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first to war against the Master. He brought man down from Jerusalem to Jericho, from the high places to the hollows. In the mountainous region is 31.1457 Jerusalem; but Jericho is down by the salt sea. If any of you knows the place, he knows the truth of what is said, that Jericho is in the hollows of Palestine, but Jerusalem is established on the summit, occupying the peak of the mountain that rises through all that country

. From the high places, therefore, to the low places man came, so that he might fall among robbers; having left the safety of Jerusalem, so that he might become an easy prey to the robbers in the wilderness, who inflicted wounds, and stripped him. First wounds, and then stripping. The wound of the soul is sin; the stripping of the soul is the laying aside of the garment of incorruptibility. And sin is destructive of the grace given to us through the washing of regeneration. Fornication, a wound; adultery, another wound; envy is a wound, each of these is a wound, a wound striking the vital parts themselves, a wound inflicted by robbers, by the demons who cooperate with us in our sins. After the wounds, the one who was beaten was stripped. If what was said were physical, they would first strip him to spare the garment, and then inflict the wounds. Or having stripped him, they would have inflicted wounds, so that the garment might be saved, and the one beaten might be struck. Now, however, the wounds precede the stripping, so that you may learn that sin precedes the laying aside of the gift, which was given to you through the loving-kindness of the Lord. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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πρῶτον πολεμεῖν τῷ ∆εσπότῃ. Ἐκεῖνος κατήγαγεν ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἱεριχὼ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀπὸ τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐπὶ τὰ κοῖλα. Ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς ὀρεινῆς ἡ 31.1457 Ἱερουσαλήμ· ἡ δὲ Ἱεριχὼ κάτω ἐν τῇ ἁλμυρᾷ θαλάσσῃ. Εἴ τις ὑμῶν οἶδε τὸν τόπον, οἶδε τῶν λεγομένων τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὅτι Ἱεριχὼ μὲν ἔχει τὰ κοῖλα τῆς Παλαιστίνης, Ἱερουσαλὴμ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς κορυφῆς ἐρήρεισται, τὴν ἄκραν κατέχουσα τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ διὰ πάσης ἐκείνης τῆς χώρας ἀνεστηκότος

. Ἀπὸ τοίνυν τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐπὶ τὰ κάτω ἦλθεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα τοῖς λῃσταῖς περιπέσῃ· τῆς ἀσφαλείας ἐξελθὼν τῆς κατὰ Ἱερου-σαλὴμ, ἵνα εὐάλωτος γένηται τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ἐρημίαν λῃσταῖς, οἳ πληγὰς ἐπέθηκαν, καὶ ἐξέδυσαν. Πρότερον πληγαὶ, καὶ τότε γύμνωσις. Πληγὴ ψυχῆς ἁμαρτία· γύμνωσις ψυχῆς ἀπόθεσις τοῦ ἐνδύματος τῆς ἀφθαρσίας. Ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία ἀφανιστικὴ τῆς χάριτος τῆς δεδομένης ἡμῖν διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας. Πορνεία, πληγὴ, μοιχεία, ἄλλη πληγὴ, πληγὴ ὁ φθόνος, πληγὴ ἕκαστον τούτων, πληγὴ αὐτὰ τὰ καίρια τύπτουσα, πληγὴ παρὰ λῃστῶν ἐμβαλλομένη, παρὰ δαιμόνων τῶν συνεργούντων ἡμῖν πρὸς τὰς ἁμαρτίας. Μετὰ τὰς πληγὰς ἐξεδύθη ὁ τετυμμένος. Εἰ σωματικὸν ἦν τὸ λεγόμενον, πρότερον ἐξέδυνον φειδοῖ τοῦ ἱματίου, καὶ τότε πληγὰς ἐπετίθεσαν. Ἢ ἐκδύσαντες ἂν, πληγὰς ἐπέθηκαν, ἵνα καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον διεσώθη, καὶ ὁ τυπτηθεὶς ἐπλήγη. Νῦν μέντοι πληγαὶ τῆς ἐκδύσεως προηγοῦνται, ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι ἁμαρτία προηγεῖται τῆς ἀποθέσεως τοῦ χαρίσματος, τοῦ δεδομένου σοι διὰ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου φιλανθρωπίας. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.