SPURIA. A If you intend to stand before God within the sense of your soul, be like an immovable column in prayer, unencumbered by any worldly care. If anyone wishes to stand before Christ with a chaste body and a pure heart, let him practice gentleness and temperance. But whoever wishes to present himself to God without these—either body or mind purified—while agitated by the anxieties of this life, is like one who, with feet firmly bound, attempts to walk quickly, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
CONCERNING FASTING, CONCERNING DAVID AND CONCERNING PRIESTS, CONCERNING JOSEPH AND CONCERNING NOVATUS
B The blessed David sang for us not a private, but a universal song: *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all your wonders* (Ps. IX, 2). Oh, the piety of the blessed David, who fell, and did not despise himself! For although he fell as a man, yet as a man he made confession: *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.* For unless I confess to you, I shall not be freed from sins. *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.* For unless I confess to you, I shall not be whitened as snow. *I will confess to you, O Lord.* For unless I confess to you, the devil will not cease to mock me regarding murder and adultery. *I will confess to you, O Lord.* For unless I confess to you, I shall not be restored to my former honor. *I will confess to you, O Lord.* For unless I confess to you, I cannot hear you as your father according to the flesh. *I will confess to you, O Lord.* For unless I confess to you, the Holy Spirit will dictate nothing to me, and no one will be able to learn the fiftieth psalm by heart. To everyone who approaches baptism, the words of the blessed David befit: *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.* For unless I confess to you, I shall not put off the old man. *I will confess to you, O Lord.* For unless I confess to you, I shall not put on the new man. *I will confess to you, O Lord.* For unless I confess to you, I shall not be numbered among the flock of the faithful. *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.* For I obeyed you when you said, "Let it not shame you to confess your sins." *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.* For I heard you saying: *I came not to call the just, but sinners to repentance* (Matt. IX, 13). C The words of the blessed Paul are also opportunely said. Which are those? *Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation* (2 Cor. VI, 2). What time? The illumination of those who love poverty. What time? The business of repentance. Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. The same Ecclesiastes says: a time to weep for sin, and a time to laugh regarding salvation (Eccl. III, 4). For there is a laughing that is insolent, and a laughing that is useful. That I do not lie in saying this, receive proof from the divine Scriptures themselves. For concerning him who laughs insolently, hear Wisdom saying: *A fool will do evil in his laughter* (Prov. X, 23); but concerning him who laughs prudently and with profit, hear Job saying: *Every gift of the impious shall not be accepted; but a truthful mouth shall be filled with laughter* (Job VIII, 21). There is a time of weeping and a time of laughing. A time to laugh at sin, and a time to rejoice in justice: for, *The Lord is just, and has loved justice* (Ps. X, 8). A time to break off enmity, and a time to join in charity, bearing the custom of the blessed Paul, who says, *Let not the sun go down upon your anger* (Eph. IV, 26). A time for rooting out impiety and a time for planting piety. Furthermore, revealing all these things, our Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the region of the Jews, which was sprouting thorns: *Behold, I have appointed you this day, that you may root up and plant, destroy and build* (Jer. I, 10): that you may root up the multitude of gods, and plant the monarchy; that you may destroy and build; destroy the worship of the gentiles, and build the houses of testimony. That phrase, *I appointed you today*, should not be understood as a specific day, but you should believe it to be done always and everywhere, as the blessed Paul says: *Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation* (Heb. III, 7-8); that is, On whatever day you hear the Lord saying, "Do penance; for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near" (Matt. IV, 17); *Do not harden your hearts*, like those who are called Cathari. D These things apply not only before baptism and in the time of the law, but even after baptism and in grace. Indeed, the Lord Christ himself said these very things to his disciples in other words: *Amen, amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven* (Matt. XVIII, 18). And not by words only, but by works also, he gave his disciples the power of loosing and binding. Look above all at the blessed Peter, how through his death he bound those who conspired regarding the lie, Ananias and Sapphira; how, through his misfortune, he loosed him who was lame from birth, providing him with the use of his feet. What will the Cathari say to these things, who are more impure than the impure and all impurity? For *No one is clean from filth, even if his life be but one day upon the earth* (Job XIV, 4-5). What then will the multitude say to these things, who, endowed with a vain mind, dare to say with a vain mouth: "Am I to approach this priest, to confess my sins to him, who has fallen more often than I? How can this one, being a man and a sinner, blot out my sins?" These are the pretexts of those who exalt themselves in sin and pride. But, O man, you who prepare snares for yourself with arrogant and deceitful words, who provoke God through your foolishness and pride; do you approach a man, or does a man forgive your sins? You approach the Lord and the God of the universe, who forgives you your sins through the priest. For the priest is a mediator, not acting by his own authority. Why then do you judge and abominate him whom God does not condemn? He divides his venerable body, and offers the sacrifice of the immaculate blood. As long as he is a priest and God gives him the power of sacrificing, do not refuse to receive the gift from him: for it is not he who gives you the remission of sins, but the great priest Christ, who entrusted the priesthood to him. But that God worked the salvation of men through man not only in the time of grace, but also before (for this reason our Lord was incarnate as mediator of God and men): you know well the history of the blessed David, who was just now saying, *I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart*, how he himself, having fallen into murder and adultery, remained in evil slumbers without confession. What then does God do to incite him toward repentance, and lead those who come after to embrace repentance? He sent the prophet Nathan to him, who would announce to him his own sin in the person of another. For, it says, the mentioned prophet coming to David, said: "King, I have something to say to you." David answered, "Speak." Then the prophet Nathan: "A certain man was rich, having many flocks and herds: but a certain man was poor, having one lamb, which ate from his table, and drank from his cup, and slept in his bosom"; calling David the rich man, and Uriah the poor man. What then? "There came," he says, "a traveler to the rich man." Who is that traveler? The thought of concupiscence, which casts us into punishment. "The traveler came to the rich man: and the rich man, sparing his own sheep, sent men who would seize the lamb of the poor man, and feed it to the traveler." Having heard this, King David, although he had fallen into sin, yet he was clothed with justice: for it was a sin of the body, but a good work of the soul: wherefore, angered, he answered: "As the Lord lives, he who has done this is worthy of death, and he will restore the lamb sevenfold." David surpasses the law: for the law commands a fourfold restoration, but he, sevenfold. Then Nathan...
said to him: "You are the man, O king, who has done these things." Then David, prudent as he was and pious, did not abuse his royal dignity, nor did he act as a tyrant against the one who reproved him, although he could have done so; he did not say, "Who are you, you who dare to rebuke me before everyone?" for he knew clearly that although he was an earthly king, he was nonetheless subject to the King of the powers above. And as soon as he heard the voice of the prophet, "You are the man, O king," he immediately confessed: "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said: "And the Lord has taken away your sin; you shall not die." A O Nathan, why did you dare to pronounce this? For you are about to be indicted by the haughty Novatus. David sinned against God, and to Him he confessed; and how did you know that he received forgiveness, in that you said, "You have taken away the sin"? Learn first, and then impart the releasing of sin. And Nathan says: "God entrusted to me the full performance of David’s healing. For if He had not wished to grant him forgiveness through me, He would not have sent me to him." Who accuses a physician of visiting a sick man, and does not give thanks and render rewards? Clearly, therefore, it is proven that not only under grace, but also before grace, God through men granted the remission of sins to men. B Let us use a moderate example for the sake of clarifying what is being said. Suppose for me, O man, you who are an adversary of repentance, a certain man who has stumbled into a charge, having been cast into condemnation by a ruler, and being about to be sent into exile or some other punishment: does not this man, kept under the sentence, come forth himself and entreat the official to be delivered from that calamity? Does he not track down and seek a mediator—the one called, to speak more clearly, a steward—to manage his salvation through him and bestir himself to invalidate the decision of the judgment and turn the wrath of the ruler into clemency? If among bodily punishments there is such order and intercession, will there not be all the more need for a higher intercession and assistance in spiritual matters? Therefore, O man, if for this reason you do not wish to approach repentance, because the priest is a sinful human being, then do not even be baptized; for a human being is the one baptizing. Do not participate [in the Eucharist], for a human being is the one dividing the Lamb of God. C But if these things have faith, then accept that also with faith. Take care that, by keeping one thing and rejecting another, you do not fall into judgment. For thus the wicked beast, the devil, trips us up and wishes to cast us into hell through his manifold machinations. It is written in the Law: "You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people" (Ex. 22. 28). If, then, the King of kings has given you the priest as a ruler, why do you reject him and revile him? Are you able, when standing before an earthly king who is giving a title to an official, to hinder him and say to him, "He is not worthy to become ruler"? If, therefore, you cannot hinder that one—whom he wishes and whom he wills to glorify—how do you dare to hinder the kingly command concerning the priest on the grounds that he is a sinner? Was not David the prophet caught in adultery and murder, as I said before? Was not Peter, having denied his Teacher three times, caught in sin and denial? Did not Paul persecute the Church of God, as no one else? But the philanthropic Master chose and glorified them, so that you should not despise or judge any of the rulers of the Church. D For the priest, while baptizing and offering the bloodless sacrifice, lends his hands to that which is set before him; but the Holy Spirit sanctifies and magnifies these things. Wherefore, even here, while you are repenting and confessing, he lends you nothing but his tongue, and God provides you with salvation and forgiveness. And if these things are in this manner, and if it is possible after baptism to be saved through repentance, why did the apostle Peter immediately put Ananias and Sapphira to death, and did not call them to obedience through repentance? Pay attention closely. The blessed Peter did not conceal the plaster of repentance; but those who were caught in such a fall did not seek out the healing, penitential plaster; rather, they perished together with the money by the suggestion of the devil. For repentance is then [true], not when it is honored by the voice, but when it is recognized by the deed. For there is repentance offered from the soul, and there is repentance that occurs superficially; whence some are saved, and others are condemned. The blessed Peter repented, and the wretched Judas; but Peter, having repented genuinely and wept and washed away the denial with tears, returned again to his former dignity; but Judas made his repentance a hollow work. For even if he threw the silver to the Jews and said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood," still he did not groan, he did not weep, he did not do things worthy of repentance, but only by weaving a noose, he satisfied the devil. What, then, of Simon the Magus? Having been baptized and having stumbled, and being judged by Peter because he offered money that he might engage in the un-merchandised gift, did he not ask for repentance? Did not the blessed Peter answer, saying: "Repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord"? Why, you say, did he not say these words to Ananias and Sapphira: "Repent of your wickedness"? Pay attention closely. The grace of the Spirit is not mocked. For Ananias and Sapphira, being rebuked by Peter and hearing from him, "Why is it that you have agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?" (Act. 5. 9), did not confess their own sin, did not fall down, did not entreat, did not say that they had stumbled as humans. But what? Being rebuked by him, they resisted his steps, attempting to hide from him, not understanding that the Holy Spirit is not mocked. Whence, immediately, the blessed Peter, being provoked, brought forth a decision suitable to them. Yet Simon, having heard from the apostle Peter, "Your money perish with you, because you thought the gift could be obtained through money" (Act. 8. 20), was not indignant, did not bolt, and did not run away, even though he was wicked; but having accepted the insults and reproofs as healing antidotes, falling down not only before Peter but also before all the apostles, he said: "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me" (Ib. v. 24). "Greatly," he says, "I have sinned; I do not dare to propitiate God by myself; you, as mediators, intercede for me." Well, therefore, did the Ecclesiastes say: "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to weep for those who labor under incurable diseases, and a time to laugh for those who love repentance." For thus the great Joseph wept, as though having been persuaded by the prophetic gaze to the blessed David saying: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Ps. 125. 5). Joseph, therefore, sowed tears of brotherly love, and reaped the crown of the kingdom. You all know how, after that astonishing way in which he was recognized by his brothers, he did not wish to reproach them when they were in his presence. Yet they were afraid, and they broke the chain of brotherhood as much as it was in them. However, Joseph, changing their hardships into protection, wept as he fell upon his brothers' necks. He wept upon their necks, in no other way than into the yoke of eternal love. I have seen the gentleness and piety of the man. But some say that Joseph, being constrained by necessity, and being in a foreign land, and as he had no protection, for that reason exhibited gentleness and humility. Attend, therefore, because you say such things. For he was so disposed toward Joseph’s memory, the light of his presence, even as he revered his father. The Lord Jesus Christ delivered him from the darkness of the prison. Therefore, it is superfluous, and not just, O man, you who say that Joseph was pious out of necessity and oblivious to the injury. For so Joseph was religiously under the Law and an observer of the Law, that he might charm his own [desires], so that he considered adultery execrable. And at that time the Law was. "Adultery is not," you stole, you did not bear false witness? Did not he himself, having become bound, and being led by natural judgment, flee naked from her, when his mistress was shamelessly asking him, and promising that she would give him the scroll of freedom, and having established him as lord of all her goods, if only he would assent to her will? Why, the more she approached, so much the more did he retreat, when he had bound himself to the voice of God, not for fear, but by faith? Did she not say to him as a righteous man: "My lord, my mistress knows nothing of those things that are in her house, and she has given all things into my hand, and nothing is withheld from me, except you, because you are her [servant]: and how can I do this evil, this sin before God?"
her house, and she has given all things into my hand, and nothing is withheld from me, except you, because you are her servant: and how can I do this evil, this sin before God? A Or is not here present the God of my fathers? Is one God in the land of Canaan, and another in Egypt, even if you are ignorant of this? Is there not a certain observant power, which looks upon him who harms his neighbor? Does God depart because your husband is away? Your husband, O woman, is my master, and he has entrusted all his substance to me, and shall I steal his possessions? He has joined one to one: does he join one to many, or many to one? Be quiet, mistress: I know him who incites you against me. It is not you who attack me, but the devil who has armed my brothers against me. For since he has separated me from my father, now he strives to turn me away from God: he circles about on every side, that he may deprive me of my dreams. Be quiet, therefore: for it is better to bear the name of an adulterer than the act itself. If I do not do your will, I shall be punished by the body; but if I do not obey God, I shall be punished in both. For he knew Him who says: "Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body" (Matt. 10. 28). These things have been said to demonstrate the gentleness and patience of the wise Joseph. Hear also his other work. For you all know that when he had been detained in prison through the calumny of the Egyptian woman, and afterwards by the decree of divine providence reigned in Egypt, and when the event had at last proved the truth of his dreams and likewise of their interpretations; when his brothers descended into Egypt because of the lack of necessary things; seeing them, Joseph, although he ruled as king in all Egypt, did not draw the sword, nor did he cast them into prison, nor did he burden them with stripes, nor did he treat them as B wild beasts which had not had mercy on him, nor did he remember the torn tunic, nor the deep pit, nor the sale into slavery, nor the envy, nor the smoky hatred of brothers, nor paternal grief, nor Benjamin, his uterine brother, wandering among strangers: but leaving all these sad things, mixing threats with gentleness, he sought an opportunity to see how he could be recognized by his brothers. For as soon as he saw them, and Benjamin his uterine brother—simple, perhaps from malice, the last grape of the paternal vine, who had not experienced fraternal hatred—by nature and disposition his heart was immediately moved, making his cheeks wet with tears mixed with joy, and he cried out, saying: "I am Joseph your brother: but now let it not seem hard to you" (Gen. 45. 4, 5). O wondrous things! The innocent clears himself as if he were guilty! I am Joseph, O brothers. If you did not bow down unwillingly, my dreams are false; if my sheaf was not raised up, you rightly sharpened the scythe of fraternal hatred. Now at least learn, O brothers, that "he who believes in the Lord shall not be confounded" (Rom. 9. 33). You stripped me of a simple tunic; behold, I am clothed in purple: you threw me into a pit; behold, I am carried in a chariot adorned with gems: you sold me as a slave; behold, I have been proclaimed king: I dwelt in prison; behold, I dwell in the palace: I wore chains; behold, I am adorned with a diadem set with precious stones. Opportune now are the words of the blessed Paul, as true sayings: "To those who love God all things work together for good" (Rom. 8. 28). In Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and empire for ages. Amen.
On the Annunciation of the Theotokos, and Against the Impious Arius
On the preceding Sunday, the seeker of the uncreated Trinity and orator, the great Basil, taught by God, herald of truth, generous accuser of falsehood, called this orthodox Church to a heavenly dance; who triumphed over the Arian madness as was fitting; who speaks with his life before his tongue, and shouts with both word and life; the most famous ornament of this city, the star of the Church, who stands like a brave soldier against the enemies of the pious religion, and used his tongue like a sling against the impious; a vigilant guardian of this flock, and most wise protector of the holy fold. And just as that dove in the time of Noah, carrying an ever-green olive branch in its mouth, brought this fruit to us: so he lent his tongue to the Spirit on the preceding Sunday, and with his divine words cast darts at Arius and his blasphemy, which proceeded from the devil's teaching. He showed the wolf in the midst of the sheep, covered like a lamb with the fleece of Christianity, and having removed the cloak of hypocrisy, he exposed him as a ravenous wolf; and him who was thought to be a sheep, using prophetic and apostolic sayings as stones, he stoned like a wild beast: and just as David, having prostrated Goliath, found that sword of his own to use for the slaughter of his enemy; so our new David, with Arius's own weapons, pierced Arius. In his sermon, he described how God and Father is the Father of the Word without time; how the Son is co-eternal with the Father; how he is consubstantial, not of another substance; how he is a co-worker, not a minister; how he is a maker, not a made thing; how he is Lord, not a slave; how he is the splendor of the glory of the Father, and the figure of his substance; how "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1. 1); how the Word became flesh, not changed or altered, and "dwelt among us," preparing for himself a tabernacle inseparable from his divinity and our nature. Thus, therefore, did this herald of truth preach: for he had Christ himself speaking through him, blasphemed through the Arians. Therefore the angels invisibly praised him from heaven, for celebrating the consubstantial Trinity, adored by himself, beautifully on earth, and teaching that glory is to be returned to Him: but you who were placed below rightly exulted with applause, and proclaimed him an imitator of the apostles, worthy of the apostles; inasmuch as he emitted with his tongue the praised confession of Peter, inasmuch as he emitted with his lips the zeal of Paul like fire; and rightly you called the Church blessed, which possessed such a jewel: for it is truly blessed which has such a treasure. These things, therefore, happened on that day. But today I wish to open to you the thresholds of the Incarnation of the only-begotten Son of God; that you may see how the Word, being God consubstantial with the Father, wishing to become consubstantial with his servants by taking our substance; how that Exalted One inclined himself from heaven to our lowliness; how that Rich One assumed our needy first fruits; how He who lacks nothing received that which He had formed; how the Maker joined his handiwork to himself; how, remaining God, that Benign One was made man; how the Sun of justice, kindling the lamp of the body within himself, went about seeking the lost drachma; how the Good Shepherd, covering his divinity with the sheep's skin, ran about everywhere, calling the erring sheep to himself, saying to each: "I am the good shepherd" (John 10. 11). It would be worth the effort, however, for us to bring forth that voice of the holy Gospel which is preached in the churches today: "In the sixth month the archangel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house and family of David: and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1. 26-28). In the sixth month, when now Zechariah had been made mute because of his unbelief, when now Elizabeth had germinated an unexpected branch, when now John the Baptist had the period of six months in the prison of the womb, when now the precursor was being prepared in a barren place, when now the lamp was shining in the dark places of the womb; the angel Gabriel was sent by the Sun of justice. He went, he says, into the city of Galilee, Nazareth, to the virgin Mary espoused to Joseph the carpenter: for I am the carpenter of the whole creation, this virgin for the salvation of the world...