Homily on the Passage

^A the serpent joined in conversation. "In the sixth month," he says, "the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a virgin espoused to a man" (Luc. 1. 26). Gabriel was sent to announce the salvation of the whole world; Gabriel was sent, bearing to Adam a document of recall; Gabriel was sent to a virgin, so that he might change the disgrace of the female sex into honor; Gabriel was sent, to prepare a bridal chamber worthy of the pure Bridegroom; Gabriel was sent to betroth the creature to the Creator; Gabriel was sent to the living palace of the King of angels; Gabriel was sent to a virgin, betrothed indeed to Joseph, but kept for the Son; Gabriel was sent, an incorporeal servant to an undefiled virgin; Gabriel was sent, he who is free from sin, to her who was incapable of corruption; Gabriel was sent, a lamp to announce the Sun of righteousness; Gabriel was sent, the dawn running before the light of the day; Gabriel was sent, revealing Him who is in the bosom of the Father and in the arms of the Mother; Gabriel was sent, showing Him who is on the throne and in the cave; Gabriel was sent, a soldier, crying aloud the mystery of the King—a mystery known by faith, not explored by curiosity; a mystery worshipped, not weighed in a balance; a mystery treated as theology, not investigated; a mystery confessed, not measured. "In the sixth month Gabriel was sent to a virgin." What sixth month does he speak of? What one? From the time she received the good news, Elizabeth, from the time she conceived John. Whence is this clear? Let the archangel himself interpret, saying to the virgin: "Behold," he says, "Elizabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren." In the sixth month. The sixth month of the conception of John. For it behooved the soldier to forestall, it behooved the vanguard to anticipate, it behooved the herald to prepare the way for the Lord’s presence. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin espoused to a man, not joined to one; betrothed indeed, but kept pure. Why betrothed? So that the robber might not quickly learn the mystery. For that the King would come through a virgin, the Wicked One knew; for he himself had heard the voices of Isaiah: "Behold, the virgin shall have in the womb" (Isai. 7. 14); and he was reasonably watching the tokens of the virgin, so that, wherever he might perceive that this mystery was being fulfilled, he might prepare to blame [198] it. For this reason the Lord came through one betrothed; for she who was betrothed was from then on being pledged. In the sixth month ^B the angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin espoused to a man, whose name was Joseph. Hear what the prophet says about this man and the virgin: "The sealed book shall be given to a man who knows letters" (Isai. 29. 11). What is the sealed book, if not in every way the undefiled virgin? By whom shall it be given? By the priests, evidently. To whom? To the carpenter Joseph. This Joseph, having before this consorted with a respectable marriage, and having begotten sons, had cast off his wife, and thenceforth lived in temperance, raising the children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Indeed, when the apostle Paul went forth to his preaching, and having found one of his sons, he writes, saying: "other of the apostles I saw none, except James the brother of the Lord" (Gal. 1. 19); not as begotten of the virgin Mary, but of Joseph. Since, therefore, the priests had matched Mary with the temperate Joseph, and had entrusted her to him, awaiting the time of marriage; and he was about to receive her and keep the virgin in incorruption. This the prophet foretold from afar: "The book," he says, "the sealed, shall be given to a man who knows letters," that is, who has consorted with marriage, "and he shall say: I cannot read." Why can you not read, O Joseph? "I cannot," he says, "read; for the book has been sealed." Reserved for whom? Kept as a dwelling for the Creator of all. But let us return to the subject at hand. In the sixth month ^C Gabriel was sent to a virgin, having surely received commands such as these: "Come," he says, "O angel, be a minister of this mystery; minister to the hidden miracle, for I hasten to descend through my mercies to the search for the wandering Adam. Sin has made old him who was fashioned in my image, has ruined the workmanship of my hands, has darkened the beauty which I fashioned; the wolf devours my lamb; it is empty, the dwelling-place of paradise. The tree of life is guarded by the fiery sword, and the place of delight is closed. I pity him who is fought against, and I wish to take captive the enemy. I wish to elude all the powers in heaven, to thee alone I entrust the mystery; go to the virgin Mary, go to the living gate, concerning which the prophet spoke: 'Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God' (Ps. 86. 3). Go to my rational paradise; go to the eastern gate; go to the dwelling-place worthy of me, the Word; go to the second heaven on earth; go to the light cloud, announce to her the rain of my coming; go to the sanctuary prepared for me; go to the bridal chamber of my incarnation; go to the pure bedchamber of my birth in the flesh; speak into the ears of the rational ark, prepare for me the entrances of hearing; but do not disturb, do not trouble the soul of the virgin; gently appear to the sanctuary, first cry out to her the word of gladness; do you say to Mary, 'Hail, full of grace' (Luc. 1. 28), so that I may pity Eve, who has been ill-treated." The angel heard these things, and, within himself, as was likely, ^D he reasoned: "Strange is the matter, exceeding reason is what is spoken; He who is fearful to the Cherubim, He who is unseen by the Seraphim, He who is incomprehensible to all the angelic powers, promises such a meeting! He announces a face-to-face presence to a maiden, or rather, promises her an entry through hearing! And He who condemned Eve, hastens so much to glorify her daughter, and says, 'Prepare for me the entrances of hearing!' And can a womb contain the Incomprehensible? Truly the mystery is fearful." While the angel was thinking such things, the Lord says to him: "Why art thou troubled and bewildered, O Gabriel? Wert thou not sent but lately from me to Zachary the priest? Didst not thou give to him the good news of the birth of John? Didst thou not impose the penalty of silence on the priest who was disbelieving? Didst thou not condemn the elder to speechlessness? Didst thou not make the pronouncement, while I confirmed it? Did not the event follow thy annunciation? Did not the barren one conceive? Did not the womb glow? Did not the disease of barrenness depart? Did not the sloth of nature flee? Is not she who was formerly unfruitful now carrying fruit? Is any word impossible with me, the Creator? How then hast thou been clothed with doubt?" What then, again, does the angel say? "Master, to heal the failings of nature, to dissolve the winter of passions, to recall the deadness of limbs to vital power, to command nature the energy of child-bearing, to release barrenness in the limbs that are past their prime, to transform the aged straw into a green-bearing form, to suddenly show the barren field a mother of sheaves—this is a work of thy power, being accomplished by custom; and Sarah bears witness, and after her Rebecca, and again Anna, who had suffered the harshness of barrenness, then received [799] freedom from thee. But for a virgin to bear without having consorted with a man is higher than the laws of nature. But thou also dost announce thy presence to the girl. The ends of heaven and earth do not contain thee; and how shall a virginal womb contain thee?" And the Lord says: "How did the tent of Abraham contain me?" The angel says: "Because it had the expanse of hospitality." "Then consider, Master, there thou wast seen by the patriarch in the passing tent, and thou didst pass by — Thou who fillest all things. How shall Mary bear the fire of the divinity? Thy throne is on fire, being shone upon by radiance, and can the virgin bear thee without being struck with terror?"

