385 ...the apostle, "The remnant shall be saved." It is the judgment of the Lord toward His people, and an enumeration of His benefits, and a deprecation of sacrifices. The prophet laments as if the just and good men were failing. And at the end, after having rebuked and threatened great calamities, he announces good things to Israel. Nahum. 386 He discourses concerning the power of God: he predicts concerning the apostles. He adds also the invasion of the Babylonians against the Ninevites, and their overpowering captivity. He speaks also of her power and the wealth which she had before she was taken. Thus far had the exemplar.
MONITION
We have provided a homily among the spurious works of Athanasius, p. 410, the beginning of which in Greek is, *Mystērion xénon blépō*, that is, "I see a strange mystery," with the title, *Eis tēn gennēsin tou Christou*, that is, "On the birth of Christ." Moreover, that beginning is the very same as that of this homily, which circulates under the name of Chrysostom: nor is it only the beginning, but he who cobbled it together under the name of Athanasius has also stolen many other things here and there from this homily. This homily, however, of which we are now treating, was most certainly issued in the age of Chrysostom: for Cyril, in his book *Ad Reginas*, which is also found printed among the Acts of the Council of Ephesus, brings forward certain testimonies in the name of Chrysostom from this homily, the first of which is set forth in these words: "Of John, bishop of Constantinople, on the divine generation." He speaks, however, of the holy Virgin. "In place of the sun," he says, "she contained the Sun of justice in a way that cannot be circumscribed. And do not ask how; for where God wills, the order of nature is overcome. He willed, He was able, He descended, He saved; all things follow the will of God. Today He who is, is born, and He who is, becomes that which He was not; for being God, He becomes man, yet He did not depart from the divinity which He had. For neither by the loss of divinity was He made man, nor by progress was He made God from man; but being the Word, because of His impassibility, He became flesh, while His nature remained unchanged."A SERMON ON THE NATIVITY OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
A I see a strange and paradoxical mystery; my ears are ringing with the voices of shepherds, not piping a lonely melody, but singing a heavenly hymn. Angels sing, archangels harmonize, the Cherubim hymn, the Seraphim glorify, all are keeping festival, seeing God upon earth, and man in heaven; Him who is above, below by the dispensation, and Him who is below, above by the philanthropy. Today Bethlehem imitated heaven; having received, instead of stars, angels singing, and instead of the sun, having contained the Sun of justice in a way that cannot be circumscribed. And do not ask how; for where God wills, the order of nature is overcome. For He willed, He was able, He descended, He saved; all things are concurrent unto God. Today He who is, is born, and He who is, becomes that which He was not; for being God, He becomes man, not departing from being God. B For neither by a departure of divinity did He become man, nor again by progress did He become God from man; but being the Word, because of His impassibility, He became flesh, His nature remaining unchangeable. C But when He was born, the Jews denied the strange birth, and the Pharisees misinterpreted the divine Books, and the scribes spoke things contrary to the law. Herod sought the One who was born, not that he might honor Him, but that he might destroy Him. For today all things saw the contradictions. For He was not hidden, according to the Psalmist, from their children to another generation. For indeed kings came, marveling at the heavenly King, because how He came upon earth not having angels, D not having archangels...
