HOMILY 22. Delivered to the people in the basilica of blessed John, which is called the Constantiniana, on the Saturday after Easter.
READING OF THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN. At that time, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and she saw the stone taken away from the tomb. Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them: They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him. Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the tomb. But the two were running together; and that other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came first to the tomb. And when he had stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb. And he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been over his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up separately in one place. Then therefore that disciple who had come first to the tomb also entered, and he saw, and believed. For they did not yet know the Scriptures, that he must rise from the dead.
My stomach, broken by long illness, has for a long time prevented me from speaking to your charity about the exposition of the Gospel reading. For my very voice fails in the strength of its cry; and because I cannot be heard by many, I confess I am ashamed to speak among many. But I myself reproach this embarrassment in me. For what? If I cannot benefit many, shall I not care to benefit even a few? And if I cannot carry many sheaves from the harvest, must I therefore return to the threshing floor empty-handed? For although I cannot carry as many as I ought, surely I shall carry at least a few, surely at least two, surely at least one. For the very intention of weakness has the certainty of its reward, because our heavenly Judge, although He considers the weight in the recompense, nevertheless weighs the strength against the weight.
The reading of the holy Gospel which you have just heard, brothers, is very clear on the surface of its historical meaning, but we must seek out its mysteries in brief. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark. According to the historical account, the hour is noted; but according to the mystical understanding, the intelligence of the one seeking is signified. For Mary was seeking at the tomb the author of all things, whom she had seen dead in the flesh; and because she did not find him, she believed he had been stolen. Therefore it was still dark when she came to the tomb. She ran quickly and announced it to the disciples. But those ran before the others who loved more than the others, namely Peter and John. Now the two were running together, but John ran ahead more quickly than Peter and arrived first at the tomb, but did not presume to enter. Peter came later, and entered. What, brothers, what does this running signify? Surely this very subtle description by the evangelist is not to be thought devoid of mysteries? Not at all. For John would not have said that he both arrived first and did not enter, if he had believed that mystery was absent from his very hesitation. What then is designated by John except the Synagogue, what by Peter except the Church? Nor should it seem strange that the Synagogue is said to be signified by the younger and the Church by the elder, because even if the Synagogue is prior to the Church of the Gentiles in the worship of God, nevertheless the multitude of the Gentiles is prior to the Synagogue in the practice of the world, as Paul attests when he says: "Because what is spiritual is not first, but what is natural." Therefore by the elder Peter is signified the Church of the Gentiles, but by the younger John the Synagogue of the Jews. Both ran together, because from the time of its origin until its setting, the Gentile world ran with the Synagogue by a common and equal path, even if not with a common and equal understanding.
The Synagogue came first to the tomb, but did not enter, because although it received the commandments of the law and heard the prophecies concerning the incarnation and passion of the Lord, it refused to believe in the one who died. For John saw the linen cloths lying there, yet did not enter, because the Synagogue both recognized the mysteries of sacred Scripture and yet delayed entering through faith by believing in the Lord's passion. The one whom it had long prophesied from afar, it saw present and rejected; it despised him as a man and refused to believe that God had been made mortal in flesh. What does this mean, except that it both ran more quickly and yet stood empty before the tomb? But Simon Peter came following him and entered the tomb, because the Church of the Gentiles, coming after, both recognized the mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, dead in the flesh, and believed him to be the living God. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been over his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up separately in one place. What do we believe it means, brothers, that the cloth from the Lord's head is not found with the linen cloths in the tomb, except that, as Paul attests, God is the head of Christ, and the incomprehensible mysteries of his divinity are separated from the knowledge of our weakness, and his power transcends the nature of creation? And it should be noted that it is said to be found not only separately but also rolled up in one place. For when a cloth is rolled up, neither its beginning nor its end can be seen. Rightly therefore was the cloth from his head found rolled up, because the majesty of divinity neither began to exist nor ceases; it is neither born through a beginning nor confined by an end.
And rightly is it added: "In one place," because God is not in the division of minds. For God is in unity, and those merit to have His grace who do not divide themselves from one another through the scandals of sects. But because sweat is usually wiped away from workers by a cloth, the labor of God can also be expressed by the name of cloth—He who indeed always remains quiet and unchangeable in Himself, yet nevertheless declares that He labors when He bears the harsh depravities of men. Whence He also says through the prophet: "I have labored in enduring." Now God appeared in the flesh, He labored from our infirmity. When unbelievers saw this labor of His passion, they refused to venerate Him. For they disdained to believe that He whom they saw mortal in the flesh was immortal in His divinity. Whence Jeremiah also says: "You will render to them their recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands; You will give them as a shield for the heart Your labor." For lest the darts of preaching should penetrate their hearts, since they disdained the labor of His passion, they held that same labor of His as if it were a shield, so that by the very fact that they saw Him labor even unto death, they would not permit His words to pass through to them. But what are we except members of our Head, that is, of God? Therefore by the linens of the body are signified the bonds of labors which now bind all the elect, that is, His members. The cloth, therefore, which had been upon His head is found separately, because the passion itself of our Redeemer is far removed from our passion, since He without guilt bore what we endure with guilt. He willingly chose to succumb to death, to which we come unwilling.
Then therefore that disciple who had come first to the tomb also entered. After Peter entered, John also went in. He who had come first entered later. It should be noted, brothers, that at the end of the world Judea too will be gathered to faith in the Redeemer, as Paul testifies when he says: "Until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter, and so all Israel should be saved." And he saw and believed. What, brothers, what are we to think he believed? Was it that the Lord whom he was seeking had risen? Certainly not, because there was still darkness at the tomb, and the words that follow also contradict this when it says: "For they did not yet know the Scriptures, that he must rise from the dead." What then did he see, and what did he believe? He saw the linen cloths lying there, and he believed what the woman had said, that the Lord had been taken from the tomb. In this matter the greatness of divine providence must be considered, that the hearts of the disciples are both kindled to seek and yet delayed from finding, so that the weakness of the soul, tormented by its own sorrow, might become purer for finding, and might hold on more firmly when it found, the later it found what it was seeking.
We have run through these things briefly from the Gospel reading, dearest brothers; now it remains for us to say something about the nobility of so great a solemnity itself. For rightly shall I call this the nobility of the solemnity, because it surpasses all other solemnities. For just as in sacred Scripture we speak of the holy of holies, or the Song of songs, because of their greatness, so this festival can rightly be called the solemnity of solemnities. From this solemnity indeed the example of resurrection was given to us, the hope of the heavenly homeland was opened, and the glory of the supernal kingdom was made something we might already anticipate. Through this, the elect, who although they were in the bosom of tranquility, were nevertheless held in the confines of hell, were led back to the delights of paradise. What the Lord said before His passion, He fulfilled in His resurrection: "If I am lifted up from the earth," He said, "I will draw all things to myself." For He drew all things, He who left none of His elect in the underworld. He took away all things—that is, all the elect. For He did not restore to pardon by rising again any unbelievers or those consigned to eternal punishments for their crimes; but He snatched from the confines of hell those whom He recognized as His own in faith and in deeds. Whence rightly also He says through Hosea: "I will be your death, O death; I will be your sting, O hell." For what we kill, we cause to exist no more entirely. But from what we bite, we take away a part and leave a part behind. Therefore, because in His elect He utterly killed death, He became the death of death. But because He took away a part from hell and left a part behind, He did not utterly kill but bit hell. Therefore He says: "I will be your death, O death." As if He were saying openly: Because in my elect I utterly destroy you, I will be your death; I will be your sting, O hell, because when they have been taken away, I pierce you in part. What then is this solemnity which destroyed the confines of hell and opened to us the gates of the heavenly kingdom? Let its name be inquired into more carefully. Let the excellent preacher be consulted.
Let us see what he declares concerning the estimation of Him. For he says: "For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed." If therefore Christ is the Passover, we must consider what the law says about the Passover, so that we may investigate more carefully whether these things seem to have been said about Christ. For Moses says: "They shall take of the blood of the lamb and put it on both doorposts and on the lintels of the houses in which they shall eat it; and they shall eat the flesh that night roasted with fire, and unleavened bread with bitter herbs. You shall not eat any of it raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted with fire. You shall devour the head with its feet and entrails, and nothing of it shall remain until morning. If anything is left over, you shall burn it with fire." Where it is also added: "And thus you shall eat it: You shall gird your loins, and you shall have sandals on your feet, holding staffs in your hands, and you shall eat in haste." All of which things indeed bring forth great edification for us, if they are examined through mystical interpretation. For who the blood of the lamb is, you have learned not now by hearing, but by drinking. This blood is placed on both doorposts when it is received not only by the mouth of the body but also by the mouth of the heart. For the blood of the lamb is placed on both posts when the sacrament of His passion is received by the mouth for Redemption, and is also contemplated with attentive mind for imitation. For he who receives the blood of his Redeemer in such a way that he does not yet wish to imitate His passion has placed the blood on only one post; it must also be placed above on the lintels of the houses. For what do we understand spiritually by houses except our minds, in which we dwell through thought? The lintel of this house is the very intention that presides over action. Therefore, whoever directs the intention of his thought toward the imitation of the Lord's passion places the blood of the lamb on the lintel of the house. Or certainly our houses are the bodies themselves, in which we dwell as long as we live. And we place the blood of the lamb on the lintel of the house because we bear the cross of His passion on our forehead. Concerning this lamb it is added further: "And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted with fire." Indeed we eat the lamb at night, because we now receive the Lord's body in the sacrament when we do not yet see one another's consciences. Yet these meats must be roasted with fire, because fire indeed dissolves the meats that water has boiled; but those that fire cooks without water, it strengthens. And so fire cooked the meats of our Lamb, because the very power of His passion rendered Him stronger for resurrection and strengthened Him for incorruption. For He who recovered from death—clearly His flesh was hardened by fire. Hence also through the Psalmist He says: "My strength has dried up like a potsherd." For what is a potsherd before fire except soft clay? But it is subjected to fire so that it may become solid. Therefore the strength of His humanity dried up like a potsherd, because from the fire of passion it grew into the power of incorruption.
But having received the sacraments of our Redeemer alone is not sufficient for the true solemnity of the mind, unless good works are also joined to them. For what does it profit to receive His body and blood with the mouth, and to oppose Him with perverse conduct? Hence it is well added concerning the eating: "And unleavened bread with wild lettuce." For he eats bread without leaven who performs righteous works without the corruption of vainglory, who shows the commands of mercy without admixture of sin, lest he wickedly seize what he seems to dispense rightly. They had also mixed this leaven of sin into their good action, to whom the Lord spoke through the voice of the prophet in rebuke: "Come to Bethel and act impiously." And after a few words: "And sacrifice praise from what is leavened." For he offers praise from what is leavened who prepares a sacrifice to God from robbery. Wild lettuces are indeed very bitter. Therefore the flesh of the Lamb must be eaten with wild lettuces, so that when we receive the body of the Redeemer, we afflict ourselves with weeping for our sins, so that the very bitterness of repentance may cleanse from the stomach of the mind the humor of a perverse life. Where it is also added: "You shall not eat any of it raw, nor cooked in water." Behold, now the very words of the history drive us from a historical understanding. Surely, dearest brothers, that Israelite people established in Egypt had not been accustomed to eat raw lamb, that the law should say to them: "You shall not eat any of it raw"? Where it is also added: "Nor cooked in water." But what does water signify except human knowledge, according to what is said by Solomon in the voice of heretics: "Stolen waters are sweeter." What do the raw flesh of the Lamb signify except His humanity considered without reflection and left without reverence of thought? For everything that we consider carefully we, as it were, cook with the mind. But the flesh of the lamb is neither to be eaten raw nor cooked in water, because our Redeemer is neither to be considered a mere man, nor is how God was able to become incarnate to be thought through by human wisdom. For everyone who believes our Redeemer to be a mere man, what else does he do but eat the raw flesh of the lamb, which he was unwilling to cook through understanding of His divinity? And everyone who attempts to examine the mysteries of His incarnation according to human wisdom wishes to cook the flesh of the lamb in water, that is, he wishes to penetrate the mystery of His dispensation through dissolute knowledge. Therefore, whoever desires to celebrate the solemnity of Paschal joy, let him neither cook the lamb in water nor eat it raw, so that he may neither seek to penetrate through human wisdom the depth of His incarnation, nor believe in Him as in a mere man; but let him eat the flesh roasted by fire, so that he may know that all things were dispensed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Concerning which it is rightly added: "You shall consume the head with the feet and the entrails," because our Redeemer is the Alpha and Omega, that is, God before the ages and man at the end of the ages. And as we have already said, brothers, we have learned from Paul's testimony that God is the head of Christ. Therefore, to consume the head of the lamb is to receive His divinity by faith. To consume the feet of the lamb is to seek out the footsteps of His humanity by loving and imitating. What indeed are the entrails except the hidden and mystical commands of His words? These we consume when we take up the words of life with eagerness. In this word "consuming," what else is reproved but the torpor of our sloth? We who do not seek out His words and mysteries by ourselves, and hear the things spoken by others unwillingly. "Nothing of it shall remain until morning," because His words must be examined with great care, so that before the day of resurrection appears, in this night of the present life all His commands may be penetrated through understanding and doing. But because it is very difficult for all sacred eloquence to be understood and every mystery of it to be penetrated, it is rightly added: "But if anything remains, you shall burn it with fire." What remains of the lamb we burn with fire when we humbly reserve to the power of the Holy Spirit that which we cannot understand and penetrate concerning the mystery of His incarnation, so that no one may proudly dare either to despise or to proclaim what he does not understand, but hands it over to the fire when he reserves it to the Holy Spirit.
Since therefore we have learned how the Passover ought to be eaten, let us now recognize by whom it ought to be eaten. It follows: "And thus shall you eat it. You shall gird your loins." What is understood by the loins except the delight of the flesh? Hence the Psalmist also asks, saying: "Burn my loins." For if he had not known that the pleasure of lust resides in the loins, he would by no means have asked that they be burned. Hence, because the power of the devil has prevailed over the human race especially through lust, it is said of him by the voice of the Lord: "His power is in his loins." Therefore he who eats the Passover ought to have his loins girded, so that he who celebrates the solemnity of resurrection and incorruption may no longer be subject to corruption through any vices, may subdue pleasures, and may restrain the flesh from lust. For he does not know what the solemnity of incorruption is who still lies subject to corruption through incontinence. These things are hard for some, but narrow is the gate that leads to life. And we now have many examples of the continent. Hence it is also well added: "You shall have sandals on your feet." For what are our feet except our works? And what are sandals except the skins of dead animals? Now sandals protect the feet. And what are the dead animals from whose skins our feet are protected, except the ancient fathers who have gone before us to the eternal homeland? When we contemplate their examples, we protect the feet of our works. Therefore to have sandals on our feet is to contemplate the life of the dead and to guard our steps from the wound of sin. "Holding staffs in your hands." What does the law designate by the staff except pastoral care? And it should be noted that we are first commanded to gird our loins, afterward to hold staffs, because those ought to undertake pastoral care who already know how to subdue the excesses of lust in their own bodies, so that when they preach difficult things to others, they themselves do not weakly succumb to soft desires. And it is well added: "And you shall eat in haste." Note, dearest brothers, note what is said: "in haste." Learn the commandments of God, the mysteries of the Redeemer, the joys of the heavenly homeland with haste, and take care to fulfill the precepts of life with haste. For since we know that it is still permitted today to do good, we do not know whether it will be permitted tomorrow. Therefore eat the Passover in haste, that is, yearn for the solemnity of the heavenly homeland. Let no one grow sluggish on the journey of this life, lest he lose his place in the homeland. Let no one interweave delays in pursuing his endeavors, but let him complete what he has begun, lest he not be permitted to fulfill what he has started. If we are not lazy in the love of God, he whom we love helps us himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.