Spiritual Homilies 1 part 6/36

But otherwise marvel at his wisdom and his glory, how he went down to the dead body and to the very dust and bones and joints, and by his art and wisdom fastened them together again; he split rocks and raised up dead bodies.

And there he condemned the principalities and the powers, he triumphed over Satan, and again above the tomb here he wrought a victory, and redeemed the enslaved Adam from the heaviest burden of death.

He himself is the weapons, he himself is the warrior; for through him victory is given to Adam.

Behold what kind of work the Lord, having come, wrought upon the earth, and having descended into Hades.

For since, after the transgression, a bitter tree was planted in Adam, the Lord came to uproot that tree and to set up new heavenly plants.

But we have set forth these thoughts, so that one may, along with the word, also lay hold of the deed, so that this very word may become energy and power.

For just as there is a city having walls, and everything in the city is full—in the marketplaces there are painted faces of kings and the very purple of the king; others make likenesses of statues out of bronze, others make images, others paint the sea and fish, others make likenesses of birds and add to them wings, which neither live nor fly, others paint the sun with its rays, others make heaven and stars.

But these are dead things, having neither soul nor power that moves them.

Go to the image of the king and speak to it, and it neither hears nor answers you nor moves;

for it does not have a soul to move it.

Go to the statues that have been fashioned, whether in bronze or in wood;

likewise there too you find dead images having neither voice nor living soul.

You behold painted birds, and they neither move nor fly.

You behold a painted sun, and seek light from it, and it has none to give you.

Why? Because it does not have a moving substance.

After the transgression of the commandment, he had a certain image of the first man, but he did not have the heavenly soul, nor a living divine image within himself.

Therefore he is dead as regards God, and he has neither wings to fly into the divine air, nor does he have light to be illumined and to have an inheritance with the heavenly light.

The old leaven of darkness entered in and leavened the whole of Adam—the leaven of the enemy—and in a certain part Adam himself was mingled together with wickedness.

He had indeed the image of the first formation, but he could not live in God, and no one was able to give him life or power, nor a soul to move him—neither Moses nor the prophets—but they bore only a certain shadow and a promise that the Redeemer was coming.

But just as a king sees his own image and draws near to it and attends to it earnestly, since it is his own image, so also the Lord sent his image through the Law, and afterward the very substance itself followed.

For it was written in the Law that wherever old leaven is found, it shall be utterly destroyed.

Thus, then, the Lord, having come in the last days, cleansed and utterly destroyed all the old leaven that had obliterated the mind and the soul of Adam, and cast new leaven into the earth of Adam, and again leavened Adam with heavenly leaven.

If, then, the words are good, yet they are a shadow of the true realities.

For there is need of a living image, so that the heavenly image of Christ, having come, may be mingled with the soul, and then it can live in God, so that it may receive from thence wings of the Spirit, and hands and feet and eyes, to walk in the divine air and to see the heavenly light and to work a divine work.

And the craftsmen themselves who made the idols, out of wood and bronze vessels and gold and silver, made images of men and animals and beasts.

You find no soul, you hear no voice to answer you; for they have eyes and do not see, they have feet and will not walk (cf. Psalm 115:5-7).

The Lord, then, stood in the midst of the element of earth, and behold, through his power he gathered the whole world to himself.

For his cargo is filled full of all kinds of good things.

And he set up his fair, filled with all kinds of precious royal wares.

You find everything there, then; he urges everyone and gathers the whole of Adam, saying:

I am a merchant, and my fair is full.

I am a physician, and I have many kinds of medicines.

Let the lame receive the medicine that heals his infirmity, and let the crippled receive the medicine that heals his affliction; let the blind receive the eye-salve that opens his blindness; let the dead receive the soul that moves him, and he shall be made alive from his deadness.

For just as through the body of Adam, the first man, death overthrew the whole world and rose up and exalted itself, so again the Lord, through that very body which he assumed, trampled down and took away the spoils from man, freeing them from the bitter yoke of slavery; for he sent forth the net and bound to it the weight of the body, and thus went down into the nether regions and made war against death, and led Adam up free; and below, he himself achieved the victory, and above, on earth, he himself, through the cross, condemned sin.

Let us cleave to him, then, night and day, and let us serve one another, and let us imitate him in all things.

For just as you run after him, so also he, having come down from the holy heavens, came after you in search of you, and took the form of a servant, that he might deliver you from slavery; and he left riches and took poverty, that he might free you from the slavery of poverty; the immortal one tasted death, that he might make you, who were put to death, alive from your death; he entered into sufferings and afflictions, that he might deliver you from passions and temptations.

For Satan, thinking him to be merely a man, went to tempt him, and thought he was mocking his body, but he was found, through that very body, to be falling in and being condemned.

But there are some who, if they rise up to serve the brethren, consider it as a burden, being deceived by sin.

Do you not see, then, that the Lord, having come, showed the way both in the bodily and in the spiritual? For taking a towel he girded himself and washed the feet of the disciples.

Are you so stony-hearted, that your heart is not moved to zeal for righteousness, even as you follow the Lord and serve the brethren?... Concerning the sons of Zebedee their mother says:

Lord, I desire that my two sons may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left (cf. Matthew 20:21).

This is not mine to give, since she sought only what concerned them.

But Peter speaks on behalf of all, reckoning the brothers as his own members, whom he sought as partners:

"We who have left all things and followed you—"

"what shall we have?" The Lord answered him, speaking concerning many:

"You who have left all and followed me shall sit in the new age upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,"

"you shall receive a hundredfold in the present age."

Let all of us brothers, then, reckon one another as our own members and one body,

for we are all one member in Christ.

For thus it pleased God, that those below and those in heaven should become one church, joined into one bond of love.

If the hand carries food to the mouth, does it do so for the one member only? Is it not for the whole body? So the many brothers are one in Christ, to whom be glory forever.

The outward man is not able to see his own back parts:

if, then, they say the inner man is like the outer, how can he see the back parts? Answer:

Just as a bright pearl or a translucent stone shines forth on every side, so too the soul is manifest and shines on every side.

And just as an experienced farmer, according to the quality and character of the soil, applies his seeds, sowing wheat in one field and barley and other pulse in another, and manages each according to the measure of its quality, making one into a vineyard and another into an olive grove, so also the Lord measures out grace into the soils of the heart according to the measure of faith and according to the disposition of the one who receives, and, as the Spirit wills, works in these three ways.

And even if there be countless who bear the Spirit, they have grace manifested to them differently and variously, in many parts and in many ways.

And though they all had one Spirit, they worked in different ways.

And the apostles, at that very hour, all receiving the Paraclete, partook of him in many different ways.

But it has also been permitted to sinners to be at liberty, on account of man's free will, as grace administers it.

Looking, then, and gazing toward the aforementioned foundation, we ought to rejoice, suffering together with Christ, but to grieve when we are in glory and honor, as not having set foot upon nor touched the way of the Lord and the apostles:

for they all passed through life by way of afflictions.

Those, then, who have entered into the way of righteousness, are in mourning and grief and tears, like a man who has inconsolable grief over an only-begotten son who has died.

But in such mourning there is joy, and in such toil and affliction there is a comfort that gives rest, and the tears and the groanings from the depth of the heart make those who possess them to delight:

for they find rest and take delight in the afflicted life, and such people belong to the household of God.

But those who go beyond this measure have wiped away every tear from the face of the soul, and, having laid aside mourning through the Lord, have taken up joy and love.

But this measure belongs to the perfect.

Christians, then, ought to bear with every disposition in forbearance and patience.

And even if you find one of your brothers has turned aside a little, or stumbled, yet has some things that are pleasing, do not cut him off from hope.

Exhort one another, that the lame member may not be turned aside, but rather be healed, if it is able to receive treatment.

But it is better to serve every disposition and not to judge.

But if you judge your neighbor, saying he is a sinner, can you say to God, "I am righteous"? And if you say he is defiled and unclean, then before God you too are defiled and unclean.

And just as you do to your neighbor, so also God does to you.

If you love your neighbor, God comes to you and loves you.

"He is an uneducated man and has a base mind"—then before God you too are uneducated, and abominable, and knowing nothing.

And if you turn away from your neighbor, the Lord also turns away from you and does not admit you into the kingdom.

For with the measure you measure, it will be measured back to you.

For is it because true fasting is not in us—for fasting is abstinence from evil reasonings—that on this account we ought to release it and not keep it? Certainly not!

For is it because within us the heart is like a wanton woman, consorting with and embracing base preconceptions, that on this account you ought also to fornicate openly? For is it because, having renounced the world, you find in your mind and soul the whole world and the inhabited earth, that on this account you need not renounce visible things? For is it because you do not pray the pure and true prayer, that on this account you are unwilling even to bend the knee for a moment? For there is need of struggle, brothers, and Christians are what they are.

As a man traveling abroad, long removed from his own city and wishing to return, journeying through wild places and lodging in inns and hostels full of filthy stench, laments in every way and is troubled, remembering his native land, and the honors there, and the wealth, and his kinsmen and friends, and all the luxury and possessions laid up for him there, and because of his attachment and love for those things wished to pass beyond everything, and did not want to be away from home even for half an hour—so also Christians, being in this age as in an inn, are held fast, and as in desolate and robber-infested places, and as in the homeland of enemies and barbarians, are sickened and grieved, and scarcely bear their sojourn in this age; although in mind and in the inner man they are, from this very moment, in their own heavenly city and in that world, with the angels of like faith, with the apostles as brothers, with the holy spirits, with the sweet Father Jesus Christ:

where the crowns and the glory and the wealth have been prepared for them, they dwell and converse together.

...not that he should know God by word alone, but that he should have Him in the heart with all perception and full knowledge.

For great is your dignity, O man, surpassing every variety of creation.

Consider how vast the heaven is, and gleaming with stars, yet the Lord did not take delight to dwell in it:

and what manner of luminaries are in it, and what manner and how great the earth is—yet God, passing over all these things, finds rest in good thoughts and in the heart of man.

You alone have been called the temple of God, and have become the dwelling place of the Godhead, for the Lord to lodge and encamp in.

"For upon whom shall I look, but upon the one who is meek and quiet and trembles at my words?" And again:

"I will manifest myself to him." And: "I and my Father will come and make our dwelling with him."

You are the possession of God, you are the inheritance of the King.

Do not despise it, O man, but come to the contest and strive, that you may be counted worthy of the crown in deed and in truth.

For there are many among us who hear the word that comes from the Scriptures, and possess nothing of what the Scriptures speak of, but, being strangers to the practice and the perception, know only how to talk.

But even if one competes, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully.

There is need of running and toil and struggle, there is need of affliction and labor, that one may rest forever and ever.

I will show you in part the surpassing greatness of the wealth laid up for those who compete.

Just as if someone, approaching a king clothed in purple, should say:

"Give up your royal dignity, depart from your sovereign power, and come, herd swine, and put on filthy and torn tunics"—so too, to give to the spiritual man, who has been counted worthy of the promise of God and enrolled in the heavenly city, wealth or rank or earthly power, is reckoned as giving him stench and dishonor and outrage, because such men are submerged in those heavenly things; and such people, being enriched and made drunk with a spiritual intoxication, and having become citizens of another city, consider all visible things to be mere illusion—whether it be glory, or the power and boastfulness of words—all of it shaken and not resting on a firm foundation.

If anyone is of high rank, let him not consider that he has accomplished for himself some notable achievement, but let him look to the humility of Christ and the spittings he endured, and let him be instructed that he is only a man, wholly earth and ashes; and let him examine himself, whether he is a son of the prophets and apostles.

For apart from that heavenly possession, apart from that kingdom, apart from that Paraclete—who is life and light—apart from that delight and peace and exultation, all things are but dust.

Blessed are the souls of Christians, for they have the Shepherd Jesus Christ enlightening them, guiding them.

What is greater than this, that he entrusts his very substance and nature, and mingles himself with the mind and reasonings, and they leap for joy like lambs in the blessed kingdom?... There is an experienced farmer, working the land with great skill, but because the land is rough and unfruitful, the skill of the craftsman profits nothing.

But there is firm soil, fruitful and fertile, which by its good yield overcomes the inexperience of those who labor it.

Those who have overcome the passions of sin have also been freed from the bodily passions, from pains and fevers, and are always healthy.

But even being such, they are not entirely free from care.

For if such people were always free from care, free, released, being good as it were by a compelling power, they would have become so by the grace dwelling within them, and man's free will would no longer be apparent.

Since, then, the will stands in the middle, grace withdraws, and afflictions and temptations come upon them.

Neither, then, are sinners always in affliction, nor are the righteous always free from care.

If, as the devil spoke to the Lord when he tempted him in the wilderness, saying:

To those not yet made perfect, Satan converses with the soul secretly from within, through evil reasonings; but the more immature he often causes to imagine things even from without, appearing alongside them in certain forms, so as to seize their mind.

But to great men, who have cast him out from within through divine power, he appears troubled and constrained, in order to distract and occupy the mind, so that it may not draw near to God.

For when the mind is purified, it sees him both from within and from without.

And what wonder is this, since even the righteous see Christ both from within and from without? For what does Stephen say? "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of God standing at the right hand of God."

And Paul, at the beginning, a light shone around him from without, and it spoke:

"Why do you persecute me?" And concerning the apostles it is written that they saw tongues of fire distributed to them, and the crowd standing by saw and heard what had happened.

Since, then, the mind is the house of God, and the evil one has been cast out from it, the spiritual, on account of their utmost purity, see from within both sin and grace.

This, then, is what is sought: that the mind may live with God and be strong.

And even if the body is afflicted and utterly destroyed, the soul suffers no wrong.

For what did the flesh suffer when the tunic that clothed it was torn? And Job, struck with a grievous sore by the devil from head to foot, was he harmed at all in mind, seeing that he was strong in love and faith toward God? ...it appears from every side; so too the soul appears and shines on every side.

Just as an experienced farmer, according to the quality and character of the soil, brings the seed and sows wheat in one field, barley and other pulses in another, managing each according to the measure of its quality, making one into a vineyard and another into an olive grove — so also the Lord apportions grace into the soils of the heart according to the measure of faith and according to the disposition of the one who receives it, and, as the Spirit wills, works in these three manners.

And though there be countless numbers who bear the Spirit, they have grace manifested in one way and another, in many parts and in many manners.

And though all had one Spirit, they worked in different ways.

And the apostles, all receiving the Paraclete at that very hour, partook of him in many manners.

But it has also been permitted to sinners to be at liberty, on account of man's free will, as grace so administers.

Christians, therefore, when temptations come upon them, ought not to marvel, but rather be astonished when they are at ease and free from care, and should look to our Lord Jesus Christ — how he, having become our pattern, was mocked, and suffered, and was crucified; and how of the apostles some were crucified, others beheaded, others put to death by the sword; and how most of the prophets fulfilled the whole of their life amid dishonors.

Looking, then, and fixing our gaze upon the aforementioned foundation, we ought to rejoice when we suffer together with Christ, but to grieve when we are in glory and honor, as those who have neither stepped upon nor touched the way of the Lord and of the apostles.

For all of them passed through life by way of afflictions.

Those, then, who have entered upon the way of righteousness are in mourning and grief and tears, like a man who has inconsolable mourning over an only-begotten son who has died.

But to such mourning there is joy, and to such labor and affliction there is a consolation that gives rest; and the tears and the groanings from the depth of the heart make those who possess them to delight.

For they find rest and take delight amid the afflicted life, and such as these are kindred to God.

...the tear from the face of the soul; and having laid aside mourning through the Lord, they took up joy and love.

And this is the measure of the perfect.

Christians, therefore, ought to bear every disposition with forbearance and patience.

And if you find one of your brothers turned aside a little, or fallen, yet possessing certain things that are pleasing, do not cut him off from hope.

Exhort one another, that what is lame may not be turned further out of the way, but rather be healed, if it can receive treatment.

It is better to be in subjection to every disposition and not to judge.

But if you judge your neighbor, saying that he is a sinner, can you say to God, 'I am righteous'? And if you say that he is defiled and unclean, then before God you too are defiled and unclean.

And just as you do to your neighbor, so also God does to you.

If you love your neighbor, God comes to you and loves you.

[If you say he] is an unlearned man and has a base mind, then before God you too are unlearned and detestable and knowing nothing.

And if you turn away from your neighbor, the Lord also turns away from you and does not receive you into the kingdom.

For with the measure you measure out, it will be measured back to you.

For is it because true fasting is not in us — for fasting is abstinence from evil reasonings — that we ought on this account to release it and not keep it? Let it not be!

