A men were themselves busy with murders on the Sabbath against the Master of the house; for the Scripture says in the Gospel regarding the day on which God suffered: "For that day was the great day of the Sabbath." And they destroy the Lawgiver Himself on the Sabbath, yet they do not wish the disciples to be fed on the Sabbath. For this reason, the Savior, in the passage just read, asked them: "What is lawful to do on the Sabbath? To do good, or to do evil? To save a life, or to destroy it?" You find fault with eating, but you perpetrate murder? For the Jews always strain out the gnat, but swallow the camel; they are always strict about tithing mint and garden herbs, but do not observe the weightier matters of the Law. And as the disciples were passing through, they were indignant that they were rubbing the heads of grain with their hands and eating. They were not cutting them with iron—since they would have accused them of working—nor were they using other tools, so that they might not be accused of working rather than merely eating. But now, why do you find fault with what was given by God for salvation? For if you find fault with this, why do you find fault with that which God did not forbid? B For if God did not forbid eating on the Sabbath, why do you find fault with it?
2. Therefore, the Savior passed through the grain fields: the grain of wheat, through the grain fields, is the spiritual grain of wheat, which fell into one place and rose up bearing much fruit throughout the habitable world; for He Himself said regarding Himself: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Let us say it also in another way: Jesus was passing through the grain fields; for He Himself is sometimes called a grain of wheat because of His nutritive power, and at other times He is the sower, according to what is said in the Gospels: "Behold, the sower went out to sow." Jesus indeed sows lavishly; but the bearing of fruit happens according to the underlying condition: for where the earth is rocky, the seed is easily dried up, not due to the powerlessness of the seed, but due to the poor condition of the earth; for the seed is indeed active, but the earth is barren, not possessing C depth. And since the earth does not hold onto moisture, the solar rays beating down too strongly dry up the seed. And the cause of this becomes not the weakness of the seed, but the looseness of the earth. Again, the seed is sown into thorny ground; and the seed is indeed active, but it is choked by the thorns, and the power that is within is not allowed to bear fruit because of the external nuisance. But if it enjoys good ground, it again produces, not an equal fruit, but thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. The seed is of one kind, but the fruit is diverse; and the opinions of those being instructed are also diverse. D
3. The Sower therefore went out to sow; and some things He accomplished through Himself, and others He accomplished through the disciples. And you find it written in the Acts of the Apostles...
A that, after Stephen was stoned, the Scripture says: "They therefore who were dispersed," not dispersed through weakness; for they were not separated in faith, but were dispersed. For having become wheat through the energy of the Sower unto the heavenly bread [the Eucharist], and having passed through every teaching of life-bearing, they scattered their works everywhere. Therefore, Jesus, the Only-begotten Son of God, who sows the thoughts, was passing through the standing crops, being the Sower not only of seeds, but also of things endowed with sense. For to Him the Father said from the beginning: "Let the earth bring forth the herb of hay, yielding seed according to its kind and likeness 18." The Father spoke, the Son accomplished: the One commanded, and the Other brought to fulfillment the things commanded; and thus, from the Father through the Son, the work was perfect, and one creation of the world was completed through the Father and the Son. He, therefore, who sows the thoughts, and who fashioned the things endowed with sense by the Father's nod, this same One was passing through the standing crops. Certainly, there are great miracles in seeds. And let us consider in the times of sowing those things which pertain to the planting of seeds; and let us discuss the germinations of the earth in the winter season: not that we may dispute B physically about such matters, but that we may worship the Maker of wonders. Men, indeed, doing what is within their own power, having yoked oxen to the plow, furrow the earth, and soften its surface, so that the rains may not flow past, but, penetrating more deeply, may germinate abundant fruit; but the seeds, having been cast into the soft earth, enjoy a double benefit: first, that of [the earth's] depth and softness; second, that of being hidden, and not consumed by the birds. And man, indeed, does what is within his power; but the fructification is by no means from man. For it is man's work to sow; but it is God's work to give the increase. And by the command of God, the clouds draw up the waters from the deep of the seas, and having transformed them from saltiness into sweetness, they pour them out upon the face of the earth: then the rain, falling as one kind entire, produces various genera of seeds: for it creates wheat, and the bean, and millet, and spelt. And one kind is that which falls; many are the things which germinate: and that uniformity of the rains passes into manifold fructification; that it might be shown that the fruit proceeds not from the dexterity of the sower, but through the energy of God. And in the beginning of the sowing, a certain grass as it were rises up, and it often happens that the wheat is sown along with the tares: and the similarity of the leaves does not allow one to discern what is wheat and what is tare. But when the seed rises into the stalk, and is exalted, it is recognized from the C ear, and the fructification indicates what is underneath—what is indeed wheat, and what is tare.
