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Homily 13
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HOMILY 13 "The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and placed in it the human creature he had formed." I SEE YOUR INSATIABLE interest, your great enthusiasm and eager attention, and the way you are all coming to spiritual teaching expectant and impatient. On the other hand, I am conscious of my own great inadequacy. (lOSb) Still, I am anxious to lay before you this mean and paltry table frequently, and in fact daily, trusting that you will readily receive what is said, stimulated as you are with your own enthusiasm. One can see this happening in the case of material nourishment: whenever guests come to dinner with keen appetite, they eat with great relish whatever is placed before them, no matter if the meal happens to be paltry and the host ungenerous-whereas when the diners have indifferent appetite, no matter if the meal is sumptuous and the menu varied, it is wasted on them since they can't do justice to the good things provided. Here today, however, your enthusiasm has in fact been enlivened through God's grace and the repast is a spiritual one; so we, too, are enthusiastic in speaking to you, knowing that we bring these divine teachings to attentive listeners. (2) The farmer (lOSC) is like this, too: he gives the soil all the attention he is capable of-digging the furrows, hauling the plough, rooting out thorns-so when he finds the pasture rich and fertile, he sows the seed lavishly; buoyed up already with high hopes he counts the days to the sprouting of the crop, recalling the productivity of the land and expecting a harvest far in excess of the sowing. That is the way we behave, I. Go 2.8. 169 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM too: we see your enthusiasm increasing day by day, your interest blossoming, and your zeal bearing fruit. We have high hopes of you, and with greater enthusiasm and zeal ourselves we strive as far as we are able to contribute to the building up of your love, to God's glory and the pride of God's church. (3) (lOSd) So come now, if you please, let us recall the few things said yesterday, and move on in turn to today's reading. We need to say what it was we were discussing yesterday, how far we got, and where we stopped. "God formed the human being, taking dust from the earth, and he breathed into him a breath of life; the human being became alive."2 What I was saying before I will say now, and will not cease saying continually , that great and unspeakable is the kindness of the Lord of all creatures towards us men. He displayed great considerateness for the sake of our welfare, and bestowed great honor on this creature-namely, the human person-and made plain in words and deeds that he exhibits greater care of human beings than of other visible things. (106a) There is no reason why I should not presume on your goodness to explore the same theme today, too. For,just as with grains of incense , the more they are moved about with your fingers, the greater fragrance they give out, so it is with the Scriptures in our experience: the more you devote yourself to studying them, the more you are able to discover the treasure hidden in them, and thereby gain great and unspeakable wealth.3 (4) "God," it says, "formed the human being, taking dust from the earth. Do you notice straightway the difference in the way the sentence opens? In the case of all the other creatures blessed Moses taught us the manner of creation, saying, "God said, Let there be light, and there was light ;" "Let the firmament be made;" "Let the water be gathered together;" "Let the stars be made;" (106b) "Let the earth put forth a crop 2. Gn 2.7. 3. Reference has been made above (Homily 3, note 3) to the figures Chrysostom employs for the Scriptures and homilies upon them; and while patristic commentators like H. De Lubac have established there is little original in these figures, Chrysostom has obviously worked hard at his task to produce the series of them that introduce this homily. [44.222.104.49] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:49 GMT) HOMILY 13 of vegetation;" "Let the waters bring forth reptiles with living souls;" and "Let the earth bring forth a living thing." Do you...