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 (Genesis 12:1-4a)
12:1 The Call from God
Guided by the Spirit.
ANTONY THE GREAT: Some were reached by the Word of God through the law of promise and the discernment of the good inherent in them from their first formation. They did not hesitate but followed it readily as did Abraham, our father. Since he offered himself in love through the law of promise, God appeared to him, saying, “Go from your country and your kindred and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” And he went without hesitating at all but being ready for his calling. This is the model for the beginning of this way of life. It still persists in those who follow this pattern. Wherever and whenever souls endure and bow to it they easily attain the virtues, since their hearts are ready to be guided by the Spirit of God. Letter 1.1.
Genesis 12:1-3
Why He Left.
DIDYMUS THE BLIND: It is not by chance that God orders Abraham to leave his land and his relatives but because he sees in him something that makes him worthy of being the object of divine concern, that is, his faith in God. But it was not fitting that the one who had faith in God should remain among perverse people—the father of Abraham was in fact an idolater—because the company of the wicked often does harm to zealous people, especially to those whose zeal is new. That is why the Savior also proclaims, “If anyone wishes to follow me and does not hate his father, his brothers, his sisters, and even his wife and children, he cannot be my disciple.” The Lord did not say that in order to provoke hatred of one’s relatives, but if one of them becomes an obstacle to virtue, it is necessary to hate him for virtue’s sake. That is what the apostles did, who said, “Look, we have left everything in order to follow you.” Such is the order given now to the patriarch, and God tells him that he will show him a land in which to live, that he will make of him a great nation, that he will bless and magnify his name. On Genesis 209.
Abraham Represents the Mind.
AMBROSE: Abraham represents the mind. In fact Abraham signifies passage. Therefore, in order that the mind, which in Adam had allowed itself to run to pleasure and to bodily attractions, should turn toward the ideal form of virtue, a wise man has been proposed to us as an example to imitate. Actually Abraham in Hebrew signifies “father,” in the sense that the mind, with the authority, the judgment and the solicitude of a father, governs the entire person. This mind then was in Haran, that is, in caverns, subject to the different passions. For this reason it is told, “Go from your country,” that is, from your body. From this land went forth the one whose homeland is in the heavens. On Abraham 2.1-2.
Abraham Believed God’s Promise.
AUGUSTINE: The right thing to do, brothers and sisters, is to believe God before he pays up anything, because just as he cannot possibly lie, so he cannot deceive. For he is God. That’s how our ancestors believed him. That’s how Abraham believed him. There’s a faith for you that really deserves to be admired and made widely known. He had received nothing from him, and he believed his promise. We do not yet believe him, though we have already received so much. Was Abraham ever in a position to say to him, “I will believe you, because you promised me that and paid up”? No, he believed from the very first command given, without having received anything else at all. “Go out from your country,” he was told, “and from your kindred, and go into a country which I will give you.” And he believed straightaway, and [God] didn’t give him that country but kept it for his seed. Sermon 113a.10.
In Baptism Our Land Is Our Body.
CAESARIUS OF ARLES: When the sacred lesson was read just now, we heard the Lord say to blessed Abraham, “Leave your country, your kinsfolk and your father’s house.” Now everything that was written in the Old Testament, dearly beloved, provided a type and image of the New Testament. As the apostle says, “Now all these things happened to them as a type, and they were written for our correction, upon whom the final age of the world has come.” Therefore, if what happened corporally in Abraham was written for us, we will see it fulfilled spiritually in us if we live piously and justly. “Leave your country,” the Lord said, “your kinsfolk and your father’s house.” We believe and perceive all these things fulfilled in us, brothers, through the sacrament of baptism. Our land is our body; we go forth properly from our land if we abandon our carnal habits to follow the footsteps of Christ. Does not one seem to you happily to leave his land, that is, himself, if from being proud he becomes humble; from irascible, patient; from dissolute, chaste; from avaricious, generous; from envious, kind; from cruel, gentle? Truly, brothers, one who is changed thus out of love for God happily leaves his own land. Finally, even in private conversation, if one who is wicked suddenly begins to perform good works we are inclined to speak thus of him: He has gone out of himself. Indeed, he is properly said to have gone out of himself if he rejects his vices and delights in virtue. “Leave your country,” says the Lord. Our country, that is, our body, was the land of the dying before baptism, but through baptism it has become the land of the living. It is the very land of which the psalmist relates: “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” Through baptism, as I said, we have become the land of the living and not of the dying, that is, of the virtues and not of the vices. However, this is true only if after receiving baptism we do not return to the slough of vices, if when we have become the land of the living we do not perform the blameworthy, wicked deeds of death. “And come,” says the Lord, “into the land which I will show you.” It is certain that then we will come with joy to the land that God shows us if with his help we first repel sins and vices from our land, that is, from our body. Sermon 81.1.
Our Kinsfolk Are Our Sins and Vices.
CAESARIUS OF ARLES: “Leave your kinsfolk.” Our kinsfolk is understood as those vices and sins that are in part born with us in some way and are increased and nourished after infancy by our bad acts. Therefore we leave our kinsfolk when through the grace of baptism we are emptied of all sins and vices. However, this is true only if later we strive as much as we can with God’s help to expel vice and to be filled with virtues. If after being freed from all evil through baptism we are willing to be slothful and idle, I fear that what is written in the Gospel may be fulfilled in us: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he roams through dry places in search of rest and finds none. If after he returns he finds his house unoccupied, he takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” Therefore let us so go forth from our kinsfolk, that is, from our sins and vices, that we may never again wish to return to them as a dog to its vomit. Sermon 81.2.
