DISCOURSE 86

"So the disciples returned to their homes again. And Mary stood by the tomb and wept" (John 20:10, 11).

1. The female sex is somehow especially sensitive and very inclined to compassion. I say this so that it may not be surprising to you why Mary wept bitterly at the tomb, and Peter did not find anything of the kind. The disciples, says the Evangelist, "returned to themselves," and Mary "stood and wept." By its very nature, it was easily moved, and moreover, it did not yet clearly know the doctrine of the resurrection; On the contrary, the disciples, seeing the swaddling clothes, believed and went home in amazement. Why did they not go directly to Galilee, as they were commanded before their suffering? Perhaps they were waiting for the others (disciples); on the other hand, they were still in utter amazement. So they went home, and Mary stood by the tomb. A great consolation, indeed, as I have already said, is given to us by the very sight of the tomb. Do you see, therefore, how she, for greater comfort, looks into the tomb and wants to see the place "where the body of Jesus lay" (v. 12)? For this reason she received no small reward for such great diligence. What the disciples did not see, the woman was the first to see, namely, the angels in white robes, seated, one at the feet, and the other at the head (v. 12); their very clothes already showed great joy and gladness. Since the woman's mind was not so elevated as to come from the swaddling clothes of the grave to faith in the resurrection, something more happened: she saw the angels sitting in bright garments, so that through this she could already rise from sorrow and be comforted. However, the angels do not tell her anything about the resurrection: she is raised to this dogma little by little. She sees faces that are brighter than usual; he sees shining clothes; She hears the voice of sympathy, as the angels say to her: "Woman! why do you weep" (v. 13)? Through all this, as through an open door, she was gradually led to the word of the resurrection. And the very image of the angels sitting disposed her to the question: it was clear from it that they knew about what had happened, and therefore they were not sitting together, but separately from each other. But as it was improbable that she herself should have dared to ask directly, they disposed her to conversation both by the question and by the manner of sitting. What is it? She says with fervor and love, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him" (v. 13). What are you saying? So you do not yet know anything about the resurrection, and still imagine that the body of Christ has been transposed? Do you see how she did not yet understand this lofty dogma? "When she had said this, she turned back" (v. 14). What is the sequence here? Mary enters into conversation with the angels and, not yet hearing anything from them, turns back. It seems to me that while she was speaking, Christ, by His sudden appearance behind her, astonished the angels, and they, seeing the Lord, immediately discovered by appearance, and look, and movement, that they had seen the Lord; and this made his wife look back and turn back. Thus Christ appeared to the angels; and to Mary, not so as not to strike her with amazement at first sight, but in a more humble and ordinary form. This is evident from the fact that she took Him for a gardener. A woman with such derogatory notions obviously had to be elevated to higher notions, not suddenly, but gradually. That is why Christ asks her: "Woman! Why are you crying? whom are you seeking" (v. 15)? In this way He showed that He knew what she wanted to ask and disposed her to answer. Thus Mary understood this, and therefore she does not pronounce the name of Jesus, but, supposing that the inquirer already knows of whom she is inquiring, she says: "If thou hast carried Him out, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him" (v. 15). Again he speaks of the position, taking and transposing, talking about Him as if he were dead. The meaning of her words is this: If you, fearing the Jews, took Him from here, then tell me, and I will take Him. Great is the zeal, great is the love of the wife; but there is still nothing lofty in it. That is why, finally, Christ reveals to her a lofty mystery, not by His appearance, but by His voice. As when He was among the Jews, sometimes they recognized Him, and sometimes they did not, so when He spoke, they recognized Him only when He wanted Him. Thus, when did He say to the Jews, "Whom are you seeking"? – they did not recognize Him either by His appearance or by His voice, as long as He wanted to. The same thing happened here. Christ now pronounced only the name of Mary, reproaching her and reproaching her for thinking so of Him, while He lives. But how does she answer "converted," while Christ conversed with her? It seems to me that she, having said, "Where hast thou laid Him?" addressed the angels, with the intention of asking them what they were amazed at, and that Christ, calling her by name, again made her turn from the angels in His direction, and by the voice made Himself known. Indeed, she recognized him when he called her, saying, "Mary" (v. 16), and therefore she recognized him, not by his appearance, but by his voice. Perhaps someone will ask: How do we know that the angels were amazed, and that therefore Mary turned back? But in this case it will also be necessary to ask: how do we know that Mary touched Christ and fell at His feet? And as the latter is revealed by the words, "Touch me not" (v. 17), so the former is evident from the fact that it is said, "I am converted." But why did Christ say, "Touch me not"? Some say that Mary asked Him for spiritual grace because she heard Him say to His disciples, "When I go" to the Father, I will "beseech Him, and He will give you another Comforter" (John 14:3, 16).

2. But how could she, who was not with the disciples at the time, hear these words? On the other hand, she was far from such a desire in her own conceptions. And how could she ask for this, when He had not yet departed to the Father? What does this mean? It seems to me that even now I wanted to treat Him as before, and for joy I did not imagine anything great, although He had become much more perfect in the flesh. Therefore, Christ, in order to divert her from such an opinion and to inspire her not to speak to him without any caution (because, as it seems, He no longer treated His disciples as before), elevates her thoughts and thereby teaches her to treat Him more reverently. If He had said, "Come not near Me as before; now that circumstances have changed, and I will no longer treat you as before, it would be disagreeable and would be boastful and vanity. But the words, "For I have not yet ascended to my Father," were not burdensome, and yet expressed the same thing. By saying: "For I have not yet ascended to My Father," Christ makes it clear that He hastens there and strives. And whoever is ready to depart to heaven and will no longer deal with people, should no longer look at him with the same thoughts with which they looked before. That this explanation is true is evident from these words: "Go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (v. 17). But He did not intend to do this immediately, but after forty days: why then does He say this? In order to raise Mary's thoughts and assure her that He ascends to heaven. And the words: "To My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God" refer to the Incarnation, since the ascension is peculiar only to the flesh. Christ expresses Himself in this way because He speaks to a woman who did not imagine anything great. Does this mean that God is His Father in another sense and ours in another sense? Quite so. If God is not in the same sense the God of the righteous and the God of other people, how much more is the Son and ours. And since Christ said, "Speak unto the brethren," so that on the basis of these words they may not suppose any equality (between Him and the disciples), He also shows the difference: He Himself will sit on the throne of the Father, and they will stand before this throne. Consequently, although Christ, according to His human nature, became our brother, nevertheless in glory He is very different from us, so different that it is impossible to express it. Meanwhile, Mary goes away to announce this to the disciples (v. 18). That's how good diligence and constancy are! But why do not the disciples now grieve that Christ intends to depart from them, and do not say what they said before? Then they grieved because He was going to die; and now that He had risen, why should they be sad? Mary told them both of her vision and of the words that could comfort them. But it could easily happen that the disciples, hearing this, would either not believe the woman, or, having believed, would grieve that Christ did not vouchsafe them His appearance, although He promised to appear to them in Galilee. Therefore, in order that they might not be troubled by such thoughts, Christ did not allow even one day to pass by, but having aroused in them a desire to see Him, both by what they already knew of His resurrection and by the story of His wife, on the same day after the coming of evening, when they were burning with a desire to see Him and were possessed by fear, which increased their desire, - appeared before them, and in a miraculous way.

Why did He appear in the evening? Because, especially at this time, in all likelihood, they were in the greatest fear. But this is what is surprising: how did they not consider Him to be a ghost, when He entered through the closed doors and suddenly? This, no doubt, is because Mary had already succeeded in producing in them a strong faith, and moreover He appeared to them in a bright and meek form. In the afternoon He did not appear for the disciples to gather together, for they were in great fear. Therefore He did not even knock at the door, but suddenly stood in the midst of them, showed them His ribs and hands, and at the same time calmed their troubled thoughts with His voice, saying, "Peace be unto you" (v. 19), that is, do not be troubled. In this way He reminded them of the words spoken before suffering: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27), and again: "In Me have peace": "In peace ye shall have tribulation" (John 16:33). "The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord" (v. 20). Do you see how His words were justified in deed? What He said before His suffering: "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and no one shall take away your joy" (John 16:22), He has now fulfilled by His very deed. Still, this led the disciples to perfect faith. And since they had an irreconcilable battle with the Jews, He often repeats: "Peace be unto you," thus offering consolation equivalent to the battle.

3. This is the first word Christ said after the resurrection. That is why Paul says everywhere: "Grace to you and peace." The Lord preaches joy to women, since the female sex was in sorrow and was condemned to sorrow by the first curse. In this way, it is quite fitting that He preaches peace to men because of battle, and joy to women because of sorrow. Having destroyed everything that was the cause of sorrow, Christ goes on to speak of the beneficial effects of the cross. That consequence was peace. This means that all obstacles are now removed, Christ has won a brilliant victory, and everything has been brought to the desired end. Wherefore he finally says, "As the Father has sent me, I also send you" (v. 21). There will be no difficulty for you, both because of the events that have already taken place, and because of the dignity of my person, since I am sending you. By this He elevates the souls of His disciples and shows that their words will be completely reliable, since they will take upon themselves His work. And now He no longer beseeches the Father, but by His own authority bestows power upon His disciples. "And when he had said this, he breathed, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; on whom ye shall retain, they shall remain" (v. 22, 23). As a king, sending rulers, gives them the power to imprison and release them from prison, so Christ, when sending disciples, invests them with the same power. How is it that He said before: "If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you" (John 16:7), and now He gives the Spirit? Some say that Christ did not communicate the Spirit to the disciples, but only by a breath made them capable of receiving Him. For if Daniel, at the sight of the angel, was "terrified" (Dan. 8:17), then what would not the disciples have experienced if they had received this ineffable grace without being prepared for it beforehand? For this reason, they say, Christ did not say: "You have received the Holy Spirit," but "receive the Holy Spirit." But he will not sin if he says that even then the disciples received some spiritual power and grace, only – not to raise the dead and perform miracles, but to forgive sins – since the gifts of the Spirit are different. That is why Christ added: "To whom you forgive sins, the same will be forgiven," showing what kind of grace-filled power is granted to them. and ye shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea" (Acts 1:8); and they became witnesses by means of miracles. Verily, the grace of the Spirit is ineffable, and His gifts are manifold! But Christ communicates the gifts of the Spirit, so that you may know that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit have one gift and one authority. For what seems to be attributed to the Father is also to belong to both the Son and the Holy Spirit. How is it said that no one comes to the Son, "except it be given to him from My Father" (John 6:65)? But the same thing obviously belongs to the Son: "I am," He says, "the way: no one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). But look, the same is attributed to the Spirit: "No man can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3). In the same way, the Apostles are presented to the Church from the Father, from the Son, from the Holy Spirit. And the division of gifts, as we see, is assimilated to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

4. Let us use all means to have the Spirit in us, and let us treat with all reverence those who have been entrusted with the power to act with the gifts of grace. Truly, great is the dignity of priests! "To whom," it is said, "Forgive your sins, they will be forgiven." That is why Paul says: "Obey your leaders and be obedient" (Heb. 13:17), and "honor them chiefly with love" (1 Thess. 5:13). In fact, you care only about your own affairs, and if you arrange them well, you will not be responsible for other people. And the priest, even though he has arranged his own life well, if he does not take due care of your life and that of all others entrusted to his care, he will go to hell with the wicked, and often, innocent in his works, he perishes for your iniquities, if he does not properly fulfill everything that concerns him. Therefore, knowing what a great danger threatens the priests, show them great love. This was also pointed out by Paul when he said: "They are vigilant over your souls," and not simply, but "obliged to give an account" (Heb. 13:17). Therefore, they should be shown great respect. But if you and others insult them, then your deeds will not prosper. As long as the helmsman is happy, so long are those who sail on the ship safe; and since he is in grief from the insults and hostile actions of his companions, he can no longer be vigilant as before, nor act with his usual skill, and reluctantly exposes them to innumerable disasters. In the same way, the priests, if they enjoy due honor among you, will be able to arrange your affairs as they should; and if you grieve them, then weaken their hands and cause them to be easily carried away by the waves with you, even though they are very courageous. Think about what Christ said about the Jews: "On the seat of Moses sat the scribes and the Pharisees; therefore whatsoever they command you to observe, observe and do" (Matt. 23:2, 3). Now it cannot be said that the priests sat on the seat of Moses; no, they sat on the seat of Christ, because they accepted Christ's teaching. That is why Paul also says: "We are messengers in the name of Christ, and it is as if God himself exhorts through us" (2 Cor. 5:20). Do you not see how everyone submits to the worldly authorities? Although the subordinates often surpass the rulers in nobility of lineage, and in life, and in wisdom, yet, out of respect for the one who appointed them, they do not think about any of these things, but honor the decree of the king, whatever the one who received the authority over them may be. Such is our fear when a man appoints a ruler! But when God ordains, we despise the one who has been ordained, and insult him, and persecute him with innumerable reproaches, and, while we are forbidden to judge even our brethren, we sharpen our tongue against the priests.

Let the life of a priest be the most vicious; but if you are attentive to yourself, you will not suffer any harm in what God has entrusted to him. If the Lord made a donkey speak and through the sorcerer granted spiritual blessings; if, therefore, both through the dumb mouth of the ass and through the unclean tongue of Balaam, He worked for the ungrateful Jews, how much more for you, if you are grateful, He will do all that is necessary on His part, and send down the Holy Spirit, even though the priests are extremely wicked. For even the pure (priest) does not attract the Holy Spirit by his own purity; but grace does everything. "For all things are yours," it is said, "whether they are Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas" (1 Cor. 3:22). Everything that is entrusted to the priest is the only gift of God; and no matter how much human wisdom succeeds, it will always be below that grace. I say this not so that we carelessly dispose of our lives, but so that you, subordinates, seeing the negligence of any of the primates, do not multiply evil for yourselves on this occasion. But what do I say about priests? Neither angel nor archangel can have any effect on what is given by God: here everything is arranged by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the priest only lends his tongue and stretches out his hand. And it would be unjust if, because of the depravity of another person, those who approach the symbols of our salvation with faith suffer harm. Therefore, knowing all this, let us also fear God and respect His priests, giving them every honor, so that we may receive a great reward from God both for our good deeds and for respect for them, according to the grace and love of humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 87

"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Twin, was not there with them when Jesus came. The other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said unto them, Except I see, I will not believe" (John 20:24-25)

1. Just as to believe simply and indiscriminately is the work of light-mindedness, so to test and investigate more than is necessary is the work of an extremely stubborn mind. That is why Thomas is also reproached. When the apostles said to him: "We have seen the Lord," he did not believe, not so much because he distrusted them, but because he considered this work, that is, the resurrection from the dead, impossible. He did not say, "I do not believe you," but, "I will not put my hand in His side, I will not believe." But why, while all were gathered, was he not alone? Probably, he had not yet returned from the former dispersion. And you, when you see this disciple as an unbeliever, think about the love for humanity of the Lord, Who even for the sake of one soul shows Himself in wounds, and comes also for the salvation of one, although more stubborn than others. In fact, Thomas sought confirmation for himself by means of the crudest feeling, and could not even believe his eyes. He did not say, "If I do not see," but, "If I do not touch, to know if it is not a phantom that I see." Without a doubt, the disciples who proclaimed were already worthy of faith, as was Himself, who promised it; nevertheless, since Thomas sought more for himself, Christ did not refuse him even this.

Why does He appear to him not immediately, but eight days later? In order that Thomas, heeding the convictions of his disciples during this time and hearing the same thing, would be inflamed with a great desire and become more firm in his faith for the future. But how did he know that the ribs were also pierced? I heard this from the disciples. Why did he believe this, and not believe that? Because it was a completely unusual and miraculous event. But note the love of truth of the apostles: they do not conceal the shortcomings of either their own or others, but describe them with all truth. So Jesus appears again, and does not wait until (Thomas) asks Him or says anything of the kind, but before he has said anything, he fulfills his wish, showing that He was with the disciples while (Thomas) was talking to them. He used the same words, strongly rebuking him and admonishing him for the future. Saying, "Put thy finger hither, and see my hands; Give thy hand and put it into my side; and thou shalt not be unbelieving, but believing," he added, "and thou shalt not be unbelieving, but believing" (v. 27). Do you see that doubt came from unbelief? But this was before they received the Holy Spirit; but after that, they were not so: they were already perfect. And not only with these words did Christ reproach, but also with further ones. When Thomas, having ascertained himself, calmed down and exclaimed: "My Lord and my God!" - Christ said: "You believed, because you saw Me; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (v. 28, 29). Faith, indeed, consists in accepting the invisible: "Faith is the fulfillment of things hoped for, and the assurance of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). And here He calls blessed not only the disciples, but also those who will believe after them. But the disciples, you say, saw and believed? However, they did not demand anything of the kind, but immediately received the word of the resurrection from the burial shrouds, and before they saw Christ Himself, they had already shown full faith. And so, if anyone at the present time says: how I would like to live in those times and see Christ working miracles! – let him think that "blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." In this case, one can justly be perplexed as to how the incorruptible body had nail wounds on it, and how it was possible to touch it with a mortal hand. But do not be embarrassed: this was a matter of condescension. The body, so thin and light that it entered through the closed doors (v. 26), was evidently devoid of all debility; but Christ shows him in this way in order to assure him of the resurrection and teach that it was He who was crucified, and not another who rose in His place. For this reason He rose again, having the signs of the cross on Himself; therefore He also eats food. And the Apostles very often presented this as a testimony of the resurrection, saying: "Those who ate and drank with Him" (Acts 10:41). For just as before His crucifixion we see Him walking on the waves, and yet we do not say that His body was of a nature other than ours, so after His resurrection, when we see the wounds on Him, we will not call Him corruptible, because He showed them to the disciple. "Jesus did many other miracles before his disciples" (v. 30). Since this Evangelist said less than the others, he says that all the others did not say everything, but as much as was necessary to attract the hearers to the faith. And if, he says, all things were described, then I think that the world would not contain books (John 21:25).

2. From this it is evident that they did not speak of the miracles they described out of boasting, but only for profit. And how is it possible for them to describe out of boasting, when most of them have been omitted? But why didn't they tell about everyone? Mainly by their multitude; then they also thought that whoever did not believe what was said would not believe more, and whoever accepted it would need nothing more to be confirmed in the faith. However, it seems to me that here (the Evangelist) speaks only of the signs that occurred after the resurrection, which is why he remarks: "before His disciples" (v. 30). Just as before the resurrection many miracles were needed in order to believe that Christ is the Son of God, so after the resurrection – in order to be convinced that He was resurrected. That is why He added: "before His disciples", since after the resurrection He dealt only with them, which is why He said: "The world will see Me no more" (John 14:19). Then, that thou mayest know that all these things were done only for the sake of the disciples, he adds, "And believing, they had life in his name," v. 31. Here He addresses His speech to men in general, and shows that He did not speak of it for the sake of Him in whom we believe, but chiefly for our own benefit. "In His name," that is, through Him, because He is "life" (John 14:6). "After these things Jesus appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias" (John 21:1). Do you see that He doesn't deal with them all the time, and not as He used to? He appeared in the evening, and disappeared; then – once more, after eight days, and again he hid himself; then now – at sea, and again with great fear. But what does it mean, "appeared"? From this it is evident that if He had not descended, He would not have been visible, since His body was already incorruptible and immortal. And why did he mention the place? To show that Christ had delivered them from their excessive fear, so that they went out of the house and went about everywhere. They no longer sat shut themselves up in the house, but, escaping the danger of the Jews, went to Galilee. And so Simon goes fishing. Since Christ was not constantly with them, and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to them, and they were then left without any commission, then, having nothing to do, they turned to their providence. "There were with Simon Peter, and Thomas, and Nathanael," who had been called by Philip, "and the sons of Zebedee, and two others" (v. 2). As I say they had nothing to do, they went fishing, and did it at night, because they were afraid. Luke also speaks of fishing (5:1-10), but he does not mean this event, but something else. The rest of the disciples went (after Peter), since they were no longer separated from each other, but at the same time they wanted to see the fishing and use their free time usefully. So they work, and when they are tired, Jesus appears to them, but He does not immediately reveal Himself, but first enters into conversation with them. He says to them, "Have you any food" (v. 5)? He enters into conversation in a completely human way, as if intending to buy something from them. When they replied that they had nothing, He commanded them to throw to the right: they threw and received the catch. And when they recognized Him, the disciples Peter and John again revealed the peculiarities of their characters. The former was more ardent, and this one was more exalted; the one is faster, and the other is more perceptive. Therefore John was the first to recognize Jesus, and Peter was the first to go to Him, for the signs were not small. Which ones? First, a great deal of fish was caught; then, the darkness did not break; Further, they found the coals ready, and "the fire set up, and the fish and bread lying on it" (v. 9) before they reached the shore. Now Christ no longer created from a ready-made substance, as He had created before. So Peter, as soon as he knew Him, threw away everything, both fish and fish, and girded himself. Do you see both reverence and love? Although the disciples were two hundred cubits away, yet Peter did not want to wait until he came in the ship, but hurried to swim. What about Jesus? "Come," he said, "dine." "No one dared to ask Him" (v. 12). Now they no longer had their usual boldness, they did not dare as before, and did not address Him with speech, but in silence, with great fear and reverence, they sat and looked at Him. They knew "that this is the Lord" (v. 12), and therefore they did not ask, "Who art thou?" Seeing the changed face, full of extraordinary majesty, they were very much astonished, and would like to ask something about it; but fear and the realization that it was not someone else, but HIM. they restrained them from questioning, and they only ate what He had created by His high power. Here He no longer looks to heaven and does not do anything human, as He did before, showing that even then this was done out of condescension. And that He did not constantly and not in the same way as before, the Evangelist says:

"This is the third time that Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead" (v. 14). Christ commands that a part of the fish be brought, in order to show that what they see is not a ghost. However, it does not say here that He Himself ate with them, but Luke in another place says of Him: "And He took it, and ate before them" (Luke 24:43). and he also ate with them (Acts 10:41) How it was, we cannot say. Without a doubt, this happened in some miraculous way, not because nature was still in need, but out of condescension, in order to prove the resurrection.