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The emperors of our world have not honored it in a casual way, but have granted a truce to all who are engaged in the public affairs of the cities, so that, enjoying a rest from those things, they may devote all these days to spiritual worship. For this reason they have also closed the doors of the law courts. Let all contention and every form of strife and punishment cease, he says; let the hands of the executioners rest for a little. The Lord’s accomplishments have become common to all; let some good also come from us, the servants. Not only have they honored it with this zeal and honor, but also with another no less than this. Imperial letters are sent down, saying that those who inhabit the prison should be released from their bonds. For just as our Lord, having been in Hades, released all those who were held by death, so also the servants, contributing what is in their power and imitating the Lord’s philanthropy, release from sensible bonds, since they do not have power over spiritual ones.

2. We also honor this week, and instead of palms I have come out

and I with you, offering a word of teaching, casting down the two mites just like the widow. They went out then holding palm branches, and they cried out and said: Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Let us also go out, and instead of palm branches, showing forth a flourishing purpose, let us cry out, just as today we chanted: Praise the Lord, O my soul; I will praise the Lord in my life; and that Davidic saying, and this one; or rather, neither was that one Davidic, nor this one; but both are of the grace of the Spirit. For the prophet spoke, but the Paraclete moved the tongue of the prophet. For this reason he says: My tongue is the pen of a swift writer. Just as the pen does not write of itself, but by the power of the hand that moves it, so also the tongue of the prophets did not speak of itself, but from the grace of God. But why did he not say, My tongue is the pen of a writer, simply, but, The pen of a 55.521 swift writer? So that you might learn that wisdom is spiritual; for this reason there is great ease, and a great flow. For men, speaking from themselves, compose, deliberate, are slow, and draw out a long time; but there, since the words gushed forth as from a spring, and there was no impediment, but the influx of thoughts overcame the course of the tongue, for this reason he said: My tongue is the pen of a swift writer. The streams gush up from below with great abundance, he says. Therefore the swiftness is great.

We have no need of reflection, nor of practice and labor. But let us see what he says. Praise the Lord, O my soul. Let us also sing these things today with David. For even if he is not present in the body, yet he is present in the spirit. And that the righteous are present with us, and sing with us, hear what Abraham says to the rich man. For when that one said, Send Lazarus, so that my brothers, learning what is in Hades, may correct their ways; he says to him: They have Moses and the prophets. And yet Moses and all the prophets had long been dead in the body, but they had them through the scriptures. For if someone sets up a lifeless image of a child or a friend, he thinks that the departed one is present, and through the lifeless image he envisions him; how much more do we through the divine Scriptures enjoy the company of the saints, having not images of their bodies, but of their souls. For the things said by them are images of their souls. Do you want to learn that the righteous live and are present? No one calls the dead as witnesses; but Christ called them as witnesses of his own divinity, and before them David himself, so that he might teach you that he lives. For when the Jews were disputing about him, he says

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βασιλεῖς τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκου μένης, οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχεν, αὐτὴν τετιμήκασιν, ἐκεχει ρίαν πᾶσι δόντες τοῖς τὰ κοινὰ τῶν πόλεων πράτ τουσι πράγματα, ἵνα τῆς ἐκεῖθεν ἀπολαύσαντες σχολῆς, τὰς ἡμέρας ταύτας ἁπάσας τῇ πνευματικῇ προσέχωσι θεραπείᾳ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τῶν δικαστηρίων τὰς θύρας ἀπέκλεισαν. Ἀργείτω, φησὶ, πᾶσα ἀμφι σβήτησις καὶ μάχης εἶδος καὶ τιμωρίας, ἀναπαυσά σθωσαν μικρὸν τῶν δημίων αἱ χεῖρες. Κοινὰ τὰ κατ ορθώματα τοῦ ∆εσπότου γέγονε· γενέσθω δή τι καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν τῶν δούλων ἀγαθόν. Οὐ ταύτῃ δὲ μόνον αὐτὴν τετιμήκασι τῇ σπουδῇ καὶ τιμῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρᾳ οὐκ ἐλάττονι ταύτης. Βασιλικὰ καταπέμπονται γράμματα, λέγοντα τοὺς τὸ δεσμωτήριον οἰκοῦντας ἀφίεσθαι τῶν δεσμῶν. Καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν ἐν ᾅδου γενόμενος, τοὺς κατεχομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ θανά του πάντας ἀπέλυσεν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ οἱ δοῦλοι τὰ κατὰ δύναμιν εἰσφέροντες, καὶ τὴν ∆εσποτικὴν μιμούμενοι φιλανθρωπίαν, δεσμῶν ἀπολύουσι τῶν αἰσθητῶν, ἐπειδὴ τῶν νοητῶν οὐκ ἰσχύουσι.

