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the joy, and the glorying in you, and to receive a reward for these things; but the entire reward you will reap, because, though before this you were so madly riveted to the theater, through the fear of God and our exhortation, you have torn yourselves away from that sickness, and have broken the bonds, and have run to God. And you will not only receive the reward there, but here too you will reap a pure pleasure. For such is virtue; along with the crowns there, it also makes our life sweet here. Let us therefore obey what has been said, so that we may obtain the good things both here and there, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

59.321 HOMILY 59. And they cast him out; and Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I might

believe in Him?" and the rest. 1. Those who suffer some terrible thing and are insulted for the sake of the truth and their confession of Christ,

these are especially the ones who are honored. For just as he who loses his possessions for His sake is the one who truly finds them; and he who hates his own soul is the one who truly loves it; so too he who is insulted is the one who is truly honored; which is what happened in the case of the blind man. The Jews therefore cast him out of the temple, and the Lord of the temple found him. He was set free from the pestilent council, and he came upon the saving fountain; he was dishonored by those who dishonored Christ, and was honored by the Lord of angels. Such are the prizes of truth. Thus we too, if we give up our possessions here, we find confidence there; if we give to the afflicted here, we shall rest in the heavens; if we are insulted for God's sake, we are honored both here and there. And when they cast him out of the temple, Jesus found him. The evangelist shows that He came for this purpose, so that He might meet him. And see with what He repays him: with the chief of good things. For He made Himself known to him who had not known Him before, and enrolled him in the company of His own 59.322 disciples. But you, consider how the evangelist relates the details. For when He said, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" he says, "Lord, who is He?" For he did not yet know Him, although he had been healed. For he was blind before he came to his benefactor, and after the healing he was dragged about by those dogs. Therefore, just as a judge of the games receives an athlete who has toiled much and been crowned. And what does He say? "Do you believe in the Son of God?" What is this? After so much contradiction against the Jews, after so many words, He asks, "Do you believe?" not being ignorant, but wishing to make Himself known, and showing that He highly values his faith. "So great a multitude has insulted Me," He says, "but I take no account of them; one thing matters to me, that you believe." For better is one who does the will of the Lord than ten thousand transgressors. "Do you believe in the Son of God?" As if He had been present and approved what was said, so He asks him; and first He had brought him to a longing for Himself. For He did not say, "Believe at once," but by way of a question. What then did he say? "And who is He, Lord, that I might believe in Him?" The saying of a soul that longs and seeks earnestly. He does not know the one about whom he had said so much, so that you may learn his love of truth. For he had not yet seen Him. He says to him, "You have both seen Him, and it is He who is speaking with you." He did not say, "I am He;" 59.323 but still in a moderate and restrained way: "You have both seen Him." This was still unclear; wherefore He added what was more plain: "He who is speaking with you,"

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τὴν εὐφροσύνην, καὶ τὸ σεμνύνεσθαι ἐφ' ὑμῖν, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τούτοις λαβεῖν ἀμοιβήν· τὸν δὲ μισθὸν ἅπαντα ὑμεῖς καρπώσεσθε, ὅτι μανικῶς οὕτω προσηλωμένοι τῇ ὀρχήστρᾳ πρὸ τούτου, διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν παράκλησιν, ἀπεῤῥήξατε τοῦ νοσήματος ἑαυτοὺς ἐκείνου, καὶ τὰ δεσμὰ διελύσατε, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐδράμετε. Οὐκ ἐκεῖ δὲ μόνον λήψεσθε τὸν μισθὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνταῦθα εἰλικρινῆ καρπώσεσθε τὴν ἡδονήν. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἡ ἀρετή· μετὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ στεφάνων καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡδὺν καθίστησιν ἡμῖν τὸν βίον. Πειθώμεθα τοίνυν τοῖς εἰρημένοις, ἵνα καὶ τῶν ἐνταῦθα καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖσε ἐπιτύχωμεν ἀγαθῶν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

59.321 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΝΘʹ. Καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω· καὶ ἤκουσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὅτι ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω· καὶ εὑρὼν αὐτὸν, εἶ πεν αὐτῷ· «Σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ;» Ἀπεκρίθη ἐκεῖνος καὶ εἶπε· «Καὶ τίς ἐστι, Κύριε, ἵνα

πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν;» καὶ τὰ λοιπά. αʹ. Οἱ διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ὁμολογίαν πάσχοντές τι δεινὸν

καὶ ὑβριζόμενοι, οὗτοι μάλιστά εἰσιν οἱ τιμώμενοι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ χρήματα ἀπολλὺς δι' αὐτὸν, οὗτος μάλιστά ἐστιν ὁ εὑρίσκων· καὶ ὁ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ μισῶν, αὐτὸς μάλιστά ἐστιν ὁ φιλῶν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ ὑβριζόμενος, οὗτος μάλιστά ἐστιν ὁ τιμώμενος· ὅπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τυφλοῦ γεγένηται. Ἐξέβαλον οὖν αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν ὁ ∆εσπότης τοῦ ἱεροῦ. Ἀπηλλάγη τοῦ συνεδρίου τοῦ λοιμικοῦ, καὶ περιέτυχε τῇ σωτηρίῳ πηγῇ· ἠτιμάσθη παρὰ τῶν τὸν Χριστὸν ἀτιμασάντων, καὶ ἐτιμήθη παρὰ τοῦ τῶν ἀγγέλων ∆εσπότου. Τοιαῦτα τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἔπαθλα. Οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἂν ἐνταῦθα ἀφῶμεν τὰ χρήματα, εὑρίσκομεν ἐκεῖ παῤῥησίαν· ἂν ἐνταῦθα δῶμεν τοῖς θλιβομένοις, ἀναπαυσόμεθα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· ἂν ὑβρισθῶμεν διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, τιμώμεθα καὶ ἐνταῦθα, καὶ ἐκεῖ. Ὡς δὲ ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ, εὗρεν αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς. ∆είκνυσιν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς ὅτι ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἦλθεν, ὥστε αὐτῷ συντυχεῖν. Καὶ ὅρα τίσιν αὐτὸν ἀμείβεται· τῷ κεφαλαίῳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν. Καὶ γὰρ ἑαυτὸν ἐγνώρισεν αὐτῷ πρότερον ἀγνοοῦντι, καὶ εἰς τὸν τῶν οἰκείων 59.322 μαθητῶν ἐγκατέλεξε χορόν. Σὺ δὲ σκόπει, πῶς τὴν ἀκρίβειαν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς ἐξηγεῖται. Εἰπόντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ, Σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; λέγει· Κύριε, καὶ τίς ἐστιν; Οὐδέπω γὰρ αὐτὸν ᾔδει, καίτοι τεθεραπευμένος. Τυφλὸς γὰρ ἦν, πρὶν ἢ πρὸς τὸν εὐεργέτην ἐλθεῖν, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἴασιν ὑπὸ τῶν κυνῶν ἐκείνων περιείλκετο. Καθάπερ οὖν τις ἀγωνοθέτης, ἀθλητὴν πολλὰ καμόντα καὶ στεφανωθέντα δέχεται. Καὶ τί φησιν, Πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Τί τοῦτο; Μετὰ τοσαύτην ἀντίῤῥησιν τὴν πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, μετὰ τοσαῦτα ῥήματα, ἐρωτᾷ, Εἰ πιστεύεις; οὐκ ἀγνοῶν, ἀλλὰ βουλόμενος ἑαυτὸν γνωρίσαι, καὶ δεικνὺς, ὅτι πολλοῦ τιμᾶται τὴν αὐτοῦ πίστιν. Ὕβρισέ με δῆμος τοσοῦτος, φησὶν, ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς ἐμοὶ λόγος ἐκείνων· ἑνός μοι μέλει, τοῦ σὲ πιστεῦσαι. Κρεῖττον γὰρ εἷς ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Κυρίου, ἢ μυρίοι παράνομοι. Σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ὡς καὶ παρὼν, καὶ ἀποδεχόμενος τὰ εἰρημένα, οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐρωτᾷ· καὶ πρότερον αὐτὸν εἰς πόθον ἑαυτοῦ κατέστησεν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, Εὐθέως πίστευσον, ἀλλὰ κατ' ἐρώτησιν. Τί οὖν ἐκεῖνος; Καὶ τίς ἐστι, Κύριε, ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν; Ποθούσης καὶ σφόδρα ἐπιζητούσης ψυχῆς τὸ ῥήμα. Ὑπὲρ οὗ τοσαῦτα διελέχθη, τοῦτον ἀγνοεῖ, ἵνα μάθῃς αὐτοῦ τὸ φιλάληθες. Οὔπω γὰρ ἦν αὐτὸν ἑωρακώς. Λέγει αὐτῷ· Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτὸν, καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ, ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. Οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἐγώ εἰμι· 59.323 ἀλλὰ μέσος ἔτι καὶ ὑπεσταλμένος· Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτόν. Τοῦτο ἔτι ἄδηλον ἦν· διὸ τὸ σαφέστερον ἐπήγαγεν· Ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ,