Gladness and fragrance in Christ; restoring stolen holy things
Cyril: …in that life, always in some way, the gladness of virtue, as in a spiritual richness; and virtue has much fragrance through hope in God. So the fine flour without frankincense and oil is a type of a life that has no gladness and is bare of fragrance; but in Christ even this life will be changed to gladness. It also receives fragrance in faith and is offered to God through him who scours clean the defiled and spiritually washes those caught in uncleanness. ‘For the priest,’ it says, ‘shall take a handful of the fine flour and carry it up to the altar of whole burnt offerings to the Lord’ (Leviticus 5:12). For our approach is in Christ, and through him we who are defiled draw near (Ephesians 2:18). We are justified through faith, and as a pleasing fragrance we offer up to the Father no longer ourselves, but Christ who is in us (Galatians 2:20), since we have the spiritual fragrance (2 Corinthians 2:15).
Palladius: What you say is true.
Cyril: Besides this, if it should happen that some offend God and steal something of what has been consecrated, or go back on what they promised and do not offer it at once, and so through carelessness in these matters incur the charge of forgetfulness, the law cleanses this too. For it is written thus: ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: If forgetfulness overtakes a soul, and it sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring for his trespass to the Lord a ram without blemish from the flock, valued in silver shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary, for that in which he trespassed. And what he sinned in the holy things he shall repay, and he shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and he shall be forgiven’ (Leviticus 5:14–16). For it is truly a dreadful thing to steal anything of what has been consecrated and dedicated to the glory of God. In the same way, and on no small charges, failure to pay what was promised will be denounced. For ‘My son,’ it says, ‘if you make a vow to the Lord, do not delay to pay it; it is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay’ (Ecclesiastes 5:4–5). And the divinely inspired David sings somewhere: ‘Make vows, and pay them to the Lord your God’ (Psalm 76:11). The sons of Eli too were punished for pilfering some of the holy things and taking for themselves what belonged to God (1 Samuel 2:12–17). What, then, might be the forgiveness for this as well? Or how might one free his foot from the charge and be set free? First, if he makes the repayment richer than what was stolen (‘For he shall add the fifth,’ it says); then, if he brings a purchased ram for sacrifice. This would be a type of Christ, whom the leaders of the Jews in a sense bought for thirty denarii, which they paid to the disciple who betrayed him (Matthew 26:15). So in Christ there is forgiveness for offenses against God as well. And that he would also free us from wrongs done against other people is easy to see for those who have read the law that comes right after this one (Leviticus 6:1–7). It runs thus: ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: The soul that sins, and utterly disregards the commandments of the Lord, and lies to his neighbor about a deposit, or about a partnership, or about something seized, or…
Greek
ἑαυτῇ, τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀεί πως τὸ ἱλαρὸν, δι' ἐλπίδος τῆς εἰς Θεὸν πολὺ τὸ εὐῶδες ἐχούσης, ὡς ἐν πιότητι δηλονότι τῇ νοητῇ. Τύπος οὖν ἄρα ζωῆς, τῆς μὴ ἐχούσης τὸ ἱλαρὸν καὶ εὐωδίας ἐρήμης, ἡ λιβάνου δίχα καὶ ἐλαίου σεμίδαλις, ἀλλ' ἐν Χριστῷ καὶ αὐτὴ μεταστήσεται πρὸς τὸ ἱλαρόν. Δέχεται δὲ καὶ τὸ εὐῶδες ἐν πίστει, καὶ προσφέρεται τῷ Θεῷ δι' αὐτοῦ, τοῦ διασμήχοντος τοὺς μεμολυσμένους, καὶ ἀπονίζοντος νοητῶς τοὺς ἐναλόντας ἀκαθαρσίᾳ. «Δράξεται γὰρ,» φησὶν, «ὁ ἱερεὺς ἀπὸ τῆς σεμιδάλεως, καὶ ἀνοίσει ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων Κυρίῳ.» Ἐν Χριστῷ γὰρ ἡμῶν ἡ προσαγωγὴ, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ προσίεμεν οἱ μεμολυσμένοι. Δικαιούμεθα δὲ διὰ πίστεως, καὶ εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας ἀνατιθέμεθα τῷ Πατρὶ, ἑαυτοὺς μὲν οὐκέτι, Χριστὸν δὲ τὸν ἐν ἡμῖν, εὐωδίαν ἔχοντες τὴν πνευματικήν.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ἀτρεκὴς ὁ λόγος.
{ΚΥΡ.} Καὶ πρός γε δὴ τούτοις, καὶ εἰ γένοιτό τινας προσκροῦσαι Θεῷ, καὶ ὑφελέσθαι τι τῶν ἡγιασμένων, εἴτ' οὖν ἀνήνασθαι τὸ ἐπηγγελμένον, καὶ μηδὲ παραχρῆμα προσενεγκεῖν, καὶ τὸ ῥᾴθυμον ἐν τούτοις, λήθης ἔγκλημα παθεῖν, διακαθαίρει πάλιν. Γέγραπται γὰρ ὡδί· «Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν, λέγων· Ψυχὴ ἢ ἂν λάθῃ αὐτὴν λήθη, καὶ ἁμάρτῃ ἀκουσίως ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων Κυρίου, καὶ οἴσει τῆς πλημμελείας αὐτοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ κριὸν ἄμωμον ἐκ τῶν προβάτων, τιμῆς ἀργυρίου σίκλων, τῷ σίκλῳ τῶν ἁγίων, περὶ οὗ ἐπλημμέλησε· καὶ ὃ ἥμαρτεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων, ἀποτίσει αὐτὸ, καὶ τὸ ἐπίπεμπτον προσθήσει ἐπ' αὐτὸ, καὶ δώσει αὐτὸ τῷ ἱερεῖ, καὶ ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κριῷ τῆς πλημμελείας, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ.» Πάνδεινον γὰρ ἀληθῶς, τὸ ὑφελέσθαι τι τῶν ἡγιασμένων καὶ ἀνατιθεμένων εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ. Ἐν ἴσῳ δὲ τρόπῳ διαβεβλήσεται, καὶ οὐκ ἐν μικραῖς αἰτίαις, τὸ μὴ ἀποτίσαι τὰ ἐπηγγελμένα. «Τέκνον γὰρ,» φησὶν, «ἐὰν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν τῷ Κυρίῳ, μὴ χρονίσῃς τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτήν· ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε, ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαι, καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι.» Ψάλλει δέ που καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Δαβίδ· «Εὔξασθε καὶ ἀπόδοτε Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ὑμῶν.» Ἐκολάζοντο δὲ καὶ οἱ Ἠλεὶ παῖδες, ὑποκλέπτοντές τινα τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ σφετεριζόμενοι τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τίς οὖν ἂν γένοιτο καὶ τοῦδε τυχὸν ἡ ἄφεσις; Ἢ πῶς ἂν ἐκλύσοιεν αἰτίας τὸν πόδα, καὶ ἀπαλλάττοιτό τις; Πρῶτον μὲν εἰ πλουσιωτέραν τῶν ὑφαιρεθέντων ποιοῖτο τὴν ἀντέκτισιν· Προσθήσει γὰρ τὸ ἐπίπεμπτον, φησὶν, εἶτα κριὸν εἰς θυσίαν εἰ προσοίσειεν ὠνητόν. Τύπος ἂν εἴη τὸ χρῆμα, Χριστοῦ, ὃν οἱ τῶν Ἰουδαίων προεστηκότες ἐξεπρίαντο τρόπον τινὰ, τριάκοντα δηναρίων, ἃ τῷ προδότῃ κατέθεντο μαθητῇ. Οὐκοῦν ἐν Χριστῷ, καὶ τῶν εἰς Θεὸν αἰτιαμάτων, ἡ ἄφεσις. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τῶν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἀδικημάτων ἀπαλλάξειεν ἂν αὐτὸς, ἀταλαίπωρον ἰδεῖν, τὸν γείτονά τε καὶ ἐφεξῆς ἀνεγνωκόσι νόμον. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτω· «Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν, λέγων· Ψυχὴ ἣ ἂν ἁμάρτῃ, καὶ παριδοῦσα παρίδῃ τὰς ἐντολὰς Κυρίου, καὶ ψεύσεται τὰ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ἐν παραθήκῃ, ἢ περὶ κοινωνίας, ἢ περὶ ἁρπαγῆς, ἢ