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

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Return of the Prodigal by Heinz Tschanz-Hofmann

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:11–32)

When he came to himself, the text reads, he said, How many hired men in my father’s house have bread in abundance! Previously, when he departed from his father, he had ceased to be himself; now, he came to himself. He first returned to himself that he might return to his father. The man who is unmindful of his father’s devotion, and forgetful of his parent’s love, departs from himself, and changes his whole self from man to beast.…

I will get up and go to my father. He who said ‘I will arise’ was lying down. He had understood his fall, he was aware of his ruin, and gazed upon himself lying in the mire of disgraceful prodigality. That is why he cried out: ‘I will get up and go to my father.’ With what hope? With what confidence? With what assurance?

With what hope? With that by which: He is a father. I have squandered the marks of a son; he has not lost the characteristics of a father. It is not a stranger who intercedes with a father; rather, it is that affection inside his own breast which intervenes and pleads. The father’s heart is moved to beget his son again through forgiveness. I shall go as a culprit to a father. But a father, on seeing his son, soon covers up the guilt. He conceals his role of judge, and is more eager to fulfill that of father. He wants his son to return, not to perish, and soon changes his condemnation into forgiveness.

I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee. His confession touches his father; his repentance addresses his sire. ‘I have sinned against heaven and before thee.’ He in heaven against whom he sinned is not merely an earthly father, but indeed a heavenly Father. That is why the son added: ‘before thee.’ All things which are done in heaven and on earth are before the eyes of God.

I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I am no longer worthy to be called thy son. The son set out abroad and fled into a far country; but he did not escape from those accusing witnesses, the eyes of the heavenly Father. David explains this more clearly by his words: ‘Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face? If I ascend into heaven thou art there; if I descend into hell thou art present. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: Even there shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me.’ David sees that throughout the world all transgressions stand exposed to the eyes of God. Neither the sky, nor the earth, nor the seas, nor a deep cavern, nor night itself can hide sins from Him. The Psalmist perceives how criminal and evil it is to sin in the sight of God. Therefore, he cries out: ‘To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee.’

In similar manner, therefore, the younger son, too, cries aloud, and exclaims: I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I am no longer worthy to be called thy son. He does not say: ‘I am not worthy to be thy son,’ but: ‘I am not worthy to be called thy son.’ The reason is that to be called pertains to grace; to be pertains to nature. Listen to the Apostle saying: ‘from him who called you to the grace of Christ.’ Therefore, since this younger son had lost the characteristic of his nature as a son, he judged himself not to deserve that which pertains to grace.

Make me as one of thy hired men. Look! To what point of his power has the son come? Look! To what have wanton pleasure and youthful license promoted him? ‘Make me as one of thy hired men,’ he cries. He desires his servitude to be renewed by his leasing out his services every year. He desires to pay off the obligations of his contract gradually by his unceasing labor. He desires to be as one of the slaves born in his father’s house, to sigh the whole day in work which brings but little pay, and never to be able to get out of his state of dependence. There is a reason why he asks for this. Under a foreign master he had experienced a freedom which was really slavery; and he believes that under his father he will have a slavery which is really freedom.

Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday in Lent

O Lord, You were pleased with Your land;
      You turned back the captivity of Jacob;
You forgave the transgressions of Your people;
      You covered all their sins. (Pause)
You ended all Your wrath;
      You turned from the wrath of Your anger.
Turn us, O God of our salvation,
      And turn away Your anger from us.
Will You be angry with us forever,
      Or will You prolong Your anger from generation to generation?
O God, You will turn and give us life,
      And Your people will be glad in You.
Show us Your mercy, O Lord,
      And grant us Your salvation.

(Psalm 84:2–8 LXX [Ps 85:1–7])

Earlier he stated: Thou hast covered all their sins; but now he asks afresh: Turn off thy anger from us. But both are appropriate if we consider the occasions of sins. With regard to the wicked deeds which the Jewish people had previously committed, he earlier gave thanks because all were shown to have been mitigated by the coming of the Lord; but here again he makes entreaty because of the sins to come, for he foresaw that they would again commit cruel crimes at the passion of the Lord. In short, he says: Convert us, so that instead of persecutors they may become defenders; instead of blasphemers, preachers; instead of disputants, disciples. His expression, Us embodies the people of whom he speaks. We must similarly interpret Turn off thy anger from us, as an entreaty that the punishment which is owed should not smite the Jewish people.

He knew that the Lord’s patience bears with men’s sins, and so he asks that He should not smite them with eternal damnation, but should soften them with enticements, bring improvement to them by supporting them, and correct them by admonition—all of which he knew that He would do.… With wonderful piety he begs the Lord, attesting that we do not win our conversion by merits, but that it emerges through His gift when our spirit manifests a salutary desire for something on its own behalf. He says: Thou wilt convert us, O God, and bring us to life; in other words: “You set before us a longing for conversion, so that we can attain entry to life”. When You bestow this, then Your people will successfully rejoice in You after unhappily rejoicing in themselves. This is what happens to the converted once they begin to obtain the blessing of the Savior.

He was well aware that the Lord would come, but he asks to behold these blessings not just with his physical eyes in company with the rest who are non-believers, but also with the most pure gaze of the heart. The mercy of the Father is the Lord Savior; that blessed troop asked that He be made manifest to them in the bright light of the true faith, not merely covered with the veil of the flesh but also conspicuous in the clear light of His power. He added the identical phrase, grant us, when He spoke of Christ; what He meant was: “Grant Your salvation so that we may embrace and possess and enjoy Him with the gift of eternal glory.” To the unfaithful He merely appeared, but was not also granted; the psalmist says: Grant, then, so that when He is received in our hearts through heaven’s gift, He can be removed by no trials.

Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms 84.5–8

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday in Lent

And this happened: Jeremiah ceased speaking all those things that the Lord had appointed for him to speak to all the people, and the priests and the false prophets and all the people captured him, saying “You will surely be put to death!.” Because you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, “This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be deserted by its inhabitants!” Then all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. And the rulers of Judah heard this matter, and they went up from the house of the king to the house of the Lord, and they sat in the entrance of the new gate. And the priests and the false prophets said to the rulers and to all the people, “A judgment of death be upon this man, because he prophesied against this city, as you heard in your ears.” And Jeremiah said to the rulers and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this house and against this city. And now make your ways and your works better, and listen to the voice of the Lord, and the Lord will desist from the calamities that he has spoken against you. And look! I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient and as is best to you. But you must surely know that if you slay me, you are bringing innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon those who dwell in it, for the Lord has truly sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” (Jeremiah 33:8–15 LXX [Jer 26:8–15])

Jeremiah prophesied these words of the Lord within the temple: “I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth,” and immediately with a turbulent uproar an entire mob was assembled by the prophets, priests and people against Jeremiah in the temple, where the prophet was being held by force of the priests, the prophets and the mob. And when the princes of the city who live in the royal house heard this, they went or “came up” from the king’s house to the house of the Lord.…

While the princes of the city were sitting at the gate in the presence of the people and the priests and prophets were accusing the prophet Jeremiah and threatening him with the death penalty, Jeremiah spoke with prudence, equity, humility and persistence to the princes and to all the people who were being stirred up by the factions of the priests and pseudo-prophets. With prudence, because he said that he was sent by the Lord to speak against the temple and the city and to advise them that if they would listen to his counsel and repent, then the Lord also would commute the sentence of judgment against them. With humility, since he says, “Behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as is good and right in your eyes.” And with persistence: “In truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.” In other words, he says, “If you are angry that I have spoken against the temple and the Lord’s city, and if you are concerned about the welfare of the city and the temple, then why do you pile up sins on sins and make both the city and its inhabitants guilty of my blood?” Therefore, if the difficulties of our circumstances ever require of us humility, let us take on this humility in such a way that we do not abandon truth and perseverance. For it is one thing to be insulting in an arrogant and judgmental way, which is a sign of foolishness; but it is something else to warn of an impending danger so that you take nothing away from the truth.

Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah 5

Dividing Lines

Pastor Emeritus Larry Peters has written an interesting piece attempting to identify the true dividing line between orthodox and heterodox churches and church bodies. He notes that while most assume that bibliology is key (think matters of inerrancy and infallibility), but he wonders if this is truly the case since there are groups with a high view of Scripture but a low view of the means of grace. Indeed, this does not make since. Affirmation of Scripture should lead to an affirmation of the Sacraments. Consider the following:

We believe that Scripture is itself sacramental—it speaks and in its speaking things happen. Hearts are warmed to faith and sins are forgiven and water bubbles with life and bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Jesus. This sacramental reality flows naturally from the Scriptures as living voice. We say this not to confine God to something alien to Him but precisely because this is how God has said He works.

And in the next paragraph he compares conservative Lutherans with conservative Baptists and concludes:

The reality is that [Baptists] do not speak the language of Scripture at all. The truth they seek to preserve is a testament or record to factual events of the past and is not a living voice that works through the Word. How can we say we have more in common with conservative Protestants than sacramental churches? The sinner's prayer and baptismal regeneration do not complement each other but work against each other. One group preserves the historicity of Scripture and its unconditional truth but then ignores what that Word says to invent a means of grace called the sinner's prayer. Where in Scripture or in the history of Christendom prior to the Reformation any sense in which God requires a decision from us or uses such a prayer in order to come to us and make His home in us? What ever happened to faith comes by hearing the Word of God?

While the piece uses Lutheran denomination (LC-MS) in opposition Baptist, this divide is important to understand in order to recognize if we are rightly positioned in relation to Scripture and the Sacraments. It is well worth a read.

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the First Sunday in Lent

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1–13)

So, look at the arms of Christ with which He conquered for you, not for Himself. For He who showed that stones could, through His majesty, be changed into bread by the transformation into a different nature, teaches that you must do nothing at the devil's behalf nor for the purpose of manifesting virtue. At the same time, learn from the temptation itself the ingenious cunning of the devil. The devil tempts that he may test. He tests that he may tempt. In contrast, the Lord deceives that He may conquer. He conquers that He may deceive. For if He had changed nature, He would have betrayed its Creator. Thus He responded neutrally, saying, “It is written, ‘That man lives not by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” You see what kind of arms he wields, to defend humanity, surrounded and protected against the inducements of appetite, against the assault of spiritual wickedness. For He does not wield power as God—for what good would that be to me? So, as man, He summons common help for Himself, so that eager for the food of the divine Word, He neglects the body's hunger and obtains the nourishment of the heavenly Word. Eager for this, Moses did not desire bread. Eager for this, Elijah did not feel the hunger of a long fast. For he who follows the Word cannot desire earthly bread when he receives the essence of the heavenly Bread. There is no doubt that the divine surpasses the human, as the spiritual the physical. Therefore he who desires true life awaits that Bread which through its intangible substance strengthens human hearts. At the same time, when He says, “Man lives not by bread alone,” He shows that the man is tempted, that is, His acceptance of our flesh, not His divinity.

Ambrose, Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 4.19–20