Letter 749

To Hilarius the Bishop. You were perplexed at what is written, that "After the resurrection the Lord, having appeared to Cleopas and his companions, became invisible to them." [Luke 24:31] You have read also what Moses said concerning the sinners in Sodom, that they were worn out searching for the door of the blessed Lot. [Genesis 19:11] But it is plain that the door of the righteous man was real, and not imaginary, and had substance, and was no deception. If, then, this most real door happened to be visible and plain to the others, but was unseen and invisible to the men of Sodom, then so too Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, appeared to some after the resurrection, but to others was unseen. Truly the Lord rose from the dead, he who died for our sins, his flesh having of course become more rarefied through incorruption; and this holy and most precious body, when he willed, he concealed, and when he willed, he made manifest. For it is written that "He became invisible to them." Do not, therefore, take the phrase "He became invisible" to mean non-existence, nor suppose the resurrection to be a bare apparition and a dream, as some do. For how then could he have said, "Handle me, and see," [Luke 24:39] and what follows?

Διηπόρησας ἐπὶ τῷ γεγραμμένῳ, ὅτι « Μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐμφανισθεὶς ὁ Κύριος τοῖς περὶ τὸν Κλεόπαν, ἄφαντος ἐγένετο ἀπ’ αὐτῶν. » Ἀνέγνως καὶ ὅπερ Μωϋσῆς εἶπε περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν τῶν ἐν Σοδόμοις, ὅτι παρελύθησαν ζητοῦντες τὴν θύραν τοῦ μακαρίου Λώτ. Δῆλον δὲ, ὅτι θύρα τοῦ δικαίου ἀληθὴς, καὶ ἀφάνταστος, καὶ ὑφεστῶσα, καὶ ἀψευδὴς ὑπῆρχεν. Εἰ τοίνυν ἡ ἀληθεστάτη θύρα, τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις φανερὰ καὶ δήλη ἐτύγχανεν, ἄδηλος δὲ καὶ ἀφανὴς τοῖς Σοδομηνοῖς ἦν· οὐκοῦν καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Κύριος τῶν ὅλων, τισὶ μὲν ἐφαίνετο μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν, τισὶ δὲ ἄδηλος ἦν· ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη ὁ Κύριος ἐκ νεκρῶν ὁ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἀποθανών, λεπτομερεστέρας δηλονότι τῆς σαρκὸς γενομένης διὰ τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν, ὅπερ ἅγιον καὶ πολύτιμον σῶμα, ὅταν ἤθελεν, ἀπέκρυπτε, καὶ ὅταν ἤθελεν, ἐμφανὲς καθίστη· γέγραπται γὰρ, ὅτι «Ἄφαντος ἐγένετο ἀπ’ αὐτῶν». Μὴ τοίνυν τὸ, «Ἄφαντος ἐγένετο», εἰς τὴν ἀνυπαρξίαν ἐκλάμβανε, μηδὲ φάσμα ψιλὸν καὶ ὄναρ τὴν ἀνάστασιν νόμιζε, ὥσπερ τινές. Ἐπεὶ πῶς, «Ψηλαφήσατε, καὶ ἴδετε», καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς;