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Homilia i in sanctum Lazarum (homilia 11)

A reading from Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, concerning James, the brother of the Lord, and David the forefather of God.

1 Unless our savior "humbled himself, becoming" "obedient even unto

death," servants would not have been called kinsmen, nor would the clay have been called father of the potter. In Zion I greet Bethlehem as present, in the daughter I see the mother. In you one torch-bearing star was kindled, but in this one, many. That one guided the Magi, this one guided Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those from all nations with the light of its lightning flash. You draw milk from virginal breasts, this one brings down the Spirit from the paternal bosom. You leavened the bread, but Zion revealed the supper. You nourished the calf at the manger, but Zion led him up to the altar. You hid Jesus in swaddling clothes, but this one laid bare the side for Thomas who wished to touch it. You have a virgin giving birth with the organs of nature closed, this one has a bridal chamber with the doors closed, receiving and having the bridegroom within. 2 How shall I praise the servant and brother of Christ, the chief commander of the new Jerusalem, the leader of the priests, the exarch of the apostles, the peak among the heads, the one shining brightly among the lamps, the one appearing pre-eminent among the stars? Peter makes a speech, but James legislates, and a few words compressed the magnitude of the question: "I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles, and so on." "I judge"; whose judgment it is not lawful to set aside, nor to disparage the decree: "For in me speaks the judge of all, both of the dead and of the living. Mine is the instrument, but the artisan is beyond me. I provide the tongue, but the creator, the Word, supplies the speech. Pay attention not to the reed, but to the one who writes. Let obedience follow hearing."

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Homilia i in sanctum Lazarum (homilia 11)

Ἀνεγνώσθη Ἡσυχίου, πρεσβυτέρου Ἱεροσολύμων, εἰς Ἰάκωβον, τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ∆αυὶδ τὸν θεοπάτορα.

1 Εἰ μὴ «ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν γενόμενος» ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν «ὑπήκοος μέχρι

θανάτου», οὐκ ἂν οἰκέται συγγενεῖς ἐχρημάτιζον, οὐκ ἂν ὁ πηλὸς πατὴρ τοῦ κεραμέως ἐλέγετο. Ἐν τῇ Σιὼν τὴν Βηθλεὲμ ὡς παροῦσαν ἀσπάζομαι, ἐν τῇ θυγατρὶ τὴν μητέρα βλέπω. Ἐν σοὶ δᾳδοῦχος ἀστὴρ εἷς ἀνήφθη, ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ πολλοί. Ἐκεῖνος τοὺς Μάγους ὡδήγησεν, αὕτη Πάρθους καὶ Μήδους καὶ Ἐλαμίτας καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν πάντων τῷ φωτὶ τῆς ἀστραπῆς ἐδᾳδούχησε. Σὺ γάλα ἕλκεις ἐκ μασθῶν παρθενικῶν, αὕτη πνεῦ-μα ἐκ κόλπων κατάγει πατρικῶν. Σὺ τὸν ἄρτον ἐζύμωσας, ἀλλ' ἡ Σιὼν δεῖπνον ἀνέδειξε. Σὺ τὸν μόσχον ἐπὶ τῆς φάτνης ἔθρεψας, ἀλλ' ἡ Σιὼν εἰς τὸν βωμὸν ἀνήγαγε. Σὺ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς σπαρ γάνοις ἔκρυψας, αὕτη δὲ τῷ Θωμᾷ τὴν πλευρὰν βουληθέντι ψηλαφῆσαι ἐγύμνωσε. Σὺ παρθένον ἔχεις τίκτουσαν κεκλεισμένων τῶν ὀργάνων τῆς φύσεως, αὕτη παστάδα κεκλεισμένων τῶν θυρῶν ἔνδον τὸν νυμφίον δεχομένην καὶ ἔχουσαν. 2 Πῶς ἐγκωμιάσω τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλον καὶ ἀδελφόν, τὸν τῆς νέας Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀρχιστράτηγον, τὸν τῶν ἱερέων ἡγεμόνα, τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸν ἔξαρχον, τὸν ἐν κεφαλαῖς κορυφήν, τὸν ἐν λύχνοις ὑπερλάμποντα, τὸν ἐν ἄστροις ὑπερφαίνοντα; Πέτρος δημηγορεῖ, ἀλλ' Ἰάκωβος νομοθετεῖ, καὶ ὀλίγαι λέξεις τὸ τοῦ ζητήματος συνέστειλαν μέγεθος· «Ἐγὼ κρίνω μὴ παρενοχλεῖν τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἑξῆς». «Ἐγὼ κρίνω»· οὗ τὴν κρίσιν ἀθετεῖν οὐ θέμις, οὐδὲ φαυλίζειν τὸ ψήφισμα· «Ἐν ἐμοὶ γὰρ ὁ πάντων κριτὴς καὶ νεκρῶν καὶ ζώντων φθέγγεται. Ἐμὸν τὸ ὄργανον, ἀλλ' ὁ τεχνίτης ὑπὲρ ἐμέ. Ἐγὼ τὴν γλῶσσαν παρέχω, ἀλλ' ὁ δημιουργὸς Λόγος τὸν λόγον χορηγεῖ. Μὴ τῷ καλάμῳ, τῷ δὲ γράφοντι πρόσεχε. Τὴν ἀκοὴν ὑπακοὴ διαδεχέσθω.»