[431 S. JOANNIS CHRYSOSTOMI ARCHIEP. CONSTANTINOP.]
to open them, He would not have permitted Abel, endowed with every virtue and having become His friend, to suffer what he suffered. But now, in order to demonstrate to us that we are traveling toward another life, and that another world is left for the just, in which they may receive the crowns and rewards stored up for them: He permitted that he who first lived justly here should not receive the rewards of his labors here, but departing hence, should cry out through the things which he suffered here, and say to all: After this life there is a certain reward and remuneration. On this account He also translated Enoch, and snatched away Elijah, by them sketching out the dogma of the resurrection. A Sufficit, therefore, for the abundance of arguments, the power of the Creator alone: but if anyone is weaker, and wishes to obtain another demonstration, and a pledge of the future resurrection, God has given even this to us with great liberality and abundance, namely, the grace of the Spirit. Wherefore, when Paul had made B a discourse worthy of faith concerning the resurrection from the resurrection of Christ, in that God was the author of it, he also brings in this statement: And He gave us an earnest, not of wealth, nor of gold, nor of silver, but an earnest of the Spirit, and makes it valid for the whole. For just as in feasts, he who has received an earnest has faith and is secure regarding all the rest: so also you, when you have received the earnest, I mean the gifts of the Spirit, should no longer doubt regarding the other goods stored up for you. For He who raised the dead, who heals the blind, casts out demons, cleanses lepers, corrects diseases, dissolves death, and can do so many and such great things in a fragile and mortal body, what excuse will you have [432] in doubting the resurrection? For if, when the time of the resurrection has not yet arrived, but while the struggle is still ongoing, God bestows upon you such crowns: consider what great goods He will give you at the time of rewards. But if anyone says, “But we do not see these signs happening now, nor is such power entrusted to us”: I would answer that it makes no difference, whether these were done now or formerly. For the things done previously by the apostles are testified to by the Churches, and peoples, and cities, and nations throughout the whole world, which flocked to the unlearned and fishermen. C For the illiterate, and the needy, and the poor, and the base would not have prevailed over the whole world, unless helped by miracles. Yet you have not become destitute of the grace of the Spirit; but even now many symbols of that donation remain, and much greater and more admirable ones than those which were enumerated. For it is not an equal thing to raise a dead body and to liberate a soul killed by sins from destruction, which comes about through baptism: it is not equal to drive away a disease of the flesh, and to cast off the weight of sins: it is not equal to restore a blinded eye, and to illuminate a soul darkened. For unless there were now also an earnest of the Spirit, baptism would not have been applied, nor would the remission of sins, nor would justification and sanctification have been effected, nor would we have received the adoption as children of God, nor would we have partaken of the mysteries: for the body and the mystical blood are not made without the grace of the Spirit; nor would we have had priests; for it is not possible for these ordinations to occur without such a descent. But we could say many other things concerning the symbols of the grace of the Spirit. Therefore you also have the earnest of the Spirit, and you drive away the death of the soul, and the blindness of thoughts, and you have put off an unclean life. Let us not, therefore, doubt concerning the future, especially since we have received such pledges; but gathering from everywhere a solid discourse concerning the resurrection, let us exhibit a life worthy of such dogmas, that we may also attain here to the immovable goods, which transcend human speech and mind. May it befall us all to attain to these, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom, and with whom, be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, for ages of ages. Amen. D
CONCERNING THE HOMILY AGAINST DRUNKARDS, AND CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION
[MONITUM: This discourse was delivered in the same year in which the second one concerning Judas the traitor was given; specifically on the day of the Resurrection of the Lord following that Lent, in which he had delivered the thirty-two prior homilies on Genesis. In that same year, after Pascha, Chrysostom delivered those nine homilies, of which the first five were delivered on the beginning of the Acts [of the Apostles]: but the later four on the Change of Names. Moreover, that this is openly demonstrated in the Monitors to the same discourses, where Chrysostom himself is brought forward as a clear witness. We send the reader there, and also to the Monitor above on the Homilies concerning Judas the traitor: the matter will be further treated in the Homilies on Genesis. Furthermore, Chrysostom recalls this discourse in homily 1 on the beginning of the Acts, which was delivered shortly after the day of the Resurrection, num. 2: “Riches, therefore, are not an evil, but the unlawful use of them is an evil; and just as speaking recently concerning drunkenness, I was not accusing wine, since every creature of God is good, which is received with thanksgiving; but the evil use, etc.” Which words harmonize wonderfully with this discourse.]
AGAINST THE DRUNKARDS, AND CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION, A SERMON DELIVERED ON THE HOLY AND GREAT SUNDAY OF PASCHA.
A 1. The definition of true fasting.—We have laid aside the burden of the fast, but let us not lay aside the fruit of the fast; for it is possible to lay aside the burden of the fast and yet to reap its fruit. The toil of the struggles has passed, but let not the zeal for right deeds pass; the fast has gone, but let piety remain; or rather, the fast has not even gone. But do not be afraid; for I did not say this to preach another Lent to you, but to proclaim the same virtue to you. The bodily fast has passed, but the spiritual fast has not passed; the latter is better than the former, and the former came into being for the sake of the latter. Just as, when you were fasting, I told you that it was possible for one who is fasting not to fast, so now I say that it is possible for one not fasting to fast. Perhaps what is said seems a riddle, but I provide the solution to the problem. How is it possible for one who is fasting not to fast? When someone abstains from foods, but does not abstain from sins. How is it possible for one not fasting to fast? When someone enjoys food, but does not taste of sin. This fast is better than that one—and not only better, but also lighter. During that fast, many put forward bodily infirmity and grievous itching as a pretext. "I am covered in scabs," one says, "I cannot endure the lack of bathing, or the drinking of water wears me out, I am not able to taste vegetables." I heard many people saying many such things then; during this fast, nothing of the sort can be said. Enjoy baths, share in the table, use wine in measure; and if you are going to taste meat, there is no one to forbid it. Enjoy all things, only abstain from sin. Do you see how this fast is easy for all? It is not possible to put forward bodily infirmity; the achievement is pure in the soul. It is possible even while not drinking wine to be drunk, and while drinking wine to be sober. And that there is drunkenness without wine, hear the prophet saying: "Woe to those who are drunk without wine" (Isa. 28:1). And how is it possible to be drunk without wine? When you do not temper the pure strength of the passions with pious reason. It is also possible, while drinking wine, not to be drunk; and if this were not so, Paul would not have commanded this to Timothy, writing thus: "Use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent infirmities" (1 Tim. 5:23). For drunkenness is nothing other than an alienation of the natural faculties of the mind, a subversion of thoughts, a desolation of intellect, a poverty of understanding. And these things are caused not only by drunkenness from wine, but also by drunkenness from anger and improper desire. For just as vigilance produces fever, and toil produces it, and despondency produces it, and a corrupted humor produces it—and while the subject is different, the suffering and the disease are one—so too in these cases: wine produces drunkenness, and desire produces it, and a corrupted humor produces it. And while the subject is different, the suffering and the disease are one. Let us abstain from drunkenness; I do not say let us abstain from wine, but let us abstain from drunkenness. Wine does not cause drunkenness—for it is a creature of God, and no creature of God causes evil—but a wicked choice causes drunkenness. And that it is possible to be drunk in another way, not by wine alone, hear what Paul says: "Do not be drunk with wine," showing that it is possible to be drunk in another way, "in which is debauchery" (Ephes. 5:18). Admirably, in a brief sentence, he expressed the entire accusation of drunkenness. What is, "Do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery"? We call those of the young men "debauched" who have inherited their father's estate and squander everything all at once, not considering to whom they should give or when they should give, but simply distributing their clothing, gold, silver, and all their paternal wealth to harlots and lewd women. Such is drunkenness. As if it had taken the mind of drunkards as a debauched youth, and having captured their reason, it forces them to pour out their entire substance of thoughts thoughtlessly and without any precision. The drunkard does not know what he should say and what he should keep silent; his mouth is perpetually unbarred; no bolt is laid upon it, nor is there a door for his lips. The drunkard does not know how to manage his words with judgment; he does not know how to arrange the wealth of his intellect; he does not know what to store away and what to spend, but all those things are expense and outflow. Drunkenness is a voluntary madness, a betrayal of reason; drunkenness is a mocked calamity, a ridiculed disease, a self-chosen demon, and more grievous than insanity.
