Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament II: Mark (Vol 2)

T Il H U R IO )[GIlOO .. .. .

ri ~gecercmo nyoneanhinthecustomary

by meansofwhich . i nth~sighc ofour

flesh!yway." sincchedesce ndedfto m heaven to ea rth in order to wed the church rohi mselfi n spiricu a.l love. Hisn uptial cha m. ber waS the womb o f h is Yirgin moc hcr. T here God w as co njoinro wich human na · cu re. From thcre he came forth like a bridcgroom to join the ch urc h to hinucl f. H O MILI U O N THE G OSP ELS , H OMILY 1.14::

maker, our souls are reco vered inwatdly to newness of spirit. H OMru ES os THE GosPE LS, HoMILY ].14·"

For this it w:r..s fitting that new wine be $tored in new wine skins and rhat a new parch be sewed upon ~ new garment." Wh~, h3d prcv:oiledin days gone by was eith er aboJi.hed,Iikecircumcision. orcomp!etcd, like th ~ ,en o fthelaw,orful fi1!ed,l ikethe

prop hecies, orbroughr fO irspedcct ion, like faith itsclf. Evcry thing h ..s bee n ch anged rromcarnal cospiritWll by the newgruc of Go d whi ch, with th e co ming o f the gospcl. h.u wiped ou t theoJcl eracompleccly. O N P"AYE R!. "

2:22 T he N ew Win e in N ew Win eskinJ CONOI TIONS O F G RA CE. T~ RTU L' u AN:Hehuprescribedforhisnewdisciplcs of th e New T estament a new form of prayer. TH E N EW

2:2 1 U.uh run k Cloth on ,In Old C"r-

CHIlYSOS The sou ls of somc arc likc an old ga rmen t, an old win""kin-not as yel renewed

RliS IS TA "'C B T O S BIt,v""'Tll OO O . T OM :

2 : 2 3· 2 8 PLUCK I N G EAR S OF GRAIN O N T H E S ABBA TH

by (ai ch .No r y~ creno vat edinche gractof

th e Spirit, chey remain w~ak and earthly. All ch eir affecti otlsa,etumed toward th is life,

J O.IO,O NT II BSON."

T llIll' llHs lrN<; H01'

h ow""o ASO O UTWA R l> GlA O l> IIN I NG. BEl>I!: !lywine we a re refres h ed inwudlr· By a g .. rmem we are outwardly covered. Both relHe to the dynam ics ofspi rirual lift. The garmem indicOlces good works performed ou twardly in orde, to shinci n the sigh e of rhe world . By wine and new wine wem ean th atfe rvo r offa ith , hop e;tnd lovc

A utfcringafr~r wor1dly5how,lovingaglory

BEoB:

Fromlhetim~ {hd{[heincarnacion o four

chat is ep hemera l. Ifs uch as oul sho ll ldi nc ide n t;tlly hear Ihat if he beum~ a (hriu;;tn he would immedia tely become like a setY:l.n!, as if he had a manacle on his foot, he would re.::oil w it hi ndi gn ityandh orror fr.o mth t wo rd as p reached. CONCE ....... IN<:l THE ST.. T UIIS, HOM1LY liS.9."

S.,vrorwd,r,urpromis~dcot h epa tria rchs ,

w.n ~l way$ ~ w~itcd by many up right souls with tCd" an,l mourning-until he came. From ,hOlr rim ~ wh en, ~flCr his resur rect ion, he "sctlld~ d '0 heaven, alt th e hop e o f the uint$ hangsuponhisrcturn.ltwuarth e l im~ when he W:l.S ke eping company with h umanitythOlthispresence w;r.sto becelebrared. Th en it wou!d have bee n un fi tci ng co w"""p and mOurn. For like rhe bridt, slre ha d him wirh hcr bud il y w ho m she loved sp ititually. T herefore rhe bridegroom is Christ, the It

'MdH4, .\.{k2,IS, 1.It;~, n. 'LLG ~1.UlOl,PHF 1~;". 'Cf. Mt9, rs,u. s:H. 10 i, t\tting ' 0 tT'.""rn in
;'~9~;.i~~.~~~: :~r~~ !i~:~::~';/~. ::;::~~C:Cf. 1'llS' ".

34

"NPN~ L9,.4~'.

lJO n~ s abbat h he w as going through Ih~ grainfitlds ; and as they made their way his discipl~s btgan 10 pluclc.llI:ads of grain. l4And tb~ Pharisets said to h im, «Look, why are they doing what i$ not lawful on th ~ sa b bath ?~25A nd he sai d to th em , -H ave y ou Mver retld what David did , when he was in need and was hungry, he and Ihose who w e re w ith h im , 26 h ow he entered th e hou se DfGod , when Abiath ar w as h igh priest , '1 nd are t he bre ad of th e Presena, which il is no t lawfulforany but the priests to Ca!, and also gave it to t hose who wcre with h im!" 17And he said 10 the m , -T he sabbath w as made fo r m an, n ot man f or t he la bbat h;28so th ~ So n of man is lord even of th e sabbath. ~ OVI!D. V I E W : T he God -man had a body and ~ soul like ours. As it is uniOlelligible to imagine him eati ng with out .. body, so it: is impos.

sibleto thinkof him hunge ring withou t a soul (AU(;USTtNE). At; the lord of me sabbath ist rulyGod. soheu truly human. As Son of

35

DavidsoheislheLoldofDavid. lklonging 10 lh echildren ofAbraham,yet before Abr.. · ham he was (NOVAT IA";).

church of God; dfaw near 10tne Lord an d confessyoursinstohlm,r~p~ntin g in puyer andwich~contfitehearl.Allendth e hol)'

2:25 Wh ", O.lViJ D iJ Whe n H e W,u H ungry HUSGIIR OFJ SSUS. AUOVST!NB: It is foolish co believe the evangelisr's:...:cOUnt rhathe;l.Ieandnot to believe tha che wo.src· ally hungry. Yet itdoesnoc follow rhatevery· one who ears is hllflgry. Fo r we rHdthat eVen an ange! ue .' bur we do nor readth,ll ne was nungry. N ar does i, fo!low rharevery· onewno is hungry eats. He may either re · urain nims elfd uc to some ob ligarion Or lack food o r the means to ear .... Now. juS! as th e f~ct tharJesus ate food is uninteUigible with oul a body. so the f"ct Ih .. the felt h un· ger is impossible without a soul. AGAINST THE APOLLtSAR1ASS, QUESTION 80.' TH I

2:28LllrJ of,btSllbb,lIb

and divine Iill.l.rgy: finish your p,ayer a nd do nat le~ '·e before the dismissal. Comemplare your mlStCr as he is brohn ~nd di$[ribUl~d, yet nal consu med. If you haveadur con· science. go forward and parr.ne of th e boJy :lnd blood of the Lord. SERMON 6,1'1.' So", OF DAY">' DAY ' o's LoRO. NOVATlA/<: In the Same manner that he, uCQrdi ng to hi,

hum::mity,i3 [ike Abraham;even so. "ccord . in gtoh is diviniry,he .. beforeAbrm"m. 1 AI he is. according ro hi$ hum"nity. th e So n of David:.o is heal$O,as God, the Lo rd of D~vid.' As. hei$,accord ingto his hl.l.m an iry, bom .. nder .h~ law,' so is h e:l5 God. the Lordof[hesabbath.~THETR 1NJT Y 1l. 1G

'Go. IBA 'u.«i4<02.S\t.&O.IOJ: FC70:2 1O.1l·.Thoi". l.<>,db.d . b<J dy, nd"",-,llik,,,,,,,. fG. b'
<........,.

h.. dly .. , wi,hG~,.bodr··ndh._ldh.rrlIrbthu"'l1' ..."h""t.scul.$om.h.. ·ri<"oI"'~w«·Ih<<<. ",ut )JFBII6 . ~7; Misn. P'G&6/1.

SEVENT H DAY. UNOC:NO WN GIIEEI( AUTHOR: Now e-rery we~k hou seven .uys. Six ofrheseGod hugiven to us for work. and One forpraycr,resl,md making repararion fo r Our sins, so rhalon lhc Lord'< D:ly we mayarone to God for .. nysins we have commi,ted on the otnersixdays.Thereforc.arriveeadY:lllhe Till!

:~~·!~~I :~~t ;~·r :~~:'.~~ ;~; ~~1,~~2;:~~,::~;:. 11 . ~},FC67~...09·· . ML>fdofd"t< .."""bb.i.''''ly GGd. .. "'urb""'"'nh< ....... b.>'" u"d ",h.I... , p.,~",i.

~~~\)::.~~.r.~::;;.'" I>« Abr.h.,.,. 1>0'" Se>n ofD ••iJ

th ey migbt a"U5( him. lAnd h ~ 111id to tht man who hlld th~ w ithe red hand . · Corn c hcrc. ·"And he s
nOr were rhey expecting rhe miraculou s d eed of rheo ne who wu aboul 10 work. Bur bcfore doing the work. the S.wior plough ed up rheir mindswirh words. For knowing lheevil "fthe mind and its bitter depth, he firsl softe ned th em up in advance with wo«ls so as ro tame rhewiIdness of their un derstanding, asking< «Is it permitted to do good On rhe ubbarh or 10 do evil; to SaVe a life Or todeslroy one:'"" For if hehadSllidto,h em,"birperminedlowor/c'" immooiate1yrheywouldhavesaid,"Youao: 'p"akingcontTary lolhelaw.· Thenhe~ld themwhar was intended by the !.aw,for he spoke as the One who e$tablished me I~ws ,on«ming[he:c.1blnrh,~dding..'"excep{thiJ:

rhnwhichwiUb.edoneforrOesakeofalife.' Again if a person f.ill.s inm a hole On a sabbath, jewsarepermitte
mm body -s oul relationship (AvGVSTINE). The recipient of grace is neilheraJlowed 10 so co mpletdy rdax as lolea"e everything to God nor to imagine Ihal by one·3 OWn exer. lion. the whole work is achieved b y human effort (C HRYSOSTON).

hence Jews prep~remealsonlhcsabbath.

Then he u ked lnem about a poi nt on which

):4 [5 11 Lllw1"1 on tbt S lIbb,ub Good!

la

Do

theycould hardl ydisagree, · lsit~rmillcdto

do good,'" But Ihey did no' even so much as say. "Yes: because by th en th ey were nor in

3 :1· 6 TH E H EA li NG O F THE MA N WIT H THE

W I T HERED HAND

!Again h( tntered the 'J7l agog u~ . and a man was Ihrr~ who had a wilh(r~d hand. lAnd th~J watched him. to jet w "et"~r be w o uld h(al him on Ih( sabbath, $0 that

36

W' T" " a,,o H ANDS, W'T" CRIIl> I\.Ir N/)S. ATHA)
agoodlemper.H oM1Lla~18.'

:~':'::::::~~":";:. :;~'1M~ ~:::';;:~.'i~ 11,.,

'A,h.n.. iw H, .. llioJ,,,",,,,, Z$; ,f. TIG lO)S.069

2lI. 16S.6--l9;M,,...PG2tl.J4oI-680d".£.A.W.fI~. C·f'i<

37

c~ use ofth(irb lindness of hearl.

THE h .. TIIST TO D ,SCRED,T. C "U'~SOSTO M : Jesus $.:lid to the man with the w i lh~r~d hand. ·Com~ here .~ Th~n he ch;lll~nged the Phuiseu u to wh"th~r it would b<' lawful to do good on th"s .. bb~ th. Notet hetetlder

THeCIT'(

alone." THE GOSHI. Of ST. MATTHF.W 8l. l •

on th e sabbath: BUI if spee~h bC':"Il\~' :ocr of work, lel the onc who h.J.s ~l'.,l.n :on object of amazement. S ttetch ,)lI! ! "UI h a nd .~ ... Whileth"withercJh.",d,", •• ,

OF GOD, BooK 14.'

3,sd His H .. nd W ..s Resto red

3:5bG rieved H e"rt

1ft

Tf,eir H
compassionoft h eL ordwh ~nhedelib eratcly

THII DrVIHls.T'I"OF H. s FEEU NOJ. Au eUSTINE: Feelings can nOI uiu in~n)'· thing bur a iivingsoul. Thes.: evenrsshow th~r JUSt as Jesus h~d ~ h uman body he had ~ human sou l. W e read abou.t th e divers ity of his feel ings in the reports o ft h ~ s.;;mc eVJn· gclis ts {who.;;ttested his divinityJ:Jcsuswas astonished.'°wu ~ngered,11 was grie.·cd," w:u ebted, I, and si milar emo tive responses witboutnurnber. Likewise it is d ear tllat lie experienced the ordinary fully humanexpcrience of interconn ec ted ne ss between hi s body .;;ndhissoul. H e wash ungry;"hcslept:"he was liled frOm his journey.16 Ae ... ' ,"ST THE ApOLLINAR' AN S, 80. 17

broughlthematlwirhrhe with erro hand rightimothei r p resence.6 H ehoped th~lthe

mere sight ofr he misfottune might soften them, that rhey might become a titd e I~S5 spitefulbY leeing th ~ amicrion,andperhaps

ou t of sonow mend th~ir OWn ways. But th ey remainedullom and unfee ling. They pr~fe rred to do harm to the ume ofCh ri.st Ihan (0 see th is poor m= made whole. They berrayed their wickedness no(onlyby their hostility to Chr ist, but also by their doing so with suchcontemiousneS$t h a ttheytre~ted

with di, d~i n hi s mercies to oth ers. GOSPEL OF ST. M ... TTl-IEW, HOMI LT 40.1:

3:5aHe Looked at T hem with Anger

STR~TCH OUT YOUR H .. NO FOR "' ''11 POOR. ATHA;-.r"SIUS:IO ButJesus. deepLygric v~d in hurrarth eh.;;rd ncssof.hci rhurIl,saidin

w ere not. For th ey went OUt and HIH"" 't, &rely, a~
effect:~ Lett h eones whoSo!ecom i n ue[osee.

Let the ones who retUs.! 10 hut do whu thq wane to do. Let the ones who are hud in hearr become srone. Buc let your right hand becomefullandt~nder . Rise. beg no longu.~" ... In e ffectJ~sus was saying: MOO

t."

noteontinuelo~g becau.seof h;llving3 with ­

1t 3ndi ng intheirmids t,andnoton~I".j .I.·"

ered hand. bUI after you finally have received it heJl ch y and whoLe and havebegutl to work,strerchouc your hand to rhe poor." Rile up and stand in thcir mids t. Become .;; muvd to thou who see. In you rhe SIruggle conceming the ubbalh is finally bei ngron,~.(ed. Seand in their midst, so th~t the on~ who are lam e in rheir legs might stand.. Stre tcho utyourhJnd. l amn otto uching

way, so th ~ t so me might retOrt: "He al'l'h.·,j a plant, he Jdded a pl~ster. " hl OMIl. l~S ~~ .'

"cr.

P. 14605; b 41,10; ».7: A«. 21<.ll '\;''''t$~' No·, ."""houIJw
~:::·"'...~~~~~.~:;';.';;l~:';.;~ ~G<~~.il~,S~~·:'I'h I. ',' ."".
Mk),6. ,.A.J"u.w~,k«io p.nlym" .. "'" ... forlh"",h<.tingop
rousothalth ey maynotbring ac h3rg~

PU TTISG Asou: TO Gooo Us •. AuGUSTIN E' If :m gry emotions which sp ring from . love of what is good and from holy charity are to be lab<'led vkes, then alL I canuy is thu &Ome viccs should be c;illed virfucs. When such aff.:ctions u anger are directed to th eir properobjeclS, theyarefuUowinggoodreason. ing.and no one should duc to des.crihe them as malad in OT vicious pusio{)ll. This explains why the Lord h imself, who humbled h ilruelf to the form ofa servant.' was guilty of nO sin whatever as he displayed Ih ese emotions

Coo PIIIl"'T'!o;O WIT" GRACI, CHRYSOSTO"' : iuhonyol.l.l h JIyounoccard ess\yslumber so as to leave everyl hing to God. Nor, when d i!igent in yourendeavors, imagine th n by your own ex:erdons tlle wholeworkis .;;chieved. God d ~s not will lhal we sh ould be indoleM. For G od does nOt do the whole wOlk by hi m se\f by fiat. Nor is;1 hi s will th at we shol.l.ld be eMi re1y sdf-sufficienL For God d~s not co mmit the whole work to uS

openlywh enapproptiare.Surelyth~Onewho

assumcd a true human body and soul would nOt coumerfeit his human affections. Certainly. the Gosp"! d<>es not f.lh.dy arUlbut~ ~motion5 to Christ wh~n it speaks of him be-

~::.~ ':9'1:;.O.~~::~~~~:fr~~~~~~~:h

·C
ingsaddcnedand~ngcred bythelawye rsbe.

38

)'s. "Cf.Jnl[,'5l_n. IIcr.HeI>U,l.

I'M ",l;tk~,l

""h.g'2~,Mk4'18 , Lk8,23. SO.M;FC JO,21O · ll " .

"C.,.do<02~~.

")n 4,/i .

ag.oin.stme.l amspeakingwithaspeechso lhat they may nOI (h ink chJI touchi ng is an U t of work. God did no t say. '00 not speak

::~:.--r:..~:·::U:U~f:
3:7·12 J E S US HE ALS T HE MULT I TU DE S

'.ItlUl withclrt w with his cliHipI~s 10 Ih e HO, and a great multitude from Galilu followed; a/so from Judea 8and j eru.lal .. m and Icl um ea and from beyond the Jordan IUIdfrom about Tyte and Sidon agttal mu/lilude, htaring aI/that he did. wme to him . 9 AIl d he l olcl his disc iples to havt a boat ready for him bera use of Ih ~ cro wd, I'l t they should crus h him; IOjQr he had healed many. so Ihat all who had .Iist ,ut:i

39

preHed upo n him t o tou ch him. ll And wh e ne ~c r the iJn deall JpirilJ bdurd him, thty fell down before him and cried Ollr , ·You
Q VliR VIBW' FOlr b(tt~f , Augustin e mJi ruains, ~o touch him by f~i ,h chan co touch him withchchandOllonc.Nocct hat evcnwhe ll beholding,mdconfessi ng Ch riS[verbaIly , the demonic powers WC"" evidencing no love. Th~ devils may bdi ev~ and tremble, bur they do nOt tespond in love (AUGUSTIN£).

Chris', the Son of Ihe living God,') ..... id Pe. ,er. "\Ve kn ow who th ou arc. Thou ar ~ eh e Son of God,"" said che devils_ r he~r a ,imil~r confession. b ut I do not find a similar cha r_ ity. In onc the re is lov e, jn 3noth erfuT. H£ is lovely IOlhosewhoaresons. H tis'~rrible 10 th os e who are no t sons. ON TN B PSA LMS 50.a.'

3: lO Thry Pru u d upon Him to Touc!' Him

FArTH \VOIUr511t" LovlI. AI.IGI.IS"T1NB: Th~ ·f.Uth thatworksbylove, ... isnotthe ..... me faith rh al demons have. "For Ihe devi ls also be. lieve and Ir£mbk,'" bur do they love? rfrhey had not believed.' they would not have s.aid, 'You arc ehe holy one of God" or "You arc tht Son of God.'" BUI if d-u:y hOld loved, they would nor havc s...td: "Wh..t have Wc to do w ith yoUr"° li;.TTIIl 1\14 TO SIJ("fI)S. "

TOU<;HING HI.'>! at" FAITH, AUGUSTINfi: It is by faith thOlt wc to uch Jesus. And. far better rO louch himby faith thOln to touch 0. handie him wilh Ihe hOlnd5 only and nor by faieh.l rwa5no grearl hingro mcrelytouch him manu .. Uy. Even hi50ppressors dOllbtless touched him when Ihey Olppreh,mded him, bound him, and crucified him, hue by their iU-motivated touch they lost precisely wh"l rhe), were laying hold o f. 0 worldwid e ch urc h~ It is b)' touching him faith fully that your "f.lirh has madc you wholc." 'SOl RMo NS.

'Cf. r. H ().. 18; .\.\,9:n:MkS,)4:10'~2:lkS;4I!:J"l!J;19.

3:13 · 19 THE C ALL O F T HE TWELVE

/lAnd he went ~ p on the mounrai~, ~lId c~lI t d ro him rh OH whom he deJir ed; and tb ey came to !'im. t4A nd be app oinled Iwe/lle, 10 be wilh him , and to be sent out to preach 15 an d have authoriry to ,rut out demons: I&Simon whom he surnamed Pl"tu; l'James th e son of Zcbedu and j
oJ

OVBR"'~W: A s the Lord renllmed the parriacchs whenrheYP;)'ss:dlhrough ctTlainlrials,SOJeSU5 renamed the dis eip lesas rhey jou rne yed with him (CHI'l YS OSTO M). T he yeryp hysiologyofrhundcr cxhibits lhtcx. plosivcnenofrhelive50f rh ose claime dby th egosp d, as secn in e hosc J tsusc~lled "sons of,hundu" (BASIL), Wh 05~ preachingw asmad~,hunderoushydiY in e po wc,

( EUSEBII.IS).Thertn;J,mingofpcrsons implies.1. revers~1 ofid~ntity (B EDE) . Me ~n· while rht etern al does nOI change

hi", ... i,h,heh."Jbu,wi,ho",r.i,h i.<>foo ... il;b., wil"". 'M< 1~'16. 'Mk ),11 U<4,'I1. 'CPNF1&17l.Evrt>oidin, . M""nf.., ingCh ,;", th<J<mon i.:pow,

3:11 T!,t Unde ~n Spirits Ft/ I Down B:fore Him and Crid Out, "You Art rb e Son of God"

en~
th<~do no< "'l'ood ;n 10,·•. ' G.1 S,6 . 'J .. 2: 19. 'T h, J,· _"'!'O'I; .... d;n''''' ...... ,h.. rh
TUfi AIlSfiNC~ OFCHAfI, .... y IN DBMoNIC CON FIISS IOI<.A uGUSTlNE: Botheh: d~vil .

",

3:17Sonsof ThuHdcr THE SHOUTING Of H a .. vEN. EUSEBIUS' Th und er h ere rd:rs to the preachi ng of th e gospd. Fo,as ~ heavenly shou[ occu rs like a voic~ofehunder,Jurpll.Eing ~lIh uman

(O~ I Gfil<),

T.u ALT l ltr",,, OF NA.'>!U. O .. JGEN: A n;J,me' isadesignanon,h.a t sumsupanddescrihes rhep" rricu ia' characte r o{,h e one named. ... For whtn Ihe characterof"Abram" was changed, he wu called" Abraham:1 So when "Simon·w3.5changed,hewas called"Pe. ftr: 1And wh:n "Saui" srapped pers«ut ing Chrin, h e wa. n;;mcd "Paul. .... In th e ca5e of God.howevcr, whose chauClcr is ectrnally

TIIEE;O{I'LOSlv.6N ESSOpbvltS,CLA I.".6DBt" TIIEGOSPil. BASIL: Thun der" is pmdu(cd.

' .... .-; ..... d;".n<; .....
U~. ',I,,, IH. 'E<"l<. ·CWS'19-. 'TLG20IS.0J4 ~:·:;~l::~:;':'~~ ~~~::: ::;~~n~~~: :~6:~~~d",

... a..,r• .,.-w•• nJ'm<.. pho,k.l",pl"~,;,,ft ofw!u.';'

unchang~able and~lwa)'5remainsunalter ed,

40

o(him in Exodus: - I am."'ON PItA YEfI,

:4.2.'

power,inthe samewayal50ehepreachingof Ihegospd, which is a heav:nly happening. doe'no"onsistofhumanstreng~h. Thegospeldid nm fill rhe world by hum3nplanning, b u eb~·divine power. COMMENTARY ON PSAl.'IS.I

'Cet~0234,l~.I I6.IOO..8J:GMI 6l-62'·.To'o ....."Il

O NE ~S TE"!48 .1

ehe, ei5alwa ys a$i ng len~me .lt isrhat spo_ k~1l

n,., n'p<><,,,.i!y

41

3:1 BAnJ ,\-I",duw

wh~n a dry atld v",I ,'''' ",,,,.1. d".~.1 "I' '" t!o~ hollows of a doud ,,,,.I ~,,,bulr hurl~.1 uOound in rh~ G1vitin of rh~ d"".i... ~""k.. ~ p~.u~g~ '00 rh eo urside.Th~.:I''''.!5 . •,tl''',., ngrui,r.," .. e,,,,.

must !lot pa.~s owr tile facl ,bat ,'v! ur hew had IWOo n=1es. for he was also called Levi. ""d ,h.1I n~me toob~3U wi meu to [h cSr~ce

der lheex,ess;wpr'$S "r~. I"·"·\lIurh~'II.I"'h

\I",

sound froon rhc frict"", "f,he ",,,,,t. wh en, like bubblc.
gran'L>droh im.Levimean5""dd~d" " or"taken

(alae.. the fl ~.,h oflightning.It is the Lo rd who;"; upon rhe "'~tcrs ~nd who "rou.scs the mighry rlOiscsof th cthunda.cd usingsuch.n erceed;nglygre~, noiuthrollgh ,hedd k~[e medium of air.· The cloqu~"t re~,hing which ieads from bapris m ' 0 sa na ifk"rioll is like thunder ro .he soul. That the gospel is I~ Ihundct is madeevidcmby Ih c dis.:iplcs who wercgivenanewn ame bytheLord:loOnsof Ihllnder."HoMILYl j.)."

lip," signiljrins , har he was "Iaken up" through beingcholen by ,he Lord.and"added· to th~ number of the aposlolic b.uld. Ma.rk an d Lu ke gene.ouslychose to u.R this nameaione,so;u ,0 not make glaring!y conspicuous his form er way of!ife, for he was now their companion in !he work ofthegospc!.'·l n se,tingdowntllc tin of the twelve .. pes tles , Ihey simply called him MarrtJ ew, nor mentioning Lcvi.1O Mar. rhew himsclf,on the orherhand (in accord with what;"; written. "The jU$t man is me fi,.,r accuutofhimself:: his friend Catnl' and se:arched him out"V ' calls himsclfby his ordinary nam e whcnldlingofbcingcaUedfrom hisl3X
R.! ....""NG ELlc.Ys .. P"RP RTU"L MII .. ORY. CURYSOSTOM:James and John tJis bro th er he caUed "sons of rhunde r. "" Wh y, To show .ha, he w"s the same On c who, in

"T homas," he sars, "and Maruw...· che pllblican." In this way he olfers ro pllblicans and s;nnotS gte~ ler confidence in secllring Iheir saiv~. rion. HOMILIES os THE GosPELS 1.21.11

noi5
,or'5 place.butaddspointedly "!hepllblican"~_

giving'heoldcQ v cna nt, altered,,~mu .

who

<~Iled

Abram

·Ab~ah"m.··' "nd

·Sarah · "and J acob"Israel .·' ~... ~CU 5tom

ofrhe patr ia rchs

3:1 9- 2 7 ACCUSATIONS AGAINST JE S US

1',," R~ S"M ' '''G OF M"TTH IIW. BEDS: We

Satai ltw;os .. lw

·Cf.I.19,6, '"Mkl,P. "fC46,200.:XW. "MkJ,]7 " Cf.G.nt7:1. "eI. G.,,17,!!. "C(. G
tog;v ed~sc rip­

ti~(namestopcrsons,:;lS Leahdid."Thisis

w .... "'OO"n.mcyp .. Srialolh;,p,<S
no 'me r~ "rbj trariness ,bll' in orderthat

they may have a hall mark to remind them of Ihe goodness o f G od. By rh is muns, "per. pe,u almemoryoftheprophccyconveyedby rhenamcwu ndsforr h in rhe c.a.tS of those who receive it. HOMILIES ON ST. JOHN, HOMIL Y 19."

"0'..,>13, \7. ").,1,IO,l. "C
42

I'Th ell h~1 wrnf home; .zoand .tbe crowd C n sen up agall'llt hrmsrlf Dnd is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming 10 al1 End . 17Bu : 11 0 one (1111 enlerastr.ong man 's hou sf
11

OV .... VIIIW:I! waS I1fcessarywilh inrheecon. omyo fsa!vation rh at Satan be bound up with Ihe same chains wirh which he had bound hum anity (b•.ENA"U$, AUG USTIN E). s..[anh~dwiUfuIlyIe dhumanitybydcoeit

inro bonru.gc of rhe will ( IRIiNA.EUS). T he God · m~ n h ~ d to aCt fairly to bind up the will of rhe strong rn..:t.n. For this purpose Chris! came to plunder the S1 rong man 's goodsthedevil'sholduponrh e llngodIy. The demonicpllrpose wasnotjus[!oenurinrothe body Or senses as such but ro s rrike at the in nermo1t volitional Center of th e sd fto make it yield ro idolatry. H ence the oneguilcyof no sin Ioosed rhegrip ofrhe devilllpon sin _ ners who were being held in bondage ro sin. In thil way the devil was conqueredprc_ ci.s elyat th epoint arwhic h hescemed lObe ronquefing (Au GUSTIN~). ln h isSlruggle ~g~'n't demonic pOWef~, ev~" his f~ mily wonde rcd if J uus had gone berserk OU O""E). The indwelling Spirit brings into unIty thos~who had bee n divi dedag~inst

43

rhemseJves(AUGUSTlJ<E).

3:21 Wbtn Hu Famil, Heard Jr, Tb ey W ent Out t o Sti:u Him,for PlOp le Wrrt Saying, "H t Is B" iJe Him stlf' H IS WOII.RJ.r;O KI N~O LK .J 2RO ME' In rhe gospel we rud th~teven his kinsfol k desired ro bind tJ im as on c of weak mind. H is oppo. ncntsalso reviled him saying, "you Uea $;>mariran and haveadcvi J."'LETTEllto8 TO EUSTO CI!lt.;M.'

3:23How C'1n Saloln C,u t O .. t Satan? T HII Ol'.\tOS IC I!«TI NT To Do" ' !«"Tr; TUE WILL. AlJ ClJST IN~: Now as for rh e Lord's saying: "s~t~n c=nol drive Out Sata",·' le
Ev< n hisf.miI,'ho,oghrJ ..... nuyh ...."". b...-or'~ boo ,~"d 'M k),ll

perhaps anyon e using the nam e of some of the lowest powers when driving OUI ~ demon should think thi. opinion of the Lord's to be h1se,Let him undUstVld the point of this saying: Sa tan dO". spare th ~ body Or the se n.es of the body, bu r he tempts the sense s for the pu rpose of dominating the will of the man in que.uion, in a triumph of gruter im· pOrt, through th e error of impiety. S~t~n d oes not st rike for th e body as such,but rather for the in nermoSt self in orde t co work in him in the manner described by the ~postle: "according to the prin ce of th e power ofth is air, who is now acrive in the so nsofdisobedien c~ . "For Satanwunot

troublingandrormenring rhesensesof lheir bodies,no r w3s he ban cringtheirbodies, but he was reigni ng in their wills, or berrcr, in thcircovetousn(ss.E,a HTy-TH R£ aD IF FERENT Q UfSTIONS, QU BST ION 79.2.S

HSlrOngman'inthispasJagemeansth~

dev il who was able to hold

[h~ hum ~ n r~,(

I

p~eS5eJhispowertoseducea nd posseu

chose destined tobe set fr ee. TH e CJTY OF Goo lO.7.'O He che devil first by righteousneJ.!,

\ VU!CNESS MAD S ST RO,.-G. AUGUST'SE'

~onquered

andthenbypower.Fi rstbyrighteGuso~n,

beC2usc he who had no si n" was siainby h im most unjustly. But then by power, be· cau.e hav ing been dead he lived ag~in, never afterwards to d ie. U For Ch rist was cru~ified, not through immo rral power, buc through che weakness which he too k upon him in mort.l.l. flesh. \) Of th is weaknus the a?osde neverrheless says, -G od's weakness is srrongerrhanhuman srrength .H1·ONTHl

T HE SP IRIT U"..-T lIS THOS E DI V II)~O

Men· tlon has been made of the undean spirir wh om the Lord shows to be div ided again S! himself.· The H olySpir ir, how ever, is nOt divideJ againsc himself. Rather he makes those whom he garheu together undivided against themselves. bydweUingwirhin rh ose who hav~ been dunsed, thac they may be like [host of whom it is written in th~ Acts of th e Apostles, ~The ml,llricude of rhem char believ~dwereofonehea(t and of one souL "' SEI'. M ON S ON THE NEW TESTAMIlNT LESSONS21.jS.'

AG ... 'N STTH S MSIlLVSS. AUGUSTI N E:

Z'l. 'ec.oda
'Ep~

bu"c .. =h,h<;.", • ......,.,p=oi,ho •• lf f<",h,
~i:::~:'d.h;;;~~~~r~~:~nl:~<~~~~~" h.~~ d""O ~ . ?l.7S. \ ()4.~; NPNF I ~no; Do""~,,.n<J. S.,moa71.IS.WSJ,.\Il.Z58, · Cf.R.....20-.\·2. "C".J.;.:

3,273 Th e S lrong Man 's H41 US[ TilE DEV IL'S GOODS.

those bonds by which h~ him.df had b.:~n ferrered, that is,.in. For when Satan is

I

in bondage. ByhisHgoods,- which Chriu 11 was com in g to plun d er, the d~vil w"s ke~p. , ing for himself those who would in tirn~ become faith flll , bllt had remai ned in th ~ clucches of ungodliness and various sins. Jc was for the pl,l rpose of binding up this Slrong man that John, in the ApoCilrpsf, saw "an angel coming down from beav~n, having rh e key of the abyss and a gtur chain inhishand. And he laid h old on the dragon,rhea ncienr serpenc, who is thf devi i and Satan, an d bO l,lnd him fora ,hou. san d yurs .... Th e ange! checked and rf'

c .oss As V,CTO...... AUGlISTtN",Jtu nOt difficult, [hcrefo r~, ro ~e~ how rhe devil was COnquered when he, who wa.sslain by him , ro~e again .'6B ut the re is. om~rh inggreater and more profound ofcomprehension,ro Sce how 'h~ devilwasconqueredprec i se lywhen

hew.l$thoughc loDeconquering.namdy, wh~n ChriSt wa~ crucified. For af cha, moment ,he blood of him who had no sin at al l., w;ls~hedforcheremi s$ionofou r .ins . "The

drviJ dIMe"'edly held those whom h~ had bound by sin to th e con dit io n of deat h. So it hppened Ihat One who wu gUilty of no sin freed themjus tly from th is condemn ation." The strong man was conquered by this paradoxic~ l ju.ticr .. nd boun d by ~his chai n, rh a, his vessels" might be rakenaway. Thosc vesIdswhich h ad been vess e1sofwra,h were turned into vessels of mercy. 10 ON THE T ... rN1Tl"!).I;:.19.

l1

3:27b Th:1I IlId~ t d H t May Plunder HilHouse

44

~$rrongman ·sho u. eandspoilhis good$,un.

less he firsfbind the srrong nun himself.""" r t isi nthiswaych~thebeeamecxpo.edas

the opposuofthe Word who madeali The new man showed him 10 be a fugitive from rh~ la w, 3nd m ~pmrace from God. H e rhcn wu s<."Cu rely bound u a fugitive, and h is gooos ll" hauled aw;ty. These goods arc [h o.e who had been in bondage, wh om he had IInjustlr u.edforhisownpllrposes. So itwasa j uSt means by which he was leJ captive, who had lcdhu manityi nrocaptivitytlnjusdy.r n rhisway human ity was rescued from the c!urc hes of its possessor by rhe t"ndumercy of God the Father, who had compusion On his ow n handiwork, andg;lvc 10 itsalv;ltio n, ~estoring if by means of the Word, ChrUt, in order th ar hum~n.irr mightlc~rn fro m this anualeventth3t rheyreceiveineorrupribiliry not of th emsdves,butby th e fru gift of God. a AG ... 1NST HERESIE!> s.al.3.:O rh ings,andsubdu~d by his co",m3 nd.

TU 5S"," E CII A' SS. iRENAElIS; The adve r_ ury ~ntic"d humanity to t~ansgress Our m:.ker·s law, and rh"'reby got us into his dutches.'" Yer his power cons i~uJ.on!r in rcmpting th e human wil1 toward trespass lndaponasr. With ehesechains he bound up rh e human will. Z) T his is why in th( ~con­ omyofsa!vation irw:L< necessary tna,h"be bound with the same chail"l! by wh ich he nad bound humanity." le wOllld be thro ugh ~ manthathumanitywollldbesetfre e co re.

~gE5~~E:~f~g::~g;

(IImtoche lord."'Ie:r'·ingth~ adversaryin

faidy!>curulur~ ... ,llofrh."'on,
"C««IocOJ29.WA.l l.H.lS;N PN FI );In '' . H,,on. qU
~:i,~~~~~~~f~~:~~~~~±~~E:

d""OJ2'!l. SIIA .Jl.I l.l; FC4"'196.97. ''aG,n);I-l;. " ... , i.. u.; . .... hy in ,h<<e""y
hum.ni'r ln,obcnd,~. of'h,w;II . • o'hJ.n"ni,.d

O.HI.48.2\J.7.4oI; FC1.;]66°. "(f. 2C",;,21 . "l\"",6~ "Cf. 2 Cn, 1),4. " Cf. \ Co, 1 ;2~

AUOU5TIl<E' T he

bound.m~nisset fr(e;s ince "n onecanem"r

45

ryr<m~nifcstsl1nw ave ringfaith,and who in rhe [i"csofth~ch35t eembraces the adm ir... bit ,on ri n~n,,,o fleal~d chasti ty ." It is rhe Spirit who, among the wh olech urch, guard., the u"" ofrhtLord's re~chi ngu nco r rl1pted ~nd unf:l.int ~d, d~ s(roy s heretics, corr~c u cho~t iner ro r. r~proves unbelie vers, rev ea ls

3:2 8. 30 BLAS PHEMY AG/\I N S T TI-IE H O L Y SPIR I T

:3~ Truly, I ;(lY 10

bla ,ph tmie; th (y

,1/1 s un w,/I b( fV f.'~ i vrn tlu H. ns of m r n, all d whalcvt r wh""va 1> I
fo rgiveness, b ur is guilt] of ,II! "/("wl

Sill, ·

S<Jfof , h ey had said, -H e has

a ll

impostor5 ,androrrecfsfh ~ wicked.'l T fte

u ndean

TII INtTJ

Jp iTi/' ~

b yt hep hrase , "h e who h usinned again$t

OV ERvt BW; Th ~ Spirit dwdl s III ,h"s~ who live by f.;.ith. Bur tho se wh o Ol\~~ h.win g beencounced wOrl hy W sh~r~ ill the Holy Spirit an d then h~ving fi nJ lly ~nJ d~cis i vdy rurnedd, eir bJ,ksfro m gracc Mc byth is:l.c t u id toh~ " c bbsp h cm~d agaillst the Ho ly Spirir (O lllGEN). Cont~m pt of the Holy Spirit is ddi JIlCC of the groll nd of the Chris· tiJIl f"irh . nd life,forit is the Spiri. wh o of· fers restimon), <0 Christ ( Nov"TI":'O ). Th e H olySpiriris GoJ h irnsdfenabli ngollT fJith. G od ,he Spirit is not on ly the one who m We ",o"hip bur che one by whom wc wors hip (G IlEGORY N"zl":"'! z":"'! ). T he text

tb e SonofManisworchyofforgiveness.-i

E" ";f ,o, ,, ,;m,, , m,,wU,,,,,,,d;o, to this d ivine word, even if one falls into ig' nOrance Ot folly, th e way is not blocke d to rrue penitence and forgiveness. But one who

1

I

h.asonce been coun t«i wonh)' to snare in [i(c in the H oly Spiri t and rh cn fi naUytums : back again in apostasy is by this verr aCt and . dud .\.aid co h ave bla.sphemed ag~inst
1

T II OSB So I Nl>WBI.T WOUI.O N OT CUR.S B 'J IISVs. N OVAT<"N: N o one who is mdwelt by ~ the Holy Spirit can imagine sayi~~ ".;.nath· ema" ro Jes us." N o one in rhe SPlnt would ~ deny th :l.t C h rist is rhe Son o f God, o r rejec:t ~.

t

doesno ts 'lgge"th at bl~ sphemymakeJ re·

p.: ncance impossible ( AUGll STl NE).

3:28 Wb ontr BI,uphunu Ag"inH rh t Ho lySpiril T VRN' NG Aw"y FROM F"'TH. O IUGEN: Th c po w. r of God
~:~ :~;~::I.;:~·t::y~~i;::~p~~c~~~ :;rs:bSti.

f

tutealicn o r sacrilegio Ullo.-dinances conrruy to moral principles. But ifanyone shame· lessly blasph eme .• against this lame H ol y Spirit, h e "d o.:s not h ave fo rgiveness, either in this world o r in th e world to come.... For it is the S pirit who rhrough cllc aposdesof· fen tesdm onr to Christ,'" wh o in the m~r '

~

'Cr. Rom uo. 'Cf_ Rem MO: G . 16,e . ' I lm 11, ). ' .0.<1' 1:8. ' M, lJ:l1. "),1< 1 ~' H ·l2 :Mk hl<J. 'O FP \6 _\7 " 'lCo,!!,). ·Cf.M ,1 2,ll: l.k llo lO_ '·a . F.phH.

s h al1rece ivepowerwhenth eHo lySpiri ti~

come upon you.'" This is what is refer red co

46

1 9. <J

TH ZS PI UT Is GO D. GREGOIIY N"Z! "NZ~N; He"is rhe subject, not
if." All thar th~ God head activdy performs.
I ' F" ,fu"h.r ,,~,," .ol""tUY'"nt;n
:.~~~;.:'~t~:I~'~~:";'l:;.":r.,::;;;, :;~; ~~~::t~~· ;=:~ '~:~:f:~~~~~;r~~;:~~~
~~~:~~;S;t::~~fEi~~§~~~~f

~: ~rr. ;;:'l'~)'~~~n~:l~.~'~/ ~';.~ ~;:~E::~~' !,~:

~:.l~;t~~; ~:;~n ~~l;:S~ ~~f~;~/:~.I.,~~~l~~"

~~~: ::~::7iE?:~:~~~,;.~~~~~~~:~~~I:~: l,l

FO FR196·97" . n,<_«.nd,"'p"."oftW<wo"h,p. " C.r«io< 02I4, 7 ].7S-100.u(\3; NP:" Ft 6,)W·: Dom;n;" n
3;31 ·3 5 WHO ARE MY MO T HE R AND MY BROTHERS ?

llAnd his mOlh ( r 4nd his brothers ' 4me; 4nd H4nding oUIJidc they senll O him an d ' ''lied him. 12 An d " crQwd waJ sitting about him; and In ty la id 10 him, "Yl) urmoth er

and y o"r brothers are outJiae, asking/or YO(I.· HAnd ht replied. ·Who art my mOlbn and my brOlhe rJ?· J4 And looking around on tboJe who sat about him. he said. "H ~re are my mothtrand my brOlhers! "Whotver does th e will o/Go d is my bro d"' r. and sister,andmol her."

from th e h e a,c. s oth a th~m ",y acCep t U3"s

T ...

,on,. For the Lord sa.id, ~My broc hersa.re thosewhodo th ewillo( m y Father:' So Ict u,do the will of the Fath er who call"d us . Ih ..1 We m.. y live p~aceably within chis fam·

AUGUSTINE: She did the Fa ther's will. It was ml$;n h er th at th e Lo rd mag nifi cd. no, mertly rhat her fles h g:I~e birth to flc.sh .. . . When he sa.id. "Blessed are thq who hear tht Word of God ~ nd kee p it, ~IO he was

;ly.whereour indinnion 'shaUbeth~pur.

GROVN OOf

M ... Ry's

Bl fiSSEONIlSS.

9:

3:35 Who e ver Do es the Willl1fGod h Aly Brotber, Sister. Motber W H ~T "U\ M"'II.T \V .. SCLOSU, TO H, M.. S P"lI.fiNT 011. BE LtBvlllt. AUGUSTINE: W h .. t else does he her e t~ ac h u s, th an to prefet to kinsh ip~a(,er the fluh~ OUr d escent Nafter th e Spirir."I H e te.lches ,har persons are united by nearness of spirit to [h os~ whoar" justandholy.and l ha tbyob"yi ngandmJ. lowing they deav e to their te ach ing and con· duct. Ther efo,e M uy is more blesaed in re.:eivingrhef... rhofChriscrhaninconceiv. ing th e flesh ofCh ris,. Forto rhe one wha ,aid. "Blessed is the womb, which bore you!" • he him.df answered; "Blessed are chey who hear th e Word of G od and keep i' .... Con·

OROlllUNG THE Rn ... TI ON TO F",M ILT. AUG USTI NE: Ii is he who said thar no one be· Jongs to hl$ family e>:cept those who da th e willa fhisFather. To be su re. he gracia usly induded Maryhersdf in this number. for she was doing ,he will of hi s hthe,. Thus he spurn ed th e eanhly name of his mother in comparison to h ~avenly kiru;hip.... Do noc b ~ ungrateful, pay you r duty of gratitude toyoutmo ther . repay~a rth ly ravor$by$piri. tu"lones. tempora.l by eternal o ne •. LETTEll 24 3 TO l"'~TllS.j

ce "'i nghi s ownb rorhers.hisownrda'iv~.

3:34 Hut Art My Mother'Hld My

'Cn"""c026l.l41.~?9.S76. J:FC)bU4.15" . '.\1< I~;..); Lka:21 , ' A"" • .J1 .",~.Iy '~H\mi'm'n". in"~di"~J~ m"';cdu,;"" 'TLG 117I.(kll; l CC 1:19'" 'cr.R
Brothrrs! F .. MaT.

mother wouJd have been lirrkhdp for her wvatio nifsheh a<:! not barnc Christ in her hun in a mOre bJessed manner 'h an in the fJe!h.'ON VIRGI~ITY J"

in effcct"'lying' "My mother whom you have called blessed i. bless ed for t h e rea so n rh3t $hekccpsrheWordofGod, not that t he Word Wa.< made flesh in her and d welt amangus. " but tha,shekeeps,hevery Word of God through which s he was made and which W3ll onade flesh in h er."TRAC. Tf.TE 10.3.20sJo HN. "

suit ofvi,tue. THE SO,C U LED SECON D LETT EII. OF CLEMENT

3:32 His Mother"nd Hi, Brothers Camt

TOT"E

thdrkin.A sforMary.hernearn~s5a.a

SECON D l ETHII. OF CLE M~NT: Let us then prai.ehim, nOt with t he mo uth only. but

OVEJ>'vIEW: M;.ry W 3ll more blesse d in rc,eiv. ingthc faith of C h rist than in conceiving rhe fluh or Ch.;st. She wu bl essed b«~ u.e she kept th e W o rd of God, not merely becausc she gave birth. Mary 's d osenas rOJesus as ~ nuur~l mother would h~v e been little h elp for her salvation ifs he had no t bo rne Christ in her hean (AU()USTtNE). From rh 1$ pas· sage we learn to view u n:hly kins hip in rda· tionto heavenly kinship (AUGUSTINE ). To rhe Lord 's fa mily belong all who do the will of the Fath er (THE SO,C ... LLEO SECOND LH' Tll.R OF CLEMENT).

B SLONC ING

afrerthe flesh. who"rfirscdid nor believe in him,' he faund dubiaus adv antage in being

TH E So,C"lLED

48

4:1·9 THE PARABLE O F THE SOWER

'Again he bega~ to teach btside th e sta . And a v(ry!arge crowd gathered about him,

::et~t: ohne t~aetl::~: boal and sal in il on t he Je~; an~ Ihe whole CTawd was beside h

'd h J_ ' ,And he ta ught them many tbmgs In parables, and in his leaching ( sa, 10 1 em ; LIJ/cn!Ajowerwentotltlosow.4Andash e sowed,som,s eedfell along r~ e path, and the birds camt and devoured it. SOther seed fell on rocky ground

~~I~r~~ldh::! ;:tl ;;:Us':nSOil. a~d immediately il spra~g up. since it had no

d epth oj rOj e 1/ was , co rch ed, and Sin" it had no roo l it withered among thorns and Ihe thorns gre w up and cho k ed il, an d it ~ an d . 0 gram . And o~htr suds fell into good soil and brought forth g rain,g rowin s p. _ ,"creaung and yielding thirtyfold and sixty/old and ahundredfold.- 9 h: And Qld. H e wh o has ears to hear. It! him hear.~ 7

a:J~;d ~Iher .su/ fell


Ou r human nat ureby,owing ch e.eed of his Word through theinca rnarion in t he ground of au , human .oul. (CLQMEN'l' OF ROME). Theseedwa.lc»tnot,hroughrhefau [t of the SOWer but th rough rhe unr"adiness of

~taJlow'h e . eedSO rthekingdom to gro w "'" PASTOR Of H ER"iAS). Though God is ~crywhere. he comCll especially n~:tr to u! in

49

M ....: 'l""

ch" soi l co receive ie (C tU\YSOST OM). Mark wit hheld elabon.c~ ana.lytical txposition of the p arables b",ause ehe eh inss signified by chem were ~yond ch~ power of ord inary word s co uprus (OIUGEN).

Wc do be[[~r nOC co venture to commit to

1I~b«n

r"ported in~ ~stcrn r.-gionsin the vi, ,inicyofArabia. ofa bird named Ph
wriri ng[ho~erhinpofwhi.:h,,,v enaf[er

much examin~[ ion an d inqu iry, we h"veonly someCIass perc cp cion, w heeher b yguceor b y the power of our ow n minds. But .onu basicthings,for thesakcofourown inrcllec.

;ng ~rhaps fiv" hu.ndrcd years.When'hc

the word o f compassion. For h ere he call.< his rnchingseed, the souls o f men a ploughed fielJ, and him.d flh e sower. ON TE,.,PfiIlANCE.'O

fimeofiudissolunon and death arrives. it rnakes for iuclf acoffiniik.., ncs[offrankin-

4:4 Sornt Sud fdl Along Ibe J' ,uh

4:2 He T~"gh l Them Mllny Things in

cua ldiscipline. a ndch a [ofthosewhom~y

~rueandmyrrhandrh"ofhcrspices.inro

p~,.~"'e,

chancetorcadch" ",,wea r"permirredeo somee;
OIl,';;BN: We Irt" to think in agenen l way abo ucevery puab le,' r heelabor3leinferprecHionofwhic h h:lS not been c~corded by th eevangdist5. rem e mbering th at Jesus explain ed a.!l things tohi so wn di sd plesprivaeely.IThe wriec rs of rh eGos pe Is hav e withheld any detaikJ exposirion ofche parables. b~ · cause the chings s ignified by rhem were be· yondehcpowerof wordsco expre5S.Not even ch c whole world iuelfcould conrain th"books th at mig h t be wdtten ro fu!ly cla rify and dev elop the parables. But it may h appen chac a receptive hurt will gras p somet h ing of th em. Pur iey o f intem enables g reater discernmenc of che par· ab ies, eh acchey mighe become wrinen On the heart by the S p irit of the living God.' But someone mighc ehe n reply chat we aCt wie h imp ieey when we wane 10 give the patabies symbolic mean ing, as if we had th" 3uchority to expound whae issenccand myslical. T his is sometimes clai med even inC:ises where one might suppose that we had some ru so n ablc knowledge of their m eani ng. Bur to this we must r"spond th3t,ifch ete are tho se wh o have obt ained some gift ofaccuuce appr ehension of thes e rhings, th ey know wh a. ehcyoughr rodo. Bue as for us, we readi ly ackno w. ledge that we fa ll short oftheability to see into ehe depth oflhc eh ings h ere si gnitLed.

M"TTHEWI4.fl. '

which, icstimebeingcomp[creci, i,enrers .nd dies. Bur as the flesh dccars. a cectain worm is born. which is nourishoo by
P .. RAIILES IS BXH .. U 5 T,IILB.

INDl SCII I"" N"T~ SoW I N G. CHIlYSOSTO,.,:

juiCcsof'he deadbi~d andeventua.llrgmws

4:3 A $olVuWentOHtlo Sow

",ingi . Th ~n. wh~n IT h;u grown strong. it !ake~ up charcoffinlike neu containing the boneJ of its parenr, and ca rrying th em 3way. make. iTS way from the country of Ar~bia ro Egypr. co the city of Hdiopoli.,. There, in bro.ddaylight in the sight ofalI. it flies to rhealt;rofthesunanddcpositsrhemther". and then seU Out On its return. which th" pries ts who cxamine records rhink occurs a e tn eendofthe five hundredthye"t. With all the$Cindic3,ions in naeure, why should it surpriscusth3,thecreatorofr heuniverse might bring about rbc rcsurrectionof ,hose ... hohvese rved him with holiness in cheas· iu.anceofagoodfairh.' secingrhat he shows ro us e"en by" bird the magnific cn'"

THE BtHu .. L OF THE SBRO. CUM ENT Of ROME: Think of th e various way s, d~ a r friends, by which the m aSter poinn us to· ward the coming resurrection. by wh kh the LordJesus Christwa. mad" the firstfruir wh~n he raised him from rh ~ dead.' Lel u. observe. dear friends. how someehing like res urreccionissooftenanricipatedinlhe courseofnarure. Day and nigh t. for exam· pit; the night fa.lls asle"p, and day arisu: day deparcs, and nighe return s. O r consider ehe planting of crops: How and in what manner does the sowing take place:' T he sowergots fOrlh and casts into thc ea rth each of the seeds.6 Theyfall imo che dry and bare ground and decay. T henouloftheirdecay the rrutjCSty of God's provid"nce raises them up. and from bei ng onC seed,manygrow up and bring forth fruit. Evenmoredrarnati· cally. recall that remarkable wonder which

do ...l1 ,hart ofth, .biij ,y '0 >0< ,n'O Ih, o,p,h ofw~'" ,n o 1''''

:~; :'fo~i~ ::~~::~,;<';:~ :,o,~,:~:~;~;;'~ ~;:r :~~:~. M,Jl:J ·'I; Mk4, '·" Lk3: 5·S.

50

'-T h."...,ofth.pl..,.nilt ..... Uk""wnin.nnq..i,y, .....

ofhispromisc! L ETTERTO TH ECOIllN'

..-iddy l>U
TH1 ..... S.·

b••

w,i, ...: .. """"",

""'h.....

>g
foundin P.92:l!

(LX X 9L. LJ) ... F4)n.P.noJFinncy""'ftrlucth • • to
Sow. CHRYSOSTO,,: Whae is me meaning of rh is parable! H" went OUt to IOw his seed. From where could he "go ou," wh o is prescnt everywhere, and fi lls ~II

th.pll<wni.p,~yotlcin ..edinA.o"'bu{u..

u, ... .d, .ionoolm·ks·...JSy... ....JEp'p,puy.nimpo"&n,rol. IfW•• ,~""-oJopfedby""nyculru<,,{hn> .......... ut
GOING OUT TO

a."",nc".klt<"",k<eotin,!ti.,..,m,n y culy Ch""i"". · ... win,k8' of 'h
pl~es!Hewenrou [,notintoap [acc,bu t

:~:/ ~:I~~~~:;;.;:p~:~~~:;:.":~;fl>
As

the lower fa irly a nd indiscriminatelydispetses seed bro~dJy over ~Il h is field .•0 do es God offer gifts to a U, " ma king no di , t inct ion be rw~(n rich and poor, wise and fooiish,luyordilig cne. brave orcowardlr He addresses e veryone, fulfil1inghisp ~ r<, although knowing th e res lllts bcforehand. ... \Vhy then, tell me, was ~o much oEthe sccdloltl Nor through the sowcr, but throughthegrollndrharreccivcdir_ mea ning rhesou l that did nor listen .. Ev"nthoughmor"scedwouldb,,[o$[tha
•

inlO a life md inro a hi.toricdispcns arion whercin hc saved u5,bcingbroughrcl()se to \IS by reason of assuming our Ilesh. Since w e [O\lld not enter in. for Ollr sins bad shuc che doortous, hc cameollttoUS .... Hecamc totill ~ndto rake care of the earth: to sow

:;l~~~ ~~;:~~A';~r~:~:~\~~~,~~~~ ~:~i~~'~ ~~y,.,

i"'h .p ri",.,aJ"oryQf 'h.ph u~ni •. w •• " ' mgh"h"" """'rion .•• "h.n ...d. ... hti<J, doc. y. ,i><."dh, ;ng

r.mhfr"i'.S~n.tur . in . o'nt"'.r'F"'viJ.n ri.Il)·" ff"'"

:::S';;;i~i~~~':: ~~:g::'~' !o::~; .;<;.U',i~;i;o~ ~~:;s~y

51

TH II C ... ..," E OF ,VIT" .R'SG AWA ... CIIRl'SOs_ TOM' Now pay particular ~ttent io n. T here is not o n~5 inglewayofdes c ruction. R3 th ~r there are various ways rhacdiffcr fromol1e anot ile r s igni ficandy. So me, like rhc seed ;.!ong th c ro"dside,are[hecoarse-mih([~d. indifferenr,andcardeu.Othe<$"hoseon the ro ck, ar e like people who fai! from weak. nu s only. T IHi GOSPE L OF ST_ MATTH~w>

asks , 10 SDW ~mong rh. thDrn s, or on the rock,or",'on!}$idelhtm~d!t-.hybc;risnor

rcason;lbJeinsufarOl.s itp errains on ly tll se~ds andeanh,fo r dlebare roc k is nOI li kdy to lurn inw rillabl e soil. and the roadsid c wi ll re m ~inroads idc an dthc

thor ns, thorns. But inth~caseoffr e ewilb a nd rheirrtasonabJe in strucI;on, rhis kind ofsowi ngispraisew" rrh y. For the rocky soul ca n in rimt rurn inro rich soil. Among souls, the wayside may come no lDnger tU

th irtrlTh e difference is the readint lS ofl he ground,forcvenwh ert thegrolln d isgood, di/ferenc ..sremain in the rc..dinessofsoi!s. the fau l! li es notin the farmer Or th tseed, burin thecondido n Dfchela ndirsclf,iudis_ posi tion 10 receive. THE GOSPEL OF S T. MATrH EW, H OM IL1' 44 .6. " VAR.III) G' FTs. C YRILOf AL EXAN ORI ... , Note th3tChrist has tecoumed th ree ways ofdisaorer,2ndrhac three likewise are Ihe grades

HO ~IL""4 .S."

4:7 Th t Tb orllJ C rrw Up ""d Cboktd It"m J It Yidd ed Nil Gr"in

berramp!edbyall tha t p~ss,an d mayb",·

co me a f.nile fidd. The thorns may be dc, sl
ofglory. For lh~seedrhatfeUuponthewar_ Jid~wass ei:;:edbythe b irdl.Tha, which

Ipr.lllg l,Ip on stony ground quic kly perished. Th n which grew amid th e Iho rns was choked. But the desi rablegooci ea rrh bfoughtforrh fruit,andwidlarhreefolddif_

CHO K I N G O ..,T FJl "" TFU ~ NIISS. THE PASTOR

T h e rhisrles ar~ rh e ri ch, and the t horns ac e th ose obseued with busineu deal s. Th ey rend noc ro remain long with l he servants of God. T hey wander away,ch o kedbyco mm ercial p rcoccupations,16Th erkhd ..aveo nlywirh.greacdiffi. OF HliRM"'S,

IH4 4 .;.I ."

j

culty !Othe s~ rV3n tsofGod,fear !Rglesl

t ~~: :fe~~I~'o{~I~r~:~ed;:~:~~~r~:: ~nn;~ f ~;rt~ ;~: :~a:~~r~h;(o:~I~ ~:I;;~e:n::n i

4:6 Sina It Hila No Root It With ered AW lly

f",ren ce. as I h ~"esl;d: some~h "ndrcd fo ld, so mesi:uy, andlom.rhirryfold.Asrhe mOst '~arned. p~", wrire5: "E.-eryone has hi< Olle after thi ~ m~n ­ n~r , ~nother afur th~I.'" And We don', fi nd chegood accionsofholy men ro be all of eqlla lmeri r. B"ritbeh"oves u .• co srrive ear_ nesrlyafrcrthdrbtt(eracrions, and rise abovt the I""s wonhy; so JhalJ we be rewarded bo unt i~''' lly b)' Christ, rD wh o m, wilh rhe Farherand Ihe HolyGhosc,bt praise and glory I'or eVer. Amen. ON T H e GOSP EL." prop~r gifr from God,·

4;10-20 THE PURPOS E OF PARABL ES

someo ne might ask something of them.

TH~ ROOT OF CO RIUJPTI O N I NTH II \VIlL, CHRYSOSTO""Andifrheyo",ngshoolSof

:::

to ene er the ki ngdo m ofGod."THE OF H~ RMAS3.9.20."

Ihewheatwither,lhatj$notb~causco f

rh e heat, for h e di d not say that irwirh"red because of the hear, bue ~beca ",se it h ad noroors."uAnd if that w hich h~ has caughr us is chohd. neither isitrh ~ fau le of the thorns, b""ofrh ose who allow ehem cugrow.Foryo",c.a.n, ifyou will,oppose th eir evilgr owlh. and m3ke fitting use of yourreso ",rces. For this reaSOn hesaysnoc "thewurld:bllt"tne car e o f,h is world" ; nor "riches,"bllt ": hede'eirfuln (ss of rk h cs."letu.sp",rblame, noton ceuted things, bllt on Ih e co rru pted will. O N TEM -

P"'STOR

4,8 Yielding ThirtyJold IInd SixtyJold "nd " Hu ndredfold R~AOIN~ S S TO

RECE IVE. C HRY50STo.'>I; Why

didon"$Oilburah"'ndred.,o n~sixcy,u nt

"NPNF 1 IO,lSl~·; d . TlG lIlbl-l,l, S1.oI6..l.ll.. u~I' IH;; Mk 4,6. "S SC F l,J<)-I : M.gn< PG ~1.<67 ·n "NPNF lIO>u1':
PEIlANC~. 1<

52

~

'OAnd wh ~n ht w as al,mt, rhost wbo wue about bim with rht twdve asked him (Iln,ern~ng tht purublu. IIAnd he said to Ih~m. " To you hols btengiv~n the >ecrtl of the kln~dom of God, butfo r Ihos e outs ide ~ verylhiTlg i. in p"rablel; I<SO Iha! th,y m ay Indeed scc but nOI perceive, and may indt ed ~e~r b",t n ot understand . rtJllh~y sb"ul~ turll again , and be forgiven." tJ And hr said 10 them, "Do you no; understand Ihu parClble? H o w then will YOII ullderS/and 0111 the porables? "The ~ow'r SOWl the word. lSAnd Ihele lire the o"e. C1long th, pollh , where the word IS 1.0W~; wh en th ey h ear , Sa tan immediately co me , an d la .~es away Ih e w o rd whICh IS sown in Ihem . '6 An d these in lik e rnClnntrare Ih, ones sown upon rocky :round, who, wben Ihey bear tht word, immedialely rueive if with jor /land th,y have n.o rool. w Ihemulv~l, bUI end ure for a whil~; ,bell , when trib~lalion :;:e rse cullon arnes 0 11 ,,"ou nt of the wo rd, imm edillldy Ih~y fa H aw ay . I~ A lld h eTS ,arc th e onts sown C1mong Ih.orns; thty are those who heurlbe word 19but I e (ures of the world, and tht delight 111 riches, C1nd the desire for olhe r thing. ent er ,n and choke th e word, and it proves unfr uitfu l. lOBut thOle t hat were so w:

53

iI,

-

upon th e g ood .Joil ar,' th ,' OIH'! LVb" b.-M tb~ word (llld ,!r"pl it and be.or Jr«'I. $ ~ t h irty/o ld ,m d HxtyJold ,lIId ,t !!" " d r,-d/"/d." j j O VfiII, V,EW; P",rabk .• ar ~ gr;o
porri.:m from rhe side of an organiim, e"en in rh atsmall parr you wo ul d f, nd all the e!e. m~nr s our of which the whole is composed_ nc......s and "cins, bones, anuies and blood, and a sampk as one migh t sar, of the whole lu mp. So lihwi. ewi th regard to the organic uniryof theScriptures. In each diSlincr por. '

rc.td inreulionrothcwholef~br i co fScrip­

l Ure (C HRYSOSTO M). Th~ \.\/ord b~'o lllc~ ef· fective in U~ by its own power (C LaMENT O f lnrhiJ p.lf"bkbdiever$ue

ALIiX .. ",Oi\ IA).

t i o n o f wha tis wri t r~ n,o nemay.e" ' h e con.

c al1 edto wo rk ' c .lso"ably!ob~comegood

nection wirh the whole clearly appearing. T HI!Gos PE~oF ST. M"TT HEW, H O)'l! u !.8.'

soil (AUGUSTlNI!). R""d inus for the indwetlingSpirirrequius .t rigorou5wccdi ng ca reful cultin rion one may res ide in t his world and nOl be choked wic h il s cares (C URYSOSTOM). Only wi ~ h diligence and gr ~{ e C~n ~he ~suul~s of the enemy be de· f1~ct ed ( h B N" ~ US), T hose wi~ hou r s piti· mal roots wi ll fal!;l.way amid rr ibu lat ion (ATH.. NASIUS). God may hul by deLlyi ng h ~al il1 g. l~sr a prc m~ ru rc recove ry s hould rend", o n~ i ncuub[~ (O R,IG EN ). Jes us

tbe l1n(~ady from being too 5pee
FI a5T P RINCln ~s3·1"

ASO ... N U TTB ..... N C B P .. ... T ... UY V BJ~ .D . AUGUST.NII:jesusdidnocordinarilyauume thathis t~aching wou ldremai n hidde n .He

:z._~~~e~~;ti~d:: : ~::::;~~:~!v:~~< JErhi.s had nOt been spo ken openly, th ere ,..culd have been no sense to the phrJ.se" not _ing. " The same hearer may not perceive chelevt!o n wh ich somc thillg is spoken optnly, yct on a not her level secrecly under_ s:ood. The "ery things wh ich hiS detracrors hd heard wirhout understandi ng were such ;u (ouldnoc Withjusri ce Or tru th be turned inro a criminal charge agairut him. As ot'ten ;u rhey tried by their qucstio ns ro find 50me. dtingbywhich to accu!C him, he gave rhe m luchr.plles as urterlyconfounded~lJ thei r p1c ts and left no ground fo r rhe ca lu mnies

t ,utedwaraytho~ewh050ughtto finda

pre tcnsefor crinlin alchargu againHhim (AUGVSTINE). 4: 10 Th ey AJk ed Him C on ce rning the

Porablu F,XING M~MoRr . C HRYSOSlOM: H e spew in p",...bl"" that he lII.3y:olso nuke his d;s· coune more vivid, ""d fIX th e memory of it in

thoydevise
th em mo reperf«tly, andb ri ng {heth ing.5~'

h Ull].'

fore their sight, as did the prophets aUo. T HE GOSPEL O' ST. M" TT HEW, HOMILY 44.3.' "

'NPNF llo-.~S l·_ ' NPN F . 10'01" , n.. .... 01.8;"of5.,..tu,."",b.fUun-l,mplidd,in ..."p
THE O RG .. NIC UNITY OF HOL YSCRI PTUIU,. CHRYSOSTOM : SUppose a physician e"cis~d a

rho ugh" . nd f« ling'

54

with the eyts o(th.., body, a p~rabk will ft. veal w rheeyeso((hcmind,informingthe m brlccy ofche inrdlecr by meJ.ns of thi ngs pen.:eivabJeby the senses, an d as ic w..,re ran gible. ON THBGoSPEL. '

4:13 D o Yo uNol UnJ . rstan d Tbis Par~"lt ?

ClIp«lwirro beproclaimro open lyin every dirf«ion. Yec ic is passible. in defensi ve ci r. (I1m5CinCeS, to ucrer someth ing openly and yet veiled at t ~e S3~ t time. Something may bewd notsmcrly m S«ret, but in a sce'Ct

4: 11 Fli T Tb ur O ,, ' sid r £"u1 ,h;IIg fJ in P ~ ra " Ju

oU f ofinord in:ttede siru (EVAGRIIJS). By

fOrWard termS. The l ord wanted to prev~nt ytrt edand only( o smeticallyhealed .l f~ he forgiven. :I.S of ch ~ i r sins w~re lOO tasily obWoe
55

TH II \Vo ... o b M .. o. E FF IlCTlVIi 11 1" ITs O WN POWH .... C~ ~ MENT O~ An " "NOlU": Ar t i mc~ our Savio. spoke , h. Word to ch.., ~ po$[ ks by me~n$ of mysterious $.lyings. For proph. ecy ny s of hi m: "H e will open hi s mou th in paub les,andwiU dec1a ret h ingskeptsecr~c from the founduion of the worId.·' . .. T he effiCiCyofthe Word irsel f, b~i ng"'$t rongand.

pow~rf~J:· graduaUydraw. intO i tse[fsecrerly and mV15101y everyonc who receives ic. ST... OM"TA 5.11. '·

4 :14 Th e S owerS c ws the lVord TU BSuo So WIO ' ''' Au _CV LTVIlU. CUM-B:-< T OP Aux .. NORI .. ,TheGreek culture,

along .w.it~iup h ilo sophr,wasp rep"ra rory . 6~ th IS It ~ mad~c1e~r how obliquely, no r w,th a strJ.lghr dltecdon,gifrshJ.vc cornc from God to humanitY_in th~( miscclla_ neous wayrhat,howers fall down on th.., goo d la nd,and onrh"d ungh ill,andO n rh e houses. Thenborhgrass ~ndwhc"t spro tlt. Bo, h figs and reckless rrees grow on 5qIul.

chen. These things Olre like a figure of the trueh d isclosing itself. All enjoy the $ame in. flu ence of the rOlin." But they do not h ave the S:lmegrace as those which spring up in rkh soil. inasmuch as tht'y are withered or pl ucked up . And here we are aidedby lhe pa ra ble of the sower. which th e Lord inter · prered. Finally there is only enecultivator of the $eil of the human soul. It is the One who. from rh e beginn ing. from the foundatiensof th e wo rld. h u bee n sowing living seeds by wh ieh al l thi ngs grow. In each ~ge th e W ord h ~s come dow n upcn ..Jllik., rain. But th e t im es Olnd places wh ic h received thes e gifts~ccountfer[h ed i fferenceswhichcxist.

.. . Some cultures h ave rightly sought om the word ofttut h through unde r.tanding. <<But Ab r~h am was nor justifie d by we rks, but by fait h.«u lt is therefere of ne advan· tage to. them a fter the end of life. even if th ey de good werks new, if they de ne[ have faith. STRCMATA [.1.37.0

4:15 S atan Immediatdy CemeJ and Ta~u A way Ihe Word Wb ich Is Sown in Thrm

Ar;HJ T hey Fan Away

dwellwithin yoLl ;thcni nh;s lov eh~wiIl

Ttnr ROOTLESS AM ID TIUU OLATION. AT>l A. NA SlUS; Lcc us. [b tre fo re,followi"Sthe fait h efc he apostles. hold ion wic h our Lerd. Fe[c he world is like th( se.. reus,bcloved. efwh ic h ir isw rilltn, "There go. th e sh ip~, an d Lev iath ~ n Ih:l.t you'· formed co. spo rr in it."" We fle31 [his sea, li ke wind. with everyone his ow n wurSe wit b his own free will. Un d er [he pileuge ef the Werd, one may safely app roach th e port. 8u[, ifpesseued by wayw .. rd incli na[ie M,ene is in per il by Slerm an d ma y su ffer sh ipwre ck. Feras in [h e ocean rhere are sterms and waves, so in rhewo rld [h ere Olre man y Olffiicrions als.The unbeliev ing there fo re. "have no root in rhemselves, but endure fo r a then.whentr ibulatien orpe rsecutien i on acc oumefthcwerd,immcdiat dythey fall away,''' jlUr:u the Lord said. Th ey are nOl likcly toendure rhecemplicarions wh ich arise from affiictio ns, ifth eYOlrc fixtd upon rhe temperal and ne [ co nfirmed in tn~ fail h. LETTER [9.1, EASTER. 34 7 ....D...

r"q'""",omm"" l f

4:18 Se wn Among Thorns Which Ch olte lh e W o rd

TtUI \VORO TAO
\V UD ,NG OUT T>lS UN ellRG ROW TU ef TH" 5ou ~. EVAGRtOS' Allow th e Spirit orGed to

"Cf. M,

~H5. "R.<>!I'I~,

p... ;",.

"TLG Q! 55!J04: ANF

~;:i.~·~~£~~s; ;E~~·~;~~;~:~~~~· 4,11. " NPNF 24,S'7" . A,h. n•• iu.

inl
d>< "" ".

pbo,of_d<-u.nc>'by.,!di",«>i.",~"".,pbo,of:h' pil"tI.... h;pOD'n> .... I<J..,. ...., W;'h'h<Wo,d ... ~..'~

H£R~S[ ES S.10.' S

.pil"'in,hi. ~•.

Bu"h<>U,.ho.« w; 'hou'J"«<;on'" .piri,u.I",'l!.will f,U,w'y .midllibul>rion

4:17 When T,ibu1",ien or Persec utien

56

the body flabb y. THE G OSPSL OF ST. MAT' TH EW, HO","Ll" 44.1."

cameandmak.::~ habit ~ [ion with yell; he "';11 re,ide in you and live in yeu.JO If your b<.rt i5 Fure you will sec him and he will seW in yeu th e geod seed et· re fla don upon his ~ct;ens and wend~r ac hi s majesty. Th;,; wi l1 n~ppenifyoutaketh etroubletcw •• d

outfte myou rseulth~ undcrgrew th of5 po­

pdic desires, along with ch~ thorns and tares ti ~d habits. lI ADMONITI ON ON PRAYER.'" HoW fu CH"" CtfOKBT HQWORD. C " IWses· ro",;When[heWerd ischoked.it ~ nOl

me,ely due to the tho[fisu such,bur to the negligence oftheJc .. llowing themres pring up.There isaway,ifth treisa will,ro h in · de,evilgrow[n and useweal th'Fpropri· "tly.Forthi5rU$ en h . w a rnedn otef"th ~

world " but ofthc «C.lre efthe world"; ne e ·, ich~s· 0lS such bue "the dcc(i tfulness ef ';cb.s." Let us net pl .. ce [h e blame on what we pouess. but en our own co rrupt mind. FOl' it is pOS$ible rein rich and not be deceived. It is possib le to. be in this world. ~ndnet b. ch oked with its Ca reS. Fet in· dud richeshav(rwocen trarydisadvan r~gts;one . • n~i e crover them. wearing us ou r. l ndspre~di ngdarkn eu o ver us; .. nd dle Olner.l ul
BECO"'. NC GooO SoIL. AUGUS nN E; Wo~k diligently the soil while you may. Br( ~k up yo u r fall ow wit h t h e pl ough . Cast aw ~ y che H e n es frem you c field , and di g c ue the !hern~ . Be unwill ing to h ~ve a "hard h eart,· such ..s makes th e Werd of God of ne e ffect." Beunw iUingto h a vea "t hi n bye refsei l,·in which rheroorefdivine love can find ne depth in whi ~ h [0. ent~r . Be un willing to "choke th egeo d se(d" by thc carcs and the lusts o f th is life, wh en i. is being scattered for your good. When God is th e so we r and we are th e gre und. we ue caUed co. werk rc be goed greund. ~ SBIt.\.IeN5 eN Nsw TESTAloUtoi T HE P BR PBTUAL STR.EAM. EI'>lRRM THR SYIlIAN: T h e fi eld s ha ve but eneseason ofharvest; bue from th(Scri p rure there gus h es ferrh a stream ofuv ing deClr in e. The fi eld when reaped lies idle, and at t CSt, and the branc hes when ehevine i~srr ipped lie withered and dea d. Th e Scriptures ar ~ g~ rnered each day.y«cheyears of its;nterp~cecn

never ccme re an end; and che cIusrus of ;'5 vi n es. which in irar e rh0 5e efh ope. though areg .. thered eac h day. are likew;se witheut end. COMM ENTAR~ eN TA T/AN'S DUTUSARON.PReE M."

"'Cf.R.>.. 3,9. "Cf..\h.[),22,Lkt:I_. " CSCOIOlo6ll. " r-;P~ Ftlo..iS )J TLG2062.l5Z.57.470. 1S_27. " Cf.P, 'f'j,&; P,o.U, 14; Mk 1 6' 1 ~. "b 1,19--1O; Ho. HHl;tk

6041·4lI. ""CrtdocO:!.SoO.1l...\8..41t.15;CMI81" ,.r. NPNF [ 6033.... "'SSCF 2,-44 .... S; v.,.';o. 5<. Ep~,.<m b86 (Col"ll" ,. 1616j;P ,o<m,o M."k9

57

·1, ! 1·2S A LAMP UNDE R A BUS H E L BA SKET

rHOllOllGH1 T OUlHS TING THE WORO. B aD E; He ruches us to hur hi.. words observand r,

will b.: ab le to br in g forrh more for ,he he~r . ing of others. HO/Olluu 0."" THE Gos P!l-S!

digestingth ~m th Oro ughl~ln omh eart •.

Those wh o do so, by rece,ving much

'cc ':J86.

~'A",I h,' " Hell" Ihnt!, "1$ 1.1"mp brough t in to b.. put und ~ r a bu she l, ,IT b~d . •",.1 ",H " " ,'JI,II"I? u r"r t/)eu is noth it!g hid , excepti o b.. mllde I nor i5 ,"'yrh.".I: IrCfr/. t .'cr<'lll to (amI' to light. 2)lf any man ha, car> 10 h~a r, let him I,r.tr. ·· ~ 'tI", / lit !lIil/lo rllOII, "Take he .. d whal ]Ol.l hC(lr; Ih t m .. a,urc yo w giv,' will It,· I/' .. IIIr,'HHt yo u gt"!. and .till more wi1l be g iven Y0tl . HFor to who ),,,, wil/m"r( be gi,'n,;
O ..., MV lli W: Goodn eu rejoi(~s in being r~cog­ n.:<·d ~~ wha, if is (TH MTULlIAN). Th e pu r·

HfD''''G GOOD WORKS. T EIlTUL LIAI":: Why does th e Lord callus , he liglllofthc worl d~ W h y h as h e ,o mpar ~d uS 10 a city on ahill ?l Arc we n Ot called to shine in the mids t of d ar kne ss. and stand up high for ~ho se mo s t sunk down ? If you hide you r lamp bene ath a bushel: you will s oon n orice [h a ~ you yourself will be in rh ~ dark. You will find o~h crs bum p ing imoyo n . Sow ha~ ca n youdo [0 iIIu mine th e world:' Let yOllr fait h p~od uc e goo d w orks. Be a reflection of G od ', ligh,. Th e good is no~ pre occ l.lpi ed wirh dark- . ness. I t rejo ices in being ,~en.' I~ eKu lu over ,h e ve ry pOinting. wh ich a re mad. at i ~. Chr ist ian mod es ty nO[ only wish.1 N b e modest. b u t also it wishes to be he ld as w hat it actu ally is. ON Tl-l i Ap· PARELOFWOlolliN1.'j."

poscoffhebrnpofwisdonl is nOftobcset bed bu.1O be used and seen (C lEM ' To lisfcnobservanrly i. fO digc,r word., tho lOughly in our hurts "nd~ r~

~N T ovA L EXAN[}MIA).

( UIiOtl).

412 1 A I. ...np U" der ~ Bed L r ~s UNUStiU. Cn ...,SNT o ~ Al.ti XAN URIA' A w"I/ , wh en pumped regubrly. pro duc es pur er wa~er. lfne gleered, a nd no one us.:s it. i~ changes in [ 0 a sO llr(eof polllltion . Useheps menl brig h rer. bl.lt di.use produ ces rust. For. in a word,excrciscproduces a hcalthr con d iti o n both in sou ls arid bo di es. S o ~No onc lighn a candk a nd pu~s it und.:r a buw l. b,,, up o n l ca ndlcHi ck. rh at i ~ nu r gi~e Jigh~. "' For of wh ~ , use b wisde m o if it fail s ~a ma ke ch ose wh o h ~a r it wisdSTROlolATAJ .1. 1

\VlIrlN \Vlsn .......

4 : 26 -29 T H E P ARABLE O F T H E SE E D GROW I NG SECRETLY

lIi.A,nd be ,aid, "The k ingdom of God is (IS if a man should scatta seed upon th . groun d, 17an d sh ould slcep an d ris e night and day, and the Jeed ,hou/d sprout
(hIllVIEW' The kingdom gro,,""S silently (A MaMoSE ). When ~h e cornlsfully ripe . it is Iil<emal ured righ teousness (G REGOR T TH6 GRur).In f01,lrstage&righ teousnen has grown wi thin h istory ~fur ~h e f~U , primitive nuural dread,cons ci01,lsnusof 'h e[~w .• hc righteou.. neu re "ealed in the go. pel and ~he mmlle age of the Holy Spirit (T ERT U1UAN).

'.\1[,

S,IS: Mkoj,ll: lk6,1~. 'T lGo;; ~S.OO4 . J A~ Pl, J(l2" . ':.1t 5: 1" 'M , S:l5:lk S: 16:I L)J. ·C.,edocOOll,1.IJ.7:A :-I P"'-2S-.

4:22 Thtr~ Is No thi ng Hid, Ex,ept to BtMlldt Mlmift51

58

$hapely,kupingtheSluigh~cou rseofit$ de. v ejopmenr.ismlt ure d . lit [k by li ttle,to ~hc

4:28a Finttb, B/ll de, T btn tbe Ell r

fuU mcllo wneuofits fuvor.'lnjuscth is way has righteousn eu gro .... n in hi slo ry.'Th.: pro l<'d na[ural ap_

GROWTH I N T>I . K , NGDo M. AM8ROSl: Whilt you a re asleep. 0 m ~ n. and wic hout yourb t ing awar e of it, the eart h of it.l elfis producing its frui ... S.x DAYS o~ CREA T'ON ). I

Give n

shool. and from the shoot emerges ~he shrub. From there th e bough s and leaves garher srrength. and thc .... ho[e .h.H wc call a .ru ~x pands. Then follows ,h ~ swelling of the germen. and from the ger men bu rsts the flower. and from Ihe flower the fruit o!><, ns T he frllit i,sclf. pr imid,'C for a wh ile, andun .

prehe ns i on in thepres c n,~ o fthcho lyO ne.

Theniradvancedrhroughrhelawand

PATn RNS O.I NC R~ASR. TE RTUL LIAN: Ob.

p rophe~s to ch ild hood. At long la." ~h ro ugh

ICrve how che crcaeed order h~$ ~dv~n(ed littIe by lictle roward fr1,l itfu ln ess. First eomes the grain. and From th e grain arise. th e

59

of their martyrdom ... . The Lord him~e1f is th~ grain of mustard seed. H~ waS wi~ho\lt

To produce "the blade" is to hold the first ren·

THE F!!LL CORN. G!O.EGO!O.Y THE GREAT:

'Ce«ciadX)D , 1.19; ANF ·U7-2S"

'Cot<doe

;~:~n~: is

wh" ' " w,

i;;~~~

LITTLE BR"NCH, GREAT TREE. AU GUSTINE:

,,

on

th' earth; 3l yet when

"wh"

,'' bI,t "

i;i~eS::onwi~ ;;GO:st~; ~ ,

and become, the greate,t of all ,hrubs, and puts forth large branche5,

50

that

thlj :

birds of the air can make nest, in it, shade." ~ 33With many Huh parables he 5poke th e word to them, as they were able to h~ar \' it; J4he did not speak to them without aparabJe, but privatdy [0 his own disciples explained

TARDSEED.'

ALEXH.DRIA: Th e word which proclaims the king· domofheaven is sharp and pungent as mustard. !t represses bile (anger),and ch ecks inflammation (pride). From thi s word Hows rh~ soul's tru~ virality and fitness . for eternity. To such increased si>;e did the growth of th e word Come ~hat the tree which sprang from it (that is th e Church of Chris~ now being es~ablish e d over th e whole e:tnh) filled the world, so that th e birds of the :tir (thar is, holy angels and lofry souls) dwel~ in irs branches. FIIT OF

4:30-34 JESUS' USE OF PARABLES

"A,d h, "id,

4:31 If Is Like a Grain (If Mu$tard Sad

l7W.

l.I,\>6;GC I ,3M.

bll [ t ': t

~verything.

From the tiny mustard seed. which resists infection and adversity, comes

OVERVIBW;

themagnific enttr~eof{heboundless,wodd·

60

,:

4:32 Puts Forfh Large Branches

a fac~thatlhis little branch ofwors hipers in Africa'hasb ... enb roke noffftomthegre,,~ tree' which embraas the whol~ world in th e

to th e root without which thq CannOI have trmlife.LETT£RS.)l.' THE SPREADING TREE. PE1'ER CHRYSOLOGUS:

dud ~n im.lge of ell<' k",~,j"", "f (j",1. Chrisc is che kingdom of h.·" ...·", Sown h k~ ~ mustard ~ed in ch e ~.or.l~n "r ch~ Vllli""s womb, he lir~w up ill[O [h" ['(.~ 01 ,!re ~ "'.« whos~ brand, cs ~ [ r~[L h .,,·w.'.' [h " wurld. Cr ush~d in th ~ mun"r "f [h" I,., .<~i,,,,, ics fruit ha.< proou~.:d s~.'-
grew uti; in Ih e Church it became a

gre~ t

treep,utingforthin numerab lebr~nche5

bJcn with gifls, And now you coo must take tIle wings ofth" psalmiH's dove, glum ing go ld in rh~ r~ys of divin e slllllignt, and fly to r~Sf for ever anlong rnose sturdy, fruitfu l brJnches. No snares ue sec to trap you there; fly o{f,then, wit h confidence and dwcllsecureJy in its shelter. SUo,"'ONS 11.'·

4:34 Privately H e Explain ed Everything

crushed[hey3r~~xacdingly"v;d"nt.Soit

was wich Christ; hechosc 10 luvehis body crushed.bec~use he would nor h~ve his pow~r (on c ~,. I~d .... Christ b.:c~'ne all rhings in order [0 rc'tore ali of us in himsdf. The man C h ri~t rece ived [h e "'UH~rd seed which represents the kingdom of God; ~s m.In he r~ceiy~d ic, chough ~s God he had alw.Iy~ possessed it. He sowed;1 in his g~r­ d~n, ch~t i.< in his brid~, the Churc h. Th~ Ch urch i. agarden cXI~nding over the wholcwnrld,rill e dbycheplnughoftne gospd,fencedinb ystakesofdocrrineand discipline, de3red of every harmful weed by Ihe labor of che apostles. fugr.I'H ~nd lov~lywirn perennial flowers:virgins' li liu and marty rs' rose. set amid th ~ pkasa nt verdure of all who bear witn eH 'oC hrisr a nd the l end.: , p lants of.IU who h~ve f~idl in him. Such then is ( h~ mustard seed whi£h Christ sowed in his garden, W hen h~ promised a kingdom tn the pacti~rchs tne.e~dtook,ootin them; with rhe proph~ts i. spnng up; with the apostles it

ILLv •.,N AT loNOF THE Drsc lPL u. TEII._ TUL Ll AN: Christ Juus our Lord duriy de· clared h imself u to who h~ was while he livedone.Irth ... Whothenofsoundmind THB

4:35-4 1 T HE ST f l ll NG OF THE S TORM

JIOn that day, wh~n evening had co m e, he said t o them, "Let !lsgo aCrOH to the orh," J6 ,iae." A lld leavillg th~ crowd, they took him with th em in the boat, just as he W,(5 And other boats wl're with him, J1A nd a great sto rm of wind Ilrou. and the wal'<' , btat illto Ih~ boat, so that the bollt WIlS Illready fill ing. JfB ut he WIlS in th e 'Urn, Illlr<'j' on the cushlol1; and they woke him and said /0 him, ~Teacher, do you not care if IV, pcrish?·J~And he awok~ and rebuked th ~ wind, and ,aid 10 the sea, ·Peace! Bc still! And th e willd ceased , alld there was a great clllm . .a He said 10 them, ·Why lire you Gfraid? Have 10U no faith?" ·· And they were filled with awe, and said to one anothf'r, "Who then is this, that evell wind and ua obey him?'

canposs ibl y
Lord ordain~d to be luden .Ind teachers were ignor.IntofanYlh ingessencial tOJJlv~_ tion!Whocouldsuppose th~thewhokrpt

them, as he did, so close to himsel f in cheir dai lyatcen.ivcness , in their discipline, in the ir companionship, to whom, when rhc)' were alone, he used to expound all things" which were obscure, r~lIing rhem that " (0 them it was given to know those myst.:ries,"" which it was nocpcrmined th.:people co undcrstand _ now would h e leave them ignoranri PRE SCI'-lPTrONAcA [NSTHllRBTrCS ~O,

u_"

:'~.;':9~,,~~t~2~:; :~~:~l::~~ .;~ ~h'~::;~ ~~: 1., ,,, h"Ji"ipl" igno"nt w"h ' "'1"''' r"",y ",.",,, "

"n,•..,,,, ..I''''on

OVSRVIBW: While the sh ip W.IS qu ietly bear;"g j esus humanity, the power of h il GodbDd w.as wonderfully carrying Ih e ship itsdf (EPH REMTH£SYRIAN). Themyst~ryofthe God-m.:l.Ilisseeninthachewhoilchcrescof the weary himself grew tired (GRl!tlORY N AZtANzEN).Hilex-p!icituseofthetetmsofper_ sonalauthority tea~hes us of his d ivine i
ofthr5t"rm,thepropheci~sof Habakkuk

l nd Nahum were fulfi lled (T~RTII~ ' ~!Ati) . Th~ Lord or th~ se.I, elici ting f~irh through tempol1ll evenrs, e>:hibilCd his awe_ some power in the Jronn (ATHANAsrus). o..ly the au thor of the deep could still ils srormlnd walk its sea ( P"'UD~NT.IIS). His sletp n~d the purpos~ of m~turing th eir rairh (ORlG!N, CUll Of AUXAND RlA), Amid Our ttmpt.Itions we may awaken the sleeping Gmt in us (AUGUSTINE).

topu.even che wick~dtocontririon.For

whenhcaros~,andrebukedt hes ea. Jndsi. lenced thestO tm,hep lainlydisdo s~dtwo

things: thatth ~stormof theseawasnotsim_ ply from winds, bUI from ch~ f~J r of che Lord who walked u pon it! and th~t the Lord who rebukcd it was not a U~.Iture, but rather its cr~.Iror. LIITT£R 29.' TU8 WOII.D SA'LIIO WITH TIIEM.ATHA_ NAS IUS: T hey aw:okened the Word, who was sailing wilh th~m, ~n d immediately the sn b ec~ me smoo th .It ,he co mmand nf its Lord, and they w e r~ saved. They became pro daimers and tC.Ichers at the sa me time, ;[ r' tescing the mirules of our Savi or, anda!s.o te~ching us re imit~te their enmple. LiT,.u [9,1, E ASTERA.D.)41!

4:36Tbt B o ~t W,u Already Filling TUTING T H ~ DrscIPLES. ATH ANASHlS: Even

62

while he Wa.'l .Isleep On the pillow, the Lord was (.:JringhisdisCiples,'when a miracle was wrought Ihat was calculated especially

63

4:38 A slu p 011 the Cushion, Th ey A wolte H im

4 ,39b P e ll""! Bc S li1/! B y \ V H OSII AUTH O R ITY .

u.

Fo r as

t ~ ntio n to th " Lord'$ words; w h e never h" i n.

ma ny .u "'rc int he littl~, h ip o ffairh "'r~ .ail­

SlruC," us abou l the Father, he kno ws rhu b)'usingrermsofpersonai au rhoriry, .uchas " [ w iU; be cl ~an";" and " Pcac ~! Be sti!l!81O and " But I say to you ~;17a nd - Yo u deaf and dumb sp itit, I command you-; .... nd Other similar cxp reuions, we will be l",d to reeog. n iu: h i. au thority a. master and creato r. By thes e c n co unt"rs w~a re meeting rh e Father of the Son. the Fat her who creal U thtough rhe50n. Th is doesnot ins i nua tetha t [h"F~. ther'scrurionii impe.fec t, or [ha t the So n'l ene rgy is feeb le. bu t shows theit uni ty of w ill. O N THE H OLT Sp' Rn 8 .3 ' . '~

T,,,; SA IIX

OF TH ~

BASIL ' Pay do.,,,

C H \l R<: U. O fl IG BN :

ins with th e Lo rd: lIS m~ny :u ~ r~ in rhe ba rk o f holy ch urch will voyag~ wit h rhe Lord across thi s wave-ro5.'e
6.'

WUO WAS A S lI!.HP ! G flEGORY N AZIA "' Z,, >l:

H e was t irw ' - yet he is rhe "ru t" ofth" weary and the bu rden" d.'H ew:l.S overcome by hcavy .lecp' -yer he g
4 :41:0 Who T bu lJ T h is? D, VIN' , T T. EP HI\EM 1'11 6 SVR' AS: The .hip carried his h u manity, bUI the po we r o f his Godhead carried rh c ship and aU th arwas in it. [n ord t rtha t h e migh t show th at ev"n hi. human· ity did nOt requ ire rheship,in n ea.dofrhe pb.nk.s wh ic h a shipwrigh t purs tog"'ther and T IIH S II[P , H, s HUM ANI TY AND Ht s

~9.~0. 'O

SH AIII' IINI "'''

T 'lI
AU XA NDIl./A' And l
fastens.he,like , h",archi te<: r o f cr~don ,

made Ihe wa ters fi rm and jo ined t he m [ 0ge, h er,olidly und~r h is fee t. SojUS[ 3S , he

4: 393 He R clt ukta tbe Wind

'SS G F 1,120. T .. "ng of dleApo"I .. . BPC1.Ho.ruI,6;" O'''''''''''''''.
TU H P I\OI'U HTS F lI ~ FJ~ LHO. T"RTULUAN ,

W hen he d i'p"rses its waves,H .. bakkuk·. word . are fulfill~d, wh~ rc he .pe:ilu of the Lord -sc",t[cring thtwa(~ rs in hi. passage. Nil When athis rebukc the sea iscalmtd,Nahum's prophesy i.s fulfiUed: "He rebukes th e ,ea a~~ make~ it d ry:" AG AIN ST MAROO N

.

~;~'~:I::::: 'f.;~~'~~;:!~~'~"~'"~~.~~. '~1~~~ l:10(tXX ),'" , ho u d~"

r.o rd."engthenedt he han ds of Simeon th e pricst, thal his arms migh[bearupinlhe temp[c chesrrengrh thar wu bearing up all,lO so did he srr"ngt hen the feerofS imon In e apos tk th at rhey migh l bear rh em.elve$ IIp o[l rhewater. "S
fi m·begotten in the temple W2.S afrerw~rds borne up by che fi .. t.begotcen in the sea. T fla H HO M ILI ES 50."

4:41b Wind an d Sta

~;~: :i':~'7~~h::;:'[ t:;~~~~l :::;;~~~~ht. fi~

As the raging flood $usrains his tread.

ing feer. H e w;llks d ry-shod upon th c flowi ngriJ e

A n~~:~rs upo n th~ flood with footsteps

0 1t '1 H im

ASLHEI' IN Yo u . AtJGUSTlNE: W heny ouh .. v~to Jjs te nro ablls~, rhat means YOll aceb~il1g bufferedby rhcwi nd. Whenyouranger isfoused,you . are being r
6).I_j."

TI{~ A UTH O R O F TIIB D~E P . P R\1 DEN Tl \1S: His p
J" 'd, ,n. '''0' '''8 w .. ",,-

"Nmuml,4. " C.,<dodI014.4.0lW.16,ANFH79'.

"M,S,): ....1kHl,U S: lJ.'·Cf..\ lk 4,' 9. " 'o., ,; ,l.l. '"Mk 9:2S . " O HS 41·.1: TLG 2040.003. 8.21.9: d . NP"F

4· l0 .

64

I 5~e rh~ wild winds sudd~nly gro w calm When Christ commands; r sec c h~ sco rm ross~d sea

65

Hec:::!~s the winds and bids the temP"llt W ho wOl,lld Command the st ormy gales:

"Be still, ¥ oursrrongholds keep and leave rh " boundless sea: Ex cep t th e Lord .. nd ma ke r ofth ". wind.! . . W ho on che sc~ could walk, who wit h firm step Upo n rh e tlood col,lld widlO l,l t sinki ng Iread T har p;l.[h with s
T he waves , nOt yet hemmed in by solid sh ores! A H YMN ON T il E T RIS!TY, L' NES 64-9'79.l.

niz e the Son as holy, sovereign God (AnIA ' NASI US , PETER CHRYSOLOUUS. PRUDEN-

,'11,,,

f,lu"r,

'ht oflhr Ga aHlles. "And when "' . , 1"," '1II'f'~f lombs a mMI with an uncleM (""d'll 1111" "' '"' n il'" blrld hi m ,my more, even with ~<''''I bllll,ul will, "'"" IUU/ rha in ; , but th e chains he )" br,~t III r'ftfH 1111(1,10 one had th e

of the b..,
<w IIHI"l"IO ,,'.III'I!lollrht·l>\ountaill$hew<1s 1JiIH Ulj wllltH""t1,',o\mlwbenhe

worshiped him ; 7",U/ (r""I 'Ill 11.11,1)" loud voia , to do with mt ,Jesu s, S~>I ofl'" M",/II,It Codn lHlju rt you by God,do not torment me. · 8 por he h<1d said 10 h im, ~ 0"" CI'" of l"c man . you unclean spiric!"iAndjesul asked him, HWhm i, YOllr r1ull1"~ fir ",,/led, ~ My nam~ is Legion;for we are many." WAnd he begged him tr'ic rl, ,,0'10 IUltlllle m Oil ! of the country. 11Now <1great had was fe~dillg Ihtrr 0 " flu hl/lllde; Ila nd they begged him, "Send us to the ~ s rnt er t"tm.~ uS o lie ,MC thcm 'eave. And the unclean spiritl came out, and entncd th e J wl"el (Irt(l lh t " ud, /lumbering ab ou t tw o thOUJand. rushed down Ou stt'~ p b'lIIk. 111 10 'he UII, "rid were drow ned in the se<1. 14Th e1JCrtll/Ut ll jled, Il,ul loltllr in rh e dty <1nd in the ,ountry. And people C<1me to I t't' wlwl il ",IlJ 11)"1 hmlll(lppcned. II And they came tojesus,and S<1W the demoniac sitti 'lg dlUlI. "I" IICd IIrtd III his righr mind , the man who had the they wa~ affllM. I'A ,," thOle WllO had seen it told what had h<1ppened to demoni<1( ,lIl(i /0 rlIC , willl!. 11 An d I" ~y beg<1n to begjesus to depart from theirn eighborhood. l' A,u/ us hc Will gtrrlng inro the bO<1t, th ~ m<1n who had bUll possess ed with demons btggt(/ him Ih!!1 he mighr be with him . 19 But he refused , <1nd S<1id to bim. NG o hom~ to your frltndJ. Ill1d reil thrm how much the Lord h<1S doneforyou, and how he has hud mercy 011 yo u." 10 And he went <1W<1Y and began to proclaim in the De,apoJis how mu chJoui hrld donefor him; and <111 men marvded .

whole army of demons tak~supre5idence in .1.singl~ body, the redeema Can tran,form hum.1.nmi, ery into soundness (LACT ANTWS. EfHREM THE SYR! AN). Limited powers are remporarilypermi[ tedwth edemonicwres[ faith (TERTULLl AN). The church continues to petition God [0 del iver the fai[hful from demonic pow ers (ApOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS, EPHREM THE SYRIAN). The demonic powers are nor originaUy and direct!y will ed by God but are only permitted by God under ' the conditions of sin, and as a consequence of taking freedom seriously, rheyplayarole in drawing forth a greater good. They arc aIready being bound up by the ano inced one QOHNO F DAMASCUS). The faithful wdayat· l

5:3

Who

5:1

Th ~

FALLEN TO THE

Country of the

Liv~d

Among

D~PTHS.

th ~

Tombs

PeTeR CHRYSOL'

GeraHn~5

GERASA OR GAOARA OR GERGESA~ ORlGE:-<: One who aims at fuller unders[atlding ofrhe holy Scriptures musr no[neglectthec ... ,efu) examination of the proper names in it. Con· cerning P alestinian place names the Greek

bodies. SERMONS !7.' BEREFT OF REASON. PRo.;O ~ :-
bia. and has no sea or lake near;t. Thecvan.

66

On~

t~5t!hcsanledcansinggracc(GREGORYTHE

GREAT).

67

Boun d withcruel :mdgr indingf"t!e"~nd

with u gmgfre nzy torn. Rush cs fort h ~nd kne els in wors h ip,;ls the s~v ingChri$tdraws near.' Hr"' N9!

S:4NoOnc Hodl h cStrcng fhr o Him

SII~duc

T"'ANS F O "'M I N G TtlB D B P T lfs. L ACTA,. T I US:

" Nei ther could anyone came him .... Gi,'c me a reprobate who is impe tuo us. foul ·mouth ed and ove rbeari ng. W ith few words che lord will render him as ge ntl e as a lamb. G ive me one who isco vecous, avaricioWl,graspi ng. The lcrd will rcscore h im to Iibenlity. and hewiH d ispose o f hi s res our""boun,ifully of his own h and. Show me one who rum· bles .. rrhe idea of pain and of dea th . and soon I will shcw you on e who has !e;l.rned to disdai ncro5les.flamesandthe bullofPha. laris.' Ev en onew hc is sensual,adulterous and giu (tonoWl c;ln be made scber. chaste and abstinenr.'" DIVINE fN STlT UTBS J.l 6."

whc you .. re, the hcly OM of God;" and, ·· Ah. wh at have I in common with you. Son o f God! I implore you. do nor torment me."" lNCARN ATIONOFT HEWORDP." T HE GO I).~lAN 8~H E L I) . GI< EGOI
like Iigh ming." He is stoned. yet not hit;" he prays ye , he heau prayer.lO H e weeps," yet he pu ts an cn d to weep ing." H e ask< wh ere L;u;.arus is1)_he was man; yet he raises l.az· a rusM_ he wa.< God. OI<.. TION l!il.~O, ON T!·IF.S ON.

2i

5:9 My Na m e [ , Legion SVRIAi"O' Look tOO at Legion:"" wh en in anguish he begged,ou r l ord permilledlhedemo nt to entU into the h erd. H e asked (or res pite.

T fll! SUP,L1C""T' ON. E PHII.IM "T HE

wi( hour decepti on, inhis:rngui!h.~ndollr

Lord in his kindness gramed thisrequut. His compassion fo r the demoniac is a reb"h

5:7 Whal Ha ve YO II 10 Do with M c! ' Mk 5,2.6, Lk ~,U. ' C... do e I'~. 9.~2; FC 43~J. The ".

:::::"_7~1·~::;;Y.~;~~:;;'i~~~

T,,1I 1N ST...,.. T R.liC C)GN fT ION. A TH"NA5 IUS:

Obviously he would nOt be elCpclli ng evil spir· irsandpiilagingidols ifhe wereimpo tem, for the evil spirits would nOt obey one who was

f>nf of ... <..g.. (c.~7()/%S.5~/s-.9B.C.).nd·kj:.~d>tJ

.

~:' ~~:~'.::r:::;::;:~:.~~~ :~'~.~lll

S~i3; IC",6-.~II. "GM!98":rf. ANF 7:IU.A«tI>c.J<.

impotent.lf.on th e otherhand.th evetyn~m·

: :;:. ~:~'I~n::;:;::~~~~,';I:d;,~7~~ ';:;;"~~7; ,~

ingofhim drives Ihem torch, he dearly is not po werless. T he spirits upecially see chrough what is unseen by human eyes. They could toU 'fChris. was .. ulMr~bk and refuse h im any

lOJ~.ool, )l.4.I;a.NPN F 1.,Sl; lCC3-'6. Th<"''''''''

~:~,~~;:;~~;~~~~;~~:;~~o:z.'~;:;~CLk

;~J'~'I~~.S;!·Clt~ ::~..~1}k ::l~f. }L~~~~~ l::~f'I,~!~

o~dienceatall . As itis.w hathumandisbelicf

doubr.s, the evil.pirits see dea rly: that he is God. Fo r that teason they flee from him and fol!l at h isf~et .stiU cryingoutevenut h cyon,e

1:U,s..~l:21028. "Cf.JnLl,}'" "C'.JnIL,4j-l4 HFGFR1S9;TlG2022.JX19.1O.9. Thnd, ml)' G,,J

cried when he was in the bod y, "We kn ow

"Cf. MkSL9;U&.~

68

hi.slove s <.1ffcrs indes iringthat hum~mshoul d

pdnarrativeoflhe swine!'T Oi E OR TOiOOOIC F.. ITH l.l9 .l<>

Iive.Encour;>gedbythewordslhadheard,{ knc1c down and wept th" re. and spoke bcforc our l.ord: "Legion received his reqllcst from

51 13a Tltt UndeaJl Sp i..its Cam e Oil' and Enrer~d rh ~ Swin e

10

the demons. $howing how much anguish

::;!:h:::,::::::~~~y:~ ~~~~;:

F"' TH. The d evil"s legion wou ld not have h;ld powe r over ,he herd of swine" un· lessth cyhadgotren it fromGod.Th ust bey are hr from having power o ver the sheep o f God. Even th e briscIcs of che swine were counted by G od,jusr U We re the hairs o f the hnds ofche jusr." T he devil. it musrbe ad· mirted,s ee ms indeed to have power- in this case really his OWn-OVer th ose who do not belcng to God. In relation to God the idola· rrous natio ns are all counred as a drcp in the bucket, as d ust on rhe thres b ing floor, as sp itrleinrhemouth."lIndsothro wnopt'n {O the devil as if th ey were a fr ce posseS!ion. But the devil has nopowerovcr tbosew ho belo ng to Ihe househcld of G od. and cannot Cren tbem U if they were his own. T becues marked Out in Seripmre s how when an d for what reaso ns h e may touch th e faithful. In· deed ro vindicate fai ch,the power cftrial of a believer is sometimes tempo rarily granted 10 rhe devif ro test and challenge f'ai th. J.40 r 10 elicit repentance th e sinne r may be tempo' tlrily h anded OVet ro rh e de~il al though h e wcreanexecutionerrowhcmbelo nged rhe inflictingofp unish menc. :l..'i w e sec inthe TUI! To;MPO"'AR Y P OWSR TO TUT TEI>."fULU"N :

Gop's ANTIiCEI> BN T AND COSS.I(QI,J I!N"T W,LLIN G. JOHN OP DAM ASC US: Ont should , bobur in rnind charGodan leccdenr!y wi\ls all to be saved ;tnd to actain 10 h i. kingdom. :tO Fc rh~d idnotform us tobe chsrised.but losharehisgoodncss, be. cause h e is inco mp .. rabl y goc d. Ye t,b e' cause he iJ juSf. itis requ ired Ihac sin be ' p"nished.S o, ,he first for m of the will of Go d is called his antecedenr will ln d bless· ing, which has God as its callse. T he sec· ond isc alled G o d'a cons~quentwill and

permiuion,ofwhkh we are a puticipacing c~use. What G od will s as a cons~quence o f c"rsin ningislwofo ld; e it herth ;l.t which God perm its to conrinue by hi s gracious dispenn tio n forourinstructj on a nds ~ l va· cLon,orlha twhkh Godfinallyab;l.ndons toce n ainc h as tisemenr. T hese,however, belong to chose things which do not de. pend"pon us. As to rhe things which do d.p end llpon us. wharever i. good God will,antece denrl y andbl eue •. Wh ;l.teveris evil he neithe r wills antecedent!y norconse· qUCI\tly. but per mirs th em to the fre e will. iflOm e!hing is done u ndtr ccm pul$ion, it unnotbe .. virruous act or ac cording '0 reuon . si nce vircu e muSt be ch ose n. In Ihf$e ways God provides for all creation Through al !crc~tio nG oddcesgoodand luches, and he may even use the de mons Ihemselvesfor th is purpo$eofinscrutlion, l.!htd id inthe case o fJ oba nd inchegos.

;~~~4;1~1;:; ~;. '~~~.'~:~~ I'~" ::;~;~::'.,:::~f. I )1,16.'-l>J "". Th< d<","nic powenau no, f
~~.

~in!("'<e .. ikn"r)wiU<~b)r

~:~~¥~~~;;£~~::~~£f;~:~r~:!~ 69

there al~ho ugh nor llppa ren t. for rheir army

f~me d.~r

TlON. '"

is o fastufF fine r~ ndm()re.ubdeth a nthe

h avedone~o pcr$ o n.,Fro mthis we l e3 rn

th~rifthedemonshadthepow er to poss.ess

\VttY Sw,,.;~

soul irself. That whole army dwdr in .. single body. A h ..m dred rimes finer :md mOre .ubde are th~ bodies of the righteous when tht)'

rnans.

areri.enar there. urrection .·)T h eyrcs~m.

CH AlSTl,o.NS 8.6."

bk the mind th~t i. abie, if it so wills, . o stretc h out and expand. or. should it wi sh.

iNTOTHSM UDD yWATIR.S.PRUOENTlUS:

ca.,c of S.tut. " \ 'N I "d" rDu ... ,.o llu .. cu-

\\'''.H

1) ..... U1~n, J .

.. o"' .: [,

ne~ d nOl d'_ ""r!> .•!\)'<>ue d,.t by Ih.lord·. commanJ ' '''u
totomractand shrink,so a.~i rhertOfocu.

on onep lac e or to e"p.. nd to ~nc om pass all pbces. List(n a nd lea rn' A lamp with rhou· sands of rays can exist in ~.ingleh ause. Ten r hOU5~ndscen rsc~n(xisti n a si ngle bIossom. Though locllred in a small space, lhey have ample rOOm to euend themsel ves. So it ' is with P~rlldis~: though full of spiri tual be. ings, it is ~mply JP~cious fo r their h~bita. lion." HYMN S."

5: 13bTwo T bollsandSwillt

w ..s T ,,,s JI;"S'r~ J BAa M ~' Wu if jusl that twO ~h o us~nd switl c perished so onc $oul might be s~v(d! One u tking puriry of h~art hadb tst nor bc(ome preoccupied wir!-! rh(

5:13cAnd Tilt] W ere Drown(d

nllruralprerogui,·e o (lhtd~moniclegionor

:l nim:lls . lt isbeffu'h~ruc h singlereader

\VH Y DRO WNI!D~ CHA YSOSTOM: He did rh is so that you might know that the demo ns wo uld have done the same thing to hum~n

refleC["ponhi s own soul,hisowtlw~yor

li fe, ~nd the ruity of ,r"e excellence. R~me m­ ber when the whole ofJude~ was I~d inro ~aptivity when N~buchddne.er c~me, ~nd thounnds were diJplaced inro Babyloniaas prisoner. '"-Jerem iah alon~ w~s Idr praising God. Atld they threw him into a muddy eis {cr1 •. " Ne verrhcle... fhesoulofehisone man wu more dec isive for the destiny of IsrJd·" rh~n~ll,hcres ,. H OMtLYS4."

beingsandwould h~ve drown e d'h em if h~d allowed them to do so. Bue h~ resrr~;n~d the dem ons. $lopped them, and aJ· low(d them to do no s uch rhing. When Iheir power w as transferred to th e swin e, it b~ -

G od

"Cf.A«.9:1.2. " Cctodo
..

~::h~ ;:;;:;::::n'r,t~:: :~:.':;~:-;:~·~f

\ V" ET " .A D W," ONS T .. XE UpSP .. C....

260:XI9. h ...... fO,.hc,-lof""""u.,God·. p." ,,,,c!u, ,h • • w;o,,,, .... I.inbym"g.n,yofdo,,,,,,, •. " Cf.l CI"on)(;:2O. >f Cf. Jo ,J.6.-6. "'Wi,ninth,«!!om.of,"" hi"o,,- of..J... ion. ·' FC4ll: )9()"' ''.Ono goJlr h,,~ .. n ,.J. ""r "" k,"'Of< diff... """hon.n unck,n "'~t"""k'"

EPHR EMTH e SVR I.. N : [ a..kt d thi s too. wherh er Parad,se was sufTk ienr in si:>:e fo~ all th ~ rig!-!,cous to live th ere. I a$ked about wh~, is nOr wrirren in Scriptur<:, b"r my instruction c~me from wh ~r is wti~ten rhere; ·Coruider the man in whom rher( dwelr ~ le-

.,.;....,Io.E"'hbd;...""'<mlookroni. " , hod)'.

gio nof allkin d$ ofd ~mon',"They were

70

ro all witnesses wh ar rhey would

swine, they also co"ld have possessed hu D I$COURSES Ar." ' .'<STjUDAIZING

Dri ven forth, { h~ wily d(mons, legion named eha t evi l scourge. Sei%Cuponthesordidfoulneuof~herdof

lilth ys win e And into the muddy waters plung~ them. u[ve,withm~dden edbeaJ[s .o06

G A£"T:A [egionofdtmonJh as been, ou [ I". Ii~vcd, COUt Ollt of nle. I would pr efe r mcr ~h to fOrget :LU of this rhar I hav(known~nJ . si mply 10 rest a ~ the fee t of the S~vio r. B l!~ I, it is S41id to me, so strongly as to eompd m~ againsrmy wiU,"Goho rn ero yoLl rfri end •. ~nd tell ,hem how much rhe l ord ha.. don~ for you,3.nd now he na. had me"y On you.""EptSTLIS."

5:20AII Marvele d MUT I","C [HlI

CUWtl5 H S.... T.

PlI.tlDEN-

T1US :

HYMN 9,"

. 5:15 C/othtJ and in Hi, Right Milld THI P I TlTION FOR EXORC ISM. CON ST1 TU_ T'O:
ny: ,(ouenugumens.<'Iafflicted with un ci.-an spirirs, pray, and let tU all earnesdy p",y for them,thar Go d,rh c lov er of humankind,chroughChrist,mayrebuker heun_ cl~~n and wi ehd spid~s, and deliv~r th e fajtnfi.d from rh~ dominion of th~ ~dversary . Mayh e tha!rebuked tn e legio n ofdemons. andthedo!l5,6001: 8.1 .7."

S:19 Tell TIJ em H aw MMh th ~ Lord ff "sD""e

71

Ikhold, a legion hurls headlong {he s.... in~ Of Gerasencs, a nd once enchai ned in tombs. " Ir loudlygru nrs wirhpllin. From lips posse.sed h had cried out: "0 J (SUS, Son of God. Offspring of D~vid 'l royal lin e, we know W ho you arc and why you ha_..,come, what power Expels us, at yOUt coming fiU~d wir h dread."" Has nOI (h is voic~, J ud(~_ re.achw your ears! True, burir h;u notpiercltdyourd~rkened mind And, driven b~ck. has from rh" threshold

fl~d.'"

Now seCl the e"~ning .un, where he who behold. The cosy d..wn b"holds th e lord 's adven t. The f~rvem gospd word H as thawed the Scyt hian frosts and Hyr-

Flows from C
be allowed no one t o follow him euept Peler a"d James and John Ihe brorher of james . '" W he n th ey came 10 t h e ho " 1(' of the ruler of the sy"agogue , heJaw arumu/t, Q/ldpeople weeping and wailing loudly. HAnd whrn he had en/tud, he said /0 th em, "rhuh ild js not dead but s leeping. " 4<J A n d they J(H4gh ~ d al him. B~ t he put them~!l owtside, an d look thl' child's father and mOlher and those who were wirh him, Ilnd ",elll in whur the child was. 4!Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Y~ lit ha,umi'; which mean s, -Little gi rl, r s~y t o y ou , arise .· 42 And immediately Ihe girl g or "p an d wa/lud (she was twelve yran of age), and they wue immediately overcome wich ~maument. ~J An d he st rictly ch arged them ch lit 110 olle Jh o" ld kno w Ihis, and tol d Ih~m /0 give her $ometh ing to eat.

"U"d«'~
'~rh.-.dic<"f"lO 'h "~.h'"lof'b,

likli...Jjn~fO "><"w. .. hi
So thac Rhodopeian Hebr U5, freed from ice,'~

"c".
8'..

md,m..<.&w. iID"'n ....'" V\J..-..h .....yd.., ..

·od,..;.t""'"r .....

5:21 43 J A I RU S' S DAUGHTER AND THE WOMAN WITH A HEMOR RHA GE

OV1ll'.VI8W' Fairh ha$ powerfulevidences, :u s«nin the new life thar itcrcaces

only Want to be made wdl. Bur this man Wa$

a ruler of the synagogue, and versed in the

(ApI-lRA~TEs) .By h ealing andr"is ing fro m

2! And wh ~ n J es us had crossed IIgain in th e boat to tht "ther sidt, 11 gr~at cr"wd galhrred abaur him;and he waJ beside till: sea. Z2Yh en cam e olle of th e rulers oflhe synago gu e, Jairus by nllme; and sedng him, h e fe ll at his feet, lJ alld beso~ghr him, sllyillg, -My Iinlt daughttr is al Ihe pOill1 of death . Come Ilnd lily your hands on hu, so that she may be made well, and 1i~e. ~ ~~And he went with him. And a grea t crowd followed him and throng ed about him. n A nd th~rr WII} 11 womlln who had Ilfi"w of blood for rwd~f yelln, ~6llnd who had suffered much under many phys icialls , and had spent a H th at sh e h ad, an d was no better b"t rather grew wonI'. 21Sh~ had heard rhe reports aboutJesu5, alld came up b~hjnd him in che crowd and touched his ga rmen t. l5 Po r s he said , "If I t o ~ch e ve n bis g arm e nt s, I sball be made wdl. - 29 An d immediacdy th e hemorrhag e Cf tHed; ~nd she fell ill her body chat Jhe W41S healed ofherdi>rase. JOAndJes us, perceiving in himself that power had go ne fo rth f rom him, imm ediat d y tur n ed ~b o~. in rhe cro wd, and sa id, "Who louch ed my garments?" JIAlld his disciples said ro him, "Ya" set the aowd prfJJing aro und you, and ye t yo u say, 'Who to ~cb ed m et' n An d h e looked arownd ro su who had done il. .H But the womllll, knowillg w"~1 had been done to her, 'lime in fear and tumbling alldfell down befo r.. him, and told him tbe w ho le tr uth. J4And h e said to h er , ~DllWghttr, yo ~r failh h still j pf~king, Ih ere Cli me from the rod e r's h o ~s e so m e who l aid "Your daughter is dead . Why trouble Ihe Teacher ally furthrr?~ J6But ignoring what they said,Jesus said Cll th e rulu of the synagogue, "D o nor fear, only believe." J7 An d

72

I

, IhtdeadJesU5showedco"lp;lSsionanddem. on.srrated hismessianic idenrity (PRIJOENTllIs). lr WaS nOI the mer" m
5:23 Lay Yu"r H'm ds on Hrr

law. H e had s~rdy read thar while God crcaredall orher chings by his word. nl<1n had been creaudb Ylhcha ndofGod.H eS ru sred therdore in God rhat his daughter would be rec reaced, and[estored to lifebyth ~tsame

hand which,he kn"w, had crea ted her... He wh o laid hand5 on he, t o for m her fmm not hing. once more lays hands ~pon he r to reform her from what had perished. O N Tu a DAUGI-lTER OF TH !; RUUR Of THE SU"A GO GU E, ~ND

fROM

AN

O N TH B W OMA N SU FH RI NG

ISSUE OF BLOOD I. '

5,27Sbe T Ollc bed H is Garment THE CII.T O F A"'GUIS II. JUOME' Th e woman. with th e h emo "h ~gc hads penr all that she had On doccors. Hungering and thi rst ing, her $piri t haddied withi n her. H avinglos r everythingshepossessed,be. CaWe her life Was wasting away within her, s hc criedout lothelordin~nguish. H er t ouc h onrhehe m ofh i5gar me nr wa~rhecry

' SSGf '!,32J ,M,~
73

rhenshe did not yet dare to look up into hi, fJce.A~long;<sshehadbeencuredirwas

enough for her toding to his feet. Shc"cold

what he ordered then is done; Wounds are hea!ed by pious d eansin" swollen flesh grows smooth again ,.

him~llthetruth."'Christhimselfisthe

DRAW ING NE"'" TO TH ~ PHYSICUN. P ET[R CHRYSOLOGUS: No scas Were ever so trO U-

truth. She waS giving praise to the cru th. She had been healed by the trutb. HOMILY faithcure. wh ere humans kil1h Jd fail~d

17.'

through twelve years. ON TH E DAL'GHTER OF THE RUL[R OF THE SYNAGOGUE. AND 0" THE WOMA:>! SUFFf.RING FROM AN ISSUE Of BLOOD I.'

5:34aDaughter, Your Faith Has Made y"uWel1

lesstrea,m"",w. when skill and experience had

'0 !ongfuiled. all her substance was gone. This was notby chance. but divinely ordered. that she might be healed solely through faith ~ nd humility. whom human knowledge had failed throughsomanyyears.A,alittledistancc ~part from him stood this woman. whom namre h ~ d filled with modesty, whom d,e law had declared undean, s;lying of her: She sh ..ll b. und ean an d shall touch no holy thing.J She fea,s rotouch, lesrshe incu, the anger of the religious leaders. or the condemnarion of the law. For fear of being talked ;lbout, she dares notspe;lk.lest .,he embarrass those about her. lest s he offend th eir ears. Through many years h er body has been an arena of suffer ing. Eve ryd;ly.unceasing pain she can endu,e no more. Th e Lord is p;lssingby sO quickly. The time is short ro th ink what she must do. ;lWare that he;llingisnotgiventothesilent,nortothe one who hides her pain. In th e midst ofber co nfllc ting [h ough(S. she sees away. her sole wayof.alva tion. She would secu,ehcr healing by stealth. take in silencewhat~he

IRONIES OF HER HEALING. EPHIlEM THE SfR_ IAN: Glory to you. hidden SonofGod. be" cause your healing power i'prodaimed through thc hidden mffering of the afflicud woman. Through thi. woman whom th ey couldsec.th e witnesseswere enabledtob~"

ho ld the d ivinity that can not be see n. Through theSon's own healing power hi. di · vini,y became known. Through the afflicted woman's bcing healed h er faith was made

Now On eyes. by lifelong darkn ess. shrouded from theligh,ofday Thou dO.
WHETHBRPROXIMITY ELICITS FAITH. Am,uSTlNE; Few arc they who by faith rouch him; multitudes are they who throng abol.lthim.'SER.'toN6z.+" ' TOUCHING rN DOUBT. BEO[: Some "seei ng su noc, Jnd hearing do no, hCJ r."lOSoal.o ~om~ who touch. touch not, wh ~n they ap" pro:lch the Lord not in simplicityof$oul. but in doubt or in duplicity. HOMIL!ES o:>! THE GOSP ELS."

Then a wom an, weak and timid, touche,i his sacredgarme nt's hem: Instant was theb!~ssed healing. and the palior lcft her cheek. Astheh ~morrh ageshehadsuffered

through so many years was sropped ."

5:34bBe H ealed of Your Disease

TtAN·sDIATESSARON.'

5:33Shc Told Him the Whole Truth FAITH AND TRUTH.JEROME: Note the separJ [esrages; marktheprogress.Aslo ng ~s$r.e

w;r.shemorrhJging.shecouldnotcome'nto

Lazarus for lour days buried. hidden in th e "lOIeSS tomb. H e restores ro iife and vigor, giving power to breathe again.

THE WAY OF HEALING. CONS TITUTIONS OF THE HoLY ApOSTLES: Provide remedie, suitab!e tocverypati e nt·~ case. Cllrethem. heal them bY:lllmeans possible. Resrore themsoundlyro th e churc h. Feed the flock,"norwithinsolcnceandconumpt. a,lo,ding it over them."" but a. Jgemle shepherd."gatheringthe lambsimoyoll' bosom, and gently le ading those which ar~ with young."" ApOSTOLlC CO>iSTlTIJTWNS

Andthesolllretuming.entersfl~sh

nowcrllmblingtodecay.1O HYMN 9.'"

'·3·10."

hispresence.Sh~wa5healedb)'faith Jnd'hcn

came before him. She feU ar his fut.Ev",

TH~ H~A~ING IMPERATIVE. P\l.IJOENTllis:

touches his ga rment. knowing that both

74

75

c~tio n and lewd mu sic. from vain doctrines which are instrum ent5 of. he adversary. from ,heal!ure of h oneyed words, frombl..,. phemy and nom ad ultery. Do nOt Dear fal~ witness or speak with a double tongue. DEM. ONSTRATION 4 " 7 " 9.'1

5:36 Do No t Fear, Onl] BtiitH TUIl Sou; REQL" S' TH "0 RSCIIIV.SG NIIW LI ~!. AP HRAATES: When chech iefofdl~ synagogue ask~d him about his da ughter,J~' sllssaid.ohim:"Onlyfim'llybeli cveand your daugll(~r ~hallliv~.-ll He bd ieved and sohisdaugh[crliv~d .. nd arose . Similarly

5,39 The Child Is NH DtOld but Slap ing Ttr~ AWAK BN ISG VO ' C~ OF TH BLORo. AM aROS E' And what shall r s..J.y abou, ,h~ d~ugh. ler of the ruleroftht synagogue, at w ho~ daththcp~plcwercmourningandthe

5:37 H c Allowtd No Ont 10 Fol1ow EX(tpt Pe ter,james alldJohll

when L anrt1~ dicd, ourLord &aidto

Mar,h .., "If you bdicve, your brother shaJ[ rise. " Mar,h a said to him, · Yes. Lord. I be· lieve.-u And h~ raised him after rour days.. So le, u.s d .... wnear ,hen. my beloved, ro rnith, since its powen are so many. For faith nised up (EnochJ ro ,he heavell$1l and conquered the dduge.l
WilY ONl.Y TH REE~ JEROME: So meone "!lay wond cror:l.5 k,Whyarerhuethrceapostlu always chosen and the others scm away! Even wh,m hcw:1.5 [unsfigu redon th emoun. t~in, th ue ,hree werc wit h him." Yes, rhue rh reewcre choscn,Peter, j amesa ndjohn. Bllc why only three! Fir5t the re is the mp tery o f the Trinity embedd~d in (his num · ber, a nllmbe r s:t.C reci in iue lf. Soco nd. according to Moses. Jacobsc[{hreepecled br.lnchc.!l in thc w:u ering {roughs."

rorth.:H lcdeliversfromthesword ." l trai.~ upftom'h epit."It e nriche$the?oo r." ltr~. leasestheo.ptives.ItdeliHr$the~rs.ecuted.19

It brinp down the fire. lIl lt divides thesea." It deaves ,he rock. and gives ro. he rhi rsrywater rodrink.uh"'risfiesthe hungry.)) lt rais~.he

Fin.1.lly,it isw ri tten '~Athree - plycordisnot

dead,and brings th em up from Shwl." It stills the billows." It hc:w th es ick." !tconquers hosts.'? I,overthrows walls.le It " op' the mouths of lions,-"'and quenc hes the flame of fire.'" It h umiliar"'5 thc proud. and brings the humble to honor!' All thne mighty works are wrough r by f.tith. Now this is fai,h; when onc believes in God me Lord of all, Who madc ,he heavens and Ihe earth and these:1.5 and all that is in them. He made Adam in his image. He gOlve the I.1.WtO Moses. Hcsent his Spirit llpon

easily broken ....' P erer is cholCnas onc llpun whom th e ch urch w ould be bllilt." James is rhe fi rst of th e aposdes to be cro wned with martyrdom.<7Johnis the beloved disciplc" whose !ovc prefigurcs the state of virginilj:. HO),l.l.Y?7."

"cr. Mks,n·)6.

"Cf.JnIUJ.21. "Cf.C.nS,2"'H.h 1I,S. "Cf. C.n ,,1_8,22, Hotb 11,7. "Cf. G
th eprophets .Moreoverhe~nthi.lChristinto

the world, ,ha! we should beli~vc in (he rCSur· rection of,hedead; and should also mm in ,he efficacy ofOl1r bJptism. Th i$ is the faith of the church of God. So dim.nteyou rsdves

~. 1!;~. :~:~~~ .~~~~:, ~ 9::'~F..~~:J~~ "'.""im.k'o ... pto
pl,.wh.>Hlo?.n.;';p"" ,h. , .. '" in. of

fromalldivinOl,ion~3IIdsorceries andCh:U·

de3II arcs and magic. and sllpo:: rfici:l! prayers andritesandmoonsand seasons. fromfomi-

'h •• p,;. ,ol>t<. Qf"""'r ,dom.ndQ'p"'i'r~f h •.lfT

76

f1utepl~ycrsw ere playing th e i,mu$ici !O On

the ;o.ssumptionthat she was indeed dead, sol~mnfun e~al services Were already being performed. But h er spirit returned immedi· atcly al the voice oflhe Lord. Sh e ar05e with revived body, and partook offOod ro furnish proof that 5he was alivt." ON HIS BIlOTHIlR, SATYRVS2.hY

dllres before the eyes of the world. She is sinki ng into the quieto fde ath .... Alas: wh;arc child ren indifferent to th ese things! Wh y acetheynotmindfulofthem!Whyare.hey noteagcr to make a rcCurnto rheirparencs for thcm! But the 10"cofparen[S gOH On neverrhelc'5S;andwh ucvcr parenrsbestow upon th eir children, God. the parent oful a11,willdlllytepay.ONY HEDAuGHTBROf THE RUUR Of THSS"-SAGOG UE,AN O ON TH E \VOMAN SUFfE RIN " fROM AN [SSU i OF BLOOo •. "

5:43 Give Her Some tbing to E,II AVOIOH';G OBLltSION.j EROME: For whenever he ra iscd anyone from the de"d'" he or der ~d th at food.hou ldbegivenhi ~ r oea ., lcsttheresurrect ions houldbe,hol1ghta delusion. And rhis is why Laza cus aftcr his resurreClion f7 is described ". bci ng ~t the feast wit h ou r Lord. AGA1NSTJ OV IN1ASVS •. 17.'"

. W" 6T" ~R TH. CHlLO WAS D EAD. AtHHJ 5' TJNE: H ~c omestoth e housc, andfindsthe

cU$tom.t ry funeraJrires alreadyund erway. and he "'ys to them, "Why do you make a rumulr and weep! The ch ild is not dead, bllt sletping....• He spoke the trurh. She was in a ctrtainscnse :ulecp-:uleep, th ar is, in re' pccrofhim, by whom she cOllld bc awaken~d.So awakening h e r, he r.:storedh er alive to h er parents. SERMON ON N ew TRsTAMENTLHSSONS,!S."

VA Ll OATlNGYIIS RI!SURRIlC7ION. TH tiODORETO FCYR:Forsincceatingisappropri_ ate for th ou living this prcscnt !ife. the Lord nccessarilydemonsrratcd rhis by means of cating and dtinking, thllS proving the resur· rection of ,he flesh to th~e who did not ,hi nk irrcal.Thisumecours.e he pllr5ued in

T H6 LONG,SUFFIIRING OF PARENTS. P&TU, CHRYSOLOGVS' Let us. ifit is pIe
" (f./>1,9,23 . "Cf. MkS'l.!·~J' Lka,;2.ls. "C",do, alP. 2.a2.N4.1, Fe 1l.1))". Cf. Amb .... O. B,~"Ji"

''I,

il" ...«' i •• I..NPNF1ICkI87.SI>< ... ho ...... p
..

~n!,:~t~:~=~;;~:!m::.h,.",gh 911.JS.o;;Jl.I6, NPNF 16>014": d. Ws,o, J/4.~;.

Sftmon

'lB.~.H ....... um