in the heavens. "Whoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven." A He confesses Him who calls Him the true God, and reproves those who do not believe; but he denies Him again who does not say He is the true God, and who even fights against those who do confess it. Therefore, He will deny those, but our common Savior will confess us, through whom and with whom to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory and power, for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY VIII
Delivered at Ephesus in the great church which is called Mary's.
(...) to him every knee bows, and every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father. To Him be dominion for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY IX
On the Transfiguration of our Lord, and God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
B Those who know well how to contend are delighted by the applause of the spectators, and by the hope of prizes are spurred on toward the victory that befits them. But those who desire to attain to divine gifts, and who thirst for participation in the hope prepared for the saints, gladly welcome the struggles undertaken for piety toward Christ. They perform a commendable life, not preferring sloth, which gains no reward, nor loving cowardly timidity; but rather, bracing themselves against every temptation, they count the onset of persecutions worthy of little account, and consider it great riches to suffer for the Lord. For they remember the blessed Paul, who writes that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared C with the glory that is to be revealed in us. See, therefore, with what most beautiful providence our Lord Jesus Christ now uses, for the benefit and edification of the holy apostles. For He said to them: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever would save his soul will lose it; but whoever shall lose his soul for my sake will find it." And the precept is indeed salutary, and fitting for saints, and productive of the highest glory, and conducive to the ultimate state of joy. For to choose to suffer for Christ is not without reward; rather, it procures participation in eternal life and glory. But since the disciples had not yet received the power from on high, D it was reasonable that they might perhaps have fallen into human weaknesses, and, thinking such a thing to themselves, have said: "How shall a man deny himself? Or how shall he who has lost his own soul find it again? What..."
A compensation will be equal to it? Or of what gifts shall he be a partaker?" In order, therefore, to remove such thoughts and words from them, and so to speak to recast them toward manliness by implanting in them a desire for the glory that is to be given to them, He says: "I tell you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God." Is the measure of their life, he asks, to be extended for them until that time, in order that they might arrive at those days after which, at the consummation of the ages, He will descend from heaven and restore to the saints the kingdom prepared for them? But He was indeed able to perform this. For He can do all things, and nothing is impossible or unaccomplished by His most powerful will. By kingdom, however, He denotes the very spectacle of glory, in which He Himself also shall be seen at that time when He shall shine forth upon those on earth. For He will come in the glory of God the Father, and not in the humility and abjection that is in us. How, then, did He make those who had received the promise spectators of the miracle? He ascends the mountain having from them the three elect; then He is transformed into a certain excellent and divine splendor, so much so that His garment seemed to shine like light. Then Moses and Elias stood around B Jesus and spoke to one another of His departure which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem—that is to say, the mystery of the economy with the flesh, and the saving passion, which, I say, was to take place on the cross. For it is true that the law of Moses and the word of the holy prophets previously showed forth the mystery of Christ; the former, the law, describing it as if on a tablet, almost in figures and shadows, whereas the latter, the prophets, predicting it in many ways and by many means, that He would be seen in His own time in our form, and that for the salvation and life of all, He would not refuse to suffer death on the wood. Now, that Moses and Elias were present and conversing together was done with this intent: that it might be shown that the law and the prophets were as the attendants of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that He who was shown by them might be recognized as Lord through the things that they signified, which were in agreement with one another. For those things which are spoken through the prophets do not dissent from the law. And this is, as I think, what Moses, the most holy, and the best of the prophets—and this was Elias—were speaking about to one another. But C another thing also may be considered. Since the crowds were saying, some that He was Elias, others Jeremias, others one of the prophets, He takes their leaders, that even from this they might see what the difference is between the master and the servant. Yet after this another consideration can also be stated. For since they were assiduously accusing Him of transgressing the law, and considered Him to be a blasphemer, as one who claimed for Himself a glory that did not befit Him—namely, the glory of the Father—and were saying: "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath," and again: "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because, D
A being a man, you make yourself God." A And so, to show that both accusations proceeded from envy, and that He was innocent of both—and that what was being done was neither a transgression of the Law nor an arrogation of glory not belonging to Him—He brings forward those who had shone in each of these respects. For Moses gave the Law, and the Jews could have reasoned that He would not have stood by and watched the Law being trampled upon, as they supposed; nor would He have honored him who was transgressing it and was an enemy to the one who had enacted it. B And Elijah also was zealous for the glory of God. And had He been an opponent of God, and had He been calling Himself God equal to the Father while not being what He claimed, nor doing so appropriately, Elijah would not have stood by him and obeyed him.
There is also another reason to state alongside those already mentioned. What is this? That they might know that He has authority over both life and death, and that He rules both things above and things below. For this reason He brings forward both him who was alive and him who had died. For they, as they appeared, were not silent, but were speaking of the glory which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem; that is to say, both the passion and the cross, and in these things also the resurrection. But the blessed disciples were somewhat overcome by sleep, as Christ was occupied in prayer. For the human elements were being fulfilled according to the dispensation. Then, having fully awakened, they became spectators of such a venerable and wondrous transformation. C The blessed Peter, thinking perhaps that the time of the kingdom of God had already arrived, is pleased to remain on the mountain; he says that three tabernacles should be made, not knowing what he was saying. For it was not the time for the consummation of the age, nor is the present time when the saints are to receive the participation of the hope promised to them. For Paul says: "Who will transform the body of our humility, so that it may be made conformable to the body of His glory," D that is, of Christ. Since, therefore, the dispensation was still in its beginnings, and not yet at an end, how was it reasonable for Christ—who had come into the world on account of love—to cease to will to suffer for its sake? For He saved that nature which is under heaven, having even undergone death according to the flesh, and having abolished it through His resurrection from the dead. Peter, therefore, did not know what he was saying; nevertheless, besides the wonderful and ineffable spectacle of the glory of Christ, there was also something else done, useful and necessary for confirming the faith in Him, not only for the disciples, but also for us ourselves. For from a cloud from above, from God and the Father, a voice was given, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found pleasure; hear him." And as the voice came to pass, it says, Jesus was found alone. What does the stiff-necked Jew say to these things, the one who is hard to lead, and disobedient, and has a heart that receives no admonition? Behold, with Moses present, the Father commands the holy apostles to hear Him. But if He had wished them to follow the commands of Moses, He would have said: "Obey Moses, keep the
[...], having said: "Because you believe in Moses, keep the law." But now God and the Father does not even say this; rather, while Moses and his prophet Elias stood there, He commands them to listen to Him instead. A And so that the truth might not be slandered by some saying that the Father had commanded them to listen to Moses rather than to our common Savior, Christ, the evangelist necessarily noted it, saying that when that voice came, Jesus alone was found. Therefore, when God and the Father from the clouds above instructed the holy apostles, saying: "Listen to Him," Moses was absent, and Elias was not present, but Christ alone was there. Therefore, He commanded that they must listen to Him; for He is the end of the law and the prophets. For this reason, He also addressed the crowds of the Jews, saying: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me." Since they have persisted in despising the commandment given through the most wise Moses, and in considering as nothing the things spoken through the holy B prophets, they have been justly alienated and cast out from the good things promised to their fathers. "For obedience is better than sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of lambs," as it is written. And such, then, is the state of the affairs of the Jews; but for us who have acknowledged His manifestation, all good things will surely come through Him and in Him, Christ, through whom and with whom, to God and the Father, be glory and power, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY X. On the mystic supper and the washing of the feet, on Holy Thursday.
What could be more delightful or pleasant to those who love God and are truly desirous of life, than to enjoy God perpetually and to rest in His divine meditations? For if those who are filled with food and drink, and who pamper their own uncertain pleasures, keep their little bodies vigorous and lively, how much more will those whose concern is the soul, and who are fed by the water of refreshment—that is, the divine preaching—shine in golden-woven raiment, wrapped about and adorned, as the Prophet bears witness? C They shall take up wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not hunger. Since, therefore, we have arrived at the pinnacle of the life-giving mysteries from the spiritual stadium, and the gifts beyond expression from the Master are set before us as provision for immortality, come, as many of you as pursue the delights of these mysteries D, and as participants of the heavenly calling, [clothed] with sincere faith as with a nuptial robe...