The Devil Was Our Father Before Grace.
CAESARIUS OF ARLES: “Leave your father’s house.” This we ought to accept in a spiritual manner, dearly beloved. The devil was our father before the grace of Christ; of him the Lord spoke in the Gospel when he rebuked the Jews: “The father from whom you are is the devil, and the desires of your father it is your will to do.” He said the devil was the father of humanity, not because of birth from him but because of imitation of his wickedness. Indeed, they could not have been born of him, but they did want to imitate him. This fact that the devil was our first father the psalmist relates in the person of God speaking to the church: “Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, forget your people and your father’s house.” Sermon 81.3.
12:2 A Promise of a Great Nation
A Heavenly Greatness.
DIDYMUS THE BLIND: As for the promise to make of him “a great nation,” is it necessary to give a meaning other than the literal one? Because it is clear that it was realized in its historical sense. But, having become a people, it is truly great when it is adorned with virtues. And it is manifest that when the progress becomes more important in the soul, there is established in it a grandeur which is no longer earthly but heavenly. And this soul is a blessing that is not simply offered but realized, because the name is made great and becomes celebrated because it is accompanied by virtue and by that beauty which confers a spiritual blessing. It is worth more to have a good name than to have riches. On Genesis 210-11.
Abraham’s God-Fearing Qualities.
CHRYSOSTOM: The scope of the promise is extraordinary: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and magnify your name.” Not only will I place you at the head of a great nation and cause your name to be great, but as well, “I will bless you, and you will be blessed.” I will favor you with so much blessing, he says, that it will last for all time. “You will be blessed” to such an extent that everyone will be anxious to thrust themselves into your company in preference to the highest honor. See how God right from the beginning foretold to him the honor he would later confer upon him. “I will make you a great nation,” he said; “I will magnify your name; I will bless you, and you will be blessed.” Hence the Jews too found in the patriarch grounds for self-importance and endeavored to establish their kinship with him in the words “We are the children of Abraham.” For you to learn, however, that on the basis of their evil ways they are in fact unworthy of such kinship, Christ says to them, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham.” John too, the son of Zechariah, when those anxious to be baptized flocked to the Jordan, said to them, “Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that benefits repentance, and don’t presume to say, ‘We have Abraham for our father.’ I tell you, after all, that God can raise up children to Abraham even from these stones.” Do you see how great his name was in everyone’s estimation? For the time being, however, before the sequel the just man’s God-fearing qualities are demonstrated in the way he believed the words coming from God and accepted without demur everything, difficult though it seemed. Homilies on Genesis 31.13.
12:3 The Extent of the Promise
The Generation of the Spiritual Israel.
BEDE: The promise of this blessing is greater and more important than the preceding one. That was earthly, this one is heavenly, since that one referred to the generation of the fleshly Israel and this one to the generation of the spiritual Israel; that one to the nation born from him according to the flesh and this one to the generation of the nation saved in Christ from all the families of the earth. Among these saved are included all those born from him according to the flesh, who wished also to imitate the piety of his faith. To all these together the apostle Paul says, “If you are of Christ, you are then the seed of Abraham.” Therefore when he says, “In you will be blessed all the families of the earth,” it is as if he were saying, “And in your seed will be blessed the families of the earth.” Mary, from whom would be born the Christ, was present already when these things were said to him. This is what the apostle meant when he spoke of them [the descendents of Levi] as “in the loins of Abraham.” How marvelous was the dispensation of the divine severity and goodness. The multitude of those who had gathered for a work of pride merited to be divided from one another into different languages and races. . . . This one man, who abandoned that region, going forth from it willingly by the order of the Lord, heard addressed to himself the promise that in one common blessing there would be reunited in him all the peoples divided into various regions and languages. On Genesis 3.
12:4 Abraham’s Obedience
We Go Forth from Our Land.
BEDE: In this, his going forth by divine command from the land, from his kin and from the house of his father, it is clear that all the sons of his promise, among whom are we also, must imitate him. We go forth from our land when we renounce the pleasures of the flesh; from our kin when, in the measure possible for humans, we make an effort to rid ourselves of all the vices with which we are born. We go forth from the house of our father when, for love of the heavenly life, we want to leave the world itself with its head, the devil. All of us, in fact, because of the first disobedience, are born into the world as sons of the devil. But, through the grace of regeneration, all those who belong to the seed of Abraham are made sons of God, because our Father who is in heaven says to us, that is, to his church, “Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house.” On Genesis 3.
Psalm (33:4-5, 18-22)
33:4 All God’s Work
FIRM AND PERMANENT.
THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Everything done by [God] is firm and permanent. The insertion of both these phrases was necessary in the light of the foregoing: he had to recommend thanksgiving and show the justice of the victory and the permanence of the gift so that the thanksgiving and hymn singing to him would emerge as a response to both, the provision of just assistance and the gift of abiding beneficence. He is saying, then, that both these features characterize what is done by God, and if either is missing, the level of thanksgiving could be diminished. That is to say, if the assistance were unjust, it would not be appropriate to offer thanks on their behalf, even though thanks are due for what is received, or if it underwent rapid change, it thus would be unnecessary to give thanks for good things that do not last. Commentary on Psalms 33.4B.
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
BASIL THE GREAT: “If you see the heavens,” he says, “and the order in them,” they are a guide to faith, for through themselves they show the Craftsman; and, if you see the orderly arrangement about the earth, again through these things also your faith in God is increased. In fact, it is not by acquiring knowledge of God with our carnal eyes that we believe in him, but by the power of the mind we have perceived the invisible God through visible things. Therefore, “all his works are done with faithfulness.” Even if you consider the stone, it also possesses a certain proof of the power of its Maker. Likewise, if you consider the ant or the gnat or the bee. Frequently in the smallest objects the wisdom of the Creator shines forth. He who unfolded the heavens and poured out the boundless expanses of the seas, he it is who hollowed out the very delicate sting of the bee like a tube, so that through it the poison might be poured out. Therefore “all his works are done with faithfulness.” Do not say, “This happened by chance” and “that occurred accidentally.” Nothing is casual, nothing indeterminate, nothing happens at random, nothing among things that exist is caused by chance. And do not say, “It is a bad mishap,” or “it is an evil hour.” These are the words of the untaught. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And yet not one of them will fall without the divine will. How many are the hairs of your head? Not one of them will be forgotten.” Do you see the divine eye, how none of the least trifles escapes its glance? Homilies on the Psalms 15.3 (Ps 33).
33:5 Righteousness and Justice
TYPICAL OF GOD.
DIODORE OF TARSUS: This is typical of God, both to show lovingkindness and to judge—to show lovingkindness for those who hope in him and to condemn those who trust in themselves. Commentary on Psalm 33.
GRACE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.
THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Grace and righteousness are characteristic of what is done by God. In other words, he said that loving is characteristic of him, speaking perhaps excessively and meaning that not only does what has been done in the past have these two characteristics, but also he is very fond of doing such things as happen to have these two characteristics. Commentary on Psalms 33.5A.
KINDNESS, THEN JUDGMENT.
HESYCHIUS OF JERUSALEM: He places kindness before judgment because God uses kindness, then judgment against those who continue in sin. Large Commentary on Psalms 33.5.
THE MERCIFUL JUDGE DESIRES REPENTANCE.
BASIL THE GREAT: The Judge wishes to have mercy on you and to share his own compassion. . . . But if he sees your heart unrepentant, your mind proud, your disbelief of the future life and your fearlessness of the judgment, then he desires the judgment for you, just as a reasonable and kind doctor tries at first with hot applications and soft poultices to reduce a tumor, but, when he sees that the mass is rigidly and obstinately resisting, casting away the olive oil and the gentle method of treatment, he prefers henceforth the use of the knife. Therefore, God loves mercy in the case of those repenting, but he also loves judgment in the case of the unyielding. Homilies on the Psalms 15.3 (Ps 33).
TWO REALITIES IN GOD.
AUGUSTINE: Make no mistake, brothers and sisters: in God these two realities cannot be separated. We might think that they are mutually exclusive, so that a person who is merciful is not allowing judgment its rights, while someone who insists on judgment is forgetting mercy. But God is almighty, and he neither loses sight of judgment when exercising mercy nor abandons mercy when passing judgment. He looks mercifully on his image, taking our frailty into account, and our mistakes and our blindness; he calls us, and when we turn back to him, he forgives our sins. But he does not forgive those who refuse to turn back. Is he merciful to the unjust? He has lost sight of judgment, has he? Is he not right to judge between the converted and the unconverted? Or does it seem just to you that the converted and unconverted should receive the same treatment, that one who confesses and one who lies, the humble and the proud, should all be welcomed without distinction? Even as he exercises mercy, God has a place for judgment. Expositions of the Psalms 33.11.
FULL OF MERCY.
CASSIODORUS: He describes the Lord by telling what he has done or what he does every day. We say that we love the things in which we are often engaged. So here the Lord’s love of mercy is celebrated in song . . . because he often imparts this mercy as a gift. . . . Since in this world he shows his love of mercy when he scatters it far and wide, when he bears with sinners, when he patiently waits for blasphemers, when he offers life to the unworthy and other similar acts that plainly ought to be attributed to divine compassion. . . . What follows is the statement that “the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.” It is just this mercy that preserves us when we are miserable, when we struggle in the battle because of the devil’s attack, when we are distracted from the commands of heaven by the weakness of our flesh. . . . Therefore let us seek the mercy with which the entire world is filled. Explanation of the Psalms 33.5.
THE TIME FOR MERCY.
AUGUSTINE: This present time is the season for mercy, but the season for judgment will come later. Why do we say that this is the season for mercy? Because at this present time God calls those who have turned away from him and forgives their sins when they return; he is patient with sinners until they are converted, and when they are converted at last he forgets everything in their past and promises them a future, encouraging the sluggish, comforting the troubled, guiding the eager and helping the embattled. He deserts no one who struggles and calls out to him; he bestows on us the wherewithal to offer him sacrifice; and he himself gives us the means of winning his favor. Let us not allow this time of mercy to pass away, my brothers and sisters, let it not pass us by. Judgment is coming. Expositions of the Psalms 33.10.
33:18 The Eye of the Lord
HOPE IN GOD’S MERCY.
ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: For the eyes of the Lord are not looking on those trusting in their own strength but those hoping in his mercy. He will snatch their spirits from death and shelter them. Commentary on the Psalms 33.
DO NOT TRUST YOUR OWN GOOD DEEDS.
BASIL THE GREAT: He who does not trust in his own good deeds or expect to be justified by his works has, as his only hope of salvation, the mercies of God. For, when he considers that the expression “Behold the Lord and his reward” refers to each according to his work, and when he ponders his own evil deeds, he fears the punishment and cowers beneath the threats. There is good hope that gazes steadfastly at the mercies and kindness of God lest it be swallowed up by grief. He hopes that his soul will be delivered from death and will be fed by him in famine. Homilies on the Psalms 15.10 (Ps 33).
SEEKING SALVATION.
AUGUSTINE: If it is salvation that you seek, be aware that the elective love of the Lord rests on those who fear him “and trust in his mercy,” rather than putting their hope in their own strength. Expositions of the Psalms 33.18.
WATCHFULNESS.
SALVIAN THE PRESBYTER: God is said to watch over the just, that he may maintain and protect them. Watchfulness by his gracious divinity is the function of his relationship with people. The Governance of God 2.1.
33:19 God Delivers Their Souls
SALVATION, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS: Those who fear him, those who hope for his mercy, he saves from spiritual death and nourishes in a spiritual way, that they may also say, “Let your mercy be on us, Lord, as we have hoped in you.” Exposition on Psalms 33.
THE TWO PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL.
CASSIODORUS: These are the two prayers of the most faithful Christian: to be rescued from eternal death at the coming judgment and to spend time here with spiritual nourishment. The Lord rescues the souls of the just from death when he raises them from the power of the devil, when by his kindness he frees those held captive by sin. In hunger, he feeds them while they are in this world, when there is a lack of good things. He does not cease to nourish with spiritual food those whom he has redeemed. Explanation of the Psalms 33.19.
33:20 A Soul Waiting for the Lord
ENDURANCE.
CASSIODORUS: When the psalmist says “he waits,” he indicates the endurance of the Christian . . . since it is endurance that makes the martyrs glorious, that watches over the good things of our faith, that conquers everything that stands against us, not by fighting against God’s will, but by enduring, not by complaining, but by giving thanks. Endurance suppresses deceptive luxury, it overcomes the heat of anger, it removes the jealousy that lays waste the human race, it renders people gentle, it smiles appropriately at the kind, and it sets the cleansed in good order for the rewards that are to come. Endurance wipes away the dregs of every pleasure; it makes souls appear bright. Through endurance we serve as God’s soldiers, through it we conquer the devil, through it we arrive as the blessed to his heavenly kingdom, for it is written, “in your endurance you will gain possession of your souls.” Explanation of the Psalms 33.20.
PROTECTIVE SHIELD.
THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: [God] is always helping and providing us with salvation. The term “protector,” you see, is a metaphor from those thrusting their own shields among the enemy and by protection from these often sheltering others and freeing them from every disaster. Commentary on Psalms 33.20A.
33:21 Glad in the Lord
THE LORD SUSTAINS US.
ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: Even in this hour, we are hungry and thirsty and naked, yet our spirits act patiently and are not disturbed, for the Lord sustains us. He is our helper and protector, and, as it says in the heading of the psalm, we are commanded to “rejoice in the Lord, righteous ones, let your heart be joyful in him, and hope in his holy name.” He brings his mercy over us as we hope in him. Commentary on the Psalms 33.
HIGHER DELIGHTS.
EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS: The heart of the righteous does not delight in food and drink but in justice, knowledge and wisdom. Notes on the Psalms 32[33].20.
REJOICE IN GOD.
AUGUSTINE: Not in ourselves, where there is nothing but vast penury without him, but in him will our heart rejoice. . . . This is why we have hoped that we shall reach the Lord: while we are still at a distance he has put his own name on us through our faith. Expositions of the Psalms 33.21.
Reading 2 (2 Timothy 1:8b-10)
2 Timothy 1:8-10
1:8 Do Not Be Ashamed of Testifying to Our Lord
GLORY IN THE ECONOMY OF THE CROSS.
CHRYSOSTOM: Observe . . . how Marcion, and Manes, and Valentinus, and others who introduced their heresies and pernicious doctrines into the church of God, measuring divine things by human reasonings, became ashamed of the divine economy. Yet it was not a subject for shame but rather for glorying; I speak of the cross of Christ. . . . For in themselves death and imprisonment and chains are matters of shame and reproach. But when the cause is added before us and the mystery viewed aright, they will appear full of dignity and a matter for boasting. For it was that death on the cross that saved the world when it was perishing. That death connected earth with heaven; that death destroyed the power of the devil and made men angels and sons of God; that death raised our nature to the kingly throne. Those chains enabled the conversion of many. Homilies on 2 Timothy 2.
1:9a He Called Us with a Holy Calling
RELATIVE WORTHINESS.
AMBROSIASTER: When Paul says that we are not called according to our works, he means that all who are called are sinners, though by comparison with others some were found to be more worthy. With regard to God’s own grace, however, all were totally unworthy. Commentary on the Second Letter to Timothy.
1:9b Not Our Works but God’s Purpose
CO-OPERATING GRACE.
CHRYSOSTOM: If then he is mighty in calling us, and good, in that he has done it of grace and not of debt, we ought not to fear. For he who, when we should have perished, saved us, though enemies, by grace, will he not much more co-operate with us, when he sees us working? “Not according to our own works,” he says, “but according to his own purpose and grace,” that is, no one compelling, no one counseling him, but of his own purpose, from the impulse of his own goodness, he saved us. This is the meaning of “according to his own purpose.” Homilies on 2 Timothy 2.
THE ELECT FOREKNOWN.
PELAGIUS: God foreknew those who would be reborn in response to the offer of grace. Pelagius’s Commentary on the Second Letter to Timothy.
PRECEDING GRACE.
AUGUSTINE: Why, then, is it that, in what follows, where they mention what the Pelagians themselves think, they say they confess that “grace also assists the good purpose of every one, but that yet it does not infuse the desire of virtue into a reluctant heart”? They say this as if man of himself, without God’s assistance, has a good purpose and a desire of virtue, hence this preceding merit is supposedly worthy of being assisted by the subsequent grace of God. For they think perhaps that the apostle thus said, “For we know that he works all things for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to the purpose,” so as to wish the purpose of man to be understood. This purpose is then viewed as a good merit that the mercy of the God who calls might follow. They are ignorant that it is said, “Who are called according to the purpose,” so that this may be understood as the purpose of God, not man. Thus those whom he foreknew and predestinated as conformed to the image of his Son, he elected before the foundation of the world. . . . This then is the purpose of God, in relation to which it is said, “He works together all things for good for those who are called according to his own purpose.” Indeed subsequent grace assists man’s good purpose, but the purpose itself would not exist if grace did not precede. Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 2.10.22.
1:9c The Grace Given Us in Christ Jesus
THE ECONOMY OF THE FLESH.
ATHANASIUS: Here again allusion is made to the economy according to the flesh. For the grace which came to us from the Savior appeared, as the apostle says, just now, and has come when he sojourned among us. Yet this grace has been prepared even before we came into being. . . . The God of all then created us by his own Word, and knowing our destinies better than we, God foresaw that even though we were made “good,” we should be transgressors of the commandment and be thrust out of paradise for disobedience. Being loving and kind, he prepared beforehand in his own Word, by whom also he created us, the economy of our salvation. Though by the serpent’s deceit we fell from him, we would not remain wholly dead, but having in the Word the redemption and salvation which was earlier prepared for us, we might rise again and abide immortal. Discourses Against the Arians 2.75.
1:10a Now Manifested Through the Appearing
OLD, YET NEW.
THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The gospel is ancient in the will of the Giver, even if new in the chain of events. God has demonstrated his eternal will in Christ. Commentary on 2 Timothy.
FULFILLMENT.
THEODORET OF CYR: Indeed, the God of all preformed these things from the beginning and before the ages. Now he has brought about a conclusion to all that was decreed. The incarnation is that in which the eternity of the Son is finally manifested. Interpretation of the Second Letter to Timothy.
1:10b Our Savior Abolished Death and Brought Life
NO LONGER DYING.
ATHANASIUS: “From Adam to Moses death reigned”; but the presence of the Word abolished death. No longer in Adam are we all dying. In Christ we are all reviving. Against the Arians 1.59.
LAMB AND LION.
AUGUSTINE: Is he not at the same time a lamb and a lion in both his suffering and his resurrection? Let us discern the lamb in the suffering. “He was,” as we just reminded you, “mute as a lamb before its shearer, and he opened not his mouth.” Let us discern the lion in the suffering. Jacob has said, “Thou hast risen: resting thou hast slept as a lion.” Let us discern the lamb in the resurrection. When the Apocalypse is speaking of the everlasting glory of virgins, it says, “They follow the lamb wherever he goes.” Let us discern the lion in the resurrection. The Apocalypse also says, “The lion of the tribe of Judah has overcome to open the scroll.” Why is he a lamb in his suffering? Because, although he was innocent, he suffered death. Why is he a lion in his suffering? Because he slew death when he himself was slain. Why is he a lamb in his resurrection? Because his innocence is everlasting. Why is he a lion in his resurrection? Because his power is everlasting. Sermons 4.1.
Gospel (Matthew 17:1-9)
17:1 Jesus Takes Peter, James and John to a High Mountain
AFTER SIX DAYS.
HILARY OF POITIERS: Indeed, in this type of event, reason, harmony and example are served. For after six days the appearance of the Lord’s glory is revealed. No doubt, with the cycles of six thousand years having unfolded, the glory of the heavenly kingdom is prefigured. And the three were taken up in analogy to the descent of the three, Shem, Ham and Japheth. By this the coming election to divine favor of the people is shown. On Matthew 17.2.
THE COUNTING OF DAYS.
JEROME: Now it is asked how after six days he took them and led them separately onto a high mountain, whereas the Evangelist Luke established the number at eight. The answer is easy because in Matthew the days in the middle are counted, but in Luke the first and last are added. For Luke does not say after eight days Jesus took Peter and James and John but “now about eight days after.” Commentary on Matthew 3.17.1.
WHY ONLY THREE?
CHRYSOSTOM: Why does he take only these three with him? Because each one of these three was elevated above the rest. Peter showed his preeminence by exceedingly loving him; John by being exceedingly loved by him. James showed his superiority by his ready response to his brother: we are able to drink the cup and by his works and by doing what he said. For so earnest was James, and grievous to the Jews, that Herod himself imagined that he had bestowed a great favor on the Jews by killing him. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 56.2.
17:2 Jesus Transfigured Before Them
THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
ORIGEN: But some may ask, when he was transfigured before those who were led up by him into the lofty mountain, did he appear to them in the form of God or in the preincarnate form that he earlier had? Did he appear to those left below in the form of a servant, but to those who had followed him after the six days to the lofty mountain, did he have not the form of a servant but the form of God? Listen carefully, if you can, and at the same time be attentive spiritually. It is not simply said that he was transfigured, but with a certain necessary addition. Both Matthew and Mark have recorded this: he was transfigured before them. Is it therefore possible for Jesus to be transfigured before some but not before others? Do you wish to see the transfiguration of Jesus? Behold with me the Jesus of the Gospels. Let him be simply apprehended. There he is beheld both “according to the flesh” and at the same time in his true divinity. He is beheld in the form of God according to our capacity for knowledge. This is how he was beheld by those who went up upon the lofty mountain to be apart with him. Meanwhile those who do not go up the mountain can still behold his works and hear his words, which are uplifting. It is before those who go up that Jesus is transfigured, and not to those below. When he is transfigured, his face shines as the sun, that he may be manifested to the children of light, who have put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. They are no longer the children of darkness or night but have become the children of day. They walk honestly as in the day. Being manifested, he will shine to them not simply as the sun but as he is demonstrated to be, the sun of righteousness. Commentary on Matthew 12.37.
HIS GARMENTS BECAME WHITE AS LIGHT.
JEROME: Certainly the Lord was transformed into that glory with which he would afterwards come in his own kingdom. The change accentuated in splendor. It did not diminish his outward appearance. Let it be that his body had become spiritual. Even his garments were changed, which were white to such a high degree that as another Evangelist would say, “And his clothes became dazzling white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” What the mortal bleacher on earth is able to make is material and subject to touch, not supernatural and heavenly, which mocks the eyes and is only seen in a vision. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.2.
HIS FACE SHONE LIKE THE SUN.
AUGUSTINE: Indeed, Jesus himself shone as the sun, indicating that he is the light which illuminates every one who comes into this world. And this is the sun to the eyes of the flesh, that is the sun to the eyes of the heart. His garments are a type of his church. For garments, unless held up by the one having donned them, fall. Paul was like the lowest hem of these garments. For he himself says, “For I am the least of the apostles,” and in another passage, “I am the last of the apostles.” On a garment, the hem is the last thing and the least. Just as that woman who touched the Lord’s hem was made well, so the church which came out of the Gentiles was saved by means of Paul’s preaching. Sermon 78.2.
17:3 Moses and Elijah Appear
READINESS TO DIE.
CHRYSOSTOM: He is transfigured to manifest the glory of the cross, to console Peter and the others in their dread of the Passion and to bring their minds to elevated understanding. Those who went up with him did not hold their peace but were destined to speak of the glory which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem—of his Passion and the glory of the cross. And not only did Jesus elevate their understanding, but also he brought their virtues to a higher level, so that they could meet the requirements expected of them. He had just said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” He then set before them Moses and Elijah, who were ready to die ten thousand times for God’s decrees and for the people entrusted to them. Each of them, having lost his life, found it. For each of them both spoke boldly to tyrants, the one to the Egyptian, the other to Ahab. They spoke on behalf of heartless and disobedient people. They were brought into extreme danger by the very persons who were saved by them. Both desired to lead people away from idolatry. These were not eloquent men. Moses was slow of tongue and dull of speech. Elijah had the crudest sort of appearance. Both were strict observers of voluntary poverty. Moses did not work for worldly gain. Elijah did not possess anything more than his sheepskin. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 56.3.
THERE APPEARED MOSES AND ELIJAH.
JEROME: While the scribes and Pharisees were testing him, he was unwilling to give signs from heaven to those demanding them; however, he silenced their perverse demand with a prudent response. Here, indeed, so that he might increase the faith of the apostles, he gave a sign from heaven. Thereupon Elijah descended from the place to which he had ascended. Moses rose from the lower regions. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.3.
17:4 Offering to Make Three Booths
I WILL MAKE THREE BOOTHS.
JEROME: You go astray, Peter, just as the other Evangelist attests: you do not know what you are saying. Do not seek three tabernacles. Seek only the tabernacle of the gospel in which the law and the prophets are to be recapitulated. By seeking three tabernacles you appear to be comparing incommensurably the two servants with the one Lord. Seek only the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for in these there is one God, who is to be worshiped in the tabernacle of your heart. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.4.
PETER SAID TO JESUS.
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Peter didn’t know what he was saying, for before the Savior’s Passion, resurrection and victory over death and corruption, it was impossible for Peter to be with Christ and to be permitted into the tents which are in heaven. These things would happen only after the Savior’s resurrection and ascent into heaven. Fragment 200.
IT IS WELL THAT WE ARE HERE.
LEO THE GREAT: Excited therefore by these revelations of secret realities, the apostle Peter, spurning the mundane and loathing earthly things, was seized by a certain excess of passion toward a yearning for eternal things. Filled up with the joy of the whole vision, he wished to dwell there with Jesus where he was delighting in Christ’s manifested glory. Thus Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” But the Lord did not reply to this suggestion, for it was not wicked but inappropriate, since the world could not be saved except by Christ’s death. And in the Lord’s warning the faith of those who believe is called to account. Among the temptations of this life we should understand that we are to ask for endurance before glory. Good fortune in ruling cannot come before a time of enduring. Sermon 38.5.
17:5 Hear My Beloved Son
A BRIGHT CLOUD OVERSHADOWED THEM.
ORIGEN: I think that God, wishing to dissuade Peter from making three tabernacles, under which so far as it depended on his choice he was going to dwell, shows him a better tabernacle, so to speak, and far superior: the cloud. It is the function of a tabernacle to give shade to one who is in it and to shelter him, and the bright cloud overshadowed them. So God made, as it were, a more divine tabernacle, inasmuch as it was bright, that it might be to them a pattern of the resurrection to come. For the shining cloud gives shade to the righteous and at the same time protects them, gives them light and illuminates them. What would the shining cloud that gives shade to the righteous be? Is it perhaps the Father’s power, from which comes the Father’s voice saying that this is his Son in whom he is well pleased, urging those that are shaded by it to listen to him and to no one else? He speaks—just as of old so also for all times—through those whom he wishes. Perhaps the shining cloud is the Holy Spirit, giving shade to the righteous and announcing the words of God at work within it and saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” I would even venture to say that the shining cloud is our Savior. Commentary on Matthew 12.42.
THIS IS MY BELOVED SON.
JEROME: Because Peter had asked imprudently, he does not merit the Lord’s answer. But the Father answered for the Son so that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled: “I do not bear witness for myself, but the Father who sent me, he bears witness for me.” The cloud appears bright and shades them, so that those who were looking for a material booth made from boughs or tents might be protected with the shade of a shining cloud. The voice of the Father speaking from heaven is also heard. It provides testimony and teaches Peter the truth with error removed, and in fact through Peter teaches all the apostles: “This is my beloved Son.” It is for him that you must build the tabernacle, him you must obey. “My Son” is distinguished from his servants, Moses and Elijah. They, along with you, are to prepare a tabernacle for the Lord in the inner sanctum of their heart. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.5.
FROM PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT.
APOLLINARIS: The Father is evidently revealing the Son when the ringing voice from heaven bursts forth so loudly. Through it he reveals to everyone the testimony coming from above. One must not think that the voice of God is audible. Nor can one perceive a bodiless being. Just as no one has ever seen God, so no one has ever heard God. The words “listen to him” have the power of making a necessary distinction. For he says listen to him, rather than to Moses or the prophet who had been introduced, because it was now time to go forward and advance from the introduction to the fulfillment, from the prefiguration to the true reality. Fragment 85.
LISTEN TO HIM.
LEO THE GREAT: A voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. I am manifested through his preaching. I am glorified through his humility. So listen to him without hesitation. He is the truth and the life. He is my strength and wisdom. “Listen to him” whom the mysteries of the law foreshadowed, of whom the mouths of the prophets sang. “Listen to him” who by his blood redeemed the world, who binds the devil and seizes his vessels, who breaks the debt of sin and the bondage of iniquity. “Listen to him” who opens the way to heaven and by the pain of the cross prepares for you the steps of ascent into his kingdom. Sermon 38.7.
17:6 The Disciples Filled with Awe
FILLED WITH AWE.
CHRYSOSTOM: Why was it that when they heard these words they were dismayed? For previously a similar voice had spoken in Jordan and a crowd was present, but no one felt anything like this; and afterwards, again, when they said that it thundered, they did not feel anything like this. Why then did they fall on their faces on the mountain? Because there was solitude, and the height of the mountain, and great quietness, and a transfiguration full of awe, and a pure light and a cloud stretched out; all of these threw them into great alarm. Amazement arose on every side, and they fell on their faces in both fear and adoration at the same time. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 56.6.
THEY FELL ON THEIR FACES.
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Through their speaking together it shows that the old prophets also spoke the same things as Jesus, even if enigmatically. In great awe the disciples fell on their faces, and the Savior raised them up. This shows that if Jesus had not been incarnate and had not been Mediator between God and humanity and strengthened his own nature, he would not have endured to hear the voice of God. Fragment 199.
17:7 Rise, and Have No Fear
JESUS CAME AND TOUCHED THEM.
JEROME: For three possible reasons they were petrified with fear: either because they knew they had sinned or because the bright cloud covered them or because they had heard the voice of God the Father speaking. Human weakness is not strong enough to bear the sight of such great glory but trembles with its whole heart and body and falls to earth. . . . “And Jesus came up and touched them.” Because they were lying down and could not rise, he mercifully came up and touched them so that through his touch he might put to flight their fear and strengthen their weakened limbs. “And he said to them, ‘Rise, and don’t be afraid.’ ” Those whom he had healed with his hand, he heals with his command, “Have no fear.” First fear is expelled so that afterwards doctrine may be imparted. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.6-7.
17:8 When They Lifted Their Eyes
THEY SAW JESUS ONLY.
ORIGEN: Consider the details of this passage. See if you can also say this: The disciples understood that the Son of God had been speaking with Moses. It was Moses who had said of God, “No one shall see my face and live.” The disciples understood the testimony of Moses about God. They were not able to endure the radiance of the Word. They humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God. But after the touch of the Word, they lifted up their eyes. They saw Jesus only and no other. Moses, the law and Elijah the prophet had become one with the gospel of Jesus. They did not abide as they formerly were as three, but they became one. Think of these things in a spiritual sense. Commentary on Matthew 12.43.
17:9 Tell No One the Vision
UNTIL JESUS IS RAISED FROM THE DEAD.
CHRYSOSTOM: For the greater the things said about him, the harder it was for the many at that time to accept them. And the offense of the cross increased all the more thereby. Therefore he told them to be silent about the transfiguration. He again reminded them of the Passion, and he almost mentioned the reason why he told them to be silent. For he did not command them never to tell anyone but “[to wait] until he is raised from the dead.” Saying nothing about the painful part, he told them only of the good. What then? Were they not going to be offended after this? Not at all. For the silence that was being demanded was only for the time before the crucifixion. After this they were thought better prepared to receive the Spirit. They had the voice of the miracles advocating for them, and everything that they said from then on was easier to receive. For the course of events announced his power more clearly than a trumpet, and no stumbling block interrupted these events. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 56.6.
TELL NO ONE.
JEROME: The preview of the future kingdom and the glory of his triumph had been shown on the mountain. So he does not want this to be told to the people in case it should be deemed incredible because of its greatness and also so that after such great glory the event of the cross that follows should not cause untaught minds to stumble. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.9.
17:10 First Elijah Must Come
THE SCRIBES’ TEACHING.
JEROME: Unless we know the reasons why the disciples asked about the name of Elijah, their questioning seems foolish and extraordinary. For what does asking about Elijah’s arrival have to do with what was written above? The Pharisees’ tradition, following the prophet Malachi of the twelve minor prophets, is that Elijah comes before the end. He turns the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers and restores everything to its ancient state. So the disciples think that the transfiguration of glory is the one that they have seen on the mountain and say, “If you now have come in glory, why does your precursor not appear?” especially since they had seen Elijah disappear. But when they say, “The scribes say that Elijah must first come,” by the word first they are saying that unless Elijah comes, it is not the advent of the Savior according to the Scriptures. Commentary on Matthew 3.17.10.
17:11 Restoring All Things
HE IS TO RESTORE ALL THINGS.
THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Therefore there will be a forerunner of his second coming about the time of the consummation. Also this time he is to restore all to true knowledge, restoring everyone who obeys him. The scribes deceived the people when they said that Elijah comes before the advent of the Christ. And this word was reported also among the ignorant crowd; that is what the disciples now ask. How then does he resolve it? Fragment 94.
17:12 Elijah Has Already Come
THEY DID NOT KNOW HIM.
ORIGEN: The disciples who went up with Jesus remembered the traditions of the scribes concerning Elijah, that before the advent of Christ, Elijah would come and prepare for him the souls of those who would receive him. But the vision on the mountain, in which Elijah appeared, did not seem to be harmonized with what had been said, since Elijah seemed to them to have come with him rather than before him. So they say this thinking that the scribes were wrong. To this the Savior replies, not denying what was handed down about Elijah but saying that there was another coming of Elijah before that of Christ unknown to the scribes. In [this coming] “they did not know him but did to him whatever they pleased,” as though they too were accomplices in his imprisonment by Herod and execution by him. Then he says that he too will suffer what they did to Elijah. The disciples asked these questions as though about Elijah and the Savior replied. But hearing the Savior’s words, “Elijah has already come,” and what followed, they took it as a reference to John the Baptist. Commentary on Matthew 13.1.
FULFILLING ELIJAH’S MINISTRY.
CHRYSOSTOM: They did not know this from the Scriptures, but the scribes used to tell them, and this saying was reported among the ignorant crowd, as also about Christ. Therefore the Samaritan woman also said, “The Messiah is coming; when he comes, he will show us all things.” And they themselves asked John, “Are you Elijah or the prophet?” For this opinion was strong, as I said, both the one about Christ and the one about Elijah, but they did not interpret it as it should have been. For the Scriptures speak of two comings of Christ, both this one that has taken place and the future one. Paul spoke of these when he said, “For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright and godly lives in this world.” Behold the first advent, and listen to how he declares the coming advent: “Awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The prophets also mention both advents; of the one that is second they say that Elijah will be the forerunner; John was forerunner of the first, John whom Christ also called by the name Elijah, not because he was Elijah but because he was fulfilling Elijah’s ministry. For just as Elijah will be the forerunner of the second advent, so John was of the first. But the scribes, confusing these things and perverting the people, mentioned that coming alone, the second one, to the people, and said, “If this is the Christ, Elijah ought to have come first.” That is why the disciples also say, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 57.1.
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