ON THE BETRAYAL OF JUDAS, AND THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
A ...hand, he it is who will betray me. Even though he shows him unwillingly, he speaks before the drama, and even if he has not yet seized the name, he is held back for the moment by me, until he speaks before you the things plotted by him against me. Then Judas, who was betraying him, answering, said: Is it I, Rabbi? He says to him: You have said it. You have liberated the eleven, having rendered the things performed by you, from now on, innocent. Receive also another condemnation for the things you are about to do—avarice. And as they were eating, he says, Jesus taking the bread, and having given thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said: Take, eat, this is my body. And having taken the cup, having given thanks, he gave it, saying: Take, drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. Take from it all. And you, he says, O betrayer, partake of eternal life; and if you remain in it, those things agreed upon with the Jews are forgiven you; but if you do not turn back your impulse, know what kind of Master you are selling—the lover of mankind. But he, not enduring the Master’s compassion, running to the Jews, hastened to put into action that which had been plotted. And behold, he says, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs from the chief priests and elders of the people. And he who was betraying him gave them a sign, saying: Whomever I shall kiss, he is the one; seize him. Heed my lips; for otherwise the word cannot be betrayed. And immediately approaching Jesus, he said to him: Hail, Rabbi, and kissed him. O kiss, the destruction of universal peace, or rather, to speak truly, the dissolution of worldly war, even if Judas did not dare the betrayal in accordance with this purpose. But Jesus said to him: Friend, for what are you here? You have given the kiss to me, perform the things agreed upon with those standing by. Then they approached and laid hands on Jesus, and seized him. The betrayer went away alienated from the apostles, and the Author of life was offered to the Jews for death; a cross was prepared, and a tomb is built for life; the dead return, and Judas goes to Hades; the Savior is crucified with robbers, and calls all to paradise. To him be glory and power unto the ages of ages.
ON THE WORDS, "I REMEMBERED GOD, AND WAS GLAD" (PSALM 76:4)
B "I remembered God, and was glad," the melodist David testified. He did not testify from his own nature, but sang from the Holy Spirit of God. David remembered not simply, but also wisely; he remembered not from his lips alone, but his heart also instructed him; David was not forgetful in the night or the day, but asking for these things, he remembered at every hour. And that you may know that we describe truth and not falsehood, let us harvest the melodies of the Holy Spirit from the written history itself. "I remembered God, and was glad," said David. And what do you wish to know truly, that David remembered God both by night and by day, and through remembering was gladdened? With much eagerness for hearing, attend to the things said: "I remembered your name by night, O Lord" (Ps. 118:55); and, "I will remember your name in every generation and generation" (Ps. 44:18). "At midnight I rose to profess to you, O Lord" (Ps. 118:62); "In the mornings I meditated on you" (Ps. 62:7). "Evening and morning and at noon I will tell and announce" (Ps. 54:18). "O God, my God, towards you I watch early" (Ps. 62:1). And again, "To announce in the morning your mercy, and your truth by night" (Ps. 91:3). Do you see that there is no idle hour in which he was forgetful? Not in the morning, not in the night. If you wish to learn truly that David did not simply remember God, but with intensity of heart, hear: "Out of the depths I cried to you, O Lord" (Ps. 129:1); "O Lord, I will profess to you in the uprightness of my heart" (Ps. 118:7). And so that David might bring an end to all the hours, he then says: "How I loved your law, O Lord! All the day it is my meditation" (Ps. 118:97). Behold how all the day, meditating on the words of the Lord, and remembering God at every turn, what dignity of grace he received? Did he gain the rewards on earth? I think that he also shone forth and reigned on earth; here subjecting enemies, and there commanding the angels; here having worn the purple of the earthly kingdom, and there having shone forth the glory of the kingdom in heaven; here having illuminated the voices of the harmony of the Holy Spirit, and there having brightened the rays of all-virtuous wisdom. And these things we depict partially. But he obtained the better of all these things. For when the Holy Spirit saw God being constantly hymned by him on earth, the Holy Spirit thereafter went into the heavens for intercession, saying: "Lord, at every hour David remembers you, and remembering he is glad; and do you remember him, O Lord, our God," and he says: "Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness" (Ps. 131:1). Thereafter the man-loving God answers: "Since David constantly and wisely remembers me, I also will proclaim before all my disposition and love toward him; I will magnify him above angels and powers on the earth." Saying what? C"I have found David my servant, a man after my heart" (Ps. 88:21; 1 Reg. 13:14); and, "And I will make him my first-born, high over the kings of the earth; and his throne as the days of heaven" (Ps. 88:28, 30). And having said this, David heralded himself. Do you see that it becomes a great gain for a man to remember God? "I remembered God," said David, "and my heart was glad." For while other gladnesses enter through the mouth and are disposed of through the bowels, the gladness of God, as a fountain, makes the heart glad with honey-flowing words, such that such a person says: "How sweet are your words to my throat! More than honey to my mouth" (Ps. 118:103). For he who remembers God has all the goods of gladness lurking in his heart; there is a fountain springing forth goods, there is honey and honeycomb and a lamp being lit, there is the hidden treasure of the holy Trinity. Thereafter the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit come, and take up an abode with him, and thereafter the man no longer becomes one being catechized, but an angel, God-bearing. Since therefore a man has been deemed worthy of such grace, and having enjoyed such gladness David was gladdened, let us also, enjoying the gladness of God, constantly remember God, that we may enjoy his goods. Come therefore, let us mine the virtues of the Savior’s presence, and let us acclaim his earthly presence as an all-virtuous pillar; since I have heard proofs of blasphemy from the tongue of the lawless Jews, and since they disbelieve the Scriptures, which they read unworthily, and do not know the mystery. For the fact that the Lord was born from a virgin, in this they are scandalized, say the wretched and completely wicked ones. O the folly! O the lawless ones against nature! What scripture, or what prophet does not trumpet these graces of the Lord? First, Solomon, the charioteer of great wisdom, called the Virgin blessed, saying: "Blessed is the barren one, the undefiled, who did not know a bed in transgression" (Sap. 3:1). For he calls her barren before the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and before the sun blossomed. "She did not know a bed in transgression," because she did not associate with a man. But when Isaiah the honorable heard about the undefiled barren one, he immediately wrapped the word of the wise man in swaddling clothes, and sang to the same: You, he says, have called the barren one undefiled; and I say: "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear" (Isa. 54:1). For until now you have not brought forth; from now on rejoice, that you have been deemed worthy to receive Him whom the heavens do not contain. And as the two witnesses proclaimed these things, they sought to mix also a third into the mystery, so that on three witnesses the question might stand secure. And as they were thinking these things, both found David, the orator of the melody, and remind him of the things to come regarding the dispensation. And when he heard the mystery, he [responded] with the voice of a trumpet...
"Behold, you both have spoken concerning the barren woman: why have you not spoken concerning the glorious birth?" B Isaiah, recognizing the prudence of the statement, immediately answers: "Behold, the Virgin shall have [a child] in the womb and shall bear a son" (Isa. 7:14). Solomon added: "He shall have fruit in the visitation of souls" (Wis. 3:13). Upon hearing these things, David said to them: "Behold, you have said that she shall bear: in what place? In a city, or in the desert, or in a field?" They respond to him: "You speak of the place and the city; for you have been deemed worthy of a greater grace." Then David, with the Spirit suggesting the operation, celebrated the mystery with a great clamor: "You," he says, "speak in secret; I will proclaim the birth with a high voice: 'Behold, we have heard of it in Ephrathah; we have found it in the fields of the wood'" (Ps. 131:6). And when he understood that this doctrine was a deep enigma, he described it thus: "Behold, we have heard of it in Ephrathah; we have found it in the fields of the wood," that is, in Bethlehem; for it is called Ephrathah. "We have heard of it in Ephrathah," namely, that she is pregnant; for the report went out there that she was a Virgin pregnant. "Then we have found it in the fields of the wood," in the cave, where the light appeared. Here we heard of her pregnancy, here we received news of the man: there we found the mother of the Lord. Behold, I have brought before you three witnesses from your own [Scriptures], proclaiming the glory of the Virgin, not because we have only found these—for all the prophets trust that they have seen Him—but so that by three witnesses justice might be established. But I do not conduct the matter from three; rather, give me one witness worthy of faith who says that the mystery is false, or that the Virgin gave birth by the operation of a man; or declare this, and turn and adore her as the Theotokos. Or show me the Savior held in the sepulcher and tomb, or I will show you Him sitting at the right hand of the Father. For I bring you a witness not from foreigners, but from your own race, saying: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet" (Ps. 109:1). He speaks of the Jews; for there is no other enemy than he who denies the Cross. C But let me leave the God-opposing synagogue, for I will join with the God-inspired Church. If a Jew says to you, "Tell me how a virgin gave birth without a man," tell him in return, "How did Adam beget Eve without a woman? How did a virgin give birth without seed? How did the earth bloom without seed? How did a virgin give birth? How did the sheer rock pour forth water? How did a virgin give birth? Tell me how Aaron's rod sprouted. How did a virgin give birth? Tell me how manna fell from heaven; how was the pitcher filled; how did the flower sprout from the root of Jesse; how did Elisha's oil overflow in the jar?" How did a virgin give birth? Tell me, how did Gideon's fleece emit dew? Tell me, how did water flow for Samson from a bone? Tell me, how did the furnace protect the three children? Tell me, how was a rock kindled under Manoah without wood? Tell me, how could a bush be inflamed, and yet not be burned? Tell me, how was Elijah not burned in the chariot of fire? Tell me, how did Moses go into the darkness and come out again? How did a virgin give birth? How did Isaiah see the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up? Tell me, how did Daniel reveal the hidden dream to Nebuchadnezzar; how did Ezekiel see the invisible one sitting on the chariot of the Cherubim? How did a virgin give birth? How was the prophet Jeremiah sanctified from the womb? Tell me how the prophet's dead bones raised the dead; tell me how the Red Sea was turned into stone by a rod; tell me how the Jordan turned back its flow; tell me how trees bring forth fruits; tell me how a vine bears a cluster; tell me how night gave birth to the day. How did a virgin give birth? Tell me how the sun's light warms the world; tell me how the sky displays the stars. In these things, too, are ineffable mysteries, hidden in the heavens and incomprehensible. D If you can explain these to me, you leader of the Jews, I shall know that you understand the Virgin's birth. But you are a stranger both to them and to these mysteries; we, however, both embrace and believe those things. Interpret the prophets and see the heralds of the advent. Let the preaching be crowned. What He did and suffered, those who preceded Him have depicted for so many generations. First of all, David prays: "O Lord, bow the heavens and descend" (Ps. 143:1). And having obtained his request, he proclaims and says: "He bowed the heavens and descended" (Ps. 17:10). And because he was to appear as a child, Isaiah says: "A child is born to us" (Isa. 9:6). But because His mother was about to take Him up to flee into Egypt, "Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and will come into Egypt, and the man-made things of Egypt shall be shaken" (Ibid. 19:1). He rightly called the Virgin a light cloud, because she did not bear the burden of male seed. That He was to be baptized in the Jordan, Jeremiah says: "How will you do in the pride of Jordan?" (Jer. 12:5). And why do we enumerate by specific cases? Come, let us bring all the prophecies together into one light. Concerning the interpretation, Gabriel says: "Behold, I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee" (Mal. 3:1). Concerning the meeting of Christ and the Baptist, David says: "Mercy and truth have met together" (Ps. 84:11); and concerning the salutation of Elizabeth to the holy and chaste Theotokos: "Righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps. 84:11 et seq.). Again, concerning John and the Lord, he says: "Truth has sprung out of the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven" (Ps. 84:12). Concerning the apostles, he says: "I said, You are gods" (Ps. 81:6). And concerning the testimony from above, David says: "You are my Son; today I have begotten you" (Ps. 2:7). Concerning the sick, he says: "He sent his word and healed them" (Ps. 106:20); concerning sinners, "He himself bears our sins" (Isa. 53:4); concerning the raised dead, "The dead shall rise"; concerning those held in souls [darkness], "You who sit in darkness, a light has risen for you" (Isa. 9:2). "The princes of the peoples are gathered together with the God of Abraham" (Ps. 46:10); concerning Judas, "He who ate my bread has magnified his supplantation against me" (Ps. 40:10); concerning the synagogue of the Jews and the chief priests, "The Lord will come into judgment with the elders of the people" (Isa. 3:14); concerning the Cross, "Come and let us cast wood into his bread" (Jer. 11:19); and concerning the thief who was at his right hand, "The right hand of the Lord has worked virtue" (Ps. 117:16); and concerning the crown of thorns, "My vine has brought forth thorns"; and that He was tempted by wood, "The enemy has reproached the Lord"; and that He is the Son of man, "And you have strengthened thy hand over the Son of man" (Ps. 79:18). Concerning His burial, "And I shall give the wicked for his burial" (Isa. 53:9); concerning the resurrection of the Lord, "Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord?" (Ps. 43:23); concerning His assumption, "God has ascended with a shout" (Ps. 46:6); concerning the heavenly session, "Sit at my right hand" (Ps. 109:4). What more shall I say? Not even the orators can recount all the prophecies that are brought forth concerning the grace of Christ. Do you wish to know how certain that old history is, and that the New Testament is depicted by the Old, and that those things which were dispensed here were overshadowed there? Look at Him for me appearing there in the tent of Abraham with two angels, and here entering into the house of Zacchaeus with twelve disciples; look at Him for me calling two brothers there to the priesthood, and here choosing two brothers for the apostolate: Moses and Aaron among His priests; Peter and Andrew among His apostles. Look at Him for me raising up there the widow's son through Elijah, and here raising up the widow's only son through Himself; there through Elisha
A twelve springs gush forth in Eden, here the twelve disciples from the Sun of Righteousness pour forth baptism. There seventy fronds of palm trees were shown, here seventy disciples of the apostles blossomed. There the bit of wood sweetened the bitter water, and here the wood of the cross transformed the most bitter water of sins into a sweet fountain of graces. There the tabernacle of the testimony was sanctified, and here the tabernacle of the temple B was glorified. There he hymned the praises, and here Paul sang the teachings. There Elijah was shown from the prophets to be a virgin, and here likewise John from the apostles is a virgin. There Elijah sat in the chariot of fire, and here John reclined upon the breast of the Lord. For our God is a consuming fire (Hebr. 12. 29). There three were shown to be great, having the name of the Savior, signifying the character of the glorious Trinity, the three holy mighty ones. For they were not simply of the common folk, nor of the base, Jesus the son of Josedech, the great one among the priests; then the three trustworthy witnesses glorify the pattern of the holy Trinity.
But my mind is truly drawn to spring forth to other things—to salvific faith. For I do not depart from the prophet who says: I remembered God, and I was delighted; Whom the all-virtuous Wisdom proclaims in the Songs: Arise, O north wind, and come, O south, blow upon my garden, and let the perfumes flow (Cant. 4. 16). Who is the north, or the south? Or who is the one of whom she speaks? Or what are the plants in the garden? Or what are the flowing perfumes? I deem this to be, as Scripture interprets it, that the north is the holy Virgin, the south is the Savior of the world, the plants are the holy martyrs and apostles, the source watering the garden is the baptism of the Savior, the guard of the garden is the seal of the cross, and the perfumes are the healings and the graces of the Savior. C This is, then: Arise, O north, that is, the Virgin from Galilee; and come, O south, come hither, Christ, from heaven from the south, and blow upon the holy Virgin; blow upon the world, and awaken the holy martyrs and apostles, and let the perfumes flow upon the infirm and the astray. These perfumes are condensed into various graces, and become a proof of health to the infirm, a conviction of return to the astray, an advocate of repentance to the sinners, and a support of strength to the righteous. How, then, shall we worthily hymn the healings of the healings, the life-giving hope, the earthly life, the heavenly salvation? How was the earth perfumed when these perfumes were flowing? And how, again, did the earth bring her own incense? And approaching the Master with fear, she said: You, she says, O Master, provide the heavenly perfumes, and I offer the earthly ones of incense to Your divinity; You, O Master, perfume my back with Your holy and all-pure footsteps, and I, leaping, offer perfumes to You. Then, rejoicing at both these totalities, the earth cried out to every fellow-creature: Come, gather together, all my offspring, and see upon earth Him who is glorified in the heavens; come, behold Him carried in the arms of a woman, Him who is seated above the Cherubim; come, see Him being fed with milk, who supplies milk to the females; come, see Him contained in the womb of a Virgin, the One not contained in the heavens; come, see Him D receiving food from a mother, the One who nourishes the ends of the earth; come, see Him delivered over to teachers, the One who instructs teachers; come, see Him tempted by men, the One who is glorified by angels; come, see Him entering into the house of Zacchaeus, the One who is seated above the heavens; come, behold Him discoursing with the Canaanite woman, the One who is hymned by the Cherubic ministry; come, see Him being received by a woman, the One who is seated at the right hand of the Father; come, see Him being touched by the infirm woman on the fringes, the One worshiped by the incorporeal nature of the powers; come, see Him born as man, the One who is the Creator of the ages; come, see Him in infancy, the One who exists before the foundation of the world; come, see Him tempted by the high priests, the One who is escorted by angels; come, see Him, all you creatures, seeing the Creator; and since He who is life is upon earth, all of you live; come, all be