In pentecosten Sermo 2

The grace of the Spirit came; for the one who promised the gift of the Spirit is true. The Paraclete, proclaimed by the Master Christ, arrived; for the one who foretold the coming is truthful, not a slave announcing the arrival of a fellow slave, but a Master becoming the herald of a Master of equal honor, and a good teacher yielding to a good teacher, or rather present with the one present, ascending with the one ascending, and descending with the one coming. For the grace of the Trinity is indivisible; and neither did he depart when he ascended, nor was he absent when he came. But the God Logos ascended as a man, and is present; and the Paraclete descended, and did not leave the heavens; but he reigns with the Father, and illuminates the earth, and fulfilled the economy, and sent tongues of nations to the apostles. And suddenly a great sound of a voice was heard, and the noise of a violent wind was produced, and the arrival of the Spirit imitated the form of thunder; for it prevailed over the sons of thunder. And tongues divided as of fire appeared to them; and what was seen was fearful, but what happened was desirable; a flame settling and not burning, fire seated and not consuming; fire bestowing heavenly wisdom, fire divided into countless tongues, fire cut into myriad forms of speech; a flame teaching fishermen to be sophists, and making a cobbler an orator. Or rather, the sophists are not so great. For they were teachers of some one nation, but these became educators of the whole world. And a Galilean man spoke the language of the Medes, and knew that of the Parthians, and was not ignorant of that of the Elamites.

but he had on his lips every form of speech. And none of his hearers considered him a foreigner, nor did they shun his words as illegitimate; rather, he was heard as a citizen of every nation, carrying with himself the tongue of the whole world, and this we received as the first fruit of piety. For at the construction of the tower, voices were divided, and men became ignorant of each other's languages. For it was necessary that the harmony of the god-defying plan be broken by ignorance of words, and that those who had wickedly cooperated with each other be separated by the change of language, and that the experience of their irrational undertakings be gained through speech, so that neither the speaker could speak, nor the hearer understand, nor waste time in vain. For what profit did you gain from your madness? What was the end of your grand undertaking? Why do you force to grasp what is incomprehensible? Why do you strive to seize heaven, you who are not worthy to enjoy the earth? Why do you gaze at the sky, you who cannot even hear your neighbor's voice? I divide your speech, and I dissolve your action, not because I fear your ascent, nor because I am anxious for my own kingdom, but because I care for you who labor and toil in vain. For a building of stones and a tower assembled by many hands cannot reach heaven; rather, chariots of divine knowledge, many of righteousness, a life purer than light, and wings of virtue lead to that path. Their tongue, once divided, put an end to their audacity, God wisely and humanely steering this.

What he took from them as evil, this he gave to the apostles as good; and the one who punished the impious through the tongue glorified the saints through the tongue. And the servants of the word received the forms of the word, not enjoying the gift for display of grace, but receiving the gift for need. For it was necessary that the teachers of the world know the languages of the world. For a teacher is weak who is unclear to his learners. But, being entrusted with such great mysteries, they necessarily first received knowledge of tongues. For no one can initiate into the mysteries one who has not first believed; and no one would believe, being inexperienced in what is said. Hence the grace of the Spirit began, and for this reason it first worked wonders concerning sounds. For their sound went out into every land. It was about to take hold of the world and be measured by the boundaries of the earth, and to leave no one untaught, nor to pass by anyone uneducated.

They appeared as tongues of fire divided. For the tongues of the apostles were to perform the works of fire, and a twofold use was shown: to burn up the devil, and to enlighten those sitting in darkness. Behold a fire gentler than any oil to the faithful; behold a tongue more terrible than any fire to the devil; behold a tongue burning up the thorns of impiety and bedewing the crops of piety; behold twelve disciples taught by one teacher; behold twelve generals arrayed under one king; behold twelve bright luminaries rising from one peak; behold twelve pure rays proceeding from one sun; behold twelve lamps kindled from one spark; behold twelve branches sprouting from one vine that clings; behold twelve baskets filled from one table; behold twelve rivers flowing from one spring; behold twelve tongues speaking from one grace. And do not think they are drunk, nor that they are full of new wine, nor insult the gift with disbelief, nor imitate the accursed, nor call the energy of the Spirit drunkenness. Drunkenness does not know how to bestow kinds of tongues, but rather binds the tongue each one has, and makes one deranged, and cuts off the flow of speech, and as if walking in darkness among rocks, stumbles over the teeth; and now it disturbs the mind, and causes confusion, and produces delusion, and cuts short the syllables.

And drunkenness is a waking man's dream, a sleeping man's vision, a thirsting madness, a hungry demon, a devil seated in wine, a robber lying in wait at banquets, burning up reason with unmixed wine, and working a deadly poison for the despondent soul. These are the things drunkenness naturally produces. These are the things the impious falsely accused the apostles of; and it is no wonder. For to the Jews, the sober seemed to be drunk; for they were confounded by all the insults of the saints, and they mocked the prophets as drunkards. And even if they deny it, let us say to them: Is this not so, sons of Israel? The Lord says. And you gave wine to my consecrated ones, and you commanded the prophets, saying: Do not prophesy. And I myself confess that they were drunk, but not the drunkenness you speak of, but that more divine and intellectual drunkenness, of which he who drinks is filled with wisdom, of which he who drinks is strengthened in mind, of which he who drinks is wakeful and sober for virtue, of which he who drinks learns to love God, of which he who drinks will never thirst for eternity, of which he who drinks raves with Paul, and dares every fire and iron, and leaps into dangers, and welcomes every calamity as joy, and rejoices at insults as at praises, and prides himself on abuse as on honors, and delights in bonds for the Savior as in royal crowns. This mixing-bowl made the apostles drunk; this cup the disciples of the Savior drank, and they were intoxicated with the finest drunkenness, and they were filled from the holy table, and they say with the blessed David:

You have set a table before me, contrary to those who oppress me; you have anointed my head with oil, and your cup makes me drunk as with the strongest wine, and your mercy will pursue me all the days of my life. For he who drinks from this cup is sober in Christ, but seems drunk to the foolish, thinking the thoughts of the Saviour. This mixing-bowl the Lord Christ has mixed for us from blood, and has summoned many banqueters for us, and has summoned countless evangelical fish, and has filled Peter’s net, and the spectacle has become for him from the unexpected, and the storm has made his fishing more brilliant; and those whom he did not hunt by persuasion, these he captured alive when they were frightened, lightning assisting him in the catch. But let no one call this an insult to the new flock, if they were hunted by lightning; for Christ is accustomed to curb kicking colts by lightning. And whoever knows the calling of the blessed Paul rejoices, having been called with Paul, and having seen the Lord Christ by lightning, becomes a disciple of Christ. Glory to him for ever and ever. Amen.