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| (For 342.) Coss. Augustus Constantius III, Constans II, Præf. the same Longinus; Indict. xv; Easter-day iii Id. Apr., xvi Pharmuthi; Æra Dioclet. 58.
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Letter XIV.—(For
342.) Coss. Augustus Constantius III, Constans II, Præf. the same
Longinus; Indict. xv; Easter-day iii Id. Apr., xvi Pharmuthi; Æra
Dioclet. 58.
The gladness of our
feast, my brethren, is always near at hand, and never fails those who
wish to celebrate it4402
. For the Word is
near, Who is all things on our behalf, even our Lord Jesus Christ, Who,
having promised that His habitation with us should be perpetual, in
virtue thereof cried, saying,
‘Lo, I am with you all the days of the world4403
.’ For as He is the Shepherd, and the
High Priest, and the Way and the Door, and everything at once to us, so
again, He is shewn to us as the Feast, and the Holy day, according to
the blessed Apostle; ‘Our Passover, Christ, is sacrificed4404
.’ He it was who was expected, He
caused a light to shine at the prayer of the Psalmist, who said,
‘My Joy, deliver me from those who surround me4405
;’ this being indeed true rejoicing,
this being a true feast, even deliverance from wickedness, whereto a
man attains by thoroughly adopting an upright conversation, and being
approved in his mind of godly submission towards God4406
. For thus the saints all their lives long
were like men rejoicing at a feast. One found rest in prayer to God, as
blessed David4407
, who rose in the
night, not once but seven times. Another gave glory in songs of praise,
as great Moses, who sang a song of praise for the victory over Pharaoh,
and those task-masters4408
. Others performed
worship with unceasing diligence, like great Samuel and blessed Elijah;
who have ceased from their course, and now keep the feast in heaven,
and rejoice in what they formerly learnt through shadows, and from the
types recognise the truth.
2. But what sprinklings shall we now employ,
while we celebrate the feast? Who will be our guide, as we haste to
this festival? None can do this, my beloved, but Him Whom you will name
with me, even our Lord Jesus Christ Who said, ‘I am the
Way.’ For it is He Who, according to the blessed John,
‘taketh away the sin of the world4409
.’ He purifies our souls, as Jeremiah
the prophet says in a certain place, ‘Stand in the ways and see,
and enquire, and look which is the good path, and ye shall find in it
cleansing for your souls4410
.’ Of old
time, the blood of he-goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled upon
those who were unclean, were fit only to purify the flesh4411
; but now, through the grace of God the Word,
every man is thoroughly cleansed. Following Him, we may, even here, as
on the threshold of the Jerusalem which is above, meditate beforehand
on the feast which is eternal, as also the blessed Apostles, together
following the Saviour Who was their Leader, have now become teachers of
a like grace, saying, ‘Behold, we have left all, and followed
Thee4412
.’ For the following of the Lord, and
the feast which is of the Lord, is not accomplished by words only, but
by deeds, every enactment of laws and every command involving a
distinct performance. For as great Moses, when administering the holy
laws, exacted a promise from the people4413
,
respecting the practice of them, so that having promised, they might
not neglect them, and be accused as liars, thus also, the celebration
of the least of the Passover raises no question, and demands no reply;
but when the word is given, the performance of it follows, for He
saith, ‘And the children of Israel shall keep the Passover4414
;’ intending that there should be a
ready performance of the commandment, while the command should aid its
execution. But respecting these matters, I have confidence in your
wisdom, and your care for instruction. Such points as these have been
touched upon by us often and in various Letters.
3. But now, which is above all things most
necessary, I wish to remind you, and myself with you, how that the
command would have us come to the Paschal feast not profanely and
without preparation, but with sacramental and doctrinal rites, and
prescribed observances, as indeed we learn from the historical account,
‘A man who is of another nation, or bought with money, or
uncircumcised, shall not eat the Passover4415
.’ Neither should it be eaten in
‘any’ house, but He commands it to be done in haste;
inasmuch as before we groaned and were made sad by the bondage to
Pharaoh, and the commands of the task-masters. For when in former time
the children of Israel acted in this way, they were counted worthy to
receive the type, which existed for the sake of this feast, nor is the
feast now introduced on account of the type. As also the Word of God,
when desirous of this, said to His disciples, ‘With desire I have
desired to eat this Passover with you4416
.’ Now that is a wonderful account, for
a man might have seen them at that time girded as for a procession or a
dance, and going out with staves, and sandals, and unleavened bread.
These things, which took place before in shadows, were typical. But now
the Truth is nigh unto us, ‘the Image of the invisible God4417
,’ our Lord Jesus Christ, the true
Light, Who instead of a staff, is our sceptre, instead of unleavened
bread, is the bread which came down from heaven, Who, instead of
sandals, hath furnished us with the preparation of the Gospel4418
, and Who, to speak briefly, by all these
hath guided us to His Father. And if enemies afflict us and persecute
us, He again, instead of Moses, will encourage us with better words,
saying, ‘Be of good cheer; I
have overcome the wicked one4419
.’ And if
after we have passed over the Red Sea heat should again vex us or some
bitterness of the waters befall us, even thence again the Lord will
appear to us, imparting to us of His sweetness, and His life-giving
fountain, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and
drink4420
.’
4. Why therefore do we tarry, and why do we
delay, and not come with all eagerness and diligence to the feast,
trusting that it is Jesus who calleth us? Who is all things for us, and
was laden in ten thousand ways for our salvation; Who hungered and
thirsted for us, though He gives us food and drink in His saving
gifts4421
. For this is His glory, this the miracle of
His divinity, that He changed our sufferings for His happiness. For,
being life, He died that He might make us alive, being the Word, He
became flesh, that He might instruct the flesh in the Word, and being
the fountain of life, He thirsted our thirst, that thereby He might
urge us to the feast, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to
Me, and drink4422
.’ At that
time, Moses proclaimed the beginning of the feast, saying, ‘This
month is the beginning of months to you4423
.’ But the Lord, Who came down in the
end of the ages4424
, proclaimed a
different day, not as though He would abolish the law, far from it, but
that He should establish the law, and be the end of the law. ‘For
Christ is the end of the law to every one that believeth in
righteousness;’ as the blessed Paul saith, ‘Do we make void
the law by faith? far from it: we rather establish the law4425
.’ Now these things astonished even the
officers who were sent by the Jews, so that wondering they said to the
Pharisees, ‘No man ever thus spake4426
.’ What was it then that astonished
those officers, or what was it which so affected the men as to make
them marvel? It was nothing but the boldness and authority of our
Saviour. For when of old time prophets and scribes studied the
Scriptures, they perceived that what they read did not refer to
themselves, but to others. Moses, for instance, ‘A prophet will
the Lord raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; to him
hearken in all that he commands you.’ Isaiah again,
‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and ye shall
call his name Emmanuel4427
.’ And others
prophesied in different and various ways, concerning the Lord. But by
the Lord, of Himself, and of no other, were these things prophesied; to
Himself He limited them all, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him
come to Me4428
’—not to any other person,
but to ‘Me.’ A man may indeed hear from those concerning My
coming, but he must not henceforth drink from others, but from Me.
5. Therefore let us also, when we come to the
feast, no longer come as to old shadows, for they are accomplished,
neither as to common feasts, but let us hasten as to the Lord, Who is
Himself the feast4429
, not looking upon
it as an indulgence and delight of the belly, but as a manifestation of
virtue. For the feasts of the heathen are full of greediness, and utter
indolence, since they consider they celebrate a feast when they are
idle4430
; and they work the works of perdition when
they feast. But our feasts consist in the exercise of virtue and the
practice of temperance; as the prophetic word testifies in a certain
place, saying, ‘The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the
fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth [month],
shall be to the house of Judah for gladness, and rejoicing, and for
pleasant feasts4431
.’ Since
therefore this occasion for exercise is set before us, and such a day
as this is come, and the prophetic voice has gone forth that the feast
shall be celebrated, let us give all diligence to this good
proclamation, and like those who contend on the race course, let us vie
with each other in observing the purity of the fast4432
, by watchfulness in prayers, by study of the
Scriptures, by distributing to the poor, and let us be at peace with
our enemies. Let us bind up those who are scattered abroad, banish
pride, and return to lowliness of mind, being at peace with all men,
and urging the brethren unto love. Thus also the blessed Paul was often
engaged in fastings and watchings, and was willing to be accursed for
his brethren. Blessed David again, having humbled himself by fastings,
used boldness, saying, ‘O Lord my God, if I have done this, if
there is any iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid those who dealt
evil with me, then may I fall from my enemies as a vain man4433
.’ If we do these things, we shall
conquer death; and receive an earnest4434
of
the kingdom of heaven.
6. We begin the holy Easter feast on the tenth of
Pharmuthi (April 5), desisting from the holy fasts on the fifteenth of
the same month Pharmuthi (April 10), on the evening of the seventh day.
And let us keep the holy feast on the sixteenth of the same month
Pharmuthi (April 11); adding one by one [the days] till the holy
Pentecost, passing on to which, as through a succession of feasts, let
us keep the festival to the Spirit, Who is even now near us, in Jesus Christ, through Whom and
with Whom to the Father be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen.
The fifteenth and sixteenth are wanting. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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