And why did Christ bring an offering of two birds? That was what the
Law prescribed, seeing that Christ, while remaining one and the same, appeared
in two natures; He possessed unity out of two nature and is acknowledged in two
natures, without division or confusion of divinity and humanity, his two constituent
elements. And we too consist of two elements, being composed of soul and body
and appearing in body and soul, in order that we might achieve good with both,
so as not to accomplish virtue with the one part, but be deficient with the
other and fall short of the splendor of the virtues. The Lord himself,
recognized as the good giver of all virtue, taught us this lesson when He said,
“he perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect,” for whatever is
imperfect and unfulfilled is surely not acceptable to God. (Sophronius of
Jerusalem, Homily 4, in Homilies: Sophronius of Jerusalem [trans. John
M. Duffy; Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 64; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 2020], 145, 147)
