Judgment Day. Valentinus: When we begin to sing
justice to the Lord, we shall bear away a reward for our work, because the Lord
is merciful and just, compassionate and upright. And, … as your holiness
teaches us, “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that
every one of us may receive the proper things of the body, according as he has
done, whether it be good or evil,” because the Lord shall come as a burning
furnace and shall burn the wicked like stubble. And to those who fear the name
of the Lord, the Sun of justice shall rise, when the wicked shall be punished
with the judgment of justice. Letter 216 (Valentine to Augustine).
Jesus the Right Creator of
the Sun. Ambrose: But in
case the evidence presented to your eyes may appear to be scanty, cleanse your
ears and apply it to the heavenly oracles: “On the word of two or three
witnesses every word is confirmed.” Hear God speaking: “Let there be lights
made in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth.” Who says this?
God says it. And to whom is he speaking, if not to his Son? Therefore God the
Father says, “Let the sun be made,” and the Son made the sun, for it was
fitting that the Sun of justice should make the sun of the world. He therefore
brought it light. He illuminated it and granted it the power of light.
Therefore the sun was made. For this reason it is also a subject, since it has
been said, “You have founded the earth and it continues. By your ordinance the
day goes on, for all things serve you.” Six Days of Creation 4.2.5.
Jesus Guides the Ship, the
Church. Chrysostom: A
person who has no knowledge of the sea could not sail in full daylight with
such confidence and ease as the helmsman sails in the middle of the night, when
the sea shows itself in a more formidable mood. Why is this? The helmsman is
wide-awake and quite calm as he puts to practice his skill in sailing. He keeps
careful watch not only on the pathways of the sea and the courses of the stars
but also on the assaults of the winds. The helmsman’s wisdom and knowledge are
great. So it is that many a time when the blast of a more violent gale has
struck his ship and is about to swamp it, he has the wisdom to make many a
quick change in the angle of his sails. He runs before the wind and puts an end
to all danger from the gale. By pitting his skill against the violence of the
winds’ blasts, he snatches his vessel from the storm. Those sailors voyage over
waters we can see and hear and feel. Although they are searching for this
world’s goods, they continuously keep their minds watchful and alert. All the
more must we keep ourselves prepared in the same way they do. Surely the
careless person faces a greater danger, while the sober one is more secure.
This ship of ours is not constructed of timbers but is joined fast together
with the divine Scriptures. The stars in the sky do not guide us on our way,
but the Sun of justice steers our ship on its course. As we sit at the tiller,
we are not waiting for the blasts of wind. We are waiting for the gentle breath
of the Spirit. Against the Anomoeans, Homily 7.5–6.
Christ Is the Sun of Justice. Ambrose: Do not, therefore, without due
consideration put your trust in the sun. It is true that it is the eye of the
world, the joy of the day, the beauty of the heavens, the charm of nature and
the most conspicuous creation. When you behold it, reflect on its author. When
you admire it, give praise to its creator. If the sun as consort of and
participant in nature is so pleasing, how much goodness is there to be found in
that Sun of justice? If the sun is so swift that in its rapid course by day and
night it is able to traverse all things, how great is he who is always and
everywhere and fills all things with his majesty! If that which is bidden to
come forth is deemed worthy of our admiration of whom we read, “Who commands
the sun and it rises not!” If the sun which the succession of the seasons
advances or recedes is mighty, how mighty must he be also who “when he emptied
himself” that we might be able to see him, who “was the true light that
enlightens every man who comes into this world!” Six Days of Creation 4.1.2.
Jacob Foreshadows the Sun of
Justice. Ambrose: Because
Jacob’s faith and devotion were unconquerable, the Lord revealed his hidden
mysteries to him by touching the side of his thigh. For it was by descent from
him that the Lord Jesus was born to a virgin, and Jesus would be neither unlike
nor unequal to God. The numbness in the side of Jacob’s thigh foreshadowed the
cross of Christ, who would bring salvation to all by spreading forgiveness of
sins throughout the whole world and would give resurrection to the departed by
the numbness and torpidity of his own body. On this account the sun rose on
holy Jacob, for the saving cross of the Lord shone brightly on his lineage, and
at the same time the Sun of justice recognizes God, because he is himself the
everlasting light. But Jacob limped because of his thigh. “On account of this
the children of Israel do not eat the sinew even to the present day.” Would
that they had eaten it and believed! But because they were not about to do the
will of God, therefore they did not eat. There are those too who take the passage
in the following sense that Jacob limped from one thigh. Two people flowed from
his lineage, and there was then being revealed the numbness which one of them
would presently exhibit toward the grace of faith. And so it is the people
itself that limped by reason of the numbness of its unbelief. Jacob and the
Happy Life 7.30–31.