4. You have understood what was said; come now, let us proceed to the more spiritual. Jesus sowed through the apostles the word of the kingdom of the heavens throughout the whole earth. The ear which has received the preaching retains it within itself; and for a time it produces the germination of leaves—that is, the zeal with which one shows oneself diligent in the Church. And we assemble in the same place—the dispensers of wheat and the tares, as well as the faithful and the hypocrite—so that [the] truth...
may be more truly spoken regarding what is preached. A We, however, the husbandmen of the Church, apply the hoe of the Word to the sowings, that we may cultivate the field for the bearing of fruit; yet we do not know the condition of the soil, for the similarity of the foliage often deceives those who preside. But when the teaching proceeds into action, and the fruit of the works is strengthened, then it is revealed who is the faithful one and who is the hypocrite. And once and again a man skilled in teaching in the Greek tongue comes into a city, one who—tickling the ears—hastens into the Church, not to receive the medicine of the soul, but solely to snatch the beauty of the words. The eloquent speaker departs; the tare also departs from the Church; for it does not possess the wheat-like substance, the faith. But the faithful man, even though he might speak fluently, strives to listen attentively, whether in Syriac, or in Latin, or in whatever different tongue one might use. For he does not seek words, but deeds. B "For our word and our proclamation were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. II, 4). What is the profit if we speak in Greek, but are barbarians in our disposition? What is the profit if the discourse is well-composed, but the manner of life is ill-composed? It is much better to be ignorant of the tongue of the Greeks, and to possess the law of God in one's heart. For if the Church were a school of a sophist, the time would call for eloquence; but since it is a contest of character, and the bearing of fruit is what is proposed, and the expectation of heaven is what is awaited, let not the tongue be sought, but let the character be set aright. Again, others suffer from people-pleasing, and they feign at the right moment; and if an illustrious person comes either from the public squares or from the crowd of men and professes the Christian life, they run into the Church C in order to show their face to that man. That notable person departs, the hypocrite departs along with him, and receives his reward. He came for the sake of man, he pleased man, but from God he received nothing; for he never showed his mind to Him. Of such a kind are the tares of the Church.
5. But the Word of the Church, the husbandman, possesses something wonderful; for He makes the tares into wheat, if He so wills. For since the movement of men is spontaneous and their will is self-governing, the matter rests with you: if you wish to be tares, you are food for irrational animals; if you wish to be changed, you become wheat. If you seek an image of these words, take what is sought from the trees. D The oleaster, when grafted, becomes a good olive tree, and the wild vine, having received a shoot of the most cultivated vine, forgets the ancient traits of its root, and takes on the newness of the fresh one. Forget you also your former ways, and accept what is said; and having cast aside the tares, accept the wheat, so that you may also be worthy to be received within the spiritual threshing floor of the Church.
6. And all these things have been said to you on account of the gospel reading, which discusses seeds, on behalf of Him who sowed in the souls—the Redeemer of souls, Jesus, who walks through the cornfields.
A He was passing through, by design, on the Sabbath, leading the disciples through the sown fields; and the disciples, as they were passing through, were plucking ears of corn and, rubbing them with their hands, were eating, making a new threshing floor for the ears—namely, their own hands. The Jews, indeed, were chiding the disciples because they were taking food, and were indignant against the Master: "See what your disciples are doing?" B Alienating themselves from justice, they did not say, "our fellow disciples," for they had banished themselves from the teaching, but, "See what your disciples are doing." They point out the visible things. Do you point out the occurrences to the Knower of hearts? Have you not many times learned by experience that He knows even the thoughts of hearts? Does He who says, "Why do you ponder evil in your hearts?" not know the rubbing of the ears?
7. (30) A new dead man, free among the dead. For the other dead, as if bound by chains, were being led away in the narrow path; but Jesus, for our sake, became dead and descended into the netherworld among the dead; and having come among the dead, He was not only free, but the liberator of the dead. And that you may learn that He became also the liberator of the dead, hear the words of the Gospels: "And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose." He was placed in a tomb, and many tombs were opened. Therefore, He was free among the dead, whom even his acquaintances had abandoned. For the Gospel says that all the disciples, having left Him, fled. They flee while He is still living; C and having been crucified, they were dying for Him; since nothing remained on the cross, but after the cross He received back life. And do not attend to me alone, but to the psalm just read by me. Attend to what is said; I will read it, you see the resurrection from the sequence: "I became like a man without help, free among the dead. They put me in the lowest pit," as we said above. And after these things: "But I, to you, O Lord, have my prayer (come up), and in the morning my prayer shall come before you." Does the dead man pray? If He has not risen, I ask, does He pray? For since it had narrated the burial and the deadness, then it narrated the prayer which was made to the Father.
8. We, therefore, honor the Lord’s Day because of the resurrection; but the Jews still even now cling to the Sabbath, after Isaiah said: "And your Sabbaths my soul hates." There is nothing common to me with the Sabbath which God hated. I do not speak of the cycles of days, but of the Jewish usage. For God does not loathe days, but those who act wickedly in those days. And now they cling to the Sabbath, as then they chided the Savior, saying: D "See what your disciples are doing, which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." Then the Savior said to them: "Have you not...
read what David did? A He who is of David mentions David; he who is of David according to the flesh, but before David according to the spirit; he who is according to the flesh indeed the son of David, but according to the spirit David’s Lord; he who sprouted from the root of Jesse, the rod of wonder, which indeed crushes the race of the Jews, but gathers the race of the Gentiles as a flock. For it is he himself who said: 'I shall bring you under my rod'; and great is the discourse concerning the rod of Jesus. He said, therefore, to the Jews: 'Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him? How he entered the house of God, and took the bread of proposition and ate, which it is not lawful to do except for the priests only?' The wise hearer, therefore, and one accustomed to ecclesiastical dogmas and readings, knows the history and has no need of the narration; but since much people has recently flowed to us, who possesses only a superficial hearing of the divine oracles, and has not internalized the depth of their meaning, it seems to me well to run through and show the history, so that we may know for what cause the Savior made mention of it. There was a certain king among the ancients, David, first a shepherd, and secondly a king. He did not receive the kingdom by seizing it, but, Saul having sinned and been rejected, David was anointed by Samuel. But having been anointed to the kingdom, he did not at once seize the kingdom, but having served Saul for many years, later, when God willed it, he took hold of the kingdom. He was therefore plotted against by Saul, though he had conferred benefits upon him; and he was plotted against also by Absalom, his own son.
9. C These things truly happened to David: but he bore certain images of the coming of the Savior. For it was fitting for the ancestor to bear images of his descendant. "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, son of David." But in the other, the similarities of the things are not equal. For let the servant be made similar to the Master; yet he does not become equal, although he possesses certain similarities. David was a shepherd, and Christ is a shepherd: "I am the good shepherd," he said. But the one was a shepherd of sheep, the other is a shepherd of souls; there is a similarity of things, but a great difference of status. Samuel the priest anointed David as king; John also baptized the Savior, as he was also a priest; there is a likeness of the things, but a great difference of the subjects. But David, having been anointed as king, did not at once seize the kingdom, but endured for many years serving Saul; and our Savior, having been born King before the ages, and not having a temporal kingdom, but being King before all the ages, born from God the King, endured—"He did not count it robbery to be equal with God; but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," D so that he might complete the dispensation. Saul persecuted David; Herod persecuted
A Christ. But neither did Saul, in persecuting David, do him harm, nor did Herod, in persecuting Christ, do Him harm. Absalom, being his son, rose up against David; Judas, being also in another sense a son, rose up against the Saviour—for the Saviour knew how to call His disciples sons, saying: "Behold I and my children, whom God hath given me"; and again He said to His disciples, "Little children." The place of the destruction of Absalom is called "Hand of Absalom" even to this day. And observe for me the precision of this image of realities. It is not written "Foot of Absalom," but "Hand of Absalom"; it is not written "Head of Absalom," although he perished by the hair of his head, but "Hand of Absalom." For the hand of the head was the first to betray the image of the realities; but as if the hand had emerged through the naming of the realities, the Scripture obliquely signaled what was to come: "Hand of Absalom," and the images of B realities. How many similarities there are between David and the Saviour!
10. Therefore, David was anointed by Samuel with sensible oil; but our Saviour was anointed in another manner. How and in what way? Hear the forty-fourth Psalm saying: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity. Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows," so that from the similarity of the word you might not think that there is equality in what is being said. David was anointed, and Christ was also anointed; but the one was anointed by man, while the other was anointed from the Father; and that anointing is ineffable, and the matters are incomprehensible. Wherefore the Psalmist says: "With the oil of gladness C above thy fellows." They are fellows in the similarity, but they do not have an equal anointing. For everywhere He maintains the similarity, and preserves the superiority of the reality. David, therefore, being anointed by Samuel, remained as he was. But Saul, having transgressed the commandments of God, was delivered to an impure spirit. David played [the lyre], holding a pastoral cithara, and living in desert places, having no one present with whom he might converse; and he set his cithara to music, and through the playing of melodies he accomplished two things in particular: for he soothed the loneliness of the regions with the sound, and did not fall into dissolute songs, but sang psalms, so that he might be delighted by the modulation D and helped by the piety. And he sang in the deserts, saying, indeed, that "The high mountains are His"; and he added again: "The waters shall pass through the midst of the mountains, and all the beasts of the field shall drink. Upon them, the birds of the heaven shall dwell." He sang of man, saying: "Thou hast put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen." Moreover, he also sang of the marvelous works of God. Furthermore, when Saul was being tormented by the impure spirit, someone indicated this to Saul: which was the cause that David was summoned. And
as often as the evil spirit attacked him, David, taking his lyre, would strike it, singing psalms and hymns to God. A
11. Do not, however, focus your mind on the lyre, but on what was being sung by the lyre; and do not, by catching an occasion from the words, fall into the madness of theatrical pleasures, but, mindful of the psalms, remain in the Church. Therefore, David taking the lyre in his hands and singing to God, drove away the demon that was choking [Saul]. O the great power of the psalms! The impure spirit that was choking another was itself choked in an invisible manner, and Saul took breath. Now, Saul envied David for the following reason. The Philistines once attacked the nation of the Hebrews; and a certain Goliath, immense in body, ferocious in soul, and terrifying to behold, for forty days reproached Israel and challenged one man to single combat, B covered with an immense shield, brandishing a spear, and wearing terrifying greaves. Those who saw him fled, and Saul was afraid. David came to visit his brothers, and he engages in battle—the unarmed against the armed, the inexperienced in war against the most experienced, the youth against the man. And when all were terrified and no one dared to step forth, David accepted the combat. And knowing what he sang, he knew that the war was God’s, and that "Vain is the horse for safety, and in the abundance of his strength he shall not be saved" (Ps. xxxii, 17). He knew what he was singing; he held the greatest weapon, faith, and had put on the helmet of salvation; and having taken up his staff and sling, and having whirled the stone, he struck the adversary and brought him down in a moment. But we pass over the words, C since this is not our present subject. The great Goliath fell by the hand of the small one, and the experienced by the hand of the inexperienced and simpler one. And David, taking his sword, cut off his head. The head was carried to Jerusalem, and his sword was kept by Abimelech the priest (I Reg. xxi, 7). The people were liberated from the adversary. Women came out to meet him dancing; for the event was cause for joy—fear was dispelled, the enemy had fallen, the people flourished. There were dances, and timbrels, and harmony, and gladness in the event. But the women who were dancing were singing, not looking to merit, but acting on impulse; for they said: "David struck in his myriads, and Saul in his thousands." And to the victor they gave the thousands, and did not say how many thousands or how many myriads. Yet myriads can be resolved into thousands, D and thousands multiplied into myriads. Saul, hearing this, was struck in his mind. O great folly! Was it not fitting to be restrained, if only by some shame at the present matter? Why do you envy the victor, celebrated in songs for one hour, you who hid yourself for forty days? Freed from the enemies, why do you envy the praised man, who performed deeds worthy of praise? But he said to himself: "They gave the myriads to David, and the thousands to me." And he was looking at David with an evil eye.
A 12. See, I pray, whether they were not the descendants of those whose withered right hand the Savior healed today. And when they went out, they did not consider how they might give glory to God, but how they might plot against their benefactor. For the Gospel says that they were filled with madness, and going out, they consulted together what they should do to Jesus. Descendants of the persecutor, descendants of that furious man, and descendants of him who plotted against those who deserved well of him. With a hostile mind, therefore, Saul looked upon David, and no longer looked upon him with straight eyes. Such, indeed, are the envious, and such are the hypocrites. For this reason, the Scripture says to you: "Let your eyes look straight; let nothing crooked, nothing envious, or carrying with it lust or fury or anything of that sort B be held in them." Look upon a friend with straight eyes, with nothing dissembling, with nothing venomous. But Saul looked upon David with grim eyes. See, I pray, the treachery. Having seen him held in esteem, he wishes to give him his daughter in marriage. O, the temptation of envy! He plots against him whom he accepts as a son-in-law; nor does he spare his daughter, so that he might lay a trap for the honored man. In place of a dowry, he demands a hundred foreskins of the foreigners. For he supposed that if he cast him into battle, the hundred, joining together against the one, would kill the one, and thus he would be rid of his rival. The battle was joined, but the enemy acted as an enemy, and God as God. David goes out, and alone he kills a hundred. But Saul, seeing God as the ally of his enemy, was not even then shamed; rather, he persisted in his plan, not against an enemy, but against a man who had deserved well of him. And he was angry with his son Jonathan, because he had a friendship with David; and he was led by the blindness of envy to such a point that he attempted to kill his own son. But David, seeing himself targeted by treachery, hides until the third day; and David knew the third day, and makes a covenant with Jonathan, and thus the victor takes to flight; not that he was unable to take vengeance on his enemy, but not wishing to draw his sword against a man upon whom he had conferred benefits, and committing the judgment once and for all to God, he betakes himself in flight with his domestics C to Abimelech the priest.
13. We recount all these things for the sake of the history of the Gospel, on account of that saying of the Savior: "Have you not read what David did when he hungered, how he came into the house of God and ate the loaves of the presence?" David, therefore, comes to Abimelech the priest, journeying with a few companions. Abimelech was astonished, and said, "What is this, that the commander goes alone, and a distinguished man makes his journey with so small an escort?" But David does not mention the treachery prepared against him, but with the matter hidden, he says that it has been ordered for his young men to meet in a place called "Faith to God." Note also in David the faith...
A with regard to him who was to be born of him, the one who says: "According to your faith let it be done to you." Here too are images and likenesses of things. David asks for bread from Abimelech. And he says to him: "There is no bread except that which has been consecrated from before the Lord." Again, we must mention another law. The law of Moses wrote, in the rites of the sacred service that take place on the day of the Sabbath, that twelve hot loaves of bread, baked, should be placed upon the table. And where there is heat, there is fire. Let the Jews now tell us how they observe the Sabbath, and refuse to kindle a fire, where the priests kindle a fire, and bake hot loaves and set them forth? Do I alone transgress the Sabbath? Behold, the priests themselves bake the warm loaves on the Sabbath, and administer circumcision on the Sabbath. B And where there is circumcision, there is also iron, and sponges, and the things that pertain to the matter. Where there is the making of bread, there too are ovens, there too is the gathering of kindling, and in short, the work for them is that of bread-making. Thus, for the people of the Jews it was forbidden to work on the Sabbath; but for the priests it was not forbidden. For this reason, it is permitted to us and to all to work on the Sabbath; for indeed, we are all a "royal priesthood." Indeed, of old it was permitted to the priests, since we too have become a royal priesthood and a holy nation. The law having written: "On the day of the Sabbath, the twelve loaves are to be placed on the table"; for David asked for sustenance C from those loaves consecrated from the table. And Abimelech said: "If the young men have kept themselves, especially from women." Now, for my part, as we digress a little from the discourse, heed these words for caution, and observe what is said, and take up the purity of the flesh. For if Abimelech then commanded these things, why should it not be observed? And thus David took them, and ate the loaves, and perhaps took them on the Sabbath.
