The Lamp And Salvation

...ὅτι σὺ φωτιεῖς λύχνον μου Kύριε ὁ Θεός μου φωτιεῖς τὸ σκότος μου, ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ῥυσθήσομαι ἀπὸ πειρατηρίου καὶ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μου ὑπερβήσομαι τεῖχος. Ζητῶν δὲ τὸν λύχνον τοῦ Δαυῗδ εὕρον ἐν ρλα' ψαλμῷ φερόμενων τὸ ἐκεῖ ἐξανατελῶ κέρας τῷ Δαυιδ ἡτοίμασα λύχνον τῷ χριστῷ μου. Λύχνος δὲ ἐτοιμαζόμενος τῷ Χριστῷ ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυῗδ τίς ἂν γένοιτο ἤ τὸ γέννημα τὸ κατὰ σάρκα γενόμενον ἐκ διαδοχὴς Δαυῗδ, ᾧ κέχρηται ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν αὐτῷ γενόμενος, καὶ τὰς τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ μαρμαρυγὰς καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς τὰς ἀνατολὰς πᾶσιν ἐξέλαμψεν ἀνθρώποις; Διὸ καὶ ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις προφητικῶς φησιν ὁ Δαυῗδ· Ὅτι συ φωτεῖς λύχνον μου, Κύριε. Σὺ γὰρ αὐτὸς, φησὶν, ὁ Κύριος, τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν τυγχάνων, ἐνθωείς ποτε ἀποῥῥήτως τῷ ἐξ ἐμοῦ γενησομένῳ λύχνῳ, φωτιεῖς αὐτόν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἐγγενόμενόν μοι ποτε σκότος τότ παντελῶς περιελεῖς, ὡς μηδὲ μνήμην, αὐτου ἀνιέναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν διάνοιαν. Εὖ δὲ οἰδα, ὅτι, καὶ τῆς παρὰ σοῦ δυνάμεως καὶ ἰσχύος καταξιωθεὶς, επιβήσομαι τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς τείχους· ἐν ἀσφαλεῖτε τε γενόμενος, τότε τῆς παρὰ σοὶ τεύξομαι σωτηρίας. Ἤ Ὑπερβήσομαι καὶ ὑπερπηδήσθ πάντα τὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὀχυρώματα καὶ τοὺς φραγμοὺς καὶ τὸ τείχους, ὅ περιβαλλειν μοι εἰς τὸ ἀποκλεῖσαι σπεύδονται.   Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 23.177d-180b

'...it is you, Lord, who light my lamp, God who enlightens my darkness; for by you I am delivered from trials, and in my God and I shall pass over the walls.' 1  And seeking that lamp of David, let it be found in the one hundred thirty first Pslam: 'Thence I shall bring forth the horn of David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.' 2 The lamp that is prepared for the anointed, rising from the seed of David, who could it be but that child who according to the flesh came forth from the line of David, the prophesied Christ who came from him, radiating his virtue, and making shrine the rising light on every man? Thus in his foretelling words the prophetic David says, 'Because you illuminate my lamp, O Lord.' You indeed, O Lord, he says, who are the true light, with a certain ineffable reason drawing the lamp from me, the same you illuminate, for when I was in darkness you were able to utterly remove it, that not a mere memory of those things remain in my mind. And well I know that being deemed worthy of your strength and fortitude, I shall pass through the heavenly celestial wall, and then in your protection I shall be established in salvation by you. Or: I shall pass over and leap over all the barriers of the enemy, the fences and the walls, which have been eagerly set around me to hinder me. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 17 1 Ps 17.26-28 2 Ps 131.17

Disobeying The Law

Ερώτησις Β' Τὶ ἐστιν Ἐπειδὴ ἐφοβοῦντο αἱ μαῖαιτὸν Θεον, ἐποίησαν ἑαυταῖς οἰκίας; Τοῦ Φαραὼ κελεύσαντος διαφθείρειν τὰ ἄῥῥενα, ἐκεῖναι δι' εὐλάβειαν ὑπουργῆσαι τῷ τῆς παιδοκτονίας, οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο νόμῳ. Οὗ δὴ χάριν ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὰς ἀμειβόμενος, ἀφθονίαν αὐτοῖς ἀγαθῶν ἐδωρήσατο. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον Source:Migne PG 80.228a

Question 2 Why is it said: 'Since the midwives feared God, He gave them families?' 1 When Pharaoh commanded that the males be killed, they by piety protected the infants, in disobedience to the law. For which cause God rewarded them, giving to them a wealth of goods. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On Exodus 1 Exodus 1.21

A King's Cares

Abbas: De filorum tuorum haereditate loqueris: quare nullam facis de haereditate pauperum mentionem? Rex: Propositum ac desiderium meum est, maximum mearum rerum partem ponere ad liberationem terrae illius in qua steterunt pedes Domini, in qua nos nascendo et moriendo redemit, partem pauperibus distribuere, residuum vero in usus orphanorum et aliorum egenorum misericorditer erogare.. Abbas. Potentissime rex, sustine patienter quae tibi dicturus sum. Ubi de salute animae tuae agitur, ut parcam regiae potestati, fecit te de nihilo factor omnium Deus. Si placuisset, ei genuisset te pater tuus ex ancilla vili et humili, nec esses hodie inter reges nudus egressus eo de utero matris tuae; omnia quae habes commendavit tibi Deus. Si non potes reddere quantum debes, redde quantum potes, vide ne mundus avertat te a Christo. Legitur de quodam viro magno, quod quum laboraret in extremis et monerent amici ejus ut bona sua largitentur egenis, obsessus tam maligno spiritu quam morbo respondit, Libenter haec facerem sed domina avaritia non permittit. Rex. Quanta ecclesiis fecerim noverit Deus, nec me ita dure argueres si novisses quantum honor ecclesiae temporibus meis crevit. Abbas. Scio quod magnifice et munifice dedisti ecclesiis et et ecclesiasticis viris, et eleemosynas tuas enarret omnis ecclesia sanctorum. Sed attendit Dominus non quantum sed ex quanto detur, non ubi sed unde, nam si spolias unum altare, ut alterum tegas; si uni pauperi auferas, ut alii conferas, testimonio Scripturae non acceptat Deus sacrificium de rapina, rapina namque, imo sacrilegium est, quicquid in rebus ecclesiasticis potestas civilis usurpat. Rex. Quid si Romana ecclesia antecessoribus meis et mihi dedit ac privilegiavit magnam in rebus ecclesiasticis potestam? Debemus eam per omnia sequi: mater et magistra nostra est, nec tibi absurdum videri debet, si velim privilegiis ejus uti. Abbas. Scriptum est non quid Romae fiat, sed quid Romae fieri debeat considerandum est; ideoque, prudentissime Rex, diligenter attende quid deceat, non quid liceat, quid ad interminabilem salutem et gloriam ineffabilem, non quid ad falsam et transitoriam dignitatem pertineat: multa privilegia possunt emi, porro unum necessarium quod non potest aufferi. Summum privilegium est libertatem filiorum Dei obtinere et per regnum temporale miseriis et doloribus plenum acquirere regnum coelorum, cujus gloria non deficit, cujus honor interrumpitur, cujus beatitudo non transit. Quid est gloriosius aut desiderabilius in hoc mundo quam regnare et exercere super alios potestatem. Tu vero per experientiam didicisti quod temporalis regnis felicitas, in quo plus metuit plus potest, plus indiget qui plus habet, nunquam quiescit qui pro omni quiete laborat, omnibus servit, qui omnibus dominatur, utrum dicta vera tu noveris.. Rex. Novi, ego, novi, nec possem aut corde cogitare aut voce proferre quantum laboraverim pro populo meo, et hanc retributionem mihi facit Dominus quod nec in populo meo fidem, nec in filiis meis amorem invenio. Abbas. Rex, attende, quaeso, et recogita quanta in magnis necessitatibus fecerit Deus tibi: vidi quum necessitates gravissimas et credo quod precibus populi tui liberavit te Deus, ex gratia et misericordia Dei semel adeptus es potes reputare miserrimum si eam elongas a te, si ipsam non custodis et retines in futurum. Petrus Blenensis, Dialogus Inter Regem Henricum II et Abbatem Bonaevallensem Source:  Migne PL 207.984a-985b

