Sermo de patientia

Of the Same Athanasius Archbishop of Alexandria, On Patience. Our teacher Paul commands that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, pleasing to God. The command is common, but rather it is an announcement to those who practice holiness. The virgin is by nature similar to other women, but by her purpose she has transcended nature. And having wished to approach the holy in a holy manner, if she succeeds here, she has carried off a great marvel; but if she set out and did not complete it, such a fall has become extraordinary; for it is more difficult to fall from higher places than to fall from the ground. And as great as the promise is, so much worse is the fall. For the promise transcends nature, and bears it up to heaven, and prepares it to dance with angels. From this already in this life, as the Savior also says, bearing witness to this dignity, that after the resurrection of the dead is the life, he says, the expectation of men. And again he says, that Those who have been deemed worthy of the resurrection of future goods neither marry nor are given in marriage. What therefore is reserved in the kingdom of heaven for the promises, this the purpose of some has anticipated, and has and possesses. For the saints, who have their reason raised up toward God, and who eat of heavenly food, have considered this world as a prison, and have handed over their bodies for martyrdom, and have kept their own soul pure, so that God might dwell in them. And they endured, as our Lord says, that He who endures to the end, this one will be saved.

and as the psalmist says: "He labored for eternity, and will live to the end"; for all the righteous who have their hope in God have not had bodily rest that separates them from God, but they remained in labors, not shrinking back nor doubting the divine promises, but receiving afflictions lightly, remembering the Apostle's words: "And you received the plunder of your possessions with joy." And he also bears witness concerning those who did not accept the redemption, that they did not wish to turn back and be again in the heavenly realms; but we must not be in worldly things, but pass over to be with God. Now you also, beloved brothers, do not be faint-hearted, nor become like the people in the time of Moses who transgressed in only forty days, while he was going up to receive the divine law; and because of this they became guilty and fell in the desert; but let us be like Moses, who spent forty days and nights fasting without food and drink. Not only these, but also another forty, having his heart, eyes, and flesh suspended toward God. Let us not desire, as those then who became desirers of meat, falling in the desert, while their food was still in their mouths, as the psalm says, and the anger of God rose up against them; but let us keep the commandments given to us, like the sons of Jonadab, to whom God promised, saying: "A man of the sons of Jonadab standing before me will not fail all the days of his life.

who built no house for themselves, nor planted vineyards, and they became a reproach to the people. And the people, being a multitude, were taken captive; but these, being few, were preserved by God. And you, therefore, who keep the way of the fathers, are reckoned as sons of the sons of Jonadab. Let us also keep the inheritance of the fathers, as the noble Naboth did, who was threatened by Ahab to take his vineyard for a vegetable garden; but not accepting, he was slain while contending; yet God avenged him. For he did not want his vineyard to become a garden, where leeks and onions and garlic grow, which he avoided; but he wanted a vineyard of gladness; rather, he wanted his own mind to be gladdening, and not slack like a mallow of a garden in the heat, or like a half-boiled beet, as those who have now betrayed. For if he had been deprived, perhaps the mind of ancestral piety would have been taken away; for the Israelite was named as one who sees God. But those now, having suffered nothing, have sold their vineyard of the true vine to Ahab, and have been planted with so many blameworthy vegetables. Let us not become lovers of money like Elisha's servant, who for this reason drew upon himself the leprosy of Naaman; but let us endure in afflictions, that we may become partakers of rest; for no one enters the kingdom without affliction. Let us imitate our predecessors, the saints. The first righteous man was Abel, who offered to God the firstfruits from the firstborn of his sheep and from their fat, whom his own brother envied. For what injustice did Abel do to Cain?

Jealousy arose in him for this reason, because he was not accepted by God, since he did not offer correctly. And he killed the body, thinking to extinguish the divine love between them, not knowing that his soul cries out to God. And our Savior makes mention of him in the Gospel; but the mention of Cain is cut off. Today again they kill the innocent Abel; but the blood cries out to the Lord; and we hope that it will not be passed over in silence because of the blood of such great martyrs. Just as that time was, so also now. Let us also remember the patience of Enoch, that he spent three hundred and sixty-five years with his mind stretched toward God, until he was translated. Do not therefore be faint-hearted; for we have not been long delayed. And Noah spent five hundred years, being a perfect righteous man at the time of the transgression, before God spoke to him to build the ark, and another hundred years working on it, mocked by those who opposed him; and those who mocked perished in the flood; but he, having hoped in God, was saved with his household, and became a salvation to the world. Abraham again, having become obedient to the Lord, left his own dwellings, until he received the great promises; for he was tested even to the point of offering his own beloved son as a sacrifice to God, and Abraham received so great an honor as to be called friend of God. The Philistines wronged Isaac, and blocked up his wells, and fought with him over the water.

But when he was finally separated from them, God enlarged him and filled his mouth with blessing. And today again they wish to block up the wells of Isaac; but do not allow it. Take with you the children of Isaac, and dig, which are the apostolic aids of teaching, the champions of truth. Jacob again was pursued by his own brother Esau, and he withdrew into Mesopotamia, and shepherded the flocks of Laban, keeping watch day and night, suffering as a hired hand, and he endured patiently in toil. In his own wisdom he placed the rods in the troughs of the watering places, and all the variegated sheep became his own. And for him God at last enlarged; for he went away alone, but returned with a great multitude; he acquired sons and cattle, and not only that, but multitudes of angels rejoiced with him. Therefore the true Jacob will come with the heavenly angelic array, the shepherd of the sheep, and will render to each according to his deed. As for Joseph, his own brothers were jealous of him; the sons of his father

They sold this man for silver and divided his price among themselves. Do you see such great injustice of these men? But the righteous one was patient in all these things; for not only his brothers, but also his wife envied him. And after he showed patience, God appointed him king of the land of Egypt. He became heir not only of the perceptible kingdom, but also of the heavenly one. And today there are those who sell their own brothers and divide the silver. Let us also remember the patience of Job, who neither in prosperity turned aside, nor when tempted with so many things in each matter, but endured patiently until he received double from God. And he has been testified to until now, that he suffered in order to appear righteous to all. Moses did not desire to acquire the wealth of the place; but he fled, becoming a sojourner in a foreign land, or he left the present things behind in order to partake of the eternal. Those, then, perhaps forgot the kingdom. The time will fail us as we narrate about each of the saints. But to speak the word briefly, we declare that even Elijah was persecuted by Jezebel, but having endured in the toil, he was taken up. And Elisha, together with those with him, ate herbs, but he had the living Word within him; and his bones, after his death, raised a dead man, a sign being given that the hope of the righteous is not lost. They cast Jeremiah alive into a pit of mire, envied by the false prophets.

Ezekiel lay on his side for one hundred and ninety whole days, eating bread and drinking wine in measure, and did not turn from one side to the other until God spoke to him. But those who abandon the Lord turn to the side of their own repose, who are manifestly having received their portion from that place. Persist, therefore, on the side until the divinity commands. For the great bonds of Ezekiel are the most steadfast words of God. The satraps accused Daniel, wishing to prevent him from his prayers; but he did not cease, and he was twice thrown into the lions' den; but God muzzled their mouths. And today they accuse us, not wishing us to pray to God. This is evident, that they persecute both us and our fathers the bishops. Blessed is the man who is blameless, and in whom no charge was found, but only this one: praying to the Lord. This is to endure to the end. Let no one among you, therefore, be faint-hearted. For consider the three holy youths, who were small, not submitting to the image of Nebuchadnezzar, and through the same holiness and manner of life extinguished so great a furnace of flame, and not even the smell of fire was on their garments. Let there be no smell of the fire of Nebuchadnezzar on your garments either, which fires are those of the devil, the perishable thoughts that are extinguished. Let food not deceive you, nor let anyone say: I have grown old, and I cannot fast.

But let him remember the aged Eleazar, who was not deceived by the king to taste or to eat defiling food. And let the younger among you remember the seven most noble Maccabees, each comforting his own brother until they are perfected in martyrdom and become pillars of light in the temple of the Lord. And again, let the mothers among you be encouragers of their children, just as that mother was gentle and unwavering, urging her sons so that she might receive them with her in the kingdom. Even if you are persecuted and they take you away, let it suffice that your body is a temple of God. Remember the apostles who were then persecuted and cast into prison, giving thanks with joy because they were deemed worthy to be dishonored for His name; and the holy martyrs who endured so many tortures, even to the gouging out of eyes, and became one-eyed. But the knowledge of God was in their hearts, to whom the word of the Savior came, saying: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Yet some now have betrayed, having suffered no torture at all, for the sake of three things: love of money and indulgence of the flesh, food and drink, and vainglory, love of power, and human fear. We have written these things exhorting you; but there is a measure for each according to his own manner of life. Therefore, let each of you acquire friends for himself above; hence Scripture says: At all times let a friend be with you. And let brothers be useful in times of need; for this purpose they are born.

Therefore, all who are imitators of each of those mentioned above will be their co-heirs and will have them as friends in a day of need. If someone is a presbyter, let him imitate Timothy, who presided well and secured for himself both rank and great boldness in Christ. If someone is a deacon, let him imitate those around Stephen, the seven entrusted with service, who became faithful and full of the Holy Spirit. If someone is a reader, let him share in the one who says: "My tongue is the reed of a swift-writing scribe," and as Peter said: "If someone speaks, it is as oracles of God," and "The tongue of a righteous man is refined silver." All who are perfect monks, let them have these holy men as friends: Elijah, Elisha, John; and the younger among them, let them imitate the three holy men of that time along with the Maccabees. The virgins are expected to be with their companions in the heavens, together with Mary the sister of Aaron, and with Mary and Thecla, who plucked out fleshly desire from herself, and with the four daughters of Philip who prophesied. The widows who live a civic life, let them be like Deborah, who judged the people and was called mother in Jerusalem; and like Judith, who in prudence and holiness removed the head of Holofernes; and like Anna, daughter of Phanuel, who at eighty-four years of age served in the temple with fasts and prayers, and at the end confessed to the Lord. All who are advanced in age, let them be imitators of the good old age of Abraham in hospitality, and like Isaac and Jacob, Job and Lot.

As many as are presbytides or widows, let them emulate the widow in Sarepta and the one who offered the two lepta. Now, my beloved in the Lord, without much speech, it is time to mourn. It happened after Jerusalem was taken captive and Israel was laid waste, Jeremiah sat weeping and chanted this lament over Jerusalem, and said: How has the city once full of peoples sat alone? She has become like a widow; for the saints weep over the fall of men. For behold, today the Church has become like a widow; behold, the ways of Zion mourn because there are none coming to the feast; behold, her priests groan, and her virgins are led away, our Sabbath, and the feast, and the new moon have been closed to us. And in another place the prophet weeps, saying: I shall weep for you, vine of Sebama; why have your vintners been destroyed? The wine is in the vat, needing light ones worthy to contain it. Many, because of the multitude of the wounded in the present time, have been excused, being wounded. So then, as many as have remained unharmed, preserved as light new ones, let them come forward to partake. And again in another place he weeps, saying: Who would give my head water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, and we shall weep for this people day and night, the wounded of the daughter of my people, those who are wise for doing evil, but have not known how to do good? Doing this, weeping over the fall of men. And the prophet Ezekiel again lamented over each of those who had fallen away, as it was said to him: Take up a lament over the ruler of Tyre.

And he does not weep only for the ruler of Tyre, but for the many who will perhaps be reached by his tears; for they are watchmen of the whole and conductors of mourning. And David wept over the fall of the mighty, saying: How have the mighty fallen, and the vessels of war perished? Do not announce it in Gath, nor in the roads of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice; for behold, even today the mighty have fallen, and great vessels of war, which must be wept over. He wept over Absalom, not because he died, but because he transgressed. And we therefore should not weep for those who have died, but for those who have denied their own faith. Let us also receive the word of the prophet Joel, and fulfill it, as he commands and summons us to weep over those in ruin, saying: Let the bridegroom come out of his chamber, and the bride out of her bridal chamber. The priests who serve the altar shall weep, and they shall say: Spare, Lord, your people, and do not give your inheritance over to the reproach of nations ruling over them, lest it be said among the nations: Where is their God? Perhaps it might also be said to us: And the Lord was zealous for his people, and spared his people. And in the Lamentations it is again written: Let the walls of Zion bring down tears like winter torrents day and night. Does he speak of walls or stones, or rather of the holy walls of the Church? For behold, over all of them it has been fulfilled that they bring down tears like winter torrents everywhere. Now let us also take up the word of the Ode: As they went, they went and wept, carrying their seeds.

Just as those who now preside have no place to cast their seeds. Yet they will come, arriving in exultation, bearing their sheaves. For blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted; and, "In the evening weeping will lodge, and by morning, exultation." For the apostles also, weeping in the evening, rejoiced in the morning. And Mary Magdalene sat by the tomb weeping; the Lord appeared to her and removed the tears from her eyes; what was foretold was fulfilled: "And God removed every tear from every face." Remember our Lord, that he suffered so much for us: he was stripped of his garment, they put a scarlet cloak on him, they placed a crown of thorns on him, they spat on him, they mocked him, and the Master of all was slapped by a servant. He was hung on a tree, they gave him vinegar mixed with gall to drink, they divided his garments while he watched, they pierced his side with a spear, he gave up his spirit into the hands of the Father, his body was placed in a tomb, he rose on the third day, he was taken up in glory into the heavens, holy angels proclaimed him beforehand, saying, "Lift up your gates, O rulers." Therefore, consider the one who displayed such endurance, so that whoever becomes an imitator of him may also become his co-occupant of the throne and co-heir, as he himself promised, in the kingdom of heaven for ever and ever. Amen.