βʹ. Ταύτην καὶ ἡμεῖς τιμῶμεν τὴν ἑβδομάδα, καὶ ἀντὶ φοινίκων ἐξῆλθον

κἀγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν διδασκαλίας λόγον προτεινόμενος, τὰ δύο καταβάλλων λεπτὰ καθά περ ἡ χήρα. Ἐξῆλθον τότε ἐκεῖνοι βαΐα φοινίκων ἔχοντες, καὶ ἐπεβόων καὶ ἔλεγον· Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Ἐξέλθωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς, καὶ ἀντὶ τῶν φοινίκων βαΐων προαίρεσιν θάλλουσαν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι βοήσω μεν, καθάπερ σήμερον ὑπεψάλλομεν· Αἴνει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον· αἰνέσω Κύριον ἐν ζωῇ· κἀκεῖνο τὸ ῥῆμα ∆αυϊδικὸν, καὶ τοῦτο· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο ∆αυϊδικὸν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο· ἀλλ' ἀμφότερα τῆς τοῦ Πνεύ ματος χάριτος. Ἐφθέγξατο μὲν γὰρ ὁ προφήτης, ἐκίνησε δὲ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου γλῶσσαν ὁ Παράκλη τος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Ἡ γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμ ματέως ὀξυγράφου. Καθάπερ ὁ κάλαμος οὐκ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ γράφει, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἐξουσίας τῆς κινούσης αὐτὸν χειρός· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ γλῶττα τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἐφθέγγετο, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος. Ἀλλὰ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ εἶπεν, Γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμματέως, ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ, Κάλαμος γραμ 55.521 ματέως ὀξυγράφου; Ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι πνευματικὴ ἡ σοφία· διὸ καὶ πολλὴ ἡ εὐκολία, καὶ πολὺς ὁ δρόμος. Ἄνθρωποι μὲν γὰρ ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν φθεγγόμενοι συντι θέασι, βουλεύονται, βραδύνουσι, πολὺν παρέλκουσι χρόνον· ἐκεῖ δὲ, ἐπειδὴ καθάπερ ἀπὸ πηγῆς ἀν έβλυζε τὰ ῥήματα, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐμπόδιον ἦν, ἀλλὰ τὸν δρόμον τῆς γλώττης ἐνίκα τῶν νοημάτων ἡ ἐπιῤῥοὴ, διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγεν· Ἡ γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμμα τέως ὀξυγράφου. Ἀναβλύζει κάτω τὰ νάματα μετὰ πολλῆς δαψιλείας, φησί. ∆ιὸ πολλὴ ἡ ὀξύτης.

Οὐ δεῖ σκέψεως ἡμῖν, οὐδὲ μελέτης καὶ πόνου. Ἀλλ' ἴδωμεν τί φησιν. Αἴνει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον. Ταῦτα καὶ ἡμεῖς μετὰ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ψάλλωμεν σήμερον. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ τῷ σώματι πάρεστιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι πάρεστι. Καὶ ὅτι πάρεισιν ἡμῖν οἱ δίκαιοι, καὶ μεθ' ἡμῶν ψάλ λουσιν, ἄκουσον τι φησιν ὁ Ἀβραὰμ πρὸς τὸν πλού σιον. Λέγοντος γὰρ ἐκείνου, Πέμψον Λάζαρον, ἵνα οἱ ἀδελφοί μου, μαθόντες τὰ ἐν ᾅδου, διορ θώσωνται τὰ καθ' ἑαυτούς· λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἔχουσι Μωϋσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας. Καὶ μὴν Μωϋ σῆς καὶ οἱ προφῆται πάντες πάλαι τεθνήκεσαν τῷ σώματι, διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων δὲ εἶχον αὐτούς. Εἰ γὰρ εἰκόνα τις ἄψυχον ἀναθεὶς παιδὸς ἢ φίλου, νο μίζει παρεῖναι ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἀπελθόντα, καὶ διὰ τῆς εἰκόνος αὐτὸν φαντάζεται τῆς ἀψύχου· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς διὰ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν τῆς τῶν ἁγίων ἀπο λαύομεν συνουσίας. οὐχὶ τῶν σωμάτων αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ψυχῶν τὰς εἰκόνας ἔχοντες. Τὰ γὰρ παρ' αὐτῶν εἰρημένα τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν εἰκόνες εἰσί. Βούλει μα θεῖν, ὅτι ζῶσιν οἱ δίκαιοι καὶ πάρεισιν; Οὐδεὶς τοὺς τεθνεῶτας μάρτυρας καλεῖ· ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς μάρτυρας αὐτοὺς ἐκάλεσε τῆς οἰκείας θεότητος, καὶ πρὸ τού των αὐτὸν τὸν ∆αυῒδ, ἵνα σε διδάξῃ ὅτι ζῇ. Τῶν γὰρ Ἰουδαίων ἀμφισβητούντων περὶ αὐτοῦ, λέγει