In epistulam ad Colossenses homiliae 1-12

Of Our Father among the Saints John, Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom, Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians. Homily 1. Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy the brother, to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All the epistles of Paul are holy, but those sent while he was in bonds have something more, such as the one to the Ephesians, such as the one to Philemon, such as the one to Timothy, such as the one to the Philippians, such as the present one; for this also was sent while he was in bonds, as he said when writing: "Therefore I am also bound, that I may make it manifest, as I must speak." But this one seems to be later than the one to the Romans. For he wrote that one without yet having seen the Romans, but this one he wrote after having already seen them, and being near the end of his preaching. And this is clear from the following: in the epistle to Philemon he says, "Being such a one, as Paul an old man, and pleading for Onesimus"; but in this one he sends Onesimus himself, as he says, "With Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother," calling him faithful and beloved and brother. Therefore he speaks confidently in this epistle: "From the hope of the Gospel, which you heard, proclaimed in all creation under heaven"; for the preaching had already had time. I think, then, that the epistle to Timothy is later than this one, and near the very end; for there he says, "For I am already being poured out as a libation." This one is older than the one to the Philippians; for in that one he appears to be at the beginning of his bonds in Rome.

Why then do I say that these epistles have an advantage? In this, that he writes them while in chains, as if a champion, amidst slaughters and setting up trophies, were sending a letter. And so he himself did. For he himself knows that this is a great thing; writing to Philemon he says, "whom I begot in my chains." He said these things so that we might not be distressed by hardships, but even rejoice. Here Philemon was among them; for writing there he says, "and to Archippus, our fellow soldier"; and here, "Tell Archippus." It seems to me that this man had been entrusted with some office of the church. He had seen neither these people, nor the Romans, nor the Hebrews, when he wrote to them. And concerning those he often makes clear, but concerning these, hear him saying, "and all who have not seen my face in the flesh"; and again, "Even if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit." Thus he knew that his presence everywhere was a great thing, and he always presents himself even when absent; and when he punishes the fornicator, see how he presents himself to the tribunal. "For I," he says, "as one absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged as one present"; and again, "I will come to you, and I will know not the word of the boastful, but the power"; and again, "Not only when I am present with you, but much more when I am absent.

Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. It is also fitting to state the subject, which we have found from the epistle. What then is this? They were brought to God through angels, and they had many observances, both Jewish and Greek. These then he corrects. For this reason he also says at the beginning, "By the will of God." See again he has placed the "by." And Timothy the brother, he says. Therefore he too is an apostle. It is likely that he too was known to them. To the saints in Colossae. The city was in Phrygia, and it is clear from the fact that Laodicea is nearby. And to the faithful brothers in Christ. From where, he says, have you become a saint, tell me? From where are you called faithful? Is it not because you were sanctified through the death of Christ? Is it not because you believe in Christ? From where have you become a brother? For you did not appear faithful in deed, nor in word, nor in achievement. From where were you entrusted with so many mysteries, tell me? Is it not through Christ? Grace to you and peace from God our father. From where is grace to you? From where is peace? From God, he says, our father. And yet in this he does not place the name of Christ. To those who slander the Spirit I will say, from where is God father of slaves? Who accomplished these great things? Who made you holy? Who made you faithful? Who made you a son of God? He who made you trustworthy, he himself is also the cause of your being entrusted with everything.

We are called faithful not only because we believe, but also because we have been entrusted by God with mysteries which not even angels knew before us. But it is indifferent to Paul to set these things down in this way. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems to me that he refers everything to the Father, so that the word might not immediately stand before them. Always praying for you. He shows his love not only through thanksgiving, but also through continuous prayer, because even those whom he had not seen, he held constantly within himself. Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. Above, having said "our Lord," here he says "Jesus Christ." He is Lord, he says; not the slaves of Jesus Christ. And these are symbols of the benefaction: For he himself, he says, will save his people from their sins. Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of your love for all the saints. Already he claims them as his own. Epaphroditus is the one reporting these things. And he sends the letter through Tychicus, having kept that one with himself. And your love, he says, for all the saints. Not for this one and that one; therefore also for us. Because of the hope that is stored up for you in the heavens. The future goods, he says. This is for the trials, so that they do not seek comfort here. For lest someone say, and what is the profit of love for the saints, when they are afflicted? We rejoice, he says, that you are procuring great things for yourselves in the heavens. Because of the hope, he says, that is stored up. He showed the security. Which you heard beforehand in the word of truth.

Here the expression strikes them, that having had much time, they changed. "What you heard before," he says, "in the word of the truth of the Gospel." And he bears witness to the word as truth; fittingly, for there is no falsehood in it. "Of the Gospel." He does not say "of the proclamation," but calls it "Gospel," continually reminding them of the benefits of God; and after first praising them, he thus reminds them of these things. "Which is present among you, as also in the whole world." Already he grants them favor. "Present" he said metaphorically; he does not say it came and departed, but that it remained and is there. Then, since especially the many are strengthened by having many sharers in the doctrines, for this reason he added, "As also in the whole world." Everywhere, he says, it is present, everywhere it prevails, everywhere it stands. And it is bearing fruit and growing, as also among you. "Bearing fruit" through the works, "growing" by receiving many, by being more firmly established. For in plants as well, they become dense when the plant is rooted. "As also among you." He anticipates the hearer with praises, so that he may not even unwillingly fall away. "From the day you heard." The wonder is that you quickly approached and believed, and immediately from the outset you displayed the fruits. "From the day you heard, and you recognized the grace of God in truth." Not in word, he says, nor in deception, but in the works themselves. This then he says: "bearing fruit," that is, the signs and wonders, that as soon as you received them, you recognized the grace of God.

That which immediately displayed its own power, how could it now be difficult to believe? Just as you also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave. It is likely that he preached there; you learned the Gospel. Then, showing the man's trustworthiness, he says, "our fellow slave." Who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf, the one who also revealed to us your love in spirit. Do not doubt, he says, concerning the future hope; you see the inhabited world turning. And what need is there to speak of what happens among others? The things among you yourselves are credible even without these. For you recognized the grace of God in truth; that is, in deeds. So these two things are confirmed for the future, that all will believe, and that you also will; and it is not that some things happened and Epaphras said other things. Who is, he says, faithful; that is, truthful. How then, "a servant on your behalf"? By going to him, and revealing to us, he says, your love in spirit; that is, the spiritual love; the love toward us. But if this man is a servant of Christ, how do you say you are led by angels? The one who also revealed to us, he says, your love in spirit. For this love is wonderful and steadfast; whereas the others have only the name of love. There are some that are not such; but this is not friendship; therefore it also becomes easily dissolved.

There are many pretexts that create friendships; and for now we will pass over the shameful ones, for no one will contradict us concerning those, as they are wicked. But if you wish, let us bring forward the natural and the practical ones into the middle. Now, the practical ones are these: for example, someone has fared well, acquired a friend from ancestors, shared a table or a journey, or is a neighbor; these too are good. Or someone has become a fellow craftsman; this one, however, is not sincere, for it has some envy and malice. And the natural ones, for example, of father toward son, son toward father, brother toward brother, grandfather toward grandchild, mother toward children; and if you wish, let us add also that of wife toward husband; for all marital bonds are practical and earthly. Now these seem to be more intense than those; they seem, I said, because they are often defeated by those. For friends elsewhere have appeared more genuine than brothers disposed, and than sons toward fathers; and the one begotten did not help, but the one not knowing him stood by and helped. But spiritual love is superior to all, like a queen ruling over her own, and it has a splendid form; for nothing earthly gives birth to it, as it does to that one—not habit, not benefaction, not nature, not time—but it comes down from above, from heaven. And why are you surprised if it does not need benefaction to hold together, when it is not even overturned by suffering evil? And that this is greater than that, listen to Paul saying: "I prayed that I myself might be an anathema from Christ for the sake of my brothers." What father would have prayed this, to be in evils?

And again: "To depart and be with Christ is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake." What mother would choose to say these things, so as to overlook her own? And again, hear him saying: "For we have been orphaned from you for a brief hour, in face, not in heart." And here the father, insulted, dissolved the friendship; but there, no longer, but he went to those stoning him to do them good. For nothing, nothing is so strong as the bond of the Spirit. For one who became a friend through receiving benefit, if this does not happen continually, will be an enemy; one who is inseparable from habit, when the habit is broken, has extinguished the friendship. Again, a wife, if a quarrel occurs, has left her husband and dissolved her desire; a son, if he sees his father living too long, is burdened. But in the case of the Spirit, none of these things exist; for it is dissolved by none of these, since it was not constituted from them. Neither time, nor distance of travel, nor suffering ill, nor being spoken ill of, nor anger, nor insult, nor anything else intrudes, nor can it dissolve it. And so that you may learn: Moses was stoned, and he pleaded on their behalf. What father would have done this for the one who stoned him, and not rather have stoned him himself? Let us pursue these friendships, those from the Spirit; for they are strong and hard to dissolve; not those from tables; for there we are even prevented from introducing these. For hear Christ saying in the Gospel: "Do not call your friends, nor your neighbors, if you hold a feast, but the lame, the maimed." Naturally.

Great is the reward for these things. But you cannot, you do not even endure to feast with the lame and the blind, but you consider this burdensome and vulgar, and you beg off? Most certainly it ought not to be, but still there is no necessity; even if you do not seat them with you, send them the dishes from your table. For he who invites friends has done nothing great; he has received his reward here. But he who invites a cripple and a poor man has God as his debtor. Therefore let us not be vexed when we do not receive here, but when we do receive here; for there we shall no longer receive. Similarly, if a man repays, God does not repay; if he does not repay, then God will repay. Therefore let us not seek to benefit those who are able to repay us, nor let us benefit them with such expectations; this is a cold intention. If you invite a friend, the favor lasts until evening; for this reason friendship is consumed more quickly than the seasons. But if you invite a poor man and a cripple, the favor will never perish; for you have God as your debtor, who always remembers and never forgets. And what great folly, tell me, is it to be unable to sit with the poor? What do you say? He is unclean, you say, and filthy. Then wash him, and bring him up to your table. But his clothes are soiled? Then change them, and give him clean garments.

