Luke, XXIV, 1-12. The resurrection.

As well, at the time of the Resurrection they are there; and while the men have fled, they alone are warned by the angel not to be afraid. They call Peter; their zeal precedes it, their faith follows it. Besides, he arrives without fear; and, coming later, he entered first, as a man who had received the keys of the Kingdom to open to others. As for the earthquake, it is for the believers the resurrection, for the fools the fear. For some, it is the heavy body shaking the sleep of death; others, troubled by carnal fear and earthly instability, lose faith and belief in the resurrection.

. "And on the morning of the Sabbath they came very early to the tomb. "

This text gives rise to a great deal of uncertainty among many: for if we do not see that the evangelists have contradicted themselves, they have spoken differently. The latter, in fact, says that "in the morning, very early," Mark: "In the morning," Matthew: "The evening of the Sabbath," John: "The day after the Sabbath, when it was still dark" , the women came to the tomb. Then he mentions that we saw two men, Mark a young man sitting, dressed in white, Matthew an angel, John two angels sitting, in white clothes. Finally, what seems almost insoluble, John writes that it was said to Mary Magdalene: "Do not touch me, because I have not yet gone back to my Father"; Matthew wrote that the Lord introduced himself to Mary Magdalene and another Mary, and described in great detail how they approached, took His feet, and worshiped Him. What is the solution? Is it not to think that the four evangelists have spoken of four different moments, and to suppose various feminine characters and various apparitions? Some also come with perfumes the day after the Sabbath, others without perfumes on the evening of the Sabbath; we give the names of some, we mention that the others had followed the Lord since Galilee.

 For fear that such would be shocked to end here with the asperities of a thorny exegesis, while perhaps expected sweet things, do you imagine that we carve the sails of a speech close to end ; for we arrive at the port, and the vessel which has traversed the seas of a rapid course, as soon as it begins to approach the shore, slows down its march to dodge the hidden hulls. So to avoid failing my speech, like a clumsy pilot, on the sands of the shore, sliding in some way on the hidden bottomlands, I would rather slow down the march than rush it, lest our speech should break and do not get swallowed up. It is therefore necessary first of all to consider what this text means, that the Lord is risen "on the evening of the Sabbath, while the day after the Sabbath was coming". You read indeed that "on the Sabbath night Mary Magdalene and another Mary came to see the tomb; and behold, there was a great earthquake. So it is not the Sabbath day - for they remained inactive on the sabbath day, according to the precept - but after the Sabbath day, in the night, when He rose again. So, coming in the morning, very early, they learned that the Lord had already risen. 151. It is therefore necessary to believe that the Resurrection took place neither on Sunday morning, which is the day after the Sabbath, nor on the Sabbath (for how would one arrive at three days?). It is not the decline of the day, but the decline of the night, that he is resurrected. As the Greek says: late, that is to say:? ? ? ? ; but "late" also means the hour when the day declines, and the delay of any thing: for example if you say: it was suggested to me late, that is to say belatedly; he arrived late, that is, arrived after the agreed time. Even if he arrived in the morning of the next day, it is late, since the time to act has passed. Late, it is also the time of the deep night, for example when you say: I got up late to work; it means: I got up not on the evening, but in the middle of the night. This is what gives women every facility to approach the tomb, the guards already resting - and why the guards themselves are more frightened, as happens when one is awakened with a start. Finally the princes of the priests themselves, in their meeting with the elders, confirm that the event happened at night, when they say to the guards: "Say that his disciples came at night and stole him during your stay. sleep "; for it is the hour, on which the guards have informed them, which has suggested to them the scaffolding of their deception. In the same way John notes that Mary Magdalene came to him and to Peter "in the morning, when it was still dark," and yet the watch unaware that the Resurrection is accomplished: certainly, if it had taken place at the end of the day, it could have known it immediately. It's morning, and Pierre does not know yet; Jean does not know. Would the Lord have suffered that his disciples were tortured longer by the uncertainty of his death, while immediately the angel, the Lord immediately sent them the women to announce the event accomplished? And to show you it's night, some women do not know, others know. They know, those who have kept watch day and night; they do not know, those who have withdrawn. A Mary Magdalene does not know, according to John; another Mary Magdalene knows, according to Matthew; because the same could not know, then not know. So if there are several Marie, there may also be several Madeleine: the first name is personal, the second is locality. Besides, learn that it is another: one is allowed to hold the feet of the Lord, the other forbids touching the Lord; one has deserved to see the angel, the other came in the first place, did not see anyone: one announced to the disciples that the Lord was resurrected, the other teaches them that it was removed; one is happy, the other is crying; to that one Christ already presents himself glorified, this one seeks him still dead; one saw the Lord and believed, the other could not recognize him when she saw him; one adored in a sentiment of faith, the other tormented himself in the uncertainty of his heart.

 It is precisely that he is forbidden to touch the Lord: it is not by contact with the body, but by faith, that we touch Christ. "For," said He, "I am not yet ascended to my Father." which means: I have not yet ascended to your eyes, since you seek the living among the dead. So she is sent to stronger ones, whose example will teach her to believe, so that they preach her resurrection. In the same way, at the beginning, the woman was the instigator of sin for man, the man con-summing error; In the same way, now whoever had tasted the first to death saw the first resurrection. According to the order of the fault, she was the first to remedy; and in order not to suffer without end before men the reproach of guilt, having transmitted the fault to man, it has also transmitted grace to him; it compensates for the disaster of ancient decay by the nuncio of the resurrection. The lips of the woman had formerly given way to death; a woman's lips make life. But as she has too little constitence to preach, as her sex is too weak to perform, it is to men that the function of evangelizing is handed over. For if Jesus, not happy to destroy the fault of women, multiplies their action, so that many are persuaded by the one who first deceived one, the man also, who at first had steadily added faith had to recover an increased gift, and, having once allowed himself to become credulous, become fit to preach to others. But let us note the very terms of the mandate: "Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God. How did you not go up, Lord Jesus? How were you absent, who had put your spirit in the hands of the Father? When, besides, can you be absent, always in the Father, always with the Father? As you yourself have said, "If I go down to hell, you are there; if I spread my wings before the day to live at the end of the seas, even there it is your hand that will lead me "(Ps. 138, 8-10). Likewise, how do you climb, being constantly everywhere? You have descended, it is true, as Son of man, and descended without leaving the Father. But you have come down for us, so that our eyes and souls may see you, so that we may believe in you. It is also for us that you have come up, that we may follow you in spirit, unable to see you with our eyes. You ascended for the Apostles, to whom you said, "Who saw me, saw also the Father" (Jn, XIV, 9). John has known where to look for you: it is with the Father that he has sought you and found you; so he wrote, "And the Word was with God" (I, 1). You ascended for Paul, who, not satisfied with following you alone, also taught us how to follow you and where we could find you: "If then," he says, "you are resurrected with Christ, look for things from high, where is Christ sitting at the right hand of God "(Col., III, 1). And so that we do not make the function of the eyes rather than that of hearts, he added: "Taste the things above, not those of the earth" (Ib., 2). Therefore, it is not on earth, nor on the earth, nor on the flesh, that we must seek you, if we wish to find you; for "now we know no more the Christ according to the flesh" (II Cor., V, 16). And Stephen did not seek you on earth, who saw you standing at the right hand of God (Acts vi. 55ff), while Mary, who was looking for you on earth, could not touch you. Stephen has reached you because he has sought you in heaven. Stephen in the midst of the Jews saw you well, but absent; Mary among the angels did not see you present. But why could she not touch you? The Evangelist herself told us that she saw you well, but did not know it was you. For one reads, "She turned around and saw Jesus standing; and she did not know it was Jesus. It is fitting that she could not touch him, having not been able to see him: for to see is to touch. Thus the Gospel text emphasizes the differences between Mary and Mary. This one goes to meet Jesus to see him, she turns back; this one is saluted, this one takes again. After all, you read: "Jesus said to her, Woman. One who does not believe is a woman, and still designated by the quality of her sex according to the body; for the one who believes comes "to the perfect man, to the measure of the finished age of Christ" (Ephesians IV, 13); it no longer has its name of the century, the sex of its body, the mobility of youth, the chatter of old age. So Jesus said, "Woman, why are you crying? As if to say: it is not just tears that God claims, but faith; the true tears is to recognize Christ. "Who are you looking for? He said; for the Lord condemns complicated delays. But He has just added: "Who": not that he doubts, He who seeks, but because she herself does not know who she seeks: for it is not Christ that she seeks, since she thinks it is removed. Christ is there, what's the use of looking for him? It is the misunderstanding to look for it, not to recognize it when one sees it. As well she saw Christ and took him for a gardener. It is indeed what you read: "She, believing that it was the gardener, said to him: Lord, if it is you who took it away, tell me where you put it, and I take. If his faith is hesitant, his word does not go astray; if she took him for a gardener, she nevertheless treated him as the Son of God; if she does not believe yet, yet she desires to believe: for it is He who has taken away the body, having raised it up. So this woman's mistake is forgivable. Evidently, she should not have doubted that the body of Christ had been raised by the glory of the Resurrection; yet she wishes to be instructed by Christ, and already, in her devotion, she promises faith: she will remove it from the earth, and seek it at the right hand of God. As a result of these words, she is no longer called a woman, but Mary: the first word is common to the crowd, the other is special to a person who follows Christ. And it is sent to the disciples, without yet being in full possession of his faith, at least as a messenger. But he is forbidden to touch it, because she had not yet learned with Paul that the fullness of the divinity dwells in the body of Christ; she had not yet stripped away the uncertainty of the age, the doubts of the flesh; she had not yet lived the life of Christ. So she does not adore the Lord and does not take her feet, like the other Mary: in the latter, it is not so much the bodily homage as the movement of a plenary faith which translates she believes the Christ man and God together; for it is God we worship, the man we hug. The Lord is not reluctant to be touched by a woman, since Mary rubbed her feet with perfume. He does not refuse contact, but He teaches progress: for all can not touch the risen Christ whom they touched during his stay in this life and in this body. Whoever wishes to touch Christ must mortify his limbs, and, as destined to resurrect, to put on the bowels of mercy (Col., III, 12), to renounce the earthly without hesitation. What does it mean to say, "Do not touch me? Do not put your hand to big things; but go to my brothers, that is to say the most perfect? for "whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, my sister, and my mother" (Matt. xii. 50)? because the Resurrection can be easily grasped only by the perfect. The prerogative of this faith is reserved for the better established; "As for women, I do not allow them to teach in the church; let them ask their husbands at home "(I Tim., II, 12). She is therefore sent to those of the house; and she accepted the orders that were given to her. We do not ignore the feeling of some on this passage: Christ would not have wanted to be touched, because he had not yet received the image he had given to the Father, and that could not touch him yet. "I ascend to your Father, my God and your God. He made about distinction, talking to a woman; for we have no common nature with Christ except by his human condition. The Father is such for Him by true generation, for us by free adoption; for Him by nature, for us by grace. He is God for Him in the unity of the mystery, for us by his heavenly power.

Luke, xxiv, 33-49. Appearances to the Apostles.

Someone will say: How, then, did Thomas, while he did not believe yet, yet touch Christ? But it seems he doubted not of the Resurrection of the Lord, but of the mode of the Resurrection. And he had to teach me by touching him, as Paul also taught me: "For this corruption must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (I Cor., XV, 53), so that the unbeliever believes, and the hesitant can not nail; because we believe more easily what we see. Now Thomas had reason to be astonished, when he saw, everything being closed, a body slipping through impenetrable barriers to the bodies, without any damage to their structure. Yes, it is wonderful that a bodily nature has passed through an impenetrable body: we do not see it happen, we see its presence; he was easy to touch, difficult to recognize. The troubled disciples, too, thought they saw a spirit. This is why the Lord, to show us the character of the resurrection: "Touch," he said, "and see: a spirit has neither flesh nor bone as you see that I have them. So it is not an incorporeal nature, but the state of his resurrected body, which has made him penetrate normally impenetrable fences; because what is touching is body, what is felt is body. But it is bodily that we are resurrected: for "the seed is a body of flesh, whence raises up a spiritual body" (I Cor., XV, 44); one is subtle, the other gross, being further thickened by the conditions of his earthly infirmity. How, indeed, had there not been a body, while the marks of wounds, traces of scars, which the Lord presented to be touched, remained? By this He not only strengthens the faith, but He excites the devotion: the wounds received for us, He preferred to take them to heaven, He did not want to erase them, to show God the Father the price of our liberation . It is in this state that the Father places him on his right, welcoming the trophies of our salvation; such are the witnesses that the crown of his wounds has produced for us.

