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De cruce et latrone

On the same day. A discourse of our father among the saints, Chrysostom, on the precious cross and on the thief. Bless, father.

1 Let us begin on the day of the cross the discourse about the cross and

let us crown the day, or rather, let us be crowned by the memory of the day; for the cross is not crowned by what we utter, but by what we gratefully confess we receive the crowns from it. Today, brothers, a cross was fixed and the world was sanctified, today a cross was fixed and death was overthrown, today the cross shone and demons were scattered, today the cross awarded the prize and the devil was put to shame, today the cross shone and death was conquered and man was set free and God was glorified.

2 Today among the Jews the earth was shaken, but among us the inhabited world is made firm, today the God-fighting audacity of the Jews rent the rocks, today the God-loving piety united the inhabited world. For it was fitting that the things of piety be joined together, and the things of impiety be rent asunder, as David says: “They were divided, and were not pricked in heart.” Today among the Jews the sun from the sixth hour until the ninth produced darkness; for the creation could not bear the outrage against the Creator. For it withdrew its rays so that it might not be a spectator of the God-fighting hatred, not because the outrage touched the Godhead, but because on the part of the audacious ones what was done was done as an outrage.

3 Today among the Jews the sun altered its ray; today grace among us makes the night into day. For it is dear to piety to enjoy light even in darkness, and to impiety to be filled with darkness even in light. For the faithful, even the night is counted as day, but for the unbelievers, even the day is changed into night. For this reason, when Scripture speaks about the faithful, it says: “And night is my illumination in my delight, for darkness will not be darkened from you, and night will be lit as day.” For the faithful, therefore, even the night is changed into day, but for the unbeliever, even the day is turned into night, as the prophet cries out, saying: “They will grope for the wall like the blind and will walk in the day as in midnight.”

4 Today, brothers, Adam was cast out of paradise for his disobedience, today he is brought again into paradise. And the thief is a witness. He went out a thief and he came in a thief, he went out, the one who stole against the will of the commandment and he came in, the one who stole salvation from the cross. I know I have spoken before about the thief, but the discourse of the cross has various accounts. That thief is put to death through a tree, this thief gathers salvation from a tree. The earthly things were not enough for him, but he plundered even the heavenly things, not circumscribing by power, but conquering by faith. For this is the voice of the Lord saying: “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

5 On the cross were two thieves, an image of both Jews and Greeks, of those who at first walked in impiety and after this came to know the truth. An image of the Jews is the thief who was a thief to the end; until the cross, they ran together the road of wickedness and the cross divided the roads; for from the cross the two are divided, a road of perdition for the unbelieving and a road of salvation for the believing. There the thief learned the difference of the roads, “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish.” 6 And behold the discernment of God, so that you also may say with the prophet: “Righteous are you, O Lord, and upright are your judgments.” For one sin

1

De cruce et latrone

Γῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ. Τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις πατρὸς ἡμῶν Χρυσοστόμου λόγος εἰς τὸν τίμιον σταυρὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν λῃστήν. Εὐλόγησον πάτερ.

1 Ἀπαρξώμεθα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σταυροῦ τὸν περὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ λόγον καὶ

στέψωμεν τὴν ἡμέραν, μᾶλλον δὲ στεφθῶμεν ὑπὸ τῆς μνήμης τῆς ἡμέρας· οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ὧν φθεγγόμεθα σταυρὸς στεφανοῦται, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὧν εὐγνωμόνως ὁμολογοῦμεν τοὺς στεφάνους παρ' αὐτοῦ κομιζόμεθα. Σήμερον, ἀδελφοί, σταυρὸς ἐπάγη καὶ κόσμος ἡγιάσθη, σήμερον σταυρὸς ἐπάγη καὶ θάνατος ἀνετράπη, σήμερον σταυρὸς ἔλαμψεν καὶ δαίμονες ἐσκορπίσθησαν, σήμερον σταυρὸς ἐβράβευσεν καὶ διάβολος κατῃσχύνθη, σήμερον σταυρὸς ἔλαμψεν καὶ θάνατος ἐνικήθη καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐλευθερώθη καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη.

2 Σήμερον παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις γῆ ἐσαλεύσατο, παρ' ἡμῖν δὲ ἡ οἰκουμένη στηρίζεται, σήμερον ἡ θεομάχος τόλμα τῶν Ἰουδαίων πέτρας ἔσχισεν, σήμερον ἡ φιλόθεος εὐσέβεια τὴν οἰκουμένην ἥνωσεν. Ἔπρεπεν γὰρ τὰ μὲν τῆς εὐσεβείας συναφθῆναι, τὰ δὲ τῆς ἀσεβείας σχισθῆναι, καθὼς ὁ ∆αβὶδ λέγει· «∆ιεσχίσθησαν καὶ οὐ κατηνύγησαν». Σήμερον παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις ὁ ἥλιος ἀπὸ ἕκτης ὥρας ἕως ἐννάτης σκότος εἰργάσατο· οὐ γὰρ ἤνεγκεν τὸ ποίημα τὴν ὕβριν τοῦ ποιήσαντος. Συνέστειλε γὰρ τὰς ἀκτῖνας ἵνα ἐπόπτης μὴ γένηται τοῦ θεομάχου μίσους, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ τῆς θεότητος ὕβρις ἥπτετο, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ παρὰ τῶν τολμησάντων τὸ γινόμενον εἰς ὕβριν ἐγίνετο.

3 Σήμερον παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις ὁ ἥλιος τὴν ἀκτῖνα μετεποίησεν· σήμερον ἡ χάρις παρ' ἡμῖν τὴν νύκτα εἰς ἡμέραν ποιεῖ. Φίλον γὰρ τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ ἐν σκότει φῶς ἀπολαύειν, τῇ δὲ ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ἐν φωτὶ σκότους ἀναπληροῦσθαι. Τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ ἡ νὺξ εἰς ἡμέραν λογίζεται, τοῖς δὲ ἀπίστοις καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα μεταποιεῖται εἰς νύκτα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο περὶ μὲν τῶν πιστῶν ἡ γραφὴ διαλεγομένη φησί· «Καὶ νὺξ φωτισμὸς ἐν τῇ τρυφῇ μου, ὅτι τὸ σκότος οὐ σκοτισθήσεται ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ νὺξ ὡς ἡμέρα φωτισθήσεται». Τῷ οὖν πιστῷ καὶ ἡ νὺξ εἰς ἡμέραν μεταβάλλεται, τῷ δὲ ἀπίστῳ καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα εἰς νύκτα μετατίθεται, καθὼς βοᾷ ὁ προφήτης λέγων· «Ψηλαφήσουσιν ὡς τυφλοὶ τοῖχον καὶ περιπατήσουσιν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὡς ἐν μεσονυκτίῳ».

4 Σήμερον ἀδελφοὶ Ἀδὰμ ἐξεβλήθη τοῦ παραδείσου διὰ τὴν παρακοήν, σήμερον πάλιν εἰσάγεται εἰς τὸν παράδεισον. Καὶ μαρτὺς ὁ λῃστής. Ἐξῆλθεν κλέπτης καὶ εἰσῆλθεν κλέπτης, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ κλέψας παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τῆς ἐντολῆς καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ κλέψας ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ τὴν σωτηρίαν. Οἶδα καὶ πρώην εἰρηκὼς περὶ τοῦ λῃστοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔχει διαφόρους ἱστορίας ὁ τοῦ σταυροῦ λόγος. Ἐκεῖνος ὁ λῃστὴς διὰ ξύλου θανατοῦται, οὗτος ὁ λῃστὴς ἀπὸ ξύλου τρυγᾷ τὴν σωτηρίαν. Οὐκ ἤρκει αὐτῷ τὰ ἐπίγεια ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐπουράνια ἐσύλησεν, οὐ περιγράφων τῇ δυνάμει, ἀλλὰ νικῶν τῇ πίστει. Αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν φωνὴ τοῦ δεσπότου λέγοντος· «Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται καὶ βιάσται ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν».

5 Ἐπὶ σταυροῦ δύο λῃσταί, εἰκὼν Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ Ἑλλήνων, τῶν ἐνἀσεβείᾳ τὰ πρῶτα ὁδευσάντων καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπεγνωκότων. Εἰκὼν Ἰουδαίων ὁ λῃστὴς ὁ μέχρι τέλους λῃστής· ἕως τοῦ σταυροῦ, συνέδραμον ἀλλήλοις τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς πονηρίας καὶ ὁ σταυρὸς ἐμέρισεν τὰς ὁδούς· ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ σταυροῦ μερίζονται οἱ δύο, ὁδὸς ἀπολείας τοῖς ἀπιστοῦσι καὶ ὁδὸς σωτηρίας τοῖς πιστεύουσιν. Ἐκεῖ ἔμαθεν ὁ λῃστὴς τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν ὁδῶν «ὅτι γινώσκει Κύριος ὁδὸν δικαίων καὶ ὁδὸς ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται». 6 Καὶ βλέπε τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν διακρισίαν ἵνα εἴπῃς καὶ σὺ μετὰ τοῦ προφήτου· «∆ίκαιος εἶ Κύριε, καὶ εὐθεῖς αἱ κρίσεις σου». ∆ιὰ μίαν ἁμαρτίαν