Do you not see how great the profit is? Christ comes through him, and you quibble over this? You invite the king to your table, and you are anxious about these things? Let two tables be set, and let one be filled from these, and let it have the blind, the lame, those with crippled hands, those maimed in the leg, the unshod, those wearing a single tunic, and that threadbare; and let the other have potentates, generals, governors, great lords, clad in costly garments and fine linens, girded with golden belts. Again, here at the table of the poor let there be no silver, nor much wine, but enough to suffice and to cheer; and let the cups and the rest of the vessels be made only of glass; there at the table of the rich let all the vessels be of silver and gold, and let not one man carry the semicircular table, but let two young men barely move it; and let there be a gilded bowl weighing half a talent, so that two young men can barely move it, and let the amphorae be placed in a row, shining far better than silver with their gold; and let the semicircular table be spread all around with a soft cushion. Again, here let there be many servants, no less adorned in their garments than the guests, and dressed splendidly, and wearing trousers, handsome to behold, in the very flower of their age, vigorous and well-built; there let there be only two servants, who have trampled upon all this pomp; and let the dishes be sumptuous for the former, and for the latter only as much as to quench hunger and fill with cheerfulness. Have I said enough?

and are both tables prepared with precision? Is anything lacking? I for one do not think so; for I went among the invited guests, and I saw the extravagance of both the vessels and the coverings and the foods. Nevertheless, even if we have omitted something, we will find it by carrying the argument through. Come then, since each table has taken on a fitting form for us, let us see where you will recline. For I am going to that table of the blind, of the lame; but most of you will likely choose this one, the table of the generals, the bright and splendid one. Let us see, then, which is fuller of pleasure; let us not yet examine the future things, for in those this table of mine prevails. Why? Because this table has Christ reclining, while that one has men; this one has the Master, that one has slaves. But let us not consider these things yet; rather, let us see which has more pleasure in the present moment. And in this respect, then, this pleasure is greater; for to recline with a king brings more pleasure than to recline with servants. But let us set even this aside and examine the matter itself on its own terms. Therefore, I and those with me who have chosen this table will, with great freedom and cheerfulness, both say everything and hear everything; but you, trembling and afraid, and feeling shame before those who recline, will not even dare to stretch out a hand, as if you had entered a schoolroom rather than a feast, trembling as before terrible masters. But they are not like that. But the honors, you say, are great. Yet I am held in greater honor;

For your frugality appears greater when, sharing the same table, you utter the words of slaves. For the slave is especially evident when he reclines with his master. For he, being where he ought not, derives not so much dignity from familiarity as humiliation; for he is then greatly humbled. One might see a slave splendid in himself, and a poor man splendid in himself, not when he walks with a rich man; for the lowly, when near the lofty, then appears lowly, and juxtaposition shows the lowly as more lowly, not more lofty. Thus it shows you as more frugal to recline with them, but not us. We therefore have two advantages, freedom and honor, of which nothing is equal in terms of pleasure. For I myself would prefer to partake of bread with freedom than of countless dishes with slavery. For it is better, it is said, to be entertained with vegetables in friendship and grace, than to have an ox from the manger with enmity. For whatever they say, those present must either praise or offend, having taken on the role of parasites, or rather being worse than them. For the latter, even with shame and insult, still partake of frankness; but you do not even have that. But such is the frugality; for you are afraid and cower; but the honor is no more. Therefore, that table is deprived of all pleasure, while this one is full of all delight.

But let us also examine the nature of the foods themselves. For there, even against one's will, one is compelled to burst from the abundance of wine, while here it is possible not to eat or drink if one does not wish. Thus, in that case, the pleasure derived from the quality of the foods is taken away both by the preceding dishonor and by the distaste arising from surfeit. For surfeit no less than hunger destroys and torments our bodies, but indeed much more severely; and if you were to give me any person you wish, I could more easily burst him with surfeit than with hunger. For truly this is more tolerable than that: because one could endure hunger for even twenty days, but surfeit not even for two; and those who continually wrestle with hunger in the fields are healthy and have no need of physicians, while this—I mean surfeit—they could not endure without constantly calling doctors; indeed, the tyranny of surfeit has often defeated even their assistance. And so, for the sake of pleasure, this table holds the first place. For if honor is more pleasant than being dishonored, and being in authority than being subject, and being confident than trembling and fearing, and enjoying what suffices than being plunged beyond measure into the wave of luxury, then this table is better than that one, even for the sake of pleasure. And in terms of expense, too, the situation here is better: for that one is costly, while this one is not. But what? Is this table more pleasant only for those who recline, or does it bring more pleasure to the host as well than that one? For this is what we are especially seeking.

Therefore, the one who invites them prepares many days in advance, and is forced to have business, cares, and anxieties, neither sleeping at night nor resting by day; but he fashions many things within himself, conversing with cooks, chefs, and table-setters. Then, when the day itself arrives, one might see him more afraid than those about to box, lest something happen contrary to expectation, lest he be struck by envy, lest he incur many accusers from that quarter. But this one is freed from all that care and business, improvising the table, and not worrying many days in advance. And after these things, this one immediately lost the grace; but that one has God as his debtor, and is nourished by good hopes, feasting each day from that table. For the food is consumed, but the grace is not consumed; rather, each day it rejoices and delights more than those who have gorged themselves on much wine. For nothing nourishes the soul so much as good hope and expecting favorable things. But let us now consider what follows. There, there are flutes and lyres and pipes; here, there is no harsh melody; but what? Hymns, psalmody. There, the demons are hymned; here, the Lord God of all. Do you see of how much grace this one is full, and of how much ingratitude and insensibility that one is full? Tell me: God fed you from his good things, and you ought to thank him after being fed, but you bring in the demons? For the songs through the pektides are nothing other than the songs of demons.

It is necessary to say, "Blessed are you, Lord, that you have fed me from your good things," but you, like some dishonorable dog, do not even remember, but rather you bring in the demons? Or rather, dogs, whether they receive or not, fawn upon their own masters, but you do not even do this. The dog, even when not receiving, fawns upon its master, but you, even after receiving, bark against him. Again, the dog, even when benefited by a stranger, does not thereby dissolve its enmity toward him, nor is it drawn to friendship; but you, even suffering countless evils from the demons, bring them in for feasts, so that you are twice as bad as a dog. I have now fittingly recalled dogs, for the sake of those who give thanks only when they fare well. Be ashamed, I implore you, of the dogs, who even when starving fawn upon their masters; but you, if you hear that a demon has healed someone, immediately abandon the Master, you who are more irrational than dogs. "But the prostitutes," he says, "give pleasure when seen." What pleasure? What dishonor is not there? Your house has become a brothel, madness and frenzy; and are you not ashamed to call these things pleasure? If indeed it is possible to enjoy every pleasure, the shame and the resulting disgust are greater. How so? Is it not grievous to make the house a brothel and to delight like pigs wallowing in filth? But if it is only up to the point of appearance, behold again the pain is greater; for sight is not pleasure when the use is not present, but rather the desire is greater and the flame more intense. But do you wish to learn the outcome? Those who rise from the table resemble madmen and the deranged—bold, wrathful, ridiculous, and like slaves.

And the servants depart sober, but these leave drunk. Oh, the shame! There, nothing of the sort occurs; rather, having concluded the meal with thanksgiving, they depart home in that manner, sleeping with pleasure, waking with pleasure, free from all shame and reproach. If you wish to see the guests themselves, you will observe that these are such as this: within, just as these are without—blind, crippled, lame; and as the bodies of these are, so are the souls of those, afflicted with dropsy and inflammation. For such is arrogance: after indulgence comes blindness; for such is satiety and drunkenness, making men lame and maimed. And you will see that these also have souls such as those have bodies—bright, adorned. For those who live in thanksgiving, who seek nothing beyond sufficiency, who philosophize in this way, are in all radiance. Let us also consider the end here and there. There, there is licentious pleasure, unrestrained laughter, drunkenness, ribaldry, foul speech; for since they themselves are ashamed to utter obscenities, this is done through the prostitutes. Here, there is philanthropy, gentleness. The one who invites those is attended by vainglory, which arms him; the one here, by philanthropy and gentleness. For that table is constituted by philanthropy, this one by vainglory and cruelty born of injustice and greed. And that one ends in what I have said—in arrogance, in derangement, in madness; for such is the offshoot of vainglory. This one ends in thanksgiving and glory to God. And the praise from people is greater for this one.

For they also envy that one, but this one they all have as a common father, even those who have not fared well. And just as in the case of those who have been wronged, even those who have suffered no wrong sympathize, and all become enemies together, so also in the case of those who fare well, even those who have not fared well, like those who have, praise and admire the one who has done the good. There envy is great, here care is great, many prayers from all. And here these things; there, when Christ arrives, this one will stand with great boldness, and will be heard before the whole world: "You saw me hungry, and you fed me; naked, and you clothed me; a stranger, and you took me in," and so on. That one will hear the opposite: "Wicked and lazy slave," and again, "Woe to those who revel on their couches, who sleep on ivory beds, who drink filtered wine and anoint themselves with the finest perfumes, who regarded these things as permanent and not as fleeting." These things have not been said to us simply, but so as to change your mind, and to make you do nothing unprofitable. "What then," someone says, "if I do both these and those things?" This argument is common among all. And what necessity, tell me, is there, when it is possible to do everything usefully, to divide, and to waste some things not only to no purpose but also in vain, and to use others usefully? Tell me, if you were sowing, and you threw some seeds onto rock and others into excellent soil, would that suffice for you, and would you say, "What harm is there if we throw some in vain and others into excellent soil?" Why not throw all into excellent soil? Why do you diminish the profit?

If it were necessary to collect money, you would not say this, but you gather from every side, but there you do not. If it were necessary to lend, you would not say, "Why should we give some to the needy and some to the well-off?" but you give everything to them. Here, where there is such profit, why do you not consider this and cease at last from spending idly and wasting in vain? But this also has profit, he says. What kind, tell me? It increases friendships. Nothing is colder than friends made from these things, from the table and the surfeit of parasites; nothing is more unpleasant than friendship that takes its beginning from this. Do not insult so wonderful a thing as love, nor claim that this is its root. It is as if someone were to say that the root of a tree bearing gold and precious stones is not of that kind, but is produced from decay; this is what you do. For even if friendship were born from this, nothing could be colder than it. But those tables produce friendship, not toward men, but toward God, and an intense one, when they are intense. For he who spends some here and some there, even if he gives much, has done nothing great; but he who spends everything here, even if he has given little, has accomplished everything. For what is sought is not to give much or little, but not less than one's own ability. Let us consider the one with five talents and the one with two; let us consider the woman who contributed two obols; let us consider the widow in the time of Elijah. That woman who contributed the two obols did not say, "What harm is there if I keep one obol for myself and give the other?" but she gave her entire livelihood.

