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more sordid, nothing more unclean. Wherefore the Prophet, interpreting its nature, cried out: My wounds have stunk and are corrupt. And if you wish to learn the foul smell of sin, think on it after it has been committed, when you are rid of desire, when the fire no longer troubles you, and then you will see what sin is. Consider anger, when you are in a state of calm; consider greed, when you are outside the passion. Nothing is more shameful, nothing more defiling than robbery and greed. We say these things continually, not wishing to annoy you, but to gain something great and wonderful. For he who has not succeeded the first time, perhaps will do it upon hearing a second time; and he who has failed a second time will be corrected a third time. May it be that all of us, being delivered from all evil things, may have the sweet savor of Christ, for to Him is the glory, with the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

59.291 HOMILY 53. These words Jesus spoke in the trea

sury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

1. O, the foolishness of the Jews! Seeking Him before the Passover, then having Him in their midst, and many times attempting to seize Him, both by themselves and through others, and not being able, not even so were they astonished at His power, but they set upon their wickedness and did not desist. For that they were always attempting it, he says: These words He spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple, and no one laid hands on Him. He spoke in the temple, and in the capacity of a teacher, which was more than enough to stir them up; and He spoke these things, at which they were stung and made accusations, because He makes Himself equal to the Father. For the saying, The testimony of two men is true, shows this. But nevertheless, These things, he says, He spoke in the temple, and in the capacity of a teacher, and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come; that is, that it was not yet the opportune time at which He willed to be crucified. So that then also, it was not the work of their power, but of His own dispensation. For they had long wished it, but were not able 59.292; therefore, neither would they have been able then, unless He Himself had permitted it. Then Jesus said to them again: I am going away, and you will seek Me. Why does He say this continually? To shake their souls and frighten them. For see how much fear this produced. For desiring to do away with Him so that they might be rid of Him, they seek where He is going; so greatly were they impressed by the matter. And He wished to teach them another thing also, that the matter was not one of their violence, but that He had prefigured it from above, and had already foreshadowed the resurrection through these words. So they said, Will He kill Himself? What then says Christ? Refuting their suspicion, and showing that the act is a sin, He says: You are from below. What He says, is something like this: It is no wonder that you think such things, being carnal men, and reasoning nothing spiritual; but I will not do any such thing. For I am from above; you are of this world. And again here He means worldly and carnal thoughts; whence it is clear that the phrase, I am not of this world, does not mean not having taken on flesh, but being far from their wickedness. For 59.293 He also says the disciples are not of the world; and yet they had flesh. Just as Paul, therefore, saying, You are not in the flesh, does not say they are incorporeal; so by saying the disciples are not of the world, He testifies to nothing other than their philosophy. I said therefore to you, that if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. For if He came for this reason, that He might take away the sin of the world, and it is not possible to put it off in any other way except through the font, it is necessary for the one who does not believe to have the

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ῥυπαρώτερον, οὐδὲν ἀκαθαρτότερον. ∆ιὸ τὴν φύσιν αὐτῆς ὁ Προφήτης ἑρμηνεύων ἐβόα· Προσώζεσαν καὶ ἐσάπησαν οἱ μώλωπές μου. Καὶ εἰ βούλει μαθεῖν τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὸ δυσῶδες, ἐννόησον αὐτὴν μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι, ὅταν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἀπαλλαγῇς, ὅταν μὴ ἔτι ἐνοχλῇ τὸ πῦρ, καὶ τότε ὄψει τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἁμαρτία. Ἐννόησον τὸν θυμὸν, ὅταν ἐν γαλήνῃ ᾖς· ἐννόησον τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ὅταν ἔξω γένῃ τοῦ πάθους. Οὐδὲν αἰσχρότερον, οὐδὲν μιαρώτερον ἁρπαγῆς καὶ πλεονεξίας. Ταῦτα συνεχῶς λέγομεν, οὐκ ἐνοχλεῖν ὑμῖν βουλόμενοι, ἀλλὰ κερδαναί τι μέγα καὶ θαυμαστόν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἅπαξ μὴ κατορθώσας, ἴσως ἐκ τοῦ δεύτερον ἀκοῦσαι ποιήσει τοῦτο· καὶ ὁ δεύτερον παραδραμὼν, ἐκ τοῦ τρίτου διορθώσεται. Γένοιτο δὲ πάντας ἡμᾶς πάντων ἀπαλλαγέντας τῶν πονηρῶν, τὴν εὐωδίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔχειν, ὅτι αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα, σὺν τῷ Πατρὶ, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

59.291 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΝΓʹ. Ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ἐλάλησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῷ γα

ζοφυλακίῳ, διδάσκων ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ· καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπίασεν αὐτόν· οὔπω γὰρ ἐληλύθει ἡ ὥρα αὐ τοῦ.