seen; come, small ones, assemble together with the great, the poor with the rich, slaves with masters, sinners with the righteous, the reptiles and the quadrupeds with the birds, and behold Him who has granted life. You seasons of winter and autumn, be changed, and bring forth fruit beyond nature, and bring your seasonal fruits to Him who has impregnated you with the fruits; do all things, and perfume the divinity; either bring your own incense, or harvest the perfumes from Him. And as the earth was overlooked by the descendants in all these things, behold, all things, just as He said, were converging, and the desert places blossomed, and showed forth much fragrance; so that they might fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, which sang: Let the desert rejoice, and let it flower as the lily, and the desert places of Jordan shall retreat and be fragrant (Isai. 35. 1). These things being done well, the sea itself finally desired to enjoy the fragrance, and it began to manifest itself, and it spoke, answering the earth. And as for me, finally, yield the Lord to me; for your Master is not yours alone, seeing that you have received the grace of His whole divinity; exhort Him to come to me, lest I, coming to Him, should cause your whole face to disappear. For if I had not recognized Him, and feared the One who imprinted me and bound me with indissoluble chains, I would have come long ago and bent your ends. Or did you not know that I have been contained as more honorable and older than you? For before you appeared, I was dancing in the abysses. Give back to me the Master who is my own, as the prophet said: Because the sea is His, and He made it; and then he added: And His hands fashioned the dry land (Ps. 94. 5). You, therefore, were fashioned later. Dried out, mother of dust, insatiable, and grave of the dead, house of blood, guile, and sins, why do you tyrannize over your elder, and hold the Lord alone? Give Him back to me finally, so that what was said may be fulfilled, Thy paths are in the sea; give back to me my own fashioner, so that He may also fill my bosom with grace. And thus being contained by the sea, the earth, at His nod, went forth as a world-dweller, saying: For I am not worse than you, you are shifting, and becoming hollow, and unstable, and whistling, [admixture] of bile, steerman of grass, and useless for life, salt-streamed and hard to receive, impassable for foot-journeys, of the same family as the storm, and torn by the gales; if you knew, as you said, that you are more honorable, the Master would have dwelled in you first; but now His worthiness appears to me, because I am superior to you, since it was in me that He first released the rays of His divinity. I have become as much more honorable than you, as I am the mother of men, and you of reptiles; I am the mother of the holy Virgin, who blossomed forth the Master; but you are of the wicked dragon, who mocks His creatures; I am the mother of prophets and apostles and holy men; but you are the mother of wild and wicked reptiles, and the ruin of those navigating badly; I am a paradise and fruit-bearing, having flowers and perfumes, but you are winds and harbors and disorders. If it were within me to hold the Lord, I would not have yielded Him to come to you. And as the elements were thus at that time contending with one another against the nods, the Lord who fills all things and orders all things arrives at the sea itself, wishing to glorify and honor with His holy footsteps the continent of the waters, finally the sea, stretching out its bosoms with much joy, received the Lord, saying: Come, all you small animals with the great, assemble, you in the depths, sail again to Him who seated you in the beginning, and granted you the living; all you hostile winter spirits, be muzzled, and tremble at the divinity of the One who is present; all you storms, gales, be still; the greatness of the authority, all you winds and winters, be withdrawn, and all you waves, grow calm and serene, and receive with joy the Lord of life and death. Who will announce to me today that I have as a passenger the Lord who walks upon the sea? May I be magnified from this day, because I became a Cherubic throne, and I received the Seraphic couches; because I have Him walking here who is seated there; Him who flies upon the wings of the winds, I have him stationed in the islands.
A of my region; I have him walking in my beautiful territory. No longer shall I be called the sea, but a celestial pool. Now I am a luminary shining exceedingly in heaven; now I am a fountain pouring forth healings abundantly; now I am a sun radiating beams; now I am a heaven emitting sparks—not such as are of nature, but such as flow from grace. And the things beneath the heaven were gladdened by his grace. For the erring were converted, sinners did penance, the impious felt piously, the sick received health, the dead were recalled to life, and the living stood before the face of divinity. Indeed, as demons were driven away, sickness withered, death was confounded, and finally those who were detained by the enemy in Hades, hearing his reputation, were eager to see his glory and supplicated to be released from their bonds.
But when the leader of destruction and prince of darkness saw him managing the matter well there, and prepared to plunder the royal palace of Hades, he betook himself to the demons placed there as guards, saying: "He who behaved so wisely beneath the heaven has come under the earth; he has come to lay waste our borders and to capture our hidden treasures." Those arrogant ones answered: "And who is stronger than you? Did you not say, 'There is no one stronger than me who opposes me'? Now are you afraid that you might be overcome by him?" The leader said, "Try war against him; be confident, and you will find him in all things having defeated you." But he said, "I have tried and I have tested, and on every side he has broken my powers; in the desert I attacked him, and he showed me to be deserted on every side. Nor could I do anything against his disciples; for he affected them with the same glory." Then they replied: "Meanwhile enter, and close the brazen gates, and we shall secure the iron bars, and prepare our weapons."
While these and similar things were being shouted by those wicked ones, behold, the Lord arrived with fire-bearing armies. "Lift up the gates, O princes of demons; for the King of glory shall enter" (Ps. XXIII, 7, 8). Those who were within answered boldly: "Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty in battle." But the leader of the demons said to them within: "Did I not tell you that he is strong and mighty in battle and powerful in strength?" But the angels, acting strenuously, say: "Lift up the gates, before we break them and shatter the bars; open them with peace, lest we enter with wrath. Lift up the gates, O princes of hell, and the King of glory shall enter." B Being seized with fear, as they argued with words, "Who is this King of glory?" the angels answered: "The Lord of hosts, the Master of things above and below." And as they were wrangling and would not open out of fear, suddenly by the power of divinity the gates were shattered and the bars crushed, and the prediction of the prophecy was fulfilled, clearly announced so many generations ago; namely: "Because he has shattered the gates of brass and broken the iron bars" (Ps. CVI, 16). Then said the impious: "We have weapons and swords; let us make an attack upon him." But he who had broken the gates crushed these also, and fulfilled the two prophecies thus foretelling: "The Lord crushing wars, the Lord is his name" (Ex. XV, 3). "He has broken the powers of the bows, the shield, the sword, and the battle" (Ps. LXXV, 4, 5, 6).
And when those who were locked within saw the light of eternal life, they cried out: "You illuminate wonderfully from the eternal mountains." They called the foundations of hell "mountains." "All the foolish in heart were troubled" (Ps. LXXV, 6): that is, the diabolical princes were struck with terror. "They have slept their sleep, and found nothing." For they were destroyed by the Lord, and lost what they had in their hands, and found nothing. "At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, they have slumbered who mounted horses" (Ibid. v. 7). He calls the souls of the detained "horses," and the malignant demons "riders"—demons who unmercifully tortured the souls of men. "They slumbered and were destroyed." Then, as they saw the salvation of souls and their own destruction; their liberty and their own servitude; those souls released and themselves held by indissoluble bonds—they shouted with a great clamor: "You are terrible, and who shall withstand you in your face?" (Ps. LXXV, 8). "We, who were torturing souls, you have struck down from heaven with just judgment: for we did not judge justly; therefore we are judged, therefore we do not obtain pardon. For judgment is without mercy to one who has not shown mercy" (Jas. II, 13). And he gathered all the souls that had been taken, and fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah: "The partridge has gathered what it did not bring forth" (Jer. XVII, 14). For whom the enemy had gathered into Hades, these the Lord has gathered; whom the devil brought forth there—or rather, whom he scattered—these Christ has gathered.
"Arise," says the Lord, "and let us ascend into heaven." C This whole thing was done so that the enigma of the prophecy might be fulfilled: "Arise, and let us ascend into the mountain" (Ps. LXVII, 16); that is, into the heavenly Jerusalem. The hellish gates were opened—or rather, shattered; it is now necessary that the upper gates of the heavens be opened; for the heavenly porters, being ignorant, were hindering it. For when he descended, they were ignorant of it; therefore they did not know him ascending, and attempted to hinder him (for the Lord had with him the souls he had redeemed, even the thief, or rather, his disciple), and they said: "Who is this who comes with such a host?" But the angels who were leading the way signified the dignity of his divinity. They, being hindered by ignorance, did not run to meet him: "If it is the Lord who ascends, how is it that when he descended, we did not know it? Did he not descend at other times also? He ordered an ark to be made by Noah; he came to the tabernacle of Abraham; he came to Jacob in a ladder; he spoke to Job through a whirlwind and a cloud; he approached Moses in Sinai, Jesus likewise in Jericho, and Elijah in a cave. There was no generation in which he did not descend, and we did not recognize it. But now, if, as it is said, it is the Lord who ascends, how did we not know him to have descended?"