Abbot: You have spoken of the inheritance of your sons; why do you make no mention of the inheritance of the poor? King: It is my intention and desire to give the greatest part of what I have to the liberation of that land in which stood the feet of our Lord, where being born and dying He redeemed us, a portion to distribute to the poor, and what remains to give mercifully for the use of orphans and other needy folk. Abbot: Most powerful king, endure patiently what I am to say to you. What is it done for the salvation of your soul in the parsimony of the regal power? God the creator made you from nothing. If it had pleased, your father would have sired you on a common and humble handmaid, and coming out naked from the womb of your mother, 1 you would not today be among kings. All things you have God has entrusted to you. If you are not able to return what you should, return what you can, and beware lest the world divert you from Christ. It is written concerning a certain great man, one who toiled in the extreme, that when his friends admonished him that he should give from his goods to the poor, so besieged he was by a wicked spirit, as a disease, that he replied: 'I would willing do this but mistress avarice does not allow me.' King: How much I have done for the Church, God knows, thus you would not dispute with me so roughly if you knew how much the honour of the Church has grown in my time. Abbot: I know that you have given magnificently and munificently to churches and to men of the church, and every church of the saints tells of your charity. But the Lord attends not to how much is given but from how much, not where but whence, for if you despoil one altar to heap up on another, if you take from one poor man and give it to another, Scripture bears witness that God does not accept a sacrifice from theft, 2 and theft and indeed sacriledge it is whenever in matters of the church there is an usurpation of the civil power. King: What if the Roman church has given to my predecessors and me great priviledge and power in ecclesiastical matters? We should follow her in everything; she is mother and teacher. Nor should it seem foolish to you, if I wish to make use of its priviledge. Abbot: It is written that we should consider not what Rome is but what she should be. Therefore, most prudent king, diligently attend to what is fitting, not what is permitted, what pertains to eternal salvation and ineffable glory, not what pertains to false and passing dignity. Many priviledges are able to be bought, but there is only one thing necessary that cannot be taken away. 3 The supreme priviledge is to obtain the liberty of the children of God and through the troubles and sorrows of the temporal kingdom to gain the kingdom of heaven, the glory of which does not fade, the honour of which does not end, the happiness of which does not pass away. What is thought more glorious or desirable in this world than to rule and exert power over others? You, however, by experience have learnt what the happiness of a temporal kingdom is, that he fears more who has more power, that he lacks more who has more, that he is never at rest who labours for the rest of others, that he who works for all is ruled by all, and that these words are true, you know. King: I know, I know, nor can I think in my heart or give voice to how much I have laboured for my people, and this reward the Lord gives to me, that I find neither faith in my people, nor love in my sons. Abbot: O king, attend, I beg, and know how much God has done for you in great necessites. I have observed those most weighty necessities and I believe that by the prayers of the people God has liberated you, by the grace and the mercy of God, once you are capable to repute it wretchedness if it is far from you, and if you do not guard and keep in the future. Peter of Blois, from a Dialogue Between King Henry the Second and the Abbot of Bonneval 1 Job 1.21 2 Malachi 1.13 3 Lk 10.42

Rachel And The Children

Tunc adimpletum est quod dictum est per Jeremiam prophetam, dicentem: Vox in Rama audita est, ploratus et ululatus multus, Rachel plorans filios suos, noluit consolari, quia non sunt. De Rachel natus est Benjamin, in cujus tribu non est Bethleem. Quaeritur ergo quomodo Rachel filios Judae, id est, Bethleem, quasi suos ploret? Respondebimus breviter, quia septula sit juxta Bethleem in Ephrata, et ex materno corpusculi hospitio matris nomen acceperit. Sive quoniam Juda, et Benjamin duae tribus junctae erant, et Herodes praeceperat non solum in Bethleem interfici pueros, sed et in omnibus finibus ejus. Per occisionem Bethleem intelligimus multos etiam de Benjamin fuisse caesos. Plorat autem filios suos, et non recipit consolationem, secundum duplicem intelligentiam. Sive quod eos in aeternum mortuos aestimaret, sive quod consolari se nollet de his quos sciret esse victuros. Quod aptem dicitur in Rama, non putemus loci nomen esse, juxta Gabaa, sed rama excelsum, רמה, interpretatur, ut sit sensus: Vox in excelso audita est, id est, longe lateque dispersa. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Cap II Source: Migne PL 26.27c-28b

Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the Prophet, saying: A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and much wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she was unwilling to be consoled, because they are not. 1 Benjamin was born of Rachel, but in his tribe there is no Bethlehem. Therefore it is asked how Rachel could weep for the children of Judah, that is, of Bethlehem, as if they were her own? We shall briefly answer that she was buried near Bethlehem in Ephrata, and it received the name of the mother from the burial there of her dear body, or because the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin bordered each other, and Herod commanded that the boys be killed not only in Bethlehem but in all its surrounding regions. By the killing at Bethlehem we understand that many also from Benjamin were slain. 'She weeps for her sons and does not receive consolation' has a twofold understanding: either that she thought them to be dead forever, or that she did not want to console herself concerning those she knew would live. As for the word 'in Rama' we should not think that this is the name of the place near Gabaa, but rather 'Rama' is translated 'on high' so that the meaning is: 'A voice has been heard on high,' that is, it has gone forth far and wide. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 1 Chap 2 1 Mt 2.17, Jer 31.15

The Son And Knowledge

Et scimus quoniam Filius Dei venit....  Quid enim apertius his verbis? Quid dulcius? Quid adversus omnes haereses fortius potuit dici? Christus est verus Dei Filius. Pater Christi Jesu Domini nostri verus est Deus. Venit Filius Dei sempiternus temporaliter in mundum, qui erat in mundo, et per quem factus est mundus. Neque aliam ob causam venit nisi nostrae salutis, hoc est, ut daret nobis sensum cognoscere verum Deum. Nemo enim sine divina cognoscere verum Deum, nemo Deum cognescere nisi ipse docente poterat: sicut et ipse dicit: Et nemo novit Filium nisi Pater, neque Patrem quis novit nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare. Subauditur: Et Patrem et Filium. Utrumque enim Filius revelat, qui, in carne visibilis apparens, divinitatis arcana per Evangelium suum modo patefacere dignatus est. Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis Source: Migne PL 93.120a-b

And we know that the Son Of God has come... 1 What indeed is more frank than these words? What is more sweet? What was able to be said more powerfully against heretics? Christ is the true Son of God. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the true God. The eternal Son of God came for a time into the world, He who was in the world and through whom it was made. 2 And He came for no other cause but for our Salvation, that is, that He give us the ability to know the true God. For no one without the Divine knows the true God, no one knows God unless that same One has taught him, as even He said: 'And no one knows the Son unless the Father, nor knows the Father unless the Son, and him to whom the Son choses to reveal Him.' 3 Which understand: Both the Father and the Son. For both the Son reveals, He who, in the visible flesh appearing, the secrets of divinity through His Gospel deigned to reveal. Saint Bede, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John 1 1 Jn 5.20 2 Jn 1.10 3 Lk 10.22

Stephen's Martyrdom

Ecce, inquit beatus Stephanus, video coelos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris virtutis Dei. Considerate attentius, fratres dilectissimi, cum beatus martyr Dominum mostrum Jesum Christum ad dexteram Dei Patris sedere vidissset, cur se Filium hominis videre testatus est, et non potius Filium Dei, cum utique plus honoris Domino delaturus videretur, si se Dei potius quam hominis Filium videre dixisset? Sed certa ratio postulabat ut hoc ita ostenderetur in coelo, et praedicaretur in mundo; omne enim Judaeorum scandalum in hoc erat, cur Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui secundum carnem est Filius hominis esse etiam Dei Filius diceretur. Ideo ergo pulchre Scriptura divina Filium hominis ad dexteram Dei Patris stare memoravit, ut ad confundendam Judaeorum incredulitatem, illi martyri ostenderetur in coelo, qui a perfidis negabatur in mundo; et illi testimonium coelestis veritas daret, cui fidem terrena  impietas derogarat. Unde licet juxta psalmum, qui lectus est: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum sit, si quid tamen distare inter martyres potest, praecipuus videtur esse qui primus est. Nam cum Sanctus Stephanus ab apostolos ipsos beata ac triumphali morte praecessit: ac sic, qui erat inferior ordine, prior factus est passione; et qui erat discipulus gradu, magister coepit esse martytrio; complens illud quod veatus propheta in psalmo dixit: Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi? Retribuere enim primus voluit Stephanus martyr Domino, quod cum omni humano genere accepit Domino; mortem enim, quam Salvator dignatus est pro omnibus pati, hanc ille primus reddidit Salvatori. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIV, In Natali Sancti Stephani Levitae et Protomartyris Source: Migne PL 57.379

'Behold,' said the blessed Stephen,'I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' 1 Consider attentively, dear brothers, when the blessed martyr saw our Lord Jesus Christ sat at the right hand of God the Father, why he gave witness to seeing the son of Man and not rather the Son of God, when more honour he would seem to speak to the Lord if he had said the Son of of God rather than the Son of Man? But with good reason it was desired that this be so shown in heaven and preached in the world, for every scandal of the Jews was in this: why our Lord Jesus Christ who was according to the flesh the Son of Man, was to be spoken of as the Son of God. Therefore rightly Holy Scripture declares the Son of Man to be standing at the right side of God that the disbelief of the Jews be confounded, showing Him in heaven to that martyr, who by traitors was denied in the world, and to him had given witness to heavenly truth, the faith of whom was denounced on earth by impiety. Whence fittingly according to the Psalm, we read, 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His holy ones.' 2 If, however, there is difference among the martyrs, it certainly seems he is the first. For when the blessed Stephan was ordained a deacon by the Apostles, he preceded those same Apostles in a blessed and triumphant death, and so he who was inferior in rank, first made his passion, and he who was a pupil by status became a teacher by martyrdom, fulfilling what the blessed Prophet said in Psalm: What shall I return to the Lord for all the things that he has given me? 3 For the first martyr Stephen wished to give return to the Lord, that when everything human he had received from the Lord, even death, which the Saviour deemed worthy to suffer for all, he first returned to the Saviour. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 64, On The Feast Day of St Stephen 1.Acts 7.56 2 Ps 115.15 3 Ps 115.12

The Lord's Advent

Sed Deus omnipotens, qui hominem ad imaginem suam condidit, noluit illum in sua deformitate aeternaliter perire, misit Filium suum, qui etiam apparuit inter homines speciosus forma prae filiis hominum, ut hominem quem potestate suae divinitatis mirabiliter formaverat humanitatis suae praesentia misericorditer reformaret, et de informi forma formosam in formam transformaret. Susecpit Dominus formam servi, ut reconciliaret nos Deo Patri. In nostra carne visibilis voluit apparere, ut ad amorem invisibilium ipso duce possemus redire. O magnae pietatis indicium! O ineffabile divinae misericordiae sacramentum! Omnipotens Deus hominem decrevit redimere, et redimendo homini etiam se corporaliter ostendit, et ipse, ut ita dixerim, fugitivi sui vestigia subsequens, ad redimendum quem amiserat hominem locus venit. Si enim appellari locus nequaquam Conditor posset, Deum laudans nequaquam Psalmista dixisset: Filii servorum tuorum inhabitabunt ibi. Ibi enim non dicimus, nisi cum specialiter locum designamus. Conditor etenim noster cum sit omnium rerum locus, sed illocalis, veniens in mundum, non habuit proprium locum in terris, sicut ipse dixit: Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet. Et secundum Lucam evangelistam, positus est in praesepio, quia non erat integerimae genitrici ejus locus in diversorio. Quis vidit unquam tale? Quis audivit huic simile? Tanta enim erat in assumpta humanitate humilitas, quanta in divina majestate sublimitas. Quam sublimis in suis, quam humilis in nostris, in praesepe jacebat, in coelo residebat. Jacens in sinu matris, sedens in dextera Patris. Cum esset Dei Patris ante tempora unicus, factus est Virginis tempore Filius. Non amittens quod erat, factus est quod non erat. Factus est particeps moralitatis nostrae, ut nos vitae suae participes faceret. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo I, De Nativitate Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.992b-993a

But almighty God, who made man in His own image, 1 unwilling that he should perish eternally in his deformity, sent His Son, who appeared among men, fair before the eyes of men, 2 so that man whom the power of His divinity had wonderously formed He reform by the merciful presence of His Humanity, and transform unformed form into fairest form. The Lord took up the form of a servant, 3 that He reconcile us with God the Father. He wished to appear visible in our flesh that with Him leading we be able to return to the invisible love. O sign of great piety! O ineffable mystery of Divine mercy! Almighty God decreased to redeem, and for the redemption of man showed himself corporally, and He, as I might say, following the path of His fugitive, for redemption came to the place into which He had expelled man. If indeed it is possible to name a place where the Creator is not, the Pslamist not at all praising God, when he said: 'The sons of your servants dwell there.' 4 For 'there' we do not say, unless we designate a specific sort of place. Our Creator, who is in every place, but unbound by place, coming into the world, does not have His place on the earth, as He said: 'The Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head.' 5 And according to Luke, He was placed in a manger, because there was no place for His immaculate mother in the inn. 6 Who has seen such a thing? Who has heard the like? For so great was His humility in the assumpton of humanity, as is His sublimity in His Divine majesty. As sublime as He is in Himself, so He was humble in ourself, being laid in a manger, in heaven residing, laying in the lap of His mother, sitting at the right hand of the Father. When He was one with the Father before time, He is made the Son of the Virgin in time. He does not lose what He was, being made what He was not. He is made a participent of our mortality, that He might make us participents of His life. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 1, On The Nativity of The Lord 1 Gen 1.26 2 Ps 41.3 3 Philip 2.7 4 Ps 101.29 5 Mt 8.20, Lk 9.58 6 Lk 2.7

Shepherds And Church

Καὶ ποιμένες ἧσαν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ αὐτῇ ἀγραυλοῦντες. Ποιμέσει δὲ πρῶτον ἀποκαλύπτεται τὸ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὑμνούμενον μυστήριον, οἵτινες τύπον ἐπεῖχον τῶν τὰς Ἐκκλησίας μελλόντων ποιμαίνειν· αὐτοὺς γὰρ ἔδει καὶ πρώτους ἀκούειν τὸ, Ἐπὶ γῆν εἰρήνη, διότι καὶ οἱ πνευματικοὶ ποιμένες ἔμελλον τὴν εἰρήνην ἐπιφωνεῖν παντὶ τῷ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πληρώματι· ἔτι δὲ τὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρόσωπον, καὶ ἡ γενομένη διὰ τῆς ἀποκαλύψεως αὐτοῖς χαρὰ σημαίνει σαφῶς, ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλανώμενον ἦλθε πρόβατον ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός· ποιμένας γὰρ οὐδεν οὕτως εὐφραίνειν οἶδεν, ὡς ἡ τοῦ ἀπολωλότος βοσκήματος εὕρεσις· ὅπερ οὐκ ἧν ἑτέρου τινὸς εὑρεῖν, ἥ τοῦ ἀρχιποίμενος Χριστοῦ. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ βηθλεὲμ οἴκος ἄρτου ἑρμηνεύεται, ποῦ ἔμελλον οἱ ποιμένες μετὰ τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς εἰρήνης ἐπείγεσθαι, ἤ ἐπὶ τὸν πνευματικὸν οἴκον τοῦ οὐρανίου ἄρτου, τουτέεστι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἐν ᾖ μυστικῶς καθ' ἐκάστην ἱερουργεῖται ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβὰς ἄρτος, καὶ ζωήν διδοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ; Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ' Β' Source:  Migne PG 72.489a-b

And shepherds were pasturing their flocks in the fields... 1 To the shepherds the mystery is first revealed by the singing of the angels, they who are given as a type of those who shall in the future be shepherds of the Church; for certainly it befits that they first hear, 'Peace on earth', because the spiritual shepherds shall be proclaimers of peace to all the people of the Church. And then the person of the shepherds, elated by the joy of this revelation, signifies the good shepherd who has come directly to the wandering sheep. Indeed He knows that nothing more delights the shepherds than the finding of the lost one of the flock, which no one else was able to find but Christ the prince of shepherds. 2 Then because we understand Bethlehem to mean 'House of Bread', where should the shepherds gather after the proclaimation of peace, but in the spiritual house of the heavenly bread, that is, the Church, in which every day He is sacrificed who from heaven descended as bread to supply life to the world? Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chap 2 1 Lk 2.8 2 Mt 18.12–14, Lk 15.3–7

The Sanctified Tabernacle

Ἠγίασε τὸ σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ ὁ Ὕψιστος. Τάχα τὴν σάρκα λέγει τὴν θεοφόρον, ἁγιασθείσαν διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν συναφείας. Ὥστε νοήσεις σκήνωμα τοῦ Ὑψίστου τὴν διὰ σαρκὸς ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΕ'' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 424b

The Most High has sanctified His tabernacle. 1 Perhaps here he speaks of the God bearing flesh, which is sanctified by its joining with God. Thus understand the tabernacle of the most High, the manifestation of God through the flesh. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 45 1 Ps 45.5

Standing In The Gateway

Stabat autem in porta... Quisquis in porta stat, ex quadam parte intus est, ex quadam vero foris, quia aliud ejus foris aspicitur, aliud intus absconditur. Redemptor itaque noster, pro nobis misericorditer incarnatus, ante humanos oculos quasi in porta stetit, quia et per humanitatem visibilis apparuit, et sese invisibilem in divinitate servavit. Hinc enim Judaei qui hunc ex prophetarum promissione sustinuerant perfidiae suae confusione turbati sunt, quia eum quem ad ereptionem suam venire crediderant, mortalem videbant. Qui igitur in porta stat, sicut superius dictum est, ex quadam parte foris, ex quadam vero parte intus videtur. Unde nec ipsa Judaeorum perfidia sine divinae virtutis ostensione est derelicta. Nam miracula ejus videntes trahebantur ut crederent, sed rursum passiones illius perpendentes, dedignabantur Deum credere, quem carne mortalem videbant; unde factum est ut de ejus cognitione dubitarent. Videbant enim esurientem, sitientem, comedentem, bibentem, lassescentem, dormientem, et purum hunc hominem esse aestimabant. Videbant mortuos suscitantem, leprosos mundantem, caecos illuminantem, daemonia ejicientem, et esse hunc ultra homines sentiebant. Sed ipsa ejus miracula in eorum corde cogitata humanitas perturbabat. Unde sancta Ecclesia sub sponsae voce hunc aperte jam videre desiderans, ait: En ipse stat post parietem nostrum. Qui enim humanis oculis hoc quod de mortali natura assumpsit ostendit, et in seipso invisibilis permansit, in aperto se videre quaerentibus quasi post parietem stetit, quia videndum se manifestata majestate non praebuit. Quasi enim post parietem stetit, qui humanitatis naturam quam assumpsit ostendit, et divinitatis naturam humanis oculis occultavit. Unde et illic subditur: Respiciens per fenestras, prospiciens per cancellos. Quisquis enim per fenestras, vel per cancellos respicit, nec totus latet, nec totus videtur. Sic sic nimirum Redemptor noster ante dubitantium oculos factus est, quia si miracula faciens nil pertulisset ut homo, plene eis apparuisset Deus; et rursum humana patiens, si nulla fecisset ut Deus, purus putaretur homo. Sed quia et divina fecit, et humana pertulit, quasi per fenestras vel per cancellos ad homines prospexit, ut Deus et appareret ex miraculis, et lateret ex passionibus, et homo cerneretur ex passionibus, sed tamen esse ultra hominem ex miraculis agnosceretur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber II, Homilia I Source: Migne PL 76.945b-946a

For he was standing in the gateway... 1 Whoever stands in the gateway is in a certain way within and in a certain way without, for something of him is seen without and something is hidden within. Thus our Redeemer, who was mercifully incarnated for us, before human eyes is as one who stands in the gate, because His humanity visibly appeared and He kept invisible in Himself His divinity. Whence the Jews who were established on the promises of the Prophets were troubled in confusion to betrayal, for He who they believed would come for their liberation, they saw to be mortal. He, then, who stood in the gate, as was said above, was partly without and partly within. Whence the betrayal by the Jews because the Divine virtue was not made apparent is not allowable. For beholding His miracles they were drawn to belief, but then perceiving His suffering that did not deem Him worthy to be God, Him whom they saw in mortal flesh, whence it was they doubted in their thought concerning Him. For they saw Him hungry and thirsting and eating and drinking and resting and sleeping and the judged Him to be purely man. And they saw the raising of the dead, and lepers cured, and the blind healed, and demons cast out, and they thought Him to be a thing beyond men. But His miracles in their hearts were confused by thoughts of His humanity. Whence the holy Church with the voice of the bride desiring to see Him, openly says, 'Behold, He stands behind our wall.' 2 For He who to human eyes shows himself to have taken up mortal nature, and in Him the unseen remains, to those who seek Him openly to appear is as one who stands behind a wall, because He does not grant sight of His manifest majesty. For as one standing behind the wall, He who shows He has taken up mortal nature, conceals the Divine nature from human eyes. Whence it is then added: 'Looking through the windows, looking through the lattice.' 2 Whoever looks through the windows, or the lattice, is neither completely hidden nor completely seen. So without doubt our Redeemer was in doubting eyes, He who if He made miracles, acting nothing like a man, appeared to them as God, yet again suffering human things, acting nothing like God, was thought completely man. But because He did Divine things and endured humanity, He is as one who looks through the windows or a lattice at men, for He appeared as Divine by miracles and was hidden by sufferings, and He was perceived as a man by suffering, and yet known to be more than man by miracles. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 1 1 Ezek 40.6 2 Song 2.9

Peace On Earth

Nolite, inquit, arbitrari, quia veni pacem mittere in terra.  Quaerendum esset quod cantatum est ab angelis in ortu Salvatoris, quomodo accipiendum sit: Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus. Quod contrarium est huic loco; nisi quia addidit, bonae voluntatis, quoniam cum ait: Pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, separavit eos ab his qui sunt pravae voluntatis. Et Dominus cum ait: Pacem meam do vobis, solis suis prolatur? dixisse membris, quibus pax diligentibus Deum servatur usque in finem. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VI Source: Migne PL 120.430d-431a

Do not think, He said, I have come to bring peace on earth... ' 1  It must be asked how that song of the angels at the birth of the Saviour should be understood: 'Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to men on earth.' 2 Which stands in opposition to this passage, unless because it continues 'Of good will,' for then when it says: 'Peace to men of good will,' it separates them from who have a depraved will. And when the Lord says 'My peace I give to you,' 3 to them alone He gives it whom He has named His members, in which peace the lovers of God are protected to the end. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 6 1 Mt 10.34 2 Lk 2.14 3 Jn 14.27

Changing Seasons

Ἀποκρίνεται ἀδελφιδός μου καὶ λέγει μοι ἀνάστα ἐλθέ ἡ πλησίον μου καλή μου περιστερά μου, ὅτι ἰδοὺ ὁ χειμὼν παρῆλθεν ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ, τὰ ἄνθη ὤφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἔφθακεν φωνὴ τοῦ τρυγόνος ἠκούσθη ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν ἡ συκῆ ἐξήνεγκεν ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς αἱ ἄμπελοι κυπρίζουσιν ἔδωκαν ὀσμήν. Ἀνάστα, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν πρὸς τὰ νοητὰ, ἵνα συνῆμεν· Ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν· εἴπομεν ἂν ὑετὸν γεγονέναι, τὸν πρὸ τῆς Ἐπιδημίας καιρὸν, τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντειλαμένου ταῖς νεφέλαις ὕειν τὸν νομικὸν καὶ προφητικὸν λόγον· πεπαῦσθαι δὲ τοῦτον, ἐπειδὴ ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἕως Ἰωάννου· ἔαρ δὲ καὶ θέρος μετὰ τὴν Ἐπιδημίαν· ὅτι μηκέτι ὑετῶν χρεία ὅτε τὰ διὰ Χριστὸν ἄνθη ὤφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ· καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ, ἡ συκῆ οὐκ ἐκκόπτεται ἄκαρπος ἐν τῷ προτέρῷ γενομένη καιρῷ· νυνὶ γὰρ ὀλύνθους ἐξήνεγκε, καὶ κυπρίζουσιν αἱ ἄμπελοι· διό φησιν, ἔν τῶν κλημάτων Χριστοῦ, εὐωδία, ἐσμὲν τῷ Θεῷ. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Β' Source: Migne PG 17.263 b-d

My beloved replies and says to me: 'Rise up, come, my love, my dove, for behold winter is over, and the rain has passed and is gone away, and the flowers appear in our land, and the time of pruning has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig bears its figs, and the blossoming vines give their fragrance.' 1 Rise up, he says, from sensible things to spiritual things, that we be together. 'The rain has passed.' Here the rain indicates the time before the Incarnation, when God enjoined through clouds as the rain of the the Law and Prophetic words. And this has gone away: 'for the Law and the Prophets were until John.' 2 And spring and summer come after the Incarnation, for no more is rain needed when through Christ flowers appear on the earth; and with His incarnation, the fig is not cut down on account of fruitlessness, as in the time before. 'For now the fig tree bears its figs and the vines are blossoming.' Therefore as branches of Christ, he says, we are a good odour to God. 3 Origen, from the Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 2 1 Song 2.10-13 2 Lk 16.16 3 2 Cor 2.15

Light And Dark

Ἀναταολὴν ἔχων ὄνομα Θεὸς, ἔφης, καὶ φῶς ὑπάρχων ἀρπόσιτον, πῶς ἐπὶ δυσμῶν ἐπιβέβηκεν; Ἀνατολὴ αὐτῷ ὄνομα, ἡ ἀναρχος θεότης, ἡ φῶς οὖσα ἀϊδιον. Ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ δυσμῶν ἐπίβασις, ἡ κοινωνία τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης πτωχείας, δύσις οὖσα, καὶ νυκτὶ ἐοικυῖα, εἰ συγκρίνοιτο τῇ ἄνω λαμπρότητι. Ἀσύγκριτα γὰρ ὑπῆρχε τὰ πράγματα πρὶν ἐνώσει αὐτὰ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὁ τεχνίτης. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΜΗ' Δρακοντιῳ Πρεσβυτερῳ Source:  Migne PG 78.333a-b

When God has the name of Dawn and dwells in inaccessible light, you ask how it is that He shall rise over the dusk? 1 I answer: The dawn is the name of the Divinity without beginning, which is eternal light. And the ascent over the dusk is the relation to man's poverty, which is the dusk, and as the night if it is compared with supernal splendor. For these two things were incomparable before their Creator joined them in Himself. Saint Isidore of Pelusium,  Book 1, Letter 248, To Dracontius The Priest 1 Ps 67.5

Light And Salvation

Deus misereatur nobis et benedicat nos inluminet vultum suum super nos et misereatur nobis ut cognosceamus in terra viam tuam, in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum. Quod autem in latinis libris ita scribitur:  ut cognoscmaus in terra viam tuam, in graecis ita est τοῦ γνῶναι ἐν τῇ γῇ τὴν ὁδὸν σου. inter γνῶναι et cognoscamus, id differt, quod sine personae definitione est γνῶναι ; cognoscamus autem, ipsos eos qui haec loquuntur ostendit. Ergo secundum veram illam graecitatis translationem, illuminari se Dei vultu ob id deprecantur, ut cognita fiat in terra Dei via, quae est doctrine vitae religiosae. Per eam enim ad Deum pergitur. Religiosae autem viae doctrina Christus est, quam se esse Evangeliis ostendit: Ego sum veritas, via et vita. Et rursum: Nemo ad Patrem vadit, nisi per me. Et hunc esse viam, ipse ille connexus sibi psalmi sermo testatur. Quae in terra, id est, vel ex terra ortis, vel inhabitantibus cognoscibilis, et nota praestanda est. Ut cognosceamus in terra viam tuam, in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum. Jesus salutarem dici ipse ille proprietatis sermo loquitur. Nam quod nobiscum salutare est, id apud Hebreaum Jesus est. Confirmat autem istud Angelus ad Joseph de Maria loquens, Pariet autem filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum: quia ipse salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis Jesum itaque ostendit angelus idcirco, quia salutaris esse populo, nuncupandum. Tantae ergo praedicationi se impares esse nisi illuminentur ostendunt: nisi quodam vultus Domini splendore lucescant. Sunt enim et ipsi secundum Evangelium lumen mundi, Dominus autem ipse lux vera est. a luce illuminati, ut lumen essent apostoli et prophetae. Caeterum superfluum est ideo illuminari se velle, ut cognoscant ea de quibus quasi cognitis praedicabant. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXVI Source: Migne PL 9.438c- 439b

God be merciful to us and bless us, shine the light of your face on us and be be merciful to us, that we know on earth your way, among all the nations your salvation. 1 That which in the Latin books is written, 'that we know on the earth your way' in the Greek reads, 'To know on earth your way,' and there is a difference between 'to know' and 'that we know' because to know is without expression of the person; for 'that we know' shows that they speak this about themselves. Thus according to the correct Greek translation they pray to be enlightened by the face of God, that the way of God be known on earth, which is the teaching of the religious life. For by that one comes to God. And the teaching of the religious way is Christ, which the Gospels declare: 'I am the truth and the way and the light, and again 'No one comes to the Father unless through me.' 2 And that this is the way, the other part of the Psalm bears witness. What is on the earth either rises from the earth, or must be brought forth to be knowable to the inhabitants. 'That we know on earth your way, among all the people's your salvation.' To say that Jesus is salvation is to speak the name correctly. For what we pronunce 'salvation' in Hebrew is Jesus. And this is confirmed by that angel who spoke to Joseph concerning Mary saying, 'She shall bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, because he will save the people from their sins.' 3 Thus the angel announces that His name to be Jesus because He shall be the salvation of the people. Therefore men are unequal to such preaching unless they show that they are illuminated, unless they shine with the splendour of the face of the Lord. For according to the Gospel they are the light of the world, and the Lord Himself is the true light, 4 and by light illuminated, the Apostles and Prophets are light. And concerning other things the wish to be illuminated is superfluous, that they might know things which as things knowable they might preach. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 66 1 Ps 66.2-3 2 Jn 14.6 3 Mt 1.21 4 Jn 1.9

Saving The People

Ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis... Nec dicit, quod salvabit populum a persecutionibus: sed 'a peccatis'. Quia ab illis nemo alius solvere poterat nisi ipse. Quis potest peccata dimittere, nisi solus Deus. Ego sum ipse, qui deleo iniquitates tuas propter me. Perditio tua Israel: tantummodo ex me auxilium tuum. Secundum suam misericordiam salvus nos fecit. Salvator eius velut lampas accendatur flammam deitatis habens in testa humanitatis. Sed quare dicit: populum suum: et non dicit: salvabit omnes gentes: cum perfectius esse videretur? Parum est mihi, ut suscites mihi tribus Iacob et faeces Israel converendas. Dedi te in lucem gentium, ut sis salus mea usque ad extremum terrae. Respondeo: dicendum, quod secundum effectum salutis, de qua hic loquitur, non salvat nisi suos devotos sive sint de filiis Israel, sive de gentibus. Non erit eus populus, qui eum negaturus est. in omni enim gente, quae timet Deum et operatur iustitiam, acceptus est illi. Et hoc est, quod datus est in lucem gentium. Ecce hoc positus est in ruinam et in resurrectionem multorum Israel. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium in Mattheum, Cap I Source: Volumen 9, pdf p16

For He shall save His people from their sins... 1 It does not say that he shall save the people from persecutors, but from sins. Because from that no one else is able to deliver unless Him. 'Who is able to forgive sins unless God alone?' 2 'I am He who removes your iniquities for my own sake.' 3 'Your ruin, O Israel: only from me is your help.' 4 'According to His own mercy He saves us.' 5 The Saviour is like a lamp lit having the flame of Godhood in the earthern vessel of humanity. 6 But why is it said 'His people' and not that He will save all the nations, when this would seem to be more perfect? 'It is too little a thing for me, the raising up of the tribes of Jacob and the restoration of the remnants of Israel. I give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation reach to the ends of the earth.'7 I reply that it should be said that according to the effect of salvation this speaks, that He shall not save unless they be His devoted ones, whether they be from the sons of Israel or from the nations. They shall not be His people who shall deny Him. 8 For in every nation, whoever fears God and acts righteously, shall be acceptable to Him. 9 And this is why He has been given as a light to the nations. 'Behold, He has been given for the ruin and raising up of many in Israel.' 10 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chap 1 1 Mt 1.21 2 Lk 5.20-21 3 Isaiah 43.25 4 Hosea 13.9 5 Titus 3.5 6 Isaiah 62.1 7 Isaiah 49.6 8 Dan 9.26 9 Acts 10.35 10 Lk 2.34