αʹ. Ὢ τῆς ἀνοίας τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς! Πρὸ τοῦ Πάσχα ζητοῦντες αὐτὸν, εἶτα ἐν

μέσῳ λαβόντες, καὶ πολλάκις ἐπιχειρήσαντες κατασχεῖν, καὶ δι' ἑαυτῶν, καὶ δι' ἑτέρων, καὶ οὐ δυνηθέντες, οὔτε οὕτως αὐτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν ἐξεπλάγησαν, ἀλλ' ἐπετίθεντο τῇ κακίᾳ, καὶ οὐκ ἀφίσταντο. Ὅτι γὰρ ἐπεχείρουν ἀεὶ, φησί· Ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν ἐν τῷ γαζοφυλακίῳ, διδάσκων ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπίασεν αὐτόν. Ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐλάλει, καὶ ἐν τάξει διδασκάλου, ὃ μᾶλλον ἱκανὸν ἦν αὐτοὺς διεγεῖραι· καὶ ταῦτα ἐλάλει, ἐφ' οἷς ἐδάκνοντο καὶ ἐνεκάλουν, ὅτι ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιεῖ τῷ Πατρί. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ ∆ύο ἀνθρώπων ἡ μαρτυρία ἀληθής ἐστι, τοῦτο ἐμφαίνει. Ἀλλ' ὅμως, Ταῦτα, φησὶν, ἐλάλει ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἐν τάξει διδασκάλου, καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἐπίασεν, ὅτι οὔπω ἐληλύθει ἡ ὥρα αὐτοῦ· τουτέστιν, ὅτι οὐδέπω καιρὸς ἦν ἐπιτήδειος καθ' ὃν ἠθέλησε σταυρωθῆναι. Ὥστε καὶ τότε οὐ τῆς ἐκείνων δυνάμεως γέγονεν ἔργον, ἀλλὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας τῆς αὐτοῦ. Αὐτοὶ γὰρ καὶ πάλαι ἐβούλοντο, οὐκ ἴσχυον 59.292 δέ· οὐ τοίνυν οὐδὲ τότε ἴσχυσαν ἂν, εἰ μὴ αὐτὸς συνεχώρησεν. Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς πάλιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγὼ ὑπάγω, καὶ ζητήσετέ με. Τί δήποτε λέγει τοῦτο συνεχῶς; Κατασείων αὐτῶν τὰς ψυχὰς καὶ φοβῶν. Ὅρα γὰρ ὅσον τοῦτο ἐνεποίει τὸν φόβον. Καὶ γὰρ ἀνελεῖν αὐτὸν βουλόμενοι ἵνα ἀπαλλαγῶσι, ζητοῦσιν ὅπου ὑπάγει· οὕτω μεγάλα ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος ἐφαντάζοντο. Καὶ ἕτερον δὲ διδάξαι αὐτοὺς ἐβούλετο, ὅτι οὐ τῆς ἐκείνων βίας τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ ἄνωθεν αὐτὸ προδιετύπωσε, καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἤδη διὰ τούτων προέγραψε τῶν λόγων. Ἔλεγον οὖν· Μήτι ἀποκτενεῖ ἑαυτόν; Τί οὖν ὁ Χριστός; Ἀναιρῶν αὐτῶν τὴν ὑποψίαν, καὶ δεικνὺς ὅτι τὸ πρᾶγμα ἁμάρτημά ἐστι, φησί· Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τῶν κάτω ἐστέ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Οὐδὲν θαυμαστὸν ὑμᾶς τοιαῦτα ἐννοεῖν, ἀνθρώπους σαρκικοὺς, καὶ οὐδὲν λογιζομένους πνευματικόν· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγὼ πράξω τι τοιοῦτον. Ἄνωθεν γάρ εἰμι· ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐστέ. Καὶ πάλιν ἐνταῦθα τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐννοίας καὶ σαρκικάς φησιν· ὅθεν δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ τὸ, Ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, οὐ τὸ σάρκα μὴ ἀνειληφέναι ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ τὸ πόῤῥω εἶναι τῆς ἐκείνων πονηρίας. Καὶ γὰρ 59.293 τοὺς μαθητάς φησι μὴ εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου· ἀλλ' ὅμως σάρκα εἶχον ἐκεῖνοι. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ Παῦλος λέγων, Οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σαρκὶ, οὐχὶ ἀσωμάτους αὐτοὺς εἶναί φησιν· οὕτω λέγων τοὺς μαθητὰς οὐκ εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου οὐδὲν ἕτερον, ἢ φιλοσοφίαν, αὐτοῖς μαρτυρεῖ. Εἶπον οὖν ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε. Εἰ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθεν, ἵνα ἄρῃ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ ἑτέρως αὐτὴν ἀποδύσασθαι οὐκ ἔνι, εἰ μὴ διὰ λουτροῦ, ἀνάγκη τὸν μὴ πιστεύοντα ἔχειν τὸν