John Chrysostom, On "I saw the Lord"

Listen: "Groaning and trembling," he says, "you shall be on the earth." And Cain went about conversing with all, in silence letting out a voice, teaching by his speechlessness. His tongue was silent and his limbs cried out, and he declared to all why he groans, why he trembles: I killed a brother, I committed murder. Moses after this spoke through writings; that one went about speaking to all through his deeds: "You shall not kill." Have you seen a mouth being silent and a deed crying out? Have you seen a living law being carried about? Have you seen a pillar walking about? Have you seen a punishment that is the abolition of honor? Have you seen a chastisement becoming the subject of instruction? Have you seen a soul sinning and the flesh being punished? And very rightly so. So indeed also in the case of John, the soul sinned and the tongue was bound; for since the instrument of the tongue had become useless, that one who begot the voice, Zechariah, was punished. So indeed also Uzziah, having sinned, was made leprous on the forehead, that he might be instructed. And so the king went out, having become an example to all, and the temple was cleansed and he was cast out, though no one pushed him, and wishing to take on the priesthood, he lost even what he had. And he went out from the temple. In the old days, it was the law for every leper to be cast out of the city; but now it is no longer so. Why? Because God gave laws as to children; then it was leprosy of the body, but now the leprosy of the soul is sought. The king, therefore, went out in leprosy and they did not cast him out of the city, perhaps respecting his diadem and his kingship, but he sat down, transgressing again. What then did God do? Being angry with the Jews, he stopped the prophecy. All these things, therefore, are because of the prophet's word, that I may pay the debt. But let us return to the subject at hand. The king, having been made leprous, went out from the temple. Therefore, while it was necessary to cast him out of the city according to custom, as one unclean, the people tolerated him sitting within and did nothing of what they ought to have done, neither small nor great, by way of frank speech. Since, therefore, they let him be, God turns away from them and ceases the grace of prophecy; and very rightly so. For because they set aside his law and shrank from casting out the unclean one, he stops the prophetic gift. "And there was no precious word then, and there was no prophesying utterance," that is, God did not speak to them through prophets; for the Spirit did not inspire them through whom they spoke, since they had the unclean one; and on the unclean the grace of the Spirit was not at work. For this reason he was not present, he did not appear to the prophets, but is silent and hides. But that what is said may become clear, I will make it plain by an example. Just as a man who has affection for someone who has grieved him intensely over some matter says to him: I will no longer see you, I will not speak to you, so also did God do then. For since they provoked him to anger by not casting out Uzziah: No longer, he says, do I speak to your prophets, no longer do I send the grace of the Spirit. See a punishment full of gentleness. For he did not send thunderbolts, nor did he shake the city from its foundations; but what? "You do not want me to take vengeance?" he says, "I will not converse with you." For was I not able to cast him out? But I wanted to leave what remained to you. You do not want to? Neither do I converse with you, nor do I move the soul of the prophets. The grace of the Spirit is not at work. Therefore from that time there was silence, an enmity between God and men. When, therefore, that one died after these things, the cause of the curses was also resolved. Since, therefore, the prophet had for a long time not prophesied, but when that one died the anger was resolved and the prophecy returned. Therefore, the prophet necessarily marks the time and says: "And it came to pass in the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne." When he died, then I saw the Lord. For before, they did not see God, who was angry with us. For the death of the unclean one came and resolved the anger. For this reason, though everywhere speaking of the life of the kings, here

Ἄκουε· "Στένων καὶ τρέμων, φησίν, ἔσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς." Καὶ περιῄει ὁ Κάϊν πᾶσι διαλεγόμενος, σιγῇ φωνὴν ἀφιείς, ἀφωνίᾳ παιδεύων. Ἡ γλῶσσα ἐσίγα καὶ τὰ μέλη ἐβόα, καὶ πᾶσι διελέγετο διὰ τί στένει, διὰ τί τρέμει· Ἀδελφὸν ἀπέκτεινα, φόνον εἰργασάμην. Ὁ Μωϋσῆς μετὰ ταῦτα ἔλεγε διὰ γραμμάτων, ἐκεῖνος διὰ πραγμάτων περιῄει πᾶσι λέγων· "Οὐ φονεύσεις." Εἶδες στόμα σιγῶν καὶ πρᾶγμα βοῶν; εἶδες νόμον ἔμψυχον περιφερόμενον; εἶδες στήλην περιερχομένην; εἶδες τιμωρίαν τιμήσεως ἀναίρεσιν; εἶδες κόλασιν παιδεύσεως ὑπόθεσιν γινομένην; εἶδες ψυχὴν ἁμαρτοῦσαν καὶ τὴν σάρκα κολαζομένην; Καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ Ἰωάννην, ἡ ψυχὴ ἥμαρτε καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα ἐδέθη· τοῦ γὰρ ὀργάνου τῆς γλώττης ἀχρήστου λοιπὸν γεγονότος, ἐκεῖνος ὁ τὴν φωνὴν γεννήσας, Ζαχαρίας, ἐτιμωρεῖτο. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ Ὀζίας ἐλεπροῦτο τὸ μέτωπον ἁμαρτών, ἵνα ἐκεῖνος παιδευθῇ. Καὶ ἐξῄει λοιπὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς πᾶσιν ὑπόδειγμα γενόμενος καὶ ἐκαθάρθη τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ ἐξεβάλλετο, οὐδενὸς ὠθοῦντος, καὶ θέλων τὴν ἱερωσύνην προσλαβεῖν καὶ ὃ εἶχεν ἀπώλεσεν. Καὶ ἐξῄει ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ. Τὸ μὲν παλαιὸν πάντα λεπρὸν ἦν νόμος ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐκβάλλεσθαι· νυνὶ δὲ οὐκέτι. ∆ιὰ τί; Ἐπειδὴ ὡς παιδίοις ἐνομοθέτει ὁ Θεός, τότε λέπρα ἦν τοῦ σώματος, νυνὶ δὲ ἡ λέπρα τῆς ψυχῆς ζητεῖται. Ἐξῄει τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν λεπρότητι καὶ οὐκ ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, τάχα αἰδούμενοι τὸ διάδημα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν, ἀλλ' ἐκάθητο πάλιν παρανομῶν. Τί οὖν ὁ Θεός; Ὀργιζόμενος τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἔστησε τὴν προφητείαν. Ταῦτα οὖν πάντα διὰ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ προφήτου, ἵνα καταβάλω τὸ χρέος. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθω μεν. Ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ὁ βασιλεὺς λεπρωθείς. ∆έον οὖν καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως αὐτὸν ἐκβαλεῖν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος, ὡς ἀκάθαρτον, ὁ δῆμος ἔνδον αὐτοῦ καθεζομένου ἀνέχεται καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν ὀφειλόντων, οὐ μικρὸν οὐ μέγα εἰς λόγον παρρησίας ποιεῖ. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀφῆκαν αὐτόν, ἀποστρέφεται αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ τὴν χάριν παύει τῆς προφητείας· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Ἀνθ' ὧν γὰρ τὸν αὐτοῦ νόμον ἠθέτησαν καὶ ἐκβαλεῖν ἀκάθαρτον ὑπεστάλησαν, τὸ προφητικὸν ἵστησι χάρισμα. "Καὶ οὐκ ἦν ῥῆμα τίμιον τότε, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ῥῆσις προφητεύουσα", τουτέστιν οὐ διελέγετο αὐτοῖς διὰ προφητῶν ὁ Θεός· οὐ γὰρ ἐνέπνει τὸ Πνεῦμα αὐτοῖς δι' οὗ ἐφθέγγοντο, ἐπεὶ τὸν ἀκάθαρτον εἶχον· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀκαθάρτων οὐκ ἐνήργει τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ χάρις. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐ παρῆν, οὐκ ἐφαίνετο τοῖς προφήταις, ἀλλὰ σιγᾷ καὶ κρύπτει. Ἵνα δὲ τὸ λεγόμενον σαφὲς γένηται, ἐπὶ ὑποδείγματος ποιήσω αὐτὸ φανερόν. Ὥσπερ ἄνθρωπος πρός τινα διακείμενος τῇ στοργῇ, μανικῶς λυπήσαντα αὐτὸν ἐπί τι πρᾶγμα, πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγει· Οὐκέτι ὄψομαί σοι, οὐ λαλῶ σοι, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τότε ἐποίησεν. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ αὐτὸν παρώργισαν, τὸν Ὀζίαν μὴ ἐκβαλόντες· Οὐκέτι, φησί, λαλῶ τοῖς προφήταις ὑμῶν, οὐκέτι πέμπω Πνεύματος χάριν. Ὅρα κόλασιν ἡμερότητος γέμουσαν. Οὐ γὰρ κεραυνοὺς ἀφῆκεν, οὐδὲ ἐκ θεμελίων κατέσεισεν τὴν πόλιν· ἀλλὰ τί; Οὐ θέλετέ με ἐκδικῆσαι; φησίν, οὐχ ὁμιλῶ ὑμῖν. Μὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἠδυνάμην αὐτὸν ἐκβαλεῖν; Ἀλλ' ἐβουλήθην τὸ λειπόμενον ὑμῖν καταλιπεῖν. Οὐ βούλεσθε; Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ ὁμιλῶ ὑμῖν, οὐδὲ κινῶ τῶν προφητῶν τὴν ψυχήν. Οὐκ ἐνεργεῖ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ χάρις. Οὐκοῦν ἐξ ἐκείνου σιγὴ ἦν, ἔχθρα Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐκεῖνος μετὰ ταῦτα ἀπέθανε, καὶ ἐλύθη τῶν καταρῶν ἡ ὑπόθεσις. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν χρόνον πολὺν εἶχεν ὁ προφήτης μὴ προφητεύσας, ἐκείνου δὲ τελευτήσαντος ἐλύθη ἡ ὀργὴ καὶ ἡ προφητεία ἐπανῆλθεν. Λοιπὸν ἀναγκαίως ὁ προφήτης ἐπισημαίνεται τὸν καιρὸν καὶ λέγει· "Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ, οὗ ἀπέθανεν Ὀζίας ὁ βασιλεύς, εἶδον τὸν Κύριον καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπῃρμένου." Ὅτε ἀπέθανεν, τότε εἶδον τὸν Κύριον. Πρὶν γὰρ τὸν Θεὸν οὐχ ἑώρων ὀργιζόμενον ἡμῖν. Ἦλθε γὰρ ὁ θάνατος τοῦ ἀκαθάρτου καὶ ἔλυσεν τὴν ὀργήν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, πανταχοῦ τῶν βασιλέων τὴν ζωὴν λέγων, ἐνταῦθα