On James, the Brother of the Lord, and David · §2 · Hesychius of Jerusalem

Bethlehem's hidden mysteries versus Zion's open fulfillment

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Hesychius continues his comparison between Bethlehem, where Christ's mysteries were hidden, and Zion, where they are now revealed and fulfilled.

You leavened the bread, but Zion displayed a supper. You nourished the calf at the manger, but Zion led it up to the altar. You hid Jesus in swaddling clothes, but she bared his side to Thomas when he wished to touch it. You have a virgin giving birth while the organs of nature remained closed; she has a bridal chamber that, while the doors were closed, receives the bridegroom within and holds him.

Greek

Σὺ τὸν ἄρτον ἐζύμωσας, ἀλλ' ἡ Σιὼν

δεῖπνον ἀνέδειξε. Σὺ τὸν μόσχον ἐπὶ τῆς φάτνης ἔθρεψας, ἀλλ' ἡ Σιὼν εἰς τὸν βωμὸν

ἀνήγαγε. Σὺ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς σπαρ γάνοις ἔκρυψας, αὕτη δὲ τῷ Θωμᾷ τὴν

πλευρὰν βουληθέντι ψηλαφῆσαι ἐγύμνωσε. Σὺ παρθένον ἔχεις τίκτουσαν

κεκλεισμένων τῶν ὀργάνων τῆς φύσεως, αὕτη παστάδα κεκλεισμένων τῶν θυρῶν

ἔνδον τὸν νυμφίον δεχομένην καὶ ἔχουσαν.

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About this text

A short passage from Hesychius comparing Bethlehem with Zion, then praising James, the Lord's brother, for his ruling at the council in Jerusalem.

Hesychius of Jerusalem (fl. c. 412–450), a priest of the Church of Jerusalem, wrote this homily in Greek for a congregation in Jerusalem in the early fifth century.

The surviving text contrasts Bethlehem and Zion and praises James. Hesychius begins by reflecting that if Christ had not humbled himself and become obedient to death, servants would not have been called kinsmen, nor would the clay have been called father of the potter. He then develops a sustained comparison between Bethlehem, where Christ was born, and Zion, where the Church now receives him, showing how the mysteries of the incarnation are fulfilled in the Church.

The homily turns to praise James, the brother of the Lord, as commander-in-chief of the new Jerusalem, leader of the priests, and chief of the apostles, whose brief judgment at the apostolic council settled the question of Gentile inclusion. A reader will meet Peter, mentioned as a public speaker, and Thomas, to whom Zion bared Christ's side when he wished to touch it. The homily quotes or alludes to Philippians 2:8 and Acts 15:19.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 93 (Greek)

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