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| Oration on the Palms.
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Oration on the
Palms.3109
| 3109 [Dupin
hardly credits this oration to Methodius. See elucidation, p.
398.] |
————————————
I. Blessed be God;
let us proceed, brethren, from wonders to the miracles of the Lord, and
as it were, from strength to strength.3110
For just as in a golden chain the
links are so intimately joined and connected together, as that the one
holds the other, and is fitted on to it, and so carries on the
chain—even so the miracles that have been handed down by the holy
Gospels, one after the other, lead on the Church of God, which delights
in festivity, and refresh it, not with the meat that perisheth, but
with that which endureth unto everlasting life.3111
Come then, beloved, and let us, too,
with prepared hearts, and with ears intent, listen to what the Lord our
God shall say unto us out of the prophets and Gospels concerning this
most sacred feast. Verily, He will speak peace unto His people,
and to His saints, and to those which turn their hearts unto Him.
To-day,3112
| 3112
[Evidently a homily for Palm Sunday, the first day of the Paschal
week.] | the
trumpet-blast of the prophets have roused the world, and have made glad
and filled with joyfulness the churches of God that are everywhere
amongst the nations. And, summoning the faithful from the
exercise of holy fasting, and from the palæstra, wherein they
struggle against the lusts of the flesh, they have taught them to sing
a new hymn of conquest and a new song of peace to Christ who giveth the
victory. Come then, every one, and let us rejoice in the Lord; O
come, all ye people, and let us clap our hands, and make a joyful noise
to God our Saviour, with the voice of melody.3113
| 3113
Ps. lxxxv. 9; xcv. 1; xlvii.
1. | Let no one be without portion in
this grace; let no one come short of this calling; for the seed of the
disobedient is appointed to destruction.—Let no one neglect to
meet the King, lest he be shut out from the Bridegroom’s
chamber.—Let no one amongst us be found to receive Him with a sad
countenance, lest he be condemned with those wicked citizens—the
citizens, I mean, who refused to receive the Lord as King over
them.3114
Let us all
come together cheerfully; let us all receive Him gladly, and hold our
feast with all honesty. Instead of our garments, let us strew our
hearts before Him.3115
In psalms and hymns, let us raise to
Him our shouts of thanksgiving; and, without ceasing, let us exclaim,
“Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord;”3116
| 3116
Bible:John.12.13">Ps. cxviii. 26; Matt. xxi. 9;
Mark xi. 9; Luke xix. 38; John xii. 13. | for blessed are
they that bless Him, and cursed are they that curse Him.3117
Again I
will say it, nor will I cease exhorting you to good, Come, beloved, let
us bless Him who is blessed, that we may be ourselves blessed of
Him. Every age and condition does this discourse summon to praise
the Lord; kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges
of the earth; both young men and maidens3118
—and what is new in this miracle,
the tender and innocent age of babes and sucklings hath obtained the
first place in raising to God with thankful confession the hymn which
was of God taught them in the strains in which Moses sang before to the
people when they came forth out of Egypt—namely, “Blessed
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
II. To-day, holy David rejoices with great
joy, being by babes despoiled of his lyre, with whom also, in spirit,
leading the dance, and rejoicing together, as of old, before the ark of
God,3119
he mingles
musical harmony, and sweetly lisps out in stammering voice, Blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Of whom shall we
inquire? Tell us, O prophet, who is this that cometh in the name
of the Lord? He will say it is not my part to-day to teach you,
for He hath consecrated the school to infants, who hath out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings perfected praise to destroy the enemy and
the avenger,3120
in order that by
the miracle of these the hearts of the fathers might be turned to the
children, and the disobedient unto the wisdom of the just.3121
Tell us,
then, O children, whence is this, your beautiful and graceful contest
of song? Who
taught it you? Who instructed you? Who brought you
together? What were your tablets? Who were your
teachers? Do but you, they say, join us as our companions in this
song and festivity, and you will learn the things which were by Moses
and the prophet earnestly longed for.3122
Since then the children have
invited us, and have given unto us the right hand of
fellowship,3123
let us come,
beloved, and ourselves emulate that holy chorus, and with the apostles,
let us make way for Him who ascends over the heaven of heavens towards
the East,3124
and who, of His
good pleasure, is upon the earth mounted upon an ass’s
colt. Let us, with the children, raise the branches aloft, and
with the olive branches make glad applaud, that upon us also the Holy
Spirit may breathe, and that in due order we may raise the God-taught
strain: “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest.”3125
To-day, also, the patriarch Jacob
keeps feast in spirit, seeing his prophecy brought to a fulfilment, and
with the faithful adores the Father, seeing Him who bound his foal to
the vine3126
mounted upon an
ass’s colt. To-day the foal is made ready, the irrational
exemplar of the Gentiles, who before were irrational, to signify the
subjection of the people of the Gentiles; and the babes declare their
former state of childhood, in respect of the knowledge of God, and
their after perfecting, by the worship of God and the exercise of the
true religion. To-day, according to the prophet,3127
is the King of
Glory glorified upon earth, and makes us, the inhabitants of earth,
partakers of the heavenly feast, that He may show himself to be the
Lord of both, even as He is hymned with the common praises of
both. Therefore it was that the heavenly hosts sang, announcing
salvation upon earth, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of
hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”3128
And those below, joining in
harmony with the joyous hymns of heaven, cried: “Hosanna in
the highest; Hosanna to the Son of David.” In heaven the
doxology was raised, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His
place;”3129
and on earth
was this caught up in the words, “Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord.”
III. But while these things were doing, and
the disciples were rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice for all
the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed be the King that
cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory in the
highest;3130
the city began
to inquire, saying, Who is this?3131
stirring up its hardened and inveterate
envy against the glory of the Lord. But when thou hearest me say
the city, understand the ancient and disorderly multitude of the
synagogue. They ungratefully and malignantly ask, Who is this? as
if they had never yet seen their Benefactor, and Him whom divine
miracles, beyond the power of man, had made famous and renowned; for
the darkness comprehended not3132
that unsetting light which shone in
upon it. Hence quite appositely with respect to them hath the
prophet Isaiah exclaimed, saying, Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind,
that ye may see. And who is blind, but my children? and deaf, but
they that have the dominion over them?3133
And the servants of the Lord
have become blind; ye have often seen, but ye observed not; your ears
are opened, yet ye hear not. See, beloved, how accurate are these
words; how the Divine Spirit, who Himself sees beforehand into the
future, has by His saints foretold of things future as if they were
present. For these thankless men saw, and by means of His
miracles handled the wonder-working God, and yet remained in
unbelief.3134
They saw
a man, blind from his birth, proclaiming to them the God who had
restored his sight. They saw a paralytic, who had grown up, as it
were, and become one with his infirmity, at His bidding loosed from his
disease.3135
They saw
Lazarus, who was made an exile from the region of death.3136
They
heard that He had walked on the sea.3137
They heard of the wine that,
without previous culture, was ministered;3138
of the bread that was eaten at that
spontaneous banquet;3139
they heard that the demons had been put
to flight; the sick restored to health.3140
Their very streets proclaimed His
deeds of wonder; their roads declared His healing power to those who
journeyed on them. All Judea was filled with His benefit; yet
now, when they hear the divine praises, they inquire, Who is
this? O the madness of these falsely-named teachers! O
incredulous fathers! O foolish seniors! O seed of the
shameless Canaan, and not of Judah the devout!3141
The children acknowledge their
Creator, but their unbelieving parents said, Who is this? The age
that was young and inexperienced sang praises to God, while they that
had waxen old in wickedness inquired, Who is this? Sucklings
praise His Divinity, while seniors utter blasphemies; children piously
offer the sacrifice of praise, whilst profane priests are impiously
indignant.3142
IV. O ye
disobedient as regards the wisdom of the just,3143
turn your hearts to your
children. Learn the mysteries of God; the very thing itself which
is being done bears witness that it is God that is thus hymned by
uninstructed tongues. Search the Scriptures, as ye have
heard3144
from the Lord;
for they are they which testify of Him, and be not ignorant of this
miracle. Hear ye men without grace, and thankless, what good
tidings the prophet Zechariah brings to you. He says, Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; behold thy King cometh unto thee:
just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon the foal of an
ass.3145
Why do ye
repel the joy? Why, when the sun shineth, do ye love
darkness? Why do ye against unconquerable peace meditate
war? If, therefore, ye be the sons of Zion, join in the dance
together with your children. Let the religious service of your
children be to you a pretext for joy. Learn from them who was
their Teacher; who called them together; whence was the doctrine; what
means this new theology and old prophecy. And if no man hath
taught them this, but of their own accord they raise the hymn of
praise, then recognise the work of God, even as it is written in the
law: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou
perfected praise.”3146
Redouble, therefore, your joy,
that you have been made the fathers of such children who, under the
teaching of God, have celebrated with their praises things unknown to
their seniors. Turn your hearts to your children,3147
and close not
your eyes against the truth. But if you remain the same, and
hearing, hear not, and seeing, perceive not,3148
and to no purpose dissent from your
children, then shall they be your judges3149
according to the Saviour’s
word. Well, therefore, even this thing also, together with
others, has the prophet Isaiah spoken before of you, saying, Jacob
shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.
But when they see their children doing my works, they shall for me
sanctify My name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear
the God of Israel. They also that err in spirit shall come to
understanding, and they that murmured shall learn obedience, and the
stammering tongues shall learn to speak peace.3150
Seest thou, O foolish Jew, how from
the beginning of his discourse, the prophet declares confusion to you
because of your unbelief. Learn even from him how he proclaims
the God-inspired hymn of praise that is raised by your children, even
as the blessed David hath declared beforehand; saying, Out of the mouth
of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise. Either
then,—as is right,—claim the piety of your children for
your own, or devoutly give your children unto us. We with them
will lead the dance, and to the new glory will sing in concert the
divinely-inspired hymn.
V. Once, indeed, the aged Simeon met the
Saviour3151
and received in
his arms, as an infant, the Creator of the world, and proclaimed Him to
be Lord and God; but now, in the place of foolish elders, children meet
the Saviour, even as Simeon did, and instead of their arms, strew under
Him the branches of trees, and bless the Lord God seated upon a colt,
as upon the cherubim, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is He
that cometh in the name of the Lord; and together with these let us
also exclaim, Blessed is He that cometh, God the King of Glory, who,
for our sakes, became poor, yet, in His own proper estate, being
ignorant of poverty, that with His bounty He might make us rich.
Blessed is He who once came in humility, and who will hereafter come
again in glory: at the first, lowly, and seated upon an
ass’s colt, and by infants extolled in order that it might be
fulfilled which was written: Thy goings have been seen, O God;
even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary; but at the second
time seated on the clouds, in terrible majesty, by angels and powers
attended. O the mellifluous tongue of the children! O the
sincere doctrine of those who are well pleasing to God! David in
prophecy hid the spirit under the letter; children, opening their
treasures, brought forth riches upon their tongues, and, in language
full of grace, invited clearly all men to enjoy them. Therefore
let us with them draw forth the unfading riches. In our bosoms
insatiate, and in treasure-houses which cannot be filled, let us lay up
the divine gifts. Let us exclaim without ceasing, Blessed is He
that cometh in the name of the Lord! Very God, in the name of the
Very God, the Omnipotent from the Omnipotent, the Son in the name of
the Father. The true King from the true King, whose kingdom, even
as His who begat Him, is with eternity, coeval and pre-existent to
it. For this is common to both; nor does the Scripture attribute
this honour to the Son, as if it came from another source, nor as if it
had a beginning, or could be added to or diminished—away with the
thought!—but as that which is His of right by nature, and by a
true and proper possession. For the kingdom of the Father, of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is one, even as their substance is one and
their dominion one. Whence also, with one and the same adoration,
we worship the one Deity in
three Persons, subsisting without beginning, uncreate, without end, and
to which there is no successor. For neither will the Father ever
cease to be the Father, nor again the Son to be the Son and King, nor
the Holy Ghost to be what in substance and personality He is. For
nothing of the Trinity will suffer diminution, either in respect of
eternity, or of communion, or of sovereignty. For not on that
account is the Son of God called king, because for our sakes He was
made man, and in the flesh cast down the tyrant that was against us,
having, by taking this upon Him, obtained the victory over its cruel
enemy, but because He is always Lord and God; therefore it is that now,
both after His assumption of the flesh and for ever, He remains a king,
even as He who begat Him. Speak not, O heretic, against the
kingdom of Christ, lest thou dishonour Him who begat Him. If thou
art faithful, in faith approach Christ, our very God, and not as using
your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness. If thou art a servant,
with trembling be subject unto thy Master; for he who fights against
the Word is not a well-disposed servant, but a manifest enemy, as it is
written: He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father
which hath sent Him.
VI. But let us, beloved, return in our
discourse to that point whence we digressed, exclaiming, Blessed is He
that cometh in the name of the Lord: that good and kind Shepherd,
voluntarily to lay down His life for His sheep. That just as
hunters take by a sheep the wolves that devour sheep, even so the Chief
Shepherd,3152
offering Himself
as man to the spiritual wolves and those who destroy the soul, may make
His prey of the destroyers by means of that Adam who was once preyed on
by them. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord:
God against the devil; not manifestly in His might, which cannot be
looked on, but in the weakness of the flesh, to bind the strong
man3153
that is against
us. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: the
King against the tyrant; not with omnipotent power and wisdom, but with
that which is accounted the foolishness3154
of the cross, which hath reft his spoils
from the serpent who is wise in wickedness. Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord: the True One against the liar;
the Saviour against the destroyer; the Prince of Peace3155
against him who
stirs up wars; the Lover of mankind against the hater of mankind.
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: the Lord to
have mercy upon the creature of His hands. Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord: the Lord to save man who had
wandered in error; to put away error; to give light to those who are in
darkness; to abolish the imposture of idols; in its place to bring in
the saving knowledge of God; to sanctify the world; to drive away the
abomination and misery of the worship of false gods. Blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord: the one for the many; to
deliver the poor3156
out of the
hands of them that are too strong for him, yea, the poor and needy from
him that spoileth him. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of
the Lord, to pour wine and oil upon him who had fallen amongst
thieves,3157
and had been
passed by. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord: to save us by Himself, as says the prophet; no ambassador,
nor angel, but the Lord Himself saved us.3158
Therefore we also bless Thee, O
Lord; Thou with the Father and the Holy Spirit art blessed before the
worlds and for ever. Before the world, indeed, and until now
being devoid of body, but now and for ever henceforth possessed of that
divine humanity which cannot be changed, and from which Thou art never
divided.
VII. Let us look also at what follows.
What says the most divine evangelist? When the Lord had entered
into the temple, the blind and the lame came to Him; and He healed
them. And when the chief priests and Pharisees saw the wonderful
things that He did, and the children crying, and saying, Hosanna to the
Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord,3159
they brooked not
this honour that was paid Him, and therefore they came to Him, and thus
spake, Hearest Thou not what these say? As if they said, Art Thou
not grieved at hearing from these innocents things which befit God, and
God alone? Has not God of old made it manifest by the prophet,
“My glory will I not give unto another;”3160
and how dost Thou, being a man, make
Thyself God?3161
But what
to this answers the long-suffering One, He who is abundant in
mercy,3162
and slow to
wrath?3163
He bears
with these frenzied ones; with an apology He keeps their wrath in
check; in His turn He calls the Scriptures to their remembrance; He
brings forward testimony to what is done, and shrinks not from
inquiry. Wherefore He says, Have ye never heard Me saying by the
prophet, Then shall ye know that I am He that doth speak?3164
nor again, Out
of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise
because of Thine
enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger?
Which without doubt are ye, who give heed unto the law, and read the
prophets, while yet ye despise Me who, both by the law and the
prophets, have been beforehand proclaimed. Ye think, indeed,
under a pretence of piety, to avenge the glory of God, not
understanding that he that despiseth Me despiseth My Father
also.3165
I came
forth from God, and am come into the world,3166
and My glory is the glory of My Father
also. Even thus these foolish ones, being convinced by our
Saviour-God, ceased to answer Him again, the truth stopping their
mouths; but adopting a new and foolish device, they took counsel
against Him. But let us sing, Great is our Lord, and great is His
power;3167
and of His
understanding there is no number. For all this was done that the
Lamb and Son of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, might, of
His own will, and for us, come to His saving Passion, and might be
recognised, as it were, in the market and place of selling; and that
those who bought Him might for thirty pieces of silver covenant for Him
who, with His life-giving blood, was to redeem the world; and that
Christ, our passover, might be sacrificed for us, in order that those
who were sprinkled with His precious blood, and sealed on their lips,
as the posts of the door,3168
might escape from the darts of the
destroyer; and that Christ having thus suffered in the flesh, and
having risen again the third day, might, with equal honour and glory
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be by all created things equally
adored; for to Him every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth,3169
sending up glory to Him, for ever and
ever. Amen.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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