B 2. Do you wish to learn how a drunkard is even worse than one who is possessed? We all pity the one who is possessed, but we hate this man; we suffer with the former, but we are angry and indignant at the latter. Why so? Because, for the former, the suffering is a matter of violence, but for this man, it is a matter of lethargy; for the former, there is a plot of enemies, but for this man, a plot of thoughts. And the drunkard suffers such things as the one who is possessed; he is carried about in the same way, he is in the same state of distraction, he falls in the same way, he distorts his pupils in the same way, he gasps as he lies upon the ground in the same way, he sends forth foam from his mouth.
AGAINST THE DRUNKARDS
A... and thus he spews out putrid phlegm; his mouth is filled with an intolerable stench. A man such as this is unpleasant to his friends, an object of derision to his enemies, contemptible to his servants, unacceptable to his wife, hateful to all, and more troublesome even than the beasts themselves; for beasts drink only until their thirst is quenched, and they limit their desire by the necessity of nature. But this man, through his intemperance, overleaps the bounds of desire and appears more irrational than the irrational beasts.
And this is all the more grievous, that a malady so full of so many evils and bringing such calamities in its train is not even considered a crime; rather, at the tables of the wealthy, competition and rivalry arise over this disgrace, and they contend with one another with greater zeal, each striving to see who can shame himself the most, who can offer the greatest occasion for mockery, who can more completely shatter his nerves, who can more fully debilitate his powers, and who can more gravely irritate the common Lord. It is a spectacle to behold, a diabolical struggle. A drunkard is more miserable than the dead; for the latter lies deprived of sensation, able to do neither good nor evil, but the former is all too ready for the commission of evil, carrying around his dead body as if his soul were buried in it like a tomb. Do you see how he is more wretched than one possessed by a demon, how he is more deprived of sensation than the dead?
Would you have me tell you something greater and more grievous than all these things? A drunkard cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Who says this? Paul. "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10). Do you hear into what a crowd he has cast him? Along with the unchaste, the fornicators, the idolaters, the adulterers, the revilers, the covetous, and the extortioners. What then, some will say, is the drunkard the same as the unchaste? Is the drunkard the same as the idolater? Do not object these things to me, my man; I have recited the divine laws, do not demand an accounting from me. Question Paul, and he himself will answer. For whether he is to be punished with them or separately from them, I cannot say; furthermore, that he falls from the kingdom of heaven no less than the idolater, that I will certainly affirm.
Since this is acknowledged, why do you henceforth demand from me an accounting of the measure of sin? For since he remains outside the gates, since he falls from the kingdom, since he is devoid of salvation, since he is sent to eternal punishment, why do you bring to me the measures, the scales, and the balances of sins? B Drunkenness is a thing altogether unworthy, my beloved, and very troublesome. My discourse does not look to you; God forbid. Indeed, I truly believe your soul is immune to this ailment and disease; and the evidence of your health is that you are present here, that you gather here diligently, and that you listen attentively. For no one who is inebriated with wine can be eager for divine oracles. "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. v. 18). This is an excellent kind of drunkenness. By this surfeit of the Spirit, lull your soul to sleep, so that you do not fall asleep through drunkenness. Preoccupy your mind and your thoughts, so that the impudent disease may find no place. Therefore he did not say, "Be participants of the Spirit," but "Be filled with the Spirit." Fill your mind as a cup to the brim with the Spirit, so that the devil may have no room to cast anything in; for it is not enough for us merely to be participants of the Spirit, but we must be filled with the Spirit, by psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, with which you are filled today. Therefore I have confidence in your temperance.
A glorious cup of drunkenness is ours: it is a cup of drunkenness that generates temperance, not paralysis. What then is this? It is the spiritual cup, the cup of salvation, the undefiled cup of the Lord’s blood. That cup does not generate drunkenness, it does not generate paralysis. It does not dissolve one's powers, but awakens them; it does not shatter the nerves, but strengthens them. It brings sobriety; it is venerable to angels, fearsome to demons, precious to men, and lovable to the Lord. Do you see what David says about this spiritual cup, which is set before you at this table? "Thou hast prepared a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me; thou hast anointed my head with oil, and thy cup which inebriates, how excellent it is!" (Ps. xxii. 5). Indeed, lest you be frightened upon hearing the name of drunkenness, and think it is of such a kind that it induces infirmity, he added that it is excellent and strengthening. It is a new kind of drunkenness, one that imparts strength and makes a man healthy and powerful, in that it has flowed from the spiritual Rock; it is not a perversion of thoughts, but an accumulation of spiritual thoughts. C
Let us hold fast, that we may not disgrace the present solemnity; for the present solemnity is not only of the earth, but also of heaven. Today there is joy on earth, today there is joy in heaven; for if there is joy in heaven and on earth over one sinner who repents (Luke xv. 10), much more will there be joy in heaven when the whole world has been snatched from the hands of the devil. Now the angels exult, now the archangels rejoice, now the Cherubim and Seraphim celebrate this feast with us. They are not ashamed of their fellow servants, but they rejoice at our blessings. For although the gift we have received from the Lord is our own, nevertheless the pleasure is shared with them as well. But why do I mention fellow servants? The Lord of them and of us is not ashamed to celebrate the feast with us. But why do I say again that he is not ashamed? "With desire," he says, "I have desired to eat this Pascha with you" (Luke xxii. 15). And if he desired to celebrate the feast of the Pascha with us, there is no doubt that he desires the Resurrection as well. Since, therefore, the angels rejoice, and the archangels, and the Lord of all heavenly powers celebrates the feast with us, what occasion for sadness can possibly remain?
There is no distinction of persons in the participation of the Mysteries. Let no poor man be downcast because of poverty, for this celebration is spiritual. Let no rich man be puffed up because of riches; for nothing from his money can contribute to the pleasure of this celebration. For in worldly and secular feasts, where there is much wine, where the table is filled to satiety, where there is revelling, where there is lewdness and laughter, where there is all the pomp of Satan: deservedly...
A The poor man is sad, but the rich man is joyous: why is this? Because the rich man sets a sumptuous table and enjoys a greater feast, while the poor man is prevented by his poverty from displaying the same munificence. But here there is nothing of the sort: the table is the same for the rich man and for the poor man, and even if someone is rich, he can add nothing to the table; and if he is poor, he will be in no way inferior because of his poverty regarding the communion. For the grace is divine; and why are you surprised if it is for the rich and the poor? For the very king himself, the one wearing the diadem, the one having the purple robe, the one entrusted with the governance of the earth, that king, and the beggar sitting for alms, have one table set before them. Such are the gifts of the Master; He does not divide the communion according to ranks, but according to intent and mind. B [For when you see in church a poor man standing beside a rich man, a private individual beside a ruler, one of low estate beside one of high position—the one who outside trembles before power standing daringly inside C with that power—consider what this is: "Then the wolf shall feed with the lambs" (Is. 11.6). For Scripture calls the rich man a wolf, and the poor man a lamb. And whence this, that "the wolf shall commune with the lamb," just as the rich man with the poor man? Pay close attention. Often a rich man and a poor man stand in church; and the hour of the divine mysteries has arrived: the rich man is cast out as uninitiated, but the poor man stands within the heavenly tabernacles, and the rich man is not indignant; for he knows himself to be a stranger to the divine mysteries. But oh, the divine grace! Not only does equality exist in the church because of the grace of God, but when they stand there, often the poor man precedes the rich man in piety, and the wealth did not profit the one who has it outside of piety, nor did poverty disadvantage the faithful man standing with confidence at the holy altar. I speak these things, beloved, regarding the catechumens, and not regarding the merely rich. Consider, beloved, how the master withdraws from the church, and the faithful servant attends the mysteries; the mistress departs, and the handmaid remains. For God does not accept the person of a man (Gal. 2.6). There is, therefore, no slave and free man in the Church; but Scripture knows him to be a slave who is enslaved to sin. "For he who commits sin," He says, "is the slave of sin" (John 8.34); and it knows him to be free who has been liberated by divine grace.]
With the same confidence both the king and the poor man approach this table, with the same honor, and often the poor man with even greater honor; why is this? Because the king, entangled in ten thousand affairs, is splashed from all sides like a ship, and incurs many sins; but the poor man, caring only for necessary food, and having taken up a life devoid of business and quiet, living in peace, sits as if in a harbor and approaches the table with much security. Again, during feasts in the world, the poor man is in dejection D while the rich man is in cheerfulness, not only because of the table, but also because of his garments; for what they suffer regarding the table, this they also endure regarding their garments. For when the poor man sees the wealthy man clothed in a more luxurious robe, he is struck, and considers himself wretched before all. But here, even this poverty is removed; for there is one robe for all, the saving bath. "For as many of you," He says, "as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (Gal. 3.27). Let us not, therefore, dishonor this feast with drunkenness; for our Master honored rich and poor, slaves and masters, alike; but let us requite the Master for His benevolence toward us; and the best requital is a pure way of life and a sober soul. This feast and the assembly require no money, nor expense, but an excellent purpose and mind; for such are the wares here. Nothing corporeal is sold here, but a hearing of divine oracles, prayers of fathers, blessings of priests, concord, and peace and agreement; the gifts are spiritual, the reward is spiritual.
Let us celebrate this great and brilliant feast, in which the Lord rose; let us celebrate it brightly and at the same time piously; for the Lord rose, and raised the inhabited world up with Himself; He Himself rose, having shattered the bonds of death. Adam sinned and died; yet Christ did not sin, and He died. This is new and paradoxical; that one sinned, and died; this one did not sin, and He died; why? In order that he who had sinned and died, through the one who had not sinned but had died, might be able to strip off the grips of death. This is how it happens even with money: someone often owes, and having nothing to pay, is held in bonds; another, not owing, but being able to pay, having paid, released the debtor; so it was with Adam: Adam owed, he was held by the devil, but he did not have wherewith to pay; Christ did not owe, nor was He held by the devil, but He was able to pay the debt. He came, He paid death on behalf of the one held by the devil, in order that He might release him.
4. Do you see the triumphs of the resurrection? We died a double death, let us therefore expect a double resurrection. He died a single death; for this reason He also rose with a single resurrection; how? I will tell you: Adam died both in body and in soul; he died both by sin and by nature: "In whatever day you eat from the tree, by death you shall die" (Gen. 2.17). And indeed he did not die by nature on that very day, but he died by sin; that was the death of the soul, this is the death of the body. But when you hear that it is a death of the soul, do not think the soul dies; for it is immortal; but the death of the soul is sin and eternal punishment. For this reason Christ also says, "Do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but fear rather Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10.28); for that which is destroyed exists, but it is outside the sight of the one who destroyed it. But as I was saying, death is double in us; therefore, the resurrection must also occur doubly. In Christ, the death is single; for...
for Christ has died—yet even He, that simple death was for our sakes; for He owed no debt of death, since he was not liable to sin, and consequently not to death. Therefore, He indeed rose with a simple resurrection from a simple death. But we, who have died a twofold death, arise with a twofold resurrection: one we have already attained, that which is from sin; for we have been buried with Him in baptism, and have risen together with Him through baptism. This one resurrection is the liberation from sins; the second resurrection is that of the body. He has given the greater, await also the lesser; for this is much greater than that; for it is a much greater thing to be liberated from sins than to behold the body rising. Therefore the body fell, because it sinned; if, therefore, the principle of falling is sin, the principle of rising is to be liberated from sin. We have risen, then, with the greater resurrection, having cast off the grievous death of sin and stripped off the old garment; let us not, therefore, despair of the lesser. With this resurrection we too rose long ago, when we were baptized, as also those who were deemed worthy of baptism yesterday evening, these A noble lambs. Three days ago Christ was crucified, but He rose during the past night; and these, three days ago, were held by sin, but they rose again together with Him. He died in the body and rose in the body; these were dead to sin and rose again liberated from sins.
And as the earth at this spring season brings forth for us roses and violets and other flowers, so the waters have shown us a meadow more delightful than the earth. Do not marvel that flowers germinated from the waters; for the earth itself does not bring forth its fruits according to its own nature, but by the command of the Master. The nature of the waters also brought forth living creatures that move in the beginning; for, "Let the waters bring forth," He says, "the reptiles of living souls" (Gen. 1:20); and the command became a work, and that soul-less substance brought forth animate living beings. So now also, let the waters produce, not reptiles of living souls, but spiritual gifts. Then the waters produced fish irrational and mute; now they have poured forth rational and spiritual fish, fish which the apostles caught. "For come," He says, "and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19); this is that fishing of which He was speaking then. A new sort of fishing indeed: those who fish cast forth from the waters, we cast into the waters, and thus we fish. There was once also in the time of the Jews a pool; learn what that pool could do, that you may learn the poverty of the Jewish B state and learn the riches of the Church. It was a pool of water, and an angel would descend there and stir the waters; then after the stirring of the water, one sick person would enter and be healed (John 5:2 sqq.): one person alone was healed annually, and the grace was immediately consumed, not because of the poverty of Him who gave it, but because of the infirmity of those who received it. The angel, therefore, descended into the pool and stirred the water, and one was healed; the Lord of the angels has descended into the Jordan and has stirred the water and healed the entire orb of the earth. Therefore, there, indeed, the one who descended second after the first was not healed; for grace was given to the Jews who were infirm and needy; but here, after the first, the second, after the second the third, after the third the fourth; even if you should cast ten, even if twenty, even if a hundred, even if ten thousand, even if you should cast the entire world into the pool, the grace is not consumed, the gift is not exhausted, the waters are not defiled. A new way of purification; for it is not corporeal; for in the case of bodies, the more people wash, the more the waters collect filth; here, however, the more people wash, the purer they become.
Conserve the greatness of this gift, O man. It is not permitted for you to live indifferently; seek for yourself a law with all diligence. This life is a contest and a sort of struggle; but he who competes in the contest abstains from all things. Shall I teach you a C mode of rectitude that is best and secure? Let us banish from our minds those things which seem indifferent but produce sins; for among actions, some are indeed sins, while others are not sins but causes of sins; thus, laughter by nature is not a sin; but it becomes a sin if it is poured out beyond measure; for from laughter come witticisms, from witticisms obscenity of language, from obscenity of language shameful deeds, and from shameful deeds come punishments and penalties. Remove, therefore, the root beforehand, that you may remove the whole malady; for if we take heed against those things which are indifferent, we shall never fall into those things which are forbidden. Thus, to have gazed at a woman seems indifferent to many; but from this, lascivious desire is produced, from desire fornication, from fornication again punishment and penalty. Thus, to live delicately and luxuriously seems to be nothing grave; but thence comes drunkenness and the six hundred evils which are born from drunkenness. Let us remove, therefore, everywhere the principles of sins. For this reason partake of daily continuous doctrine; for this reason, through the space of seven days, we celebrate a consecutive assembly (a), and set before you a spiritual table, so that you may partake of divine oracles by our works, so that we may instruct you daily and arm you against the devil; for now he attacks more ferociously; by how much greater the gift is, by so much the greater is the war. For if when he saw one man in paradise he could not endure it, when he sees so many in heaven, tell me, I pray, how will he endure it? You have provoked the beast, but do not fear; D you have received a greater grace, a sharpened sword; with that pierce the serpent. For this reason God permitted him to be provoked against you, that you might know the power of your own strength by the experience itself. And just as when an excellent master of an athletic training school has received some squalid, enervated, and despised athlete, once he has anointed him, instructed him, exercised him, and rendered him robust, he does not allow him to remain idle thereafter; but commands him to descend into the contests, that he may teach him by experience how great a strength he has bestowed upon him; so also Christ has done; for He could have taken the enemy from the midst, but that you might learn the excellence of grace and the greatness of the spiritual virtue which you have acquired from baptism, He allows you to be engaged with him...
grants you to grapple with Him, providing you with many occasions for crowns. Therefore, for seven consecutive days you enjoy instruction, so that you may learn the contests accurately. Moreover, spiritual marriage is also taking place; and for weddings, the bridal chambers stand for seven days. For this reason, we too have decreed that you stand here for seven days before the holy bridal chambers. B But there, after seven days, they are dissolved; here, however, if you wish, you may stand before the holy bridal chambers forever. And while in the case of weddings outside, the bride is not as lovable to the groom after the first month or even the second, it is not so here; but as time goes on, the groom’s loves grow warmer, the embraces more genuine, and the union more spiritual, if we are [446] vigilant. In our bodies, old age follows youth; here, youth follows old age, and a youth that never has an end, if we wish. Great is the grace, but it will be greater if we wish; and Paul was great when he was baptized, but he became much greater afterward, when he preached and confounded the Jews; after that, he was caught up into Paradise; he ascended to the third heaven. So it is possible for us also, if we wish, to increase and to magnify the grace given to us through baptism; it increases through good works, and becomes brighter and provides the light for us more clearly. And if this happens, with great boldness we shall enter the bridal chamber with the Groom, and we shall enjoy the good things laid up for those who love Him; may it be that we all attain these, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory and adoration unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CONCERNING THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
MONITUM
This homily was delivered outside the city of Antioch in the martyrium, or church of a certain place, which is named Romanesia. As to what is understood by the name "martyrium," see above in the first note to the homily concerning the appellation of the cemetery. Concerning the year in which this homily was delivered, we cannot even say by conjecture. For that which Tillemont argues from the beginning of this homily, namely, "Even when we recalled the memory of the cross, we celebrated its solemnity outside the city," that he delivered it in the same year in which he delivered that "On the Cemetery and the Cross," which, as is said at the beginning of that one, was pronounced outside the city, and that this was in the year, as he deems probable... that calculation of Tillemont is refuted by the very first words of that discourse: for Chrysostom begins so: "I have often pondered in my mind for what reason our ancestors, having left the dwellings which they have in the cities, C by law... D
ON THE HOMILY CONCERNING THE ASCENSION
We were to have met together today outside the city, and indeed in this very place. For it is laid down by law that annually, on the day of preparation, concerning which we are speaking, the gathering is held in that place: nor can anything be gathered from the words brought forward above regarding the appointment of the year.
Here you see the great reverence of Flavian, the bishop of Antioch, toward the relics of the martyrs: for whereas they previously had lain beneath the pavement of the church, he removed them from there and placed them in a high, pure, and clean place, so that they might be open to the veneration of the people.
We have placed the translation of Gerard Vossius, amended in many places, alongside the Greek text.
ON THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, A SERMON DELIVERED IN THE MARTYRIUM OF ROMANESIA, WHERE THE BODIES OF THE MARTYRS, WHICH HAD BEEN BURIED UNDER THE PAVEMENT NEAR THE CORPSES OF HERETICS, WERE REMOVED AND BURIED SEPARATELY IN A HIGHER PLACE.
1. *Why the gathering was held outside the city.* Even when we were celebrating the memory of the cross, we observed its solemnity outside the city: and now when we celebrate the ascension of Him who was crucified, this bright and shining day, we observe the feast again outside the city. We do this, not wishing to dishonor the city, but hastening to honor the martyrs. For that these holy ones might not complain against us and say: "We were not worthy to see one day of our Lord being celebrated in our tents"—lest these holy ones complain against us and say: "That we indeed shed our blood for Him, and were judged worthy for our heads to be cut off; yet we were not judged worthy to see the day of His feast celebrated in our dwellings"—for this reason, leaving the city, we have run to the feet of these holy ones, making an apology to them on behalf of the present day and for the time that has passed. For even if before this it was necessary to run to these brave athletes of piety, when they were lying hidden beneath the pavement, much more indeed...