Excerpts adapted from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. Passages attributed to “Anonymous” are from unnamed Christian writers from the patristic era (2nd–8th century), preserved in a reliably ancient source.
Reading 1 (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7)
OVERVIEW: The messianic servant is of the seed of Abraham, which points to his full humanity as well as to his ultimate fulfillment of Israel’s role as servant in God’s plan (EUSEBIUS). As servant, he humbles himself to redeem (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS) and rescue human nature (PSEUDO DIONYSIUS). Those who have the serenity of the servant show they too are his servants (ATHANASIUS). The Word brings peace to all who are his, providing a place for all with their various weaknesses (HIPPOLYTUS). The highest one became the lowest (AUGUSTINE), offering healing instead of judgment to those who are his (EUSEBIUS). He offers a gentle and peaceful kingdom (IRENAEUS) to all among the nations who trust in his name (THEODORET). What was prophesied about the servant saints of the Hebrew Bible is then ultimately gathered up in Christ (JEROME), who sought to fan the flickering flame of Jewish faith (JEROME) but with tenderness (BENEDICT). Thus, when the people are about to be extinguished, Christ offers a hope that will not fail (ISHO‘DAD), sealed in his resurrection (EUSEBIUS).
CHRIST THE SERVANT. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: Although this very great person is not the one who was in the mind of those hearing the prophecy the first time, he is not here called “Jacob” or “Israel” or “the seed of Abraham,” so clearly the Christ of God is meant here, just as the Evangelist paid witness: “I have set my Spirit on him, and he will execute judgment on the nations.” And after many things have taken place in the nations, which were not made fit to be counted in the apostolic chorus, the nations will hope in him. But in Isaiah’s prophecy the names of Jacob and Israel are missing. Who else could this be, the one called servant of God and his chosen one? Therefore it continues, “My soul delights in him.” For only he is the chosen one of God, and the so called soul of God was delighting in him. In a manner similar to referring to the feet, hands, fingers and eyes of God, Scriptures make use of the term “soul” in relation to God. . . . He is “chosen,” not in the same way as the apostles, since it is to him alone that it is said, “whom my soul esteems,” but also “the Spirit of God was dwelling in him alone.” “For in him the fullness of the deity dwelled bodily.” For the Spirit is given to the one coming forth “from the root of Jesse,” the unique Word of God, whom the apostle revealed saying, “The Lord is the Spirit.” For he alone, pouring out the Spirit of inheritance, worked all things outwardly concerning the worldwide judgment on the nations, so that all would be prepared for the coming of God’s verdict. COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2.22
CHRIST HUMBLES HIMSELF TO REDEEM HUMAN NATURE. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: Next is the fact of his being called Servant and serving many well, and that it is a great thing for him to be called the Child of God. For in truth he was in servitude to flesh and to birth and to the conditions of our life with a view to our liberation, and to that of all those whom he has saved, who were in bondage under sin. What greater destiny can befall humanity’s humble state than that it should be intermingled with God and by this intermingling should be deified, and that we should be so visited by the Dayspring from on high, that even that holy thing that should be born should be called the Son of the Highest, and that there should be bestowed on him a name that is above every name? And what else can this be than God? and that every knee should bow to him that was made of no reputation for us, and that mingled the form of God with the form of a servant, and that “all the house of Israel should know that God has made him both Lord and Christ”? For all this was done by the action of the Begotten and by the good pleasure of him that begat him. ON THE SON, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 4(30).3
THE GOODNESS OF GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL GIFTS. PSEUDO DIONYSIUS: The goodness of the Deity has endless love for humanity and never ceased from benignly pouring out on us its providential gifts . . . It made it possible for us to escape from the domain of the rebellious, and it did this not through overwhelming force, but, as Scripture mysteriously tells us, by an act of judgment accomplished in all righteousness. Beneficently God’s goodness wrought a complete change in our nature. It filled our shadowed and unshaped minds with a kindly, divine light and adorned them with loveliness suitable to their divinized state. It saved our nature from almost complete wreckage and delivered the dwelling place of our soul from the most accursed passion and from destructive defilement. Finally, it showed us a supramundane uplifting and an inspired way of life in shaping ourselves to it as fully as lay in our power. ECCLESIASTICAL HIERARCHY 3.3.11
THE PEACE OF THOSE WHO ARE GOD’S. ATHANASIUS: It is possible, with the help of God, easily to distinguish the presence of the good and the bad; a vision of the holy ones is not agitated. “He shall not protest and cry out; none will hear his voice.” It occurs so quietly and gently that joy and gladness and confidence are at once born in the soul. . . . The soul’s thoughts remain untroubled and calm, so that, enlightened of itself, it contemplates those who appear. LIFE OF ST. ANTHONY 35
THE INCLUSIVITY OF THE WORD’S COMPASSION. HIPPOLYTUS: As the Word shows his compassion and his denial of all preferential treatment among all the saints, he enlightens them and adapts them to that which is advantageous for them. He is like a skillful physician, understanding the weakness of each one. The ignorant he loves to teach. The erring he turns again to his own true way. By those who live by faith he is easily found. To those of pure eye and holy heart, who desire to knock at the door, he opens immediately. For he casts away none of his servants as unworthy of the divine mysteries. He does not esteem the rich person more highly than the poor, nor does he despise the poor person for his poverty. He does not disdain the barbarian, nor does he set the eunuch aside as no man. He does not hate the female on account of the woman’s act of disobedience in the beginning, nor does he reject the male on account of the man’s transgression. But he seeks all and desires to save all, wishing to make all the children of God and calling all the saints to one perfect human person. For there is one Son (or Servant) of God, by whom we too, receiving the regeneration through the Holy Spirit, desiring to come all into one perfect and heavenly human person. ON THE ANTICHRIST 3
THE NAMES OF THE PATRIARCHS ATTEST CHRIST’S TRUE HUMANITY. AUGUSTINE: The passage reads, “Jacob, my son, I will uphold him; Israel, my elect, my soul has assumed him.” . . . It is true, indeed, that the Vulgate text has “my servant” in place of “Jacob” and “Israel,” but the Septuagint translators preferred to make the meaning more explicit, namely, that the prophecy concerns the “Highest” insofar as he became the “lowliest,” in the form of a servant. Hence they placed the name of that man from whose stock the “form of a servant” was assumed. It was to him that the Holy Spirit was given. CITY OF GOD 20.30
GOD’S SILENT, COMPASSIONATE ROAD TOWARD JUDGMENT. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: He does not say, “Jacob my son and Israel my beloved,” but simply “Behold my son and my beloved.” Hence, the names of Jacob and Israel are marked with an obelisk in the Septuagint, as if the prophecy were not in the Hebrew. And it is silently omitted by the other translators, as it is not found in the Hebrew. . . . Therefore, the prophecy does not apply either actually or figuratively to the Jews but only to the Christ of God, to whom clear evidence and the results bear witness. For Christ alone prophesied the future judgment to the Gentiles, quietly sojourning in human life and setting judgment on the earth. And not only did he not break the bruised reed, but so to say he bound it up, setting up and strengthening the weak and the bruised in heart. And just as Christ did not neglect the sick and the corrupt, who needed his medicine, or bruise the repentant with harsh judgment, so he did not quench those who continued in evil and were smoking under the fire of passion by preventing their following their own choice; nor did he punish any of them before the time, reserving the time of their due chastisement for the general judgment. PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 9.15
A GENTLE AND PEACEFUL KINGDOM. IRENAEUS: By such means was the prophet very indignant, because of the transgression of the people and the slaughter of the prophets both taught to act in a more gentle manner, and the Lord’s advent was pointed out, that it should be subsequent to that law that was given by Moses, mild and tranquil, in which he would neither break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. The mild and peaceful repose of his kingdom was indicated likewise. For after the wind that rends the mountains, and after the earthquake and after the fire come the tranquil and peaceful times of his kingdom, in which the Spirit of God does, in the most gentle manner, vivify and increase humankind. AGAINST HERESIES 4.20.10
THE NATIONS TRUST THE NAME. THEODORET OF CYR: [Isaiah] calls him “servant” or “slave,” according to the other interpreters, in connection with his humanity. It is in relation to this that he has [also] given him the name of Jacob and Israel, seeing that it is from Jacob, who is also Israel, that [Christ] descended according to the flesh. In the same way he also receives the most Holy Spirit, not insofar as [he is] God for he lacks nothing but as man for the purpose of becoming the model for those who have believed in him. Of this gentleness both his words and his deeds give witness: “Learn from me,” [Christ] says, “for I am gentle and lowly of heart.” Even when he received a blow to the face, he said to the one who struck him, “Friend, if I have spoken evil, bear witness to the evil; but if well, why do you strike me?” Although he could destroy those who unleashed rage against him by having lightning strike them immediately, he breaks them like a bruised reed and snuffs them like smoldering flax; he has borne their folly. For [Christ] was aware of the outcome of these events, and he knew that the truth would be manifested through them. It was likewise even after he had been delivered over to death; he shone forth anew, filled the earth with truth and had invited the Gentiles to put their hope in him. It is this that the prophetic text has said: “In his name the nations put their trust.” COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12.42.4
IS THE SERVANT CHRIST OR JACOB? JEROME: It appears that Matthew the Evangelist did not by preferring the authority of the old interpretation ignore the truth of the Hebrew text. Rather, as a Hebrew among Hebrews and deeply taught in the law of the Lord, Matthew distributed his Hebrew learning to the nations. For if the Septuagint translators are accepted when they write, “Jacob my son, I will lift him up; Israel my chosen, my soul has lifted him up,” then how can we understand the text fulfilled in Jesus, since it was obviously written about Jacob and Israel? We read that the blessed Matthew, not only in this verse but in another, has done this: “Out of Egypt I have called my son,” while the Septuagint translated, “Out of Egypt he has called his sons. LETTER 121.2
CHRIST, THE SPARK OF PURIFYING FIRE. JEROME: For after the coming of the Lord and Savior, who gave the spirit of the gospel interpretation, [Christ] rested in the death of the Jewish letter, with which all works are bruised. Christ did not snuff out the smoking wick, reducing it to ashes. Instead, he ignited a great flame from this little spark, a spark that had almost gone out. The result is that the whole earth was ablaze with the fire of the Lord and Savior. LETTER 121.2
DISCIPLINE REQUIRES TENDERNESS. BENEDICT: [The abbot] must be aware of his own frailty and remember that it is forbidden to break the already bruised reed. We do not mean that he should countenance the growth of vice but that he use discretion and tenderness as he sees it expedient for the different characters of his brothers. He is to endeavor much more to be loved than to be feared. RULE OF ST. BENEDICT 64
A PROPHECY OF LIBERATION IN CHRIST. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench,” that is, [Christ] will not be hard or angered with those who have a feeble spirit. He will not render powerless that strength that is left to them, but he will lead them back to virtue with kindness. [Isaiah] calls a “dimly burning wick” the one whose oil is finished and where there is no greasy matter left. This means, when the people are about to be extinguished because of the affliction of captivity, he will make them shine against their hope. This is clearly said with regard to Zerubbabel but is evidently accomplished by our Lord, the Savior. COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 42.3
GOD’S JUDGMENT ESTABLISHED. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: With truth and boldness to all, he proclaims the judgment of God, which has not ceased to operate. Rather, God’s judgment is like light shining through the resurrection of the dead, which the prophetic word announced, saying, “He will give light and not be crushed.” For those who planned Christ’s death tried to crush him and extinguish him. For it is the nature of all mortal species to be crushed by death. But it did not crush him. Christ was the only person of all time who was shown to be stronger than death. COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2.22
OVERVIEW: Christ is worshiped as God due to his unique power and glory (EUSEBIUS), which restores order to our body, soul and spirit (TERTULLIAN). His Spirit is given to all who turn from earthly desires (IRENAEUS, ORIGEN). The Son and the Spirit work together with the Father as one God in the mission of our salvation (AMBROSE) redeeming us from our prison like state (EPISTLE OF BARNABAS) to true Christian freedom, which offers a much better existence (LACTANTIUS). Those who are darkened in intellect and imprisoned by sin are blind (THEODORET). No longer ruled by the blindness of ignorance, we have our spiritual sight restored so that we now can see the Father through the Son (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA). But God’s being can never be reduced to or dependent on our perception of him, nor can it be diminished by comparison with any other being (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS). His glory cannot be shared by idols; it is to be found, rather, “within the life of the Trinity” (GREGORY OF NYSSA). As the Son possesses the glory of the Father (THEODORET), being of one substance with the Father, the divine human Christ not only shares in that glory but also shares it with us (CYRIL). In this way, he fulfills his promise made to Abraham, Moses and the rest of the prophets (EUSEBIUS) and brings to our humanity the gifts of the “new things” that his divine nature bestows on humanity (CYRIL).
THE LORD KEEPS THE COVENANT. EPISTLE OF BARNABAS: Moses received it, but they were not worthy. But how did we receive it? Learn! Moses received it as a servant, but the Lord himself gave it to us, that we might become the people of inheritance, by suffering for us. And he was made manifest in order that they might fill out the measure of their sins and we might receive the covenant through the Lord Jesus who inherited it, who was prepared for this purpose, in order that by appearing in person and redeeming from the darkness our hearts, which had already been paid over to death and given over to the lawlessness of error, he might establish a covenant in us by his word. For it is written how the Father commands him to redeem us from darkness and to prepare a holy people for himself. Therefore the prophet says, “I, the Lord your God, have called you in righteousness, and I will grasp your hand and strengthen you; and I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind and to release from their shackles those who are bound and from the prison house those who sit in darkness.” We understand, therefore, from what we have been redeemed. EPISTLE OF BARNABAS 14.4 7
THE FULLNESS OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM. LACTANTIUS: Since, therefore, we were as though blind before, and when we sat as though enclosed by the prison house of foolishness in the darkness, not knowing God and his truth, we were enlightened by him who adopted us by his gracious treatment (his will in our favor). And when he had freed us as from evils and bonds and brought us into the light of wisdom, he recognized us as the heirs of his heavenly kingdom. DIVINE INSTITUTES 4.20
THE BLINDNESS OF IGNORANCE. THEODORET OF CYR: He calls “blind” here those who are impaired in their intellectual vision; he calls the same people imprisoned by the bonds of sin and held by the darkness of error. After having delivered them from the murk of ignorance and having broken the bonds of sin, he has led them to the light of truth. COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12.42.7
BEHOLD THE FATHER THROUGH THE SON. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: “The opened eyes of the blind” means [Christ] provided clear knowledge of the Father through the Son. STROMATEIS 1.19.92.2
Psalm (29:1-4, 9-10)
OVERVIEW: The title of the twenty ninth psalm, speaking of a completion or perfection, points to the perfection of the church (AUGUSTINE), the completion of God’s temple (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER). The psalm begins with an exhortation to think rightly about the nature of things (BASIL). This brings glory to God, as does bearing the divine message (THEODORET) and bringing others to the Lord (BEDE). We worship rightly when we worship among the faithful (PSEUDO ATHANASIUS) as well as in a sanctified heart (AUGUSTINE) without distraction (BASIL). The Lord’s voice was manifest on the waters at the baptism of Jesus (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER) and is extended as the voice of Christ over the nations (AUGUSTINE, THEODORET) converting them into spiritual waters of eternal life (BASIL). Empowered by the Spirit (THEODORET), weak people become magnificent (BASIL). Idols are overthrown (THEODORET), as is false glory (BASIL), and the proud are humbled (AUGUSTINE). True believers are invincible in their faith (THEODORET). The Lord’s voice passes through the fires of human hatred (AUGUSTINE) and extinguishes the burning arrows of evil (EVAGRIUS). The fire of God is divided between present illumination and future punishment (BASIL). The Lord’s voice shakes the wildness out of the human soul (BASIL), shaking the unbelieving peoples into faith (AUGUSTINE, JEROME). Churches take the place of idols (THEODORET). We need to take heed to speak properly of God’s glory (BASIL) and praise him for spiritual gifts (AUGUSTINE). Individually and collectively, we are God’s temple (AUGUSTINE). He washes away sin (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER) as he makes a new creation (THEODORET). Renewing the soul for his dwelling (BASIL), God sits enthroned in his people (PSEUDO ATHANASIUS).
Superscription: A Psalm of David
PERFECTION OF THE CHURCH. AUGUSTINE: This is a psalm of the strong armed Mediator concerning the perfection of the church in this world, where it wages war within time against the devil. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 29.1
COMPLETION OF THE TEMPLE. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: The title is mindful of the completion of the temple. The completion of the temple is the end of the world, in which children of God bring to God the offspring of rams. The offspring of rams are the lambs who are placed on the right so that, offering glory and honor and the glory of his name in righteous works which they do, they may worship the Lord, no longer a building made by hands but his holy courts, that is in Christ Jesus, “in whom dwells the fullness of divinity.” COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29
RIGHT THINKING. BASIL THE GREAT: Everyone who discusses divine matters in an orderly way so as always to hold the correct opinion concerning the Father, the Godhead of the Only begotten and the glory of the Holy Spirit, brings glory and honor to the Lord. And, because his providence penetrates even to the smallest things, he increases the glory who is able to give the reasons for which all things were created and for which they are preserved, and also for which, after this present stewardship, they will be brought to judgment. He who is able himself to contemplate each individual creature with clear and unconfused thoughts and, after having contemplated them himself, is able to present to others also the facts concerning the goodness of God and his just judgment, he is the one who brings glory and honor to the Lord and who lives a life in harmony with this contemplation. For, the light of such a person shines before others, since by word and work and through mighty deeds of every kind the Father in heaven is glorified. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 13.2 (PS 29)
BEAR THE DIVINE MESSAGE. THEODORET OF CYR: You who are entrusted with the divine message, he is saying, and are called children of God, bear the divine message everywhere with all enthusiasm, transform those reared on nonsense into rational people and offer them first to God; then through them present the worship and the hymns, celebrating the benefactor in the divine dwellings. This resembles what was said by the Savior to the sacred apostles, “Go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29.4
BRING OTHERS TO THE LORD. BEDE: Surely the holy teachers are often understood by the word rams, since they are the leaders of flocks that follow the Lord. Hence the psalmist says in a pleasing manner: “Bring to the Lord, O children of God, bring to the Lord the offspring of rams,” which is clearly to say, “Bring to the Lord, O angels of God to whom the responsibility for this task has been delegated, bring to the Lord in heaven the spirits of the faithful who, through imitation of the blessed apostles’ life and faith, have proved worthy to become their offspring.” ON THE TABERNACLE 2.4
WORSHIP AMONG THE FAITHFUL. PSEUDO ATHANASIUS: He commands us to worship the Lord in his holy court, teaching that it is not allowed to worship outside the church which holds the orthodox faith. EXPOSITION ON PSALMS 29
WORSHIP IN YOUR HEART. AUGUSTINE: Worship the Lord in your heart, a heart widened and sanctified; for you are his regal and holy habitation. EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 29.2
WORSHIP WITHOUT DISTRACTION. BASIL THE GREAT: Many assume an attitude of prayer, but they are not in the court because of the wandering of their mind and the distraction of their thoughts coming from vain solicitude. . . . He who makes his belly a god, or glory, or money, or anything else that he honors more than all things neither adores the Lord nor is in the holy court, even though he seems to be worthy of the visible assemblies. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 13.3 (PS 29)
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: When Jesus was baptized, after the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came down as a dove, the Father spoke over the waters saying, “You are my Son.” The God of majesty thundered, that is, he spoke profoundly over the waters, that is, over the nations so that they would be made complete in virtue and in the magnificence of Christ Jesus. And each one stood apart from the rebellious and rejoiced. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29
CHRIST OVER THE NATIONS. AUGUSTINE: “The Lord’s voice over the waters”: this means the voice of Christ over the nations. . . . From the cloud of his flesh the God of majesty has struck fear by his preaching of repentance. “The Lord is over many waters,” for this same Lord Jesus, having made his pronouncement over the peoples and greatly terrified them, converted them to himself and made them his dwelling. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 29.3
THE THUNDER OF THE GOSPEL. THEODORET OF CYR: Now, the verse forecasts the voice emanating from heaven at the Jordan, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” He called it “thunder” as coursing to the whole world through the sacred Gospels. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29.4
SPIRITUAL WATERS. BASIL THE GREAT: The waters are also the saints, because rivers flow from within them, that is, spiritual teaching that refreshes the souls of the hearers. Again, they receive water that springs up to eternal life, wherefore it becomes in those who receive it rightly “a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting.” On such waters, then, is the Lord. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 13.4 (PS 29)
EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT. THEODORET OF CYR: From this he prophesies the power imparted to the apostles. . . . The narrative of the Acts also teaches us things in harmony with this: we learn from there how at his ascension Christ the Lord addressed his holy disciples in the words, “Stay in this city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Ten days later on the feast of Pentecost, “there came a sound from heaven like that of a violent wind blowing.” . . . Now, he gives the name “voice” to the grace of the Spirit filling the apostles with power and might and rendering puny people magnificent. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29.5
MAGNIFICENT PEOPLE. BASIL THE GREAT: The voice of the Lord is not in the weak and dissolute soul but in that which vigorously and powerfully achieves the good. . . . Magnificence is virtue extraordinarily great. One who performs great actions becomingly . . . hears himself called magnificent. When the soul is not enslaved by the pride of the flesh but assumes a greatness and dignity proper to it because of its awareness of its attributes received from God, in this soul is the voice of the Lord. Therefore, they who entertain noble thoughts of God, contemplating sublimely the reasons for creation, and being able to comprehend to a certain extent at least the goodness of God’s providence, and who besides are unsparing in their expenditures and are munificent in supplying the needs of their brothers, these are the magnificent people in whom the voice of the Lord dwells. . . . No difficult conditions will grieve the magnificent person; nor, in short, will any suffering greatly trouble him, nor will the sins of paltry and contemptible little people move him, nor the impurity of the flesh humble him. He is almost inaccessible to the humiliating passions, which cannot even look on him because of the loftiness of his mind. . . . Those, then who give great glory to God, elevate his magnificence. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 13.4 (PS 29)
CHURCHES IN PLACE OF IDOLS. THEODORET OF CYR: Now, he called “woods” the idols’ precincts as being utterly fruitless; these are the kinds of woods or coppices that the best woodcutters are accustomed to chop down, leaving the earth bare of them, and they plant fruitbearing trees and sow seeds of edible crops. The cultivators of the world did this, too: pulling up idols’ precincts by the roots, they planted the divine churches in their place. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29.8
SPEAK OF GOD’S GLORY. BASIL THE GREAT: One who is in the temple of God does not speak out abuse or folly or words full of shameful matters, but “in his temple all shall speak his glory.” . . . This one duty, referring glory to the Creator, belongs to every army of heavenly creatures. Every creature, whether silent or uttering sound, whether celestial or terrestrial, gives glory to the Creator. But wretched people who leave their homes and run to the temple, as if to enrich themselves somewhat, do not lend their ears to the words of God; they do not possess a knowledge of their nature; they are not distressed, although they have previously committed sin; they do not grieve at remembering their sins, nor do they fear the judgment; but, smiling and shaking hands with one another, they make the house of prayer a place of lengthy conversation, pretending not to hear the psalm that solemnly protests and says, “In the temple of God all shall speak his glory.” You not only do not speak his glory, but you even become a hindrance to the other, turning his attention to yourself and drowning out the teaching of the spirit by your own clamor. See to it that you do not at some time leave condemned along with those blaspheming the name of God instead of receiving a reward for glorifying him. You have a psalm; you have a prophecy, the evangelical precepts, the preachings of the apostles. Let the tongue sing, let the mind interpret the meaning of what has been said, that you may sing with your spirit, that you may sing likewise with your mind. Not at all is God in need of glory, but he wishes you to be worthy of winning glory. Therefore, “what a person sows, he will also reap.” Sow glorification, that you may reap crowns and honors and praises in the kingdom of heaven. This statement, “In his temple all shall speak his glory,” was made not unfittingly in a digression, because some in the temple of God talk endlessly until their tongue aches; and these enter without profit. HOMILY ON PSALM 13.8 (PS 29)
PRAISE FOR SPIRITUAL GIFTS. AUGUSTINE: In his church every one born again to an eternal hope praises God for the gift that he or she has received from the Holy Spirit. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 29.9
THE LORD’S TEMPLE. AUGUSTINE: Therefore, God dwells in each one singly as in his temples, and in all of them gathered together as in his temple. As long as this temple, like the ark of Noah, is tempest tossed in this world, the words of the psalm are verified: “The Lord dwells in the flood,” although, if we consider the many people of the faithful of all races whom the Apocalypse describes under the name of waters, they can also be appropriately meant by “the Lord dwells in the flood.” But the psalm goes on: “And the Lord shall sit as king forever,” doubtless in that very temple of his, established in eternal life after the tempest of this world. Thus, God, who is everywhere present and everywhere wholly present, does not dwell everywhere but only in his temple, to which, by his grace, he is kind and gracious, but in his indwelling he is received more fully by some, less by others. LETTER 187.38
THE LORD WASHES AWAY SIN. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: The Lord lives in the flood, that is, in water that washes away faults, and in that same water, the King sits forever. There he gives strength to the people, the ones believing him. He blesses his people in peace. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29
A NEW CREATION. THEODORET OF CYR: He will build a world that is inundated with the torrent of iniquity, will restore it and will make it a new creation. Hence blessed Paul also cries aloud, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 29.9
THE RENEWED SOUL. BASIL THE GREAT: God sits in the soul that shines from its washing, as if he were making it a throne for himself. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 13.8 (PS 29)
ENTHRONED IN HIS PEOPLE. PSEUDO ATHANASIUS: God dwells in the flood, that is, in the multitude of those who believed in Christ, who [as it says in the next verse] gives power to his people and blesses it in peace. For we are strengthened in Christ, who also gave us his peace. EXPOSITION ON PSALMS 29
Reading 2 (Acts 10:34-38)
OVERVIEW: That God is no respecter of persons does not mean that all prayers are answered as we would like (AMBROSE). Nonetheless, God in an abundance of mercy calls even sinners, and so there is no surprise that he pours out greater blessings on those who strive to live justly and to know the truth. God answers our ultimate desires for this truth, even when our passion for it, like Saul’s, leads us astray (CHRYSOSTOM). By coming to a full and complete comprehension of the truth of God in Christ, Cornelius, in living as a God fearer, stands as testimony to the truth of the Old Covenant (IRENAEUS), and God’s invitation through Peter to the Gentiles only affirms the Jews’ position of primacy in the order of salvation (CHRYSOSTOM). But this reconciliation of peace between God and creation in the Spirit is for all, and Christ prefigured our access to it in his humble submission to baptism at the hands of John (BEDE), a baptism that shows forth the unity of the Trinity (GREGORY OF NYSSA, BASIL) and teaches us the truth of who God is and who we are in Christ (BASIL). Our access to this salvation comes through his sin and death destroying incarnation, crucifixion, death and resurrection in which our souls participate through a faith in Christ, the anointed One (GREGORY OF NYSSA), a faith that is called forth by the various proofs that he gave to the apostles (THEODORET, SEVERUS) and to which all the prophets bear witness (DIDYMUS).
ACCS editor insert
Modern commentators are puzzled by Peter’s words that imply knowledge of Jesus to some degree. Chrysostom makes a distinction between knowing about Jesus (which is how he understands Peter’s words) and knowing Jesus. For the moderns, the assumption that those in Caesarea would have known something of Jesus is a saying hard to bear. Fitzmyer claims these words “are to be understood as addressed to the Christian reader of Acts, not to Cornelius” (464). The contrast with the Fathers shows up the oddity of this statement in that they have the confidence to take everything as addressed to their current situation, even someone as historically grounded as Chrysostom. Another enlightening point of contrast with the Fathers occurs at verse 40. Fitzmyer makes a distinction between when Jesus was raised and when he was known to have risen: “Peter dates the resurrection of Christ on the ‘third day’ after his death. Actually no one knows when the ‘resurrection’ [sic] occurred. The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered on the ‘third day’ after his death, when one counts both ends (day of death, sabbath, day after sabbath)” (465). Fitzmyer finds proof for this distinction in Luke 23:43, where Jesus says to the penitent thief, “Today you shall be with me in paradise,” and he concludes “‘today’ must refer to the day of Jesus’ death” (ibid). By use of the familiar dichotomy of body and soul, however, Gregory of Nyssa is able to take account of both passages without denying what is here stated so plainly: God raised him on the third day. Other commentators ponder the gradual transformation of Peter: did his vision or God’s association, through his angel, with Cornelius, lead Peter to perceive that God shows no partiality? They conclude that Luke may well have both factors in mind. This attempt, as it were, to inhabit the text, is not found much among the ancients, except for Chrysostom. Other commentators see Peter here coming to a full realization of the import of having been called from Caesarea.
GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS FREELY. AMBROSE: Even if God is merciful, were he always granting the prayers of all he would seem no longer to act freely, but, as it were, like someone under compulsion. Then, since all ask, if he were to hear all, no one would die. How many things do you not ask for daily? Must God’s design be destroyed because of you? When you know that a petition cannot always be granted, why do you grieve that sometimes your petition is not obtained? ON HIS BROTHER SATYRUS 1.65
THOSE WHO CHOOSE THE WAY OF VIRTUE. CHRYSOSTOM: “God [you remember] is no respecter of person.” Rather, if he finds even one person in such a multitude doing what pleases him, far from scorning him he regales him with his particular providence and shows the greater care for him the more closely he has chosen the way of virtue at a time when there are others who are bent on evil. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 22.18
GOD DOES NOT OVERLOOK THE RIGHTEOUS. CHRYSOSTOM: What then? Was he “a respecter of persons” beforetime? God forbid! For beforetime likewise it was just the same: “anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” As when Paul says, “When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires,” and “who fears him and does what is right,” he assumes both doctrine and manner of life “is acceptable to him.” For, if he did not overlook the magi, nor the Ethiopian, nor the thief nor the harlot, much more shall he not overlook those who do what is right. “What say you then to this, that there are reasonable and civilized people, and yet they are not willing to believe?” There you yourself have named the cause: they do not want to believe. But besides the reasonable person that he speaks of here, is not this sort of person the one “that works righteousness,” that is, the one who in all points is virtuous and irreproachable when he has the fear of God as he ought to have it? But whether a person is such, God only knows. See how this man was acceptable. See how, as soon as he heard, he was persuaded. “And now,” you say, “if an angel were to come, anyone, no matter who he may be, would believe.” But the signs of today are much greater than these here, and many still do not believe. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23
GOD REWARDS THE PASSIONATE HEART. CHRYSOSTOM: That is, God calls and attracts him to the truth. Can you see Paul? He was more vehement than any one in warring and persecuting. Yet because he led an irreproachable life and did these things not through human passion, he was both received and reached a mark beyond all. HOMILIES ON 1 CORINTHIANS 8.4
CORNELIUS FEARED GOD. IRENAEUS: He thus clearly indicates, that he whom Cornelius had previously feared as God, of whom he had heard through the law and the prophets, for whose sake also he used to give alms, is, in truth, God. The knowledge of the Son was, however, lacking to him. AGAINST HERESIES 3.12.7
THE JEWS NOT CAST OFF. CHRYSOSTOM: That [the Jews] may not seem to be in the condition of persons cast off he adds, “You know the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).” He says this for the sake of the Jews, that he may persuade them also. This is why he forces Cornelius to speak. He says that he “is Lord of all.” But observe at the very outset, “The word,” he says, “which he sent to Israel”; he gives them the preeminence. Then [Peter] adduces these Gentiles themselves as witnesses, “You know,” says he, “the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” He does not mean, You know Jesus, for they did not know him, but he speaks of the things done by him. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23
ALL MAY RECEIVE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. BEDE: He says, “It is clear that God is no respecter of persons, for he sent his only begotten Son, who is the Lord and creator of all, to make peace with the human race. In his name, as the prophets bore witness, not only the Jews, but all who believe, may receive forgiveness of sins.” COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10.36
PROOF FROM THE GOOD THAT HE DID. CHRYSOSTOM: First he discourses of Jesus’ being Lord and in exceeding elevated terms, seeing he had to deal with a soul more than commonly elevated and that took all in with ardor. Then he proves how he was Lord of all, from the things that he achieved “throughout all Judea.” For, he says, you know “the word that was proclaimed throughout all Judea,” and, what is the wonderful part of it, “beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. First he speaks of his success, and then again [Peter] says concerning him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Why, what a stumbling block, this birthplace! “How God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power.” Then again the proof how does that appear? from the good that he did. “Who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil,” and the greatness of the power shown when he overcomes the devil; and the cause, “Because God was with him.” HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23
ANOINTED WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH POWER. BEDE: Another text says, “Inasmuch as God anointed him.” John preached Jesus inasmuch as God anointed him with the Holy Spirit at the time when he said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”; and again, “I saw the Spirit descending as a dove upon him.” Jesus was anointed “not with oil but with the gift of grace, which is signified by the visible oil with which the church anoints those who are baptized. Yet, Christ was not anointed with the Holy Spirit at the time when it descended as a dove upon him at his baptism, for at that time he condescended to prefigure his body, that is, his church, in which the baptized principally receive the Holy Spirit. Rather, he must be understood to have been anointed with a mystical and invisible anointing when the Word of God was made flesh, that is, when human nature, without any preceding merits from good works, was joined to God the Word in the womb of the Virgin, so as to become one person with him. Because of this we confess that he was born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary.” COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10.38A
THE HOLY SPIRIT SHARES IN HIS KINGSHIP. GREGORY OF NYSSA: But the Son, having all things which are the Father’s, is himself proclaimed a king by holy Scripture. Now the divine Scripture says that the Holy Spirit is the unction of the Only Begotten, interpreting the dignity of the Spirit by a transference of the terms commonly used in this world. For as, in ancient days, in those who were advanced to kingship, the token of this dignity was the unction that was applied to them, and when this took place there was thenceforth a change from private and humble estate to the superiority of rule, and he who was deemed worthy of this grace received after his anointing another name, being called, instead of an ordinary man, the Anointed of the Lord. For this reason, that the dignity of the Holy Spirit might be more clearly shown to humankind, he was called by the Scripture “the sign of the kingdom” and “Unction,” whereby we are taught that the Holy Spirit shares in the glory and kingdom of the only begotten Son of God. For as in Israel it was not permitted to enter upon the kingdom without the unction being previously given, so the word, by a transference of the terms in use among ourselves, indicates the equality of power, showing that not even the kingdom of the Son is received without the dignity of the Holy Spirit. And for this reason he is properly called Christ, since this name gives the proof of his inseparable and indivisible conjunction with the Holy Spirit. If, then, the only begotten God is the Anointed, and the Holy Spirit is his Unction, and the appellation of Anointed points to the kingly authority, and the anointing is the token of his kingship, then the Holy Spirit shares also in his dignity. If, therefore, they say that the attribute of Godhead signifies dignity and the Holy Spirit is shown to share in this last quality, it follows that he who partakes in the dignity will also partake in the name that represents it. ON THE HOLY TRINITY
BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF THE TRINITY. BASIL THE GREAT: Do not be misled because the apostle frequently omits the names of the Father and the Holy Spirit when he speaks of baptism. Do not imagine because of this that the invocation of their names has been omitted. St. Paul says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” and . . . “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.” To address Christ in this way is a complete profession of faith, because it clearly reveals that God anoints the Son (the anointed One) with the unction of the Spirit. We can learn this from Peter’s words in Acts, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit,” or from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me,” or from the Psalms, “Therefore God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.” But the Scripture also speaks of baptism in the context of the Spirit alone, for example, “For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.” There are other passages that agree with this: “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit,” and “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” No one would claim that on the basis of these passages the invocation of the Spirit’s name alone makes baptism complete and perfect. ON THE SPIRIT 12.28
SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. PSEUDO BASIL: He is Christ [Anointed] because of the Spirit and the anointing that is in the Spirit. Therefore, the anointing of the Lord is not of something foreign to the divinity, nor is the name Christ nor those called Christian after him. For, in truth, someone would lament if the name of our salvation both had its source in a creature and were derived from a creature and if we had our adoption through a slave. A creature does not make a creature holy, but all creation is made holy by the sole holy one who says concerning himself, “I sanctify myself.” But through the Spirit he sanctifies. . . . The Spirit, of course, is not a creature but the mark of the sanctity of God and the fountain of holiness for all. In the holiness of the Spirit were we called, as the apostle teaches. This renews us and shows us once again to be the images of God, and through the bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit we are made adopted sons [children] of God. AGAINST EUNOMIUS 5
Gospel (Matthew 3:13-17)
OVERVIEW: Jesus freely accepted John’s baptism in order that he might fulfill in all humility the justice of the law, that by his baptism he might validate John’s ministry of baptism and that by sanctifying the waters he might show the Holy Spirit’s advent in the baptism of believers (Jerome). Hence by being baptized himself, Jesus set apart for sacramental use the waters of our baptism. Yet since he committed no sin, there was no personal need for him to be baptized (HILARY, THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA). The faithful are symbolically transferred from this present life by baptism and given that life which is to come. Jesus saw to it that this observance should be fulfilled first of all in himself (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA). When people saw the Son being baptized as if he might be a sinner, the question arose as to the innocence to which the Baptist gave witness (ANONYMOUS). John did not want anyone to draw the conclusion that Jesus also came to the Jordan to repent of his sins, so he immediately set this point straight by calling him both Lamb and Redeemer of all the sin that is in the world (CHRYSOSTOM). John tried to excuse himself from doing what Jesus directed him to do, because he could not conceive that baptism was necessary for the One whom he knew had come to blot out the sins of the world (CHROMATIUS).
Jesus came to do away with the curse that is appointed for the transgression of the law. So he first of all had to fulfill all the law, to bring its curse to an end (CHRYSOSTOM). He who was perfect according to the law (THEODORE OF HERACLEA) in baptism identified himself with all that belongs to human nature (ANONYMOUS). Jesus freely identified himself with the people; otherwise he would not have come with the people for John’s baptism. Hence, when Jesus was baptized, a voice with the Spirit clearly proclaimed his identity as the only begotten Son (CHRYSOSTOM). The Lord was not baptized for his own sake but for ours, in order to fulfill all righteousness (CHROMATIUS). John’s baptism was perfect according to the precept of the law but imperfect in that it did not supply remission of sins yet to come. It merely made people fit for receiving the perfect one (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA). The dove signifies meekness and reconciliation (ORIGEN), affection and steady allegiance (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA). The dove and the voice manifested the Son’s identity both by eye and ear (HILARY). The triune teaching is concisely embedded in the voice of the Father concerning the Son through the descent of the Holy Spirit (AUGUSTINE).
WHILE JOHN WAS STILL TEACHING. ANONYMOUS: And then Christ came, so that also this witness revealed his truth. In his baptism the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended, the Father spoke from heaven, and through this it was made manifest that he who was baptized by John was truly more worthy than John. In the same way Lucifer came forth, but the light did not wait for the fall of Lucifer before it emerged. Even as he came forth it emerged and with its light obscured his brightness. So too in this way John’s preaching came before Christ. Christ did not wait for John to complete his career before he arrived on the scene, but, while John was still teaching, he appeared. Thus in comparing the teaching and work of Jesus and John, John’s work and role is constantly diminishing. Hence, after Jesus began preaching to all those who were flocking to him, John’s teaching was overshadowed. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 4
WHY THE SINLESS CHRIST WAS BAPTIZED. ANONYMOUS: John went about preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus came that he might receive John’s witness and confirm his preaching: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Thus, when some saw the sinless Christ baptized as if he were a sinner, they said to one another: “If he whose innocence the Baptist gave witness thought it necessary to have himself baptized, how can we who are covered with sins scorn repentance?” Here we must recall that John himself testified that “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 4
THE WATERS OF BAPTISM SANCTIFIED. HILARY: In Jesus Christ we behold a complete man. Thus in obedience to the Holy Spirit the body he assumed fulfilled in him every sacrament of our salvation. He came therefore to John, born of a woman, bound to the law and made flesh through the Word. Therefore there was no need for him to be baptized, because it was said of him: “He committed no sin.” And where there is no sin, the remission of it is superfluous. It was not because Christ had a need that he took a body and a name from our creation. He had no need for baptism. Rather, through him the cleansing act was sanctified to become the waters of our immersion. ON MATTHEW 2.5
WHETHER THE BAPTIZER IS GREATER THAN THE BAPTIZED. ORIGEN: By this act Jesus showed himself to be “meek and lowly in heart,” coming to those inferior to him, doing all that followed in order to humble himself and become obedient “unto death.” It is not always the case that the one who baptizes is greater than the one who is baptized. Ananias was not greater than Paul. And while Philip baptized, Peter gave the Spirit through the laying on of hands. FRAGMENT 52
WHY JESUS ACCEPTED JOHN’S BAPTISM. JEROME: For three reasons the Savior accepted baptism from John. First, because he was born a man, that he might fulfill all justice and humility of the law. Second, that by his baptism he might confirm John’s baptism. And third, that by sanctifying the waters of the Jordan through the descent of the dove, he might show the Holy Spirit’s advent in the baptism of believers. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 1.3.13
WHY HE WAS BAPTIZED. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Many raise the question, What in fact was the nature of this baptism with which the Lord was baptized? What did it amount to, the baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who, for the sake of the salvation of all, became human? As such he was to show himself to be the beginning of a certain paradoxical life on account of which he is called Adam, since for Adam’s sake and for the rest of those who have arisen from Adam he becomes the beginning of everlasting life, in the same way that Adam was the original of this temporary and mortal life. This Jesus, I say, recapitulated in himself everything that pertains to our salvation. For just as he both died and rose again, we also shall do so, in the same way. Since necessarily we were to be symbolically transferred from this present life by baptism and settled in that life which is to come, he saw to it that this baptism should be fulfilled first of all in himself. In his providential dispensation of things, he had received, before all others, this baptism of adoption which is by water and the Spirit. He thereby showed this baptism to be great and honorable, in that he himself, first of all, truly accepted it. Moreover, he himself identified himself with that part of society outside the law of grace, in which we also take part. For it was fitting that the Lord, in humility of spirit, should become subject both to the prophet and Baptist, like a common person from among the people. He was baptized that he might hallow the waters and bestow upon us, through the basin, regeneration and adoption and remission of sins and all the other blessings that came to us through baptism, prefiguring them in himself. As God, however, he is the One “who takes away the sin of the world,” and as such he has no need of baptism. FRAGMENT 14
JESUS NOT THERE FOR REPENTANCE. CHRYSOSTOM: John’s baptism was looking toward repentance. Its purpose was to bring hearers to the point of experiencing conviction for their offenses. John, however, did not want anyone to draw the conclusion that Jesus himself also came to the Jordan to repent of his sins. So he sets this point straight from the outset by calling him both Lamb and Redeemer of all the sin that is in the world. He who is able to take away the sins of the whole world was himself without sin. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 12.1
WHY JOHN TRIED TO PREVENT HIM. CHROMATIUS: Jesus therefore descended to fulfill all the observances of the law, and in this context he was baptized by John in Galilee at the Jordan. But John, recognizing the Lord as his God through the Holy Spirit, declared that he was unworthy to bear his sandals. He excused himself from doing what he was directed to do, because he could not conceive that baptism was necessary for the One whom he knew had come to blot out the sins of the world. He rather pled that he himself ought to be baptized by Christ, saying, “It is I who should be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” It is as if he were saying, “I am a man. You are God. I am a sinner because I am a man. You are sinless because you are God. Why do you want to be baptized by me? I do not refuse the respect you pay me, but I am ignorant of the mystery. I baptize sinners in repentance. But you have no taint of sin. So why do you want to be baptized? Why do you want to be baptized as a sinner, who came to forgive sins?” This is what John in effect was saying to the Lord. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 12.1
JESUS WAS BAPTIZED FOR US. CHROMATIUS: The Lord here is testing the faithful deference of service on the part of his servant, but he reveals the mystery of his dispensation by saying, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” showing this to be true righteousness, that he the Lord and Master should fulfill in himself every sacrament of our salvation. Therefore the Lord did not want to be baptized for his own sake but for ours, in order to fulfill all righteousness. Indeed, it is only right that whatever someone instructs another to do, he should first do himself. Since the Lord and Master of the human race had come, he wanted to teach by his example what must be done for disciples to follow their Master and for servants their Lord. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 13.2 3
THE LAW’S CURSE MADE VOID. CHRYSOSTOM: To this Jesus did not merely reply “Let it be so,” but he added pointedly, “now.” The implication: It will not be so forever. You will not always see the One for whom the prophets have longed. But for the present, permit this. And then he shows how this baptism is fitting. Why? “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The whole law is fulfilled by “all righteousness,” by which all the commandments are performed. He is in effect saying, “Since then we have performed all the rest of the commandments, this baptism alone remains. I have come to do away with the curse that is appointed for the transgression of the law. So I must therefore first fulfill it all and, having delivered you from its condemnation, bring it to an end. It is fitting for me therefore to fulfill the whole law by the same rule by which it is fitting for me to do away with the curse that is written against you in the law. This is the very purpose of my assuming flesh and coming to you.” THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 12.1
ALL THAT BELONGS TO HUMAN NATURE. ANONYMOUS: How did Christ fulfill the righteousness of baptism? Without doubt according to the demands of human nature: people need to be baptized, for according to carnal nature they are all sinners. Even as he fulfilled the righteousness of baptism, he fulfilled also the righteousness of being born and of growing, of eating and drinking, of sleeping and relaxing. He also fulfilled the righteousness of experiencing temptation, fear, flight and sadness, as well as suffering, death and resurrection: that is, according to the requirement of the human nature he took upon himself, he fulfilled all these acts of righteousness. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 4
PERFECT IN THE LAW. THEODORE OF HERACLEA: When he who is perfect according to the law was baptized with the baptism of John, he became the first to achieve the perfection of the law. For this reason even Christ, who was perfect in the law, was baptized with the baptism of John. For this reason he says, “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” FRAGMENT 21
MAKING US FIT TO RECEIVE THE PERFECT ONE. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The baptism of John was at one and the same time perfect and imperfect. It was perfect according to the precept of the law, but it was imperfect in that it did not supply remission of sins but merely made people fit for receiving the perfect one. For this reason, even Christ, since he was perfect with regard to the law, was baptized with this baptism, that is, the baptism of John. And he makes this clear, saying, “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” FRAGMENT 13
NOT BAPTIZED AS ONE REPENTING. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: In the times before Christ’s coming, those being baptized were held down in the water a longer time for the confession of sin. But Christ, being sinless, “came up immediately.” For Christ was not baptized as one repenting but as one cleansing sins and sanctifying the waters. FRAGMENT 29
IN BAPTISM WE ARE IMMEDIATELY MADE CHILDREN OF GOD. ANONYMOUS: I do not understand why it states “He immediately came up from the water.” What difference does it make if he came out later? The Evangelist therefore could have said, “After being baptized, Jesus came out of the water.” I believe that Christ’s action belongs to the mystery of all those who were subsequently to be truly baptized. Thus he said “immediately.” And note that he did not say “he went out” but “he came up.” All those who, as members formed and established in righteousness, are worthily baptized in Christ immediately come up from the water in the sense that they advance in virtue and are raised up to heavenly dignity. Those who enter the water as carnal children of Adam the sinner immediately come up from the water as persons who have been made spiritual children of God. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 4
THE MEEKNESS OF THE DOVE. ORIGEN: Christ was baptized for our sake, in order to sanctify the waters. The Spirit descended in the form of a dove, since wherever there is reconciliation with God there is a dove, as in the case of Noah’s ark . . . announcing God’s mercy to the world and at the same time making clear that what is spiritual should be meek and without wickedness, simple and without guile. FRAGMENT 56
THE STEADY ALLEGIANCE OF THE DOVE. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, being kindly, affectionate and a lover of humanity. Although frequently pushed aside, the dove nevertheless comes again to be possessed by us and does us good according to its own goodness. For the dove is an affectionate creature, a friend of humanity, who, even though mistreated by people who snatch away and eat its nestlings, does not depart from those it is accustomed to live with but remains no matter what. FRAGMENT 15
AN ANGELIC VOICE? APOLLINARIS: Some say that the “voice saying, ‘This is my beloved Son’ ” was either an angelic voice serving to represent the person of the Father or else some other voice fashioned on the spot. FRAGMENT 9
BY HEARING AND BY SIGHT. HILARY: A voice from heaven thus spoke: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God’s Son is manifested both by hearing and by sight. Both the witnesses of contemplation and the spoken word are sent from the Lord to an unfaithful people who disregard the prophets. At the same time, we knew from those who were immersed in Christ that after baptism with water the Holy Spirit would descend to us from the heavenly gates. Then we would be filled with the anointing of heavenly glory and become God’s children through the adoption the Father’s voice announced. Truth prefigured the image of the sacrament through these very happenings. ON MATTHEW 2.6
MY BELOVED SON. CHRYSOSTOM: Jesus freely identified himself with the people. For if he were not one of the people, he would not have come with the people for John’s baptism. Yet this caused some to imagine that John was greater than Jesus. In order that this opinion not be entertained, when Jesus was baptized the Spirit came down, and a voice with the Spirit proclaimed the identity of the Only Begotten. The voice said, “This is my beloved Son.” The voice was not identifying John but Jesus. The voice did not say this one who is baptized, but simply “this.” The Spirit came in the form of a dove, drawing the voice toward Jesus and making it evident to all that “this” was not spoken of John who baptized, but of Jesus who was baptized. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 12.2
THE FATHER’S VOICE, THE SON’S HUMANITY, THE SPIRIT’S DESCENT. AUGUSTINE: Here then we have the Trinity presented in a clear way: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Spirit in the dove. This only needs to be barely mentioned, for it is so obvious for anyone to see. Here the recognition of the Trinity is conveyed to us so plainly that it hardly leaves any room for doubt or hesitation. The Lord Christ himself, who comes in the form of a servant to John, is undoubtedly the Son, for here no one can mistake him for either the Father or the Holy Spirit. It is the Son who comes. And who could have any doubt about the identity of the dove? The Gospel itself most plainly testifies: “The Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove.” So also there can be no doubt whose voice it is who speaks so personally: “You are my beloved Son.” So we have the Trinity distinguished. . . . Here are the three persons of the Trinity distinguished: When Jesus came to the river, he came from one place to another. The dove descended from heaven to earth, from one place to another. The very voice of the Father sounded neither from the earth nor from the water but from heaven. These three are as it were distinguished in places, in offices and in works. But one may say to me, “Show me instead the inseparability of the triune God. Remember you who are speaking are a Catholic, and to Catholics are you speaking.” For thus does our faith teach, that is, the true, the right Catholic faith, gathered not by the opinion of private judgment but by the witness of the Scriptures, not subject to the fluctuations of heretical rashness but grounded in apostolic truth. This we know, this we believe. This, though we do not see it with our eyes nor as yet with the heart, so long as we are being purified by faith, yet by this faith we most firmly and rightly maintain the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are a Trinity inseparably one God, not three gods. But yet one God in such a way that the Son is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son, and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son but the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. This ineffable Divinity, abiding ever in itself, making all things new, creating, creating anew, sending, recalling, judging, delivering, this Trinity, I say, we know to be at once indescribable and inseparable. SERMON 2.1 2
One response to “January 11 – The Baptism of the Lord”
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The Lord’s Voice on the Waters: CHRIST OVER THE NATIONS. AUGUSTINE: “The Lord’s voice over the waters”: this means the voice of Christ over the nations.
A Voice from Heaven: THE FATHER’S VOICE, THE SON’S HUMANITY, THE SPIRIT’S DESCENT. AUGUSTINE: Here then we have the Trinity presented in a clear way
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