^A If, however, that fire, which was a foreshadowing of the coming of his own divine fire from heaven, watered the bush but did not burn it, what must you think of the truth, which did not descend in the flame of fire but in the form of rain? Then indeed the angel performed the command given to him, and having entered in unto the Virgin, addressed her with these words: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" (Luke 1:28). The devil is no longer against thee; for where the enemy first inflicted the wound, there the physician applies the medicine: whence death had the beginning of its exit, thence life prepared its entrance. By a woman evils arise, by a woman good things spring forth. ^B "Hail, full of grace": do not blush as if you were the cause of condemnation; for you are restored through grace to be the Mother of him who condemned it. "Hail, full of grace": hail, you who bring forth a bridegroom for the world lying in widowhood, remaining undefiled. "Hail, full of grace," you who submerge death in your mother's womb; hail, living temple of God; hail, dwelling place equal to heaven and earth; hail, spacious receptacle of the incomprehensible nature. Since these things are so, the physician has come through her to those who are sick, the sun of justice has appeared to those sitting in darkness, an anchor and tranquil harbor to those tossed by the storm, a legate and bond of peace is born to servants disjoined by implacable hatred, a redeemer has arrived for captives, and for those vexed by war, a firm shade of unspeakable joy and charity. ^C For he himself is our peace (Ephes. 2:14), as the divine Apostle says, which may we be able to enjoy eternally, by the kindness of Christ himself and our God, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

NOTICE

HOMILY ON THE TEXT, "THERE WENT OUT A DECREE FROM CAESAR AUGUSTUS" (Luke 2:1); AND ON THE DESCRIPTION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

^A Beloved, because the common Savior of us all, Jesus Christ, was about to be born, an universal decree goes out from Caesar Augustus into all the world. For since a certain universal grace was about to shine upon the whole world, things pertaining to the state are in a way connected with religion, and one decree is issued for the whole world at the birth of the Savior. An edict, therefore, went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be registered, as a preparation for the harmony and concert of religion, so that the way of the preaching of the Gospel might be paved, and the path of the doctrine prepared. Previously, indeed, there were many principalities when there was no decree of Caesar for this universal proclamation; but after the faith was to be propagated through the whole world by a certain common proclamation of religion, then the whole world is coupled under one decree; and not only the world, ^B but earthly things are joined to heavenly, and for the great benefit of men, piety and the worship of God are made public, so that divine truth might be hidden from no one. Caesar Augustus commands, and Joseph obeys, and takes the Virgin with him. When you question a Greek or a Gentile, or even a Jew himself, on why such honor befell Augustus, that he reigned for a long time (for he reigned fifty-six years and four months), they answer nothing; they suppose that by some chance the longest span of time fell to him, and they do not understand the causes of things, nor do they believe in the grace of God. For in his age Jesus Christ was born. ^C If, therefore, Augustus, the Emperor of the Romans, was the first, it was under his reign that the Savior Christ deservedly took upon himself the dispensation in the flesh at the very establishment of the Roman empire. For indeed the iron rod was to be sent, about which David spoke: "Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron," and "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" (Ps. 2:9, 8): as if the Father were conversing with the Son and saying, "The Jews have despised thy kingdom, and have treated thy empire with insults; this is a contemptible nation, they are few, ^D who have turned away: Ask of me, and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession; not a corner of Palestine, nor a circumcised nation, vain and possessed of a spiritless mind, but 'I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.'" But as for ruling them, since they did not want to obey the Gospel, since they did not want to believe in miracles, he rules them not with words, but with deeds and with an iron rod, the Roman empire: therefore they are subject to the empire by a rod. For when Jesus had come to Jerusalem, and had seen the market and trade in the temple overflowing with sordid gain—for they were buying and selling inside, and practicing trade within the temple itself on the occasion and pretext of sacrifices—having made a rod and a scourge of cords, he cast them out of the temple, saying, "Make not my father's house a house of merchandise" (John 2:16). But if they had endured that rod, he would not have ruled them with an iron rod; but since they shamelessly rejected the saving rod, they were subjected not to a scourge, nor to the word, which chastises those who are not at all stupid and possessed of a keen sense, but to an iron rod; and many times they tried to remove it, but the iron rod seized them, which does not simply strike, but removes from the midst. In the time, therefore, when the iron rod took its beginning, in the age of the reigning Augustus, then, certainly, Christ was born. The beginning of the Romans, the beginning of the preaching, the fourth kingdom of the ages. For these things can be seen hidden mystically in the prophets for the future; for nothing is found not written, neither in the New Testament nor in the Old; but the Old anticipated the New, and the Old interpreted the New. And I have often said that there are two Testaments and two handmaids and two sisters, which attend the one Lord like satellites. The Lord is announced by the prophets; Christ is preached in the Gospel: the new things are not new, if the old ones preceded: the old are not extinguished, since they are explained in the New Testament. Indeed, you can look at that Daniel, a young man in age, but in prophecy...

the prophet. Why in Babylon? Because the people had been led captive into Babylon, and had spent seventy years in the land of the Assyrians. There, therefore, Daniel is born, there he is reared, in no way harmed by the alien land. For he possessed his ancestral mindset, and from his youth he became a prophet, and the Holy Spirit took possession of his soul, and having become eighteen years old, he began his prophecy. And many are the things he prophesies, but he also interprets four kingdoms. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Assyrians, saw in an image four differences, in one body, but four colors. For the image had a head of gold, but it had a breast of silver, it had a belly of bronze, it had feet of iron, and the image was composed of four materials. And the king saw; but there was no one interpreting. The magi came, the Chaldeans came, the soothsayers were brought forward, those who were always deceiving the king were called; and what do they say? "Tell us the dream, and we will interpret it." God, therefore, managing things so that they might not deceive him as was their custom, removed the image of the dream from the king's memory; and the king was saying: "Tell me my dream." And since they clearly confessed that it was impossible to relate another's dream, but only to interpret it if they should hear it, Daniel is summoned, being reported as capable for these things, and he enters before King Nebuchadnezzar, having the revelation of the dream through the Holy Spirit, and says to the king: "O king, such and such you saw." And along with the words of the prophet, the listener recovered the memory of the dream; and the hearing became a recollection of the vision. The prophet interprets it to him; for the interpreter was now worthy of belief after his promise regarding the dream, and says: "The image which you saw, four are the kingdoms; for four kingdoms shall arise upon the earth. That image, however, was whole; and it stood in one body. You saw, O king, that a stone was cut without hands, and it crushed the image, and the stone took hold of and filled the whole earth. This is what you saw: you saw four kingdoms; you are the head of gold." For the Assyrians first reigned, most rich and most brilliant and most luxurious. And he says to him: "You are the head of gold, and after you shall arise a kingdom inferior to you." For after the Assyrians, the Persians and Medes reign; and these also have been most magnificent. "A third kingdom shall arise, the bronze one, the kingdom of the Greeks and Macedonians; where Alexander, being in Greece, having yoked [his forces], ran upon Persia, and put an end to Darius, and brought the sovereignty under his own power." To bronze, therefore, it was compared, because of the resounding nature of the speech and the tongue. For the Greeks who were with Alexander, and Alexander himself, being articulate in speech, were compared to bronze; for gold is brilliant, but not resounding; similarly also silver; but bronze, while lesser in material, is resounding in its echo. Therefore he says "Third kingdom" indicated by the bronze; but the fourth kingdom, the last, is iron. "You shall shepherd them therefore," it says, "with a rod of iron." See the harmony of the prophecy; he saw, however, that the stone was cut from a mountain without hands. How was it cut? Not with iron, but without hands; for miraculously the Virgin gives birth; but the 803 stone struck the image, and it became a great mountain and filled all the inhabited world. One stone fills all the earth. "That stone was cut without hands, and became a great mountain, and filled all the inhabited world."

β'. What is this stone? Hear Isaiah saying: "Behold, I lay in Sion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of scandal; and everyone who believes in him shall not be put to shame" (Is. viii. 14). And not only does Isaiah speak of this stone, but David also prophesies: "The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner. By the Lord was this done, and it is wonderful in our eyes" (Ps. cxvii. 22, 23). What corner was it that was made? Every corner joins two walls; and the stone joined the New and the Old [Testaments], two peoples from the nations and from the Jews; therefore, "By the Lord was this done, and it is wonderful in our eyes"; not in the eyes of everyone, but in the eyes of us, the believers. When, therefore, you see the Church being held by the one stone from the Jews and from the Greeks, understand most of all what is being said. But by all means one might say: "Where then among us are those from the Jews? For we see those from the Greeks. But those from the Jews, where do they happen to be?" Where was Paul? Where was Peter? Where then was Andrew? Where also John? Where also the ten-thousand-fold Church in Jerusalem? First from the Jews, then from the Greeks. For when they believed, having their hope in piety, then came the rod of iron, and scattered those who remained in unbelief. "For you shall shepherd them with a rod of iron; as a potter’s vessel you shall crush them" (Ps. ii. 9). Why, "as a potter’s vessel"? If the clay should fall while still being moist, it is recovered; but if it becomes a vessel, and once it has encountered fire, and becomes a very dry earthen shell, when it is crushed, it no longer admits recovery. "You shall shepherd them with a rod of iron; as vessels of a potter you shall crush them." In the iron kingdom, however, Christ is born; a stone was cut without hands. See the events in harmony, and the steps similar; and it struck the image, and brought to an end the kingdoms on earth; and it became a great mountain, and filled all the earth. This, King Nebuchadnezzar had seen in the dream; and the dream was fulfilled, so that he might not relate it to the magi, and habitually be deceived by them, having heard other things in place of other things. After a short time, then, Daniel himself sees the dream in another way; and it was not a dream, but a revelation of a vision; it seemed to be by the sea; and Daniel says: "Four great beasts were ascending from the sea." Let us follow quietly and little by little the type of the prophecy. "Ascending," he says, "were four great beasts from the sea, differing from one another, and," he says, "there was very great difference among them. The first, as a lioness; and its wings as an eagle's." You have there gold, here a lioness; why here a lioness and there gold? There gold because of the luxurious and rich [nature]; here a lioness because of the feminine and womanly [nature], nevertheless a beast. "The first, as a lioness." The second beast he saw as a bear, and it stood on one side; there silver, here a bear, because of its heaviness. "The third," he says, "beast I saw as a leopard, the beast being most swift." Since Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, came upon the East most swiftly, it was compared to a leopard. There bronze because of the resounding Greek tongue, here a leopard because of the swiftness of the assault. But the fourth beast he names, but does not state the name, but says [it is] fearful, excessively most fearful; its teeth were great; it was devouring and thinning out excessively, and trampling the remainder with its feet; and it too differed excessively from all the beasts before it; and the beast was fearful; and he did not say its name. For since the passage of the 803 prophecy was destined to become clear, referring it to the Romans, so that the kingdom might not be insulted, he leaves the beast unnamed. When, however, he says, "I saw the fourth beast, I was afraid and trembled." For it was exceedingly most fearful; trampling all, crushing all, devouring all; it was master of all, wherever it went, it subjugated. And what does he say? "Suddenly I saw a river of fire; a throne was set; the Ancient of Days sat; thousand thousands were ministering to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand were standing before him," to the Ancient of Days.

9); that is, with the Ancient of Days. The books were opened: and behold, in the clouds of heaven, one like the Son of man coming: and he reached even unto the Ancient of days (Dan. 7:10, 13). And what happened next? No longer beasts, no longer the sea, no longer the terror of beasts; but he received the principality, and he himself reigned: His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which shall not be destroyed; and his dominion is from generation to generation (ibid. 14). So far, he says, is the limit of the discourse: and the prophet indeed sees the four kingdoms in this way (ibid. 15 sqq.); for it was fitting for him, as he abstained from worldly things. But the king, just as it was suitable for him, sees the four kingdoms as in gold, silver, bronze, and iron. For if the king had seen the kingdoms in the form of beasts, and Daniel had subsequently interpreted them for him, it would have been absurd to say to him, "You are the first beast"; for he would have seemed to be attacking the one he was addressing with insults. But the king beholds as a king, and the prophet discerns similar things as in another figure. ^B These things have been narrated by us, beloved, not without cause, nor have we re-spun an old history in vain; but that you might be made certain that the empire of Augustus was filled with and illuminated by glory, honor, and praise, and that it lasted for a long time, because Christ was born while he was reigning; and such honor was that man adorned with, that even his name became a title of dignity. For it is worth your while to understand that he reigned for fifty-six years: but when he had completed forty-two years, Christ is born; and so Christ is raised during the span of fifteen years of his reign. Moreover, Tiberius succeeded Augustus, and in the eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, he comes to the cross, and suffers, and rises again, and ascends into heaven: so that there are fifteen years of Augustus, ^C and eighteen of Tiberius; while Jesus, ^D under Tiberius Caesar, when he was thirty years old, declared his divinity to the disciples, and preached for three years in succession: for the venerable Trinity meets one everywhere; wherefore, when he had preached for three years, in the eighteenth year of Tiberius he came to the Passion, when he had fulfilled the dispensation in the flesh.

3. It came to pass, therefore, in those days,