Oration XXXVIII. On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ.

 I.  Christ is born, glorify ye Him.  Christ from heaven, go ye out to meet Him.  Christ on earth be ye exalted.  Sing unto the Lord all the whole ear

 II.  Again the darkness is past again Light is made again Egypt is punished with darkness again Israel is enlightened by a pillar.   The people tha

 III.  Of these on a future occasion for the present the Festival is the Theophany or Birth-day, for it is called both, two titles being given to the

 IV.  This is our present Festival it is this which we are celebrating to-day, the Coming of God to Man, that we might go forth, or rather (for this i

 V.  And how shall this be?  Let us not adorn our porches, nor arrange dances, nor decorate the streets let us not feast the eye, nor enchant the ear

 VI.  Let us leave all these to the Greeks and to the pomps and festivals of the Greeks, who call by the name of gods beings who rejoice in the reek of

 VII.  God always was, and always is, and always will be.  Or rather, God always Is.  For Was and Will be are fragments of our time, and of changeable

 VIII.  And when Infinity is considered from two points of view, beginning and end (for that which is beyond these and not limited by them is Infinity)

 IX.  But since this movement of self-contemplation alone could not satisfy Goodness, but Good must be poured out and go forth beyond Itself to multipl

 X.  Thus, then, and for these reasons, He gave being to the world of thought, as far as I can reason upon these matters, and estimate great things in

 XI.  Mind, then, and sense, thus distinguished from each other, had remained within their own boundaries, and bore in themselves the magnificence of t

 XII.  This being He placed in Paradise, whatever the Paradise may have been, having honoured him with the gift of Free Will (in order that God might b

 XIII.  And having been first chastened by many means (because his sins were many, whose root of evil sprang up through divers causes and at sundry tim

 XIV.  To this what have those cavillers to say, those bitter reasoners about Godhead, those detractors of all that is praiseworthy, those darkeners of

 XV.  He was sent, but as man, for He was of a twofold Nature for He was wearied, and hungered, and was thirsty, and was in an agony, and shed tears,

 XVI.  A little later on you will see Jesus submitting to be purified in the River Jordan for my Purification, or rather, sanctifying the waters by His

 XVII.  Now then I pray you accept His Conception, and leap before Him if not like John from the womb, yet like David, because of the resting of the A

 XVIII.  One thing connected with the Birth of Christ I would have you hate…the murder of the infants by Herod.   Or rather you must venerate this too,

II.  Again the darkness is past; again Light is made; again Egypt is punished with darkness; again Israel is enlightened by a pillar.3    Exod. xiv. 20.  The people that sat in the darkness of ignorance, let it see the Great Light of full knowledge.4    Isa. ix. 6.  Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.5    1 Cor. v. 17.  The letter gives way, the Spirit comes to the front.  The shadows flee away, the Truth comes in upon them.  Melchisedec is concluded.6    The meaning clearly is that the type presented by Melchisedec (Heb. vii. 3) is fulfilled in Christ.  The explanation here given by S. Gregory is the ordinary one found in the Fathers.  Thus, e.g., Theodoret says, “Christ our Lord is without Mother as God, for He was begotten of the Father alone; and without Father as Man, for He was born of a pure Virgin.”  Œcumenius has almost the exact words of Gregory.  So also S. Augustine (Tract in Joann, 8), “Christ was singularly born of a Father without a Mother, of a Mother without a Father; without Mother as God, without Father as Man.”  He that was without Mother becomes without Father (without Mother of His former state, without Father of His second).  The laws of nature are upset; the world above must be filled.  Christ commands it, let us not set ourselves against Him.  O clap your hands together all ye people,7    Ps. xlvii. 1. because unto us a Child is born, and a Son given unto us, Whose Government is upon His shoulder (for with the Cross it is raised up), and His Name is called The Angel of the Great Counsel of the Father.8    Isa. ix. 6.  Let John cry, Prepare ye the way of the Lord:9    Matt. iii. 3.  I too will cry the power of this Day.  He Who is not carnal is Incarnate; the Son of God becomes the Son of Man, Jesus Christ the Same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.10    Heb. xiii. 8.  Let the Jews be offended, let the Greeks deride;11    1 Cor. i. 23. let heretics talk till their tongues ache.  Then shall they believe, when they see Him ascending up into heaven; and if not then, yet when they see Him coming out of heaven and sitting as Judge.

Βʹ. Πάλιν τὸ σκότος λύεται, πάλιν τὸ φῶς ὑφίσταται, πάλιν Αἴγυπτος σκότῳ κολάζεται, πάλιν Ἰσραὴλ στύλῳ φωτίζεται. Ὁ λαὸς, ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει τῆς ἀγνοίας, ἰδέτω φῶς μέγα τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως. Τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν: ἰδοὺ γέγονε τὰ πάντα καινά. Τὸ γράμμα ὑποχωρεῖ, τὸ πνεῦμα πλεονεκτεῖ, αἱ σκιαὶ παρατρέχουσιν, ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐπεισέρχεται. Ὁ Μελχισεδὲκ συνάγεται: ὁ ἀμήτωρ, ἀπάτωρ γίνεται: ἀμήτωρ τὸ πρότερον, ἀπάτωρ τὸ δεύτερον. Νόμοι φύσεως καταλύονται. Πληρωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν ἄνω κόσμον. Χριστὸς κελεύει: μὴ ἀντιτείνωμεν. Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, κροτήσατε χεῖρας, ὅτι παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ (τῷ γὰρ σταυρῷ συνεπαίρεται), καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, μεγάλης βουλῆς, τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς, Ἄγγελος. Ἰωάννης βοάτω: Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου. Κἀγὼ βοήσομαι τῆς ἡμέρας τὴν δύναμιν: Ὁ ἄσαρκος σαρκοῦται, ὁ Λόγος παχύνεται, ὁ ἀόρατος ὁρᾶται, ὁ ἀναφὴς ψηλαφᾶται, ὁ ἄχρονος ἄρχεται, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου γίνεται, Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, χθὲς καὶ σήμερον, ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἰουδαῖοι σκανδαλιζέσθωσαν, Ἕλληνες διαγελάτωσαν, αἱρετικοὶ γλωσσαλγείτωσαν. Τότε πιστεύσουσιν, ὅταν ἴδωσιν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνερχόμενον: εἰ δὲ μὴ τότε, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἐξ οὐρανῶν ἐρχόμενον, καὶ ὡς κριτὴν καθεζόμενον.