Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Transfiguration

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. (Luke 9:28–36)

The standing, therefore, of Moses and Elijah before Him, and their talking with one another, was a sort of representation, excellently displaying our Lord Jesus Christ, as having the law and the prophets for His body guard, as being the Lord of the law and the prophets, and as foreshown in them by those things which in mutual agreement they before proclaimed. For the words of the prophets are not at variance with the teachings of the law. And this I imagine was what Moses the most priestly and Elijah the most distinguished of the prophets were talking of with one another.…

Besides the wonderful and ineffable sight of Christ’s glory, something else was done, useful and necessary for the confirmation of their faith in Him: and not for the disciples only, but even for us too. For a voice was given forth from the cloud above, as from God the Father, saying: “This is My beloved Son, hear Him. And when there was the voice,” it says, “Jesus was found alone.” What then will he who is disputatious and disobedient, and whose heart is incurable, say to these things? Lo! Moses is there, and does the Father command the holy apostles to hear him? Had it been His will that they should follow the commandments of Moses, He would have said, I suppose, Obey Moses; keep the law. But this was not what God the Father here said, but in the presence of Moses and the prophets, He commands them rather to hear Him. And that the truth might not be subverted by any, affirming that the Father rather bade them hear Moses, and not Christ the Savior of us all, the Evangelist has clearly marked it, saying, “When there was the voice, Jesus was found alone.” When therefore God the Father, from the cloud overhead, commanded the holy apostles, saying, “Hear Him,” Moses was far away, and Elijah too was no longer near; but Christ was there alone. Him therefore He commanded them to obey.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke Homily 51

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Joseph then said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were stunned in his presence. But Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to save life. For this is the second year of famine in the land, and five years still remain in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. For God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth, and to sustain you as a great remnant. So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. “Hurry then and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your sheep and oxen, and all you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all you have, come to poverty; for five years of famine still remain.’ ” And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see it is my mouth that speaks to you. Therefore, you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after this his brothers talked with him. (Gen 45:3–15)

“Come to me,” because I have come near to you, yes, even so far that I made myself a sharer in your nature by taking on flesh. At least do not flee a partaker of your fellowship, if you do not know the Author of your salvation. “And they came to him and he said, ‘I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, and let it not seem to you a hard case, that you sold me here; for God sent me before you for life.’” What fraternal devotion! What a good brotherly relation! He would even excuse His brothers’ crime and say that it was God’s providence and not man’s unholiness, since He was not offered up to death by men but was sent by the Lord to life. What else is the meaning of that intervention made by our Lord Jesus Christ, who excelled all His brothers in holiness? When He was on the cross, He said in behalf of the people, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” What other meaning is there either in that holy appeal made in the midst of the disciples? For He said, “Peace to you! It is I, do not be afraid.” And when they were startled and panic-stricken and thought they saw a spirit, again He said to them, “Why are you disturbed and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and feet, that it is I myself. Feel and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” And so, even then these future mysteries were revealed to later times.

Indeed they are expressed in the same words, so that we may know that He is the same who spoke before in Joseph and afterward in His own body, seeing that He did not change even the words. For at that time He said, “Be not grieved,” and later, “Go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me master of the whole land of Egypt.’” And in the Gospel Christ says, “Do not be afraid. Go, tell my brothers to go into Galilee, and there they shall see me.” And later He says, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” which is to say, “This was the doing of God’s design in order that I might receive power, and not the work of human cruelty.” He who is counting out the reward does not reproach the crime. Now as to what appears in Genesis, “for God sent me before you to life,” Christ repeats this in the Gospel when He says, “Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” For this is the recompense and the life of the saints, that they have also brought about the redemption of others. And notice that the following, too, was not written without purpose in Genesis, “And you will be near me, you and your sons and your sons’ sons.” For this is what Christ said in the Gospel, “Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world.” How clear also is that mystery! For when every commandment had been fulfilled, so to speak, Joseph embraced his brother Benjamin and fell upon his neck. Likewise, when the Gospel is brought to completion, Christ embraces Paul in the arms of His mercy, as it were, so as to lift him up into heaven once the latter has shown submission by inner belief as if by bending his neck.

Ambrose of Milan, On Joseph 12.68–73

Patrist Wisdom: Looking to the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Cursed is the man who puts his hope in man, and who will strengthen the flesh of his arm in him, and withdraws in his heart from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert. He shall not see when good things come, but shall dwell in salt lands along the sea and in the desert, in a salt land where no one dwells. But blessed is the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for the Lord shall be his hope. He shall be like a flourishing tree alongside the waters which spreads its roots toward the moisture. He will not fear when the burning heat comes, for He shall be like the root in a grove in the year of drought. He shall not fear, for he shall be like a tree that does not cease yielding its fruit. (Jer 17:5–8)

Let this be said concerning the Jews and heretics who have their hope in a man, namely, their own “Christ,” whom they do not believe to be the Son of God but a mere man who is going to come. As opposed to this, the ecclesiastical man “who trusts in the Lord” listens to this: “Know that the Lord is God!” He trusts in the Lord, and so he is compared with that tree about which the first psalm sings: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Furthermore, “by water”—by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by diverse gifts, “that sends out its roots by the stream”—it receives abundance from the Lord. Or, on another note, we can also say that we have been transferred from the drought of the Jews to the everlasting grace of baptism.

He says, “It does not fear when heat comes”—either a time of persecution or the day of judgment; and “its leaves remain green,” or it will have “leafy branches”—so that it has no fear of drought but sprouts forth with the grace of all the virtues. And it is not afraid when the “time” or “year” of drought comes, when the Lord in His anger commands the clouds not to rain on Israel. And what follows, “it does not cease to bear fruit,” can be used to explain that passage that is written in Mark where the Lord comes to a fig tree and does not find any fruit on it, since it was not the time for figs, and then He curses it so that it may never produce fruit. For he who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord, is not afraid even in the time of Jewish drought; instead, he always bears fruit, since he believes in Him who died for us once for all and will not die again and who says, “I am life.”

Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah 3

Keeping It Straight

I have been reading Vincent of Lérins and the Development of Christian Doctrine prompting me to reread his Commonitories, which was written in the early fifth century but is relevant for today.
From the earliest years, Christianity has gone through a series of variations in doctrine. Judaizers and proto-Gnostics attempted to pivot the apostolic teaching to make it palatable for their belief systems; however, the apostle Paul had left explicit teaching on how to handle doctrine.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.… And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 1:13–14; 2:2)

Gnostics, Marcionites, etc. later attempted to sway the Gospel and doctrine or otherwise steal away followers, prompting teachers of the church to lay down what was important based on what they had received, notably Irenaeus in the second century (Against Heresies 10.1; Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 6) and Tertullian in the third century (The Prescription Against Heretics 12). Following this desire for faithfulness, Vincent noted variations of interpretation that prompted him to write his treatise.

Holy Scripture, because of its depth, is not universally accepted in one and the same sense. The same text is interpreted differently by different people, so that one may almost gain the impression that it can yield as many different meanings as there are men. (Commonitories, 2)

He acknowledges that well-meaning teachers have unique perspectives on Scripture, then goes on to note egregious errors of specific teachers that had arisen in the post-apostolic era. To help steer clear of further error, Vincent set down what has become a well-known maxim: the Church should take care to hold fast to “what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all” (quod ubique quod semper quod ab omnibus creditum est). To quote the full paragraph:

In the Catholic Church itself, every care should be taken to hold fast to what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all. This is truly and properly “Catholic,” as indicated by the force and etymology of the name itself, which comprises everything truly universal. This general rule will be truly applied if we follow the principles of universality, antiquity, and consent. We do so in regard to universality if we confess that faith alone to be true which the entire Church confesses all over the world; in regard to antiquity if we in no way deviate from those interpretations which our ancestors and fathers have manifestly proclaimed as inviolable; in regard to consent if, in this very antiquity, we adopt the definitions and propositions of all, or almost all, the bishops and doctors. (Commonitories, 2)

Someone will say at this point that Vincent must be speaking of the Roman Catholic church with its heavy reliance on church tradition. While he is within proximity of Rome, he is writing at a time before the Roman church as we know it came into being. As well, the Church had not split into Western and Eastern but was attempting to operate in a united manner having already worked through three ecumenical councils (Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus).

While Commonitories is an ancient work, we have to remember that just because a book is new, does not mean that it is helpful or worthwhile. As C. S. Lewis rightly noted:

A new book is still on its trial and the amateur is not in a position to judge it. It has to be tested against the great body of Christian thought down the ages, and all its hidden implications (often unsuspected by the author himself) have to be brought to light.

The old ways are important for Christians, and with that in mind, I plan to occasionally  offer thoughts on it in hope of helping Christians “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. (Luke 5:1–11)

The entire content of this lesson bears a mystical meaning, for a little before, when sitting in the boat, the Lord said to Peter: Go out into the deep and let down your net for the catch. He is not, indeed, teaching him how to cast out his fishing gear but how to let down the words of preaching into the deep.… He is not teaching him, I say, how to catch fish with a net but how to collect human beings by faith, for faith does on earth what a net does in the waters. Just as a net does not let what it holds slip out, neither does faith permit those whom it gathers to go astray, but as the one brings what it has caught in its bosom, so to say, to the boat, so the other brings those whom it has gathered in its breast, so to say, to peace.… When Peter lets down the nets at the word, therefore, he is in fact letting down teachings in Christ, and when he unfolds the tightly-woven and well-ordered nets at the behest of the master he is really laying out words in the name of the Savior in a fitting and clear fashion; by these he is able to save not creatures but souls.… Peter, who beforehand was unable to see in order to make a catch, enduring darkness without Christ, had indeed labored through the whole night, but when the Savior’s light shone upon him the darkness scattered and by faith he began to discern in the deep what he could not see with his eyes. Peter clearly endured the night until the day, which is Christ, became present to him.

Maximus of Turin, Sermon 110 2