Those who were leading the way answered: "He is the same who descended then; in order that he might not be known when he was ascending, he bore the form of a servant, lest you should recognize the Dominical magnificence. Learn the Dominical mystery and the Dominical art, and do not hinder the purpose of his kindness. For if you had known him descending in great humility for the grace of his own creation, you would have hindered his descent, and would have deprived man of salvation and excluded him from the supernal kingdom. Now open, bend your knees." They answer, "Unless we hear his divine voice, we shall not open the gates; for no one impure ascends hither. For this, he says, is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter into it" (Ps. CXVII, 20). Then the Lord spoke with a venerable voice: "I am he whom you seek: Open to me the gates of justice: I will enter into them, and will confess to the Lord" (Ibid. v. 19): namely, what I have done, what I have suffered, how many good things I have performed, and how many evils I have received. "I will announce the justifications of the just, the charisms of healings, and their right deeds. Open to me the gates of justice: I will enter into them, and will confess to the Lord." D Then the porters, recognizing the unstained voice of the Lord, went out with fear to worship: "We did not know you, O Lord, descending; we worship you ascending."
Then, when he and his followers had passed through without hindrance, they were driving away those who wanted to enter afterward, saying: "These are the gates of the Lord; the just shall enter into them: do the unjust also? Adulterers, publicans, robbers? Why is this done contrary to your holy will? You established these gates, you appointed us porters; you gave us the law: 'These are the gates of the Lord; the just shall enter into them.' Is it not said of you, 'He set a commandment, and it shall not pass away' (Ps. CXLVIII, 6)? You said, 'Only the just shall enter': do the unjust also? Adulterers, publicans, approach hither; magicians, thieves, robbers are entering hither! At least bring in the just first, and the sinners afterward—"
A may you introduce all these, since they truly repent; but this brigand, why do you bring him into the kingdom above before all others, even though he has not repented? Does he not have even one good deed he performed in life, nor did he ever do any good thing; but through the hour of repentance he has triumphed? Behold, we hold his sins in writing, which he did not erase through repentance, and yet you bring him into paradise as a guide for all the righteous? But the Savior says: "Do you seek his sin, which I have erased before all things? The record of his sins shall be idle, because his faith has erased it. Let the document of his iniquities be dissolved by his good confession." He did not repent before the time, but he understood at the time: before his death he was naked without faith, in death his faith conquered the flood of seas; in a time of relief he did not know, but in a time of distress he recognized the Just One. When my disciples fled from me, he fled to me: when Peter was saying, "I do not know the man," then this one confessed Him King of heaven; when the priests were putting me to death, then this one called me Lord of life. For me the work of repentance is completed, because He sees the intent and the eagerness; for me the justification of patience is fulfilled, because He inclined the heart toward good. Through the side of Adam, He shut paradise; this one, through confession, opens the gate guarded by the flaming sword. Do not seek his sin, which you will not find. For this reason David prophesied so many generations before: "His sin shall be sought, and it shall not be found" (Ps. CVI, 34).
