Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the First Sunday after Christmas

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:4–7)

Just as Christ was put under the Law to redeem those under the Law, so also did He want to be born of a woman for the sake of those who had also been born of a woman. For although He was free from sin, He received the baptism of repentance in the Jordan River ostensibly to inculcate in others, who are worldly, the need to be cleansed through baptism and be born as sons by a new spiritual adoption. John the Baptist did not by any means comprehend this and he accordingly prohibited Jesus from approaching the baptismal bath, saying, “I should be baptized by You.” Immediately thereafter the sacrament is revealed. “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness,” lest He who had come to save mankind should neglect human customs.

Jerome, Commentary on Galatians 2.4

Paul starts off writing to the Gentiles as “you” and then adds the Jews when he says “our.” If Paul said that the Gentiles were children of God because they believed in Christ, although they had previously been enemies, there was no doubt that Jewish believers were also children of God, since it is clear they had already been called for a long time. In ancient times they had taken this designation as a metaphor, but afterwards it was confirmed by Christ, since it could not really be true without the Spirit. This is what Paul said to the Romans: The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. In order to prove that we have been adopted by God as His children, God has given His Spirit to us, who reveals the sign of the Father in the children, so that we dare to say what we never would have said in our own weakness and inadequacy, which is Abba, meaning “Father.”

Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Galatians 4

Patristic Wisdom for Christmas Day

Walk through my gates and prepare a way for my people and cast the stones out of the way; raise a signal for the nations! For look, the Lord has made it heard to the end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion: “Look! The Savior has come near to you; He has His reward, and His work is before His face.” And he will call it “Holy People, Ransomed by the Lord,” and you will be called “Sought-After City” and “Not Forsaken.” (Isaiah 62:10–12 LXX)

For, he says, let not anyone suppose that these things have been said concerning the Jewish people, for he commands a signal to be raised for all the nations, and he proclaims his message for all until the ends of the earth. Then he clearly teaches that the daughter of Zion—the church—is to expect her Savior when he says: Say to the daughter of Zion. And he called the new church of God, who received a new name, daughter of Zion, because she is the daughter of the godly commonwealth that was formerly among the Jews. It is she whom he addresses when he says: See, your Savior has come to you, having his own reward. And one should note that this verse repeats an earlier verse: “See, the Lord comes with strength; see, his reward is with him and his work is before him”; and now: Say to the daughter of Zion, “See, your Savior has come to you, having with him his own reward and his work before him.” Therefore, this verse refers to the Savior during his first coming long ago, when he worked and suffered on behalf of the race of humankind and secured salvation from God for those who believe in him—in him who “was called Jesus,” according to the testimony of the angel. But the verse also refers to his second advent, for the Word introduces him as the judge and giver of rewards.

And he shall call it a holy people, redeemed by the Lord. But instead of And he shall call it, the text in the other Greek translations reads: and they shall call them, clearly speaking about those who will be saved. They, therefore, shall be called a holy people, redeemed by the Lord, and you the city of God, and it is to them that it has been said: You shall be called “A City Sought After” and “Not Forsaken.”

Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah 62:10–12

Patristic Wisdom for Christmas Eve

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18–25)

The angel then comes, when Joseph is troubled. For in addition to the causes mentioned, with a view also to the manifestation of his self-command, he defers his coming. But when the thing was on the point of taking place, then at last he presents himself. “While he thought on these things, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream.”

Do you see the mildness of the husband? So far from punishing, he did not even declare it to any one, no not even to her whom he suspected, but was thinking it over with himself, as aiming to conceal the cause even from the Virgin herself. For neither is it said that he was minded to “cast her out,” but to “put her away,” so very mild and gentle was the man. “But while he is thinking on these things, the angel appears in a dream.”…

Mark only, what a number of results are here. The man’s self-command is thoroughly shown; the word spoken in season contributes to his faith, and the history is freed from suspicion, in that it shows him to have felt what it was likely a husband would feel.

How then does the angel assure him? Hear and marvel at the wisdom of his words. For being come he saith, “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife.” He straightway puts him in mind of David, of whom the Christ was to spring, and he doth not suffer him to be greatly perturbed, by the title of his forefathers, reminding him of the promise made to the whole race. Else wherefore doth he call him “Son of David”?

“Fear not:” and yet in another case God does not so, but when one was devising about a certain woman what he ought not, He spake the word more in a way of rebuke, and with a threat. And yet there too, the act was of ignorance, for not with knowledge did that person take Sarah; yet nevertheless He rebuked him: but here mildly. For exceeding great were the mysteries He was dispensing, and wide the interval between the two men; wherefore neither was there need of rebuke. But by saying, “fear not,” he signifies him to have been afraid, lest he should give offense to God, as retaining an adulteress; since, if it had not been for this, he would not have even thought of casting her out. In all ways then he points out that the angel came from God, bringing forward and setting before him all, both what he thought to do, and what he felt in his mind.

Now having mentioned her name, he stayed not at this, but added also, “your wife;” whereas he would not have called her so, if she had been corrupted. And here he calls her that is espoused “a wife;” as indeed the Scripture is wont to call betrothed husbands sons-in-law even before marriage. But what means, “to take unto you?” To retain her in his house, for in intention she had been now put away by him. “Her, being put away, do retain,” he says, “as committed unto you by God, not by her parents. And He commits her not for marriage; but to dwell with you; and by my voice He does commit her.” Much as Christ Himself afterwards committed her to His disciple, so even now unto Joseph.

John Chrysostom, Homily on Matthew, 4.10–11

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday in Advent

And the Lord continued to speak Ahaz, saying, “Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God, up to a depth or up to a height.” And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not test the Lord.” And he said, “Hear now, house of David! Is it not a small thing for you to put up a fight with people? And how do you put up a fight with the Lord? Because of this, the Lord himself will give you a sign: Look, the maiden will become pregnant and will bear a son, and you will call his name Immanuel. He will eat butter and honey before he knows either to prefer evil or choose the good.” Because before the child knows good or bad, he refuses wickedness to choose good; and the land that you fear because of the presence of the two kings will be forsaken. But God will bring upon you and upon your people and upon the house of your father days that have not yet come since the day when Ephraim took away the king of the Assyrians from Judah. (Isaiah 7:10–17 LXX)

And again hear what was prophesied through Isaiah the prophet, that He would be born of a virgin. He said, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they will call his name, God with us.” Through the prophetic spirit God announced beforehand that things which are unimaginable and believed to be impossible for human beings would take place, in order that when it occurred it would be believed and received by faith because it had been promised. In order to ensure that someone does not accuse us of saying the same things as the poets, who say that Zeus came to women for sexual pleasure, we will explain the words of this prophecy clearly. The phrase “behold, the virgin shall conceive” means that the virgin would conceive without intercourse. If she had in fact had intercourse with someone, she would not have been a virgin. God's power came on the virgin, overshadowed her and caused her to conceive while she remained a virgin.

Justin Martyr, First Apology 33

The Savior's name, because of which He is called “God with us” by the prophet, signifies both natures of his one person. For He who, born before time from the Father, is God Himself in the fullness of time, became Emmanuel (that is, “God with us”) in His mother's womb, because He deigned to take the weakness of our nature into the unity of His person when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” In a wonderful manner He began to be what we are, while not ceasing to be what He had been, assuming our nature in such a way that He Himself would not lose what He had been.

Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1.5

Now, since the Lord was not a mere man but was also God and knew all things, He stood in no need of reflection, inquiry, counsel or judgment. He also had a natural affinity for good and antipathy for evil. Thus it is in this sense that the prophet Isaiah, too, says, “Before the child shall know to refuse the evil, He will choose the good. For before the child knows to refuse the evil and to choose the good, He will reject the evil by choosing the good.” The “before” shows that He made no inquiry or investigation in a human manner but that since He was God and divinely subsisted in the flesh—that is to say, was personally united to the flesh—by the fact of His very being and His knowing all things He naturally possessed the good.

John of Damascus, Orthodox Faith 3.14

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday in Advent

Rejoice, thirsty deserted land! Let a deserted land rejoice, and let it blossom like a lily. And the desolate places of the Jordan will blossom and rejoice. The glory of Lebanon was given to it, and the honor of Carmel. And my people will see the glory of the Lord and the exaltation of God. Be strong, hands at ease and feeble knees! Give comfort, fainthearted in mind! Be strong; do not be frightened! Look, our God is repaying judgment, and he will repay! He himself will come and save us! Then blind people’s eyes will be opened, and dumb people’s ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the stammerer’s tongue will be clear, because water has broken forth in the desert, and a ravine in a thirsting land. And the waterless place will turn into marshes, and there will be a spring of water in the thirsty land; there birds’ happiness will be a dwelling of reed and marshes. A pure path will be there, and it will be called a holy path, and certainly no impure person will pass by there, nor will there be an impure path there, but those who are scattered abroad will walk on it; they will certainly not be misguided. And there will be no lion there, and certainly none of the evil beasts will come up to it or be found there, but rather a redeemed people will walk in it, those gathered because of the Lord; and they will return and come into Zion with happiness, and eternal happiness will be over their head. There will be praise and rejoicing, and happiness will overtake them; pangs and sorrow and groaning have fled away! (Isaiah 35:1–10 LXX)

After prophesying about this and clearly announcing the coming of God, the Word introduces signs and tokens of his virtuous actions when he says next: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of stammerers shall be clear. And these things were distinctly fulfilled during the advent of our Savior, Jesus Christ, when each of these statements found fulfillment, for in his divine and rejuvenating power he healed every sickness and infirmity. He healed not only the sufferings of their bodies with the word of his teaching but also of their souls. Still, even now throughout the whole world, among all the nations, there are those who, in their crippledness and blindness of soul, were once astounded at the lifeless and motionless statues. Illuminated by his light, the eyes of their souls are enabled to see what kind of gods these statues are, and so they eschew the superstition handed down to them from their ancestors and instead make known the one and only true God. And the dumb and those who were at first deaf to the divine words, through his grace they have now become versed in listening to the inspired words, and those who passed by the steps of the soul leaped up like “deer” and became like their teachers, whom the prophecy called “deer” a little earlier. And the tongue of stammerers, which “Satan bound” so that it would not acknowledge the true God, this tongue has learned to utter clear and articulate sounds. And one would not be incorrect to say that the stammerers are none other than “the wise men of this age,” who scarcely ever dare to think or say anything correct about God.

Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah 35

It follows, No lion shall be there, namely our adversary the devil, who prowls about roaring [cf. 1 Pet 5:8], seeking how he might be able to enter the sheepfold of the Lord [cf. John 10:1, 10], and no evil beasts, his accomplices, shall go up by it. For the traces of the serpent cannot be found on the rock [cf. Prov 30:19]. But those shall walk by it who have been delivered from the chains of sins, and have been redeemed by the blood of the Savior, and have done penance, and have “come into Zion.” Of “Zion” we have quite often spoken: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” [Heb 12:22]. May we not seek in a Jewish manner a golden Zion and bejeweled Jerusalem [cf. Rev 21:10–11, 19–21], which, according to the prophecy of Daniel was reduced to everlasting ashes [cf. Dan 9:26–27]?

And there shall be everlasting joy upon the heads of those who praise the Lord, that after they have overcome the world, they will be able to say with the Apostle and the prophet, “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of justice” [2 Tim 4:7–8]; and “O Lord, You have crowned us as with a shield of your good will” [Ps 5:12]. Then, while joy and gladness increase, sorrow and groaning shall flee away, when He who rescues will come out of Zion [cf. Isa 59:20]. In accordance with the Apostle Paul, we interpret all these things in respect to the first coming of Savior; the Jews, however, and our Judaizers, relate them to the second coming, on the pretext of the one little line, They shall return and shall come into Zion with praise, longing for the blood of sacrifices and the servitude of all the nations and the beauty of women.

St. Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 10.35

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday in Advent

And a Rod will emerge from the root of Jesse, and a Flower will come up from the root. And God’s spirit will rest on Him, a spirit of wisdom and intelligence, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and piety. He will fill Him with a spirit of the fear of God; He will not judge according to reputation or reprove according to speech. Rather, He will render fair judgment to a humble one, and He will reprove the humble of the land; and He will strike the land with the word of his mouth, and with breath through His lips He will destroy ungodly things. And He will be girded at the waist with righteousness and enclosed with truth at his sides. And a wolf will feed together with a lamb, and a leopard will rest with a kid, and a little calf and a bull and a lion will feed together, and a small young child will lead them. And an ox and a bear will feed together, and they will be together with their young, and a lion will eat straw like an ox. And an infant child will lay its hand on an asp’s hole and on a bed of asps’ offspring. And they shall surely do no wrong, nor will they be able to destroy anyone on My holy mountain because the whole land was filled with knowing the Lord, as much water covers the seas. And in that day there will be the Root of Jesse and the One who rises up to rule nations; nations will put their hope in Him, and His repose will be honor. (Isaiah 11:1–10 LXX)

Properly speaking, there is only one man who may take away their reproach. Who is that man? Jesus, who according to the flesh rose out from the root of Jesse, “made from the seed of David according to the flesh, predestined Son of God in power according to the spirit of justification.” Indeed, “a rod rose out from the root of Jesse.” This rod is not the “firstborn of all creation.” This rod is not he who “in the beginning was with God, God the Word,” but the rod from the root of Jesse who was born according to the flesh. Therefore, “a rod rose out from the root of Jesse, and a flower came up out of his root.” Who is the flower, and what is the root? For both are one in the very subject. The difference, however, is of labors. For if you are a sinner, the flower is not for you, nor will you see the flower, who is from the root of Jesse; for the rod will come also to you in the same way as the disciple speaks of the rod and the flower. Indeed, about the rod he says: “What do you wish? Should I come to you with a rod?” But indeed, about the flower: “Or in the love of God and in the spirit of gentleness?” Therefore, a rod rose out from the root of Jesse for the one who is beaten with punishments, a rod for the one who is in need of rebuke, a rod for the one who has a need to be reproved. But indeed, a flower for the one who has already been instructed and is not in need of stern correction or certainly is not in need of punishments but has the strength now to begin to flower toward a perfect fruit. For first a flower is shown; then, after the flower, a rod is made into a fruit. “A rod rose out from the root of Jesse, and a flower arose out of his root.”

Origen, Homilies on Isaiah 3.1

And there shall be on that day clearly indicates that it will be during the prophesied time that this one who shall be raised “from the root of Jesse” himself shall arise, clearly indicating the resurrection from the dead, after which the “rulers and leaders of the nations” and nations shall hope in Him. For the king will not be from the Jews, as David and his successors were. But He will conquer Israel’s narrow quarters, and He will rule everywhere on the earth. And nations shall hope in Him, thus fulfilling the prophecy which was spoken by Moses: “A ruler shall not be wanting from Judah and a leader from his thighs, until the things stored up for Him come, and he is the expectation of nations.” And he brings the verse to a conclusion by saying: and His rest shall be honor, or, in the very apt phrase of Aquila and Symmachus: and his rest shall be glory. For after informing us about His first advent and birth among people and about everything in between until such an end as will be, he states: and His rest shall be glory. Not even mentioning His death, he speaks of His rest as glory and honor. For that was the end of our Savior’s dispensation among people. Our Savior Himself proved this when He said in the prayer to His Father: “Father, glorify Me with the glory which I had with you before the world was made.”

Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah 11