On Lazarus and the Palm Branches · §7 · Hesychius of Jerusalem

Palm Branches of Faith, Hope, and Love

…work, like the branches of the palm trees (John 12:13), and let us follow Him, giving thanks to Him. Instead of their whiteness, let us carry right, undefiled, and simple faith; instead of their sharpness, patient hope, which pierces and slays every thought that rises up to take us captive away from the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5); and instead of the sweetness of the palm, sweet love, which is made up of the faith and hope already named and the rest, so that what was said may be fulfilled in us: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (Psalm 92:12).

Let us follow Him into the holy city; let us enter the temple with Him, so that He may overturn the tables of the money changers within us and drive away from us the demons who sell the doves (Matthew 21:12), the thoughts that fly about in error, together with…

Greek

ἐργασίαν, ὡς τὰ τῶν φοινίκων βάϊα, καὶ ἀκολουθήσωμεν εὐχαριστοῦντες αὐτῷ· καὶ ἀντὶ μὲν τῆς ἀσπρότητος τὴν ὀρθὴν καὶ ἀμίαντον καὶ ἁπλῆν πίστιν· ἀντὶ δὲ τῆς ὀξύτητος τὴν ὑπομονητικὴν ἐλπίδα, τὴν κεντῶσαν καὶ σφάζουσαν πάντα λογισμὸν ἐπαιρόμενον αἰχμαλωτεῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ· καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς γλυκύτητος τοῦ φοίνικος τὴν γλυκεῖαν ἀγάπην, τὴν συνισταμένην ἐκ τῶν προρρηθέντων πίστεως καὶ ἐλπίδος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, ἵνα πληρωθῇ ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ ῥηθέν· «∆ίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει· ὡσεὶ κέδρος ἡ ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ πληθυνθήσεται.» Ἀκολουθήσωμεν αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν, εἰσέλθωμεν μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, ἵνα τὰς τραπέζας τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν κολλυβιστῶν καταστρέψῃ, καὶ τοὺς δαίμονας τοὺς πωλοῦντας τὰς περιστεράς, τοὺς ἐν πλάνῃ πετομένους λογισμούς, ἀποδιώξῃ ἀφ' ἡμῶν μετὰ

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About this text

Hesychius of Jerusalem's sermon on Lazarus and the palm branches, in a fresh English translation of the whole homily. The raising of Lazarus is the sign that Christ will raise all humanity; Zechariah's call to the daughter of Zion to rejoice is read phrase by phrase; and the hearers are urged to carry palms of faith, hope, and love and to become a holy temple for Christ.

Hesychius of Jerusalem (fl. c. 412–450) preached this homily on Lazarus and the palm branches. The Greek heading names him as priest of Jerusalem; the homily was once credited to Titus of Bostra. It is a different sermon from his Homily II on Saint Lazarus.

Hesychius reads the raising of Lazarus as the sign that Christ will raise all humanity, and so explains why men and angels hailed Christ as King when He entered Jerusalem. He then reads Zechariah’s call, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion,” phrase by phrase, together with the colt, the garments, and the branches of the Gospel story.

At the end he urges his hearers to bind themselves to Christ, to carry palm branches of faith, hope, and love, and to follow Him into the temple, so that He may drive out the sellers within them and make them a holy temple instead of a den of robbers.

Fresh English translation from the Greek text of PG 93.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 93 (Greek)

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