For is it because within us the heart is prone to passion, consorting with and embracing foul preconceptions, that on this account you ought also openly to commit fornication? For is it because, having renounced the world, you find in your mind and soul the whole world and the inhabited earth, that on this account you need not renounce the things that are seen? For is it because you do not pray the pure and true prayer, that on this account you do not wish even for an hour to bend the knee? For there is need of struggle, brothers; and Christians are what they are.

As a man living abroad, having been removed from his own city for a long time and wishing to return, and journeying through wild places, and lodging in inns and caravanserais full of foul stench, laments in every way and is distressed, remembering the homeland that bore him, and the honors there, and the wealth, and his kinsfolk and friends, and all the delight and possessions laid up for him there, and because of his attachment and love for those things would wish to pass over everything and desired not to be absent from home even for half an hour — so also Christians, being in this age as in an inn, and as in desolate places infested with robbers, and as being in a homeland of enemies and barbarians, are displeased and grieved and scarcely bear their sojourn in this age, although in mind and in the inner man they are, even now, in their own city, the heavenly one, and in that world — with the angels who share their belief, with the brothers who are the apostles, with the holy spirits, with the sweet Father, Jesus Christ.

...where crowns and glory and wealth have been prepared for them, they dwell together.

Let none of us, then, know God by word alone, but so as to have him in the heart with all perception and full knowledge.

For great is your dignity, O man, surpassing all the variety of creation.

Observe how vast the heaven is, and gleaming with stars, yet the Lord was not pleased to dwell in it.

And what luminaries are in it, and what and how vast the earth is; yet God, passing over all these, finds his rest in good thoughts and in the heart of man.

You alone have been called the temple of God, and have become a dwelling place of the Godhead, that the Lord might lodge and tabernacle within.

For upon whom shall I look, but upon him who is meek and quiet, and who trembles at my words? And again:

I will manifest myself to him. And: I and my Father will come and make our abode with him.

You are a possession of God, you are an inheritance of the King.

[Do not] despise it, O man, but come to the contest and strive, that you may be counted worthy of the crown in deed and in truth.

For there are many among us who hear the word from the Scriptures, yet possess nothing of what the Scriptures speak of, but are strangers to the practice and the perception, knowing only how to talk.

And even if one competes, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

There is need of running and toil and struggle, need of affliction and labor, that one may find rest unto the ages of ages.

I will show you, in part, the abundance of the wealth laid up for those who contend.

As if one should come to a king clothed in purple and say:

'Give up your royal dignity, depart from your sovereign power, and come, herd swine, and put on garments foul and torn' — even so, to a spiritual man who has been counted worthy of God's promise and enrolled in the heavenly city, to give him wealth or rank or earthly power is reckoned as giving him stench, dishonor, and insult, because such men are immersed in those heavenly realities; and being thus enriched and made drunk with spiritual drunkenness, and having become citizens of another city, they consider all visible things a mere phantasm — whether it be glory, or power and boastfulness of words — all of them unstable and not resting upon a firm foundation.

If someone is of high rank, let him not reckon within himself that he has accomplished some deed worthy of credit, but let him look to the humility of Christ and the spittings he endured; rather let him be instructed that he is a man, wholly earth and ashes, and let him examine himself, whether he is truly a son of the prophets and apostles.

For apart from that heavenly possession, apart from that kingdom, apart from that Paraclete, of life and light, apart from that delight and peace and exultation, all things are dust.

Blessed are the souls of Christians, for they have the Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who enlightens and guides them.

What is greater than this — that he entrusts his very substance and nature, and blends himself with the mind and the reasonings, so that they leap for joy like lambs in the blessed kingdom?.. There is an experienced farmer who works the land with great skill; yet because the land is rough and unfruitful, the craftsman's skill profits nothing.

But there is firm soil, fruitful and productive, which by its good yield surpasses the inexperience of those who labor it.

Those who have gotten the better of the passions of sin have also been freed from bodily passions — from pains and fevers — and are always healthy.

But not even being such are they entirely free from care.

For if such men were always free from care, at liberty, and released, they would be good by a kind of compelling force, becoming such through the grace present within them, and man's free will would no longer be manifest.

Since, then, the will occupies a middle place, grace withdraws, and afflictions and temptations come upon them.

Neither, then, are sinners always in affliction, nor are the righteous always free from care.

[The question is] whether, as the devil spoke to the Lord when he tempted him in the wilderness, saying: