Fragmenta in Matthaeum

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples became hungry and began to pluck ears of grain and eat them." And your servant, it says, and the beast of burden will rest on the Sabbath; that is, in this hebdomadal life: as a beast of burden, the body will cease from the servitude of sin, and will serve the divine commandments; as a servant, the spirit and desire will cease from sin, and will be permitted to devote themselves to God: desire entirely stretched toward God, and spirit armed against the enemies of God. "And he was transfigured before them. And his face shone like the sun; and his garments became white as light." The Lord is transfigured not by acquiring what he was not, but by revealing to the disciples what he was, and his face shines like the sun (for it is identified with another light in substance); and as snow, according to Mark, the garments become white. For the garment is glorified by relation, not by union in substance. Just as the sun is one, but has two natures, that of the light, which came into being earlier, and that of the body, which is posterior to creation, and the light is indivisibly united throughout the whole body, and while the body remains, the light extends to all parts of the earth; so also Christ, being light from light, unoriginate and inaccessible, having come into being in a temporal and created body, is one Sun of righteousness, one Christ in two natures: and the body is circumscribed, while the divinity is uncontained, being in all things and beyond all things.

And just as the sun is one thing (for it is a source of light, unable to be seen clearly), and its light, which reaches the earth from it, is another (for the wisdom and philanthropy of God are seen and foreseen, so that we might not be entirely without a share in good things), so the face of Christ shines more clearly like the sun (for what the sun is among sensible things, God is among intelligible things), while the garments are whitened like light, being adorned by the transmission of divine light. That it did not shine like the sun, but that the light was greater than the example, the disciples showed by falling. For if the light had not been unmixed, but commensurate with the sun, they would not have fallen. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him." Note that earlier in the Jordan the Trinity was witnessed at the Son's baptism, with the Father witnessing from above, and the Spirit descending like a dove. Now on Tabor the same is witnessed again to the one proclaiming. To the one proclaimed, by the cloud, by the Spirit. These things David also proclaimed beforehand. "Tabor and Hermon will rejoice in your name." For Hermon rejoiced at the baptism of Christ, and Tabor at the Transfiguration, since in both a voice was borne, saying, "This is my Son." "And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying:

Drink from it, all of you." The bread and wine are not a type of the body and blood of Christ—far from it—but are the very body and the very blood, entering for the constitution of our soul and body, not being consumed, not being corrupted, not passing into the latrine, but into our substance and preservation. And if some have called the bread and wine antitypes of the body and blood of the Lord, they said this not after they were sanctified, but before sanctification, so naming the offering. They are called antitypes of the future things, not as though they are not truly the body and blood of Christ, but because now through them we partake of Christ's divinity, but then we will do so intelligibly through contemplation alone. It is called "participation" because through it we partake of the divinity of Jesus; and "communion" because through it we commune with Christ and partake of his flesh and divinity, and also because through it we commune and are united with one another. For since we all partake of one bread, one body of Christ and one blood, we become members of one another, being called fellow-members of Christ's body. "And he threw the silver coins in the temple and withdrew; and going away, he hanged himself." Of abandonments, one is for hidden virtue, so that it may be revealed, as in the case of Job; another is for the turning away of pride, as in the case of Paul; another is for the correction of another, as in the case of Lazarus and the rich man. For naturally, when we see some people suffering, we are restrained. And one is for the glory of another, as the man blind from birth was for the glory of Christ. And one is for the emulation of another, as in the case of martyrdom. And in general, there are two forms of abandonment:

For there is an economic and educative abandonment, and there is a complete, despair-inducing abandonment. The economic and educative is either for the correction, salvation, and glory of the sufferer, or for the zeal and imitation of others, or for the glory of God. The complete abandonment is when, although God has done everything for salvation, the man remains incurable due to his own disposition. For then he is handed over to destruction, like Judas. "And they placed above his head his accusation written: 'This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.'" The writing on the tablet which Pilate fixed before the Lord's head fulfilled the Lord's words, when he said, "When I am raised up, I will draw all to myself." So the reading from that place indicated that the saving passion occurred not only for Judea, but for every Greek and barbarian land. "And from the sixth hour darkness came over the whole earth, until the ninth hour." The sun is eclipsed when the body of the moon, becoming like a partition and casting a shadow, prevents the light from reaching us. As much of the moon as is found to hide the sun, so great does the eclipse become. The eclipse of the moon occurs from the shadow of the earth, when the moon is fifteen days old and is found opposite at the extreme center, the sun being under the earth and the moon above the earth. For the earth casts a shadow, and the sunlight does not reach to illuminate the moon, and from that it is eclipsed. "And behold, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age.

Amen." He did not say that he would be with them only, but also with all those who would believe after them. For the apostles were not destined to remain until the end of the age; rather, he speaks to the faithful as to one body. "Do not," he says, "plead the difficulty of the matters to me. For I am with you, making everything easy." This he continually said to the prophets in the Old Testament, and to Jeremiah when he pleaded his youth, and to Moses and Ezekiel when they shrank back: "I am with you." So also here, to these. Observe here too the difference between them. For those, being sent to one nation, often excused themselves; but these uttered nothing of the sort when sent to the whole world. The word "until," in many places of Scripture, signifies the limit of a defined time, but does not deny what comes after. It is now said concerning the Ever-Virgin Theotokos that Joseph did not know her until she gave birth to her firstborn son; and one must not suppose that after this she entered into union with a man. So here too the Lord promised to be with us until the end of the age, not as though he would be separated from us after the end of the age. For the divine Apostle says that after the general resurrection we will be snatched up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord.

He also reminds them of the consummation, in order to draw them away all the more, and that they might not only see the present as unpleasant, but also the future good things which are endless. For the grievous things, he says, which you will undergo in this present life, are brought to an end together with it; indeed, even this very age itself will come to its consummation. But the good things which you will enjoy remain immortal. Thus having anointed and raised up their minds, he sent them forth with the memory of that day. For that day is desirable to those who live in righteousness, just as it is fearful to those in sins, as to those condemned. But let us not only fear and tremble, but also change while there is time, undergoing a beautiful transformation, so that we may enjoy eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom belong glory and power, together with the Father who is without beginning and the life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.