Paschal Homilies 1 part 19/28

'Call his name,' it says, 'Swiftly plunder, quickly despoil.' For as soon as the divine and supramundane infant was born, he was indeed in swaddling clothes, and in the bosom of his mother, on account of the human nature;

but since, besides this, he was also by nature God, an ineffable power immediately plundered beforehand the vessels of Satan.

For the magi came from the East, seeking him and saying:

'Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East, and have come to worship him.' The birth, then, was divine, even though it was accomplished in a human manner on account of the human nature;

—of him whose transcendence is above heaven and earth and the realms below, and who holds together all things that came to be through him, for their well-being and continuance.

And even if you hear that he advanced in stature, and wisdom, and grace, do not suppose that the Word of God became wise by increase.

'Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God.' Nor, again, should you rashly dare to say that we shall attribute the advancing in stature and wisdom and grace to 'the man' alone.

For this, I think, is nothing other than dividing the one Christ into two;

but rather, as I said just now, the Son, though existing before all ages, is said to have been appointed Son of God in the last times of the age, appropriating to himself, by the economy, the birth of his own flesh.

So also, although he is the very wisdom of him who begot him, he is said to advance in wisdom—although, as God, he is utterly perfect—since, on account of the union carried to its utmost degree, he fittingly took up into himself the properties belonging to humanity.

Then how has human nature made room for the power of the ineffable deity? And yet I hear the divine nature clearly saying to blessed Moses, that 'No one shall see my face and live.' But if the sight is unbearable, and its approach hard to endure, what account could the union have? To this I would say that the wonder is beyond reason, and the manner of the whole economy is not to be grasped by our concepts.

Yet it was wisely accomplished, God making his own nature bearable even to those who are utterly weakest.

And indeed, this venerable and truly admirable mystery, the God of all made manifest to the all-wise Moses, using a clear and most vivid example.

What the manner of this might be understood to be, the sacred Scripture itself will teach.

And Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian;

and he led the flock into the wilderness, and came to the mountain of Horeb.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush.

And he sees that the bush is burning with fire;

'I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.'

And when the Lord saw that he drew near to look, the Lord called to him out of the bush, saying:

'Loose the sandal from your feet;'

'for the place on which you stand is holy ground.'

'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He thus declares the approach to be inaccessible, thereby signifying even then to the blessed Moses that if one should rely on the tutelage of the law and the shadows given through the types, one would not come near to Christ.

For the law made nothing perfect.

But that point is worthy of great admiration:

Fire was seen in the bush, and it uttered a voice, saying:

'I am the God of Abraham your father.' The Lord himself, then, was in the form of fire;

taking hold of the plant, and pervading it wholly and entirely, yet in no way burning it up.

And yet how was what was happening not beyond all reason, that such thin and easily combustible matter should render the onslaught of fire ineffective? Or rather, how could one not marvel at the gentleness of the flame, seeing it sparing the bush? But this was, as I said, a type serving as a clear example of the mystery concerning Christ.

For just as the fire became bearable to the bush, so also did the transcendence of the deity become bearable to our nature.

Therefore, as far as it pertains to our mind and to the reasonings within us, deity and humanity would reasonably seem incompatible with one another for a natural union;

Nevertheless, it did indeed come to pass, as is the case in Christ, and Emmanuel is one out of both.

But he who sets the natures apart, one by one, and raises up for us a separate man, and another son distinctly, alongside the one who is by nature from God, does not properly grasp the depth of the mystery.

For it is not to a man that we have rendered worship, and learned to bow down, as the holy Fathers have initiated us into the mysteries;

but rather to God, as I have said, who became man, and who is understood as one together with his own body, the Word who is from the Father.

For this reason we also say that Emmanuel has again been proclaimed king over us.

The Father made this proclamation through the voice of the prophets, concerning him and the holy apostles, saying:

'I have been established as king by him, on Zion his holy mountain, declaring the ordinance of the Lord.' And indeed he also commanded that men run beneath the yoke of the kingdom that is under him, adding plainly:

'Take my yoke upon you.' But if he is king precisely in this sense, that he is understood as a mere man like us, and not rather as the only-begotten Word of God who has come into union with our nature, then our present state is in no way better than that of the men of old.

And yet these things are said to have been renewed unto a state incomparably superior, precisely because Christ has become king over us.

And again there is something of this sort in our case:

For the God of all reigned over those of Israel through the holy prophets,

and for this the divinely-inspired Moses had been anointed beforehand, even before the others;

then, after him, those who followed in succession.

'Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your way.'

'And now appoint for us a king to judge us, as the other nations also have.'

And the prophet was greatly embittered at this;

but the Lord said to him:

'Listen to the voice of the people in whatever they say to you;

for it is not you they have rejected, but it is me they have rejected, that I should not reign over them.' Thus was Saul set forth as king, concerning whom the God of all says among the prophets:

'And I gave them a king in my anger, and kept in my wrath a conspiracy of iniquity.' There is therefore no room whatever for doubt, that Saul, being a man, was given as king in wrath to those who thrust away the kingdom of the God of all from over themselves.

For it is incomparably better to be eagerly bound in yoke to God himself rather than to a man.

But if Christ is a man like us, and not rather the Word who has appeared in human form, and yet has been given as king and has gained dominion over those on earth —

who then could sink to such folly as to think and say that he too has reigned as it were in the wrath of God the Father,

and that, since we were in offense and in sins, he subjected us also to the yokes of a man? Yet how could anyone doubt that we have been freed from every sin through faith? How then would God still be grieved? How would he still punish the sanctified with the movements that arise from wrath? Rather, I would say that we have indeed been freed from sins, and that our condition is made to overflow with the good things that come of divine gentleness.

Therefore it is not a man who has reigned over us, but rather God the Son, having appeared in humanity — neither having forfeited the glory of his own proper dignities because of the human, nor indeed dishonoring, by this economy, the likeness he shares with us.

Moreover — for I think it necessary to note this as well — if certain of those who have gone astray are accused, and are greatly condemned, for having exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, then we ourselves must earnestly avoid the very thing of reckoning Christ within our nature merely and alone;

rather, we preserve for the human nature the indissoluble union — I mean, that with the Word who is of God the Father — so that henceforth he may be worshiped as God, both by us ourselves and by the spirits above.

And if it is indeed altogether grievous to serve the creature rather than the Creator, and yet we have been appointed to serve Christ, then he must be understood, as God, to be above created nature, even though, on account of the human, he may be thought to have been created.

Confirming this glory concerning himself, he once cried out to those who chose to disbelieve, all but reproaching them for their dullness,

'If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me;

but they came rushing upon him, making excuses for themselves in their sins, and accusing him said:

'It is not for a good work that we stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.' But we, having bidden farewell to the follies of those who thought in that way, and honoring him with long and unceasing praises, having resolved to think more rightly than the perversity of the Pharisees, will say to him:

'It is for a good work that we stand in awe of you, because, being God by nature, you have become man.'

And for what reason? Because the Word of God, being life by nature, made his own a body that was by nature subject to corruption, so that, having dissolved within it the power of deadness, he might transform it into incorruption.

For just as iron, when it has come into contact with the fiercest onsets of fire, is at once changed in color to the appearance of the fire, and travails, as it were, with the power of that which prevails over it,

so also the nature of the flesh, having received the incorruptible and life-giving Word of God, remained indeed what it was, yet was no longer what it had been, and henceforth was shown to be superior to corruption;

and since he himself is the light of the world, therefore, pouring the rays of true knowledge of God into the minds of all, he called all to the light;

in one respect employing blameless teachings, and rendering all-wise those who came to him through faith;

and in another respect working wonders in various ways, so that, by astonishing the onlookers with things wrought beyond reason, he might not be disbelieved by anyone when he said that, being God by nature, he became man;

yet he remained what he was, even while, in the economy, he had descended into a form like ours.

But the Jews, not understanding the mystery — though it had a most abundant and most manifest foretelling through the Law and the holy prophets — dared in many ways to treat it with contempt;

and having recognized that he himself is the heir, they cast him out and killed him, taking to themselves as accomplice and ally in this the inventor of sin, I mean Satan;

who, as might be expected, supposed that he had been rid of his troubles, because he saw him suffer;

but he shared the ignorance of those who crucified him, not knowing that he suffered willingly, and that he himself sacrificed his own soul, compelled by no one, but of his own accord, as I have said, in order that he might proclaim to the spirits shut up in Hades, and might throw open to those below the gates of Hades;

Then, having shown himself to his holy apostles, and having commanded them to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, he ascended into heaven, and is at the right hand of God the Father, and in due season he will come as judge of all, in power and in glory befitting God, with angels as his escort;

and he will sit upon the throne of his glory, judging the world in righteousness, and rendering to each according to his work.

