Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

“Vanity of vanities,” said the ecclesiast,
    “Vanity of vanities. Everything is vanity.”
I, Ecclesiast, became
    king over Israel in Jerusalem.

And I set my heart to seek out
    and to survey with wisdom concerning all things
    that happen under the sky,
because an evil distraction
    God gave to the sons of men
    to be troubled within himself.
I saw the actions all together
    that are done under the sun,
    and look, they are all vanity and the preference of the wind.

And I hated my whole labor
    that I toiled at under the sun,
    for I must leave it to the person who comes after me.
And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish?
    And whether he will have authority over all my labor
    that I labored and I gained wisdom under the sun?
And this too was vanity.
And I turned to set my heart
    in all my labor at which I labored under the sun;
for there is a person that his labor
    is in wisdom and in knowledge and in virtue.
And the person, to one who has not labored at it,
    will give his portion to him.
And this too is vanity and great wickedness.
For it happens in the person in all his labor
    and in the preference of his heart
    with which he labors under the sun.
For all his days
    are of suffering, and his distraction is anger,
    and at night too his heart does not sleep.
And this too is vanity.
There is no good thing for a person
    that he shall eat and that he shall drink and that he shall show his soul
    good in his labor.
And this too I saw, that it was from God’s hand.
    For who shall eat and who shall drink without him?
For to the good person
    before him he gave wisdom
    and knowledge and merriment.
And to the sinner he gave distraction,
    to increase and to gather,
    to give the good before God.
    For even this too is vanity and the preference of the wind.

(Eccl 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26 LXX)

I think that the true Ecclesiastes next teaches about the great mystery of salvation when God manifested Himself in the flesh. “I applied my heart to seek out and examine by wisdom all things done under heaven.” The reason for our Lord’s dwelling with men is to give His heart over in wisdom to consider his actions done under the sun. For man is not allowed to consider what lies above heaven just as healthy persons do not require doctors. Evil belongs to the earth. A snake is a reptile which crawls on its belly, eats earth instead of food from heaven, crawls on anything trampled down and is always on the prowl. It watches for man’s heel and injects poison in those who have lost the power to tread on serpents. For this reason Ecclesiastes gives his heart over to careful consideration of every activity done under heaven. As for what lies above the heavens, the prophet gazes at the divine magnificence and says “His magnificence is exalted above the heavens.” Since evil oppresses the realm lying under heaven, the psalm says that sin has brought men low. Ecclesiastes considers how things made under heaven which had no prior existence became subject to vanity and how that which lacked existence took over and became dominant. Evil cannot exist because it is non-existent, and non-existence has no nature belonging to itself; nevertheless, vanity dominates those things which resemble it.

Ecclesiastes has come to search through his own wisdom those actions done under the sun, their confusion, why things are subject to nonexistence and how that which is insubstantial prevails against being. He knew that “God has given to the sons of men an evil trouble to be vexed with.” This is not a pious deed we can readily understand because God has given an evil to the sons of men in order to trouble them; and so one may attribute the cause of evil to God. He who is good by nature indeed bestows goodness because every good tree bears good fruit; a grape cluster does not spring up from thorns nor do thorns come from a vine. Therefore he who is good by nature does not offer evil from his own storehouse; a good man does not speak evil from the abundance of his heart but utters words in accord with his nature. How, then, is the fountain of grace not a source of evil? A more pious understanding suggests that God bestows upon man the gift of free will which he abused and then became an instrument for sin. This free will is good and subject to no one, while anything subject to necessity should not be counted as good. But any impulse coming from the mind is free; it distracts the soul to choose evil and pulls it down to passion from the lofty honors it had received. Such is the meaning of “He has given”; not that God has given evil to men, but that men have used God's benefits to commit thoughtless evil. Holy scripture expresses this by proclaiming “God has handed them over to the disgrace of passion,” “The Lord has hardened Pharaoh's heart,” “Why, Lord, have you caused us to err from Your way and have hardened our hearts not to fear You,” “He caused them to wander in a desert and not in the way,” “You have deceived me, and was deceived” and other such remarks. An accurate understanding of these verses does not mean that human nature lacks anything unbecoming from God; rather, they censure our power of free choice which in itself is good and a gift bestowed by God to human nature. But as a result of indiscretion, free will inclines towards the opposite way. Ecclesiastes thus sees all things done under the sun and calls them vanity. “There is not one who understands or seeks after God” since all have turned aside and have become worthless: “Behold, all is vanity.” He does not attribute this cause to God but to human free choice which he calls the wind. He condemns this wind although it was good at the beginning; there would be no need for such condemnation, but it turned aside by conforming to the world.

Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes 2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:6–15)

In other words, since under pressure they embraced the life of the Law, he brings out once again the difference in circumcision: it is not of the flesh (he is saying) but of the Spirit, not done by human hand but Divine, not a removal of a fragment of flesh but freedom from all corruption. It is not the Law that is responsible for this but Christ the Lord, the giver of the Law; he says, note, in Him also you were circumcised, and again, through the circumcision of Christ. By putting off the body of the sins of the flesh he referred to saving baptism: in it we put off the soiled garment of sin. In the life to come, on the other hand, the body, rendered incorruptible and immortal, can no longer be affected by the stain of sin. Now, to the fact that this refers to baptism the sequel also testifies. Since he called saving baptism a type of death (implying this in buried), he gives the good news of resurrection. And since we still have a mortal nature, he went on: believing in the power of God we await the resurrection, having having the resurrection of Christ the Lord as a pledge.

Sin destroyed us all, imposing on us the sentence of death. But the God of all made us sharers in the life of Christ the Lord, and bestowed on us forgiveness of sins.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Interpretation of the Letter to the Colossians 2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38–42)

This should be our principal effort, then; this should be constantly pursued as the fixed goal of our heart, so that our mind may always be attached to divine things and to God. Whatever is different from this, however great it may be, is nevertheless to be judged as secondary or even as base, and indeed as harmful.

Martha and Mary are very beautifully portrayed in the Gospel as examples of this attitude and manner of behavior. For although Martha was indeed devoting herself to a holy service, ministering as she was to the Lord himself and to his disciples, while Mary was intent only on spiritual teaching and was clinging to Jesus’ feet, which she was kissing and anointing with the ointment of a good confession, yet it was she whom the Lord preferred, because she chose the better part, and one which could not be taken from her. For as Martha was toiling with devout concern and was distracted with her work, she saw that she could not accomplish so large a task by herself, and she asked the Lord for her sister’s help: “Does it not concern You that my sister has left me to serve by myself? Tell her to help me, then.” She was calling her not to a disreputable task, to be sure, but to a praiseworthy service. Yet what did she hear from the Lord? “Martha, Martha, you are concerned and troubled about many things, but few things are necessary, or even one. Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

You see, then, that the Lord considered the chief good to reside in theoria alone—that is, in divine contemplation. Hence we take the view that the other virtues, although we consider them necessary and useful and good, are to be accounted secondary because they are all practiced for the purpose of obtaining this one thing. For when the Lord said: “You are concerned and troubled about many things, but few things are necessary, or even one,” he placed the highest good not in carrying out some work, however praiseworthy, but in the truly simple and unified contemplation of Him, declaring that “few things” are necessary for perfect blessedness—namely, that theoria which is first established by reflecting on a few holy persons. Ascending from the contemplation of these persons, someone who is still advancing will arrive with his help at that which is also called “one”—namely, the vision of God alone, so that, when he has gone beyond even the acts of holy persons and their wonderful works, he may be fed on the beauty and knowledge of God alone. So it is that “Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken from her.” This too should be looked at more closely. For when He says: “Mary has chosen the good part,” although He says nothing about Martha and certainly does not seem to reprimand her, nonetheless in praising the former He asserts that the latter occupies a lower position. Again, when He says: “Which shall not be taken from her,” He indicates that the latter’s position could be taken from her (for a person cannot uninterruptedly practice a ministry in the body), but He teaches that the zeal of the former can surely not come to an end in any age.

John Cassian, The Conferences 1.8

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25–37)

Then the robbers, who had stripped and wounded him, do not help the naked man, but they strike him again with blows and leave him. Hence, Scripture says, “They robbed him and inflicted wounds on him; and they went away and left him”—not dead, but “half-dead.” But it happened that first a priest, and then a Levite, were going down on the same road. Perhaps they had done some good to other men, but not to this man, who had gone down “from Jerusalem to Jericho.” For, the priest saw him—I think this means the Law. And the Levite saw him—that is, in my view, the prophetic word. When they had seen him, they passed by and left him. Providence was saving the half-dead man for him who was stronger than the Law and the prophets, namely for the Samaritan. The name means “guardian.” He is the one who “neither grows drowsy nor sleeps as he guards Israel.” On account of the half-dead man, this Samaritan set out not “from Jerusalem into Jericho,” like the priest and the Levite who went down. Or, if he did go down, he went down to rescue and care for the dying man. The Jews had said to him, “You are a Samaritan and you have a demon.” Though he denied having a demon, he was unwilling to deny that he was a Samaritan, for he knew that he was a guardian.

So, when he had come to the half-dead man and seen him rolling about in his own blood, he had pity on him. He drew near to him, in order to become his neighbor. “He bound his wounds, poured in oil mixed with wine,” and did not say what the prophet records: “There is no poultice to put on, neither oil nor bandages.” The Samaritan is that man whose care and help all who are badly off need. The man who was going down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves, who was wounded and left by them half-alive, needed the help of this Samaritan most of all. You should know that, according to God’s providence, this Samaritan was going down to care for the man who had fallen among thieves. You learn that clearly from the fact that he had bandages, oil, and wine with him. I do not think that the Samaritan carried these things with him only on behalf of that one, half-dead man, but also on behalf of others who, for various reasons, had been wounded and needed bandages, oil, and wine.

He had oil. Scripture says of it, “to gladden one’s face with oil”—without doubt, it means the face of him who was healed. He cleans the wounds with oil, to reduce the swelling of the wounds, but also with wine, adding in something that stings. And the man who had been wounded “he placed on his own beast,” that is, on his own body, since he deigned to assume a man. This Samaritan “bears our sins” and grieves for us. He carries the half-dead man, and brings him to the pandochium—that is, the Church, which accepts everyone and denies its help to no one. Jesus calls everyone to the Church when He says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I shall refresh you.”

After he has brought him in, he does not depart immediately. He remains for a day at the inn with the half-dead man. He cares for his wounds not only during the day, but also at night. He devotes all his attention and activity to him. And, when he wants to set out in the morning, “he takes two denarii” from his tested silver, from his tested money, and pays the inn-keeper. Without a doubt the inn-keeper was the angel of the Church, whom the Samaritan bade to care for the man diligently and bring him back to health. For a short time he himself cared for the man. “Two denarii” appear to me to be knowledge of the Father and the Son, and understanding of how the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. An angel is given this knowledge as if it were a payment. He is to care diligently for the man entrusted to him. The promise is made to him that whatever of his own money he spends on healing the half-dead man will be repaid directly to him.

The Samaritan, “who took pity on the man who had fallen among thieves,” is truly a “guardian,” and a closer neighbor than the Law and the prophets. He showed that he was the man’s neighbor more by deed than by word. According to the passage that says, “Be imitators of me, as I too am of Christ,” it is possible for us to imitate Christ and to pity those who “have fallen among thieves.” We can go to them, bind their wounds, pour in oil and wine, put them on our own beasts, and bear their burdens. The Son of God encourages us to do things like this. He is speaking not so much to the teacher of the Law as to us and to all men when he says, “Go and do likewise.” If we do, we shall obtain eternal life in Christ Jesus, to whom is glory and power for ages of ages. Amen.

Origen, Homilies on Luke 34.5–9

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:1–20)

Consider the great authority he gave the holy apostles, how he declared them praiseworthy, and how he decorated them with the highest honors.… “He that hears you,” He says, “hears Me, and he that rejects you, rejects Me; and he that rejects Me, rejects Him that sent Me.” O what great honor! What incomparable dignities! O what a gift worthy of God! Although men, the children of earth, He clothes them with a godlike glory. He entrusts His words to them that they who resist anything or venture to reject them may be condemned. When they are rejected, He assures them that He suffers this. Then again, He shows that the guilt of this wickedness, as being committed against Him, rises up to God the Father. See with the eyes of the mind how vast a height He raises the sin committed by men in rejecting the saints! What a wall He builds around them! How great security He contrives for them! He makes them such as must be feared and in every way plainly provides for their being uninjured.… Christ gives those who love instruction the assurance that whatever is said concerning Him by the holy apostles or evangelists is to be received necessarily without any doubt and to be crowned with the words of truth. He who hears them, hears Christ. For the blessed Paul also said, “You desire proof that Christ is speaking in me.” Christ Himself somewhere also said to the holy disciples, “For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you.” Christ speaks in them by the consubstantial Spirit. If it is true, and plainly it is, that they speak by Christ, how can they err? He affirms that he who does not hear them, does not hear Christ, and that he who rejects them rejects Christ, and with him the Father.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke Homily 63

“I was looking at Satan, who fell like lightning from the heavens.” It was not that he was actually in the heavens. He was not in them when he said, “I will place my throne above the stars,” but he fell from his greatness and his dominion. “I was looking at Satan, who fell like lightning from the heavens.” He did not fall from heaven, because lightning does not fall from heaven, since the clouds create it. Why then did he say “from the heavens”? This was because it was as though it was from the heavens, as if lightning which comes suddenly. In one second, Satan fell beneath the victory of the cross. Ordinary people were anointed and sent out by reason of their mission and were highly successful in a second, through miracles of healing those in pain, sickness and evil spirits. It was affirmed that Satan suddenly fell from his dominion, like lightning from the clouds. Just as lightning goes out and does not return to its place, so too did Satan fall and did not again have control over his dominion. “Behold, I am giving you dominion.”

Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 10.13

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday after Pentecost

He entered there into the cave and lodged there. Behold, the word of the Lord came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?” Elijah said, “Being zealous, I am zealous for the Lord Almighty because the children of Israel have rejected you; they have broken down your altars; they have killed your prophets with a sword; and I alone remain. And they seek my life to take it.” He said, “Go out tomorrow and stand before the Lord on the mountain. Look, the Lord will pass by.” A very mighty wind broke up the mountains and crushed rocks before the Lord with the wind of the Lord. After the wind was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire was a sound of a small breeze. It happened when Elijah heard, he covered his face with his own goatskin, and he went out and stood at the cave. Behold, a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah said, “Being zealous, I am zealous for the Lord Almighty because the children of Israel have rejected you; your covenant and your altar they have broken down, and they have killed your prophets with a sword. I alone remain, and they seek my life to take it.” The Lord said to him, “Go! Return on your way. You will come on the way of the desert of Damascus, and you shall be present, and you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You shall anoint the son, Eiou son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah a prophet in place of you. It will be that the one who is saved from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and the one who is saved from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. You will leave in Israel seven thousand men, all the knees who have not bent a knee to Baal and every mouth that has not worshiped him.” He departed from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat He was plowing with bulls, twelve yokes before him. He was with the twelve. He came upon him and cast his goatskin on him. Elisha left the bulls and went down after Elijah. He said, “Let me kiss my father, and I will follow after you.” Elijah said, “Return, for what have I done to you?” He turned behind him and took the yokes of the bulls and he slaughtered them. He boiled them with the equipment of the bulls and gave them to the people. They ate, and he arose and went after Elijah and served him. (1 Kings 19:9–21 LXX)

“Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.” Now, after the wind, the earthquake came, and after the earthquake the fire, [Elijah] noticed that the Lord was not in the earthquake or in the fire. This was the purpose of such a revelation: the Lord wanted to instruct the prophet through various figures in order to correct his excessive zeal and to lead him to imitate, according to righteousness, the providence of the most High who regulates the judgments of his justice through the abundant mercy of his grace. From the allegorical point of view this is the meaning of the frightening signs that precede the coming of the Lord: the earthquake and the fire kindled by the strong winds prefigure the type of the dreadful signs that will precede the final day of judgment.

Ephrem the Syrian, On the First book of Kings 19.11

“When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant.’” He stayed at the entrance of the cave because he did not dare approach the Lord who was coming to him. He wrapped his face, saying, “The creature is not worthy of seeing his Creator.” But he did not move from his first thought, even though he saw the image of the benevolence of his Lord in the symbol that was presented to him, and in addition he experienced his admirable mercy and ineffable love for human beings. Who would not have been astonished by the word of the divine majesty who asked him with love, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” But Elijah did not change his mind or shut his mouth. Instead he rose against the sinners once again and complained about the sons of his people before the Lord who asked him the reason for his flight.

Ephrem the Syrian, On the First book of Kings 19.13

After receiving the garment from the prophetical hand, at the same time you have received the privilege, when you were transformed from worker into a prophet through the radiance of the Spirit that was glorified. Since you foreknew, O Christ, the inclination to goodness Of the heart of Elisha, he has understood with no doubt The glorious call that you had established and followed it.

John the Monk [John of Damascus], Canon 6, On Elisha the Prophet Ode 1

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday after Pentecost

Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:26–39)

Did not the devils know the real nature of this name? It is fitting that the heretics should be found guilty, not by the teachings of the apostles but by the mouth of demons. The latter often exclaim, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” The truth drew out this reluctant confession, and being forced to obey, their grief testifies to the strength of this nature. This power overcomes them, since they abandon bodies that they have possessed for a long time. They pay their tribute of honor when they acknowledge the nature of Christ. In the meantime, Christ testifies that he is the Son by his miracles as well as by his name. O heretic, where do you find the name of a creature or the favor of an adoption among those words by which the demons admit who he is?

Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity 6.49

Christ asked him and commanded him to tell what his name was. He said, “Legion,” because many devils had entered him. Did Christ ask this because he did not know it, and like one of us, wished to learn something that had escaped him? Is it not perfectly absurd for us to say or imagine any thing like this? Being God, he knows all things and searches the hearts and inner parts. He asked for the plan of salvation's sake, that we might learn that a great crowd of devils shared the one soul of the man, giving birth a wretched and impure madness in him. He was their work. They certainly are wise to do evil, as the Scripture says, but they have no knowledge to do good.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke Homily 44

It says, “The herdsmen saw this and fled.” Neither professors of philosophy nor leaders of the synagogue can offer any cure when people perish. Christ alone takes away the sins of the people, provided they do not refuse to submit to healing. He does not want to cure the unwilling and soon abandon the weak for whom it seems that his presence is a burden, like the peoples of the Gerasenes. They went out from that country, which appears to be an image of the synagogue, and begged him to depart from them, because they were very afraid.… Why does Christ not accept the healed man but advise him to return home? Perhaps this occurs to avoid a cause of boasting and give an example to unbelievers, although that home may be an inn by nature. Since he received the healing of his mind, Christ commanded him to depart from the tombs and the graves and to return to that spiritual home. He who had in him the grave of the mind became a temple of God.

Ambrose, Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 6.50, 53

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Patristic Wisdom: Looking to Holy Trinity Sunday

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him:

I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.

Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:22–36)

Who then was exalted? The lowly or the most high? And what is the lowly if it be not the human? And what is the most high save the divine? But God being most high needs no exaltation, and so the apostle says that the human is exalted, exalted that is in being “made both Lord and Christ.” Therefore the apostle does not mean by this term “he made” the everlasting existence of the Lord but the change of the lowly to the exalted that took place on the right hand of God. By this word he declares the mystery of religion, for when he says “by the right hand of God exalted” he plainly reveals the ineffable economy of the mystery that the right hand of God, which created all things, which is the Lord by whom all things were made and without whom nothing consists of things that were made, through the union lifted up to its own exaltation the manhood united to it.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Dialogue 2

We, learning this from him, say that the whole context of the passage tends one way—the cross itself, the human name, the indicative turn of the phrase. For the word of the Scripture says that in regard to one person two things were wrought—by the Jews, the passion, and by God, honor. It is not as though one person had suffered and another had been honored by exaltation. He further explains this yet more clearly by his words in what follows, “being exalted by the right hand of God.” Who then was “exalted”? He that was lowly, or he that was the highest? and what else is the lowly but the humanity? what else is the highest but the divinity? Surely, God needs not to be exalted, seeing that he is the highest. It follows, then, that the apostle's meaning is that the humanity was exalted: and its exaltation was effected by its becoming Lord and Christ. And this took place after the passion. It is not therefore the pretemporal existence of the Lord that the apostle indicates by the word made but that change of the lowly to the lofty that was effected “by the right hand of God.”

Gregory of Nyssa: Against Eunomius 5.3

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to Pentecost Sunday

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved. (Acts 2:1–21)

To prevent the magnitude of the surpassing gift from being unknown, a sort of heavenly trumpet sounded. For “suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming”; signifying the advent of Him who grants the grace to men to bear away with violence the kingdom of heaven, to see with their eyes the fiery tongues, to hear with their ears the sound. “And it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” The house became the receptacle of the spiritual water. The disciples were within and the whole house was filled. Therefore they were completely baptized, according to the promise. They were clothed in body and soul with a divine and saving vesture. “And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” They partook not of burning but of saving fire, which consumes the thorns of sins but renders the soul radiant. This fire will come to you too, to strip away and destroy your thorn-like sins, and to make the precious possession of your souls shine yet more brightly; and He will give you grace, for He gave it then to the Apostles. He sat upon them in the form of fiery tongues, to crown them with new and spiritual diadems (by the fiery tongues on their heads). A flaming sword of old barred the gates of Paradise; a fiery tongue, bringing salvation, restored the grace.

Cyril of Jerusalem Catechetical Lectures 17.15

“Like as of fire.” For when the Spirit was to be made known to John, then it came upon the head of Christ as in the form of a dove: but now, when a whole multitude was to be converted, it is “like as of fire. And it sat upon each of them.” This means, that it remained and rested upon them.” For the sitting is significant of settledness and continuance. Was it upon the twelve that it came? Not so; but upon the hundred and twenty. For Peter would not have quoted to no purpose the testimony of the prophet, saying, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith the Lord God, I will pour out of My spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 4

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Seventh Sunday of Easter

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. … “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:1–6, 12–20)

The good laborer receives the bread of his labor with confidence; the lazy and careless one does not look his employer in the face. We must, therefore, be zealous in doing good; for all things are from Him. He warns us: Behold the Lord comes, and his reward is before his face, to pay each man according to his work. He therefore urges us who believe in Him with all our heart not to be lazy or careless in any good work. Let our glorying and our confidence be in Him; let us be subject to His will. Let us consider the whole multitude of angels, how they stand and minister to His will. For the Scripture says: Ten thousand times ten thousand stood by him, and thousands of thousands ministered to him, and they cried, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts the whole creation is full of His glory.”  We, therefore, gathering together in concord in our conscience, also should cry out earnestly as with one voice to Him, that we may become participants in His great and glorious promises. For He says: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what great things the Lord has prepared for those who wait for him.

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 34

He says, I am the root and the offspring of David, but it would seem to have been more appropriate to say, “I am the branch which has sprung up from the root of David.” But, on the contrary, He has now called Himself the root of David, and not only the root but also the offspring, as was said earlier. A root is also the origin of everything, including David, so that He is, and is considered to be, God; but He is also the offspring of David, sprung from Him according to the flesh, insofar as He is, and is considered to be, a human being. This is who He is. “To say the same things more than once is not irksome to me, but is safe” for those who read, as the divine apostle says somewhere of his words. So therefore He is “Emmanuel” in His divinity and in His humanity, each of the two natures being complete according to their respective qualities, without confusion, without change, immutable, unimaginable. We believe that after the inexpressible union there is one person, one hypostasis, and one activity, “even if the difference of the natures, from which we say that the ineffable union has been effected, may not be overlooked,” as well as the peculiar quality of each nature, according to the words of our blessed father Cyril [of Alexandria]. …

He says, The Spirit, that is, the prophetic spirit, and the bride—the whole church in every place—say, “Come!” We are enjoined to seek the second coming of the Lord, but also to put it into prayer. For the one who says, “Your kingdom come,” to God is asking for the kingdom of Christ, which is also the kingdom of the Father and of the Spirit. He says, And let him who hears say, “Come”: He means, “let everyone who hears the present words, including you, John, utter a prayer for the kingdom of the coming of Christ.” In saying this He is urging everyone to follow the works and practice of righteousness. For no one who is not himself conversant with righteousness could pray for the coming of Christ, since he will then be required to give an account of what he has done in his life.

Oecumenius, Commentary on the Apocalypse 22.15-19