Do you remember our counsel which we gave you a short time ago, asking you to listen to everything that is said with perfect silence and silence, befitting mysteries? I have reminded you of this counsel because we now intend to enter the sacred doors and enter the city of the great King. The Jews were commanded three days before to abstain from copulation with their wives and to wash their clothes when they were to approach the burning mountain, fire, darkness, and storm, or rather, not to approach, but to see and hear it from afar, and they, like Moses himself, were in trembling and fear. All the more wisdom must we prove, wishing to hear such important words and not to stand from afar, by the smoking mountain, but to ascend to heaven itself: we must not wash the garments of the body, but cleanse the garments of the soul, free ourselves from all worldly things. You will see in the darkness, not smoke, not a storm, but the King Himself, sitting on the Throne of ineffable glory, and the Angels and Archangels standing before Him with fear, and with their innumerable darkness – and a host of saints.

Such is the city of God, which contains within itself the church of righteous spirits, the multitude of angels, that precious blood of sprinkling, by means of which all things are united, heaven has received earthly things, earth has received heavenly things, and peace has come, long desired by angels and saints. In this city is erected the brilliant and glorious sign of the cross, the armor of Christ, the beginnings of our nature, the self-interest of our King. You will learn all this in detail from the Gospels. And if you follow us in proper silence, we can lead you everywhere and show you where death lies, nailed to the cross, where sin is hanged, where are the numerous and wondrous monuments of this war, this battle. Here you will see the tormentor bound and a multitude of captives behind him, you will see the stronghold from which the accursed demon in former times made his raids everywhere, you will see the refuges and caves of this thief, already ruined and open, for there also came the King, before whom all fell. Do not get tired, beloved. If someone tells you about the visible war, about trophies and victories, you cannot hear enough and forget about food and drink at such a story. But if that narrative is so pleasant, then much more so is the real one. Imagine how delightful it is not to hear how God, rising from heaven and from the royal throne, descended to earth and into hell itself, how he took up arms for battle, how the devil fought with God, however, not with the manifest God, but with God hidden in human nature. And what is especially surprising is that you will see that death is destroyed by death, that the oath is destroyed by the oath, that the torment of the devil is stopped by the very thing that gave him power. Therefore, let us arise and let us not give ourselves over to sleep: I see the gates already open for you, let us enter into them with all decorum and trembling, let us enter into the very doors. What doors?

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham (Matt. 1:1). What are you saying? You promised to speak of the Only-begotten Son of God, but you mention David, the man who was born after countless generations, and call him father and progenitor? Wait, don't suddenly want to know everything, but gradually and little by little. You are still standing in the doorway at the very threshold: why are you hastening to the inside? You have not yet had a good look at everything external. And I do not yet tell you about this birth, nor even about the one that came after: it is inexplicable and ineffable. Even before me, the Prophet Isaiah told you about this: "But who can explain His generation" (Isaiah 53:8).

Thus we are now speaking not of the eternal birth, but of the earthly birth, which took place with a thousand witnesses. And about this we will speak only what is possible for us, to the extent of the grace of the Spirit that we have received. For even this birth cannot be spoken of with all clarity, because it is also very miraculous. Therefore, do not think that you hear about this birth, but when you hear that God has come to earth, ponder and tremble. It was so amazing and wondrous that the angels in unison gave glory to God for the whole world, and the prophets long before had been amazed at the fact that "after this He appeared on earth and spoke among men" (Bar. 3:38). For it is very strange to hear that God, unapproachable, ineffable, incomprehensible, and equal to the Father, deigned to pass through a virgin's womb, to be born of a woman, to have David and Abraham as ancestors. And what do I say, David and Abraham? Even, what is even more surprising, those harlot wives that we have recently mentioned. Hearing this, do not imagine anything base. On the contrary, it is all the more astonishing that the Son of the Father without beginning, the true Son, deigned to be called the Son of David, in order to make you the son of God; He was pleased to have a servant as His father, that he might make the Lord the Father of thee, a servant. Do you see at the very beginning what the Gospels are? When you hear that the Son of God is the son of David and Abraham, then no longer doubt that you, the son of Adam, will be the son of God. For He would not have humbled Himself in vain and in vain, if He had not wanted to exalt us. He was born according to the flesh, that you might be born of the Spirit, for in that He was born of a woman He became like unto us, and in that He was born "not of blood, nor of the lust of the flesh, nor of the lust of men," but of the Holy Spirit, foretells the higher and future birth, which He intends to bestow upon us by the Spirit. Such was all the rest, such was baptism, it had something old and something new. For to receive baptism from the prophet shows something old, and that the spirit descends shows something new. Imagine that someone, standing between two people standing at a distance from each other, stretched out his hands to them – one to this, the other to the other – and united both of them, thus Christ the Son of God did, uniting the Old Testament with the New, the divine nature with the human, His own with ours, the heavenly with the earthly. Do you see the splendor of the city of God? What a light I shone upon you at the very entrance! How immediately He showed you the King in your image, as if in the midst of the camp! For in the camp the king does not always appear in his own majesty, but often, having folded his purple and diadem, he puts on the garb of a warrior. However, the earthly king does this so that, having become known, he does not attract enemies to himself, and the King of heaven, on the contrary, so that, having become known, he does not force the enemy to flee before the battle with Himself and does not throw His own people into confusion. For He tries to save, not to frighten. That is why he is called by this name: Jesus. For the name Jesus is not Greek, but Hebrew, in Greek it means Savior. And He is called the Saviour because He saved His people.

Do you see how the Evangelist cried out to his listener, speaking in the usual way, and yet showing us all that which is above all hope? Both of these names were very well known to the Jews. Since the extraordinary was to be accomplished, the images of the names themselves were preceded, so that any unpleasant feeling from novelty would be averted in advance. Thus, the successor of Moses, who led the people into the promised land, is called Jesus. Here is the image, and here is the truth: this one led into the promised land, and this one leads to heaven, to the gods of heaven; the one after the death of Moses, and this one as the king of the universe. But so that you, hearing the name Jesus, would not be misled by the similarity of names, the Evangelist added: "Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham." The successor of Moses was not the son of David, but came from another tribe.

But why did not the Evangelist say "the Son of Abraham" first, and then the "Son of David"? For David was in special glory among all the Jews, both in his fame and in time, for he died not so long ago as Abraham. Though God had made a promise to both, the promise to Abraham had been little spoken of, and the promise made to David as recent and new was in everyone's mind. The Jews themselves say: "Will not Christ come from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, from the place from which David came?" (John 7:42). And no one called Christ the son of Abraham, but everyone called Him the son of David.

But from what is it evident, you ask, that Christ is descended from David? He was born not of a man, but only of a woman, and the Evangelist does not have the genealogy of the Virgin. So, how can we know that Christ was a descendant of David? Two questions arise here: why is the genealogy of the Mother not shown, and why is Joseph mentioned, who did not participate in the birth of Christ? One seems superfluous, and the other is lacking. What must be decided first? Is the Virgin descended from David? Listen. God commands Gabriel to go "to the Virgin betrothed to a man, whose name was Joseph, from the house of David" (Luke 1:27). What more clearly can be desired, when one hears that the Virgin was of the house and country of David?

From this it is evident that Joseph also came from the same generation. For there was a law that commanded that a wife should not be taken from another tribe, but from the same tribe. And the patriarch Jacob predicted that Christ would come from the tribe of Judah, saying: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from his loins, until the Mediator comes" (to whom it is delayed): "and to Him shall be the obedience of the nations" (Gen. 49:10). But if you desire another proof, let us not be lacking. Among the Jews, it is not allowed to take wives not only from another tribe, but also from another clan or tribe. Therefore, if we apply the words "from the house and country of David" to the Virgin, then what is said will be certain, and if we apply it to Joseph, then what is said about him will also apply to the Virgin. For if Joseph was of the house and country of David, he did not take a wife from another family, but from the same from which he himself came. You will say: what if he acted against the law? The Evangelist forestalled such an objection of yours and testified that Joseph was righteous. Having received information about his virtue, you cannot say that he has broken the law. Being so philanthropic and impartial, that even when he was troubled by suspicion, he did not want to subject the Virgin to torture, would he break the law for the pleasure of the flesh? Standing above the law in his mind (for to let go, and to let go secretly, was characteristic of a man who stood above the law), would he have done anything unlawful, and moreover without any motivating reason?

