The Holy Martyr Callistratus and those with him; Our Venerable Father Nilus, Founder and Hegumen of the Grottaferrata Monastery.
1 Corinthians 10:23-28; Matthew 24:34-44.
Read Matthew 24:34-44
When Christ declares, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Mt 24:36), the Church has always resisted interpreting this as a denial of His divinity. For the Fathers of the Church, this saying instead reveals the mystery of the Incarnation, in which the eternal Word truly assumed our humanity.
St. Athanasius insists that “as Word, He knows all things; but as man, He is said not to know, for ignorance is proper to man” (Against the Arians, II.45). This distinction protects both His true humanity and His eternal Godhead. The Lord’s words are not a weakness in His divinity, but a revelation of how He emptied Himself and chose to speak within the limitations of His assumed flesh: “He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Phil 2:6-7)
St. John Chrysostom adds that Christ speaks this way to restrain our curiosity: “If He had said that He knew, men would have despaired… but if He had revealed the day, they would have grown careless” (Homily on Matthew 77.2). Thus His silence is a condescension of love and care, meant to keep the faithful vigilant.
For us, this passage becomes a call to live in constant readiness. The uncertainty of the final hour is not cause for fear, but for vigilance empowered by prayer, fasting, and charity. In Christ, the Bridegroom, time itself is sanctified, and our task is to live each moment prepared to meet Him: “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Mt 24:42).