The many names of Christ and their works
Amphilochius continues his homily on the newly baptized, now moving from the cross as bridal chamber to the many names of Christ and what each name reveals about his saving work.
Isaac was being hobbled at the altar, and a lamb was being slain in his place; and the Son of God was being lifted up on the cross, and in the flesh he was being crucified for us, and though the flesh suffered, the divinity did not suffer. The sail of the cross stood in the ship of the world, and the world remained unshipwrecked; the one who sails with this sail of the cross knows no shipwreck of death, but sails up into the heavens. Eve no longer fears the reproach of Adam, for in Mary her fault has been healed; Adam no longer fears the serpent, for Christ has crushed the head of the dragon. For you, he says, crushed the head of the dragon upon the water (Psalm 74:13–14, LXX 73:13–14, alluding to baptism), that is, upon baptism. I no longer mourn, I no longer weep saying, I was turned to hardship when a thorn was planted in me; for Christ came, and having uprooted the thorn of our sins, he placed it on his own head. My ancient grief is released, the old curse is released that says, Thorns and thistles the earth shall bring forth for you (Genesis 3:18); for the thorns are dried up, the thistle is uprooted, and a triple-woven crown is placed on my head. Who among Jews and Greeks believes that wood stood and life blossomed? And every day it is harvested by the faithful, and the fruit remains unspent; and every tribe and every nation of the faithful climbs this tree with the step of the soul and fills the bosom of the mind with immortal fruit, and the tree carries all and feeds all and seals all and enriches all, and after these things hurls them into the heavens. For what name did Christ not endure to be called for our sake? We cannot count his names, but I attempt to speak, beloved: door, way, sheep, shepherd, worm, stone, pearl, flower, angel, man, God, light, spring, sun of righteousness. The many-named Christ is also one; many-named is the Son, and being one he is not turned, not changed, for the divinity is unchanging; but fitting himself to each matter according to the working, he has set a proper name for each working. And let us see, beloved, if we can present the working for each name. He was called way: For I am, he says, the way and the truth (John 14:6), since he himself has become the leader of all the virtues and of the ascent into the heavens. The same one is door: For I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7), since through him as through a door we enter into the kingdom of the heavens. He was called salt, since he wiped away the stench of the idolatry of human beings and seasoned our souls for the savor of piety by faith, and bound together the loosened limbs of the mind by the truth.
Greek
Ἰσαὰκ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον
συνεποδίζετο καὶ ἀμνὸς ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ἐσφάζετο, καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ σταυροῦ ἀνεφέρετο καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐσταυροῦτο καὶ πάσχουσα ἡ σὰρξ ἡ θεότης οὐκ ἔπασχεν. Ἔστη τὸ ἱστίον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ ὁ κόσμος ἀναυάγητος ἔμεινεν· τούτῳ τῷ ἱστίῳ τοῦ σταυροῦ ὁ πλέων ναυάγιον θανάτου οὐκ οἶδεν, ἀλλὰ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναπλέει. Οὐκέτι Εὔα φοβεῖται τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ἐν γὰρ Μαρίᾳ τὸ ταύτης πταῖσμα ἀνασέσωσται· οὐκέτι Ἀδὰμ φοβεῖται τὸν ὄφιν, Χριστὸς γὰρ συνέτριψεν τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ δράκοντος· Σὺ γάρ, φησίν, συνέτριψας τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ δράκοντος ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος, τουτέστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Οὐκέτι πενθῶ, οὐκέτι κλαίω λέγων· Ἐστράφην εἰς ταλαιπωρίαν ἐν τῷ ἐμπαγῆναί μοι ἄκανθαν· ἐλθὼν γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν ἄκανθαν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐκριζώσας τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῇ ἐπέθηκεν. Λέλυταί μου ἡ ἀρχαία λύπη, λέλυται ἡ παλαιὰ ἀρὰ ἡ λέγουσα· Ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι ἡ γῆ· ἐξηράνθησαν γὰρ αἱ ἄκανθαι, ἐξεριζώθη ὁ τρίβολος καὶ τρίπλοκος στέφανος τῇ κεφαλῇ μου ἐπετέθη. Τίς Ἰουδαίων καὶ Ἑλλήνων πιστεύει ὅτι ξύλον ἔστη καὶ ζωὴν ἐξήνθησεν; καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὑπὸ πιστῶν τρυγᾶται καὶ ὁ καρπὸς ἀδαπάνητος μένει· καὶ πᾶσα φυλὴ καὶ πᾶν ἔθνος πιστῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ δένδρον βήματι ψυχῆς ἀναβαίνει καὶ τὸν κόλπον τῆς διανοίας ἀθανάτου καρποῦ πληροῖ, καὶ πάντας βαστάζει τὸ δένδρον καὶ πάντας χορτάζει καὶ σφραγίζει καὶ πλουτίζει καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀκοντίζει. Τί γὰρ δι' ἡμᾶς οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν κληθῆναι Χριστός; Οὐ δυνάμεθα ἐξαριθμήσασθαι αὐτοῦ τὰ ὀνόματα, ἐπιχείρω δὲ λέγειν, ἀγαπητοί· θύρα, ὁδός, πρόβατον, ποιμήν, σκώληξ, λίθος, μαργαρίτης, ἄνθος, ἄγγελος, ἄνθρωπος, θεός, φῶς, πηγή, ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης. Ὁ πολυώνυμος Χριστὸς καὶ εἷς ὑπάρχων, πολυώνυμος ὁ υἱὸς καὶ εἷς ὢν οὐ τρεπόμενος, οὐ μεταβαλλόμενος, ἄτρεπτος γὰρ ἡ θεότης· ἀλλ' ἑκάστῳ πράγματι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ἁρμοζόμενος ἴδιον ὄνομα ἑκάστῃ ἐνεργείᾳ τεθεικώς. Καὶ ἴδωμεν, ἀγαπητοί, εἰ δυνάμεθα ἑκάστῳ ὀνόματι τὴν ἐνέργειαν παραστῆσαι. Ὁδὸς ἤκουσεν· Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι, φησίν, ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἀρχηγὸς πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναβάσεως γέγονεν. Ὁ αὐτὸς θύρα· Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων, ἐπειδὴ δι' αὐτοῦ καθάπερ διὰ θύρας εἰς τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν εἰσερχόμεθα. Ἅλας ἤκουσεν, ἐπειδὴ τὴν δυσωδίαν τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀπέσμηξεν καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν πρὸς νοστὸν εὐσεβείας τῇ πίστει ἤρτυσεν καὶ τὰ λελυμένα μέλη τῆς διανοίας τῇ ἀληθείᾳ συνέσφιγξεν.