But if the Evangelist had presented the genealogy of the Virgin, he would have been considered an innovator, therefore, in order that we might know who Mary was and where she came from, and at the same time that custom would not be violated, he presented the genealogy of Her betrothed and showed that he came from the house of David. For when this is proved, then at the same time it is proved that the Virgin was of the same race. Another reason, more mysterious, can be adduced, for which the ancestors of the Virgin are kept silent; But now is not the time to open it, because much has already been said.

And so, having finished the study of our questions, let us try to keep in firm memory what has been explained to us. If you keep all this in mind, then you will arouse in me a greater readiness to explain what follows; but if you ignore it and do not keep it in your memory, then I will be less willing to explain the rest. And the farmer does not want to cultivate the land on which the seeds he previously sowed have perished. Therefore, I ask you to consider what has been said. From such reflections comes a great and salvific blessing for the soul. For by them we can please God, and our lips, in spiritual conversations, will not be defiled with reproaches, shame and abuse. We will also become terrible to the demons, when we arm our tongue with such conversations. We will attract the grace of God to ourselves to a greater extent, and our gaze will become more discerning in relation to divine things, for God has given us sight, mouth, and hearing, so that all our members may serve Him, and that we may unceasingly offer thanksgiving to Him. As the body, enjoying pure air, is healthier, so the soul, nourished by these reflections, becomes wiser.

Have you not seen that tears flow from the bodily eyes, when they have been in smoke for a long time, and in the fresh air, in the meadows, by springs, and in gardens, they become sharper and healthier? The same thing happens with spiritual vision. If it is turned to the meadow of spiritual writings, it becomes pure, clear, and penetrating, so that it can see the calumnies of demons; and if he remains in the smoke of worldly cares, he will constantly shed tears, weep in this and the next age. For human affairs are like smoke, and nothing causes so much illness to the spiritual sight and muddies it as the multitude of worldly cares and desires. As ordinary fire, enveloping a damp and soaked substance, produces a great smoke, so any lust gives birth to a great smoke and brings oblivion when it embraces someone's soul, passionate and weak.

Thus, we are constantly in need of prayer and the reading of the Divine Scriptures, in order to extinguish the fire of passions and disperse the smoke of the vanity of life, for nothing is of such great benefit as prayer and the reading of the Divine Scriptures, if we exercise them with a sober mind. This is the food of the soul, its adornment, its life, its healing and strengthening of the mind. By this we must adorn ourselves, by this we must raise our children, wives, friends, and enemies to perfection. In the same way, great men, friends of God, attained perfection. David, after his fall, as soon as he heard the glory of instruction, immediately showed in himself a most beautiful example of repentance; and the apostles, with the help of the word of Christ, became what they were afterwards and converted the whole world.

But what is the use, you will say, when one listens, but does not do what he hears? There will be considerable benefit from hearing alone. You will recognize yourself, you will sigh, and perhaps you will come to the point where you will fulfill what you have heard. And who does not know that he has sinned, can he cease to sin? Can he know his sins? Therefore, let us not neglect to hear the Holy Scriptures. Not to allow oneself to see treasures, lest one be enriched, is the devil's intention. He represents to us that listening to God's law means nothing, fearing that, while listening to it, we will be disposed to obey it. And so, knowing this pernicious intent of his, let us guard ourselves on all sides with spiritual songs, prayers and the Holy Scriptures, so that, surrounded by this weapon, we ourselves will not only not fall into captivity, but also crush its head, and for this we will be crowned with glorious signs of victory and achieve future blessings, according to the grace and love of humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.