 And since our discourse has reached this point, let us consider how it is done that according to John the Apostles have believed, since they have rejoiced, that according to Luke they are taken back as incredulous; that here they have received the Holy Spirit, where they are commanded to dwell in the city until they are clothed with this gift from heaven. It seems to me that one, as an apostle, has touched the highest and the highest, the other the next, closer to the human; one has followed the details of the story, the other has summarized. For there can be no doubt of him who testifies of deeds to which he himself has witnessed, "and his testimony is true" (Jn, XXI, 24); As for the person who deserves to be an evangelist, it is also appropriate to remove from him all suspicion of negligence or men-dreaming. Thus we think that both are true: they are not separated by the difference of thought or the diversity of people. For if Luke says at first that they did not believe, later on he shows that they believed. If we consider the beginning, there is opposition; for the continuation, the agreement is assured. Let us consider the very words of the text. John says, "And the disciples rejoiced at the sight of the Lord. So he said to them again, Peace with you! As the Father sent me, I too send you. Having thus spoken, He blew on them and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit; those to whom you will forgive their sins, they will be forgiven them; and those to whom you will retain them, they will be retained "(Jn, XX, 20-23). As for Luke, he said, "... and how they recognized him at the breaking of the bread. But while they were speaking in this way, he found himself in the midst of them and said to them, Peace to you! It's me, do not be afraid. Troubled and frightened, they thought they saw a spirit. It might seem that here they were more numerous. But as it is here on the evening of the Resurrection (for the two who, at the break of day, had entered to abide with the Lord, are shown to us, once he has suddenly stolen, returning to the hour to the disciples), and, as according to John, it is late, on this day after the Sabbath, that we see him appear to the disciples and present his wounds to their touch, it seemed to us that, to avoid any uncertainty, there is had to look more carefully. He seems indeed to have shown himself apart from the Eleven, as he had already shown himself to Ammaon85 and Cleopas on the evening; and like these two, the Eleven could also come together to strengthen others. "They were troubled," as you read according to Luke, and that is why "He opened their minds to understand what is written." But there is no doubt that he has written longer, the other more succinctly. How, indeed, would they say that only Peter saw it, if it had appeared to all? But just as among the women He appeared only to Mary and to the other Mary Magdalene, as well as to Peter's men at daybreak. And Paul says, "I taught you first that Christ died according to the scriptures, and was buried and resurrected on the third day according to the scriptures, and appeared in Cephas "(I Cor., XV, 3-5). This is why Mark explicitly shows us the young man instructing the women to tell Peter and the disciples (Mk. Xvi. 7) that the Lord is risen.

 Peter therefore saw the Lord alone. It was because his devotion was always ready and willing to believe; so he was busy collecting more clues for his faith. Sometimes with John, sometimes alone, everywhere, however, he runs with zeal; everywhere he is either alone or first. Not content to have seen, he returns to look at what he has seen, and, inflamed with the desire to seek the Lord, he is not satisfied to see him. He sees him alone, he sees him with the Eleven, he sees him with the seventy. He still sees it when Thomas has believed. He sees it when he was fishing; but not satisfied to have seen it, in the impatience of his desire, neglecting his catch, forgetful of the danger (without however forgetting the respect: as soon as he saw the Lord on the shore he took his garment), it seemed to him Too long to arrive with others while sailing. Likewise, when the Lord walked on the sea, he ran to meet him on the waves of the sea, forgetting his nature; so when the Lord was arrested by the Jews, he was the only one to draw the sword against the troop. Likewise, here again, when the Lord stands on the shore, by a dangerous shortcut he hastened the homage of his religion. There is no doubt that Peter believed, that he believed because he loved, because he loved because he believed. So he is pained that he is asked three times: "Do you love me? Because we question whoever we doubt. But the Lord does not doubt: He questioned, not to learn, but to instruct him that at the moment of ascending into heaven He left us on earth as the representative of his love. For you read: "Simon son of John, do you love me? ? Yes, you know, Lord, that I love you. And Jesus said, Feed my lambs. Having a good conscience of himself, Peter testifies of a disposition which he did not take for the circumstance, but which God knows for a long time. Which other could easily affirm it of oneself? Also, being alone among all to declare oneself, it is preferred to all: for charity is greater than all (cf I Cor., XIII, 13). We must also consider with great care why, the Lord having said to him: "Do you love me? He replied, "You know, Lord, that I love you. It seems to me here that to cherish involves the charity of the spirit, to love, a kind of warmth engendered by the ardor of body and soul; and Peter marks, in my opinion, that not only his spirit, but his very body, was of fire for the service of God. As well the third time the Lord asked him, either, "Do you love me? But: "Do you love me? And I command him to graze, no more, as the first time, the lambs that must be fed with milk, nor, as the second time, the young sheep, but the sheep, so that being more perfect it will govern the most perfect. That is why being perfect in every way, no longer being able to be thrilled by the flesh to the glory of passion, the crown is awarded to him. "When you were young," he said, "you put on your belt and went where you wanted; but when you become old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will tie you to lead you where you do not want to go. Good old age! the prolongation of life did not render her powerless to use herself, but the maturity of virtue prepared her for martyrdom. It represses the thrust of the passions of the body, does not yield to lusts, flees sweets, does not covet beauty. "For the flesh covets against the spirit" (Gal., V, 17), and finds, to go wherever it wills, the cross paths of various pleasures; but the good old age of the soul chooses not that which is agreeable to the body, but that which is useful to the soul, and does not allow itself to be taken up with the capricious wills of the body, but is retained, as in spite of itself, by a brake who masters it. So Peter, while being ready in his heart to undergo martyrdom, yet, when danger has arisen, let the firmness of his soul falter. For the use of the heavenly gift captivates us by its sweetness; who would not choose martyrdom, if he could die at his pleasure? So Peter himself seems not to want, but is preparing to conquer86. And what a marvel if Peter will not, when the Lord says, "Father, if it be possible, remove this chalice from me; however, it is not my will that is done, but yours "(Matt. XXVI, 39). Finally, after the experience of his presumption, Pierre no longer dares to promise the perseverance of his will, but, as if to be supported, seeks the company of another.

