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let the teacher both complete all things for the handing down of knowledge, but let that one not accept the things being said; I would say about such a person to the teacher: You have completed this one, and he was unwilling to accept instruction. When, therefore, all the things from providence come to us, so that we may be completed and perfected, but we do not accept the things of providence that draw us to perfection, it would be said by the one who understands to God: “Lord, you have completed them, and they were unwilling to accept instruction.” 6.3 “They have made their faces harder than a rock.” You will understand this also from more physical things. Of those who sin, some, hearing words of reproof for their sin, blush and are downcast and submit when the word of reproof touches them; but others are such that they are shameless, not feeling ashamed for the things for which they are reproved, for which they have sinned. You might say, therefore, about these who are not ashamed: “They have made their faces harder than a rock.” If you have understood it in the case of physical things, cross over for me in your reasoning to the soul, understanding “face,” about which it is said: “but then face to face,” and see a hard soul, such as was the hardened heart of Pharaoh, so that it stands resistant to the things proclaimed and, as it were, casts off the things said, not being formed according to what is proclaimed; for there you will find that “they have made their faces harder than a rock” is fitting. “And they were unwilling to turn back, and I said: Perhaps they are poor, because they were unwilling to know the way of the Lord and the judgment of God; I will go to the great and speak to them.” Having understood these things about those not willing to be instructed, not understanding under the scourges of God, he says, having understood their cause: their soul is poor. “And I said: Perhaps they are poor, because they were not able, because they did not know the way of the Lord and the judgment of God; I will go to the great and speak to them.” Those who are “great” in soul are spoken of with praise. For among the Greeks also “greatness” is continuously named, and the majesty of the rational soul; for whenever someone takes on great affairs and has worthy intentions and always considers what is necessary, how he might live according to right reason, wanting nothing lowly and small nor even to see it, such a person has greatness and majesty in his soul. These, therefore, since they were “poor,” the former ones whom the word censured, did not hear, says the prophet, for this reason they did not hear, because they are poor, “I will go to the great and speak to them,” and if it is blessed to speak “into the ears of those who hear,” it is blessed if one should happen upon a great and mighty listener. For this reason, as these things are said, knowing that it is not a loss for those who speak so much as for those who hear not to accept the things proclaimed, and it accuses their mind and intellect of poverty, let us beseech from God to receive, as the word increases in us, greatness and majesty in Christ Jesus, so that we may be able to hear the sacred and holy words, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 7.t On “and it shall be in those days, says the Lord your God, I will not strike you to completion” until “thus you shall serve strangers in a land not your own.” Homily 7. 7.1 God, who “judges by degrees,” “gives a place for repentance” to those being punished, and not at the same time as the sinning does he, in punishing, bring the “completion” of the punishment upon the one who has sinned; for this reason he punishes, “judging by degrees,” and the example of this is in Leviticus; for in the curses of those who transgress the law it is written after the first punishments: “And it shall be, if after these things you do not turn back, says the Lord, I also will add to you seven plagues,” and again it recounts another punishment: “And it shall be, if after these things you do not turn back, but you walk contrary to me, I also will walk with you in contrary wrath,” and you will find God measuring out punishments with restraint, since he wishes to lead the sinner to repentance, and not delivering them all at once. Such things, therefore, as far as the text is concerned, happened concerning the people,

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ὁ διδάσκαλος καὶ συντελείτω πάντα εἰς παράδοσιν ἐπιστήμης, ἐκεῖνος δὲ μὴ παραδεχέσθω τὰ λεγόμενα· εἴποιμ' ἂν περὶ τοῦ τοιούτου τῷ διδασκάλῳ· συνετέλεσας τόνδε καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν δέξασθαι παιδείαν. Ἐπὰν οὖν τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς προνοίας γίγνηται πάντα εἰς ἡμᾶς, ἵνα συντελεσθῶμεν καὶ τελειωθῶμεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ μὴ παρα δεχώμεθα τὰ τῆς προνοίας τῆς ἐπὶ τελειότητα ἡμᾶς ἑλκού σης, λεχθείη ἂν ὑπὸ τοῦ νοοῦντος τῷ θεῷ· «Κύριε, συνετέ λεσας αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν δέξασθαι παιδείαν.» 6.3 «Ἐστερέωσαν τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ πέτραν.» Νοήσεις καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῶν σωματικωτέρων. Τῶν ἁμαρτα νόντων οἱ μὲν ἀκούοντες λόγους ἐλεγκτικοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἐρυθριῶσιν καὶ καταδύονται καὶ ὑποπίπτου σιν ἁπτομένου τοῦ λόγου τοῦ ἐλεγκτικοῦ αὐτῶν· οἱ δὲ τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν, ὥστε αὐτοὺς ἀνερυθριάστους εἶναι, μὴ αἰδουμένους ἐφ' οἷς ἐλέγχονται, ἐφ' οἷς ἡμαρτήκασιν. Εἴποις ἂν οὖν περὶ τούτων οἳ οὐκ αἰδοῦνται· «Ἐστερέωσαν τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ πέτραν.» Εἰ νενόηκας ἐπὶ τῶν σωματικῶν αὐτό, μετάβα μοι τῷ λόγῳ ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν νοήσας πρόσωπον, περὶ οὗ λέγεται· «Τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον», καὶ ὅρα ψυχὴν στερεάν, ὁποία ἦν ἡ καρδία Φαραὼ ἐσκληρυμμένη, ὥστε αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀπαγ γελλομένοις ἑστάναι ἀντίτυπον καὶ ὥσπερ ἀποβάλλουσαν τὰ λεγόμενα μὴ μορφουμένην κατὰ τὰ ἀπαγγελλόμενα· ἐκεῖ γὰρ εὑρήσεις ὅτι ἁρμόζει τὸ «ἐστερέωσαν τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ πέτραν». «Καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ἐπιστραφῆναι, κἀγὼ εἶπα· ἴσως πτωχοί εἰσιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠθέλησαν γνῶναι ὁδὸν κυρίου καὶ κρίσιν θεοῦ· πορεύσομαι πρὸς τοὺς ἁδροὺς καὶ λαλήσω αὐτοῖς.» Ταῦτα νοήσας περὶ τῶν μὴ θελόντων παιδευ θῆναι, μὴ νοούντων ἐπὶ ταῖς μάστιξιν τοῦ θεοῦ, φησὶν νενοηκὼς τὸ τούτων αἴτιον· πτωχή ἐστιν αὐτῶν ἡ ψυχή. «Κἀγὼ εἶπα· ἴσως πτωχοί εἰσιν, διότι οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ὁδὸν κυρίου καὶ κρίσιν θεοῦ· πορεύσομαι πρὸς τοὺς ἁδροὺς καὶ λαλήσω αὐτοῖς.» Οἱ ἁδροὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐν ἐπαίνῳ λέγονται. Καὶ παρ' Ἕλλησι γὰρ τὸ ἁδρὸν συνεχῶς ὀνομάζεται καὶ τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς· ὅταν γάρ τις μεγάλοις ἐπιβάλλῃ πράγμασιν καὶ προθέσεις ἔχῃ ἀξιολόγους καὶ σκοπῇ ἀεὶ τὰ δέοντα, πῶς βιώσῃ κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον, μηδὲν ταπεινὸν καὶ μικρὸν θέλων μηδὲ ὁρᾶν, ὁ τοιοῦτος τὸ ἁδρὸν καὶ τὸ μεγαλεῖον ἔχει ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ. Οὗτοι οὖν, ἐπεὶ ἦσαν «πτωχοί», οἱ πρότεροι οὓς ἔψεξεν ὁ λόγος, οὐκ ἤκουσαν, φησὶν ὁ προφήτης, διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἤκουσαν, ἐπεὶ πτωχοί εἰσιν, «πορεύσομαι πρὸς τοὺς ἁδροὺς καὶ λαλήσω αὐτοῖς», καὶ εἰ ἔστιν μακάριον εἶναι ἐπὶ τῷ λέγειν «εἰς ὦτα ἀκουόντων», μακάριόν ἐστιν ἐάνπερ τύχῃ τις ἁδροῦ καὶ μεγάλου ἀκροατοῦ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τούτων οὕτως λεγομένων, εἰδότες ὅτι οὐ ζημία τοῖς λέγουσιν ὅσον τοῖς ἀκούουσίν ἐστιν τὸ μὴ παρα δέχεσθαι τὰ ἀπαγγελλόμενα, καὶ κατηγορεῖ πτωχείας τοῦ νοῦ αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς διανοίας, παρακαλέσωμεν ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ λαβεῖν αὔξοντος τοῦ λόγου ἐν ἡμῖν ἁδρότητα καὶ μεγαλειό τητα ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ἵνα ἀκοῦσαι τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ ἁγίων λόγων δυνηθῶμεν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 7.t Εἰς τὸ «καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου, οὐ μὴ πατάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς συντέλειαν» μέχρι τοῦ «οὕτως δουλεύσετε ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν γῇ οὐχ ὑμῶν». Ὁμιλία ζʹ. 7.1 Ὁ «κρίνων κατὰ βραχὺ» θεὸς τοὺς κολαζομένους «δίδωσι τόπον μετανοίας», καὶ οὐχ ἅμα τῷ ἁμαρτῆσαι κολά ζων φέρει τὴν «συντέλειαν» τῆς κολάσεως ἐπὶ τὸν ἡμαρτη κότα· διὰ τοῦτο «κατὰ βραχὺ κρίνων» κολάζει, καὶ τούτου τὸ παράδειγμα ἐν τῷ Λευιτικῷ ἐστιν· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς τῶν παραβαινόντων τὸν νόμον ἀραῖς ἀναγέγραπται μετὰ τὰς κολάσεις τὰς προτέρας· «Καὶ ἔσται, ἐὰν μετὰ ταῦτα μὴ ἐπιστραφῆτε, λέγει κύριος, προσθήσω ὑμῖν κἀγὼ πληγὰς ἑπτά», καὶ πάλιν διηγεῖται ἄλλην κόλασιν· «Καὶ ἔσται, ἐὰν μετὰ ταῦτα μὴ ἐπιστραφῆτε, ἀλλὰ πορεύσησθε πρός με πλάγιοι, κἀγὼ πορεύσομαι μεθ' ὑμῶν θυμῷ πλαγίῳ», καὶ εὑρήσεις τὸν θεὸν ἐπιμετροῦντα κολάσεις μετὰ φειδοῦς, ἐπεὶ βούλεται εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν ἀγαγεῖν τὸν ἡμαρτηκότα, καὶ οὐκ ἀθρόως πάσας ἀποδιδόντα. Τοιαῦτα οὖν ὅσον ἐπὶ τῷ ῥητῷ ἐγεγόνει περὶ τὸν λαόν,