復活節講道集 第 1 章 第 25/28 段

Some, having received the name of Christians, are not yet in power and in truth what they are said to be, but rather love the ways of apostasy, and have inclined toward the deceits of demons;

and perhaps they even suppose the same of him too — of him to whom indeed we shall say:

'Understand now, you fools among the people; and you foolish ones, be wise at last.'

'He who planted the ear, does he not hear? Or he who formed the eye, does he not perceive?' For nothing could ever escape the one who implanted in us ourselves the very ability both to hear and indeed also to see.

For that one should not be devoted to God in a single-minded way, but should have a wavering and feeble mind — and this even after coming to faith — so as to suppose and say that there are other gods besides the One who is God by nature and in truth, is a cause of ruin and destruction, and provokes utmost wrath from — I say — the God who judges justly; and this would become clear through the sacred Scriptures.

For by the law given through Moses, Israel was instructed in piety toward God.

For it heard plainly: 'The Lord your God is one Lord.' And: 'You shall not make for yourself an idol, nor the likeness of anything, of what is in heaven above, or what is on the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth.' But they, although it was necessary to hold in the highest regard the things thus ordained, counted it as nothing to be genuine in keeping them.

And by scorning what was by nature most beneficial to them, they poured down upon their own heads a self-invited penalty.

For they turned unholily to the point of trying to circumscribe the ineffable and transcendent glory of the God who rules over all.

And having carved out idols, they set them up in their own homes, as though they could perhaps even escape the notice of the all-seeing God himself.

But the affair turned out for them into an unbearable penalty.

Thus spoke the divinely-inspired prophet Ezekiel:

'And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and I looked, and behold, a single hole in the wall; and he said to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall — and behold, a single door.'

'Go in, and see the wicked and lawless deeds that these men are doing here today.'

'And I went in and looked, and behold, every likeness of creeping thing, and vain abominations of beasts,'

'the idols of Israel, portrayed upon it all around.'

'And seven men from among the elders of the house of Israel, with Jechonias son of Saphan standing in their midst, stood before their faces.'

'And each one held his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the incense went up.'

'Have you seen, son of man? Is it a small thing for the house of Israel to do this — the lawless deeds that they have done here? For they have filled the land with lawlessness, and have turned again to provoke me to anger; and I will deal with them in wrath;'

'my eye will not spare, neither will I have any mercy at all.' For it was not possible that men who were thus estranged in mind, insolent, unholy, and apostate, should not in every way and altogether be overtaken by the utmost of all penalties.

For they perished, consumed by the swords of their enemies.

And they were enslaved to enemies, and fell into calamity beyond all measure.

So then, whenever some waver between two opinions, and dishonor the ways of sincere love toward God, being devoted instead to the worship of idols, then God also permits both lands and cities to be storm-tossed by the incursions of enemies, and to come to the trial of every grief.

For concerning those who are otherwise disposed, that which speaks truly through the voice of Isaiah will say:

'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far removed from me.' And they shall hear Christ saying:

'Woe to you, for you resemble whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful to men,'

'but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.' For it will by no means suffice, toward the power of true glory, for those who have chosen to live well merely to love adorning themselves with bare outward embellishments alone, while giving altogether little account of love toward God.

And yet it were necessary to deem it worthy of the most urgent zeal to press forward toward what is firm in piety and unshaken faith.

For the divine nature, which loves virtue, greatly rejoices in those who are thus disposed.

But if indeed we are going, carried along by the unbridled impulses of the mind toward what is not lawful, to treat his supreme glory with rash contempt, and to assign it to gods that do not exist, saying to the piece of wood:

'You begot me,' kindling reverence toward the elements of the world — and this though we have received the name of Christians — no one among those of us who have once been enrolled in the faith would doubt that we shall subject our own heads altogether to a harsh and inescapable punishment.

To such the sacred word has also declared, 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' And the laws established among us also punish those trained to bear arms, if, having disregarded the loyalty owed to those in power, they should choose to side with the barbarians;

and even if one should cast away his shield, he will, no doubt, altogether cast away along with it also his continuing still to be numbered among the living.

Therefore, that the mind be divided, and love be swept about from what is better and true toward what is more shameful and most abominable, our argument has just now shown to be also a cause of war for us;

and it further declares that it also works interruptions for us in other good things as well.

For God sends down no rains, so that some are able neither to plow, nor indeed to engage in the labors of farming;

and both cities and lands alike waste away with famine and thirst.

Observe for me, again, Israel having suffered this.

For at a certain time Ahab reigned over the ten tribes that were in Samaria;

and having wholly disregarded reverence and love toward God, he sacrificed to idols.

And since the common multitude under him was easily led astray, having dishonored the One who alone is God by nature and in truth, they immediately fell sick with the same madness as their ruler, even though they had the law set over them, and had been very well instructed through the commandment of Moses unto what would above all tend to their benefit;

he threatened famine and barrenness, and the lack of the blessing from above.

'As the Lord of hosts lives, the God of Israel, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years, except by the word of my mouth.' And when he had spoken thus (for he who bestows the means of life sent no rain upon the earth), it was not possible for those in the fields to plow, nor to gather anything from their farming, nor to see grass covering the earth in its season;

and the plains, once flourishing and most fertile, all but lamenting their barrenness.

And what followed from this? Overrun by the unbearable onslaughts of famine and dire necessity, some of those in Samaria fell into such a state that even women laid hands upon their own children, wholly disregarding the laws of nature, and trampled underfoot the ordinances of natural affection.

And indeed the prophet Jeremiah, expressing his horror at the women who suffered this, says, 'The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children.' How, then, did the matter in the end conclude? And in what way did they repel so terrible and so hard-to-escape a penalty? Those who were leading Israel astray were removed from their midst, the prophet Elijah having pronounced against them the sentence unto blood.

And since the truth shone forth again, and those who had slipped into the worship of demons came to know the God who is God by nature, the compassionate God gave back to them again the good things that come from gentleness, and abundance of food,

and to be made radiant with the honors of good order;

and to love, above all, to cling fast to that exceptional and most lawful life;

and, besides this, to keep also what is genuine in faith, and firmly established in love toward the God who is beyond all things.

He who did not spare his own Son, as the most wise Paul has written, but delivered him up for us all, that with him he might also freely give us all things. For he who is beyond every mind, through whom all things were brought forth into being, the Word who sprang forth from the very substance of God the Father, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped, as it is written, but underwent a voluntary self-emptying, and took the form of a servant. And for what cause, the blessed Paul will confirm by saying:

'Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, he himself likewise partook of the same things;'

'that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to bondage throughout all their lives.'

For surely he does not take hold of angels, but he takes hold of the seed of Abraham.

Hence he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For the Maker of all things created all things for incorruption, as it is written, and the generations of the world are for salvation.

And the dominion of Hades was not upon the earth;

But through the envy of the devil death entered into the world. And it was necessary that God's original will for us not be defeated by the envy of the crooked and evil-originating dragon;

but rather it should show itself more powerful than that one's malice.

For he drove away from human bodies the death which he himself did not make, but which rather came upon them as a consequence of sin.

And he has become a merciful high priest also toward all of us.

would these things not seem laughable, rightly considered, if one were to reflect upon them? But he has become for us a merciful high priest in some such manner as this:

For the law spoken through angels to those of Israel commanded that those who fell into transgressions should pay the penalty, and this without delay;

and the all-wise Paul will bear witness to this in writing, saying:

'Anyone who rejects the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.' It was, then, altogether outside the concern and practice of those who served as priests under the law to show pity to any who were caught in acts of negligence.

But Christ has become a merciful high priest.

For he did not exact from those on earth the penalties for their sins;

but rather he has justified all by grace and mercy.

And in addition to this he made us spiritual worshippers, presenting to us the truth, bright and manifest, that is, the true manner of living well.

which is very clearly signified through the proclamations of the gospel; and he showed forth the truth not by censuring the commandments of Moses, that is, not by overturning what had of old been decreed,

but rather by dislodging the shadow of the letter of the law, and transferring the types into worship and service in the Father and in truth.

Therefore he also said plainly:

'Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets;'

'I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.'

'For I tell you, not one iota, nor one stroke of a letter, shall pass from the law until all things come to pass.' Now to transfer the types into truth was not the act of one abolishing them;

but rather bringing them to completion — if indeed it is true, just as those skilled in painting, when they overlay the manifold variety of colors upon the initial outlines, do not thereby destroy those outlines, but rather bring them into clearer view.