The Title Of Child

Τὸν Κύριον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζει παιδίον, τοῦτο διὰ Ἡσαΐου θεσπίζον, τὸ πνεῦμα· ἰδοὺ παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος. Τί οὖν τὸ παιδίον τὸ νήπιον, οὗ κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμεῖς οἱ νήπιοι; ∆ιὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου διηγεῖται τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ· θαυμαστὸς σύμβουλος, θεὸς δυνάστης, πατὴρ αἰώνιος, ἄρχων εἰρήνης τῷ πληθύνειν τὴν παιδείαν· καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας. Ὢ τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, ὢ τοῦ τελείου παιδίου· Υἱὸς ἐν Πατρί, καὶ Πατὴρ ἐν Υἱῷ· καὶ πῶς οὐ τέλειος ἡ παιδεία τοῦ παιδίου ἐκείνου, ἣ ἐπὶ πάντας διήκει τοὺς παῖδας ἡμᾶς παιδαγωγοῦσα τοὺς νηπίους αὐτοῦ; Οὗτος εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας τὰς ἐναργῶς πεπιστευμένας. Τούτῳ προσμαρτυρεῖ τῷ παιδίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν προφήτης· ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἄρνας ὀνομάζει ἡ γραφὴ τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς νηπίους, τὸν Θεὸν τὸν λόγον τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον, κατὰ πάντα ἡμῖν ἀπεικάζεσθαι βουλόμενον, ἀμνὸν κέκληκεν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν νήπιον τοῦ Πατρός. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Α' Καεφαλ Ε' Source: Migne PG 8.277c-280a

The Spirit calls the Lord Himself a child, prophesying by Isaiah: 'Behold, a child has been born to us, and a son has been given to us, on whose own shoulder is the rule; and His name has been called the Angel of great Counsel.' 1 Who, then, is this infant child? He according to whose image we are made little children. 2 By the same Prophet is declared His greatness: 'Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace; that He might fulfil His discipline: and of His peace there shall be no end.' 1 O the great God! O the perfect child! The Son in the Father, and the Father in the Son. 3 And how shall not the discipline of this child be perfect, which reaches to all, leading as a schoolmaster the children who are his little ones? This one has stretched forth to us those hands of His that are distinctly worthy of trust. To this child additional witness is given by John, 'the greatest Prophet among those born of women:' 4 Behold the Lamb of God! 5 For since Scripture calls the infant children lambs, God the Word, who became man for us, and who wished in all parts to be made like to us, it has called 'the Lamb of God', the Son of God, the child of the Father. Clement of Alexandria, from The Instructor, Book 1, Chap 5 1 Isaiah 9.6 LXX 2 Mt 18.3 3 Jn 14.10-11 4 Luke 7.28 5 Jn 1.29

Beginnings And Learning

Ἔστιν ἀρχὴ καὶ ὡς μαθήσεως καθ' ὃ τὰ στοιχεῖά φαμεν ἀρχὴν εἶναι γραμματικῆς. Κατὰ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος ὅτι Ὀφείλοντες εἶναι διδάσκαλοι διὰ τὸν χρόνον, πάλιν χρείαν ἔχετε τοῦ διδάσκειν ὑμᾶς τίνα τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ. ∆ιττὴ δὲ ἡ ὡς μαθήσεως ἀρχή, ἡ μὲν τῇ φύσει, ἡ δὲ ὡς πρὸς ἡμᾶς· ὡς εἰ λέγοιμεν ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ, φύσει μὲν αὐτοῦ ἀρχὴ ἡ θεότης, πρὸς ἡμᾶς δέ, μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ μεγέθους αὐτοῦ δυναμένους ἄρξασθαι τῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ ἀληθείας ἡ ἀνθρωπότης αὐτοῦ, καθ' ὃ τοῖς νηπίοις καταγγέλλεται Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, καὶ οὗτος ἐσταυρωμένος· ὡς κατὰ τοῦτο εἰπεῖν ἀρχὴν εἶναι μαθήσεως τῇ μὲν φύσει Χριστὸν καθ' ὃ σοφία καὶ δύναμις θεοῦ, πρὸς ἡμᾶς δὲ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ἵνα σκηνώσῃ ἐν ἡμῖν, οὕτω μόνον πρῶτον αὐτὸν χωρῆσαι δυνα μένοις. Καὶ τάχα διὰ τοῦτο οὐ μόνον πρωτότοκός ἐστιν πάσης κτίσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀδάμ, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται ἄνθρωπος. Ὅτι δὲ Ἀδάμ ἐστι, φησὶν ὁ Παῦλος Ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδὰμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν. Ὠριγένης, Των Εῑς Το Κατά Ιὠάννην Εὐαγγέλιον Εξηγητικόν, Τομός Α', Κεφ Κ' Source: Migne PG 14.53c-56a

And there is a beginning of learning, just as we say that letters are the beginning of grammar. According to this the Apostle says: 'When by reason of time you should be teachers, you again have need again that someone teach you what are the elements of the beginning of the words of God.' 1 Now the beginning of learning is twofold, according to its nature, and according to its relation to us, as if we might say, concerning Christ, that by nature His beginning is Deity, but that in relation to us who cannot, because of its greatness, grasp the whole truth about Him, His beginning is His humanity, as He is told to infants, 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified.' 2 So according to this, then, Christ is the begining of learning in His own nature because He is the wisdom and power of God, but for us the Word was made flesh that He might take up his abode among us who at first were only capable of receiving Him in such a way. And perhaps this is why He is not only the firstborn of all creation, but even Adam, which translated is 'man'. For that He is Adam Paul says: 'The last Adam was made a life-giving spirit.' 3 Origen, from the Commentary on The Gospel Of Saint John, Book 1, Chap 20 1 Heb 5.12 2 1 Cor 2.2 3 1 Cor 15.45

Word And Flesh

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος...καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο. Τὸ γὰρ, ἦν, ἐπὶ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ αναφέρεται· τὸ δὲ, σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος. Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, οὐκ εἰς σάρκα ἀναλυθεὶς, ἀλλὰ σάρκα φορέσας· ὡς δ' ἂν εἴποι τις· Ὁ δεῖνα γέγονε γὲρων, οὐκ ἐξ ἀρχῆς γεννηθείς· ἤ, Ὁ στρατιώτης βετεράνος ἐγένετο, οὐ πρότερον τοιοῦτος ὤμοἶος γέγονεν. Ἰωάννης, Ἐγενόμην, φησὶν, ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ Πάτμῳ, ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ Κυριακῇ· οὐχ ὅτι ἐκεῖ γέγονεν, ἤ γεγένηται· ἀλλ' εἶπεν, Ἐγενόμην ἐν Πάτμῳ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Παρεγενόμην. Οὕτως ὁ Λόγος εἰς σάρακα παραγέγονεν, ὡς λέλεκται· Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο.. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Περὶ Πιστωες Λογος Ὁ Μειζων Source: Migne PG 26.1264d-1265a

In the beginning was the Word...and the word was made flesh 1 For the 'was' here refers to His Divinity, and then the 'was made flesh' to his body. The Word became flesh not by being dissolved into flesh, but bearing flesh, as if we might say of someone: 'Oh, he has become old,' when there was not such a thing before , or 'The soldier has become a veteran,' when there was not such a quality before it was brought to be. John says, 'I was on the isle of Patmos on the day of the Lord,' 2 not that he was fashioned there or born there, but he says, 'I was on Patmos,' as if he said, 'I came to'. Thus the Word came to the flesh, and so it is said, 'the Word was made flesh'. Saint Athanasius, The Greater Sermon on the Reason of Faith 1 Jn 1.1, 1.14 2 Apoc 1.9

On The Union

Τὰ μὲν οὖν πρὸ τῆς ἑνώσεως καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ λεχθήσεται, τὰ δὲ μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν πρὸ τῆς ἑνώσεως οὐδαμῶς, εἰ μήτιγε προφητικῶς, ὡς ἔφημεν. Τῶν δὲ ἐν τῇ ἑνώσει τρόποι εἰσὶ τρεῖς. Ὅτε μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ κρείττονος τὸν λόγον ποιούμεθα, θέωσιν τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ λόγωσιν καὶ ὑπερύψωσιν λέγομεν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, τὸν προσγενόμενον τῇ σαρκὶ πλοῦτον ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸν ὕψιστον Θεὸν Λόγον ἑνώσεώς τε καὶ συμφυΐας ἐμφαίνοντες. Ὅτε δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλάττονος, σάρκωσιν τοῦ Λόγου, ἐνανθρώπησιν, κένωσιν, πτωχείαν, ταπείνωσίν φαμεν· ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον κράσεως ἐπιλέγεται τῷ Λόγῳ τε καὶ Θεῷ. Ὅταν δὲ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν ἅμα, ἕνωσιν, κοινωνίαν, χρίσιν, συμφυΐαν, συμμόρφωσιν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα φάσκομεν. Διὰ τοῦτον οὖν τὸν τρίτον τρόπον οἱ προλελεγμένοι δύο τρόποι λέγονται. Διὰ γὰρ τῆς ἑνώσεως δηλοῦται, τί ἔσχεν ἑκάτερον ἐκ τῆς τοῦ συνυφεστῶτος αὐτῷ ἁρμογῆς καὶ περιχωρήσεως· διὰ γὰρ τὴν καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν ἕνωσιν ἡ σὰρξ τεθεῶσθαι λέγεται καὶ Θεὸς γενέσθαι καὶ ὁμόθεος τῷ Λόγῳ· καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος σαρκωθῆναι καὶ ἄνθρωπος γενέσθαι καὶ κτίσμα λέγεσθαι καὶ ἔσχατος καλεῖσθαι, οὐχ ὡς τῶν δύο φύσεων μεταβληθεισῶν εἰς μίαν φύσιν σύνθετον, ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἐν μιᾷ φύσει ἅμα τὰ ἐναντία φυσικὰ γενέσθαι, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς τῶν δύο φύσεων καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν ἑνωθεισῶν καὶ τὴν εἰς ἀλλήλας περιχώρησιν ἀσύγχυτον καὶ ἀμετάβλητον ἐχουσῶν. Ἡ δὲ περιχώρησις οὐκ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τῆς θεότητος γέγονεν· ἀμήχανον γὰρ τὴν σάρκα περιχωρῆσαι διὰ τῆς θεότητος, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ θεία φύσις ἅπαξ περιχωροῦσα διὰ τῆς σαρκὸς ἔδωκε καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἄρρητον περιχώρησιν, ἣν δὴ ἕνωσιν λέγομεν. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Ἔκδοσις Ὰκριβὴς Τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Πίστεως, Τομος Δ, Κεφαλ ΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 94.1183b-d

The things said, then, concerning Him before the union are sayable also after the union, but those things after the union not at all, unless indeed in a Prophetic manner, as we have said. Those things that refer to the union have three modes. For when we make speech about the higher, we speak of the deification of the flesh and the assumption of the Word and exceeding exaltation, and so forth, declaring manifestly the wealth added to the flesh from the union with the must high God the Word and conjunction. And when we speak of the lower, we speak of the incarnation of the Word, His becoming man, His emptying of Himself, His poverty, His humility. For these things, and such like, by His mixing with humanity are imposed upon the Word and God. And when we speak of both together, we speak of union, communion, anointing, conjunction, conformation and such things. Thus the former two modes have their reason in this third mode. For by the union it is made clear what each has from the intimate conjunction and permeation with the other, for by the union in subsistence the flesh is said to be deified and to become God and to be equally God with the Word, and God the Word is said to be made flesh, and to become man, and is called a creature and last, not that the two natures are converted into one compound nature, for it is impossible that at the same time in the same nature opposite natural qualities exist, but the two natures are united in subsistence and permeate one another without confusion or transmutation. And the permeation is not from the flesh but from the Divinity, for it is impossible that the flesh should permeate through the Divinity, but the Divine nature permeating through the flesh gave to the flesh that same ineffable permeation, and this indeed we call union. Saint John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book 4, Chap 18

Titles Of The Son

Δοκεῖ γάρ μοι λέγεσθαι Υἱὸς μέν, ὅτι ταὐτόν ἐστι τῷ Πατρὶ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν; καὶ οὐκ ἐκεῖνο μόνον, ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖθεν. Μονογενὴς δέ, οὐχ ὅτι μόνος ἐκ μόνου καὶ μόνον, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι καὶ μονοτρόπως, οὐχ ὡς τὰ σώματα. Λόγος δέ, ὅτι οὕτως ἔχει πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς πρὸς νοῦν λόγος· οὐ μόνον διὰ τὸ ἀπαθὲς τῆς γεννήσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ συναφές, καὶ τὸ ἐξαγγελτικόν. τάχα δ᾿ ἂν εἴποι τις, ὅτι καὶ ὡς ὅρος πρὸς τὸ ὁριζόμενον, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τοῦτο λέγεται λόγος. ὁ γὰρ νενοηκώς, φησι, τὸν Υἱόν, τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἑωρακώς, νενόηκε τὸν Πατέρα· καὶ σύντομος ἀπόδειξις καὶ ῥᾳδία τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς φύσεως ὁ Υἱός. Γέννημα γὰρ ἅπαν τοῦ γεγεννηκότος σιωπῶν λόγος. Eἰ δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ ἐνυπάρχειν τοῖς οὖσι λέγοι τις, οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεται τοῦ λόγου. Tί γάρ ἐστιν, ὃ μὴ λόγῳ συνέστηκεν; σοφία δέ, ὡς ἐπιστήμη θείων τε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων. Πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τε τὸν πεποιηκότα τοὺς λόγους ἀγνοεῖν ὧν πεποίηκεν; δύναμις δέ, ὡς συντηρητικὸς τῶν γενομένων, καὶ τὴν τοῦ συνέχεσθαι ταῦτα χορηγῶν δύναμιν. Ἀλήθεια δέ, ὡς ἕν, οὐ πολλὰ τῇ φύσει· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀληθὲς ἕν, τὸ δὲ ψεῦδος πολυσχιδές· καὶ ὡς καθαρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς σφραγίς, καὶ χαρακτὴρ ἀψευδέστατος. Εἰκὼν δέ, ὡς ὁμοούσιον, καὶ ὅτι τοῦτο ἐκεῖθεν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐκ τούτου Πατήρ. Αὕτη γὰρ εἰκόνος φύσις, μίμημα εἶναι τοῦ ἀρχετύπου, καὶ οὗ λέγεται· πλὴν ὅτι καὶ πλέον ἐνταῦθα. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἀκίνητος κινουμένου· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ζῶντος καὶ ζῶσα, καὶ πλέον ἔχουσα τὸ ἀπαράλλακτον, ἢ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὁ Σήθ, καὶ τοῦ γεννῶντος παντὸς τὸ γεννώμενον. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἁπλῶν φύσις, μὴ τῷ μὲν ἐοικέναι, τῷ δὲ ἀπεοικέναι, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλον ὅλου τύπον εἶναι, καὶ ταὐτὸν μᾶλλον, ἢ ἀφομοίωμα. Φῶς δέ, ὡς λαμπρότης ψυχῶν καὶ λόγῳ καὶ βίῳ καθαιρομένων. Eἰ γὰρ σκότος ἡ ἄγνοια καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία, φῶς ἂν εἴη ἡ γνῶσις, καὶ ὁ βίος ὁ ἔνθεος. Ζωὴ δέ, ὅτι φῶς, καὶ πάσης λογικῆς φύσεως σύστασις καὶ οὐσίωσις. ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν, καὶ κινούμεθα, καὶ ἐσμέν, κατὰ τὴν διπλῆν τοῦ ἐμφυσήματος δύναμιν, καὶ πνοὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἐμφυσώμενοι πάντες, καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον ὅσοι χωρητικοί, καὶ τοσοῦτον, καθ᾿ ὅσον ἂν τὸ στόμα τῆς διανοίας ἀνοίξωμεν.Δικαιοσύνη δέ, ὅτι τοῦ πρὸς ἀξίαν διαιρέτης, καὶ διαιτῶν δικαίως τοῖς ὑπὸ νόμον καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ χάριν, ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι, ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἄρχειν, τὸ δὲ ἄρχεσθαι, καὶ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἔχειν τὸ κρεῖττον κατὰ τοῦ χείρονος, ὡς μὴ τὸ χεῖρον ἐπανίστασθαι τῷ βελτίονι. Ἁγιασμὸς δέ, ὡς καθαρότης, ἵνα χωρῆται τὸ καθαρὸν καθαρότητι. Ἀπολύτρωσις δέ, ὡς ἐλευθερῶν ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας κατεχομένους, καὶ λύτρον ἑαυτὸν ἀντιδιδοὺς ἡμῶν τῆς οἰκουμένης καθάρσιον. Ἀνάστασις δέ, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν ἡμᾶς ἀπανιστάς, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν ἐπανάγων νενεκρωμένους ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἔτι κοινὰ τοῦ τε ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς καὶ τοῦ δι᾿ ἡμᾶς. Ἃ δὲ ἰδίως ἡμέτερα καὶ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν προσλήψεως· Ἂνθρωπος μέν, οὐχ ἵνα χωρηθῇ μόνον διὰ σώματος σώμασιν, ἄλλως οὐκ ἂν χωρηθεὶς διὰ τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἄληπτον· ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα καὶ ἁγιάσῃ δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὥσπερ ζύμη γενόμενος τῷ παντὶ φυράματι, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἑνώσας τὸ κατακριθὲν ὅλον λύσῃ τοῦ κατακρίματος, πάντα ὑπὲρ πάντων γενόμενος, ὅσα ἡμεῖς, πλὴν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, σῶμα, ψυχή, νοῦς, δι᾿ ὅσων ὁ θάνατος· τὸ κοινὸν ἐκ τούτων, ἄνθρωπος, θεὸς ὁρώμενος, διὰ τὸ νοούμενον. Υἱὸς δὲ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ διὰ τὸν Ἀδάμ, καὶ διὰ τὴν παρθένον, ἐξ ὧν ἐγένετο· τοῦ μέν, ὡς προπάτορος, τῆς δέ, ὡς μητρός, νόμῳ καὶ οὐ νόμῳ γεννήσεως. Χριστὸς δέ, διὰ τὴν θεότητα· χρίσις γὰρ αὕτη τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, οὐκ ἐνεργείᾳ κατὰ τοὺς ἄλλους χριστοὺς ἁγιάζουσα, παρουσίᾳ δὲ ὅλου τοῦ χρίοντος· ἧς ἔργον ἄνθρωπον ἀκοῦσαι τὸ χρίον, καὶ ποιῆσαι θεὸν τὸ χριόμενον. Ὁδὸς δέ, ὡς δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ φέρων ἡμᾶς. Θύρα δέ, ὡς εἰσαγωγεύς. Ποιμὴν δέ, ὡς εἰς τόπον χλόης κατασκηνῶν, καὶ ἐκτρέφων ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ὁδηγῶν, καὶ προπολεμῶν κατὰ τῶν θηρίων· τὸ πλανώμενον ἐπιστρέφων, τὸ ἀπολωλὸς ἐπανάγων, τὸ συντετριμμένον καταδεσμῶν, τὸ ἰσχυρὸν φυλάσσων, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐκεῖθεν μάνδραν συνάγων λόγοις ποιμαντικῆς ἐπιστήμης. Πρόβατον δέ, ὡς σφάγιον· ἀμνὸς δέ, ὡς τέλειον. ἀρχιερεὺς δέ, ὡς προσαγωγεύς. Μελχισεδὲκ δέ, ὡς ἀμήτωρ τὸ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἀπάτωρ τὸ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς· καὶ ὡς ἀγενεαλόγητος τὸ ἄνω· Τὴν γὰρ γενεὰν αὐτοῦ, φησί, τίς διηγήσεται; καὶ ὡς βασιλεὺς Σαλήμ, εἰρήνη δὲ τοῦτο, καὶ ὡς βασιλεὺς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ὡς ἀποδεκατῶν πατριάρχας κατὰ τῶν πονηρῶν δυνάμεων ἀριστεύοντας. Ἔχεις τὰς τοῦ Υἱοῦ προσηγορίας. Βάδιζε δι᾿ αὐτῶν, ὅσαι τε ὑψηλαί, θεικῶς, καὶ ὅσαι σωματικαί, συμπαθῶς· μᾶλλον δὲ ὅλον θεικῶς, ἵνα γένῃ θεὸς κάτωθεν ἀνελθών, διὰ τὸν κατελθόντα δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἄνωθεν. Ἐπὶ πᾶσι, καὶ πρὸ πάντων, ἐκεῖνο τήρει, καὶ οὐκ ἂν σφαλείης ἐν τοῖς ὑψηλοτέροις ἢ ταπεινοτέροις ὀνόμασιν· Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, χθὲς καὶ σήμερον σωματικῶς, ὁ αὐτὸς πνευματικῶς, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λογος Λ' Source: Migne PG 35.127d-133a

For it seems to me that He is called 'Son' because of identical essence with the Father, and not for this alone, but because He is from Him. And 'Only-Begotten', not because He is the only one of the Father and the Son alone, but also because He is singular, not as corporeal things. And He is called 'The Word', because He is related to the Father as Word to Mind, not only by His passionless Generation but also because of the Union and of His role as declarer, and perhaps one might say that this is like the definition and the thing defined, since this also is called Logos. For, it says, he who perceives the Son, and this is the 'having seen', has also perceived the Father, 1 the Son being a concise and easy demonstration of the nature of the Father. For every thing that is begotten is a silent word of that which begot it. And if someone should say it is by His presence in all things that are, he would not err in his word. For what is there that coheres but by the Word? He is also called 'Wisdom', as the Knowledge of things Divine and human. For how is it possible that having made, He should be ignorant of the reasons of what He has made? And He is named 'Power', as the sustainer of all created things, and as He who gives them the power to maintain themselves. And He is 'Truth', as being one and not many in nature, for truth is one and falsehood is manifold, and He is as the pure Seal of the Father and His faithful impression. And He is 'The Image' as of one substance with Him, and because He is from Him and not the Father from Him. For this is of the nature of an image, that it is the copy of its archetype, and of that it tells. But there is somewhat more here. For commonly an image is a motionless copy of that which has motion, but here it is the living copy of the living one, and has much more likeness than Seth to Adam, or any thing begotten to its begetter. For such is the nature of simple natures, that they are not like in one respect and unlike in another, but are wholly so, and so it is here, or with this copy. Moreover he is called 'Light' as the brightness of souls cleansed by word and life. For if darkness is ignorance or sin, then light is knowledge and a holy life. And He is called 'Life', for He is Light and He constitutes and establishes every reasonable nature. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being,' 2 according to the double power of inspiration; for all are inspired by Him with breath, even the Holy Spirit as much as one is able, and as much as we open the mouth of our mind. He is Righteousness, because according to worth he distributes, and He is a righteous Arbiter both for those under the Law and for those under Grace, for soul and body, so that the former rules, and the latter is ruled, and that which is better has leadership over that which is worse, so that the worse may not rebel against the better. And He is 'Sanctification', as Purity, that the Pure may be contained by Purity. And He is 'Redemption', because He liberates us who were held captive under sin, giving Himself as our purifying ransom from the world. And Resurrection, because raising us up from there, He brings us to life who were slain by sin. These names, however, are yet common to Him who is above us and who came for our sake. But others are peculiarly our own, and are of what He assumed here. And so 'Man', not only that through His body He may be apprehended by bodily creatures, which would otherwise be impossible because of His incomprehensible nature, but also that by Himself He may sanctify man, and be as it were the leaven of the whole lump, and by uniting Himself to that which has been condemned He might release from all condemnation, becoming for all men all things, being that which we are, except in sin; in body and soul and mind, and all through that which death touches, and thus with all these things He became Man, God visible by contemplation. And He is 'Son of Man', both because of Adam and of the Virgin from whom He came; from the one as a forefather, from the other as mother, by the law of generation and apart from it. And He is 'Christ' by His Godhead. For this is the Anointing of His humanity, which does not by the action sanctify, as with others, but by the Presence of the fullness of the Anointing One, the anointing work of which is called Man, and makes God that which is anointed. And He is 'The Way', because through Himself He bears us. And 'The Door', as admitting us. And 'The Shepherd', as giving us place in green pastures, and bringing us up to the waters of rest, 3 and leading us there, and protecting us from wild beasts, and correcting those who wander, and bringing back the lost, and binding up the broken, and guarding the strong, and bringing them together in the fold beyond with words of pastoral knowledge. And He is 'The Sheep', as victim, and 'The Lamb', as perfect: and 'High Priest', as the offerer, and 'Melchisedek', as motherless in that nature above us, and Fatherless in ours, and without genealogy above, for 'Who,' it says, 'shall tell His generation?' 4 And as King of Salem, which means Peace, and as King of Righteousness, and as He who receives from patriarchs according to their triumphs over the powers of evil. 5 So you have the titles of the Son. Walk through them, through those that are lofty, divinely, threough those that are of the body, as suits them; or rather wholly divinely, that you may become divine, rising from below, for Him who came down from on high for us. In all and above all hold to this, and you shall never stumble either in the higher or more humble names; Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today in the body and in the spirit for ever and ever. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 30. 20-21 1 Jn 14.9 2 Acts 17.28 3 Ps 22.2 4 Isaiah 53.8 4 Gen 14