Homilia de pace

A discourse on peace The angels, having formed the heavenly choir, proclaimed to the shepherds, saying: "We announce to you today a great joy, which will be for all the people." Borrowing a voice from those same holy angels, we also announce to you today that today the affairs of the church are in calm and those of the heretics in turmoil. Today the vessel of the church is in calm and is moored in the stormless harbor of peace. And the madness of the heretics is storm-tossed by its own high waves. Today the shepherds are free from care and the flock is safe; the enemies are at a loss, the wolves are perplexed. Today the vineyard of the Savior is in abundance and the workers of evil are in despondency. Today the people of God are in exaltation and the enemies of the truth are in humiliation. Today Christ is in rejoicing and the devil is in mourning. Today angels rejoice with gladness and demons flee in shame. And why say much? Today Christ, the king of peace, has come forth with his own peace and has banished every enmity, every grief, and every pettiness. The sun shines upon heaven; peace illumines the church of Christ. Peace, the longed-for name; peace, the radiant promise of piety; peace, the pure gaze of the priesthood; peace, the transparent beauty of the altar. And what worthy thing can we say of peace, which is the name of Christ? For Paul, speaking about Christ, says: "Christ is our peace, who has made both one.

Both were divided not by opinion, nor cut apart by faith, but separated by the envy of the devil. But just as for a royal procession, the streets are cleansed and the porticoes are crowned with various beauties, so that nothing unworthy of the royal presence may appear, so, with Christ the king of peace advancing, all sorrowful things were removed from our path. Truth shone forth, and falsehood fled. Concord shone forth, and discord fled. And just as often, in the case of kings or brothers and rulers, the best of painters, wishing to show the unity of soul, depict Concord in the form of a woman standing behind, embracing the united ones with both arms—to show that the bodies, though separate, are joined in purpose—so the peace of Christ, mediating, joined what was divided, and the saying of the prophet was fulfilled in us: "And there will be a counsel of peace between both." On the former day, then, our common father introduced the evangelical discourse, the word of peace. Today, we take up the discourse of peace. Yesterday he greeted us with open hands through the word of truth, and today we, so to speak, welcome with wide arms the gifts of peace. War has been dissolved, and the beauty of peace shines. Now the devil groans. Now the host of demons mourns. Now the flock rejoices. Now the heavens are in joy. Today peace dances, the companion of the angels in heaven and the fellow-tent-dweller of the saints on earth. Peace is the hymn of the angels, the work of the saints. And behold the wonder.

And the heavenly realms praise peace, and the earthly realms praise peace. But when the angels in the heavens praise peace, they send it down to the earth, and they shine the rays of peace upon the earth. And when the saints on earth praise it, they send its radiance up to heaven. The angels from the heavens praise and say: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. Do you see how the heavenly orders send the gifts of peace to one another? The angels in the heavens proclaim peace to the earth. For when that pious choir, singing to Christ, said: Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, and this was added: Peace in the heavens and glory in the highest. Let us also say: Glory to God in the highest, who humbled the devil and raised up his own people. Glory to God in the highest, who banished enmity and awarded peace. Let us tell you the devil's craft, and you were not ignorant of the thoughts before us. Satan saw the church fortified with faith. He saw it crowned with the doctrines of piety. He saw, and seeing, he wasted away; seeing, he raged; seeing, he went mad. He tried to scatter the glory of Christ, but he could not. For neither is the glory of Christ undone, nor is the peace of the priests obliterated. His malice accomplished nothing. For the concord of the brothers took the lead in the matter of peace. For Christ is our peace. Let the peace of Christ preside in our hearts.

Attend with care how God unfolds the beauty of peace and displays it flourishing among prophets, shining among apostles, and dancing among martyrs. Without peace nothing can stand, neither among the things in heaven nor among those on earth. Peace is the mouth of the law. Peace is the tongue of the prophets. Peace is the teaching of the apostles. Peace is the desire of martyrs and prophets. What is the desire of the prophets? "Lord our God, give us peace." The king received the petition. He had to sign the petition and respond to the petition appropriately with his subscription. "What do you want," he says, "men nurtured in piety?" "Lord our God, give us peace." "I grant the favor, I sign and countersign." The king signed in his own person. "I fulfill your petition." As the prophets say, "Lord our God, give us peace," what then does he answer them through the grace of the Gospel? "I give you my peace; I leave you my peace." Why do I give? Why do I leave? Because every servant of Christ is contemplated both according to flesh and according to divinity. He was absent according to flesh, while remaining according to divinity. He said both "I leave" and "I give." "I leave" as one being taken up; "I give" as one dwelling together. Peace is inscribed as the token of the course of the apostles. For just as tokens of a public race, if not sealed by the royal hand, are invalid, so the course of the apostles, had it not received the token of peace, would not have been able to traverse a world full of war. What then the token of peace is, let Isaiah say:

