Severianus of the Gabali, on the Cross.

_Fourth Homily._—‘Moses struck the rock twice.’ Why twice? If he was obeying God’s commands, what need was there of striking a second time? If without, not two, or ten, or a hundred strikings would have unlocked nature: if it was simply God’s work without the mystery of the Cross, one striking, or nod, or word would have sufficed. But it is meant to be an image of the Cross. Moses, the Scripture says, struck once and then again, in the sign of the Cross, not for actual necessity, so that inanimate nature might reverence the symbol. If in the king’s absence his image supplies his place, rulers worship, and festivals are held, and princes go out to meet it, and people prostrate themselves, not looking at the material, but at the figure of the king shown forth in representation not seen in nature, how much more shall the image of the Eternal King break open the heavens and the whole universe, not the rock alone.