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of a Pharisee; for one of those reclining at table with him, having heard, "You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just," the resurrection and the kingdom of God being understood as one and the same thing. Therefore, in response to the one who said, "Blessed is he who will eat bread in the kingdom of God," the Savior, through the parable, shows who this blessed one would be, saying, "A certain man gave a great supper," again calling himself a man in these words. You will understand his great supper, for now, by looking at the spiritual banquet of the sacred and divine foods throughout the whole world, which have been delivered to all nations through the divinely-inspired readings; and from there, transfer your thought to the expected kingdom of heaven. And come to the concept of the then truly great supper, in which the souls of the blessed will rest together with angels and the divine powers in heaven, in which they will be fed with the bread of angels, the saying being then truly and divinely fulfilled: "Man ate the bread of angels." For the food then will not be of many kinds, needing neither seasoning nor relish, but they who in the present life fed those whom the Savior named will be fed with the sole immortalizing bread which provides eternal life. And the bread would again be the Logos, the nourishment of souls and of angels and of the rational beings in heaven; for this he himself taught, 24.573 saying, "I am the bread of life." For by partaking of the Word of God, who was in the beginning with God, all the rational nature of the saints is made alive. Which it seems to me the one reclining with Jesus, having been instructed from previous lessons, said: "Blessed is he who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" For it was not some random person who uttered this saying, but, as I think, one of the truly great ones and deemed worthy of honor by the Savior. Therefore, he also reclines with him, and wisely paid attention to his words, so as not to be ignorant of the kingdom of heaven, but also to know the bread of life which nourishes those worthy of the kingdom; and to have such boldness as to bring up doctrines in the presence of the Savior, and on account of him the Savior spoke the whole parable, teaching who this truly blessed one would be, who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. He says, therefore, through the parable that many were called to the great supper, and to the bread given in it, but not all attain the grace; for those of the called who are occupied with other things are deprived of it. For he teaches that the cares of this life distract and draw one away from the call; and that these are of different kinds. For either, being occupied with money and fields, they have preferred these to the call, so as to refuse the call on account of them, or they are worn down by the affairs of life, or entangled in the bond of marriage and children, or occupied with some other such concerns. But concerning these a decision has been issued, saying: "I say to you, that none of those men who were called and who excused themselves on account of worldly business will taste of my supper." And he says that others instead of them will enjoy the blessed supper, those not bound by any such things, certain poor and maimed. Such were the idolaters of old from the nations, their souls maimed by wicked demons; whom the host, having received according to the promise, after healing every disease and every infirmity of their souls, will then share his own table with them; so that they say: "You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies." And he will provide them with bread and spiritual food; from that point on sharing with them solid food, and he will also gladden them with spiritual wine; so that they might say: "And your cup which inebriates me, how excellent it is!" And he provides all these things, giving them the pledges of heavenly goods through the gifts in this present life. But it is also possible to say, according to another interpretation, that those who

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Φαρισαίου· τῶν γὰρ συνανακειμένων τις ἀκούσας τὸ, Μακάριος ἔσῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνταποδοῦναί σοι· ἀνταποδοθήσεται γάρ σοι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων· τῆς ἀναστάσεως καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς νοουμένης. Πρὸς οὖν τὸν εἰρηκότα, Μακάριος ὅστις φάγηται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τίς ἂν γένοιτο οὗτος ὁ μακάριος διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς ὁ Σωτὴρ παρίστησι λέγων, Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα· πάλιν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐν τούτοις ἄνθρωπον ὀνομάζων. Μέγα δὲ αὐτοῦ δεῖπνον νοήσεις, τέως μὲν ἀπιδὼν εἰς τὸ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης λογικὸν συμπόσιον τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ θείων τροφῶν τῶν πανταχοῦ γῆς διὰ τῶν θεοπνεύστων ἀναγνωσμάτων πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι παραδεδομένων· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ μετάβα τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐπὶ τὴν προσδοκωμένην τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν· καὶ εἰς ἔννοιαν ἐλθὲ τοῦ τότε μεγάλου ὡς ἀληθῶς δείπνου, ἐν ᾧ συναναπαύσονται ἀγγέλοις καὶ ταῖς κατ' οὐρανὸν θείαις δυνάμεσιν αἱ τῶν μακαρίων ψυχαὶ, ἐν ᾧ τραφήσονται τῷ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἄρτῳ· πληρουμένου κυρίως τότε καὶ θεοπρεπῶς τοῦ φάσκοντος λόγου· Ἄρτον ἀγγέλων ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος. Οὐ γὰρ πολυειδὴς ἔσται ἡ τότε τροφὴ, οὔτε ἡδύσματος οὔτε ὄψων δεομένη, ἄρτῳ δὲ μόνῳ ἀθανατοποιῷ καὶ ζωῆς αἰωνίου παρεκτικῷ τραφήσονται οἱ κατὰ τὸν ἐνεστῶτα βίον θρέψαντες, οὓς ὠνόμασεν ὁ Σωτήρ. Ὁ δὲ ἄρτος πάλιν εἴη ὁ ψυχῶν καὶ ἀγγέλων καὶ τῶν κατ' οὐρανὸν λογικῶν τρόφιμος λόγος· τοῦτο γοῦν αὐτὸς ἐδί 24.573 δαξεν εἰπών· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· τοῦ γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς Θεὸν Θεοῦ Λόγου μεταλήψει πᾶσα ἡ τῶν ἁγίων λογικὴ φύσις ζωοποιεῖται. Ἃ δὴ δοκεῖ μοι ἐκ προτέρων μαθημάτων πεπαιδευμένος ὁ συνανακείμενος τῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰρηκέναι· Μακάριος ὅστις φάγηται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ! Οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν τυχόντων τις ἦν ὁ ταύτην ἀφεὶς τὴν φωνὴν, ἀλλ' ὡς οἶμαι τῶν σφόδρα μεγάλων καὶ παρὰ τῷ Σωτῆρι τιμῆς ἠξιωμένων. ∆ιὸ καὶ συνανακλίνεται αὐτῷ, καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ λόγοις συνετῶς προσεῖχεν, ὡς καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν μὴ ἀγνοεῖν, γνωρίζειν δὲ καὶ τὸν ἄρτον τῆς ζωῆς τὸν θρεπτικὸν τῶν τῆς βασιλείας ἀξίων· τοσαύτην τε ἄγειν παῤῥησίαν, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀνακινεῖν δόγματα, καὶ δι' αὐτὸν τὴν πᾶσαν εἰρηκέναι παραβολὴν Σωτῆρα διδάσκοντα, τίς ἂν γένοιτο οὗτος ὁ ἀληθῶς μακάριος, ὃς φάγηται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πολλοὺς μὲν οὖν κεκλῆσθαι λέγει διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς ἐπὶ τὸ μέγα δεῖπνον, καὶ τὸν ἐν τούτῳ δεδωρημένον ἄρτον, μὴ μὴν τοὺς πάντας τῆς χάριτος ἐπιτυγχάνειν· ἀποστερεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτῆς τῶν κεκλημένων τοὺς περὶ ἕτερον ἠσχολημένους· περισπᾷν γὰρ καὶ ἀφέλκειν τῆς κλήσεως τὰς τοῦ βίου φροντίδας διδάσκει· ταύτας δ' εἶναι διαφόρους· ἢ γὰρ περὶ χρήματα καὶ ἀγροὺς ἀσχολούμενοι ταῦτα τῆς κλήσεως προτετιμήκασιν, ὡς παραιτήσασθαι διὰ ταῦτα τὴν κλῆσιν, ἢ περὶ τὰς τοῦ βίου πραγματείας κατατριβόμενοι, ἢ δεσμῷ γάμου καὶ παίδων ἐμπεπλεγμένοι, ἤ τισιν ἄλλοις τοιούτοις φροντίσμασιν ἐνησχολημένοι. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἀπόφασις ἐξενήνεκται λέγουσα· Λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν κεκλημένων, καὶ διὰ τὰς βιωτικὰς ἀσχολίας παραιτησαμένων γεύσεταί μου τοῦ δείπνου· ἑτέρους δὲ ἀντ' αὐτῶν ἀπολαύσεσθαι τοῦ μακαρίου δείπνου φησὶ, τοὺς μὴ τοιούτοις τισὶ προσδεδεμένους, πτωχούς τινας καὶ ἀναπήρους. Τοιοῦτοι δὲ ἦσαν πάλαι εἰδωλολατροῦντες οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ὑπὸ δαιμόνων πονηρῶν τὰς ψυχὰς λελωβημένοι· οὓς ἀκολούθως τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ προσδεξάμενος ὁ ἑστιάτωρ, πᾶσαν τὴν νόσον τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ μαλακίαν πᾶσαν ἰασάμενος, ἔπειτα τῆς οἰκείας αὐτοῖς μεταδώσει τραπέζης· ὥστ' εἰπεῖν αὐτούς· Ἡτοίμασας ἐνώπιόν μου τράπεζαν ἐξ ἐναντίας τῶν θλιβόντων με· καὶ ἄρτον αὐτοῖς παρέξει καὶ λογικὴν τροφήν· ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη στερεᾶς βρώσεως μεταδιδοὺς αὐτοῖς, καὶ οἴνῳ δὲ αὐτοὺς εὐφρανεῖ λογικῷ· ὥστ' ἂν εἰπεῖν· Καὶ τὸ ποτήριόν σου μεθύσκον με ὡσεὶ κράτιστον! Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα παρέχει, τοὺς ἀῤῥαβῶνας τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγαθῶν διὰ τῶν κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον χαρισμάτων αὐτοῖς δωρούμενος. ∆υνατὸν δὲ καὶ καθ' ἑτέραν ἐκδοχὴν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οἱ