Strengthening the Disciples

Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς, εἰσίν τινες τῶν αὐτοῦ ἑστηκότων οἳ οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.  Οὔπω τὴν ἐξ ὕψους δύναμιν ἐσχηκότας τοὺς μαθητὰς εἰκὸς ἦν τάχα που καὶ ἀνθρωπίναις περιπεσεῖν ἀσθενείαις καί τι τοιοῦτον καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐννενοηκότας εἰπεῖν· Πῶς ἀρνήσεταί τις ἑαυτόν; ἢ πῶς ἀπολέσας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν εὑρήσει πάλιν αὐτήν; τί δὲ τοῖς τοῦτο παθοῦσι τὸ ἰσοστατοῦν ἔσται γέρας; ἢ καὶ ποίων ἔσται χαρισμάτων μέτοχος; ἵνα τοίνυν τῶν τοιούτων αὐτοὺς ἀποστήσῃ λογισμῶν καὶ οἷον μεταχαλκεύσῃ πρὸς εὐανδρίαν τῆς ἐσομένης αὐτοῖς εὐκλείας ἐπιθυμίαν ἐντεκών φησι· Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν· εἰσί τινες τῶν αὐτοῦ ἑστηκότων, οἳ οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσι τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. βασιλείαν δὲ θεοῦ λέγει αὐτὴν τὴν θέαν τῆς δόξης, ἐν ᾗ καὶ αὐτὸς ὀφθήσεται κατ' ἐκεῖνο τοῦ καιροῦ, καθ' ὃν ἐπιλάμψει τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς· ἥξει γὰρ ἐν δόξῃ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καὶ οὐκ ἔν γε μᾶλλον σμικροπρεπείᾳ τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς. πῶς οὖν ἄρα θεωροὺς ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ θαύματος τοὺς λαβόντας τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν; ἄνεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τρεῖς ἀπ' αὐτῶν τοὺς ἀπολέκτους ἔχων. Εἶτα μεταπλάττεται πρὸς ἐξαίρετόν τινα καὶ θεοπρεπῆ λαμπρότητα ὥστε καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν αὐτοῦ τῇ τοῦ φωτὸς προσβολῇ διαλάμψαι καὶ οἷον ἀπαστράψαι δοκεῖν. Πλὴν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας περιεστηκότες τὸν Ἰησοῦν προσελάλουν, φησίν, ἀλλήλοις τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἔμελλε πληροῦν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, τουτέστι τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας τὸ μυστήριον καὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος, τὸ ἐπί γέ φημι τῷ τιμίῳ σταυρῷ· δόξαν γὰρ αὐτὸ καλοῦσιν ἀεί. Καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθὲς ὅτι ὁ διὰ Μωυσέως νόμος καὶ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν ὁ λόγος τὸ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον προανέδειξαν, ὁ μὲν ἐν τύποις καὶ σκιαῖς, μονονουχὶ καθάπερ ἐν πίνακι καταγράφων αὐτό, οἱ δὲ πολυτρόπως προηγορευκότες ὡς καὶ ὀφθήσεται κατὰ καιροὺς ἐν εἴδει τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ὅτι τῆς πάντων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας καὶ ζωῆς οὐ παραιτήσεται τὸ παθεῖν τὸν ἐπὶ ξύλου θάνατον. Οὐκοῦν ἡ Μωυσέως καὶ Ἠλίου παράστασις καὶ τὸ προσλαλεῖν ἀλλήλοις αὐτοὺς οἰκονομία τις ἦν εὖ μάλα καταδεικνύουσα δορυφορούμενον μὲν ὑπὸ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ὡς καὶ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν δεσπότην, προκαταδειχθέντα δὲ παρ' αὐτῶν, δι' ὧν ἀλλήλοις συνῳδὰ προεκήρυξαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ. Θ'

'Truly I say to you that some standing here will not taste death until they have seen the kingdom of God.' 1 As the disciples had not yet obtained virtue from on high, it was likely that they also stumbled in human weaknesses, and pondering in themselves the sayings they had heard may have said 'How does a man deny himself?' or 'How having lost himself does he find himself again?' And 'What reward will be worthy of those who suffer so? Or 'Of what gifts will they be made partakers?' To rescue them therefore from such unstable thoughts, and, so to speak, to forge them into fortitude by begetting in them a desire for the glory to come, He says, 'I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they have seen the kingdom of God.'  And by the kingdom of God He means the sight of the glory in which He will appear at that time when he shines on those on earth, for He will come in the glory of God the Father, and not in low state as was to us. How, then, did He make those who had received the promise spectators of such a wonder? Going up the mountain He takes with Him three chosen ones, and He is transformed with so surpassing and godlike a brightness, that His garments shine with such light that it seems like  flashes of lightning. And then Moses and Elijah stood at the side of Jesus and spoke with one another about His departure, which He was about to fulfill at Jerusalem, that is, the mystery of the dispensation of the flesh and the passion of salvation, and indeed, I say, about the precious cross which will always be called glorious. For it is indeed true that the law of Moses and the word of the holy Prophets prefigured the mystery of Christ; the first by types and shadows, as in the painting of a picture, while the rest in many ways declared before the events that both in time He would appear in our likeness and for the sake of the salvation and life of all he would not refuse to suffer death on the tree. Therefore the standing of Moses and Elijah beside Him and their talking with one another was a sort of arrangement which well represented our Lord Jesus Christ as being guarded by the Law and the Prophets, and Him as master of the Law and Prophets, foreshown by them by those things which in agreement with one another they had proclaimed. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.27

A Spur To Improve

Ὁτι παντάσασιν ἀκερδής ἐστιν ἡ κακία, καὶ πρὸς τὰ παρόντα φαύλη σύνοικος, καὶ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα ἰσχυρὰ κατήγορος, φήσουσί σοι πολλοί. Τί τοίνυν αὐτήν ἀσπάζῃ καὶ περιέπεις, Κακόβουλε μᾶλλον ἢ ΕὐΒουλε; Ἥν φεύγων ὡς πᾶσι τοῖς καλοὶς πολεμίαν, καὶ Θεῷ φανήσῃ καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἀοίδιμος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΞΑ', Εὐβουλῳ

Many have said to you that evil is utterly unprofitable, since in the present it places one amid wickedness and in the future it bring strong denunciation. Why then should I not greet you and refer to you as a man of evil will rather than as one of good will? Yet if you flee from being an enemy to all that is fair, you may appear both to men and to God as one worth celebrating. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 261, to Euboulos

Fraternal Encouragment

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ὁ ἐναρξάμενος ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελέσει, καὶ μὴ ἀποκάμῃς ὑπηρετῶν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ πνεύματος, μηδὲ ἡμιτελῆ ποιήσῃς τὴν ἀριστείαν τῶν κατὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ στρατευομένων, ἀλλὰ μίμησαι τὸν γνήσιόν σου πατέρα, ὁς κατὰ τὸν ζηλωτὴν Φινεὲς τῇ μιᾷ πληγῇ τοῦ ἐλέγχου τὸν μαθητὴν τῷ διδασκάλῳ συναπεκέντησεν· οὕτω καὶ σὺ εὐτόνως τῇ χειρὶ τοῦ λόγου δι’ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν αἱρετικων βιβλίων ὧσον τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος μάχαιραν, ἵνα μὴ τὴν κεφαλὴν συντεθλασμένος ὁ ὅφις κατὰ τὴν οὐρὰν περισπαίρων τοὺς ἀκεραιοτέπους φοβῇ. Τῶν γὰρ πρώτων τοῦ λόγου ἀναιρεθέντων, ἐὰν τὸ τελευταῐον ἀνεξέταστον ἀφεθῇ, ἰσχύν τινα κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἔχειν παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς νομισθήσεται. Πετρος Σεβαστειας, Επιστολη Προς Τον Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης του αὐτου Ἀδελφον.

Since then it befits one who has begun a good work to bring it to perfection lest any defect be attributed to the power of the Spirit, and lest a half finished work militate against the glory of Christ, rather you should imitate your true father, with that zeal of Phineas which with one blow of refutation transfixed student and teacher, thus even you with the well exercised hand of the Word should pierce both heretical books with the spiritual sword, so that not only the head of the serpent should be cut off but also the tail, and thus all fear should be utterly dispersed. For if only the first things of a heretic be disposed of, a certain strength against the truth remains to imperil many. Saint Peter of Sebaste, Letter to Saint Gregory of Nyssa his brother.

Ornaments and Chains

Quod autem, fustibus caesi prius graviter et afflicti, per ejusmodi poenas initiastis confessionis vestrae gloriosa primordia, execranda nobis ista res non est. Neque enim ad fustes christianum corpus expavit, cujus est spes omnis in ligno. Sacramentum salutis suae Christi servus agnovit. Redemptus ligno ad vitam aeternam ligno provectus est ad coronam. Quid vero mirum si vasa aurea et argentea in metallum, id est auri et argenti domicilium, dati estis, nisi quod nunc metallorum natura conversa est, locaque quae aurum et argentum dare ante consueverant, accipere coeperunt. Imposuerunt quoque compedes pedibus vestris, et membra felicia ac Dei templa infamibus vinculis ligaverunt, quasi cum corpore ligetur et spiritus, aut aurum vestrum ferri contagione maculetur. Dicatis Deo hominibus et fidem suam religiosa virtute testantibus ornamenta sunt ista, non vincula; nec Christianorum pedes ad infamiam copulant, sed clarificant ad coronam.  Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola LXXVI, Ad Nemesianum et Caeteros Martyras in Metallo Constitutos

That indeed, being first heavily beaten with clubs and afflicted, you have begun by such punishments the glorious beginnings of your confession, is not something execrable to us. A Christian body is not frightened by clubs; all its hope is in the wood. The servant of Christ recognises the sacrament of his salvation. Redeemed by wood to eternal life, by wood he is carried forward to the crown. Truly what wonder if, as golden and silver vessels, you have been sent to the mine that is the home of gold and silver, except that now the nature of the mine is transformed and the places which previously had been accustomed to give gold and silver have begun to receive them? They have also put fetters on your feet and they have bound your happy limbs and the temples of God with disgraceful chains, as if the spirit could be bound with the body or your gold tainted by touch of iron. To men dedicated to God and to those who give witness to their faith with religious strength, such things are ornaments and not chains, nor do they fetter the feet of the Christians to infamy, but they glorify for a crown. Saint Cyprian, Letter 76, To Nemesianus and Other Martyrs Sent to the Mines

Lament for Modern Gatherings

Ἐἶπε πάλιν· Έν ἀρχῇ ὅτε συνηγόμεθα πρὸς ἀλλὴλους, καὶ ἐλαλοῦμεν περὶ ὠγελείας συγκροτοῦντες ἀλλὴλους, ἐγενόμεθα χοροὶ χοροὶ, καὶ ἀνηρχόμεθα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανους. Νυνὶ δὲ συναγόμεθα, καὶ εἶς τὸν ἔνα εἰς καταλαλιὰν ἐρχόμενοι, κατάγομεν κάτω.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Again Father Megistheos said, ' In the beginning when we gathered together we spoke to encourage one another, a choir to a choir, and we ascended to heaven. But now when we come together we denounce one another, and so we sink down.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Encouraging Penitence

In diebus, inquit, illis venit Ioannes Baptista praedicans in deserto Iudaeae, et dicens: Poenitentiam agite, appropinquavit enim regnum coelorum. Poenitentiam agite, quare non magis gaudete? gaudete magis, quia succedunt humanis divina, coelestia terrenis, temporalibus sempiterna, malis bona, secura anxiis, aerumnis beata, mansura perituris. Poenitentiam agite. Poeniteat plane, poeniteat qui divinis praetulit humana, qui servire voluit mundo, et dominationem mundi cum mundi Domino non habere. Poeniteat qui maluit perire cum diabolo, quam regnare cum Christo. Poeniteat qui virtutum libertatem fugiens, captivus voluit esse vitiorum. Poeniteat, et satis poeniteat, qui ne vitam teneret, manus tradidit morti. Appropinquavit enim regnum caelorum. Regnum coelorum est praemium iustorum, iudicium peccatorum, impiis poena. Beatus ergo Ioannes, qui poenitentia iudicium voluit praeveniri; peccatores non iudicium voluit habere, sed praemium; impios voluit regnum intrare, non poenam. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLXVII  Source: Migne PL 52.637

'In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the Judean desert and saying, 'Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 1 Repent, but why not rejoice? Rejoice because the divine succeeds the human, the celestial the mundane, eternity time, good evil, security anxiety, blessedness hardship, peace destruction. Repent. Repent openly. Let him repent who preferred the human to the Divine, let him repent who wished to serve the world and not to have power with the lord of the world, let him repent who prefers to destroy with the devil rather than to reign with Christ, let him repent who fleeing the freedom of the virtues wished to be a captive of the vices, let him repent and repent who clinging on to life gave a hand to death. The kingdom of heaven is near. The kingdom of heaven is the reward of the just, the judgement of sinners, the punishment of the impious. Thus did the blessed John wish that penitence arrive before judgement; he did not wish to bring sinners to judgement but rather to reward; he would have the godless enter the kingdom rather than have them punished. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 167 1 Mt 3. 1-2

A Monk's Encouragement

᾽Αδελφος τις καθεζόμενος εις τα Κελλια ἐταράσσετο καταμόνας· και ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τον ἀββᾶν θεόδωρον τὸν τῆς Φερμης, εἷπεν αὐτῷ. ῾Ο δὲ γέρων εἶπεν· Ὓπαγε, ταπεινωσον τὸν λογισμόν σου, και ὑποτάγηθι, και μεινον μετὰ ἄλλων. Και ὑποστρεφει πρὸς τὸν γέροντα, και λεγει αὐτῷ· Οὑδε μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων αναπαύομαι. Και λὲγει αὐτῷ ὁ γερων· Ει μόνος οὐκ ἀναπαυῃ, οὐδε μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων, διατι ἐξῆλθες εισ τὸν μοναχόν; οὐχι ἵνα ὑποφερῃς τας θλιψεις; εἰπε δέ μοι· Ποσα ἔτη ἒχεις εις τὸ σχῆμα; Λὲγει· Ὀκτώ. Ἐἶπεν οὗν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· φυσει ἐχω ἐν τᾡ σχήματι ἐβδομὴκοντα ἔτη, και οὐδὲ μιαν ἡμέραν εὗρον ἀνάπαυσιν· και σὺ εις ὀκτω ἔτη θέλεις ἀνάπαυσιν ἔχειν; Και τοῦτο ἀκούσας, ἑδραιωθεὶς ἀπῆλθεν.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

A certain brother dwelling in the region named 'The Cells' was troubled in his solitude. He went out to Father Theodoros of Pherme to speak to him. And the elder said, 'Begone, be humble in your thought, subject yourself, and abide with others.' He came back to the elder and said, ' I am not able to find rest with men'. The elder said to him, 'If you are not able to rest alone or with others, for what reason did you come out to be a monk? That you might endure suffering? Tell me how many years have you been a monk?' He said, 'Eight.' The elder said to him, ' I have spent seventy years in this state and not one day have I found rest. And you wish for peace in eight years?' Hearing this, he went away fortified. Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia