On Saints Peter and Paul
In sanctos Petrum et Paulum
Encomium to Peter and Paul§1
1An encomium by Hesychius, a presbyter of Jerusalem, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
The rose is indeed beautiful, becoming fragrant when the season of spring offers it; yet if it is joined with the lily, it rightly becomes even more fragrant.
For myrrh is indeed mixed with myrrh, resulting in a double enjoyment of the fragrance found here.
Peter is splendid in himself, and among the splendid ones he is most radiant.
He is the crown of the apostolic fellowship, the eye of discipleship, and the very countenance of zeal and faith.
He is the trumpet of the mystery, a tongue that taught many tongues; he is an unblamable shepherd and a sleepless helmsman, an unerring charioteer.
He is like a pharmacist who has prepared the medicinal remedy of repentance.
He is a fisherman of the sea, through whom fish are caught even into heaven—his net, made of linen, catches wonders; the bait is the sufferings, the hook is the cross, and the fold is the resurrection.
He is the keeper of the treasury, in whom the Father holds the treasures, the Son holds the bridal chambers, the Spirit holds the table, and the angels hold the dances.
But with Paul added, the wall becomes doubled and cannot be captured.
The spring becomes two-mouthed, unceasingly watering the whole earth, and the lake becomes two-faced, so that every vessel sailing along its banks is saved.
The quail speaks with the swallow, the dove utters sound with the turtle-dove, and the aulos and the syrinx together play a holy and sweet melody.
"A youth with a saint, and straight is the way" is their path, just as the wise man proclaimed in Proverbs (Proverbs 20:11).
The lamb and the wolf graze together, the shepherd is glorified, and the wonders of the one made paradoxical are revealed.
A bull and a lion graze together in a single pasture, and the one who strengthened the bull and tamed the lion enjoys the resulting praises.
Was not Paul a lion when he was still Saul? For while he was slaughtering the flock, he scattered them, striking terror into the shepherds; he roared within Jerusalem, flew through the cities, and stirred the marketplaces into uproar.
He sought to make even the villages uninhabited, and he did not cease dragging men into prison and women into bonds; yet he was defeated by the endurance of men and was weaker than the courage of women.
He ran in vain, for he was not following the way; he was beating the air in vain, yet he was not sufficient to find his adversary.
Christ, therefore, being wise himself and having passed by as a good man, has made use of meekness; by leaving behind the high things, he promotes the humble.
He did not kindle a fire, nor did he stir up storms, nor did he shake the foundations of the mountains.
He did not wield an angelic, wide-mouthed sword, but is called by a gentle voice and as a lover of mankind: "Saul, Saul," he says, "why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4)
What wealth of yours did I take away? In what glory did I strip you?
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Persecution of Christ§2
2What was the first thing I took away from you? Did I not shut the gates of paradise in your face? Was it not because of me that you covered yourself with fig leaves? Did I not cause your downfall from your position of power, and did you not mutilate your inheritance and distort your image?
You had the law, but I added grace as a good thing. You were grieving over the letter of the law, and I presented the spirit that gives life. The shadows of the old covenant were grieving, and I revealed the truth of the new covenant.
You were stumbling over the types and symbols of the old covenant, but I brought a single, free healing that surpasses all the expensive sacrifices of the past. I interpreted the Sabbath for you and glorified it, and I put an end to the wound of circumcision. I freed the altar of groans and lamentations, and instead of the many sacrifices that brought only sorrow, I showed you the joyful and bloodless sacrifice of my own body.
Remember the tent of Abraham and the altar of Isaac, and recall the wrestling of Jacob. Why did you deliver the dreams of Joseph to forgetfulness? Are you not ashamed of the rod of Moses, the mantle of Elijah, and the courage of Elisha? These things are types and shadows of me, and their prophecies concern me.
I showed Jeremiah the wooden staff, and I drew a picture of the golden lampstand for Zechariah. I showed Daniel the uncut stone, and I enlarged the belly of the whale for Jonah. Ezekiel saw me as the charioteer of the cherubim, and I am the sheep of Isaiah.
Where are you shooting your arrows? For to me, 'heaven is a throne and earth is a footstool' (Isaiah 66:1). Where are you sending arrows? For I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14:10). Against whom are you throwing stones? I have measured the waters in the hollow of my hand and the heavens with a span, and I have weighed the earth in a balance (Isaiah 40:12).
Whose tongue are you arming for battle? I am the one who confuses the tongues of the mute, who makes the deaf and the mute, and who gives sight to the blind. See whom you are calling a deceiver. I have multiplied visions and made the prophets speak in my name.
David sings my praises, while you insult me. He hymns my glory, but you blaspheme. He plays the lyre in my honor, while you bite and attack. He shakes the cords of his instrument, but you use weapons to fight me. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Why do you fight against me with my own law?
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Paul's Encounter with Christ§3
3You are fighting and waging war against me, running through me and punishing mine, all in an effort to avenge my glory. However, you are ignorant of where to begin the battle and where the war comes from.
Christ says this to Saul, who responds with a question, 'Who are you, Lord?' This inquiry demonstrates Paul's good zeal, as he was called and immediately obeyed.
He received the word and immediately perceived the worthiness of the speaker, which led him to ask again, 'Who are you, Lord?' because he was filled with the light and became a prisoner of the ray.
Paul yearns to see Christ's beauty, hurries to the clouds, and seeks to learn where this 'radiance of glory' comes from, what is the 'character of substance', and who is this one 'carrying all things by the word of his own power'.
He heard Christ's voice and was satisfied with the law, no longer desiring the law, no longer wanting to be a golden wooden ark, but yearning for a pure and royal golden manger.
The children of heretics should be ashamed, and the mouths of heretics should be stopped, for Paul, when called, does not meddle, but only believes, worships, and does not fight, hymnologizes, and the blame is removed.
He says, 'Who are you, Lord?' and revere him as immortal, knowing his cross and tomb, and he was not ignorant of the blows, the spear of the side, and the scourges.
Christ's identity is revealed in His statement, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute.'
This declaration is a concise expression of judgment from faith.
Christ's words, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute,' are a testament to His power and authority.
Despite the persecution, He remains elusive, and it is impossible to hunt down 'the radiance of glory'.
He is the maker of Abraham, the one who formed Adam, and the consecrator of Isaac's altar.
His existence transcends time, and He is the one who saw the ladder with the crowds of angels surrounding it.
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The Transformation of Paul§4
4Can guile contain the 'character of the subsistence'? Who can grasp with their hands the one 'who carries all things by the word of his own power'? 'I am Jesus whom you persecute' (Acts 9:5). I keep you as a bridegroom for my bride.
Why do you persecute that which you are about to be persecuted for a little later? Instead, you wear out your feet in vain; you sweat uselessly and toil excessively.
The one being persecuted by you sits in the bosom of the Father.
'I am Jesus whom you persecute' (Acts 22:8), not realizing that he is being driven toward his own struggle.
Why do you fight against the wise one? You aim arrows at a benefactor unlike any other, a nourisher whom you suckle, through whom the earth sets the table for you without care for the fruits. You slander the Savior; if he were to tighten his hand, who would free you from sins, who would release you from your bonds, and from whom would you find the deed? Thus, this Paul—who was once a persecutor and is now an evangelist, once a pirate and now a pilot, once a wolf and now a shepherd, once lead and now gold, once a blasphemer and now one spoken well of by all—this man is a beginner among teachers, exceptional among those who bear God, great among prophets, wiser among apostles, unhurt among athletes, more glorious among the heralds of the truth, and more powerful among the soldiers of piety.
For who was 'flogged three times' and a fourth? Who, as that man boasts, 'received one hundred and ninety-nine from the Jews' (2 Corinthians 11:24; 2 Corinthians 11:25)? Who, having made a shipwreck in the deep by night instead of a bridal bath, and having made 'many journeys' profitable—each one highly profitable? Who faced the dangers of robbers, the dangers of kin, the dangers of rivers, the dangers in the wilderness, the dangers from nations, and the dangers among false brothers, yet did not scatter his wealth through endurance? Who of all the churches carries the burden of care, yet manages the experience of cargoes without being constrained, without weighing down his shoulders, and without bending his neck? Who then abhors sin so intensely, yet possesses such compassion for sinners? No one.
For he always strives that we might attain the eternal good things in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages.
Amen.
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