Homilies on Numbers, Homilia V
Kohathites and the veiled holy of holies§1
1On the word Do not let the tribe of the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites: the Lord answers Moses and Aaron lest the Kohathites die when they draw near the holy of holies. By the letter: when camp is broken, Aaron and his sons first cover the holy things with veils; only then do Kohath’s sons lift on their shoulders what priestly hands have wrapped. To touch the bare holy things would be destruction. Rise to the Spirit: Moses knew the true circumcision, knew that the true Passover is Christ, knew true sabbaths — yet veiled them under bodily figures. He handed on the holy of holies covered, to be carried. So in the church we bend the knee, pray toward the east, and perform the rites of eucharist and baptism: all must do them, though the reason is not open to all; we carry what is veiled on our shoulders while we fulfill them.
Latin · §1
De eo quod scriptum est: nolite disperdere de tribu sua populum Caath de medio Levitarium. Dominus Moysi et Aaron respondet ne Caathitae moriantur cum accedunt ad sancta sanctorum. Secundum litteram: cum castra moventur, Aaron et filii eius prius operiunt sancta sanctorum velaminibus; deinde filii Caath humeris portant quae sacerdotes texerunt. Nuda sancta contingere exterminium esset. Ascende ad spiritum: Moyses sciebat veram circumcisionem, verum pascha Christum, vera sabbata, sed corporalibus figuris velabat. Sancta sanctorum cooperata tradidit portanda. In ecclesia genua flectimus, ad orientem oramus, eucharistiae et baptismatis ritus gerimus — omnes facere necesse est, ratio non omnibus patet; operta in humeris portamus dum implemus.
Passover veiled and church observances§2
2Divine examples teach the same. Moses knew Christ must be sacrificed as true Passover, yet ordered a bodily sheep; he understood the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, yet commanded flour’s unleavened loaves. So the holy of holies is handed on veiled in common speech. Shoulders signify works. Church observances are alike — deeds required of all, whose reason few yet know. We carry them veiled until, made worthy, we contemplate with unveiled face.
Latin · §2
Exempla divina informant: Moyses verum pascha Christum immolandum sciebat, ovem tamen corporalem mandavit; azymos sinceritatis intellexit, farinae azymos praecepit. Ita sancta sanctorum verbis communibus velata traduntur. Humeri operum indicium sunt. Ecclesiasticae observationes similiter — quae omnibus agenda, quorum ratio paucis innotescit. Portamus velata donec digni revelata facie contemplemur.
Levites at work and the journey to promise§3
3But let us return to the point. The Levites must work and bear the loads. Pillars and courts are borne by Levites, not by common Israelites — and angels snatch up some who are light, purged of faults, while they still carry others weighed by remnants of sin. May the Lord grant that, borne by such workers, we be freed from the arrow that flies in darkness and the noonday demon, until we reach the place of promise through Christ our Lord, to whom be honor and dominion forever. Amen.
Latin · §3
Sed ad propositum revertamur. Oportet Levitas operari et onera portare. Columnae et atria portantur a Levitis, non ab Israelitis communibus — angeli quosdam rapiunt leves a delictis, alios adhuc praegravatos portant. Concedat Dominus ut a talibus operariis portati liberemur a sagitta volante in tenebris et a daemonio meridiano, donec veniamus ad locum repromissionis per Christum Dominum nostrum, cui honor et imperium in saecula. Amen.