Elizabeth and Mary Compared. Ephrem the Syrian: The elderly Elizabeth
gave birth to the last of the prophets, and Mary, a young girl, to the Lord of
the angels. The daughter of Aaron gave birth to “the voice in the desert” and
the daughter of King David to the Word of the heavenly king. The wife of the
priest gave birth to “the angel of his face” but the daughter of David to the
strong God of the earth. The barren one gave birth to him who remits sins, but
the Virgin gave birth to him who takes them away. Elizabeth gave birth to him
who reconciled people through repentance, but Mary gave birth to him who
purified the lands of uncleanness. The elder one lit a lamp in the house of
Jacob, his father, for his [lamp] itself was John, while the younger one [lit]
“the Sun of justice” for all the nations. The angel announced to Zechariah, so
that the slain one would proclaim the crucified one and that the hated one
[would proclaim] the envied one. He who was to baptize with water [would
proclaim] him who would baptize “with fire and with the Holy Spirit,” and the
light which was not obscure [would proclaim] “the Sun of justice.” [The one]
filled with the Spirit [would proclaim] concerning him who gives the Spirit.
The priest calling with the trumpet [would proclaim] concerning the one who is
to come at the [sound of] the trumpet at the end. The voice [would proclaim]
concerning the Word, and the one who saw the dove [would proclaim] concerning
him upon whom the dove rested, like the lightning before the thunder. Commentary
on Tatian’s Diatessaron.
The Lord’s Day Is the Day of
the Sun of Justice.
Jerome: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.”
The Lord has made all days, of course, but other days may belong as well to the
Jews, and heretics too; they may even belong to the heathens. The Lord’s day,
however, the day of the resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is
called the Lord’s day because on this day the Lord ascended to the Father as
victor. But when the heathen call it the day of the sun, we are most happy to
acknowledge their title, for today has risen “the Sun of justice with its
healing wings.” Does the sun really have wings? Let the Jews answer, and those
who, like them, accept only a literal interpretation of holy Writ. We say,
whoever has been under the wings of this sun who has said in the Gospel, “How
often would I have gathered the children together, as a hen gathers her young
under her wings, but thou would not,” shall be safe from the devil hawk, safe
under the great wings of that mighty eagle in Ezekiel, and all the wounds of
his sins shall be healed. Homily (94) on Easter Sunday.
Worship to the East
Explained. John of
Damascus: It is not without any reason or by any chance that we worship toward
the east. On the contrary, since we are composed of a visible and an invisible
nature, of an intellectual nature and a sensitive one, that is, we also offer a
twofold worship to the Creator. It is just as we also sing both with our mind
and our bodily lips, and as we are baptized both in water and in the spirit,
and as we are united to the Lord in two ways when we receive the sacrament and
the grace of the spirit. And so, since God is spiritual light and Christ in
sacred Scripture is called “Sun of justice” and “Orient,” the east should be
dedicated to his worship. For everything beautiful should be dedicated to God,
from whom everything that is good receives its goodness. Also, the divine David
says, “Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; sing you to the Lord, who mounts
above the heaven of heavens, to the east.” And still again, Scripture says,
“And the Lord had planted a paradise in Eden to the east; wherein he placed man
whom he had formed,” and whom he cast out, when he had transgressed, “and made
him to live over against the paradise of pleasure,” or in the west. Thus when
we worship God, we long for our ancient homeland and gaze toward it. The
tabernacle of Moses had the veil and the propitiatory altar to the east; and
the tribe of Judah, as being the more honorable, pitched their tents on the east;
and in the celebrated temple of Solomon the gate of the Lord was set to the
east. As a matter of fact, when the Lord was crucified, he looked toward the
west, and so we worship gazing toward him. And when he was taken up, he
ascended to the east, and thus the apostles worshiped him. And thus he shall
come in the same way as they had seen him going into heaven, as the Lord
himself said: “As lightning comes out of the east and appears even into the
west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” And so, while we are
awaiting him, we worship toward the east. Orthodox Faith 4.12.
Christ the Sun from the East
Arose. Origen: But do not
take the statement that “he sprinkles to the east” as superfluous. From the
east came atonement for you; for from there is the man whose name is “East,”
who became “a mediator between God and humanity.” Therefore you are invited by
this to always look “to the east” where “the Sun of Righteousness” arises for
you, where a light is born for you; that you may never “walk in darkness” and
that that last day does not seize you in darkness. [Therefore may] the night
and fog of ignorance not come upon you unawares, but [may] you always be found
in the light of knowledge, always have the day of faith and always preserve the
light of love and peace. Homilies on Leviticus 9.10.2.
A Sign of Christ’s Two
Comings. Theodoret of Cyr:
This applies both to the first coming of our Savior and the second: in the
first he rose like a kind of sun for us who were seated in darkness and shadow,
freed us from sin, gave us a share in righteousness, covered us with spiritual
gifts like wings, and provided healing for our souls. In the second coming for
those worn out in the present life he will appear either in accord with their
will or against it, and as a just judge he will judge justly and provide the
promised good things. Just as the material sun in its rising awakens to work
those in the grip of sleep, so in his coming he raises up those in the grip of
the long sleep of death. Commentary on Malachi 4.2. (Alberto
Ferreiro, “Introduction to the Twelve Prophets,” in The Twelve Prophets [Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture [Downers
Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2003], 308-11)