Therefore, since we have been bought with a price, and are not our own, let us serve, as far as we are able, him who bought us, and let us be found superior to the passions;

let us shake off profane sin, and, adorning ourselves with every kind of gentleness, let us fight the good fight, let us finish the course, let us keep the faith;

lightening the toils of those in need, comforting orphans, defending widows, let us heal the injuries of those maimed in body, visiting those in bonds, showing ourselves kind and loving toward one another before all.

For then, then indeed shall we fast purely;

beginning the holy Forty Days from the new moon of the month Phamenoth;

and the week of the saving Passover, from the sixth day of the month Pharmouthi;

bringing the fasts to a close on the sixteenth of that same month Pharmouthi, in the deep evening of the Sabbath, according to the gospel proclamation;

and keeping the feast on the following Lord's Day as it dawns, the twelfth of the same month, joining thereafter in succession the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost —

we shall inherit, in Christ Jesus our Lord;

with whom, and through whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory and dominion unto the ages.

[Prologue] The subject on account of which we have now made this present gathering here is splendid and much to be desired.

And it is fitting that the hearers show forbearance.

For this matter is, for us, in no way a display of eloquence, but a necessary presentation, and one fitting for the season of our holy feast.

Again the season of our holy feast shines forth.

And it is necessary for us to remember what God, who rules over all, says:

'Priests, hear, and testify to the house of Jacob, says the Lord God Almighty.' Let us therefore bear witness, declaring that the season has come in which it is fitting for us to adorn ourselves greatly with the holy dignity that befits us, and to grow rich in the boasts of the evangelical way of life.

For indeed the prophet speaks truly, saying:

'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!' And by no means at all are these the things that are temporary and perishing, or whatever ministers to luxury for our earthly bodies, but rather those things which have been accomplished through the grace of our Savior, which render those who have received them thrice-blessed, and cause them to be seen as superior to the passions of both soul and body alike.

'For a good name is more desirable than great riches,' as Solomon says.

For the virtuous, then, there could be no season in which it would not be fitting for them to be seen as such.

But if indeed it should also be required that one willingly undergo the sweat of labor for the sake of virtue, then indeed, then, setting their mind beyond all hesitation, and rushing eagerly toward whatever is admired, they count their labors a delight, being nourished unto good cheer by the hope of the good things to come.

For if there are farmers who are hardy and most industrious, when the season urges them that they must plough the earth, and also cast the seed, though a very great and long labor intervenes before the fruitfulness of the fields, they are eager to count this matter as nothing, and quite sensibly so.

For he yokes the ox to the plough-collar, but already sees the field luxuriant with ears of grain.

And he casts the seed into the clod of earth, but rejoices already with the reapers, and with the eyes of hope already marvels at the standing grain falling before the sickle, and pictures the threshing-floor as full.

And he indeed who is by nature ready for seafaring, and skilled in matters of trade, if he should behold the sea laughing with the breezes of spring, does not tolerate delay;

he takes courage for the voyage, and is not ignorant that he will have to endure waves, and at times the fierce onslaught of the winds;

But I say it is among the things most shameful, that while some are willing to surpass every measure of toil for the sake of perishable and earthly matters, we, who are gaining things divine and beyond the mind, should fail to regard as a season for nourishment the time before our holy feast;

a season which indeed removes us from excessive foods and drinks, but fills us with spiritual gifts.

Since, then, the season sharpens us to manly courage, let no one grow soft, but rather let each go forth readily to whatever God should choose.

And I think it necessary to say again that word spoken through the voice of Jeremiah:

'Draw near to battle, bring up the horses, mount, you horsemen, and take your stand in your helmets; put forward the spears, and put on your breastplates.' For we must love to rise up against the pleasures that call us to baseness, and that most vigorously, and, being fitted with the full armor of the Spirit, wage war against the passions.

For as the divinely-inspired Paul writes, 'The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;'

for these are opposed to one another. But if the flesh prevails, the one defeated is shameful and licentious, and more polluted than any mire;

but if it is defeated and yields to the Spirit, then the crowns are radiant and lovely for those who conquer;

for they will immediately be beyond reproach, and far removed from baseness, and distinguished by the honors that come from virtues.

For as to the health of the body, how greatly desired it is, I think no one at all would deny.

And should any occasion for illness arise, we are eager at once to send for one who knows how to bring relief, and who wisely sets the resources of his art against the assaults of the affliction.

And by bidding farewell to the delights of the belly, we in a sense stop up the springs of disease, and, going against satiety itself, we check what causes distress by eating sparingly.

And thus we take pains concerning matters of the flesh.

But if that which is incomparably better should be seen to be sick — that is, the soul — and then a means of its correction should be sought, and this is achieved by no other means than through self-control;

how shall we not gladly accept fasting, if indeed we are of sound mind, and have set health above sickness as the better thing? Let us therefore cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, as it is written:

remembering God speaking through the voice of the prophets:

'You shall be holy, for I am holy'; and also that of one of the holy disciples:

'Brethren, I urge you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly desires, which war against the soul.' It has been admired, then, and reckoned worthy of all esteem, to choose to suffer even death itself, if it should come to that, unhesitatingly risking oneself for the sake of children and wives.

And if any of those accustomed to ravage lands or cities should be devastating the fields and cutting off the means of livelihood, it would not redound to the honor of those who suffer it to remain passive;

but rather it is better to resist such evils, and, having set falling with manly courage above living miserably, to be seen accordingly.

Since, then, these things are so for us, and I do not think anyone would find fault with what has been said, how could it not be among the things necessary for our benefit to fight fiercely on behalf of the soul, when the flesh is all but ravaging it, and shall we not fight through toils, turning the mind of the flesh around so that it must be subject to the will of the Spirit? For thus we shall walk straight along the path that is fitting, speeding along the most glorious road toward every good thing whatsoever, and gaining for ourselves the hope of eternal life.

For we are all sojourners and pilgrims in this world;

and the time of this bodily life is altogether brief, while that which comes after it is long and unending.

We must, therefore, having distanced ourselves from present temporal things, and thoroughly thrusting away participation in the pleasures of the flesh as inglorious and profane, thirst for the things that are to come, and deem worthy of all account and wonder the things God has prepared for the saints.

'For eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him.' What, then, is the manner in which those who have loved Him win His approval? Come, let us say as best we can, making this matter a kind of spur to your eagerness toward the good.

And his hope did not turn out wide of the mark, as you shall indeed hear him say:

'But as for me, when they troubled me, I put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting;'

'and my prayer shall return into my own bosom.' You hear that he fasted and wore sackcloth, that is, he continued resembling one who was mourning, plainly downcast and in tears;

not living daintily and given to laughter, and dissolved into luxury, but weighed down by the labor of abstaining from food.

What, then, was the fruit? Or what benefit, perchance, came of this? We have just now heard him say:

'My prayer shall return into my own bosom.' For those who give gifts to certain persons, and thereby display the generosity within them, place them into the bosom, thus showing the width of their hands to be small.

But God of all things, when with rich gestures of favor He gladdens certain ones, gives to them, so to speak, into their bosom in like manner, His abundance of gifts surpassing the hope of the one who prays to receive.

He prevailed, then, over his enemies, and was victorious in battle;

being renowned and enviable in the sight of all.

And if anyone should wish to consider, in addition to this, those three young men — I mean Ananias, Azarias, and Misael — he will find self-control everywhere profitable;

for they were Jews by race.

But when those who governed the realms of the Persians took Jerusalem, and along with the others carried them away into captivity, they became a portion, as it were a specially chosen lot, for the royal courts.

And since the customs of the Persians are ever given to ostentation, whatever among the captives was choice — distinguished from the rest both in bodily comeliness and indeed in age — was reared for their king.

And indeed a most abundant portion of meats was set before them, so that they might always be well-fleshed, and, displaying to onlookers a countenance blooming with much charm, might make their appearance not without contribution to the glory of the king.

What, then, did these noble youths do in the face of all this? They despised the Sybaritic table, and, caring little for its elaborate seasoning, embraced fasting as the mother and nurse of all their good order, and reckoned their labors as luxury.

And what came of this? They were admired even by their enemies.

