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CATECHESIS 72 On the saving Passion; and teaching
on humility and patient endurance. Brethren and Fathers, the present day is holy and to be venerated, for from this day the Lord begins to take on himself the sufferings of the Cross for our sake, in accordance with David’s words: Why did the nations rage and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth rose up and the rulers assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ [Psalm 2:1-2]. They assembled together to plot an evil plan against the Master. The deceitful Judas denied him utterly and betrays the teacher with a deceitful kiss. The Lord of all things is led away prisoner, stands before the judgement seat, is interrogated and answers; and when he answers—O fearful report!—he is struck by a slave and bears it with longsuffering, saying: If I have spoken evil, give testimony to the evil; but if well, why do you strike me? [John 18:23] Then he is scoffed at, mocked, jeered at, ridiculed, spat at, buffeted, scourged. He ascends the Cross, and when he has ascended he prays for his murderers: Father, forgive them their sin, for they do not know what they do [Luke 23:33]. Then he is given gall with vinegar to drink, he is pierced by a lance, the immortal is put to death. These in brief are the Master's sufferings, and one who hears them with understanding is not angry, or embittered, or enraged, or puffed up, or arrogant towards his brother; is not envious, or filled with vainglory. Rather he is humbled, crushed, considers himself to be earth and ashes, desires communion in Christ's sufferings, to is eager to be conformed to his death, so that he may have a part in the glory of his resurrection. But you too take courage, because you have shared and are sharing in the Master's sufferings. For you see where you are. Is it not for the sake of his word and his testimony that you are in exile and persecution? [These Catecheses were given when St Theodore and his monks were in exile from Constantinople in the reign of Michael II (820-829).] Have you not previously experienced prison? Have you not shed your blood under tortures? Have not some of our brothers died a martyr's death? Such then is our boast in the Lord, such our gift. But since until the end beatitude is not assured because of the ease of reversal and the impossibility of knowing what the morrow will bring to birth, stand your ground unflinching and unmoving in the Lord striving side by side with one spirit and one soul for the faith of the Gospel, in no way intimidated by your opponents [Phil. 1:27-6], not giving offence in anything, but in everything recommending ourselves as God's ministers [2 Cor. 6:3-4], by obedience, humility, meekness, longsuffering, great endurance. For you need endurance in order to do God's will and obtain the promise. For in a little while he who is coming will come and not delay [Heb 10:36-37]. But if he will come and not delay, why do we hate being in afflictions and do not rather choose to die each day for the Master? For it is written: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful; he cannot disown himself [1 Tim. 2:11-13]. How great joy the saints will have when they see the Lord coming from heaven with the angels of his power [2 Thess. 1:7], inviting them with inexpressible joy, crowning them and becoming their companion for ever and ever? What anguish will they have who have disobeyed the Gospel and transgressed his commandments? They will suffer the penalty, as it is written, of eternal destruction, cut off from his presence and from the glory of his strength, when he comes to be glorified in his saints and marvelled at among all who have believed [2 Thess. 1:9-10]. And so, brethren, as we contemplate and think on these things, again and again let us purify ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God [2 Cor, 7:1], zealous for what is better, striving for what is more perfect, hating what is evil, holding fast to what is good, loving one another with brotherly affection, outdoing one another in showing honour, not lagging in zeal, being ardent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in affliction, persevering in prayer [Rom. 12:9-12], that by such sincerity we may worthily celebrate the imminent Pascha, and be counted worthy to enjoy the eternal blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. CATECHESIS 73 On the saving passion of our Lord and
Master Jesus Christ. Brethren and Fathers, while the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ when they are recalled are always able to pierce the soul, they do so especially in these present days, on which each of them reached its end. What then are they? The murderous council against him, the Jewish arrest, his being led away to death, his arraignment before Pilate's tribunal, the interrogation, the scourging, the blows, the spittings, the insults, the mockeries, the ascent of the Cross, the nailing of his hands and feet, the tasting of gall, the piercing of his side and all the other things which blazed forth [This word is not in the lexica, but the meaning is clear.] with them, which the world cannot contain, nor can anyone worthily proclaim, not human tongue, nor even all the tongues of angels together. For let us consider, brethren, this great and ineffable mystery. The Lord who reveals the counsels of hearts [1 Cor. 4:5] and knows every human desire is the one who is taken before a council of death; the Lord who bears all things by the word of his power [Hebrews 1:3.]is the one who is handed over to sinners; the Lord who binds the water in the clouds [Job 26:8.] and sows in the earth in due season and uniformly is the one who is led away prisoner; the Lord who measures the heavens with the span of his hand and the earth in a handful and weighed all the mountains in the balance [Isaias 40:12.] is the one who is struck by the hand of a servant; the Lord who adorned the boundaries of the earth with flowers is the one who is dishonourably crowned with thorns; the Lord who planted the tree of life in Paradise is the one who is hanged upon an accursed tree. O great and more then natural sights! The sun saw them and faded, the moon saw them and was darkened, the earth perceived them was shaken, the rocks perceived them and were rent, all creation was turned back at the outrages done to the Master. The lifeless elements which have no senses, as if endowed with life and sensation from fear of the Lord and from the spectacle of what is seen, were amazed and altered; and do we, who have been honoured with reason, for whose sake Christ died, remain untouched and unweeping in these days? How could we be less rational than things which have no reason, more unfeeling than the stones? In no way, my brothers, in no way. Let us rather be amazed in a manner worthy of God, by being changed with a fair change; let us draw down tears, sacrifice the passions, changing insults for insults and exchanging wounds for wounds, the one through obedience, the other through unflinching confession. Do we not see the burning incitements of divine love? Who ever dwelt in prison for a friend? Who accepted slaughter for their beloved? But our good God not only did the one and both of them, but accepted ten thousand sufferings for the sake of us, the condemned. Fittingly then the blessed Apostle, when he thought on these things and became powerfully aware of the love of God, said For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rules nor powers, neither present nor future, neither height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord [Rom. 8:38-39]. For such was the love God had for us that he gave his only Son, that all who believe in him might not perish, as it is written, but have eternal life [John 3:16.]. As an exchange for this love, the saints, when they had nothing to offer, offered their own bodies and blood by asceticism and struggle, singing with blessed David the song: What return may we make to the Lord for all that he has given to us? [Psalm 115:3.] Let us also, brethren, cry out these words each day, as we serve him with an unceasing attitude of love, striving again and again for what is better, so that we may become heirs with the saints of the eternal blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. |
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