How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good tidings, who proclaim peace, who proclaim good tidings. Have you seen the emblem of peace? Listen also to the prelude of the evangelical word. The prelude of the evangelical word is peace. Listen to the Savior saying: "Into whatever city or house you enter, say, 'Peace to this house.'" Peace composes the soul of the priest; it gives open ears to those who listen. For before the words, peace shining forth illumines the mind of the hearers. For by this ancient custom of the priesthood, God, making it divine, said: "Guiding in peace, he went with you and turned many away from injustice, because the lips of the priest preserved knowledge, and they will seek law from his mouth, for he is an angel of the almighty Lord." Have you seen the rein and bridle of the priesthood, the bridle of those who are guided being peace? Do you wish to learn something else remarkable? Peace is the first and ancient name of the altar. For in the beginning the altar was called the altar of peace, because every pettiness is dissolved at the altar, as well as grief and enmity. From the beginning God established the name of the altar as Peace. Whence this? And Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called its name the Peace of the Lord.

What do you wish to find as the boundaries of piety? Peace is a boundary, just as of some great and extensive territory subject to different lordships. The boundaries that separate show how far the lordship of this one extends and where the allotment of the other begins. Thus, since between demons and Christ, who arbitrates peace, lie the faults or achievements of human souls—some loving Christ and his peace, others running to demons—the word of truth sets peace as a boundary, so that you may learn that as long as you see peace, it is the lordship of Christ. What lies outside peace is alien to Christ. Whence this? Let David tell you, and let the ancient surveyor of piety show you the boundaries, he who says, "The measuring lines have fallen to me among the best, and indeed my inheritance is best for me." This one, showing us the boundaries, says: "Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion, because he has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the sons in you, he who sets your boundaries as peace.

You have seen the boundaries of peace, eternal boundaries, which prophets and apostles fixed. And learn another thing. Once the brothers of Joseph were suspected as spies. Having no defense at all, they took refuge in the weapon of peace: "We are not spies, we are peaceful." Again, the blessed David, raising the power of piety to a height and showing what the sinews and power of truth are, says, addressing the ancient and holy city: "Let there be peace in your power and prosperity among those who love you." Again, God, wishing to show that in war multitudes are consumed and the prosperities of men are scattered, while in the word of peace they are gathered, says through the prophet Ezekiel: "Let a plant of peace arise for them, and they will no longer be few." For just as men arm themselves against wild beasts, and when they appear armed they immediately put the beasts to flight, so when peace appears, war is scattered, diabolical thoughts are scattered, and the phalanx of demons is dissolved. For where peace is, there wickedness is put to flight, just as wild beasts are by the saint. Therefore God says: "I will make a covenant of peace with David and I will destroy the wild beasts." Peace is a field of truth, a vineyard of righteousness, and a river of piety.

You have seen how peace filled the church like the streams of a river with spiritual abundance. You have seen how the crowds flowing in from every side imitate the river's currents, delighting the city of God. And your exultation over peace imitates the waves of the sea, successive in their course, yielding to one another, and coming against one another without tumult. They do not rebel with contentiousness, but with harmony of disposition. Do you wish to learn this from sight and from the scriptures, that peace imitates a river, as if your peace and your righteousness were like a river, like waves of the sea? But as I said before, the divine trumpet, which proclaims the message of peace, has anticipated us. Let us today also follow the word of peace, and as if with double hands let us open the gates to it and say: Raise the gates; let the people enter, preserving righteousness and preserving peace, clinging to truth forever. For peace is both a cargo and waves of the sea and a shining sun. And why do I say sun? The sun does not shine as much as the torch of the Savior's peace flashes. For I see the sun serving a measure. It has the end of its course in evening. But the peace of Christ, full of light, shines by day and illuminates by night and flashes through eternity. Listen. When peace appears, it does not appear alone; it does not consent to come alone, but takes along with itself its sister, righteousness. Listen to the prophet saying: Righteousness and an abundance of peace will arise in his days. And again, in our own terms, he introduces them receiving one another and says:

Mercy and truth have met; justice and peace have kissed. For what else is so fitting for those who rule according to Christ, for those who have undertaken the episcopacy according to Christ, as peace and justice? And this, O lovers of Christ, is scattered by a prophetic voice. Hear the Lord saying: I will give your rulers in peace and your bishops in justice. Therefore, peace has dawned. Let the heretical beasts flee. Peace has dawned. Let the savage assemblies of heretics take flight. For just as beasts, having no boldness by day, seize the license of night, so those men, not bearing the radiance of peace. Since a small cloud of faint-heartedness, having run past, did not cut off peace but cast it aside, the beasts, thinking it was a lightless night, came forth from their own lairs, bringing forth their own venom, and the saying of David was fulfilled: You set darkness, and it became night; in it all the beasts of the field will pass through; roaring cubs to snatch a soul from orthodoxy to heterodoxy, from faith to unbelief, from truth to falsehood. But again—for he has used the same example—just as beasts, taking boldness in the night, if they only see the radiance of the sun, flee and return to their own dens, so also now, at the voice of the blessed David: The sun of justice has risen, and they were gathered together and will be laid to rest in their own folds.

Let us give thanks to Christ, who has laid the dust and sprinkled a drop of peace and justice. For just as raindrops settle dust, so drops of justice settle pettiness and despondency. Hence the blessed Isaiah prayed, saying: “Let the heaven above rejoice, and let the clouds rain down justice.” Let no one be troubled by what has gone before. On a good day, there is forgetfulness of wrongs. Let no one be disturbed, let no one say: “Should there be pettiness among the priests of Christ?” Have we not remained human? Are we not often carried away when we hear things? You have an image that can console you. I do not insult the saints—far from it—but I point out the passions from their example. Once there arose a dispute between Paul and Barnabas, not because one party honored justice and the other injustice, but because each party served a purpose of piety. The cause of their pettiness was this. A certain Mark had accompanied them in the work of the gospel from Palestine as far as Perga in Pamphylia. Then, when the apostles were employing a strenuous journey and an unbending spirit toward struggles, battles, and dangers, he withdrew from the apostles’ journey and came to Palestine, not denying Christ, but declining the long journey, as has been said. Later Paul and Barnabas returned, flourishing with the fruits of piety, crowned with the labor of piety, and proclaiming to the church in Jerusalem the conversion of all the nations. While everyone was praising Paul and Barnabas for their achievements, Mark was stung.

He was struck in his soul. According to this reasoning, he considered within himself from that time onward, saying that if I had been a partner in the labors, I would now be a partner in the praises. For many often flee from the virtues themselves because of the labors, but choose to labor because of the good repute that comes from them. What then? Repenting, Mark planned again to join the apostles as they went out. Barnabas immediately received him after his repentance, but Paul contended and said: "One who did not come with us into the work of the Lord ought not to be received." There was thus a division, not of injustice, but of justice and friendship. Paul demanded what was just; Barnabas honored what was humane. So, being at odds in their judgment, even if they agreed in piety, they came to such a point of irritation that they were separated from one another. For thus it is written: "They were separated from one another." They parted not in faith, not in disposition, but in human pettiness. And it happened by divine economy that they parted. Barnabas, taking Mark, went out on his course; and Paul, taking Timothy, also went out on his own course. Paul's strictness benefited Mark. For when he saw himself thus cast out because of his laziness, he applied himself with zeal and, in his second course, covered over his former sluggishness. So Mark was with Barnabas, striving and running. But Paul instructed in the churches that Mark should not be received, not to cause him grief, but to make him more diligent. When the holy Paul saw Mark anticipating him in zeal and having made amends to God in his second efforts, he began to commend him. And what does he say here? One word.

And he seizes upon the holy Barnabas because he used Mark as a cousin and was eager to grant forgiveness as to a cousin for the transgression. For what does he say? Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received instructions, greets you. If he comes, receive him. And now let the ancient matters console the new situation. If there was pettiness between Paul and Barnabas, what wonder if there is between us? But just as then Mark, who was in the middle, both experienced conversion and was deemed worthy of philanthropy, so now let those in the middle be received. Let them have God propitious. Christ will forgive all, and he will have mercy on me along with you. And let us beseech the common father to seal for us the word of peace, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen.