It is worth asking how some are called holy and yet there is a written account of their sins. You see, contrary to how some think, it is not the case that as soon as one becomes holy he can no longer sin and must always be thought to be without sin. If saints do not sin, then it would not have been written: “You will bear the sins of the saints.” If a saint could be without sin, the Lord would not, through the prophet Ezekiel, tell the angels whom He was sending to punish sinners: “Begin with My saints”(Ez 9:6). If the saints are without sin, why do these very same fall victim to the punishments of sins first? If the saints could be without sin, then Scripture would never say that “the man who is just in the beginning of his speech is his own accuser”(Pr 18:17).
Origen, Homilies on Numbers 10.3
No comments:
Post a Comment