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the second things overtake, and again others follow, and while these have not yet ceased others rise to a head. But do you want to see the souls of the railers and the quick-tempered? And what is worse than this torment? what of the wounds which they have within? what of the furnace perpetually burning, and of the flame that is never quenched? But what of those who are lovers of their bodies and are devoted to the present life? And what is more grievous than this slavery? They live the life of Cain, dwelling with perpetual trembling and fear, upon the death of each person, or rather of those related to them, lamenting their own end. And what is more turbulent and more frantic than the puffed up? For, He says, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For forbearance is the mother of all good things. Do not, therefore, be afraid, nor leap away from the yoke that lightens you of all these things, but take it upon you with all eagerness, and then you will know its pleasure clearly. For it does not chafe your neck, but is laid upon you for the sake of good order only, and to persuade you to walk in rhythm, and to lead you to the royal road, and to deliver you from the precipices on either side, and to make you walk the narrow way with ease. Since, then, its good things are so many, so great its security, so great its gladness, let us with all our soul, with all our diligence, draw this yoke; that both here we may find rest for our souls, and may obtain the good things to come, by the grace and love for man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

57.433 HOMILY 39. At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through

the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat.

1. But Luke says, on the second-first sabbath. And what is on

the second-first? When the rest is twofold, both that of the principal sabbath, and of another feast succeeding it. For they call every rest a sabbath. And why did He who foreknows all things lead them there, unless He wanted the sabbath to be broken? He did want to, but not simply; therefore He never breaks it without cause, but giving reasonable excuses, that He might both give the law rest, and not offend them. But there are times when He also breaks it on His own initiative, not under constraint; as when He anoints the eyes of the blind man with clay; as when He says, My Father is working until now, and I am working. And He does these things, by this glorifying His own Father, by that comforting the weakness of the Jews. Which indeed He also establishes here, bringing forward the necessity of nature; and yet for acknowledged sins there could never be an apology. For neither could the murderer put forward his anger, nor the adulterer his desire, or rather 57.434 say any other cause at all; but here by mentioning their hunger, He freed them from all accusation. But marvel, I pray you, at the disciples, who were so constrained and took no account of bodily things, but made the table of the flesh a secondary matter, and fought with continual hunger, and not even so did they fall away. For if their hunger had not constrained them exceedingly, they would not even have done this. What then of the Pharisees? When they saw it, it says, they said to Him, Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath. Here, however, not very vehemently (although this was a consequence); but still they are not greatly provoked, but simply accuse them. But when He stretched forth the withered hand and restored it, then they were so infuriated, as even to take counsel about slaughtering and destroying Him. For where nothing great and noble happens,

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καταλαμβάνει τὰ δεύτερα, καὶ πάλιν ἕτερα ἔπεισι, καὶ τούτων οὐδέπω παυομένων ἕτερα κορυφοῦται. Ἀλλὰ τῶν λοιδόρων βούλει καὶ τῶν ἀκροχόλων τὰς ψυχὰς ἰδεῖν; Καὶ τί τῆς βασάνου ταύτης χεῖρον; τί τῶν τραυμάτων ὧν ἔχουσιν ἔνδον; τί τῆς καμίνου τῆς διηνεκῶς καιομένης, καὶ τῆς φλογὸς τῆς μηδέποτε σβεννυμένης; Ἀλλὰ τῶν φιλοσωμάτων καὶ τῇ παρούσῃ προστετηκότων ζωῇ; Καὶ τί ταύτης τῆς δουλείας χαλεπώτερον; Τὸν τοῦ Κάϊν βίον ζῶσι, τρόμῳ διηνεκεῖ συνόντες καὶ φόβῳ, καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν τελευτώντων, μᾶλλον τῶν ἐκείνοις προσηκόντων, τὴν οἰκείαν θρηνοῦντες τελευτήν. Τί δὲ τῶν πεφυσιωμένων ταραχωδέστερόν τε καὶ μανικώτερον; Μάθετε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν. Ἁπάντων γὰρ ἡ ἀνεξικακία μήτηρ τῶν ἀγαθῶν. Μὴ τοίνυν φοβηθῇς, μηδὲ ἀποπηδήσῃς τὸν πάντων σε τούτων κουφίζοντα ζυγὸν, ἀλλ' ὕπελθε μετὰ προθυμίας ἁπάσης αὐτὸν, καὶ τότε αὐτοῦ εἴσῃ σαφῶς τὴν ἡδονήν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τρίβει σου τὸν αὐχένα, ἀλλ' εὐταξίας ἕνεκεν ἐπίκειται μόνης, καὶ τοῦ πεῖσαι βαδίζειν εὔρυθμα, καὶ πρὸς τὴν βασιλικήν σε ὁδὸν ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ τῶν ἑκατέρωθεν ἀπαλλάξαι κρημνῶν, καὶ ποιῆσαι μετ' εὐκολίας τὴν στενὴν βαδίσαι ὁδόν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοσαῦτα αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀγαθὰ, τοσαύτη ἡ ἀσφάλεια, τοσαύτη ἡ εὐφροσύνη, πάσῃ ψυχῇ, πάσῃ σπουδῇ τοῦτον ἕλκωμεν τὸν ζυγόν· ἵνα καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἀνάπαυσιν εὕρωμεν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτύχωμεν ἀγαθῶν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

57.433 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΛΘʹ. Ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἐπορεύθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς σάββασι διὰ

τῶν σπορίμων· οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπεί νασαν, καὶ ἤρξαντο τίλλειν στάχυας καὶ ἐσθίειν.

αʹ. Ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς φησιν, Ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ. Τί δέ ἐστιν ἐν

δευτεροπρώτῳ; Ὅταν διπλῆ ἡ ἀργία ᾖ, καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ἑτέρας ἑορτῆς διαδεχομένης. Σάββατον γὰρ ἑκάστην ἀργίαν καλοῦσι. Καί τι δήποτε ἐκεῖθεν αὐτοὺς ἤγαγεν ὁ πάντα προειδὼς, εἰ μὴ ἐβούλετο λυθῆναι τὸ σάββατον; Ἐβούλετο μὲν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλῶς· διόπερ οὐδέποτε χωρὶς αἰτίας αὐτὸ λύει, ἀλλὰ διδοὺς προφάσεις εὐλόγους, ἵνα καὶ τὸν νόμον ἀναπαύσῃ, καὶ ἐκείνους μὴ πλήξῃ. Ἔστι δὲ ὅπου καὶ προηγουμένως αὐτὸ λύει, οὐ μετὰ περιστάσεως· ὡς ὅταν τὸν πηλὸν χρίῃ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ τυφλοῦ· ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ὁ Πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι. Ποιεῖ δὲ ταῦτα, τούτῳ μὲν δοξάζων τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα, ἐκείνῳ δὲ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τῶν Ἰουδαίων παραμυθούμενος. Ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα κατασκευάζει, τὴν τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκην προβαλλόμενος· καίτοιγε ἐπὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τῶν ὡμολογημένων οὐκ ἂν γένοιτό ποτε ἀπολογία. Οὔτε γὰρ ὁ φονεύων τὸν θυμὸν ἂν σχοίη προβαλέσθαι, οὔτε ὁ μοιχεύων τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, μᾶλλον 57.434 δὲ οὐδὲ ἄλλην οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὴν πεῖναν εἰπὼν, παντὸς ἀπήλλαξεν αὐτοὺς ἐγκλήματος. Σὺ δέ μοι θαύμασον τοὺς μαθητὰς, τοὺς οὕτω συνεσταλμένους καὶ μηδένα τῶν σωματικῶν ποιουμένους λόγον, ἀλλὰ πάρεργον τιθεμένους τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς τράπεζαν, καὶ λιμῷ μαχομένους διηνεκεῖ, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀφισταμένους. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἠνάγκαζεν αὐτοὺς σφόδρα τὸ πεινᾷν, οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἐποίησαν. Τί οὖν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι; Ἰδόντες, φησὶν, εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ οἱ μαθηταί σου ποιοῦσιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστι ποιεῖν ἐν σαββάτῳ. Ἐνταῦθα μὲν οὐ πάνυ σφοδρῶς (καίτοιγε ἀκόλουθον ἦν τοῦτο)· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐ σφόδρα παροξύνονται, ἀλλ' ἐγκαλοῦσιν ἁπλῶς. Ὅτε δὲ τὴν χεῖρα τὴν ξηρὰν ἐξέτεινε καὶ διώρθωσε, τότε οὕτως ἐξεθηριώθησαν, ὡς καὶ περὶ σφαγῆς αὐτοῦ βουλεύεσθαι καὶ ἀναιρέσεως. Ἔνθα μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν γίνεται μέγα καὶ γενναῖον,