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Translated by R. Payne Smith
St Cyril of Alexandria Resources Online and in Print
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This Part: 128 Pages
Page 17
And that what I say is true, the prophet Isaiah again assures us, saying, "Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel; butter and honey shall He eat: before He knoweth or chooseth the evil, He shall prefer the good: for before the Child distinguisheth good or evil, He is not obedient to evil in that He chooseth the good." And yet how is it not plain to all, that a new-born babe, as yet unable, from its youth and tenderness, to understand anything, is unequal to the task of distinguishing between good and evil? For he knows absolutely nothing. But in our Saviour Christ it was a great and extraordinary miracle: for He ate while yet a babe both butter and honey. And because He was God, ineffably made flesh, He knew only the good, and was exempt from that depravity which belongs to man. And this too is an attribute of the supreme Substance; for that which is good by nature, firmly and unchangeably, belongs specially to It, and It only; "for there is none good, but one God," as the Saviour has Himself said.
Wouldst thou see another virtue of the Child? Wouldst thou see that He is by nature God, Who in the flesh was of woman? Learn what the prophet Isaiah says of Him: "And I drew near unto the prophetess, and she conceived, and bare a male; and the Lord said unto me, Call His name, Quick take captive, and spoil hastily.[14] For before the Child shall know to call father or mother, He shall take the strength of Damascus." For contemporaneously with the birth of Christ the power of the devil was spoiled. For in Damascus he had been the object of religious service, and had had there very many worshippers; but when the holy Virgin brought forth, the power of his tyranny was broken; for the heathen were won unto the knowledge of the truth; and their firstfruits and leaders were the Magi, who came from the East to Jerusalem; whose teacher was the heaven, and their schoolmaster a star.
Look not therefore upon Him Who was laid in the manger as a babe merely, but in our poverty see Him Who as God is rich, and in the measure of our humanity Him Who excels the inhabitants of heaven, and Who therefore is glorified even by the holy angels. And how noble was the hymn, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and among men good will!" For the angels and archangels, thrones and lordships, and high above them the Seraphim, preserving their settled order, are at peace with God: for never in any way do they transgress His good pleasure, but are firmly established in righteousness and holiness. But we, wretched beings, by having set up our own lusts in opposition to the will of our Lord, had put ourselves into the position of enemies unto Him. But by Christ this has been done away: for He is our peace; for He has united us by Himself unto God the Father, having taken away from the middle the cause of the enmity, even sin, and so justifies us by faith, and makes us holy and without blame, and calls near unto Him those who were afar off: and besides this, He has created the two people into one new man, so making peace, and reconciling both in one body to the Father. For it pleased God the Father to form into one new whole all things in Him, and to bind together things below and things above, and to make those in heaven and those on earth into one flock. Christ therefore has been made for us both Peace and Goodwill; by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be glory and honour and might with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen.[15]
14.[o] The Fathers constantly refer this name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, to our Lord, and explain it of the overthrow of Satan. Another instance of S. Cyril's use of it will be found in his 17th Paschal Homily, as follows: The prophetess is the holy Virgin: and the name given to the child suiteth not man, but God: for, saith He, call His name. Spoil quickly: hastily plunder. For at His birth the heavenly and supernatural infant, while yet in swaddling bands and on His mother's bosom, because of His human nature, stripped forthwith Satan of his goods by His ineffable might as God: for the Magi came from the East to worship Him, &c.
15.[p] Several passages referred by Mai to this homily are not found in the Syriac, as was to be expected, the Catenists having made use not only of the Commentary, but also of S. Cyril's other works, especially the Julian books, besides the possibility of interpolations, and passages erroneously ascribed to him. The first omitted extract from B. is to shew that the shepherds typified the pastors of the Church, as also Christ the chief shepherd, Who came to seek the lost flock: while Bethlehem, the house of bread, His birthplace, is the Church, "where daily the mystical bread of life is sacrificed." The second passage (from what MS. is uncertain) gives a physical interpretation of the butter which the Emmanuel ate, unworthy of Cyril, and at variance with the spiritual interpretation of the prophecy given above. Thirdly, there are a series of extracts from I. taken chiefly from the Commentary on Isaiah. Conf. Vol. II. 134. 200. (Ed. Aub.) And, lastly, an extract from B., to the effect that probably it was an archangel who brought the message, accompanied by his usual attendants. The first passage is remarkable, both as speaking of a daily communion, and for its application of the word ἱερουργεῖται to the "mystical bread of life." The Fathers generally use this word in the same manner as St. Paul, Rom. xv. 16., for the discharge of any religious duty, and in this sense it will be found to occur more than once in the course of the Commentary. Other examples may be seen in Suicer's Thesaurus under ἱερουργέω, and the only instance he gives of its application to the Lord's supper is from Zonaras, a writer of the twelfth century. It occurs, however, in Philostorgii Hist. Eccl. ix. 4., and is there referred by Valesius to the Lord's supper, but this interpretation is far from certain. For the historian is speaking of the heretic Eunomius, who, he says, retired to a small estate situated on the seashore near Chalcedon, οὐδὲ ἱερουργίας ἐξ οὗ τῆς Κυζίκου μετέστη οὐ μὲν οὖν ἐς ὅσον ἐνεβίω χρόνον ἥψατο. This Valesius translates by "ne saera quidem mysteria unquam celebravit;" but it rather means, that "he entirely abstained from all the duties of his sacred office." In support of his rendering Valesius quotes from Eusebius' Life of Constantine, Lib. IV. ... where, however, as Wernsdorf shews, by a comparison with other passages of Eusebius, that historian, in his usual rhetorical style, thus described the prayers for the safety of the Emperor, and the Church militant, which, as in our service, preceded the celebration of the Eucharist. The probability, therefore, is, that this extract is incorrectly referred to S. Cyril.
Reference address : https://www.elpenor.org/cyril-alexandria/luke-commentary.asp?pg=17
