In natale sancti Joannis prophetae (homilia 1)

Of Leontius, presbyter of Constantinople, on the birthday of the holy John the prophet and forerunner

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and has made redemption for his people; for the dayspring from on high has visited us even today. For we were sleeping in indifference, and he has awakened us by his love for mankind; he has shaken the houses, that he might strengthen us by healing our wounds; he has scourged the inanimate, that he might discipline the animate; he has troubled the earth, that those in high places might be fully convinced. He has shaken, he has not destroyed; he has visited, he has not declared against us; for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and scourges every son whom he receives. An earthquake freed Peter from prison, an earthquake loosed Paul from his chains, in an earthquake Elijah was taken up as if into heaven, an earthquake preceded the Lord's resurrection. [For the present day is a resurrection.] Why an earthquake? Where there is a movement of divinity, there also is a commotion of the elements. Have mercy on your neighbor, and an earthquake will not trouble you; fast from wickedness, and God will not be angry. Say you also eagerly the words of David, praying: O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath; do not overwhelm me as the giants, nor burn me up as the Sodomites, but as the Ninevites have mercy. It is timely, therefore, for those who perceive the discipline of the Lord to say the words of the prophet: The discipline of the Lord opens my ears. As many, then, as demand the divine word to be vigorous, they themselves also ought to provide obedient hearing, so that both those who speak piously and those who hear sincerely may be able to reap the rich-eared sheaf of faith; for without faith neither is the echo of hearing broadened, nor is the door of the lips opened, nor is the plectrum of the tongue moved, nor are the pipes of the vocal organs widened. And of this, the witness is Zacharias the priest, who was disciplined through unbelief for the instruction of the unbelieving, who sought a sign for the archangelic revelation, who demanded a guarantor for the Lord's message. For when the archangel Gabriel had said to Zacharias, as you have just heard on the previous day: 'Fear not, Zacharias, because your prayer has been heard, and behold your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son', Zacharias, answering, said, as you know: 'By what shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.' Truly unbelievable are the words of the old man, and full of much contradiction. For to say 'By what shall I know this?' is instead of 'What proof do you give me as full assurance of what is said?' By what shall I know this? For I am an old man. How shall I be found the father of a legitimate child? Old age pushes faith away, the matter is then beyond nature

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, the reproductive parts have dissolved, I walk holding a staff, and you stir up for me the experience of a newlywed? When the grave, then offspring? By what shall I know this? Tell me, O greatest Gabriel. But it is necessary for those who are ignorant to know, that Gabriel is interpreted as 'man of God', as one who ministered to the one who became man, as one who prepared the way for the one who appeared, as one who brought the good news not only to the barren woman, but also to the virgin. For this is Gabriel, the one who also instructed Daniel, and declared the arrival of the Lord with precise timing, and transported Habakkuk by his hair, and subjected the lions to Daniel as ascetics in the den. What then of Zacharias? For it is good never to escape from the sequence. By what shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife

In natale sancti Joannis prophetae (homilia 1)

Λεοντίου πρεσβυτέρου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως εἰς τὸ γενέθλιον τοῦ ἁγίου ̓Ιωάννου τοῦ προφήτου προδρόμου

Εὐλογητὸς κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ ̓Ισραήλ, οτι ἐπεσκέψατο καὶ ἐποίησε λύτρωσιν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ· ἐπεσκέψατο γὰρ ἡμᾶς καὶ σήμερον ἀνατολὴ ἐξ υψους. ̓Εκαθεύδομεν γὰρ τῇ ῥαθυμίᾳ, καὶ διύπνισεν ἡμᾶς τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ· ἐσάλευσε τὰ δώματα, ινα στηρίξῃ ἡμᾶς ἰασάμενος τὰ τραύματα· ἐμάστιξε τὰ αψυχα, ινα παιδεύσῃ τὰ εμψυχα· ἐτάραξε τὴν γῆν, ινα πληροφορηθῶσιν οἱ ἐν ὑπεροχῇ. ̓Εσάλευσεν, οὐκ ἀπώλεσεν· ἐπεσκέψατο, οὐκ ἀπεφήνατο· ον γὰρ ἀγαπᾷ κύριος παιδεύει, μαστιγοῖ δὲ πάντα υἱὸν ον παραδέχεται. Σεισμὸς τὸν Πέτρον ἐκ φυλακῆς ἠλευθέρωσεν, σεισμὸς τὸν Παῦλον τῶν κλοιῶν ελυσεν, ἐν σεισμῷ ̔Ηλίας ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνελήφθη, σεισμὸς τῆς δεσποτικῆς ἀναστάσεως πρου λαβεν. [̓Ανάστασις γὰρ ἡ παροῦσα ἡμέρα.] ∆ιὰ τί σεισμός; Οπου θεότητος κίνησις, ἐκεῖ καὶ τῶν στοιχείων θόρυβος. ̓Ελέησον τὸν πέλας, καὶ σεισμὸς οὐ σκύλλει σε· νήστευσον ἀπὸ κακίας, καὶ θεὸς οὐκ ὀργίζεται. Εἰπὲ καὶ σὺ προθύμως τὰ τοῦ ∆αυῖδ προσευχόμενος· Κύριε, μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξῃς με, μηδὲ τῇ ὀργῇ σου παιδεύσῃς με· μὴ ὡς τοὺς γίγαντας κατακλύσῃς με, μηδὲ ὡς Σοδομίτας καταφλέξῃς, ἀλλ' ὡς Νινευΐτας ἐλέησον. Ευκαιρον ουν τοὺς αἰσθομένους τῆς τοῦ κυρίου παιδείας εἰπεῖν τὰ τοῦ προφήτου· ̔Η παιδεία κυρίου ἀνοίγει μου τὰ ωτα. Οσοι τοίνυν τὸν θεῖον λόγον ἀπαιτοῦσιν ευτονον, καὶ αὐτοὶ χρεωστοῦσι παρέχειν τὴν ἀκοὴν ὑπήκοον, ινα καὶ οἱ λέγοντες εὐσεβῶς καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες εἰλικρινῶς δυνηθῶσι θερίσαι τὸ τῆς πίστεως πολύσταχυν δράγμα· ανευ γὰρ πίστεως ουτε <ἡ> ἠχὼ τῆς ἀκοῆς πλατύνεται, ουτε τῶν χειλέων ἡ θύρα διανοίγεται, ουτε τῆς γλώττης τὸ πλῆκτρον κινεῖται, ουτε τῶν φωνιαίων ὀργάνων οἱ αὐλοὶ εὐρύνονται. Καὶ τούτου μάρτυς Ζαχαρίας ὁ ἱερεύς, ὁ παιδευθεὶς δι' ἀπιστίαν πρὸς παιδείαν τῶν ἀπιστούντων, ὁ τῆς ἀρχαγγελικῆς ἀποκαλύψεως σημεῖον ἐπιζητῶν, ὁ τῆς δεσποτικῆς μηνύσεως ἐγγυητὴν ἀπαιτῶν. Τοῦ γὰρ ἀρχαγγέλου Γαβριὴλ εἰρηκότος πρὸς τὸν Ζαχαρίαν, καθὼς ἀρτίως ηκουες τῇ προτεραίᾳ· Μὴ φοβοῦ, Ζαχαρία, διότι εἰσηκούσθη ἡ δέησίς σου, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ γυνή σου ̓Ελισάβετ γεννήσει υἱόν σοι , ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ζαχαρίας ειπεν, ὡς ιστε· Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; ̓Εγὼ γάρ εἰμι πρεσβύτης καὶ ἡ γυνή μου προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτῆς. Απιστα ὡς ἀληθῶς τοῦ πρεσβύτου τὰ ῥήματα, καὶ πολλῆς ἀντιλογίας γέμοντα. Τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; ἀντὶ τοῦ Ποίαν μοι δίδως ἀπόδειξιν τῶν λεγομένων πληροφορίαν; Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; ̓Εγὼ γάρ εἰμι πρεσβύτης. Πῶς πατὴρ γνησίου παιδὸς εὑρεθήσομαι; Τὸ γῆρας ἀπωθεῖται τὴν πίστιν, ξωφύσεως λοιπὸν τὸ πρᾶγμα

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, διαλέλυται τὰ γεννητικὰ μόρια, ῥάβδον κατέχων ἐπιβαίνω, καὶ νεογάμου μοι πεῖραν ἀναζέεις; Οτε τάφος, τότε γόνος; Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; Φράσον μοι, ω μέγιστε Γαβριήλ. ̓Αναγκαῖον δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας γνῶναι, οτιπερ Γαβριὴλ θεοῦ ανθρωπος ἑρμηνεύεται, ὡς διακονῆσαι τῷ ἐνανθρωπήσαντι, ὡς προοδοποιῆσαι τῷ ἐπιφανέντι, ὡς μὴ μόνον τῇ στείρᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ παρθένῳ τὰ εὐαγγέλια κομίσαι. Ουτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Γαβριήλ, ὁ καὶ τὸν ∆ανιὴλ συνετίσας, καὶ τὴν αφιξιν τοῦ κυρίου σὺν ἀκριβεῖ χρόνῳ δηλώσας, καὶ τὸν ̔Αμβακοὺμ τῆς κόμης μετενέγκας, καὶ τοὺς λέοντας τῷ ∆ανιὴλ ὡς ἀσκητὰς ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ ὑποτάξας. Τί ουν ὁ Ζαχαρίας; Καλὸν γὰρ τῆς ἀκολουθίας μὴ δραπετεῦσαί ποτε. Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; ̓Εγὼ γάρ εἰμι πρεσβύτης καὶ ἡ γυνή μου