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In Lazarum i

On Lazarus. 1.

62.771 All divinely inspired teaching is accustomed to gather benefits for men who love learning, and especially the feasts which always occur at their proper season, imitating the streams of waters, which, being offered to the thirsty and curing their desire, become more longed for by those who receive them. What then does my introduction intend? Lazarus, dead for four days, was raised during these days of the fast, as Christ was already hastening toward the salvation of his passion, and practicing wonders before wonders, and renewing a feast before a feast, and revealing a work before a work, so that, when he himself should be delivered to the cross, the disciples might not despair of their own teacher's resurrection, but might believe that he who subjected death for the sake of another, can himself suffer nothing terrible from death.

It is right 62.772 therefore, granting favor to the season, to ourselves, and to the coming festival, to share in the gladness of the resurrection concerning Lazarus, to share not only in tears, but also in delight and joy, with the good women around Mary, and to honor our teacher Jesus with zeal for the story. For he who honors his friends sends the gift to him; for being a lover of mankind, he is always accustomed to make his own the honors done for them. He is the one who said in the Gospels: He who receives you, receives me; and he who receives me, receives the one who sent me. Now a certain man, he says, was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. The simple writer produced an unadorned story; for John was a fisherman. Being about therefore to set forth a para 62.773 doxical work, he did not treat the hearer with elegance of speech. See what I say: He wrote in Bethany the village the miracle, the manner, the women present and not present, what was said, what was done, where they met the teacher, how he wept, how they besought, how they, mourning, accused the Master, that he was not present when Lazarus was dying, nor did he with a word close the gates of death, nor did he hold back the waves of destruction; for with the pilot present, the ship would have been saved. And he wrote while sitting in Ephesus, as if through lack of possessions and poverty not even using his own ink and paper. When John therefore had written, all run together to see a tomb that had lost a dead man, kings, private citizens, judges, tribes of barbarians, nations of soldiers. Why do I say tomb? The case of Lazarus has become a church.

For all hasten to pray there, where Jesus prayed, procuring benefit by the communion of the gesture. A certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and Martha. Let no one look down upon a place; for God is everywhere, and dwells in a village, and in a city, and in the mountains; he oversees all things; for God is everywhere, not paying attention to places, but to the minds of the pious. Lazarus was weary, and was being pressed down by the sickness. Here the faithful women around Mary and Martha did not grieve at the evil, they did not despair at the attack of the fever, they did not seek medicines, nor neighbors, nor did they call for a physician; for it was superfluous, having Jesus, the true physician, to seek another; but they knew from whence it was necessary to be saved and, with their brother being sick, they send ambassadors of the coming death. And you therefore, when a child, or a mother, or a brother, or an acquaintance, being sick, is dragged by the executioners below, send to Jesus, not using a man as a minister, but your own prayers, which are much stronger than men, and imitate the women around Martha

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In Lazarum i

Εἰς τὸν Λάζαρον. αʹ.

62.771 Πᾶσα ἔνθεος διδασκαλία συνάγειν εἴωθε τῶν φιλομαθῶν ἀνδρῶν τὰς ὠφελείας, μάλιστα δὲ αἱ κατὰ καιρὸν ἀεὶ γινόμεναι ἑορταὶ, μιμούμεναι τὰ τῶν ὑδάτων νάματα, ἃ τοῖς διψῶσιν ὀρεγόμενα, καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν θεραπεύοντα, μᾶλλον γίνονται τοῖς λαμβάνουσι ποθεινότερα. Τί οὖν μοι τὸ προοίμιον βούλεται; Λάζαρος ὁ τετραήμερος νεκρὸς κατὰ ταύτας τὰς ἡμέρας τῶν νηστειῶν ἀνέστη, ἤδη τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πάθους σωτηρίαν ἐπειγομένου, καὶ πρὸ θαυμάτων θαύματα γυμνάζοντος, καὶ πρὸ ἑορτῆς ἑορτὴν ἀνακαινοῦντος, καὶ πρὸ ἔργου ἔργον ἀναδεικνύντος, ἵν', ὅταν αὐτὸς σταυρῷ παραδοθῇ, μὴ ἀπαγορεύσωσιν οἱ μαθηταὶ τοῦ οἰκείου διδασκάλου τὴν ἀνάστασιν, ἀλλὰ πιστεύσωσιν ὅτι τὸν θάνατον ἄλλου χάριν ὑποτάξας, αὐτὸς οὐδὲν δεινὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου παθεῖν δύναται.

∆ίκαιον 62.772 τοίνυν ἐστὶ καὶ τῷ καιρῷ, καὶ ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ τῇ μελλούσῃ πανηγύρει χαριζομένους κοινωνῆσαι τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ Λαζάρῳ ἀναστάσεως εὐφροσύνης, κοινωνῆσαι δὲ μὴ δακρύων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ θυμηδίας καὶ χαρᾶς, ταῖς περὶ τὴν Μαρίαν χρησταῖς γυναιξὶ, τιμῆσαι δὲ καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον διδάσκαλον Ἰησοῦν τῇ σπουδῇ τῆς ἱστορίας. Ὁ γὰρ τοὺς ἐκείνου φίλους τιμῶν, εἰς ἐκεῖνον παραπέμπει τὸ δῶρον· φιλάνθρωπος γὰρ ὢν, εἴωθεν ἀεὶ τὰς ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων οἰκειοῦσθαι τιμάς. Αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ εἰρηκὼς ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις· Ὁ δεχόμενος ὑμᾶς, ἐμὲ δέχεται· καὶ ὁ ἐμὲ δεχόμενος, δέχεται τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με Ἦν δέ τις, φησὶν, ἀσθενῶν Λάζαρος, ἀπὸ Βηθανίας τῆς κώμης Μαρίας καὶ Μάρθας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτῆς. Ἁπλοῦς ὁ συγγραφεὺς ἀπερίεργον ἱστορίαν παραγαγών· ἁλιεὺς γὰρ ἦν ὁ Ἰωάννης. Μέλλων οὖν παράδο 62.773 ξον ἔργον ἐκτιθέναι, οὐκ ἐθεράπευσε τῇ λέξει τὸν ἀκροατήν. Βλέπε ὃ λέγω· Ἔγραψεν εἰς Βηθανίαν τὴν κώμην τὸ θαῦμα, τὸν τρόπον, τὰς παρούσας καὶ μὴ παρούσας γυναῖκας, τί ἐλέχθη, τί ἐπράχθη, ποῦ ἀπήντησαν τῷ διδασκάλῳ, πῶς ἐδάκρυσε, πῶς παρεκάλεσαν, πῶς ἐνεκάλεσαν πενθοῦσαι τῷ ∆εσπότῃ, ὅτι μὴ παρῆν τελευτῶντι Λαζάρῳ, μηδ' ἔκλεισε τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θανάτου τὰς πύλας, μηδ' ἐπέσχε τῆς ἀπωλείας τὰ κύματα· κυβερνήτου γὰρ παρόντος, τὸ σκάφος, ἂν ἐσώθη. Καὶ ἔγραψεν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ καθήμενος, ὡς δι' ἀκτημοσύνην καὶ πενίαν μηδὲ μέλανι καὶ χάρτῃ ἰδίῳ χρήσασθαι. Γράψαντος τοίνυν Ἰωάννου, πάντες συντρέχουσιν ἰδεῖν τάφον, νεκρὸν ἀπολέσαντα, βασιλεῖς, ἰδιῶται, δικασταὶ, βαρβάρων φυλαὶ, στρατιωτῶν ἔθνη. Τί λέγω τάφον; ἡ θήκη Λαζάρου γέγονεν ἐκκλησία.

Πάντες γὰρ ἐπείγονται αὐτόθι προσεύξασθαι, ὅπου Ἰησοῦς προσηύξατο, τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ σχήματος τὴν ὠφέλειαν ποριζόμενοι. Ἦν τις ἀσθενῶν Λάζαρος ἀπὸ Βηθανίας τῆς κώμης Μαρίας καὶ Μάρθας. Μηδεὶς τόπον ὑπεροράτω· πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἐν κώμῃ, καὶ ἐν πόλει, καὶ ἐν ὄρεσιν οἰκεῖ· πάντα ἐφορᾷ· πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς, οὐ τόποις προσέχων, ἀλλὰ γνώμαις εὐσεβῶν. Ὁ Λάζαρος ἔκαμνε, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς νόσου κατηπείγετο. Ἐνταῦθα αἱ περὶ τὴν Μαρίαν καὶ Μάρθαν πισταὶ γυναῖκες οὐκ ἐπένθησαν πρὸς τὸ κακὸν, οὐκ ἀπηγόρευσαν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πυρετοῦ προσβολὴν, οὐ φάρμακα ἐζήτησαν, οὐ γείτονας, οὐκ ἰατρὸν παρεκάλεσαν· περιττὸν γὰρ ἦν, Ἰησοῦν ἔχοντας, ἀληθινὸν ἰατρὸν, ἕτερον ἐπιζητεῖν· ἀλλ' ἔγνωσαν ὅθεν σωθῆναι χρὴ καὶ ἀδελφοῦ νοσοῦντος πρεσβευτὰς πέμπουσι τοῦ μέλλοντος θανάτου. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, ὅταν παῖς, ἢ μήτηρ, ἢ ἀδελφὸς, ἢ γνώριμος ἀσθενῶν ὑπὸ τῶν κάτω δημίων ἕλκωνται, πέμψον πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, μὴ ἀνδρὶ διακόνῳ χρώμενος, ἀλλὰ ταῖς σαῖς εὐχαῖς πολὺ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἰσχυροτέραις οὔσαις, καὶ μίμησαι τὰς περὶ τὴν Μάρθαν