When you extend your hands toward me, I will turn my eyes from you, and if you multiply your prayer, I will not listen to you; for your hands are full of blood"? And he who has paid no heed to any of the laws originating from Him, of what care will he be deemed worthy? "Those who honor me, I will honor," says the Savior, "and he who despises me will be despised." Therefore, either set before Him the same
neck, and ask in turn for honor and an abundant increase of all things necessary, or, if you shake off the yoke, do not be unwilling to suffer the punishment and retribution that follows. For if something must be added to what we have said, a certain drunkenness from goods and an abundance of those things you would consider most to be desired have sometimes provided the cause for such impiety in you. For God, the Lord of all, speaks of something of this kind: "They were filled to satiety, and their hearts were exalted. On account of this, they forgot me." For it is, indeed, very easy to slip into luxury; and it is no wonder if vanity, the parent of insolence, is produced from it. From insolence, moreover, its bitter offspring, contempt of God, is born, and finally, from contempt of God, the whole race of evils is generated. B Therefore, seeing you placed in this state, we will deservedly follow you with tears, and grieving for your wicked sins through the zeal of mutual love, we will say with the prophet: "Woe to me, my soul, because the holy man has perished from the earth, and there is no upright person among men! All judge in blood; each man afflicts his neighbor; they stretch out their hands to evil to finish it." God is rightly indignant and, as is evident, is angry at these crimes committed by us. For behold, behold that which was said by the prophets has come to pass for us not once, but already many times: "Set your hearts upon your ways, says the Lord Almighty. You have sown much, and brought in little. You have eaten, and are not satisfied; you have drunk, and are not intoxicated; you have clothed yourselves, and are not warmed. And he who collected wages, collected them into a perforated bag." Truly, in addition to this, He also adds: "You looked for more, and behold, it became little. And you brought it into the house, and I blew it away, says the Lord Almighty." Let us see, then, if these things have not truly come to pass. Let anyone passing by show me a happy man, and I am defeated; let him seek out for me eyes not wet with tears, and if he finds any, I will be silent. This is the one competition among you at this time, O C farmers inhabiting Egypt: that one may suffer worse evils than another, in which he who is superior is more miserable than those who seem to be defeated. For he excels in the things over which he grieves, and he abounds with a richer harvest of calamities than the miseries of his neighbor. Indeed, the things in which it was your custom to boast are now for a long time non-existent. Are not also your conversations heard to be full of sorrow and tears everywhere? But tell me, where do we see villages laid prostrate? For the earth, struck round about by hail, languishes in famine and mourning, and no help at all is shown in any part to alleviate the pain. For the harvest is already ripe and
A a greater [voice], almost sent forth, invited [one] to reap. And the plowman, having seized his domestic sickle, was already girded and hurrying to the work; he often revolved in his mind that his threshing floor would perhaps be too small for him. But all these things were a dream and a shadow, and brought to pass by the hail, not by the reaper. But he who already expected an abundance of good things to be present for him in plenty, perceived himself suddenly stripped of everything, and his hope was exceedingly frustrated, the man having been enriched with hail instead of ears of corn. The neighboring village, therefore, suffering under a milder wrath, laments the inconveniences sustained in tilling the land, and having cultivated the spaces of the fields far and wide, considers that there will be a sufficiently rich produce in proportion to the season, if food reaches even to satiety, or [else] with a much smaller quantity than would suffice even for satiety.
4. What, then, is the cause of these things? Let us consider; let us investigate from the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, He who has power over all things will say to us again: B "Your ways and your devices have done these things to you; this is your evil, because it is bitter, because it has touched your heart." For it follows upon transgressions that it is fitting that men should be justly punished, and it is necessary that justice should correspond in turn to our follies. Let us, therefore, desist from every unholy daring: "Let us beat," as it is written, "our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks"; and, as the Melodist says, "Come, let us worship, and fall down before him," and weeping let us say, "We have sinned, we have done iniquity, we have acted impiously." For then, then God will show Himself propitious, and He will cease from [His] wrath, and the earth will find [its strength] again, and will gladden us with its gifts according to custom. C "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our infirmities," according to the voice of Paul, "but one who has been tempted in all things according to the likeness, without sin." For that the Only-Begotten is readily willing to show mercy, I do not believe there will be any need of labor on my part to prove, and I am persuaded that you, too, can be brought to the same opinion without any difficulty, if you consider both the love with which He has embraced us, and the magnitude of what He endured for our sake. For since we were all who inhabit this earthly region, oppressed by the most proud dominion of the opposing demon, and like fish enclosed in nets and destined for destruction and ruin, the Only-Begotten of God became man, that He might deliver all, D "and preach release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind," as He Himself asserts somewhere, "and call the acceptable year of the Lord." The Only-Begotten is therefore merciful, even if the Jews, not understanding the manner of the dispensation, were so far from having even desired at all to receive Him, that at one time they were insulting Him and calling Him a Samaritan, and at another time, having been unbearably grieved, and leaping into a strange madness, they even dared to stone Him. But when the Lord was rebuking those who were fighting against God, and was asking the cause of their indiscriminate madness from them, saying, "Many good works have I shown you from the
Father; for which of these works do you stone me?" A The madmen replied, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." What then does the Savior say to them? "If I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works." For He did not wish to have Himself tested by those things through which He appeared to the beholders as a man, but by those things which He performed as God—not using a dignity of divinity taken on from without, as happens to us when divine Scripture calls us gods, but a dignity which rather exists in Him substantially, for He is by nature God and the heir of the properties of Him who begot Him. He has also the power to do all things, not having received this faculty from another, but as the Lord of powers, and from the very substance of God the Father. For even though He became man on account of His love for us, let us not therefore be ignorant of Him as Lord of all things, nor separate the divine nature from Immanuel; nor, holding the same views as the Jews, may we accuse the humanity in Him which was assumed for our sake; nor may we say, in wicked disparagement of Him who for our sake became like us without sin: "We will not worship you, because, being a man, you make yourself God." B For He was, and is, and will be God by nature, both before He joined Himself to flesh and after the flesh was joined to Him. The same Paul will also bear witness, writing: "Christ Jesus yesterday and today, the same also into the ages." You see how he does not divide Immanuel into a duality of Sons, nor does he pronounce that the Word, by Himself, which shines forth from the substance of God and the Father, always remains in the same state; but rather, recognizing one and only one Son by nature who put on humanity, he names Him both Christ and Jesus. For when could anyone show the Word named Jesus or Christ, except for the fact that He became man? For Jesus is so called from saving the people, and Christ, again, because He was anointed for our sake. Therefore, he calls not the Word by Himself, as He exists from the Father before He had put on human nature, but [the Word] already made flesh, both Jesus and Christ, and affirms of Him without any doubt: "Christ yesterday and today, the same also into the ages."
5. But perhaps someone will appear of those accustomed to disagree, vomiting forth the poison of the impiety that is within him, and will cry out: "Was not Christ born in the last times, O friend? How then did He always exist, even before He was born?" Therefore, we also, setting our own words in opposition for the defense of the truth against such things, will shout: "You who speak thus, O man, you will confirm our words while you utter these things. For why would the man full of the Spirit, and the steward of C all the mysteries of the Savior, speak of the things of the Word who lives and always exists, [now being] in the last times
A to be bestowed upon the temple born in due time, unless he thought it impious to divide Him who, even after the assumption of human nature, is one and only, and truly the Son, and shuddered to dissever Him into two? Those things, therefore, which belong properly and naturally to the Word before the flesh was assumed, he applies to Him again even when He exists in the flesh, knowing well that He was not changed by the assumption of the flesh, and preserving for Him the dignity of the Godhead intact even after He became man. And do not marvel, O man, at the utterance of Paul. For he does not speak such things as if tyrannizing over the dogmas of piety and defining them by his own will, but as one taught by the very words of the Savior. If you wish to learn what He said to Nicodemus, it is possible for you to see it by reading the Gospels; but I will state it nonetheless, for the sake of the common utility: "If I have told you earthly things," says He, "and you do not believe me, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" B And that: "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." But again, when speaking to the Jews, He was insistent, and demonstrated clearly that those who reject Him would remain entirely devoid of eternal life, having tasted no part of the mystical blessing. When they took this heavily and went away backward, as it is written, He adds further, that He might indicate the way which leads from here to heaven: "Does this scandalize you? If then you see the Son of Man ascending where He was before?" C And yet, for I will resume the whole argument again, though He was born on earth of the holy Virgin, as regards the body, the Word of God descended from heaven. How then does He say to us that the Son of Man has descended from heaven? And how, again, does He say He will ascend where He was before? Do you see, then, how, having bound the Word in the inseparable and infinite bond of unity of the ineffable union, He desires that one Christ be confessed by us, both before the flesh and after the flesh? For this very reason, although the flesh is by nature from the earth, He says it descended from above and from heaven, and will ascend again into heaven where He was before. For that which is in Him by nature He bestows upon His own flesh, as not being another apart from it, insofar as concerns the unity effected by the dispensation. And we shall not destroy, because of the extreme union, the things that are dissimilar by nature; D that is, the fact that, according to its own rationale, He is the Effulgence of the Father, while others—again, the little flesh from the earth, that is, the perfect man—are different; but even having acknowledged these things, and having separated the rationale for each only by thought, we shall bind them together again with the indivisible bond of unity. For "the Word became flesh," according to the holy evangelist, not having been changed into flesh—for he does not say this—but he used the word "flesh" instead of saying "man" in his wholeness.
A Since, therefore, as our most illustrious father and bishop Athanasius, that unswerving rule of the orthodox faith, said in his own writings, a union of two things unequal by nature—namely, of divinity and humanity—has come to pass in one; and Christ is one from both. And yet, the manner of the union is entirely unspeakable to us and utterly transcends our power of understanding; nevertheless, the depth of the mystery is to be accepted by faith. For things that surpass our mind and understanding are in no way to be scrutinized, but are to be admired by faith alone. B Since, therefore, he did not consider the flesh to be something alien to himself, but rather made it his own temple, and having become man, he is worshipped even by the holy angels: "For when," he says, "he brings the firstborn into the world, he says: And let all the angels of God worship him." I would gladly ask those who have dared to adhere rashly to contrary opinions, and who separate—as the Savior himself says somewhere, "what God has joined together," and who imagine there are two Christs and two Sons, if indeed there are any such at all—in what way, precisely, it could properly suit the Word, who exists from God and the Father, to be called "firstborn" before the assumption of human nature? For if he is firstborn, how can he be only-begotten? For if he is only-begotten, he certainly would not be firstborn; but Christ is both according to the same [person]. Nor should anyone, dividing the one and only Son into two, attribute "firstborn" to one and "only-begotten" to the other. For he will find the entirety of divinely inspired Scripture in conflict with himself; since we will find both [terms] applied properly to Christ. For he is "firstborn," as man, "among many brethren"; C but he is, in turn, "only-begotten," as the Word existing from God and the Father. Therefore, as Paul says: "One God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus." For, acknowledging one and the same Christ, although he is sometimes brought forward as Word, and at other times again as man, because of the economy with flesh, he writes again concerning him: "In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for in him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers: all things were created by him and in him. And he is before all, and all things consist in him. And he is the head of the body of the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead." D You see again, therefore, how, by mingling with the prerogatives fitting to divine majesty the properties of humanity, he says that he is one and the same—both the image of the invisible Father, for he is the radiance and the imprint of his substance, and he calls him the firstborn of creation, and confesses him to be the creator of Thrones, and Dominations, and of all things, simply put. And again, he calls the same one firstborn
A from the dead. And yet, insofar as he appeared as man in the latter times, how could he be before all things? Or how will he bear the dignity of the Creator? Or in what way shall he be the image of the invisible God? And again, to one not yet born as man, by what reasoning shall the property of being the firstborn of all creation, and the firstborn from the dead, be added? For just as it is not fitting for the dignity of the Creator, in a manner worthy of God, to be thought of as man, so it is foreign to God to die; but Paul appears to attribute both to one and the same person. He does not know one Son and another; but B one and the same, just as, indeed, the blessed prophet Isaiah is found to think and say something similar about Christ: "And behind you they shall follow, bound in iron shackles; and they shall be servants, and they shall worship you. And they shall pray in you, because God is in you, and there is no God except you. For you are God, and we did not know it; the God of Israel is Savior." Do you hear how he says, "They shall worship you, and they shall pray in you, and in you is God, and there is no God except you"? They shall say these things, knowing the temple in which he dwelt, and not being ignorant of the Word who dwelt within; yet they worship not the one who dwelt within alone, separating him from the mystery of the flesh; but they worship the one C inextricably joined together from both. The Word of God dwelt in his own temple, the body taken from a woman, possessing a rational soul; but he transformed what was taken into his own glory. Because of this, even if the divine Scriptures teach that adoration is due solely to the One who is God by nature, nevertheless Paul dared to say: "That at the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth; and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." But what, again, shall we say when, having come across the books of the holy evangelists, we find our Lord Jesus Christ breathing corporeally upon his own disciples, and saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit"? Paul, however, writes again, saying, "We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God and the Father." And others again as concerning the Jews: "Whose are the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." And Thomas, after his resurrection from the dead, D having touched what, emitted that most wise voice, "My Lord and my God"? Shall we then think that the Word from God the Father is even able to endure the touch of a hand? But, I think, someone will say that we are talking nonsense, having rashly dared to say this. What could be the thing touched by him, which is not difficult to attain for any of the beings that exist? But let there come in addition to all these...
A Peter also, that leader of the holy disciples, who, when the Saviour once asked, "Whom do men say that the Son of man is?" cried out plainly: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." He did not say, "The Son is in Thee," but recognizing one and the same person, both before flesh and after the assumed flesh, he said, "Thou art the Son of the living God." What, then, followed from this? The disciple who said this was pronounced blessed: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." And as a gift equal to [this] perception, and as a reward for his orthodox B faith, he received the keys of heaven, as it is written. Let us also follow this faith, and, separating ourselves as far as possible from the opinion of the Jews, let us not say with them to the Saviour of us all, Christ: "Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?" But let us adore one and confess one Christ, the same who is both the Word from God the Father and man from a woman, as Scripture teaches. For since we were held subject to many sins, and the bitter troop of pleasures within us was plundering the goods of each man's soul, God, by sending his own Son "in the likeness of sinful flesh," as Paul says, "condemned sin in the flesh," and with it the death that had sprouted from it, so that he might restore all men to their ancient life. For C the wretched Jews, for their part, yielding in all things to the strategies of the devil, crucified the Lord of glory. But it was not possible for Him who is life by nature and God to be held by the bonds of death. Therefore, having despoiled hell and having utterly emptied the hidden recesses of the devil, He rose again on the third day, having become the way, the beginning, and the gate for human nature, in order that it might hasten to life and break through the snares of death. For we were all in Christ, in that He was made man without sin. "For he took hold of the seed of Abraham," as it is written, "that in all things being made like unto his brethren, he might conquer death," in that He was made man. For D to this end and purpose the whole mystery of the incarnation is referred. But after He rose from the dead for our sake, He was seen, to be sure, by His own disciples; and having commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to enlighten the whole world with the word, He ascended into heaven itself, "to appear in the presence of God for us," as it is written, "that we might have Him as an advocate with the Father, and a propitiation for our sins," as John says, "that we may run the race set before us toward the prize of the high calling," leaping away with vigor from all sin and hastening rather to achieve the God-loving virtue, practicing temperance, and loving self-control, putting…
making the members of the body instruments of righteousness to God, remembering those in distress, reclaiming orphans and widows, lightening the hardship of those in bonds through [their] need, and, in a word, holding fast to the love we bear for one another. For then, truly then, we shall fulfill the most pure fast, the mother of every good thing; beginning the holy Forty Days on the twelfth of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the saving Pascha on the seventeenth of the month of Pharmouthi; ending the fasts on the twenty-second day of the same month of Pharmouthi, in the deep evening of the Sabbath; and celebrating on the next day, the dawning Sunday, the twenty-third of the same month of Pharmouthi, in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and power, now and for the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY IX
1. Behold, the day shows itself to us again, in which, bringing forward the brilliant signs of the holy solemnity, we may cry out with a great and clear voice: “It is time for the Lord to act” (Ps. CXVII, 126). For there arrives, and draws near to us again, as the year revolves, the day of the fast. Just as when, from the eastern climes, the sun begins to fly up over the earth, but yet, while it is still brooding its brightness within, the brilliant rays of its beams rise up in advance, changing the gloom of the shadows into a sweet and smiling complexion, and appearance; in the same way, I think, as our divine solemnity is already heralded, there shines forth [from it] some splendor of veneration, and meanwhile, as the Church promulgates its decree concerning it, the disposition of each person’s mind whitens, as it were, suffused with the hue of joy; and I would say, as I am persuaded, perhaps not without cause, that this time of exercise, too, might be accused by you of excessive slowness, waiting as it does for its arrival. For the mind, inclined toward the labors, is indeed troubled and anxious, D as is credible, because the announced struggles are not seen to be present at the same time as the voice that indicates them. Therefore, and not without cause, the divinely inspired Scripture compares the man who is carried along by such intense zeal to a war-horse, which is so affected that it “smells the war from afar with blood and voice” (Job XXXIX, 25). For indeed, the high-necked horse, by the all-terrible din of war, the clatter of arms, the sight of glittering iron, and the not-free echo of panic from the trumpets in battle, is roused to a longing for the war; but the godly soul, the divine word, being an instructor of the best things, whets it for the struggle and rouses it strongly to a God-loving disposition. To use such a manner of speech is, I think, a brilliant thing, which one would acknowledge to be worthy of emulation.
A That we seem in no way fitted for this might perhaps have instilled some fear in us and proved that silence is much to be desired (for the wise are self-aware, as it is written), had not the divine law compelled us to speak. "For priests," he says, "hearken, and testify to the house of Jacob, says the Lord Almighty." But as to what we must inquire into and testify to the house of Jacob, he has made known through the voice of another prophet, saying: "Sanctify a fast, proclaim a healing, gather all the elders dwelling in the land into the house of the Lord our God, and cry out to the Lord vehemently." For no one, I suppose, would say that it is right to enter into the inner scene with unwashed feet; rather, one must first be purified by every gentleness of character and, by the toils of asceticism, mortify the members which are on earth; only then, and not until then, should one hasten to pass B beyond the divine veils, contemplating the profound mystery of our Savior. For it is not, it is simply not possible to partake richly of the blessing from above, unless we choose, and with great eagerness, to look upon the things here announced. As for the present discourse, the pretext for it is found in the legal ordinances: we are commanded both to proceed to war and to take up arms alongside the holy warriors; we are commanded to act as leaders and, as it were, choirmasters for those observing this festive celebration. And what is the proof of these things? The Lord of all himself, speaking to us thus through Moses: "And if you go out to battle in your land against the enemies who have risen up against you, give a signal with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. And in the days of your gladness, and in your feasts, and in your new moons, you shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and it shall be a remembrance for you before your God." C
2. Homily IX
For the Law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the realities, commands those who have been allotted the priestly office, when the time for battle presses, to use the trumpets, and by blowing them with a loud and high-pitched intensity, to rouse those who are armed to a remembrance of courage; for those, however, who are celebrating feasts, it commands them to make a rhythm suitable for cheerfulness. But we, who translate these shadowed images of things into the power of the truth, instead of that ancient trumpet and useless vociferation, embrace the teaching discourse, which rouses to a sober boldness those who oppose temperance against the movements of the rebelling flesh, and who wage war against their own passions, and who choose to equip themselves with the armor of justice; for those who are inA voluptuousness and spiritual offerings, and who venerate nature, the queen of all things, usually exult together with them, and are accustomed to proclaim and praise the glorious deeds of our Savior, which surpass all wonder.
PASCHAL HOMILY IX
For this present time is indeed spring; and it seems to me that it could be crowned with many words by one who excels in readiness of speech and in the most excellent wisdom of mind. For now, having washed away as if it were dust the grim visage of winter, it shines brightly with pure suns, and again grants to mountains and dales, to glades and thickets, their existence in the most beautiful form. For the earth is already budding and blooming anew with fresh foliage. And the shepherd, rejoicing, plays delightfully upon his pipe, and sending forth from the reed a clear melody, he lets his flock graze upon the flowery and newly-grown grass; and the cowherd urges the calf B to leap along with its mother and to feed upon the green pasture. And the young tendrils of the vines are already running, as if with fingers, grasping with the reach of their tendrils at the reeds, and leaping upon the plants set beside them. For it is their habit always to want to go upward, so that the radiant beauty of the grape clusters may be made manifest. The meadows, too, exhaling their fragrance in many ways through the scent of flowers, exhilarate those who till the earth with their customary gifts. One might add to these countless other things that adorn the season accustomed to flowering. But there is nothing, I think, that brings it such great luster, except for that which is more worthy than all other things, and that is this: for along with the plants, the nature that rules over all things on earth—I mean human nature—has also arisen. For the springtime brings to us the resurrection of our Savior, through which we all are reshaped C into newness of life, having escaped the corruption brought in by death. For truly it was indeed incredible that the kinds and species of plants should be brought back, by the power of God who gives life to all, to their ancient appearance, while that nature for whose sake even the production of plants was invented should lie breathless, deprived of any care from above. Therefore, at this one time, the nature that is better than all other things on earth is renewed along with everything else; and the author of this is Christ. For thus God and Father speaks through one of the prophets: ‘Take courage, O Sion, let not your hands be slack. The Lord your God is in you, and he is mighty; he will save you, and will renew you in his love.’ D For in the time of his love for us—that is to say, when he became man for our sake—having reshaped the whole of our nature within himself into newness of life, and having restored it to what it was from the beginning, he, as God, showed to us an intelligible spring; and whereas we were of the soul, because of the sin that had long held sway, he demonstrated us to be of the spirit through piety. And if it is pleasant for anyone to learn, and has been deemed worthy of much study, to know clearly what is meant by both, and of what kind and holy nature are the...
differences between these names, I shall leave it to Paul to speak: A “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But the spiritual person discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no one.” For those who have practiced letting whatever comes into their mind run loose without discernment, simply and entirely, and who have slacked every rein to the passions of the soul, find the laws of the Spirit, which persuade us to be sober-minded and to train our life in a way that is natural and well-turned, altogether unbearable. But those who allow the laws of the Spirit to win, and who do not set about any of their actions inconsiderately, but by always testing what is naturally beneficial, and B prioritizing utility over pleasure, and regarding what cannot help as useless, are judged by no one, but rather they themselves judge all things. For tell me, of those who have chosen to live in this way, if someone calls them wicked, will he not rather be pronouncing a verdict on his own malice and deciding the most disgraceful things of all for his own head? For, I think, to dare to act foolishly and evil towards those whom one ought rather to admire is proof of the ultimate wickedness; and he who does not refuse to plead for such disgraceful things will be found, as a witness, to be his own defilement. For by the very things he thought to honor, he confesses brilliantly that he himself is not naturally good, for those he ought to have censured as evil, he defends. A malady no less than the others, and one which the divine C Scripture also decrees to exist, is this—I mean, the inability to discern correctly the natures of things. “Woe,” it says, “to those who call good evil, and evil good; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” For it is so easy, I think, for one to distinguish things that are better from things that are shameful, and to make an effortless judgment concerning both, just as one would distinguish light from darkness in speech. Woe, therefore, it says, to those who have slipped into such drunkenness as to confuse even things that are very clear, and who do not blush to assign the name of darkness to light, and in turn the name of light to darkness. But one would not say that such maladies belong to the good and the spiritual, but rather to the natural and the wicked. For those whose minds are D tyrannized by the pleasures of the present life are so far removed from wanting to see what is good, that they have even forgotten what it is. And since we are not like them, being lovers of God and spiritual, let us present ourselves as alive from the dead to Him who died and rose for our sake and in our stead, Christ; and as the divine Paul commands us: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit,” not being dragged towards strange pleasures, nor, by fleeting desires, departing as if into a certain abyss—treating sin as a foreign land—but looking instead toward the beautiful city of the saints, the heavenly Jerusalem, which is our mother. Through
B all moderation and sobriety, let us render our life brilliant at every moment, and furthermore, with right and undoubted faith, let us venerate our Lord according to his merits, mindful of what is written: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength” 37. Providing that we fulfill the entire measure of love, he commands us not to divide it into parts nor to draw it off elsewhere, but to venerate God with integral faith, imagining nothing at all in faith to be slight or imperfect in those things that pertain to piety, and specifically, to imagine no good whatsoever regarding false gods. For this reason, he adds elsewhere: “There shall be no other gods for you besides me” 38. For if anyone shows himself easy to defect and change his opinion, and allows himself to be led to forbidden things without any difficulty, he undoubtedly reveals his own excessive faint-heartedness and shows himself to be ridiculous even in the most trivial matters.
C 3. But that I do not talk at great length at this present time to those who, through the exercise of perfect empathy, have attained to perfect habits and are already accustomed to being sated with more solid food, I myself also easily understand: for these are “the elements and principles of the beginning of the words of God,” 39 to use the words of Paul. Yet I will not be long in explaining these common things, but I will now ask for pardon and will use these words of our Savior: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” 31. For he who is sound in mind within will stand nonetheless, even if he does not happen to have these things exhorting him; but he who is sick in heart would have need of much assistance; for he would not otherwise be able to shake off the harassment of the passion. D Our discourse will come to us by way of examples. For trees that are well-rooted and, it is believed, well-established by thick trunks, not only spring up to a great and vast height, but also, making nothing of the excesses of the winds, stand securely fixed, even if they strive to surround them with the whistling roar of a great and intolerable impetus. But those trees that have not yet grown much, and are somewhat more tender and newly planted, and are rising just now from the bosom of the earth that bore them, must be supported by not a few props. For there is such weakness in them, commensurate with the shortness of the time in which they have grown, and they have such a precarious footing, that at times they are cast down by the mere impression of a gust of wind.
A Young men who are just reaching their prime, I think, are in the same situation. Those who have already ascended to a secure state of mind and one that is truly God-loving, and who have struck deep roots in their faith in God, remain well and unshaken, even if Satan ceaselessly tries to test them. But those who still have a soft heart, unless they are supported by very frequent counsel and exhortation, will, I believe, easily slip and be swayed by every wind according to the will of the destroyer. If there were none such among our number, my discourse would have had to hasten directly to those matters which have been practiced—those things that involve a more perfect instruction. Since, however, one can see many—I do not know how—to whom it is pleasing to be tossed in different directions, and to have an ambiguous opinion about the true God and those who are not gods by nature, though they are called by that name, why should we, neglecting the healing of the sickly part, rashly and suddenly move on to that in which there is no sickness? The time seems to me, therefore, to be at hand to address such people as the divine Paul did: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." B For if it is permitted to us also to speak freely, without casting a veil over our discourse: if you approach the faith, approach it purely—that is, with all your strength of purpose, with an unflinching mind, and not with a divided heart or one distracted in opposing directions; but rather, if it is right to speak the truth, with your whole inclination disposed toward those things from which those who truly repent are liberated by the gift of grace. "For no man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." Let us, then, deliberate on the nature of this matter from things within our own experience. Suppose someone has been barbarized, having been taken by barbarians while still of a tender age; educated among them, he has drawn their customs into himself and has been fashioned in a way by their wild habits and laws. C Then, as time brings progress in age and understanding, he realizes he has been deprived of his homeland, and he mourns on that account: he longs for the fatherland that is dearest to him, and he has a burning desire to be tamed by ancestral laws. Thereafter, having been translated to the gentleness from above—that is, having changed his mind and with it his way of life—he presents himself to the King, and having set forth the whole series of events, professing himself a great lover of his country and desirous of a gentler discipline, he is honored and rewarded by him. Will you not then—for I will ask you who hear me this—judge that such a man, if he should go back again to the rites of the barbarians and show zeal for their cause, is worthy of being punished with every torment, and that no penalty can be found equal to his deserts? D But I think my argument is clear. Therefore, from what has just been presented to us, as if in an image, let us proceed to the matter itself.
Come, let us return to the origin of our race, and let us consider the things that happened in the first man, corresponding to what has been said, and let us carry over the transformation while maintaining the proportion.
B 4. For he was full of every good thing, and he had reached the highest peak of the happiness that is in us, of which he would have remained master for all time, had he not, through deception, bypassed the divine commandment. But even if this happened to him, no one would rightly assert that he fell away from the worship and reverence of the one and true God. For even the twin children whom he first begot offered to the Divinity the first fruits of the things they found. For nature knew it must honor God and was in no need of a law for this. And Abel offered the expressions of gratitude from his flock, and Cain from the produce of the ground. For the one was a keeper of flocks, while to the other, agriculture seemed a good thing, and he practiced it. But as the race was gradually slipping towards worse things, and was sickening with a much more shameful wickedness than that which preceded it, the law sown into nature—which persuaded them to acknowledge God as one and alone—was perishing and being trampled upon. And there was added to all the other evils the error of polytheism C —a terrible teaching, O brothers, and one that holds the highest degree of the devil’s bitterness. For he considered that he must not only cast us out from the friendship with God because of the sin which had been introduced by him, but also, by depriving us of the true knowledge, render us loathsome and detestable. For it was thus, and not otherwise, that he could lead human affairs to the most perfect ruin.
He feared, as is to be expected, that if we were to approach the God who is by nature, and were to show eagerness to know the Creator of all, we might cast off the yoke of his tyrannical rule and choose to hasten back to the ancient beauty of our own nature. For this reason, he has clouded the eye of our mind, and having bound man with introduced idolatries, he made him a prisoner, as it were, and made the free man into one held in the rank of a captive. But, as it is written, the deceitful man shall not obtain his prey. For the outcome of affairs has not turned out according to his mind. For the wretched one makes war against God out of folly, and it seems to me that he D suffers the same fate as those sailing on the sea, who, not knowing the skill, strive against the counter-blows of the winds and perish along with their ship. For the only-begotten Word of God has shone upon us and took us out of those bonds; and in place of captives, He showed us to be free.
5. These accounts have been necessarily introduced to us for the present occasion. For I thought it necessary to
A indicate profitably that the knowledge of God, the one and true God, is an ancient thing, and one that appeared simultaneously with nature itself; whereas the disease of polytheism is an addition and a discovery of perversion. But even if, overcome by the tyranny of the devil and unable to endure his intolerable greed, we have at some time strayed and worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, bestowing the name of divinity upon heaven, sun, moon, stars, earth, and water, and describing an innumerable multitude of gods, let us avoid such baseness in the future; and having been redeemed from so detestable an error through Christ, let us remain faithful and true worshippers of Him who paid the price for us, and let us not be caught pretending to hold the faith with our lips alone, while keeping infidelity in our minds. B And let no one simulate the Christian through external dress, while internally harboring a hidden idolater. For if he still favors the barbarians with his whole heart, why does he pretend to be a friend of the king? By far the best, my friend, is what the law of the ruling power considers a champion of liberty, not a traitor; nor him to whom the affairs of the enemy are preferred, but him who strenuously aids those who are fighting, and who does not consider the defeat of his own adversaries to be his own calamity. But a man who is crafty and deceitful in his actions is execrable and abominable, and I would call him more pestilential than any plague. And indeed, one would not deny that the very same thing has been truthfully asserted by the Greek poets, but they call such people impostors, sacrilegious, and by other names of that sort, C and in this, it seems to me, they are feeling correctly. I have even heard one of them saying clearly that he hated those who conceal one thing in their mind and pour out another with their tongue, no less than the gates of Hades. For fraud and deceit are indeed a most unholy thing, easily convicting themselves and accusing them of the greatest of all wickedness. For why do you think you ought to remain silent? And why do you even hide in darkness the things you consider worthy of being esteemed in your mind? Do you not, by this one fact—that you so zealously desire to remain hidden—confess their baseness? For one hides, O best of men, those things for which one might righteously be reproached, and which have no splendor from the freedom of speech, but not those things which it is D altogether proper to admire. If, then, you believe that your sentiments are worthy of admiration, why do you not allow yourself to be known by all as you truly are? But if you blush because of the things you conceal in your mind, and you put forth a veil of the darkest sort—an oration, that is to say, which is in no way congruent with them—and you seek thereby to secure for yourself a glorious reputation as one who follows what is right, why not rather bid farewell to those things, and be found entirely bright, speaking things that are akin to what is within, and having persuaded your mind to think things that are in harmony with your words?
A For such a man is simple, and full of that praise which reaches the heights. And I think that by this very thing I might overthrow the contentious man, and the one who has chosen to stand against our arguments regarding this matter. For, B since it is confessed by all that it is for Christ, who would doubt that it is so, and would not endure being rebuked for acting foolishly? But since I presume it to be right and proper, even from the divinely inspired Scripture itself, to confirm such things, come, let us set before you the divine oracles, which possess a clear demonstration that the hypocrite is entirely displeasing—nay rather, that he is abominable—to God, and guilty of the charges of double-mindedness. For some of the Israelites once suffered from this disease in ages past, and they falsely pretended to honor the Law's commandment, and while they had the Lawgiver on their tongue up and down, they considered that they ought to think other things; and each, according to his own judgment, hurried to fortify—as though it were blameless—whatever seemed right only to himself. What then did God say concerning them through the voice of the prophet? C “This people draws near to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me.” For shall we not admit that they worship in vain, and that those who approach God while practicing an affection that is entirely feigned and spurious—they who in mind think other things, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator, but speak only as Christians, and with embellished words pretend to a piety toward God—are acting in vain? Then someone might agree with these people. If, therefore, anyone thinks that he will not pay the penalty for his deceit, and does not expect to undergo for his lying to God the bitter punishment, let him honor double-mindedness, and let him think the teacher of better things to be delirious. But if a most terrible punishment, and penalty, and judgment, and every kind of torment, and the untamable D fire await even those who are not willing to receive it, how should I not think him the greater fool who, from illicit pleasure having mastered his own soul, sets that pleasure before it? For the love of pleasure is the variegated passion, and nothing else. And indeed, how dangerous this matter is, it is good, as it seems, to say. For against one of those among us, or even those who are still slightly among the better ones, one might ward off an assault, either by opposing his own strength, which is in small measure inferior to his, or by competing with unequal preparations and beyond one's strength, or by being saved in some other way. But as for one who is being pursued, tell me, in what manner will he escape God, who is angered? Or whither might he run and hide? And yet, let us grant him, if you will, such brilliance in his manner of life that nothing superior could be seen; and let him be clothed with an abundance of wealth, which even the fabled and unrivaled wealth of Croesus would not rival. Shall there be, therefore, any escape from this? Will these also fend off the avenger, even against his will? Quite far from it. For...
divine Scripture will not lie in any way, saying: "Treasures will not profit the ungodly" (Prov. X, 2). But is this offense not grave? Come, let us teach once more that the crafty man is considered wicked by God, and that this fickle turncoat, this trifler and doer of injury, is called by Him a name of contempt. For He said somewhere to Jeremiah, accusing the stupor of the Israelites in such words: "Do you see what the house of Israel has done to me? They went up upon every high mountain, and under every leafy tree, and they committed fornication there" (Jerem. III, 6). By the word "committed fornication" he signifies that they sacrificed to demons, for this is common in the holy Scriptures. For, gathering together on the wooded peaks of the mountains, beneath the tall and thick trees, they would erect shrines and altars—sometimes even with a small stone—to the gods of the groves and perhaps the rustic nymphs, or even to the one they themselves called Baal, offering libations and sacrifices, and, in short, all kinds of defilement to the strangers. What then was the result of this? God was heavily afflicted by these deeds. For, though instructed by the law delivered to them toward the acknowledgement of the truth, they clung to the devil, serving their own pleasures rather, and casting the admonishing commandment from their own hearts. A What then does the Lord of all say regarding them to the prophet Jeremiah? "Shear your hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation upon your lips, because the Lord has rejected and cast off the generation that has done these things" (Jerem. VII, 29). For in order to show clearly what sort of punishment those who have committed these things will undergo, He commands the prophet to have his hair sheared. For just as a hair, when severed by the hand of the shearer, is alienated from the body from which it grew, so whoever has applied themselves to the illusions of demons, having been reaped away from intimacy with God by the divine wrath, will come to nothing, being destitute of all help from above for the future. And indeed, if anyone desires to contemplate the magnitude of the divine mind’s indignation on account of these things, he will easily understand it from this one point: since, although He is wont to grant everything to the prayers of the saints, He admits no such thing in these specific evils. For thus He speaks: "Do not pray for this B people, and do not ask that I have mercy on them by entreating and praying, for I will not listen to you" (Jerem. XI, 14). But since the matter heavily troubled the man filled with the Spirit, and the situation seemed bitter to the prophet—I mean that the prayer should be rejected and able to avail nothing—God excuses Himself, in a manner of speaking, and teaches by crying out that He would not have yielded even if those greater and more ancient had approached Him: "If Moses and Samuel were to stand before my face, my soul is not toward them." But perhaps someone of those who have dared these things will say: "What then, my good man? If some, doing the same things openly, were caught, and by provoking openly, angered Him on account of this—but what of one doing so secretly, tell me?"
A Does he not rightly and justly rank among the unholy, and will he not have something grievous to say, insofar as he would grieve God, the overseer of hidden things? Away with such foolishness, man! Though one might perhaps escape the eyes of men, no one will elude God, the Overseer of all things that exist. For "all things are naked and laid bare before His eyes," according to the word of Paul. Therefore, to speak of Him as being deceived, whether secretly or openly, is thoughtless. But if it seems good to you to learn how great and what kind of wrath is stirred up against those who choose to practice impiety in secret, I will bring forth some of the things recorded in the divine Scripture. Do you, however, receive it into your mind again.
Some of the ancients were indeed wandering, even though they acknowledged the God of all and were steered toward the perception of the truth through many writings. And so, having fashioned a multiform swarm of idols, they stored them away in dark and lightless places. By little and little, the disease creeping toward the worse even devoured those who had been entrusted with the holy offices; it was a grave matter, and intolerable to God. But since He intended to punish those who were rioting against Him by serving other gods, He explains their daring deeds to the prophet, or rather, He shows them as if in light. B "Hear then," He says to Ezekiel. "And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth of the month, as I was sitting in my house, the hand of the Lord God came upon me, and I saw, and behold a likeness of a man, from his loins and downward fire, and from his loins and upward as the appearance of amber. And He stretched forth the likeness of a hand, and took me by the crown of my head; and the Spirit took me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me to Jerusalem in a vision of God." And after other things, immediately: "And He brought me in," he says, "unto the porch of the court, and I saw; and behold an opening in the wall, and He said to me: Son of man, dig now in the wall. And I dug in the wall, and behold one door. And He said to me: Enter and see the wicked iniquities which they do here today. And I entered and saw; and behold every likeness of creeping thing, and beast, and vain abominations; and I saw all the idols of the house of Israel C engraved upon it round about. And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jechonias the son of Saphethem in the midst of them, stood before them; and each man had his censer in his hand, and the mist of the incense went up."
Do you hear how, while they thought they could escape the notice of God by refusing the honor due to Him and offering it instead to demons, God was uncovering everything to the prophet? For after showing their daring deeds, He again says: "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do [each of them in his secret chamber? For they say: The Lord has forsaken...]
the earth, the Lord does not see." For everyone who does not shrink from insulting Him by cleaving to demons, does not even profess that He is the observer of our affairs. B For as it is written: "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God"; or as the Psalmist says elsewhere: "They have said: The Lord will not see, nor will the God of Jacob understand." But He immediately mocks them, saying: "Understand now, you fools among the people, and you senseless ones, become wise some day. He who planted the ear, does He not hear? And He who fashioned the eyes, does He not consider?" For it would be one of the most absurd things, and I would say entirely lacking in sanity, not to suppose that God can see or hear, He who instilled into us ourselves, or rather into all other living things, the knowledge acquired through the senses. Since, therefore, God makes manifest C to the prophet the daring deeds of the insolent and the things done in the secret chamber, He immediately showed the infallible punishment that was to follow for them. For He says thus again: "And He called out in my ears with a great voice, saying: The vengeance of the city has drawn near; and each man had in his hand the vessels of destruction. And behold, six men were coming from the way of the gate that looks toward the North, and each man had a battle-axe in his hand, and one man in their midst clothed in an alb, and a girdle of sapphire upon his loins. And He said, while I listened: Go after him into the city, and strike, and do not spare with your eyes; and do not have mercy on old man, and young man, and virgin, and infants, and women—kill them for total destruction; but on all those upon whom is the sign, do not draw near." D Do you hear how He ordains a certain severe and harsh punishment for those who have chosen to be impious, even in secret? For God observes and examines the heart of each one; and He destroys the insolent one root and branch, and him who is guilty of the sins of double-mindedness; but He seals with grace from above him who has wholly devoted himself to Him, and who knows God alone. But enough of these things for the present. Let us discuss hereafter how we ought to be disposed toward God.
6. I affirm, therefore, that there should be firmly planted in our souls, before all other things, a sincere faith, true and in nothing wavering, and an opinion consonant with nature concerning God, who is one. The most wise Paul will lead you by the hand to this, saying most excellently: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
A one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all." For He reigns and holds sway over all things, and governs, through all things quickening all, and as God and Father holding them together for their existence, through the Son in the Spirit, not as though through an instrument perchance taken up for ministry; for He has as assessor and co-enthroned with Him the God Word begotten of Him, and co-reigning with Him His own Spirit. And since the Son is the power and wisdom of the Father, God and Father, working all things in the Spirit as in His own power and wisdom, holds all things together for their existence and holds sway over all. Since, therefore, there lies before us, and is laid as a foundation in our hearts, an irreproachable and blameless faith, then indeed, then, and very opportunely, we might perform those things by which we shall be illustrious, that is to say, every kind of virtue and the achievements from a God-loving purpose. For just as faith without works B is dead, so too works, if faith does not pre-exist in us, are of no benefit to our souls; for "no one is crowned, unless he has competed legitimately," according to what is written. For a man who is not very well-versed in the arts of the wrestling school, even if he is believed to excel others in strength, will find no way to pride himself on the pride of crowns, if he has not first entered into the struggles for glory and obtained as an onlooker of his own achievements the one set over the stadium. Let us compete, therefore, as in the sight of God, honoring His divine law, and directing our own life to what is pleasing to Him, through full obedience, and let us demonstrate a hot and invincible desire for all the best things, presenting ourselves as a sweet-smelling savor to God, the judge of the saints’ contests. C And let us drive away impure pleasure as far as possible from our own souls, and let us regard desires for the most shameful things as an indelible stain, and consider them a defilement difficult to wash away. Let us ponder, moreover, what has been said by God: "You shall be holy, for I am holy." For thus, as though alive from the dead, we shall present ourselves to God; thus the pure One will receive us pure; thus, coming to the participation of the mystical blessing, we shall each fill our own soul with every good thing. For the Lord of all, God, says through Moses: "This is the law of the Pasch: Every foreigner shall not eat of it; and a sojourner, and a hired servant shall not eat of it; and every servant of anyone, and bought for money, you shall circumcise him, and then he shall eat of it." D Do you hear how and in what way we shall live purely and blamelessly with the Lord? For He excludes the foreigner and drives away as profane the sojourner and the hired servant. And by foreigner you will understand him who is still altogether a stranger to the faith in Christ;
A but by the sojourner, him who is not yet stable in the faith, but in a way returns and retreats into his own city or region—namely, infidelity—whom we are accustomed to call a "turncoat," for this reason he has been allotted a position neighboring the foreigner. For he who has denied the faith is close to him who has not believed at all. And why do I say this? He is indeed much worse, and the disciple of Christ will bear witness to this, speaking thus: "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (II Pet. II, 21).
Again, he affirms there is a "hired servant," concerning whom a long discourse has already been spent with you. For they say that some approach the communion of the divine mysteries, not driven by any affection of the mind toward God, nor yet restrained by reverence for the faith, but rather fawning upon the goodwill of the bystanders, and striving to accomplish some of their own affairs. For they grasp as it were a reward for a divine love which they traffic; they snatch the fellowship of those who love purely, that they may gain something worldly. The hired servant, therefore, is a hypocrite, wretched, and of the number of those who are deservedly cast out. Yet, as for servants or those bought for a price, he does not cast them out utterly as impious, but bids them first to be circumcised, and only then to be admitted. B And what is the meaning of this? When we were servants of evil demons, or rather of our own passions, Christ redeemed us and claimed us as his own servants, and proved us "bought with a price," having given his own blood as a ransom for the life of all, and having taken on the flesh for our sake. It behooves us, therefore, as if circumcised, and having severed the disgrace of that ancient slavery, to return to a free and God-loving manner of life, and thus be joined to Christ who bought us; for we owe our life to him. And the witness of this matter is Paul, saying: "For one died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (II Cor. V, 14–15).
Let us consider, then, that having a fervent love toward us, although being God the Word—and C having the whole creation, both sensible and intelligible, subject to his rule, and being in all things equal to his own Begetter—and "dwelling in light which no man can approach unto" (I Tim. VI, 16), and having surpassed the highest pinnacle of honor and glory with the Father, he humbled himself for our sake, having taken "the form of a servant" (Phil. II, 7), having become in the likeness of us, that he might rescue all from death and corruption, "nailing to his own cross the handwriting that was against us, and triumphing over it" (Col. II, 14), as it is written, "principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. VI, 12), that he might block the mouth of all iniquity, and having shown us clean through faith, might bring us back to the honor of sonship. For he endured the cross and the death of the flesh, while the unholy Jews engaged in outrage against him. But it was impossible for him to be held by
of death, according to what is written. For being Life by nature, He rose on the third day, having despoiled Hades and opened wide for those below the gates that were always shut, saying to those in bonds, "Come forth," and to those in darkness, "Be revealed," A according to the voice of the prophet. Having therefore preached as well to the spirits in prison the word of faith, He rose on the third day, and having been seen by His own disciples, and having commanded them to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, He ascended again to the heavens, B raising us up with Him to them, whence we expect Him to come back again as Judge in the glory of the Father, with the holy angels. As those therefore who are about to render an account of their own life, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. For then we shall fast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima from the twenty-seventh of the month of Mechir, and the week of the saving Pascha from the second of the month of Pharmouthi, ending the fasts on the seventh of the same month of Pharmouthi, on the evening of the Sabbath, as the evangelical proclamation declares; and celebrating the feast on the following Sunday that begins to dawn, the eighth of the same month, adding thereafter also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus shall we inherit the kingdom of heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom and through whom to the Father without beginning, together with the co-eternal Spirit, be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY X
1. Since we deem that we must again follow the voices of the saints, and, as it were, walk in their footsteps, C as if to brothers and sons, we almost extend the right hand of mutual charity, calling out with that full and grave eloquence: "Grace to you, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ," D who has also once again brought to us this most longed-for and most lovely time of the holy feast, which the great and illustrious choir of the holy prophets themselves sounded beforehand, being illuminated by the mystical teaching of the Holy Spirit, and proclaiming in advance the things that were to come to us through Christ. And so the divine song also, as if from a spiritual lyre, was struck for us by the great David, and the sense of the song is seen to be roughly after this manner: "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth exult; let the fields rejoice, and all that is in them, from the face of the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth, to judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His truth." But He who was of old proclaimed as one who would arrive, and who would pass a right and blameless judgment on the things that are done among us, is no longer expected merely with joy, but with matters
A revealed to us in reality. For He has visited us in the final seasons of the age, according to the faith of the holy and divine Scriptures: “He judged the world in righteousness,” according to the voice of the Psalmist. And how did He judge? By condemning the wanderer, or by imposing penalties upon those who had long ago neglected the divine laws? Then how does His own declaration still hold true when He cries out concerning Himself: “For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him”? And yet everyone, I suppose, of those who are well-disposed, will admit that the decision to inflict some harsh penalty B upon those who have sinned, and to pass a sentence against them, is not the work of one who saves, but rather of one who prepares evil and, with all hope of forgiveness removed, demands an accounting for sins. How then did He come not to judge the world, but to save the world, if He defined a bitter sentence against it? But no one, I suppose, would be so mad as to think that the Truth itself could lie in any matter. How then did He judge the earth? For this is what the words of the psalmist cried out to us. A terrible tyrant has risen up against us, and Satan has seized dominion out of greed, having been cast out like lightning from the company of the holy angels, and having been C completely stripped of the glory that was in him and of the preeminence of his dignities; for he dared to say: “I will be like the Most High.” Since he could not resist the decrees from above, and could not cause trouble to the just Avenger in any other way, he turned to waging war against us. And he immediately cast down man from the straight path, and having turned him aside to what alone pleased himself, and having led him away from the true knowledge of God, he made him—who had been created in the image of God—to be his own worshiper and slave. Envious of us without cause, D and surrounding his own head with the glory of divine equality—for he was oppressed by an ancient disease, and being more grievously sick because of the things for which he was apprehended and punished—he now openly meditated on securing for himself the empire of all things. And as if he had subjected the whole world to himself, as if God were utterly spurning the things created by Him and completely loathing our life, the barbarian, having raised his eyebrow high, insulted human weakness, saying: “I will take the whole world in my hand like a nest, and I will take it up like abandoned eggs; and there is no one who will escape me or speak against me.” And saying this, he heard in return from God, the Lord of all things: “Just as a garment stained with blood will not be clean, so you also will not be clean, because you destroyed my land and killed my people. You will not remain forever.” Therefore God, who had threatened an end to his tyranny, along with our
A nature becoming man when that time had arrived, as if the occasion were already present where it was necessary to exact bitter penalties from the arrogant and bloodthirsty one, “judged the world in righteousness.” For He judged between him and us; and having found him to be unjust and covetous, “having bound him with chains of darkness in Tartarus,” according to what is written, He “delivered him into judgment to be kept” and punished “for the day of judgment.” But those throughout the whole world He released from the bonds of sin, justifying them by faith, and leading them back again to the ancient holiness. For that he ought to be punished for the things in which he had transgressed against us, we appear to have been requesting for long ages, and one who pays close attention to the words of the Psalmist will understand this well, when he introduces as it were a single person of human nature, which thus beseeches God, saying: B “Arise, and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my cause.” And that again the Savior condemned the tyranny of the devil, and having declared us free, acquired us for Himself, how could it not be clear to everyone, as He cries out in the evangelical writings? “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He who lately said he had not come for this cause, and having been sent by God and the Father to judge the world, now says, “Now is the judgment of this world.” It is therefore most certain, and in no part ambiguous, that we have been justified, but the destruction of the bloodthirsty beast has been decreed. For he has been cast out, that is, into utter helplessness, and deprived of the authority he held over those who had sinned. For Emmanuel, having been crucified for all and on behalf of all, redeemed the life of all with His own blood, and through Himself joined to God and the Father the race that had leapt away from its ancient intimacy. “For there is one mediator of God and man,” C as it is written, having blended in an ineffable manner the intelligible, and existing at once as man and God; and for this reason, being naturally united to the substance of the One who begat Him, and to us as man. For it was not possible for what was born corruptible to be saved in any other way, nor for that which is unstable and wavering to be advanced to a firm and solid desire for virtue, unless the splendor of God and the Father—that is, the Son—had descended into communion with it; He who is subject to no corruption or change, but is endowed with a nature to which nothing of the kind can reach. These, therefore, are all the signs and marks of our festival; and “the heavens rejoice, and the fields exult,” according to the voice of the Psalmist. For the heavenly hosts rejoice with those on earth. And indeed we shall find the holy angels saying, when Christ is born, D and shouting: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men.” Christ is
A indeed the peace of all things, as it is written, who underwent a voluntary emptying for our sake. For our sake He became one among those who belong to us, having not despised the measure of our nature, nor did He blush at the poverty of the form of a servant; so that we also, through faith in Him and through holy baptism, having become partakers of the Spirit, and being transformed into His manner and life, might shine forth the image of Him who created us.
For that true and unadulterated faith remolds us in a way toward God, and the character of the divine nature is imprinted upon our souls through our life in Christ, you shall learn from Paul, who says to those who had slipped back into the legal commandment after the divine and heavenly baptism: “My little children, of whom B I travail in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” For Christ is formed in you in no other way than through blameless faith and the evangelical manner of life. “For not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the spirit” is it necessary to walk for those who truly desire to go toward God. This, I imagine, could also be well-wrought in our own selves, when, with a yearning for every good thing, having braced the mind itself like nerves—as the mother of all purity that is to be ours—we accept this most holy fast, being content temperately with meager food, and in the food on which we feed, spurning the delights of seasonings, so that we may also use our mental vision more keenly.
Furthermore, consider this: that for the sanctification of our souls, the labor of the body does not suffice, nor is it enough for anyone to show forth virtue by abstaining from food, unless at the same time the works of purity and the integrity of life are conjoined in a way with the praise of fasting, and proceed at an equal pace. For I think, or rather I declare it to be among the most necessary things, that we must be C perfectly and entirely devoted to the worship of Christ, and not, by turning foolishly elsewhere, stray from the straight path, and having abandoned the easy way—by which the journey to God is made—be carried down through precipices and, in the end, recklessly permit ourselves to the will of the devil. “For no man can,” as the Lord says, “serve two masters; for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other.” Therefore, we must renounce him who is no master—I mean, indeed, Satan—so that we may love the Lord who is truly and really Master. But what the manner of this love should be from us, the Lord Himself will enlighten us through Himself, saying: “He who loves Me keeps My commandments.” And those who are genuine keepers of the Savior’s D commandment maintain a sincere and inviolate piety, and, being in no way subject to the desire of the devil, they shake off the yoke of sin and take up the spirit of liberty.
A And overcoming any bizarre and foul pleasure, they put to death the desires of the flesh through the labor of asceticism. Hear even Paul the Great himself shouting this: "For they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the passions and desires." Therefore—for I shall say something else, having again borrowed from Paul—"If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit," putting to death the members which are upon the earth: fornications, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness; and rather presenting ourselves "for a sweet-smelling savor," as it is written, and offering our life as a certain spiritual and private sacrifice to God, who loves virtue. For the fruit of good labors will be altogether glorious. Let no one among us think that he shall attain the praise of perfect virtue without dust and toil, and that he shall triumph over sin without having tasted of any sweat. For Satan is a terrible adversary, and by the snares of deception he is able to hinder the minds of those who have chosen to live correctly and blamelessly, and to weaken the efforts of those who are already looking toward the achievement of virtue. B But we shall take, as a clear and indisputable proof of what has been said, the things that were done and written in Exodus—and this is a book of Moses. For God establishes visible things as images and very vivid types of the more invisible ones; and whatever anyone might observe to have happened to the ancients, if one sets these before oneself for the explanation of hidden and intelligible things, one would not stray from what is fitting. And indeed divine Paul agrees with us in this matter, crying out somewhere concerning the ancients and saying: "For these things happened to them in figures, but they were written for our instruction." C It is therefore possible to see, described as if on a panel from ancient history, the greediness of the devil, which he has dared to employ against us in all things, and how, against those who are advancing toward a state of liberty, he meets them sharply, not allowing them to run past the boundaries of sin, but rather compelling them to linger in it, and not permitting the piety toward God to be accomplished in its entirety, if indeed anyone chooses to think correctly. What, then, is the meaning of this history? It is time, I think, to say.
2. Israel was once despoiled of the honor and glory of its ancient liberty; for the most cruel tyrant of the Egyptians had placed upon them a hard yoke of servitude, and, not relaxing his demands of labor, he tormented the Jews with clay and brick-making. D But when God had compassion, seeing them already broken and almost consumed by the inhumanity of their master, and thought of calling them back to their original and most ancient liberty,
He commanded Moses, the wisest, to go to the tyrant of the Egyptians and speak as follows: "Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to me in the wilderness." Why did He not command them to sacrifice in Egypt instead? And why did He call them to desert places? Is it not logical to understand that those who were about to sacrifice to the God who is Master of all, had first to shake off the yoke of servitude imposed by others, and before that, to take care not to serve the commands of the devil as if by necessity, and further, to cease from the mud and the making of bricks—which is to say, to abstain henceforth from the impurity of earthly works—so that, having as it were departed from the whole land of the one who had taken advantage of them, they might henceforth be as in a desert, having obtained a free and relaxed mind, to approach in purity the holy ministries of divine worship? The divine and truly great Moses gave these orders, and called Israel to the most pure desert. B But the reckless Pharaoh resisted and insulted the divine glory through his audacity, saying: "I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." But when he was defeated by the afflictions sent from above, and finally, though unwillingly, turned toward prudence when the safety of the whole province was in doubt, he then devised various obstacles to detain the people, and not having completely released them from the yoke of servitude, he tried to restrain them in another way, saying: "Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God in my land." C You see how, even if the law of God draws one out of sin, Satan rises up to oppose. Yet, because our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the life of all, fights on our behalf, the devil unwillingly relaxes his greed and finds no easy way to exercise his tyranny over those whom he would wish to rule. Yet he does not allow us to depart completely from his own land, but commands us to be divided, as it were, between both—to provide for what pleases him as well as to the Master of all. But it is impossible for us to exhibit a worship free from reproach unless, having departed from the entire region of the devil, we are found to be completely free from service under him. That this is a true statement, I will clearly demonstrate from the words of the wisest Moses himself. For what did he reply to Pharaoh when he said, "Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God in my land"? He declared it impossible to be so: D "For no one can serve two masters," as I said above; and there is nothing more shameful than to be seen as workers of both wickedness and virtue at the same time, and to bestow equal zeal upon matters that are so greatly opposed to one another, so that now the mind languishes in softness, through which you curry favor with the devil, and now in turn you strive with a more valiant effort toward things that are acceptable to God, calling upon the most just against yourself. For those things which he learned to honor, he ought to have chosen as the only ones of the
A things to be sought, but who would not vehemently denounce adding shame to other things? But then, in what way could you yourself escape the accusation, you who are found to have committed things so clearly condemned? We have need, therefore, of a noble and more vigorous spirit, so that we may honorably, through the exercises of all virtues, perfectly and in every way strive toward God: which we shall indeed very easily achieve, if we are willing to imitate the things that happened to the ancients in figure. You will see, therefore, that the Israelites, when they had resolved that that most shameful slavery must be cast off, and that they must free themselves from the rule of those by whom they had once been oppressed, were nonetheless never able to accomplish any such thing until they sacrificed in Egypt the lamb, by whom Christ was signified, and, sprinkled with his blood, ate unleavened bread with him. B It is necessary, therefore, that our souls be fortified by a truer and mystical blessing, if we refuse to serve sins any longer. For no one could escape the unbearable incursions of earthly passions by any other way than through communion with Christ, who is able to overturn the power of Pharaoh, that is, of Satan. For this reason especially, although he was God by nature and had come forth as the Only-begotten from God the Father, he voluntarily
he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant
, as it is written,et habitu inventus ut homo
, so that he might lift the lowliness of our nature to a sublime height, granting it his own security. For being C immutable by nature, and not knowing how to suffer, since he could not be pushed toward sin, he ineffably mingled himself with the nature that all too easily slides into every kind of evil—I mean, of course, human nature—as I was just saying, gifting to it the security of his own nature, as though it were something weak, so that our mind might eventually be set firmly upon good works, and the passions of the flesh might be chastened, deadened completely by the power of the One who took up residence within it, that is, the Word of God. And so Paul writes, saying: « For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled D in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. » Sin is therefore condemned, having been deadened first in Christ, and it will also be deadened in us when we house him in our own souls through faith and the participation of the Spirit, who makes us conformable to Christ, through the quality of sanctification, that is to say. For the Spirit of our Savior Christ is, as it were, a certain form, impressing upon us through himself a divine likeness in a certain way. Therefore, he is also called by the same name in the God-inspired Scriptures, not being something other than him, so far as identity of essence and energy are concerned.A And indeed, since the Savior himself says, "I am the truth," John writes that "the Spirit is the truth." Again, Paul, who was nurtured in the sacred Scriptures, writes: "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." You hear how ingeniously the minister of the sacred mysteries preserved for both the Son and the Holy Spirit that which is the same in essence, while also noting that they are understood as distinct—I mean with respect to their subsistence—which is what is said of each, and is true in reality. For the Spirit is rightly understood as Spirit, and not the Son, or rather as the Spirit of the Son, fashioning and re-forming into him those in whom he might be participated, so that God and Father, seeing the characteristics of his own offspring shining forth in us, might henceforth love us as children and adorn us with super-celestial honors. And this would be a most manifest proof, again, which was prophesied long ago through the all-wise Moses. For what did he say to him? "Sanctify to me every firstborn, the firstborn that opens the womb." B By saying, "Sanctify," he meant, "Enroll and set apart as something sacred and owed to God." For I do not think anyone would concede that Moses could be perceived as the bestower of the Holy Spirit, or that one who has been taken into the order of a minister and servant could revel in the prerogatives of the Lord, or be able to perform what belongs propriately and uniquely to God. What, then, was Moses outlining? What was he saying to the sons of Israel? "And it shall be," he says, "when the Lord your God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to your fathers, and gives it to you; and you shall separate everything that opens the womb, the males to the Lord." He commands that every firstborn that opens the womb be sanctified. For all are holy in whom the image of the holy and firstborn—I mean Christ—might appear shining. C And so, while taking the bodily likeness as a type of the intelligible thing and of the conformity understood in the Spirit, the law revealed the eternal will of God and the Father. For this reason, Paul too speaks of this giving of the law—as it seems to me—as this great mystery: "For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified." But come, let us again, as carefully as we can, investigate with greater precision the meaning of the question: what kind of form might one rightly attribute to Christ, so that while we clarify the sense of the doctrine, we might proceed not far from the proper target. D
3. But it is not a matter of dispute that that all-transcending beauty, which one might perhaps conceive of as existing in the very nature that is above all things—I mean...
the character in our souls would not appear in any other way, unless we were to become partakers of the divine nature, having received the Spirit of the Father and the Son, and as Paul said, "being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit." In actions, however, and in the power directing towards the operation of virtue, this transformation in us takes place, and the change into sanctification, which disposes us toward everything that is pleasing to God, and casts out all softness from our minds, and refashions it as if into a firm and invincible frame of mind. For I myself think that it is for this reason especially that God, the giver of the law, did not simply command every firstborn to be sanctified, but added that it must be the male. For why is the female unholy and not sanctified, even if it be firstborn, but—if I may say B so, I will speak again when the time and need call for it—we shall perceive a portion, as it were, of that concept which is in the divine and incomprehensible nature, to be something virile and spirited in all things, if we fix the eye of the mind upon it. Such is the nature of the Godhead, yielding to nothing that exists, but rather prevailing, and in all things acting with the vigor of a man toward those who are called to generation, and being most exceedingly strong; and it is impossible to express how it accomplishes the perfection of its own works. Therefore, one would rightly understand him to be conformed to Christ who, in all good things, bears a mind, so to speak, that is male and spirit- C ed; but not one who has a mind that is, if I may say so, female, soft and easily overcome. For the female sex is timid and weak, and unskilled in fighting and boldness. I will present to you an image of this matter again from the writings of Moses. For he said that the tyrant of the Egyptians, who is set down in the Holy Scriptures as a type of the devil, was arming himself against the offspring of the Hebrews, and, fighting against those still in the womb, ordained that those that were being born and were just coming into the experience of light should be put to death immediately. And he wrote the sign of his cruelty with the craft appropriate to him. For the bloodthirsty man decreed that the female should be spared D but that the male should be drowned in waters and marshes. What, then, does this contemplation signify to us? And what will it be for those with keener minds to understand? For soft and unmanly and effeminate dispositions are pleasing to the devil; wherefore he permits the female to grow, not expecting that he will ever be despoiled of his rule by them. But he considers as most hostile, and as that which must be hardened so as not to be conquered, the male; whom he also suspects—if he should be nurtured by the words of truth, and, according to Paul, should grow up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and into a perfect man—will be
known as nowhere conquerable, he takes away before the age of puberty. A For that which is from her womb, by the seed that grows from the male, what then follows from this? That everything which is precious to God is abominable to him. But the opposite will by all means prevail; for that which is held in hatred by the devil is listed among the necessary things before God; and he gains, as it were, the finest vote for himself, in that he is hated by the devil, along with that other decorum. And that this is also true, it is not difficult for me to point out to you from the sacred Scriptures themselves. Therefore, in what are called Numbers (for so is one of the books of Moses inscribed), immediately at the beginning, God said to the interpreter of sacred things, Moses himself, and to Aaron: "Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel (calling the calculation, or the enumeration, the 'sum'), by their families, by the houses of their fathers, according to the number of names, head by head; every male from twenty years old and upward, every one who goes forth in the host of Israel, register them." B Observe how he commands the males to be described, and a multitude that is already pubescent, and, as it were, flourishing at that time: "From twenty years old, he says, and upward." But he takes no account at all of the female and of the age of childhood. For a disposition that is weak and immature in understanding is rejectable before God. But that which is masculine and at the same time prudent is most recognized and written in the book of life, inasmuch as it is sufficiently able to withstand the devil's machinations. For prudence joined to a young and vigorous disposition is capable of all things that it behooves those who are pious to perform. C 4. Therefore (for I will necessarily summarize the aim of the discourse), the Spirit renders us conformed to Christ; and through virtues performed by action, the divine characters certainly shine forth in us. But to those who are not such, the opposite will happen. I will make the power of the discourse very clear. For just as the male is taken as a type of fortitude—I mean the fortitude that is understood according to God, which also renders us similar to Christ—in the same way, the female is assumed as an exemplar of softness and an imbecile mind, D which falls into pleasures all too easily. Therefore, divine Scripture adapts the habit of the female both to sin itself and to the workers of sin. For just as we say that those who love him are conformed to Christ, so too is the most ugly figure of sin inscribed upon the souls of those who love sin. I will again bring forward the blessed prophet Zechariah, who can explain this very thing, and indeed most clearly, to the hearers. For he says thus: "And the angel who was speaking with me went forth, and"
said to me: Lift up your eyes, and see what this is that goeth forth. And I said: What is it? And he said: This is the measure that goeth forth; and he said: This is their iniquity in all the earth. And behold, a talent of lead was lifted up. And behold, one woman sat in the midst of the measure; and he said: This is iniquity; and he cast her into the midst of the measure, and he cast a stone of lead upon her mouth. And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw: and behold, two women going forth, and there was spirit in their wings, and they had wings as the wings of an hoopoe, and they took the measure between the heaven and the earth."
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Behold, in the guise of a woman iniquity shows itself to the prophet; and the souls that attempt to raise it up on high possess the same deformity as it. For they too are seen in the shape of a woman. The prophetic discourse confirmed to us that these possessed wings as of a hoopoe, that it might thereby demonstrate that the souls of the impious are ready for impurity and inclined to the allurements of the flesh. For this bird is impure—I speak of the hoopoe—being above all a voracious devourer of worms and of the excrement of the belly. Such is the soul that is seen to be addicted to any sins and pleasures whatsoever. For the pure mind is nourished by the words of truth. Now, Truth is understood as Christ. But the earthly soul, prone to wallow in mire, like those who tend to crawl through it themselves, looks upon every kind of base desire and gathers it from every side, and is fed by these things, nor does it in any way reject the foul odor emanating from them. If, therefore, we deem it pleasant and desirable to bear the most glorious image of the Savior, B and to conform ourselves to that divine and heavenly beauty, let us cast off the most hideous effigy of sin, and let us flee from a mind languid with softness and easily yielding to the perverse arts of the devil. Let us rather carry ourselves in a manful way after the example of Christ, so that we may be partakers of his life, being made in the presence of God and the Father through him and in him. For thus, thus casting off the corruption that has settled upon our bodies as if it were some most grievous burden, we shall put on the glory of immortality—not indeed so that we cast aside our bodily nature, but, transformed to the ancient grace of incorruptibility, we shall shine with the very body, C through the gift of Christ, in a certain ineffable glory: "For our body of humiliation will be reformed, conformed to the body of his glory," as it is written. And that, although we are of a corruptible nature, because we have been made in the presence of God and the Father, we shall remain incorruptible, clothed with the glory of the Savior, the example which exists in the Holy Scriptures will confirm to us not obscurely. For when God, who can do all things, wished to indicate that even that which is by nature corruptible can be changed into something other than what it is, and converted for the better, if he only turns his own eyes toward it: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just," D as it is written in the Psalms.A He says to the holy Moses and Aaron: "Fill the omer of manna, for a storage for your generations." And Moses said to Aaron: "Take one golden jar, and put into it a full omer of manna, and you shall place it before God, for a keeping for your generations." And yet the manna, according to its own nature, used to perish, and was completely useless to those who wished to keep it, and it was found only for the one following day; but it remained incorrupt, once it was placed in the sight of God by the hand of Aaron and contained in the golden jar. B And that there will be something of this sort also in us, I suppose no one will doubt. For the truly holy high priest of our souls, that is to say Christ, will wrap our body in divine glory, as if in a garment of gold, and then, as if having set it in the sight of God and the Father, He will translate it to incorruptibility. For we shall no longer be subject to corruption, but rather we shall live forever. For we have the example of this whole matter set before us in the manna. Therefore, since such a bright radiance shines upon the saints, let us drive away C from our minds as far as possible the drowsiness of negligence that comes upon us, and with commendable vigilance let us work for our own salvation; and as we studiously labor therein to fulfill all the measures of virtue, and to obey the evangelical precepts most steadfastly, let us render illustrious thanks to the Savior, and let us offer spiritual sacrifices as tokens of gratitude to Him who became the defender of the life of all, and who redeemed us by His own cross, for the gifts bestowed upon us, just as the Psalmist says somewhere: "I will enter into Thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay Thee my vows, which my lips have uttered." D For we who have embraced the faith in all things, and have confessed that Christ is God and Lord, have bound ourselves to His service, have offered our submission, and owe Him obedience. For let us consider that, while He was God by nature—as He who was begotten of God and who shone forth ineffably and beyond understanding from the very substance of God and the Father, and for this reason was most justly perceived to be in the same form and in all things equal to Him, and truly was so—He "emptied Himself," as we read in the Scriptures, "taking the form of a servant," that is, becoming like one of us, so that we too might be made like Him, being conformed to that image which is by grace through the operation of the Spirit. For indeed He is one of us, who for our sake became man, even as we are; but He is God for His own sake, and for the sake of Him who begot Him, both before the assumption of humanity and when He became man. For He did not cease to be God, who is of God according to nature, even if He "became flesh," as John says. Therefore, to the true disciple at some time—and this was Philip—who asked and said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us," He sets Himself before his sight...
as the image of the Father’s essence and glory, and said: A "Have I been so long with you, and have you not known me? Philip, he who sees me, sees the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? I and the Father are one." For He showed us the Father’s nature in His own nature, and by His operation, which is worthy of God in all things, He set Himself before us as the essential character of the One who begat Him, for our knowledge, and so He showed the true and only God. Thus, He commanded the dead, who were already corrupt and stinking, to return to life; and with authority He cried out to the sea and the winds, "Peace, be still;" then to the blind He granted from early infancy the sweet and most longed-for light, and besides these, He performed ten thousand other miracles in a wondrous way. "For no one has ever seen God," B as the holy evangelist says. For if one considers what the divine and incomprehensible nature truly is, what sort of bodily eye could gaze upon it? Or how at all could that which is by nature invisible be seen? And who shall look upon that unapproachable light, when the radiance that flows from the rays of the sun is itself beyond the power of our eyes to grasp? But it was necessary, then, that we should see God Himself. Therefore, this sight is had through His miracles; and in the things that were wondrously accomplished, the beauty of the divine nature is perceived. And Wisdom, again, said that the creator of these things is to be contemplated proportionately from the beauty of created things. In order, therefore, that having performed miracles He might be recognized, and might show us the Father in Himself, and be believed to be God by nature and Lord of all, He became man as we are, and having put on our likeness, C "He appeared on earth," according to what was said by the wise men, "and lived among men." And since He was owed to the Jews by promise, He was "born in Bethlehem of Judea," according to the Scriptures; and He taught first among them, and gave to his hearers a knowledge far better than the writing of Moses, seeing that it had long ago been ordered in types: "For the law made nothing perfect." But the glory of piety receives its fullness through the commandments of our Savior. Since the time, therefore, was pressing for those things which had been foretold in types to be translated into truth, Christ cried out to those who were descended from the blood of Israel: "I am the truth," D as if in effect He were saying: Let the commandment of Moses now pass away, and let the type cease, and the ignorance of worship in shadows; let the power of the truth now shine forth, and let the grace of virtue as it is in act be now seen as realized in the very facts; "For God is Spirit, and those who worship Him ought to worship in spirit and in truth."
A But the hard and unyielding peoples of the Jews, looking only to insensibility and laboring under a beastly madness, did not even think how they ought to receive Him who had been proclaimed through the law and the prophets as one who would come and would save our entire race; but the wretches slipped into such a degree of folly that they foolishly mocked Him as one who taught and introduced things beyond the law, regarded a doctrine so holy and precious as nothing, and did not hesitate to assail Him with exotic slanders, and to call Him a glutton, a drunkard, and a Samaritan—for I shall refrain from saying things even more grievous than these. Therefore, the holy prophet also lamented the fall of those who were caught in such terrible deeds: "The house of Israel has fallen; it shall no more rise again; the virgin of Israel is cast down upon her own land; there is none to raise her up." For the Synagogue of the Jews was uprooted from its very foundations, since it most intemperately abused the surpassing long-suffering of the Savior. For the peoples of the Jews and their leaders had persuaded themselves, in effect, that there was absolutely no blame to be incurred by them if they had only acted impiously against the prophets. B Therefore, not fearing to lay impious hands upon Him also, they condemned Christ and the eternal life, because of that madness to which the wretches had finally been brought. Wherefore, somewhere in the prophet it says of them: "Woe to them, for they have departed from me; they are miserable, for they have dealt impiously against me. I redeemed them, but they have spoken lies against me." For making a bitter return to Him, and repaying evil for good, as it is written, they did not only tell lies, but by adding to their ancient crimes a wickedness greater than all others, they spoke to one another that which is written in the Gospels concerning Christ: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours." C Then, bringing such an abominable and perverse reasoning to action, and making Satan the manager of the whole affair—or rather, its leader and commander—they purchased the most venal disciple for a small amount of silver. For concerning such as these, the divine word said somewhere: "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous." But why, then, does my discourse proceed at such length regarding things that are before our eyes? For who has been ignorant of the daring deeds of the impious Jews? For they have handed over the Lord of all to the cross, branding the mark of impiety upon their own wretched heads and upon their whole race. For in their madness, they dared to say: D "His blood be upon us and upon our children." Nay, and even looking upon Him nailed to the precious cross, the most daring ones mocked Him, and, taught by their own father—I mean Satan—they said:
the Father, I mean, of Satan: "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross, and we will believe thee." A But the Lord Jesus Christ, seeing the death that had long tyrannized over us now shaken and falling (for it was about to be utterly destroyed by the death of His holy flesh), made nothing of the revilings of the Jews. For His purpose was to deliver both the living and the dead from sin, and to innovate for human nature again the return to incorruption, which indeed also came to pass. For He despoiled Hades by a divine and good command, saying to those who were there: "Go forth, and be revealed," and raising His own body on the third day (for Christ is the first-fruits of them that sleep, and the first-begotten from the dead), He was taken up to the Father, B an advocate for us. For as Paul says, "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." And again, "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he
A is able to succour them that are tempted," and "hath borne the yoke from his youth." A For who would not vehemently desire to be subject to the law, and to be trained by the institutions that are through Christ, and reckon this as ranking among the highest glories of all? For virtue, beloved, is a thing honorable and desirable; and I think that of all things admired in this life, it holds the first place in the estimation of those who are accustomed to think rightly. One might well and deservedly praise a man who is frugal and moderate, if he should spontaneously and diligently undertake numberless labors to attain it, and show himself full of the best fervor of all. For I indeed think it necessary that those who have obtained this peculiar glory should have this purpose set before them: to be entirely alien to softness, but on the contrary to receive manly spirits against all languor, timidity, and sloth, so that they should deem nothing arduous or impassable, but should consider that which is rough to be very level B and that which is in many ways beset with difficulties to be perfectly easy to accomplish. For it would truly be shameful if those who are accustomed to boast in the strength of their bodies, and who practice an art, whether that which is honored in the wrestling schools, and which finds its appropriate place among the customary diversions of the cities, or that which is conspicuous in battles and is impregnable against encroaching adversaries, should labor to fit the most beautiful crown of glory upon their own heads; while we, upon whom the light of the divine Word has shone, seeking not earthly joy, nor happiness defined by the spaces of time, but, as the most wise Paul says, receiving an unshaken kingdom of heaven, should view with suspicion the brief labors of this life, and seek rest before the time, even though Paul most clearly and C plainly cries out: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." That the end of a life strictly directed to the rule of the law terminates in a most glorious hope, the divine oracles will assure us: "For of good labors," it says, "the fruit is glorious." What, however, comes to my mind to admire is this: if any enemy were found wishing to snatch from us such a splendor of glory, would we not, and reasonably, be not moderately troubled in spirit, as if spoiled of the best things, and deem that injury intolerable? Since, however, nothing hinders us from being seen as illustrious and bright, would it not be most absurd for us to be inconsolably distressed by the perversities of others, and to be consumed by such bitterness of vexations on account of this, and furthermore to bring upon our own heads a voluntary loss of good things, and by a voluntary impulse of the soul to wage war against our own life? The time is therefore now present for care, and for sedulity, and for sobriety, and for temperance, and for the most holy fast: for the season, having unfolded its own spans for us, is now leading us to the doors. Wherefore, following both the legal ordinances and D the most fittingly appropriate for those who have been counted worthy of the holy status, we are all but stretching out...
A a trumpet, a great and piercing proclamation, and we are hastening to sound it forth with the clearest resonance, signaling to all those everywhere that the time has come to act for the Lord, in accordance with what is written: it is a time for struggles and labors, and for the victory to be won against the passions of body and spirit.
2. Moreover, a divine and sacred Scripture urges us toward this proclamation, being expressed somewhat as follows: "If you go out to war in your land against the enemies who are rising up against you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and in the burnt offerings, and in the sacrifices of your deliverance, and it shall be a remembrance for you before your God. I am the Lord your God." B Since, therefore, the rule of fasting persuades us that at this present time, more than any other, it is necessary to wage war against flesh and passions, come, let us manfully gird ourselves with the appropriate weapons and clothe ourselves in the spiritual panoply. Let the soldier of Christ, about to do battle, come forth—not armored with gleaming steel, not brandishing a terrifying helmet-crest, not brandishing an iron shield and spear, but, as the divine Paul says, "putting on the armor of God": faith, hope, and love, and patience, and the perseverance that is for the sake of what is good; a youthful and unbroken spirit, and a heart not easily shaken, but rather unbending and firmly established, not contentious C toward brothers, but experienced in warfare against enemies. For this, I think, is what is rightly indicated by the utterance of the prophet: "Let the gentle one be a warrior." For let no one think that the bitter host of demons will be at peace, or that Satan will cease from his madness against us. And it has indeed been said somewhere to the Jews: "If the Ethiopian changes his skin, or the leopard his spots, then you also will be able to do good, having learned evil." But this saying, which is true and good, one might also aptly and very reasonably apply to the wicked and opposing powers; these, wandering about the world and curiously investigating the life of every man, gaze with terrible and savage eyes upon the holy; and those who D were already leaning toward wickedness they incite toward apostasy—a greater and worse evil, reaching at last the very extreme of all depravity. But against those who have chosen to work what is good and to boast in the achievements of righteousness, they rise up as if against their most hostile foes, bringing forward the cruelty of the perversity that is within them. For it is not blood and flesh that battles us, but the exceedingly wretched and apostate multitude of demons, and indeed, along with this, the innate law of the movements of the flesh; though it is natural, it is nevertheless a wild and untamed law, dragging [the soul] to what it itself desires, and forcing it by violence, and inciting it with a stubborn neck against the spirit. For to itself it
its inclinations are opposed to each other; and it is pulled far apart into a state of contradiction. A And it seems to me that the souls of the ungodly suffer something similar to that which is likely to happen to cities or districts, against which war is proclaimed from without by neighboring barbarians; but there is no lack of sedition within the gates, and the citizens are consumed by civil war: for even if they were equal to those besieging them from the outside, if only they acted in concord among themselves, yet as they are divided and distracted by dissensions, they are consumed and worn out by themselves. For that there is no small difference of wills in us will be witnessed by the divine Paul saying: “I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” B There is therefore a double, not a simple, war within us. But, I suppose, someone might say, and ask me as I discuss this: “What then, my good man? Must we, laying down our arms, surrender the victory to our enemies without any sweat, and bend the neck as if to most violent masters, knowing the fight to be dangerous, and is it necessary to serve the flesh and demons, having despaired of salvation?” By no means; for these things are nothing more than trifles. Away with this madness, O man. Turn your mind rather to fortitude, and if you understand that the flesh is by its own nature more inclined to pleasures, do not fear the encounter of the combatant: it is subdued by very few labors. And if you see it stirred up and rising against the dictates of the spirit, C cast off your sloth at once, and imitating the best athletes, gird yourself more vehemently for labor, and equipped with the arms of chastity, intensify the labor of exercise; and the law of sin will take to flight, and you will behold as a fugitive him whom you had convinced your mind could not be overcome by any force. Thus also the divine Paul waged war against the desires of the flesh, saying: “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” For a high-spirited horse, in order to train it for the race, they turn with bridles, those who have this study at heart. Those who are in charge of a naval crew, by the turning of the rudders, teach the merchant ships to keep a straight course. D But a prudent and tried mind is not at all troubled by levity, nor does it allow itself to be easily carried away by the errors of thoughts as if by a whirlwind of winds. But rising in a way within itself, and being excellently established, it keeps the flesh in check by the labors of exercise, so that it may willingly and gladly be subject to God, and may maintain a straight course in all things that ought to be done: “The thoughts of the righteous are right judgment,” as it is written. Let there, moreover, be otherwise [no] excuse in the weakness of continence
For it is not the case that the mode of gentleness shall only prevail over the flesh, but that which is seditious within it has already been mortified and consumed through Christ. A Now the disciple of the Savior will again explain both the power of the innate conflict and the manner of this mortification. For he says again: “So then I myself with the mind serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” And again: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” B The flesh having been mortified, therefore, so far as concerns the motive of desire—for it is permitted to those who wish to conquer: “We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh,” as it is written. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” It is right, furthermore, to consider how it is truly shameful and ridiculous for those who have already attained and been called to such glory, namely to have received the dignity of adoption as sons, to be seen as slaves of the flesh, and not rather as noble defenders of virtue, that they might preserve the glory they have found. C For it is not, I say, it is not possible in the day of judgment to attribute causes to laxity, uttering such trifles: “I was oppressed by tyranny, I was enslaved,” while Christ in a way refutes us, and all but compels the law of liberty to cry out against our excuses.
§ 3. Let the instructor of the saints, then, explain and instruct us in our struggles against the flesh, writing as follows: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” D And furthermore regarding this, the wise John says: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” Of a sound mind, therefore,
A would a person be destitute, if, though it should seem more profitable to him, he were to forgo better things and hold them for nothing, choosing rather those things that he himself declares to be worthy of laughter and that are measured by a brief time? For if one, having placed gold and lead before someone, were to bid him choose which he would prefer, would we not, by disregarding that which is considered of almost no value at all, and by choosing without delay those things which are indisputably superior, be considered B to have followed the best counsel, both in our own judgment and that of others? Then how is it not utterly misplaced and entirely foolish that we should exercise such great discernment and just judgment in judging matters composed of corruptible and earthly material, yet in matters of the soul—where it is necessary to discern the natures of things most precisely—we are seen to be struck with stupor, and so neglect the search for what is honorable that we either are completely ignorant of what is profitable or, knowing it, despise it? We fail to have any regard—or have only a very meager one—for that which will benefit us forever, yet we incline eagerly toward baser things? Come then, let us overcome luxury, the worst of evils; let us strive with more vehement zeal to have virtue as a companion to our affairs, and let us adorn our life on all sides with every kind of good action. For I consider that those who have chosen a proven way of life ought not to be content with bodily continence alone, nor merely to struggle against the flesh, but also to maintain all other moderation in their habits and ways of life. C For a mind that has exercised itself in the serenity of gentleness cannot be overcome by anger. “For he that ruleth his anger is better than one that taketh a city,” according to the Scripture. And furthermore, let the man who is manly and obedient to reason, and who does not allow himself to be overcome by unjust or unnecessary gains, consider the contempt of riches to be solid justice, and prefer voluntary poverty to troublesome riches. For the most wise Paul charged that the disciple of the Savior must show himself to be, and truly be, content with very little, saying: “Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare of the devil, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” Therefore, let the seeking of superfluous things depart; let it be cast away, as if into the mountains or into the waves, as some have written, and let the use of necessary things—I mean food and cheap clothing—be preferred to the D possession of many things. For these are most easily provided, and can be found quite easily without any trouble. 4. In addition to all these good things, let the law of the brotherhood which is according to Christ be honored, and let the precept of love for one another prevail. “For love is the fulfilling of the law,” according to what is written.
A We say that the fruit of charity is to have pity on those who are in need and want of the necessities of life. For do not say, O man, to yourself: "I am rich in faith; I have acknowledged Him who is by nature and truly God and Lord; I have escaped from the nets of the devil and from demonic deceit; I have washed away the crimes of idolatry. The boast of my goodwill is kept for me." But remember Him who says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” For do you not know, or have you no understanding, that it behooves those who believe to obey the divine laws without delay? B For as for a barbarian who is far removed from the regions and cities of our customs and is entirely destitute of our laws, no one, I think, if he were wise, would justly charge him with the writing of disobedience; but one might rightly and not without purpose blame those who have been nurtured in cities and laws, if any of them should happen to slip from what is fitting. Therefore, those who have not yet been approved in the Word—though they are without doubt not free from danger—will nevertheless have wherewith to repel the blame of their offenses, in that they have not been instructed in the divine laws, and they may offer this not unreasonable excuse. But for those who have chosen to believe, no excuse is left if they are stubborn and refractory. Furthermore, to refuse the service of God by casting off the divine yoke, who would not consider this a thing most perilous of all? C Let the ornaments that come from works therefore be yoked together with faith; and as the Savior says: “Let us be merciful, just as your Father who is in heaven is merciful.” “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.” And there is no difficulty in showing you from the very Holy Scriptures both the rewards of mutual charity and the condemnation set before those who do the opposite. For the blessed Job was admired when he said of himself: “But the helpless, whom they sometimes had need of, did not go away unsuccessful, nor did I cause the eye of the widow to fail. If I have eaten my morsel alone, and have not shared it with the orphan. If I have despised the naked who was perishing, and have not clothed him. But if the helpless have not blessed me, and their shoulders have been warmed by the fleece of my lambs. D If I have raised my hand against an orphan, trusting that much help is at hand for me. Then let my shoulder fall away from the joint, and let my arm be broken from the elbow.” 5. The rich man in the Gospels, concerning whom the Savior says, “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple,” has also been condemned and endures inescapable punishment.
A And fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. And a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell, lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham, and Lazarus in his bosom; and he cried out and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus likewise evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
If we must say something briefly on these matters: that rich man had clothing that was very delicate and purple, and perhaps even interwoven with gold somewhere; B a brilliant house, surpassing, I suppose, even wonder, and capable of kindling the madness of envy; a not insignificant swarm of well-dressed servants, various tapestries, spread upon the very floors; cupbearers, cooks, and excellent bakers, each quite elegant in his own craft; and a table always overflowing with delicacies. But there was, of course, also a swarm of flatterers hanging upon the rich man's tongue, who would swear that whatever he chose—even if it were of the most absurd things—was the best of all; and yet, they would revile, as quickly as possible, even virtue herself, if he happened to find fault with her. But as for that god-hated and fleeting impurity—I speak of revelries, and unseemly applause, and convivial songs, and the dances of flute girls—what need is there even to speak? For I believe it is fitting that those things be passed over in silence, for even to recall them might not be without harm to anyone. C But that other man was a thrice-wretched beggar, without clothing, without a home, destitute of those who might care for him, and lacking in bodily strength, having the limit of his desire defined by those things without which we cannot live, and measuring the breadth of happiness within very narrow bounds. For he thought it necessary that his hope and prayers be brought to an end if only he might obtain bread and rags. The narrative of the Gospel parable records that he had reached such a degree of misery D that he shared a bed with foul-smelling dogs and had those alone as his companions, most gladly accepting their attentions when, putting their tongues to him, they wished by natural instinct to provide a remedy for his wounds, bestowing this upon Lazarus. But that high-born and luxury-loving man, calculating nothing of this in his soul—for he was indeed unyielding and heartless, and while he ought to have felt pity, he considered it a burden—knew not how to grieve for the misfortunes of others, and when there was need to show mercy, he deemed it a heavy thing.
A He called it an empty burden, differing in no way from refuse, and being in the same category as the corpses in graves: hateful, detestable, and not to be counted as anything at all. And yet, surely, one ought to have reflected wisely that the Creator and Artificer of our nature has not granted one entrance into life for the rich and another for those weighed down by poverty; but the sowing from father into mother is the same for all, and the pangs of labor and the manner of birth are not different; moreover, the body itself proceeds formed with similar features. We all have one heaven surrounding us; we are honored by the radiance of one sun, which does not send forth a better or brighter light for those who are more illustrious through wealth, while bestowing a more sparing light upon those who are oppressed by need. Nature, therefore, knows no such distinction, nor does God, the Author of the generation of all; but these things are the inventions of human greed and pride. B Indeed, I think there was nothing to prevent us, through the things we have just mentioned, from being able to conjecture quite skillfully concerning the divine will itself, and all our affairs would be carried along as if by a favorable wind, if they were directed toward equality by the bond of charity. For He who distributed all the goods of nature equally, and did not honor anyone with a surplus or greater portion, how could He not have wished to banish greed for other things, and to establish those who have wealth as, so to speak, stewards of those in need, so that they might be able to share in a portion of glory and eternal luxury alongside those whom they had benefited? But a thought has just escaped my mind, which it is worthwhile to add to what has been said. C It came to pass that Lazarus, dwelling in such miseries and overtaken by death, departed from human affairs and was carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham; but he who abounded beyond measure in the luxuries of wealth, and was proclaimed happy and blessed by the acclamations of sycophants, and often addressed by even better titles, having yielded to the laws of nature and been caught in the snare of death, was thrust into the deep prison of darkness; and, having exchanged his earthly goods for the judgment of hell, he paid the penalty for his inhumanity. But perhaps someone among the audience might say: "What words would you use if someone were to approach and inquire, and wish to hear, whether poverty, if considered by itself, is adorned with the praise of piety toward God and honored by the law of justice, and whether, on the other hand, wealth is to be cursed and condemned by a bitter sentence; and how in the world does this matter stand?" D I answer that we must consider this: that with riches in this life there are, as a rule, many inconveniences joined and coupled. For the rich man is more easily carried away into arrogance, is unbridled in his greed, and is overcome by pleasures and luxuries as well. But how could whoever is afflicted by the evils of poverty suffer from any of the aforementioned things? For he is always mourning that he possesses nothing, and he is distressed within himself and groans; he is driven...
A so far from pleasure and luxury, and he is wholly occupied with the care of gathering a little something, and finding some meager consolation for his need.
6. Furthermore, I think it incumbent upon me to say also this: that the character of each person, by bending the nature of each thing to its own will, causes it to be numbered among either base things or admirable ones. And what one might say regarding the hues in wools—whatever colors they are imbued with—the same is true of the natures of things based on the character of those who handle them. Therefore, whoever bears poverty wisely, I shall assert without doubt is the best of all. For if, being content with little—and, to sum it up in a word, acquiring even the things that are easiest to prepare through sweat—he offers up prayers with thanksgiving to God, who would not judge him worthy of this commendation, and deserving to be adorned with the highest praises? Since, while destitution urges one toward wickedness, he guards the law of self-restraint above all others, so as to abstain entirely from all evil? But do we not rightly and deservedly accuse the man conspicuous for an abundance of wealth, to whom, although it was granted B to have the God of all things benevolent—by showing mercy to others, and by bestowing some small gift upon those pressed by need, and in this way emerging from perpetual evils, and as it were swimming out—he chose to make his fleeting wealth a servant only to his own pleasure, the enjoyment of which he would have for but a short time? Thus, Lazarus lived in unexpected delights; but the foolish rich man was tormented in flame and lashes. If, therefore, someone had approached him at that very time and asked, wishing to learn for how much money he would be prepared to purchase the avoidance of that punishment, given the power to choose what he might prefer, would he not, C indeed, have confirmed by every argument that he would gladly suffer the loss of all his fortune for that reason? And for whom among all men could this be doubtful? Therefore, it would be the mark of a foolish and senseless man to wish to learn by experience the bitterness of those things, when it is possible for those who are willing to have their foot outside the snare and necessity. And if our religion is superior to that of the Jews, who would not easily perceive that he would be judged to have taken less prudent counsel for his own affairs, if he does not think that he ought to surpass, and excel by far, those good things that they retain? Accordingly, the Savior Himself also said to us: "Amen, amen D I say to you, unless your righteousness shall abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." What therefore did the law prophesied through Moses mean to the Israelites, which through figure and shadow urged that equality be maintained among brothers? For when they were traveling through those long deserts, and had come to a shortage of edible things, on account of which they were making an outcry against the all-wise Moses, and as if it were no longer possible for them to be saved, as the famine prevailed, they were already lamenting with a dirge the...
A dead in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and ate bread to the full! Why have you brought us into this wilderness to slay all this congregation with hunger?" Now, as the all-wise Moses was in perplexity, and had no idea at all what he should do or say in response to this, having taken heart B towards the one hope which is from God, the outcome of what was expected was revealed without any delay. For the Lord said to him: "Behold, I will rain bread for you from heaven, and the people shall go out and gather that of the day for the day." Interpreting the power of the law for those of Israel, the blessed Moses said again: "This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat; this is the word which the Lord has commanded: gather from it each one for those who are in your tents, a gomer for each head, according to the number of your souls. Each of you gather in your tents." C And the sons of Israel did so, he says, and gathered; and he who had much did not have an abundance, and he who had less did not lack. For the Lord of the law would by no means allow any to gather beyond the need, but only what was sufficient for food for the day. And if anyone, having ignored the law, gathered beyond this, bidding the law a long farewell, the surplus was transformed into a swarm of worms, the law showing, I think, and very clearly, that the acquisition of things sufficient for one's needs is pleasant and blameless, but that D what is stored up and heaped together insatiably, beyond what use itself requires, will be the cause of worms. And these things the law exhorted the ancients; but what also does the Savior say even to us ourselves? "Make for yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into their own habitations." And that I may show you the power of what has been decreed, I will say something again. For it is not, it is not, I say, possible to doubt that there is no small multitude of moderate and frugal men among those in need, who perhaps escape our notice, but are by no means unknown to God. When, therefore, we have admitted them as partakers of our earthly possessions, let no one doubt that we shall also be partakers of the reward due to their uprightness. "For they will receive you into their own habitations," according to what is written. Understanding this most excellently, the blessed Paul himself also says somewhere: "Let your abundance be a supply for their need, that their abundance also may be a supply for your need." "Let us therefore be kind and compassionate to one another," as it is written, "forgiving one another, even as God also in Christ forgave us." And what is it that God has forgiven us in Christ, or what good things has it befallen us to share in—how is it not necessary to see? He has indeed granted us the forgiveness of transgressions, an all-forbearing love. For we have been saved, having received a kind of forgetfulness...
of God regarding human pusillanimity. Therefore, if we also wish to tread in the footsteps of the serenity that is inherent in the Lord of all, we must, O beloved, necessarily employ patience. And let us also prudently consider that the sins of men are innumerable, and there will be no time free from our own pusillanimity and complaints. Consequently, if we wish to be not a little distressed at each of the things that are accustomed to happen, and to contend in judgment with those who have caused us trouble, we would have to spend our whole life in sorrow and sickness. And since the ways of those who nurture anger lead to death, as Scripture testifies, nothing prevents the soul of each one from becoming guilty of death, because it cannot generously resist the things that distress it, being always sharpened toward the need to swiftly rise up again against those who have offended it. Therefore, as the blessed Paul said, let us bear one another's burdens, and so shall we fulfill the law of Christ. For this manner of piety is also clear. But there are some among us who are so far from wishing to be kind, and who cast the glory of forgiving injuries so far from their own minds, that even if some of the brethren have offended them in some lighter matter, they, having let out all the sails—and as it were having let loose the cable to the winds—are carried away by unbridled impulses and leap forth like bulls, thinking that they will have a most disgraceful reputation if they do not perform every kind of evil. And if there be some among those who have offended them who are stronger, ten thousand ministers of savagery immediately stand around them, spurring them on to anger and whetting them for inhumanity, suggesting arguments and demonstrating ways by which their desire might exert its force. A most terrible judgment, O beloved, awaits men of this kind, and the irritated person will perish entirely along with the one who provokes him. And I will again bring forth for you from the very divinely inspired Scripture the proof of these things.
C 7. The Idumeans and the Israelites were stationed in different parts, and neither lot fell to them in the same land. Yet they were brothers and neighbors. For to the former, Esau is inscribed as father, while the latter were descendants of Jacob. And the former inhabited the land of promise, while the latter dwelt in the land of the Idumeans—a land neighboring the other, but one which, by the dense crests of its mountains and its rocky crags on high, was burned by the sun, so that it was impregnable to everyone, if anyone chose to ravage it, since the place offered a very difficult approach to enemies; and for this reason, the men themselves were much given to arrogance. But since their circumstances, regarding both lineage and region, were thus established, they were very much disunited from one another in the dissensions of their souls, and in their customs they were at variance. And there was a pretext for war in the difference of their worship.
For the Israelites, who boasted in the laws given through Moses, worshipped the one God of all things. The Moabites, however—that is, the Idumeans (for there is no difference between the two)—held captive by the deceptions of demons, having fashioned stones and wood, ascribed to them, though they knew nothing, the status of gods. The nations were thus set against one another, divided in their worship, their customs, and their locations. Then, because it happened that the Israelites offended and through their transgression of the law grieved God, a man impious and lawless arose against Jerusalem: the tyrant of the Babylonians. He commanded even all the peoples under his hand to take up arms, and as if he would immediately overcome those dedicated to God, he gave the bitter signal for war. He arrived in Judea, and having entered it with his entire army, he brought such terror upon the Israelites that they fled B to the neighboring regions, abandoning their homeland and the temple, as if taking flight out of extreme desperation. But what did the Idumeans do after this? When they ought to have pitied those who were in turmoil and fear, and to have tried instead to defend them, and to receive them into their own cities, and to forget completely the enmity by which they had previously been divided, they acted in a manner entirely contrary. For instead, they bound the suppliant and delivered him up to the Babylonians as if he were ready-made prey, and they considered the slaughter of their brother and neighbor to be a glorification of their own worship. They laughed broadly at those who were sanctified, stood up against the divine glory, and madly claimed that the power of the demons had been roused, and that the Babylonian had fallen upon those who dishonored their worship for no other reason than this alone. When this mockery of the Jews became no longer tolerable to mankind, and hateful to God, the army of the enemy departed from the land of the sanctified C and moved, as it were, onto Idumea itself—the nature of the situation having been changed by Him who is all-powerful, who now justly transmitted His wrath against them. And that nation, which once spread far and wide, was so consumed by the weapons and assault of the Babylonians, being harsh and arrogant, that it barely retained a single citizen hidden anywhere, even in a city that had once been densely populated and walled. But I shall read to you the divine oracle itself, which is as follows. And the word from God to the Idumean is: “Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are greatly despised. The pride of your heart has lifted you up, you who dwell in the clefts of the rocks, elevating your dwelling place, saying in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ If you rise up like an eagle, and if you place your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says D the Lord.” Then, explaining the cause of the indignation and
A impiety against your brother Jacob, he adds: “And shame shall cover you, and you shall be destroyed forever. From the day that you stood against him, in the days when strangers were taking captive his host, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, you also were as one of them; and do not look on the day of your brother in the day of strangers, and do not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction, and do not speak proudly in the day of their distress. Neither enter into the gates of the peoples in the day of their labor, and do not look also with favor upon their assembly in the day of their destruction; neither join in against their host in the day of their destruction; neither shut up those who flee from them in the day of distress.” B You see, therefore, how, because they did not think they ought to assist those who were from Israel, but instead imitated the inhumanity of the enemies, they themselves, against their own expectation, perished together with their whole nation.
But the Idumeans were treated in this way. Yet did the Babylonian leave unpunished the insult offered to the holy land, and, triumphing over the calamities of those who had suffered, did he secure a lasting enjoyment of pleasure? By no means. For I shall show that he shortly paid the price, a penalty proportional to the things he had dared. For after having left Idumea, he thought to return to his own country, and considering that he was returning home, he gave the signal to begin the journey, with no one standing in his way to hinder him from completing his intended course; he had already arrived within the royal palace of his barbarian kingdom, and was celebrating solemn assemblies, and he deemed it a glorious commemoration of those things which the holy ones had suffered. Then he ordered the nobles to be invited to a public banquet, and the banquet was already resounding on every side with auspicious cheers and applause. C Some, indeed, were blathering speeches full of madness, and as each person had committed something most absurd, in such a way he demanded for himself the highest honors above the rest, and prizes were bestowed upon each one among them according to the manner of the inhumanity they had exercised.
But then, most of all, God, who is all-powerful, poured out his wrath upon the tyrant, and without waiting for [other] calamities, he burdened the proud man on every side. For those who were held under his empire were divided by seditions, and the nations were torn apart by mutual discords; and already the most prominent among his subjects were looking toward defection, and were already preparing for war with the greatest hatred. And their first care and labor was to burn the tyrant’s palace D and to uproot from the very foundations the proud and illustrious city, I mean the city of the Babylonians. And indeed, having engaged in battle, they raised a trophy, and with fire they consumed Babylon, and with the sword those who dwelt in it, and they made haste to bring their glorious deeds to a noble end—namely, the slaughter of the tyrant. But because the prophet Jeremiah, through the illumination of the Spirit, had known that this would come to pass in every way and altogether, he appears shouting with a great and intense voice, and as if urging the multitude to wage battle against him. For he says thus:
A “Prepare battle against Babylon round about. All you that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare not your arrows, and take her; for it is the vengeance of God, the vengeance of His people.” And as if he were not deaf to the groaning of those who fall, he says again thus: “A voice of war and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans. How is the hammer of the whole earth broken and crushed? How has Babylon become a desolation among the nations? They shall come upon you, and as you are taken, O Babylon, you shall not know it; you have been found and caught, because you have resisted the Lord.”
8. These narratives, therefore, I have shared with you, B not that we might take up empty words with which to applaud in vain, but that by receiving the experience of what has taken place as if it were a schoolmaster, we might avoid the imitation of those who have acted wickedly. For it behooves us, since we have known the God of all to be good and merciful, not to rejoice in the miserable deeds of others, but rather to commiserate and to desire to stand with them, and to bury sorrows with non-resentful affections. It also behooves us not to rise up against those who are already lying prostrate, nor to insult the calamities of those who have fallen, C even if we should obtain the license to do all things without anyone hindering us; but let us rather fear in every fortune, and as we retain alacrity in good things, and excel with a generous spirit, let us prepare our minds for the pursuit of virtue, first casting down as it were and rooting in our own souls the rectitude of a blameless faith. For he who professes himself to be a lover of God and truly a Christian must believe in one God the Father Almighty, and in one Lord Jesus Christ His Son, and in the Holy Spirit; so that, clearly, we might understand and speak of God and Father as the fountain and root truly of His own offspring, as it were a co-eternal fruit obtained from Him. For of all other things, D visible and invisible alike, He is the maker and by will the Father. For thus we say that all things are from God. But of His own offspring He is not a maker, but by nature Father. For He has truly begotten Him, not by any flowing, or cutting off, or passion, just as indeed one may see in ourselves. For body proceeds from body; therefore it is divided into parts; but God is not so, since He is not corporeal, nor in place, nor in figure, nor in boundaries; but rather He is in an inconceivable and ineffable manner, as God. For it would not be possible for the nature that excels all things to suffer our affections. The Father, therefore, has begotten from Himself the Son, light from light, the image and character and brightness of His own substance, as it is written. But since the state of our affairs was in the last times, the King
A of death reigning, and the wicked and rebellious dragon exercising power over the earth, and sin ruling, He became man, so that He might deliver us all from the slavery of those we have enumerated. But He became this truly, and having assumed flesh from a woman, I mean from the holy Virgin, according to the Scriptures, [c] He was seen on earth, and conversed with men. He was man indeed in that which was seen, according to the nature of the flesh, that is, complete in the definition of humanity; but God in a more true sense. For the Word of God was not in a man, as He is in the saints, but He Himself truly appeared and existed as man. Therefore we who think rightly do not speak of two sons, nor indeed of two christs or lords, but rather of one Son and Lord, both before the humanity was assumed, and after He was clothed in flesh. For we do not divide Him into two, and understand the man separately, B or again worship the Word who shone forth from the essence of God and the Father separately as God; but admitting no division or section whatsoever regarding the definition of sonship after the union with the flesh took place; but acknowledging one only Son, only-begotten, in that He alone was begotten by God and the Father, and the same also first-born, when He became among many brothers, we worship and glorify Him together with the holy angels, as indeed existing as God by nature. So also the divine Paul said: "When He brings the first-born into the inhabited world, He says: And let all the angels of God worship Him." Therefore, according to the voice of the Psalmist, "God is the Lord, and He shone upon us." For He truly shone upon those walking in night and darkness, and while enlightening the hearts of the hearers with words leading to piety, He exhorted them most earnestly to steer their course toward God; and by miracles that surpassed all speech, showing Himself to be God by nature, He called all to believe more readily. But they who were abandoned to every audacity, I mean those from Israel, when they ought to have given thanks, and to have welcomed gladly the benefactor through whom they had been adorned with benefits, and to have proclaimed Him Savior and Lord, were convicted of the crime of impiety. For they did not spare their tongues; and leaving no kind of wickedness unattempted, D they finally crucified Him; for they were perhaps saying among themselves what had also once been predicted by the voice of Isaiah: "Let us bind the just one, because he is useless to us." But those who had plotted those things, and having dared to despise the divine friendship, of their own accord drawing down wrath upon their own heads, perished in utter destruction. But He, although being Life by His own nature, nevertheless allowed His flesh to suffer death economically for us, so that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living, as it is written. For having descended into Hades, and having preached to the spirits there, and having opened to those below the locked gates, and the insatiable
the interior of death, he rose on the third day; A and thus he ascended to the Father with the flesh he had assumed, as a kind of first-fruits of our nature, and the first-born from the dead, that he might in all things hold the preeminence, as it is written. He comes also as our judge from heaven, to render to each according to his works. For, "He shall judge the world in righteousness," as it is written. Therefore, beloved, these are the tokens of our holy feast, which declare the reasons for our divine gathering. Come, then, having cast aside all sluggishness and having dismissed all laziness from our minds, let us run with a quick and watchful spirit toward every good work, keeping the fear of God in our hearts, embracing love for one another, pursuing purity of the body, casting out the defilement in our souls, and being mindful of the poor who are mistreated, as we ourselves are also in the body; being mindful of the prisoners, as being bound with them; and doing all things with the fear of God. For then, then we shall perform a pure and unblamable fast to the Lord and Savior of all, Christ; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the ninth day of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the saving Pascha from the fourteenth of the month of Pharmouthi, bringing the fasts to a close on the nineteenth of the same month of Pharmouthi, in the deep evening, according to the evangelical proclamation; and celebrating the feast on the following day, the Sunday, the twentieth of the same month, adding thereafter B the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost; so that we may again delight in the holy discourses through a righteous way of life; in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father with the holy Spirit, be honor and glory and power. Amen.
HOMILY XII
1. The law has a shadow of the good things to come, and the bright form of the truth is fashioned through type and riddles, revealing to us the mystery that was announced by Christ. Therefore, it commanded the children of Israel, saying: "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, in the distinguished day of our feast." But we, going as far as possible from the types, and liberating the nature of our affairs from the ancient forms, let us establish a more useful instruction in the divine and evangelical precepts. And since the bright and most distinguished feast has again shone upon us, bringing with it, like certain seasonal fruits, the contests for virtue, C give, I say, give to me, that setting my foot in the voices of the saints, I may shout back to you as if from a holy trumpet: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God." D
A For I believe that to hasten to live in a godly manner and to take pleasure in adorning oneself with the crowns of gentleness is, at this present time especially, to prepare the way of the Lord, and to receive that joy which is becoming to those who keep the feast, from a good conscience. "For there is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord." For how could this be theirs, or whence could it be appropriate for them, seeing they have hanging over them the punishment for those things for which they are held accountable? To be in spiritual delights, however, and to be fattened on the richest hopes, would aptly befit those who have lived to the best of their ability and have determined that the divine law is to be held as a sort of canon of their own life. Therefore, holy brothers, partners of the heavenly calling, let us sharpen one another unto the stirring up of love and good works, according to that which is written, being mindful of Him who says: "Iron sharpens iron, 1 and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." B For just as those who rise up against the incursions of barbarians, and desiring to stand against them as best they can, spur one another on to courage and hasten to hold fast in order to display their strength and skill, believing the time of war has come, and thus becoming fierce and unyielding to those who fall upon them from the opposing side—being somehow already superior to hesitation and fear, and overcoming the highest dangers, should the case arise—in this same way I assert that those who are lovers of holiness ought to go to meet the trickeries of the devil with all readiness, and to oppose him with such contention of strength that they might not undeservedly claim for themselves that very cry: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" C For no thing will be able to strike terror into us, if we, following in the footsteps of the virtues of the saints, are possessed of the same mind as they, while they thus compose themselves and say: "The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" — "Come therefore, let us exult in the Lord," as it is written, "let us shout unto God our Savior." For the time calls us even now to a most desirable feast. And since death, which was hateful to all, has been cut through by the power of Christ, and corruption, which was once mighty and invincible, has been done away with through His resurrection, come, raising a great and loud-sounding cry, let us say to those everywhere: "The Lord has reigned, let the earth exult." D And what, then, might be the manner of exultation for those in Christ who have chosen to do this? Most appropriate, surely, would it be to cast off as quickly as possible earthly and base pleasure, and, to sum up in one word, all carnal desire; and, on the contrary, applying themselves to better things and setting their mind on those things which are more excellent, to strive to fulfill that in reality, and indeed very zealously,
as has been well and rightly spoken to us by the voice of the blessed Paul: “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Therefore, let what has passed by be buried in swift forgetfulness; A and indeed, departing from our former lack of wisdom, let us reach forth unto those things which are before—that is, let us strive to go on to being perfect in prudence. We have served “the creature more than the Creator,” and we were once darkness, but now we are light in Christ, as it is written. For we have been called to the knowledge of God, and the light of truth has shone upon our minds. For this is the base of every good thing, and the foundation of all virtue within us. Therefore, God and Father himself has from above, through the voice of the holy prophets, signified this very thing to us, saying: “Behold, I lay in the foundations of Sion a tried, precious, corner-stone; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” B Understanding this excellently, the inspired Paul also called out to us, saying: “As a wise masterbuilder I have laid the foundation.” And you shall learn from him, shouting it openly, what the foundation is, or what the base of our affairs is: “For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Therefore, having our Lord Jesus Christ as the substratum and foundation of true knowledge of God, let us hold fast our confession, as sacred Scripture says somewhere, and let us examine our own heart, lest any remnant of God-hating unbelief lies hidden like a serpent in a hole; lest “any root of bitterness springing up trouble us,” according to what is written. For indeed, C one might say that cowardly double-mindedness is a wicked thing and an intolerable disease of the mind, and he would not stray from the truth, since those who are affected in this way will necessarily be forced to suffer the most shameful things, even against their will. For one might perceive a house whose primary foundations are sliding as being utterly easy to shake and, to use an expression, at the very point of total collapse, and altogether easy to overcome. In like manner, one might perceive the soul of a man being swayed by the tempting Satan, if, having abandoned its own foundation, that is, Christ, it is shamefully and senselessly caught by double-mindedness against the substratum of faith. And the disciple of Christ seems to me to have spoken rightly and irreproachably concerning such people, that “It was better for them not to have known the way of truth, than after they had known it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” For that which is in the true proverb has happened to them: D “The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” For just as it is most loathsome, brothers, to see the unclean dog devouring its own vomit (for he who has suffered this is immediately an abomination), so too, surely, will anyone who is refined in his habits feel loathing when he sees the
A sow, which, as soon as it has emerged from the fountain waters, wraps itself again in mud and muddy marshes that defile it on every side. Thus, I think, it is most base and most perverse, and indeed I might say it goes beyond all perversity, if it is right to speak the truth, that crime of a simulated mind which urges us to return to our former folly and commands us to go back again to that disease of impiety, from which, having miraculously driven it off through faith in Christ, we obtained the strength of spiritual health and have kept our mind safe and sound.
We ought, therefore, to consider this again: if some member of our body were suffering from some disease, and the sickness were wasting it away, and some physician had quieted the affliction, appeasing it with remedies sought from his art, and had, as it were, cast chains upon the racing evil, or rather had removed it altogether, would anyone be found so foolish as not to value this matter most highly, or to prefer that the disease from which he had been restored should return? And who would be so insane, when he might enjoy firm health, as to love the opposite? But when it is not that which is carnal in us, which is drawn from the earth, but the soul and mind itself—the most excellent of all things—that has been freed from ancient and detestable thoughts, and we have been released from the disease of those who posit many gods, is it not for you, my friend, the most desirable thing to be well, but rather, as you deem it, most pleasant to be sick, and this while it is in your own power to drive away the evil, if only you but wish it?
But truly, someone will come forward shouting this, and will emit a cold word from his heart. What harm, in truth, would result for us from this, if we believe that there is indeed one Father and Creator of all things, but then bestow honors also upon terrestrial demons, since sacred and divinely inspired Scripture itself B enumerates for us by name Throni, Principalities, Powers, and Dominations? Therefore, to this foolish and old-wives' tale, I think it behoves us to respond in turn that it is absurd and entirely discordant, and indeed even most dangerous, to wish to confer the highest and altogether equal honors upon both him who is placed on the seat of earthly rule and those who are subject to him and have bowed their necks in servitude to him. For would not anyone say that dominion over all things is properly attributed to those in whose power it is, while for others it is most proper that they be subjected? To none, I think, would this be ambiguous. And if indeed there are some among the number of the subjects who are benevolent and most noble, they will be honored with rewards and distinctions; but if others are disobedient and stubborn, and wanton, they will be ranked among the most hostile enemies and will be punished with the ultimate penalty. For this, moreover, must be considered in such matters as these. I would grant, for my part, an excellent mind to those who can quite well see that even for those who have obtained the lot of genuineness, the
glory and highest honor is had at times, yet it is not derived from themselves or from their own power, but from the voluntary inclination of the sovereign. A For the will of the king is the fountain of all honor and glory to all; and they are not established in those who possess these things by nature, but in those who receive the honors. And as long as they stand rightly minded toward the king, they have their power firmly supported, and they are in a good state of glory. But having turned to the contrary, they are no longer to be envied, but are most miserable, and having fallen, they will be found to be beyond every evil. But if indeed anyone should happen upon such wicked designs, and, being stimulated by absolute madness toward apostasy, should fearlessly lay hold of arms and tyrannical practices, and should incite and disturb cities and regions, and laying the yoke of necessity upon some, should try by force to usurp the glory of the kingdom for himself—he would not be deemed by prudent men as worthy of honor for this reason, nor will he be numbered among those who hold power over all; far from it. B Rather, he would be called to account for his folly, and, very rightly, would be made to pay the merited penalties for such impious enterprises, penalties that are, so to speak, equal to his deeds. But let these things be said by us from the matters that concern us, and let them be shaped fruitfully, like a painting on a panel.
Come then, let us, by extending our minds to the things that are beyond the senses, contemplate C more sharply and well the divine nature itself, and the Queen of all, and insofar as it is allowed, let us examine its ineffable power and authority, and as one, let us calculate well the servitude of those things that have come to be from it and are placed under it. For there is one Master of all, and Creator, and Lord of all things. And since He is good by nature, in order that He might exist as such, and that this might not be known to Him and Him alone, but that others might also partake of the kindness that is in Him, He brought into existence those things that once were not, and created a multitude of holy spirits—a number beyond count. And as He assigned the best order to those things that had come into being, He named one the Principality, another the Dominion, and another the Throne, and also certain Archangels, and furthermore, Angels. For, thinking nothing other than that which is right—and which is well and blamelessly, in every way and in all respects—He measured out to each of those that were created the honor that seemed right to Him and Him alone.
D 2. Therefore, the multitude of the holy angels in the heavens is numberless, and certain Principalities, and Powers, and Thrones have been established by God, as if to fulfill the order of a father or a teacher toward the others. For it was thus, and not otherwise, that things were destined to proceed secondarily for those that were created. When
A you hear the sacred Scriptures speaking of Powers, and Thrones, and Dominions, do not imagine, O man, that the error of polytheism is being heralded thereby; nor let yourself be carried away, drifting upon the waves of foolish thoughts, and allow yourself to be led far from the dogmas of truth. For what I have said already, I will say again. For as the blessed Paul writes: "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe." There is one Creator and Lord of all; and myriad myriads of holy angels stand around Him; and there is nothing among those things created by Him which does not bear the yoke of servitude. And if some have kicked against the goads, and as it were dragged their necks from the yoke, they have been punished and have fallen; and having deservedly slipped away from the city on high, they have misled some of those upon the earth, attempting to snatch the glory of God for themselves, of whom one and the first is Satan; yet it is not right to suspect that these are gods in truth. For there is but one nature that in truth holds dominion over all things. And all creatures endowed with reason, being called into existence by Him, hold the order of servants, and are glorified by those measures that are by nature most becoming to them; and their dignity and excellence consist B in this, that they preserve the authority that has been assigned and inscribed to them. Furthermore, all things worship their Creator, and with perpetual blessing, which one may see throughout the whole divinely inspired Scripture, they venerate the Lord of all things. Accordingly, the divine prophet Isaiah also says: "I saw," he says, "the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high and lifted up; and the Seraphim stood around Him, six wings to the one, and six wings to the other. And with two they covered their face, and with two the feet, and with two they flew; and they cried out one to another," he says, "glorifying the Lord of hosts as holy." For this is what Sabaoth signifies. Observe, then, how the highest holy and rational powers—that is to say, the Seraphim—having the measure of a servant, stand around the divine throne, paying their praises as if it were a debt. I ask you, therefore, noble sir, to whom would it be fitting to sit upon a throne high and lifted up? and to whom, on the other hand, to stand by and minister? You will answer, I think, being taught by the very nature of the thing, that the sitting indicates the dignity of the Lord, C but the standing indicates the condition of a serving nature. Furthermore, we shall find that Isaiah’s discourse is confirmed by the testimony of the blessed David himself: "The Lord," he says, "hath prepared His throne in heaven, and His kingdom shall have dominion over all." Then he commands those who are subject to this authority, saying: "Bless the Lord, all ye His angels, ye mighty in strength, that do His word, to hearken unto the voice of His words. Bless the Lord, all ye His powers, ye ministers who do His will."
A Behold, indeed, how even in this He says that the divine throne is prepared in heaven; and that it behooves all to offer doxology incomprehensibly, naming for us angels, and ministers, and powers; subjoining to all these, "Bless the Lord, all ye His works." It is foolish, then, or rather full of the utmost impiety, to count the Creator among His own works, and to measure the Lord of all by servile standards. For to attribute the glory of the Creator to created things is nothing else than to reduce the Creator Himself to the rank of the creatures. That it is entirely involuntary and hateful to Him to be placed on a level with those things which have come into being through Him, and that a most grievous punishment is suspended over those who attribute divine glory to the unclean demons, you will understand very well by having recourse to the Mosaic writings; for it is written thus: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord." B And again: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." And He further commands, saying: "And when the Lord thy God shall destroy the nations before thy face, into which thou goest to inherit their land, and thou shalt inherit them, and dwell in their land, take heed to thyself, that thou do not imitate them after they have been destroyed from thy face; and do not inquire after their gods, saying, How do these nations behave toward their gods? I will do likewise. Thou shalt not do so to the Lord thy God. For the abominations which the Lord hated, they did to their gods; for they burn their sons and their daughters in fire to their gods." And again: "If a prophet arises among you, dreaming a dream, and gives thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass which he spoke to thee, saying, Let us go and serve other gods which you have not known, do not hearken to the words of that prophet, or of him who dreams that dream; for the Lord your God is testing C you, to know if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul. Walk after the Lord your God; and that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall die; for he has spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God." Death, therefore, is the punishment for those who, in the most unholy manner, turn the mind of the innocent toward that which is not fitting. But He who inflicts punishment upon those who fall into such folly, would clearly appear to be One who would by no means suffer Himself to be worshipped in common with others, but confirms the sovereignty of all things for Himself alone. Wherefore He also said through the voice of the saints: "I am God, and there is no other; righteous and a savior, there is none beside Me." Since, therefore, we confess there is one God in all things and through all things, let us think of no other besides Him, nor let us place the crown of royal dignity upon those things that fall under our sight, nor upon any other created things,
A lest we be caught, for we shall not diminish the glory of God if we attempt to do this, but rather we shall cast ourselves into the pits of destruction. But perhaps there is someone, hidden and still lurking in the darkness, who is a worshipper of the devil and of demons, yet who adorns himself most beautifully in the guise of piety, and, as far as words go, sells himself as being utterly unadulterated. Let such a one hear the divinely inspired Scripture crying out: "For God is not mocked"; and let him also hear the divine David chanting and saying: "Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools, be wise at last. Does He who planted the ear not hear? Or does He who formed the eye not perceive? Does He who teaches the nations not reprove?"
3. Therefore, as God knows and watches over everything within us, let us hold fast to a firm and stable faith, and let us turn away from the baseness of a hypocritical mind, mindful of the blessed Paul who writes: B "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." Let us behave then, offering a genuine faith as a spiritual sacrifice to God, with a heart that admits no suspicion, and let us say: "Behold, we will be yours, for You are the Lord our God." And again: "O Lord our God, possess us; O Lord, we know no other besides You, we invoke Your name." For, those who choose to think rightly must believe that there is one and only one God who is over all and through all; who did not receive from Himself the fact that He exists, nor did He have this conferred by the benefit of another; but who is always and exists eternally, before all ages and times; who is incorruptible and immortal, dwelling in unapproachable light, the fountain of wisdom and life, and who is understood to be and is by nature goodness itself, the root of all power; and that while we know that He exists, we are ignorant of what He is by nature. For our Savior’s disciple also taught that we must be so disposed, saying somewhere thus: C"For he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He becomes a rewarder to those who seek Him." But do not inquire any further. For do not yourself have doubts, O man, nor, pushed by ignorant thoughts, dare to be carried away into dangerous curiosity and say: "I have been initiated and have believed, and I have been taught to worship the one God; but why do I not understand the nature of Him who is worshipped by me?" Away with you, proposing an untimely question about things that surpass intelligence and reason. For what, after all, is the mind of man, compared to that ineffable and inexplicable nature? Or who could be found endowed with such wisdom as to be able to measure out that beauty? D Hear what the inspired prophet Isaiah says, indicating this very thing to you in riddles: "Who has measured the water with his hand,
A and the heaven with his span? Who has set the mountains by weight, and the valleys in a pair of scales?" Do not, therefore, play the busybody about things that are above nature, but approach them through faith, acknowledging and confessing that there is One who is and exists and rules over all things, and who is at once subsisting and co-existing; but do not allow your mind, with sober judgment, to go beyond these limits, as it were, of human capacity. In this way did the divine Moses receive the faith; for when God said, "Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them: The Lord God of your fathers has sent me to you," he inquired, saying, "Behold, I am going to the children of Israel, and I shall say to them that the Lord has called you. But they will ask me, he says, 'What is his name?' What shall I say to them?" And what did God say to these things? "You shall say this to the children of Israel: 'He who is' has sent me to you. This is my name, and a memorial forever to generations of generations." For it is proper to the God who is by nature always to be and to exist. And that which is and exists without beginning and incomprehensibly shall also escape the defilement that comes from being made, and it clearly declares by itself that it does not have existence from another. For the God and Father is uncreated and unbegotten, B having with him the Son, consubstantial and co-eternal, begotten from his own substance, "by whom he also made the ages," and who grants the way to existence to those that at one time were not, and gives life to all things, as much as is capable of living; and, in turn, he illumines with the divine and intelligible light those that are in need of light. And the divine David, knowing this and teaching us, sings to God, the Father of all: "How you have multiplied your mercy, O God, but the children of men will hope in the shelter of your wings. They will be inebriated with the fatness of your house, and you will give them to drink from the torrent of your pleasure. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light." C And indeed the most wise John said, "The true light was," he says, "which enlightens every man coming into the world." For he is, the only-begotten Son is, the unadulterated image and character of the substance of God and the Father, holding the Begetter entire in his own beauty, and he portrays in the best way the nature of the One who begat him, from whom he himself is. Therefore he also said, "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me." But when you hear "Father" and "Son," withdraw from things of the body; and, having fled from the thought of these, meditate on what you ought; and understand that our discourse at present is not about anything that is in generation and corruption. A certain incorporeal and super-substantial nature is that which rules over all things. Let the mind, therefore, leap forth from bodies when it learns anything about God. For that which is conceived as being beyond D and above all bodily substance, would neither be contained in a place, nor be subject to the ideas of forms. But even when he is said to beget, he will not be captured by falling into certain emanations or divisions; far from it. For men, or some other among corporeal living beings, beget out of themselves, and by projections to...
A another, bring forth their offspring. But God, who is incorporeal and beyond all human conception, begets without being divided; He brings forth without being cut. If, however, anyone should wish to explain the manner of the divine generation and, approaching, should ask: "In what way, then, has the divine nature begotten?" I will say, without blushing at all: "And what mind of yours will conceive things that are above the mind? Or what discourse will interpret for us things that are above discourse?" For the blessed Paul writes: "The peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts" (Phil. IV, 7). And the most wise Solomon also, showing that such things are entirely inexpressible, says: "The glory of the Lord conceals the discourse" (Prov. XXV, 2). That the manner of the generation of the Son is hidden even from the holy angels themselves, although they are so far above us, the blessed Isaiah convinces us by saying: "Who shall declare his generation?" (Isa. LIII, 8). And the prophet Habakkuk explains it more clearly, saying: "His virtue covered the heavens" (Habac. III, 5). For what would he wish to signify by saying that the virtue of the Son covered even the heavens themselves, if not that the discourse concerning Him is greater even than B that of the heavenly multitude and the holy orders themselves? Therefore, the generation of Christ is ineffable to all creation and is completely beyond comprehension. But following the divine Scriptures, and seeing as if in a mirror and in an enigma (I Cor. XIII, 12), we say that He was begotten and that He exists coeternally with the Father, surely by certain ways and examples, though I know well they are not the most apt, nor are they able to sufficiently represent to us the nature of God or the manner of the generation. It is, however, a necessary consequence that we should understand that there is nothing in created things which one might see that is not surpassed by the divine glory.
4. Therefore, as if C placing before us some sensible type as an example for the contemplations, let us advance to that which is placed above all comparison, and, approaching as far as possible the beauty of the divine nature itself, according to our ability, let us reflect: human reason, and indeed the form that one might happen to conceive as subsisting in bodies, does not have its own existence, nor does it subsist properly anywhere. But the divine and super-celestial offspring, that is, the Son, subsists, having been properly begotten of the Father who subsists unbegotten. Nor should this difference in terms disturb anyone. For we do not admit the foolishness of those who speak D out of their own hearts and not from the mouth of the Lord, as it is written (Jerem. XXIII, 16). Whom, therefore, we shall deservedly address as follows: "Awake, you who are drunk from your wine!" (Joel I, 5). Or perhaps, and indeed more truly, we shall say of them: Those things which are among them not at all
A cognoscentes, extollunt in altum cornu, et ‹loquuntur adversus Deum iniquitatem› [Ps. LXXIV, 5], as the divine David himself sings to us. For they cobble together, without understanding, the inventions of human minds, and, weaving a spider’s web—as it is written—with subtle arguments, they unholily plunder the souls of the simpler ones, leading them off into error and casting them into the pits of destruction. Let them hear, therefore, the divinely inspired Scripture crying out: "This wisdom is not descending from above," but is earthly, natural, demonic. For what indeed are these wretches saying, dragging the Son away from the consubstantiality with God the Father, as far as lies in their power? "How," they say, "could that which is begotten be the same in nature as the unbegotten Father?" For there is a very great difference between the terms. I, for my part, would respond to this immediately: that while the meaning signified to us by the terms is admittedly different, it does not for all that cut the Son off from consubstantiality with God the Father. For no reason persuades us—as if by necessity—to confess that what is begotten must be of a different nature B from the one who begets; rather, provided it is believed that a generation has taken place at all, according to the true manner of generation, it will be of the same nature and consubstantial with the one who has begotten. If, then, the Father has truly begotten—a fact which the adversaries themselves confess—how, I ask, will the Son who has shone forth from Him according to nature be foreign and of a different nature? For if it were so, as those who babble in their talk assert, the divine nature would be caught suffering what not even the created nature itself would endure. For a man is the offspring of a man; and indeed each of those that have accepted the law of being able to beget will, in every case, possess offspring of the same form and consubstantial with themselves, and neither would a man beget a horse, nor would a horse beget a dog. C But since God and Father is far superior to those things among us, He will of course be superior in this regard as well, and He will be understood to have His own Son who is consubstantial with Him; for He would by no means suffer that which even the nature of created things is ashamed to suffer. If, then, when He was creating all things at the beginning, He deemed it best that each of the things made should have what is born of it as consubstantial with itself, why does He deprive Himself of the best things by not having Himself in such a state? But if it is absurd to think or say this (for it is fitting that all excellence should be present in Him), then surely this too will be present. But if they think in truth that God has *not* begotten, why do they put forward the difference in terms as if it were a necessary argument, and attempt to dissolve the glory of the offspring by saying that it is of D a different nature from the unbegotten Father? For if God and Father has not begotten at all, then according to them the Son is no longer begotten either. Therefore, let the question be resolved, and let them cease building up against us as an unanswerable problem the difference of the terms; and if the Father has not begotten, let them teach us who, then, is
the Only-Begotten, of whom God and Father says: “From the womb before the morning star I have begotten thee.” A For He says “from the womb” since the discourse concerning these things is constructed as if it were of men; so that, conceiving the things that are above us from the things that are among us, we might believe the Son to be begotten from the very substance of the Father. But I marvel how, being so exceedingly bitter and, as they think, wise, B even this escaped them. For the divine Paul, although he was a steward of the divine mysteries for us, and had been ordained to this very thing (for he was separated unto the Gospel of God), showing that God is the first and only and true Father, and that the things that have been brought into being by Him have been honored with the appellation of Father according to the likeness toward Him, writes concerning Him: “From whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named.” But these diligent searchers of things above mind and reason, C robbing the God and Father of all things of His own proper goods, say that He has not truly begotten the Son, but that He is Father in name only, having an adopted Only-Begotten. Therefore, O best of men, one might say to them very reasonably, if God is not Father by nature and in truth, and if He has not begotten from Himself, that is, from His own substance, His own Son; but we are in truth fathers, having our own children begotten from ourselves, how is it still “from Him” that D “every fatherhood” is named, according to what is written? For it is according to His likeness that He is called Father, and not we who are fathers through Him. For every argument, I suppose, will quite rightly compel those who are of the contrary opinion, even against their will, to say that what is by nature is always prior to that which is by appointment; and that which is truly such is prior to that which has become such by imitation and likeness of the former. Therefore, we are the first fathers, who are seen to be such by nature, in truth, and in actual fact; and God is the second and subsequent, by likeness and imitation of us. Then how is it still the case that every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named from Him? But we must not attend to the idle talk of these men, but to the voices of the saints. Therefore, the divine Paul will by no means speak falsely; and it is manifest that God is the first and true Father, and has the Son who is begotten from Him as consubstantial; for this is what the mode of true generation signifies. But perhaps they will bring forward other arguments against us and, linking crimes to crimes, as it is written, they will say that the “unbegotten” signifies the essence of God and the Father, but “begotten” that of the Only-Begotten; and that that which is unbegotten is not by nature similar to that which is begotten.
5. But I, beloved, have marveled at the magnitude of the insanity that is in them. I shall demonstrate in a few words that they do not know what they say, nor of what things they are affirming.
A For if the term "unbegotten," when applied to God and the Father, signifies nothing other than having not been begotten, and if, moreover, "begotten," when applied to the Son, declares only that he has been begotten, but they say that both names are indicative of essence, then from where have they learned the distinction between the Father and the Son? For if the word signifies nothing other than that he is an essence, who has instructed them that the Son is alien to the Father, being in no way joined to Him according to identity of essence? Therefore, if they do not wish to understand that "unbegotten" is significant of not having been begotten, nor that "begotten" is significant of having been begotten, but that both simply signify essence, with no difference being visible from this, whence will the otherness be B manifest? For essence compared to essence, insofar as they are considered merely as essences, have nothing contrary between them. What, then, will still prevent the Son from being similar in essence to the Father, if the things signified by these words are not opposed to one another?
Since, however, they abandon living in simplicity and, without inquiry, yield themselves to the sophisms of the Greeks, and thence arm themselves against us like the arrogant Goliath, and in this way reproach the assembly of the Lord just as he did, come, let us also rid ourselves of worldly reasoning and the tortuous snares of syllogisms, saying with the blessed David: "I have not been accustomed to these;" and, having Christ as a rod of power, and an elect stone, as if in a small pouch C of the mind, let us approach those who are raging. And indeed, receding a little from ecclesiastical simplicity—because such is the need—by which they think themselves to be strong and unassailable, let us convict them of madness, so that, neither instructed in the knowledge of divine things nor properly imbued with external wisdom, they may justly hear: "How long do you limp on both your legs? If Baal, [follow] Baal; but if God, [follow] God." For that they ignorantly say that "unbegotten" is significant of essence will be clear from this, and grant me to say a few things out of what has been philosophized by many.
6. I have heard that there are definitions, and from them they name
D those things by which the essences of beings are signified; and definitions seem to them to be woven from genus and difference or differences. For they say that the genus is the essence signified simply, as, for example, "animal;" but the difference is the account showing what kind of animal it is, whether rational or irrational. For if one wishes to define a man and a horse, one will simply say that they are animals. For man and horse are equally animals. But adding the difference to the genus, of man he will say that he is a rational, mortal animal; of the horse, that it is the neighing one. Therefore, if the name "unbegotten" defines for us the essence of God, and the word possesses the power of a definition, let it be placed under a genus and a difference. Then what do they say to this? Under what genus will God, who is above all, be placed? Or what—A kind of difference will admit him? Furthermore, essences are signified truly, certainly, and in a way accommodated to the truth, not from what they are not, but from what they are believed to be. For instance, if anyone asks what fire is, you answer appropriately that it is hot, dry, burning, and illuminating: for it is indicated by those things that are present in it. But if you were to say that fire is that which is "not cold," you would be explaining it not by what it is, but by what it is not; this is altogether unskillful and most irrational. If, therefore, in God the name "unbegotten" signifies that he was not begotten, it remains that he is not defined by what he is, but by what he is not; for the name indicates only that he has not been begotten. How, then, according to them, does the word possess the power of a definition, so that it might be significant of essence, and not rather of something believed to be attached to the essence? But these things may suffice for us against them. B To you, however, we say that the preaching of the Church is simple. For we have been baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and believing the holy Trinity to be consubstantial, we adore one godhead in it; giving thanks to God and the Father, that for the sake of our salvation and life he sent his own Son from heaven, who was born of a woman, and put on our likeness, and truly became man, in order that, having triumphed over the Principalities and Powers, he might nail them to his own cross, according to what is written, the bond of the decree that was against us, and having freed us from every harm, might cleanse us, with our filth washed away, from our ancient misdeeds; and might proclaim even to the spirits in hell, who once were disobedient, as it is written, C and so thereafter might abolish death, the enemy of all, having been raised from the dead. And indeed, having opened the gates above to those on earth, he might make the one who had once been a fugitive a citizen of heaven. He will come, surely he will come, at the opportune time, and, just as he himself said, he will take all of us with him, adorned with right faith and conspicuous for an evangelical manner of life. Knowing this, therefore, beloved, washing away every stain, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution; and let us become merciful, as our heavenly Father is merciful, aiding according to our power those who are oppressed by need; let us care for widows and orphans, let us receive the naked and strangers into our homes; and, to express it in one word, let us practice every kind of virtue. D For thus, thus let us fast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the thirtieth day of the month of February; and the week of the saving Pascha from the fifth of the month of Pharmuthi, concluding the fasts on the tenth of the same month of Pharmuthi, in the late evening, according to the evangelical preaching; celebrating the feast on the following dawning Sunday, the eleventh of the same month of Pharmuthi; immediately joining to it the seven weeks of Pentecost. For thus,
so that again we may feast upon the divine words, in A Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom and with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory and power, unto the ages. Amen.
HOMILY XIII
A 1. It is a noble thing, as it seems, or rather it is now the time, for us who are devoted to holy words to come into the midst, and to herald our holy and all-celebrated feast, saying: "Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be the glory unto the ages of the ages. Amen." For in the past sin used to insult us as we lay prostrate, and the innate impulse of the flesh used to war against us tyrannically, as unbridled and savage pleasure, like a river's current, was always pouring into the souls of all, and always pushing them to prefer to set their minds on the things upon the earth. And perhaps death, mocking the weakness of all, and suffering from the disease of arrogance—befitting and dear to the devil—was shouting with him, saying: "I will capture the whole inhabited world with my hand like a nest, and I will take it up like abandoned eggs; and there is no one who will escape me, or gainsay me." But since our affairs had slipped and been shaken down into this state of misery, B the God of mercies, all but grieving at the calamities of all, says through the voice of Isaiah: "Therefore my people has become captive, and a multitude of the dead has been made, because they did not know the Lord; and Hades enlarged its soul, and opened its mouth, so as not to cease." But even if death prevailed and swallowed, yet God wiped away every tear from every face; the reproach of the people He took away from all the earth. For we having been drawn aside into transgression and disobedience, and carnal desire having led us away from living according to the law, we had as our portion the cackling and taunting accuser Satan, and the wicked phalanx of demons. For he is, he is "an enemy and an adversary," as it is written. And indeed, what is more, being flushed C because of these things and the reproaches of our conscience—miserable and ashamed, and having been deprived of boldness before God in this state, and, what is more, having fallen ill with every kind of absurd behavior—we were wasting away upon the earth. But since the Creator of all had mercy upon us as we lay prostrate, and were brought to the brink of every evil, He comforted us, saying through the holy prophets: "Fear not, because you were put to shame; neither be abashed, because you were reproached. I am, I am He who blots out your lawlessness, and I will not remember it." He sent to us from heaven the only-begotten God the Word, who was born of a woman and of the seed of Abraham,
A that, having been made like to the brethren in all things, He might put sin to death in the flesh, and, filling us with spiritual strength, might through Himself and in Himself reshape our nature to its original condition, and render it unassailable by sins, and superior to destruction and corruption. Knowing this, the wise Paul writes to us in his Epistle: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. Therefore, clearly indicating to us the time of the incarnation that we so much desired, or rather, as if it had already come to pass amongst us, the Word of God the Father cried out in advance, saying: "He who speaks, here I am; as an arrival upon the mountains, as the feet of one bringing tidings of the hearing of peace, as one bringing good tidings of good things." B For "God, having spoken in ages past in many parts and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets, hath at the last of these days spoken to us in His Son," by whom we have all blossomed anew unto incorruption and life. For He came to us as a spring upon the mountains. And what does this mean? For the plants in the mountains and in the gardens, when winter brings upon them its density, and does not allow the moisture from the roots to flow abundantly to the upper parts, they almost wither away, and are stripped of fruits and leaves on every side. But when the spring approaches and the season of the year laughs, and the sun with its hotter rays warms all things, that which was constricted is loosened, and as the moisture from the deep roots flows freely to every part, the branches are filled with sap, and, putting forth the fresh greenness of leaves, they are immediately crowned with their own fruit. C Our Lord Jesus Christ has therefore become as a spring upon the mountains for us. And this can also be made clear to us through other sacred Scriptures. For in the Song of Songs, the person of the Bridegroom is introduced, calling out to the Church as if to His bride with these words: "Arise, come, my neighbor, my fair one, my dove, for behold the winter has passed, the rain is over and gone; the flowers have appeared on the earth, the time of pruning has arrived." And in this regard, He also became "as the feet of one bringing tidings of the hearing of peace, as one bringing good tidings of good things." D For if at any time countless armies of the most savage barbarians, desiring to devastate a city or a region, consider their insatiable greed to be a sufficiently just cause for them to wage war, yet their hopes and vows fall out to the contrary, how very beautiful are the feet of the one who announces that peace is present to those in danger! In the same way, one might observe that our own affairs have been most excellently established through Christ. Indeed, even without
A any labor at all, it is easy to understand that the Father sent to us the Son from heaven as Savior and Redeemer. The proud tyrant was not attacking one nation, city, or region; rather, impiously attempting to subject the whole world to himself, he sought to bring all mankind under his own yokes—turning them away from the divine love and the true knowledge of God, polluting them instead with manifold sins, making them slaves to the herds of demons, and causing them to render to the creature the worship due only to the Creator God. For some, by giving to the sun and the moon—the nature which is the queen of all—the reverence and honors that are properly and solely due to God alone, deprived Him: others, by offering worship to earth, water, air, and fire, slipped in a short time into such folly that they advanced to the very height of evils, assigning the dignity and glory of divinity even to senseless wood. B Exulting in such deceits, the bloodthirsty dragon continued to boast, thinking his joy would be eternal. Concerning him, the blessed prophet Jeremiah said: "Woe to him who multiplies to himself what is not his—how long?—and who burdens his yoke heavily!" For he wished to usurp the possession of man, which belongs to God, ever increasing the punishment prepared for himself day by day. Yet the Word of God, who sits with God the Father, proclaimed the time of salvation to us who had acted godlessly and were in danger, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to preach release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord." C When the time of the promised help arrived, He set Himself in our behalf against the deceits of the devil, and He subdued that bloodthirsty tyrant, and having placed him beneath the feet of those who believed, He said plainly: "Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you." As many of us, therefore, as are established as lovers of piety toward God and are eager to share in the radiance of the saints, let us thirst to be in the city above, and let us consider this among ourselves. For kings on earth, as they are always occupied in repelling the incursions of barbarians and preserving the cities in each region, are called saviors and redeemers D and—why not mention all such titles?—are bestowed with most ample rewards. From the glory of their achievements they become proud, and they subject to themselves those they have saved, and, as if pressing them with a yoke, they impose tributes by customs and laws, exacting these as a kind of confession of subjection. We, therefore, redeemed through Christ, and rescued from the error of those who worship many gods, and enriched by Him with intimacy with God, and having passed into the hope of the saints, we ourselves [con-].
A offer our own life to Him. For as the blessed Paul writes: «One died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them.» This was also recorded for us in the more ancient Scriptures, as in shadows and types. For the law is a shadow, and it bears within it the formation of the truth.
3. God said, therefore, to the high priest Moses of old: «If you take the census of the sons of Israel, at their muster, each one shall give a ransom for his soul to the Lord, and there shall be no destruction among them at their muster; and this is what you shall give to those who pass by for the inspection: half of a didrachma, which is according to the holy didrachma; twenty obols is a didrachma. And the half of the didrachma is an offering to the Lord. Everyone who passes by to the inspection, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering to the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half of the didrachma, when they give the offering to the Lord to make atonement for your souls.» B For the stater, or the didrachma, is indeed a genuine coin, and a royal image is stamped upon it. And it was collected for the Lord by those accustomed to make the payment, not for one head only, but for two. Tax collectors were appointed, as provided by the law, who, traversing the land of the Jews up and down, exacted the price of redemption equally from the rich and the poor, since the divine law had strictly commanded that this figure be retained to indicate the truth. And so, when our Savior Christ had once entered into Capernaum, the collectors of the didrachma approached Peter and said: «Does your teacher not pay the didrachma?» He replied: «Yes;» not subjecting the Lawgiver to the law, nor reducing the Son to the rank of servants, but knowing that the Legislator had been made under the law, so that He might deliver us from the curse of the law, and changing the habit of servitude for the better, make us most like unto Himself, and render us C sons of God, clothing and adorning us with the spirit of liberty, as with a most brilliant dignity. «For we have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear,» as the inspired Paul writes, «but we have received the spirit of adoption, in which we cry: Abba, Father.» When, therefore, Peter had returned to the house, the Savior asked him: «The kings of the earth, from whom do they take tribute or tax? From their sons, or from strangers?» And when he answered that tribute must be paid and exacted from strangers, Christ again said: «Therefore, the sons are free. But so that we do not cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and opening its mouth, you will find a stater; having taken that, give it to them for me and for you;» D clearly implying that a didrachma was accustomed to be paid for two heads. What is the mystery, or what manner of truth...
A hidden in the shadow of the Law shall we find? For the true stater, the image of the great King, is, surely, the Son, the figure and effulgence of the Father’s substance; He gave Himself for us, and made His own soul the exchange for the life of all, not that He might save Israel alone, although it might seem to possess the knowledge of the Law, but that He might also rescue the innumerable flock of the Gentiles, B as Paul says, having no hope and suffering from the desolation of every good, from the greed of the devil. Therefore, for two heads, the divine and heavenly stater was given. "For we have been redeemed not with corruptible silver or gold, but with the precious blood, as of a lamb innocent and unblemished, Christ." We are therefore debtors not to the flesh, so as to live according to the flesh, but to Christ, who has redeemed and bought us back. For when God, the lover of mercy, at length took pity on the children of Israel, who could no longer bear the harsh and oppressive rule of the Egyptians and were, without cause, weighed down by the yoke of slavery, He called them to freedom, and indeed inflicted bitter blows upon those who opposed them. But when He saw that they remained unfeeling, He took vengeance upon them through the slaughter of their firstborn; and they, struggling at the final extremity of evils, and yielding to the magnitude of the unexpected disaster, at last granted the oppressed the power to depart from the province. When this had succeeded according to His purpose, God demanded from those whom He had liberated an C equal compensation, as it were. For thus He spoke to Moses, the minister of sacred things: "Sanctify to Me every firstborn that opens every womb among the children of Israel, from man to cattle, it is Mine." Then the blessed Moses explained the reason for the law to those of Israel, saying: "And it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to your fathers, and gives it to you, you shall set aside all that opens the womb, the males, to the Lord." And after other things, again: "If your son asks you hereafter, saying: What is this? you shall say to him, that 'By a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. When Pharaoh hardened his heart against letting us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of men to the firstborn of cattle. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that opens the womb, and D I will redeem every firstborn of my sons.'" Since God strikes down our enemies, and unexpectedly delivers us from the tyranny of the devil, and washes away our former transgressions with holy and most gentle streams, we ourselves, beloved, are bound to pay back the Benefactor in return with an offering of equal weight. Come then, with the splendor of right and blameless faith going before, let us venerate our Savior with strenuous deeds as well; for this is an excellent kind of gift, and
we make the thing a sacrifice truly spiritual. For it is written: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, your reasonable service” (Rom. XII, 1).
B 4. Therefore, especially in the present season, while we practice abstinence and apply fasting as a kind of bridle, let us make our conduct gentle and sober, as its companion. For fasting by itself, and purely by its own strength, will by no means suffice for the attainment of virtue; but when joined together, and as it were walking in equal footsteps with it, the fragrance of good works becomes acceptable to God and filled with all praise. But perhaps someone conscious of his own evils will say, being struck with terror by the reproaches of his conscience: “What then, since I am stained on every side with the marks of sin, and have the filth of offenses that no one can wash away? With what words, then, shall I approach the Judge of all? Or what manner of life shall I use to redeem the penalties I owe for these things?” It is truly not possible to escape punishment; all things are known and open to the Judge, and He cannot in any way be deceived or eluded. To this person, therefore, I will reply thus: You indeed, O friend, having looked with sharp eyes at the punishments appointed for sinners, have rightly shuddered. But let the words of Paul deliver you from every fear of this kind: “When we were,” he says, “dead in our offenses and our sins, in which we once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience, in whom also we all once lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, as the others. But God, who is rich in C mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephes. II, 1-5). For as the Savior Himself has said: “For God so loved the world, as to give His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but may have life everlasting” (Joan. III, 16). For the Word, being God and of God by nature and by an ineffable generation from the Father, equal in virtue and power to Him who begat Him, the image and brightness and figure of His substance (Hebr. I, 3), emptied Himself (Philipp. II, 7), lowering Himself to the measure of man, and not despising the nature thus trampled upon, in order that He might deliver us from sin; and having freed us from that ancient curse, as God, might render us secure from death and corruption. For this reason, the Only-Begotten became man; He who was above the law, as God, became under the law; He who resides upon the highest powers, and is celebrated by the voice of the holy Seraphim as Lord Sabaoth (Isa. VI, 3), was called a servant. Shall we, therefore, because He became man, be ignorant of the Master? Shall we not acknowledge the Word born of God the Father? Shall we not worship Emmanuel? Far
away with this absurdity! For those who, out of stupidity, have dared to think thus and to deny the Master who ransomed them, let them hear the prophet saying: "Walk in the light of your fire and in the flame which you have kindled." B Wisdom also will groan over them, saying: "Woe to those who leave the straight paths, to walk in the ways of darkness." But we, leaving behind the twisted track, shall walk in the straight path, following the divinely inspired Scriptures; although He was made man for us and for our salvation, we shall worship Him not as though He had been made into a man, but as the Word who self-evidently became man. For as the blessed John says, and as the very nature of things has testified, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Now we say that the Word became flesh, but not that He had passed over into the nature C of flesh. For this would be a mutation, and is foreign to the divine dignity. But we say that He was born of a woman, and became a perfect man according to us, mingled in His whole nature, I mean by a union that surpasses mind and speech. He has become a mediator of God and of men, joining through Himself those things which were separated by the natural laws of their respective origins. For He was connected to the substance of God the Father as God. But He also took hold of us, inasmuch as He became man; yet He would not slip away from being God because of the human element; rather, He is thus also God, since the Divinity which is above all things did not allow itself to be overcome D by the flesh, but rather brought what was assumed into its own glory. Therefore, also that wise John, although he knew that He was born through a woman, asserts that He did not come from below or from the earth, but rather from above: "He who comes from above," he cried out clearly, "is above all." Therefore, casting far away the old-wives' tales and cold myths of the unbelievers, let us recognize our Master, even if He has become man. For the wretched Jews, ignorant of the mystery of piety, when Christ asked why they were so hunting Him down and were carried away with intemperate rage, answered foolishly: "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." But let us not be so disposed. For He did not arrive at the glory of the Divinity when He was a man, but being God by nature, He became man. For where would He have "emptied himself," according to the Scriptures? God, therefore, existing as such, became man; for He was by no means a man who was made god. For this reason He is worthy to be worshipped, even if He is conceived of with flesh. For the blessed David sang: "God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence." And the divine Thomas, having touched the marks of the nails, and having acknowledged Him as God, worshipped Him, saying: "My Lord and my God." And the divine is intangible and invisible; but He visited us [manifestly…]
A not as if He were someone other than His own flesh and the temple assumed from the Virgin, but as one being understood together with it; by union, clearly, through which He is also said to have become flesh. The wretched Jews dishonored Him, even though He said clearly: "He who believes in Me has eternal life;" and, "I am the light of the world;" and, "I am the resurrection and the life." But they, considering none of these things, but driven by the impulse of fury and envy, in the end crucified Him. Nevertheless, for the unbearable crimes in which they were caught, the Psalmist curses them with such words: "O Lord, in Thy wrath Thou shalt disturb them, and fire shall devour them: Thou shalt destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from among the sons of men. For they turned evils against Thee, they devised a plan which they could not establish." For it was not possible for Life itself to be held by the bonds of death. B For He rose from the dead, having despoiled Hades, and saying to those in bonds: "Come forth," and to those in darkness: "Be revealed." And having prepared for human nature the path to return to life, and having shown Himself manifestly to the holy disciples, and having appointed them guides of the mysteries for the whole world, and having commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, He ascended to the Father, as if some firstfruit and beginning of those who have fallen asleep, offering Himself also to the spirits appearing above, that He might make heaven passable for us ourselves as well. And so He said to the holy disciples: "I will go, and I will prepare a place for you; and I will come again, and I will take you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be with Me also." Celebrating therefore in view of all these things, C we are necessarily purified by labors, and by fasts mortifying the flesh, or rather the pleasure that is in the flesh and from the flesh; so that, being pure, we may be purely joined to the holy God through the mediator Christ, and may show ourselves worthy of the radiance of the saints. Adding also to fasting the boasts that come from good deeds, let us have mercy on widows, let us care for orphans, let us break bread for the hungry, let us clothe the naked, let us visit those in bonds, let us welcome poor people suffering from lack of shelter into our homes, and, in a word, let us finally practice every kind of virtue. For then, truly then, shall we fast cleanly; D beginning the holy Quadragesima from the thirteenth day of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the saving Pascha from the eighteenth of the month of Pharmouthi, ceasing our fasts on the twenty-third of the same month of Pharmouthi, in the deep evening, according to the evangelical proclamation; celebrating [the feast] on the next dawning Sunday, the twenty-fourth of the same month of Pharmouthi, and attaching also the seven weeks of holy Pentecost, according to the ordinance of the divine law. For thus, being adorned with upright and good deeds, we shall inherit the kingdom of the heavens.
in Christ Jesus our Lord; through whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY XIV
A 1. The sacred writings have long since set forth the signs of our holy festival, and they command us to cry out concerning it with a great and loud voice, saying: "Blow the trumpet at the beginning of the month, on the day of your festival." B But now that the shadow of the Law has been dispersed, and the letter has plainly and clearly indicated the realities themselves, let us—as if putting aside what is stale and useless, which was found by the ancients in shadow and figure, namely the ignoble sound of trumpets—adopt instead the diligent and becoming practice of preaching as the sign of our celebration. For the beginning of the month is already approaching; that is, the new and fresh time of our Savior's resurrection is dawning. "For if any man is in Christ he is a new creature," as it is written, "the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Therefore, since I believe we must go directly toward what is becoming, I think we should, according to the voice of the prophet, "Sanctify a fast." C To sanctify, however, is to set apart and to offer, as it were, a choice gift to God, the ruler of all. Now, those who are experienced in war and know how to drill others in tactics, when the time of battle calls, go around the phalanxes of their own men; they order them to send forth a manifestation of their mindset, and they persuade them with countless words that it is right to show themselves brave for the onset into struggle. I, in turn, have decided to address those who by no means despise virtue, but who count as most honorable the labors undertaken for its sake, with an exhortatory speech, as it were, to sharpen them in this undertaken zeal. D "For it is time to act for the Lord," as it is written. But to act in what way? To exert the impulses of the soul strenuously, to subdue pleasures, and to train the mind toward all those things which are deservedly considered admirable, being fully equipped with the armor of the saints, in the way that the excellent Paul boasted to us: "I buffet my body and bring it into bondage, lest by any means, after having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." For although the labor in such exercises is admittedly heavy and difficult to bear, it abounds in the fruits of virtue and propriety, and by a small loss of lower things, it compensates with the profit of those things which all confess to be best. And the blessed Paul clearly confirms this to us, saying: "But though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." For when
this abominable and pleasure-loving flesh rebels against the rule of the Spirit, being sickly in itself—as it were—with the law of sin, and ever inciting us toward the things to which it has inclined, and thus necessarily compelling us to barter away the glory that belongs to the better things, come, let us prefer what is profitable and honored by divine decree over what is base. With sobriety and modesty, let us tame the untamed motion of the flesh, and let us, as it were, make temperance our friend, joining it to the virtues that are its neighbors and companions—I mean fortitude, justice, and prudence—and let us, as it were, place upon our heads a wreath beautifully woven of spring-like and most fragrant B flowers into an appropriate form. Then, having purified ourselves from all filth, being pure and acting purely together with fasting, let us perform the worship most fitting for the saints. For then, indeed, then, adorned as if with brilliant garments in the honors of the virtues, we shall partake of the heavenly feast, not hearing that most sorrowful voice which the Savior spoke to one of those who had been invited: "Friend, how did you enter here without a wedding garment?" For it is wise to be suited to the occasion. For it is written: "To everything there is a time, and all things are beautiful in their time." And besides these things, is it not worthy to consider this? If someone of those who are held in more brilliant glory and honored with the utmost pre-eminence were to invite us to celebrate a solemn festival with him, which he had decided to celebrate by entertaining his friends, would we not think that the guests would come to the banquet equipped with splendid array of garments? They would surely do so, to serve the honor of him by whom they were invited. C Who could doubt this? Since, therefore, it is not without penalty for one to approach a banquet without splendid adornment of garments, who would not consider those to be deservedly reproved and punished who, having scorned a divine calling, are judged to lack a cleaner culture of soul? For how would those who are, as it were, still squalid and covered in filth, and passing a life alien and discordant from the studies of the saints, be reckoned in their number? And this, indeed, while Christ openly asserts, as He speaks of the dispensation that will be at some future time: "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Let, therefore, the profane filth of worldly things be gone; let fornication be gone, and avarice, and envy, murmuring, and detraction, fraud, and guile. For D so it is that, together with the crimes of wickedness, the most miserable punishment will also be taken away which hangs over the heads of sinners; but there will arise, as it were, those things for which one might deservedly glory in everyone, and we shall live together with Christ, the Savior of us all, and having obtained glory free from all reproach, we shall easily attain a seat and place among the bands of the saints.
2. Therefore, as a moderator of the best things and our leader, let us again take up the wise John, saying:
Homily XIV
« Do not love the world, nor the things which are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the desire of it. But he who does the will of God, remains forever. » A You see the saints choosing to live by a wise and blameless judgment, and as if having climbed manfully to a certain vantage point regarding the affairs of our life, they elegantly measure out the distraction of the present life, marking out what it is, how great it is, and for whom it might be useful, and with difficulty. For he says, « Everything that is in the world [is] the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life. » For does not the desire for pleasure and luxury among those who have fallen into worldly sloth terminate in the pleasure of the table and the belly? For complex feastings, savory dishes, the corrupt ways of cooking, and the Sybaritic table are, I think, most highly prized among them. B Furthermore, the « desire of the eyes » is, I think, turned toward the observation of the beauty of bodies and the splendor of matter, and toward those things through which the faculty of seeing, being soothed by a certain pleasure, is accustomed to being captivated as if by illusions. But as for pride and ambition, how could I tell to what measure of baseness they proceed? For God counts the man who is too self-stretching and haughty as his most hostile enemy. « For God resists the proud, » according to what is written. Having made these things our own, and deeming them worthy of very little account, and having honored with a holy vote the glory of the better things, let us live according to the Gospel, so that we may seem to have, as it were, died to the world, through not enduring to live according to its worldly and elegant practices. C Such a thing Paul also implies, saying: « For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I am crucified with Christ. And I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. » And being mindful, I think, of Him who said, « Freely you have received, freely give, » he persuades us also to think the same, saying: « Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized in Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death: that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. » D Therefore, I will speak of something necessary for profit, and I shall again make use of the voices of the saints: « Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of a good manner of life his work in the meekness of wisdom. » Now, it is not worth suspecting that the admirable manner of life is any other than that through which it might come to pass that someone is brought to an upright state, and chooses to live as well as possible, and possesses what is genuine in faith. For it is the appearance...
that someone has embraced the faith, while he looks toward other things and refuses to be thoroughly confirmed in it, that I would readily concede to be at the peak of all wickedness. To those, however, whose minds have been corrupted in this way, and who have chosen both to think and to act thus, the divine word straightway proclaims: "Woe," it says, "to fearful hearts and weak hands, and to the sinner who goes upon two ways." A For it is a disease of a truly cold mind, and a charge and indictment of a slack and paralyzed intellect, to be easily diverted, and to readily choose loving what they once decided to hate. For if one were to ask someone, even of those with moderate sobriety—not to mention those whose powers of soul are firm and excellently constituted—"Tell me, friend, since it is in your power to choose either to be healthy or to be sick, and since it is optional for you to choose one or the other, would you, I ask, choose to be sick and cast aside your health, or, having unhesitatingly embraced what are without doubt the better things, would you consider the very question worthy of laughter?" Or has a man fallen into such a state of mental derangement as not to cry out clearly that by no means would he ever choose for his body to be infirm—that is, to have its opposite—but would least of all ever choose it? And yet, there is no way we would not say that such a person has deliberated well. For things that are upright, even if one should not wish to agree, are inherently and obviously possessed of glory; it is not safe to speak ill of them. B If, then, we count bodily health among the best and most desirable things, how could we be anything but extremely foolish if we do not hold the same opinion regarding the soul, and rather do not deem it worthy of more essential concern? For by as much as souls are better than bodies, by so much, I think, we must bestow upon them a more perfect care. Accordingly, anointing with oils, food, and the use of the rest of medicine, when applied continually and not to excess, ward off diseases from human bodies. But to raise the mind to the desire for virtue, and to consider impure sin as death, and in addition to this, to love to be overcome by the love towards God, and to honor the Creator of all with a wholehearted faith—this, I would say, is the health of the soul and an incomparable sobriety of a mind looking toward what is strong. For it was necessary for those of more ancient times to think in this way, and the divine law itself has proclaimed this to us. For the first and most admirable commandment is this: C «You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.» This I say is to choose to honor the Creator with a wholehearted faith. For consider the matter thus: regarding those who stand before the rulers on earth and are numbered in the order of bodyguards, do we consider those to be most highly praiseworthy who choose to think and to do what seems right to them, and whom we shall therefore honor with a glorious vote; or, as one might perhaps think it better and more excellent, should one examine the intention by reason—while, D being perhaps barbarous in its manner of... [index: entries preserved]
A catching [r] those things which are base. But, I think, someone might say, if he has a wise mind, that it is and shall be fitting for a bad man to perish badly, who hides one thing in his thoughts, but says another, according to the poets among the Greeks. For I think it is necessary to maintain goodwill—which is entirely blameless—towards those who are in power, but with one’s whole mind to hate the things of the barbarians. But if to be well-regarded in these matters is indeed manifest and worth taking, how are we not compelled to judge that those who are yoked to God, and have made their confession of faith in Him right well, and this in the presence of many holy witnesses, ought to love to be uniquely rooted in Him, crying out like that in the Psalms: "My soul has B adhered after Thee"? For they could not be reckoned otherwise than thus among the true worshippers. But for the tongue to confess on the one hand that He is the God of all, while with the whole foot one has not yet departed from the error of the demons—how would this not be, as is likely, nothing other than what I just said: to simulate goodwill by speech, while having an intellect that acts like a barbarian? But it is possible to say that one who is crowned with supreme glory might justly have directed the rebuke against such men, saying: "O soldier, equipped with my armor, do you side with the barbarians? My own, yet you love only to be seen C as mine, when you are entirely another's?" God, I think, would also say regarding those who are not established in the faith: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching the doctrines and commandments of men."
The occasion then shifts the discourse to what is useful. For some of those belonging to us proceed to such a pitch of impurity that they pay attention to spirits of error, and devote their minds to the nonsense D and lying speeches of certain oracles. While they dream that they know things above the heaven and things beneath the earth, the wretches unknowingly deceive themselves, and drag others besides themselves to destruction along with their own heads. For they persuade people that the knowledge of future events is ready for those who wish to grasp it, and they attribute things which are most uniquely proper to the divine excellence to the movements of the stars, casting down from a sound and unerring opinion those who might be easy to lead astray and readily dissipated into deceit. And gathering together swarms of wretched old women, they whisper what they please, as if they were themselves the divine power. The latter return home, foolishly deluded by lying words, and having been fleeced of the silver they had barely collected as alms. For the art of such men is a pander to cold and unholy profits; and the writing drawn upon a baleful tablet they make, as it were, a shop for venal lies. Some Israelites do this...
having neglected piety toward God and having disparaged the pursuit of what is fitting. A But what says the prophet Ezekiel? "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, and you shall say to the prophets who prophesy out of their own heart, and you shall prophesy, and you shall say to them: Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord Adonai: Because your words are false, and your divinations are vain, for this reason behold I am against you, says the Lord Adonai, and I will stretch out my hand upon the prophets who see false things and speak lying divinations." And because the most wretched women were also feigning knowledge of things to come, God B said again to the prophet: "And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own heart, and prophesy against them, and say: Thus says the Lord Adonai: Woe to those who sew pillows under every elbow of the arm, and who make coverings upon every head of every age to pervert souls! And the souls of my people have been perverted, and they were saving souls and polluting me to my people for a handful of barley and for a fragment of bread, to kill the souls that ought not to die, and to save the souls that ought not to live, while you speak vain speeches C to a people that listens to vain things." For the truth is exactly thus. They are not taught of God to transmit to others, according to the custom of our own prophecy, things that surpass the understanding; but forming answers adapted to each one of those who are accustomed to inquire curiously, they issue them from the workshops of fraud. And while they assert that they are clever and wise, and wish it to be believed that they have advanced so far in art and skill as to know the affairs of others without any labor and without ever erring, one finds them hallucinating to such an extent in their own affairs that, when they fall into calamity, they say they never D thought they would have to experience what has happened to them. And indeed, since it is easy for one who foresees the future to take precautions, and it is permitted to avoid an evil that has already been foreseen, why do they not all escape calamities, especially those who persuade themselves they have excelled in that art? Therefore, the very fact demonstrates to us that their tricks are deceptive. But they say, "Some things have happened truly as they were predicted." But, O best of men, this very thing is the crime; these are the reasons for which you ought to be called to judgment. Therefore tell me, if one who is accused and is pleading his cause were to bring forward in his defense the very things that are objected against him, would he not—because a few things happened as predicted—be speaking nonsense, and would we not therefore condemn as shameful their conduct? Indeed, the fact that not everything is referred to the truth is a sure argument of your wickedness, and furthermore it demonstrates that your pursuit is futile, that your art is a trifler's craft, and your discipline ridiculous. Since things that are from God in no way fail, for whatever is to happen the divine and incorruptible mind knows entirely, and if it chooses to speak of these things to some, it...
or those to whom it speaks will not falsify the narrative. But the inventions of human reason rely rather on conjecture than on the glory of truth. A To me, each one of these people seems like a person who, being sightless from some infirmity and having lost the faculty of vision, while it would be better to remain quiet and yield to the necessity of the ailment, nonetheless trusts that he can exercise the art of archery, and is highly pleased with himself in this regard. Would this not be the mark of a madman, and a sort of mockery of the art itself? If he were to be struck by what happens, it would be easier to observe. For, shooting many arrows, he will be scattered, and naturally he will miss the target most of the time. Yet, nothing prevents him from hitting it once. Is he therefore to look around grandiosely after a single shot, or will he be considered less ridiculous for other reasons? B But he whose sense of sight is intact will not lift his brow and affect great pride because he has hit the mark once; indeed, he is very far from doing so. Rather, he would feel ashamed at the aimlessness of others, if he were to consider that the praise we give should not fall toward that which is unseemly to the art. Therefore, let them either admit that they produce their arguments from a blind mind, and invite applause for that—which, since he was experienced in sight, would not win him the laughter caused by his error; for he would be taken not for his art, but for having happened upon the mark by chance in a single instance—or, if they claim to see and will confirm that they know the truth clearly, they will find their failure to be utterly inexcusable, and their method of divination to be a cold waste of the mind. C Our holy prophets existed, not accustomed to measuring the movement of the stars, nor occupied with curiously inquiring into the use of the elements, nor forcing human nature toward things that are by no means proper, nor emboldened by base deceits. Rather, foreseeing the future from the revelation of the holy Spirit, they declared to us things long before they came to pass. Nothing of what they said has failed, but the nature of things creeps closely along according to the times, or rather, it follows exactly in the footsteps of what had been foretold. For it was God who was speaking. You may listen to them, then, as they undoubtedly cast away this lying and money-grubbing astrological trickery as something deadly—for I assert that this art must be so named with cleverly invented terms—and thus they say: D "Thus says the Lord: Do not learn according to the ways of the nations, and do not be afraid of the signs of the heavens, because they are afraid of them for themselves, because the laws of the nations are vain." The stars, which cover this heaven with manifold 392 order and crown it with measured brightness, have indeed been made for illumination and for marking the times. But they themselves obey the laws of their Creator and indicate to the tillers of the earth the changes of the seasons, while one and another in turns—
A rising and setting. Therefore, one must attend not to their buffoonery, but to the voices of those who speak by divine inspiration; and we shall concede to God the glory that is above all things, and we shall not bestow it upon the nature of the stars. For is it not a dignity and excellence worthy of God to be enriched with the knowledge of future things? And how could this be gainsaid? For just as it will be reserved for Him, and for no other being, to have the power to bring existences easily from non-existence into being, so too, I suppose, is the knowledge of everything that has already happened and is coming to pass, and of things yet to be. But that it is not without penalty to be wont to attach oneself to stale pseudo-divinations, the blessed Moses, or rather God of all things through Moses, points out, saying: B “If you enter into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do according to the abominations of the nations. There shall not be found in you one who purges his son or his daughter in the fire, a soothsayer, a diviner, one who interprets omens, a sorcerer, an enchanter, a ventriloquist, and one who considers portents, asking questions of the dead. For everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” And in addition to this, He says: “You shall be perfect before the Lord your God. For these nations, whom you shall inherit, will listen to omens and divinations. But the Lord your God has not given such things to you.” C Therefore, pseudo-divination and the paying heed to omens is the most shameful of crimes. And what is paradoxical is that God does sometimes permit the followers of such things to utter even some things that are true, setting the matter as a kind of test for the firmness of faith in His own worshippers. For He said thus through Moses: “If there arises among you a prophet or one who dreams a dream and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder happens which he spoke to you, saying: ‘Let us go and serve other gods, whom you have not known,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, because the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” D When, therefore, the beauty of the integrity of one’s relationship to God is corrupted—if one were to think that those who so shamefully serve for hire are divinely inspired—even if they happen to speak some things that are true, we shall not surrender our spirit to their empty tricks. But they, for their part, must hold to the path they have entered upon, “deceiving and being deceived,” as it is written. For so it pleases them. But we shall listen to the divine oracles, mindful of Him who writes: “Make straight paths for your feet, and direct your ways.” A straight and unerring path is to strive in a direct course toward every kind of virtue, and then to bid farewell to vain and false divinations, and to know, in a simple way, who is by nature and truly God and Lord. For so one ought to think, and that which of old through
A the law of Moses typified: “For the Lord thy God,” he says, “thou shalt adore, and to him only shalt thou serve.”
For there is one God among us, the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things. For if the Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; and all things were made through him, and without him was made nothing. And we surely do not say, as if all things were made through him according to the Scriptures, that he holds a servile and instrumental rank, as though he contributed some service to the Father while He was creating all things. For these would be utterances of an unholy mind and inventions of the madness of heretics. Since, however, he is himself the Wisdom and Power of God and of the Father, through him all things are called into generation, and once called, they are preserved, held together for [the purpose of] being well. “For God made not death, neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living,” for it is written thus: and there is no kingdom of the grave on earth. “For he created all things that they might be, and the generations of the world are healthful.” “But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world.” For human nature slipped, having disregarded reverence toward God, and was carried down into sin. And just as there came into the accusations of sin the necessity of dying, so did it receive the power of corruption. For it heard immediately: “Earth thou art, and into earth thou shalt go.” B But to Him who is good by nature, the Creator of all, it seemed fit to transform the animal toward immortality, and by reformations toward piety, to restructure it very well toward the undefiled beauty in the beginning. Thus, therefore, the only-begotten Word of God became man; and he assumed the form that is ours, yet he retains the state of being God as something that cannot be put away. For the nature that is beyond all intellect and supreme knows no change. He therefore remained what he was even after [assuming] flesh, and having let himself down into an economic emptying, according to what is written: “On earth he was seen, and with men he conversed,” transforming [them] into holiness, justifying by faith the one who approaches, having opened wide the gate of the kingdom of heaven, suggesting things that are beneficial, while demonstrating the truth. And while shining forth the divine light, by the greatness of his deeds he made it manifest to the adversaries that he is God by nature, even though he became flesh. Therefore he also said: “If I do not work the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe my works.” For the word was a stimulus toward persuasion; and the efficacy of [his] divine signs was C more than sufficient for a clear proof that he himself is God by nature. But it did not please the Israelites to think aright; for, insulting the Savior and Redeemer of all with [their] excessively wicked disbelief, they have spent long D
and those who crucified him, A rendering evil for good, as it is written, and unhesitatingly concurring with the suggestions of the devil. Did he therefore remain among the dead, and after having endured human death for the common condition of men, was he held by the snares of the introduced corruption? By no means. For he was Life by his very nature, and he rose again on the third day, having become the beginning, the door, and the way for human nature in this respect also. But after he rose again, having despoiled Hades, he ascended to the Father who is in heaven and to God; and he shall come in the fullness of time, as we believe, with the holy angels, and he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and shall render to each according to his works. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, now that death has been repelled, corruption has been removed, sin has been rendered ineffective through faith, and the kingdom of heaven is set before us; and since we look forward to so bright and excellent a hope. And since we are to stand before the Judge to give an account of our own life, let us be concerned for moderation. Let justice, charity, mutual love, meekness, continence, and, to say it in a word, all the virtues be dear to us. Let us advocate for widows, let us show mercy to orphans, let us relieve those laboring under bodily diseases as much as we can by providing care, let us visit those in bonds. For thus, and in this way, having cast off every stain and being adorned with the right faith, we shall celebrate the feast purely; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the fifth day of the month of March, and the week of the saving Pascha from the tenth day of the month of April; but finishing the fasts on the fifteenth day of the same month of April, at the deep evening of the Sabbath, according to the evangelical proclamation; and celebrating the feast on the following day as the Sunday dawns, on the sixteenth of the same month, adding thereafter the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus, and in this way, we shall delight in the divine words, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom, to God the Father with the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory and power forever. Amen.
HOMILY XV
1. D "Come again, let us rejoice in the Lord." For the time now somehow calls us to celebrate the feast, and urges us to bring our contribution munificently to the spiritual banquet; and, as it were, to cry out together in a refined manner with the lyre of the Psalmist: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart." Let us therefore carry out what is enjoined, not by bloating the belly with foods prepared with art, nor by dulling the mind with frequent and heady cups, but rather by filling ourselves sumptuously with sacred and divine discourses, and by [directing] the eye of the mind toward a sobriety of understanding, still better and more excellent than the usual,
and by A casting ourselves towards those heights of divine contemplation that reach beyond our grasp. For thus it shall come to pass, with God freely assenting, that we shall be able both to vanquish our opponents and to overcome entirely the most foul passions of the soul. For that a discourse which encourages us toward the longing for an admirable life in Christ would be proper, and quite reasonably so, for those who celebrate the feast so brilliantly here, the divine Psalmist bears witness to us somewhere, saying: "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, on the notable day of your feast" (Ps. LXXX, 4). I shall adduce for a most clear proof an ancient oracle concerning this. For to the most holy Moses, he says, "But if you go out to war in your land against the enemies who stand against you, then you shall sound notes with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord, and you shall be saved from your enemies. And in the days of your gladness, and in your feasts, and in your new moons, you shall blow the trumpets over your whole burnt offerings, and over your sacrifices, and it shall be for you a memorial before your God. I am the Lord your God" (Num. X, 9, 10). B The law has not heralded these things to us in vain. Since, as if by figure and enigmas, it leads proportionately toward the truth, and having set forth as it were a coarse image, it raises the slender eye of the mind from those things that fall under the gaze to those that surpass the senses. You will understand what I say, if you direct your mind more diligently to what we have just mentioned. For to those of old, the war was against blood and flesh. For the Moabites, the Midianites, and along with these ten thousand other most warlike races, inhabiting the land bordering the Jews, used to make frequent and unannounced incursions; against whom it was ever necessary, in some way, to stand in battle and to go out to meet them, those who, for the sake of themselves, their children, and their wives, held the task of excelling in battles to be not C unpracticed. We shall allow, therefore, that for those of old, the sound of the trumpets was found not to be useless for the requirements of war. And their affairs, indeed, were thus. But as for us, who are accustomed to excel through faith in Christ, the war is not against blood and flesh, nor is the matter to be conducted by a display of bodily strength. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (II Cor. X, 4), according to the voice of Paul; but a holy and sacred war is raised against those very ones who long ago held sway, and against every passion that is within us. Let the intelligible trumpet, therefore, sound—that is to say, let the vehement preaching of the holy and divinely inspired Scripture sound out—and let it sharpen onto exceeding valor the one who is courageous by nature and skilled in war; and let it proclaim D that he ought to depart far from cowardice. For thus clearly does God speak somewhere through the voice of the prophet: "Proclaim these things among the nations; sanctify a war, rouse the fighters; draw near and go up, all you men of war."
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'" Do you hear how A he calls this a holy war, and does not permit one to be infirm, shameful, or cowardly, knowing that the charges of faintheartedness are difficult for those who have suffered to wash away? Let us, then, examine what the prophetic word might wish to indicate to us again by so insistently commanding that we should beat our plowshares into swords and our pruning hooks into spears. For plowshares and pruning hooks are among the most useful of tools for farming, while swords and spears are adapted for the uses of war. Shall we therefore say that the law forbids us a quiet and laborious life, and prefers instead a savage one that is fond of war, favoring it over that most honorable [quiet life]? But who would not see that this opinion is absurd, and in my judgment not free from the charge of madness? And yet the word is true. For the law of God instructs us in all wonderful things, and does not in any way drive us to choose things that are not free from vice. Let us therefore investigate, if it pleases, what this means: "to transform the plowshare into a sword, and the pruning hook into a spear." It seems, then, that the law elegantly indicates to us that B now is the time for those who have been justified in Christ and sanctified in the Spirit, having undertaken the war against the passions and sin, not to be occupied with earthly pursuits, nor to persuade themselves to delay until they appear slow in performing the better and more becoming things. Rather, one must in a certain way transfer one's labor from those worldly things to the pursuit of virtue—even if it is necessary to overcome not without a struggle, and to fight strenuously against the disturbances innate within us—and, having deeply conquered sloth, one must dwell continually under spiritual arms. For thus the most wise Paul also instructs for us the best and most courageous soldier, saying: "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet in the preparation of the gospel of peace; in all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the Wicked One, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." C An excellent soldier will undoubtedly take pleasure in being equipped in such a splendid manner, and will carry off a reputation worthy of this, choosing both to think and to do those things through which he might show himself a man of noble spirit, and most ready for all that is best. A wise and prudent man will consider the divine law his delight, and will easily allow himself to be ruled by it. D
2. But who those might be who follow a way of life contrary to what I have said, and are therefore cast out from the sacred assembly of the saints, the God of all again reveals to us, while thus [speaking] to Moses, who is mediating
A his interpreter among men: "Command the sons of Israel, that they cast out of the camp every leper, and everyone that flows with seed, and everyone that is defiled by a soul: from male even to female shall you cast them out of the camp; and they shall not defile their camps, in which I dwell among them." Do you hear how He said that the man with a flow of seed, and the leper, and the one defiled by a soul must be sent away from the camp; and he affirms that this will be a cause of contagion to the others, if they are not separated with all possible speed from the military gathering?
Yet why is this, I might say, and with good reason indeed—nay, anyone, I think, might easily doubt and reason with himself: why has God decreed that these invalids should be subject to punishment? For would it not have been more equitable that the Prince of all goodness and justice show kindness to those who are oppressed by calamities against their will? And since they are treated unhappily, that others might pity those born of equal lot, whereas to reproach them for their misfortune would be permitted to no one? For leprosy, and the losses of natural seed, and involuntary discharges befall human bodies; yet those to whom these things happen are not thought to be taking a crime upon themselves. For no one, I think, falls ill willingly; indeed, even the wealthiest would prefer to surrender all his fortune at once to one who would promise him deliverance from his diseases. What crime, then, is there in this matter, or for what reason are those who fall ill condemned and entangled in such severe punishments? B Wicked morals, to be sure, and a will that is hurried headlong toward the most shameful things and chooses to despise the better things, are rightly punished. But those things which are not constituted by nature in this way, and which happen to those who suffer them against their will, are free from mockery and cavil, nor are they vindicated by the laws with any just penalty.
What, then, shall we say to these things? Was this law indeed unjust toward the lepers, and did it impose a harsher penalty than was fit, without laboring diligently in investigating what was becoming? Not in any way; the case is far otherwise. For it is written: "Because the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." But how these things are to be understood, if anyone of us should ask, we say this: The Law given through Moses to the ancients indicated the beauty of truth through figure and shadow, and the power of the things hidden within was clearly delineated C as if in bodily diseases. For the legal letter compares to lepers those who, as far as their character goes, are varied and inconstant in mind, and infected on every side by numberless evils, and who cling all too much to their own opinion. And he calls him a "seminifluous" one who is desperately given over to lust and is perpetually overcome by the foulest turpitude, so that he seems almost to suffer from an involuntary flow of seed. And besides these, He detests the one "defiled in soul," that is to say, him who has given himself over to mourning the dead D and to being excessively pained.
A For if we return as it were, and almost restrain our discourse, we say this, following the nature of the questions proposed, and looking into the heart of the things recorded: that those who have abandoned themselves to the manifold diseases of wickedness are in no way fit for the struggle, nor are they suited to overcome the disturbances of the soul. For this is what leprosy, and that disease and affection, signify. But neither are those to be enrolled in the phalanxes of the saints who, abandoned to unbridled impulse, are carried away into most shameful pleasures. Finally, those are to be rejected who pursue those who have departed this life with immoderate grief, as if they had been utterly extinguished. For by this, contumely is brought against God, who most openly declares through the voice of the saints: "The dead shall rise, and those who are in the monuments shall be raised" (Isa. xxvi, 19). Therefore, let us take on manly courage, so that we may prove ourselves, I say, victors over the affections of the soul. For in this way, one might be enrolled in the number of excellent men, and, having been inscribed into the society of the elect on account of extraordinary virtue, will truly bring back the most desirable glory. Let no one B be deterred by labor, even if the way of a praiseworthy life should show itself to be rough, even if a difficult and arduous path to virtue is set before us, and one must strive through sweat toward honor. For it is not, it is not granted to anyone to be able to become rich with the extraordinary wealth of most excellent actions by expending only very small labors, but the fruits that spring from them always correspond in proportion to the labors. The divine Paul also sharpens us to a desire for virtue with such words. For he orders, as he is accustomed, that we should make as a certain example the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus, who "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame" (Heb. xii, 2). But in what manner, and for what causes, He endured the cross for us, letting Himself down into self-emptying, although He was by nature God the Word—come, let us say, lifting up the narrative a little on high, but profitably C bringing it down to what is called the voluntary emptying, and raising it back higher, presently to the voluntary emptying.
3. For the Son, who is in Him and from Him by nature, has been begotten of God and the Father in an ineffable manner and beyond the power of the mind. But when we say that He is begotten, let the mind lift itself beyond the boundaries of bodies, and leaving behind in the lowly place the humble cognition that it has formed from them, let it understand that the Divine power is incomparably more excellent than the nature of bodies, and let it determine with itself that It is placed on high above every created thing and is supremely adorned with incomparable glory. Let us understand, therefore, that we must not be entirely rooted in the reasons D of things that happen among us, as if the unbegotten must always be prior, so that before it exists, it in some way precedes the way to being so as not to be at some time. For this would be delirious, and a clear demonstration of the highest madness. For if—to speak of bodies, or rather of those things that are like us—we might perchance happen to look into the matter, (we are led to assign) the properties of bodies to them; yet, let the mind go beyond that which belongs to bodies, and let it leave the pettiness of the fantasy that is attached to them to stay somewhere below; let it conceive of the Divine, by comparison, infinitely better than the nature of bodies; and let it be well disposed that It possesses glory far above every created and incomparable being. Let us accept, therefore—not, of course, by following the arguments that apply to us, that this is prior to the Begotten, namely, not to exist at all; and that the fact of never having existed appears somehow before the transition into existence. For this is nonsense, and a clear proof of the utmost folly. For if indeed concerning bodies, or those things that are like us...
and subject to generation and decay, the reason should inquire, to attribute to them things proper to bodies—things which we see to occur to them naturally—would be not at all absurd. For in order for something to arrive at existence, it must—without doubt—first not exist at all. Furthermore, it will be subject to divisions, so that the begotten may receive a form proper and peculiar from the begetter. But regarding the substance that is highest of all, and situated above the condition of any created thing—is it not, too, a mark of utter stupidity to admit divisions or separations, and to seek for generation as if it occurred in time? A Away with this absurdity, whoever you are! You ought to apply your mind to the contemplation of things as subtly as possible, so that you may know the truth. Do you not understand that you are insulting the divine nature while you attribute to it things that are proper to bodies, and bring down that excellence, positioned upon a height above all created things, to a glory more ignoble than that which would be fitting for it and which it might be believed to possess? For since the Father is always the Father, and not [one who] progressed in time from potentiality to the actuality of begetting, it is necessary that he through whom He is the Father must always coexist with Him. B "For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God," according to the Scriptures. But when it is stated that "he was," with nothing else brought forward beforehand, where then will the course of our thought come to an end? And what conclusion will it finally find for us, if our mind wishes to pursue that "was" through the subtlety of contemplation? Therefore, the Word is indeed begotten, and the Word was God; yet it is begotten not according to the nature of bodies, such that we should conceive of an absolute "otherness" existing between the begotten and the begetter. We use the term "generation," taken from our own experience, out of necessity, signifying that the Only-Begotten flashed forth like light from the substance of God the Father, and subsists in a particular way, and is understood to exist by Himself. But the logic regarding this matter is completely ineffable. C For He is not separated from the substance of the begetter in such a way as to have departed from it; rather, existing Himself in the Father, and revealing the Begetter in His own nature, He is worshiped and glorified together with Him. Since He is consubstantial and equal in majesty, He is necessarily also co-creative and equal in power at the same time. Since the Holy Spirit thus subsists with us as well, and is theologically honored and revealed with them, our faith regarding the holy Trinity will be rightly and blamelessly composed. He, therefore, being highly conspicuous in the prerogatives of God the Father, through whom all things were brought into birth, "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped," according to what is written, D "but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross." And although it was in His power to remain brilliantly established in His own excellences, and to luxuriate abundantly in equality with the Father, and to rejoice in the thrones of the Godhead, He descended willingly into a form like our own, being in no way harmed in His own nature by the assumption of the lesser, but rather adding...
to it what it lacked. For it was not likely, or rather it was most dangerous, to think and say that human nature could by chance surpass the divine and ineffable nature, and force it into its own ugliness, and bring it down from its own preeminence. It is indeed the part of a wise man, I think, to reason that our nature would yield to the nature of the Godhead, and being compared to that which is incomparably better and more excellent, would be transferred and overcome by the glory of the One who excels. For it is one of the most absurd things to observe—since in all things created by God, the lesser things are easily illuminated by the mixing and placing near of the greater—to think that God, when He joined Himself to human nature in the way that He alone knows, did not rather infuse into it something of His own, but instead suffered some injury, or drew into His own nature something foreign to His own dignity. For while the sun strikes even filth and sewers with its rays, it nonetheless preserves its brilliance entirely uninjured; how then, I beg, could the divine and incorruptible and supreme nature, which is entirely secure and free from all things that are wont to bring distress, suffer any loss or injury because of its commerce with the lower nature? Why should it not rather surpass the inferior nature, and, having enriched it with the splendor of its own goods, bring it over to that which is incomparably better and more excellent? B Some people, therefore, when they ought to have approached such venerable matters with admiration, hold them in contempt and are insolently puffed up, falling into the disease of pride; they imagine they are defending the divine glory while they indecorously circumscribe such an excellent economy. For they do not admit the mystery; but laughing boisterously, they think the matter is full of madness and imagine that we put our trust in empty trifles. They do not realize that they are keeping a faith that is by no means doubtful or uncertain in their own teachers, if they wish to know or say anything, and that they freely concede that ancient saying, "He himself has said it." Then, by setting the thoughts of their own minds against the divine judgments, they bring an entirely inevitable evil upon their own heads, for they do not even attribute to the divine nature those things which seem worthy of honor to men. But a certain discourse, full of wisdom as they think, has been discovered by them. For how, they say, could the immortal mind, entirely free from quantity and circumscription, enter into the body of one man? C But I, indeed, praise and agree with them that they remove the divine power from corporeal quantity. Yet I say this to those who have set it down as a principle that this opinion of theirs must be held. We do not, I say, circumscribe the nature of the Word, even if It is said to have dwelt as in a holy temple within the body from the holy Virgin; rather, He filled the heavens as God, and the earth, and the things below it, and did not depart from any of the whole. And He was with this man as well. But as for how or in what manner, if you cannot understand it, yield to things above the mind, and grant to things above reason the silence that is, as it were, necessary. You will admit that you are ignorant of many other things. For where is the earth founded? What kind of foundation does the heaven have? And in what way has it been made? D
B But if one were to choose to speak of the details, he would, I think, waste long discourses, weaving the stories for you. Yet they say that it is a small thing for God, who is above all, to have become as we are. You blame [Him], then, because being by nature benevolent and good, He made the concern for us a higher priority than was fitting. It is indeed admittedly a small thing for Him to have become as we are; for it is called a "kenosis" (emptying). But the argument for His gentleness toward us will refute the writing. Now, is it not altogether unholy to bring charges against what was truly worthy of being admired? Say, then, that one thing, and tell me, for I am curious: Do you maintain that it would have been better and more to His glory to have spared nothing of ours, and to have taken no account of man who had slipped into every kind of perversion? Or [do you say] that this was in no way better, but rather that it was better to save and to deem him worthy of the necessary care? C Then how could any of those accustomed to thinking rightly hesitate to admit that it was better and more fitting for Him who is by nature good to distribute the good things arising from His own gentleness to those who had been created by Him? How then is the matter still a writing? And how do some complain that the economy is not without blemish? But we will permit physicians to use whatever way they themselves know to be able to tame the ferocity of diseases; shall we then blame God, who has not been ignorant of the path of care for us? Shall we behave foolishly, thinking that He has failed to grasp the fitting calculation, while the human mind has become [the one] in the more fitting considerations? D Can we, then, tell me, rid ourselves of this mental delusion and laughter? Hear the Word of God, who knows all things, speaking clearly: "For my counsels are not as your counsels, nor as your ways are my ways; but as heaven is distant from the earth, so do my ways stand apart from your ways, and your thoughts from my thoughts." For as much as God is superior in nature to what we are, by just so much, surely, is He also wiser in understanding, and in no way viewing the path for each of the things to be done through [lengthy] considerations, but arriving immediately at the first thoughts, He completes what is pleasing [to Him]. "For it is the property of God in nothing, absolutely nothing to err, but to perform all things rightly and laudably," as it is wisely celebrated by the ancients. But if it is desired and important to you also to understand the cause of the Incarnation, I will make my explanation superior to hesitation, and I will speak in brief.
A 4. The Creator of all things made man upright and incorruptible from the very beginning, not supported in this by the laws of his own nature, nor possessing it as something unshakeable from anywhere else. For it is necessary that all things which have been brought into existence should suffer corruption, and that which has obtained a beginning of its birth must by all means pass on to an end and be carried toward some limit of its existence. But because the Creator wished him to be as he was, in addition to the gift of immortality, He also engraved upon the living being the knowledge of every good thing, and truly the yearning for virtue; then, granting the power to act as he might choose, He bestowed upon him the glory befitting those who are free. For it was necessary, it was necessary that virtue should be seen in us as a matter of choice. Then, having slipped into sin through the deceits of the devil, and having neglected the laws given to him, he was condemned to death and together with his transgressions he drew upon himself the disease of corruption. But since it seemed good to the Maker to refashion the living being as it was in the beginning, and He wished to deliver it at once from corruption and from sin, He established the law through Moses; indeed, He also spoke through the holy prophets. But our affairs were nevertheless laboring under many crimes in the meantime. Hence they were calling upon Him to come down at last from heaven, saying: "O Lord, bow your heavens, and descend." B How, therefore, was it fitting for God to become visible to those dwelling on the earth? Was it by displaying His glory naked and without any veil covering it? But who would have sustained a sight so holy and so formidable? And indeed, I hear one of those who worship the gods amongst the Greeks, even though they had been led away into polytheistic error, saying: "Difficult indeed are the gods to be seen in their manifest form."
That it is clearly beyond the measures of humanity to behold the glory of the incorruptible nature, you shall learn from this as well. He descended under the appearance of fire upon the mountain called Sinai. Then He spoke to the sons of Israel, with the most wise Moses acting as mediator. But Israel, not bearing the sight, entreated, saying: "Speak you to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die." C When, therefore, the Israelites had shuddered, and had openly confessed that the service of a mediator would be absolutely necessary for those being instructed, the Lawgiver introduced the thought; and setting forth the ministry of Moses before the ancients as a kind of type of the administration that was to be through Christ, He promised that He would Himself clearly manifest Himself to us in the course of time, saying: "Rightly all that they have spoken, I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brethren, like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them according to all that I shall command him." For He called the Lord of the prophets a prophet, placing Him within the bounds of humanity, because of the ineffable mystery of the dispensation. Therefore, in order that He might become like Moses—that is, a man and a mediator of God and of those who are as we are—He has put on a human
A body, and took of the seed of Abraham, as the Scripture says, in order that, since He was by nature Life, He might expel the corruption which had settled upon human bodies through the curse, and might transfer all things to the knowledge of God, to temperance, to fortitude, to patience, and to the choosing and thinking of those things which render men blessed and fill us with divine gifts. But Israel was ignorant of the dispensation, even though the holy prophets were clearly crying out about the mystery concerning Him. For one said: “Be strengthened, you relaxed hands, and you weak knees; be comforted, you who are faint-hearted in mind; be strengthened, do not fear.” And elsewhere: “Behold your God; behold, the Lord comes with strength, and His arm with dominion. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, and will gather the lambs.” Another, then—this Ezechiel, that most holy of prophets—says: “Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will judge between the strong sheep and the weak sheep; you were pushing with your sides and your shoulders, and you were butting with your B horns, and were afflicting all that was failing; and I will save my sheep, and they shall no longer be for a prey, and I will judge between ram and ram, and I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he shall feed them, namely, my servant David. And he shall be their shepherd; and I the Lord will be to them for God, and David shall be prince in their midst. I the Lord have spoken, and I will establish for David a covenant of peace, and I will abolish evil beasts from the earth.” Do you hear how C he calls by the name of David, both above and below, Christ, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, as one who would be a shepherd in the times of those from Israel? For consider that at that time, when the prophet speaks these things, David was no longer among the living; for he had died a long time before, many seasons ago. But just as it is the custom of divine Scripture to call those who are born of Jacob by the name Jacob, and indeed those from Israel by the name Israel, so too [it calls] Christ, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, David. Therefore, being ignorant, they crucified Him. But He, although it was possible for Him to escape suffering—for no one would have used force against God—offered Himself to the hands of those who were to kill Him, in order that, even being raised from the dead, He might clearly give full assurance, and before others to those who had crucified Him, that He was by nature Life and God. He descended D among us, in order that He might show us to be superior to death, and already victorious over corruption. Since, therefore, Christ has suffered for our sake, and has rendered death powerless, and has driven away shameful and detestable sin; since He has risen and ascended into the heavens, and is not long in coming—for He shall descend and judge the world in righteousness, as it is written—let us wipe away all the filth of sin, let us love temperance, and by patience let us bring forth the fruit of mutual charity, let us hold fast to mercy toward the needy and liberality. Let us sympathize
with those who are in bonds and those who are suffering, as A though we were ourselves in the body. Above all, however, let us preserve the right and unblemished faith within ourselves. For then, and only then, shall we fast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twenty-seventh day of the month of Mechir; the week of the saving Passover, from the second day of the month of Pharmuthi, concluding the fasts on the seventh day of that same month of Pharmuthi, late in the evening, according to the apostolic traditions; celebrating the feast on the following day as the Lord’s day dawns, the eighth of the same month, and attaching thereafter the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. Thus, indeed, shall we again be nourished with the feasts of the divine word in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom, with the holy Spirit, be honor, glory, and power to the Father for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY XVI. Prologue.
The occasion has brought us hither. We come forth into the midst, not promising a discourse conspicuous for majesty and dignity (for we are exceeding mediocre in this matter), but because we have resolved to follow a custom received from our ancestors, as it was necessarily discovered. It behooves you, therefore, to be ready to forgive, even if the discourse does not appear to shine with external adornments, nor is it elaborated with the notable cultivation and B flourishes of rhetoricians. For I would by no means arrogate to myself the glory of this, but rather satisfy and gladly yield it to those good and wise masters of eloquence.
1. The Law indeed gave to the ancients the signal that it was necessary to perform the feasts that were then for a time, as it were, a shadow and image of the things to come. But that it was necessary to deem them worthy of due care, and that negligence in these things is not unpunished, but subject to accusation and penalty, the God of all declared openly through the voice of Zechariah, saying: "And it shall be, whoever shall not go up to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles, that C soul shall be cut off from its people." For toward things so sacred and so rightly determined, when one ought to rejoice, how could anyone treat their observance and worship as of no account? And as for those things which are the most important among actions, and which claim for themselves a no-obscure glory, if anyone dares to contaminate them, and allows himself to be overcome by sloth and negligence, he brings upon himself a just condemnation and a deserved accusation. Therefore, as those pointing out a beaten and easy path to you, we shall preach, mindful of Him who says: "Priests, hear and testify to the house of Israel, says the Lord Almighty." It behooves us also, while applying the highest possible keenness, and utterly casting away...
as given in the decrees. A For of old, God, the Creator of all, in declaring to the divine Moses the season of our holy feast, and how it ought to be performed by us in a holy and blameless manner, and demonstrating it as in a figure, addressed him, saying: "And let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its time, on the fourteenth day of the first month, towards evening; you shall keep it at its times according to its law and according to its ordinance." We, however, who are bound to the sacred ministries, must use a clear and piercing proclamation, and call out to those who have been justified in Christ: "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob." B There we shall perform the all-holy feast, and being filled with the highest joy, we shall praise the Savior of all, employing that prophetic cry: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me in the garments of salvation, and with a tunic of gladness." It would indeed, as it seems to me, be one of the most disgraceful things for merchants to be caught up in wretched gains, and to consider this a luxury, and to deem it worthy of the utmost care, although they gather them not without the longest delay of time, nor without sweat, and for farmers to exult if they see their fields heavy with ripe fruits; while we, who gain things that far, or rather incomparably, excel earthly things, do not consider that wealth to be henceforth worthy of every account, and the source of the joy that reaches its conclusion. And yet, the affairs of merchants, even if they should proceed according to the desire of those who have labored, have nothing to excite wonder among those who have chosen the best way of life; C but for farmers, even if the matter turns out to their liking, they will have an abundance, yet a mediocre one, not of such things as might help them toward immortality and toward subsequently overcoming the power of death and corruption, but merely the means to sustain life and provide for the temporary needs of the body. But the things prepared for the saints exceed all thought. "For their hope is full of immortality," as it is written. What, therefore, is the time at which the Passover ought to be fulfilled, and how it should come to pass, has been spoken by us clearly. "For on the fourteenth day of the first month, towards evening, according to the time," and according to its law He commanded it to be performed. I suppose, however, that we ought, by examining each of the things ordained with skill, and applying to them the most careful scrutiny, D to hasten to inquire into the reasons why the Lawgiver commanded that it should happen in the spring, and in the first month. It would not be unhelpful for profit to discuss these matters with some precision; and this, I think, is what God spoke through the voice of the prophet: "Seeking, seek, and dwell with me." For that it is necessary to track down the written words as much as possible with appropriate investigations...
and in no way to turn aside from the rectitude of understanding, he charges us, saying: "Dwell with me." For every rectitude is with God, and from Him and by Him.
B 2. It is, therefore, appropriate that the springtime should be the time for the Pasch, more than any other time, since it describes, as on a tablet, the power of those things accomplished by Christ for those who come to it. For it arises, warming the earth with pure and most genial rays of the sun, and, as it were, rebuking the winter's assaults with a speech of this kind: "Let it be permitted now through you, let it be permitted for the ridges and recesses of the mountains to be clothed with leafy trees; let the bared fields be permitted to glisten with tender and newly appearing grass." And now let the lily grow elegant in the meadows, and let the most fragrant of flowers bloom in the gardens; let the little bee emerge from its cells and fill the fields with its buzzing, not disturbed by any violent onrush, nor by falling rain that might hinder its flight. For its wings are delicate and unaccustomed to labor. And now let the herds come forth from their pens, and let lambs, frolicking around their mothers with tender and newly-solidified feet, leap upon the varied grass. And let the craftsman well-skilled in such things now sharpen his pruning-hook for the vines.
But if the discourse assigns, as it were, a voice of its own to these seasons, let no one find fault. For we have been schooled in this also from the sacred Scriptures. For indeed the inspired Psalmist says: "The heavens, he says, declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day to day utters speech, and night to night announces knowledge." And the prophet Isaiah also has somewhere C permitted that the seas themselves speak eloquently, and, as it were, almost eructate a genuine word. For he says thus: "Be ashamed, O Sidon, said the sea; and the strength of the sea said: I have not travailed, nor given birth, nor brought up boys, nor reared virgins." Yet we do not say that for this reason the seasons and the sea possess the faculty of speech. For that would be a vain fabrication and nothing else; but, serving the pleasure and profit of the listeners, we adorn even these things with the use of speech, things which by their own nature are deprived of the faculty of speaking.
Let us then, keeping the law of propriety, as we unfold the power of the meanings, point out the accomplishments made gloriously upon the arrival of our Savior, using the benefits of the springtime; and we shall contemplate the grace of divine beauty almost depicted in these things that fall under the senses.
D 3. For all things were held in gloom and darkness; and, to express it in one word, that many-headed dragon, namely Satan, had poured over the whole inhabited earth a certain most mournful contraction of winter-time; and occupying the mind of each one with deadly cold, he made those who were on the earth the willing workers of unholy practices. But...
now, winter has departed, and that ancient, deep, and repulsive darkness has been driven away. Bright rays arise for us, and the Sun of Righteousness, that is to say, Christ, illuminates the whole world with the A intellectual shafts of His beams, and benefits us in yet another way: He no longer permits us to be chilled unto sin, but rather makes us fervent in the Spirit, as the divine apostle Paul himself says. Indeed, we who were like trees barren and stripped even of their blossoms have been renewed unto life; and then, like fertile plains adorned with a variety of grasses, we have been enriched by the evangelical proclamations, by the commentaries of the holy apostles, and then by those things which depict the image of antiquity as in shadows and figures—things truly delivered by Moses and foretold by the holy prophets concerning Christ, by means of which we are excellently instructed in the understanding of the mystery. Let this spiritual and most industrious bee—that is to say, the wise and most laborious mind—fly around this B fertile and productive land of ours. Let it gather, so to speak, what is for its own use; that is, let it diligently store up within itself, like a sweet honeycomb, the unerring and blameless knowledge of God. To these good and rich pastures, according to the voice of the prophet, let the flocks of reasonable sheep come; and let the lambs together with the mothers—that is, those with more mature habits of virtue—and those who are still infants in their desire for virtue, and whose minds are far removed from spiritual firmness, strive to ascend into a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. I would say, moreover, that they laugh just as lilies do in gardens; for there have blossomed in the Churches those who are in no way inferior to the most fragrant of flowers—the faithful, shining with brilliant luster and C exuding the glory of Christ most sweetly on all sides. "The time of pruning has arrived." And that one might, indeed very easily, contemplate these magnificent achievements of Christ that I have just mentioned, there is no need, I think, to prove it with other witnesses. It suffices for us that He himself addresses the Church of the Gentiles: "Arise, come, my friend, my beautiful one, my dove; for behold, the winter has passed, the rain has gone, it has gone away; the flowers have appeared on our earth, the time of the pruning has arrived." God commanded that the Passover be celebrated "in the first month," yet in the second year after the sons of Israel had gone out from Egypt. And why, I ask, did they not D immediately from the beginning predetermine the laws for the festivals? But why are delays, as it were, and intervals introduced as necessary, and why is it judged pleasing to cause hesitation and delay in such holy things? What was the intention of the Lawgiver in this matter, or what was His purpose, or what did He have in view—is it not worth our effort to inquire? It was necessary, therefore, by the intervals of the law to 4. It was necessary, therefore, by the intervals of the law to
the truth, and that exercises should be seen A prior to the struggles themselves. A soldier proves himself valiant, if he studies the tactical arts before the sweats of battle. And he who is a competitor in the wrestling school would not become renowned, if he possessed no practice in enduring labors. For is not the learning of principles to us ourselves as it were a beginning and a door to the studies of wisdom and prudence? But, as I think, the word is clear and accurate. And the divine Paul will also join in this, teaching as by way of examples: that milk is most suitable for those who are still infants, but that stronger food ought to be offered to those who are more perfect. It was fitting, therefore, for the ancients, who had not yet attained unto the perfect man B of the fullness of Christ, but were rather led by a certain childish understanding, that milk be imparted before stronger food. It was fitting that the rudiments of more perfect disciplines should first be implanted in their minds, and that the decrees of the life in Christ should spiritually anticipate the law. For the law is like a pedagogue, which through enigmas leads us to a better and more excellent wisdom. That, therefore, the delay of the evangelical oracles was necessary for our benefit, that argument proves, and indeed quite subtly, namely, that God commanded the Passover to be celebrated, not indeed in the first year, but only in the second. And another point, as I think, will confirm this discourse. For the God of all things commanded the blessed Moses to construct that ancient tabernacle C and to bring it into view, not in whatever manner might be pleasing to him, but in that which God himself had preordained, that it should be arranged and constructed: "See," he says, "that you make it according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain." But after the divine oracle had been duly obeyed, and the work appeared perfect and adorned, God again said: "On the one day of the first month, on the new moon of the month, you shall set up the tabernacle." But here the holy Scripture adds: "And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year of their coming out of Egypt, on the new moon, the tabernacle was erected." Do you hear how in the second year, and on the new moon of the first month, he fixed the tabernacle? For then, yes then, the lamb was also sacrificed, denoting in itself the true and holy and immaculate victim, that is to say, Christ, who offered himself to God and the Father D as an odor of sweetness, transforming our affairs into a new age. And you may understand the new moon to be a type of the new age, and a very clear one: "For the new creation is what is in Christ; and the old things have passed away," as it is in the Scriptures. Therefore, in the first month, and on the first of the month, that is to say, on the new moon, the divine Moses raises the holy tabernacle. But he writes outside the form of the tabernacle which truly is, the manifestation of the more true and holy one, that is to say, the Church, which our Savior himself established, of those ancient
A times having passed away, in which death held sway, and sin had brought low those upon the earth, and the inventor of iniquity threatened that he would seize the entire world under heaven, saying: "I shall take the whole inhabited world in my hand as a nest, and as eggs that have been left I shall take them up, and there shall be none who shall escape me or speak against me." But those words for him were simply boasting and charges of arrogance of that greed against us. And having missed his hope, he was refuted by the reality of things. For we have been saved in Christ, as I was just saying, the holy tabernacle having been revealed to us at the appropriate seasons, in which we are transformed into newness of life, throwing off the old man with his passions and desires. B Indeed, the very mode of construction of that ancient tabernacle might well demonstrate how the time of the Law had usefully preceded the oracles given through Christ, after which it was consequential that the better and holier thing should henceforth be seen, and one possessing a more perfect intimacy with God. Therefore, Paul, being learned in the Law and instructed in accuracy, as he himself says somewhere, let him describe the form of the ancient tabernacle, saying thus: "For a tabernacle was constructed, the first, in which were the lampstand and the table and the setting forth of the loaves, which is called Holy. And after the second veil, a tabernacle called Holy of holies, having a golden C censer, and the ark of the covenant covered about on every side with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and the rod of Aaron which sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant." You see that the one in the first approaches was set before the second and innermost tabernacle, in which also the holy race was accustomed to make offerings through blood, and to complete the types according to the worship of the Law. But the second was holier than the first. For this reason it was even named the Holy of holies. What, then, is the reason for the first being set before the second, and the outer being arranged as a kind of D entrance to the innermost one? The most wise Paul will explain this again. For he spoke as follows: "But these things having been so prepared, into the first tabernacle the priests go continually, performing the services; but into the second, once a year, the high priest alone enters, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the ignorances of the people; the Holy Spirit signifying this, that the way of the holy places had not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle still had its standing." For the first was accessible to many, as I said, but the second and innermost was inaccessible—the Holy of holies. For only once in the year did the leader of the sacred orders enter, not without blood, according to what is written. For as a forerunner for us he entered...
A Jesus into the Holy of holies, having found eternal redemption, not without blood, as it is in the Scriptures. For he was sacrificed for us as an unblemished offering, unto a sweet-smelling savor to God and the Father. Therefore, in the first tabernacle, the station of those offering sacrifice at that time was conveniently maintained, the Law not permitting entrance into the Holy of holies. "For it was not yet manifest," he says, "how the way of the holies, while the first tabernacle still had standing." It suffices, therefore, as I suppose, that the things said before serve as a clear demonstration of the time when the Passover might rightly be observed. And as to whom it would be fitting to eat it, or how it should be observed, come, let us speak, having taken it from the sacred Scriptures.
16. On the manner of celebrating the Passover
5. The great Moses, therefore, B expounding for us the oracle upon this matter, says that those who make a meal of the sacred and inviolate lamb must use unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and must partake of the flesh while preserving this habit of body and state: "Let your loins be girt," he says, "and your sandals on your feet, and your staves in your hands; and you shall eat it with haste. It is the Lord's Passover." But what does this habit of the banquet-guests mean for me? Someone might say, and with good reason. For the Law is in no way foolish or idle; rather, it is necessary that wonder should follow C upon each of the things ordained. For would it not be full of foolishness and ignorance—if we, having chosen to think rightly, are diligent to guard against uttering any foolish or discordant word as unseemly, or to speak nonsense of our own accord—to suppose that the supreme Nature, while arranging our affairs according to the straight rule of the Law, should have introduced things as necessary when they would be useless for profit, or should have uttered some foolish and fruitless expression? Away with such rashness. May it be certain for us that the matter is not so. Nothing of the sort. What, therefore, is the reason why those who partake of the lamb must gird their loins, be shod, and take a staff in their hand? Is not this type most clear, and does it not all but shout the manner of the dispensation? For those who truly celebrate the all-holy festival, D and are called to partake of the blessing of Christ, will count the distractions of this life as foolish, and, shrinking far away from choosing to live carnally, they will hereafter set their minds on things above and hasten toward the city above, and as it were pass into another life—a holy one, of course, and completely free and unencumbered by this earthly one. For this reason, the Law undoubtedly assigns to those eating it the habit of travelers, as to those who are already on the point of setting out for the better and higher things. For I say, as I said just now, that it is necessary for those who are celebrating purely to be distinguished by such a goal, and for unity
A with God in Christ to have been called. For through Him we have had access, "and He Himself is our peace," according to the Scriptures. That sloth in these things is not unpunished, and that falling into listlessness is not without judgment, the Lawgiver would demonstrate, saying concerning the holy Pascha: "And you shall eat it with haste. It is the Pascha of the Lord." For it is fitting that those who have ordered for themselves a life pleasing to God and worthy of approval appear superior to delay, and not tolerate procrastination. One must seize the occasions, so to speak, and not allow the time suitable for diligent labor to ride past. For in the way that it is not unpunished for those who have chosen to sail the sea to neglect the winds that are favorable—for it is not proper for farmers to remain at home when the time calls them to labor—so I say that for those who are caretakers of the best things, hesitation is disgraceful, B and it is a cause for being blamed; in fact, I deem it the producer of every loss and of all the faults that arise from sloth and listlessness. Let hesitation, then, be dismissed, and let the failures resulting from sloth be cast far away; for they would in no way befit those who have been called through faith, at least insofar as it is necessary to partake of the blessing of Christ. "And they shall eat," He says, "unleavened bread with bitter herbs upon it." For the sacred Writing said this. And what is the deep and hidden enigma of the legal commands? Come, let us say as best we can. It is a custom of the divinely inspired Scripture to compare the ways of wickedness to leaven. It accepts, however, bitter herbs as a sketch and example of the things that grieve the soul—by which I mean being driven, being tempted, C and sometimes being exercised in sweats for the sake of Christ. For such things stir bitterness, so to speak, in the mind, and it is tormented by unbearable distresses. Therefore, if it happens to anyone to have a share in Christ, let him not neglect the pursuit of virtue, let him withdraw from everything that knows how to defile, and let him be seen patient in suffering. For I say that those who have celebrated the holy Pascha very well ought to be gladdened by discourses concerning the uncorrupted Divinity, and to make that matter a delight. For bodies take pleasure in the delicacies proper to them, but the food for the mind, I suppose, would be divine discourse and the explanation of sacred doctrines, which is correct and blameless, having sophisticated insights and being D devoid of sophistry, deceit, and falsehood. Such food is pure and unleavened. For many, often mocking as it were the correctness of divine doctrines and playing with the words of truth, are eager to introduce unholy additions of wretched concepts, and the miserable wretches, inventing myth-plaited fabrications of worldly deceit, devour the mind of the simpler ones. But let Christ approach His own acquaintances: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Scribes." For the things of their folly are not far from Jewish sophistry.
being uttered foolishly by them, not unlike the fables of old women. Let us therefore abstain from such a food; but let us bring into our mind the pure words of the holy prophets, and transferring to the truth the power of the enigmatic meanings in the decrees received A through Moses, and before all others, the evangelical and saving instruction, the writings of the apostles, not wresting—as is the custom of some—the meaning of what is written toward an indecorous contemplation, nor impiously twisting them from the right sense, but rather, in whatever direction the goal of the contemplations proceeds, let us ourselves also strenuously follow along that same path. Together with this, let us also strive to exercise patience, not refusing to undergo the harshness of labors, for the sake of rightly choosing to live, and to follow in the footsteps of those things which have been decreed. For it is, it is admittedly, not a path that is simply accessible to just anyone, but B virtue is difficult of access and steep. And one would not attain it who is a lover of pleasure or lax, nor one enslaved to the passions of the flesh and completely entangled by them, and driven by inclinations to baser things, giving all to the winds and being driven uncontrollably by the whole force of his impulses; but rather [one who is] distinguished by sobriety, and full of confidence in honorable things, a lover of integrity, nurtured in modesty, and who does not fear the sweats by which better things are prepared, and in these purchases for himself glorious honors through labors. For it will not fall to anyone to perform anything excellent and admirable, unless he himself decides that he must also embrace the endurance of labors.
6. Therefore, let the law, as in figures—I speak of the leaven and the bitter herbs—make a declaration of the things necessary for us. If we were to refuse the experience of these, C departing far from the divine path, and wandering away from the life which does most befit the saints, we will inflict no small detriment upon ourselves. For if Jesus, the leader and perfecter of our life, was perfected through sufferings, as it is written, how would it not be unseemly and shameful for us to refuse a similar condition, and to despise the ordinances of a praiseworthy and approved life? For we shall hear Christ immediately calling out and saying: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." It is necessary, therefore, that we follow in the footsteps of Christ, who gave Himself for us. And for what cause? D For long ago the inventor and father of sin was plundering the human race; and omitting no manner of treachery untried for his own perversity, he had seduced all mortals into deceit, and dreaming of the glory of divinity, he commanded altars and temples to be built for himself, and gave orders that he be worshipped with victims and incense. And dragging those whom he had deceived wherever he pleased, he caused some to worship the sun, others the moon and the stars as gods.
A He persuaded them to light fires for the sun, for the moon, and for the stars; nay more, by casting upon them even fouler charges than these, he caused them to dedicate the forms of irrational cattle—an insult, I suppose, to the divine dignity. And daring to steal away the glory of that Essence which is highest of all, he judged it worthy to compare it, out of spite, even to such vile things—things that should not even be reckoned in any account. For the beast is always terrible and all-daring. Having then led man astray from the truth of the knowledge of God, and having persuaded him to be devoid of excellent counsel and upright thoughts, and having brought him under his own yokes through deceit, he straightway rendered him a lover of every kind of depravity; and having declared virtue to be untrodden and utterly unattainable for him, he rendered him loathsome and hated by God. B But the Creator of all things, having had mercy on those who had already arrived at such wretchedness, opposed the wicked attempts of that beast with those who knew how to save. Through Moses He called forth the ancient Israel, as it were a first fruit, taking them out from the [domain of that] divinity, and by the best of laws, He regulated them—He who turns disorder into something to be envied. But none the less that [enemy], stealing into the hearts of the simpler folk, caused them to turn back again to shameful pursuits and unholy counsel. Physicians who knew how to cure the diseases of the soul were sent by the decree of Providence as the times required. But they treated even these, the holy prophets, with contumely in many ways. C Since, then, we were faring miserably, God and Father necessarily sent down His own Son to transfer our affairs to a state better, without doubt, than they had been of old, and to grant salvation to the inhabitants of the earth, in that sin was cast out, and death, which had sprouted through it, was destroyed along with its very roots, and furthermore the tyranny of the devil was brought down. For such illustrious and glorious achievements did not befit any created thing, but only that which excels all other things in nature, and which is adorned most excellently with supreme authority and prerogatives. Therefore, the Only-begotten Word of God, through whom all things were generated and were made and are preserved, became man. D Now, as to the mode of the Economy—that is, of the union of the Word with the flesh from the earth—it is not without danger to inquire into it too curiously. For things that can neither be conceived by the mind nor explained by speech always recoil from subtle investigation, nor do they permit themselves to be subjected to questions. Having become, then, like unto us—with the sole distinction that He could not sin—He manifestly and clearly showed that He is God by nature through the magnitude of His miracles. For He ordered the dead, already stinking in their tombs and decayed, to return to life; He gave sight to the blind from birth; He dispelled chronic diseases; He was marveled at as He rebuked the sea and the winds; and long would the discourse be, regarding these matters, if one should wish to recount each thing clearly. Since, therefore, the Israelites ought to have looked up to Him above all else because of these things, and, being persuaded by the very miracles, to have exclaimed: Homilia XVII
A Truly you are the Son of God,”—whom they had treated so shamefully and finally nailed to the cross. For Christ had cast himself down to this state by a deliberate plan, so that by dying in our manner, and by preaching to the spirits who are in Hades, he might rise again after three days, having emptied the sad and implacable power of death, and having plucked corruption up by its very roots, thus making heaven itself henceforth accessible to men. For he ascended as a forerunner for us to the Father. But in the fullness of time he will come in the glory of the Father, with the holy angels, to render to each according to his deeds. Therefore, mindful of the future judgment, let us keep the faith, let us regulate our actions by the prescription of the divine law, and let us establish a right life, turning away from wicked habits and zealously cultivating every kind of virtue: let us maintain mutual charity and liberality toward the poor, let us be ready to help orphans, let us protect widows, let us pity the tears of the sick; let us visit the imprisoned; let us embrace the chastity of the body. For so, with the fast completed, we shall celebrate the holy and all-pure feast; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the sixteenth of the month of March, and the week of the saving Pascha on the twenty-first of the month of April; but we shall conclude the fasts on the twenty-sixth of the same month of April, at the late evening, according to the evangelical proclamation; celebrating the feast day, moreover, on the following dawning Sunday, the twenty-seventh of the same month; adding then also the seven weeks of holy Pentecost. For thus, thus again shall we be fed at the divine banquets of the Word in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom, to the Father with the holy Spirit, be glory and power. Amen. B C
HOMILY XVII
Premeditation of the Author
We shall now, as is our custom, recount the usual matters, and we shall entertain you with the banquet of ecclesiastical discourse; which indeed serves as an exhortation, so that we may strive to excel in right faith, and may embrace a glorious way of life, free from all reproach.
1. Those who have established a life noble and distinguished above others and in harmony with the divine laws, and who further strive with noble spirit to make progress in it, ought, I believe, to be far removed from all sloth; and, always casting aside as far as possible whatever stands in their way, they must pay special heed to completing the tasks they have in hand. D I would say, furthermore, that they require a great deal of exhortation, especially from one who knows how to stir up more ardent zeal in their souls: just as, for instance, those among the young who are accustomed to wrestling [need the voice of the trainer, always urging them toward endurance, and toward the desire to overcome...]
and almost compelling them. I too, therefore, have come into your midst, united with the lyre of the Psalmist for the sake of those who are lovers of noble boasts: A "Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all you who hope in the Lord" (Ps. XXX, 28). For as the inspired David himself says somewhere else, "It is time to act for the Lord" (Ps. CXVIII [CXVII], 126). B I think it necessary to address to you words of encouragement, caring little that I may not be able to speak of the things proposed in a manner worthy of them—that is to say, being behind the eloquence of some—but rather wisely considering that it is much better to entertain one's acquaintances and bring together those who are appropriate [for such fellowship] with whatever one has the ability to provide, than to choose a harsh and ill-reputed way of life out of shame, lest one seem to be surpassed in generosity by the ambition of others. And I think, C furthermore, that there is another way to approach this struggle with confidence. For I shall call to mind God, who rules over all, saying to the most excellent Moses: "Who has given a mouth to man? And who has made him mute or deaf? Seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord God? And now go, and I will open your mouth" (Exod. IV, 11). That ancient oracle, therefore, possessed the nature of a shadow and a figure, even though it was delivered through angels with Moses as intermediary. D Yet it will not be lacking in thoughts that transcend the senses, if someone should fix a keen gaze of the eyes upon it and, having become accustomed to disregard the veils of the letter, should contemplate the mind hidden deep within. The law, therefore, commands that the God of all things must be worshipped in many ways; and it added that it is necessary to sacrifice turtledoves to Him. And yet, there are myriads of flocks of birds throughout the world, of which some are distinguished by the law of nature in their flight on high, while others dwell in marshy places. In the latter, there is neither size, nor adornment, nor beauty. Nature has painted others in a different way, and by the art of the Creator, their kind has been propagated, clothed in a florid appearance of colors. Why then, one might ask, does the law, having passed over these—and having rejected those which are best of all—crown the turtledove with almost the highest honors, having commanded it to be offered as a holy dedication to God? What is the requirement, and what is the wisdom of the law? The Father of the Word, who is God above all mind, accepts the word; and He makes things that are accustomed to being vocal in the manner of sparrows acceptable, and prefers them over the others, although sometimes they are much richer in charm; teaching us by means of enigmas that those among us who have been entrusted with the need for speech, and who are able to admonish the lovers of the most noble teachings, are better and more holy than the others. Come, therefore, let us enchant the vineyard of the Master with words from the divine Scripture; not with obscure and uncertain [tones]
but by persuading you with opportune reasons to celebrate the feast, so that the matter may proceed according to desire, and you may perform all things rightly and without fault according to his prescription.
2. Therefore B the blessed Luke records for us in his own writings: "There came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which it was necessary for the pasch to be killed, and he sent Peter and John, saying, Go, prepare for us the pasch, that we may eat. And they said to him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said to them, Behold, as you enter into the city, there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house into which he enters, and you shall say to the master of the house, The Master saith to thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples? And he will show you a large dining room furnished; and there prepare." C Do you hear how, with the eyes of divinity, having most diligently searched out where he might choose a worthy lodging, he said that a large and furnished dining room would be shown to the holy apostles, and that one would act as a guide on the way, the carrier of the pitcher, who would bring water to the master of the feast?
Proceed, therefore, as if along the tracks of these thoughts to things still more excellent and spiritual. And if anyone has the mind to have Christ dwelling and residing in his soul, and with him to celebrate this pasch, let him first purge himself abundantly with much water, let him wipe away every stain from his soul, and cast far away the defilements of ancient deceit. For so does God also speak somewhere through Isaiah: "Wash yourselves, be clean; take away the iniquities from your souls before my eyes; cease to act perversely, learn to do good, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the orphan, and justify the widow, and come, and let us reason, saith the Lord. And if your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and if they be red as crimson, I will make them white as wool."
For I say that it behooves us first to D beat out, as it were, the filth of wickedness from our minds, and then to admit into the soul that glorious and worthy virtue, to which nothing equal may be found in the judgment of those who have a right mind and know how to discern the innocent from things pernicious. For, as I at least think, those things which by nature fight against each other can in no way be deeply associated together in the same subject, according to the same respect: "For what fellowship has light with darkness?" as it is written. But if one is taken away, it will surely open the way for the other. In the same manner, as I feel, vice and virtue, which retain a contrary nature in their actions and are as distant from each other as heaven is from earth—how could it be that they might immigrate into the same mind at once? And not he who
A has received them, would he not display a character that is neither beautiful nor consistent, and as it were, limping on both feet? But the prophet Elias rebukes those accustomed to living in such a way, saying, “How long will you halt between two opinions?” B The Law, too, removes us from such habits and ways of life, commanding us enigmatically to eschew that which is incompatible and inconsistent. For it says thus: “You shall not plow with a bullock and an ass together.” And again, “You shall not wear a garment made of wool and linen together.” Observe, indeed, how in every way it asserts that these things, being as it were incompatible and not joined in an orderly fashion, are shameful and impure and should be hateful to us, and it knows of no honor to be accorded to the coalition of dissimilar things. It is necessary, therefore, that those who have chosen to live in the best manner should first, as I said, wash off the filth of wickedness and be delivered from pollutions. C For such a person, already cleaned and made bright, it would be fitting also to possess the high chamber, and, as if in an upper room, to celebrate the festive season in the conspicuous glory of the virtues, and to dwell together with Christ, who for our sake, being rich, became poor, that we through his poverty might be enriched. For he, being the very Form and the character of God and the Father, the Son and effulgence of his glory, and begotten of him by nature, and excelling in equality in every respect, co-existent and co-eternal, equal in power, in virtue, in glory, in majesty, “did not count it robbery to be equal with God,” as it is written. For he descended to our condition and underwent a voluntary emptying; and, as the wise John says, “the Word became flesh, D and dwelt among us.” And he who before all ages and time had his birth from God and the Father, who is beyond all mind and speech, since he became flesh and underwent human birth by way of economy—and he, the maker and fashioner of all time, as if brought to the beginnings of existence when he became like us—heard the Father saying, “Today I have begotten you.” Shall we, therefore, think that for this reason he forfeited the glory of his pre-existence before all things? By no means. But let us rather wisely consider that even when he became flesh, the Father does not remove him from the natural prerogatives that are his, but acknowledges him again, even while he is seen in the form that is like ours. For the Only-Begotten Word of God did not become man for this reason—that he might slip away from being God—but rather that he might, even in the assumption of flesh, recover the glory of his own pre-eminence. For thus have we been enriched by his poverty, as the human nature in him has been brought up to an honor worthy of God and established on thrones beyond all things. For although he is always sitting as the Word with his own Father, and as he exists by nature from him and in him, he heard even while in the flesh the Father saying, “Sit at my right hand.”
until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” A Thus we say that he is worshipped both by us and by the holy angels, not by foolishly reducing him to a bare humanity, but by following the divine Scripture, and by uniting the Word who was begotten of God to our nature into a union, and binding the two together into one, so that he might not be conceived of simply as a man who has been deified, but rather as God who has become man, having undertaken the generation from the holy Virgin and the union by economy—I mean, the union with his own flesh. For Christ would be conceived in this way, and not otherwise, as one and the same Lord, not being cut up into a man and a God in parts after the ineffable connection, but—even if the nature of those things which have met into the unity is considered to be different—being accepted and conceived as one Son. B For just as in precious stones certain rays of light shine forth, whitening the depths, and if anyone should wish to divide the combination with his mind, he would see the stone by itself, and on the other hand the light swimming within it, yet one subject is conceived from both; but this division would utterly destroy the rationale of the stone, separating into an ugly state those things that had been brought together into unity; thus we say it is with Christ. For they have met together in an ineffable manner, such as no one can either conceive with the mind or explain, into one thing which from then on we conceive as being that which is: divinity and humanity together; so that at the same time he might be conceived as both man like us and God above us; and so he is both only-begotten and firstborn. And indeed, he was brought forth from the virgin’s womb, and while still an infant, he held divine thoughts. And the blessed Isaiah will bear witness concerning him, saying: “For before the child knows good or evil, he rejects wickedness to choose the good.” For as far as the rationale of humanity is concerned, the age did not yet give the infant the ability to discern the natures of things. C But he was, as I said, God even in humanity, allowing the nature of those things which are according to us to proceed according to its own laws, but at the same time preserving the purity of his divinity. For in this way, and no other, is God by nature understood to be that which was born, and the Virgin who bore him is consequently to be called Mother—not merely of flesh and blood, as is the case with the other mothers among us, but rather of the Lord and God who has put on our likeness. For as the inspired Paul writes: “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” For we do not say that the Word of God resided in a man born of a woman, just as he was also in the prophets, but rather let us crown with correct judgment the voice of John, who spoke wisely and truly: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” And we shall accept that the Word has become flesh, as having partaken of flesh and blood; and this, in the same way as—
those who are in blood and flesh, that is, ourselves. And if He has become like us, how was it consistent for Him to despise human birth? For He dwelt among us in flesh and blood, in a manner worthy of God and ineffable, as it were pouring His own nature into it. For this divinity of the Word, if it were to be considered alone and by itself, possesses as sufficient the generation from God the Father. But when it had come down, in accordance with the dispensation, into the union which is towards us, and had been intertwined with flesh—that is, with the nature according to us, which is perfect according to its own rationale—then, indeed, then without any blemish, and being in no way defrauded as to being what He is, it also receives the birth according to us; not as if called from somewhere to the beginnings of being (for He was always, and is, and shall be; and He possesses an existence older than all time), but wisely permitting His own human nature to be carried along by its own laws. B For just as the venerable and all-pure flesh which He took from the holy Virgin became the personal flesh of the Word who is from God the Father, so also did all things that befit flesh, except for sin alone. And it befits flesh most of all, and before all other things, the separation through a mother. Therefore, the divinity itself, if it be considered apart from the flesh, will be motherless, and very rightly so.
C 3. But when the mystery of Christ has been brought into our midst, another argument, and one that is very subtle, might arise regarding this. For we shall suppose, having chosen to think rightly and to walk the most unerring path, that it was not naked divinity, but rather the Word of God the Father, having become man and being united with flesh, who brought about the Virgin—who was taken into the ministry of giving birth carnally to Him who was united with the flesh. God, therefore, is the Emmanuel thereafter; and she would be called the Mother of God who carnally gave birth to Him who, for our sake, appeared as God in the flesh. And the infant was not according to us—that is, not in simple and sole likeness to us; but in humanity indeed, because of the flesh; yet divine, as being above us and from heaven. And so the inspired Paul says, “The first man,” he says, “is from the earth, earthly; the second man is from heaven.” And indeed the blessed prophet Isaiah, as though taught the power of the mystery in a prophetic vision. D For he says that he saw the Lord of all and God in the holy Virgin, as though even laying the foundation of the divine infant. And the mode of the vision was fashioned humanly, yet it is to be understood differently and in a manner worthy of God. For the divine is not according to us. And he spoke thus: “And the Lord said to me, ‘Take for yourself a new, large book, and write in it with the stylus of a man, that the quick taking of spoils may be made. For it is ready, and I have made for me faithful witnesses…’”
Uria the priest, and Zacharias the son of Barachias. And he went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son, and the Lord said to me: Call his name, Quick to spoil, swift to plunder. For before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians.” The book is therefore new and great, because the mystery of Christ is itself also new, and acknowledged to be great, according to the voice of the blessed Paul. Yet it is written with the stylus of a man; for the discourse concerning the divinity, if it should be contemplated naked of itself and separated from the flesh, our power of speech is entirely insufficient, which is neither able to perceive things that are above the mind, nor knows how to explain things that are placed above the faculty of oratory. “For the glory of God hides the word” according to what is written. But since the only-begotten Word of God became man and dwelt among us, the things concerning him are written with our own style. But let us consider that which follows. For when God had commanded the prophet to take the book and write in it with our style the things that were in it, he went to the prophetess. And what is this “he went to,” if not a way of expressing the law of union through a figurative likeness? He calls the holy Virgin a prophetess; for she prophesied when she conceived Christ. He adds then: “And she conceived, and bore a son,” B to whom the law also gives a name, not as if to a man again, as a private individual, but from his achievements, as to God. “For call,” he says, “his name, Quick to spoil, swift to plunder.” For as soon as the divine and supercelestial infant was born, he was indeed in swaddling clothes, because he was also in the bosom of his mother due to his human nature; but since he was also by nature God, an ineffable power immediately despoiled the vessels of Satan. For the magi came from the East, seeking him and saying: “Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” Therefore this birth is divine, even if it was accomplished humanly on account of human nature; and Emmanuel is God by nature, and his also are the swaddling clothes, being contained humanly, while yet divinely filling heaven and earth and things beneath with his own excellence, and holding together all things that were made through him, that they might be kept in good order and maintained. And even if you hear that he increased in age, and wisdom, and grace, do not think that the Word of God acquired wisdom through growth. C Rather, remember those things which the blessed Paul writes somewhere: “Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Do not, on the other hand, foolishly dare to say that the “increasing in age and wisdom and grace” should be attributed to human nature. For this, I believe, is nothing else D than to divide the one Christ into two; but, as I said just now, the pre-eternal one...
although he is the Son of God before the ages, he is said to be appointed Son of God in the final times of the age, since he economically appropriates the birth of his own flesh. Thus also, being the wisdom of the one who begat him, he is said to advance in wisdom, although he is most perfect as God, reasonably taking upon himself the properties of humanity because of the supreme union. But perhaps someone will say: How then could human nature contain the power of the ineffable Godhead? And yet I hear God saying clearly to the blessed Moses: “No one shall see my face and live.” If the sight is unendurable, and its onset is too heavy to bear, what account can be given of the union? I for my part would say to this that the wonder is indeed beyond reason, and the mode of the entire economy is not something that can be grasped by our concepts. Yet it was accomplished wisely, as God rendered his own nature endurable even to the very frailest of things. And so the God of all things made this venerable and truly admirable mystery manifest to the all-wise Moses, using a B clear and most evident example. The holy Scripture will itself teach us what the mode of this is. It is as follows: “And Moses was tending the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he drove the sheep into the desert, and came to the mountain of Horeb. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the bush. And he sees that the bush is burning with fire; but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: I will go over and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. When the Lord saw that he was drawing near to see, the Lord called to him out of the bush, saying: Moses, Moses. And he said: What is it? And he said: Do not draw near here; loosen your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. And he said to him: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He thereby demonstrates that the way is impassable, signifying to the blessed Moses himself C at that time, that if one were to persist in the pedagogies of the law and the shadows provided through types, one would not draw near to Christ. For the law perfected nothing. Yet that is worth marveling at: fire was seen in the bush, and it uttered a voice saying: “I am the God of Abraham your father.” The Lord himself, therefore, was in the form of fire, taking hold of the shrub and pervading it wholly, yet burning it not at all. And yet, who would not say that the thing seen was beyond all reason—that such delicate and combustible matter should ignore the onset of the fire? Or rather, who would not marvel at the gentleness of the flame, seeing it spared the bush? But it was a type, as I said, as a clear example of the mystery according to Christ. For just as the fire became endurable to the bush, so too the excellence of the Godhead D was to our nature. Therefore, in so far as it reached the mind...
A and the reasoning power within us, deity and humanity would reasonably be considered incompatible in a natural unity. Yet it happened nevertheless, as indeed it is in Christ, that Emmanuel is one out of both. But he who divides them partially, and sets up for us a man as a different son, individually, distinct from Him who is from God by nature, does not accurately grasp the depth of this mystery. For we have not learned to render the honor of worship to man, and to worship him—as we have been taught by the holy mystagogues—but rather to God, as I said, who has become man, B and who is conceived together with His own body as the Word who is from the Father. For this reason, we also assert that Emmanuel has been declared King over us once more. For God and Father made the announcement through the voice of the prophets, about Him and about the holy apostles, saying: "Behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall rule with judgment."* He Himself also said through the voice of David: "But I was appointed king by Him, on Sion His holy mountain, proclaiming the decree of the Lord."* And indeed, He ordered us to submit to the yoke of His kingdom, adding clearly: "Come to me, all C you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you."* But if He is King, yet is understood solely as a man like us—and not rather as the Only-begotten Word of God who has joined Himself to our nature in unity—our affairs are in no way better than those of the ancients. And yet we profess that because Christ has reigned in us, all things have been made new and brought to a state infinitely better.
4. And again, something of this sort occurs to us: For God, the God of all, reigned over the Israelites through the holy prophets. The blessed Moses was chosen first of all for this, and then those D who followed him. But when the holy Samuel was governing the commonwealth, the Israelites slipped into insane dementia, and, for some reason, despising the form of kingship under the guidance of God, they approached him saying: "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your way. And now, appoint over us a king to judge us, as the other nations have." The prophet was greatly grieved at this. But the Lord said to him: "Listen to the voice of the people, whatever they say to you: for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from reigning over them."* And thus Saul was announced, of whom the God of all says in the prophets: "And I gave them a king in my anger, and I had a gathering of iniquity in my fury."* There is therefore no doubt that the king given in anger was Saul, who was a man, to those who had rejected the kingdom of God over all which the God of all Himself possessed. For it is better by an infinite measure to strive that we ourselves should rather be subjected to God.
* Isa. xxxii, 1. * Psal. ii, 6. * Matth. xi, 28, 29. * I Reg. viii, 5-7. * Osee xiii, 11.
A Christ is man, such as we are, and not rather the Word who appeared in human form; but He is given as King, and has obtained empire over those upon the earth; surely, who could reach such a pitch of folly as to imagine and say that He too has reigned as in the wrath of God and the Father, and that, since we are in offense and sins, He has subjected us also to the yokes of man? Yet how could anyone doubt that we have been delivered from all sin through faith? How, then, is God still offended? How does He still punish with the movements of wrath those who are sanctified? But I, for my part, would say that we have been both delivered from sins, and that our condition overflows with the goods derived from divine B kindness. Therefore, man has not reigned over us, but rather God, who appeared in humanity, the Son, having neither departed from the glory of His own dignities on account of the human, nor, indeed, disparaging our likeness in His dispensation. Besides—for I think one must also see this—if certain of those who have wandered are accused, and great reproach is cast upon them, inasmuch as they «changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man» * Rom. i, 23, we ourselves also must vehemently beware lest we circumscribe Christ in our own sole and naked nature, but rather guard the inseparable union to the Word from God the Father for human nature, so that He may henceforth be worshipped as God by us ourselves and by the spirits above. And if it is truly most dangerous to serve the creature beside the Creator, and we are commanded to serve Christ, He must be understood as being above every created nature as God, even if He is understood to be created on account of the human. Confirming this opinion concerning Himself, He once exclaimed to those who had embraced unbelief, almost reproaching them for their tardiness and stupidity: «If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you will not believe me, believe the works» * Joan. x, 38. For there were, there were certain of the unwise who thought meanly of Him because of the flesh, and rising up against Him wantonly, and rushing upon Him after the manner of dogs, they answered the one demanding excuses for sins: «For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and that thou, being a man, makest thyself God» * ibid. 33. But we, having bid farewell to the foolishness of those who thought such things, honor Him with long and unceasing praises C, and having determined to think better thoughts than the perversity of the Pharisees, will say to Him: For a good work we are struck with wonder at Thee, because, being God by nature, Thou hast become man. And for what cause? Because, since the Word of God is life by nature, He took to Himself a body that was by nature subject to decay, that having dissolved the power of deadness within it, He might transform it unto incorruption. For just as iron, having held converse with the most intense assaults of fire, immediately changes its color to the appearance of that [fire], and teems with the power of the victor; so also the flesh... D
of mankind, after it had received the incorruptible and vivifying Word of God, did not retain its previous condition, but henceforth escaped free from corruption. A And since He is Himself the light of the world, shedding the rays of the true knowledge of God into the minds of all, He called everyone to the light: partly by teaching them those things which are devoid of all reproach, making those who come to Him through faith most wise; and partly by performing varied miracles, so that, by striking those who behold them with wonder at the deeds that surpass reason, no one might disbelieve that He, being God by nature, has become man; yet He remained what He was, even after He had descended in economic fashion into a form like our own. But the Jews, not understanding the mystery, although it had been proclaimed by both the law and the holy prophets with very many, equal, and most manifest indications, dared in many ways to harass Christ. When, however, they had recognized that He is also the heir, they cast Him out and killed Him, having taken unto themselves the author of sin as their associate and helper in this matter—I mean, of course, Satan—who thought, as was likely, B that he had been freed from his troubles because he saw Him suffering. But he was deceived, together with those who crucified Him, because He suffered willingly, and Himself laid down His own life, not compelled by anyone, but of His own volition, as I said, in order that He might preach to the spirits detained in Hades, and unlock the gates of Hades for those dwelling below; for as the wise Paul writes to us in his Epistle: "For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might have dominion over both the dead and the living." For since He snatched away those who were in darkness, He trampled upon the dominion of death, and rose again on the third day. Then, showing Himself to His holy apostles, and commanding them to teach all nations and C to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, He ascended into heaven, and is at the right hand of God and the Father; and He shall come at the appointed times as the Judge of all, endowed with power, and with the glory that befits Divine majesty, attended by a retinue of angels; and He shall be seated on the throne of His glory, judging the world in righteousness, and rendering to each according to his work.
5. Therefore, since we have been bought with a price, and are not our own, let us serve our Buyer with all our strength, and let us subdue the rebellious movements of the flesh; let us cast away far from us wicked crimes, and being conspicuous in all moderation, let us fight the good fight, let us finish the course, let us keep the faith; D relieving the miseries of the needy, comforting the orphans, championing the widows, providing remedies for the sick, visiting those in bonds, and being kind and [practicing] mutual charity...
toward all. For then, and only then, shall we fast cleanly, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the Kalends of March, and the week of the saving Pascha on the sixth day of the month of April; breaking our fasts on the sixteenth day of that same month of April, in the deep evening of Saturday, following the gospel proclamation; and celebrating the feast on the next day, the dawning Sunday, the twelfth day of the same month, adding to it the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus shall we inherit the kingdom of heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord; with whom and through whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory and power unto ages of ages. Amen.
AN ANCIENT INTERPRETATION OF THE SAME HOMILY
NOTICE
(Angelo Mai, *Spicilegium Romanum*, vol. V, p. 101.)
When I had seen in the Vatican Library two manuscripts of the *Altercation of Arnobius the Younger with Serapion*—one an ancient codex of the eleventh century, the other a more recent one but copied from some older source—the desire moved me to study them more accurately, since I knew that manuscript copies of this work by Arnobius were very rare. And I scarcely know whether, since Feuardentius published that work in the year 1595, it has since been subjected to the critical care of philologists. Nor was my diligence in vain. For besides many excellent manuscript readings or variations by which I realized the edition could be improved, I discovered a remarkable treatise which was absent from the Feuardentius codex, and which is therefore missing in his edition; although in reality only the Latin words are those of Arnobius, while the subject matter itself is that of Saint Cyril of Alexandria.
Clearly, in the second book of the work (Cod. Vat. reg. 238, fol. 154b. Cf. the Arnobius edition in the *Bibliotheca Lugdun. PP.*, vol. VIII, p. 225) it reads thus: "That I may more clearly be able to provide my consent to the assertions of Arnobius, let the entire booklet of Saint Cyril be presented to be read to you, etc. Behold, his book is offered to be read in its entirety, if you order it, etc. Since it is at hand, let the book of Saint Cyril be read." And when the codex had been opened, the title was read as follows: "Begins the book of Saint Cyril, Bishop of the Church of Alexandria, which he sent throughout the regions of Egypt to exclude the Nestorian sect."
Yet the Feuardentius codex broke off at those words, the title being thus: for the entire discourse of Cyril was suppressed by the one who wrote the codex. Wherefore Feuardentius, in his annotations, sang out vain divinations about the intercepted writing of Cyril, having conjectured that it was this or that, without ever arriving at the truth of the matter—namely, that he should have considered the seventeenth paschal homily of Cyril, which the Vatican codex also confirms are called epistles, as Montfaucon had long ago warned in his preface to Cosmas Indicopleustes, chapter 6.
Someone will say: Why do you lament a well-known homily of Cyril omitted in both the Feuardentius codex and edition? I lament, indeed, and rightly do I lament, because we had thus lost an ancient and very good interpretation of the Cyrillian writing, unless the Vatican codices now restored it to us; which I shall immediately bring into the light of letters, so that it does not perish again. Thus, I both fill the gap in the *Altercation* of Arnobius and revive an ancient, beautiful, and classic interpreter of Cyril. Indeed, there is no one who does not see how much this Arnobian text is to be preferred to that modern Latin text of the Cyrillian discourse, which appears in the Parisian or Aubert edition, both for the dignity of its language and for its authority. Thus, then, Arnobius makes Cyril speak in the Vatican codices.
OF THE MOST BLESSED CYRIL, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, A PASCHAL EPISTLE TO THE REGION OF ALL EGYPT, AS INTERPRETED BY ARNOBIUS
1. Those who have been accustomed to practicing a life consistent with the holy laws of God, are not detained in it by any torpor of sloth at all;
indeed, they always break through all obstacles and delays, and bring the beginnings of their good works to a most accurate conclusion. I think, however, that the necessary admonitions of an instructor also belong to these, which might inflame them to a more ardent care for virtue; just as there is also for wrestlers the necessary voice and exhortation of a trainer, goading them to patience, and urging them almost by force toward the desire for the palm and the glory of victory. A For this reason, I myself have come forward, intending to harmonize with the lyre of the Psalmist for those who are followers of good studies: “Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, you who hope in the Lord.” For as the divine David himself says elsewhere, “It is time to act for the Lord.” I therefore think it fitting to offer you words of exhortation; yet in such a way that you pay little heed if I appear to speak less worthily of the matters proposed, and if we are unable to equal the eloquence of some others: rather, you ought to consider more wisely in your mind that it is much more reasonable to invite friends and well-wishers to the feasts we are able to prepare and have, than to lead an inhuman and inhospitable life, fearing lest we be said to be unequal to the generosity and wealth of others. B Although I am given cause to be confident for another reason, specifically when I consider that I shall remember the omnipotent God saying to the most wise Moses: “Who has given a mouth to man, and who made the deaf and the dumb, the seeing and the blind? Is it not I the Lord God? Now therefore go, and I will open your mouth.”
2. The oracle, indeed, is of ancient date, and although it was delivered through angels, with Moses as mediator, it shall yet not escape the minds of sharper men, if anyone desires to gaze upon it with the subtle eyes of the mind, and, having passed over the shadows and obscurities of the Scriptures, to consider their inner meaning. The law therefore commands us to honor God, the Lord of all, and in many other ways indeed, but it added that it was necessary to sacrifice a turtledove to Him, C especially since there are many and various flocks of birds, some of which are destined by the law of nature for the highest flights, while others dwell in the waters. Their size, figure, and species are not one. Nature depicts others in one way, and by the artifice of the Creator, the genus of birds is spread out into various flowers and colors of plumage. What then shall we say, for what reason did the law prefer to single out the turtledove with the highest honors, prescribing that it be consecrated to the Lord? What kind of enigma is this, or what wisdom does this law confirm? God the omnipotent Father, as the Word of the Word, makes both the voices of the talkative sparrows acceptable, and prefers them to others, even though there is also in the others some grace and form. The law therefore implicitly signifies to us that those to whom the use of eloquence has been granted, and who are able to give the best precepts to lovers of good works, are most holy, and more excellent than others.
3. Come then, let us irrigate the vineyard of the Lord with the fountains of Holy Scripture; not emitting a confused or obscure sound after the manner of birds, but calling you to the solemn festival with competent words; so that the thing itself may be celebrated duly and irreprehensibly, according to the pleasure of the law. For the divine Luke says in his writings: “Now the day of unleavened bread came, on which it was necessary that the pasch should be immolated; and he sent Peter and John, saying: Go, prepare us the pasch, that we may eat. But they said: Where wilt thou that we prepare? Who said to them: Behold, as you are entering into the city, there shall a man meet you, carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth: and you shall say to the master of the house: The Master saith to thee, where is the guest chamber, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples? And he will show you a large dining room furnished; and there prepare.” D You hear how, looking with the eyes of the Godhead, he says that he would show the holy apostles where it was worthy to celebrate the pasch, in a large and furnished room; and that they should follow the man carrying the pitcher of water into it, who would guide him to the master of the house? Therefore, direct your mind through subtle senses to greater and sensible things. And if it is your intention to have Christ himself, the author of the festival, in your mind, let it first be enriched by the washing of water, let it wash away all sin from its soul, and let it abolish the filth and stains of former transgressions. For so also God says through the voice of Isaiah: “Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from your souls, from before my eyes, cease to do perversely, learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow, and come, let us reason, saith the Lord; and if your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them as white as snow; and if they be red as crimson, I shall make them white as wool.”
4. For I think it necessary that we should beforehand be washed of the contagion of all depravity and filth with our minds; then, in this way, to apply glorious and outstanding virtue, because nothing is esteemed more excellent by those who have health of mind, and who have learned to discern the just from the unjust. For just as things which are repugnant by nature cannot exist together in one and the same place—for what fellowship hath light with darkness, as it is written?—nor can the one subsist unless it gives place to the other: in a similar way, virtue and malice, having a quality contrary to each other in deeds and works, and being separated by the longest difference from each other, cannot exist in one soul without rendering it deformed, and varied, and as it were limping on both feet. But the prophet Elijah indeed rebukes those who have been accustomed to live in such a way, saying: “How long do you halt between two sides?” Nor does the law, wishing to withdraw us as far as possible from such manners…
command us obliquely to reject and cast away things which are incongruous and cannot go together. For it says: “You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.” 10 And again: “You shall not wear a garment made of wool and linen together.” 11 Consider how it affirms that we ought to hate those things which are disparate and cannot be fitly and honestly mixed and joined, and to loathe the conjunction of things unlike. For it is fitting for those who have purposed to live their lives in the best way to be free from every stain, having cleansed away, as I said before, the filth of wickedness, so that, having become clean and bright, they may be able to obtain a place in the heights, and, as in a most lofty upper room, celebrate the feasts with Christ, who for our sake, being rich, became poor, that we might be enriched by His poverty. 12
5 For since He Himself is the image and form of the Father, 13 the brightness of His glory, 14 and born from Him truly and naturally, and from every part entirely equal and like, coeternal and coeval, of the same glory and dignity—not thinking it robbery to be equal with God, according to that which is written 15—He descended to earth and underwent a voluntary emptying. And, as the most wise John says, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” 16 And He who, before all ages, had His generation from the Father, which no mind, no thought can grasp, after He was made flesh and sustained human generation, though He is the dispenser and artificer of the ages and Creator, not brought forth like humans to some beginning of time, yet heard the voice of the Father saying: “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” 17 Shall we therefore think that He has lost the glory of His eternity? By no means. Rather, let us understand more wisely that the Father does not deprive the incarnate Son of the natural ornaments of His dignity; but let it be confessed yet again, even if He is seen in human habit. For the only-begotten Word of God was not made man so that He might cease to be God, but that, even in the assumption of flesh, we might behold the glory of His own majesty. For thus have we also been made rich by His poverty, as human nature was lifted up by Him into a certain divine dignity and placed in heavenly seats. For although He always had His seat with the Father and was naturally from Him and in Him, yet even while placed in the flesh, He heard the Father saying: “Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as the footstool of your feet.” 18 Thus we confess that He ought to be adored by us as much as by the angels; not casting Him down in our madness into a common man, but following the divine Scripture, joining the Word of God with human condition, and bringing together the mortal and divine nature into one thing: yet so that He is not understood simply as a man who is a God-bearer, but rather as God incarnate, who by the dispensation of the union took a body to Himself from the holy Virgin.
6. For in this way and no other is Christ understood as one, and God as one: not to be distinguished now as partly God and partly man after that arcane and ineffable communion; but to be received as one Son, although their nature is diverse, which afterward concurred in Him. For just as in gems and precious stones a certain gold shines forth, and a light which declares the image of the interior nature—and if anyone should wish to separate that natural mixture for the sake of the Word, he might behold I know not what, the stone by itself, and another, the light which floats in the stone; yet one and undivided substance is understood from the two, and division of this kind turns into filth and disgrace those things which are connected by a natural unity—in the same way, in Christ, we assert that the deity and human condition met together in one thing by a certain arcane and ineffable reason, so that in the same one, He is understood as man according to us, and God above us. And thus the only-begotten and first-born was brought forth from the virginal womb, and was still an infant, yet even in infancy He was wise as God. The divine Isaias bears witness to this same thing, saying of Him: “For before the child knows good or evil, he does not believe in malice, but chooses what is good.” 19 For as far as the reason of mortality according to our nature is concerned, the time did not yet allow Him to know and be able to discern the quality of things; but He was, as I said before, God even in mortal form, allowing indeed our nature to proceed according to its own custom and law, yet reserving with it the sincere glory of the deity. Thus, therefore, let God be understood as the nature that was born; and let the Virgin who gave birth be called mother not simply of flesh or blood, as is the case with our mothers, but rather of God and Lord, who deemed it worthy to put on the likeness of human form.
7. For as the divine Paul wrote: “God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” 20 For we do not say that the Word of God dwelt in a man born of a woman, as also in the prophets; but rather let us crown with right judgment the voice of the most holy John, clearly and plainly recording: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” 21 We shall think of Him as having been made flesh when He had shared in flesh and blood, similarly to us who are in flesh and blood. 22 And if He was made according to us, how was it consistent to brand human generation with ignominy, and not rather to honor it? For He dwelt among us, with flesh and blood, His own nature…
A by divine and inestimable reasoning, as it were, commingling. If the deity of the Word is understood by itself, it possesses a generation from the Father alone, sufficient in itself; but since He descended into membership with us, and commingled human nature with Himself, having everything perfect according to His own mode, it ought therefore to be understood that He was made like us, without any mark or diminution of deity; not produced at some beginning, so as to have started to exist—far be it! (for He always was, and is, and shall be, and holds a substance older than all time;) but wisely permitting Himself to proceed through the laws of mortality according to His own rights. For just as that pure and honorable flesh, which was procreated from the holy Virgin, was the very own flesh of the Word Himself, who is from God and the Father; so also the flesh had to undergo, without sin alone, all things that accord with flesh, and above all, to be born of a mother.
8. Therefore, if the deity be understood by itself outside the flesh, it will be without a mother; and rightly so. But if we bring into our midst the mystery according to Christ, the reasoning concerning it will indeed be refined and subtle; for if we wish to think rightly, and to tread the path without error, we shall judge that it was not the naked deity, but the Word of God the Father, incarnate and commingled with flesh, who created the holy Virgin; who was chosen for the B venerable child-bearing, so that she might carnally bring forth Him who deigned to put on flesh. Therefore, let the true God Emmanuel, and the Virgin mother of God, be spoken of, who carnally brought forth Him who for our sake became man and was an infant—not according to us, that is, not constituted in the likeness of us alone; but He was of human condition because of the flesh, yet divine, as being above us and heavenly. Finally, the most wise Paul says: "The first man is of the earth, earthly: the second man is the Lord from heaven." But indeed the most blessed Isaiah, as he was being taught the power of the mystery in prophetic vision; for he says that he saw the Lord of all, God, lying near the origins of the divine infant in the holy Virgin. And the mode of the vision is indeed figured in a human way, but it is understood otherwise and divinely; for the name is greater than we are. And so he says: "And the Lord said to me: Take a great and new volume, and write in it with the pen of a man, that it may quickly make a despoiling of the spoils." C He says, moreover: "And make for me faithful men as witnesses, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Barachias. And he came to the prophetess, and she conceived in her womb, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me: Call his name, Quickly despoil, speedily plunder; for before the child knows how to call father and mother, he shall receive the virtue of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria against the king of the Assyrians." A new and great volume indeed, since the mystery of Christ itself is new, and clearly great, according to the voice of the blessed Paul. But it is written with the pen of a man. And the very nature of the deity, if it is estimated as naked and without flesh D of itself, will not need the help of our discourse; since there is no one who can explain things that are even higher than all eloquence and sense. For the glory of the Lord conceals the discourse, according to what is written. But since the only-begotten Word of God became flesh, and dwelt among us, therefore we describe the things that are referred to Him in the style of a man.
9. But let us look again at that which, when God had commanded the prophet to take the volume and write in it with a human pen, he approached the prophetess. And what is this very thing, "he approached"? He was simulating the custom of the covenant and the law. He calls the holy Virgin the prophetess: for pregnant with Christ, she fulfilled the office of a prophet. Then, he says, "she conceived in the womb, and bore a son": to whom again he does not impose a name as if to a man, special and proper, but one taken from His virtues, as being God. "For call," he says, "his name, Quickly despoil, speedily plunder." For that divine infant, excellent to the whole world, was born immediately. And although He was in the cradle and the bosom of the mother, because of the custom of human condition; yet because God was also in these things, He was stripping the weapons of Satan by His secret virtues. For the Magi from the East arrived, seeking Him and saying: "Where is the king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to adore him." Therefore that divine generation, although it was conducted in a human manner because of the condition of men. But God was truly and naturally Emmanuel, who was seen to be contained in the manner of men, yet in a divine way He filled heaven and earth, and even the lower regions, by His majesty as God, and contained all things that had been well established through Him. And if you hear that He progressed in age and wisdom, never assume that the Word of God was made wise by any progression or increment. For remember the most wise Paul writing: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." But do not dare to say impudently that this very thing which is said to have progressed in age and wisdom and grace, should be ascribed to man—for this is, as I think, to divide the one Christ into two; but as we said a little before, the Son born before all ages is nevertheless said to have been the Son of God in the final times; and therefore He said that the generation of His flesh was dispensatorily familiar and proper. And so, while being the Wisdom of His own Begetter, God, who is most perfect in all things, is said to progress in wisdom, because He undertook by His own will those things which are specific to the human condition on account of the incarnation.
10. Will someone say, how could human nature grasp the majesty of the deity? Especially when God Himself said clearly to the most blessed Moses: "For no one shall see my face, and live." If, therefore, the Deity is intolerable, and has an inaccessible touch, how can it seem credible that God in…
human form has been joined—or one man—to us? But against a question of this kind, I would indeed say that the reason for this dispensation is above every mode and kind of miracle, and above the conception and perception of our mind; yet it was conducted wisely, with God rendering His own nature tolerable even to our weakness. And so, the Creator of all, God and Lord, demonstrated this our renowned and venerable mystery to the most wise Moses by clear examples. The sacred Scriptures themselves, which are as follows, will reveal this to us: "Moses was feeding the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he drove the sheep into the desert, and came to Mount Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush, and he saw that the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: I will go over and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. When therefore the Lord saw that he went to see, he called from the bush, saying: Moses, Moses. And he said to him: What is it? God said to him: Come not near hither, put off the shoes from thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And he said to him: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." C He testifies that even to the most wise Moses himself the place was inaccessible, declaring this clearly: that if anyone wishes to be content with the mere doctrine of the law and the examples of shadows, he can never attain to Christ, for the law brought nothing to perfection. Moreover, that which is worthy of admiration: the flame which appeared in the bush emitted a voice saying: "I am the God of thy father Abraham." Therefore, He Himself was the Lord in the likeness of a flame, indeed encompassing and burning the tree, yet the flame did not consume it at all. And yet this seems to exceed all faith, that the light and fragile matter did not care about the most violent nature of the persistent fire: nay rather, who would not admire the gentleness and mildness of that flame, seeing it sparing the wood? But it was, as I have said before, a certain shadow of the mystery according to Christ.
11. Just as, therefore, that flame was tolerable to the brushwood, so also our nature was able to be capable of the eminence of the Deity. And as far as human reasons and perceptions are concerned, the Deity and the human condition could in no way be joined together; yet they were joined in Christ, and Emmanuel is one out of both. But whoever separates and places the man apart, and considers Him another son, besides Him who is the natural Son of God the Father, seems to me not to be able to understand and see diligently the depth of our mystery. For we do not worship and adore a man, following the doctrine of the saints; but rather God incarnate, who joined and brought together His own body and the Word of God the Father into one. And so, again, we urge that Emmanuel Himself be established as King over us. D God even marks out the declaration of Him and the holy apostles by the voice of the prophets, saying: "Behold, a just king shall reign, and princes shall rule with judgment." And He Himself says through the voice of David: "But I am appointed king by Him over Sion, His holy mountain," and the rest. Nor did He fail to bid us submit to the yoke of His kingdom, adding manifestly: "Come to me all you that labour," and the rest as far as "my yoke is sweet." But if He is understood to be only a king, and a mere man, and someone like us, and not rather the only-begotten Word of God who was joined to our nature, then our ages have not deserved anything more than the ancients—which we say have been made new and incomparably better than the former, in which Christ also reigned. But this is what I mean: God, the Lord of all, indeed reigned over the people of Israel through the prophets; but the holy Moses was appointed to such an office before all others; then after him others were ordained in the series of times. But when divine Samuel was managing the care of the dispensation, and Israel had fallen into wicked obstinacy, and wishing impatiently to defect from the kingdom of God, he said: "Behold, thou art grown old." The prophet was indeed indignant at this cause. But the Lord said to him: "Hear the voice of the people, according to what they speak unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them." So Saul was ordained, of whom God says through the prophet: "And I gave them a king in my anger." It is certain to no one, therefore, that the man Saul was given to them as a king in anger, those who most wickedly rejected the kingdom of God. For it is much more excellent that we be subjected to the service of the kingdom of God.
12. But if Christ is a man like us, and the Word of God is not seen in the form of man; yet it is certain that He was given as a king, and held the kingdom of all lands; someone, precipitated into delirium and follies, can say that He Himself also reigned in the anger of God and the Father: and that because we are in offences and sins, therefore God subjected us to a human yoke. But who could ever doubt this, that we have been freed from all guilt through faith? How then does God still grow angry? Or why does He punish us with motions of indignation, we who have been sanctified? I, however, say that we are both freed from all guilt and abound in the gifts of divine clemency and mildness. Therefore D not a man reigned over us, but God seen in human form, the Son, who was neither deprived of the glory of His dignity through the incarnation, nor did He disdain the likeness of us on account of the dispensation. Then, for this also must be said, if we blame the error of some, and they are established in the greatest censure, because they "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man": and I think that even for ourselves this is to be shunned, lest we believe Christ to be in the sole and bare likeness of our nature, but rather...
let us preserve the indivisible and inseparable union of human flesh and the Word of God, so that He may now be worshipped as God, both by us and by the holy angels. And if it is highly criminal and blameworthy to serve a creature instead of the Creator, yet we, having been instructed to serve Christ, must consider Him superior to every creature; nay, rather as the Creator Himself, even if, on account of the incarnation, He is believed to have been created. On this account, strengthening His glory, He cried out to the incredulous, almost reproaching them for their stupidity and sloth: "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do them, though you believe not me, believe my works." There were, in truth, some who, in their madness, had little faith in Him because of the flesh. But rising up impudently against Him, and rushing at Him in a dog-like manner, A hunting for occasions of sin, they said to Him as He reproved them: "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." But we, abhorring their incredulity and madness, let us worship Him with long and abundant benedictions, and, having condemned the ferocity of the Pharisees, let us say to Him: "For the good work, we admire Thee with the greatest astonishment, that, being God, Thou hast deigned to become man."
13. And I shall explain on what account He was made man. For because the Word of God is naturally life, He made the corruptible and falling body His own, so that, mortality having been conquered and condemned, it might rather be transformed into eternity. And just as iron material, when it is melted in the midst of a furnace's heat, glows like fire and is turned into its appearance, and imitates the heat and brightness of the winning flame itself; so also the nature of the flesh, when joined to the eternal and incorruptible Word of God, ceased to be what it had been, and no longer remained in decay. And because He Himself is the light of the world, therefore, illuminating our minds with the true and right recognition and knowledge B of the divinity, He called everyone to the light; partly when He used venerable doctrines, by which He made those who came to Him in faith most wise; and partly when He worked excellent virtues, which He displayed to their sights above all belief: so that now no one can doubt; because while by nature He is God made man, He remained nevertheless what He was, though He assumed the appearance of the human condition by dispensation. But the Jews, not understanding the mystery, and although it had been often clearly announced to them through the law and the holy prophets, dared to offend Him in many ways. But even when they knew that He was the heir and the Lord, they nevertheless cast Him out and killed Him.
14. Since, therefore, we are purchased at the price of His own blood, and are not under our own power or jurisdiction, let us serve the Redeemer, working in good deeds as much as we are able, crushing the cupidities of the flesh, shaking off every contagion of sins, adorning ourselves with every virtue and modesty: let us fight the good fight, let us finish our course, let us keep the faith, C relieving the miseries of the needy, comforting the destitution of orphans, aiding widows, offering the consolations of refreshment to the sick and weak, visiting those placed in prisons and in bonds, being human and merciful in all things, let us bind ourselves with mutual love. For then, then indeed, starving sincerely, we are joined to holiness, having the beginning of Lent from the first day of the month which is called Famenoth according to the Egyptians; but the weeks of the venerable Easter from the sixth of the month of Pharmouthi; so that we may finish the fasts, according to the evangelical traditions, on the eleventh of the same month in the dead of the night on Saturday; celebrating the festival on the following day, Sunday, the twelfth of the same month, continuing firmly also for the six weeks of holy Pentecost. For thus we shall deserve to be heirs of the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord; D through whom, and with whom, to God the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen. Greet one another with a holy kiss: the brethren who are with me greet you. Peace be with you.
HOMILY XVIII. The author’s preface.
The subject matter for which we have come together here is illustrious and most pleasant to hear.
A It requires, as I am persuaded, a brilliant and elaborate discourse and a tongue B excellently eloquent, so that matters which surpass all power of speech might be explained clearly. I, indeed, although in no way equal to this task, come to you again, intending to set forth the things discovered by diligent meditation. For it is fitting that listeners should be easy and kind. For this discourse has not been undertaken by us in any way for the sake of displaying eloquence, but for the sake of explaining necessary matters, and matters appropriate to this time of our holy celebration.
1. The time of our holy celebration shines forth once again. It is necessary for us to remember Him who says, being the God who rules over all: C «Hear, O priests, and bear witness to the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God Almighty.» (Osee v, 1.) Let us bear witness, therefore, that the time is present in which it behooves us to be magnificently adorned with the virtues of the saints, and to grow rich gloriously in the noble institutes of the Gospel discipline. But it is necessary, I think, that those who discourse upon the most beautiful things should be deemed worthy of veneration. For true indeed are the things which the prophet speaks: «How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good things!» (Nahum i, 15; Rom. x, 15.) And these are by no means temporary things, nor subject to mortality, such as minister to luxury for our earthly D bodies; but rather those which have been prepared and provided by the grace of our Savior, and which make those who have received them most blessed, and victors over the turbulent agitations of both mind and body. «For a good name is more desirable than great riches,» as Solomon says. (Prov. xxii, 1.) For to moderate men there occurs no time in which it is not fitting that they be seen to be such as these. But if any occasion also offers itself for voluntarily enduring the sweat of virtue, then they, indeed, casting away all sloth from their mind, and hastening with very quick steps toward all things that are to be admired, consider labors as a delight, since the hope of future goods nourishes security within them continually. For farmers, if they be strenuous and laborious, when the time calls for plowing the earth and casting in the seeds, although the rich produce of the fields cannot be obtained without great and long-lasting labor, count this as nothing, being in this very prudent. He puts the oxen under the yoke, but he contemplates the fields waving with ears of grain. He commits the kernels to the soil, but he joyfully thinks of the reapers, and with the eyes of hope he gazes with wonder upon the crops already falling to the iron, and pictures in his mind the threshing floor filled for himself. He who has prepared himself for a voyage, and practices the art of trade, if he sees the sea rejoicing in the vernal breezes, impatient of delay, he dares to commit himself to the main, nor is he ignorant that it will happen that he will be in conflict with the waves and the harshness of the winds from time to time. Yet he fears these things in no way, while...
in no manner [does he do] so, for the sake of gains and A increases. But I say it is among the most shameful things that, while some are willing to undergo every labor for the sake of fleeting and earthly things, we, who gain divine things and those which surpass the intellect, do not consider the time which precedes our holy feast as a season of training; for it removes superfluous food and drink, but fills us with spiritual gifts. Since, therefore, the season sharpens us toward courage, let no one be softened, but rather be even more prepared for whatever God might choose. And I think it necessary to say that thing again, which is by the voice of Jeremiah: «Take up the shields and the spears, proceed to war, bring in the horses, mount, O horsemen, and stand in your helmets; polish the spears, and put on your breastplates.» For we must love to stand in opposition, B and that right youthfully, to the pleasures that call us to depravity, and, being equipped with the whole armor of the spirit, wage war against the passions. For as the inspired Paul writes: «The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary to one another.» But if the flesh is the master, the one who is defeated is shameful and licentious, and more polluted than any mire; yet if it is defeated and yields to the spirit, the crowns remain for the victors, brilliant and desirable, for they will immediately be better than blame, far from depravity, and distinguished by the boastings that come from virtues. One must, I think, using all strength, always turn away from the path that leads to evil and hasten to abandon wicked things, and rather C lay hold of those things which are to be admired. For that bodily health is most desirable, I think no one will utterly deny. And if any occasion of sickness should arise, we hasten immediately to summon one who is skilled in dispelling it, and who wisely opposes the artifices of the disease with the remedies of the art. And having bidden farewell to the indulgences of the belly, we somehow block the sources of the disease, and by avoiding surfeit, and by scarcity of diet, we prune away that which causes vexation. And thus we have indeed applied diligence to the care of the body. But if that which is incomparably more excellent, namely the soul, is observed to be in sickness, and then a mode of its restoration is sought, can it be treated in any other way D than by temperance? How, then, shall we not gladly accept the fast, if we are in our right minds, and have reckoned that to be whole is better than to be sick in better things? Let us, therefore, cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit, as it is written, mindful of God speaking through the voice of the prophets: «You shall be holy, for I am holy»; and of one of the holy disciples, whose words these are: «Beloved, I exhort you as sojourners and strangers to abstain from fleshly desires, which war against the soul.» It has been admired, then, and has been reckoned worthy of all, to choose...
to suffer and, if it should happen, even to die, if the case requires it, bravely risking one's life for the sake of one's children and wife. And even if some of those accustomed to plundering regions or cities should lay waste to farms and cut off the means of life, it will not be to the glory of the victims to remain quiet; rather, it is better to set oneself against the evils, and having determined to refrain from living miserably, to be seen falling with manly courage. A Since, therefore, things are thus with us, and no one, I suppose, would find fault with these things that have been said, how would it not be necessary for the benefit of the soul to struggle on its behalf, since the flesh is, as it were, laying it waste, and we shall struggle through labors, subverting the mindset of the flesh so that it must submit to the will of the Spirit? For we shall walk thus, straight along the path that leads to everything noble, and acquiring the hope of life eternal. For we are all sojourners and strangers in this world; and the time of life in the body is very short indeed, but the time that follows it is long and unending. We must therefore depart from the temporary things of the present, and, as something inglorious and profane, very firmly repel the participation in the pleasures of the flesh, desiring the things to come, and deeming those things prepared by God for the saints worthy of all admiration and value. B «For eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.» What, then, is the mode of the excellence of those who have loved Him? Come, let us say, as far as is possible, making this matter a kind of provocation to your eagerness for the good.
2. Therefore the inspired David, although he held the seats of the kingdom, and was surrounded by an innumerable multitude of those under his hand, and although it was not unfamiliar to his subjects to distinguish themselves in battles if any of the neighboring nations shook the Jews with the uproar of war, used to order the fighting race to be in arms and to receive the attacks of the adversaries; yet, shielding himself and his own together with helps from above, he poured out most earnest prayers, and besought the Lord of Hosts to be an ally to him, and to grant him to prevail, and to render him superior to the wickedness of those who were warring against him. C Nor did his hope end futilely, but you shall hear him saying: «But as for me, when they were troubling me, I put on sackcloth, and I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall return into my own bosom.» You hear that he fasted and put on sackcloth, that is, he continued looking like one who is mourning—downcast, of course, and tearful; not pampered and fond of laughter and poured into luxury, but dismayed by the labor of fasting. What fruit, D then, or what utility followed from this? We have just heard him say:
A “And my prayer shall be turned back into my bosom.” For those who bestow gifts upon someone, B and demonstrate the magnanimity that is in them, pour them into the bosom, indicating that the capacity of the hands is narrow. But God, the Lord of all, when He gladdens some with a more abundant supply of pleasure, in like manner to them, as it were, gives into the bosom, surpassing the hope of the one praying with the magnitude of His gifts. Therefore, David fasted—who is indeed worthy of all praise, or rather even of wonder, being excellent and wise—he who flourished, taking the crown of the kingdom, he who abounded in luxuries and wealth, yet lived in mourning and fasting, so that he might draw to himself some portion of divine benevolence. Consequently, he defeated his enemies, he departed from battle a victor, and was held illustrious and blessed among all men. B If, moreover, anyone should wish to contemplate in thought the three youths also—I speak of Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael—he will find temperance fruitful everywhere. They were indeed Jews by descent. But after the princes of the Persians had taken Jerusalem by storm and carried them off with the others into captivity, they were a portion, and as it were, a special lot for the royal courts. Since the Persians are always C pampered, the king of the captives was nurtured among them, having all that was choice, in the prime of his body and indeed exceeding others in age. And indeed, a most abundant share of food was set before them, so that they might be ever plump and shining, bearing on their faces the flower of much beauty, to present a sight not unbecoming to the king’s dignity in his royal retinue. What, then, did the noble youths do in opposition to these things? They despised the Sybaritic table, and, caring little for elaborate seasoning, they embraced fasting as the mother and nurse of all adornments for them, and counted their toils their luxury. And what was the outcome of this? They were wondered at by their enemies. They prevailed while being plotted against, and were superior to the illustrious ones among them, having as benefactor and overseer the God of all. They overcame the flame, and having passed beyond the peak of fire, they danced with the powers above, and became instructors and masters to those under heaven, persuading as it were the whole creation to crown the Creator with the hymns of praise befitting Him. D Therefore, if anyone should choose to imitate the beauty of the saints’ virtue, he will surely obtain the same rewards. For he will prevail over those who have stood against him without toil, and will easily overcome the savageness of his enemies. Indeed, even if impure pleasures, like fire and as it were certain flames, invade the mind and call it toward baser things, he will also conquer them, with God strengthening him. For an angel, having entered the furnace of fire with Ananias, mitigated the force of the flame and commanded the fire, by an unexpected event, to yield to human bodies.
A Christ, having entered into our mind and heart through the Holy Spirit, will utterly soothe the untamable flame of absurd desires, and having shown us to be superior to the plotting of demons, will make us citizens of heaven and will widen for us the path of every virtue. For that we will find as the wages of fasting and the fruit of good labors the being prospered by God, the Holy Scripture will make all things clear. For it is written thus in Esdras: "And I proclaimed a fast there for the youths before our God, to seek from Him a direct path for us and for our children who were with us, and for our cattle. For I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry, and a guard for safety against those who were opposing us. For we said to the king that the power of the Lord will be with those who seek Him, for every restoration. And again we entreated our Lord concerning these things, and we obtained a gracious reconciliation." You understand, therefore, it is said, that by fasting we obtain a prosperous journey, and the care from above, and the unbreakable aid of Him who is able to save; and we obtain the favor of God, who accomplishes all things easily and distributes good things to those who ask with a rich hand. B He will therefore deliver us also as we fast, and will save us from every evil, and will make every path of kindness accessible; and He will easily level what seems to be steep, and will make what is difficult to traverse ready and smooth.
3. On the necessity of prayer alongside fasting
3. I say that prayer must be practiced alongside fasting. For virtues are like neighbors to one another, and they contribute to one another most necessarily. But the absence of one, I think, renders the other also less fruitful as a virtue, and in a way lame in its manner of kindness. For we will pray purely while fasting. And the power of supplication to God is very great; and we shall know this again from the divinely inspired Scripture itself. For Israel was dwelling in the desert; but since the impious Amalek (for this is a barbaric nation), burning in his mind with unholy envy, was arming himself with the law of war, the inspired Moses commanded Joshua, saying: "Choose for yourself mighty men, and go out and do battle with Amalek tomorrow." The youths were indeed in arms, and a huge and most valiant multitude of those who were skilled in tactics was drawn up against the phalanxes of the enemy. C But the inspired Moses himself, having stood upon the hilltop, was offering prayers to God; and what kind of benefit there was from this for those who were fighting, we shall know from what is written: "And it happened," he says, "when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel grew strong; but when he let down his hands, Amalek grew strong." Observe, therefore, how Moses’ hands were superior to any armor and any cavalry phalanx, D until
A the blessed Paul wrote to us concerning the things that happened to the ancients: "These things happened to them in a figure, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (I Cor. x, 11). And I believe that this is sufficient to show the benefit of prayer. However, there is no reason why we should not also take up another narrative, which contains an idea that is, as it were, a sister to what has already been said. The mind of the Jews had once been unsettled, so that they chose to worship stones and wood; and thus, abandoning the One who is by nature God, each fashioned a deity for himself according to his own whim. Because of this, they provoked the Lord to anger, were handed over to their neighbors, their province was captured by enemies, and they were led into slavery. Then, at last, with their minds suffering no small amount of distress from the onrush of calamities, and with their perverse way of thinking thoroughly changed as they turned away from shameful things, they sought mercy for themselves through repentance. Having convened the blessed prophet Samuel, they immediately heard him say: "Gather all the men of Israel to Masphath, and I will pray for you to the Lord." And the people were gathered to Masphath, and they drew water and poured it out before the Lord upon the ground, and they fasted on that day, and said: "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Masphath (I Reg. vii, 5, 6). And soon after: "And the satraps of the Philistines B went up against Israel, and the children of Israel heard it, and they were afraid before the face of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel: 'Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, and He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.' And Samuel took one sucking lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt offering with all the people to the Lord, and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. And while Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines advanced into battle against Israel. And the Lord thundered with a great voice on that day against the Philistines; and they were thrown into confusion, and they fell before Israel" (ibid. 7-14). That fasting is not an unprofitable thing, and that it is greatly admired by those who are endowed with a sound mind C when it is accompanied by prayer, has been clearly shown both by what we have already said and by the narrative just presented to us. For those who were formerly the victors over Israel attacked, believing they would immediately and effortlessly overcome those who dared to oppose them. But they were defeated and fell, not finding a multitude experienced in war, nor one skilled in tactics, nor a heavy-armed infantryman, nor a cavalry formation, but an unwarlike adversary, yet one whose resistance was invincible because God helped them; D for heaven thundered terribly and miraculously against them, and the men of
A haughty spirit were struck with terror and turned to flight. Moreover, that the Israelites might be superior to their victors, they secured this by the virtue of fasting and prayer.
4. Come now, if you please, let us inquire at this time, B what the manner of their sacrifice was. For we shall find that they were saved and victorious in Christ, even though the act was still contained in types and enigmas, and elegantly indicated the power of the mystery concerning Christ. "The people were gathered," it says, "in Masphath, and they drew water, and poured it out before the Lord upon the ground." What then is this? one might reasonably ask; or what power of sacrifice could it have, or what have they done that is pleasing to God? For the law given through Moses commanded the slaughter of oxen, and the consecration to God of turtledoves and pigeons; but it in no way ordained, as a mode of sacrifice, that water should be poured out upon the earth. What, then, had those of old done—and with them the prophet—although he possessed within himself the most excellent understanding of the sacred and divine oracles? We say, therefore, that since he was a prophet, and possessed a mind full of the Holy Spirit, he beyond doubt did not ignore the grave and great mystery of the incarnation of the only-begotten Son of God. He pondered, furthermore, that even this shadow of the truth could bring salvation to those who were in danger, picturing to himself, as it were, the power of salvation to be obtained through Christ. Let us, therefore, explain as best we can the manner in which the truth was carried out, as it were, in shadows. C Being Life by nature, the only-begotten Word of God descended to a voluntary emptying, and became like us—that is, man—not having undergone any change from His own nature into earthly flesh; for the nature of God remains rooted in its own perfections; but because He put on our body, which was fashioned from the earth, and endowed with a rational soul. This is what the prophet Samuel depicted for those of old, as he poured water upon the earth, as if writing in water. Now water is a symbol of life, and the earth of flesh. "And the Word became flesh," according to the voice of the divine theologian John, and they have come together into a union in an inexplicable and inconceivable manner, both the life-giving divinity and the humanity from the earth. And in this way we understand henceforth one Emmanuel from both, neither having departed from the limits of divinity on account of the assumption of flesh, nor indeed having rejected becoming like us, on account of His innate benevolence D and the most wise dispensation of the matter. For since He was about to undergo death for the life of all—death, that is, according to the flesh—so that by rising from the dead He might trample down the power of death, as He is Life and God, He made His own the body that was capable of dying—that is, the human, or the flesh—so that by it He might bring to naught the corruption that was once insurmountable, and restore human nature to life. For He was raised not by His own nature, as He is perceived to be and is God, accomplishing the resurrection, but so that we might possess this treasure in Him. For this reason
He is called “the first-fruits of them that slept,” and “the firstborn from the dead.” [815/816] The divine Samuel, indicating this very thing to the ancients when he offered prayers for the sake of Israel, not only fulfilled for them in shadow and enigma the pattern of the Incarnation by pouring water upon the ground, but he also immediately added that which was missing, namely, the slaughter on behalf of the whole world. “For,” he says, “Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt offering with all the people to the Lord. And Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him.” Do you hear how he sacrificed the lamb, as an image and type of the true God? Blessed John almost points him out with an outstretched finger, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” For Christ is the spotless sacrifice, by whose precious blood we have been saved and sanctified.
In this way God and Father commanded that the mystery concerning Him was to be prefigured also through the all-wise Moses. For Israel was in servitude to the Egyptians, who were relentless, suffering much in their cruelty and harshness. Consequently, they weighed down their lives, as it is written, with “clay, and brick, and overbearing them with toils and punishments.” But after God had compassion on their bitter and calamitous fortune, and determined to deliver them from the unrestrained dominion of their conquerors, He commanded the all-wise Moses to address them in this way—namely, that they were to obtain mercy, and that not long after they would advance toward the land promised to their ancestors, having shaken off the yoke of unbearable servitude. B But since it was likely that those who had cast away any hope for a better future would not at all listen to the words of Moses, the Maker of all commanded him to perform miracles. For a miracle undoubtedly possesses the power to win over faith, and no small capacity to lead a soul—even one worn down by much tedium and sorrow—to the hope of good things. Wherefore, when He had commanded him concerning the exhibition of the signs, He added, saying: “And if they will not believe thee, nor hear the voice of the first sign, they will believe thee for the voice of the second sign. And it shall be, if they will not believe thee for these two signs, neither hear thy voice, thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou shalt take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.”
