(Vers. 76.)
(Verse 76.) And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High.
34. Beautifully, when he prophesied about the Lord, he turned his words to the prophets, in order to show that this is also a gift of the Lord; so that, when publicly enumerating his own blessings, he would not seem ungrateful for having remained silent about the blessings he had received, which he recognized in his son. But perhaps some may consider it an irrational excess of the mind that he speaks to an infant for eight days. But if we hold to the truth, we understand without a doubt that the child born could hear the voice of his father, who heard the greeting of Mary before he was born. The prophet knew that the other ears of the prophet, which are opened by the Spirit of God, not by the age of the body. He had the sense of understanding, which had the capacity for rejoicing.
35. At the same time, note how few things Elizabeth prophesied, compared to how many Zechariah prophesied; and both spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit. But the practice is observed that a woman should strive to learn more about divine matters than to teach. We do not easily find anyone who prophesied more abundantly than the mother of the Lord. The very prophetess Mary, the sister of Aaron, quickly concluded the words of the song (Exod. XV: 20 and 21)! And when she spoke at length with her brother, she did not escape the punishment of her speech (Num. XII: 1 and following).
(Chap. II. — Vers. 1.)
Now it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered.
36. Concerning the birth of the Savior, we do not think it irrelevant to inquire into the time of His birth. For what does the secular profession have to do with the birth of the Lord, unless we also note that this too is a divine mystery? For while the secular profession is maintained, the spiritual is fulfilled, not to be spoken of as belonging to an earthly king, but to heaven. This profession is a profession of faith; for with the old census of the Synagogue abolished, a new census was being prepared for the Church, which would not exact tributes but take them away, and spiritually the people were already giving Christ names according to the pattern. Not here are the spaces of lands, but of minds and souls: nor are boundaries described, but extended: nor is any age distinguished, but all are included; for no one is exempt from this census, because every age is generous to Christ, whom wandering children confess with martyrdom, whom those placed within the womb bear witness to with exultation. In this census, nothing is to be feared as terrible, nothing as harsh, nothing as sad; only faith marks each individual. Do you think the censors hear the voice of Christ? They are ordered to judge without rods: to seek the people not with fear, but with grace: to hide the sword, not to possess gold (Matt. X, 9 and 10). With such censors the world is acquired.
Finally, so that you may know that the census does not belong to Augustus, but to Christ, the whole world is commanded to profess it. When Christ is born, everyone confesses; when the world comes to an end, everyone is in danger. Who, therefore, could demand the profession of the whole world except the one who held the authority over the whole world? For the earth does not belong to Augustus, but to the Lord, and all its fullness, the world and all those who dwell in it (Psalm 24:1). Augustus did not rule, nor did he rule over the Armenians: Christ ruled. Indeed, they accepted the censor of Christ, who revealed the martyrs of Christ. And perhaps for this reason they conquer us, as they teach through their presence, because while they confessed him by offering their blood, the Arians posed a question of his nature to him.
(Vers. 2.)
(Verse 2.) 'This,' he said, 'is the first profession made.'
Moreover, many historical accounts speak of most parts of the world having already been described. This, therefore, is the first profession of the mind: one that all profess, because no one is exempt, not by a crier's summons, but by a prophet who predicted long ago: All people, applaud with your hands; shout for joy to God with cries of gladness, for the Lord is most high, awesome, the great king over all the earth (Psalm 47:2-3). Lastly, so that you may know the census of righteousness, Joseph and Mary come to him, that is, the righteous and the virgin: the one who would keep the Word, the one who would give birth. Where do the righteous and the virgin prophesy, unless where Christ is born? For every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God (1 John 4:2). But where does Christ, according to a higher reason, come into being, if not in your heart and in your breast? For the Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (Romans 10:8).
Moreover, it is beautiful that he also added the name of the governor in order to designate the sequence of time. He said, 'In the time of the governor of Syria, Quirinius, this first census took place.' So that it may seem as if the Evangelist assigned this book the name of a certain consul, for example. For if consuls are assigned to purchase records, how much more should the time of redemption of all be assigned? Therefore, you have everything that is usually found in contracts: the name of the one holding power, the date, the place, and the reason. Tests are also accustomed to be offered: Christ also used these for His birth and generation according to the flesh, who signed the Gospel, saying: You will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8)
(Vers. 6, 7.)
And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
40. Saint Luke briefly explained how, when, and where Christ was born according to the flesh. But if you inquire about His heavenly generation, read the Gospel of Saint John, who began in the celestial realm and descended to the earthly realm. There you will find information about when He was, how He was, what He was, what He did, what He was doing, where He was, where He came, how He came, when He came, and why He came. In the beginning, it says, there was the Word (John 1:1); you have when it was: And the Word was with God; you have how it was. You also have what it was: And God, it says, was the Word. What did it do: All things were made through Him (ibid., 3). What was it doing: It was the true light that enlightens every man coming into this world (ibid., 9). And where was it: It was in this world (ibid., 10). Where did it come: It came to its own (ibid., 11). How did he come, The Word was made flesh (Ibid., 14). When he came, John bears witness about him, saying: This is the one of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me (Ibid., 30). The reason why he came, John himself testifies. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Ibid., 29). Therefore, if we know both of his genealogies, and the gift of each, and the cause for which he came, that by taking on himself the sins of the perishing world he might abolish the stain of sin and death in all, which he could not be conquered by: it follows that now also the holy evangelist Luke must teach us, and show us the ways of the Lord according to the growing flesh.
41. And no one should be moved by the fact that we have said that the infancy of John was passed over, but we assert that the infancy of Christ is described. For it is not for everyone to say, 'I have become weak to the weak, that I may gain the weak': 'I have become all things to all people' (1 Corinthians 9:22). Nor can it be said of anyone else in this way, 'He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities' (Isaiah 53:5). Therefore, He was a little child, an infant, so that you, a man, may become perfect; He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, so that you may be freed from the snares of death; He was in a manger, so that you may be on the altar; He was on earth, so that you may be in heaven; He had no other place in that inn, so that you may have many mansions in heavenly seats. He, being rich, became poor for your sake, so that through His poverty, you may be enriched (II Cor. VIII, 9). Therefore, my poverty is my inheritance, and the weakness of the Lord is my strength. He chose to be needy so that he might abound in all things. My tears washed away the sins of that infant crying, and my tears cleansed those sins. Therefore, Lord Jesus, I owe more to your injuries for which I was redeemed than to my deeds for which I was created. It would have been of no use to be born unless it was profitable to be redeemed.
42. But no one should include the entirety of divinity within the confines of bodily form. The nature of the flesh is different from the glory of divinity. Because of you, there is weakness and power within itself; because of you, there is lack and abundance within itself. Do not judge based on what you see, but rather recognize what you have been redeemed for. You see it in rags, but it is in heaven and you cannot see it. You hear the cries of an infant, but you do not hear the mooing of the Lord recognizing his ox. For the ox has recognized its owner, and the donkey the manger of its Lord (Isaiah 1:3). Or rather, I should say the feeding trough, as the one translating has written; for there is no difference in word with me that is not also a difference in meaning. For if that orator of theirs (Demost. Orat. pro Ctesiph.) who follows the trappings of words denies that the fortunes of Greece are placed in this or that word; but he thinks the thing itself should be considered: if the philosophers themselves, those who spend their whole days in disputation, have made less use of Latin and accepted words; so that they would use their own: how much more should we neglect words, look at the mysteries, by which the cheapness of speech is overcome, because the wonders of divine works have shone forth, not adorned by any beautiful speeches, but by the light of their own truth? Finally, they fed that irrational donkey not with fake delicacies, but with the juice of natural nourishment in holy feeders.
43. This is the Lord, this is the manger in which the divine mystery is revealed to us: the irrational nations, living within the confines of the manger like cattle, feeding on the abundance of sacred nourishment. Therefore, the donkey, a species indeed, recognized the manger of her Lord and said: The Lord feeds me, and nothing shall be lacking (Psalm 22:2). Is God proven by mediocre signs, that angels minister, that the Magi adore, that the martyrs confess? He is poured forth from the womb, but shines from heaven; He lies in a earthly inn, but flourishes with heavenly light. The married woman gives birth, but the virgin conceives; The married woman conceives, but the virgin brings forth. For the holy Matthew has taught us a profound mystery, which the holy Luke, because it had already been fully explained, thought it should be kept silent, believing himself to be rich enough if he claimed the manger of the Lord for himself among all others.
So, these Magi from the East, following for such a long distance that little one, whom you consider to be insignificant because you are unfaithful, come and worship, and call him king, and confess that he will rise again, offering gold, frankincense, and myrrh from their treasures (Matthew II, 1ff). What are these gifts of true faith? Gold for the king, frankincense for God, myrrh for the dead; for the insignia of a king are one thing, for a divine sacrifice are another, for an honor in burial that does not corrupt the body of the deceased but preserves it are another. Furthermore, let us also, brothers, present such gifts from our treasures that we hear and read about: For we have a treasure in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7). Therefore, if you should not assess yourself based on what you are, but on Christ, how much more should you not assess yourself based on Christ, but on Christ.
45. Therefore the Magi offer gifts from their treasures. Do you want to know how great their merit is? They appear as a star: and where Herod is, they do not appear: where Christ is, they appear again, and show the way. Therefore this star is the way, and Christ is the way; because according to the mystery of the Incarnation Christ is the star: For a star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man shall rise out of Israel (Num 24:17). In conclusion, where Christ is, there is also the star; for He Himself is a bright and morning star. Therefore, he himself marks himself with his own light.
46. Take another example. The Magi came by one way, and returned by another; for those who had seen Christ had understood Him, and were better than when they came. There are indeed two ways: one leads to destruction, the other leads to the kingdom. The former is the way of sinners, which leads to Herod; the latter is the way of Christ, which leads back to the homeland; for here is a temporary sojourn, as it is written: My soul has been much a sojourner (Psalm 119:6). Therefore, let us beware of Herod, the earthly ruler for a time, so that we may obtain the eternal dwelling of our heavenly homeland.
47. Not only have these rewards been offered to the chosen ones, but also to everyone; because all things, and in all things Christ (Colossians 3:11). For you see that Abraham believed God not in vain, either among the Chaldeans, who are considered more skilled in numbers, or among the magi, who, although they dedicate themselves to the study of reconciling divinity through magical arts, believed in the birth of the Lord on earth; not, I say, in vain, but so that a testimony of the holy religion could be derived from opposing nations and an example of divine fear.
48. But who are these Magi, if not those who, as a certain history teaches, are descended from Balaam, from whom it was prophesied: A star shall come forth from Jacob? Therefore, these are no less heirs of faith than of succession. He saw the star in the spirit, they saw with their eyes and believed. They saw a new star, which had not been seen by any creature in the world. They saw a new creature, and not only on earth, but also in heaven, they sought the grace of the new man, as Moses prophetically stated: A star shall come forth from Jacob, and a man shall rise up from Israel. And they recognized this to be the star, which signifies man and God. They adored the child; certainly they would not have adored if they had believed only in the child. The wise man therefore understands his own arts to cease, do you not understand your gifts have come? He acknowledges another, do you not recognize the promise? He believes against himself, do you not think you should have faith in yourself?
49. Therefore, the magi announce the birth of the king: Herod is disturbed, he gathers the scribes and chief priests, and he asks where Christ is to be born. The magi only announce the king: Herod seeks Christ. Therefore, he confesses the king about whom he asks. Then, when it is asked where he is to be born, it is certainly shown that it has been foretold; for he could not be asked, who had not been announced. Oh foolish Jews, you do not believe that he has come, whom you see: you do not believe that he has come, whom you say is to come! He says, 'Tell me, so that I may come and worship the child' (Matt. 2:8). Indeed, Herod plots, but he does not deny God, whom he mentions to be adored. Then he orders the killing of the infants (ibid., 16). To whom else but God was such a victim owed? Though lacking in understanding, infancy confesses the God for whom it is destroyed. These few things we have offered from Matthew, so that it may be clear that the time of infancy was not devoid of divine works. But if the age of the flesh was idle in work, surely God was the one who exercised the age of the flesh in divine works: who also made the shepherds in that region stay awake, keeping watch over their flock at night.
See the beginning of the rising Church: Christ is born, and the shepherds have begun to watch, who gather the flocks of the nations, living like sheep in the court of the Lord, so that they may not suffer attacks from spiritual beasts in the dark shadows of the night. And the shepherds watch well, whom the good shepherd instructs. Therefore, the flock is the people, the night is the world, and the shepherds are the priests. Or perhaps also: let him be a shepherd, to whom it is said: Be watchful, and strengthen (Rev. 3:2); because the Lord has not only ordained bishops to protect the flock, but has also appointed angels.