Homilia in illud Ite in castellum

Of the same Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, on the text: "Go into the village opposite and you will find a donkey tied and a foal with it; untie them and bring them to me." Again, the Lord, while benefiting us and extending his own grace to us, also rouses our souls through his teaching. For to those who have toiled and been distracted in this life by his affairs, God has given this present age in their heart, so that men, by knowing, may understand that they do not endure through the ages, but rather they imagine this present age. Therefore, so that they may also take thought for the coming age, he granted us an innate learning through free will. So all men, both wise and foolish, rulers and commoners, rich and poor, know that death will receive all. For this is what it means to imagine this present age, that is, for each to have his own end before his eyes. But many, even knowing that death will receive them, think that after this age they will be as if they had never existed. Such were those who said: "Our life is short and full of sorrow, and there is no return from our end. Come then," they say, "and let us enjoy the goods that exist; let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes." And the divine Paul also presents these as saying: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." If, then, these wretches were able to know that "life is short and full of sorrow," how did they not more quickly find the maker of good things? Therefore, it belongs only to the wise man to know the causes of what has happened.

For the wise man knows both how they came to be and for what purpose they came to be. He knows that God is the maker of all things. For he has heard the apostle saying: "Whether you eat or drink or do anything, do everything to the glory of God." But those who have used this life earnestly as in days of youth and have been consumed by their own wickedness, from beginning to end have not known the works of God. For if they had applied their mind precisely to these matters, they would certainly have come to know the creator God of these things more quickly. "For from the greatness and beauty of created things the generator of them is perceived." He has therefore employed a path that leads men from created things to the creator and maker of all things. We have added these things to the discourse, since all have wandered like sheep and because "by the envy of the devil death entered the world," because "each was bound by the chains of his own sins." For "death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned, on account of the likeness of Adam's transgression." But our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came, ransoming the captives and bringing the dead to life. Indeed, the divine apostle, knowing this, wrote saying:

For if by the transgression of one many died, much more by the justification of one does justification of life come to all men." Therefore the living and active Word of God, the unerring image, the only-begotten Son, "through whom the ages came into being, bearing all things by the utterance of his power, having made a cleansing of sins," came to dwell among us. Hence he sends two disciples to the village opposite, saying to them: "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied up and a foal with it; untie them and bring them to me." Matthew, describing the church and what came from it, named them donkey and foal. Luke, summarizing both into one unity, names it foal. For Luke says thus in his own Gospel: "He sent two of his disciples, saying: Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a foal tied up, on which no man has ever sat; untie it and bring it to me." You will find, then, that Matthew everywhere names two, while Luke summarizes the two into one. As also in the case of the blind men: Matthew again names two, saying: "And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying: Have mercy on us, Son of David." But Luke, summarizing the two into one, says: "And it happened as he was approaching Jericho that a certain blind man sat by the roadside begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what this might be. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. And he cried out, saying:

Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." Similarly, in the case of the demoniacs, you will find that Matthew names two, while Luke, with a more precise understanding, piously speaks of one instead of the two. Thus Matthew says concerning the two: "And when he came to the other side, into the region of the Gergesenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, very violent." But Luke, writing the two as one, said: "And when he had gone out onto the land, a certain man from the city met him, who had had demons for a long time." Everywhere, then, you will find that Matthew speaks of everything in the dual, while Luke discourses in the singular. So the divine Gospels are not erroneous—far from it—nor again did those who are filled from the one Holy Spirit speak in contradiction to each other; for the saints preserve one and the same power through the holy scriptures. We have recalled these things without straying from our subject. For the Gospel according to Matthew was read to us, as you heard. And the passage of scripture is this: "Then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied up and a foal with it; untie them and bring them to me.'" We have already said that this donkey was the church from the Gentiles, and the foal is our father Adam, whom Satan bound with his own wiles. For this donkey was considered an unclean animal, not bringing up nor bringing down cud. Which is the church from the Gentiles.

For before this she was defiled by her idols and polluted by unclean blood. So it was said to her through the prophet Isaiah: "You committed adultery with many shepherds." But the philanthropic Son of God came to us "and, having been found in form as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death by the cross." For it was not the work of angels to save the creation of God, but of the Word of God, of God who descended as "mediator between God and men." For it was owed to him who is also called the creator. So he sends the two disciples into the village opposite to untie the donkey and the foal, "so that he might present to himself the church in glory, no longer having a stain or wrinkle" or any other of the things previously said about her, "but so that she might be holy and blameless" for Christ. For thus also those born from her will be a "peculiar people, zealous for good works." So the two disciples go into the village opposite and untie the donkey and the foal according to what was commanded them by the teacher. For he called us from the village opposite to the heavenly city, the upper Jerusalem. He freed us from the bonds of the devil. You know also the prophet Isaiah crying out long ago and saying: "I gave you into

of my race, to open the eyes of the blind to the light of nations, to lead out those released from bonds and those sitting in darkness from the house of prison." So the disciples go to the village opposite. And when you hear "village," understand this earthly world; for the heavenly city is as we said before. And the phrase "to the village opposite" was prefigured by Moses in Genesis, saying: "God settled Adam opposite the paradise of delight and commanded the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword to guard the way to the tree of life." Therefore it was for no one else to lead us back to the place from which we were cast out than the Lord himself, who placed the cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life. For it was for no one else to recall us from the village opposite to the heavenly city than the one who pronounced judgment against us. Thus also the matter of the donkey and the foal will be understood, that it is all humanity. For divine scripture uses examples. For even if I speak of the church, I signify man; even if I make mention of Adam, I confess all humanity together. For this reason our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came, that he might turn back what had gone astray and, seeking what was lost, find it. For he himself is "the one who loosens the bound and raises up the broken" and recalls those who have fallen and ransoms the captives. And indicating this, the God-bearing David sings in the Psalms, saying:

Allow, Lord, our captivity to be like winter torrents in the south wind." This is the one who also illuminates the darkness, about whom it is written: "Galilee of the nations, the people sitting in darkness, behold a great light." For when the presence of the Savior illuminated the whole universe, the donkey and the foal are then released from their bonds. For he himself also took away our sins, as he says through the prophet: "I am the one who wipes out your sins." Let us therefore also show goodness to our own soul. Let us loosen every bond of injustice. For this is truly the good, that, in those things in which the teacher himself lived rightly and well, we learn that he has handed down to us not only by word, but also by deeds, what is beneficial. For hear him saying through the prophet: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he anointed me; he sent me to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal those crushed in heart, to proclaim release to captives and restoration of sight to the blind." For having bound our feet and hands, the masters before this took us captive, not allowing us to advance on the path of truth. But the philanthropic Son of God, having come to the human race, freed us. For he sent his own disciples and released us from the bonds of the devil. Therefore, the paradoxical signs performed by Jesus: even if they happened perceptibly according to the history, they happened for the sake of spiritual things. For the events of the history were accomplished, and the things signified were realities. For if the things signified were not divine realities, he would not have been about to have the prophets proclaim his coming in advance in this way. For Isaiah cries out, saying:

Behold, your king comes to you, meek and mounted on a donkey and a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." Concerning these extraordinary signs that occurred through Jesus, it is not possible to add or subtract anything. For he did everything perfectly and without omission. For he was "mighty in his deeds and words." Indeed, indicating these things, the Psalmist also said: "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your beauty and your comeliness, and draw it, and prosper, and reign." By his great power, he liberated all humanity. He performed these signs while the Lord himself was present with us, so that we might fear before his face. That the perceptible symbols are of intelligible realities, listen. For the Savior came to benefit primarily the soul of man. But since this was unknown to the many, through the visible healings he revealed the hidden salvation of the soul. Indeed, when he granted remission of sins to the paralytic, he was disbelieved. For the Jews said: "Who can forgive sins except God alone?" Then, since he had done the invisible and primary thing unnoticed, as a secondary matter he also healed the body. For he said to him: "Rise, take up your bed, and walk." Do you see how quickly this man is released from his bonds, and not only through the external healing is he released, but he is also freed from so many sins? Moreover, he even appointed him a herald of the healing, and altogether the things that happened perceptibly occurred for the sake of intelligible realities.

For this reason the disciples are also sent to the village opposite and they untie the donkey and the colt according to what was commanded them by the teacher. This happened entirely so that the prophecy of Jacob might also be fulfilled. For blessing the twelve patriarchs, when he came to Judah he prophesies and utters divine words. For listen to him saying: "Binding his colt to a vine and the colt of his donkey to a tendril." And you will find that everything said concerning Judah is prophesied for the coming of the Savior. For the diligent reader, by reading little by little, can understand what is said about him. But so that we do not recount the whole history, let us hear the apostle saying: "For it is evident that our Lord has arisen from Judah." For this reason, then, what happened took place, so that they might make the Creator manifest through his own service. For who, seeing a ship steered excellently, does not conceive of a helmsman? Or a chariot passing well and borne by skilled reins, does he not conceive of the charioteer? If, then, such is the case with things at hand, what would we say concerning the paradoxical deeds of the Savior? For we see the fearful and paradoxical aspects of his works: for example, the high seas and the movements of the winds dashing against them, the circle of the sun and the course of the moon and the composition of the stars.

Who was not afraid when "the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom," when the sun, unable to bear the audacity, sent its light away in fear, or when "the rocks were split and the tombs were opened" and those lying within arose and the enemies were afraid before his face? Therefore even unwillingly they confessed that "truly this was the Son of God." And indeed "the greater part of his works are in secret." For "a thousand thousands stood by him praising, and ten thousand myriads serve him." Let us therefore also recognize the benefactor. Let us glorify the Father together with the Son and the Holy Spirit; let us confess one divinity. Let us cease from sinning. Let us remember the poor. Let brotherly love remain. Do not forget hospitality. For living thus, let us inherit the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom are the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.