C 5. For the nature of God and Father and of the Son is compared to a fountain, but by the name of river and water, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are signified at different times. For through the voice of Jeremiah, God and Father speaks thus concerning Himself: “The heaven was astonished at this, and shuddered exceedingly, says the Lord, because two evil..."
things my people have done: they have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves broken cisterns, which cannot hold water.” A Moreover, the Son Himself says concerning Himself through the voice of the prophets: “Behold, I will decline toward them like a river of peace, and like a rushing torrent overflowing the glory of the nations.” Concerning Himself also, the blessed David, stirring up for us the spiritual lyre, says to the Father who is in the heavens: “How You have multiplied Your mercy, O God; but the sons of men shall hope in the covering of Your wings. They shall be intoxicated from the fatness of Your house, and You shall make them drink from the torrent of Your pleasure, because with You is the fountain of life.” B Assuredly, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself called the life-giving Spirit, who is poured forth from the Father through Him, “water,” when He held discourse with the woman in Samaria. For He said: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, ‘Give Me to drink,’ you would perhaps have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.” And again: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him will not thirst forever. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” Therefore, as from a fountain or river of God and Father, the Son is the water that gives life; He gives life to all things, and “in Him we live and move and have our being.” C And God, pointing this out to us again as if through types, and rendering it plain even through minor examples, spoke thus to the most wise Moses: “And you shall take water from the river, and you shall pour it upon the land.” For to the river, as I have said, the nature of the Father is most fittingly compared; but to water, the Son who is begotten of Him according to nature. This water, then, which springs from the river, has been mixed with the earth: “For the Word became flesh” according to the oeconomical union. But that once having become man, He was entirely and in every way to die for us in the flesh, He indicated by saying: “And the water which you take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land.” In these words, the blood signifies to us nothing other than death. For so long as the Word was not yet flesh, there was no blood; for the living and life-giving nature is entirely beyond death. But since He has become like us, then indeed, then He claims the death of His own flesh as His own, and is said Himself to have died for us, and by His own blood to have acquired that which is under heaven, which was ever His own; for He Himself is the Creator of all things; D but it had started aside through the midst, because it had inclined too vehemently toward sins, and had chosen to worship the creation, and to offer up divine reverence to the elements of the world. And this is what concerns the Greeks. But the Jews, having little regard for what was divinely proclaimed through Moses, turned toward [human] teachings; the commandments of men,
suffering the slightest toil, they turned to the doctrines of men, and, as blessed David says, “All have turned aside; together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one.” A For this cause the Only-Begotten Word of God appeared clothed in flesh, and dwelt among men, as it is written, and preached to the Israelites, and indeed before others, those things that pertain to salvation and life. But, as blessed John says, “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” For they did not accept the Savior of all in any way, but rather continued to behave insolently toward him, and in every way to practice atrocities cruelly; and they were so carried away by madness that they even nailed to the cross the Author of life, and thought they could conquer by death him who was superior to death. He truly came to life on the third day, having despoiled hell, and having opened the gates of death to the spirits below; B and having become a way and a door and the first-fruits for human nature toward immortality, he ascended to the heavenly Father and God, and is enthroned with him, and rules with him over all things. Moreover, as the ages run their course, he will arrive to “judge the world in righteousness,” as it is written. Therefore, since, as the most wise Paul says, “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body, whether good or evil,” let us fast purely, casting away every kind of sin, and expelling every form of impurity from our own minds. And furthermore, let us become kind, loving to one another, merciful, grieving for the calamities of orphans, protecting the widows, sitting by those who are sick, feeling the common pain of those in bonds, C and, to state it in one word, let us strive to fulfill the measures of virtue. For thus, conspicuous in an illustrious and God-pleasing way of life, we shall celebrate the festive day purely and holily; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twenty-third day of the month of Mechir; and the week of the saving Pascha on the twenty-eighth of the month of Pharmouthi; but we shall conclude the fasts on the third day of the month of Pharmouthi, in the deep evening, according to the evangelical precept; and we shall celebrate the feast on the next following Sunday, the fourth of the same month, attaching to it thereafter the seven weeks of the Holy Pentecost. For thus we shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY XIX
Præmeditatio of the author.I see many—and especially honorable—guests gathered for a modest meal; and I fear, indeed, that the supply may not suffice. Nevertheless, D I admire your love of learning.
I admire your desire to learn, and I praise the sermon, even though it may be devoid of all splendor, as it pleases you not a little. Since, therefore, you have gathered here, I entreat you to grant me pardon if my discourse falls short of your expectations.
HOMILY XIX
A 1. Opportune, once again, is that which the lyre of the Psalmist sang to the ancients, and which we shall repeat to you: "O all you nations, clap your hands, shout unto God with the voice of joy" (Ps. XLVI, 1)—that is to say, let us bring our songs of victory to Christ. For He has conquered the world for our sake, just as He himself says, and "He has triumphed over principalities, powers, dominions, and the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Coloss. II, 15; Ephes. VI, 12). B And having in this way rescued us from their malice, He has delivered us from our ancient transgressions, "having nailed to the cross the handwriting that was against us" (Coloss. II, 14), so that for this very reason we may rejoice and say: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Cor. XV, 55). And the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law (1 Cor. XV, 56). But we have been delivered through Christ also from the punishment in the law. And the inspired Paul will testify to this, writing: "For sin will not have mastery over you; for you are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. VI, 14). The wise John also writes: C "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John I, 17). "For one has died for all," redeeming with His own blood those who are under heaven, "that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor. V, 15). We shall live to Him, if we are most eager to think and do what is pleasing to Him, and if we choose to follow the evangelical precepts. All time, indeed, to those who have devoted themselves to the best practices, would be appropriate and suitable, as I think, for fulfilling the saving commandment, but especially the present time; for it almost cries out to us with the voice of the prophet: D "Send forth the sickles, for the harvest has come. Enter, you treaders, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow" (Joel III, 13). For I say that we ought to grasp with great eagerness those times which would be wise and accurate teachers of the things we must do, and which those who know how to examine them understand to be profitable in the highest degree both to themselves and to others. By way of example, let us say: the gloom of winter has been dissolved, and the vernal season of the year is now arising. The fields, most fertile, are covered everywhere with ears of grain, which abound in great and dense numbers; then, surely, no one who is a master of reaping should be idle. But when the season offers to industrious men the opportunity to obtain what they desire, let all sloth depart, and let the wakeful and enduring spirit be counted worthy of all praise. For in this way, and in no other, will it be possible for them to share abundantly in all praise. Therefore, since "our Pascha, Christ, has been sacrificed" (1 Cor. V, 7), as...
A even the supremely wise Paul himself testifies to us: "let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. VII, 1), lest by touching the sacred things with unwashed hands, as the saying goes, and by carelessly dishonoring His divine mystery, we ourselves bring upon our own heads the punishment due to the unholy. Indeed, the divine Paul writes something like this to those accustomed to doing so: "For this reason many among you are weak and infirm, and many sleep. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned along with the world" (1 Cor. XI, 30-32). Therefore, let us gather from the holy Scriptures what pertains to this matter, so that we may say—come now, come let us speak—in what manner we who are celebrating this festival purely and holily ought then to approach the spiritual communion B of Christ, the Savior of us all.
2. In Egypt, those of the blood of Israel sacrificed the lamb, instructed by the discipline of Moses. Further, they were commanded to eat unleavened bread upon it, and indeed also wild herbs. For it is written: "They shall eat unleavened bread with wild herbs for seven days" (Exod. XII, 8). Shall we, then, tell me, remain obstinately bound to figures and shadows ourselves? Then, wherever the truly learned and supremely wise Paul might go when he says: "We know that the law is spiritual" (Rom. VII, 14), who, I pray, would be the man to doubt, since he is a straight-talker—for someone who carries Christ within himself could not possibly C speak falsely? By what reasoning, then, shall we also comply with that ancient law, when Christ most clearly asserts: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or one stroke will pass away from the law until all is achieved. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Matt. V, 17-18)? Therefore, the true Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world, has indeed been sacrificed also for us, who have been called to holiness through faith. We shall partake with Him of the spiritual and truly glorious and holy feast, which ought to be understood D spiritually, though it is described after the fashion of unleavened breads according to the law. For leaven is always regarded in the holy Scriptures as a figure of wickedness and sin. And so, our Lord Jesus Christ commanded His holy disciples to be on guard, saying: "Beware of the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees" (Matt. XVI, 6). And the supremely wise Paul also writes, commanding those who are sanctified to be as far as possible from the leaven and impurity that infects the mind and heart: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened" (1 Cor. V, 7). It is therefore not unprofitable for our edification, but rather already necessary—since we have set ourselves to the task
of becoming participants in the spiritual communion of Christ, the Savior of us all—to keep the mind free of turbulence, to scour away defilements, to depart from sin, and in a word, to rise up from everything that is wont to stain us. In this way, we shall accomplish our approach to that participation in a manner entirely blameless and above reproach. Furthermore, let one eat bitter herbs; that is, let him come by way of bitter labors, and let him value the patience required in this regard. For it is undoubtedly the furthest thing from the truth for lovers of piety to think that they can attain virtue and be adorned with the highest glories in any other way, without having previously struggled and having given a very good demonstration of their courage. For the road that leads to it is rough and steep, and not passable for the many; it is easy-going only for those who are eager to press forward, who fear nothing, B but rather strip for the struggle against labors and stand up against sweat. And Christ Himself urges us toward this, saying: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. But the gate is narrow and the road is constricted that leads to life, and few are those who find it" (Matt. VII, 13, 14). For it is not for just any of the many, but, as I said, only for the elect, who know how to wrestle down the pleasure that calls toward baser things, to choose and indeed to be able to accomplish the brilliant and exceptional deeds of virtue. But how wide and very smooth is the path that leads to sin; one could perceive this quite easily and without any labor, if one but wished to examine the things themselves. For the human mind is exceedingly prone and very easily C led astray when pleasure pushes it. It is carried off headlong into self-indulgence, and readily shows itself to be subject to incontinence in bodily desires. And for those who have at some time labored under these maladies, I think we must, so to speak, even offer some excuse; for the nature of the flesh often seizes and drags a man along even against his will, and goads him with terrible prods toward innate pleasures; it even, as it were, lays hands upon him while he struggles, and forces him into involuntary impulses. But the God and Lord of all builds a wall around us with the Law, and grants him temperance as a weapon. For the prophet is truthful when he speaks concerning the Savior of us all, God, who has given the Law D as a help to us (Isa. VIII, 20). Look now with me at the most holy Paul, learned in the Law, as he turns his mind to a precise examination of such matters, sternly scrutinizing the boldness of the impulses innate within us, while at the same time pointing out the Law that provides us with sufficient aid. For he says thus: "For I know that the Law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For I do not understand what I am working; for I do not practice what I will, but I do that which I hate." If then
B I do that which I do not will, I consent to the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who work it, but the sin which dwells in me." What is it you say, blessed Paul? Are you carnal and sold under sin, and yet do you not understand what you are working? Do you then practice what you hate? For does not each of us come to any of his actions by the voluntary inclinations of the mind, and have we not the power to choose what seems blameless, and have we not taken the reins of our own wills into our own control? Certainly, he says. But I know, however, that pleasure fascinates the mind, and, though it be adorned with virtue, it easily drives it toward those things which are not at all fitting. I know it even undergoes losses against its will. For it does not truly do what it wills, but rather it yields to the incursions of the passions, and being overcome by their power, it is conquered, though unwilling; so that he to whom this has happened may rightly use that expression: "But now, it is no longer I who work it, but the sin which dwells in me." Do you see how he openly casts blame upon the perturbations which are inherent and innate in us, and confesses himself to be conquered, while at the same time he accuses the powerlessness of the adversary, dreads the encounter, C and declares it to be unbearable? That what I say is true, the blessed Paul himself will again confirm, subjoining and appending to these things which I have related: "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there does not dwell good. For to will is present with me, but to perform the good I do not find. For the good that I will I do not do, but the evil that I do not will, that I practice. If, however, I do that which I do not will, it is no longer I who work it, but the sin which dwells in me. I find therefore the law, that when I wish to do the good, evil is present with me." Do you understand, accordingly, how the assault of wickedness rises up fiercely against the soul of each one, and casts down the mind, even against its will, to that which it desires, and then, in a way, supplies violent impulses to offset our freedom, so that the things we do seem to have been effected not by us, but truly and solely by it? Yet He, whose workmanship we are, has not despised us, nor has He allowed human nature, destitute of all help, to be plundered by impure pleasures. For the law chastens these impulses, and, however much these untoward movements may run riot, it resists them wisely and, by showing the beauty of temperance, converts the one exulting in the praises of virtue to more sound things. Therefore, passing over the profane and utterly detestable pleasure in our mind, and being little concerned about food and drink: "Let us perfect holiness in the fear of God, as it is written; let us mortify the members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness." D For the most wise Paul thus enjoins us. For the nature of the body has indeed admittedly fallen into sickness, being prone to desire; but we do not see that the Creator of all has neglected those things which concern us; rather, He desires to deem us worthy of the most necessary care.
A For this reason, He gave His only-begotten Son, that by becoming man like us and receiving a body from the holy Theotokos Mary, He might put sin to death in the flesh. For the body, having become the Word’s own, was immediately delivered from the passions that beset us, and the sting of those impulses leading to depravity was removed; it was transformed, as it were, toward a divine and ineffable purity, with sin being deadened within it, and pleasure, so to speak, being uprooted from its very foundations. For just as it was superior to death, because the flesh of Him who is by nature Life had come to be, in the same way, I suppose, it trod underfoot the power of sin. For it was the proper body of Him who knew no sin. And the inspired Paul declares this statement to be true, writing for us: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. VIII, 3, 4). And what is this "what the law could not do"? Someone might ask. It is this: for while the divine law calls us to temperance, the nature of the flesh leads us toward the opposite, constantly goading us toward the most revolting desires. But God, the Lord of all, sending His own Son—not naked and incorporeal, and flashing with the terrible and inaccessible light of His divine glory, but rather lowering Himself B economically to our level, and showing Himself accessible through a similar body—condemned sin in the flesh. For it has been destroyed, as I said, so that we ourselves also might appear to be living outside of the flesh—as if sanctified and having been enriched by the divine Spirit. And the wisest Paul writes again in this way: "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Rom. VIII, 9, 10). C
3. Since it is necessary that those who are lovers of the glory from above, and who have chosen to live in a manner most pleasing to God, should be seen to be upright in piety, we have of necessity added to the glories of temperance the modes of other virtue: mutual love, reciprocal benevolence, and mercy prepared for those who are constrained by unbearable poverty. For Christ says somewhere: "Be therefore merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful" (Luc. VI, 36). And the law given through Moses also provides for us: "Opening you shall open your heart to your brother who is in need..." D
A For the love of the poor is a preeminent thing. If, however, anyone considers this altogether of little account, and affirms that it is entirely to be contemned, he surely approves of cruelty and barbaric inhumanity, and denies that anything of mercy should be imparted to those who are suffering from extreme misfortunes. Does he not then harbor a beastly mind, hateful to God and fighting against that nature which is most touched by mercy? No one, assuredly, would call this into doubt. For it is written: "He that shutteth his ears, that he may not hear the weak, he also shall cry himself, and there shall be none to hear him" (Prov. XXIV, 13).
Moreover, it is right for us to be mindful, continually and in every way, of the life that is to follow this one. For it is certain that the life of each one of us will altogether and in every way come to an end. And as the holy Scripture also somewhere warns: "We brought nothing into this world, and certainly we can carry nothing out" (I Tim. VI, 7). No one will depart carrying anything with him from earthly goods, but will be as if stripped of all things, even of his body itself. But those who have devoted themselves to the exercises of virtue, adorned with spiritual riches, and accompanied by the light of the mercy which they have bestowed upon the needy, will enter in. For they will boast before the divine tribunal; or rather, Christ himself will praise them with these words: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Amen I say to you," he says, "as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me" (Matth. XXV, 34-36, 40).
B Do you hear how that nature, so full of mercy and gentleness, acknowledges the mercy bestowed upon the poor as if it were bestowed upon itself? No one, therefore, will be found, I think, who would not commend, as is fitting, care bestowed upon the poor and the wretched, and would not desire that those things which are necessary be supplied to them so far as strength allows. But one will be led into the contrary opinion and put on an ungentle mind when he perhaps thinks and says to himself: "If I lavish my goods on others, I will defraud my own children. For what will be left over for them? For my family estate is indeed quite straitened." But, O good man, I would say to him, you are surely straying far from right reason. C For it was fitting, it was fitting that you should think clearly that, even while yet living, you indeed grant the honor of being valued to your love for your children, but you do not remove yourself out of the realm of those who exist, nor do you altogether deprive yourself of the hope and consolation afforded to those who are in need. Therefore, it would be the work of a truly noble mind, and of one mindful of the life to follow, to take thought for this, and to choose a measure for doing so; for the passing of time does not prevent us from imitating the foresight of sailors, who, when they are about to traverse such a vast sea, do not neglect food or other such preparations for this journey; but sometimes they even lay in store goods beyond what is necessary. D Therefore, since each one of us is about to depart from the things of this life, let there be a foresight of spiritual provisions for the future. You will not wrong your own son...
A by bestowing mercy upon those who are held in poverty. You will not be harsh to your heir, while you yourself escape punishment and fire. "For in many things we offend all" (James 3:2), and "Alms and faith purge away sins" (Tob. 12:9), as it is written.
Homily XIX
4. To make us happy with such teachings as these, the Only-begotten Word of God became man. For indeed, before the times of His coming, we continued in the world having a mental haze, not having knowledge of piety, nor having introduced any other of the things from above into our mind and heart; neither seeing the way of righteousness, nor even knowing Him who is by nature and truly God. But we were wandering and sending up worship to created things, and were destitute of the understanding befitting human beings. B But when we were in these states, the Creator took pity. He saw Satan laughing broadly at all, and easily seizing those upon the earth, with no one to defend them, carrying them off with his own shackles, and without labor dragging them into every kind of perversion. Then He ordained the law through Moses. But there was no power in the law to deliver those entangled in the snares of sin; there was no way to wash away the stains of transgressions. For the law pointed out sin, and was established by God as a sort of test of the weakness of us all, and as a wise witness of our condition, the blessed Paul will enter; for he said thus: "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God, because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:19–20). And again: "But the law entered, that the offense might abound" (Rom. 5:20). What, then, do you say, O blessed Paul? C Do you, tell me, write of the law given through Moses? Do you say that it entered for this reason, that the offense might abound? A teacher of wickedness he would be, if the evil has abounded through him. But this is not what the Spirit-bearer says. For he says again himself: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! But I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet'" (Rom. 7:7). Therefore the law is by no means a teacher of sin; but as I said, it was a conviction of the weakness of those under the law, and a pointer to that which is naturally prone to harm. Just as no one would blame the light of the sun’s ray because it makes pits D visible, and the things cast out at the crossroads, and keeps those passing by from falling into them; so, I suppose, no one having good sense would blame the divine law, as if it provided us with a cause of sin, but rather he would admire that...
A it sets forth B what contributes to our benefit C as something manifest. D "But it was introduced," he says, "in order that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become subject to God." For since, through excessive weakness and a very great propensity toward fault, no one was fulfilling the law, the whole world became subject to God, as though he were compelling those upon the earth to thirst, at last, for the grace that is through faith in Christ. For we are righteous, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His great mercy," as it is written.
The most wise Paul also reinforces this argument, writing in this way: "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
In order, therefore, to defend us from punishment and penalty, and from that indictment aimed at us, He who is truly human above every created thing—the Word from God the Father—became for our sake that which He was not, while remaining what He was: the free One among slaves, the Lawgiver under the law, the Creator of the ages born with us in a fleshly generation and in time. For "He took hold of the seed of Abraham," and participated in blood and flesh, He who is incorporeal by His own nature, so that, having been called our brother, He might make us participants of His own glory, and having sanctified us with His own Spirit, He might subsequently call us brothers and free. For so He says somewhere to the holy apostles: "You are My friends; I no longer call you servants."
The Jews, however, being unmindful of all these things and denying the Savior and Redeemer of all, delivered Him to Pilate to be crucified. But He, being by nature most powerful God, willingly inserted His own body into the snares of death, that by breaking them He might also deliver us. For He rose again on the third day, having preached to the spirits in Hades and having said to those who were in chains, "Come forth," and to those in darkness, "Be revealed." Then, having manifested Himself to the holy apostles and having said clearly, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you," He ascended to the heavenly Father and dwells blessed in the thrones of His own divinity. But as the years roll on, He will come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels, that He may judge the world in righteousness.
Therefore, as those who are about to render an account and to be placed before His judgment seat, let us purge our own life with all moderation, let us keep the faith unshaken, let us help the poor, let us patronize the widows, let us show mercy...
visiting the widows, sympathizing with those in chains, A condoling with those in sweat and toils, practicing brotherly love, love toward God and brethren, and punishing the passions of the flesh. For thus, let us celebrate the feast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima from the thirteenth of the month of Phamenoth; and the paschal week of our Savior, from the eighteenth of the month of Pharmouthi; ending the fasts on the twenty-third of the same month, on the evening of the Sabbath, as is our custom; and celebrating the feast on the following day, at the dawn of the Lord's Day, the twenty-fourth of the same month of Pharmouthi; connecting thereafter, in order, the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus, being nourished then also by the words of truth, we shall be benefited in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom, to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory and power unto the ages. Amen.
HOMILY XX
A 1. In many and various ways God, the Lord of all, B by bringing forth to us beforehand the truth through the shadow of the law and [depicting] the most pure beauty of the evangelical life as if on an artistic tablet by an ancient commandment, spoke to holy Moses: "Make for yourself two hammered trumpets; you shall make them of silver, and they shall be for you to summon the congregation and to raise the camps" (Num. x, 2). The trumpets, then, are "hammered," in order for us to understand that the explanation of the mysteries of our Savior is not confined and contained within the shadow and enigma of the law alone, but that it is rather made to grasp, by small degrees, C progress and growth toward what is better and truer. For what is beaten out always extends in some way into wider spaces. And they are "silver," because the discourse that has been held concerning this mystery is brilliant and most pure, and truly free from every stain, and such also is that which is held at this time in the Churches. But who, then, are those who use the trumpets? The holy Scripture will again make clear. For it says thus: "And the sons of Aaron the priests shall sound the trumpets, and it shall be an eternal ordinance for you throughout your generations" (Num. x, 8). For to the holy and chosen race, D adorned with the honors of divine ministry, it has been appropriately given to speak the mystery of Christ, and to announce always to the peoples committed to them those things through which they might show themselves worthy of heavenly institutions, turning their soul from earthly cares toward a pious and laudable way of life, and then boldly resisting the enemies of the truth, and valiantly confronting those who fight against the glory of Christ, celebrating also His feasts purely and blamelessly, and "not with the old leaven," as it is written, "but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. v, 8). And this the Lord of all Himself proclaimed to us, saying: "If you go out to war"
in your land against the enemies who stand against you, then you shall sound with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord, and you shall be saved from your enemies. And in the days of your gladness, and in your feasts, and in your new moons, you shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, and it shall be a remembrance for you before your God. I am the Lord your God" (Num. x, 9-10). A For the weapons of the saints are not carnal, but rather those in which divine virtue resides, and the mode of their armor consists not in those things which are perceived by the eyes or by any other sense, but in the power of the Spirit, and in righteousness, and sanctification, and in the correctness and accuracy of dogmas. For it behooved them to possess the breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of salvation, and indeed the weapon of good will, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This, assuredly, will strike down all the enemies, and that, too, quite easily. It will reveal those who lift up the horn on high, and speak iniquity against God, as miserable, abject, and foolish creatures; or rather, it will refute their tongue, B filled with all impiety, so that it may rightly be said of them: "The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness" (Ps. xiii, 3). Let us therefore use the trumpets against them—that is, the holy and undefiled proclamations of the truth. But if we ought to offer spiritual sacrifices to the Savior God of all, let us sing the triumphal songs to Him who for our sake became like us, and descended even to the form of a servant. For although He was God by nature, the Word from God the Father, He became flesh, not casting off what He was—far be it—but rather assuming what He was not, so that He might transfer us also to a better and more glorious life; "for being rich, He became poor for our sake, that we by His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. viii, 9). C But the Savior of all, the only-begotten Word of God the Father, in all things equal to the Father, conspicuous in like majesty and glory, did not decline the mode of emptying Himself for our sake, according to the determined counsel of Providence. But the inventors of impious dogmas, the "enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly" (Phil. iii, 18-19), thinking mean and groveling thoughts about Him, cast down the glory of the mystery so that it may appear, as far as they themselves judge, to have been written inadvisedly; and the wretches almost mock the wisdom of God, as if they could, of their own effort, discover better counsels. Then they boast magnificently in words, and in this imitate the son of iniquity, whose precursors they also believe themselves to be. D They therefore despise the birth of the Only-Begotten in the flesh, and they do not believe that the holy Virgin truly brought forth God according to the flesh, although the holy evangelist cries out: "And the Word was made flesh" (John i, 14). But they contend rather that the Word of God the Father dwelt in a man, so that the Savior might be understood to be a God-bearing man in the order of the prophets, or perhaps possessing nothing more than we have in this.
A For the God of all things dwells in us also, as the wise John will testify, writing: “In this we know that he is in us, because he gave us of his Spirit.” What, then, is understood as something additional in Christ compared to others, if he is just a man who carried within him the God of all things, and not true Son of God the Father in reality, and true God even with flesh? For he endured birth according to the flesh, and remained God, having become like us. But the mind of the heterodox will not endure to think such things. For they spit out the doctrine of the mystery as if it were stale, and for their own heads they pour out bitter and unavoidable punishment; as if by participation and by grace, they assign the name of sonship to Christ, and they ineptly divide him into a man, separately drawing him away from the Word of God, and they barely assign to him a bare union, according to what seems right to them, as if in an equality of dignity. B But we have not been taught to think in this way, nor, by paying attention to their absurdities, do we corrupt our own mind. For “there is,” there is, as the blessed Paul says, “one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we through him”; but there is not knowledge in all. Let those, therefore, who have a counterfeit faith regarding Christ, and who lack accurate and true knowledge, hear: “Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled.” For we will walk the straight and unswerving path of faith. And we will walk the royal road, turning aside neither to the right hand nor to the left. For we confess that the Word, being God, became flesh—that is to say, man—having taken on a body not soulless nor mindless, but rather possessed of soul and mind, so that by being united to his brothers in all things, C apart from sin alone, he might offer himself to the Father as a rational fragrance of sweetness, and being one dead for all, might acquire all for himself, and through himself for God and the Father. For as the inspired Paul writes: “To this end Christ died and rose, that he might rule both the dead and the living.” But if he has ruled over those under heaven, having died in the flesh, but having raised his own temple to life as God, he is not, therefore, to be understood as a bare man, decorated by union with God merely as regards dignity, but as true God, even if he became flesh, exercising dominion over all created things. For he sits on the same throne with God and the Father, even with his flesh; D “And every knee bows to him, and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And the word of truth in these things, and the tradition of the right and blameless faith, has this path. But paying attention to seducing spirits, and to men whose own mind has been cauterized, as the most wise Paul says, some of those who are without understanding regarding the faith...
A have suffered shipwreck, and have moved the arms of impiety against those accustomed to think rightly, striking out with manifold traps and stringing the bow of envy. But as the blessed Psalmist says: "Their wounds became the arrows of infants, and their tongues were weakened against them." For the holy multitude of God's priests from every mountain did not grow slack, but being gathered all into one chorus, and having taken up the shield of faith, as it is written, "and having shod their feet in the preparation of the Gospel of peace," that is to say of Christ, and having drawn the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, they routed the gathering of the unholy, crying out that which is in the Psalms: "The enemies of the Lord lied to Him, and their time shall be for the age." B
2. We say that something similar happened also in the times of old, when Moses was still leading Israel according to the flesh. They had indeed gone out from Egypt, having shaken off the yoke of the cruelty of those who had wronged them; but when they were dwelling in the desert, they did not escape envy, nor did they reach the promised land without sweat and labor. For it is written: "And Amalek came, and fought against Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua: Choose for yourself men who are powerful, and go out and fight against Amalek tomorrow; and behold, I stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God is in my hand." And Joshua did as Moses said to him, and went out and fought against Amalek. And after he had fought, Joshua, together C with the chosen ones, was victorious. And the Lord said to Moses: "Write this for a memorial in a book, and hand it to the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the memorial of Amalek from under heaven." But those things were in shadows and types; for the law is a shadow. But in our own affairs, one might easily wonder, when he beholds the beauty of the truth, naked and veiled by no covering. The accursed Amalek has taken up arms now also against the true and genuine Israel, he who fights against the glory of the Savior and attempts to overthrow the power of the mystery which is about Him. But having gathered together the chosen ones from all Israel, our Lord Jesus Christ joined battle and conquered the enemy, and D by slaughter will blot out the memorial of Amalek from under heaven, that is, from the whole world. For He fights against him with a hidden hand, and protects and covers those who have believed in Him, implanting a splendid and especially pure knowledge of His own mysteries in the hearts of all.
3. Therefore, let us celebrate a feast, as though the enemies had been weakened, as though Satan had been cast down, as though the Church had been purified; as though no one were any longer saying there is no God
but rather that all identify his glory, and with unceasing lips offer up doxologies to him. For it is written: “Let all the earth worship thee, and let it sing to thy name” (Ps. LXVII, 3). For he has brought to naught Satan, who in his great arrogance was saying: “I will take the whole world in my hand as a nest, and as abandoned eggs I will gather it, and there is no one who will escape or will speak against me” (Isa. X, 14). He also overthrew at the same time the very empire of death, once sin had been entirely taken away. B “For we have been justified, not by the works of the law through the old commandment, but through faith in him” (Rom. III, 29), and through that kindness which is above the law. “For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (II Cor. III, 6). And the ministration of death is what the law of Moses is called (ibid. 9), and rightly so. For no one is justified before God by the law. But the ministration of righteousness, which is had through Christ, is the grace that has been entrusted to us. For the Only-begotten Word of God lowered himself to a voluntary emptying and conversed with men as a man, having undergone birth according to the flesh through the holy and Theotokos Virgin; so that by those teachings which are above the law, he might transform those who had believed in him toward better things, and by pointing out the way of the evangelical life, might make them genuine worshipers. “For God is spirit,” he says, “and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (Joan. IV, 24). C But I maintain that those who would be true worshipers, and genuine laborers of the worship that is in spirit and in truth, must cast off every defilement, I mean of soul and of body; and strive very zealously to accomplish those things by which they might be delivered from every cause of offense. For it is fitting that they be holy both in body and in spirit. Therefore, let us put to death the passions; and let us not have our own mind subdued by carnal desires, but rather let it contemplate the things of the Spirit, and know how to reject every kind of uncleanness; and let it incline rather toward every good deed, and hasten to remove the sin that beset us as far away as possible. For bodily pleasures soften the human mind, and from the hearts of some they seize plunder with reckless violence, invading them almost like enemies. But those who have been armed with godly fear, as if laughing at the incursions of such passions, say: “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what flesh will do to me” (Ps. CXVII, 6). D And the most wise Paul leads them to this realization, and indeed to spiritual strength, crying out: “Mortify your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire” (Coloss. III, 5). This is accomplished through labors, which anyone ought to find admirable, and to place his vote of approval upon these above all other praiseworthy things. Thus, again, the same inspired man says somewhere...
A: "I chastise my body and bring it into bondage, lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Therefore, as those who cultivate all virtue, let us eagerly embrace the truly pure and holy fast, the foster-child of all good order, the mother of holiness, and the procurer of favor from above. When we have subdued the body with fasting, the uprightness and modesty of our character will necessarily follow. For thus we shall be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. For it is the way of things that the labors of physical exercise are always attended by the excellent adornments of good works. This will earn the athlete of piety the crown of glory by the judgment of God; this will procure the prize of the high calling for those who show themselves courageous in patience. "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men."
4. The Only-Begotten appeared in a form like our own to teach us these things; but Israel did not recognize the Savior and Redeemer of all, even though the law had foreshadowed His mystery as in shadows and figures, and the holy prophets had cried out in many ways. Let those, therefore, who are afflicted with the ignorance regarding Him listen: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: I have begotten and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib: but Israel does not know Me, and My people do not understand." For they persecuted Him, railing against Him with accusations, saying: "For a good work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God." It is fitting indeed to say to them: "Woe to a sinful nation, a people full of iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters! You have forsaken the Lord, and provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger." Although they ought to have confessed that He is indeed God and Lord of all, and by recognizing His ineffable and God-befitting power from the miracles being performed, they ought to have uttered that prophetic word: "Behold, we will be Thine, for Thou art the Lord our God;" yet they did nothing of the sort. Instead, they showed themselves bitter and bold, now senselessly assailing Him with reproaches—calling Him a Samaritan and a wine-bibber, and even asserting that He was born of fornication—and now, having even attempted to stone Him, they drove Him outside the borders of Judea, and in the end D nailed Him to the cross, while shaking their heads and saying: "Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself; if Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." So far as it rested with them, they killed the Author of life. But it was not possible for Him to be held by death, as the blessed Peter says. For, having reached the lowest recesses of Hades, and having preached to the spirits there, He brought forth the prisoners with strength.
he led forth the fettered with strength, as the blessed David says: but he rose again on the third day, having as God brought his own temple to life, and becoming the first-fruits of them that sleep, and the first-born from the dead, so that he might render human nature superior to death and corruption, and transform it unto eternal life. And having made himself clearly seen by the holy apostles, he ascended to the Father and God who is in the heavens, and sat at the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heights; henceforth awaiting, *Until his enemies be made his footstool.* But he shall descend at the appointed times from the heavens in the glory of his Father with his holy angels, to judge the living and the dead. Knowing these things, therefore, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, practicing piety in every way, keeping our faith in him upright and unadulterated, succoring widows, comforting orphans, giving relief to those in poverty according to our ability; sympathizing with those who are being ill-treated, as though we ourselves were in the body; remembering those in bonds as bound with them. For thus, thus shall we fast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twenty-seventh day of the month of Mechir, and the week of the saving Pascha from the second day of the month of Pharmuthi; breaking our fasts on the seventh day of the same month of Pharmuthi, in the late evening according to the apostolic traditions; and celebrating the feast on the following day, at the dawn of the Lord’s day, which is the eighth of the same month of Pharmuthi; adding thereupon the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus, thus shall we be well-pleasing, and shall commit our own souls to the God over all, in Christ Jesus our Lord; through whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power, with the holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY XXI
A 1. It would have been very desirable for me, brethren, while we are announcing our holy celebration to you in the present time, to make use of the customary discourse to you, and to leave out nothing of those things which look toward spiritual benefit, and which set forth the certainty of the right and unerring faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. For thus I would have reaped the fruit of my own zeal, and you would have remained without loss of those things that have power to benefit. But since things do not always run with a fair wind for our human plans, nor do outcomes always turn out exactly according to the wishes of men, come let us speak as far as the pressing matters—or rather, the severity of the sickness that has troubled us up to this present time—permit. For it has so weighed us down with its own afflictions, that we easily usurped that saying which the holy disciples, while in danger, addressed to the Savior: *Lord, save us, we perish.* I know indeed then, D I know that you are endowed with much and remarkable prudence, and I know that the [sayings] of the holy…
A exhortations of our holy Fathers and most excellent teachers are ringing in your ears, so that we lack nothing, according to the blessed writer of Proverbs, who says: *All things are plain to those who understand, and right to those who find knowledge.* Therefore, I shall speak confidently, as to those who know.
2. Behold, indeed, the auspicious and salutary time of our holy festival has now arrived, when, having shaken off the intolerable burden of our ancient sins, we have voluntarily placed our necks under the saving yoke of the Word of God who descended from heaven, no longer weary and heavy-laden, but instructed by the gentle and saving Word, Emmanuel. Therefore, rejoicing with one another in the churches, and in a common, holy, and harmonious assembly, let us lift up hymns of thanksgiving to Christ, the Savior of all, who has delivered us from the stain that had long clung to us because of the transgression of the first-created man, shouting out that which was wisely said of old: *Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.* For since, because of the perversity of the devil, we have fallen from paradise and the delights therein, and having deservedly become subject to the wrath of the Creator of all, we heard that sad and most grievous voice: *You are earth, and to earth you shall return,* we were dragged into the snares of diabolic tyranny, and we wretches dared not even lift up our eyes toward things above. What path of salvation, then, was left for those who desired it? What B opportunity for forgiveness could be found for those who had violated the command of the Master? Only the kindness of God, the compassion and mercy inherent in such an ineffable and indescribable power. He sent, therefore, His own Son to us as Savior and Redeemer, who alone could deliver human nature from the hands of the devil. And showing such kindness and philanthropy toward us, the only-begotten Word of God the Father, who is equal in majesty and dignity, coeternal with His own Begetter, the Creator and Maker of heaven and earth, of angels and of men, *did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,* and assumed our likeness, so that, having saved all through Himself, He might present them pure from filth and defilement to God and the Father, having been made like His brethren in all things, sin alone excepted. Therefore, He also endures hunger and fasts at the appointed time, so that He might be found to be a pattern of a blameless life and the beginning of salvation for us. Therefore, let us also prepare for the holy celebration with fasting: *Not in old leaven, nor in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.* For if C we keep ourselves whole and chaste, and hold fast in a holy manner to a way of life that is pleasing to God, we shall, as servants who are not degenerate, hear in due time: *Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord.*
For the fruit of fasting shall not be useless to those who hope in Him, nor shall they ever hear that accursed voice befitting the Jews: *This is not the fast that I have chosen, says the Lord.* He rebukes them, and quite justly, through the voice of Isaiah, saying: *Do you fast and strike with your fists the humble? Why do you fast for me?* A There is need, therefore, for a life of perfect beauty, having as a companion to the fast a bright and unblemished splendor, the brilliant provision for immortality, the endearing pledge of the kingdom of heaven, the secure and unconquerable support of eternal life. Wherefore it is fitting for us, *cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, to perfect holiness in the fear of God.* For thus, full of confidence and fearing nothing, we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ, clothed in shining garments, and crying out with greater boldness: *Behold, we are yours, for you are the Lord our God.* B
3. This, which the crowd of the Jews was unwilling to confess, it heard again when God spoke through the voice of Isaiah: *Woe to a sinful nation, a people full of sins, a wicked seed, lawless children! You have forsaken the Lord, and provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel. Why, being stricken, do you add more iniquity?* For neither were they struck with wonder at the miraculous works performed by the Savior himself, nor did they marvel at the divine signs which He wrought by His own power; rather, standing against Him, they insulted Him, saying: *By Beelzebub the prince of demons He casts out demons.* C O, hatred of God that constitutes such madness, and unspeakable impiety! *They did not know, nor did they understand; they walk in darkness, and they wander from the least to the greatest of them.* If you do not understand what has been written about Him, nor discern the message of the holy disciples, why do you boast, imagining yourself to be a guardian of the legal commandments? When did you see that which was foretold of old fulfilled? *Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear; then the lame shall leap as a deer, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be clear.* Do you intend to keep hoping for the coming of Emmanuel, and expecting things that you have seen fulfilled? Does nothing of what has been accomplished strike you with deep wonder, but instead you desire to hide things known and celebrated by all? Are you blinking your eyes and keeping your ears closed to the miracles of Christ? D You have, therefore, received a reward worthy of your own transgressions. For there are no longer among you the symbols of piety, no city, no sacrificial feast, but you are scattered, wandering throughout the whole world. You shall hear also from someone of those who have chosen to think correctly, that which was foretold through Baruch: *What is it, O Israel, that you are in the land of your enemies? You have grown old in a strange land; you have wasted away...*
A with the dead, and been numbered with those who are in hell. You have abandoned the fountain of wisdom." You will have, therefore, no answer to make to the charges brought against you. Every word will immediately fail you, as you attempt to combat the truth itself with sophistries. You will hear, then, as is fitting, from the Judge of all who is to come: *"Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled."* You have handed over to the cross the Lord of glory, the Creator of all; you thought that you could bind Life itself with death; you did not know nor understand the immortality that was being prepared for human nature. And yet our Lord Jesus Christ himself, having descended into hell and plundered it, as if He were Lord commanding those who were in chains, "Come forth," and those who were in darkness, "Be revealed," B rose again on the third day, and after his ascent from the dead, rejoicing in the achievement, He said to his own disciples: *"Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."*
4. Having thus gained such teachers, let us resolve to obey them and yield to them; through them we have been taught the truth, and having the divine Scriptures to assist us toward perfect doctrine and instruction, let us cry out to our Savior and Redeemer what was said by the blessed Moses: *"Who is like to you among the gods, O Lord? who is like to you, glorious in holiness?"* And again: *"Who is God like you, taking away iniquities and passing over injustice?"* Let no deceiver, C therefore, lead you astray from the right faith. Let us walk in the royal road, turning neither to the right nor to the left; let us keep the right faith simple and unadulterated, taking it as an occasion not for heretical logomachy, but for true piety. Let us confess the consubstantial Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For the divine Scriptures have handed this down to us from above. Let us recognize the Lord who for our sake became man and was born of the blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. Let us say to Him, according to what is written: *"My Lord and my God."* D Adorning our own life in this way, and by an upright and solemn conduct having cleansed the stains of our former sins, let us show ourselves pure and blameless, and lacking every fault; displaying the bowels of fathers toward those suffering from orphanhood, generously bestowing upon widows the compassion becoming to holy men, and to sum it up in a word, let us love our neighbor, and banish all wickedness from our own souls; let us welcome into our homes the poor who labor under the necessity of shelter; so that, accounting as common with the poor those things which have been given to us by God for our sustenance, and clothing the naked, and in short, adorned with all things that are pleasing to God, we may be able to attain the fruit of future blessings, beginning the holy Quadragesima.
dian of the expected blessings; beginning the holy Forty Days from the twenty-seventh day of the month of Mechir, and the week of the saving Pascha from the twenty-fourth day of the month of Phamenoth, releasing the fasts from the twenty-ninth day of the same month of Phamenoth, in the deep evening, according to the evangelical proclamation, and celebrating the feast on the next day, which dawns as the Lord’s Day, on the thirtieth of the same month; adding thereafter the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus shall we inherit the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY XXII. Prologue of the Author.
B It is not, in truth, from a desire to display eloquence that we have set forth this little discourse, or rather epistle, but by an ancient custom we have been called to it again. For if at any other time, surely at this present time it was fitting that the approaching celebration should be heralded by a proclamation made like light. Wherefore, let those who are truly skilled and expert in the art of speaking show off their eloquence eagerly and delight in the acclamation and applause of their hearers; for us it will be enough if, in our frailty, we interpret the mysteries of divine Scripture as best we can, stammering them forth.
C 1. They who are distinguished by the glories of the divine priesthood, and have been chosen and set apart from the number of others, have received the charge of the people by the decree of the law, and have been commanded to announce to them what is to their advantage. Therefore one of the holy prophets said, "Hear, O priests, and testify to the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Almighty." Now the house of Jacob would not be, in every way and altogether, those born of the blood of Abraham, but those who are justified through faith in Christ, as the all-wise Paul writes: "Not all who are of Israel are Israelites, nor because they are the seed of Abraham are all children; but the children of the promise are considered as seed."
What then does the divine and sacred Word suggest? What does it urge us to cry aloud, now that the time is dawning again, when the holy and all-pure festival is celebrated, D I mean the one that is performed for the Savior of us all, Christ? "Sanctify a fast, proclaim a healing." For to choose to toil, and to embrace the noble actions of piety with manly vigor, this I would pronounce to be of all things most profitable. For the thing has a glorious fruit, and as the prophet says, "A man toils in his labors for himself, and drives away his own destruction." What, indeed, could be compared to this in value, among those who are of a sound mind? Nothing at all. And the Savior Himself confirms this, saying: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?"
A It is right that those who have loved labors, and who consider the pursuits of virtue to be embraced above all else, should be endowed with a strong mind and a very firm heart, and, being distinguished by patience, should bestow their care upon useful things. Anyone can easily observe that the same thing happens to us as happens to those who have undertaken to tame horses; for whom it does not suffice that they appear to have tamed them well, if they only admit the bridle: but it is necessary, furthermore, that they completely stir their feet with graceful movement; and then, first and foremost, that they be skilled, and excel in the ability to run. Therefore, it would also be necessary and useful for us ourselves, if, in addition to the exercise of labors—which I observe has been undertaken—we also know the way of every action that ought or ought not to be done. Let us use most pure fasting as a kind of near-bridle, by which the inclination of the mind toward worse things may be lifted, and the troublesome movements of the flesh may be chastened. For luxury in the body is, as it were, a root and parent of rabid and wild pleasure, which opposes one who is striving toward good things sharply, and is carried off by a mad impulse to the basest things. But the labors of fasting rise up generously, and they catch the impressions of the disturbances inherent in us, and they compel the flesh, which is slipping toward ruin, remarkably well to docility and obedience. And up to this point, indeed, fasting will have profited those who are held by its study; but whoever has desired earnestly to provide for actions that should or should not be done, it is entirely necessary that this person be instructed in every kind of virtue. For B magnificent and admirable are the deeds which are accomplished excellently from the adroitness of the intellect. Furthermore, the all-wise Paul confirms these things with his own testimony, writing thus to Timothy: "Exercise yourself unto godliness; for bodily exercise," that is to say, through fasting and labors, "profits for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of the future." Some of the ancients fasted, but they observed a hunger that was naked and entirely devoid of every other virtue. Soon, when things did not succeed according to their opinion, and God did not grant the fulfillment of their requests, but rather declared the fasting to be empty of any reward for them, they murmured, saying: "Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? We have afflicted our souls, and You have not taken knowledge?" But what does God say to these things? "In the days of your fasts your wills are found, and you oppress all who are subject to you. You fast for contentions and fights, and you strike the humble with your fists. Why do you fast to Me?" See, therefore, how it is in no way fitting for those who are fasting to retain their own will—that will, I say, which leads to depravity; but rather it is necessary to banish it entirely, and to turn to better things, and to hold on firmly, as it were, and to employ C D
A ourselves in those pursuits that lead to virtue, and to sing thus and to say: "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready."
2. Since, therefore, it is the Pasch of the Lord, and the season of the salvation and life of us all is dawning, come, let us gladden with spiritual adornments the only-begotten Word of God, who for our sake became like us, that is to say, man by dispensation, in order that we might be above ourselves and, raised above the measure of humanity, might be called children of God, having as our brother him who is placed B above all created things. Come, let us offer him spiritual sacrifices, clearly, and sacrifices of thanksgiving. For the ancient Israel honored him with the slaughter of sheep, and used blood-stained sacrifices. But they heard God saying clearly: "Who has sought these from your hands?" And furthermore, through the voice of the blessed David: "Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" For the Divine is all-sufficient, and gives life to all things, and stands in no need at all of any such things. Yet we say this: that he requires gifts from us as if in the manner of a debt, especially when the day of the festival arrives. For thus he spoke through the all-wise Moses: "Command the children of Israel, and you shall speak C to them, saying, My gifts, my offerings, and my libations, you shall be careful to offer to me at my festivals in an odor of sweetness." Then it is necessary to examine what is the nature of this fruit-bearing, or how it might come about from us. For he rejects the power of worship in shadows as being both idle and useless. For I hear him saying to those from Israel: "I have not spoken to your fathers concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices, in the day that I led them out of the land of Egypt." And Paul also writes: "For there is a setting aside of the preceding commandment, because of its weakness and uselessness; for the law brought nothing to perfection." And God has also cried out beforehand through one of the holy prophets: "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will conclude for the house of Israel D and for the house of Judah a new covenant, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not remain in my covenant, and I neglected them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will covenant with them; in those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will write them; and they shall not teach each one his neighbor, and his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, because I will be merciful to their sins, and I will no longer remember their iniquities. And I will be to them God, and they shall be
A my people.” Therefore, the first [covenant] has grown old, for it perfected nothing; but the new and evangelical one has now been brought in. Moreover, Christ said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or one stroke shall pass from the law, until all is accomplished.” Since, then, as we have already said, God does not receive the worship that is exhibited through the shadow of the law, but the instruction and discipline of Christ have been brought in, along with the New Testament promised of old; and since Christ himself confirms that he came to fulfill both the prophets and the law, I believe it is necessary and reasonable to determine that the fulfillment of the ancient law was perfected in the New Testament. The Israelites, therefore, used to offer to the all-holy God the sacrifices according to the law—a calf, perhaps, or a sheep; but it was, as I said, an unwanted and unpleasant thing. For He had no need of flesh or blood, nor B is He at all delighted by smoke and odors. In what way, then, shall we carry out the sacrifices instituted by the law? By rightly thinking, I suppose, that the things offered through Moses were types and images of spiritual wonders, sketching out the form of spiritual things in various colors, as it were. A calf was what was sacrificed by the ancients; but in it, see for me some one from the number of the faithful, who, to the odor of a sweet fragrance, consecrates himself to God. For it is written: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, your reasonable service.” Understand, then, how he calls the consecration of a person a “reasonable service,” contrasting this thing with the legal sacrifices. For that which was exhibited was not a reasonable service, but rather the slaughter of cattle, designating the beauty of the truth as in a shadow and in types. C Then, as to what manner of spiritual and in-the-Spirit consecration should be kept by us, we shall consider it, and most easily indeed, if we search the depth of the Holy Scriptures and, as it were, shake out the outer surface of the types, and in this way gaze upon the truth that is most dear to God, naked, as it were, and stripped of its covering.
3. It is written, therefore, in the beginning of Leviticus: “If a man from among you offers gifts to the Lord, from the cattle and from the oxen, and from the sheep, you shall offer your gifts: if the offering is a holocaust, from the oxen, a male without blemish, you shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle of testimony; you shall offer it acceptable before the Lord; and you shall lay your hand upon the head of the sacrifice, D acceptable for him to make atonement for him. And they shall slaughter the calf before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall offer the blood, and they shall pour the blood upon the altar round about, which is before the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and having flayed the holocaust, they shall divide...
it into its members; and the sons of Aaron the priests shall place them A upon the altar, and they shall heap wood upon the fire, and the sons of Aaron the priests shall heap the pieces, and the head, and the fat upon the wood, which is upon the fire that is on the altar; but the belly and the feet they shall wash in water; and it is a whole burnt offering, a sacrifice, a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord.
The calf, then, as I said, is that which is being offered in the sacred rite. What this type might signify, we shall explain to the extent that our powers permit. For we approach God with a robust mind, having completely overcome every worldly pleasure. Now, the calf is a robust animal. They also insist that it must be a male; for the feminine, and that which is easily broken, is unsuited to the character and way of life of the saints; and the mind of those who love virtue is always superior to being softened or being reached by that which is shameful. B To these, then, the Holy Scripture very appropriately speaks, rallying them toward spiritual virility: “Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all you who hope in the Lord.”
When the sacrifice was brought to the very doors of the holy tabernacle, it was slaughtered before the Lord, as it is written. For when we too come into the holy tabernacle, that is, into the Church, then indeed we are deemed worthy of the vision from above, and we understand by the testimony of blessed David that our gift is acceptable: “Look upon me,” he says, “and have mercy on me.” For He crowns with the highest honors those whom He chooses to regard. For to those of the blood of Israel, who were actively trying to have an aptitude for every sort of good, but who had practiced to not consider it any reason for concern to offend Him, and who had insolently neglected the reverence for the Law, He says: “When you stretch out your hands to me, C I will turn my eyes from you.” But He delights in those who love Him, and He regards those approaching Him through the faith which is in Christ. For it is written: “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer.” The calf, therefore, was slaughtered, and its blood was poured upon the altar. But I believe that these things are also done in us, intelligibly, of course, and spiritually. For by ceasing from pursuits of wickedness, and putting to death our members which are upon the earth—fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire—we die to the world, and pass over to a holy and blameless life; and this is a thing most praiseworthy to the God who loves virtue. Therefore, the prophet David also sings and says: D “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”
Having undergone this glorious and admirable mortification, the all-wise Paul writes and says: “For I through the Law died to the Law, that I might live to God; I have been crucified with Christ. I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” And he wrote also to others, or rather, even to us ourselves: “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? We were buried, therefore, with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ rose from the dead through the glo-
Ary of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.” Consequently, the death of the calf signifies that we are dead to the world; whereas the pouring out of the blood upon the altar hints at the consecration of a holy soul, and exhibits the sweet fragrance of a holy and God-pleasing life. For in the divinely-inspired Scripture, blood is taken as a figure of the soul, or life. For it says thus in Deuteronomy: “Take heed carefully not to eat blood, because the blood thereof is its soul. The soul shall not be eaten with the flesh. You shall not eat it; it shall be poured out upon the earth like water. Moreover, he says, they shall flay the burnt offering and divide it limb by limb.” Understanding this exceedingly well, Paul, who was learned in the Law, writes in his Epistles: “For the word of God is living and effectual, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and reaching unto the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; and there is no creature invisible in His sight. But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him.” B For the removal of the skin signifies that all things are laid bare. For nothing in us is hidden at all, nor can anything escape the divine and stainless Mind; it penetrates even to the joints and marrow, and this, in my opinion, is what is signified by the animal being cut limb from limb. For I hear the One who says clearly: “Who is this that hides counsel from Me, and keeps words in his heart, but thinks to hide himself from Me?” And again in another place: “I am a God drawing near, says the Lord, and not a God afar off; shall anything be hidden from Me?” For He fills all things, and is absent from none of existing things. Furthermore, He commanded that the entrails and the feet of the calf be washed. And this the Savior Himself explains to us, saying: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The feet would be a type of our walking in deeds, and as it were, of the path toward virtue. For it is written: “Make straight paths for thy feet, and direct all thy ways.” For such feet C are very clean, and they lead one to the fulfilling of the Lord’s commandments with zeal; He who, in order that He might introduce those who are on earth into so holy a path—though He was by nature God, and begotten of God the Father in D an ineffable manner—emptied Himself, that He might fill human nature with blessings from above; He humbled Himself, that He might exalt us to the heights; He was born of a woman according to the flesh, that we might be enriched by Him through the regeneration of the Spirit unto newness of life. He received a mother from us upon earth, and gave us the Father who is in the heavens; and in a word, our affairs have become His by an economic appropriation, so that we also might ascend to those things which are properly His, with Him and through Him, and thus partake of that good through the kindness with which He is endowed. Therefore He also said: “I ascend unto my Father and your Father,
and my God and your God.” For we have been named sons of God, having the Firstborn and our brother according to the flesh as the Only-Begotten. Thus, the Lord is God, and He has appeared to us, that He might justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.
B 4. For the law given through Moses was not imposed upon all men under heaven, but rather only upon those from Israel, and the race from Abraham was named the chosen portion for God. For it is written: “When the Most High divided the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and the Lord’s people became His portion, the cord of His inheritance, Israel.” But as the inspired evangelist John says concerning the Son, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not,” even though the writings of Moses and the holy prophets had long since proclaimed quite clearly the mystery concerning Him. But when they saw the Only-Begotten Son of God having become man and having been incarnate, they showed themselves to be ill-minded, small-minded, and utterly senseless by the very reality of the events. For they rushed forward almost like dogs, and barking they would say: “Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?” C But you, O man, who are ready to rush headlong into everything most absurd, search the divinely inspired Scripture; diligently meditate upon the words of the holy prophets; consider those things written by Moses, in what manner they preached that the Only-Begotten Word of God was to shine forth upon the earth through them. For if they had announced Him as incorporeal, and intangible, and as one who could not be seen by our eyes, then perhaps your unbelief, when you approached and said, “Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?”, might have been excusable. But since the venerable and deep mystery of the incarnation has been proclaimed through the voice of the holy ones, why do you not instead eagerly desire to follow the straight path, and, being steered by appropriate reasoning toward the knowledge of the truth, perceive from the very facts themselves—that is, from the miracles that have been performed—that He is God by nature, and has appeared from God the Father, even if for our sake, by the plan of providence, He has become man? For look at Him D dissolving the bonds of death by His command, and breathing life into those who were already dead and corrupted. Look at the autrefois terrible and irresistible Satan, fallen and lying low; for he has been placed under the feet of the saints. You will also see Him as the conqueror of all diseases and infirmities, commanding the elements of the world with God-befitting power and authority; then quieting the wild onsets of the winds, lulling the sea to sleep, rebuking the waves, and, in short, performing all miracles without labor. Marvel at the multitude of those who have believed, which exceeds number, and behold in this way the fulfillment of that which was sung to Him through the voice of David.
« All the nations, as many as You have made, shall come and worship before You, O Lord. » B And that the power of legal worship—which, I say, is contained as if in shadows and types—was about to cease through the dawning of Christ, and indeed to appear vain even to the descendants of Israel themselves, God confirms, saying through the voice of the saints: at one time, « For the children of Israel shall sit many days without a king, and without a ruler, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without priesthood, and without manifestation »; and again, speaking to the multitude of those who believe: « And it shall be, » He says, « that when you have multiplied upon the earth, says the Lord, in those days they shall no longer say: The Ark of the Testament of the Holy One of Israel; it shall not come up into their heart, nor shall it be visited, nor shall it be mentioned, nor shall it be done any more. » But it was surely very reasonable that Israel, understanding these things, should honor Emmanuel by faith. But they turned to the exact opposite. For they were set in contradiction no moderately, being mastered by unholy anger toward everything that was strange to them; and having their heart scorched with the flame of envy, they dared to calumniate Jesus, who was working miracles, and they attacked Him with the spears of malice. And they progressed to such a degree of madness C that they even sought to kill the Author of life. And kill Him they did, but He rose again, and became « the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and the first-born of the dead, » that we also, having cast off corruption and escaped the empire of death, might employ that prophetic utterance: « Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O hell, is your sting? » Having therefore destroyed death, He ascended to the Father and God in heaven; and He will come in like manner at the appointed time, conspicuous in divine majesty, and shall sit as judge, and shall render to each one according to his work. Therefore, as those who are about to render an account of their own life, let us strive to cultivate the praises of modesty, and let each one adorn his own life with every kind of virtue. Let us preserve the purity of the body; let us turn away from every foul and impure pleasure, that we may not bear a small mind toward our brothers, and let us suppress the movements of anger; let it be absent that we swear by God; but, as the most wise Paul says: « Let your speech be always in grace, seasoned with salt, that it may give grace to the hearers. » Let us prove ourselves kind and compassionate to those in need. Let us do good to orphans, let us protect widows, let us visit those in bonds, D mindful of those who are held in infirmities, as being ourselves also in the body. Let us keep a firm and unshaken faith in Christ, the Savior of all. For thus, surely thus, we shall celebrate the holy and most pure feast; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the ninth day of the month of March, and the week of the saving Pascha on the fourteenth day of the month of April; breaking our fasts on the tenth
of the same month, ending in the deep evening, according to the evangelical traditions; and we celebrate the feast on the following day, Sunday, the twentieth of the same month of Pharmouthi, joining to it the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. Thus, indeed, we shall again delight in the words of Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, and power, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY XXIII. Author’s Preface.