14. Since, therefore, the Jews were accusing the Savior because his disciples on the Sabbath were plucking ears of grain and eating them; for this reason he most opportunely remembered the history that occurred on the Sabbath; in order to show them that, if it was permitted to David and those with him for the sake of saving food to touch the loaves from the table, it was not forbidden for the disciples to pluck ears of grain and rub them to eat. "Have you not even read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry, how he entered into the house of God, and ate the loaves of the presence?" D You have following this the history joined to it concerning the one with the withered hand: how our Savior, having entered into the synagogue (for we must pass quickly over the history because of the length of the discourses, lest the hearing become tedious) and having seen someone having a withered hand, and knowing that the Jews were ready to accuse
A him, He says to the one who had the withered hand: "Stand up in the midst." The Resurrection commanded him to arise: "Stand up, and stand in the midst." He did not perform the healing for show; for He knows when it is opportune to say, "See, tell no one," but when there is an opportune time, He conceals the miracle; yet when it is necessary to perform a miracle on the Sabbath, then He works most openly. Search and turn over the writings of the Gospels, and you will discover that I speak the truth. On the Sabbath they observed the more notable miracles that were performed: who, I ask, or how? "Since the age it was not heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind" (John ix, 32). He performed this miracle not on another day, but on the Sabbath. For having made clay by spitting on the ground, and having anointed his eyes, He sent him to Siloam; and the blind man went away seeing. But those who saw the blind man now seeing did not themselves see. His sensory pupils of the eyes were opened, yet the eyes of the Jews were not opened; nay, though having their eyes open, they did not see, and they condemned the Lord, saying that "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath" (John ix, 16). O great madness! For what work was done? Spittle from the lips, and clay from the fingers only, a simple anointing, done not with medical instruments, but by a hand essentially divine. Why do you blame what was done? You have a miracle performed on the Sabbath. The blind man went away, and the blind man went away seeing. And He worked on the Sabbath so that He might be held worthy of faith, B teaching on the Sabbath.
15. "I have another miracle. In Jerusalem there was a sheep pool, which even now exists there; it had five porticoes; for now the surrounding buildings have been destroyed. A paralytic lay there, ill for thirty-eight years. For a long time is the duration of the disease, so that, if they saw even thus, the Jews might be confounded. For if the disease had been short-lived, the miracle would have been hidden; but now many years were witnesses to the disease, so that, even if they saw thus, they might recover their sight. But the Savior, having arrived and passing by, says to him: "Do you want to become whole?" (John v, 7) and the rest. And he, rising up, takes his pallet and walks. But it was the Sabbath. And the Jews did not see the miracle that happened on the Sabbath, but the pallet being carried by him, when it was their duty to consider: Such physicians arrived, and no one healed him; the miserable man lay poor, not even having one to cast him into the pool. Such a worker of miracles is this, and one who does newer things, he who gave such power to the paralytic, so that he not only rose up, C but also carried the pallet. Blind is malice: they condemn the one snatched from disease, and say to him: "It is not lawful for you to take up the pallet on the Sabbath" (John v, 10). He answered them: "He who made me whole, he said to me" (John v, 11). The thing commanded is the work of God. It is an unusual thing for a paralytic of thirty-eight years to be restored to health. From his own mouth I heard the command: "Take up your pallet." If the body obeyed Him and was made whole, shall I then be ungrateful to Him, nor shall I carry the pallet
A Again, the Jews did not inquire out of a desire to learn how He healed, and to worship Him who had bestowed such gifts, but rather to plot against Him. That third event which was just read has now occurred.
16. He entered the synagogue, the synagogue of those who do evil. For what is more wicked than to receive benefits and yet to plot? In the synagogue of the Jews there was a man who had a withered hand. A man was withered in his hand, and those present were withered in their understanding, and they did not perceive Him who was then present, nor did they suspect the miracle of Him who was performing such works. But the Savior, before performing the deed, was cultivating their minds with words. For knowing the wickedness of their minds and that bitter depth, He first encouraged them with words, desiring to soften the uncouthness of their reasoning, and He says to them: "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil? To save a life, or to destroy it?" B If He had said to them: "Is it lawful to work?" they would immediately have replied, "You are speaking against the Law." But as it is, He said to them what the Law itself intended; for He who legislated regarding the Sabbath added the proviso that anything done for the sake of a soul is permitted. For if a man should fall into a pit on the Sabbath, it is lawful for the Jews to pull him out; and not only a man, but also an ox or an ass. Thus the Law allowed those things that are for salvation to be done, and the Jews were nourished on the Sabbath.
If someone were to ask them now not about something controversial, but about what they admit: "Is it lawful to do good?" they do not even say "Yes," for they were not of a good disposition. "For the good man out of the good treasure brings forth good." But the Jews, being wicked, do not agree regarding good things, and neither would they admit that it is right C to do good, nor could they say it is right to do evil; for that would be a shameless statement. So they remain silent. But when it is a matter of trifling, they utter many trifles, and when it is a matter of accusation, they cry out loudly: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him." This man has done such and such things. But when the question is whether it is necessary to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it, they remain silent; but He, grieving in His heart at the hardening of their hearts, said to the man: Let those who see take heed; those who are disobedient, let them do as they desire; those who are hard of heart, let them become stone; but let your right hand be softened. Rise; no longer beg. For the command "Rise" implied that he had been sitting. And why was he who had a withered hand sitting, if not to beg? I do not give you money D that you might spend it; I give you health that can never be spent. Do not beg because of the withered hand, but having received it healthy and whole, henceforth work, and stretch out your hand to the poor. Rise, and stand in the middle; become a spectacle to those who see. In you, henceforth, the contest regarding the Sabbath is being waged. Stand in the middle, so that those who limp in their hams may also stand, if perhaps they may hear, if perhaps they may see. Stand in the middle, and having spoken to those
A Jews [the things that have been said], is it lawful to do this or not? Then He says to him: Stretch out your hand; I do not touch you, so that the Jews may not accuse Me; so that they may not think that touching is the work, I speak by a word. God did not say, "Do not speak on the Sabbath." But if the word becomes a work, let Him who has spoken be admired. Stretch out your hand. See for me the distinction of the action: Peter, when saving the paralytic at the Beautiful Gate, having grasped his right hand, raised him up. The servant, by handling, extends; the Lord, by commanding, extends. Stretch out your hand. I give you the power and the efficacy of the healing. By means of words, having commanded, I implant: Stretch out your hand. One spoke, the other acted. And the withered hand was restored, but the withering of the mind of the Jews was not at all healed; but having gone out, according to the reading just now, they were reasoning B what they might do to Jesus. Are you reasoning what you might do? Worship Him as God, worship the worker of miracles, worship the Man who performed things beyond man. He did not apply poultices, He did not soften the arm with some fomentations, He did not bring forward countless kinds of medical remedies. He who was healed was in the middle, all were seeing what was happening; for the work performed was not secret, so that no one might say: "He applied a herb, He applied a poultice." Arise, stand in the middle, so that they may by no means accuse the truth; so that the matter may be beyond the reach of calumny.
17. And those men having gone out were reasoning what they might do to Jesus; so also here, at this very hour C there stands someone having a withered hand, who does not extend it to a poor man for alms. Even if this person is healthy in body, he is withered in mind. Listen also to these saving words at this very hour: Stretch out your hand; and from today begin to bestow alms upon the poor. And let us take it in another way. There are many who are negligent in prayers, and for the whole day they are occupied with human business, and they despise the divine business of prayers. To this person also let the Savior say: Stretch out your hand, as the Apostle says: "I desire that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands" (I Tim. II, 8). But since our discourse has proceeded sufficiently, let us ourselves also, rising up, stretch out our hands, not only by day, but also by night: "In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless the Lord" (Ps. CXXXIII, 2). And let us spread forth holy hands, D having washed them among the innocent; so that, calling upon the God of all, we may enjoy His help, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom to God be the glory together with the Holy Spirit now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.