November 30, 2025 – First Sunday of Advent

Christ’s coming demonstrated the stark contrast between idolatry and true religion (Theodoret). The church is the indestructible mountain (Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine). Christ is the mountain (Augustine, Gregory the Great). With the coming of Christ came the call of the Gentiles (Eusebius). The mountain is the church, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Jerome). Nations and peoples are moving toward Christ and his church (Leander of Seville). Christians are encouraged to sing praise to God (Athanasius). Isaiah predicted the gospel of the New Testament (Theodoret, Basil). The apostles and their followers preached the gospel beginning in Jerusalem (Justin Martyr, Eusebius, Augustine, Bede). Jews and Gentiles are subject to the new law of God in Christ. Christ did not come as powerful in war but in peace (Tertullian). Peace comes only through Christ and his church (Athanasius, Chrysostom). One house of Jacob is born of flesh and blood, the other of faith and the spirit (Justin Martyr, Augustine). Jesus Christ is the light of the world, and we should come to him for forgiveness (Jerome).

Announcement of the Incarnation. Theodoret of Cyr: [Isaiah] announces the wonderful and widespread demonstration of piety everywhere: idolatry will be destroyed, while the house of God will receive its due sign of universal respect. . . . After our Savior’s appearing, idolatry will be shown and the beauty of truth will be unveiled. In this we will see the fulfillment of this announcement. Furthermore, by “last days” he means that time following incarnation. _{Commentary on Isaiah 2.2} The Mountain as the Church. Cyril of Jerusalem: He calls the church a mountain when he says, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established.” _{Catechetical Lectures 21.7} Christ the Mountain. Augustine: The central place they are all coming to is Christ; he is at the center, because he is equally related to all; anything placed in the center is common to all. . . . Approach the mountain, climb up the mountain, and you that climb it, do not go down it. There you will be safe, there you will be protected; Christ is your mountain of refuge. And where is Christ? At the right hand of the Father, since he has ascended into heaven. _{Sermon 62A.3} The Vision of Daniel. Augustine: It talks of a mountain, and the mountain is veiled to the party of Donatus. . . . The holy Daniel saw a vision and wrote down what he saw, and he said that he had seen a stone hewn out of a mountain without hands. It is Christ, coming from the nation of the Jews, which was also a mountain, you see, because it has the kingdom. . . . What is the mountain over which the heretics stumbled? Listen to Daniel again: “And that stone grew and became a great mountain, such that it filled all the face of the earth.” How right the psalm is to say to Christ the Lord as he rises again, “Be exalted over the heavens, O God, and let your glory be over the whole earth.” What is your glory over the whole earth? Over the whole earth your church, over the whole earth your bride. _{Sermon 147A.4} Our Redeemer. Gregory the Great: Who is meant by “mountain of strength” but our Redeemer? _{Forty Gospel Homilies 33} Christ Is the Savior of All Peoples. Eusebius of Caesarea: One can take the time to learn in what manner the prophecies of the call of the Gentiles should be understood and that they were fulfilled only after the coming of our Savior. The beginning of the prophecy is consistent with the reality that the Lord descended not only for the salvation of the Jewish race but also for that of all people, in announcing to all peoples and all the inhabitants of the earth, “Hear, all peoples, and let the earth and all in it listen.” _{Proof of the Gospel 6.13} Christ and His Church. Leander of Seville: The mountain is Christ, and the house of the God of Jacob is his one church, toward which the concourse of nations and assembly of peoples is moving by this pronouncement. _{Homily on the Triumph of the Church} The House of the Lord. Jerome: This mountain is in the house of the Lord, for which the prophet sighed when he said, “One thing I asked from the Lord, this I seek, that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,” and about which Paul wrote to Timothy, “If I am late, you should know how to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” This house was built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, who are mountains themselves as imitators of Christ. About this house of Jerusalem the psalmist cried out: “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which dwells in Jerusalem; it will not be moved forever. The mountains surround her and the Lord surrounds his people.” Hence Christ also founds his church on one of the mountains and says to him, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against her.”

The Saints of Old Encourage Us to Celebrate. Athanasius: Let us sing a victorious song of praise to the Lord! Who will lead us to such a company of angels? Who, longing for the heavenly feast and the angels’ holiday, will say like the prophet, “I will lead them to the house of God: a multitude joyfully praising God and keeping festival”? The saints of old encourage us to be like that, saying, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob.” _{Festal Letter 6.10-11} Gospel from Zion. Theodoret of Cyr: I am amazed at the persistence of some to interpret this passage in such a way as to conclude that this is a prediction of the return from Babylonian captivity. Which nations rushed to the temple after its rebuilding? What law was given from there? God gave the ancient law on Sinai, not Zion. Clearly Isaiah is referring to the New Testament, where the law was first given to the apostles and then delivered to all peoples by them. He announces that in addition to the law, the word would come from Zion. The term word is a title given to the message of the gospel. The blessed Luke says, “Those who were from the beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us.” He is not talking about God the Lord but the message of the divine word. Zion is not where God the Word was from but where he taught the truth. _{Commentary on Isaiah 2.4} Gospel from Zion. Basil the Great: Ask a man of circumcision, a Jew after the flesh, which law and which word the prophet is talking about. About the law given through Moses? Let them show how this law comes “out of Zion.” For Moses did not enter the land of possession, whereas Zion is in Judea. The Scripture was mistaken then, according to them, using one name instead of another, for it said Zion instead of Sinai or Horeb. But it refers to the holy law. Which one? When was it given? Where was it written? And “the word out of Jerusalem” as well? The Jew after the flesh says that Isaiah means preaching of the prophets. Yet the preaching of the prophets took place everywhere across Judea, not only in Jerusalem and throughout Israel but also in captivity, in Nineveh and throughout the earth. Let them restrain themselves then before the truth and receive the law giving of the Lord that comes from the watchtower, the God-bearing flesh from which he watched over human actions. “And the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem.” Having started from there, the preaching of the gospel has been sown around the whole world. _{Commentary on Isaiah 2.72} Twelve Went Out. Justin Martyr: We can show you that this actually happened. For a group of twelve men went out from Jerusalem, and they were ignorant men, not trained in oratory. But through the power of God they witnessed to every race of humanity that they were sent out by Christ to teach the Word of God to all people. Now we who once killed one another no longer war against each other, but moreso we gladly die for the confession of Christ in order not to lie to or deceive our interrogators. _{First Apology 39} A New Law. Eusebius of Caesarea: What can this law proceeding from Zion, which is different from what was made law by Moses in the desert at Mount Sinai, be but the word of the gospel through our Savior Jesus Christ which proceeds from Zion through all the nations? For clearly it was in Jerusalem and Mount Zion, where our Savior and Lord lived and taught, that the law of the new covenant originated and from which it proceeded to all people. _{Proof of the Gospel 1.4} Repentance Begins in Jerusalem. Augustine: The first law, the Old Testament, had come out of Mount Sinai by the lips of Moses; but it was foretold of the law Christ came to give: “The law shall come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” This explains why Christ ordered repentance to be preached in his name among all peoples but beginning in Jerusalem. _{City of God 18.54} Forgiveness Begins in Jerusalem. Bede: It was opportune that the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins through confession of Christ’s name should have started from Jerusalem. Where the splendor of his teaching and virtues, where the triumph of his passion, where the joy of his resurrection and ascension were accomplished, there the first root of faith in him would be brought forth; [there] the first shoot of the burgeoning church, like that of some kind of great vine, would be planted. Just so, by an increase in the spreading of the word, [the church] would extend the branches of her teaching into the whole wide world. . . . It was opportune that the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, good news to be proclaimed to idolatrous nations and those defiled by various evil deeds, should take its start from Jerusalem, lest any of those defiled, thoroughly terrified by the magnitude of their offenses, should doubt the possibility of obtaining pardon if they performed fruits worthy of repentance, when it was a fact that pardon had been granted to those at Jerusalem who had blasphemed and crucified the Son of God. _{Homilies on the Gospels 2.15}

Transformed Minds. Tertullian: Long ago did Isaiah declare that “out of Zion should go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” some other law, that is, and another word. In short, he says, “He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people,” meaning not those of the Jewish people only, but also of the nations which are judged by the new law of the gospel and the new word of the apostles, and are among themselves rebuked of their old error as soon as they have believed. And as the result of this, “They beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears (which are a kind of hunting instrument) into pruning hooks.” That is to say, minds that once were fierce and cruel are changed by the gospel and the word of the apostles into good dispositions productive of good fruit. _{Against Marcion 4.1} Christ, Not Moses. Tertullian: The gospel will be this “way” of the new law and the new word in Christ, no longer in Moses. “And he shall judge among the nations,” even concerning their error. “And these shall rebuke a large nation,” that of the Jews themselves and their proselytes. “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares”; in other words, they shall change into pursuits of moderation and peace the dispositions of injurious minds, hostile tongues and all kinds of evil and blasphemy. . . . You learn here that Christ is promised not as powerful in war but pursuing peace. _{Against Marcion 3.21} Peace Through Christ. Athanasius: Who is the one who has done this, or who is the one who has joined together in peace people who once hated one another, except for the beloved Son of the Father, the Savior of all, even Jesus Christ, who because of his own love suffered all things for our salvation? For from ages past the peace he would initiate was promised. _{On the Incarnation 52.1} Peace Through the Church. Chrysostom: Not only would the church be firm, steadfast and indestructible, but it would also gain great peace for the world. Governments and monarchies will be destroyed; there will be but one kingdom put together for all people, and, unlike in times past, its greater part will be at peace. For, in the past, all craftsmen and men in public life were trained in warfare and took their place among the ranks. After the coming of Christ, all that was done away with, and wars were confined to widely separated areas. _{Demonstration Against the Pagans 6.6}

Two Houses of Jacob. Justin Martyr: Our conclusion is that there were two seeds of Judah and two races, just as there are two houses of Jacob, one born of flesh and blood and the other born of faith and the Spirit. _{Dialogue with Trypho 135.6.5-8} Jacob Is Not Israel. Augustine: What did the prophet Isaiah mean when he announced that a mountain would be prepared on the summits of the mountains, to which all peoples were going to come? The law and the Word of God was going to proceed from Zion and Jerusalem to all nations, not from Mount Sinai to one nation. This we see most evidently fulfilled in Christ and the Christians. A little later the prophet says, “O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Here, you [the Jews] will surely say your usual piece: “We are the house of Jacob,” but listen a moment to what follows, and when you have said what you want to say, hear what you do not want to hear. The prophet continues, “For he has cast off his people, the house of Israel.” Here say, “We are the house of Israel”; here acknowledge yourselves and forgive us for reminding you of these facts. _{In Answer to the Jews 8} No Place for a Proud Attitude. Augustine: Dearly beloved, whether the Jews receive these divine testimonies with joy or with indignation, nevertheless, when we can, let us proclaim them with great love for the Jews. Let us not proudly glory against the broken branches; let us rather reflect by whose grace it is, and by much mercy, and on what root, we have been grafted into. _{In Answer to the Jews 10} Walk in the Light. Jerome: For all who do evil hate the light and fail to come to the light lest their works be proven. But you, the house of Jacob, the house of my people, come with me and let us walk together in the light of the Lord. Let us accept the gospel of Christ and be illuminated by him who said, “I am the light of the world.” And when this had been spoken to the people of the Jews, discerning that their hearts were impenitent and their hardened souls unbelieving, Isaiah made a note to the Lord, saying, “I exhort them, therefore, to come to you today and to be filled with me by your light, for you have abandoned your people, formerly the house of Jacob, on account of their sins.” _{Commentary on Isaiah 1.2.5-6}

OVERVIEW: The foot that we have in heaven while still living on earth is the foot of the soul (AMBROSE). STANDING IN THE COURTS OF JERUSALEM AMBROSE: These are the feet that David washes in spirit when he teaches you how to keep them unsoiled, saying, “Our feet have been standing in your courts, O Jerusalem.” Certainly, here “feet” is to be understood not as of the body but as of the soul. For how could a person on earth have his physical feet in heaven? Since Jerusalem, as Paul tells you, is in heaven, he also shows you how to stand in heaven when he says, “But our abode is in heaven”: the “abode” of your behavior, the “abode” of your deeds, the “abode” of your faith. _{ON VIRGINITY 9.59}

OVERVIEW: The church welcomes and urges those who have fallen into sin or wandered into heresy to return to the true church, where there is peace, strength and love (AUGUSTINE). PEACE IS THE STRENGTH OF THE CITY. AUGUSTINE: Let them, then, have a bitter sorrow for their former detestable wrongdoing, as Peter had for his cowardly lie, and let them come to the true church, that is, their catholic mother, and let them be clerics or bishops in it with as much service for it as they formerly used against it. We do not begrudge it to them; on the
contrary, we embrace them, we beg them, we exhort them, we compel them to come in when we find them in the highways and hedges. Even so, we do not yet persuade some of them that we seek them, not their possessions. When the apostle Peter denied the Savior and wept and remained an apostle, he had not yet received the Holy Spirit who had been promised, but much less have they received him when, severed from the unity of the body to which alone the Holy Spirit gives life, they have maintained the sacraments of the church outside the church and in opposition to the church and have fought a kind of civil war, setting up our own banners and our own arms against us. Let them come; “let there be peace in the strength of Jerusalem,” the strength that is charity, as it was said to the holy city: “Let peace be in your strength and abundance in your towers.” Let them not rise up against the motherly anxiety that she had and has to gather them in, and with them so many throngs of people whom they deceive or did deceive. Let them not be proud, because she thus welcomes them. Let them not turn to the evil purpose of self-esteem what she does for the good purpose of peace. _{LETTER 185.46}

When We First Believed. Diodore: When we realized what the advantages of good works are, the message of salvation became easier to understand than it was when we first believed. For when we believed in Christ we did not immediately acquire an exact understanding of what we should be doing, nor was it clear to us what we should stop doing and what we should continue doing. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.} Wake from Sleep. Ambrosiaster: Paul says that the time has come when we must hasten to obtain our reward. This is what it means to wake up from sleep—to do good as if it were day, i.e.,openly. . . . It is clear that if we live well after baptism and strive for love we are not far from the reward of the promised resurrection. For the good life of a Christian is the sign of future salvation. For when a person is baptized he is forgiven but not rewarded. Later, as he walks in newness of life, he is near to eternal life. _{Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.} Full Time to Awake. Chrysostom: The time is short. . . . The day of resurrection and of the terrible judgment is fast approaching. . . . If you have done everything that was asked of you and are prepared for it, then you have nothing to fear, but if you have not, then look out! Paul is not trying to frighten his hearers but to encourage them, so as to detach them from their love of the things of this world. It was not unlikely that at the beginning of their endeavors they would be more dedicated and slacken off as time went on. But Paul wants them to do the opposite—not to slacken as time goes on but to become even more dedicated. For the nearer the King is, the more they ought to be ready to receive him. _{Homilies on Romans 23} The Acceptable Time. Augustine: This relates to 2 Corinthians [6:2]: “Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.” Paul means by this the time of the gospel and the opportunity to save all those who believe in God. _{Augustine on Romans 76} Grow Up! Pelagius: It is the hour for you to strive for that which is more perfect and complete, for you should not always be children and infants. . . . Let us together rise from the sleep of idleness and ignorance, for now the knowledge of Christ shines forth. With the increase of knowledge our salvation is nearer than it was when we first believed. _{Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans} True Salvation. Theodore of Mopsuestia: “Our salvation” means the general resurrection on the last day, for it is then that we shall enjoy true salvation. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church} On the Threshold of the Resurrection. Gennadius of Constantinople: Every day the end comes closer, and we are already on the threshold of the resurrection. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church}

The Son and the Promises. Clement of Alexandria: By “day” and “light” he designates figuratively the Son, and by “the armor of light” he means the promises. _{Stromata 4.22} Cast Off Works of Darkness. Origen: This may be understood in both a universal and in a particular sense. In the first instance, the light is dawning everywhere, and the reign of darkness over the world is rapidly coming to an end. . . . In the second instance, if we have Christ in our hearts he gives us light. Therefore if the reason of knowledge drives away our ignorance and if we turn away from unworthy deeds and do what is right, we are in the light and are walking honestly as if in the day. _{Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans} Opportunities May Be Lost. Diodore: The “day” is the time of this life which remains to us, in which we can do good works. The “night” is the future, in which it will no longer be possible to work. Then we shall lie in the darkness, having lost the chance to do good works. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church} The Armor of Light. Ambrosiaster: “Night” means the old man, who is renewed through baptism. Paul says that he has passed away like the night and that the day is near, i.e., the sun of righteousness, by whose light the truth appears to us so that we may know what to do. For before we were in the dark, being ignorant of Christ. But when we learned of him the light rose on us and we passed from the false to the true. The “darkness” refers to carnal sins, which are done by worldly enticements. . . . But to “put on the armor of light” is to do good deeds. _{Commentary on Paul’s Epistles} Bearing Arms for the Reign of Light. Chrysostom: The day is calling us to get ready for the battle. Do not be afraid at the thought of bearing arms. It is a heavy and distasteful duty when we have to bear a visible suit of armor, but in this case it is desirable and worth it. For the arms we are called to bear are those of the light! _{Homilies on Romans 24} The Day Is at Hand. Augustine: Paul said this, yet look at how many years have passed since then! Yet what he said was not untrue. How much more probable it is that the coming of the Lord is near now, when there has been such an increase of time toward the end! _{Letter 77} Walking in the Light. [Pseudo-]Constantius: The apostle urges us to put off the works of darkness embedded in the torpor of sleep and walk in the light, that is, in good works. _{The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans} Darkness as Ignorance. Pelagius: Paul likens knowledge to the day and ignorance to the night, in accordance with what Hosea says: “I have likened your mother to the night; my people have become as those who have no knowledge.” Let us therefore cast off the works of ignorance and put on the armor of light, that is, works of light. _{Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans} The Meaning of Day and Night. Theodore of Mopsuestia: By “day” Paul means the time since the coming of Christ, for his appearing has made it much easier to tell the difference between good and evil. “Night” refers to the time before his coming. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church} Theodoret of Cyr: “Night” refers to the time of ignorance, whereas “day” refers to the time after the Lord’s coming. _{Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans}

Works of the Flesh. Origen: These are the works of darkness, which are also called the “works of the flesh,” in which people bind their flesh to luxury and uncleanness rather than to holiness or the Lord. “Reveling” refers to dishonorable and extravagant banqueting, which inevitably is prone to sexual immorality. . . . “Quarreling and jealousy” are really acts of the mind, but like everything else here, they are called acts of the flesh. _{Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans} Conduct Ourselves Becomingly As in the Day. Jerome: Let us live our lives in the same way now as we are going to live in the day, that is, in the future world. _{Homilies on the Psalms 46} Reveling and Drunkenness. Ambrosiaster: It is true that people do not sin in public, so let us behave as if we were constantly in the public eye. For there is nothing more public than the truth. . . . Crimes are hatched in large supplies of wine, and many kinds of lust are stirred up. Therefore banquets of this kind are to be avoided. . . . Debauchery is another result of this sort of thing. Paul was right to warn them against quarreling and jealousy, because both of these things lead to enmity. _{Commentary on Paul’s Epistles} Restraint of Excess. Chrysostom: Paul does not forbid alcohol; he is opposed only to its excessive use. Nor does he prohibit sexual intercourse; rather, he is against fornication. What he wants to do is to get rid of the deadly passions of
lust and anger. Therefore he does not merely attack them but goes to their source as well. For nothing kindles lust or wrath so much as excessive drinking. _{Homilies on Romans 24} As in the Day. Pelagius: Just as the light of day keeps everyone from doing what he would freely do at night, so too, knowledge keeps us from ignoring the commands of the law. A revel is a luxurious banquet, but we have a spiritual feast. Moreover, that drunkenness is ruinous and an occasion for debauchery is further proved by the fact that Paul has added “licentiousness.” That quarrelling and jealousy are also objects of reproach is demonstrated both here and by many other examples. _{Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans}

Modest Dress. Clement of Alexandria: Let the wife always make use of a plain dress, dignified, softer than that allowed her husband but not one that offends grossly against modesty nor one made with a view only to softness. Let the clothes be in keeping with the person’s age, with the individual himself, the place, his character and occupation. The apostle well advises us: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” _{Christ the Educator 3.11.56} Put On Christ. Origen: We have often said that Christ is wisdom, righteousness, holiness, truth and all the other virtues. Therefore anyone who has acquired these has put on Christ. For if all these are Christ, then the person who has them must of necessity have Christ as well. Whoever has them will not bother about the flesh. The apostle speaks here with some care, because he knows that we must take some thought for the needs of the flesh. It is the excesses and lusts of the flesh, not its basic needs, which must be avoided. _{Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans} Origen: The Lord Jesus Christ himself . . . is said to be the clothing of the saints. _{On First Principles 2.3.2} Diodore: This means that we should imitate Christ in what we do and show him to others in the way we behave. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church} Wearing the Wedding Garment. Ambrosiaster: Paul wants everything the law forbids not to be desired, or if it is desired, to be overcome. . . . To put on Christ means to cut oneself off from every sin and wickedness, so that at the wedding banquet one will not be found without a new garment and be shamefully thrown out into the darkness. _{Commentary on Paul’s Epistles} Not to Gratify Excessive Desires. Chrysostom: Here Paul no longer speaks of works, but rather he rouses his hearers to greater things. When he was speaking of vice he talked about its works, but now that he is speaking about virtue, he does not speak about works but about armor. . . . Even more strikingly, he talks about the Lord Jesus Christ as the garment we are to put on, for whoever is clothed with him has all virtue. When Paul says “make no provision for the flesh,” he is not speaking of necessities but of excess. That is why he adds the qualifying phrase: “to gratify its desires.” _{Homilies on Romans 24} Make No Provision for the Flesh. Augustine: Provision for the flesh is not to be condemned if it has to do with the needs of bodily health. But if it is a question of unnecessary delights or luxuries, a person who enjoys the delights of the flesh is rightly chastised. For in that case he makes provision for the desires of the flesh, and “he who sows in the flesh will reap corruption in the flesh.” _{Augustine on Romans 77} Walk As He Walked. Pelagius: Christ alone should be seen in us, not the old self, for “one who says he abides in Christ should walk as he walked.” _{Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans} Expecting Resurrection. Theodore of Mopsuestia: Paul wants to say that by the regeneration of baptism we have been conformed to Christ and become members of the one body of the church, of which he is the head, and so we must put him on in the understanding of what we are expecting, in that we hope to share in his resurrection. _{Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church}

By saying that he does not know the day and the hour, Christ associates himself with his body, the church (ORIGEN). By declaring that no one knows the day, Christ removes from us any need to be concerned about a particular date. This uncertainty is beneficial for our spiritual life (HILARY OF POITIERS). The Lord indicates that he will return unexpectedly, when many will pursue the life of pleasure, luxury and unlawful passions. Yet for the saints it will be a time of tribulations (CHRYSOSTOM). When speaking about those eating and drinking in the time of the deluge, the Lord does not forbid these activities; rather he teaches us to exercise them spiritually, to the glory of God, as opposed to pleasing the flesh. As in the time of Noah only those in the ark were saved, so also in the second coming only those in the church will be saved. The outsiders, the heretics, will perish _{(INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW)}. Those who live according to the gospel do not attempt to find out the date of the end. Rather, knowing that our personal end—death—may happen at any moment, they pursue vigilance (ORIGEN). The second coming will be completely unexpected. Neither occupation or social status will matter for the final judgment (CHRYSOSTOM). Christ’s judgment is the final separation between the saints and the sinners (HILARY OF POITIERS). As one has to be always prepared to confront a thief, so one has to be always prepared to face the end of life and the following judgment. To keep us always vigilant and active the Lord does not indicate the precise day of his second coming (CHRYSOSTOM, HILARY OF POITIERS). To be ready means to keep all of the possible entrances (that is, all of the senses) shut to sin and the devil, the thief. Since the date of the second coming as well as the date of personal death are not known to us, every generation should live in the constant expectation of Christ’s return _{(INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW)}.

PURSUING PLEASURES. CHRYSOSTOM: What then is meant by “after the tribulation of those days”? If there is to be luxury at that time, and peace and safety, as Paul indicates, how then can he say, “after the tribulation of those days”? If there is luxury, how is there also tribulation? The luxury is spoken of those who are in a state of insensibility and peace. He does not say that there will be peace but rather “when they speak of peace and safety,” indicating that their insensibility would be something like those in Noah’s time, that even amid such evils they lived in luxury. Yet it will not be a time of peace and luxury for the righteous. The righteous will be passing through this time of tribulation in dejection. He shows that when antichrist has come, the pursuit of unlawful pleasures shall be more eagerly pursued among the transgressors, who have learned to despair of their own salvation. There will then be gluttony, partying and drunkenness. He then offers an example of this. _{THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2}

IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE FLOOD. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Christ did not forbid eating, drinking and marrying when he said “As in the days of Noah, they were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage.” He would never destroy what he himself established. Instead, he was commanding that what we do with our bodies, we do spiritually and to the glory of God so that our flesh might be made spiritual on account of the spiritual purposes for which we use it. . . . Before the flood, people were fleeing from the fear of God and doing nothing for his glory. Everything they did was only for their own flesh. Whenever they ate or drank, they ate and drank only to satisfy their bodily desires, not to glorify God as the apostle had commanded. What Christ wanted to say here is that it will be like this again near the end of the world. . . . At the end of the world, the destruction will be universal and sudden like it was “in the days of Noah.” Just as every creature of the earth was destroyed in the flood, except only those who escaped in the ark, so also at the consummation of the world every heresy will be destroyed, but only one ark will be saved—the church of Christ, composed of the righteous. Everything outside of the ark died in the flood. Likewise, at the end of the world whoever is found to be outside the one true church will perish. _{HOMILY 50}

THEY DID NOT KNOW UNTIL THE FLOOD CAME. ORIGEN: All who listen to the depths of the gospel and live it so completely that none of it remains veiled from them care very little about whether the end of the world will come suddenly and all at once or gradually and little by little. Instead, they bear in mind only that each individual’s end or death will arrive on a day and hour unknown to him and that upon each one of us “the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” It is important therefore to be vigilant, whether in the evening (that is, in one’s youth) or in the middle of the night (that is, at human life’s darkest hour) or when the cock crows (at full maturity) or in the morning (when one is well advanced in old age). When God the Word comes and brings an end to the progress of this life, he will gather up the one who gave “no sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids” and kept the commandment of the One who said, “Be vigilant at all times.” . . . But I know another kind of end for the righteous person who is able to say along with the apostle, “Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world.” In a certain sense, the end of the world has already come for the person to whom the world is crucified. And to one who is dead to worldly things the day of the Lord has already arrived, for the Son of man comes to the soul of the one who no longer lives for sin or for the world. _{COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 56}

IN THE FIELD, AT THE MILL. CHRYSOSTOM: All these things are demonstrations that he knew what was to come. It would be like the days of Noah: “Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left,” so unexpected will it be. It is without thought that they will be taken. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.” This is not the employment of those who are contemplating such a calamity. From both employees and employers some will be taken and some will be left. Among those who are at ease and those who labor, some will be
taken, some left. Rank or station will not matter, as it says in the Old Testament: “From him that sits upon the throne to the captive woman who is at the mill.” Even though he had said earlier that it is hard for a rich man to be saved, here he shows that not even the rich are altogether lost, neither are all the poor saved, but out of both groups people are saved and lost. And to me he seems to indicate that the advent will come at night, like a thief, as Luke also indicates. It is amazing how fully he knows all things. _{THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2} A JUDGMENT COMING. HILARY OF POITIERS: Christ shows that a judgment is coming, since between two people in a field, one is taken up and one left behind. Between two grinding at the mill, one is chosen and one rejected. Between two lying in bed, one departs and one remains. This teaching means that the separation of the faithful from the unfaithful will consist in one being accepted and the other abandoned. For, like the prophet says, when the wrath of God rises, the saints will be hidden in God’s chambers but the faithless will be left exposed to celestial fire. The two in the field therefore represent the faithful and the unfaithful, both of whom will be surprised by the day of the Lord in the midst of the world, in the course of their life’s work. They will be separated, one taken and the other left. It will be the same for the two grinding at the mill, which represents the work of the law. For only some of the Jews, like Elijah, believed through the apostles that they must be justified by faith. One group will be taken up through the faith that produces good works, and the other group will be abandoned in the fruitless works of the law, grinding in vain at a mill that will never produce heavenly food. The two lying in bed are proclaiming the repose of the Lord after his Passion, which both Catholics and heretics confess alike. But because the truth of the Catholic faith preaches the unity of the Father and the Son, which we call their deity, whereas the false doctrine of heretics attacks this unity with many different insults, one of the two lying in bed will be taken up but the other will be left behind. For by accepting one and rejecting the other, God’s judgment will prove the merit of each confession. _{ON MATTHEW 26.5}

WATCH THEREFORE. CHRYSOSTOM: But his meaning is like this: If ordinary persons knew when they were going to die, they would surely be striving earnestly at that hour. In order therefore that they may strive, not at that hour only, he does not tell them the hour or day. He wants to keep them on their toes looking for it, that they may be always striving. This is why he made the end of each person’s life so uncertain. In this passage he openly implies that he himself is Lord. Nowhere before has he spoken of this so distinctly. But here he seems to me also to be putting to shame those who remain careless about his lordship. They take much more care about a thief taking their money than about their own soul. Those who care about their house and do not want their possessions stolen take measures against the thief. They watch; they are prepared for the thief. So it is with you. You do not know when he will come. But you know assuredly that he will come. If you do not continue to watch, you will not be ready on that day. You will be unprepared. Destruction will come in your sleep. If the person had known when the thief was coming, he would have been prepared. So be like the one who is prepared at all times, so you will escape free. Having then mentioned the judgment, he directs his thoughts next to teachers, speaking of honorable and dishonorable actions. His discourse closes with that which is alarming, for he speaks first of those who do right, then of those who continue in sin. _{THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2}

YOU DO NOT KNOW THE TIME. HILARY OF POITIERS: To teach us that our ignorance of the date of his return (which his silence has kept hidden from everyone) is not without its usefulness, Christ warns us to keep all his commandments. We should also be occupied with constant prayer in order to guard against the coming of the thief. For the thief is the devil who seeks to invade our bodily homes with the darts of his thoughts and allurements in order to ruin us while we are sleepy and careless. It is good therefore that we be prepared. Our ignorance of the day of Christ’s return should provoke us to be careful as we eagerly await his coming. _{ON MATTHEW 26.6}

YOU MUST BE READY. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Does the soul not know when the thief has gained access through one of these entrances? Indeed, it does not know until it has been led into sin. The soul must be vigilant, therefore, and close all its ports of entry. The mouth should be occupied with holy speech, the ears with pious sounds; the eyes with a vision of the wondrous works of God; and the mind with heavenly thoughts. It is not sufficient merely to refrain from speaking, hearing, seeing or thinking evil things. For to do that is only to block the access of good spirits along with the bad. Whoever renounces evil but fails to take up the good is said to have left the gates to his soul open. The enemy enters easily when he finds them vacant. It is necessary therefore that the portals to the soul of the just not only be free of evil but also be fully occupied with the good, lest evil find a way to gain access. _{HOMILY 51} LIVING IN EXPECTATION. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Why is the date of an individual’s death hidden from him? Clearly it is so that he might always do good, since he can expect to die at any moment. The date of Christ’s second advent is withheld from the world for the same reason, namely, so that every generation might live in the expectation of Christ’s return. This is why when his disciples asked him, “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has established by his authority.” “But know this, that if the head of the household had known the hour at which the thief would arrive, he would have been vigilant and would never have allowed his house to be burglarized.” The head of the household represents the human soul, the thief is the devil, the house is the body, the doors are the mouth and ears and the windows are the eyes. Like the thief who gains access through the doors and windows to despoil the householder, the devil also finds easy access to the soul of a man through his mouth, ears and eyes to take him captive. This is why Jeremiah wrote, “For death entered through our windows.” If you wish to be secure, install a bolt on your door, which is to say, put the law of the fear of God in your mouth so that you can say with the psalmist, “I will guard my ways that I might not sin with my tongue. I will put a guard at my mouth.” _{HOMILY 51}