We have presented this brief discourse, not that we might gather glory (for such is not our aim), but in the hope that it might bring no small fruit to the hearers and conform their ways to live rightly and honorably. Neither was there any other purpose in composing it than this, and this alone. Let no one, therefore, fastidiously examine the excellence of its language or composition, but rather commend the author's purpose in writing it.
A 1. The blessed prophet David, striking the all-harmonious and melodious lyre of the Spirit, heralded the holy and most pure feast of our Savior, saying: “Come, let us exult in the Lord.” And it seems to me that he uses the word “Come” B both wisely and skillfully. For as if they were nearby, he summons those who have stood aloof and, in a manner of speaking, those who have wandered from God—those, I mean, who have distanced themselves from the intimacy with God through the habits of their conduct. And it is necessary to inquire a little more diligently who these are. First among this number is one who chooses to worship the creation instead of the Creator, and renders veneration to the elements of the world. After this comes infidelity, and also perverted faith—the former of which one might assign to the descendants of Israel, and the latter to the vain and wordy inventions of heretics. To these we add the common ailment of all who dwell on earth, namely, sin. Through this holy and piercing proclamation, therefore, he commands those who have learned C base things—those whom we have mentioned—to turn themselves to better pursuits: that they should, for instance, exert themselves mightily to cast off the darkness which diabolical perversity has shed upon the minds of the Greeks, and to hasten toward the splendid light of truth, and to confess Him who is truly and by nature the Creator of all and Lord and God; that the Jews, on the other hand, should finally acknowledge Him who was made known in many ways by the Law and the prophets—albeit late and with difficulty—and with the holy apostles acclaim: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”; and that those who are caught in the snares of impious heresies D should cast away their intricate and deceitfully woven reasonings and, aiming straight for the truth, should embrace the unswerving, error-free, and wholly substantive sermon of faith; but
as for those who have fallen into the pits of sin and the snare of destruction, they should set their feet outside these, and scrub away the Jewish filth infused into their own minds, by the mercy of God and His benevolence, which justifies the ungodly, clearly through the faith that is in Christ. A Concerning this, the most sage Paul, writing to those who have believed in Him, says: "Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, seeing there is one God, who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith." Therefore, since "praise is comely" for the upright, as it is written, let us cleanse our souls from every stain, and "come, let us sing unto the Lord." Furthermore, those who wish to do this blamelessly must ponder how and in what manner one might sing unto the Lord so as not to miss the mark. B For he who allows himself to be overcome by bodily pleasures, and who does not in any way shun depravity—which is the most detestable and impious thing in one’s conduct—but puts that before all else, such a one skips about, yet in the cares of this life and the delights of riches, not in the Lord, but rather offering his jubilation and joy to fleeting pleasures; such a man will not be heard as a noble participant in a festive celebration, nor will he obtain a seat and place within the choirs of the saints. For it is written: "Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner." But he who has primarily loved the glory of temperance, and has endeavored to overcome all passions, so far as is permitted to human nature, C it would be fitting indeed for such a one to usurp the duty of celebrating divine praises. The most sage Paul also supports us in this matter, writing thus: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." D Who then is this old man? Clearly, he "which is corrupt according to the desires of the flesh." But the new man is he who is transformed into the newness of life which is in Christ, possessing a renewed mind, and seriously exulting in the rays of divine light; and who, furthermore, subsequently proceeds with such firmness and strength, and possesses such readiness for the course, that he can in no way be comprehended by wicked affections, but thirsts
only to fulfill such things as would render him worthy of all admiration.
B 2. Data indeed was the law to those of the blood of Israel through Moses. But it was contained in shadows and types, since those of that time were not yet able to receive the perfect good, or rather the knowledge of the One who perfectly possesses the good; they were in need rather of a childish discipline, so that, meditating on the truth as if still through a figure, they might rightly perceive the end of the law, namely Christ.
For Christ is the end of the law and the prophets
, as it is written. By what means or in what way? For the law given through Moses is in agreement with the evangelical teachings, if it be understood by us spiritually. For it leads to the mystery of Christ. And Christ himself is a witness, saying to the Jews: C "If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me; for he wrote of me." What, then, did Moses write? Not that Christ would arrive to bring help only to those who were born of the blood of Israel, but truly to all who dwell upon this earth under heaven, and to every nation. For all belong to God, just as He is the Creator and Lord of all. He ordered, therefore, that the lamb be slaughtered as a type of Himself, yet from the side of the altar looking toward the north. But what is this affair, someone might perhaps ask? What is the profound enigma of the sacrifice, shrouded in dim obscurities? Such a person shall hear from us: Your land, friend, is indeed rather towards the south; but the land of the nations, they say, is more northerly and better than the sea. Therefore, D the lamb was slaughtered among them, yet it does not hold the nations in contempt. For it turns itself toward them, just as it is sung in the Psalms: "His eyes look upon the nations; let not the rebellious be exalted in themselves. Bless God, you nations." For Israel stumbled and provoked Him not a little; but that, once Israel was cast out from intimacy with God, the nations would instead suffice through faith, is not difficult to discern if one chooses to examine the voices of the holy prophets with more attentive care. For it is written: "Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Sion, for behold, I am coming, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord; and many nations shall flee to the Lord in that day, and they shall be to Him for a people, and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you." And who is the Sent One, if not certainly Christ, who is re-creating the two peoples into one new man, and has broken down the middle wall of partition, and has abolished the law of commandments in decrees, preaching peace to those who are far off and to those who are near, that is, to Greeks and Jews alike? He said, therefore, "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; and them also I must bring, and they shall become"A one flock, one shepherd." That those skilled in the law and the more intelligent among the Israelites have indeed recognized and honored the only-begotten Word of God, as having become man and having been made flesh—yet those who were carried away into an apostate boldness, and who offended the Savior and Redeemer of all by their disobedience, have demanded for themselves the punishments befitting them; and that with the Gentiles having been called, they too shall be invited through faith—this, having brought forward a simple and, as one might say, a single image of the matter from the divinely-inspired Scripture, I shall attempt to clarify to the best of my ability, having first reminded you that the holy Scripture very often calls our Lord Jesus Christ "David," inasmuch as He was also born from his seed according to the flesh.
3. It is written, therefore, in the second book of Kings: B "And all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said to him: Behold, we are your bones and your flesh: and yesterday and the day before, when Saul was reigning over us, you were the one leading out and bringing in Israel. And the Lord said to you: You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall be leader over Israel." And all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and the king made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. Do you understand how they openly confess themselves to be his bones and flesh? For those who have accepted faith in Christ do not ignore the manner of the dispensation that took place through the incarnation. C Rather, they confess that He, being God by nature, became man. For so would His bones and flesh be, according, I say, to the kinship in humanity. Moreover, they add that even when Saul was reigning, it was He himself who was leading and bringing Israel. For even before the incarnation, as God, He held essentially the power over all things, caring for human affairs and preserving by ineffable power those who were singularly devoted to His decrees and oracles. That He reigned over Israel by the counsel and will of God and the Father, they believe firmly, saying: "The Lord said to you: You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall be leader over Israel." So too says the blessed Peter somewhere: D "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And indeed Nathanael, to whom Christ himself has borne witness of a sincere and genuine spirit, says: "You are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel." He himself also says somewhere, through the lyre of the Psalmist: "But I was established king by Him (it is clear that this means by God and the Father) upon Zion His holy mountain, proclaiming the commandment of the Lord." Yet it was not unusual for Him to reign; for being God by nature, and enthroned with the Begetter, He has all creation subject under His feet. But He is said to have been appointed king, because it pleased Him finally to cast the yoke of His kingdom upon those who were once outside and lying under another. For it has prevailed
A over those upon the earth through the greed of Satan. But having confessed the faith, they receive the covenant from Him in Hebron. And what is this "in Hebron"? The word signifies, therefore, union. For in Christ all things have become one, and the things above have been joined to the things below, and the things below to the things above. They have run together into unity and unanimity through faith, both those from the blood of Israel, and indeed those formerly serving idols. But that some of those from Israel who stiffened their necks against Him, died miserably for their misery, we shall learn no less from what follows; for it is thus: "And David went, and his men, to Jerusalem, against the Jebusite who inhabited the land. And it was said to David: You shall not enter here, for the lame and the blind have risen up, saying: David shall not enter here. And David captured the region of Sion; this is the city of David. And David said on that day: Everyone who strikes the Jebusite, let him touch with a sword even the lame and the blind, and those who hate the soul of David. For this reason they shall say: The blind and the lame shall not enter into the house of the Lord." Behold then, behold the multitude of those who opposed him. They were indeed lame and blind. We remember how Christ spoke B concerning the Scribes and Pharisees: "Let them be; they are blind guides of the blind." And indeed, by the voice of David concerning them: "Strange children were false to me, strange children grew old, and they limped from their paths." For they made Christ unacceptable, those who knew neither how to walk uprightly, nor had they inhabited the intelligible and divine light within their mind and heart, but they have fallen in the sword, that is to say, by the blades. For they have been consumed by war, with their region burned up together C with the renowned temple. And that, when those from Israel had offended Him, a multitude of the Gentiles was brought in and received, and they inscribed Christ as Lord and King, the written words make clear again. For it says: "And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar wood, and wood-workers, and stone-masons, and they built a house for David." For Hiram was indeed a foreigner, and not one from the multitude of the Jews. He was rather an idolater, and from the flock of those who had gone astray. But he built a house for David. For the Church of Christ has been raised up, and not in one place or region, D but in all the earth under heaven, those who once worshipped the creation and were darkened by the devilish mist building it up, as it were, having believed afterward and been enlightened, and having done so in every miracle to Christ, who is from the seed of David according to the flesh. But behold also this in addition. For the house was built for David by the foreigner Hiram; and the blessed David was bringing back into it the ark, which was held among others and was lying somewhere outside. "For he went," it says, "and brought back the ark of God from the house of Abedera, into the city"
of David with gladness." Now the ark might signify the law brought forth through Moses, and those under the law and the shadow. They were indeed once blind and lame, but when they have taken the faith into their souls and worship him, then they too, with us, shall be brought into the house of David, that is, of Christ. A And they will attain to every kind of virtue directly, and as with a right and firm step will traverse the path of piety towards him, with the divinely inspired Paul calling out to them: "Wherefore lift up the drooping hands and the paralyzed knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be turned aside, but rather be healed." B Since therefore all these things are so, as I said in the beginning, "Come, let us exult in the Lord," celebrating the joyous light in his honor. But come now, one might say, how, even though he endured the cross and underwent death in the flesh, can this be understood or called a festive celebration? But, O excellent man, this matter shall be explained by us. For if, after he allowed his body to be held by death, he had remained among the dead, let no one hold a festive celebration. But if, whereas it was in his power not to suffer, had he not willed to suffer, and whereas he was not under the necessity of falling into the hands of C conspirators, he yet, "by the grace of God," as the minister of his mysteries says, "tasted death for all," so that being raised from the dead he might trample down death, and thus procure immortality for the whole nature of man—"having become the firstborn from the dead, and the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep"—how should this not be the cause of all joy for us? For being caught in the snares of death, through the sin that tyrannized over us, we are in hope of life eternal through him who from us according to the flesh became the firstborn from the dead. Therefore, the Jews indeed crucified him, with Christ having permitted, as I said, according to the economy, for his own body to taste of death; but he rose again, D and to the bonds of death he virtually said farewell, and to those in the bonds he said, "Go forth; and to those who were in darkness, Be revealed." Then having shown himself manifest to his holy apostles, and having commanded that they teach all the world under the sun, and initiate all nations, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and observing all things whatsoever he commanded," and striving to attain to a life that is honest and approved, he ascended to the Father and God who is in the heavens, received with the auspicious acclamation of the holy angels and the congratulation of the higher multitude, as God. Moreover, as the years roll on, he will come in the glory of the Father, as he himself says, to reward each according to his works; "For he shall judge the world in righteousness."
4. Therefore, as of the judge and master who is to come,
and of the King of all, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit. Let us perfect holiness in the fear of God, let us live moderately, and with pursuits directed toward well-doing, let us brighten our souls; A visiting widows, showing mercy to orphans, standing by those in need, and providing with the assistance at hand for those who are in bodily infirmities, visiting those in bonds, keeping the faith in Him secure and firmly established and entirely blameless; beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twenty-fourth of the month of Phamenoth [February]; and the week of the saving Pascha, on the twenty-ninth of the month of Phamenoth [March]; concluding the fasts on the fourth day of the month of Pharmouthi—which is the eighth of April—in the deep evening, as the evangelical oracles have handed down to us; and celebrating the feast day on the following dawn of the Lord's Day, the fifth day of the same month of Pharmouthi [April]; joining thereto the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. For thus, thus again shall we be nourished by the divine words in Christ Jesus our Lord, B through whom and with whom to the Father with the holy Spirit be honor, and glory, and dominion, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY XXIV.
1. C I shall again use the words of the blessed Paul, and indeed I shall say: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men.” D For the season of the feast of our Savior is rising upon us. And come now, let us again, to those who might be in the narrative of the excellent virtues, to these very well, as if making a call of this sort to them—let us say: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” C of which also the inspired David makes mention, saying: “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us exult and rejoice in it.” For by the day that is longed for three times over, and desirable, D and indeed the acceptable time, those who are illuminated by the divine Spirit understand nothing else than that in which the glory of Christ, the Savior of us all, was manifested, because of which it would be fitting for all who dwell upon the earth to be filled with the greatest joy of all. For we have obtained through it those things by which it was possible for the nature of man to transition back to what it was in the beginning, and to be reformed, in a manner of speaking, through a holy manner of life toward the Mind that is beyond all; so that, having been enriched with the divine characteristics in itself through sanctification, it might rejoice and be glad. For the same Christ foreannounced that His own presence would be the provider of such goods for us, saying through the prophet: “Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Sion, because behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord, and many nations will flee for refuge unto the Lord in that day, and they shall be for him a people, and they shall dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me unto you.” For since the Only-Begotten became…
man, and was made in our likeness (for we say that He was thus sent by God and the Father), it is necessary that we, expanding with joy, should leap for exultation. What the cause of this is, I shall briefly explain.
2. B For there were very many causes of grief among us. For he who was the inventor of all wickedness and sin, who kept all those under heaven under his fierce and violent pressure, and who had imposed upon men, like an insuperable tyrant, the death brought in by the transgression in Adam, could not be endured. He used sin, in its many forms, as his spear and bolt, and as armor both firm and impenetrable. For through it he had obtained the kingdom of this earth. Thus, indeed, as the prophet Isaiah says: “Hell has enlarged its soul, and opened its mouth, that it might not cease.” For all these reasons, and indeed with very good cause, all pleasure and joy were far from us; and it remained for us, on the other hand, to mourn over the inevitable calamity inflicted upon us, which almost drew tears from the eyes down the cheeks of all. C But, as the prophet Isaiah says: “Death has swallowed them up, having prevailed. But God took away every tear from every face; He took away the reproach of the people from all the earth.” For the power of sin has been dissolved, and its murderous sting has languished. And death, the evil that had blossomed from it—like the root itself—has been taken away. It was, therefore, not at all inappropriate for us now, but rather opportune and fitting, that there should be a time for rejoicing. Hence, the author and bestower of all our joy addresses us with these words: “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Sion.” However, it is necessary, since the time of the celebration is near, to cleanse the filth of our sins and to wash away the stains of both body and soul. Therefore, it will be very opportune that, taking up abstinence, the nurse and conciliator of all virtues, “we run with patience the race D that is set before us,” as it is written, adorning our minds with the glory of piety, and striving toward a holy and blameless manner of life. For we remember what is said by God, the Saviour of us all: “Be holy, for I am holy.” Let us, therefore, sanctify ourselves by a venerable way of life and by keeping the laws most obediently, arraying ourselves in the brightness of virtues as in a most beautiful garment, fitting for those who are celebrating a feast; and in this way, full of confidence, let us go forth into the sight of Him who grants us the celebration. “For the eyes,” he says, “of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are unto their prayer.” If, therefore, He sees us pure and adorned, He will preserve our joy unshaken; but if He sees us otherwise disposed, He will not allow us to share in His great bounty. And this the parable in the Gospels will teach us clearly. For it tells of a certain man who was making a wedding for his son
A, and that not a few had been invited. But after them, the bridegroom entered to look upon those reclining at the table. And when he saw one who was among those who were elegantly dressed, yet was mixed in being filthy 1 and not having the garment befitting those who are feasting, he rebuked the man, saying: "Friend, how did you enter here, not having a wedding garment?" And he consigned him to the most extreme punishments.
But perhaps someone might say: "Then how did the filthy one enter at all? For it would have been necessary to have forbidden at the very beginning those who did not have dress suited for the celebration from making an entry and coming in." We say, therefore, that the Savior indeed calls all through faith; and He wishes that all should become partakers of the bounty from above, and all indeed enter without distinction. For the grace through faith is upon us all. But those who append to faith the brightness and blamelessness that comes from well-doing, and who have clothed themselves with the radiance of virtues as if in the order of a wedding garment, will dine with the bridegroom and will partake in the holy and intellectual feast. But those who have brought nothing in addition to faith, and have remained in the filth of baseness, and have the stain from their ancient offenses, which is hard to wash away, these will be altogether and entirely cast out from the holy wedding. And they will mourn over their own sloth; for they have burst in not having a wedding garment.
Most profitable, therefore, is fasting, which wipes away the filthy, washes out the stain, and through a small toil delivers us from eternal punishment. For it mortifies pleasures, cuts off the incursion of desires leading to obscenity and carnal love, and as if with a bridle turns us toward modesty, making us lovers of a life that is in every way praiseworthy; and like an animal that is rabid and raging, it tames the law of sin that is in the members of the flesh, and, in a word, makes us diligent in every good thing, and illuminating the ether of the mind, it causes the B desirable light of true vision of God to dwell within. Through which one would gain the correct knowledge of the sacred doctrines, which is not open to be questioned. And it is a life-giving thing and profitable, and a possession truly worthy of being acquired, if the sweetness of eternal life touches us, and we think it is to be preferred above all things, C as it is for us the path to living a long life.
3. That, as I said, being established in faith in Christ is the cause of eternal life, He Himself will confirm, speaking to the Father and God in heaven: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (Joan. XVII, 5). But faith among those who are moderate and who have a heart that loves God is something simple and true, and has nothing at all that is distorted. Furthermore, it does not very much readily admit of investigation and searching; for to busy oneself overmuch with what has been received entirely by faith is not without penalty. But these things do not seem to be right to those who are especially fond of questioning, and who D are accustomed to pride themselves on…
1 Var. lect.: "filthy" (ῥυπῶντα), and "only" (μόνον).
wretched chains of reasoning as though they were their own inventions: "Whose ways are crooked, and their paths are winding," as it is written. A For they lead astray whom they can to ruin and destruction, turning them aside from the direct path. Therefore, as the blessed Apostle writes, it is necessary to "cast out the evil workers, cast out the dogs" who bark against the dogmas of truth, "speaking things from their own heart," as is written, "and not from the mouth of the Lord." For no one will speak against our common Savior Christ, or audaciously rail against His glory, distorting it in some way toward defilement, without having first admitted into his soul the inventor and father of lies, the devil. For as the all-wise Paul writes: "No one says Jesus is anathema, except by Beelzebub." Those, therefore, who attempt both to think and to speak these things must be avoided, for the wretched men have cast themselves headlong into inescapable punishment. B Moreover, they who sin against the brethren and strike their weak conscience, sin against Christ; and, as the prophet Jeremiah says, they "greatly aggravate their yoke." But those into whose minds the divine and spiritual light has shone are not taken by their frauds; rather, they will perceive the virtue appropriate to every action, and the admirable path. For I think it necessary to come prepared to this, and to be accustomed to cast off and turn away entirely from whatever is evil and corrupt in affairs, and whatever is abhorrent to the sacred laws; but to pursue with every eagerness and inclination of the soul whatever contributes to an excellent and admirable way of life. C For it is written: "Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord negligently." For since it is not sufficient for a proof of bravery for those who have loved military glory merely to be seen well-armed and to show themselves capable of being victors, but it is necessary for them to be illustrious by the glory of their deeds, in the same way, I think, no one will obtain the ornament of virtue if he still retains sloth and cowardice in his soul. I assert, however, that one must embrace the studies of piety with every contention and alacrity of mind. For he who does this will be worthy of the highest praise, and will truly report excellent glory, having been shown to be approved by God and men alike. D Moses indeed commanded these things to the ancients through riddles and shadows; but when He brought them into the light, Christ showed Himself, inasmuch as He is the truth itself. And since it was not possible to discern clearly either the knowledge of things to be done through the shadow of the world, or indeed to obtain forgiveness for sins—for the law justified no one, rather condemning the guilty than absolving them—God and Father provided for the salvation and life of us all. For He who knew our frame
and the propensity of our mind towards what is illicit, gave us justification by faith in Christ, which releases us from ancient charges and destroys the condemnation of those things already sinned, rather transferring us into a novelty of life unknown to those of old. A “For all things in Christ are new, and old things have passed away,” according to the voice of Paul. The Only-Begotten Word of God, being God and Lord, therefore appeared to us. But in what manner did He appear? By lowering Himself to a voluntary emptying, and showing Himself to be a man on earth in a wondrous way. For He took hold of the seed of Abraham and was made like his brothers in all things, save for sin alone. For it was not possible for the divine and incorruptible nature, which surpasses all mind, calculation, and wonder, to be caught in the snares of sin. “For He is the true Light, and the darkness did not encompass Him.”
But since He was seen as a man like us, so that He might not be thought to be only this by those who did not accurately know the mystery concerning Him, but so that they might recognize Him as being also the God of all besides, through very many of His mighty works He manifested Himself as of the same nature and consubstantial with the Father. Therefore He said, “If I do not perform the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works.” For by a nod and by will alone He accomplished things beyond speech, and carried all things by the word of the power of Him by whom He was begotten, B and while He was attended by the holy angels—for after the temptation of the devil, “angels came and served Him”—He also rebuked created things in a God-befitting manner when occasion arose. For He said to the sea, “Be silent, be muzzled,” and He commanded the violent winds to be calm, when all the disciples, crowning Him with the praises due to Him, said, “Truly Thou art the Son of God.”
It was, therefore, as I said, easy to discern from the mighty works that He is truly God and the Son of God by nature. But I do not know how it is that, although they of Israel had obtained tutelage through the Law and had encountered the writings of the holy prophets, they fell into such folly that they were ignorant of Him, bitterly set themselves against Him, and impiously slandered those things from which it was likely they would obtain no small profit, and from the brilliance of what was happening, easily discern the preternatural excellence of the power residing in Him. But they went wide of the mark, and having fallen as it were into unbridled ferocity and senseless, unmitigated rage, the wretches leapt upon Him, sometimes saying, “Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?” C and at other times assailing Him with stones, and finally, they crucified Him, although the Law explicitly says, “You shall not kill the innocent and the just.” Come then, for what crimes did they kill Jesus? They cannot truly name them. “He committed no sin, nor was deceit found
in his mouth,” as it is written. A And so, while rebuking those who spoke insolently and calming those who were stirred up to extravagant rage, He would say, “Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?” For that they had been convicted by Him of absolutely no fault, and yet the wretches—vainly sharpened against Him—deemed Him worthy of the sentence of death, you may learn from this. For they brought Him to Pilate, and were urging that He be crucified. B And when the latter said, “For what evil has He done?”, they made the truth a charge against Christ, not even interpreting the nature of the matter correctly. For they said, “He made Himself the Son of God.” But He who is the Champion of the truth will rise up against their abominations, saying: “He did not make Himself the Son of God, but He is this in truth.” For this was not something added to Him from outside, nor assumed from elsewhere, but we believe that what He is by nature, this same thing He is. For we are, indeed, C sons of God by adoption, insofar as we are compared to Him who is Son by nature and begotten of Him. But if there is no Son in truth, to whom then are we compared by adoption? Whose image do we bear? Or to whom at all are we similar, if we do not assert that the truth subsists? But they were utterly ignorant of the august and saving proclamation of the incarnation; they did not comprehend the sayings of Moses, nor did they understand the oracles regarding Him, which were uttered by the holy prophets, instructed by the Holy Spirit. For He did not, being a human, make Himself the Son of God; rather, one should affirm the exact opposite. For being the Son of God D the Almighty by nature and truth, He became human, so that by giving His own blood as a ransom for the life of all, He might deliver all from death and sin.
4. You have in the Law, as if in a painting, the matter described. Scrutinize the monuments of Moses, remove the shadow, enter for a little while into the interior of the veil. Do not stop at the first tabernacle, which possesses its own status. D Weigh the words of the blessed Paul. For what did he say, while addressing us concerning these things? “For a first tabernacle was prepared, which is called the Holy Place; but after the second veil, a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies.” But into the first tabernacle, he says, the priests enter, performing the services. But into the second, the high priest alone enters, “not without blood, which he offers for his own and the people’s ignorances,” the Holy Spirit signifying this, that the way of the holy places was not yet made manifest, while the first tabernacle still had its status. Therefore, the first tabernacle, having its status, declares the power of the legal worship, which did not bring anyone into the Holy of Holies, nor
is the way open to us. For it is to us alone that Christ has inaugurated this holy and most desirable entrance. A Since, however, we have been completely brought in, and the veil has been removed from the minds of us all, come, let us henceforth search out with keen and most pure eyes the things that are hidden, and, as if tearing asunder the shadow of the Law, let us gaze upon the truth. The Israelites, as I said, thought in their great lack of understanding that they could bind Life—that is, Christ—with death. But they missed the mark, aiming in vain and laboring to no purpose, and, as the prophet David says, B "imagined a counsel which they are not able to establish." For with the greatest skill, the Savior and Lord of all, since He is Himself the very Wisdom, made the thing that had been contrived by the devil's perversity for destruction into an occasion for salvation and life throughout the whole world. For He permitted even His own flesh to taste of death, according to what is written, so that, having shown it to be superior to death through the resurrection from the dead, He might enable those on earth to be able to overcome both death and corruption. For He has become the first-fruits C of those who have fallen asleep, and the first-born from the dead, so that we too, following in His footsteps, might be raised up together with the first-fruits, and all of us who have been called to brotherhood with Him through Him might follow the first-born. "For as many as received Him," he says, "to them He gave power to become children of God." For that we have become superior to corruption in the death of Christ, the contentious Israel might learn even from the writings of Moses themselves. For they sacrificed the lamb in Egypt; then, having eaten of its flesh, and having smeared the entrances of their houses—that is, the doorposts—with its blood, they did not perish together with the Egyptians. But if there is nothing mystical in these things, if it is not a true account which possesses D the power of the mystery which is in Christ, still written in shadows, for what reason does the lamb, when slaughtered, no longer save anyone, and sway the destroyer with its own blood? For the power of divine mysteries will not fail in any way. And as the all-wise Paul writes, "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." It is therefore evident to all that it is in Christ and in Him alone that we have gained the incorruptible; for He is Life and the Bestower of life, so that even that which is by its own nature subject to corruption would be beyond the possibility of suffering that, and easily indeed, having been enriched with the garment of incorruptibility—that is, Christ. "For as many of you," he says, "as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." And it would be very fitting for each of those who are baptized to say, through the voice of the prophet: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and a robe of gladness." For having been clothed, as I was saying, with the garment of gladness, namely Christ, we are liberated from the empire of death.
A You have described in the shadows of the Law the mystery. For those things of Moses were types and images of realities, still in some way bringing forth the obscure beauty of the truth. Therefore, when the Israelites were dwelling in the desert, God gave them bread, the mystical manna. They would collect only what sufficed for the day, as the divine law commanded. For whatever was stored away would spoil, and the gathering of what was superfluous and beyond daily need was a useless labor for them, and perhaps even an occasion for punishment. "Some kept it until the morrow," as it is written, "and," he says, "Moses was angry with them" as with those who had trampled upon the divine commandments. But that which was by nature subject to corruption could, as I was saying, become incorruptible—and even beyond the bounds of its own nature—when God wills it, Moses made plain. B For it is written thus in Exodus: "And Moses said to Aaron: Take a golden vessel, and put into it a full gomer of manna, and place it before God to be kept for your generations. And Aaron placed it before the testimony as a charge." For gold is generally taken in the Holy Scriptures to signify the divine and immortal nature, since it is by far the most excellent among things of its kind. When, therefore, Christ has embraced us, just as the golden vessel holds the manna, then we shall also remain incorruptible, with God watching over us and, as it were, fixing his gaze upon us. For having been banished from the face of God because of the transgression admitted in Adam, and being as it were cast out from his sight, we were brought down to destruction. For so it is written through the voice of David: "When C you turn away your face, they shall be troubled and return to their dust." But after we were deemed worthy of his care and regard, we obtained this as well, along with other gifts in Christ, that we should be renewed unto eternal life, standing before the eyes of the Father of all, and remaining free from destruction, so that each one of us may joyfully exclaim: "O death, where is your victory? O hell, where is your sting?" For the dead shall rise, according to the voice of the prophet, "and those who are in the tombs shall be awakened. For the dew that is from you is healing for them." D As those, therefore, who are traveling toward an eternal life and returning to our original state, let us show ourselves worthy to be with Christ. For it is written: "Be holy, for I am holy." And as his disciple says: "If we call upon the Father who judges each one according to his works without partiality, let us pass the time of our sojourn here in fear," knowing for certain that the things pertaining to this life are small and perishable, flowing and fleeting like a shadow, whereas those things that are with God are firm, illustrious, and eternal for those who receive them. Therefore, while suitable time is available, let us wipe away [the stains] of the body
things in this life; and let them be firm and well-founded, remaining for those who have received them as eternal gifts from God. Therefore, as long as the time allows, let us wipe away the stains, both of the flesh and of the soul. Let us cultivate the manners of gentleness, let us put on the bowels of compassion. Let us be saddened by the hardships of those in need. Let us open our hearts to those in affliction, let us show pity to orphans, let us raise up the lost fortune of widows, let us share in the tears of the wretched, let us show mercy to the imprisoned, let us sympathize with those held by sickness, relieving them with D appropriate care as the situation demands, and, in a word, let us cultivate every kind of virtue. For thus, yes, thus shall we fast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the thirteenth day of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the saving Pascha on the eighteenth of the month of Pharmouthi, ceasing the fasts on the twenty-third of the same month of Pharmouthi, in the deep evening, according to the evangelical proclamation; and celebrating the festival on the following day, which dawns as Sunday, the twenty-fourth of the same month of Pharmouthi; adding then also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost, so that, by living a righteous life, we may enjoy the holy words in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to the Father with the holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen.
HOMILY XXV
1. Age, therefore, again, as the time urges us to fulfill what is ordained by the divine oracles, let us take up the sacred trumpet, as it were, and crying out with a great and loud voice, let us say: "Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous." A For the only-begotten Word of God reveals to us a spiritual festival, the power of the dispensation according to the flesh, He who in no way is surpassed in excellence by Him who begat Him, and is of equal glory and power, being indeed consubstantial with Him, and existing from Him according to nature, and conspicuous in immutable identity. For He is the "image of His substance and the splendor of His glory," as the faith of the holy Scriptures teaches, yet He lowered Himself to our humility—not by being stripped of His natural prerogatives, but rather by having assumed flesh and blood, so that we too might become partakers of the divine nature, being enriched with that good by a spiritual union with Him. For we are joined to Him through faith, and holiness, and the excellent deeds of piety. This is a festive celebration and a day through which the highest goods of a blessed lot flow down to us. Therefore, the Savior and Lord of all Himself, as if by example, declares the power that His own coming would possess, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a marriage for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited, saying, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage." Indeed, by the carnal marriage a spiritual union is prefigured.
For it is written: "He that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit" A (1 Cor. vi, 17). Therefore, since God and the Father calls us to a spiritual banquet and provides for us a most abundant table of divine teachings—for we have heard Him saying: "My oxen and my fatlings are killed"—come, let us put on the garment becoming to those who keep the feast, and as if crowned with a garland woven from the flowers of spring and from the various kinds of virtues, and having as the leader of our choir Him for whose honor we celebrate the festival, let us join in singing: "Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to God our Savior" (Ps. xciv, 1). B For some rejoice in the world, fattening the flesh with a manifold variety of delicacies, and they revel in other ways, hastening with unbridled impulse toward all that is most shameful. But luxury finally leads to punishment, and the path of the voluptuary ends in a cruel and inevitable penalty. "For," he says, "he that soweth in his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption" (Galat. vi, 8). The blessed prophet Amos also laments with tears of charity over those who have established such a life for themselves, saying: "That sleep upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd; that chant to the sound of the viol, and thought it stood and not as a fugitive; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive from the beginning of these that live in pleasures" (Amos vi, 4-7). Do you see where the end of this fleeting life turns C? He says that those who think that the things of the present life, which flee and fly away, are firm and stable, and who embrace a life discordant with the holy laws, shall be captives. But we who are addicted to Christ are led away from such shameful pursuits and such wandering life by His own disciple, who says: "My little children, do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world" (1 Joh. ii, 15). It is also written elsewhere: "Know you not that the friendship of this world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God" (Jas. iv, 4). Therefore, separated from earthly desires and removed as far as possible from every business, and on that day joined to impure pleasures, we shall be holy companions of the celebration; and keeping the holy festival to Christ, we shall hear Him saying: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matth. xxv, 34). D For the works of the saints are indeed glorious, and surpass every word and admiration. For the all-wise Paul writes again: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them that love Him" (Isa. lxiv, 4; 1 Cor. ii, 9). And although it is permitted to us to enjoy the divine gifts abundantly, since we have chosen a manner of life separated from the inferior, we cast aside the care of honesty, and provoke the divine and immortal mind to anger. Such is surely the nature of Nu-
- Amen, for the divine nature is by definition incapable of anger. Yet it does not tolerate those who have inclined themselves without restraint toward the necessity of committing wicked deeds. And we speak of His anger in this way by employing terms suited to our own condition. For it was not otherwise possible to signify to some these things that are above us, that is, the qualities inherent in the divine and ineffable nature. When, therefore, He sees those who have drifted into sloth and have stepped into the swamps of self-indulgence, and who deem it worth no account that it is necessary to be guided by the laws that come from Him—turning directly away from every good and noble deed—it is then that He, finally imitating the best of fathers, stretches forth the scourge. For it would have been likely that some would have dared to deny that He is even good, or to suspect otherwise, if He did not check their sloth with proportionate movements, and turn toward what is better those who might have intended—having separated themselves from that which is most profitable to them—to be carried away like unbridled impulses of the mind down steep cliffs, and to hurl themselves senselessly into the abyss of destruction. We will find that the most holy Paul also wrote something of this sort: "If you endure discipline, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline?" B And he adds further: "Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they indeed for a few days disciplined us as seemed best to them; but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Therefore, God disciplines us out of love. In this, one may also vehemently admire the magnitude of the kindness inherent in Him. For although He is able to inflict punishments according to the measure of sins without anyone hindering Him, He nonetheless tempers the movement of our weakness, and He truly disturbs rather than punishes. But in order that we may demonstrate that this discourse is in no way false, come, let us bring into the midst those things that happened to the ancients according to the reason of the times, and let us explain what occurred to them. For the sacred Scriptures testify somewhere that these things happened to them in a figure, but were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
2.
D Accordingly, the God of all gave the law through Moses to those from Israel, a guide for everything worthy of praise, and able to crown with the ornaments of righteousness those who had decided very well to carry out what is fitting for Him. But they missed the mark, and having thrust away the pedagogue, they entangled themselves in the crimes of disobedience. God furthermore accuses them of violated law, saying somewhere thus through the prophet Hosea: "Hear the word"of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a judgment with the inhabitants of the earth, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God upon A the earth; but curse, and lying, and murder, and theft, and adultery have overflowed upon the earth, and they mingle blood with blood. Therefore shall the earth mourn with all the inhabitants of it." And further, again through Micah: "They were devising labors, and doing evil in their beds, and with the light of day they accomplished them. Because they did not lift up their hands to God, and they coveted fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed houses, and despoiled a man and his house, a man and his inheritance." Another of the prophets also cried out: "Woe to those who join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take something away from their neighbor. Shall you dwell alone B upon the earth? For these things were heard in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." For those who labor with an immoderate desire of possessing, always striving to add to what they have those things which belong rather to their neighbors than to themselves, in a certain way attempt to dwell alone upon the earth, not being able to endure neighbors. Certain men of old did these things, despising the divine law. But the author of the law and judge showed himself nevertheless benign. He was calling back, therefore, those who had been injurious to him to repentance, through the voice of Jeremiah, saying: "Return to me, O habitation C of Israel, says the Lord, and I will not set my face against you: for I am merciful, says the Lord, and I will not be angry with you forever. But know your iniquity, that you have acted impiously against the Lord your God." But since they, laboring under much perversity and infected with most foul filthiness, and thoroughly addicted to wickedness, proved themselves such by their very actions, he exercised anger upon them, yet not immoderately, but rather tempered his mercy with indignation. For he speaks thus: "And I will give you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, and you have not returned D to me, says the Lord. And I withheld from you the rain three months before the harvest, and I will rain upon one city, and upon one city I will not rain. One part shall be rained upon, and the part upon which I do not rain shall wither. And two and three cities shall gather into one city to drink water, and shall not be satisfied. And even so you have not returned to me, says the Lord. I have struck you with blasting and mildew; you multiplied your gardens, your vineyards, and your fig-groves, and your olive-groves, and the locust devoured them, and even so you have not returned to me, says the Lord." Observe therefore, how he does not send fire from heaven upon the delinquents, but rather disturbs them by withdrawing their provisions a little, and by this means as it were admonishes men, that
A having abandoned living lawlessly, they should desire better things. That those upon whom such things have happened have paid the penalties for their sins, God, the God of all, shows by saying: “Because you have neglected me, says the Lord, your ways and your practices have done these things to you.”
So much, then, for the affairs of those people. But let us, if it please you, carefully examine our own situation. For at times the rains withhold their pouring, even though the season calls for an abundance of them, and then the deficiency of river waters causes distress; the fruitless sweat of the laborers, no crops in the fields, the destruction of the ripening fruits of trees. Severe and very difficult bodily illnesses infest [us]. Thence come sorrows, B and wailing and lamentations, and the inhabitants are rare throughout the cities and villages. Come then, therefore, imitating the most skilled of physicians, let us carefully search out the cause of such a misfortune.
3. Sin, therefore, has, as it were, a multiform root. From there spring up for us those wretched things; and no one could point to another origin of the things that naturally cause us pain than the things that happened to the ancients, if he were guided well toward the understanding of our own situation. Some say: since we have the Lord as good and very rich in giving, how is it that it is not our lot to be in long and continuous prosperity? What is the obstacle, and what is it that causes us to be cast out of the most pleasant things, and carries us off into sorrows, and forces us to mingle with those thus brought down? But it is, I think, clear to everyone that we have become lacking in the most desirable things. And not because we have stumbled at one time, C nor simply because we have counted up our transgressions of the holy commandments. For that He possesses incomparable gentleness and philanthropy, it is not difficult to see even from this. For He reaches out a saving hand to those who have slipped. He commands us to move toward better things, saying: “Seek the good and not the evil, that you may live, and the Lord God will be with you in this way.” And to those who have chosen to do this, He promises D an abundant supply of good things, saying: “And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will answer the heaven, and the heaven shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, and the wine, and the oil.” But also through another prophet again: “Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty: if I do not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you my blessing, until there is sufficiency,” that is, until you are filled and have enough. Therefore, “Come let us worship and fall down before Him,” as the inspired Psalmist says, “and let us weep before the Lord who made us.” Let us seek from Him the oil of gentleness. Let us turn our own hearts to wishing to see the good. For the crimes of sloth are indeed, in a way, entirely without excuse. For He himself appeared to us from the heavens, the [end of fragment]
A Son, and we have obtained a Teacher who illuminates even the heavenly powers themselves. For being God by nature, and the Only-Begotten Word of God emerged from God, He partook of blood and flesh, and became man by the dispensation, that He might make us also experts in every virtue, and diligent in noble pursuits, and dwellers in the light of true knowledge of God. For since the divine nature is utterly unseen and invisible, and possesses a glory that cannot be approached (for “He dwells in inaccessible light,” according to the voice of Paul), He put on our flesh and conversed with men, accommodating Himself to the measures of humanity, while remaining what He was. And He indeed began the sacred oracles with those from the blood of Israel; for theirs were the promises. But since they showed themselves harsh and stubborn, and utterly rebellious, having rejected them, He bestowed Himself upon the multitudes of the nations. It was, of course, not difficult for Him to suffer nothing; but since He promised us the resurrection of the dead, He did not decline the pains, in order that, having trampled down death and rising from the dead, He might become the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” And we firmly believe that He will destroy corruption and ward off from our bodies the assault of death, since He is Life by nature and Life-giving, as God. And in order that, besides this, He might make for us a path that is passable and easy to the things above, He ascended to the Father and God who is in the heavens, with the flesh that had been united to Him and animated intellectually. And He is at the right hand of the Father, having all creation under His feet, transcendent beyond every created thing, and in natural sovereignty, holding an unshaken kingdom. And as the years revolve, He will come C in the glory of the Father with the holy angels, to render to each according to his works, as it is written. Therefore, as those who are about to render an account to the Judge, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit. Let us bring to perfection every form of gentleness. Let us love justice, love, temperance, mutual benevolence, and love for the poor. Let us have mercy on orphans, let us wipe away the tear of widows, let us visit those in bonds. Let us restore the sick with kindness, and, to speak once, let us be zealous to practice every kind of virtue. For thus, in this way, shall we be pleasing to Christ, the Savior of us all. Beginning the holy Quadragesima from the fifth day of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the saving Pascha from the tenth of the month of Pharmuthi, yet bringing the fasts to an end on the fifteenth of the same month, at late evening on Saturday, according to the evangelical tradition; and celebrating the feast day on the following rising Sunday, the sixteenth of the same month of Pharmuthi; adding then also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost; so that, having passed through this time rightly and with piety, we may become worthy of the communion of the saints in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom and with Whom to God and the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. Greet one another with a holy kiss. The brethren who are with me greet you.
HOMILY XXVI
A I shall use once again the words of the all-wise Paul, and indeed I shall address those who have been justified in faith and sanctified in the Spirit: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to all men." It is a time for steadfastness and patience; a time for excellent deeds and intellectual valor. For the time of our holy festival is drawing near once again, preceded by the august and most holy fast, so that by establishing a glorious and approved life, and by wiping away the stains of sin through praiseworthy labors, we may present ourselves holy and blameless to Christ, crying out almost and saying: "But for me it is good to cleave to God." B I believe that those who are experts in the evangelical life, and who are lovers of the rewards prepared for the saints, ought to advance toward this with an unconquerable alacrity, casting out from their souls as far as possible the sluggish and worthless sloth, and bidding a long farewell, as it were, to senseless idleness. For things that are excellent cannot be attained by those who have leaned toward laziness, nor are the gifts from God to be captured by such men. For virtue loves sweat, and having obtained a path that leads straight to her—a path that is hard and steep for those who choose to endure suffering—she renders it plain and easy for those who are willing, drawing to herself the kind of person who is naturally inclined to excel, even as she drives away those who are slothful and averse to the labors of war. For she loves, as I said, those who are outstanding above the rest. C The prophet asserts something of this kind as well: "The ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but the ungodly will stumble in them." Therefore, as the divine Paul writes: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." D For just as of those who dwell in a city adjacent and bordering upon the land of the barbarians, if any are experienced in war and skilled in tactics, they make absolutely nothing of the incursions of those enemies; but those who yield to hard labor and do not dare to stand up bravely are left as easy prey for the invaders: so it is also for those who have purposed to order their lives according to the law, from whom those who oppose them—and they are very many and bitter—are not far off. But those whose minds are vigorous, and who have put on, as it were, a spiritual armor—the piety toward Christ—go out against them and will be superior to their ferocity, and with a heart not wounded by any blows, they will sing the song of thanksgiving.
saying: “In thee we shall gore our enemies, and in thy name we shall despise those who rise up against us.” A Since Christ fights for those who love Him and urges those who have decided to obey the evangelical oracles toward a holiness befitting their courage, let us struggle against the flesh, and let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement. Let us remember the divine Scripture which says: “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” And again: “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” B For we are enrolled among the sons of God, once we have admitted into our souls the beauty of the life that is in Christ, and have excellently conformed ourselves to the pursuits of piety. When, therefore, the characters of the immortal nature shine forth in us, and we have been enrolled as sons of God and have been enriched with the fraternity of Christ, the King of all, let us live joyfully by consecrating our own life to Him. For thus will we be legitimate companions of the chorus, with Him as the very prefect and leader of the celebration. And if it is especially fitting for those who keep a festive celebration to be adorned in splendid garments, it will not be alien for us to shine with the glory of virtue—nay, it is even strongly fitting for those who wish to enter into the Holy of Holies, where Christ has entered as a forerunner for us, according to the voice of the divine Paul. But by the Holy of Holies we mean the ways of mystical perfection, C upon which no one would venture, nor would anyone draw near to God, in terms of disposition, that is, and holiness, unless he had first washed away every stain of sin and carnal desires most thoroughly. Since, however, the things commanded of old in type through the all-wise Moses have been written “for our admonition,” and are images of spiritual things, big with much usefulness, come, let us bring forth for the hearers, as a surety and clear proof of what we have just said, that which is written in Exodus. It is as follows: “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not. And it shall be a statute for ever to him and to his seed after him.” D
B 2. Observe, then, how the divine law commands those who wish to enter into the Holy of Holies to wash themselves beforehand. And for those who do not endure to do this, the penalty is seen to be death; for it is not permitted, it is by no means permitted, for us to approach God with unwashed feet, lest we become enemies to ourselves and suffer the ultimate punishment. “For what fellowship hath light with darkness? as it is written. Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” B May we then, with reason, consider this cleansing which must be done by us to be physical rather than spiritual? And how indeed is it permitted to doubt that it is spiritual, when God says plainly through the voice of Jeremiah: “Wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved, O Jerusalem”? There are very many forms of wickedness: witchcrafts, gratifications of the flesh, covetousness, whisperings, perjuries, and deceits. But that which most of all provokes the God of all to anger above all others is when one is easily drawn to forbidden things and fills his mind with perverse thoughts; and, moreover, that there are some with no upright heart who choose to follow spirits of error, not accepting the accurate and unadulterated faith. For there are, there are indeed, those who distort the power of the truth to their own private opinions, and pile up a mass of the ignorant multitude using notions that are ostensibly wise, to whom it is necessary to say: “How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you.” I will add also to what I have said this: some who have taken the name of Christians are not yet what they are said to be in power and in truth, but they love the ways of apostasy and have inclined toward the deceits of demons; and they perhaps persuade themselves that they can hide even from Him who knows secret things; to whom we shall therefore say: “Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?” For nothing could escape Him who implanted in us also the ability to hear and, indeed, to see. That not to be unreservedly devoted to God, but to have a halting and infirm mind, and that even after the faith has been received, so as to think and say that there are other gods besides the one who is so by nature and in truth, is a cause of ruin and destruction and provokes to the utmost the wrath of God who judges justly, may become clear through the Holy Scriptures. For Israel was instructed in piety toward God through the law given by Moses. They heard clearly that: “The Lord thy God is one Lord.” And: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth.” And they, although they ought to have esteemed the commandments D most highly, so as to prove themselves legitimate, did not strive; and while before all others
B they ought to have studied that which is by nature most beneficial, they brought upon their own heads a self-invited penalty. For they turned impiously to the point of desiring to circumscribe the ineffable and transcendent glory of the God who is Lord of all. Having fashioned idols, they stored them away in their homes, as if they might perhaps be able to deceive even the all-seeing God Himself. But the matter resulted for them in an unbearable punishment. The divinely inspired prophet Ezechiel speaks thus: “And He brought me into the court, and I looked, and behold, one hole in the wall; and He said to me, Son of man, dig in the wall; and I dug in the wall, and behold one door. And He said to me, Go in, and see the wicked iniquities which they are doing here this day. And I went in and saw, and behold all the likeness of creeping things and vain abominations of cattle; and I saw all the idols of Israel, inscribed upon it round about. And seven men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jechonias the son of Saphan, stood in the midst of them before their faces. And each one had his censer in his hand, and the vapor of the incense ascended. And He said to me, Hast thou seen, son of man? Is it a small thing to the house of Israel to do the iniquities which they have committed here? For they have filled the land with iniquity, and they turned back to provoke Me, and I will deal with them in wrath; My eye shall not spare, nor will I have mercy.” For it could not be that men so double-minded, contumelious, impious, and rebellious should not in every way and altogether be condemned to the most extreme of punishments. For they perished, consumed by the swords of their enemies, and served their foes, and were oppressed by every kind of calamity. Therefore, if any act with a doubting heart toward God, and do not labor to maintain a sincere charity toward Him, being addicted to the worship of idols, then God permits regions and cities to be vexed by the inroads of enemies, and to come to the experience of every misery. He is to be worshipped, therefore, with unwavering faith, and with a mind deeply fixed and set upon His honor and glory. For concerning those who are otherwise disposed, that which is said through the voice of Isaiah truly speaks: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” They shall also hear Christ saying: “Woe to you, because you are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful to men, but within are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.” For it is not sufficient, for the sake of acquiring the glory of an honorable life, to be seen adorned with an external and bare appearance only, while having very little regard for charity toward God; but we ought to embrace piety and unwavering faith with more ardent zeal, through which, as I believe, anyone might attain the grace of divine benevolence. For the divine and virtue-loving nature rejoices in those who are disposed in this manner. But if, with the unbridled impulse of the mind, we are carried away to things forbidden and dare to violate His glory, and to attribute it to gods which are no gods, saying to the wood: “Thou art my father,” and to the stone: “Thou hast begotten me,”
A and attributing worship to the elements of the world, and this too while bearing the name of Christians, that we shall in every way and altogether be subjected to fierce and inescapable punishment, no one of those who are once counted among us would doubt. To whom the sacred word has also proclaimed that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” B And the laws that are established among us and in force also punish soldiers, if they neglect the loyalty owed to their rulers and choose to favor the barbarians; and if one should cast away his shield, he would presumably throw away along with it the very fact of being among the living. Therefore, the word has just shown us that a divided mind, and this inclination to abandon the better and true things for those that are baser and most abominable, is also a cause of war; and it further proclaims that it works hindrances to the other blessings we enjoy. For God does not send down showers, so that one can neither plow nor engage in the labors of husbandry; but by famine and thirst cities and lands alike are withered. C Observe with me that Israel once suffered this. For at certain times, Ahab reigned over the ten tribes that were in Samaria; and having utterly disregarded reverence and love for God, he sacrificed to idols. And since the multitude under him was easily led and brutish, having dishonored Him who is one and by nature truly God, they were immediately infected with the same madness as their ruler, although they had the law set over them, and were being very well instructed through the commandment of Moses, to the end that it might be most for their benefit; but since, as the inspired David says, “All have turned aside, they have together become unprofitable,” D the prophet Elijah came forth into the midst, indignant, of course, at the insult offered to the God who is ruler of all; and he threatened famine and barrenness and the scarcity of blessings from above. For he said, “The Lord of Hosts lives, the God of Israel, before whom I stand, if there shall be dew and rain these years, except by the word of my mouth.” And when he had said this, He who grants what is life-sustaining sent no rain upon the earth; it was not possible to plow the fields, nor to gather anything from the labors of husbandry, nor to see the earth blooming with grass in its season; but the mountains were thirsty with drought, and the plains, before flourishing and fertile, were almost lamenting their own barrenness. And what followed? By the intolerable assaults of famine, some in Samaria were driven to such necessity that women did not even spare their own children, neglecting the very law of nature and utterly trampling upon and despising the decrees of maternal affection. Hence the prophet Jeremiah, mourning for those to whom this had happened, says: “The hands of the compassionate women have boiled their own children.” How then did the matter finally end? Or in what way did they deliver themselves from such a heavy and truly inevitable punishment? The impostors of Israel were removed from the midst, while the capital sentence was passed upon them by the prophet Elijah.
A And so, when the truth shone forth again, and those who had slipped into the worship of demons acknowledged the God who is such by nature, the merciful God again bestowed upon them the good things of kindness and the abundance of food.
3. Therefore, as I said, we must strive for honest pursuits, rejecting base ones, and we should shine with the adornments of modesty, and we should order our life above all according to the prescription of virtue and the laws; and, furthermore, we should preserve genuine faith and love, which is firm, towards God, the ruler of all. "He who did not spare His own Son," as the most wise Paul writes, "but delivered Him up for us all, that with Him He might also freely give us all things." For He who surpasses all understanding, and through whom all things were created and brought into being, He who is born from the very substance of God and the Father, the Word, "did not consider it robbery to be equal to God," as it is written, "but voluntarily emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant." And for what reason He did this, the blessed Paul declares, saying: "Forasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For He does not give aid to angels, but He gives aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to propitiate for the sins of the people." B For the Creator of all things created all things for incorruption, as it is written, for the salvation and generation of the world, and there was no kingdom of Hades upon the earth. "But by the envy of the devil, death entered into the world." It was necessary that the ancient will of God concerning us should not be defeated by the envy of the crooked and arch-evil dragon, but rather that it should appear superior to his malice. For this reason, the Only-Begotten Word of God, being Life by nature and quickening all things, humbled Himself, as I said, into our conditions and put on our flesh, that the flesh might become life, and that the sting of the devil's perversity might finally be blunted, since sin, the mother of death, had introduced it to those on earth. Therefore, the Only-Begotten Word of God accomplished two good things simultaneously by becoming man. He removed from human bodies death, which He Himself did not create, but which had been introduced C rather through sin, and furthermore, He became a merciful high priest for us all. What then, someone will say, was He who is God not merciful even before He became like us? But how is He not by nature good, or rather, should He not justly be understood to be Goodness itself? D
Or did He perhaps change into being good by nature from not being so? Yet how would it not be laughter-worthy for anyone to entertain such thoughts, were he to reflect on them? A He became a merciful high priest toward us in the following manner. For the law, which was spoken by angels to those from Israel, enjoined that those who fall into transgressions should pay the penalties, and this without delay; and the all-wise Paul will bear witness to this in writing: “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.” B It was therefore something unpracticed and wholly foreign for those ministering according to the law to have pity on any who fell into error through sloth. C But Christ became a merciful high priest. For He did not seek D penalties for sins committed on earth; rather, He justified all through grace and compassions. Moreover, He also made them spiritual worshipers, having displayed to us the truth clearly and vividly, that is, the true manner of a good life. This is precisely and accurately signified through the evangelical proclamations, and it is where He, by upbraiding the commands of Moses—or rather, by overturning what was ordained of old—revealed the truth; but He rather swept aside the shadow of the legal letter and transferred the types into the worship and service in spirit and truth. A Therefore He also said plainly: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I say to you, one iota or one dot will by no means pass from the law, until all things come to pass.” B But the transferring of types into truth was not the act of one who destroys them, but rather of one who completes them, if it is true, as those who know how to paint do, when they apply the multiform variety of colors to the primary sketches, they do not destroy them but rather bring them to a more manifest appearance. C Christ has performed a thing of this kind, rendering the crudeness of the types strong unto the truth. But Israel did not understand the mystery, although both the law and the prophets had foretold it in many ways. D And even our Savior Christ of all, through countless works, was persuading them to understand that, even though He appeared as a human in the economy of salvation for our sake, He nonetheless is, and was in that way, clearly God. For this reason, He both accomplished things beyond the measure of our human nature and touched upon works of divine greatness: raising the dead from their tombs, those who were already rotting and decomposed; infusing sight into the blind, as the Creator; rebuking unclean spirits with authority; and cleansing lepers with a nod. And other things besides these...
fractured, and entirely unacquainted with discipline. For since they ought, without any delay, to have believed in Him, throwing off the yoke, they attacked Him with insults, and after perpetual indignities, finally drove Him to the cross. And it was surely in His own power to suffer nothing, and to escape the snares of the Jews with no difficulty at all. For how, as if overcome by human strength, could God be taken? But since His sufferings were the dissolution of death and corruption (for the body of Life could not be conquered by death), He voluntarily permitted the violence of the Jews to prevail for a little while, so that, by encountering death and rising from the dead, He might open to human nature a way and an entrance for overcoming it. For He rose again, and ascended to the Father, offering Himself for us as the first-fruits of human nature renewed unto immortality, and He holds an equal throne with the Father, and will come at the appointed time in the glory of the Father to judge the world. A “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
4. Therefore, as those who are destined to appear at the appointed time before the Judge of all, let us adorn our souls with every kind of virtue, let us abstain from licentiousness and bodily defilement, let us put on bowels of mercy, let us help the needy, let us have compassion on the orphans, let us protect the widows; let us visit those who are oppressed by sickness, those in chains, and those in any other kind of calamity; let us study forbearance, let us perfect long-suffering, gentleness, and kindness, and, to speak once for all, let us meditate on every kind of virtue. B For thus shall we celebrate the holy and most pure solemnity, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the twentieth of the month of February, and the week of the saving Pascha on the twenty-fifth of the month of March; and ending the fasts on the thirtieth of the same month, at the deep evening of the Sabbath, according to the evangelical tradition; and celebrating the feast on the following Lord’s day, at the Calends of the month of April; adding thereto, in succession, the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost; so that, meditating in our minds upon the time of remission as a sort of image of the rest of the saints in the heavens, C we may be made worthy of their fellowship in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom and with Whom, to God and the Father, be glory with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages. Amen.
HOMILY XXVII
1. Again, the brilliant chorus of the saints invites us to the customary assembly and the most holy solemnity, and urges us to send up hymns of thanksgiving to Christ, the Savior of all, saying:
PASCHAL HOMILY XXVII
A “The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice.” 36 For in former times, indeed, through the all-wise Moses, Israel was set free from bondage in Egypt. But the rest of the nations, from the rising of the sun to the setting, and those who occupied other parts of the earth, being subject to an unholy tyrant—to Satan, that is—and having the yoke of sin which could not be cast off, were filled with the utmost misery. But since Christ has reigned over those under heaven, to those who believe in Him He calls out and says: “Take My yoke upon you,” 37 and having been set free from the loathsomeness of the wicked and apostate demon, and having escaped the bitter hordes of the demons, they do not merely encourage one another on, saying: “Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us,” 38 but being filled with the joy that leads to rest, they honor with the praises befitting Him the Author of salvation and the Provider of all prosperity for them, and they repeat that which is said by the voice of the divine David: “Sing unto the Lord a new song, for the Lord hath done marvelous things; His right hand hath saved Him, and His holy arm.” 39 And by the right hand and arm of God the Father, they designate the Son. For through Him all things were brought into being, and He Himself is the strength of all, as He is also the Lord of the Powers. This great and admirable One, who surpasses all understanding and admiration, the arm of God the Father, has saved—that is to say, the human race itself. For through Him we have been reconciled, and He Himself has brought us to God the Father. And indeed, He clearly said: “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 40 Therefore, as those who have been united through Him and in Him, having become partakers of the divine nature, and being called the race of God, and having obtained the brilliant dignity of sonship, let us remember one of the holy apostles, who wrote thus: “And if you call upon the Father who judges without respect of persons according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your dwelling here; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your futile conduct handed down from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 41 It is necessary, therefore, to submit the neck of the mind to the desires of this matter, and to hasten to follow His saving decrees, and especially with youthful vigor, “cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,” as it is written, D “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
2. Now, all time is suitable for upright and modest men in which to walk the holy and blameless path of righteousness, and to be carried straight toward the best endeavors, pressing toward them as if with full sails. But this time in which we are now engaged is truly, in my opinion, the most appropriate of all, that which...
B it is necessary, as far as possible, to pass through—being adorned and made radiant by the glories of the virtues—into the interior of the sacred veils, and thus to be seen by the all-pure God. But to miss the season and the opportunities that derive from it, I would say, is not without penalty for those who succumb to this. For who would praise a farmer if, when it is possible to plow and the season grants him the opportunity to do so, he is seen idling, and prefers a lazy and fruitless sloth? Or who would not deem sailors worthy of every reproach if, having neglected a favorable breeze, they then, once the season has passed and it is already out of time for sailing, choose to seek those things—out of sheer ignorance—which they have lost? Therefore, just as the all-wise Paul writes: “As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone” (Gal. vi, 10). For slothfulness is fraught with danger, and one would not be far from the truth if one were to say that it is entirely and in every way the herald of destruction. For it is written: “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord negligently” (Jerem. xlviii, 10). If, then, even for those who do the work, it does not go unpunished unless they do it carefully and diligently, what penalty will be decreed for those who have resolved to abstain from doing it altogether? C Come then, as one of the disciples of the Savior says: “Girding up the loins of your mind, be sober, hope perfectly in the grace that is being offered to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ, as children of obedience, not being conformed to the former desires of your ignorance; but according to the holy one who called you, do you also become holy in all your behavior.” For it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (I Petr. i, 15-16). For just as, among those who rule over earthly affairs, those are considered most familiar and intimate who are most prompt for daring deeds and most experienced in war, and who, moreover, are commended above all others by the glory of military strategy; so, too, shall those be called friends of God and be near to Him in disposition who are not entangled in the impurities of the flesh and preoccupied with the distractions of this present life, but rather those who make themselves illustrious and adorned by the radiance of the virtues. D And what could be considered better than this by those who are accustomed to thinking rightly? Even if someone should speak of earthly riches, they are not secure; they stand on no firm ground, but traverse a path that is, as it were, slippery. Often indeed they are shaken, and one might behold a man who was enviable yesterday or the day before, now caught in the most extreme calamities. But let us grant, if you will, that they are stable. What, then, is the profit to be gained from them for the salvation of the soul? Are not drunkenness and carousals derived from them, and tables heaped with luxuries that often plot against the very bellies of those who feast upon them? But perhaps someone will say: “Do you then condemn the elegance of garments, and the honors that attend wealth, and if someone stores up very many and precious goods in treasure-chambers, which are commonly praised by the usage of the world
will you censure this too, and say that the thing is nothing at all? A To these things I would say that it is enough to shout the word of the blessed John: "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." Observe, then, how he, being endowed with the Holy Spirit, has most excellently reasoned, defining the enjoyment of earthly things by these three parts. For the lusts of the flesh indicate the gluttony of the belly, and the cravings of delicacies, and the impurity which is almost always attendant upon these. The pleasures and delights of the eyes, indeed, indicate the varied sight of garments, and the beauty of colors, and the splendor of things to which wealth is addicted. He calls the pride of life the B superiority of dignities, and what is called the height of honor and glory.
3. Come then, let us measure the length of life, and stretching the eye of the mind to the end of each one, let us consider what final outcome awaits wealthy men. Someone from the number of the saints said: "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there." Another also writes: "For we have brought nothing into the world, nor are we able to take anything out." Since, therefore, the time of life is so constrained and short, and after it has passed, it is not possible to possess riches, how is it not much better that we should devote our mind clearly to sacred pursuits, and possess an unlosable treasure, stored up in the heavens, "where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break through C and steal," according to the voice of the Lord?
Come, let us also bring forward a small matter from the evangelical records, not useless for the edification of those who hear. Christ said somewhere: "The land of a certain rich man brought forth plentiful crops, and he reasoned with himself, saying: What shall I do? I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him: Fool, this night they require your soul from you. And what you have prepared, whose will it be?" O marvelous thing! The wealthy man is distressed, he is tortured by a heavier care than others. "What shall I do?" he says. The rich man usurps words suitable D for poverty. "Where shall I store my goods?" The rich man is a possessor of many things; fields teeming to excess have gladdened him, and reapers more numerous than can be counted, or perhaps a vineyard rich in grapes shows wine-filled vats overflowing. Therefore, O rich man, you have everything in abundance; yet life fails you. To whom, then, will these things you have prepared belong? It were better for you to "do justice and good righteousness," according to the voice of the prophet; and we say that good righteousness is kindness towards brothers, charity, mutual love,
A cultivating mercy that glories over the unending flame. For the God of all things honors the merciful, and deems worthy of all reverence anyone who carries the mark of His own serenity impressed upon their soul. "Be merciful," He says, "just as your Father who is in heaven is merciful." For just as a father who loves his children, when he sees the image of his own form shining brightly in his son, rejoices in that which has been begotten, and on account of this is sometimes spurred on to love him even more; so too, our God, who is a lover of virtue, when He sees a soul that has obtained the likeness of the goodness which resides in Him, does not allow that acquisition to be unrewarded. For He crowns it with hope and grace, and cleansing it from every stain, He enrolls it in the fellowship of the saints. For it is said: "By almsgiving and faith are sins purged away." Let the mind within us, therefore, be merciful, tender, and accessible, so that by not becoming hard toward our brothers, we might not hear God saying at that all-terrible judgment seat: "Wicked servant, ought you not also to have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?" Let us, moreover, add to this other virtues as well: justice, temperance, gentleness, humility, patience, and lack of anger. For just as those who practice the art of painting, by applying B various shapes with a manifold array of colors, delineate a beauty that is visible for all to admire; so too, whoever is a craftsman in piety, being adorned not merely with one virtue but with a great many, will truly present a pleasing appearance to the eyes of the Godhead. For God looks upon the mind and heart, and diligently scrutinizes the beauty of the noble deeds that are within souls.
4. And we have now been discoursing these things to you, as having drawn them from the fountains of the divine and evangelical oracles, which lead the way most excellently for us toward every noble deed, even though we were once thoroughly mired in the mud of wickedness and tyrannically oppressed by the assault of the passions. "For there was no one among us doing goodness, there was not even one, but all turned aside, together they became unprofitable," according to the voice of the Psalmist. So miserably acting, the Creator had mercy on us—He who brought all things into being and who did not make the earth in vain, according to the voice of the prophet, but C formed it so that it might be inhabited. But in what way did He have mercy? The all-wise Paul explains this, saying: "God, having spoken in many parts and in many ways in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ages. Who, being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purification of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they." For that which is of the substance of God and the Father, in a manner that exceeds all speech and understanding...
A the Word that shone forth, the image, the radiance of His glory, the co-enthroned and co-eternal Son, who is also distinguished by equality and likeness in every respect, became flesh—that is to say, perfect man. And He did not lay aside what He was (for that is impossible, since it is natural to Him to exist immutably and unchangeably), but rather, by the assumption of flesh and blood, He held the form of a servant as if it were His own, He who is by nature and truly free, inasmuch as He is sprung from the substance that is supreme over all, which possesses power over all things (for the things that were brought from non-existence into being and persistence stand under the glory of their Maker). Having become man—and not having come *into* a man, or joined a man to Himself, as some have foolishly imagined—He was none the less, as I said, in the perfections of His own divinity. Nevertheless, He walked among those on earth as one of us, for it was not possible for anyone to fix their gaze upon the naked and unmixed glory of the Godhead. "For no one," He says, B "shall see my face and live." For if one could not take in the brightness of the sun's ray with the eyes of the body (for the power of the faculty of vision is broken, and concedes the victory to the unbearable strikes of the light), how would it have been possible to endure the Son coming to us with the naked glory of the Godhead? Therefore, having shrouded most skillfully, and in the manner He alone knows, the inaccessible light of the splendor inherent in Him, and having taken on our likeness, He shared our poverty, so that by subjecting us to His own laws, He might lead us straight along the path to pursue every kind of virtue, and, having cleansed us by His grace from the stains of ancient faults, He might join us to Himself through sanctification. He has therefore given laws, not as Moses did of old, in figure and shadows, but rather, by bringing those things forth into the open light and restoring to the truth what had been set forth enigmatically to the ancients, He has called us to the grace available through faith, and first of all the Israelites. But although they ought to have accepted the profit of the proclamations made through Him, chosen to follow Him, and seized the sharing of the gifts that come from Him, [and] to honor with faith Him who for our sake became as we are, the wretched men did not do this. C Instead, they rushed upon Him like wild beasts, uttering a foolish and cold speech from a deranged mind. For they said: "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." O senseless Pharisee, had you not heard one of the holy prophets saying: D "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," which is, God with us? For He was with us when He appeared clothed in our likeness. He did not receive...
A Dost thou not know the inspired David proclaiming, "The Lord God of gods has spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the setting thereof. Out of Sion the perfection of His beauty. God shall come evidently, our God, and shall not keep silence"? How, then, could God, who is invisible, be seen evidently by those on earth? But He was seen through the taking of flesh, when, although He was truly God (being indeed above all things), He shone forth in a way befitting God, and having been brought forth in the final times of the age, He was not, as I said, made in a man, nor did He, according to the idle talk of some, join a man to Himself; but He Himself truly became man, in a marvelous way surpassing understanding, and was made in the form of a servant, lowering Himself into kenosis—He who fills all things—and casting Himself down to our lowliness—He who is established above all things—and enclosing Himself within the measures of humanity, whose empire is over every Principality, Domination, Thrones, and Powers, and every name that is named. Do not, therefore, bring a charge against Him, saying, "Why, being man, dost thou make thyself God?" But rather, be astonished at the immense miracle, and follow the remarkable skill of Providence with highest praises and plaudits, saying: "How, indeed, when thou wert by nature God, didst thou become man, while remaining God?" For then it is possible to find the prophet Habakkuk, who, discussing this miracle, thus cries out: "O Lord, I have heard thy report, and was afraid; I considered thy works, and was amazed." Know, therefore, that even if thou seest Him as a man exposed to thy poverty for thy sake, He is nevertheless God, begotten of the Father in a divine manner, and from the holy Virgin according to the flesh, in a manner strange and paradoxical. For His generation according to the flesh also C had to be seen as new and strange. Therefore, some of the unbelievers attacked Him with stones, reproaches, and insults as He called them to salvation. And furthermore, having as it were let loose every rein upon their own audacity and temerity against Him, and having gone to the limit of all wickedness, they crucified the Lord of glory. The leaders of the Jewish ranks, moreover, set a snare. For they thought that if they removed the heir from their midst, they would still hold the governance of the Synagogue themselves. But they wandered far from the truth, and things fell out contrary to what they had hoped. Evil men were punished with a wicked destruction, having done absolutely no harm to Him who was crucified. For He returned to life not long after, having commanded the bonds of death to be loosed, and having opened wide the gates of hell to the spirits who dwelt below, having, moreover, reformed human nature in Himself first, unto incorruptibility and D long-lasting life. For just as we died in Adam—the punishment of that man having spread to the whole race that exists from him—so we have been made alive in Christ. For being a second root of humanity, and a second Adam, He will transmit the life in which He is powerful to all men. And indeed, just as in Adam the nature was subject to the curse and to death, so in turn in Christ is human nature, which He has blessed through Himself.
the nature of the man, having suffered the curse and penalty, so again in Christ is the nature, blessed by God and the Father, through Him pronounced superior to death. He suffered, therefore, voluntarily in His own flesh, and remained impassible in His own nature. And we say that the suffering was His. For His own body suffered, that He might lead us out of suffering. "For by His stripes we were healed," according to what is written. Having trampled upon the power of death, and having restored life to the world, and having broken the power of sin, and having cast down the ruler of this world and the wicked powers that were in him, He ascended to the Father and God in the heavens, and sits upon the most high thrones, having returned to His innate and ever-existent glory, and He shall come in times appointed to judge the living and the dead, "For He shall render to each according to his works."
B 5. Since, then, we are to be placed in due time before the divine tribunal, where there will be an exact examination of what each has lived, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, adding to this mercy toward the needy, love toward brothers, and, in a word, every manner of holy excellence; beginning the holy Quadragesima from the tenth of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the holy and saving Pascha from the fifteenth of the month of Pharmouthi; ending the fasts on the twentieth of the same month of Pharmouthi, at deep evening, according to the evangelical tradition; celebrating the feast on the next following Sunday, the twenty-first of the same month of Pharmouthi; adding thereafter the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost: so that, considering this time as a certain image of the rest of the saints in heaven, we may be deemed worthy of their communion, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom to God and the Father be glory, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY XXVIII
Premeditation
This discourse brings before us a moral instruction, and makes mention of a way of life which would be fitting for those who love seemliness, and to whom it might be C dear to pass their time brilliantly. The aim of the writer does not look toward being praised, but looks to the profit of those gathered.
1. The blessed prophets, who transmit to us the words from above and from God, say somewhere: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings of good things!" For it is not unpleasant to speak of those things which, if they should come to pass for some people for their good, are matters of hope to those who are about to receive them, as if they were to be present D very soon. For present and visible joys indeed fill us with delight at their fulfillment, but things that are yet to come grieve those who are their lovers. Being thus constituted in mind—
A so that nothing is more precious than to enjoy spiritual goods, having placed these before all others, come, let us announce our holy and most pure feast which is now approaching and will soon follow our prayer. It will come indeed, it will come, and not long hence; for a messenger, as it were, of the solemnity befitting it arises for us in the season of fasting, almost crying out and saying through one of the holy apostles: "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct his works." For it is necessary that we, having wiped away the filth of all wickedness, having overcome shameful pleasure, and having turned away from the life condemned by the laws, should love to lay hold of every kind of virtue and, shining with the splendor of a good life, offer ourselves pure to the God of all. For thus He spoke to us through the most wise Moses: B "Three times of the year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord your God shall choose: at the feast of unleavened bread, and at the feast of weeks, and at the feast of tabernacles." Now, as for being deemed worthy of the vision from above, one might, I think, judge it to be no small matter, or rather, believe it to be worth everything, if only one has a sound mind; for what could be equivalent to being looked upon by God? The inspired David sings, saying: "Look upon me, and have mercy on me." For it follows necessarily that those whom He has deemed worthy of His gaze, He also grants mercy. Therefore, by investigating the reasons for each feast, let us store up in our souls a treasure of thoughts that is not unfruitful. For the feast of unleavened bread has as its cause the liberation of the Israelite people who were freed from blood, when, in the first month according to the Hebrews, they sacrificed the lamb as a type of Christ, and eating unleavened bread upon it, they shook off the yoke of Egyptian cruelty; C then, having cast off the burden of an unaccustomed and intolerable service, they were delivered from the toils of mud and brick-making, and fleeing the tyrant's cruelty, they hastened with free will to worship God. The assembly of Weeks was celebrated at harvest time, for wheat and other fruits, with which farmers joyfully fill the threshing floor, having gathered the produce from the fields, and for the much-abundant reward they brought back for the labors they had endured in cultivating the earth. The third, moreover, that is upon the booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles, was celebrated with joy after all labor was finished and the various kinds of fruits were already stored in treasuries. D For they had, as it were, exhausted every sweat associated with the labors of the farmers; for with palm leaves, and the fruit of beautiful trees, and dense branches, and those of the willow and osier, they then wove booths, and being free from cares and indulgent of their spirit, they lived under them for those seven days. These, therefore, are the reasons for each celebration. But since the shadow of the law has passed away, and...
those things which were typologically prophesied to the ancients have shifted into truth (for all things are new in Christ), come, let us contemplate something spiritual with the eyes of our minds, and we shall demonstrate that the feasts, which we just mentioned, were indeed ordained in the best possible order. The discourse will follow the events that occurred in types everywhere, forming the truth from them. B
2. Pharaoh, therefore, was a type of the perversity of the devil. For he tormented the Israelites—those of the blood of Israel—with mud and brickwork and the toils pertaining to these things; and having ensnared them in an inescapable yoke of slavery, he would not allow them to sacrifice to the God over all. But the inventor of sin, that is to say Satan, he who is terrible and supercilious and a thief of supreme glory, who ejects speeches full of audacity from his savage mind (for he has dared to say, "I will be like the Most High" [Isa. XIV, 14]), having placed the yoke of his own perversity upon those throughout all the earth, ordered them to worship him, and, as if with some mud and brickwork, ordered them to be burdened with the cravings regarding this flesh, and with labors both unpaid and vain. For he knew that the concern for earthly affairs leads entirely and in every way to destruction and ruin. But Christ has shone forth upon the world—through whom and in whom is all redemption—the true Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. We have, therefore, been delivered through His sacrifice from the tyranny that held sway of old, and we celebrate the feast to the King of all and to God, having washed away the mire of the ancient deception, as if it were a rheum from the eyes of our mind. And since, as I said, we have all been redeemed in Christ, "We have sown for ourselves into righteousness, and we have harvested for a fruit of life," according to the voice of the prophet [Os. X, 12]; we are henceforth occupied with fruitful zeal. We have esteemed a rewarding sweat, striving to perform those things through which one might be well-pleasing both to God and to men. C D
3. We say that this is the feast concerning the Weeks and the harvest of wheat; and having arrived henceforth at this point of cheerfulness, and having become beautiful in every virtue, and heaping up riches in our own souls through various fruits, and having locked them away as if in treasuries (for it is written, "You shall eat the fruits of your labors" [Ps. CXXVII, 2]), then indeed, then also we shall dwell in the tabernacles above, and we shall receive from God the delights that are in Paradise, and we shall ascend to that ancient and truly much-desired prosperity, leading a life that is entirely devoid of sweat and of every labor. The third feast, which was celebrated under tabernacles, holds the image of this, when they would take fronds of palms and branches of other trees, the type, I suppose, indicating the delights in Paradise. Therefore, for I shall recall to our discourse
A the word; for He said, God established three seasons of the year, at which every male ought to appear before Him. Is it not, then, worthy to investigate the cause of this divine and holy decree! Yet God, who is over all, is the Creator of the universe, and by His nods the female and male kind were brought into existence. How then did He drive away the female from the need to appear before Him, while the male B is accounted worthy of such a brilliant and renowned glory? We say, then, that the power of the legal commandment leads us through shadow and types unto the power of the truth. It receives, therefore, the manifest things that we see as images of intelligible realities, and in this way it sets us upon subtle and distinct contemplations. For the female kind is always somewhat weak both in mind and body; but the male kind excels and is superior in both of the things mentioned. Therefore, as the male is a kind that excels in intelligible manliness and distinguished understanding, it is held in honor, and it stands before the face of God, and it is accounted worthy of His visitation. For it is written, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer." C But whatever things might be held in regard by God, these are of no value to the devil and his angels, and they are not free from the danger of experiencing their cruelty. For he attacks every saint, and he leaps savagely upon those who possess spiritual manliness; but the miserable one misses the mark in his striking, for all the devices of his perversity are carried wide of the goal. That the male, spiritually speaking, is no small offense to him, and that it grieves him greatly to see it held in high esteem, we shall learn from the writing of the all-wise Moses. For the insane Pharaoh plotted against those of the blood of Israel. But when the multitude of their race had increased beyond any counting, he was bitten D by this very fact, and that most bitterly. Calling for them, he says, the midwives of the Hebrews, he commanded them, saying: "Every male that is born to the Hebrews, cast into the river, and every female, keep alive." By placing the person of Pharaoh again upon the God-opposing and adversary power, that is to say, upon Satan, we say that the strong and moreover wise kind is hateful to him and most hostile. For it would not submit to his yoke, nor would it bow its neck to his unholy counsels. It stands against him and fights back manfully, girded with spiritual armor, and always brightening its own life with pursuits of virtue. But the female kind, as I said, is soft, unwise, and weak, and unskilled in war, and it has relaxed hands, and it does not know how to shoot, and it is not able to be fitted with the weapons of justice. This kind he loves and approaches, and he leans towards it entirely; for he honors, as I said, the unmanly and unwarlike kind. Therefore, as the blessed Psalmist says, "Act manfully, and let your heart be comforted,"
all you who hope in the Lord." A And in what way we may successfully accomplish this, the disciple of Christ will show us, saying: "Therefore, girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope perfectly for the grace that is brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ, as children of obedience, not configuring yourselves to your former desires in your ignorance; but according to the Holy One who called you, do you also become holy in all conduct; for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" For it is not among the possibilities that those who are filthy and defiled should draw near to the all-pure God. "For what fellowship has light with darkness?" B according to what is written.
4. You have an image of the matter in the high priest Moses. For as he was pasturing flocks of sheep on Mount Horeb, a fire miraculously appeared flashing in a bush, and the flame was consuming the thorn-bush, yet it was not harming it at all (for it was not burning it in any way), and it was making the miracle great and extraordinary. Moses therefore approached, inquiring diligently what this thing of the paradoxical sight might be. And it was God who had settled in the form of fire in the bush. Then the sacred Scripture says that the Lord called the man from the bush, saying: C "Moses, Moses, do not draw near here; take off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." Someone, I suppose, might say to this: What sort of way of defilement could it be considered to have one's feet shod? Or how is Moses impure on account of sandals and skins? What, then, do we say to this? No type of defilement could arise in the souls of men from footwear. But because Moses was in Egypt, and it was customary among the natives there that no one should irreverently enter the shrines of idols while wearing sandals—which are, in fact, the remains of dead animals, D and are considered by them to be a kind of pollution and nothing else—for this reason, God of all, making Himself inaccessible to those not yet purified, as if according to the Egyptian custom, was calling the holy Moses to spiritual purification, saying: "Take off your sandals from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground." For I affirm that those who worship the all-holy God ought thus to depart from dead works, and to draw near to Him, having been delivered from pursuits leading to corruption and profanation, and I mean by an intimacy that is spiritual. And one would place as works of the dead those things which are carnal pleasures, revelings and drunknenesses, and a life devoid of all dignity, the pursuit of shameful gain, robberies and covetousness, angers and what comes from them, slanders and haughtiness, and simply all those things by which anyone might slip away from eternal life, being caught in the snares of sin.
A From such diseases the disciple of Christ calls us away with these words: “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world; if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life. And the world is passing away, and its desire. But he who does the will of God abides forever.” The all-wise Paul also writes to those who have chosen to accomplish a glorious way of life: “But fornication and all impurity must not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints, but rather thanksgiving.” The way of such a pure and excellent life was indeed long ago sketched out for us by the Mosaic law, while it described for us through shadow and types the Emmanuel—that is to say, the clear and saving light of the oracles delivered by Him. B But now the truth has shone forth clearly. For He who is placed above all created things has become as we are, so that the divine light might shine upon us, and having taught us to walk the path of every virtue, He might render us sons of God. For He lowered Himself, as I said, into our state, so that we might gain things that are His, since in a certain way we have been enriched by His poverty. For had He not become poor with us, lowering Himself into our condition, we would in no way have attained His riches, nor would we have been bestowed, through Him and from Him, the dignity of sonship which belongs to Him alone by natural property. But Israel was senseless. They did not recognize the Redeemer present in the flesh, even though the all-wise Moses had already long ago described the mystery in many ways. Thus Christ spoke, rebuking their very great lack of understanding and their unbelief C to them: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” Therefore, by their acts of disobedience they have despised the law that directed them, and have remained in darkness, and have become utterly devoid of the divine light. And this indeed was what had been spoken about them by the voice of the prophets: “When they waited for light, darkness became theirs; they waited for dawn, yet they walked in the deep night.” We shall find the Lord very often crying out to them and saying: “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”; and again, “I have come as light into the world.” D Yet, so that He might render their ignorance inexcusable, even though He was seen as a man like us, He demonstrated everywhere the divine power, exceeding all measure of mortality, which was inherent in Him. For what is there beyond both word and wonder that is not seen to be accomplished by Him? And so He said to them: “If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe my works.” For the divine is by its own nature invisible. For it is written: “No one has ever seen God.” But it is known by us as far as it is possible, from
A the greatness of the works and the ineffable power and supreme excellence. Indeed, even created things proclaim him, just as David sings: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.” The most wise Paul also wrote concerning him: “For his invisible attributes, from the creation of the world, are perceived and understood through the things that have been made, as is his everlasting power and divinity.” Therefore, from this remarkable and divine power, which no force of speech can equal, it is possible in some way to draw knowledge of the ineffable divinity. The Creator of all, the Word of God, appeared to the world clothed in flesh, not so that, having destroyed and abolished this earth, he might reveal a new one to us for the time being, nor again that he might fashion other heavens, having cleared away those that now exist, or that he might perform some new and unexpected thing in the orbit of the sun, or produce something unusual in this creation which we see, B but so that he might restore to immortality us who were lying prostrate under the feet of the devil and had been brought down to corruption through sin, and might make us holy and blameless, having cleansed us of every filth by the nods of his gentleness, and having set us upon the paths of a blameless life. Since he appeared as a man among us according to the dispensation (for as the prophet says: “He was seen on earth, and walked among men”), through this he made it clear to us both that he was God and that he was, in truth, the Son of God and the Father; he performed his own works, showing himself to be of the same nature and power as his own Begetter, proceeding C by the same identically supreme power and authority, and he was wondered at by those who recognized his manifestation. But the mad Israel, even so, remained unbridled and turned completely toward unbelief; and so, constantly prattling on about the law in the writings and putting forward the commandment given through Moses, they opposed themselves to the oracles of Christ, saying: “We are disciples of Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from.” And they continued to dishonor him in another way, and there was nothing of an outrageous nature that was kept silent among them; but as if setting everything in motion with their own depravity, and going beyond every measure, they were eager to wrap in death the Redeemer from heaven, the one who justifies the ungodly by faith, D the one who restores to immortality those who had been ensnared in the traps of death, the Author of life, kicking against the goads and pouring fire and punishment upon their own heads, and gathering impious councils together with those who had been allotted to lead them, in pursuit of futile designs. And so they said, concerning those things for which it was natural to be struck with awe at the wonder-worker—concerning these very things they whetted themselves into cruelty, and being already inflamed with an uncontrollable envy, they asked: “What are we doing? For this man performs many signs?”
If we let him go in this way, the Romans will come and take away both our nation and our place.” A And he who was endowed with the high priesthood among them, as though drawing forth from the depths of his mind a counsel ruinous to them, says: “You know nothing, nor do you reflect that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” From this point, their counsels ran out to a nefarious conclusion. For having seized Jesus, they brought him before Pilate, and, miserable wretches that they were, having concocted certain false accusations, they demanded that he be crucified. B And this is what came to pass, with Satan acting as their leader in this crime and casting them headlong into the abyss of destruction. But Christ endured and willingly suffered even the death of the body for our sake, by a providential plan. For he knew indeed what good was to come from that death. For he did not remain among the dead, but rather came to life again, having broken the bonds of death and despoiled Hades. For he said to those who were in bonds: “Come forth,” and to those in darkness: “Be revealed.” C He became a way to immortality for his own nature; for it was renewed in him, and we have blossomed forth into life. And the blessed Paul will testify to this, saying: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Having therefore destroyed the power of death, he ascended to the Father and God in heaven. And he will come in the fullness of time to render to each according to his works.
5. Therefore, since, as the all-wise Paul says, C “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may receive what he has done through the body, whether good or evil,” let us gird up the loins of our mind, let us embrace good works with a manly spirit, let us subdue the pleasures of the flesh, and let us wipe away the stains of every wickedness. Let us show mercy to orphans, let us protect widows, let us assist those in need, and let us consider the common grief of those who find themselves in the depths of misery, let us visit those in bonds, and, in a word, let us fulfill all the measures of virtue. For D thus we shall fast purely, beginning the holy Quadragesima from the first day of the month of Phamenoth, and the week of the saving Pascha from the sixth day of the month of Pharmouthi; ending our fasts on the eleventh day of the same month of Pharmouthi, in the deep evening of the Sabbath, according to the evangelical proclamations, and keeping the feast on the following day, the dawning Sunday, the twelfth day of the same month of Pharmouthi; adding thereafter also the seven weeks of the holy and beloved Pentecost, so that we may pass the time
...of relaxation, making it, as it were, an image of the state of the saints in the heavens, may we be deemed worthy of their communion in Christ Jesus our Lord; through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and unto the ages. Amen.
HOMILY XXIX. Prelude.
This discourse has also been composed by us, not to seek applause or acclaim, but that it might bring something profitable to the souls of those who hear it. Should you find that it drifts far from the singular splendor of rhetorical style, do not judge it too harshly, but rather be indulgent. For we are preparing for you a feast not from the display of rhetoricians, but, so to speak, from the herbs of the Church.
1. Behold, once again the season of our holy solemnity arises, filling the souls of those who love virtue with all delight, putting away sloth in the pursuit of noble efforts, and stirring them to labor in those things which are wondrous—things which, as is acknowledged, are in accord with the holy laws and the decrees from above, from God, and which tend to bring no small glory to those who have chosen to perform them. Therefore, as the inspired Psalmist says: "It is time for the Lord to act," B referring, of course, to the holy and all-pure festival which we are accustomed to celebrate for the Savior of us all, Christ. For as the all-wise Paul writes: "Christ our Pascha has been sacrificed," [I Cor. v, 7] the true Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. [Joan. i, 29] It is customary, then, for those who celebrate feast days to be seen dressed and adorned in exceptionally bright garments and to wear clothing cleansed of all filth. One might perhaps say that these things are fitting for the season. But I believe that we should not by any means make it our sole endeavor to shine with outward ornaments; rather, I think we must labor with all our might to wash away the defilements of the soul. For it is this that presents us to Christ as pure and cleansed, radiant with His grace, and possessing Him as our adornment and as a holy garment suited to the saints. For the all-wise Paul writes thus: "Put on," he says, "the Lord Jesus, C and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." [Rom. xiii, 14] There is nothing improbable in the idea that, when we are prepared in this way, we should wish to be near the all-good God. "For you shall be holy," He says, "because I am holy." [Levit. xi, 45] Therefore, as the inspired Paul says, let us keep the feast, "not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth," [I Cor. v, 8] that is, in the uprightness and accuracy of faith, accompanied, of course, by the splendor of good deeds. For if these things are present in us, they will set us on the path that is straight to the very end, and will make those who have been the best imitators of their glorious life partakers of the inheritance of the saints. D Come then, let us reflect with ourselves upon this, at what time and in what manner we ought to celebrate...
celebrated by Moses, or rather by God through him: in the first month according to the Hebrews, and when the spring season smiles, when the trees in the woods and gardens are clothed with new and fresh leaves, and promise a harvest of fruits; when the whole field is green, and the plowable land is thick with crops, and when floral beauty of many-colored shapes adorns the most fragrant blossoms, and tender lambs gambol around their mothers, bleating something sweet and soft. Would it not then be most absurd, while the earth is seen to be flourishing everywhere, to behold that excellent animal on earth endowed with the divine likeness—man, that is—suffering from spiritual barrenness and wrapped in the most tenacious darkness of sin? Therefore, as the sacred Scripture admonishes, B "laying aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, let us run with patience the race that is set before us," not gathering sorrow from our sweat, but desiring with eagerness the rewards that arise therefrom. For it is by no means possible to obtain any honest and admirable thing while turning away from labors. But he who has entangled his soul in sloth, how shall he become worthy of admiration, and how shall he put on the praise of all good things like a crown? Hear indeed the writer of Proverbs saying: "How long, O sluggard, wilt thou lie? When wilt thou rise from sleep? Thou shalt sleep a little, thou shalt slumber a little, thou shalt fold thine arms in thy bosom a little. Then poverty shall come to thee like a wicked traveler." C He impels us also in another way toward the desire for virtue, by taking examples from small and vile creatures: "Go," he says, "to the ant, O sluggard. Observe her ways and become wiser than she: which, not being a tiller of the earth, nor having a master, nor one compelling her, prepares her food in the summer, and in the harvest makes much provision." "Or go to the bee, and learn how she is a worker, and how she makes her work honorable. And it is desirable and glorious in the eyes of all." Therefore, those who have decided to conduct themselves manfully should embrace labors which lead to piety, for inertia is inimical and hostile to the best of actions. Those who have surrendered themselves to sloth will surely lack all good things. Moreover, he who has decided to labor for the sake of virtue will not be defrauded of his wages and celestial rewards. That this is so, it is easy to observe D from those things which happen among us. For how will a farmer gather abundant fruit if, with folded hands, he sits and repudiates all care of tilling the soil, and refuses the sweat of the mattock? If he acts in this way, will you not see the fields destitute of crops, the plants in the gardens widowed of their fruits, and the rows of vines barren and stripped of grapes, as if they were merely painted, and you perceive in them nothing but a hollow appearance? But will those who practice trade bring home to themselves most desirable profit if they fear navigation and the waves?
or if they prefer greed over every labor and fear? I will also mention those whose primary zeal is to distinguish themselves in the wrestling schools, whom the blessed Paul also mentions, saying: "All compete for a prize, that they may receive a corruptible crown." A Since, therefore, not even matters of human concern can ever be brought to a desired end without care and labor, how could anyone attain the heights of virtue, unless they have determined to embrace endurance above all else, and, with the unconquerable impulse of the mind as it were, have resolved to strive by a straight course toward every honorable goal? In this way, tracing the spiritual and lovely beauty of the life of the saints upon our own souls, and painting it as if with spiritual colors, we shall suppliantly pray to God with these words: "Lord, in your will grant power to my beauty." B Now, the counsel and will that perfects all things is the Son of God and the Father. The blessed David therefore sings to Him, saying: "In your will you have guided me." For we have been led in Christ to every form of virtue. And do not be surprised that we say the Son is called the counsel of God and the Father, since you will find the Father Himself honored with the same title. For counsel indeed signifies wisdom. Thus the prophet Isaiah writes concerning our common Savior, Christ, that "A child is born to us, a son is also given to us, whose government was upon his shoulder, and his name is called, the Angel of great counsel." C For He announced to us the things concerning His own Begetter, and clearly revealed the transcendent beauty of the nature that is above all, portraying Him in His own nature. "For He is the image, the radiance, and the character of His substance." Therefore He said, "He who has seen me, has seen the Father," and "I and the Father are one." One, certainly, I say, in as much as it pertains to the identity of essence. How then was He called a child? Truly, although He was equal to the One who begat Him, and possessed all the prerogatives of the divine nature inseparably, He became man, having lowered Himself into self-emptying and having endured the subjection D among us from a woman. But the Spirit-bearer says that He was "given" to us. For He did not empty Himself because of Himself, nor did He undergo the poverty among us to that end, but so that we might become rich in His goods, and, having washed away the base and profane sin, we might obtain through Him the purification that is by faith. For as the Son Himself says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that all who believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Therefore, a matter truly
A saving is faith. For it justifies the ungodly, and having declared him free from every charge, it unites him to Christ, and crowns with the brightness of adoption him who clings to Him in every way, and [does so] through sanctification and righteousness, and not at all, perhaps, that of the Law, but of the holy and evangelical one. Indeed, He said to the holy apostles: "Amen, I say to you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God of heaven." And the all-wise Paul also writes: "That no one is justified by the law before God is evident." And again: "We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles. But knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ, that we might be justified in Him."
B 339 2. Here, however, you might perhaps ask me: If there were no fruit at all from the law, if for those entangled in sins it profits nothing at all for the expiation [of their guilt] to dwell upon the ancient letters, why then was it promulgated from the beginning? To these things, therefore, we say that the law in letters was ministered through angels, with Moses acting as mediator. But it was an image of the truth and a sort of metamorphosis of piety, leading toward it through figure and shadows. Therefore, the most holy Paul writes: "So the law has become our pedagogue in Christ." This, too, was a discovery of wisdom from above, and a demonstration of divine craftsmanship. For just as those who strive for the glory of the metallurgic art exercise their hand, and do not immediately at the beginning apply themselves to the necessary material, but rather practice their art on wax and form the shapes of vessels in it: in the same way, we say that Israel was tutored by the types of the truth, so as to advance by degrees toward the perfectly good.
C This, indeed, was the power of the life in Christ, which is, I say, heralded by the evangelical decrees. And someone might attempt to speak correctly, in a not ignoble mode of defense, as to why the grace through faith was not given from the beginning to all who inhabit the earth, but rather it was necessary that the law through Moses should precede and enter in beforehand. Sin had reigned over us, and held power over all who are on the earth. A heavy tyrant lay upon us, casting us into the pursuits of fleshly self-indulgence, and dragging the will of each one, despoiled of its strength, into every kind of wickedness; and it was not possible to be released from the yoke of his cruelty. Therefore, that supreme and incomparable kindness of God, which justifies the ungodly and keeps him immune from punishment and penalty, was necessary for mortals. It was necessary for those who were stuck fast with the D most tenacious filth of depravity that the grace of faith in Christ should shine forth. For there was no other way to be able to escape both the snares of sin and the tyranny of diabolical cruelty. Therefore, so that the magnitude of the grace and beneficence possessed through Christ might not be unknown, the law was set forth, justifying no one plainly, but rather [the acts of] those who had lived until then
transgressed to be under a curse. For it is written: "Cursed is every man who does not abide in all things written in the book of the law to do them." That the truth of what I have said will follow, the most holy Paul will again confirm; for he writes: "That the law was added because of transgressions." And again: "The law entered that the offense might abound." For as those who were under the law were weak and perpetually sinning, the offense abounded. The law, therefore, convicting those who lived under it of their weakness, it became thereafter necessary for mortals to have one who would justify them by faith, and not by the works of the law. This was Christ, of whom it is written: "Yet a little while, a little while, and he who is coming will come, and will not tarry. And if he draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But the righteous one shall live by my faith." For the Lord of all desired not sacrifice and offering; and whole burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin He did not approve; since, as Christ Himself said, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
C 3. He continued teaching these things in the synagogues, adding to His words signs and wonders, and those things which are fitting only to the nature that is above all, accomplishing them without any labor, or rather, by a most all-powerful nod [of His head]. For with Him, to will was the work itself. But the [people] of Israel, having a hard and fruitless mind, were caught [in their wickedness]. For they opposed the oracles given through Him, considering the signs of God of little or no account at all, and turning toward unbridled rages and uttering blasphemous cries. For Him who called them to life and shone the knowledge of virtue upon all, they called a Samaritan, and named a glutton and a wine-drinker, and born of fornication, and the son of a carpenter. And for what reason? Because they did not wish to have the paths of their life be straight. Tethered, therefore, by the chains of their own passions, and having the filth of carnality that could not be cast off, and being overcome by unholy gains, they would not accept the words that knew how to lead to decency. They were, therefore, openly convicted, as the Savior of us all, Christ, said: "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his works should be reproved." What then did they do, who would not bear to have the divine light in their minds? They insulted, as I have said, the One who called them to life; they threw stones at the One who preached the truth; and in the end they crucified Him, composing false reports, and subjecting Him who was free from all sin to the condemnation of the law and the scripture. For some at the time were saying to Pilate and Caiaphas: "We have seen this man stirring up the crowds, and...
preventing tribute being given to Caesar," while others said that, "He has blasphemed against the divine temple." But our Lord Jesus Christ A remained; willingly enduring death in the flesh, that having trampled upon it, and having risen from the dead, as Life and the Giver of Life, he might be acknowledged for this very reason as God. For he did not remain among the dead like one of us, but rather he revived, originating for human nature the way of the resurrection from the dead. And blessed Paul will confirm this, writing: "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." He has become, therefore, for us the root and way and cause of the hope for immortality, our Lord Jesus Christ. Death indeed reigned from Adam until Moses. But it fell from the tyranny it exercised over us, and lost its strength in Christ. For we are born, no longer to death, as being derived from corruptible seed, but into the hope of life, taking Christ as our leader for this. B Therefore, the inspired Paul writes to those who had believed in him: "For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, shall appear, then you also shall appear with him in glory." For he shall come, he shall come, when the spaces of time have passed, in the glory of his Father, and he shall descend again from heaven with the holy angels, "to judge the world in righteousness," as it is written. Since, therefore, we are to be placed before the divine tribunal, and are to render an account of our own lives, let us live holily and endeavor to fulfill all the parts of modesty, cleansing ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, content with present things, considering everything else that is superfluous to be burdensome. Let us consider the grief of those who are oppressed by miseries as our own, let us aid those who labor, remembering the prisoners as if we were chained with them, comforting those who are in illnesses, C having compassion on the tears of orphans and widows, relieving the needy as much as is possible, and in a word, let us endeavor to practice every kind of honest action. For thus we shall celebrate a holy and most pure festival, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the sixteenth of the month of Mechir, and the week of the holy and saving Pascha from the twenty-first of March; completing the fasts on the twenty-sixth of the same month of March, at the deep evening of the Sabbath, according to the evangelical proclamations; but celebrating the feast on the next day, the dawning Sunday, the twenty-seventh of the same month of March; adding thereafter also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost, so that, spending the times of remission together with the saints who exult in heaven, we may be made worthy of their fellowship in Christ Jesus our Lord: to whom be glory and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY XXX.
A 1. To those who perform the sacred and divine ministry—meaning, I say, the ministry of Christ, the Savior of us all—the Holy Spirit exhorts us through the voice of the Psalmist, saying: "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, on the notable day of our solemnity. For it is a statute for Israel, and a judgment for the God of Jacob" (Ps. LXXX, 4, 5). Now, by the "new moon" he understands here the new, and as it were, freshly blooming season of our Savior's arrival: "In which the old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new" (II Cor. V, 17), as blessed Paul asserts; and it came to be, as it were, a beginning of a new age. We, therefore, must sound the trumpet in it—that is, by uttering a most clear and ringing sound, we must say to those everywhere: "God is the Lord, and he has shined upon us; keep the solemn day in the thickets even unto the horns of the altar" (Ps. CXVII, 27).
What it would mean to "keep the solemn day in the thickets," I shall strive to explain with great care. B For the ancient tabernacle in the wilderness was erected, but its location was twofold. The first was the outer one, which contained the altar of the legal cult, in which they were commanded to slaughter oxen and to use the slaying of sheep, and to offer smoke, those who still worshipped God through shadows and types. The second was one for prayer, more secret and divided from the first by a veil, the name of which was "Holy of Holies."
In here was the propitiatory, which was in the figure of Christ, being overshadowed on either side by the wings of the Cherubim, who stood in a circle, representing the form of those who perform the sacred ministries and who stand by as those who venerate the Divinity. There was also a golden altar placed therein, on which a thin and compounded incense was offered, exquisitely prepared from many kinds of aromatics.
But as the all-wise Paul writes: "Now these things being thus ordered, into the first tabernacle the priests indeed always enter, accomplishing the offices of sacrifices. But into the second, the high priest alone, once a year, not without blood, which he offereth for his own and the people's ignorance; the Holy Ghost signifying this, that the way into the holies was not yet made manifest, whilst the former tabernacle was yet standing. Which is a parable of the time present, according to which gifts and sacrifices are offered, which can not, as to the conscience, make him perfect that serveth" (Hebr. IX, 6-9).
So long, therefore, as the worship according to the law given through Moses prevailed, those who lived under the types had their station in the first tabernacle. For it was not permitted for those who wished to rush into the holy and innermost tabernacle. C Only the one who was foremost among the ministers entered, once a year, and "not without blood," according to what is written. But since, as the law-learned Paul asserts, who was also nurtured in the sacred Scriptures, "Christ being come, a high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hand, that is, not of this creation [or, not of this faith]—not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered once into the...
A Holy of Holies, having found eternal redemption. Come, then, let us also, rejecting the station in the former tabernacle [the first tabernacle], follow Christ, let us run into the Holy of Holies, let us establish the feast among those who cover it—where the mercy-seat is, in the typological image of Christ, which the wings of the Cherubim cover. Let us offer to God, not sacrifices of blood, but rather the fine and fragrant incense, that is, the sweet odor of virtues, the spiritual and unbloody sacrifice. Furthermore, I think it right to say to you: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." For it is not permitted—unless one wishes to act impiously—to enter into the Holy of Holies with unwashed feet, so to speak. For God, the Lord of all, indicated this to us when He spoke to the hierophant Moses: "Make a bronze laver and its bronze base, so that they may wash; and you shall place it between the tabernacle of testimony and the altar, and you shall pour water into it, and Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet from it with water; when they enter into the tabernacle of testimony, they shall wash with water, and they shall not die."
2. B But while those things were in types, laboring with the beauties of the truth, Christ, who is the truth, cleanses us from all defilement. And in what manner or by what way, He teaches by the voice of Isaiah, saying: "Wash yourselves, and be clean; remove your wickednesses from your souls before my eyes. Cease from your wickednesses, learn to do good, seek judgment, rescue the oppressed, judge the orphan, and justify the widow; come and let us reason together, says the Lord. And if your sins be as crimson, I shall whiten them like snow; and if they be as scarlet, I shall whiten them like wool." C The inspired Psalmist also commemorates this most excellent and desirable gift, saying to Christ, the Savior of all: "You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; you shall wash me, and I shall be whitened more than snow." He whitens, therefore, through holy baptism, obstructing the mouth of sin, and washing away every defilement that is upon us, in a way that is spiritual and intelligible, clearly. And so the inspired John, speaking to the crowds of the Jews, says: "I, indeed, baptize you in water for repentance; but he who comes after me is stronger than I, he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire." For when the energy and power of the Holy Spirit D seizes us, and finds a soul running wild, then truly, like fire descending, it feeds upon it as useless matter and consumes the pollutions of sin. Indeed, it opens the entrance to this, and as it were paves the way to such a brilliant and splendid possession.
A And so the blessed David pointed this out to us, as if with an outstretched finger, saying: "This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter into it" (Ps. cxvii, 20). For the Law was indeed given to those of the blood of Israel by Moses, through the ministry of angels; but it was a conviction of sin and a pointer to transgressions, and altogether useless for the purpose of being able to justify anyone. Therefore the all-wise Paul writes: "That no one is justified by the law before God is evident. For the law brings about wrath" (Rom. iii, 20), which immediately prescribes punishments in proportion to everyone’s faults. Since the law is weak, therefore, and incapable of wiping away stains—that is, of liberating anyone from their charges—God has bestowed upon the whole world the grace that is through faith and the justification in Christ. B This same divine Paul confirms with his own testimony, writing: "For through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe in him. For there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. iii, 21). Now, the unique favor, which is the property solely of the uncreated nature, is to never err or slip, and not to be able to deviate in any way from the right path. In this we fall short, or "are in need," as the all-wise Paul says, we to whom it is not unusual to be entangled in the snares of sin and, having a propensity toward wickedness, to slide into baser things. However, as the holy Scriptures affirm, C "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom. v, 20). And one might easily observe those who are thirsty for this, even among those who have been ignorant of the mystery of the incarnation of the Only-begotten. Therefore, Paul, the most learned in the Law, writes: "We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the Gentiles; yet knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ, so that we may be justified in him" (Galat. ii, 16).
3. And do not assume that God ordained the ancient law D as if it were sufficient to be able to declare anyone free from the charges arising from weakness; and that, because it missed the mark, or as if acting out of second thoughts, He devised the path through faith in Christ. That is not how these things are—far from it. Know rather that even before He formed the first man out of the dust, not being ignorant of what would come to pass, nor of the treachery of the devil’s perversity, and having foreseen the manner of our remedy—that is, the mystery of Christ—He established the law through Moses as a conviction of sin and an accuser of our common weakness, and [gave] a commandment that condemns
A the justifying grace, so that grace might be received with even greater wonder. For where those things that cause pain are present, there the thing that brings joy most clearly appears. That the mystery of Christ is ancient, we shall easily see, for the holy Scripture speaks to us again in this way. For the blessed Paul says somewhere again: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself." Understand, then, how he says that we were blessed even before the very B foundation of the world, and predestined to be sons in Christ Jesus. Certainly, this saving baptism was prefigured to those of old, and to us who have followed them, through the ark. For the righteous Noah was saved in it through faith, although God had condemned the whole earth under heaven by a single judgment. For He brought upon all the flood. It is written, therefore, concerning him: "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." And that what was then seen was a type of holy baptism, the divine Peter will confirm, writing thus concerning the Savior of us all, Christ: "For Christ also suffered once for sins, C the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. By whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who sometimes were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God)." And what then is this, "the answer of a good conscience toward God"? It is the confession of faith in Christ, which D we are accustomed to make before many witnesses, and not only before men, who are adorned with the dignity of the divine priesthood, but also before the rational powers, who, ministering to God, devote their care to the proper fulfillment of those things that pertain to His glory. I say, therefore, that those who profess a sincere confession of faith ought in no way to allow themselves to be moved. For it is written: "My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."
4. For unstable men, companions in ignorance, sometimes agitate even those who have already believed, giving their neighbor drink from a muddied subversion, as it is written, and as "out of the evil treasure of the heart."
A They belch forth evil things and the poison of diabolical perversity. For they exalt themselves above the nature and glory that is beyond all things, and as much as in them lies, they cast down from the supernal seat the Word begotten of God the Father, reducing to the order of created things the Creator and Artificer of the universe, whom all things revere and tremble before, and who is beautifully crowned with the dignities of divinity according to true nature. "For to Him every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." B There are, moreover, some who divide Him who admits no division—I speak of the one Christ—and they distort the bright beauty of the truth, although the blessed Paul has written to us clearly and plainly: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." But if there were two lords, then certainly there must have been two faiths, and likewise an equal number of baptisms. Those who have supposed that matters stand in this way, let us avoid as destructive and ruinous; and having snatched our foot from the snare, let us say that word from the Psalms: "Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. The snare is broken, and we are delivered." For we have been redeemed by the death of Christ, "who gave Himself for our sins, according to the scriptures, C that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." For since, as we have already said previously, through the legal worship—which contained nothing else save types and shadows—it was by no means possible to wash away the stains of wickedness, or rather of sin, He Himself, the Word of God the Father, for our sake and in our stead, having become man while remaining what He was, namely God, gave His own body to death, that He might redeem us, who were subject to death and corruption, with His own blood. And indeed, He spoke somewhere through the voice of David to the Father and God in the heavens: "Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not; burnt offerings and sin offerings Thou hast not required; but a body hast Thou prepared Me. Then I said, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it is written of Me, that I should do, O God, Thy will; I longed for it." D Observe then, observe Him saying clearly: "But a body hast Thou prepared Me." For He was and is incorporeal, as God. How then, O Jew, did you fail to understand the dispensation so ineffable and august? How did you not accept the Incorporeal One who for your sake put on flesh? Him who excels all creation, constrained by the counsel of providence within the limits of humanity? Him who treasures up your poverty, who enriches the inhabitants of heaven? Him who took the form of a servant, the Lord of all things? But perhaps you will say to this: "He was a man, so far as it was permitted to see, similar to us." But how have you forgotten the Mosaic writings? For somewhere it is said to you about Him: "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you, from among your brethren,"
A as me; you shall listen to him, according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb." The word of the holy prophets has indeed foretold Him as a man. And so the inspired Isaiah says: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," which being interpreted is, God with us. And the birth of Emmanuel was indeed paradoxical; for He came forth from a Virgin inexperienced in marriage. But because He was from a woman, being subject to the laws of human nature, you imagine that He appeared as a man, at least as far as the form and appearance of the body are concerned. B Yet you have also seen Him adorned with a dignity most proper to God, and being decorated with the highest glories, fulfilling the works of the Father. For to the supreme substance of all alone belongs the ability to be able to recall to life the dead who are already corrupted and decaying, to send light to those deprived of the use of their eyes, to make the lame walk straight, and to deliver those infected with the sickness of leprosy by a touch and a nod. C But tell me, would you have wished the Creator of all D things and the Artificer, the Word of God, to shine upon those on earth in His naked divinity? Then who could have endured so terrible and awesome a sight? Do you not perceive that the eye of the body cannot easily sustain the projection of a solar ray; by what means, then, would it have been permitted to see that inaccessible and, beyond what can be spoken, marvelous light? Therefore, He came down to us in the form of a man, presenting Himself as tolerable to all, so that, as one of our number, while He walked with us and lived among us, He might teach us the way of a pious life, might rescue us from the snares of Hellenic superstition, and might render us practitioners of the true and spiritual worship. Yet the foul, evil-trodden, and impious beast did not rest, namely Satan, who, having subjected the entire world to his own empire by frauds and perversity, and having overwhelmed it, submerged in the mire of sins, perceived himself dejected from that dominion which he had exercised over us, and that he was suddenly thrust away from ruling those whom he had plundered. Then he thought He was also a man, as one of the ancient prophets, and nothing else besides, whom he had also taken from the midst, having incited the ferocity of the Jews against them. Therefore, he again instilled into them the poison of his own wickedness. But they, having cast aside all care for their own salvation, boldly and proudly and with a thoroughly bloodthirsty mind attacked Him, and in the end even nailed Him to a cross. Were they then compelling Him against His will, and was He ignorant of what He was to suffer? But you should notice Him foretelling the pains which He endured, and the deeds of the Jews, who are hateful to God. Accordingly, by the voice of the holy prophets, at one time He says: "And they gave gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink," and at another time: "They divided my garments among themselves, and upon my vesture"
A "They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." But by the voice of Isaiah, "I gave my back to the scourges, and my cheeks to the blows, and I did not turn away my face from the shame of spittings." He was not, therefore, ignorant that he would suffer. Furthermore, although it was possible for him to avoid the snares, he willingly yielded his own body to death for a short time, so that, having been raised from the dead, he might destroy the power of death, that he might overthrow the envy of the devil, through which death had gained entry into human nature, and finally that he might renew us unto immortal and unending life. "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." He has therefore risen on the third day, having despoiled Hades, and having returned to Heaven, he sits as a co-assessor with his own Father. And he shall come in the fullness of time, that he may judge the living and the dead.
5. Since, therefore, we are about to render an account to the Judge, casting off all sloth, and having run far beyond every sin, and having—one might say—bidden farewell to the distractions of the present life, let us accomplish righteousness, temperance, love, and love for the poor; let us visit those who are in bonds, let us restore those burdened with bodily infirmities, let us assist orphans, let us have compassion for the tears of widows, and let us love one another fervently. B For by living in this way, we shall celebrate the holy and all-pure festival, beginning the holy Quadragesima on the sixth day of the month of Phamenoth [March]; and the week of the holy and saving Pascha, from the eleventh day of the month of Pharmouthi [April]; and breaking the fasts on the sixteenth day of the same month of Pharmouthi, in the late evening, on the Sabbath day, according to the evangelical proclamation; celebrating the feast on the following day, the dawning Lord’s Day, the seventeenth of the same month of Pharmouthi, C adding thereafter also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost, so that, considering the season of the resurrection as a kind of image of the rest of the saints in Heaven, we may be deemed worthy of their communion in Christ Jesus our Lord; through whom and with whom, glory to the Father with the holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
EJUSDEM CYRILLI HOMILIAE DIVERSAE
HOMILIA I
Delivered at Ephesus, very beautiful.
D Those who attend to the sacred Scriptures have a heart that is wise, and knowledgeable in good works, and adorned with the light of true faith.