Though plotted against, they prevailed, and were superior to those distinguished among that people, having as their gracious overseer the God of all.

They overcame the flame, and, having risen above the fierceness of the fire, joined in the dance with the powers above, and became teachers to all under heaven, persuading, as it were, the whole creation to crown the Creator with the doxologies befitting Him.

If, then, anyone should choose to imitate the beauty of the saints' virtue, he will assuredly obtain equal honors.

For he will prevail without toil over those who oppose him, and will easily master the malice of his enemies; and even if, like fire, those pleasures that call toward shameful things should fall upon his mind like so many flames, he will overpower even these, God giving him strength.

For an angel, having entered together with Ananias and his companions into the furnace of fire, subdued the flame, and, contrary to all expectation, brought it about that the fire was overcome by human bodies.

he will accomplish this, and will make broad for us the path to every virtue.

That we shall find prosperity from God to be the wages of fasting, and the fruit of good labors, the sacred Scripture will make wholly clear.

For it is written thus in Ezra:

'And there I proclaimed a fast for the young men before the Lord our God, to seek from Him a prosperous journey for us, and for our children who were with us, and for our cattle;'

'for I was ashamed to ask the king for footmen and horsemen and an escort, for safety against those opposing us;'

'for we had said to the king, The strength of the Lord will be with us, with those who seek Him, for every good outcome;'

'and again we besought our Lord concerning these things, and we obtained His favorable hearing.' You understand how he says that they fasted in order to obtain a prosperous outcome and a nod of favor from above, and the unbroken help of Him who is able to save, and to obtain the gracious favor of God, who accomplishes all things with ease, and who distributes good things with a generous hand to those who ask.

He will therefore also deliver us when we fast, and will rescue us from every evil, and will render every path of virtue accessible;

and He will easily level what seems steep, and will make what is hard to traverse ready and smooth.

But I say that prayer must be practiced together with fasting.

For the virtues are, as it were, neighbors to one another, and enter in together most beneficially.

But to be lacking one of them, I think, renders the other more sluggish in its benefit, and makes the manner of virtue all but lame.

For we shall pray purely while fasting.

And exceedingly great is the power of supplication to God;

and this again we shall learn from the divinely-inspired Scripture itself.

For Israel was encamped in the wilderness;

and since the mad Amalek — a barbarian nation this was — his mind inflamed with unholy envy, was arming himself for the practice of war, the divinely-inspired Moses gave command to Joshua, saying:

'Choose for yourself mighty men;'

'and go out and array yourself for battle against Amalek tomorrow.' And the young men were under arms, and a great and most valiant multitude, skilled in tactics, was arrayed against the ranks of the enemy.

But the divinely-inspired Moses himself, standing upon a hill, offered up entreaties to God;

and what benefit this brought to the combatants, we shall learn from what is written:

'And it came to pass,' it says, 'that whenever Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed;'

'but whenever he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed.' Observe, then, how the hands of Moses proved superior to weapons, and to a squadron of cavalry;

for as long as they were stretched out toward supplication, Israel was formidable to those who attacked;

but whenever they were lowered, Amalek indeed prevailed.

And the divinely-inspired Paul writes to us concerning the things that happened to the ancients, that 'these things happened to them as types;'

But it was written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. And these things suffice, as I think, to demonstrate the benefit of prayer.

But it does no harm for us to take up yet another narrative, one that brings forth a thought akin to what has been said.

The mind of the Jews was once shaken, so as to choose to worship stones and wood;

and indeed, having abandoned the one true God by nature, each made for himself whatever object of worship seemed good.

Then at last, scarcely, having suffered no small grief at the excess of their calamities, and casting off in great measure their unholy counsel, and unlearning their shameful ways, they sought mercy through repentance, and came to the blessed prophet Samuel:

'Gather every man of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.'

'And the people were gathered to Mizpah, and they drew water and poured it out before the Lord upon the ground, and they fasted on that day:'

'And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.' And again:

'And the sons of Israel said to Samuel:'

'Do not refrain, for our sake, from crying out to the Lord your God, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.'

'And Samuel took a single suckling lamb, and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the Lord together with all the people, and Samuel cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord heard him:'

'and while Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near for battle against Israel.'

'And the Lord thundered with a great voice on that day against the Philistines:'