Maximus of Turin

Most fittingly does the world rejoice, with great gladness, upon this day; for with Christ returning from the dead the hope of resurrection has everywhere been awakened in the hearts of men. For it is but right that when the Lord of creation triumphs, the creatures He has made should also rejoice. This day the heavens rejoice, for now at length they see the earth, defiled by sin, made clean in the Blood of the Lord. The multitudes of the hosts of heaven rejoice, for their king has overthrown in battle the hosts of the prince of evil. The sun rejoices, and now with unceasing thankfulness holds back by its joyful beams that woeful darkness that overshadowed it as Christ was dying. And together with them we too above all others must rejoice, for whom the Only-Begotten Son of God, Who also is True God, clothed Himself in our flesh, that through that flesh He might come to the Cross, by the Cross suffer death, and through death despoil the kingdom of hades. Should we not rejoice: we whose sins the Mystery of this new Mystery has taken away, to whom heaven is given, paradise restored?
And as He drew near His end, the Lord Himself says to the Thief then hanging on his cross: he whose faith, neither Christ’s torment, nor his own, had weakened: Amen, I say to you, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. For the Thief had said to Him: Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom (Lk. xxiii). How admirable this faith, Brethren: that a thief who had been judged unworthy of this life, should amid his torments nourish the hope of life eternal, and believe, that this could be given to him by One Who also was being crucified? And how justly does the believing Thief receive the favour of such a promise: he who, in that hour when the Apostles scattered in fear, had confessed the Kingdom of God? And the merit of this one confession wipes away all his past sins; in that brief moment whatever crimes he had committed, throughout all the years of his life, were now forgiven. Nor did the blood he shed in his robberies condemn him before God for he believed that the Blood of Christ was shed for a Kingdom, not for a punishment. And that this death was a gain for all men, there can, Beloved Brethren, be no possible doubt. For who can despair of God’s grace, when the Thief was forgiven; should he unite the faith of the Thief with his own humble prayer for pardon?
We have yet another shining example of the Lord’s most loving kindness, and because of it, let us, putting away all fear, and all deadly despair, place our trust in the unspeakable generosity of Our Redeemer. For when, condemned by the Godless, Christ hung upon the Cross, and the Jews in their evil rage mocked at Him they had crucified, in the midst of His agony, this kind Petitioner prayed to His Almighty Father for His executioners, and said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Lk. 23:34). And though in His hands was the judgement of both the living and the dead, He implored pardon for those who were then perishing in sin; and this, I believe, that He might show us beyond any manner of doubt, that He forgave them their awful crime, and that His Father would also spare them, if they, putting away their unbelief, would come together in Christ’s Name. For who can doubt the effect of that prayer, where He Who is Goodness asks help for those in misery? They know not, He says, what they do. The Jews knew well that they were shedding the blood of an innocent Man; but they did not know that the guilt of all men was being washed away in that Blood. They knew they were punishing Christ by this most bitter torment of the Cross; but they did not know that it was through this Cross the Son of God would triumph. They knew He would die; but they did not know He would rise again. So, well might the Lord declare: They know not what they do.
For they knew not, the Jews, of what immense goodness their very wickedness was the instrument. But the Lord, in the knowledge of His own majesty, has compassion on their human errors, and knowing how great the joy that would follow these torments, while He yet endured them, forgives the crime of those who were crucifying Him: willing that His death would give life to His slayers, and be the condemnation of those who willed to perish. Returning from hades, He seeks His Apostles, so that He might show them that within Him there was both the power of divinity and the reality of our flesh*. Because of this, Brethren, let us rejoice in Christ, now risen from the dead. Let us hold firmly, that He has recalled this flesh* from the sepulchre that we may merit to have part in that wondrous common heritage: namely, the grace of the Apostles and the Resurrection of the Lord, by the help of this Same Lord Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Let us see, then, what happens to the Lord’s body after they take it down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, a righteous man, as the Evangelist says, took it and buried it in his new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. Blessed is the body of the Lord Christ, which in birth comes forth from a virgin’s womb and in death is placed in the grave of a righteous man! Clearly this body is blessed. Virginity brought it out, and righteousness held it! Joseph’s grave held him incorrupt, just as Mary’s womb preserved him inviolate. In the one, a man’s impurity does not touch him; in the other, death’s corruption does not hurt him. In every way, holiness and virginity are bestowed on that blessed body. A new womb conceived him, and a new grave enclosed him. The womb is the Lord’s womb. It is virginal. The tomb is virginal. Should I not rather say that the tomb itself is a womb? There is, in fact, a great similarity. Just as the Lord came out from his mother’s womb living, so also he rose living from Joseph’s tomb. Just as he was born from the womb in order to preach, so also now he has been reborn from the tomb in order to evangelize. The last birth is more glorious than the first. The first conceived a mortal body, but the last brought out an immortal one. After the first birth, he descends to hell, but after the last birth, he returns to the heavens. The last birth is more religious than the first. The first kept the Lord of the whole world locked in the womb for nine months, but the last held him in the belly of the grave for only three days. The first offered hope to all rather slowly, but the last raised salvation for all quite quickly.

The Savior put down the devil’s stratagem with a clever response. He does not do what the devil says, lest he seem to declare the glory of his power at his adversary’s will, nor does he answer that it cannot be done, since he could not deny what he had often already done. Therefore he neither gives in to the devil’s petition nor rejects his inquiry. He reserves for himself the manifestation of his power and counters his adversary’s stratagem with eloquence. He therefore says to him, “Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”—that is, not by earthly bread or by material food, whereby you deceived Adam the first man, but by the word of God, which contains the food of heavenly life. The Word of God is Christ the Lord, as the Evangelist says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” So, whoever feeds on the word of Christ does not require earthly food, nor can one who feeds on the bread of the Savior desire the food of the world. The Lord has his own bread; indeed, the bread is the Savior himself, as he taught when he said, “I am the bread who came down from heaven.” About this bread the prophet says, “And bread strengthens the human heart.”

This field then is this entire world, in which we who have been dispersed and scattered bear the fruit of good work for the Lord.Yet perhaps you would inquire of me, if the field is the world, who the potter might be who could have the ownership of the world. Unless I am mistaken, the potter is the one who made the vessels of our body from clay. Scripture says of him, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust from the earth.” The potter is the one who, with the warmth of his own breath, made alive the slimy clay of our flesh and with fiery heat put together the fluid and earthly matter of our bodies.
The potter, I say, is the one who fashioned us unto life with his own hands and who is refashioning us unto glory through his Christ. The apostle says, “We are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another.” That is to say, we who from our previous condition have broken to pieces because of our own misdeeds are restored in a second birth through the loving kindness of this same potter. We who have been struck by death because of Adam’s transgression rise anew through the grace of the Savior. Clearly this potter is the one of whom the blessed apostle says, “Will what is molded say to its molder?” And again, “Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use?” For from the same clay of our body God preserves some persons for the kingdom on account of their individual merits and keeps others for punishment.
The field of this potter, then, was bought with Christ’s blood for travelers. For travelers, I say, who were without home or country and were cast about as exiles throughout the earth, rest is provided by the blood of Christ, so that those who have no possession in the world might have a burial place in Christ. Who do we say that these travelers are if not very devout Christians who, renouncing the world and possessing nothing in the world, rest in the blood of Christ? For the Christian who does not possess the world utterly possesses the Savior. Christ’s burial place then is promised to travelers so that the one who preserves himself from fleshly vices like a traveler and stranger may merit Christ’s rest. For what is Christ’s burial place if not the Christian’s rest? We therefore are travelers, in this world, and we sojourn in this life as passersby, as the apostle says: “While we are in this body we are away from the Lord.” We are travelers, I say, and a burial place has been bought for us at the price of the Savior’s blood. “We have been buried with him,” the apostle says, “through baptism in his death.” Baptism therefore is Christ’s burial place for us, in which we die to sins, are buried to evil deeds and are restored to a renewed infancy, the conscience of the old person having been dissolved in us for the sake of another birth.

It might seem remarkable to you, brothers, that the Lord should be accused by the chief priests before the procurator Pilate and should be silent and that he should not refute their wickedness by his response, since indeed a defense which follows quickly is the only way to refute a persistent accusation. It might seem remarkable, I say, brothers, that the Savior should be accused and should remain silent. Silence is occasionally understood as avowal, for when a person does not wish to respond to what is asked of him he appears to confirm what is raised against him. Does the Lord then confirm his accusation by not speaking? Clearly he does not confirm his accusation by not speaking; rather he despises it by not refuting it. For one who needs no defense does well to keep silent, but let one who fears to be overcome defend himself and one who is afraid of being vanquished hasten to speak. When Christ is condemned, however, he also overcomes, and when he is judged he also vanquishes, as the prophet says: “that you should be justified in your words and should vanquish when you are judged.” Why was it necessary for him therefore to speak before being judged, when for him judgment was a complete victory?

For Christ conquers when he is judged, because in this way he is proven innocent. Hence Pilate says, “I am innocent of the blood of this just man.” It is a better case which is not defended and still is proved. It is a fuller righteousness that is not supplemented by words but is still supported by the truth. It must be that the tongue should keep silent when justice itself is present to itself. Let the human tongue keep silent in a good affair, inasmuch as it has also been accustomed to speak out in favor of bad causes. I do not want righteousness to be defended in the same manner that wickedness is usually excused. It is not by reason of speech but because of virtue that Christ vanquishes, for the Savior, who is wisdom, knows how to vanquish by keeping silent and how to overcome by not responding. Therefore he prefers to establish the truth of his case rather than to speak about it. What in fact would compel him to speak when silence is enough to conquer? But perhaps fear would compel him, lest he lose his life. Yet this was precisely the reason for his victory. He lost his own life in order to gain life for all; he preferred to be conquered in himself in order to be the victor in everyone.

This is certainly said in the person of the Savior at the time of the resurrection. When after his death he returned to the heavenly heights from the lower regions, he began to make known the path of life, which was previously unknown. The path of life was unknown before Christ, since it was still untouched by the foot of anyone who rose from the dead. But when the Lord rose, once the path become known, it become well worn by the soles of many, about whom the Evangelist says: “The bodies of many holy people arose along with him and entered into the holy city.” So too, since the Lord said at his own resurrection: “You have made known to me the paths of life,” we are also now able to say to the Lord, “You have made known to us the paths of life.” For he who showed us the way to life has himself made known to us the paths of life. He made known to me the paths of life when he taught me faith, mercy, righteousness and chastity. By journeying along these, one arrives at salvation. Even though the shadow of death encompasses us at the destruction of our body, still life does not forsake its steps; we walk quickly through the very midst of the decrees of hell by the power of Christ. For this reason, the holy prophet says: “Even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not fear evils, for you are with me.” The Lord says this same thing about the believer even more clearly: “He who believes in me will not die, and although he dies, he will live.”