De negatione Petri

On Peter’s Denial, and on the Cross, and How Joseph Became a Type of Christ: A Homily. 1. It is necessary at the present time both to pay the debt of Joseph and to proclaim the glory of the cross. Today Joseph is crowned, and the cross is planted; today Peter denies, and the thief is saved; today the law is fulfilled, and the prophesied Christ is glorified; today the saying concerning the Lord’s death is truly fulfilled: “The sinner was caught in his own snare.” And who is the sinner? The inventor of sin, the devil. And what is the snare constructed by him? The cross, and nothing else; for he incited the Jewish youths to hew the cross, thinking to outwit the unoutwittable and to encompass with death the one who is free among the dead, not understanding, the alien, that the cross would blunt the sting of sin, crush the head of his arrogance, stop the mouth of his blasphemy, pluck the wings of his opposition, and show him desolate and helpless in desolate places. Today the saying of the prophet David is also fulfilled: “A testimony in Joseph”; that is, the Lord was prefigured in Joseph, as to what was to come to pass in the last days. For many things in Joseph are found similar to the Lord. For example: Joseph was plotted against by his own kinsmen… Joseph stripped off his variegated tunic; the Lord’s tunic, woven from above, the soldiers took and divided among themselves.

They divided my garments among themselves, it says, and cast lots for my clothing. Joseph was slandered to his father; likewise they slandered the Lord to the Father, the Jews calling him the son of the carpenter, and again the parasites of the Jews, the children of heretics, dogmatize him as heteroousios. Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites; the Lord was sold by Judas to the Pharisees. Joseph, thrown into an empty pit, came up unharmed; the Lord, buried in a new tomb, rose on the third day. Why do I speak at length? Joseph set up the Egyptian woman as a stele; the Lord publicly exposed the synagogue. Joseph was recognized by his brothers; the Lord appeared to the disciples after the resurrection. Joseph, imprisoned with two eunuchs, interpreted their dreams; one of them became food for birds, the other was restored to his own country. The Lord, crucified with two thieves, sent the unbeliever to the food of Gehenna, and established the faithful one as chief citizen of paradise. The Lord made known to the Father a four-horsed chariot of the evangelists. Joseph was reported as a feeder of wild beasts and proclaimed as a king; the Lord was crucified as a man and glorified as God. Hear also another prophecy that pertains to the cross: "Having ascended to a height, you took captivity captive, and you gave gifts to men." What is the height? Who is the one who ascended? What is the captivity? What are the gifts to men? The height is the precious cross, because of the incomprehensible mystery; the one who ascended is the Lord Christ; for the one who descended is the same as the one who ascended.

What is this: "You have taken captivity captive"? That is, the Lord came and, through grace, reshaped those who were previously held by sin, giving gifts to men. What gifts? The remission of sins, the gift of adoption, the inheritance of the kingdom, the proclamation of immortality, and the pledge of the seat at the right hand. And who is the witness of this? The Lord himself, saying: "When I am raised up, I will draw all to myself"; that is, when I am crucified, then all will believe in me. You heard just now another clearer testimony pointing to the cross, the prophet Isaiah crying out and saying: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer, voiceless." What is the sheep? Who is the lamb? What is the slaughter? What is the shearing? Who are the slaughterers and shearers? The sheep and the lamb are the Lord Christ, typologically: a sheep, because of the fleece of baptism; a lamb, because of the incarnate sacrifice; the slaughter is that which heals the side with the side. Who are the slaughterers and shearers? The Sadducees and the Pharisees; for first they sheared him with blasphemy, and then they slew him with malice. For just as in the present world a man who is shorn remains without pain and is found handsome, so also Christ, receiving the wound, received it as a shearing, not enduring pain, and signified the beauty of the resurrection. About him it is written: "Beautiful in form beyond the sons of men." And in harmony with Isaiah, Jeremiah also spoke, saying: "I came as an innocent lamb to be sacrificed.

He was necessarily called Lamb, because he did not rebel against the passion, because he did not kick against the slaughter. But even if the Jews slaughtered, we have bought the meat; theirs is the accusation, ours the achievement; theirs the slap, ours the freedom; theirs the punishment, and ours the blessing. The light arrives, Christ is remembered. Today the prophetic saying of David is also fulfilled, fitting for the present cross: "They put gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Therefore, beloved, recall how the Lord, hanging on the cross, cried out saying, "I thirst"; and immediately one ran, and filling a sponge with vinegar and gall, brought it to the Lord. And why indeed did the Lord suffer thirst, he who made the sheer rock gush forth a lake? Because what was written had to be fulfilled: "They put gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Such are the vats of the Jewish vine: for their vine is from the vine of Sodom, and their branch from Gomorrah. Their vats yield vinegar and bitterness, but our vintage is sweetness and immortality. Therefore the prophet, exhorting, said: "Taste and see that the Lord is good.

2. What then remains to be sought? The Lord, having called his disciples, said to them face to face: "On this night you will be scandalized in me." For it is written: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." Do you see how everything is attested, how everything is certain, how nothing is idle, how nothing is ineffective? "You will all be scandalized in me." For it is written: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." O the precision of the Holy Spirit! For even if the prophet cried out, yet the Spirit dictated the matter. He did not say: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will perish," but he said: "And they will be scattered," that is, they will be scandalized for a short time; not long after, they will hold fast to the faith, calling the Lord shepherd, since he himself is the good shepherd, who left the ninety-nine sheep and came for the one that had gone astray—that is, he left the heavenly powers and came for the errant Adam. And the apostles were also called sheep, as being obedient to the saving staff, and grazing on the Lord's body, and being penned in the fields of the kingdom of the heavens. For just as when a wolf enters a flock and seizes a sheep, the remaining

herd are scattered, they leap away and flee; but if they only hear the shepherd piping, they run back again and join together. So also the disciples of the Lord, seeing the cross as a wolf, fled and leaped away; but they only heard the Master's resurrection, and immediately they ran to him, and recognized him, and were not alienated from the fold of the heavens. So then, as the Lord was saying to his disciples, "On this night you will all be scandalized in me," Peter, speaking allegorically, wishing to set himself apart and to be found more devoted to the Master than the rest of the disciples—or rather, to speak more truly, to make public his own denial—said to the Master, "What are you saying, Master? Are we all scandalized in you? And have you counted me along with all? Do you have such confidence in my steadfastness? Shall I also deny you—I who walked on the sea? I who was deemed worthy of the transfiguration on the mountain? I who put a host of demons to flight? I who heal every passion? Was it not I who recognized you before all and cried out, 'You are Christ, the Son of the living God'? For which reason, accepting my testimony, you blessed me and called me the rock of the Church, saying, 'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.' Shall I then deny you—I, the foremost of the apostles, the pillar of the Church? Therefore, confident in myself, I cry out: 'Even if all are scandalized, I will not be scandalized.'" And the Lord said to him, "What are you saying and contradicting, Peter? Do you set your words against God? Have you found me lying?

Do you not call to be steadied, but promise not to be shaken? Did not your same fervor prepare you much worse? This rashness of yours you displayed even when walking on the sea, had I not quickly stretched out my hand. Did you not also sin against me on the Mount of Transfiguration, wanting to forge three tents and arranging for me, the Master, with your friends? Did you not beg me not to go up to Jerusalem, not bearing the threat of the Jews? I, Peter, did not wish to expose you, but you erased the prognostic eye of my divinity. Behold, I tell you what you are about to do, so that from your own actions you may know who you are. Amen, amen, I say to you, before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times. But Peter, again with his mind stolen, not understanding the changeability of human disposition, answered the Lord saying: Why do you frighten me? I know how to despise death, and I will not deny you. And the Lord said to Peter: You have made a good agreement, but you will know before long; for the time is at hand, so that both your agreement and my foreknowledge may be revealed. What then is the outcome of the word? For evening is upon us. For when the Lord was seized and led into the court of the high priest, and all the disciples were scattered, Peter alone followed into the court of the high priest, as if about to do what had been gathered. And when the Lord was secured further inside, Peter sat in the outer court, bold, unbending, as if having carried off the victory. What then?

While he was sitting there for a long time, seeing neither a sword being sharpened, nor whetstones set out, nor confiscation being threatened, nor exile being decreed, a little slave girl, purchased with silver, of low status, came up to Peter and said, "What are you doing here, man? Where is the power of your Teacher? Look, he is shut up inside; look, he is about to be handed over to the cross." Peter, spitting at the boldness of the memory, answered, saying, "Why do you buzz around me, little girl? I do not know the man." O the things that happen! The one who said, "Even if I must die with you," now denies him. So when this first denial occurred, Peter, disturbed, leaped out of the courtyard as if from fire, running outside the gate. And what? Again another slave girl met him. O the things that happen! No soldier anywhere, no sword anywhere, but a lowly little girl met Peter; she confronted him, saying, "Why are you disturbed, man? Where are you hurrying? Why are you distressed? Did I not always see you walking with the Galilean? How then, having come out of the gate, are you running?" But Peter no longer answered simply, but with an oath says, "I do not know this man." Do you see God's prophecy and man's slip? Then, when the second denial was completed, the third denial proceeds as follows: After a little while, those standing by came up and said to Peter, "Truly you too are one of them, for even your speech makes you evident." And Peter began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the man." Where is Peter's prepared promise? The one who earlier said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," here says:

I do not know this man? Perhaps Peter was vigilant concerning this phrase; he did not say, I do not know the Word of God, but he said, I do not know this man. He stumbled concerning the visible, not concerning the intelligible. Therefore the Lord, foreseeing, said: Everyone who speaks blasphemy against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. What then does Peter? I do not know this man; and immediately a cock crowed: the unbounded accuser of Peter, the pre-announcer of the Lord's verdict, the advocate, the publicizer of the denial, and the revealer of foreknowledge, and the recorder of the tears of repentance. 3. And let these things be said sufficiently; but let us exercise the discourse on almsgiving, exhorting your love, and saying as it is said in the Gospel: Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of injustice, so that, when you pass away, they may receive you into the eternal tents. He said well, eternal. For here, even if you have a splendid house, it is utterly destroyed, perishing with time; rather, even before destruction by time, death falling upon you casts you out of this splendid dwelling; often also before death, difficulties of affairs, attacks of sycophants, and plots have caused you to fall from it. There, however, none of these things is to be suspected: neither destruction, nor death, nor collapse, nor the insolence of sycophants, nor anything else, but the dwelling is immovable and immortal. Therefore he called them eternal. Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of injustice. Do you see how great the philanthropy of the Lord, how great the kindness and gentleness?

For he did not simply add this clause, but because many wealthy people have amassed wealth from plunder and greed, he says, "You should not have collected money in this evil way; but since you have collected it, cease from plunder and greed, and use the money for what is proper." I do not say that you should give alms while still plundering, but that you should desist from greed and then use your wealth for almsgiving and philanthropy. For if someone does not stop plundering, he will not practice almsgiving either; but even if he pours countless sums into the hands of the needy, while plundering and coveting the possessions of others, he is reckoned by God as equal to murderers. Therefore, one must first cease from greed, and then show mercy to the needy. For the power of almsgiving is great. But let no one consider the frequency of my reminder as a criticism of the listeners. For in contests, the spectators encourage those runners whom they see nearing the prize and having many hopes of victory. And I, therefore, since I always see you receiving words about almsgiving with great eagerness, for this reason I myself more frequently stir up exhortation on this matter. The poor are physicians of our souls, benefactors.

and patrons. For you do not give as much as you receive. You give silver, and you receive the kingdom of heaven; you relieve poverty, and you reconcile the Master to yourself. Do you see that the exchange is not equal? These things are on earth, those in heaven; these things perish, those remain; these things are destroyed, those are above all destruction. For this reason our fathers stationed the poor before the doors of the houses of prayer, so that even the most sluggish and inhuman person might be roused to remembrance of almsgiving by the sight of the poor. For when a chorus of old men stands there, bent over, clad in rags, squalid, filthy, holding staffs, barely able to stand, and often with their eyes gouged out and their bodies maimed, who is so hard as adamant that he could resist and remain unyielding to all these things—age, weakness, mutilation, poverty, lowliness, and everything that inclines one to compassion? For this reason they stand before our doors, drawing those who enter toward philanthropy by sight more powerfully than any speech. For just as it is customary to have fountains in the courtyards of houses of prayer, so that those who are about to pray to God may first wash their hands and then raise them in prayer, so too the fathers stationed the poor before the doors like springs and fountains, so that, just as we wash our hands with water, we may first cleanse our soul with philanthropy and then pray.

For the nature of water does not wash away stains of the body as the power of almsgiving cleanses the filth of the soul. Just as you do not dare to enter and pray with unwashed hands—though that offense is lesser—so never approach prayer without almsgiving. Indeed, even when we have clean hands, if we have not first washed them with water, we do not raise them in prayer; so great is the power of habit. Let us do this also with almsgiving: even if we are conscious of no great sin in ourselves, let us still cleanse the conscience through almsgiving. You have drawn many troubles from the marketplace: an enemy provoked you; a judge compelled you to do something improper; you often uttered unseemly words; a friend importuned you to commit something sinful; you have incurred many other things, such as a man naturally incurs while moving in the marketplace, attending courts, and transacting the city's business. For all these you enter to ask God for forgiveness and to make your defense. Therefore, put silver into the hands of the poor, and wipe away those stains, so that you may with confidence call upon the one who can forgive you these sins. If you establish in yourself the habit of never entering these sacred precincts without almsgiving, you will never, whether willingly or unwillingly, fall short of this good work; such is the power of habit. And just as you would not endure praying with unwashed hands, no matter what happens, because you have once established the habit,

So also with almsgiving: if you establish such a law for yourself, you will fulfill it willingly and unwillingly each day, drawn by habit. Prayer is fire, especially when sent up from a sober and awakened soul; but this fire also needs oil, that it may touch the heavenly vaults. The oil of this fire is nothing other than almsgiving. Pour on the oil abundantly, then, so that, rejoicing in the good deed, you may perform your prayers with greater confidence and zeal. For just as those who are conscious of no good in themselves cannot pray with confidence, so those who have accomplished some good, coming to prayer after that righteous act, rejoicing in the memory of the good deed, make their supplication with greater zeal. In order, therefore, that prayer may become more powerful for us in this respect—our mind being wakeful in our petitions from the memory of good deeds—let us come to prayers with almsgiving, and let us recall with precision all that has been said. And above all else, keep perpetually that image which I spoke of—the poor standing before the doors of the houses of prayer—fulfilling in the soul that need which the fountain fulfills for the body.

If we are continually mindful of this, constantly washing our reason, we will be able to offer up pure prayers, to draw down great freedom of speech from God, and to attain the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom glory is to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.