 So many testimonies of virtue lead us to believe that Pierre could not doubt. That John also believed when he saw the Lord is evident, since he believed as soon as he saw the empty tomb of his body. Why does Luke mention that they were troubled? Above all, because the opinion of the greatest number includes the opinion of some; and then, because even having believed in the Resurrection, Peter could be troubled, seeing that the Lord in his body was suddenly entering a closed place of locked doors and solid walls. Luke has therefore followed every detail in the historical order; the other considered the final, this one the suc-cession; for, saying, "Then He opened their minds to understand what is written," he admits, well, too, that the disciples believed.

As for the Holy Spirit, or He blew it on the Eleven as being more perfect, and promised to give it to others later - or it's the same as he blew it here, there promised. And there does not seem to be a contradiction, since "the gifts are divided: to one is given the word of wisdom, to the other the discourse of science by virtue of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit. to another the gift of healing, to another the variety of tongues "(I Cor., XII, 4, 8-10). So he has blown an activity here, somewhere else He promises another. For there has been granted grace to forgive sins, which seems more sovereign (Jn, xx, 23); and it is blown out by Christ, to make you believe that it is the Spirit of Christ, and to believe that the Spirit comes from God; for God alone forgives sins. As for Luke, he describes the outpouring of the gift of tongues. As you read in this place: "Receive the Holy Spirit; those whose sins you will forgive, they will be given to them ", while in the Acts of the Apostles you read:" And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak various languages, according as the Spirit gave to speak "(II, 4). As for the variety of appearances, it signifies the multitude of angels who serve him, as the Lord himself had promised in these terms: "And you will see the angels come down and ascend to the Son of man" ( Jn, I, 51).

And it pleases God that with the end of the Gospel our speech also ends!

 Why, according to Matthew (XXVI, 32) and Mark (XIV, 28), he asks the disciples: "I will precede you in Galilee: this is where you will see me"? while, according to Luke and John, He also offered himself to their eyes in the Cenacle? And even He was seen frequently, and "to more than five hundred brethren" (I Cor., XV, 5-7), and to Peter and James, as the testimony of the Apostle proves to us. And Luke taught us in the Acts of the Apostles that he showed himself alive to the disciples "by appearing to them after his Passion many times and talking about the Kingdom of God" (Act, I, 3 ). So, if it has appeared frequently, and to many, if Scripture does not assign to its appearance in Galilee any definite and definite moment, while it expresses and the day and the hour when He showed himself Jerusalem, it would be that they were fearful when He visited them in the Cenacle; stronger, they will meet on the mountain. Finally John shows the disciples gathered in the Cenacle, closed doors. for fear of the Jews; Luke wrote that they were not eleven, but more numerous. As for Matthew, it was not enough that only the Eleven gathered in Galilee; for at last you read: "And the eleven disciples went to Galilee on the mountain where Jesus had appointed them, and at his sight they worshiped him; yet some doubted "and He gave them the power to teach and to baptize. Mark also writes that in the end He appeared to the eleven disciples at table; and it is then that he entrusts them with the same charge of preaching all over the world. Here is what seems to me more plausible: the Lord told the disciples well that they would see him in Galilee; but as fear made them stay in the Cenacle, He first appeared to them; later, their souls firmed, the Eleven gained Galilee. Or ? I see that such is the preference of diligent writers? nothing prevents us from saying that they were less numerous in the Cenacle, more numerous on the mountain.

  It will be noticed that Book X does not finish so to speak: no conclusion underlines that we have reached the end of this work, yet one of the most important of St. Ambrose.