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In ramos palmarum

A sermon of Chrysostom on the Palms. Lord, bless.

When the Lord drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples, saying: Go into the village opposite you, and you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them’; and immediately he will send them. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: 310 Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ And yet he had often entered Jerusalem before, but never with such display.

What then is the reason? At that time it was the prelude of the economy, and neither was he himself very conspicuous, nor was the time of his passion near; therefore he mingled with them more indifferently and rather concealed himself. For he would not have been marveled at by appearing in this way, and he would have stirred them up to greater anger. But since he had given sufficient proof of his power and the cross was at the doors, he shines forth more greatly from then on and does all things with more display that were about to inflame them. It would have been possible for this to happen from the beginning, but it was not useful nor advantageous in this way. But consider for me how many wonders occur and how many prophecies are fulfilled. He said that you will find a donkey; he foretold that no one would prevent it, but that upon hearing they would be silent. And this is no small judgment of the Jews. Those who had never been known to him nor seen him he persuades to give up what was theirs and not even to speak against it, and that through his disciples. But these men, being present while he performed miracles, were not persuaded. Do not then think that what has happened is a small thing.

For who persuaded them—the Jews taking them away, and they being perhaps poor men and farmers—not to object? Why do I say not to object? Not to ask, or having asked, to be silent and to yield? For both were equally wonders; both if they said nothing as the beasts of burden were being led away, and if, having spoken and heard that "the Lord has need of them," they yielded and did not resist, and this though not seeing him but his disciples. From these things he teaches them that he was able to prevent even the Jews against their will from coming against him at all and to render them speechless. But he was not willing.

And he teaches the disciples another thing along with these: to give whatever one might ask, and he commands to give up even one's life and to offer it and not to speak against it. For if those who did not know yielded in this way, how much more must one give way in his absence. And besides he again fulfilled another, twofold prophecy, the one through works, the other through words. The one through works was by the sitting on the donkey, the one through words was that of the prophet Zechariah. For 311 he said that the king will sit on a donkey; and he himself, by sitting, fulfilled it. Another prophecy again; for he made a beginning, prefiguring the things to come. How and in what way? He proclaims beforehand the calling of the unclean Gentiles, and that he will rest upon them, and they will come to him and will see. And prophecy followed prophecy. But it seems to me he did not sit on the donkey for this reason only, but also to provide us with a manner of philosophy. For indeed he not only fulfilled prophecies nor did he implant the dogmas of the truth, but he also corrected life through these very things, everywhere setting for us rules for the necessary life and through all things setting our life aright.

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In ramos palmarum

Τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου λόγος εἰς τὰ Βαΐα, Κύριε εὐλόγησον.

Ὅτε ἤγγισεν ὁ Κύριος εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Βηθσφαγὴν πρὸς τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν, ἀπέστειλε δύο μαθητὰς λέγων· πορεύεσθε εἰς τὴν κώμην τὴν κατέναντι ὑμῶν καὶ εὑρήσετε ὄνον δεδεμένην καὶ πῶλον μετ' αὐτῆς· λύσαντες ἀγάγετέ μοι· καὶ ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ τι, ἐρεῖτε, ὅτι ὁ Κύριος αὐτῶν χρείαν ἔχει· καὶ εὐθέως ἀποστέλλει αὐτούς· τοῦτο δὲ γέγονεν, ἵνα τὸ ῥηθὲν πληρωθῇ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· 310 εἴπατε τῇ θυγατρὶ Σιών· ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεταί σοι πραῢς καὶ ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ πῶλον υἱὸν ὑποζυγίου. Καίτοι πολλάκις ἐπέβη τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων πρότερον ἀλλ' οὐδέποτε μετὰ τοσαύτης περιφανείας.

