160 Each in his place must win souls for Christ.

HOMIL. whom thou canst, win hy gentleness; do not, in any wise, X. sit still and do nothing. Is it a friend? let him be ad

v. 18.

monished mildly. A wife is it? let her be right severely bridled. A handmaid is it? let her be kept in even with stripes. Do whatever thou canst, according to the relation thou bearest, so shalt thou make good the saying, The zeal of thine house hath even eaten me. But if thou be cold, spiritless, having an eye to thyself alone, as thinking thou hast enough to do for thyself, and saying in thine heart, 'What have I to do to look after other people's sins? I have enough to do with mine own soul; let me keep that entire unto God:' ha! does it come into thy mind to bethink thee of that servant who hid his talent and would not lay it out? Was he accused for losing? not for keeping without gain? So hear ye then, my brethren, that ye be not quiescent. I am about to give you counsel: may HE give it, Who is within; for though through me He give, it is He that giveth. Ye know what ye are to do each one of in you his own house, with friend, with inmate, with his client, with greater, with smaller: as God giveth access, as He openeth a door for His word, give yourselves no rest, but win for Christ, because ye were won by Christ.

The

10. The Jews said unto Him, What sign shewest Thou, seeing that Thou doest these things? And the Lord: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jews said therefore, In forty and six years was this temple builded, and sayest Thou, In three days I will raise it up ? Flesh they were, fleshly all their thoughts: but He was speaking spiritually. Yet indeed, who could understand of what temple he said this? But we are not much to seek; by the Evangelist He hath opened to us, hath told of what temple He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. In forty and six years was this temple builded, and in the space of three days wilt Thou raise it up? But He spake, saith the Evangelist, of the temple of His body. And it is manifest that being slain, the Lord did after three days rise again. This is now known to all of us: yea, if it be shut up to the Jews because they stand without, yet to us it is open, because we know in Whom we believe. That temple's taking down and building again we are about

The Temple of Christ's Body is of Adam.

161

II. 22.

to celebrate in its anniversary solemnity: for which we JOHN exhort you that ye prepare yourselves, whoso of you are catechumens, that ye may receive grace; even now is the time, even now let that be formed for the birth which shall then be brought to the birth. Well then, this we know.

:

mentum

Quæst.

11. But perhaps this is demanded of us: whether there be some inner sacred meaning in the forty and six years of sacrathe temple's building. There are indeed many things that Lib. de may be said of this matter; but what can be briefly said and div. easily understood, that say we for this while. Brethren, we n. 56. have already said, if I mistake not, in yesterday's discourse, that Adam was one man, and is withal the whole race of mankind. For in this wise said we, if ye remember. He was, so to say, broken, and being scattered, he is now in process of being gathered together, and, as it were, fused down into one by a spiritual fellowship and concord. And this same Adam, as one man, is the poor that sigheth; poor now, howbeit in Christ he is in course of renewing: because an Adam is come without sin, to destroy the sin of Adam in His flesh, and that Adam might again make unto himself entire the image of God. Of Adam therefore is the flesh of Christ of Adam therefore the Temple which the Jews destroyed and the Lord raised up in three days. He raised, namely, His own flesh: look; see here that He was God equal with the Father. My brethren, the Apostle saith, Who raised Him from the dead. Of whom saith he it? Of the Father. Became (saith he) obedient unto death, even Phil, 2, the death of the cross: wherefore also God raised Him from 8. 9. the dead, and gave Him a Name which is above every The Person raised up and exalted is the Lord. Who raised Him up? The Father, to Whom He said in the Psalms, Raise Me up, and I shall requite them. So then, Ps. 41, the Father was He that raised Him up. up Himself? Why, what doth the Father without the Word? what doth the Father without His Holy One? For hear thou, that He too was God; Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Said He, Destroy the temple, which in three days the Father shall raise up? Nay, but as, while the Father raiseth, the Son also doth raise; so, while the

name,

M

Did He not raise

10.

162

In Adam, the mystery of the number Forty-six. HOMIL. Son raiseth, doth also the Father raise: because the Son hath said, I and the Father are One.

X. John 10, 30.

12. What meaneth the number Forty-six? For this while, observe that the Adam reacheth through the whole earth, as ye heard yesterday brought out in the four Greek letters of four Greek words. If, namely, thou write those four words one under other, i. e. the names of the four quarters of the world, East, West, North, South, which is the whole world; whence the Lord saith, that from the four winds He will gather His elect when He shall come to judgment; if, I say, thou put those four names in Greck, ávaтon, which is East; dus, which is West; agaros, which is North; ponußgia, which is South: Anatole, Dysis, Arctos, Mesembria: the first letters of the words make Adam. How then find we there also the number forty-six, for that the flesh of Christ was of Adam? The Greeks reckon numbers by letters. What we make letter a, they in their tongue put alpha a, and alpha a is called one. Then, where in numerals they write beta ß, which is their b, it is called in numbers, two. Where they write gamma y, it is called in their numbers, three. Where they write della d, it is called in their numbers, four: and so for all the letters they have corresponding numbers. M, as we call it, and which they call my μ, represents forty: for they say, my p, тeσσagánovтa. Now then, see what number. these letters make; and there ye will find the temple builded in forty-six years. For the word Adam hath alpha a, which is one; hath delta 8, which is jour; hath again alpha o, which is one; hath my p, which is forty; there hast thou forty-six. This, my brethren, was already said by the elders before our times, and they found in letters that number forty-six. And since our Lord Jesus did of Adam receive a body, not of Adam derive sin; did of him take a temple corporeal, not iniquity which is to be driven from the temple; since, moreover, that very flesh which He derived of Adam (for Mary was of Adam, and the Lord's flesh was of Mary) the Jews did crucify; since too He was to raise up in three days the very flesh which they were to ut to death on the cross: hence they destroyed the Temple

See the Tract De Montibus Sina et Sion, contra Judæos, included among the works of St. Cyprian. BEN.

Let all affections centre in Christ.

163

which was forty-six years in building, and He in three days JOHN did raise it up.

13. We bless the Lord our God, Who hath gathered us together unto spiritual gladness. Be we ever in humility of heart, and be our joy with Him. Not for some prosperity or other of this world let us be puffed up, but let us know that our happiness is only when these things shall have passed away. For the present let our joy, my brethren, be in hope: let none rejoice as at a thing present, lest he stick fast in the way. All joy, let it be joy in hope to come; all longing, the longing for life eternal; all sighs, let them be heaved in the panting for Christ. Him alone, that Fairest One, Who loved even the foul that He might make them fair, Him alone let men long for, Him alone run unto, Him alone inly sigh after: and let them say always, The Lord be magnified, who wish the peace of His servant.

II. 22.

HOMILY XI.

JOHN ii. 23.-iii. 5.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover on the feast day, many believed in His name, seeing His signs which He did. But Jesus did not trust Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art come from God, a Teacher: for no man can do these signs that Thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

SEASONABLY hath the Lord procured for us that this lesson should come in its order this present day: for I suppose you have observed, my beloved, that the Gospel according to John, read in regular order, is the subject we have taken in hand to consider and expound. Seasonably then does it occur, that to-day ye should hear out of the Gospel, that Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he shall not see the kingdom of God. For it is time that we exhort you, who as yet are catechumens; who, while ye have believed in Christ, do as yet bear your sins. Now none shall see the kingdom of God, while laden with sins;