Something of this sort Christ has done, thinning down the coarseness of the types into truth.

But Israel did not understand the mystery, even though both the law and the prophets had foretold it in many ways.

And though Christ, the Savior of us all, was persuading them through countless works to understand that, even though he had appeared as a man for our sake in the economy of salvation, he nevertheless remained even so what he was, namely, God,

rebuking unclean spirits with authority;

freeing lepers from their affliction by a mere nod.

And accomplishing other things besides these, which are altogether beyond both description and wonder.

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

'but if I am doing them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works.' But Israel was, even so, hard and unyielding, insolent and unbridled and altogether untaught by discipline;

for though it was necessary to believe in him without delay, they instead lifted up their neck in arrogance, assailed him with insults, and continued dishonoring him to the very end, and finally crucified him.

It was, indeed, possible for him, of his own will not to suffer, to slip effortlessly out of the snares of the Jews;

for how could God be captured, as though he were lacking in human strength? But since to suffer was the means of dissolving death and corruption (for the body of life could not have been conquered by death), he willingly allowed the daring deeds of the Jews to prevail for a little while, so that, by assailing death and rising from the dead, he might become a way and a door for human nature to be able to trample it down.

For he came back to life, and ascended to the Father, as the firstfruits of humanity renewed unto incorruption.

presenting himself, as it were, on our behalf, and he sits enthroned together with the one who begot him.

And in due season he will come in the glory of the Father, to judge the world.

'For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.' 4.

let us take care of orphans, let us restore widows;

let us visit those who are sick, those in bonds and in distress;

let us establish in ourselves patient endurance, gentleness and mildness, and, in a word, every kind of virtue.

For thus shall we complete the holy and all-pure feast, beginning the holy Forty Days from the twentieth of the month of Mechir;

and the week of the saving Passover, from the twenty-fifth of the month of Phamenoth;

ceasing the fasts on the thirtieth of the same month of Phamenoth, at deep evening on the Sabbath, according to the tradition of the gospel;

and keeping the feast on the following Lord's Day as it dawns, the new moon of the month of Pharmouthi, joining thereafter also the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost;

so that, reckoning the season of relaxation as a kind of image of the rest of the saints in the heavens, we may be counted worthy of fellowship with them in Christ Jesus our Lord;

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

Once again the radiant company of the saints gathers us together for the customary festal assembly and the all-pure feast, and enjoins us that hymns of thanksgiving must be sent up to Christ the Savior of all, saying:

'The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice.' For long ago, through the all-wise Moses, Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt,

but the rest of the nations, those from east to west and the other regions, yoked to an unholy tyrant — I mean Satan — and bearing the unshakable yoke of sin, were filled with the utmost wretchedness.

But since Christ has now reigned over all that is under heaven, he calls out to those who believe in him, saying:

'Take my yoke upon you.' Being freed from the abomination of the evil and apostate demon, and having escaped the bitter hosts of demons, they well-nigh cry out headlong to one another urgently, saying:

for through him we have obtained reconciliation, and he himself has brought us near to God the Father.

And indeed he said plainly, 'No one comes to the Father except through me.' Since, then, we have been attached to him and in him, having become partakers of the divine nature, and being called the offspring of God, and having obtained the illustrious dignity of adoption, let us call to mind one of the holy apostles, who has written as follows:

'If you call upon as Father the one who judges impartially according to each one's work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your sojourning;'

perfecting holiness in the fear of God, just as it is written.

Every season, then, is fitting for the virtuous, for walking as one must along the pure and blameless path of righteousness, and for being carried straight toward the noblest pursuits, speeding toward this goal, as it were, with every sail set;

but it would be especially fitting to be well adorned with the impulses toward this end, particularly, I mean, at the present season, if indeed it is necessary, being as it were fully engaged and shining with the boasts that come from the virtues, to pass within the sacred veils, and thus to be seen by the all-pure God.

But to miss the right season and what comes from it is, I would say, not without penalty for those who suffer it.

For who would praise a farmer if, though he had the opportunity to plow and the season allowed him to do it, he were seen to be idle, and preferring an inert and unprofitable sluggishness? Or what reproach will not befall sailors, if, having disregarded the favorable winds, and then, once the season has waned and it has already become too late to be able to sail, they should choose contrary to reason to seek after those very things of which they have been deprived through their own ignorance? Therefore, just as the all-wise Paul also writes, 'While we have time, let us do good to all.' For sluggishness is perilous, and one would not miss the truth in choosing to say that this thing is, in every way and altogether, a source of ruin.

For it is written, 'Cursed are those who do the work of the Lord negligently.' But if the very act of doing it is not without penalty unless it be accomplished with diligence, what punishment shall await those who have altogether turned away from even willing to do it? Come, then, as one of the Savior's disciples has said, 'Girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, set your hope fully on the grace that is being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; not conforming yourselves to the former lusts you had in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves also in all your conduct.'

For it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' For just as, among those who hold power over earthly affairs, those most well known and most held in the highest esteem would be those who are most bold and experienced in war, and those accustomed to win the greatest renown among the officers,

so also, in relation to the all-pure God, those who will be called his friends, and who would be near to him in disposition, are not those entangled in the impurities of the flesh and given rather to the distractions of the present life, but those who are distinguished by the brightness of the virtues.

What, then, could be considered by those accustomed to think rightly as better than the things of this world? Even if one should speak of earthly wealth, it is not secure, it stands firm in no way whatsoever, and it rushes along, as it were, a slippery path.

For at times it is shaken violently, and one might see the man who but yesterday and the day before was enviable, now overtaken by the utmost of all miseries.

But let it be granted to be even secure, if you will.

Then what benefit, as regards the salvation of the soul, does this bring to those who possess it? Are its fruits not drunkenness and carousing, and the reckless extravagances of an elaborately prepared table, often even plotting harm against the very stomach of those who feast luxuriously? But perhaps someone will say:

'Will you, then, censure fine clothing, and the honors that follow upon being rich? And if there should lie stored up for some in their treasuries very many things worth possessing, and things not accustomed to lack a share in the praises given for their possession, will you find fault with this too, and say that wealth is nothing?' To this I would reply that the divinely inspired John, crying out, will suffice:

'Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.'

'For all that is in the world — the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life...' Observe, then, how, being a partaker of the Holy Spirit, he measured out the enjoyment of earthly things by reducing it to just three matters, philosophizing most excellently.

For the desires of the flesh are the fillings of the belly, and the delicacies of gourmandizing, and the impurity that now, in a sense, always accompanies and runs together with these.

And indeed the pleasures and delights of the eyes: the all-varied spectacle of garments, and the fine hue and brilliance of materials, which wealth loves;

and by 'the pride of life' he means the preeminence of ranks, and what is called being exalted in honor and glory;

let us fix the eye of our understanding on the end of each of these, and consider to what end wealth in the end leads those who are rich.

One of the saints said, 'Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I depart thither.' And another writes:

'For we brought nothing into the world;'

'neither can we carry anything out.' Since, then, the span of this life is so contracted and brief, while the desire to grow rich has no limit;

how is it not clearly better for us to hold fast to sacred pursuits, and to possess wealth that cannot be taken away, stored up in the heavens, where neither moth nor rust destroys, nor do thieves break through and steal, according to the word of the Lord? Come, let us also bring forward a brief matter from the Gospel narrative, of no small profit to those who are listening.

'The land of a certain rich man produced abundantly;'

'and he reasoned within himself, saying:'

'What shall I do? I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will say to my soul:'

'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; eat, drink, be merry.'

'Fool, this very night your soul is required of you.'

'And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' O astonishing thing!

He is straitened by his riches; upon his many possessions he takes on a heavier burden of care;

and to his wealth he attaches words befitting poverty.

'Where shall I store up my goods?' The rich man possesses many things;

what gladdened him were fields luxuriant beyond measure, and reapers gathering them beyond number, or perhaps even a vineyard rich in clusters, making the winepresses drunk with wine.

Therefore, O rich man, you have all things in abundance;

to whom then will the things you have prepared belong? It would be better for you to do judgment and good righteousness, according to the word of the prophet; and we say that good righteousness is compassion toward the brethren, love, mutual affection, and mercy that boasts its triumph over the unending flame.

For the God of all honors those who love mercy, and deems worthy of all reverence the one who bears in his own soul the imprint of His own tranquil gentleness.

For, He says, 'Be merciful, as your Father in heaven also is merciful.' For just as a father who loves his child, seeing in his own offspring the likeness of his own form shining beautifully, rejoices over the one he has begotten, and on this account is sometimes spurred on to love yet more greatly;

so also our God, who loves virtue, when He sees a soul that has received the impress of the goodness inherent in Him, does not let this be a profitless thing for it.

For He crowns it with hope and grace, and, bearing it away from every defilement, raises it up into the inheritance of the saints.

By alms and by acts of faith sins are cleansed away. Let our mind, therefore, be merciful, tender, and easily moved to kindness;

lest, having become hard-hearted toward our brethren, we hear God saying at that most fearful judgment seat:

For in the very manner that those skilled in painting on panels, shaping their varied works by the manifold hues of colors, thereby impress upon them a manifest beauty;

so also everyone who is, as it were, a craftsman in piety, adorned not by one virtue alone but by very many, will assuredly be pleasing in the eyes of the Godhead.

For He looks upon the mind and the heart, and closely examines the beauty of the noble deeds wrought within souls.

And these things we have now discoursed to you, drawing them as it were from the fountains of the divine and evangelical oracles, through which we have been very well guided toward every kind of most excellent noble deed, even though we had formerly waded wholly into the marshes of vileness, and were tyrannized by the assaults of the passions.

'For there was none among us who did good, no, not even one; but all had turned aside, together they had become worthless,' according to the word of the Psalmist.

'And He did not make the earth in vain,' according to the word of the prophet, but that it might have inhabitants dwelling in it.

In what manner He showed mercy, the all-wise Paul will make clear, saying:

'God, having of old spoken to the fathers in many portions and in many ways by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ages;'

'who, being the radiance of His glory and the exact imprint of His hypostasis, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of the throne of majesty on high;'

'having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.' For the Word, who shone forth ineffably and beyond understanding from the essence of God the Father—the image, the radiance of His glory, the Son co-enthroned and co-eternal, distinguished by equality and likeness in every respect whatsoever—became flesh, that is, perfect man;

and did not let go of what He was (for that is impossible;

for it belongs to Him by nature to be unchangeably and immutably what He is)—but rather, having come by assumption to be of flesh and blood, and having taken the form of a servant as His own, He who is by nature and truly free, inasmuch as He is sprung forth from that essence which is highest above all and in which resides dominion over all things (for whatever was brought forth out of non-being into being and subsistence lies in subjection to the glory of Him who made it)—having become man, and not having merely come into a man, that is, joined a man to Himself, according to the idle opinion of certain persons, He was, as I have said, none the less in the transcendent heights of His own Godhead;

yet He conducted Himself among those on earth, as one of us;

for it was not possible for anyone to draw near to the naked and unmixed glory of the Godhead.

For He says, 'No one shall see my face and live.' For if no one could receive with the bodily eyes even the flash of the sun's ray (for the power of the faculty of sight is checked, and yields, unable to prevail against the unbearable onrush of the light), how could the Son, coming to us with the naked glory of the Godhead, have been endured? Therefore, having most fittingly restrained, in the manner He alone knows, the unapproachable light of the brightness inherent in Him, and having taken on likeness to us, He became poor together with us, so that, submitting Himself to His own ordinances, He might at once persuade us to run toward every virtue, and, once we had washed away by His grace the stains of our ancient guilt, might join us to Himself through sanctification.

He therefore gave laws, not as Moses of old did, in types and shadows;

but rather, reshaping those things toward greater clarity, and transposing into truth what had been declared enigmatically to the ancients, He called to the grace that is through faith, and before all others, Israel.

But they—although it was fitting that they should embrace the benefit of the proclamations made through Him, choose to follow Him, eagerly seize participation in the gifts that come from Him, and honor with faith the One who for our sake became like us—these wretched ones did not do this;

but leapt upon Him in beastlike fashion, uttering out of a deranged mind some crude and cold accusation.

For they said, 'It is not for a good work that we stone you, but for blasphemy;'

'because you, being a man, make yourself God.' O senseless Pharisee, were you not persuaded when one of the holy prophets said:

'she shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel'? which is, 'God with us';

for He became 'with us' when He appeared as we are.

'The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting;'

'out of Sion, the perfection of His beauty has shone forth;'