The Greatness of Christ's Glory and True Splendor

Glory is small for men of little thought and little goodness. Thus, physicians who bring health to those who are well seem to take glory for themselves—it has been thought rather that the healthy person is more glorious than the one suffering—but the glory is not great. Similarly for a pilot.

In the salvation of God, therefore, there is 'great glory'; for this salvation touches the mind and the soul. And of all that is in us, the mind differs and the soul from the body, even if it does not seem so to others. And it is possible even to call the Savior himself 'salvation', as he is found in many places: 'All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God' (Ps 95:3). 'And all flesh shall see the salvation of God' (Isa 49:6), instead of 'every man' or 'every sensitive soul'. In this salvation, therefore, is 'great glory'.

Even if the death which he received seems to be without honor—for 'cursed is everyone hanging on a tree' (Gal 3:13) according to the law—yet this seeming dishonor was able to receive such glory from the purpose of salvation, because salvation has become not of food, nor of men simply, but of soul and mind and spirit, as Paul writes: 'Your whole spirit and soul and body' (1 Thess 5:23). The seeming dishonor is therefore a glory surpassing all.

I wish to remind you of a thought. When I was speaking concerning the Gospel, concerning that place: 'He who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do, and greater than these he will do' (John 14:12), to others this interpretation was also given: if you consider the one who does, the great things are smallared to God. For the apostles did not perform sensible works greater than those of the Savior. The Savior raised Lazarus, already on the fourth day being in death and near to decomposing and already having reached the point of stinking. The apostles did not do anything of this kind. Jesus brought the blind from birth to sight. If, however, you consider these works of the Savior, they are small compared to having performed the rational essence, the heavens, the souls. And the works of the apostles, even if they were greater than those of the Savior, since their power is from Him, are rather called greater than those which the Savior did; for they were not able to do greater than these. But Jesus both did and always does. And the apostle says: 'We see the one being humbled'...

Jesus was humbled through the suffering of death. He was humbled through the suffering of death, but he was crowned with "glory and honor." The humbling led to glory, and indeed it led to the greatest. I reason that "the sufferings of the present time are not worthy of the glory that is about to be revealed" (Rom 8:18). And those sufferings of Christ are those which his imitators suffer, having first suffered as he did. Great, therefore, is his glory. Even if it be a cross, even if it be death, if you see the goal of salvation and the Savior, what greatness is there? Not great is the glory of others. For indeed there are times when they had glory, and yet the glory departed even while they were living.

Thus also I have heard what is said in Isaiah: "and of his peace there is no limit" (Isa 9:7). "Justice and an abundance of peace rise in his days until the moon is taken away." Observe the peace that they caused to rise; for it holds until the completion, for nothing else signifies the taking away of the moon except the completion, when "the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light" (Matt 24:29). Peace is not in one nation, nor on earth alone; for he "made peace" through "the blood of his cross" (Eph 2:14), not only "the things on earth," but also "the things in the heavens."

6 Glory and splendor shall be laid upon him. Glory and splendor are laid upon him along with this great glory which exists in his salvation. And splendor consists of things and endeavors in which there is what is becoming. Works done from virtue become fittingly. Many things seem to men to be becoming, but they are not truly becoming; just as I have said concerning glory, that there are honors and dignities which are not such things as men think them to be, but they were supposed by them to be such. Splendor, therefore, they call—take the meaning from the literal sense, from history—such as are gladiators, and if they are small-spoken, they diminish the contests and the expenses from a small intention, and they seem to do what is becoming for the athlete, but they do it little, and they are called these "small-splendid" ones; for they are not found to be surpassing, being less than nothing in the becoming, compared to the gladiators before them. This, therefore, is called splendor, when in...