On the Departed and the Resurrection

Homily on the Departed and on the Resurrection of the Dead Homily: 11. On the Departed. Again, it is his, being the eleventh homily, and it is fitting for the Friday of the Entrance of Lent. It is entitled "On the Departed." A refrain: Blessed is the one who from this world chooses friends for the Lord of the world. My brethren. In the beautiful form that depicts human beings, I desired to be adorned, and while a person wishes to see his beauty, I saw his humiliation. I saw him crowned with a diadem in the land where he rules over all, and I turned and saw him cast into Sheol from all. I saw him when he commanded and the rational and the deaf obeyed him, and after a little I saw him when a moth consumed his body. I saw him when he sat upon chariots and his appearance was terrible, and again later I saw him bow his head at the gate of the grave. I saw him arrayed in linen and silk garments, and after times I saw him lying naked on his face. I saw him when the sound of his command terrified his provinces, and death ran and swallowed him from silence, and his voice was stilled. I saw him when he desired and enlarged his dwelling without measurements, and on the day of his death no one gave him a place to dwell in it. I saw him who prepared sumptuous banquets for the day of the wedding feast, and death hastened and bound him in Sheol, the pit of mourning. I saw him when he ran after insatiable avarice, and at his end he passed away empty-handed from good things.

Without superfluity he went forth, the strength departed from within his dwelling. And he took no provisions for the road that was prepared for him. He went forth from his dwelling as he went forth from the womb. Naked he came and naked he went; it was a great grief. The grief of his descent, heavier than all his wealth, for my thoughts. And his sorrow was great over the humiliation of his body, the wretched one. I saw his exaltation, how like a shadow it was uprooted from his side. And I saw his descent and the humiliation of his person, which greatly afflicted. In his descent I saw that he descends to Sheol and becomes dust again. And I thought, where and when will he return to life? I saw, how then does he seek life from death? And how does the wretched one turn again to his exaltation? What has entered the temple of the body that death has hidden? And what brings the soul to his side to rejoice in him? What opens the door of Sheol that is shut in his face? And what brings forth from the depths of death the bone? What power blows upon his face the spirit of life? And makes the dead senses raise a voice to sing praise? What sign goes forth, running through the four quarters? And separates the dust of bones from that of the earth? Who separates the bones of men from those of beasts? That they ate, drank, died, and bodies were mixed with bodies. How great will that command be that commands the resurrection? For there is no number to the thousands of men who became dust.

How many thousands of heavens, then, go forth seeking those who have perished in the sea, and the soul in every form? From where, then, do flesh and bones come forth and arrive, since there is no likeness of the rottenness of the body in the dust of the earth? That dust of the earth which becomes the body, and who is able to distinguish the dust from one of its own kind? These, however, I have thought foolishly in the person of fools, and their error is like that of one who thought in that which was united. The thought of fools I have thought like their thought, and Paul rebukes me and reproaches me with them as a fool. Herald of the spirit and witness in the freedom of the life of the dead, hear the dispute of the life of the dead and marvel and be strengthened. The fool did not call me in the person of fools divided in heart, that concerning which the interpretation of the thought of fools is in the hands of man. The fool did not look, then, at the seed which that woman sowed, from which, if it does not die, it cannot live and produce fruit. Look at the grain of wheat, the seed which is cast into the earth, which dies in the ground and yet lives in the mystery of resurrection. That same grain which falls and dies in the likeness of the body, that same which sprouts from its burial in the great enclosure. In this order the body dies and the body lives, and it is while it is being corrupted that it puts on glory. It is that which stands, manifest sensations like the former, and the soul is its own which turns, singing in the harp of its members.

In the body and the soul stands every person, from the time of his existence. The body in the bones and the soul in the movements of lightness. The body becomes immortal in place of the dead, and the soul puts on the garment of the renewal of the living waters. That same body which was dust becomes a body, and that same soul whose limbs were dissolved speaks within her. Paul testifies concerning his dissolution and concerning his renewal, that he is dissolved and he is renewed by the power of his Creator. For us, this dissolution which has put on glory is prepared, and this mortality which lives in immortal life. Do not deny the nature which perishes in mortality, and do not dispute concerning the renewal of the body and the soul. Arise, hear the voices which proclaim to you concerning the resurrection, and accept the hope which will be hope for your mortality. Hear the prophet who cries out in spirit to the dead bones, and proclaims his voice, the new gospel among the dead. Hear when he cries out like a trumpet against the silent, and he draws the whole power of the body towards renewal. One renewal proclaimed his voice to the body and the soul, and he gave them to drink the cup of the promise of the life of the dead. Hear again the voice of the renewer of mortality, who shows it as with a finger the renewal of the fire. Hear who rebukes the Sadducees, the divided of heart, and knows with her from the divine laws.

They err who think that there is no distinction between the body and the soul, and they err who do not know how to read in the books, and they do not distinguish the power of the meaning of their words. In the resurrection, they say, there is no distinction between men and women, for their nature will be immortal like the spirits. Behold, our Lord has shown a new way of life for the dead: come, enter upon it towards the renewal of the body and the soul. Behold, he has proclaimed to us the good news with the voice of his words: believe that he is able to accomplish for you the promise of his sayings. Behold, death, the terrible lion that destroys the race, has cried out, and he has removed from it three bodies and brought them to life. Behold, he also descended into its lair that devours men, and gave it his body, and it swallowed him, and it brought him forth quickly. Behold, he arose and raised up the whole nature from the fall, and opened a door against the walls of bitter death in the faces of the dead. Behold, he went out and brought forth the captivity of man from the prison, and took his weapon, and plundered his camp, and made it a mockery. Behold, he left the captivity and ascended and reigned above all, and it is prepared that he will come and renew all with the voice of his words. Behold, the time has drawn near when he will descend to the earth as he ascended, with a visible body and the hidden power of divinity. Behold, heaven and earth, the watchers and men, are waiting for him, that they may be released from the perishable servitude. Behold, the whole creation is stretched out over the dead, that when they become not dead and not mourners.

The hope of the departed is clothed in words, both rational and irrational, when the time comes for the hope of the mystery of death to be cast off. Severe pangs strike the earth like a mother when she gives birth to the bodies of men from within her womb. A great pain afflicts men and spirits when they behold the truth in the renewal of men. With hope, good servants serve the master of the house when he returns from the feast and gives a reward. With hope, wise women adorn their lamps when the hour of the height shines and they enter with him. For the sake of hope, the stars of the heavens are adorned when the hope shines forth in revelation and the end arrives. For that divine revelation, they hope at all times when the gates of the height are opened and they receive him. For that daughter of the voice, the knowledge of their thoughts yearns, when [the time] comes and death trembles and evil is put to shame. The orders are prepared for that command which serves him, when he commands and proclaims in the earth the voice of salvation. After the king, all men rise in the ways of the plazas, when he goes out and they receive him in their streets. The crown of victory grows in the hand of the movements that are in them, which strike down the counsel of kings who conquer with wood. Unspeakable is the desire of the love of their thoughts, how much they yearn to behold his glory and to praise him.

The end and the bond make peace together over their orders, and the fearful ones are well scattered from the answer. It shows much, and it runs much, and it ends much, and like athletes it casts itself into the arena of the kingdom of life. In spirit they run in the spiritual stadium to receive the reward of that victory which cannot be conquered. Behold, the time of the fulfillment of their arena has arrived, and the season of their hope has drawn near, the hours of their contest. Behold, the high kingdom of the King of height has drawn near; come, be spiritually adorned, and go out to meet him. Behold, the gates of height are raised before his coming, that he may descend to the earth and ascend with his people in the midst of his worship. Great wonder and goodness and pain on the day of his revelation: wonder at his fear, goodness for the good, and pain for the evil. With splendor and glory he shows himself to the wakeful and to men, and from his praise heaven and earth are filled together. The sign of his power raises the hiddenness of the face of height, and the light of his great radiance shines upon all and everything. In the likeness of lightning his radiance shines in the four directions, and the visible light is small in comparison to the measure of his radiance. There is no measure for the radiance that flashes from his person, nor any comparison for the swiftness of the running of his sign. Lightnings come from his command as if from a little, and the light of the sphere of the sun is darkened in the likeness of his.

The unutterable greatness of his glory in the tongue of flesh, and the small mouth of all that is made, which is to say, how great it is. Mighty and severe is the hour of his fear from all the tranquil, and there is no body and no spirit that is not terrified. A great astonishment falls from the silence upon creatures at the voice of command that makes its good voice more fearful than the sea. Like a messenger, the sign runs before his face and sets up the orders of the heavens, ranks upon ranks. In order, the spiritual ones believe before his greatness and praise him with a voice of glory that has no measure. Thousands of thousands stand before him, terrified, and myriads of myriads come, his glory without satiety. His love reigns over the thousands of the heavens, and they are greatly terrified lest they fall short of the debt of love. The cherubim are weary, the watchers praise, the seraphim cry out: Holy, Holy, Holy, the king who dwells in glory. Holy they cry out in a spiritual tongue spiritually, like that sound which Paul heard, which is unutterable. Unutterable in the tongue of flesh is that daughter of voice with which they praise divinely the God of all. With hidden movements they sing glory to the hidden one in the revealed, and they stand before them at the face of the bodily door. The body sees when it is exalted upon the chariot, and hidden within it is the unseeable divinity.

Hidden in revelation, he commands from the quiet to his servants. The voice of the praise of the renewal of all is to the Mighty One. The voice of renewal cries out, all of it, in the knowledge of the perishable, and the earth trembles at the voice of the power of his trumpets. The sound of voices are all of them as they are, and according to their measure, the voice of spiritual trumpets. Prepared is their vision, and glorious is the speech of their words, and the course of their actions is swifter than lightning. Above all, the King Messiah comes in glory, and he adorns himself with the voice of praise that befits his name. The great angels carry the victorious sign, the cross, and show it to the heavenly and the earthly. Before him comes the sign of his passion and of his victory, that those who have spoken and the erring demons may remember through it. To his appointed time run the bands of the watchers and the angels, and in him the hidden mystery of their thoughts is revealed. The King and his sign descend to the earth where he was crucified, and his sign follows and gives peace to those who receive him. The voice of the divine trumpet resounds before him, and the dead and the living bow down and come to the appointed time of his name. The final trumpet cries out at the end, at the conclusion of the ages, and through it the gates of Sheol are opened before the watchers. A hidden sign runs with this daughter of the voice, and in a moment it raises and renews the bodies that have perished.

A voice and a sign cries out from the quiet in the hands of death, of the scattered dust and the reckoning of the bodies that have perished. A great roar fell into Sheol, the mother of the dead, and it convulses her like a woman in labor with the pangs of the mighty. A request of the bones is that the womb of the barren mother be her grave, and as she conceives, so she quickly gives birth. The dew of mercy sprinkles a sign upon the face of the earth, and in the likeness of seed, the bodies sprout from the dust. The body stands in manifest senses, wholly in its entirety, and the soul is reconciled with its wisdom, praised by it. There is no member of the body that remains in Sheol, nor any of the motions of the soul that is lost, that does not return to it. Body and soul rise together at the edge of the eye, and they cast off the garments of suffering and put on glory. And the dead rise, and their existence becomes immortal, and the life of the living is changed into that likeness. A single command raises and transforms the dead and the living, and no person is lost, neither from the dead nor from the living. The resurrection is equal for all bodies and for all souls, and the good and the evil rise together in body and soul. The whole existence of the race of Adam returns to life, and there is none among the born who remains in Sheol, nor is it limited. Only one is lost there from the count, that one who, by the spirit of error, leads the person astray to error.

A son of perdition, who perishes alone with the shame of the dead, and the mercies of the judge of the dead do not make him equal. By his face alone he takes the sign of the resurrection, and he does not show the face of the king who commands the rising. With the tremor of a mighty one he shakes his body and his soul's limbs, and he sinks into the abyss of Sheol without end. A great wonder is revealed in him to the fullness of speech, how a living nature perishes from life. In him spiritual and corporeal are mingled, dead in his body and awake in his soul, who emerges from silence. Renewal occurs in that renewal which fills the wonder, all are renewed and one is destroyed without loss. The great wonder on the day of its revelation to the king of kings, who judges all and releases each without question. Joy and sorrow on the day of resurrection for both sides, blessing for the good and for the wicked, bound garlands. Crowns and garlands for the good, a command before the judge, crowns for the chaste and garlands for the wicked who sinned in error. Glory and shame, a single sign like a finger, and it gives glory to those who were upright and shame to those who were humbled. Like a ruler before the command at the gate of the tomb, he brings in one and sends out one to the darkness outside. With the sieve of judgment he sifts the fullness of speech, and he chooses gold, the manifest truth, and rejects the dross.

the seal of the king stamps the good for the service of the king, and casts the wicked and throws them into the midst of Gehenna. The simple shepherd holds in his hand and combs their hair, and raises lambs from his right hand as is known. The great distinction that occurs there among the angels, that when one goes in one renewal, not one goes. One is the nature of the rationality of the watchers and men, and not one goes by the distinction of their actions. On that day, two go on one bed, one is raised to the heights of the firmament and the other remains. Two there are of the works of the spirit at that time, one is conducted and one remains as it was. Behold, the Lord's word shows that distinction, how it separates the righteous and the chaste from the wicked. For all orders it shows that this distinction exists, and whatever it chooses to declare, even the consequences. And when it is good, there is one nature of men and women, and it shows that they are divided, some from these and some from those. In the likeness of lightning, a sign passes between their orders, and it leads one and leaves one from all orders. The great order, full of distinctions, separates faces, and according to labors gives reward and also forgiveness. By one distinction it equates men and spirits, and together it examines truth and falsehood of both sides.

the high place brings in the worthy, the good servants of love, and here on earth it casts down the children who were not disciplined. On earth remain the lovers of earth, where they loved, and those of the spirit ascend on high on the wings of the spirit. On earth they receive twisted cords, as they deserve, and there they pay the penalty of the sins of their deeds. Earth becomes for them Gehenna, for the sons of earth, and they themselves judge their own thoughts by those things they sinned. He himself reveals the nature that is in them distinctly, that concerning what they erred from the commandment in the life of the world. They themselves judge the injustice that is in them, which is guilty, and they apportion it with the sting of the firstborn of their thoughts. A great judgment they pronounce there upon their sins, and to each one they apportion the portions of the hidden things. Bitter cords are woven for him from all cords, when the side of the righteous and their own shame is adorned. A great wonder they see, the evil ones at the side of the good, how they fly swiftly to the face of the height. That same great wonder, and how much greater than the wonder of the flesh that is cast and moans, the wings of flight. That command which established it in the beginning from the living one, he himself empowers its flight to fly in the air. That one in whom the spirit of life breathed and became a soul, he himself makes it a temple of the spirit that is indestructible. That one who was joined to his nature in love.

he raises up its lowliness and renews it mercifully. With love and compassion he formed it at the beginning and called it by his name. And in it again, at the end, he will renew the covenant of his words. In his image he established it from the beginning when he set it, and at the end, in his image, it descends and is completed. In his image a hidden sign descends, not hidden, and gives immortal life to mortality. In Adam of two natures, who was humbled and clothed in love, in him is a humble state without end at the completion of the sacrifices. The body that clothed the will of his love and called it by his name, it is turned about willingly and descends to earth. That one who ascended to the watch of angels and to the watchers, it is he who comes to know the signs, both material and spiritual. In the visible body the watchers saw him when he ascended, and in the vision they said that he comes as he went up. With his manifestation his sign descends lightly, and renews all and raises up with him to the place above. The hidden sign cries out in the visible, a voice of power, and stirs the earth and frightens the ranks of the heavens. With a voice he commands the heavenly and the earthly: "Arise and be united, and clothe yourselves in glory that is imperishable." The voice of his command awakens the earthly from their sleep, and they stand up as if from a heavy slumber. A single voice of fullness cries out in the earth, and from it the eloquent and the deaf tremble and hear it.

he consumes it and perfects it without cessation. In it are renewed height and depth and everything that exists. The rational ones ascend to the high rank that has no limit. And the deaf hear from the servitude of the service of men. The sun ceases from the course of its swiftness, and the moon rests from its changes throughout the months. The stars fall and the light of their radiance is extinguished, and the motion of the winds of the air ceases and is no longer stirred. Darkness yields and the order of night and day passes away, and the hours, weeks, and months of the year are not counted. The spring of the depth of Sheol dries up from all its fruits, and the sailor ceases from voyaging, and the beasts of the field and the reptiles yield. The sea rests from the roaring of its violent waves, and ships of men no longer run upon its surface. Everything is changed and everything is renewed in the renewal of men, and over everything and in everything the light of the one Creator rules. Everything is freed from the servitude of men, and that man remains in a place that has no end. By a small sign everything is changed and everything is renewed, and the swiftness of how and how much it is cannot be told. Small is that command, better than everything, and if there is something that is small, it brings much from it. There is no difference between descent and ascent, nor like a man who casts his eye from moment to moment.

upon the chariot of his side, the king drives the chosen servants who have approached and conquered because of his love. A spiritual chariot moves its sign, and in it again he seats the earthly and the heavenly. Its sign becomes a cloud also for the chariot, and it is that which guides and directs all to the heights. It is that which becomes a substitute for everything for the rational ones, and in it the watchers and the humans ascend to the place above. It is that which proceeds like a commander before their ranks, and it again arranges the other ranks for the appointment of his name. The king proceeds at the head of his camp toward the heights, and thousands of watchers on his right and on his left. With him proceed the victors to the place of light, who were with him in the inheritance of the kingdom of the height. Great and abundant is the portion of his power from all powers, and the glory and praise that are driven in him are ineffable. With him is the whole rational creation, thousands of watchers and myriads of humans. The crown of praise of the day of his victory guides them all, and they offer it to him with the hand of spiritual movements. His glory fills heaven and earth with the voice of speakers, as they sing to him the debt of love with the sound of praise. In the abundance of his love, he strikes the sight of their minds, as they are weary, asking when he will open the gates of the height. They are greatly eager to see the way that is prepared for them, that the rational and spiritual ones may enter and take possession.

The sight of the king is not satiated by his servants, and the more they see, again they yearn to be reconciled. Before their movements the sign runs swiftly, and passes, except the faces of the door of the palace. The king opens the great door before his entrance, and he enters and goes within that palace and his people. Wonder and pain fill the sight of that entrance, wonder for those above and pain for those below, which are not to be overcome. Better than the good are reconciled in it, also the wicked, and that pain, when they see it, they are hidden from it. In pain the air of them looks without satiety, when they are opened and when the doors of height are closed. A new sight sees evil men, that when one is one, one is exalted and one is lowered. A new sight also sees the spirits of the orders of demons, that when a spirit is one, they cannot fly like spirits. In wonder stand evil men and violent demons, when they are reconciled at the doors of height while they are closed. They weep their voices to their station in a roaring manner, that they see that the door of forgiveness is held before their faces. In pain they weep and in lamentations roaring, and in a mingled manner the voices of the depths of the soul sound. Pain declares the nature of them in a distinct manner, and the depths of the soul judge the blemishes of their station.

The judgment of the king with their sins wisely, and like a firstborn he burns the rust of their thoughts. In that hour with them the weight of their sins falls, and according to iniquity he increases bitter pain bitterly. Bitter and hard is the judgment, a fire that is kindled in him, and not to be spoken in the tongue of man, the hardness of his sinews. Great is the abyss that falls into it even the deep ones, and difficult it is very much to be delivered from its hardness. With the rich man every man cries out to Abraham: Have mercy, O compassionate one, and forgive the mercies that are lacking. He sought and implored for a secret sign as is customary, that a little dew of mercy might sprinkle upon your wickedness. They sought but could not appease the angry ones, the servant Abraham, that the abyss which is in the midst between you and all might pass. Remember your earthly loves and the joys of the season, and do not cease your hopes for the kingdom of spiritual life. These things Abraham says to his fathers, not in a voice. According to what is written, I spoke words as one who is. For they did not call to Abraham that you might see them, and Abraham cannot speak except by a sign. It is the sign that holds the gate of the kingdom before their faces, and it is that which cries in the mouth of Abraham and they remained and were silent. It is that which holds the scepter in the sinews that are not in hands, and according to the labors it arranges the sinews for the contestants.

Again, when his heart is in the treasury of blessings above, and according to sin he gives reward to the lovers of sin. Not equal are the thrones of those who did evil without knowledge, and the glory of those who toiled in the contest of labors prevails. According to will he distributes the sign of blessings and thrones, and according to iniquity and righteousness he makes one and oppresses. And when good is not, in that pleasure there is anything lacking, Paul says that good glory has grown from glory. In the great glory that is unspeakable, the high ones are loosed, and in the abyss that is unfathomable, the low ones are cast. In the place of light, the wakeful priests and physicians dwell, and in the darkness, the evil ones and demons who did evil are loosed. By the command of the king, the saints are loosed spiritually, and with him they delight in the festival of the spirit that is indestructible. With the medicine of their glory, which is insatiable, his sweetness, also the sound of their confession without end. Glory is clothed and glory cries out in a holy manner to him who in his holiness desired to make them partners in the work of his hands. The priests see the hidden of the hidden and are revealed in his glory, not divided, as they see when they do not see. In the visible they see his glory, which is hidden from all, and by means of the revealed, the perception of the vision of their thoughts. In the temple of the body they offer the sacrifices of their thoughts, and they are not able to be consumed in the sanctuary of sanctuaries.

The holy body is the visible sanctuary of the beginning of the race, and the holy of holies is the invisible divinity. And one is the sanctity and the holy of holies in unity, one God in the temple of the body that loves his love. One confession is offered by men and spiritual ones to the hidden one in the revealed, and also to the revealed one by means of the hidden. By that one love all are bound to the one who is revealed, and he in one essence, one lordship, and one authority. Over all and in all he extends, the hidden one in the revealed, and in his revelation he knows all according to his ordinance. Also over this he chose it from all and subjected all to it, so that those who see might be astonished at the place of this one. For they were perplexed between the kingdoms and the darkness, that they might see how the divider of boundaries and the looser of cords distributes. They wished also to see how much the hidden one is, and whether he is unable to distinguish between them according to their desire. Wisely did he who sets all in order do all that he did, and the wisdom of his love is ineffable, how great it is and where. Wonderful is his ordinance, and great his renewal, and perfect his love, and the more one delves into it, the smaller it becomes in comparison to his greatness. His love is revealed in that which bears all and renews all and makes all participate in the request of the love of his divinity. To the end of his love he calls the sons of his house to the feast, and rejoices them in that kingdom of the ordinance of height.

In the place above, the wealth of his goodness is distributed, and he sits and gives a writ of freedom to the servants of his hands. The wealth of life, not mortal, is prepared for men, and without toil it is administered in the high place, free from pains. By the power of peace, the thousands of limbs are renewed, and the waves of pains no longer disturb their minds. By the power of grace, a host is prepared to sing praise to him who, through his love, makes them share in his glories. There, that which is written about man is fulfilled: that the image is the visible herald of the hidden, through its visibility. There, men see on earth a covering from everything, and no longer seek to search in the darkness of mysteries. There, one will rules over all and over each one, and there is none who hinders the fulfillment of the debt of love. There, the wakeful and men become one in unity, and strife ceases, and lack yields, and anger vanishes. Love and peace rule over all and enslave all, and one will governs all according to its desire. The scepter of anger is held hidden in the hands of the visible, and it directs all toward the hiddenness that is depicted in men. To the feast of men, men and spiritual beings hasten, and when they have approached the gate of men, they offer thanksgiving. As in the image, man is depicted in it, and through its visibility, the power of the essence of life is seen.

He does not see the essence of non-existence, but the visible image that resembles the hidden one. I said that he resembles in the greatness of rank, not the hidden one, for there are no passing things that resemble his nature, the hidden one. In love he made his servants equal to him, that they might resemble him, and in goodness he called and established him in the rank of his name. This is a divine opportunity that cannot be fathomed, how, according to his own honor, he wisely acts in his own way. This is a discovery of that will which rules over all, and in a humble manner bound the world to his divinity. To him is praise for his incomprehensible wisdom, who established all and renews all in love and mercy.