not having thrones, not having dominions, not having virtues, not having powers, but walking a strange and untrodden A path, He came forth from the untouched womb. Yet He did not leave the angels destitute of His guidance, nor did He depart from His own deity on account of His incarnation. But kings indeed came, that they might adore B the heavenly King of glory; soldiers, that they might worship the Prince of the army; women, Him who was born of a woman, so that He might change the pains of a woman into joy; virgins, the Son of the Virgin, marveling how the Creator of milk, who makes the fountains of the breasts pour forth spontaneous streams, should receive the nourishment of a little child from a Virgin mother; infants, Him who became an infant, so that He might perfect praise out of the mouth of babes and sucklings. Children, the Child who made martyrs because of the madness of Herod; men, Him who became man, that He might heal the evils of servants; shepherds, the good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep; priests, Him who became a priest after the order of Melchisedec; servants, Him who took the form of a servant, that He might adorn our servitude with the honor of liberty; fishermen, Him who makes men fishers from fishermen; tax collectors, Him who from among tax collectors made a chosen evangelist; harlots, Him who exposes His feet to harlot's tears; and, to encompass it briefly, all sinners came that they might see the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Since, therefore, all exult, I too wish to exult; I wish to dance and to celebrate a festival. And I do dance, not beating a lyre, not shaking a thyrsus, not blowing pipes, not lighting torches, but in place of musical instruments, carrying the swaddling clothes of Christ. For these are to me hope, these are to me life, these are to me salvation, these are to me pipes, these are to me lyre. Therefore, I also approach carrying them, so that having obtained the strength of words by their C power, I may say with the angels: Glory to God in the highest; and with the shepherds: And on earth peace, good will toward men. Today He who was born of the Father ineffably is born of the Virgin for my sake in an inexplicable way. But then, indeed, He was born according to nature before the ages from the Father, as He who begot Him knows; today, however, He is again born outside of nature from the Virgin, as the grace of the Holy Spirit knows. And His upper generation is true, and His lower generation is not at all false; and truly God was begotten of God, and truly the same one was born man of a Virgin. Above, alone of the alone, the Only-Begotten; below, alone of the alone Virgin, the same Only-Begotten. For just as it is impious in the upper generation to conceive of a mother, so in the lower generation it is blasphemous to suppose a father. The Father begot without flux, and the Virgin brought forth without corruption; for the Father underwent no flux, inasmuch as He begot as was fitting for God; nor did the Virgin undergo corruption in giving birth, inasmuch as she brought forth spiritually. Whence, neither can His upper birth be explained, nor does his progression in these latter times allow itself to be D curiously investigated. For I know that today the Virgin brought forth, and I believe that God was born without time; but I have learned to honor the mode of birth with silence, and I have not received it to be inquired into curiously by discourse. Since, in the case of God, one should not attend to the nature of things, but should place faith in the power of Him who works. For it is a law of nature when a woman joined in marriage gives birth; but when a virgin who has not known a man appears a virgin again after she has given birth, the matter exceeds nature. That, therefore, which happens according to nature, let it be investigated; but that which surpasses nature, let it be honored with silence—not as something to be fled from, but as something ineffable, and worthy of being venerated in silence. But grant me, I beseech you, this indulgence, that I may put an end to my speaking at the beginning. For since I am terrified to touch upon the investigation of more sublime matters, I know not how I may steer the rudder of my speech, or in what direction. For what shall I say, or what shall I speak? I see the Mother who brought forth; I discern the Son brought forth by the birth; but the mode of generation I do not behold: for nature is overcome, the boundary of order is overcome, when God wills it. For the event does not happen according to nature, but a miracle happens above nature; for nature rested, but the will of the Lord worked. O ineffable grace! The Only-Begotten, who is before the ages, who cannot be touched, who is simple and incorporeal, entered into my body liable to corruption and capable of being looked upon. For what cause? That by being seen He might teach, and teaching, might lead by the hand to things which do not fall under the eyes. For since men think the eyes more trustworthy than the ears, and doubt that which they do not see, for this reason He deigned to offer Himself to be looked upon by the eyes through the body, that He might remove the doubt. And He is born of the Virgin, who was ignorant of the matter: for she neither cooperated in the act, nor contributed anything to that which was happening; but she was the mere instrument of His hidden power; she knew only that which she had learned by asking Gabriel: "How shall this be to me, since I know not a man?" Then he said: "Dost thou wish to know? The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee." And how was He with her, and a little later from her? Just as an artisan, having found most useful material, constructs a very beautiful vessel: so Christ, having found the holy body and soul of the Virgin, constructed for Himself an animated temple, and formed man as He willed out of the Virgin, and having put him on, He came forth today, and did not blush at the deformity of nature. For it was not a reproach to Him that He should bear His own work; and the work itself was heaped with the greatest glory, because it was to become the garment of its Maker. For just as in the first formation it could not be that man was constituted before the clay came into His hands, so it cannot be that a corruptible vessel is transformed unless it becomes the garment of the Maker.
On the Birthday of Christ
A But what shall I say, or what shall I speak? For the miracle strikes me with awe. The Ancient of Days has become a child; He who sits upon the throne high and lifted up is placed in a manger; He who is intangible, and simple, and uncompounded, and incorporeal, is wrapped in swaddling clothes by human hands; He who breaks the bonds of sin is bound, because He so wills. For He wills to turn ignominy into honor, to clothe shame with glory, and to show the limits of reproach to be a way of virtue. Hence He assumes my body, that I might contain His Word; and taking my flesh, He gives me His Spirit, so that by giving and receiving He may trade for a treasure of my life. He takes my flesh, that He might sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit, that He might save me. But what shall I say, and what shall I speak? Behold, the virgin shall have in her womb. It is no longer spoken of as something to be, but is wondered at as something that has come to pass. Among the Jews it had been accomplished, among whom it was once spoken of; but by us it is believed, among whom it was not even named. Behold, the virgin shall have in her womb. The letter belongs to the synagogue, but the possession belongs to the Church. She found the parchment, but this one found the pearl; she dyed the wool, but this one was clothed in the purple robe. For Judea brought Him forth, and the whole world received Him. The synagogue nurtured and nursed Him, but the Church took hold of Him and reaped the fruit. With her is the vine branch, and with me is the cluster of truth. She harvested the cluster, and the nations drink the mystical draught. She sowed the grain of wheat in Judea, and the nations, with the sickle of faith, have harvested the ear of corn. The nations have piously plucked the rose, and for the Jews the thorn of unbelief has remained B; the fledgling has flown away, and the foolish ones sit by the nest; the Jews interpret the foliage of the letter, and the nations harvest the fruit of the Spirit. Behold, the virgin shall have in her womb. Tell me, O Jew, tell me now, whom did she bring forth? Be bold with me, even as you were with Herod. But you are not bold. I know why: because of your treachery. For to him you spoke, that he might kill Him; but to me you do not speak, lest I should worship Him. Whom, then, did she bring forth? Whom? The Master of nature. For even if you are silent, nature cries out; for He brought forth as the One born willed to be born. It was not permitted by nature, but as Master of nature, He introduced a strange manner of birth, that He might show that even in becoming man, He is not born as a man, but as God He is begotten. Therefore, today He came forth from a virgin who conquered nature and surpassed marriage. For it befitted the Master of holiness to come forth from a pure and holy birth. For He it is who of old fashioned Adam from virgin earth, and from Adam, without a woman, fashioned a woman. For just as Adam brought forth a woman without a woman, so also today the virgin brought forth a man without a man. "For He is a man," he says, "and who shall know Him?" Since the female race owed a debt of favor to men, as Adam had brought forth a woman without a woman, for this reason to-day the virgin brought forth without a man, paying the debt for Eve to men. For that Adam might not think too highly of himself for having brought forth a woman without a woman, for this reason the virgin brought forth a man without a man, so that she might show that the marvel is common to nature. For just as He took the rib from Adam, and did not diminish Adam in any way; so also in the virgin, He fashioned the ensouled temple, C and did not loosen her virginity. Adam remained whole even after the removal of the rib; the virgin remained incorrupt even after the coming forth of the infant. And for this reason He did not prepare for Himself a temple elsewhere, nor did He fashion another body and put it on, lest He seem to insult the clay of Adam. For since man, having been deceived, became an instrument of the devil, for this reason He took up the very temple that had been tripped up, that through the union with the One who made it, He might separate it from the habit of the devil. Yet, even in becoming man, He is not born as a man, but is begotten as God. For if He had come forth from common marriage, as I have, He would have been thought by many to be a lie; but now, for this reason, He is born of a virgin, and in being born He keeps the womb unchanged, and preserves virginity unharmed, so that the strange manner of this birth might become a proclaimer of great faith. Hence, even if a Greek, even if a Jew asks me, "Since Christ is God by nature, has He become man contrary to nature?" I will answer, "Yes," calling as witness to my word the stainless seal of virginity; for thus is He God, conquering the order of nature; thus is He the potter of the womb, and the inventor of virginity, because both the manner of His birth was kept undefiled, and He built for Himself a temple in an ineffable way, in the manner He willed. Tell me then, O Jew, did the virgin bring forth, or not? If she did bring forth, acknowledge the strange birth; if she did not bring forth, why did you deceive Herod? For to him, when he inquired where Christ is born, you said that it was in Bethlehem of Judea. Did I then not know the village, or the place? Did I not know the dignity of the One being born? Did Isaiah not make mention of Him as God? "For He shall bring forth," he says, "a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel." Have you not, as ungrateful enemies, introduced the truth? Have not you, the scribes and Pharisees, the strict guardians of the law, taught us everything concerning Him? Did we not know the language of the Hebrews? Did you not interpret the Scriptures? After the virgin had brought forth, and before she brought forth, so that the matter spoken might not seem to be interpreted for the sake of God, did you not, when questioned by Herod, bring forward the prophet Micah D as a witness, that he might confirm your word? "And thou, Bethlehem," he says, "house of Ephrathah, art in no wise least among the rulers of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth a leader, who shall shepherd my people Israel." The prophet spoke well: "Out of thee." For out of you He came forth, and into the world He came. For He who exists, comes forth; but he who does not exist, is created, or becomes. But He both was, and pre-existed, and always was; but He was always as God, governing...
the world. But today He went forth as man, to shepherd the people, while as God He saved the inhabited world. O benevolent enemies! O modest and gentle accusers, who, being imprudent, indicated that God was born in Bethlehem; who made known the Lord hidden in a manger; who revealed Him lying in a cave, even against their will, and benefited us being unwilling, revealing Him when they strove to hide Him! Do you see the ignorant teachers? They do not know what they teach; famished, they feed; thirsty, they give drink; pressed by poverty, they make rich. Come, therefore, let us hold a feast; come, let us celebrate the solemnity. For the manner of the festival is unusual, since the account of the birth is also incredible. For today the old bond was loosened, the devil was confounded, demons fled, death was destroyed, paradise was opened, the curse was blotted out, sin was removed from the midst, error was sent away, truth returned, and the message of piety was disseminated everywhere and ran; the conversation of the celestials has been planted on earth: angels communicate with men, men converse with angels fearlessly. Why so? Because God has come onto earth, and man into heaven; all things have been mixed together everywhere. He came upon earth, while being wholly in heaven; and while being wholly in heaven, He is wholly upon earth. While being God, He became man, not denying that He is God; while being the impassible Word, He became flesh; in order to dwell among us, He became flesh. For God was not made, but existed. Therefore He became flesh, so that He whom heaven could not contain, the manger might receive today. Therefore He is placed in a manger, so that the little Child, by whom all things are nourished, might receive food from a virgin mother. Therefore the Father of aeons to come, as an infant hanging from the breast, does not at all refuse the virgin arms, so that He might become more approachable. For today, indeed, the Magi arrived, and made a beginning of renouncing the tyrant, and heaven glories, while it indicates its own Lord by means of a star; and the Lord, sitting above the light cloud of His own body, travels into Egypt, and appears indeed to flee the snares of Herod, but in reality He fulfills what had been spoken by Isaiah: "For there shall be," he says, "in that day Israel third among the Assyrians and the Egyptians, and My people shall be blessed in the land which the Lord Sabaoth has blessed, saying: Blessed shall be My people who are in Egypt, and who are among the Assyrians, and who are in Israel" (Isai. XIX, 24, 25). What do you say, O Jew? You who were first, have you become third? The Egyptians and the Assyrians have been preferred before you, and the firstborn Israel is numbered later? It is so: deservedly the Assyrians shall be first; since they also worshipped Him first through the Magi; the Egyptians, however, after the Assyrians, since they received Him as He was fleeing the snares of Herod; but in the last place Israel is numbered, since it was only after His ascent from the Jordan that they recognized Him through the apostles. He entered Egypt, shaking the hand-made things of Egypt, not in any way, but after He had closed the vestibules of Egypt by the destruction of the firstborn (Isai. XIX, 1). Therefore, as the firstborn, He entered today, that He might loosen the mourning of ancient grief. And that Christ is called firstborn, the evangelist Luke testifies today when he says: "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luc. II, 7). He entered Egypt, therefore, that He might loosen the mourning of ancient grief; and in place of stripes He brought in joy, and in place of night and darkness He granted the light of salvation. The water of the river was then contaminated by the slaughter of infants of unripe age. He entered Egypt, therefore, He who had turned the water into blood, and infused the flowing river with the power of begetting salvation, and purified their impurity and filth by the virtue of the Spirit. The Egyptians were afflicted, and, seized by madness, denied God. He entered Egypt, therefore, filling religious souls with the knowledge of God, and caused the river to nourish martyrs more fertile than stalks of grain. But because of the narrowness of time, I wish to put an end to my speech here, reserving the rest of the business for you for the following day; here, however, I shall impose an end to the oration, when I have fulfilled this: how, namely, while the Word was impassible, He became flesh, the nature remaining unchanged. What shall I say, or what shall I speak? I see a carpenter and a manger and an infant, and the swaddling clothes of the cradle, and the birth of a virgin destitute of necessary things, all things pressed by poverty, all things full of need. Have you seen riches in much poverty? How, when He was rich, He was made poor for our sake? How He had neither bed nor covering, but was cast into a naked manger? O poverty, the fountain of riches! O riches immense, bearing the appearance of poverty! He lies in a manger, and shakes the inhabited world; He is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and breaks the bonds of sin; He has not yet erupted into articulate voice, and He has taught the Magi, and moved them to conversion. What shall I say, or what shall I speak? Behold, the infant is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lies in a manger; but Mary is present, who is virgin and mother; and Joseph was present, who is called father. This man is said to be the husband, that woman is called the wife: these are legitimate names deprived of copulation. Understand these things for me as far as words are concerned, not as far as things are concerned. He only betrothed her, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed her: whence Joseph, doubting, knew not what to call the infant. He did not dare to say He was born of adultery, he could not cast a reproachful word against the virgin, he refused to call Him his own son; for he knew well that it was unknown to him how or whence the infant was born: for which reason, to him doubting about the matter, it was brought down from heaven by the voice of the angel: "Fear not, Joseph; for that which is begotten of her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matth. I, 20). For the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin. But why is He born of a virgin, and keeps her virginity inviolate? Because the devil once deceived the virgin Eve, therefore Gabriel carried the happy message to Mary, who was a virgin. But Eve, indeed, having been deceived, brought forth a word which brought death; but Mary, receiving the happy message, brought forth in the flesh the Word which conciliates eternal life to us. The word of Eve indicated the wood, through which wood...
A B C D 393 - AD HOMILIAM DE LEGISLATORE 394 paradisum expulit; but the Word who came forth from the Virgin showed the cross, by which He brought the thief into the presence of Adam in paradise. Since, indeed, the Greeks, the Jews, and the children of heretics did not believe that God was begotten without flux and without passion, for this reason today, having come forth from a passible body, He kept the passible body impassible, so that He might show that, just as when born from the Virgin He did not dissolve her virginity, so also God, while His holy essence remained unchangeable, as God begat God in a manner befitting God. For because men, having abandoned Him, sculpted human-shaped idols, which they even worshipped to the insult of the Creator, for this reason today [400] the Word of God, being God, was seen in the form of man, so that He might both destroy the lie and secretly bring the worship to Himself. To Christ, then, who brought a way out from impossible straits, let us send up glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.