Homilies on Isaiah 5

On the text, “For he raised up righteousness from the east” (Isa 41:2), and again on the vision in another way (Isa 6). The prophet says that Christ is living righteousness; and we thought it had been said by the Apostle that Christ is righteousness and sanctification and redemption and wisdom. But perhaps the Apostle too, instructed by the prophets, knew that righteousness is animate and living. What is this righteousness? The only-begotten of God. That Christ is righteousness, living and subsisting righteousness, did not originate with the Apostle; you will find this mystery set forth for us also by the prophetic words, as is certain also from the passage at which the reading has now come to rest. “Who,” it says, “made righteousness rise from the east and called it to his feet?” He called righteousness. It is plain that it is animate if, when called, it walks. The Father called Christ to make his journey to us for our salvation and to come down from heaven to us; for “no one has ascended into heaven except he who came down from heaven, the Son of Man.” He called him from the east, not this sensible east but the east of the true light. Therefore it is written: “Who made righteousness rise from the east and called it to his feet?” The Father called the Son; or rather, to speak truly, God called the man, righteousness, to his feet, that is, the incarnation of his Son. And so we also worship the footstool of his feet, as it is written: “Worship the footstool of his feet, for it is holy.” For the Lord's flesh takes on the honor of the Godhead. But since the beginning of the reading needs a deeper exposition, let us pray the supreme King that the Word who was called and had gone away may return to us again, so that we may set out a few things according to our ability. 2. “And it came to pass in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a high throne, and the house was full of his glory, and seraphim stood around him, six wings to the one and six wings to the other; and with two they covered his face, and with two they covered the feet, and with two they flew; and they cried one to the other and said: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts; the earth is full of his glory,” and the rest. But so that we too may see the vision which Isaiah saw, let us call upon Jesus, who granted eyes to those who did not see. For he can come even now and cause us to behold with open eyes the mysteries spoken in the reading. Let us promise him that we will no longer make the body of Christ the body of a harlot, nor do works worthy of mourning. Let each of us say this in his heart to God, and let us pray that his coming may happen even now. For if Jesus does not come, we cannot see these things. I pray that a seraph may be sent to me too, and, taking a coal with the tongs, purge my lips. And why do I say my lips? Isaiah was holy, and therefore only his lips were purged, because he had sinned only with his lips, that is, in speech. But I am not such that I can say that I have only unclean lips; I fear that I have an unclean heart, unclean eyes, unclean ears, an unclean mouth. As long as I sin in all these, I am wholly unclean. If I look at a woman to lust, I have already committed adultery with her in my heart: see, I have unclean eyes. If evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, false witness come out of my breast, see, I have an unclean heart. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace, who preach good things!” But I fear that, running to evil, I have unclean feet. I stretch out my hands to the Lord; and perhaps, turning away his face, he says: “If you stretch out your hands, I will turn my face away from you.” Who, then, cleanses me? Who washes my feet? Jesus, come; I have dirty feet. For my sake become a servant; pour your water into your basin; come, wash my feet. And I know that what I say is bold, but I fear the threat of him who says: “If I do not wash your feet, you will have no part with me.” Therefore wash my feet, that I may have part with you. But why do I say, wash my feet? Peter could say this, who needed nothing except to have his feet washed, for he was wholly clean. I, rather, having once been washed, need that baptism of which the Lord says: “I have another baptism to be baptized with.” Why have we said these things? I am preparing both myself and my hearers for greater mysteries, if only the word of God comes, if it comes down to us; for I fear that it may flee from me, that it may disdain even my blessing. Once the word fled from the people because of one sinner, Achan; the word fled, I say, from the people because of one sinner, Achan son of Zimri, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, who was disobedient to God and therefore was put under the curse. And since there is now a great crowd of people because of the Day of Preparation, and especially on the Lord's day, which commemorates Christ's passion (for the Lord's resurrection is not celebrated once a year, but always, every seven days), pray to almighty God that his word may come to us. Even if you are sinners, pray to the Lord; God hears sinners. And if you fear what is said in the Gospel, “We know that God does not hear sinners,” do not be afraid, do not believe it: it was a blind man who said it. Believe rather him who speaks and does not lie: “And if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as wool; and if you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the land.” If you are willing to listen even now, let us pray to the Lord together that at least now, as the Word comes, we may be able to attend to the prophetic words spoken. “It came to pass,” it says, “in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a high throne.” The vision is dated. Why is the king's time indicated? Notice when the vision arose: when King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord of hosts sitting upon a high throne. If any of us knows who Uzziah was and what he did, he can know what the prophet taught by the Spirit, what the divine word shows us. I will go to the life of Uzziah, and look into the books of Kingdoms and the history of Chronicles concerning Uzziah; and there I shall see that it is necessary, if I am to see the Lord of hosts sitting upon a high throne, that King Uzziah die in me. This Uzziah, descended from the seed of David and reigning over the people of Judah, as long as Zechariah lived, who had understanding (for so it is written in the second book of Chronicles), did what was right in the sight of the Lord. And not content with this, he made great lights for the Lord and adorned the temple of God, and there were many virtues in his piety. But when Zechariah, the man of understanding, died, then he did evil. Who is this who did evil? He was a king, not a priest. The royal order is one thing, the priestly order another. He wished to enter the temple and take the place of a priest and do a work that had not been granted him. He went in ahead of the priests and took the vessel of libation. But when the chief priest of that time came in, and eighty priests with him, the chief priest said to him: “Are you not Uzziah, and not a priest?” He persisted violently, and leprosy rose up on his forehead. He was cast out as dead, he went out of the temple; the Lord drove him out. So he became leprous because of the transgression of the Law. Each one is under someone's rule, either of sin or of righteousness. If sin reigns in me, I am one of the kings of Israel who violently entered the temple. If I am righteous according to the measure of my progress, and do what is right, and persevere in the sight of God, righteousness reigns in me. As long as the leper lived, Isaiah had unclean lips. As long as the wicked man lived, Isaiah could not see the Lord of hosts, and had unclean lips, for he was under a wicked king. When does he begin to see the vision of God? In the year that Uzziah died. You will be able to say similar things from many writings, God granting. In Exodus something of this kind is written: “And it came to pass after some days that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel groaned, and their cry went up to God.” As long as Pharaoh lived, the children of Israel did not groan, and, set in a worse state, they did not even have the freedom to groan. For the king lived who ordered them to make bricks and straw. As long as Pharaoh lived, they did not groan to God; when Pharaoh died, then they were able to lift up faces wet with tears. The wicked king lives in our breast as long as Pharaoh, the devil, lives. Then we make bricks and straw, then we swallow our tears in silence and do the works of iniquity first. But when he has died, when the Lord God visits us, then we groan to the Lord. So let us pray to the Lord that the reign of sin which is in our mortal body may die. For he says, “Sin died, but I came to life.” And again: “Sin came to life, and I died.” When the one who holds the reign of sin, Uzziah, dies, Pharaoh too dies. When the worst king dies, I lift up my eyes to heaven, and God has heard my voice, as he heard Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I see the Lord of hosts sitting and reigning upon a high throne, whom the people did not see; for Uzziah had not yet died. I wish to insert something similar for good, which is the opposite of this. This same Uzziah, as long as Zechariah the man of understanding lived, did not sin in the sight of God; when Zechariah died, he turned away from the Lord, where he ruled the people and governed the city. Reading these things day and night, and hearing the Lord saying, “You ought to have put my money on the table, and coming I would have required it with interest,” let us not gather the entrusted mina in a napkin nor put the money into the ground, but lend it out to the peoples. And when we have entrusted the Lord's account to you, it will have to be seen how you pay back what was entrusted with interest. To whom, etc. Amen.