Eventually the Savior ascended, having conquered all power and authority, and all the hosts of the angels met Him, and worshipped as their Master: and every B Cherubic order and Seraphic ministry worshipped Him and the Father who begat Him. And all that He took up to the Father, He caused to sit at the right hand, He who never bared the Father’s bosom. For even though He descended to earth for the sake of philanthropy, He did not in any way leave the throne: even though He became a complete human being according to the economy, He in no way suffered an evacuation of His own natural divinity. For Christ did not become God through the progress of a human—far be it—but being God, He became human, that He might save the human. Therefore we do not preach a human deified, but we confess God made human; just as the divine Paul said: "Therefore all rule and authority were subjected to Him," as being before all creation, or rather the Creator of creation, and co-master and co-king with His immaculate Father and the life-giving Spirit unto the ages. Amen. For He is the one who is about to judge the inhabited world, and all that is under heaven, and to render to each according to what he has done. Who then shall speak of the mercy of His philanthropy, or the magnitude of His power? Who shall express the wisdom of His C goodness, or the majesty of His strength? Who shall tell of the compassions of His tender-heartedness, or trace the dignity of His preeminence? That, not leaving the heavens, He descended to earth for our sake; that, slipping past the rulers and authorities, He entered the womb of an immaculate Virgin; He took the choirs of angels and archangels, and put on the form of a servant, that He might save the human [made] according to the image from corruption and death; and He died in the flesh, that He might make us partakers of His immortal nature. And what shall we render to Him for all that He has rendered to us? What kind of thanks, or supplications? Not even if all our members were to take up voices, and our hairs were to utter speech, and our whole organ were filled with melodies, could we worthily hymn the mercy and majesty of His condescension toward us. But as far as we have room, we hymn the only all-holy One, fulfilling the prophecy: "I remembered God, and I felt delight" (Ps. LXXVI, 4). For through this cycle I have traversed the great and paradoxical wonders of the Savior, that by remembering each I may find delight, if indeed we have made room in our memory, as was fitting. But whether by pretext or in truth God might be proclaimed: therefore let us say with the prophet: "I remembered God, and I felt delight." But may the God D of hosts, having shown forth philanthropy and much goodness, accepting our weakness and our prayers by grace, and having led [us] toward a better, good providence, Himself keep our soul unspotted, our body undefiled, our spirit pure, our life preserved from harm; guarding our faith inviolable, our brotherly love unbroken, our virginity blameless, our friendship unblemished, our love unfeigned, our virtue undisturbed, our justice unimpeded, our faith fruitful. May He throw open to us the gates of paradise, and extinguish the flaming sword, and open the door of the kingdom, and prepare the pure enjoyment, and set us at His right hand, and crown us with the right hand of the philanthropy of His goodness: for to Him is due glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
On Rachel and the Infants
Just as those who take the sweet fruits of the fruit-bearing trees give praises to the branches and the trees at the same time: in the same way we, too, beloved, having received the fruits of the words from the teacher who preceded us, give the honor at once to him and to the fathers. For just as the sweet richness is sent to the fruits from the richness of the trees: so also, to the aforementioned man, the sweetness of the word is sent up from the grace of the Spirit. Let us then enjoy the sweetest fruits of the words, like sweet-tasting dates having acquired the sweetness from the righteous root of the fathers; and let us send the sweetness of the word to our understanding, but let us attribute the pleasantness of the thanksgiving to our fathers. For the honor of the fathers consists in the seemliness of the sons; or rather, the crowns of the sons are adorned by the glory of the fathers. But since I am stung by the reading of the sighing of Rachel, as if by a goad, I turn toward her: Tell me, O Rachel, tell the pain hidden in your sigh; for thus the boat of your mind, being weighed down by grief, will be lightened; for when the words are uttered from your heart signifying the pain, the heaviness of the grief goes forth together with the utterances. Tell me then, Rachel, why do you weep? For I see your tears flowing like rivers down your cheeks, and the breath bitterly winding about your heart, and being carried irregularly through your nostrils. Why do you loosen your hair, and display it, which you ought to hide? Why do you display the dignified mystery of honorable women, being overcome by excessive madness? Woe is me, woe is me, Rachel! I will speak at last, held by bitterness of soul; and what shall I say? I wish to bring forth the word from my heart, and again I recoil, not finding the cause of the evils and the greatest calamity: King Herod, who teaches me not to murder, and by his deed annulling his own law! You whom I thought to be a king of good order, I see you now as a leader of disorder, working in an undisciplined and lawless manner. O greatest folly! One who commits a single murder becomes liable for death, and Herod, having committed so many, is called king. And the farmers indeed bring forth seed from their own barns to sprinkle clean wheat in the furrows of the earth; and when the ears of grain have sprouted and signify the brilliant time of the harvest, then, stretching out their hands, they cut the crop with a sharp sickle. But Herod has withered the bloom of my womb with a sharp sword, before the offspring had yet ripened into the flowers of age, before the spring graces of down had risen upon their cheeks. Woe to me, woe to me! My womb pains me, and the senses of my heart are convulsed; my soul is torn in my heart: I will not be silent. For it is for the sake of the wedded-less bride Mary that I endure these things, for the sake of the Word hidden in the manger. Not yet do I see my own clusters of senses, now bruising in ripeness, being already vanished. Woe to me, woe to me! Those whom nature bore, having made them ripe after nine months of carrying them with pain, these I see slaughtered by a single blow of a sword. Woe to me! O virgin Mary, at once mother! the [original-script column: see facsimile]