You, however, being in such abundance, are more sparing than that one. Let us not, therefore, neglect our own salvation, but let us apply ourselves to almsgiving. For nothing is better than this; and the future time will show it, but the present time has already shown it. Let us live, then, for the glory of God, and let us do what is pleasing to Him, so that we may be deemed worthy of the promised blessings; may it be that we all attain them, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom are the glory and the power, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. HOMILY 2. For this reason, from the day we heard, we do not cease praying for you, and asking that you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you walk worthily of the Lord to every pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. a. For this reason—what reason? Because we heard of your faith and your love; because we have good hopes, we are hopeful also about asking for future things. For just as in contests we especially encourage those who are near victory, so also Paul especially exhorts those who have accomplished the greater part. From the day we heard, he says, we do not cease praying for you. We do not pray for you for one day, nor two, nor three. Here he both shows his love and gently hints that they have not yet reached the end; for the phrase "that you be filled" indicated this. And observe the wisdom of this blessed man: nowhere does he say that they are entirely lacking, but that they are lacking in everything;

For the phrase "that you may be filled" indicates this. And again, "for every pleasing, in every good work"; and again, "being strengthened in every power"; and again, "for every endurance and forbearance." The phrase "every" is a testimony and something to those who succeed, even if not the whole. And "that you may be filled," he says, not that you may receive—for they have received—but that the deficiency may be filled. Thus the reproof became inoffensive, and the praise did not allow them to fall and become utterly supine. What then is "that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will"? That is, you must be brought to him through the Son, no longer through angels. That you must be brought, you have learned; but it remains for you to learn this also, and why he sent the Son. For if it were necessary to be saved through angels, he would not have sent the Son, he would not have given him up. "In every wisdom," he says, "and spiritual understanding." For since the philosophers were deceiving them, "I want you," he says, "to be in spiritual wisdom, not according to the wisdom of men." But if to learn the will of God requires spiritual wisdom, then to learn what the essence is requires constant prayers. And here he shows that Paul prays from that time, and has not yet accomplished it, and has not desisted; for the phrase "from the day we heard" indicates this. And it brings great reproach upon them, if from that time and aided by prayers they have not regained themselves. "And asking," he says, that is, with great earnestness; for this is shown by "you have learned." But there is also need to know something. "For you to walk worthily of the Lord." Here he speaks about life and works; for indeed he does this everywhere.

He always joins conduct to faith. "For every pleasing." But how, "every pleasing"? "Bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Just as, he says, he revealed himself to you all at once, and just as you received such great knowledge, so also display a conduct worthy of the faith; for this requires a great conduct, and much greater than the old. For he who knows God, and has been deemed worthy to be a servant of God, and even more a son, see how much virtue is required. "Being strengthened in every power." Here he speaks concerning trials and persecutions: We pray that you may be filled, being strengthened, so as not to be discouraged nor to despair. "According to the might of his glory." So that, he says, you may take up such zeal as is fitting to give to the strength of his glory. "For every endurance and forbearance." What he says is this: In short, we pray, he says, that you may have a virtuous life worthy of your conduct, and stand firmly, as is fitting for those strengthened by God. For this reason, he does not yet touch upon doctrines, but turns to life, where he had nothing to accuse; and after praising where it was necessary, then he descends to accusation. This he does everywhere; for when he is about to write to some, having something to accuse, but also something to praise, he first praises, and then descends to the accusations. For he first wins over the hearer, and frees the accusation from all suspicion, and shows that he himself wished to praise throughout, but is forced by necessity into these words. This he does also in the former epistle to the Corinthians.

After praising them a thousand times for loving him, and even from the one who had fallen into fornication, then he descends into accusation. But in the letter to the Galatians, no longer, but on the contrary; rather, if someone were to examine it, even that accusation arises from praise. Since he had no achievement of theirs to mention at that time, and the charge was severe, and all had been corrupted, and being strong they were able to bear it, he begins from accusation, saying, "I am astonished"; so that even this is a commendation. Later he praises them, not for present things, but for past things, saying, "If it were possible, you would have given me your eyes, having gouged them out." "Bearing fruit," he says; this concerns works. "Being strengthened"; this concerns trials. "For all endurance and forbearance"; forbearance toward one another, endurance toward those outside. For one is forbearing toward those whom it is possible to defend against, but one endures those whom one cannot defend against. For this reason, in the case of God, endurance is never spoken of, but forbearance is spoken of in many places; just as this blessed one himself says, writing elsewhere: "Do you despise the wealth of his goodness and his tolerance and his forbearance?" "For all." Not now, but after this no longer. "In all," he says, "wisdom and spiritual understanding." For otherwise it is not possible to know his will. And yet they thought they had his will, but the wisdom was not spiritual. "So that you may walk," he says, "worthily of the Lord." For this becomes the path of the best way of life. For one who has learned of God's love for humanity—and he learns if he sees the son given over—will have greater eagerness.

And otherwise we do not pray only that you learn, but that you also show it in your deeds; for the one who knows without doing will also be punished. "That you walk," he says; that is, always, not once, but continually. Just as walking is necessary for us, so is living rightly. And he always calls such a thing a walk, fittingly, showing that this life is the one set before us, but not the worldly one. And the praise is great. "That you walk," he says, "worthily of the Lord," and "in every good work," so that you always advance and never stand still; and metaphorically, "bearing fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God," so that you may thus be strengthened according to the power of God, as far as is possible for a human. "Through his might." Great is the consolation. He did not say "power" but "might," which is greater. "Through the might," he says, "of his glory," because his glory prevails everywhere. He has already consoled those who are in reproach, and again "that you walk worthily of the Lord." He says this about the Son, that he prevails everywhere, both in heaven and on earth, because his glory rules everywhere. "You are strengthened," he says, "not simply, but as is fitting for those serving such a mighty Master." "In the knowledge of God." He also touches upon the discourses of knowledge; for this is to be in error, not to know God as one ought. Or "so that you advance," he says, "in the knowledge of God." For if the one who does not know the Son also does not know the Father, it is fitting that there be knowledge; for there is no benefit of life without this.

For all endurance and long-suffering," he says, "with joy, giving thanks to God." Then, about to exhort them, he does not mention the things that are in store for them, but he hinted at this in the beginning, saying, "Because of the hope that is laid up for you in the heavens"; here, however, he mentions the things that have already come to pass; for these are the causes of those. And he does this in many places. For things that have already happened are more convincing, and more readily win over the hearer. "With joy," he says, "giving thanks to God." This is the sequence: We do not cease praying for you, and giving thanks for the former things. Do you see how he introduces himself into the discourse about the Son? For if we give thanks with great joy, the things spoken are great. For it is possible to give thanks out of fear alone, and it is possible to give thanks even while in grief, as Job gave thanks, though in pain; and so he said, "The Lord gave, the Lord took away." For let no one say that what happened did not grieve him or cast him into despondency. Nor let the great praise of the righteous man be taken away. But when such things are the case, not out of fear, nor out of mere authority, but also because of the very nature of the things themselves, "We give thanks to the one who has made us sufficient for the portion of the lot of the saints in the light." He has uttered a great thing. Such are the things given, he says, as not only to give, but also to make us strong to receive. So by saying "the one who has made us sufficient," he has shown great weight. For example, if someone of low birth becomes a king, it is possible for him to give sufficiency to whomever he wishes.

and it can only give the title, but not also make one fit for the office (often such a person is made ridiculous by the honor); but if it both gives the title and makes one fit for the honor, and capable for the administration, then the matter is an honor. So then he says this here too, that he not only gave us the honor, but also made us strong to receive it. c. For this is a double honor: both to give, and to make the recipients fit for the gift. He did not simply say, "Having given," but, "Having made us worthy of the portion of the lot of the saints in the light"; that is, having ranked us among the saints. But he did not simply say, "having ranked," but also, "having provided that we enjoy the same things." For the portion is what each receives. For it is possible to be in the same city and not enjoy the same things; but to have the same portion and not enjoy the same things is not possible. It is possible to be in the same lot and not have the same portion; for example, we are all in the lot, but we do not all have the same portion. Here, however, he does not say this, but both the portion together with the lot. Why does he call it a lot? To show that no one attains the kingdom by their own merits; but just as the lot is rather a matter of chance, so too here. For no one displays such a manner of life as to be deemed worthy of the kingdom, but everything is due to his gift. Therefore he says, "When you do everything, say, 'We are useless servants'; for we have done what we ought to do." "Into the portion of the lot of the saints in the light"; that is, in knowledge.

It seems to me that he speaks about both the present and the future at once. Then he shows of what things we have been deemed worthy. For this is not the only wonderful thing, that we are deemed worthy of a kingdom, but also who we are must be added; for it is not the same. He does this also in the Epistle to the Romans, saying: "For scarcely anyone will die for the sake of what is just; for the sake of the good, perhaps someone even dares to die." "Who rescued us," he says, "from the power of darkness." The whole is his, both to give these things and those; for nowhere is there an achievement of ours. "From the power of darkness," he says; that is, from error, from the tyranny of the devil. He did not simply say "darkness," but "power"; for he had great power over us, and he held us. For it is grievous simply to be under the devil; but to be under him with power, this is more grievous. "And he transferred," he says, "into the kingdom of the son of his love." Therefore he did not show his love for humanity only in the deliverance from darkness. For it is a great thing to deliver from darkness; but to lead into a kingdom is much greater. See then how the gift becomes manifold, that he delivered us lying in the abyss, that he not only delivered us but also transferred us into a kingdom. "Who rescued us." He did not say "cast out," but "rescued," showing our great misery and their captivity. Then also the ease of God's power: "And he transferred," he says, just as if someone were to move a soldier from one place to another. And he did not say "led over" or "changed"; for the whole was the work of the one who transferred, not of the one who went over.

But, he said, “He transferred,” so that this became both ours and his own. Into the kingdom of the son of his love. He did not simply say “kingdom of the heavens,” but rendered the expression more solemn, saying “kingdom of the son”; for there is no greater encomium than this. And elsewhere he says, “If we endure, we shall reign together.” He deemed us worthy of the same things, he says, as the son; and not only this, but also the intensification, “to the beloved.” The enemies, the darkened ones, he suddenly transferred them somewhere to where the son is, to the same honor as him. And he was not satisfied with this alone, but in order to show the greatness of the gift, he was not content with saying “kingdom,” but added “of the son”; and not only with this, but also “of the beloved”; and not only with this, but also the honor of nature. For what does he say? “Who is the image of the invisible God.” But he did not come to this immediately, but interposed the benefaction toward us. For lest, hearing that the whole was from the father, you think the son is outside, he gives the whole also to the son, gives also to the father. For that one transferred, but this one provided the cause. For what does he say? “Who ransomed us from the power of darkness.” And this is the same as, “In whom we have the redemption, the remission of sins.” For if we had not been released from sins, we would not have been transferred. Behold again here the phrase “in whom.” And he did not say “ransom,” but “redemption,” so that we might no longer fall, nor become mortal. “Who is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation.” We fall into a heretical inquiry.

