Christ's lodging with Zacchaeus defended against the murmurers
Amphilochius is closing his homily on Zacchaeus, defending Christ's lodging with the tax collector against critics and praising Zacchaeus's restitution.
"Hurry, then, and come down, for today I must stay in your house" (Luke 19:5). O grace beyond telling! O love for humanity beyond speech! The house that receives Jesus is cleansed. For wherever Jesus is received as guest, everything changes for the better. "Zacchaeus," he says, "hurry and come down, for today I must stay in your house." What can I say? The tax collector's house has become paradise. For what I see in the thief, I see also in Zacchaeus. He said to the thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43), and taking him from the tree he brought him into paradise. He said to Zacchaeus, "Today I must stay in your house," and taking him he entered, making his house a paradise before paradise. And Zacchaeus hurried down and ran ahead [the text is damaged here; perhaps: and received him joyfully], and he called him a son of Abraham.
But the murmurers [the text is damaged here; perhaps: always ready to murmur] said among themselves, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner." But I say to these murmurers: O idle troublemakers! What are you—righteous or sinners? Are you not more wicked than all people? How then did Jesus dwell among you? How was he born among you, raised among you, grown to manhood among you, drinking and eating among you? Why do you overlook your own wounds and track down your neighbor's stumblings? And besides, why do you call Christ a sinner at one moment and a righteous man at another? For when he healed the man born blind, you called him a sinner, saying, "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner, because he breaks the Sabbath" (John 9:24; cf. John 5:16). Now, when he has gone under the roof of a tax collector, you disparage him as a righteous man, yet fault him for eating with sinners unworthily. As Christ said, "We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge for you and you did not beat your breasts" (Matthew 11:17). If he heals a blind man, you call him a sinner; if he eats with sinners, you disparage him as one who eats with sinners unworthily. What then? Should he not heal a blind man on the Sabbath, so that he is not thought a sinner? Should he not eat with tax collectors, so that he is suspected of being righteous? Why do you accuse him for going in to lodge with a man who is a sinner? Where should the light be placed except in the darkness? For the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). Where should the physician go? Should he not run to the sick? For those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill (Matthew 9:12). Where should the Lamb of God appear? Should he not go to the tax collectors and sinners, so that, taking up their burden, he might [The text is damaged here.]? You revile him in vain. For what was spoken has been fulfilled in you: "Prostitutes and tax collectors are going before you into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 21:31).
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord: "Look, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I repay it fourfold" (Luke 19:8). For I no longer endure wronging the poor, having received you, the shelter of the poor, into my house. I no longer tremble over the gathering of money; wealth. The text breaks off. No longer do I lie in wait at the gates of travelers, scheming in human form... [The text is damaged here.]
Being rich, he remained in poverty. "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but you have nowhere to lay your head" (Matthew 8:20). Let courtyards and forecourts go, the grand works of builders, the shining and magnificent houses. In place of all these I seek your inexhaustible wealth of poverty. But since I cannot describe at greater length the wealth of Zacchaeus's soul, let us leave the word to the father who is rich in virtues. For it is fitting that the hospitable one should describe the virtues of the hospitable one—for his praise, for your strengthening, for the crown of the church, and for the honor of Christ, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Greek
Σπεύσας οὖν κατάβηθι· σήμερον γὰρ
ἐν τῷ οἴκῳσου δεῖ με μεῖναι. Ὢ χάριτος ἀφράστου! Ὢ φιλανθρωπίας ἀρρήτου!κάθαρτνου ὁ οἶκμεν ἡ τῶlumbh ει. Ὅπου γὰρ ξενίζεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς, πάντα πρὸς ἄμεινον μεταβάλλεται τρόπον. Ζακχαῖε, φησίν, σπεύσας κατάβηθι· σήμερον γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι. Τί εἴπω; Ἡ οἰκία τοῦ τελώνου παράδεισος γέγονε. Ὃ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ λῃστοῦ, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ζακχαίου βλέπω· εἶπεν τῷ λῃστῇ· Σήμερον μετ' ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου εἰς τὸν παράδεισον εἰσήγαγεν· εἶπεν Ζακχαίῳ· Σήμερον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸν εἰσῆλθεν πρὸ παραδείσου παράδεισον αὐτοῦ τὸν οἶκον ἐργασάμενος. Ὁ δὲ σπεύσας κατέβη καὶ προέδραμενωξεν ἀπηνω ἐκάλεσεν υἱὸς Ἀβραάμ . Ἀλλ' οἱ λαμοι οἱ ἐπὶ πού μεγογγύζειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λέγοντες ὅτι Παρὰ ἁμαρτωλῷ ἀνδρὶ εἰσῆλθεν καταλῦσαι. Ὦ καταφρονήσεως ἐργάται καὶ γεωργοὶ τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας! Ὑμεῖς τί ἐστε, δίκαιοι ἢ ἁμαρτωλοί; Οὐ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐστὲ μοχθηρότεροι; Πῶς οὖν παρ' ὑμῖν ἐσκήνωσεν Ἰησοῦς· πῶς παρ' ὑμῖν ἐτέχθη, ἐτράφη, ἠνδρειώθη, ἔπιεν, ἔφαγεν; Τί τὰ οἰκεῖα οὖν παρορῶντες τραύματα τὰ τοῦ πλησίον ἀνιχνεύετε πταίσματα; Ἄλλως δέ, διὰ τί ποτὲ μὲν ἁμαρτωλόν, ποτὲ δὲ δίκαιον τὸν Χριστὸν λέγετε; Ὅτε γὰρ τὸν ἐκ γεννητῆς ἐθεράπευσεν τυφλόν, ἁμαρτωλὸν αὐτὸν εἴπατε λέγοντες· ∆ὸς δόξαν τῷ θεῷ· ἡμεῖς γὰρ οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν, ὅτι λύει τὸ σάββατον. Νῦν ὅτε τὴν τοῦ τελώνου ὑπῆλθεν στέγην ὡς δίκαιον καὶ ἀναξίως ἁμαρτωλοῖς συνεσθίοντα διασύρετε ἁπλῶς. Ηὐλήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε· ἐθρηνήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε. Ἄν τε γὰρ θεραπεύσῃ τυφλόν, ἁμαρτωλὸν αὐτὸν λέγετε· ἄν τε ἁμαρτωλοῖς συμφάγῃ, διασύρετε ὡς ἀναξίως τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς συνεσθίοντα. Τί οὖν; Μὴ θεραπεύσῃ ἐν σαββάτῳ τυφλόν, ἵνα μὴ ἁμαρτωλὸς νομισθῇ; μὴ φάγῃ μετὰ τελωνῶν, ἵνα δίκαιος ὑποπτευθῇ; Τί δὲ αἰτιᾶσθε αὐτόν, ὅτι παρὰ ἀνδρὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἰσῆλθεν καταλῦσαι; Καὶ ποῦ ἐχρῆν τεθῆναι τὸ φῶς ἢ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ; Τὸ γὰρ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν. Ποῦ τὸνἰατρὸν ἐλθεῖν ἔδει; Οὐ προστρεχέτω κάμνοντας; Οὐ χρείαν γὰρ ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες. Ποῦ τὸν ἀμνὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐχρῆν φανῆναι; Οὐ πρὸς τοὺς τελώνας καὶ ἁμαρτωλούς, ἵνα τὸ φορτίον αὐτῶν ἀναλαβὼνκαταστήσειτίας; Μάτην λοιδορεῖτε· πεπλήρωται γὰρ ἐφ' ὑμῖν τὸ εἰρημένον ὅτι Πόρναι καὶ τελῶναι προάγουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶνφαρισαῖοι οἱlacuna sex linearumΣταθεὶς δὲ Ζακχαῖος εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν κύριον· ἰδοὺ τὰ ἡμίση τῶν ὑπαρχόντων μου δίδωμι τοῖς πτωχοῖς καὶ εἴ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα, ἀποδίδωμι τετραπλοῦν. Οὐκέτι γὰρ πένητας ἀδικεῖν ἀνέχομαί σε τῶν πενήτων σκεπαστὴν οἴκοι δεξάμενος. Οὐκέτι ἐπτόημαι περὶ τὴν τῶν χρημάτων συλλογήν,πλοῦτον . Οὐκέτι πε πύλαις ἐπι ων ὁδοιπόρων ἐν ἀνθρώπου μορφῇ ρονησάμενοςτῶν προλαβόν 5ν ἀμνηστείαν οὐον ὡςτὸν ἴδιον ετονδιερράγηγραφατῶν lacuna sex linearum τηlacuna unius lineae θέλωπλούσιος ὢν πτωχεύσας διέμενε. Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις, σὺ δὲ οὐκ ἔχεις ὅπου τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃς. Οἰχέσθωσαν αὐλαὶ καὶ προαύλια, οἰκοδομῶν μεγαλουργίαι, λαμπροὶ καὶ περιφανεῖς οἶκοι. Ἀντὶ πάντων γὰρ τούτων ἀκένωτόν σου τῆς πενίας πλοῦτον ζητῶ. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐπὶ πλεῖον οὐ δύναμαι τῆς ψυχῆς Ζακχαίου διηγήσασθαι τὸν πλοῦτον, τῷ ἐν 4 ἀρεταῖς πλουτοῦντι πατρὶ τὸν λόγον καταλείψωμεν· ἀκόλουθον γὰρ τὸν φιλόξενον τοῦ φιλοξένου διηγήσασθαι τὰς ἀρετὰς πρὸς αἴνεσιν μὲν αὐτοῦ, στηριγμὸν δὲ ὑμῶν, στέφανον δὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, τιμὴν δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 5