The one whom he entitled Emmanuel above,^[1] then take the spoils, hasten to plunder,^[2] and with other names, he now calls Savior, lest there appear to be another beyond him whom Gabriel announced to the Virgin, saying, And you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people.^[3] He also prophesies that waters are to be drawn from his fonts—not from the waters of the rivers of Egypt, which were stricken,^[4] nor from the waters of the rivers of Rezin, but from the fonts of Jesus, for this is what Savior expresses in the Hebrew language. Hence Jesus himself cried out in the Gospel, Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture says, ‘rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ This, adds the evangelist, he said of the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive.^[5] Jesus also says elsewhere in the Gospel, The one who drinks from the water that I shall give him will never thirst again, for the water that I will give him will become in him a font of water springing up to eternal life.^[6] We understand the fonts of the Savior to be evangelical doctrine, about which we read in the sixty-seventh psalm, Blessed be the Lord God in the congregations from the fonts of Israel.^[7]

The foolishness of those who have eyes with which to see their wounds is superior to the wisdom of those who do not.^[1] Admonished by the spiritual vision of his foolishness, then, the king showed himself so obviously to be afflicted with miseries that he was able to find the cure, which is repentance. Judas, on the other hand, who bought a field with the reward from his iniquity, could not find the cure. I am afflicted with miseries, the king said, and I am utterly bowed down; all day long I walk in sorrow.^[2] Are we to understand the utterly of his utterly bowed down as referring to the fullness of the legal requirements for repentance? Or, better, shall we not understand it mystically as referring to Christ, who is himself the fullness of the law, who allowed himself to be stoned, his body suffering the wounds of death? Christ’s wounds, however, were redolent with the fragrance of grace, not the stench of repentance. Hence it was not death’s decay that flowed from his wounds, as is the case with all other men, but it was the fountain of eternal life, as Scripture teaches us: And water will spring up with delight from the fountains of salvation. His wounds gushed forth, therefore, that we might drink of salvation. All sinners of the world will drink to overthrow sin, but each person must be considered individually. Christ was afflicted with miseries to make blessed those who were ensconced in misery. No one will call a man miserable who may be righteous. He himself said, No one will make you wretched. He was bowed down that we might be raised up; he bore sorrow to bring us joy, according to which it is written: For if I make you sorrowful, who will bring me joy except those whom I brought sorrow?^[3] The very one who was made sorrowful by the Lord Jesus Christ will bring joy to Christ and will be made joyful by Christ. We recognize, therefore, that satisfaction does not need to be made by us. We are utterly bowed down, that is, not only in offering our faith in Christ but also our perseverance in suffering. And we should rejoice in our sufferings, as Christ also rejoiced in his sufferings. What he took up for his servants, we should undergo for the Lord.

Although my mind would fail if you were to ask how Christ is rich in poverty, the well of divine Scripture does not fail, for the apostle said, The Lord Jesus was made poor when he was rich, that by his poverty you might become rich.^[1] But what is that poverty which makes rich? Let’s consider the matter by focusing on the venerable sacrament itself. What can be purer or simpler than it? No one is soaked in the blood of a bull, as the sacred rites of the Gentiles are said to have, nor is any sinner washed with the blood of goats and rams, for these acts cleanse only the flesh but do not absolve sins. Rather, water will spring up with delight from the fountains of salvation, and a heavenly table will be prepared in your presence and a glorious, intoxicating cup.^[2] These are the things of rich simplicity in which Christ’s precious poverty consists. Because poverty is also good with respect to morals, the Lord said, Blessed are the poor in spirit,^[3] and we find in the psalms, For the Lord will save the humble of spirit.^[4] I believe that poverty also abounds in gathering together, if faith abounds. For this reason, the apostle said, Their great poverty abounds in the riches of their simplicity.^[5]

There will be a great chasm, therefore, between the wealthy and the poor, because merits cannot be altered after death. As the wealthy man is led down to the furnace, he desires to draw a cooling draft from the poor, since water is refreshment for the soul in pain, concerning which Isaiah said, And water will spring up with delight from the fountains of salvation. But why is he tormented prior to judgment? Because the punishment for luxuriant living is to be lacking in pleasure. For the Lord also said, There will be weeping and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of heaven.^[1] Very late does the wealthy man begin to be a teacher, when he still has time for learning but not for teaching.

More majestic than the voices of many waters or the mighty waves of the sea.^[1] These are the waters of Shiloah which run in silence,^[2] about which Isaiah speaks: You will draw water from the fountains of salvation; and the psalmist: Bless the Lord from the fountains of Israel.^[3] Again, Isaiah says about the Lord our Savior: He will live in a dwelling on high, made of the strongest rock; bread will be given him, and his water supply will be sure.^[4]

But after discussing this sermon of the venerable Bishop Paul, Saint Cyril addressed the people and said, The blessed prophet Isaiah, preaching tenderly about future teachers in Christ, said, ‘Draw water from the fountains of salvation with joy.’ Behold, therefore, we drew water from the holy font. But I say that our prophesying teacher, having been enlightened through feasts of the Holy Spirit, was drawing our attention to the great and sacred mystery of the Savior, through which we who believe in him were saved.

We say that God is . . . a fountain because he fills the thirsty and empty.

And who is this strong man, except him of whom the Lord says in the Gospel, No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, unless he first bind the strong man.^[1] The Lord, therefore, bound the fountains and the torrents when he spread in the hearts of his apostles the streams of truth. Of whom it is said again by another prophet; With joy shall you draw water from the fountains of the Savior.