st. john of damascus (676-749 - Cristo Raul

SERMONS. 125
divine hands, stretched out His undenled hands all
day long to a disobedient and gainsaying people, and
commended His Spirit into the hands of His Father.
A lance pierces the side of Him who formed Eve
out of the side of Adam, and opens the fountain of
divine blood and water, the draught of immortality,
the laver of regeneration. At this sight the sun was
abashed, not enduring to see the intelligible Sun of
Righteousness
treated with insult. The earth did
quake, being sprinkled with the blood of its Lord,
and leapt for joy at its purification,
as it shook off the
defilement of idols blood. Many that were dead
rose from their sepulchres, foreshadowing the resur
rection of Him who was being put to death for us.
The sun was eclipsed, and rekindled its rays again,
so as to make the number of three days spoken of by
the Lord. 1
The veil of the temple was rent in twain,
showing plainly the way of approach to the inner
sanctuary, and the revelation of that which had been
hidden. For now the robber was to enter paradise,
and the Man who was lifted up as a malefactor, was
1
This is explained more fully a little later on (c. xxvi.).
Taking the words of St. Matt, xii., 40, in which our Lord
quotes the illustration of Jonah, to require that his death
should extend over parts of three days and three nights,
Damascene thus computes them. The supernatural darkness
from the sixth hour to the ninth, on the day of the Passion,
was the first night, making, with the restored light that re
mained before sunset, one complete day. This would leave
two successions of nights and days to follow before the resur
rection. Zech. xiv. 6, 7, is
quoted as harmonizing with this :
"And it shall come to pass in that day that there shall not be
light .... but at evening time it shall be light."