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On the Faith
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Homily of Saint Gregory
Palamas
For the Sunday of The Myrrhbearing Women
(Gospel of Saint Mark 15:43-16:8)
Translated by Fr. Hierodeacon Photios Touloumes+
The resurrection of the Lord is the
regeneration of human
nature.
It is the resuscitation and re-creation of the first Adam, whom sin led
to death, and who because of death, again was made to retrace his steps
on the earth from which he was made. The resurrection is the
return
to immortal life. Whereas no one saw that first man when he was
created
and given life—because no man existed yet at that time—woman was the
first
person to see him after he had received the breath of life by divine
inbreathing.
For after him, Eve was the first human being. Likewise no one saw
the second Adam, who is the Lord, rise from the dead, for none of his
followers
were near by and the soldiers guarding the tomb were so shaken that
they
were like dead men. Following the resurrection, however, it was a
woman who saw Him first before the others, as we have heard from Saint
Mark’s Gospel today. After his resurrection Jesus appeared on
the morning of the Lord’s Day [Sunday] to Mary Magdalene first.
It seems that the Evangelist is
speaking clearly about the time of
the
Lord’s resurrection - that it was morning - that he appeared to Mary
Magdalene,
and that he appeared to her at the time of the resurrection. But,
if we pay some attention it will become clear that this is not what he
says. Earlier in this passage, in agreement with the other Evangelists,
Saint Mark says that Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb earlier with
the
other Myrrhbearing women, and that she went away when she saw it
empty.
Therefore, the Lord had risen much earlier on the morning on which she
saw him. But wishing to fix the time more exactly, he doesn’t say
simply “morning,” as is the case here, but “very early in the
morning.”
Thus the expression “and the rising of the sun” as used there refers to
that time when the slightest light precedes from the east on the
horizon.
This is what Saint John also wants to indicate when he says that Mary
Magdalene
came to the tomb in the morning while it was still dark and saw the
stone
pulled away from it.
According to Saint John, she did not
come to the tomb alone, even
though
she left the tomb without yet having seen the Lord. For she ran
to
Peter and John, and instead of announcing to them that the Lord was
risen,
told them that he had been taken from the tomb. Therefore, she
did
not yet know about the resurrection. It is not Mary Magdalene’s
claim
that Christ appeared to her first but that he appeared after the actual
beginning of the day. There is, of course, a certain shadow
covering
this matter on the part of the Evangelists that I shall, through your
love,
uncover. The good news of the resurrection of Christ was received
from the Lord first, before all others, by the Theotokos. This is
truly meet and right. She was the first to see him after the
resurrection
and she had to joy to hear his voice first. Moreover, she not
only
saw him with her eyes and heard him with her ears but with her hands
she
was the first and only one to touch his spotless feet, even if the
Evangelists
do not mention these things clearly. They do not want to present
the mother’s witness so as not to give the nonbelievers a reason to be
suspicious. In that now my words about the joy of the risen one
are
directed to believers, the opportunity of this feast moves us to
explain
what is relative to the Myrrhbearers. Justification is given by him who
said: There is nothing hidden that shall not be made known, and
this
also will be made known.
The Myrrhbearers are all those women
who followed with the mother of
the Lord, stayed with her during those hours of the salvific passion,
and
with pathos anointed him with myrrh. After Joseph and Nicodemos
asked
for and received the body of the Lord from Pilate, they took it down
from
the cross, wrapped it in a cloth with strong spices, placed it in a
carved
out tomb, and closed the door of the tomb with a large stone. The
Myrrhbearers were close by and watched, and as the Evangelist Mark
relates,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated opposite the grave. With
the expression “and the other Mary” he means the mother of Christ
without
a doubt. She was also called the mother of Iakovos [James] and
Joses,
who were the children of Joseph, her betrothed. It was not only they
who
were watching the entombment of the Lord but also the other
women.
As Saint Luke relates:
And the women, also, who had come with him from Galilee,
followed after, and beheld the sepulcher and how his body was laid.
These
women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of Iakovos, and the
other women who were with them.
He writes that they went and bought
spices and myrrh; for they did not
yet clearly know that he is truly the perfume of life for those who
approach
him in faith, just as he is also the odor of death for those who remain
unbelievers to the end. They did not yet clearly know that the
odor
of his clothes, the odor of his own body, is greater than all perfumes,
that his name is like myrrh that is poured out to cover the world with
his divine fragrance. For those who wanted to remain close by the
body, the contrived an antidote of perfumes for the stench of
decomposition
and anointed it.
Thus they prepared the myrrh and the spices and rested on the Sabbath
according to the commandment. For they had not yet experienced
the
true sabbath, nor did they understand that exceedingly blessed sabbath
that transports us from the confines of hell to the perfection of the
bright
and divine heights of heaven. Saint Luke says that “on the first day of
the week, very early in the morning,” they came to the sepulchre
bearing
the spices that they had prepared. And Saint Matthew says that
those
who came “late on the Sabbath towards the dawn of the Lord’s day” were
two in number. Saint John says that it was only Mary Magdalene
who
came, and that it was “morning, even though it was still dark.”
But
Saint Mark says that three women came very early in the morning on the
first day of the week. By ‘’the first day of the week” all the
Evangelists
mean the Lord’s Day [Sunday] and they use expressions like “late on the
Sabbath,” ”early dawn,” ”early dawn,” “early morning,” “morning,” and
“even
though it was still dark” [to refer to the Lord’s Day which is
Sunday].
They mean the daybreaking hour when the darkness fights with the light
and the hour when the eastern part of the horizon begins to become
light
as it presages the day. Observing from afar, one sees the light
changing
colors in the east at about the ninth hour of the night, which colors
remain
until the fulfillment of the day three hours later. It seems that
the Evangelists disagree some-what concerning both the time of the
visits
and the number of women [that are involved]. This is attributable
to the fact that, as we said, the myrrhbearers were many; that they did
not come to the sepulchre one time only but two and three times, and
not
always in the same groups; that all the visits were at dawn but not at
exactly the same hour. Mary Magdalene also came by herself
without
the others and stayed longer. Each of the Evangelists, therefore,
relates one journey of some of the women and leaves the others.
Consequently,
by comparing all the Evangelists—and I said this before–I conclude that
the Theotokos was the first who came to the grave of her son and God,
together
with Mary Magdalene. We are informed of this by the Evangelist
Matthew
who said: In the end of the sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre
(Matthew 28:1)
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary–who
was, of course, the Mother of
the Lord-went to look at the sepulchre. And behold there was a great
earthquake:
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled
back
the stone from the door of the tomb and sat upon it. His countenance
was
like lightening and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the
guards did shake and become like dead men.
The other women came after the
earthquake and the flight of the
guards,
and found the grave open and the stone rolled back. The Virgin
Mother,
however, was there when the quake occurred, when the stone was rolled
back,
when the grave opened, and while the guards were there, even though
they
were completely shaken with fear. That is why the guards
immediately
thought of fleeing when they came to from the earthquake but the Mother
of God rejoiced without fear at what she saw. I believe that the
life-bearing
grave opened first for her. For her and by her grace all things
were
revealed for us, everything that is in heaven above and on the earth
below.
For her sake the angel shone so brightly so that, even though it was
still
dark, she saw by means of the bright angelic light not only the empty
grave
but also the burial garments carefully arranged and in an orderly
fashion,
thereby witnessing in many ways to the resurrection of the one who was
entombed. He was, after all, that same angel of the Annunciation,
Gabriel; he watched her proceed rapidly towards the grave and
immediately
descended. He who in the beginning had told her “fear not, Mary,
you have found grace with God,” now directs the same exhortation to the
Ever Virgin. He came to announce the resurrection from the dead
to
her who, with seedless conception, gave him birth; to raise the stone,
to reveal the empty grave and the burial garments, so that in this
manner
the good news would be verified for her. He writes:
And the angel answered the women and said: fear not. Do you seek
the Christ whom they crucified? He is risen. Here is the place
where
the Lord was placed. If you see the soldiers overcome with fear,
do not be afraid. I know that you seek the Christ whom they crucified.
He is risen. He is not here.
For not only can He not be
held by the keys, the bars, and the seals
of hell, of death, and of the grave, but he is even the Lord of the
immortal
angels of heaven, and the only Lord of the whole world. See the
place
where the Lord lay. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he is
risen from the dead. And they departed, he says, with fear and
great
joy.
At this point I am of the opinion that Mary Magdalene and the other
women
who had come up to that point were still frightened. For they did
not understand the meaning of the angel’s powerful words nor could they
contain to the end the power of the light so as to see and understand
with
exactitude. But I think that the Mother of God made this great
joy
her own, since she comprehended the words of the angel. Her whole
person radiated from the light in that she was all pure and full of
divine
grace. She firmly appropriated all these signs and the truth and
she believed the archangel, since, of course, he formerly had shown
himself
to be worthy of trust for her in other matters. And why shouldn’t
the Virgin understand with divine wisdom. what had occurred in that she
observed the events at first hand? She saw the great earthquake
and
the angel descending from heaven like lightening, she saw the guards
fall
as dead men, the removal of the stone, the emptying of the tomb, and
the
great miracle of the burial garments which were kept in place by smyrna
and aloes, even though they contained no body. In addition to all
of these things, she saw the joyous countenance of the angel and heard
his joyful message. But Mary Magda-lene, in responding to the
annunciation,
acted as if she had not heard the angel at all–he had not in fact
spoken
directly to her. She testifies only to the emptying of the tomb
and
says nothing about the burial garments, but runs directly to Peter and
to the other disciples, as Saint John says. The Mother of God went back
to the tomb again when she met the other women and, as Saint Matthew
says,
behold Jesus met them and told them to rejoice.
So you see that even before Mary Magdalene, the Mother of God saw
Him
who for our salvation suffered and was buried and rose again in the
flesh.
And they approached, touched his feet
and worshipped him.
Just as the Theotokos alone under-stood the power of the angelic
words–even
if she heard the good news of the resurrection together with Mary
Magdalene–when
she met her son and God with the other women she saw and recognized the
risen one before all the other women. And falling down, she
touched
his feet and became his apostle to his apostles. We learn from
Saint
John that Mary Magdalene was not with the Mother of God when, on her
return
to the sepulchre, she encountered the Lord. He writes:
She runs to Peter Simon and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and
tells them: they have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know
where
they have put him.
If she had seen and touched him with her hands and heard him speak,
how could she say the words “they have taken him and placed him
elsewhere,
and we don’t know where?” But after Peter and John ran to the
grave
and saw the burial clothes and returned, Saint John says that Mary
Magdalene
was standing near the tomb and crying.
You see that not only had she not yet seen him but neither had she
been informed of the resurrection. And when the angels that
appeared
asked her “why are you crying, woman,” she again answered as if she
thought
that he was dead. Thus when, upon turning, she saw Jesus and
still
did not understand, she answered his question “why do you weep” in the
same manner. Not until he called her by her name and showed her
that
he was the same did she understand. Then, when she also fell down
before him wishing to kiss his feet, she heard him say: “Don’t touch
me.”
From this we understand that when he appeared previously to his mother
and to the women who accompanied her, he allowed only his mother to
touch
his feet, even if Matthew makes this a common concession to all the
women.
He did not wish, for the reason we mentioned in the beginning, to
suddenly
present the appearance of the mother into the issue. It was the
Ever
Virgin Mary who came to the grave first and she was the first to
receive
the good news of the resurrection. Many women then gathered and
they
also saw the stone rolled back and heard the angels, but they were
separated
on their return. As Saint Mark says, since they were afraid, some of
the
women left the tomb in a frightened and ecstatic state without saying
anything
to anyone. Other women followed the Mother of the Lord and
because
they happened to be with her they saw and heard the Lord. Mary
Magdalene
left to go to Peter and John, and with them was returning to the
grave.
And even though they left, she stayed and she also was made worthy to
see
the Lord and to be sent by him to the apostles. Thus, as Saint
John
says, she again comes to them shouting to all that she had seen the
Lord
and that he had told her these things.
And Saint Mark says that this
appearance happened in the morning,
the
indisputable beginning of the day, when the dawn had passed. But
he does not contend that the resurrection of the Lord occurred at that
time, nor that it was his first appearance. Therefore, we have
information
concerning the Myrrhbearers that is exact and the general agreement of
the four Evangelists as a higher confirmation. But even with all
that they had heard on the same day of the resurrection from the
Myrrhbearers,
from Peter, and even from Luke and Cleopas that the Lord lives and that
they had seen him, the disciples showed disbelief. That is why He
castigates them when he appeared to all of them gathered
together.
When, however, he showed them many times through the witness of many
that
he was alive, not only did they all believe but they preached it
everywhere.
Their voice poured out on all the
earth and their words spread to
the
ends of the earth; and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word
by signs that accompanied it. For until the teaching is preached
to all the earth, the signs were indispensable. Exceptional signs
were needed to represent and certify the truth of the message.
But
excellent signs are not needed for those who accept the word through
firm
belief. Who are these [who have firm belief]? They are those
whose
deeds bear witness [to their faith]. ‘’Show me your faith in your
deeds,” he says. “Who is faithful? Let him manifest it with
the deeds of his good life.” For who will believe that he who
commits
wicked acts and is oriented to the earth and material things has a
true,
exalted, great, and heavenly under-standing which is, so to speak,
exactly
what piety is? Brethren, what does it profit a man to say that he
has divine faith if he does not have deeds analogous to the
faith?
What did the lamps profit the foolish maidens when they had no oil, in
other words, the deeds of love and of compassion? What did it
profit
that rich man who, when he was burning in the unquenchable flame
because
of his indifference to Lazarus, invoked the father of Abraham?
What
did it profit that a man to accept an invitation to the divine wedding
and that incorruptible bridal chamber when he did not have a suitable
garment
of good deeds? Of course, in so much as he believed anyway, he
received
an invitation and went to sit amongst those holy ones who were at the
banquet.
But he also received the examination and was ashamed because he was
clothed
in the wickedness of his attitude and works, through which his hands
and
feet were tied and he was lowered to Gehenna where wailing and gnashing
of teeth reverberates. May no one who has the name of Christ
experience
[such a thing]. Rather let us all manifest a life analogous with the
faith
and enter the bridal chamber of unstained joy and eternal life with the
saints, which is the resting place of all who perceive the true joy.
Translated from MIGNE P.G. vol 151, pp 236-248 on the Feast
of the Holy Annunciation, 1976