The Blind and the Lame; When Saints Fall
Book Two.
“And it was said to David, ‘You shall not come in here,’ because the blind and the lame resisted” (2 Samuel 5:6). So then, the blind and the lame of Jerusalem, that is, of Jebus, resisted the blessed David; and for doing this they perished miserably, for he captured the city. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, lame and blind, resisted Christ, the Savior of all, at the time of his coming. For they did not know how to walk uprightly; nor did those who would not accept the faith receive the divine light into their minds, above all the scribes and Pharisees.
“And David sent messengers, and took her, and went in to her” (2 Samuel 11:4). Do not be quickly troubled about the saints if at times they too have fallen into lapses. For it is true that even the very bravest of soldiers, those admired for bodily courage and skill, are sometimes wounded while fighting, yet they do not fall. And besides, I think I must add this to what has been said: for Christ alone, the Savior who loves mankind, has it been reserved not to suffer sin, because, being God by nature, he became flesh (John 1:14).
That is why he himself said of himself: “The ruler of this age is coming, and he will find nothing in me” (John 14:30).
And a little further on: I say these things about the sin of David, when he went in to Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. The account in the history concerns everyone. For even if he was weak as a man, and something unlooked-for…
Greek
ΒΙΒΛΟΣ Βʹ. 1 Καὶ ἐῤῥέθη τῷ ∆αβὶδ Οὐκ εἰσελεύσῃ ὧδε, ὅτι ἀντέστησαν οἱ τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοί. {Κυρίλλου.} Οὐκοῦν τῷ μὲν μακαρίῳ ∆αβὶδ οἱ ἀπό τε τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἤτοι τῆς Ἰεβοῦς, ἀντέστησαν τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοί· καὶ τοῦτο πεποιηκότες, οἰκτρῶς διολώλασι· κατελάβετο γὰρ αὐτήν. Ἀντέστησαν τῷ πάντων Σωτῆρι Χριστῷ κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ καιρὸν οἱ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ οἰκήτορες χωλοὶ καὶ τυφλοί· οὐ γὰρ ᾔδεσαν ὀρθοποδεῖν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὸ θεῖον εἰς νοῦν ἐδέξαντο φῶς οἱ τὴν πίστιν οὐ προσιέμενοι, Γραμματεῖς δὲ μάλιστα καὶ Φαρισαῖοι. Καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ∆αβὶδ ἀγγέλους, καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτὴν, καὶ εἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτήν. {Κυρίλλου.} Μὴ ταραχθῇς ἑτοίμως περὶ τῶν ἁγίων, εἰ γεγόνασιν ἐν παροράμασιν ἔσθ' ὅτε καὶ αὐτοί· καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθὲς ὅτι καὶ οἱ σφόδρα γενναιότατοι τῶν στρατιωτῶν, οἱ ἐπ' ἀνδρείᾳ σωμάτων καὶ εὐτεχνίᾳ τεθαυμασμένοι, πλήττονται μὲν ἔσθ' ὅτε μαχόμενοι, πλὴν οὐ καταπίπτουσιν. Ἄλλως τε χρῆναι γὰρ ὑπολαμβάνω προσεπενεγκεῖν τοῖς εἰρημένοις καὶ τοῦτο· Μόνῳ τετήρηται τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Σωτῆρι Χριστῷ, τὸ μὴ παθεῖν ἁμαρτίαν· ὅτι Θεὸς κατὰ φύσιν ὢν, γέγονε σάρξ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς ἔλεγε περὶ ἑαυτοῦ· Ἔρχεται ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ εὑρήσει οὐδέν· Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Καὶ ταῦτά φημι περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ὅτε εἰσῆλθε πρὸς τὴν Βερσαβεὲ τὴν τοῦ Οὐρίου γαμετήν. Προσήκει δὲ ἅπασι τῆς ἱστορίας ὁ λόγος· εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἠσθένησεν ὡς ἄνθρωπος, καί τι τῶν ἀδοκήτων