A feast day is about to arrive, and it is the most holy and awesome of all feasts. It would be no mistake to call it the chief and mother of all holy days. What feast is that? It is the day of Christ’s birth in the flesh.

It is from this day that the feasts of the theophany, the sacred Pasch [Passover], the ascension and Pentecost had their source and foundation. Had Christ not been born in the flesh, he would not have been baptized, which is the theophany or manifestation. Nor would he have been crucified, which is the Pasch. Nor would he have sent down the Spirit, which is Pentecost. Therefore, just as different rivers arise from a single source, these other feasts have their beginnings in the birth of Christ.

It was the forty second year of the reign of Augustus and twenty-eight years after the oppression of Egypt and the death of Antony and Cleopatra when Jesus was born in Bethlehem according to the prophecies concerning him. Flavius Josephus mentions this census in the time of Quirinius, adding another account about the sect of Galileans that arose at about the same time. Luke, among our writers, mentions this sect in Acts, saying, After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew some people after him. He also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.^[1]

When Augustus reigned alone upon earth, the many kingdoms of humankind came to end; and when you were made man of the pure Virgin, the many gods of idolatry were destroyed. The cities of the world passed under one single rule; and the nations came to believe in one sovereign Godhead. The peoples were enrolled by the decree of Caesar; and we, the faithful, were enrolled in the name of the Godhead, when you, our God, were made man. Great is your mercy: glory to you!

He chose a time of utmost peace as the time when he would be born because this was the reason for his being born in the world, that he might lead the human race back to the gifts of heavenly peace. And, indeed it is written: For he is our peace, who has made us both one,^[1] that is, he who as a kind mediator and reconciler has made one house of God of angels and humanity. Jesus was born in a time of peace, so that even by the circumstance of the time he might teach that he was the very one of whom the prophecy sent before him spoke: His sovereignty will be multiplied, and there will be no end of peace.^[2]

And even to the end of the world the Lord would not cease to be conceived in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem, as often as any one of those who hear him, taking the flour of his Word, make for themselves a house of eternal bread. Daily in the virginal womb, that is, in the souls of the faithful, is he conceived by faith and brought forth by baptism.

The Evangelist says that Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, to show that the conception had taken place only upon her engagement, and that the birth of the Emmanuel was miraculous, and not in accordance with the laws of nature. For the Virgin did not bear from the emission of man’s seed. And why was this so? Christ, who is the first fruits of all, the second Adam according to the Scriptures, was born of the Spirit, that he might transmit the grace (of the spiritual birth) to us also. For we too were intended no longer to bear the name of sons of men, but rather of God. We have obtained the new birth of the Spirit in Christ first, that he might be foremost among all,^[1] as Paul declares. And the occasion of the census conveniently caused the virgin to go to Bethlehem, so that we might see another prophecy fulfilled. For it is written, But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel!^[2]

Some argue that if he were brought forth in the flesh, the Virgin was corrupted. If she were not corrupted, then he was brought forth only in appearance. We reply, the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in and gone out, and the gate remains closed.^[3] If, moreover, the Word was made flesh without sexual intercourse, being conceived altogether without seed, then he was born without injury to her virginity.

Bethlehem has opened Eden: Come, let us see! We have found joy hidden! Come, let us take possession of the paradise within the cave. There the unwatered stem has appeared, from which forgiveness blossoms forth! There the undug well is found from which David longed to drink of old!^[1] There the Virgin has borne a child, and at once the thirst of Adam and David is made to cease. Therefore let us hasten to this place where for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!

The book of the sacred Gospels referring the genealogy to Joseph, who was descended from David’s house, has proved through him that the Virgin also was of the same tribe as David, inasmuch as the divine law commanded that marriages should be confined to those of the same tribe. And Paul, the interpreter of the heavenly doctrines, clearly declares the truth, bearing witness that the Lord arose out of Judah.^[1] The natures, however, which combined unto this real union were different, but from the two together is one God the Son, without the diversity of the natures being destroyed by the union. For a union of two natures was made, and therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. And it is with this notion of a union that we proclaim the Virgin to be the mother of God, because God the Word was made flesh and became man, and by the act of conception united to himself the temple that he received from her. For we perceive that two natures, by an inseparable union, met together in him without confusion, and indivisibly. For the flesh is flesh and not deity, even though it became the flesh of God. In like manner also the Word is God and not flesh, though for the dispensation’s sake he made the flesh his own. But although the natures which came together to form the union are both different and unequal to one another, yet he who is formed from them both is only one. We may not separate the one Lord Jesus Christ into man and God, but we affirm that Christ Jesus is one and the same, acknowledging the distinction of the natures, and preserving them free from confusion with one another.

He calls the Lord firstborn, not because we should believe that Mary gave birth to other sons after him, since it is true that she was memorable for her unique perpetual chastity with Joseph her husband. But he properly names him firstborn because, as John says, But to as many as received him he gave them the power to become sons of God.^[1] Among these sons he rightfully holds the primacy who, before he was born in the flesh, was Son of God, born without beginning. However, he descended to earth. He shared in our nature and lavished upon us a sharing in his grace, so that he should be the firstborn of many brothers.^[2]

He is the only-begotten of the substance of the divinity, firstborn in the assuming of humanity; firstborn in grace, only-begotten in nature.

He was a baby and a child, so that you may be a perfect human. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, so that you may be freed from the snares of death.^[1] He was in a manger, so that you may be in the altar. He was on earth that you may be in the stars. He had no other place in the inn, so that you may have many mansions in the heavens.^[2] He, being rich, became poor for your sakes, that through his poverty you might be rich.^[3] Therefore his poverty is our inheritance, and the Lord’s weakness is our virtue. He chose to lack for himself, that he may abound for all. The sobs of that appalling infancy cleanse me, those tears wash away my sins. Therefore, Lord Jesus, I owe more to your sufferings because I was redeemed than I do to works for which I was created. . . .

You see that he is in swaddling clothes. You do not see that he is in heaven. You hear the cries of an infant, but you do not hear the lowing of an ox recognizing its Master, for the ox knows his Owner and the donkey his Master’s crib.^[4]

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.^[1] It should be noted that the sign given of the Savior’s birth is not a child enfolded in Tyrian purple, but one wrapped with rough pieces of cloth. He is not to be found in an ornate golden bed, but in a manger. The meaning of this is that he did not merely take upon himself our lowly mortality, but for our sakes took upon himself the clothing of the poor. Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich.^[2] Though he was Lord of heaven, he became a poor man on earth, to teach those who lived on earth that by poverty of spirit they might win the kingdom of heaven.

Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and celebrate, all who love Zion! Today the ancient bond of the condemnation of Adam is loosed. Paradise is opened to us: the serpent is laid low. Of old he deceived the woman in Paradise, but now he sees a woman become mother of the Creator. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!^[1] The sinful vessel that brought death upon all flesh has become the first fruits of salvation through the Theotokos for all the world. For from her the all-perfect God is born a child, and by his birth he sets the seal on her virginity. Through his swaddling clothes he looses the bands of sin. And through becoming a child he heals Eve’s pangs in travail. Therefore let all creation sing and dance for joy, for Christ has come to restore it and to save our souls!

To prevent you from thinking that his coming to earth was merely an accommodation, and to give you solid grounds for truly believing that his was real flesh, he was conceived, born and nurtured. That his birth might be made manifest and become common knowledge, he was laid in a manger, not in some small room but in a lodging place before numerous people. This was the reason for the swaddling clothes and also for the prophecies spoken long before. The prophecies showed not only that he was going to be a man but that he would be conceived, born and nurtured as any child would be.

He found humanity reduced to the level of the beasts. Therefore he is placed like feed in a manger, that we, having left behind our carnal desires, might rise up to that degree of intelligence which befits human nature. Whereas we were brutish in soul, by now approaching the manger, yes, his table, we find no longer feed, but the bread from heaven, which is the body of life.

He found no room in the Holy of Holies that shone with gold, precious stones, pure silk and silver. He is not born in the midst of gold and riches, but in the midst of dung, in a stable where our sins were filthier than the dung. He is born on a dunghill in order to lift up those who come from it: From the dunghill he lifts up the poor.^[1]

He is brought forth from the womb but flashes from heaven. He lies in an earthly inn but is alive with heavenly light.

The Lord is born on earth, and he does not have even a cell in which to be born, for there was no room for him in the inn. The entire human race had a place, and the Lord about to be born on earth had none. He found no room among men. He found no room in Plato, none in Aristotle, but in a manger, among beasts of burden and brute animals, and among the simple, too, and the innocent. For that reason the Lord says in the Gospel: The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.^[1]

He who sits at the right hand of the Father goes without shelter from the inn, that he may for us get ready many mansions^[1] in the house of his heavenly Father. Hence we have because there was no room for him in the inn. He was born not in the house of his parents but at the inn, by the wayside, because through the mystery of the incarnation he is become the Way by which he guides us to our home, where we shall also enjoy the Truth and the Life.

See how divine care adds faith. An angel tells Mary, an Angel tells Joseph, an angel tells the shepherds. It does not suffice that a messenger is sent once. For every word stands with two or three witnesses.

Listen, shepherds of the churches! Listen, God’s shepherds! His angel always comes down from heaven and proclaims to you, Today a Savior is born for you, who is Christ the Lord. For, unless that Shepherd comes, the shepherds of the churches will be unable to guard the flock well. Their custody is weak, unless Christ pastures and guards along with them. We read in the apostle: We are coworkers with God.^[1] A good shepherd, who imitates the good Shepherd, is a coworker with God and Christ. He is a good shepherd precisely because he has the best Shepherd with him, pasturing his sheep along with him. For God established in his church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. He established everything for the perfection of the saints.^[2]

After the Lord came to the earth, He established peace through the blood of his cross, both for those upon the earth and those who are in heaven.^[1] And the angels wanted people to remember their Creator. They had done everything in their power to cure them, but they were unwilling to be cured. Then the angels behold him who could effect a cure. They give glory and say, Glory to God on high, and peace on earth.

It is good that the angel said has been born today and did not say this night. He appeared with heavenly light to those who were conducting the watch by night and brought the good news that day was born. . . . He who appeared temporally in the city of David as a human being from a virgin mother was, in truth, himself born before all time and without spatial limitation, light from light, true God from true God. Because, therefore, the light of life rose for those of us dwelling in the region of the shadow of death,^[1] the herald of this rising says, A savior has been born to you today. So that being always advised by this word we may remember that the night of ancient blindness is past and the day of eternal salvation has arrived. Let us cast off the works of darkness.^[2] And let us walk as children of light,^[3] for the fruit of the light is in all justice and holiness.^[4]

Your faith, which has gathered you all here in this large crowd, is well aware that a Savior was born for us today. He was born of the Father always, of his mother once; of the Father without reference to sex, of his mother without the use of it. With the Father, of course, there was no womb to conceive him in; with his mother there was no male embrace to beget him. By the first nativity from the Father nature was preserved. By the second nativity from his mother the seeds of grace were sown. In the former he retained the majesty of the divine substance. In the latter he took on fellowship with us in our human mortality. And the reason he was prepared to come through this latter birth was so that he might become obedient to the death^[1] and by dying might conquer death.

He was wrapped in swaddling bands, but at the resurrection he released the swaddling bands of the grave. He was laid in a manger but was praised by angels, disclosed by a star and adored by magi.

Look not upon him who was laid in the manger as a babe merely, but in our poverty see him who as God is rich, and in the measure of our humanity him who prospers those in heaven, and who therefore is glorified even by the angels. And how noble was the hymn, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and among men good will! The angels and archangels, thrones and lordships, and the seraphim are at peace with God. Never in any way do they oppose his good pleasure but are firmly established in righteousness and holiness. But we wretched beings, by having set up our own lusts in opposition to the will of our Lord, had put ourselves into the position of his enemies. Christ has abolished this. For he is our peace^[1] and has united us by himself to God the Father. He has taken away from the middle the cause of the enmity and so justifies us by faith, makes us holy and without blame, and calls near to him those who were far off. Besides this, he has created the two people into one new man, so making peace and reconciling both in one body to the Father.^[2] For it pleased God the Father to form into one new whole all things in him, and to bind together things below and things above, and to make those in heaven and those on earth into one flock. Christ therefore has been made for us both peace and goodwill.

In heaven, where there is no discord, glory rules. On earth, where every day is warfare, peace prevails. Peace among whom? Among men. Why are the Gentiles without peace? Why, too, the Jews? That is exactly the reason for the qualification: Peace among men of good will, among those who acknowledge the birth of Christ.

Heaven and earth are united today, for Christ is born! Today God has come upon earth, and humankind gone up to heaven. Today, for the sake of humankind, the invisible one is seen in the flesh. Therefore let us glorify him and cry aloud: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace bestowed by your coming, Savior: glory to you!

Today in Bethlehem, I hear the angels: glory to God in the highest! Glory to him whose good pleasure it was that there be peace on earth! The Virgin is now more spacious than the heavens. Light has shone on those in darkness, exalting the lowly who sing like the angels: Glory to God in the highest!

Beholding him [Adam] who was in God’s image and likeness fallen through transgression, Jesus bowed the heavens and came down, without change taking up his dwelling in a virgin womb, that he might refashion Adam fallen in corruption, and crying out: glory to your epiphany, my Savior and my God!

Before the Redeemer was born in the flesh, there was discord between us and the angels, from whose brightness and holy perfection we were separated, in punishment first of original sin and then because of our daily offences. Because through sin we had become strangers to God, the angels as God’s subjects cut us off from their fellowship. But since we have now acknowledged our King, the angels receive us as fellow citizens. Because the King of heaven has taken unto himself the flesh of our earth, the angels from their heavenly heights no longer look down upon our infirmity. Now they are at peace with us, putting away the remembrance of the ancient discord. Now they honor us as friends, whom before they considered to be weak and despised.

Man is unable to rule over the lower things unless he in turn submits to the rule of a higher being. And this is the peace that is promised on earth to men of good will. This is the life of a man of consummate and perfect wisdom. The prince of this world, who rules over the perverse and disorderly, has been cast out of a thoroughly pacified and orderly kingdom of this kind. When this peace has been established and strengthened within a man, then he who has been cast out—no matter what persecutions he may stir up from without increases the glory that is according to God.

As peace began to be established, the angels proclaimed: Glory in the highest and peace on earth. When lower beings received peace from superior beings, they cried, Glory on earth and peace in the heavens.^[1] At that time when the divinity came down and was clothed in humanity, the angels cried, Peace on earth. And at the time when that humanity ascended in order to be absorbed into the divinity and sit on the right, Peace in heaven, the infants were crying forth before him, Hosanna in the highest.^[2] Hence the apostle also learned that one should say, He made peace by the blood of his cross for that which is in heaven and on earth.^[3]

A further interpretation is that the angels cried forth: Glory in the highest and peace on earth, and that the children cried out, Peace in heaven and glory on earth.^[4] This is to show that just as the grace of his mercy gave joy to sinners on earth, so too their repentance gave joy to the angels in heaven.^[5] Glory to God! came from free will. Peace and reconciliation were for those against whom he was angry, and hope and remission were for the guilty.

The shepherds did not keep silent about the hidden mysteries that they had come to know by divine influence. They told whomever they could. Spiritual shepherds in the church are appointed especially for this, that they may proclaim the mysteries of the Word of God and that they may show to their listeners that the marvels which they have learned in the Scriptures are to be marveled at.

Abiding by the rules of virginal modesty, Mary wished to divulge to no one the secret things which she knew about Christ. She reverently waited for the time and place when he would wish to divulge them. However, though her mouth was silent, in her careful, watchful heart she weighed these secret things. And this is what the Evangelist says, pondering in her heart—indeed, she weighed those acts which she saw in relation to those things which she had read were to be done. Now she saw that she herself, who had arisen from the stock of Jesse, had conceived God’s Son of the Holy Spirit. She had read in the prophet, A shoot will sprout from the root of Jesse, and a ‘nazareus’ will ascend from his root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.^[1] She had read, And you, Bethlehem Ephratha, are a little one among the thousands of Judah. Out of you will come forth for me the one who is ruler in Israel, and his coming forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.^[2] She saw that she had given birth in Bethlehem to the Ruler of Israel, who was born eternal from the Father, God before the ages. She saw that she had conceived as a virgin, and given birth to a son, and called his name Jesus. She had read in the prophets, Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.^[3] She had read, An ox recognizes its owner and an ass its master’s manger.^[4] She saw the Lord lying in a manger, where an ox and an ass used to come to be nourished. She remembered that it had been said to her by the angel, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and so the holy one who will be born from you will be called the Son of God.^[5] She had read that the manner of his nativity could be recognized only by the revelation of an angel, in accordance with Isaiah’s saying, Who will tell of his generation?^[6] She had read, And you, tower of the flock, misty daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former power shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.^[7] She heard that angelic powers, who are daughters of the city on high, had appeared to shepherds in a place which was in former times called tower of the flock from the gathering of cattle—and this is one mile to the east of Bethlehem. There, even now, the three tombs of these shepherds are pointed out in a church. She then knew that the Lord had come in the flesh, whose power is one and eternal with the Father, and he would give to his daughter the church the kingdom of the heavenly Jerusalem. Mary was comparing these things which she had read were to occur with those which she recognized as already having occurred. Nevertheless she did not bring these things forth from her mouth but kept them closed up in her heart.

So, when he died, we died with him, and when he rose, we rose with him. Likewise, we were also circumcised along with him. After his circumcision, we were cleansed by a solemn purification. Hence we have no need at all for a circumcision of the flesh. You should know that he was circumcised for our sake. Listen to Paul’s clear proclamation. He says, For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ. And you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.^[1] Therefore his death, his resurrection and his circumcision took place for our sake.

Christians are seen to draw their courage not from incantations but from the name of Jesus and from the commemoration of what he has done. For by his name it has happened very often that demons are put to flight from people, especially whenever they, who invoke them, pronounce them with the right disposition and with all trust. So great indeed is the power of the name of Jesus that sometimes it is efficacious even when spoken by the wicked. The name of Jesus heals the afflicted in mind, puts to flight the spirits of darkness, and to the sick is an ever present remedy.

He therefore received in the flesh the circumcision decreed by the law, although he appeared in the flesh absolutely without any blemish of pollution. He who came in the likeness of sinful flesh^[1]—not in sinful flesh—did not turn away from the remedy by which sinful flesh was ordinarily made clean. Similarly, not because of necessity but for the sake of example, he also submitted to the water of baptism, by which he wanted the people of the new law of grace to be washed from the stain of sins. . . .

The reason the child who was born to us, the son who was given to us,^[2] received the name Jesus (that is, Savior) does not need explanation in order to be understood by us, but we need eager and vigilant zeal so that we too may be saved by sharing in his name. Indeed, we read how the angel interprets the name of Jesus: He will save his people from their sins.^[3] And without a doubt we believe and hope that the one who saves us from sins is not failing to save us also from the corruptions which happen because of sins, and from death itself, as the psalmist testifies when he says, Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.^[4] Indeed, with the pardoning of all of our iniquities, all our diseases will be completely healed when, with the appearance of the glory of the resurrection, our last enemy, death, will be destroyed. . . . We read that circumcision was done with knives made of rock,^[5] and the rock was Christ.^[6] And by Christ’s faith, hope and love the hearts of the good are purified not only in baptism but furthermore in every devout action. This daily circumcision of ours (that is, the continual cleansing of our heart) does not cease from always celebrating the sacrament of the eighth day.

St. Paul says that neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision.^[1] On the eighth day Christ rose from the dead and gave us the spiritual circumcision. He then commanded the holy apostles, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.^[2] And we affirm that the spiritual circumcision takes place chiefly in holy baptism, when Christ makes us partakers of the Holy Spirit too. Of this Joshua, that Jesus of old, who became the leader of the Israelites after Moses, was also a type. He led the children of Israel across the Jordan, then made them stop and immediately circumcised them with knives of stone. So when we have crossed the Jordan, Christ circumcises us with the power of the Holy Spirit, not by purifying the flesh but rather by cutting off the defilement that is in our souls. On the eighth day, therefore, Christ was circumcised and, as I said, received his name. We were saved by him and through him, because in him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ. And you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him.^[3] His death, therefore, was for our sake, as were also his resurrection and his circumcision. For he died, so that we who have died together with him in his dying to sin, would no longer live for sin. Thus if we have died together with him, we shall also live together with him.^[4] He is said to have died to sin, not because he had sinned, for he was without sin, neither was guile found on his lips,^[5] but because of our sin. Therefore, just as we died together with him when he died, so will we also rise together with him. . . .

After Jesus’ circumcision, the rite was abolished by the introduction of baptism, of which circumcision was a type. For this reason we are no longer circumcised. It seems to me that circumcision achieved three distinct ends. In the first place, it separated the descendants of Abraham by a sort of sign and seal and distinguished them from all other nations. Second, it prefigured in itself the grace and efficacy of divine baptism. Formerly a male who was circumcised was included among the people of God by virtue of that seal; nowadays, a person who is baptized and has formed in himself Christ the seal, becomes a member of God’s adopted family. Third, circumcision is the symbol of the faithful when they are established in grace, as they cut away and mortify the tumultuous rising of carnal pleasures and passions by the sharp surgery of faith and by ascetic labors. They do this not by cutting the body but by purifying the heart. They do this by being circumcised in the spirit and not in the letter. Their praise, as St. Paul testifies, needs not the sentence of any human tribunal, but depends upon the decree from above.^[6]

Mary, God’s blessed mother and a perpetual virgin, was, along with the Son she bore, most free from all subjection to the law. The law says that a woman who had received seed^[1] and given birth was to be judged unclean and that after a long period she, along with the offspring she had borne, were to be cleansed by victims offered to God. So it is evident that the law does not describe as unclean that woman who, without receiving man’s seed, gave birth as a virgin. Nor does it so describe the son who was born to her. Nor does it teach that she had to be cleansed by saving sacrificial offerings. But as our Lord and Savior, who in his divinity was the one who gave the law, when he appeared as a human being, willed to be under the law. . . . So too his blessed mother, who by a singular privilege was above the law, nevertheless did not shun being made subject to the principles of the law for the sake of showing us an example of humility.

All heretics have gone astray by not understanding the mystery of his nativity. The statement he who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord is more applicable to the special nativity of the Savior than to that of all men, for Christ alone opened the closed doors of the womb of virginity, which nevertheless remained permanently closed. This is the closed east door, through which only the high priest enters and leaves, and nevertheless it is always closed.

For this reason it seems wonderful that the sacrifice of Mary was not the first offering, that is, a lamb a year old, but the second, since she could not afford^[1] the first. For as it was written about her, Jesus’ parents came to offer a sacrifice for him, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’ But this also shows the truth of what was written, that Jesus Christ although he was rich, became a poor man.^[2] Therefore, for this reason, he chose both a poor mother, from whom he was born, and a poor homeland, about which it is said, But you, O Bethlehem Ephratha, who are little to be among the clans of Judah,^[3] and the rest.

Let us come now to the turtledove, chosen as a chaste victim by the law of God. Hence, when the Lord was circumcised, the dove was offered, because it is written in the law that there should be a presentation of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.^[1] For this is the true sacrifice of Christ: chastity of body and grace of the spirit. Chastity belongs to the turtledove; grace, to the pigeon.

Simeon and Anna, a man and a woman of advanced age, greeted the Lord with the devoted services of their professions of faith. As they saw him, he was small in body, but they understood him to be great in his divinity. Figuratively speaking, this denotes the synagogue, the Jewish people, who, wearied by the long awaiting of his incarnation, were ready with both their arms (their pious actions) and their voices (their unfeigned faith) to exalt and magnify him as soon as he came. They were ready to acclaim him and say, Direct me in your truth and teach me, for you are my saving God, and for you I have waited all the day.^[1] What needs to be mentioned, too, is that deservedly both sexes hurried to meet him, offering congratulations, since he appeared as the Redeemer of both.

The just Simeon saw him with his heart, because he recognized the infant. He saw him with his eyes, because he took the infant in his arms. Seeing him in both ways, recognizing the Son of God, and cuddling the one begotten of the Virgin, he said, Now, Lord, you are letting your servant go in peace, since my eyes have seen your salvation. Notice what he said. You see, he was being kept until he should see with his eyes what he already perceived with faith. He took the baby body, he cradled the body in his arms. On seeing the body, that is, on perceiving the Lord in the flesh, he said, My eyes have seen your salvation. How do you know this is not the way in which all flesh is going to see the salvation of God?

Simeon knew that no one could release a man from the prison of the body with hope of life to come, except the anointed One whom he enfolded in his arms.

Hence he also says to him, Now you dismiss your servant, Lord, in peace. For, as long as I did not hold Christ, as long as my arms did not enfold him, I was imprisoned and unable to escape from my bonds. This is true not only of Simeon but of the whole human race. Anyone who departs from this world, anyone who is released from prison and the house of those in chains, to go forth and reign, should take Jesus in his hands. He should enfold him with his arms and fully grasp him in his bosom. Then he will be able to go in joy where he longs to go. . . .

Then he entered the temple—but not by chance or naively. He came to the temple in the Spirit of God. . . . If you wish to hold Jesus, and to embrace him with your hands, and to be made worthy of leaving prison, you too must struggle with every effort to possess the guiding Spirit. Just come to God’s temple. See, you stand now already in the temple of the Lord Jesus, his church. This is the temple built from living stones.^[1]

The Son came to the servant not to be presented by the servant, but so that, through the Son, the servant might present to his Lord the priesthood and prophecy that had been entrusted to his keeping. Prophecy and priesthood, which had been given through Moses, were both passed down, and came to rest on Simeon. He was a pure vessel who consecrated himself, so that, like Moses, he too could contain them both. These were feeble vessels that accommodated great gifts—gifts that one might contain because of their goodness but that many cannot accept, because of their greatness. Simeon presented our Lord, and in him he presented the two gifts he had, so that what had been given Moses in the desert was passed on by Simeon in the temple. Because our Lord is the vessel in which all fullness dwells,^[1] when Simeon presented him to God, he poured out both of these upon him: the priesthood from his hands and prophecy from his lips. The priesthood had always been on Simeon’s hands, because of ritual purifications. Prophecy, in fact, dwelt on his lips because of revelations. When both of these saw the Lord of both of these, they were combined and were poured into the vessel that could accommodate them both, in order to contain priesthood, kingship and prophecy.

That infant who was wrapped in swaddling clothes by virtue of his goodness was also dressed in priesthood and prophecy by virtue of his majesty. Simeon dressed him in these and presented him to the one who had dressed him in swaddling clothes. Then, as the old man returned him to his mother, he returned the priesthood with him. And when he prophesied to her about him: This child is destined for the downfall and rising, he gave her prophecy with him as well.

So Mary took her firstborn and left. Although he was visibly wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was invisibly clothed with prophecy and priesthood. Thus, what Moses had been given was received from Simeon, and it remained and continued with the Lord of these two gifts. The former steward and the final treasurer handed over the keys of priesthood and prophecy to the one in authority over the treasury of both of these. This is why his Father gave him the Spirit without measure,^[2] because all measures of the Spirit are under his hand. And to indicate that he received the keys from the former stewards, our Lord said to Simon, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.^[3] Now how could he give them to someone unless he had received them from someone else? So the keys he had received from Simeon the priest, he gave to another Simeon, the apostle. So even though the Jewish nation did not listen to the first Simeon, the Gentile nations would listen to the other Simeon.

Now, it is a custom in Scripture to call the Christ of God, salvation, as Simeon says: Now let your servant depart in peace, O Lord, because my eyes have seen your salvation. Therefore let us subject ourselves to God, because from him is salvation. He explains what salvation is. It is not some mere active force, which provides us with a certain grace for deliverance from weakness and for the good health of our body. What then is salvation?

For he is my God and my Savior: he is my protector, I shall be moved no more.^[1] The Son, who is from God, is our God. He himself is also Savior of the human race, who supports our weakness, who corrects the disturbance that springs up in our souls from temptations.

The mystery of Christ had been prepared even before the very foundation of the world but was manifested in the last ages of time. It became a light for those who in darkness and error had fallen under the devil’s hand. These were they who serve the creature instead of the Creator,^[1] worshiping moreover the dragon, the author of evil, and the impure throng of devils, to whom they attach the honor due God. Yet God the Father called them to the acknowledgment of the Son who is the true Light. . . .

Christ therefore became the Gentiles’ light for revelation, but also for the glory of Israel. For even granting that some of them proved insolent and disobedient, and with minds that did not understand, yet there is a remnant there, saved and admitted to glory through Christ. The first fruits of these were the divine disciples, the brightness of whose renown lightens the whole world.

In another sense, Christ is the glory of Israel, for he came out of Israel according to the flesh, though he is God over all, and blessed for evermore. Amen.^[2]

He is set for the fall of the unbelieving Jews, but for the resurrection of the believing Gentiles. And for a sign that is spoken against. The cross is a sign that is spoken against. Why? Because many who did not believe denied him at the cross. They ridiculed it both by deeds and words. They gave him vinegar to drink, offered him gall for his thirst, twisted a wreath of thorns to put on his brow, pierced his side with a spear, struck him with their hands, and shouted at him with offensive clamor: He saved others, but cannot save himself.^[1]

Everything that the plain narrative recounts about the Savior is spoken against. The Virgin is a mother. This is a sign that is spoken against. The Marcionites speak against this sign and insist that he was not born of a woman. The Ebionites speak against this sign and say that he was born of a man and a woman in the same way as we are born. He had a human body.

There is still another sign that is spoken against. Some say that he came down from heaven. Others say that he had a body like ours, so that he could also redeem our bodies from sin by the likeness of his body to ours and give us hope of the resurrection. He rose from the dead. This is also a sign that is spoken against. How did he rise? Was he just as he was when he died, or did he surely rise into a body of a better substance? . . .

I myself think that even the fact that the mouths of the prophets foretold him is a sign that is spoken against. . . . It does not mean that those who believe in him speak against these signs. We know indeed that everything that Scripture records is true. But, for unbelievers, all things that are written about him are a sign that is spoken against.

However, this blessed one, who had been found worthy of gifts surpassing nature, did at the time of the passion suffer the pangs which she had escaped at childbirth. When she saw him put to death as a criminal—the man she knew to be God when she gave birth to him—her heart was torn from maternal compassion and she was rent by her thoughts as by a sword. This is the meaning of and a sword will pierce through your own soul. But her grief gave way to the joy of the resurrection, the resurrection which proclaimed him to be God who had died in the flesh.

Simeon said likewise, You will remove the sword. Mary removed the sword that protected Paradise because of Eve.^[1] Alternatively, you will remove the sword, that is, a denial. For the Greek says clearly, the inner thoughts of a great number will be revealed, that is, the thoughts of those who had doubted. For he said, You will remove the sword. Indeed, you too will doubt, because she thought that he was the gardener.^[2] Mary wondered at his birth, it is said, and at his conception. She recounted to others how she had conceived, and indeed how she had given birth. Those who had doubted it were comforted by the wonderment of her word.

And a sword will pierce through your own soul. Neither Scripture nor history tells us that Mary departed this life by a violent death. For it is not the soul but the body that can be pierced by a material sword. This, therefore, proves that Mary was not unaware of the heavenly mystery: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.^[1] God’s Word exposes the thoughts and intents of the heart, because all things are open and naked to the eyes of Mary’s Son, to whom the secrets of our conscience are visible.

That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed means that after the scandal which happened at the cross of Christ to both the disciples and to Mary herself, some swift healing will follow from the Lord, confirming their hearts in their faith in him. Thus we see that even Peter, after having stumbled, clung more firmly to his faith in Christ. What was human, therefore, was proven unsound in order that the power of the Lord might be manifested.

Because it was necessary that women too should be saved, after Simeon there came a woman who was a prophet. Scripture says of her, And Anna was a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher. How beautiful the order is! The woman did not come before the man. First came Simeon, who took the child and held him in his arms. Then came the woman. Her exact words are not recorded. But the account says in general terms that she gave praise to the Lord and spoke about him to everyone who was awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Evangelist continues with this account of Anna. He lists both her father and her tribe, so that we might be convinced he is speaking the truth. He is summoning, as it were, many witnesses who knew her father and her tribe.

In a mystical sense Anna stands for the church, which in this present world is as it were widowed by the death of her Spouse. Even the number of the years of her widowhood designates the time in which the church, continuing on in the body, sojourns afar from her Lord. Seven times twelve make eighty-four. And seven relates to the full course of this world, which was wrought in seven days. But twelve belongs to the completeness of the apostolic teachings. Whoever, therefore, whether the universal church or anyone of the faithful, devotes the whole course of life to apostolic labors, is praised as serving the Lord for eighty-four years.

The period of seven years during which she lived with her husband is in accord with the time of the Lord’s incarnation. For as I have said, the completeness of time is to be expressed by the number seven. Here because of the special quality of the Lord’s majesty, the simple number of seven years expresses, in sign of its perfection, the time in which he taught while clothed in the flesh. It also favors the mysteries of the church that Anna is interpreted as the Lord’s grace, that she is the daughter of Phanuel, who is called the face of the Lord, and descended from the tribe of Ashur, that is, blessed with children.^[1]

Anna, who, by reason of her years of widowhood and her virtues, is set before us as wholly worthy of belief, announces that the Redeemer of all people has come. . . . Not without purpose, however, does he make mention of the eighty-four years of her widowhood, because both the seven twelves and the two forties seemed to imply a number that is sacred.

In the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit writes this of him before he reached the age of twelve: But the boy grew and was strengthened, and he was filled with wisdom. Human nature itself does not permit this, that wisdom is perfected before the twelfth year of life. It is one thing to participate in wisdom, another thing to be filled with wisdom. . . .

The Son of God had emptied himself,^[1] and, for that reason, again he is filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was upon him. He possessed the grace of God not when he reached young manhood, not when he taught openly, but already when he was a small child.

Do not think to yourself, How can God grow? How can he who gives grace to angels and to men receive fresh wisdom? Rather reflect upon the great skill with which we are initiated into his mystery. For the wise Evangelist did not introduce the Word in his abstract and incorporeal nature. He says of him that he increased in stature and wisdom and grace, but after having shown that he was born in the flesh of a woman and took our likeness, he then assigns to him these human attributes. Only then does he call him a child and say that he grew in stature, as his body grew little by little, in obedience to corporeal laws. So he is said also to have increased in wisdom, not as receiving fresh supplies of wisdom. God is perceived by the understanding to be entirely perfect in all things and altogether incapable of being destitute of any attribute suitable to the Godhead. So God the Word gradually manifested his wisdom proportionally to the age which the body had attained.

The body then advances in stature, and the soul, in wisdom. The divine nature is capable of increase in neither one nor the other, seeing that the Word of God is all perfect. With good reason be connected the increase of wisdom with the growth of the bodily stature, because the divine nature revealed its own wisdom in proportion to the measure of the bodily growth.

Luke here omits that which he knew was already sufficiently recorded by Matthew. After this the Lord, lest he be discovered and slaughtered by Herod, was taken into Egypt by his parents. When Herod was dead, he returned finally to Galilee, and began to live in his own village of Nazareth. Individual Evangelists are prone to omit certain things, which they see were recorded by others, or which they foresee in the Spirit will be recorded by others, so that in the continuous thread of their narration nothing seems omitted. What has thus been passed over, the diligent reader will discover by carefully going through each of the Gospels in turn.