A The guide, however—for He who gives man a mouth and a tongue will again furnish us with good thoughts. He Himself says somewhere: "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Ps. LXXX, 11). And since you have all come together eagerly, gathered by the splendor of the Lord's festival with bright lamps, let us celebrate this feast joyfully, and let us grasp the contemplation of the things that have been fulfilled today in a manner worthy of God, gathering from every side what pertains to the confirmation of our faith and piety. We saw just a short while ago the infant Emmanuel lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes after the human manner, but hymned divinely by the host of holy angels; these heralded His birth to the shepherds. For God the Father bestowed it as a preeminent honor that the inhabitants of heaven should be the first to preach the things concerning Him. B We have seen Him today, also, subject to the laws of Moses—or rather, we have seen God, the Lawgiver Himself, as a man, subject to His own decrees. And for what reason? The most wise Paul teaches us, saying: "When we were children, we were enslaved under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law" (Gal. IV, 3-4). Christ, therefore, redeemed from the curse of the law those who were under the law, though not those who had kept it. How did He redeem them? By fulfilling it Himself; and in another way, that He might resolve the offenses of the transgression in Adam, presenting Himself as obedient and submissive to God and the Father in all things on our behalf. For it is written that "as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Rom. V, 19). C He therefore bowed His neck to the law along with us, doing this by way of divine dispensation; for it was fitting for Him to fulfill all righteousness. For since He altogether took the form of a servant, for this reason, as one enrolled into the number of subjects because of His humanity, He paid the didrachma to the tax collectors along with others, although He was free by nature and, as the Son, not subject to toll (Matt. XVII, 23-26). When, therefore, you see Him keeping the law, do not be scandalized, nor rank the Free One among the servants, but rather consider the depth of the dispensation. When the eighth day arrived, on which it was customary for the circumcision of the flesh to be performed according to the prescription of the law, He receives the name, that is, Jesus (Luc. II, 21). D This is interpreted as "Salvation of the people." For thus did God and the Father will that His own Son, born according to the flesh from a woman, should be named. For at that time, salvation for the people was truly accomplished—and not for one alone, but for many, or rather for every nation and all that is under the heavens. Therefore, at the same time, He was circumcised and received the name. What this implies, or what mysteries are signified by what is being performed, let us consider once again.
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Blessed Paul said: "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing." But to this perhaps some might say: "Did God, the Lord of all, therefore ordain that nothing should be observed through the most wise Moses, and impose a penalty upon those who transgress it?" Nay, I would say. For as far as the nature of the thing is concerned, that is, what is fulfilled in the flesh, it is nothing at all; but it gives birth to a not inept type of a mystery, or rather, it possesses a hidden indication of the truth. For on the eighth day Christ was raised from the dead, and He gave us circumcision in the Spirit. For God commanded the holy apostles: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." B We say that this spiritual circumcision is especially fulfilled at the time of holy baptism, when Christ makes us partakers of the Holy Spirit. And of this, in turn, that ancient Jesus, the leader who was the successor of Moses, was a type. For he led the Israelites across the Jordan, and then, having settled them, he immediately circumcised them with knives of stone. Therefore, when we have crossed the Jordan, then Christ circumcises us by the power of the Holy Spirit, not cutting away the flesh, but rather washing away the stains in our souls. On the eighth day, therefore, Christ is circumcised, and receives His name, as I have said. For then, even then, we were saved through Him. They brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. C O great and admirable dispensation of the divine counsel! "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" He who is in the bosom of the Father, who sits as His assessor and is the co-eternal Son, He through whom all things are divinely produced, undergoes the condition of humanity, and He who is honored with the adoration of all and is glorified together with His own Father, offers a sacrifice. And what did He offer as the firstborn and male? A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, as is prescribed in the law. But come, let us consider what the turtledove signifies, and what the other, namely the pigeon. Those are the most garrulous among the birds of the field, while this is mild and placid. Such is the Savior of all towards us, endowed with most perfect mildness, and like the turtledove soothing the earth, and with the sweetness of His discourse filling His own vine, that is, us who believe in Him. D For it is written in the Song of Songs that the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. For He has spoken to us the divine and evangelical preaching of salvation. Turtledoves, therefore, and pigeons were offered when He presented Himself to the Lord, and it was possible to see at one and the same time both the truth and the types. Christ therefore offered Himself as a sweet-smelling fragrance, that He might offer us through Himself and in Himself to God and the Father, and He proclaimed the aversion which happened to us because of that transgression in Adam, and the sin which oppressed us all by its power. For He...
was the One we were formerly crying out to: "Look upon me, and have mercy on me." And what could be found equal in joy, to learn that God has saved the world under the heavens, through the Son acting as mediator, by becoming like us? For it is written: "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for us." For He willingly stooped to our poverty, in order that He might make us rich, if we A should possess Him for our gain. See Him, therefore, as one of us, being offered to the Father, and following the shadows of the Law, and still sacrificing according to custom, even though these things were being done through His mother. Was He, then, unknown to all in Jerusalem, and recognized by no one who lived there? Yet how could that be true? For God the Father was proclaiming through the prophets from of old that the Son would eventually appear, that He might save those who were perishing and enlighten those who sat in darkness. He said, therefore, through one of the prophets: "My righteousness draws near quickly, and my mercy to be revealed; and my salvation shall burn like a lamp." Now, Christ is both mercy and righteousness. For we have B received mercy through Him, and we have been justified, having washed away the stains of our wickedness, clearly through faith in Him. And that which serves as a lamp to those in night and darkness, this Christ has become for those established in spiritual gloom and darkness, placing the divine light within them. Accordingly, the blessed prophets prayed to become partakers of such grace, saying: "Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation." Therefore, Christ was brought into the temple, being yet an infant and a suckling; but the blessed Simeon, endowed with prophetic grace, receives Him into his arms; and filled with the highest joy, he blessed God, saying: "Now dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace, because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a light for the revelation of the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." For the mystery of Christ was prepared even before the foundation of the world; but it has been manifested in the last times of the age, and has become a light to those in darkness, and to those who had been led astray, and had fallen under the devil's hand. C But these were the ones who were worshipping the creation instead of the Creator, and were adoring the author of evil, the dragon, and were attributing the glory of God to the impure multitude of demons; but they have been called by God the Father to the knowledge of the Son, who is the true light. He said, therefore, through the voice of Isaiah: "I will indicate them to them, and I will receive them, because I will redeem them; and they shall be multiplied, just as they were many who were deceived, but called through Christ." But there are many again, just as before, who have been received and redeemed, having received from God and the Father the sign of peace, D that is to say, friendship and grace through faith in Christ. Meanwhile, the divine disciples were dispersed among the nations. What then comes from this? Those who were far from
which is through faith in Christ. The divine disciples were dispersed among the peoples. And what is the result of this? Those who were far from God have, by their disposition, become near; to these the divine Paul also writes, saying, “But now you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.” And having become near, they make Christ their boast. For God and the Father said concerning them again, “And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in His name they shall glory, says the Lord.” This the blessed Psalmist also teaches, speaking as if to the Savior of all: “O Lord, in the light of Your countenance they shall walk, and in Your name they shall exult all the day, and in Your righteousness they shall be exalted, because You are the glory of their strength.” We find also the prophet Jeremiah crying out to God: “O Lord, my strength and my help, and my refuge in the day of my troubles. To You shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, ‘Our fathers have fabricated false idols, and there is no profit in them.’” Christ has therefore become a light for the revelation of the nations, but also for the glory of Israel. For even if some from that nation have become abusive and disobedient, and having a mind full of ignorance, yet the remnant has been saved and glorified through Christ. The B firstfruits of these became the divine disciples, whose glory illuminates the whole world under heaven; and there is glory also in another way for Israel, because He came forth from them according to the flesh, although He is God over all, and blessed forever. Amen. Simeon also blesses the holy Virgin, as one who complied with the divine will and served the birth, and did not undergo the laws of humanity. For being a Virgin she gave birth, and not from a man, but with the Holy Spirit having come upon her. But what, then, does the prophet Simeon say about Christ? “Behold, this one is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against.” For He was set by God and the Father as Emmanuel in the foundations of Zion, being a chosen stone, a cornerstone, precious. But those who believed in Him were not put to shame; while as many as were unbelieving and ignorant, and could not see the mystery concerning Him, falling, they were crushed. For God C and the Father said somewhere again, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him shall not be put to shame; but upon whomever He shall fall, He will crush him.” But the prophet was confirming the Israelites, saying, “And sanctify Him, and He shall be your light: and if you have trusted in Him, He will be to you for sanctification, and you will not meet Him as a stone of stumbling, nor as a rock of ruin.” Since, therefore, Israel did not sanctify Emmanuel, although He is God and Lord, nor did they wish to believe in Him, they strike in a way against the stone because of their unbelief, and have been crushed and have fallen; but many have risen, that is, those who have accepted faith in Him. For they have been transplanted from legal worship to spiritual.