Therefore, today we must add this tomorrow, postponing it, applying it to your eager ears. And if we must say something more, it is a greater work than that of the Son. How? For that first thing becomes impossible—to give the kingdom to those who remain in sins—but this is easier; so that by the gift he paved the way. What are you saying? He himself released you from sins; therefore, he himself also led you forward. He already laid down the root of the doctrine. 4. For now, it is necessary to stop the discourse by saying that. What is this? That having enjoyed such a benefaction, we ought always to remember it, and constantly turn over in ourselves the gift of God, and consider from what we have been delivered and what we have obtained; and thus we will be grateful, thus we will intensify our love toward him. What are you saying, O man? You have been called to a kingdom, to the kingdom of the Son of God, and you fill yourself with yawning, and you scratch yourself, and you are numb? For if it were necessary to leap into countless deaths every day, should you not endure everything? But for the sake of an office you do anything whatsoever, yet when about to share the kingdom of the Only-Begotten, do you not leap upon countless swords, do you not plunge into fire? And this is not yet terrible, but that even when about to depart you lament, and you cling to the things here, being a lover of the body. What is this? Do you consider death a dreadful thing? Luxury is the cause of these things, and ease; since one who lives a very bitter life would choose to be winged and to depart from here. But now we suffer the same thing as chicks that have become soft, always wanting to stay in the nest.

But the longer we remain, the weaker we become. For the present life is a nest, glued together from twigs and mud. Even if you show me great houses, even the palaces themselves gleaming with much gold and jewels, I will consider them no different from a swallow's nest; for when winter comes, everything will fall of its own accord—and by winter I mean that day, not a winter for all. For God too calls that time both night and day, the one for sinners, the other for the righteous. So now I call it winter. If in the summer we are not well nurtured, so as to be able to fly when winter comes, our mothers will not take us in, but will leave us to perish from hunger or to be destroyed when the nest falls. For just as a nest—indeed even more easily than that—God then tears everything down, dismantling and reshaping all things. But those who are unfledged and unable to meet him in the air, but have been raised so coarsely as not to have a light feather, will suffer all those things that it is fitting for those so disposed to suffer. Now the nest of swallows, when it falls, quickly perishes; but we will not perish, but will be punished perpetually. That time will be a winter, or rather more severe than winter. For not torrents of water will be swept away, but rivers of fire; not darkness from clouds will occur, but an unbreakable and lightless darkness, so that one can see neither the sky nor the air, but is more confined than those buried in the earth. We say these things often, but we do not persuade some.

And it is no wonder, if we, insignificant men, suffer these things while discussing such matters, when even the prophets suffered these things, not only while discussing such matters, but also concerning war and captivity. And Zedekiah was rebuked by Jeremiah, and was not ashamed. For this reason the prophets said: "Woe to those who say, 'Let what God will do come quickly, so that we may see, and let the counsel of holy Israel come, so that we may know.'" Let us not marvel at this. For not even those at the time of the ark believed, but they believed when there was no profit in faith; nor did those in Sodom expect, but they too believed, when nothing more had come to them. And why do I speak of future things? Who would have expected these things now happening in various places, the earthquakes, the destructions of cities? And yet these things are more credible than those, I mean the ark. How is this clear? Because those people had no other example to look to, nor had they heard the Scriptures; but here countless things have happened, both in our own years and in former times. But whence comes the disbelief in such things? From a soft soul: they drank and ate, and for this reason they did not believe. For what a person wishes, that he also thinks, that he also expects; those who contradict are nonsense.

But let us not suffer the same fate; for there will be no flood hereafter, nor is the punishment until death, but death is the beginning of punishments for those who disbelieve that there is a judgment. And who came from there, one says, and uttered these things? If you say this in jest, not even thus is it well; for one ought not to jest in such matters; for we are not playing with toys, but we play dangerously. But if you are truly in this state, and do not think there is anything after this, how can you claim to be a Christian? For I have no concern with those outside. Why do you receive baptism? Why do you enter the church? Do we not promise principles? All our hope is in the things to come. Why then do you approach, if you do not believe the Scriptures, if you do not believe in Christ? I would not call such a person a Christian—far from it—but even worse than the Greeks. In what respect? In this, that while considering Christ to be God, you do not believe in him as God. For that impiety has consistency: for one who does not consider Christ to be God must necessarily not believe in him; but this impiety has no consistency: to confess him as God, and not to consider him trustworthy concerning what he said. These are the words of drunkenness, of luxury, of debauchery: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Not tomorrow, but when you say these things, you are already dead. Will we then differ in nothing from pigs or from asses, tell me? For if there is neither judgment, nor requital, nor a court, for what reason have we been honored with such a gift as reason, and have all things subjected to us? Why do we rule, and they are ruled? See how the devil presses us from all sides to be ignorant of the gift of God.

He mixes slaves with masters; like a slave-dealer and an ungrateful household servant, he forces the free man down to the same cheapness as one who has offended. And he seems to abolish judgment, but he abolishes the existence of God. For the devil is always like this, using cunning in everything, and does not advance directly, so that we may be on guard. If there is no judgment, God is not just—I speak in human terms; if God is not just, then God does not exist; if God does not exist, everything is simply carried along, there is no virtue, no vice. But he says none of these things openly. Do you see the intention of the satanic thought? How he wants to make humans irrational, or rather beasts, or rather demons? Let us not be persuaded, then. For there is a judgment, wretched and miserable one. I know from where you come to these words: you have sinned much, you have offended, you have no confidence, you think you are following your own arguments and the nature of things. "At least," he says, "I will not distress my soul with the expectation of Gehenna; even if Gehenna exists, I will persuade myself that it does not; at least here I will indulge." Why do you add sins to sins? If you sin and believe Gehenna exists, you will pay the penalty only for your sins; but if you add this impiety as well, you will pay the ultimate punishment for both the impiety and this reasoning. And the brief comfort you have will become for you the basis of eternal punishment. Granted, you have sinned; why do you also urge others to sin by saying Gehenna does not exist? Why do you deceive the simpler ones? Why do you loosen the hands of the people? Your part has overturned everything.

Neither will the earnest become more earnest, but rather indolent; nor will the wicked desist from their wickedness. For if we corrupt others, do we obtain pardon for our own sins? Do you not see how the devil attempted to bring down Adam? Did he obtain pardon for that? On the contrary, it became an occasion for greater punishment. For he contrives everything so that we may be punished not only for our own sins but also for those of others. Let us not think, therefore, that dragging others down into the same ruin as ourselves makes the court more lenient toward us; on the contrary, this will make it harsher. Why do we push ourselves and destroy ourselves? This is entirely satanic. O man, have you sinned? You have a philanthropic Master; entreat, supplicate, weep, groan, and warn others, and strive that they do not fall into the same things. If a slave who has offended in a household says to his own child, "Child, I have offended the Master; you strive to please, so that you do not suffer the same," will he not obtain some pardon, tell me? Will he not soften and bend the master? But if, abandoning these words, he says those things—that he will not give each his due, that everything is simply mixed together, both good and bad, that there is no gratitude in this house—what mind do you think the master has concerning him? Will he not pay a penalty greater than for his own sins? Reasonably so; for in the former case, his suffering will plead for him, even if weakly, but in the latter case, nothing will.

If, then, no one else, at least imitate the rich man in Gehenna, the one who says, "Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my relatives, so that they may not come to this place," since he himself was unable to go, so that they might not fall into the same things. Let us desist from these satanic words. What then, when Greeks question us, he says, do you not wish to heal them? But, casting the Christian into perplexity under the pretense of healing the Greek, you wish to confirm the satanic doctrine. For since you yourself, conversing with the soul alone, do not persuade them about these matters, you wish to bring forward other witnesses. But if one must converse with a Greek, the beginning of the discourse is not from here, but whether Christ is God, and Son of God, whether the gods among them are demons. If these things are established, all the rest follows; before laying the foundation, it is vain to discuss the end; before learning the first elements, it is superfluous and useless to proceed to the end. The Greek disbelieves in the judgment, and he himself suffers the same as you; since he too has many who have philosophized about these things, even if they separated the body from the soul in saying this; nevertheless, they established a tribunal. And so great is the manifestness of the matter that almost no one is ignorant of it, but even poets and all have agreed among themselves both about a tribunal and about judgment. So that he too does not disbelieve his own people, nor does a Jew dispute about these things, nor does any person simply. Why then do we deceive ourselves? Behold, you say these things to me.

What will you say to God, who formed our hearts individually, who knows everything in our minds, who is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword? Tell me truthfully: do you not condemn yourself when you sin? Is there any person among men who does not blame himself when he is idle? And how could such wisdom have come about spontaneously, that the sinner himself condemns himself? For this is a sign of great wisdom. You condemn yourself; will the one who gave you such a mind simply let everything drift? This, then, will be a universal rule and definition: no one living in virtue disbelieves the doctrine of judgment, whether he be a Greek or a heretic; no one living in great wickedness, except a few, accepts the doctrine of resurrection. And this is what the Psalmist says: "Your judgments are removed from his face." Why? Because his ways are profaned at every time: "Let us eat and drink," he says, "for tomorrow we die." Do you see that it is characteristic of the base to say these things? From eating and drinking come these words that overturn the resurrection. For the soul cannot bear, cannot bear the judgment of conscience; and the same thing happens as when a murderer first convinces himself that he will not be caught, and then commits murder; for if his conscience were judging him, he would not quickly come to the deed. And so he knows, but pretends not to know, so that he may not be tormented by conscience and fear; for then he would become weaker for the murder.

Thus also those who sin know that sinning is evil, and though they are rolled about daily in the same evils, they do not wish to know, even as their conscience seizes them. But let us not attend to them; for there will be, there will certainly be judgment and resurrection, and God will not let such works go in vain. Therefore, I exhort you, let us abstain from vice and cleave to virtue, so that we may receive the true word in Christ Jesus our Lord. And yet what is easier: to accept the word concerning resurrection, or that concerning fate? The latter is full of injustice, full of irrationality, full of cruelty, full of inhumanity; the former is full of justice, distributive of what is deserved—and yet they do not accept it. The cause is idleness; for no one with sense accepts that one. For even among the Greeks, those who define pleasure as the end accept it; but those who love virtue no longer do, but reject it as irrational. If this is so among the Greeks, much more so is it in the case of the word concerning resurrection. Observe how the devil has contrived two opposites: in order that we may neglect virtue and that we may serve demons, he introduced necessity, and through each he persuaded both. What account, then, will the one who disbelieves such a wondrous thing and is persuaded by those who babble such nonsense be able to give? Let not even this consolation nourish you, that you will obtain pardon; but let us gather ourselves together, rouse ourselves to virtue, and truly live for God, in Christ, and so forth.

Homily 3. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. That in him all things were created, those in the heavens and those on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers; all things are through him, and have been created for him. And he is before all things, and all things subsist in him. And he is the head of the body of the church. a. Today it is necessary to pay the debt which I deferred yesterday, so as to strike your minds while they are fresh. Paul, when discoursing about the dignity of the Son, says these things, as we also demonstrated: "Who is the image of the invisible God." Of whom, then, do you think he says he is the image? If of God, well and good; for he is God and Son of God; but "image of God" indicates the exact likeness; therefore he is exact likeness in this respect. But if of a man, say so, and I will desist as from a madman. Why, then, is he nowhere called either image or son, an angel, but a man both? Why? Because there, the elevation of nature would quickly have cast the many into this impiety; here, the cheapness and lowliness guarantees safety, and does not allow even those who wish to suspect anything of the sort, and to bring the word down. For this reason, where there was great lowliness, Scripture confidently sets the honor; where the nature is greater, it does not. But, "Image of the invisible," he says. Therefore, if that one is invisible, this one is likewise invisible, since otherwise it would not be an image. For the image, insofar as it is an image, must be exact likeness, as with characters and resemblance among us.

But here this is in no way possible; for human art is a craft that often fails, or rather everywhere fails, if you seek precision. But where God is, he never errs, nor does any failure occur. If it is a creation, how is it an image of the creator? For a horse is not an image of a human. If the image does not indicate the exact likeness of the invisible one, what prevents angels from being an image? For they too are invisible, but not to themselves; and the soul is invisible. But because it is invisible, is it for this reason simply an image, even if not in the same way as he himself? Firstborn of all creation. 2. What then, he says? Behold, has it been created? From where, tell me? Because he said "Firstborn." And indeed he did not say "first-created," but "Firstborn." Then if you claim that because he is called firstborn he was created, what will you say when you hear him called brother? For Scripture calls him brother, made like us in all respects. Therefore, will we on this account also remove his being creator, and deem him to have precedence over us neither in rank nor in anything else? And who among those with sense would say this? For "Firstborn" signifies not worth and honor, but only time. If then he has nothing more than we, perhaps according to this argument he is firstborn of all, and the Word God will be consubstantial with stones and wood and the rest; for he says, "Firstborn of all creation." But it is said "firstborn," he says; therefore he was created. Well, if this is so, and it does not have some sibling terms and others, such as "firstborn from the dead," "firstborn among many brothers." The phrase "firstborn from the dead," tell me, what does it indicate?

You will not say, "Because he was the first to rise," for he did not simply say "of the dead," but "firstborn from the dead"; nor that he died first, but that he rose as firstborn from the dead. So this indicates nothing other than that he became the firstfruits of the resurrection. Therefore, not even here. Then he proceeds into the doctrine itself. For lest they think he is a recent being, because formerly they were led through angels but now through him, he first shows that those angels accomplished nothing—for otherwise he would not have led them from darkness—and second, that he is even before them. And he makes the fact that they were created through him a sign that he is before them: "For in him," he says, "all things were created." What do those who hold the views of Paul of Samosata say here? That all things came to be in him. For it is said, "That in him all things were created." But he said "the things in the heavens and the things on the earth." He placed first what was disputed. Then he adds, "the visible and the invisible," calling the soul invisible, and all humans visible. And he leaves aside what is agreed upon, and sets down what is debated. Then he says, "whether thrones, whether lordships, whether principalities, whether powers." The word "whether" is inclusive of everything. And he does not number the Spirit among the powers, but from the greater things he also shows the lesser. "All things," he says, "through him and into him were created." Behold, "in him" is "through him." For having said "in him," he added "through him." And what is "into him"? That is, the subsistence of all things depends on him.

Not only did he himself bring these things from non-being into being, but he himself also now holds them together; so that if they were torn away from his providence, they would perish and be destroyed. But he did not say "he holds together," which would have been coarser, but the more refined expression, that they "hang from him." For merely inclining toward him is sufficient to hold and bind them together. Thus also the term "Firstborn" is spoken of as a foundation. This indicates not the consubstantiality of creatures, but that all things exist through him and in him. So too elsewhere when he says, "I have laid a foundation," he speaks not of essence but of activity. For, lest you think he is a servant, he says that he himself holds these things together, which is no less than creating them. Indeed, in our case it is even greater: for art introduces the former, but not the latter; for it does not hold together what is decaying. And he is before all things, he says. This is fitting for God. Where is Paul of Samosata? And all things are constituted in him; that is, they are created toward him. He continually turns these things, with the repetition of the phrases like repeated blows, uprooting the destructive doctrine root and branch. For if so much has been said, and after so long a time Paul of Samosata sprang up, how much more if these things had not been said beforehand? And all things, he says, are constituted in him. How are they constituted in that which does not exist? So that even things through angels are his. And he himself is the head of the body of the church. Having spoken about his dignity, he then speaks about his philanthropy. He himself, he says, is the head of the body of the church.

He did not say "of the fullness," indicating this very thing in this way, but wishing to show him to us more intimately, that he who is so high and above all things united himself to those below. For he is first everywhere: first above, first in the church—for he is the head—first in the resurrection. For this is what it means: that he himself might be preeminent. Thus he is also first in generation. And this is especially what Paul is eager to show. For if this is established, that he was before all the angels, that other point is also introduced, that he himself commanded them, doing their works. And what is remarkable, in the later generation he strove to show him first. Yet elsewhere he says Adam is first, as indeed he is; but he took the church in place of the whole human race. For he is first of the church, and of humans, as of creation, first according to the flesh; and for this reason he here places "firstborn." What is "firstborn" here? The first created, or the one who rose before all, as also there, the one who exists before all. And here he has set "firstfruits," saying: "Who is firstfruits, firstborn from the dead," so that he might be preeminent in all things, showing that the others are also such; but there he is not firstfruits of creation. And there: "Image of the invisible God," and then the phrase "Firstborn." That in him the whole fullness deigned to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to itself, making peace through the blood of his cross, whether things on earth or things in the heavens.

Whatever belongs to the Father," he says, "these also belong to the Son," and with greater earnestness, because he also became dead and united himself to us. He said "firstfruits," as in the case of some fruit. He did not say "resurrection," but "firstfruits," showing that he sanctified all of us and offered us as a sacrifice. He spoke of "the fullness" concerning the divinity, just as John said: "From his fullness we all received." That is, whether it was the Son or the Word, he dwelt there not as some energy, but as substance. He has no cause to mention, but only the will of God; for this is that "He was well pleased in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself." Lest you think that he assumed the role of a servant, he says "to himself." And indeed elsewhere he says that he reconciles to God, as he wrote in the Epistle to the Corinthians. And he rightly said "to reconcile through him." For they were already reconciled, but it was necessary that it be complete, so that they would no longer be hostile to him. How this happens, he then clarifies, announcing not only the reconciliation but also the manner of reconciliation: "Having made peace through the blood of his cross." The one shows the enmity, "to reconcile"; the other shows the war, "having made peace." "Through the blood," he says, "of his cross," through him, whether things on earth or things in the heavens. Great is the act of reconciling, but that it is through him is greater; and greater than this is that it is through his blood; and not simply blood, but greater than this is that it is through the cross. So there are five wonderful things: he reconciled to God, through him, through death, through the cross. Amazing, how he has mixed them again!

For lest you think that it is one thing, and that the cross is nothing in itself, he says, "Through himself." How does he know that this is great? Because he did not speak words, but gave himself for the reconciliation, and thus accomplished everything. And what is "the things in the heavens"? For the things on earth are fittingly so, for they were filled with enmity and divided into many parts, and each of us was in discord with himself and with the many. But how did he bring peace to the things in the heavens? Was there war and battle there as well? And how do we pray, saying, "Let your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth"? What then is to be said? The earth was separated from heaven, the angels were at war with men, seeing their Master insulted. He says that he recapitulated all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. How? The things in the heavens thus: he transferred man there, he brought up to them the enemy, the hated one. He not only made the things on earth to be at peace, but he brought him up to them, the enemy and the foe. This is deep peace. Angels again appeared on earth from then on, since man also appeared in heaven. It seems to me that the rapture of Paul also happened for this reason, and to show that the Son was taken up there. For on earth the peace is twofold, both toward the heavenly things and toward themselves; in the heavens it is simple. For if the angels rejoice over a single sinner who repents, much more over so many. All this the power of God accomplished. So why do you trust in angels, he says?

So far are they from leading you, that they were once at war, and unless God himself had reconciled you to them, you would never have made peace. Why then do you run to them? Do you want to learn how great the hatred of the angels was toward us, and how they always turned away? They were sent for punishment against the Israelites, against David, against the Sodomites, against the Valley of Weeping. But not now; on the contrary, they sing on earth with great joy. And he brought these down to them, and brought men up there. 4. And behold the paradox. He brought these down here first, and then brought man up to them. Heaven has become earth, since the things of earth were about to be received by heaven. For this reason we say in thanksgiving, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men." Behold, he says, men have also appeared who are pleasing from now on. What is "good will"? Reconciliation. No longer is heaven a dividing wall. Formerly, the angels were according to the number of nations; now, however, not according to the number of nations, but according to the number of the faithful. How is this clear? Listen to Christ saying, "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For their angels continually look upon the face of my Father in heaven." For each faithful person has an angel, since from the beginning each man of repute had an angel, as Jacob says, "The angel who nourishes me and rescues me from my youth." If then we have angels, let us be sober, as if some tutors were present with us; for a demon is also present.

For this reason we pray, and we say, asking for the angel of peace, and everywhere we ask for peace. For nothing is equal to it: in the churches, peace; in the prayers, in the litanies, in the salutations; and once, and twice, and three times, and many times the president of the church gives it, saying, "Peace to you." Why? Because this is the mother of all good things, this is the foundation of joy. For this reason also Christ commanded the apostles, when entering houses, to say this immediately, as a kind of symbol of good things: "For when you enter," he says, "into the houses, say, 'Peace to you.'" For if this is not present, everything is superfluous. And again he said to the disciples, "I leave peace to you, I give you my peace." This paves the way for love. And the president of the church does not say simply, "Peace to you," but "Peace to all." For what benefit is it if we have peace with this one, but war and strife with another? What is the gain? For not even in the body, if some of the elements are at rest, but others are in discord, can health ever be maintained, but rather through the good order and harmony and peace of all; and if not all are at rest and remain within their own bounds, everything will be overturned. And in our mind as well, if not all the thoughts are at rest, there will be no peace. So great a good is peace, that those who make and create it are called sons of God; and rightly so, since the Son of God also came to earth for this purpose, to make peace among things on earth and things in the heavens. And if the peacemakers are sons of God, the innovators are sons of the devil.

What are you saying? You are casting strife and battles? And who is so wretched, he says? For there are many who rejoice in evils, and who tear apart the body of Christ more than the soldiers cut it with the spear, or the Jews rent it with the nails. That evil is less than this: those severed members were again united; but these, once torn away, if not joined here, will never again be joined, but remain outside the fullness. When you wish to war against your brother, consider that you are warring against the members of Christ, and cease from your madness. For what if he is cast off, if he is lowly? For what if he is contemptible? Thus it is not the will, he says, before my father, that one of these little ones should perish; and again: Their angels continually behold the face of my father in the heavens. God became a slave and was slaughtered for his sake; and do you consider him nothing? Therefore you also war against God in this, bearing votes contrary to him. When the president of the church enters, he immediately says: Peace to all; when he speaks, Peace to all; when he blesses, Peace to all; when he bids to greet, Peace to all; when the sacrifice is completed, Peace to all. And in between again, Grace to you and peace. How then is it not absurd, if hearing peace so many times, we are embattled against each other, and receiving and giving back, we war against the one who gives peace? You say, And to your spirit, and you slander him outside? Alas, that the sacred forms of the church have become mere appearances of things, but not any truth.

Alas, that only in words the symbols of this army remain. Hence you do not even know why it is said, "Peace to all." But listen to what follows, what Christ says: into whatever city or village you enter, entering the house, greet it; and if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. Because of this we do not know, thinking these things to be a form of words, and we do not attend to the meaning. For do I give the peace? It is Christ deigning to speak through us. Even if for all the rest of the time we are empty of grace, yet not now because of you. For if the grace of God worked even in a donkey and in a seer, for the sake of economy and the benefit of the Israelites, it is clear that it will not refuse to work in us, but will endure even this for our sake. Let no one therefore say, "I am cheap and lowly and worthy of no account, and so let him attend to me." For I am such; but it is always the custom of God, for the sake of the many, to stand by even such persons. And that you may learn, he deigned to speak to Cain because of Abel, to the devil because of Job, to Pharaoh because of Joseph, to Nebuchadnezzar because of Daniel, to Belshazzar because of the same. And magi received revelation, and Caiaphas, though a Christ-killer and unworthy, prophesied because of the dignity of the priesthood. Aaron is said not to have become leprous for this reason. For why, tell me, when both spoke against him, did that one alone pay the penalty? Do not be surprised.

For if in the case of external offices, even if someone is accused of countless things, he is not brought to trial until he has laid down his office, so that the office itself may not be insulted along with him; much more in the case of the spiritual office, whoever it may be, the grace of God is at work, since otherwise everything would be lost. But when he lays it aside, whether by departing or even while still here, then indeed, then he will pay a more severe penalty. Do not think, then, that these things are said by us; it is the grace of God that works even in an unworthy person, not for our sake, but for yours. Listen, then, to what Christ says: "If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it." And how does it become worthy? "If they receive you," he says. "But if they do not receive you, nor listen to your word, amen I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city." What benefit, then, is it that you receive us, but do not listen to what is said by us? What gain is it that you pay court, but do not attend to what is said to you? That is honor for us, that is wonderful service, which benefits both you and us, if you listen to us. You hear Paul saying, "I did not know, brothers, that he is a high priest." Listen also to Christ saying, "Everything that they may tell you to observe, observe and do." You do not despise me, but the priesthood; if you see it stripped bare, then despise it, then I too do not tolerate giving orders. But as long as we sit on this throne, as long as we hold the presidency, we have both the dignity and the power, even if we are unworthy.

If the throne of Moses was so venerable that he was heard because of it, much more so is the throne of Christ. We have succeeded to that; from this we speak, from which Christ also placed in us the ministry of reconciliation. The ambassadors, whatever they may be, enjoy great honor because of the dignity of the embassy. For see: they come alone into the midst of the land of barbarians, among so many enemies; and since the law of embassy prevails greatly, all honor them, all look to them, all send them forth with safety. We too, then, have undertaken the office of embassy, and we have come from God; for this is the dignity of the episcopate. We have come to you as ambassadors, entreating to end the war, and we declare on what terms: not promising to give cities, nor so many measures of grain, nor slaves, nor gold, but the kingdom of heaven, eternal life, communion with Christ, and the other goods which it is impossible for us to tell or for you to hear while we are in this flesh and in the present life. We are ambassadors, then; and we wish to enjoy honor—not for our own sake, far from it, for we know its worthlessness—but for your sake, so that you may hear what we say with eagerness, so that you may be benefited, so that you may not attend to what is said with indifference or inattention. Do you not see how all treat ambassadors with deference? We are ambassadors of God to men. But if this is offensive to you, it is not we, but this episcopate; not such and such a person, but the bishop. Let no one listen to me, but to the dignity.

Let us therefore do everything according to what is pleasing to God, so that we may live for the glory of God and be deemed worthy of the good things promised to those who love Him, by grace and love for humanity, and so forth. HOMILY 4. "And you, once being enemies and alienated in mind in evil deeds, but now He has reconciled you through the body of His flesh by means of death, to present you holy, blameless, and irreproachable before Him." a. Here then he shows that He reconciled even those who were unworthy of reconciliation. For to say that they were under the authority of darkness shows the calamity in which they were. But lest, upon hearing "authority of darkness," you think it was a matter of necessity, he adds: "And you, being alienated"; so that it seems to say the same thing, but it is not; for it is not the same to deliver from evils one who has suffered badly by necessity and one who has willingly undergone this. For the former is worthy of pity, the latter of hatred. But nevertheless, he says, He delivered you, not unwilling nor compelled, but willing and even eager to leap away from Him, and unworthy though you were. And since he mentioned those in the heavens, he shows that all the enmity had its origin here, not there. For they long ago wished it, and God; but you did not wish it. And throughout he shows that the angels had no power in the times below, since they remained enemies, and could neither persuade nor, once persuaded, deliver from the devil. For neither did persuasion have any profit if the one holding was not bound, nor did being bound have any profit if those held did not wish to return.

But both were necessary, of which they did nothing, while Christ did both. So, to break death is less marvelous than to persuade. For that was entirely his own, and he alone was master; but this is not his alone, but also ours; and we accomplish these things more easily, of which we ourselves are masters. Since it is also greater, he places it later. And he did not simply say "being hostile," but "being alienated," which indicates great enmity; nor "alienated," but "not even expecting to return." And "enemies," he says, "in thought," indicating by this that their alienation was not only a matter of intention; but what? It was also in their evil deeds. And "you were enemies," he says, "and you did the things of enemies." But now he has reconciled you in the body of his flesh through his death, to present you holy, blameless, and irreproachable before him. Here he also sets forth the manner of reconciliation, that it was in the body, and that he was not simply struck, nor scourged, nor sold, but also died the most shameful death. Again he mentions the cross, and again he sets forth another benefit. For he did not only deliver, but also what he says above, "the one who made us sufficient," this he also hints at here. Through his death, he says, to present you holy, blameless, and irreproachable before him. For he did not merely deliver from sins, but also established you among those who are esteemed. For he did not suffer so much only to deliver us from evils, but so that we might also attain the foremost things; just as if someone were to not only free a condemned man from punishment, but also raise him to honor.

And he included even those who had committed no sin; or rather, not only those who had not sinned, but also those who had accomplished the greatest deeds; and what is more, he gave holiness that is before him. The term "blameless" is an intensification of "faultless"; for one is called blameless when nothing has been done by us even to the point of condemnation, even to the point of accusation. But since he has set forth the whole matter by saying that he accomplished these things through death, lest someone say, "Then we need nothing," he added for this reason: "If indeed you persevere, being founded and steadfast, and not being moved away from the hope of the Gospel." Here he cuts off their indolence. And he did not simply say, "Persevere"; for it is possible to persevere while being shaken and divided; it is possible to stand and remain while being carried about. "If indeed you persevere," he says, "being founded and steadfast, and not being moved." Goodness, what a figure of speech he has used! Not only "not being shaken," he says, but "not even being moved." And observe: he sets down nothing burdensome for the time being, nothing painful, but faith and hope. That is, if you remain believing that the hope of future things is true. For here it is possible; but in the case of virtue, it is not possible not to be shaken, even a little; thus it is not oppressive. "From the hope," he says, "of the Gospel, which you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven." And what is the hope of the Gospel, but Christ? For he is our peace, and the one who accomplished all these things. So whoever attributes these things to others has been moved; for he has lost everything, if he does not believe in Christ. "You heard," he says.

Again he brings them forward as witnesses, then the whole world. He does not say, "of the one being proclaimed," but "of the one already believed and proclaimed," which he also did at the beginning, wishing to establish these things from the testimony of the many. "Where I, Paul, became a servant." And this contributes to credibility. "I," he says, "Paul, a servant." For his authority was great, since he was now sung everywhere and was a teacher of the world. "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up the deficiencies of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church." And what is this sequence? It seems disconnected, but it has much continuity. And "servant," he says, meaning, bringing nothing from myself, but announcing the things of another. Thus I believe, that I also suffer for him; and I do not only suffer, but I also rejoice in suffering, looking toward the future hope; and I suffer not for myself, but for you. "And I fill up," he says, "the deficiencies of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh." What he has uttered seems great, but it is not from madness—far from it—but from great affection for Christ; for he does not wish his own sufferings, but those of Christ. He spoke thus, wishing to make these things belong to him. "And what I suffer, I suffer for him," he says; "so that you do not owe thanks to me, but to him; for he himself suffers these things." Just as if someone sent to another should entreat a third, saying, "I beg you, go to so-and-so for me"; then that one says, "I do these things for so-and-so.

Thus he is not ashamed to speak of these sufferings of his. For not only did he die for us, but even after death he is ready to be distressed for our sake. He contended and insisted on showing that he is now also in danger for the church through his own body, and he points to that, saying, "You are not brought in through us, but through him, even if we do these things; for we did not undertake our own work, but his." And it is the same as if a rank that had obtained a general who shields it stood in battle, and then, when he had departed, the lieutenant took upon himself his wounds until the war was ended. Then, that he does these things also for his sake, listen: "For his body," he says, meaning this: "I am not granting a favor to you, but to Christ; for what he ought to have suffered, I suffer in his stead." See how much he establishes. He shows great affection; just as in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians he wrote, "He placed in us the ministry of reconciliation," and again, "We intercede for Christ, as though God were entreating through us." This he also says here: "I suffer for him," in order to draw them more. That is, "Even if the one who owed you has departed, I repay." For this reason he also said "deficiencies," to show that he does not yet consider that he has suffered everything. "For you," he says, "he suffers even after death, if indeed any deficiencies remained." He does this differently in the Epistle to the Romans, saying, "He who also intercedes for us," showing that he was not satisfied with death alone, but even after that does countless things.

He does not say these things to exalt himself, but wishing to show that Christ even now cares for them. And he makes the argument credible by adding, "For the sake of his body." For that this is so, and nothing improbable, is clear from the fact that these things happened for the sake of his body. See how he has united us with himself. "Why then do you introduce angels in between?" he says. "I became," he says, "a servant." "Why do you introduce other angels? I am a servant." Then he shows that he himself did nothing, if indeed he is a servant. "I became," he says, "a servant according to the economy of God given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God—an economy." He means either this: that thus he willed, after his own departure, that we should succeed to the economy, so that you might not be scattered as if abandoned—for it is he who suffered, he who intercedes; or he means this: that he allowed me, the foremost persecutor of all, to persecute for this reason, so that I might be credible when preaching; or he speaks of an economy, meaning that he sought not works, nor deeds, nor achievements, but faith and baptism. For you would not have received the word otherwise. "For you," he says, "to fulfill the word of God." He speaks of the Gentiles, showing that they were still wavering by saying "to fulfill." For that the Gentiles, who had been cast away, could receive such a height of teachings was not Paul's doing, but of the economy of God—"since I would not have been able," he says. Having shown the greater point, that his own sufferings belong to Christ, he then adds the clearer point, that "this too is of God, to fulfill the word for you.

And here he shows clearly that even this is a matter of economy—that it was said now, that you are able to hear, not from neglect, but so that you might become receptive. For God does not do everything all at once, but employs condescension because of his great philanthropy. And this is the reason Christ has come now, and not long ago. Thus he also shows in the Gospel that he sent the servants first for this reason, so that they would not proceed to the murder of the son. For if they did not respect the son even after the servants came, much less would they have before this; if they did not heed the lesser commands, how would they have heeded the greater? What then does he say? Are there not Jews even now, and Greeks who are more imperfectly disposed? This is an excess of indolence. For to remain imperfect after so much time, after so many teachings, is great sluggishness. Therefore, when the Greeks say, "Why did Christ come now?" let us not allow them to say this, but if he did not succeed, let us ask. For just as if he had come at the beginning and had not succeeded, the time would not suffice for us as a defense, so, since he did succeed, we would not be justified in holding the time accountable. For no one demands an account of the healing from a physician who has resolved the disease and led to health, nor does anyone question a victorious general about why at this time and why in this place. These things are to be asked when he has not succeeded; when he has succeeded, they are to be accepted. For who, tell me, is more trustworthy: your reasoning and slander, or the perfection of the matter? Did he conquer, or did he not conquer? Show this.

Did he prevail, or did he not prevail? Did he bring to completion what he said, or not? These are the accounts. Tell me, do you acknowledge God at all, even if not Christ? I ask you then: is God without beginning? You will certainly say yes. Tell me then, why did he not make human beings ten thousand years earlier? For they would have lived a longer time. For if being is good, then being for a longer time is even better. But now, were they deprived of the time in which they did not exist? No, they were not deprived; how this is so, the one who made them knows. I ask you again, why did he not make everyone at once, but the soul of the first person born has existed for so many years, while another soul is diminished, not yet having come into being? Why did he make the first one and the later one to be brought into this world? Such things are truly worthy of inquiry, but not of meddlesome curiosity; for this is not even inquiry. I will state the reason I mentioned: suppose for me that human nature is like a single age, and that our race has the first times as the stage of youth, the times after that as the stage of young adulthood, and these times near old age as the stage of an elder. Then, when the soul is at its peak, with the limbs of the body relaxed and the war resolved, we were led to philosophy. And yet, on the contrary, he says, we teach when we are young, but not the great doctrines, but rhetoric, but cleverness of speech; these things, then, when they become mature. See God doing this also in the case of the Jews.

Just as Moses was set over the Jews as their schoolmaster, so he led them like children, sketching things out for them, just as we do with the alphabet. For the law was a shadow of the good things to come, not the actual image of the realities. Just as we buy cakes and give coins to children, demanding only one thing from them—that they go to school for the time being—so too God then gave them wealth and luxury, purchasing from them only one thing through great indulgence: that they listen to Moses. For this reason he handed them over to a teacher, so that they would not despise him, but would be held fast as by an affectionate father. See how they feared only that man. They did not say, "Where is God?" but "Where is Moses?" and only when he was present was he fearsome. When they acted wrongly, see how he punished them. For God wanted to disown them, but he did not allow it; rather, the whole thing was done by God, like a father threatening, while he, as it were, the teacher interceded, saying, "Forgive me, and from now on I take responsibility." Thus the desert became a school. And just as children who have spent a long time at their studies want to leave, so too they then constantly longed for Egypt and wept, saying, "We are lost, we are undone, we are perishing." And Moses broke their tablet, on which he had written for them as if some names.

doing the same thing that a teacher would do: taking the tablet, seeing it badly written, and throwing away the tablet itself, wanting to show great anger; and even if he breaks it, the father is not angry. For he himself was pressing them to write; but they, not looking at him, but turned elsewhere, were disorderly; and just as in the schoolroom the children strike one another, so then he ordered them to strike and kill one another. And again, just as when giving lessons, then demanding them back, and not finding them, he punished them. I mean something like this: the letters of the power of God were recognizable signs in Egypt. Yes, he says; but these letters indicated the plagues, and that he punishes enemies, and it was an exact school for them. For what else was the punishment of enemies but your benefit? In another way he also benefited you; and it has become the same as if someone were to say he knows the letters, but when questioned sporadically does not find them, and is beaten. So too those people said they knew the power of God, but when asked sporadically for the knowledge, they did not provide it; therefore they were beaten. Have you seen water? You ought to remember the water in Egypt. For the one who made blood from water will be able to do this as well; just as we often say to children: When you see in the book the letter alpha, remember that you had it on the writing tablet. Have you seen famine? Remember that it was he who destroyed the crops. Have you seen wars? Remember the drowning. Have you seen that those who inhabit the earth are great? But not greater than the Egyptians.

Then, if one of them took you from the midst, would he not much more save you, being outside? But they did not know that the elements were to be asked in a scattered order; for this reason they were beaten. They ate and drank, and then kicked out. They ought not to have sought luxury in the manna, having learned evil from it. And they were doing the same thing as if a freeborn child, sent to a school, should demand to be taken with the slaves, and to serve them, and having taken the necessary food befitting a free person, and sitting at his father's table, should wish to enjoy the foul-smelling, turmoil-filled fare of the servants. Thus also these sought Egypt, and said to Moses, "Yes, lord, everything you say we will do, and we will listen." And what happens with very incorrigible children, when the father wishes to kill them and the teacher continually intercedes, that also happened then. 4. Why have we said these things? Because we differ in nothing from children. Do you wish to hear their doctrines, how they are childish? "An eye for an eye," it says, "and a tooth for a tooth." Naturally; for nothing is so prone to vengeance as a childish mind. Since the passion is irrational, and there is much irrationality and much absence of reason in that age, the child is naturally tyrannized by anger; and the tyranny of anger is so great that often, when they stumble and get up, they either strike their knee in vexation or overturn the footstool, and thus relieve their pain and quench their anger.

Something like this also God did, giving an eye for an eye to be cut out, and a tooth for a tooth, and destroying Egyptians and Amalekites who had grieved them. And he promises such things, just as if someone were to say: Father, so-and-so struck me; then the father will say: So-and-so is a bad man, and let us hate him. Thus also God says: I will be hostile to those who are hostile to you, and I will hate those who hate you. And again, when Balaam prayed, the condescension that occurred for them was childish. For just as with children, when they see something not frightening, such as wool or something else of that sort, they suddenly become afraid; so that the fear does not remain in them, we bring it under their hands, and we have nurses point it out; thus also God did: for since the seer was frightening, he turned their fear into confidence. And just as weaned children have everything in little baskets, so also he gave them everything and supplied great luxury. But the child seeks the breast; so also these sought Egypt and the meats there.

Thus one would not err in calling Moses both teacher and nourisher and tutor, for the wisdom of the man is great. It is not the same to lead men already capable of philosophizing and to rule over irrational children. And, if you wish to hear something else, just as the nurse says to the child: "When you defecate, pull up your garments, and up to such a point, when you sit down," so also Moses did. And just as all the passions tyrannize in children (for they do not yet have the charioteer)—vainglory, desire, irrationality, anger, envy—so also among the Jews all these prevailed; they spat upon and struck Moses. And just as a child picks up a stone, and we all cry out, "Oh, do not throw it!" so also they took up stones against the father, and he fled. And just as if the father had some ornament, the child, being fond of ornament, asks for it from him, so indeed those around Dathan and Abiram did, rising up against the priesthood. And they were especially envious of all, and petty, and in every way imperfect. Was it then the time, tell me, for Christ to appear? Was it then the time to give these philosophical ordinances, when they were mad with desire, when they were horses mad for females, when they were slaves of money, when they were slaves of the belly? But he would have poured out the teachings of philosophy, discoursing to those who were senseless; and they would have learned neither these nor those. And just as one who teaches reading before the letters will never teach even the letters, so indeed then. But not now; rather, by the grace of God, much gentleness, much virtue has been planted everywhere.

