Catechesis 12: To The Candidates For Baptism On ‘Who Became Incarnate And Became A Human Being’
CATECHESIS 12: To the candidates for baptism On ‘who became incarnate and became a human being’
Reading: ‘And again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask for yourself a sign…”’ (Is 7.10ff).
1 My people, nurtured on purity and instructed in chastity, with pure lips let us celebrate the God who was conceived by the Virgin. We have been chosen to share the flesh of the spiritual lamb: let us then partake of the head with the feet, understanding the head as his deity, the feet as his humanity. Since we listen to the holy Gospels, we should accept the words of John the divine; for after stating: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’, he added: ‘And the Word was made flesh’ (Jn 1.1, 14). For while it is not holy to adore a mere man, it would be blasphemous to say that he was only God without the humanity. For if Christ were God—as indeed he is—but did not assume humanity, we would be debarred from salvation. So while we adore him as God, let us believe him also to have been made man. For just as it does us no good to speak of him as man without the godhead, it does not help our salvation if we do not couple manhood with the godhead. Let us confess the presence of our King and Healer. For our King Jesus, intending to heal us, girded himself with the towel of humanity, and so cured our sickness. The consummate teacher of children became himself a child among children to make the foolish wise. The bread of heaven came down to earth to feed the starving.
2 The children of the Jews spurn the Christ who has come, and wait for one whose coming will bring harm; they rejected the true Christ, and, being deceived, they await the deceiver. Still even in this the Saviour has proved truthful, for he said: ‘I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me; but you will receive another if he comes in his own name’ (Jn 5.43).
It would be helpful to put a question to the Jews: When the prophet Isaiah said that Emmanuel would be born of a virgin, was he telling the truth or lying? It would not be surprising if they accused him of lying, for it is their way not only to accuse the prophets of lying but even to stone them. If on the other hand the prophet is telling the truth, show us Emmanuel. Is the Emmanuel who is to come, whom you await, to be born of a virgin or not? If he is not to be born of a virgin, you are accusing the prophet of lying; if however you expect this will be true of the one to come, why do you refuse to accept it when it has already happened?
3 So let the Jews be led astray if that is what they want, and let God's Church be glorified. For we acknowledge God the Word made man in truth, made man not by the will of a man and a woman as the heretics say, but by a virgin and the Holy Spirit according to the Gospel, not in appearance but truth. If you wait for the appropriate point in my exposition, you will learn the proofs of the fact that he truly became man from a virgin. For errors of the heretics take many different forms: some flatly deny that he was born of a virgin; others say that he was born not of a virgin but of a woman living with a man; others again say that Christ was not God made man, but a man who became God. For they have dared to say that he was not the pre-existent Word who became man, a man who was promoted and crowned.
4 Remember what we said yesterday about his divinity. You must accept that, being God's Only-begotten Son, he underwent birth again of the Virgin. Believe John the Evangelist when he says: ‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us’ (Jn 1.14). For the eternal Word who was begotten by the Father before all ages, in recent times took flesh for our sake.
Many people however deny this, saying: ‘What was this great reason which led God to descend to humanity? Is it consistent with God's nature to mingle with human beings in any way? Is it possible for a virgin to conceive without a man?’ So because of the strength of this opposition and the many forms the resistance takes, listen, and by Christ's grace and with the help of your prayers I shall answer each of these difficulties.
5 First let us ask why Jesus came down. Do not look for subtle arguments from me, for you might perhaps be led astray by logical tricks. If you don't accept the evidence of the prophets on each point, don't believe what I say. If you don't agree that the holy Scriptures teach about the virgin and the place and the time and the circumstances, don't accept these facts on human testimony. You might well harbour suspicions about someone coming here and teaching you, but how could anyone with common sense be suspicious about a prophet speaking a thousand and more years ago?
So if you are seeking the reason for Christ's coming, go to the first book of the Bible. God made the universe in six days, but the universe was made for the sake of mankind. For though the sun shines out with the brightest beams, it was made to provide light for human beings. All the animals were made to serve us; plants and trees were created for our enjoyment. All the works of creation are beautiful, but none of them except man is God's image. The sun was made by God's mere command, but human beings were made by the divine hands. ‘Let us make man in our own image and likeness’ (Gen 1.26). A wooden image of an earthly king is honoured; how much more the rational image of God? He was the greatest of God's creations and danced in Paradise; but his enemy the devil in envy drove him out and exulted over the fall of the object of his jealousy. Would you have wanted our enemy's triumph to last? Since he didn't dare to approach the man because of his strength, he approached the woman, who was the weaker partner, while she was still a virgin; for Adam did not know his wife Eve until after their fall from Paradise.
6 Cain and Abel formed the second generation of the human race; Cain was the first murderer. Later the magnitude of human wickedness led God to unleash the Flood, and because of their sin fire came down from heaven upon the people of Sodom. Later God chose Israel, but even his chosen people was corrupted and wounded. For while Moses was meeting God on the mountain, the people were worshipping the calf instead of God. In the very time of Moses, the Law-giver who said ‘You shall not commit adultery’, a man dared to enter an alcove and give way to his passions (cf. Num 25.6–8). After Moses prophets were sent to restore the health of Israel. But even the healers bewailed their own subjection to passion; in the words of one of them: Alas that ‘the godly have perished from the earth, and there is none among mankind who lives an upright life!’ (Micah 7.2). And again: ‘All have gone astray, all alike have been corrupted, and there is no one who acts virtuously, no, not one’ (Ps 13 (14).3). And again: ‘Cursing and theft and adultery and envy have been poured out over the earth’ (Hosea 4.2 (LXX adjusted)). ‘They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons’ (Ps 105 (106).37). They practised augury, enchantment and divination. And again: ‘They fastened their garments with ropes, and made curtains next to the altar’ (Amos 2.8 (LXX)).
7 Thus mankind was grievously wounded. ‘From feet to head there was nothing sound in him; there was no place to apply salve or oil or bandages’ (Isaiah 1.6 (LXX adjusted)). Then the prophets wept and lamented as they asked: ‘Who will give salvation from Zion?’ (Ps 13 (14).7 (LXX)). And again: ‘Let your hand be upon the man at your right and upon the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself, and we shall never desert you’ (Ps 79.18–19 (80.17–18)). Another of the prophets pleaded: ‘Lower the heavens, Lord, and come down’ (Ps 143 (144).5). Mankind's wounds exceed our powers of healing. ‘They have killed your prophets and torn down your altars’ (cf. 1 Kings 19.10). We cannot put right our misfortune; we need you to put it right.
8 The Lord listened to the prophets’ plea. Our Father did not ignore our doomed race. He sent his Son the Lord from heaven to be our Healer. As one of the prophets says: ‘The Lord you seek is coming; suddenly he will come.’ Where? ‘The Lord will come into his Temple’ (Mal 3.1). There you stoned him (cf. Jn 8.59). Hearing these words, another of the prophets said to him: Do you speak softly to announce God's salvation? Do you speak in secret to announce the good news of God's saving presence? ‘Go up on to a high mountain, herald of good news to Zion. Say to the cities of Judah…’ What shall I say? ‘See, our God. See, the Lord is coming with strength’ (Is 40.9–10).
Again, the Lord himself has said: ‘See, I am coming, and I shall dwell in your midst, says the Lord, and many nations will seek refuge with the Lord’ (Zech 2.10–11). The Israelites rejected the salvation I offered. ‘I am coming to gather together all nations and all tongues.’ For ‘he came to his own, and his own did not receive him’ (Jn 1.11). You come, and what do you offer the nations? ‘I come to gather together all nations…and I will leave a sign over them’ (Is 66.18–19). For from my struggle on the cross I give each of my soldiers a royal seal to carry on their forehead. Another of the prophets said: ‘And he lowered the heavens and came down, and darkness lay beneath his feet’ (Ps 17.10 (18.9)); for his descent from heaven was hidden from mankind.
9 Later Solomon listened to these words of his father David and built a wonderful house. Looking forward to the one who was to enter it, he marvelled and said: ‘Will God truly live on earth’ (1 Kings 8.27) among human beings? Yes, says David with foresight in the psalm dedicated to Solomon: ‘He will come down like rain falling on a fleece’ (Ps 71 (72).6 (LXX)). Like rain, because he is from heaven; on a fleece, because of his humanity. When rain falls on a fleece, it falls soundlessly, so that the mystery of his birth was hidden, and the Magi had to ask: ‘Where is the one who is born King of the Jews?’ (Mt 2.2); and Herod in his anxiety had to inquire about the new-born child: ‘Where is the Christ to be born?’ (Mt 2.4).
10 Who is the one who comes down from heaven? The psalm continues: ‘he will last as long as the sun and existed before the moon, from generation to generation’ (Ps 71 (72).5 (LXX)). And again another of the prophets says: ‘Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion. Raise a cry, daughter of Jerusalem. See, your King is coming to you, the just saviour’ (Zech 9.9 (LXX)). Interpret your words for us, prophet. There are many kings; which one do you speak of? Give us a sign which does not belong to other kings. If you tell us the king will be dressed in purple, others have already assumed the privilege of such apparel. If you tell us he will have a military escort and will sit in a golden chariot, others have already this privilege too. Give us a sign which is unique to the king whose coming you proclaim.
This is how the prophet replies: ‘See, your King is coming to you, the just saviour, meek and riding on an ass, a young foal’, not in a chariot. There you have a unique sign that the king has come. Alone among kings Jesus sat upon a foal unaccustomed to a burden, and entered Jerusalem amid royal acclamations. And what does the King do when he has entered? ‘And in the blood of the covenant you have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit’ (Zech 9.11 (LXX)).
11 Still, even his sitting on a foal might be coincidental. Give us rather a sign that will show where the King will stand when he enters; give us a sign not far from the city so that it will be familiar to us. Give us a sign that is nearby and plain to see, so that we can examine the place while we are in the city. The prophet replies again: ‘and on that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives opposite Jerusalem to the east’ (Zech 14.4). Isn't it true that anyone could examine the place while standing inside the city?
12 We have, then, two signs, but we want to hear of a third. Tell us, what does the Lord do when he comes to us? Another prophet tells us: ‘See, our God.’ And later: ‘He will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will hear; then the lame man will leap like a stag, and the tongue of the stammerer will be released’ (Is 35.4–6 (adjusted)).
Give us yet another testimony. You tell us, prophet, that the Lord is to come performing great signs, the like of which have never been performed before. What is this other clear sign you speak of? ‘The Lord himself is coming to judgment with the elders of the people and its leaders’ (Is 3.14). An exceptional sign, the master enduring to be judged by the elders who are his slaves.
13 The Jews read these words, but do not hear them; for they have stopped the ears of their heart in order not to hear. But let us believe in Jesus Christ who came in the flesh and became a human being, because in no other way could we have comprehended him. For since we were unable to look at him or enjoy him as he was, he became what we are, to enable us in this way to become capable of enjoying him. For if we are incapable of looking fully at the sun, which was created on the fourth day, tell me, would we have been able to look at God, its Maker? When the Lord came down on to Mount Sinai in fire, the people could not bear the sight, but said to Moses: ‘You speak to us, and we shall listen; do not let God speak to us, lest we die’ (Exod 20.19). And again: ‘Who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire and will live?’ (Deut 5.26). If to hear God's voice when he speaks causes death, surely to see him must bring death too. Even Moses said: ‘I tremble with terror’ (Heb 12.21; cf. Deut 9.19).
14 Tell me, would you want the one who came for our salvation to become an agent of destruction because humanity could not bear him, or would you want him to temper his grace to our capacity? Daniel could not bear the vision of the angel, and could you take in the sight of the Lord of the angels? Daniel was prostrated when Gabriel appeared. Under what nature did he appear, in what form? ‘His face was like lightning’, rather than the sun, ‘and his eyes were like blazing torches’, rather than a fiery furnace, and ‘when he spoke his voice was like that of a crowd’, rather than twelve legions of angels (Dan 10.6). Nevertheless the prophet was prostrated, and the angel approached him and said: ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Stand up, take courage: your words have been heard.’ ‘I stood up’, Daniel said, ‘trembling’; but he still did not reply until a hand like a man's touched him. Once the vision has changed into the appearance of a man, Daniel was able to speak. And what did he say? ‘Lord, when I see you, my guts are twisted within me, my strength will not hold firm within me, and no breath is left in me’ (Dan 10.16–17 (adjusted)). If the vision of an angel robbed the prophet of his speech and his strength, would the sight of God have left him with the power to breathe? It was not until ‘the appearance of a man touched me’ (Dan 10.18), Scripture says, that Daniel took heart. Thus, having first provided a demonstration of our weakness, the Lord took on what the human race was seeking. For since mankind needed to hear from one who shared their own appearance, the Saviour assumed a share in their feelings, to make it easier for human beings to be instructed.
15 Let me tell you another reason. Christ came to be baptized and to sanctify baptism. He came to perform the miracle of walking on the waters of the sea. So while before the Incarnation ‘the sea beheld and fled and the Jordan was bent backwards’ (Ps 113 (114).3), the Lord took a body which the sea might behold and be still, and the Jordan receive without fear. That is one reason; there is also a second.
Death came through the virgin Eve. Life had to appear through a virgin, or rather from a virgin, so that just as the first virgin was deceived by the serpent, the second might receive the good news from Gabriel.
Mankind abandoned God and made for themselves wooden images in human form. So since lying adoration had been paid to a god in human form, God became truly human to put an end to the lie.
The devil had used flesh as a weapon against us. Knowing this, Paul says: ‘I see another law in my members which does battle against the law of my reason and takes me prisoner’ (Rom 7.23), etc. We were saved by the very weapons the devil was using to defeat us. The Lord took on from us a condition like ours, so that our salvation might come through humanity. He took on a condition like ours in order to supply for its defects with a greater grace, and sinful humanity might become a partner of God. ‘For where sin was abundant, grace was superabundant’ (Rom 5.20).
It was ‘necessary’ for the Lord to ‘suffer’ on our behalf (cf. Lk 24.26). Nevertheless the devil would not have dared to approach him if he had known who he was. ‘For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory’ (1 Cor 2.8). His body thus served as a bait for death so that the serpent, instead of swallowing it as he hoped, might be forced to disgorge those whom he had already swallowed. For ‘death grew strong and devoured. And God has wiped away again all the tears from every face’ (Is 25.8 (LXX)).
16 Did Christ become man in vain? Are our teachings mere speculations and human inventions? Aren't the sacred Scriptures our salvation? And the prophets’ predictions? So keep this deposit unshaken and let no one disturb you. Trust God made man. That it was possible for him to be made man has been proved. But if the Jews still disbelieve, let us put this point to them: What is strange about our proclamation that God became man, when you say that Abraham gave hospitality to the Lord? What is strange about our proclamation, seeing that Jacob said: ‘I saw God face to face, and my life has been spared’ (Gen 32.30)? The Lord who ate with Abraham is the same Lord who ate with us. So what is strange about our proclamation?
We can also cite two witnesses who stood beside the Lord on Mount Sinai. Moses was in the cleft of the rock, as was Elijah in his day (Exod 33.22; 1 Kings 19.9). They were with the Lord when he was transfigured on Mount Tabor and they told the disciples ‘of the departure which he was about to undergo in Jerusalem’ (Lk 9.31). However, we have now proved, as we promised, that it was possible for him to become man; the remaining proofs can be left for the studious to read. …
33 So God is a witness, and the Holy Spirit joins him as witness, and Christ says: Why ‘do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth?’ (Jn 8.40). So let heretics who deny his humanity hold their tongues. For they are contradicting the one who said: ‘Feel me and see that a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have’ (Lk 24.39). So let the virgin-born Lord be adored, and let virgins recognize the crown which belongs to their way of life. Let the order of monks also recognize the glory of their chastity, for we are not deprived of the dignity of chastity. For the Saviour spent nine months in the Virgin's womb, but the Lord spent thirty-three years as a man, so that, if a virgin is honoured by the nine months, we are much more honoured by the many years.
34 But let us all run the race of chastity by God's grace, young men and girls, the old and the young, shunning self-indulgence and praising Christ's name. Let us be aware of the glory of chastity, for the crown it brings is angelic, and its achievement is beyond human powers. Let us treat our bodies with respect, for they will shine like the sun. Let us not defile such noble bodies for the sake of a little pleasure. For the sin is small and lasts but an hour, but the shame lasts many years, indeed for ever. Those who practise chastity are angels walking on earth. Virgins share the lot of the Virgin Mary.
Let us banish all embellishment, all harmful glances, all affected gait, all dress and perfume which entice to lust. For perfume let us all be content with the sweet scent of prayer and of good works and the holiness of our bodies, so that the words of the Lord who was born of a virgin may apply to us, chaste men and garlanded women: ‘I shall live among them and walk among them; and I shall be their God and they will be my people’ (2 Cor 6.16; Lev 26.12; Ezek 37.27). To him is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.