Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday of Easter

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24–29)

The Apostle, also, writing to the Ephesians, says that God hath purposed in Himself, in the dispensation of the fullness of time, to draw back all things in Christ to the head—that is, to the beginning—that are in Heaven and on earth in Him. In this same way the Lord applied to Himself two Greek letters, the first and the last, as figures of the beginning and the end which are united in himself. For just as Alpha continues on until it reaches Omega and Omega completes the cycle back again to Alpha, so He meant to show us that in Him is found the course of all things from the beginning to the end and from the end back to the beginning, so that every divine dispensation should end in Him through whom it first began, that is, in the Word of God made flesh. Accordingly, it should also end in the selfsame manner in which it first began.

Tertullian, On Monogamy 5

You have heard the Lord praise those who do not see and yet believe, more than those who see and believe, and were even able to touch. The apostle Thomas, you remember, wasn’t there when the Lord showed Himself to the disciples; and when he heard from them that Christ had risen, he said, Unless I put my hand in his side, I will not believe. So, what if the Lord had risen without His scars? Could he not, after all, have raised up His flesh in such a way that no traces of His wounds remained in it? Yes, He could have done that; but unless He kept the scars in His body, He wouldn’t heal the wounds in our hearts. He was touched, and recognized. It was little enough for the man to see with his eyes, he wanted to believe with his fingers. Come, he said, put your fingers here; I didn’t remove all traces, I left something to help you believe; and see my side, and do not be incredulous, but believe.

But when He showed him that about which he had had his doubts, he exclaimed, My Lord and my God. He touched His flesh, he proclaimed His divinity. What did he touch? The body of Christ. Was the body of Christ the divinity of Christ? The divinity of Christ was the Word; the humanity of Christ was soul and flesh. Thomas couldn’t touch the soul, but he could perceive it, because the body which had been dead was moving about alive. But that Word is subject neither to change nor to contact, it neither regresses nor progresses, neither fails nor flourishes, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That is what Thomas proclaimed; he touched the flesh, he invoked the Word, because the Word became flesh, and dwelt amongst us.

Augustine of Hippo, Sermons 145A

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” … Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:7–8, 12–18)

If neither Moses, therefore, nor Elijah, nor Ezekiel, all of whom saw many things of the heavenly regions, saw God, but saw the likeness of God’s glory and the prophecies of the future things, it is evident that the Father is invisible. Of Him the Lord, too, said, No one has ever seen God. But his Word, just as He willed and for the benefit of those who saw, revealed the Father’s glory and unfolded the economies. This, too, the Lord said, The Only-begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made him known. … John, too, the Lord’s disciple, saw, in the Apocalypse, the priestly and glorious coming of his reign. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me,…. Now, among these things he points out first the glory from the Father, as the head, and the priestly feature, as the long robes;—for this reason Moses vested the high priest according to this type—second, the end as the bronze refined in the fire, which denotes the firmness of faith and perseverance in prayers on account of the refining fire that will come at the end of time. … Thus the Word of God always possessed something resembling sketches of things to be done by Himself, and He showed to men something resembling a form of the Father’s economies, teaching us about the things of God.

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 4.20.11

Patristic Wisdom for Easter

Maxim Dergachev, The Holy Myrrh-bearing Women at the Tomb of the Risen Christ

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. (Luke 24:1–12)

THE women came to the sepulcher, and when they could not find the body of Christ,—for He had risen,—they were much perplexed. And what followed? For their love’s sake unto Christ, and their earnest zeal thereunto, they were counted worthy of seeing holy angels, who even told them the joyful tidings, and became the heralds of the resurrection, saying, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” For the Word of God ever lives, and is by His own nature Life: but when He humbled Himself unto emptying, and submitted to be made like unto us, He tasted death. But this proved to be the death of death: for He arose from the dead, to be the way whereby not Himself so much but we rather return unto incorruption. And let no one seek Him Who ever lives among the dead; for He is not here, with mortality, that is, and in the tomb: but where rather is He? in heaven plainly, and in godlike glory. And more firmly to settle the faith of the women in these things, they recall to their minds what Christ had said, that “He must necessarily be given up into the hands of sinners, and suffer, and the third day rise again.”

Angels too brought the joyful tidings of the nativity to the shepherds in Bethlehem, and now they tell His resurrection: and heaven yields its service to proclaim Him, and the hosts of the spirits which are above attend the Son as God, even when He had become flesh.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke 24

Let us believe in Christ crucified, but let us also believe in Him who rose again on the third day. This is the faith which distinguishes us from others, from pagans and from Jews; namely, the faith by which we believe that Christ rose again from the dead. The Apostle said to Timothy: “Remember that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and was descended from David; this is my gospel.” …

Behold, I have told you that the faith which marks us off from pagans is that by which we believe that Christ Jesus rose from the dead. Ask any pagan whether Christ was crucified: he declares emphatically: “Certainly, He was.” Then ask whether He rose again; he denies it. Ask any Jew whether Christ was crucified; he acknowledges the sin of his ancestors, in which he, too, shares for he drinks the cup which those ancestors passed down to him with the words: “His blood be on us and on our children.” But ask the Jew whether Christ rose again from the dead; he will deny it, ridicule it, and accuse you. Thus we are separated. We believe that Christ, born of the seed of David according to the flesh, rose from the dead. Were the demons unaware of this, or did they not believe the things which they saw? Yet, even before He had arisen, they shouted and said: “We know who you are, O Son of God.” We have distinguished ourselves from the pagans by our belief that Christ has risen. If we can, let us now distinguish ourselves from the demons. What is it, I ask you, what is it that the demons said? “We know who you are, O Son of God.” And they hear the reply: “Hold thy peace.” Did they not say just what Peter said when the Lord questioned the disciples, saying: “Who do men say I am?” When they had reported the opinions of others, He repeated His question, saying: “But who do you say I am?” Then Peter answered: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The same statement was made by the demons and by Peter; the same by evil spirits and by the Apostle. Yet, the demons hear: “Hold thy peace,” while Peter hears: “Blessed art thou.” May what differentiated them also differentiate us from the demons. Why did the demons make that declaration? From fear. Why did Peter? From love. Choose, then, and cherish.

Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 234.3

Patristic Wisdom for Good Friday

Tintoretto, La Crocifissione

And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”

Therefore the soldiers did these things. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:17–30)

Some say that Adam died there, and there lies; and that Jesus in this place where death had reigned, there also set up the trophy. For He went forth bearing the Cross as a trophy over the tyranny of death: and as conquerors do, so He bare upon His shoulders the symbol of victory. What matter if the Jews did these things with a different intent. They crucified Him too with thieves, in this also unintentionally fulfilling prophecy; for what they did for insult contributed to the truth, that you may learn how great is its power, since the Prophet had foretold of old, that He was numbered with the transgressors. The devil therefore wished to cast a veil over what was done, but was unable; for the three were crucified, but Jesus alone was glorious, that you may learn, that His power effected all. Yet the miracles took place when the three had been nailed to the cross; but no one attributed any thing of what was done to either of those others, but to Jesus only; so entirely was the plot of the devil rendered vain, and all returned upon his own head. For even of these two, one was saved. He therefore did not insult the glory of the Cross, but contributed to it not a little. For it was not a less matter than shaking the rocks, to change a thief upon the cross, and to bring him into Paradise.

John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John 85.1

In the light of all this, does the Shepherd prove His love for you by His death? Is He proving His love because, when He sees danger threatening His sheep, when He cannot defend his flock, He prefers to die before He sees any evil done to the sheep? But what are we to do, since the Life Himself could not die unless He had decided to? Who could have taken life away from the Giver of life if He were unwilling? He Himself said: ‘I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it up again. No one takes it from me.’ Therefore, He willed to die—He who permitted Himself to be slain although He was unable to die. Hence, let us investigate the strength and the reason of this love, the cause of this death, and the utility of this passion.

Clearly, there is an established strength, a true reason, a lucid cause, a patent utility in all this blood. For, unique power sprang forth from the one death of the Shepherd. For the sake of His sheep the Shepherd met the death which was threatening them. He did this that, by a new arrangement, He might, although captured Himself, capture the Devil, the author of death; that, although conquered Himself, He might conquer; that, although slain Himself, He might punish; that, by dying for His sheep, He might open the way for them to conquer death. The Devil, too, while he aimed at man, made an attempt on God. While he grows furious at the guilty one, he runs up against his Judge. While he inflicts pain, he incurs torture. While he is issuing a sentence, he receives one. And death, which lives by feeding upon mortals, dies while it is devouring the Life. Death, which swallows guilty men, gets swallowed while it is gulping down the Author of innocence. Death, accustomed to destroy all, perishes itself while it tries to destroy the salvation of all. Therefore, by giving a pattern like this, the Shepherd went before His sheep; He did not run away from them. He did not surrender the sheep to the wolves, but He consigned the wolves to the sheep. For He enabled His sheep to pick out their robbers in such a way that the sheep, although slain, should live; although mangled, should rise again and, colored by their own blood, should gleam in royal purple, and shine with snow-white fleece. In this way, when the good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep, He did not lose it. In this way He held His sheep; He did not abandon them. Indeed, He did not forsake them, but invited them. He called and led them through fields full of death, and a road of death, to life-giving pastures.

Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 40

Patristic Wisdom for Maundy Thursday

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” … So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:1–17, 31–35)

After this, since the passion was getting closer, our Lord began to tell the disciples what He thought should be heard by all of them before His passion. Therefore He said, Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him. “The time is near in which the Son of Man who was assumed will be glorified in an amazing way, and in which, above all, God will be revealed before everyone through the things that happen to Him.” The events that happened at the time of the crucifixion—the earth shook, the light of the sun was hidden and darkness covered the earth, the tombs opened and the rocks were broken—all of these demonstrated how great He already was, and how great the magnificence of the One who had been crucified would become. At the same time, these events were also the reason why people admired God who had made the Son of Man worthy of such an honor. If God has been glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself and will glorify Him at once. “Evidently,” he says, “as much as God is glorified by those things which happened to Him, so much greater will God Himself glorify Him. God would not have been glorified if the things that happened to Him had not themselves been great. And these things,” He says, “were not given to Him only after a long time, but had in fact already been given to Him.”

Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.13.31–32

The Lord Jesus attests that He is giving a new commandment to His disciples, that they love one another. “A new commandment,” He says, “I give to you, that you love one another.” Was not this commandment already in the ancient Law of God, where it was written, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”? Why therefore is that called new by the Lord which is clearly shown to be old? Can it be therefore that it is a new commandment because the old has been stripped off and He has put on us the new man? For love renews one who hears, or rather one who obeys, not every but this love which the Lord, in order to distinguish it from carnal love, added: “As I have loved you.” … Therefore, Christ has given a new commandment to us: that we love one another as He also has loved us. This love renews us that we may be new men, heirs of the New Testament, singers of a new song. This love, dearest brothers, renewed even then those just men of ancient times, then the patriarchs and the prophets, as it did the blessed Apostles later; even now it also renews the nations, and from the whole human race, which is scattered over the whole world, it makes and gathers a new people, the body of the new spouse, the bride of the Son of God, the Only-Begotten…. Because of this the members in her are concerned for one another. And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it; and if one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it. For they hear and keep: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another,” not as those who are corrupt love one another, not as men love one another because they are men, but as they love one another because they are gods and all, sons of the Most High, so that they may be brothers to his only Son, loving each other with the love with which he himself loved them, who will lead them to that end which may suffice for them, where their desire may be sated in good things. For when God will be all in all, then nothing will be lacking to their desire.

Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John 65.1.1–3

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to Palm Sunday

Have mercy upon me, O Lord,
      because I am afflicted.
My eye was troubled in anger,
        my soul also, and my belly.
For my life died with distress,
        and my years were weakened with groaning in poverty.
        My strength and my bones were troubled.
From all my enemies I became a reproach,
        and to my neighbors exceedingly so,
and I became a fear to my acquaintances.
        The ones looking at me outside fled from me.
I was forgotten from hearts like a corpse.
        I became like a broken vessel.
For I heard the censure of many,
        dwelling from all around,
while they gathered at once against me.
        They deliberated to take my soul.
But I hoped in you, O Lord.
        I said, “You are my God.”
My portion is in your hands.
        Rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
        and from the ones who are persecuting me.
Show forth your face upon your servant.
        Save me with your mercy. (Psalm 30:10–17 LXX [Ps 31:9–16])

I am become a reproach above all my enemies, and very much to my neighbors: and a fear to my acquaintances. The phrase, Above all, rather than “among all,” is not idle; Above all my enemies is said by way of amplification. Whilst the enemy were indeed a reproach, Christ the Lord though innocent and stainless was regarded as a reproach among those who contaminated themselves with wicked sin. Next comes: I am become a reproach; not “I was truly a reproach,” but “I was thought to be what I was not by those who erred through being deceived by baseless persuasion.” Reproach (probrum) means “opposed to the worthy” (contra probum), that is, dishonorable and unfitting. A reproach suggests an extremely loathsome deed, which was clearly ascribed to the Lord Savior among the wicked Jews when they said: This man is not of God, who keeps not the Sabbath, and elsewhere: Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil. Neighbors He calls those close to Him in proximity of faith, men who as yet had not believed, but were disposed to believe. But when they saw that He hung on the cross, they were shifted from their proximity to belief once they saw the suffering of Him who they thought should be adorned. Though they saw inevitably come to pass what was foretold in faith, they remained unaware of it, and then they were all the more withdrawn from firm belief. Note that He spoke first of enemies, and then of neighbors; next he advances to acquaintances. This denotes the apostles, thrown into utter confusion by His passion. Of them Scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.

The order of the phrases is marvelous and most sacred. When His enemies dwelt round the synagogue and put their hope in their strength, He says that He trusted the Lord, for He knew that their power was non-existent, and that they were attempting to kill themselves rather than Him by such plots.… The Lord Christ says: You are my God, but He speaks from the standpoint of the humanity which He assumed, and which as He later says was subject to both time and death. He does not, as His enemies thought, state that His life was to be ended by their persecution, but He places His life’s times in the Lord’s power; for we exist through His creation, wax strong through His dispensation, and also pass on at His command. So it was necessary that He kept His hope implanted in the Lord, for He knew that His life and death were in His power.

Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms 30.12, 15–16

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday in Lent

This is what the Lord says, who makes in the sea a way and a path in the raging water, who leads out chariots and horse and a mighty multitude; but they have gone to sleep, and they will not rise; they are extinguished like quenched flax. “Do not call to mind the former things, and do not consider the ancient things. Look! I will do new things that will now spring forth, and you will perceive them, and I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the waterless place. The beasts of the field will bless me, Sirens and the daughters of sparrows, because I provided water in the wilderness and rivers in the waterless place, to give my chosen race to drink, my people whom I have preserved, to tell of my virtuous acts.” (Isaiah 43:16–21 LXX)

The Lord who destroyed and cast down Babylon and brought down its strongest ones from power, and who took captive all the Chaldeans who were sailing blissfully on the waves of this world, has found the way in the mighty waters of the Red Sea, so that His people were delivered and passed through from Egypt. Or, He who made a way in the Red Sea has found a path even in the mighty waters of the Jordan river, so that both the departure from Egypt and the entry into the promised land contained a miracle. He himself drowned the chariots and the horses and the entire army of Pharaoh in the deep, which have slept in perpetual sleep. They were broken and extinguished as flax in a brief space of time and in an instant and a moment; for flax that has not yet been ignited, because of the lightness of its substance, is immediately put out and extinguished in a glimmering spark.

Therefore, I command this to you, that amongst My signs and miracles, by which the most powerful city of Babylon was torn down, and by which a way was opened for my people in the Red Sea and the Jordan, remember not things of old, because in the gospel I will do much greater things. In comparison with those things, the past things ought to be silent. For I will no longer find a way in the Red Sea, but in the wilderness of the whole world. Not just one river or fountain will burst forth from the rock, but many rivers, not to refresh thirsty bodies, as before, but souls. Thus what we read above is fulfilled: “You will drink water from the fountains of salvation.”

Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 12.43.14

For this reason, I did not want you to wonder at those things in the future, but there are certain newer wonders that are in no way inferior to the wonders done in old times, and like a light they shine forth among all, and you will know these things when they happen. And what does He mean when He says: I will make a way in the wilderness? Clearly He is speaking again about the church that He established among the nations, which was then a wilderness concerning the knowledge of God before the Christ came to dwell, who said: “I am the way.” And He says I will make a way in that place that was once a wilderness, just as I once made a way through the Red Sea. Rivers of divine words will flow from the teaching of the Holy Spirit into the dry land, just as rivers “gushed out” in the wilderness for Moses. But, indeed, the water that flowed was physical and perishable, but the water that now flows is from the inspired abundant supply of the rational and spiritual water.

Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah 43