Τί οὖν τὸ αἴτιον; προοίμιον ἦν τότε οἰκονομίας καὶ οὔτε αὐτὸς σφόδρα κατάδηλος ἦν οὔτε ὁ καιρὸς τοῦ παθεῖν ἐγγύς· διόπερ ἀδιαφορώτερον αὐτοῖς ἀνεμίγνυτο καὶ μᾶλλον κρύπτων ἑαυτόν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἂν ἐθαυμάσθη φαινόμενος οὕτως καὶ εἰς μείζονα αὐτοὺς ἐξήγειρεν ὀργήν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως πεῖραν ἔδωκεν ἱκανὴν καὶ ὁ σταυρὸς ἐπὶ θύραις ἦν, μειζόνως ἐπιλάμπει λοιπὸν καὶ μετὰ πλείονος ἅπαντα πράττει περιφανείας τὰ μέλλοντα αὐτοὺς ἐκκαίειν. ∆υνατὸν μέντ' ἄρ' ἦν καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦτο γε-νέσθαι, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν χρήσιμον οὐδὲ λυσιτελὲς οὕτως. Σὺ δέ μοι θέα ὅσα θαύματα γίνεται καὶ ὅσαι πληροῦνται προφητεῖαι. Εἶπεν, ὅτι εὑρήσετε ὄνον· προεῖπεν, ὅτι οὐδεὶς κωλύει, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἀκούσαντες σιγήσουσι. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ οὐ μικρὸν κρῖμα Ἰουδαίων ἐστί. Τοὺς οὐδέποτε γνωρίμους αὐτῷ οὐδὲ φανέντας πείθει τὰ ἑαυτῶν προέσθαι καὶ μηδὲ ἀντειπεῖν καὶ διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν. Οὗτοι δὲ αὐτῷ θαυματουργοῦντι παρόντες οὐκ ἐπείσθησαν. Μὴ δὴ μικρὸν εἶναι νομίσῃς τὸ γεγενημένον.

Τίς γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἔπεισε τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀφαιρουμένων καὶ ταῦτα πένητας ὄντας ἴσως καὶ γεωργοὺς μὴ ἀντειπεῖν; τί λέγω μὴ ἀντειπεῖν; μὴ ἐρέσθαι ἢ καὶ ἐρομένους σιγῆσαι καὶ παραχωρῆσαι; Καὶ γὰρ ἀμφότερα ὁμοίως θαύματα ἦν· καὶ εἰ μηδὲν εἶπον ἑλκομένων τῶν ὑποζυγίων καὶ εἰπόντες καὶ ἀκούσαντες, ὅτι ὁ Κύριος αὐτῶν χρείαν ἔχει παρεχώρησαν καὶ οὐκ ἀντέστησαν καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ αὐτὸν ὁρῶντες ἀλλὰ τοὺς μαθητάς. Ἀπὸ τούτων αὐτοὺς παιδεύει, ὅτι καὶ Ἰουδαίους ἠδύνατο καὶ ἄκοντας κωλῦσαι διόλου μέλλοντας αὐτῷ ἐπιέναι καὶ ἀφώνους καταστῆσαι. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἠθέλησεν.

Καὶ ἕτερον δὲ μετὰ τούτων διδάσκει τοὺς μαθητὰς ὅπερ ἂν αἰτήσῃ διδόναι καὶ αὐτὴν κελεύει τὴν ψυχὴν προέσθαι καὶ ταύτην παρέχειν καὶ μὴ ἀντιλέγειν. Εἰ γὰρ ἀγνοοῦντες οὕτω παρεχώρησαν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ ἀπόντος ἐξίστασθαι δεῖ. Προσδὲ προφητείαν καὶ ἑτέραν πάλιν ἐπλήρου διπλῆν, τὴν μὲν δι' ἔργων τὴν δὲ διὰ ῥημάτων. Καὶ ἡ μὲν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἦν ἡ διὰ τῆς καθέδρας τοῦ ὄνου, ἡ δὲ διὰ ῥημάτων, ἡ τοῦ προφήτου Ζαχαρίου. Καὶ γὰρ 311 εἶπεν, ὅτι καθεδεῖται ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ ὄνου· καὶ καθίσας αὐτὸς καὶ πληρώσας αὐτήν. Ἑτέρα πάλιν προφητεία· ἀρχὴν διὸ ἐποίει τὰ μέλλοντα προδιατυπῶν. Πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ; τῶν ἀκαθάρτων ἐθνῶν τὴν κλῆσιν προαναφωνεῖ καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐπαναπαύσεται καὶ ἥξουσιν αὐτῷ καὶ ὄψονται. Καὶ προφητεία διεδέχετο προφητείαν. Ἐμοὶ δὲ οὐ διὰ τοῦτο μόνον δοκεῖ τὸν ὄνον ἐκάθισε, ἀλλὰ καὶ τρόπον ἡμῖν φιλοσοφίας παρέχων. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον προφητείας ἐπλήρου οὐδὲ δόγματα ἐφύτευσε τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν βίον διώρθου δι' αὐτῶν τούτων, πανταχοῦ κανόνας ἡμῖν τιθεὶς τῆς ἀναγκαίας ζωῆς καὶ διὰ πάντων τὴν ζωὴν κατορθῶν τὴν ἡμετέραν.