In illud Collegerunt Judaei

On the passage, "The Jews gathered a council and said, 'What shall we do?'" On Holy and Great Monday. The most beloved children of the Church seem like nursing infants, who draw the nourishment of milk from the maternal breast each day and seek it each day. And we seem like a poor mother, whose springs of milk have shrunk from lack of food. And just as, when one sees a child-loving mother barren of milk, and her own child weeping, and she offers the breast, not to nourish the child, but to stop its crying—so also must we observe that we suffer the same and do the same. For we, seeing this new gathering of the children of the Church standing around us and awaiting the rational milk of the word, let down the breast of our mind, not to nourish them (for we are inexperienced and poor in speech), but to stop their desire and burning thirst. But come, beloved, let us run to the herald of the sun, to see the treacherous ambush plotted against the Lord by the Jews.

For they gathered," it says, "the Jews a council, and said, 'What shall we do?'" These things the evangelist John was just now uttering to us. For even if he does not now converse with us by mouth, yet in spirit he cried out to the ears of those present. "For they gathered," it says, "the council, and said, 'What shall we do?'" Good is the "they gathered," but evil is the "council"; not for love, but for strife; not calling to peace, but provoking to war. They gathered the council, not that they might glorify God, but that they might dishonor Christ. They gathered the council, not that they might build up faith, but that they might cast away the cornerstone. They gathered the council, not that they might pen the straying sheep in the fold, but that, having slain the shepherd, they might disperse the flock. They gathered the council, not that they might receive the snow-bright pearl with faith, but that they might darken the bright stone, as they supposed, with unbelief. They gathered the council, not that they might gratefully receive the treasure hidden in the field, but that they might ungratefully dissolve the temple of God. They gathered the council, not that they might harvest the honey-dripping clusters of the vine, but that, having stretched out the true vine upon the tree of the cross, they might make themselves vines of destruction, and make us vines of salvation. O council gathered by the devil against Christ! O council-chamber filled with wickedness! O council, rather of bloodthirsty wolves than of God-bearing men.

But what am I saying, "worse than savage wolves"? Indeed, they are worse even than savage lions. For the lions in the case of Daniel, having seen no sign, but having observed the man and honored his piety, they reined in their untamed mouths. But the Jews, having become spectators of such and so many signs, were armed more fiercely by envy for murder, and said, "What shall we do?" O diligent search for wickedness! O sigh and lamentation born of envy! O wailing and beating of breasts over evils! Neither Rachel weeping for her children groaned thus. "What shall we do?" Instead of rejoicing, the wretches ought to have celebrated a universal day of gladness, because the dead had come to life, because life had been revealed, because death had been dissolved, because the devil had been put to shame, because the host of demons had been abolished, because humanity had been freed, because the resurrection of the dead had been proclaimed to all. But now, at such goods, they do not rejoice, but lament, and they plot to destroy the author of so many goods. And what do they say? "What shall we do?" There was nothing else to say but, "Let us repent, turn back, fall down before him, and believe." For what else would they have said in repenting but this? "What shall we do, because we have transgressed the commandment of God, because we have not kept the law given to us, which says to us, 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me; you shall listen to him in everything that he commands you'?" But now they do not say "What shall we do?" with a view to repentance, but "What shall we do? How shall we kill the righteous man?" As Israel is deranged.

Have you not heard this, that you shall not kill an innocent and righteous man? Were not the ancient bloods of the prophets enough for you? For even now they cry out to God, awaiting vengeance from him. But still adding to those bloods, you condemn the blood of an innocent and righteous man, and you say, "What shall we do?" O mind of ingratitude, and counsel filled with folly. Their four-day dead man came back to life; the bonds of sins were being broken; and they were arming themselves for murder against him. Instead of which, they ought to have turned the phrase and said, "What shall we do, because we have insulted a holy man, because we did not believe in the child of God? What shall we do? He scraped away leprous hailstones like a ship with a word, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? We knew men blind from birth made to see by him, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? We knew five thousand fed to satiety in the desert by him from five loaves, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? He dried up fountains of blood with the fringes of garments, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? A paralytic cast upon a bed, having a disease contemporary with his own life for thirty-eight years, he roused with a word, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? We saw him walking on the sea as on dry land, and we knew him silencing with a nod of his hand the violence and irremediable disturbances of the contrary winds, and we did not believe in him." But they said, "What shall we do?" not in repentance, but in evildoing.

Their land sprouted the dead as living, like white-clad and ripe ears of grain, effortlessly, and those groaned. Did you not reap what you sowed, Jews? Was any one of you burdened after receiving the Lord? Why were you burdened, having suffered loss? What injustice did you suffer from God? Why do you prevent the dead from life, driven by envy? Why do you wish to dissolve the ever-flowing channels of the honey-flowing spring, which those who drink from do not thirst? Why do you kill your own sick, wishing to destroy their physician? But the cause of all this is most wicked envy. O envy, begetter of murder, invention of the devil, originator of death; O envy, which neither wishes those whom you bewitch to live, nor punishes those who have you more severely; O envy, cohabitant of the devil; O envy, enemy of friendship, opponent of peace, adversary of love, offshoot of the devil, dark-colored flower; those who cultivate you commit Christ-murder; and you from the beginning bewitched Adam in paradise, and after he tasted sweet pleasure, you delivered him to most bitter death; for death did not exist in the world, if you, envy, had not given birth to it. And the divine scripture bears witness to me, saying: God did not create death, nor does he delight in the destruction of the living. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world. You also stripped Cain of the white-clad garment of brotherly love, and armed the sword of murder, and taught him to kill, and immediately taught the wretch to tremble. You, dwelling in Pharaoh, withered the newborn infants of the Hebrews like grass. You, O envy, when benefited, stir up more against your benefactors; just as the

Saul, aided by David and set in motion by you, was armed all the more for murder. Having you, the sons of Jacob sent the beautiful and radiant Joseph into darkening Egypt, and sold the free man as a slave; and neither did their dreams frighten them, for a divine vision revealed him to be an image of Christ, since he was worshipped by eleven stars in visions, because even the traitor Judas, moved by envy, hanged himself. But we, having fled from envy, the begetter of death, having risen, let us glorify God, who is worshipped in Trinity, for to him belong power, honor, glory, and majesty, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.