Let us therefore give thanks for all things, and not be meddlesome. For we do not know the time, but the maker of time and creator of the ages does. Let us therefore yield everything to him; for this is to glorify God, not to demand from him an account of what he does. Thus also Abraham gave glory to God, being fully assured that what he promised, he is able also to perform. He did not even ask about the future; but we examine the account even of past events. See how great the folly, how great the ingratitude. But let us stop now; for there is no profit from this, but much harm; and let us be well-disposed toward our Master, and send up glory to God, so that by offering thanks for all things, we may be deemed worthy of his benevolence, by the grace and benevolence of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Homily 5. The mystery hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now revealed to his saints, to whom God wished to make known what is the wealth of the glory of the mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

Having said "of which we partook," and having shown God's philanthropy and the honor due to the magnitude of what was given, he again introduces another intensification, that no one before us learned it—which he also does in the Epistle to the Ephesians, saying: "Neither angels, nor principalities, nor any other created power, but only the Son of God knew." Therefore he did not simply say "hidden," but "kept hidden"; and that even if it has now come to pass, it is ancient, and from above God willed these things, and thus they were prefigured—why, he no longer says. "From the ages," he says, "from the beginning." And he fittingly calls it a mystery, which no one knew except God. And where was it hidden? In Christ—just as he says in the Epistle to the Ephesians; or as when the prophet says, "From eternity, and to eternity you are." "But now it has been revealed," he says, "to his saints." So the whole is a matter of God's economy. "But now," he says, "it has been revealed." He did not say "it came to be," but "it was revealed to his saints." So even now it is still hidden, if indeed it was revealed only to the saints. Therefore let not those men deceive you; for they do not know why only to those "to whom he wished," he says. See how everywhere he silences their questions. "To whom God wished," he says, "to make it known." And his willing is not without reason. He said this rather to make them liable to gratitude, than to allow them to think highly of themselves for an achievement. "What wealth of glory of this mystery among the Gentiles." He spoke solemnly and added weight, seeking intensifications from great disposition. For this too is an intensification, to say indefinitely, "The wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles.

Especially indeed it appears among the nations, as he also says elsewhere, "The nations glorified God for mercy." It appears also in other cases, but much more in these is the great glory of the mystery. For to bring men who were more insensible than stones suddenly to the dignity of angels simply through bare words and faith alone without any labor is truly the glory and wealth of the mystery—just as if someone were to take a dog ruined by hunger and mange, something ugly and ill-favored and unable even to move, but lying prostrate, and suddenly make it a man, and show it on the royal throne. For consider: they worshipped stones and the earth; they learned that they are better than both heaven and sun, and that the whole world serves them. They were captives and prisoners of the devil; suddenly they have become above his head and commanded him and scourged him. Being servants and slaves of demons, they have become the body of the Master of angels and archangels. Not knowing what God is, they have suddenly become fellow-throned with God. Do you wish to see the countless steps which they overleaped? They had first to learn that the stones are not gods; second, that not only are they not gods, but they are inferior to men; third, that they are also inferior to irrational animals; fourth, that they are also inferior to plants; fifth, that they brought the extremes together into the same thing, that they are not only stones, but not earth, not animals, not plants, not man, not heaven.

or again from above, that stones, animals, plants, elements, the things above, the things below, man, demons, angels, archangels, nor any other of those higher powers ought to be served by human nature. Just as men drawn up from some depth needed to learn that this Lord of all is God, that it is necessary to serve him alone, that the wonderful way of life is good, that present death is not death, that life is not life, that the body rises, that it becomes incorruptible, that it ascends to the heavens, that it attains immortality, that it stands with angels, that it is transferred. But that one down there, leaping over all these things, he seated above on the throne, making the one who was beneath stones more lordly than angels and archangels and thrones and lordships. Truly he said well, "What is the wealth of the glory of this mystery?" As if someone were suddenly to show a certain foolish philosopher; or rather, whatever one might say, he will say nothing; for even Paul's words are indefinite. "What is the wealth," he says, "of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you?" Again it was necessary to learn that the one who is higher than all, ruler of angels, and holding sway over all the other powers, came down below, and became man, and suffered countless things, and rose and was taken up.

All these things were of mystery, and he sets them down with praise, saying, "That Christ is among you." If he is among you, why do you seek angels as teachers of this mystery? For there is also another mystery. But this is truly a mystery, which no one knows, which is wonderful, which is contrary to common expectation, which was hidden. "That Christ is among you," he says, "the hope of glory," whom we proclaim, bringing him from above; whom we, not angels, teach and admonish, not in a commanding manner nor with compulsion; for this too is part of God's love for humanity, that he is not brought forward tyrannically. Since "teaching" was great, he added "admonishing," which was more characteristic of a father than a teacher. "Whom we," he says, "proclaim, admonishing every person and teaching every person in all wisdom"; that is, with all wisdom and understanding, or saying everything in wisdom. So all wisdom is needed; for being able to learn such things is not for just anyone. "That we may present every person perfect in Christ Jesus." What do you mean, "every person"? Yes, he says, this is what we strive for. For what? Even if this does not happen, the blessed Paul was eager to make him perfect. So this is perfection, that is imperfection; thus even if someone does not have all wisdom, he is imperfect. "Perfect in Christ Jesus." Not in the law nor in angels; for that is not perfect. "In Christ," that is, in the knowledge of Christ. He who knows what Christ did will think more highly than angels. "In Christ Jesus," for which I also labor and strive.

I do not simply exert myself, he says, nor in a random manner, but I labor contending, with great earnestness, that is, with much wakefulness. If I am so wakeful for your good, much more ought you to be. Then again, showing that it is divine, he says, According to his energy, the energy that is worked in me with power. He shows that this is the work of God. Therefore, the one who makes me strong for this clearly wills it; hence he begins by saying, By the will of God. So he has placed this not only out of modesty, but also to confirm the truth of the statement, and contending. Having said this, he shows that many are fighting against him. Then his affection is great: For I want you to know how great a struggle I have concerning you and those in Laodicea. Then, lest this seem to be due to their weakness, he has also joined others, and has not yet condemned them. And all who have not seen my face in the flesh. Here he shows divinely that they saw continually in spirit. He bears witness to their great love; therefore he added: So that their hearts might be comforted, being united in love, and in all the wealth of the fullness of understanding, for the knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Christ, in which are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Already then he hastens and is in labor to introduce the doctrine, neither accusing nor acquitting them of the accusation. I have a struggle, he says. For what purpose? That we might be united. What he means is this: that they might stand firm in the faith. But he does not put it that way; rather, he cuts short the accusations.

That is, that they might be united with love, not with necessity, nor with force. For as I said, he is always unburdensome to them by allowing them, and for this reason he says: I am in anguish, because I wish it to be with love and willingly. For I do not simply wish the gathering to take place, not merely with the mouth, but that their hearts might be encouraged. When they are brought together in love, into the entire wealth of the full assurance of understanding. That is, that they might doubt about nothing, that they might be fully assured about everything. And he called it full assurance through faith; for there is also full assurance through reasoning, but that is worth nothing. I know, he says, that you believe, but I wish you to be fully assured, not only into wealth, but into the entire wealth, that you might be fully assured in all things and intensely. And observe the wisdom of this blessed man. He did not say, You are doing wrong, that you are not fully assured, and accuse them; but, You do not know how I strive, that you might be fully assured with understanding, and not simply. For since he spoke of faith, Do not think, he says, that I spoke simply and without purpose, but with understanding, with love. Into the knowledge of the mystery of God the Father, and of Christ. So that this mystery belongs to God, which is brought forward through the Son. And of Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden. If they are in him, then he came wisely even now. Why then do some of the foolish accuse? See how he speaks to the simpler ones: In whom are all the treasures. He himself knows everything. Hidden. Do not think that you already have the whole.

They are hidden even from angels, not only from you; so that it is necessary to ask everything from him; he himself gives wisdom and knowledge. Now, by saying "treasures," he shows the abundance; by "all," that nothing is unknown; by "hidden," that he alone knows. I say this so that no one may deceive you with plausible reasoning. 3. Do you see that he says he said these things for this reason, so that you might not seek from men? "He may deceive," he says, "with plausible reasoning." For what if he speaks plausibly? For if I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit. It would have been consistent to say: For even if I am absent in body, yet I know the deceivers; but now he ended in praise. Rejoicing and seeing your order and the solidity of your faith in Christ. "Order," he says, meaning good order. And "solidity of your faith in Christ." These are more like praises. And he did not say "faith," but "the solidity," as if speaking to soldiers standing in good order and firmly. The solid is not shaken by deceit or temptation. Not only, he says, have you not fallen, but no one has disturbed your order. He presented himself to them, so that they might fear him as present; for order is preserved in this way. From "solidity" comes the compactness; for thus a solid structure is formed, when you gather many things and join them closely and inseparably; then it becomes a solid structure, as in a wall. This is the work of love; for when it closely joins and unites those who are separate, it makes them solid. And faith again does the same, when it does not allow thoughts to intrude.

For just as reasonings divide and unsettle, so faith strengthens and causes to be fixed. Since God has benefited us with things greater than human reasoning can grasp, he has fittingly introduced faith. For it is impossible for one who demands reasonings to be steadfast. Behold, how all our sacred things are devoid of reasonings and cling to faith alone. God is nowhere and everywhere. What is more irrational than this? Each point taken by itself is full of difficulty. For he is not in a place, nor is there any place in which he is. He did not come into being, he did not make himself, he did not begin to exist. What reasoning will accept these things, unless there is faith? Or does it not seem to be a laughingstock, and rather a riddle that has no end? So his being without beginning, unbegotten, uncircumscribed, and infinite is thus beyond reasoning. But let us consider the incorporeal, to see if we can examine it by reasoning. God is incorporeal. What is incorporeal? It is merely an empty word; for the concept has received nothing, nor has it impressed itself upon the mind; for if it forms an image, it comes into a nature and produces the properties of a body. So the mouth speaks, but the mind does not know what it says, except one thing only: that it is not a body; this alone it knows. And why do I speak of God? For concerning the soul, what is the incorporeal, the soul that is created, enclosed, circumscribed? Tell me, show me. But you would not be able to. Is it air? But air is a body, even if not dense, and it is evident from many sources that it is a rarefied body. Fire, then? But fire is a body, while the activity of the soul is incorporeal. Why? Because it pervades everywhere. But if the soul itself is a body, then the incorporeal is in a place; therefore it is also circumscribed.

That which is circumscribed exists in a form, and forms come from a line, and lines from bodies. Again, what notion does the formless have? It has no shape, no form, no type. Do you see how the mind reels? Again, that nature is incapable of receiving evils; but it is also voluntarily good; therefore it is receptive. But one cannot say that—far from it. Again, was it brought into being willingly or unwillingly? But this too cannot be said. Again, does it circumscribe the inhabited world or not? For if it does not circumscribe, it is itself circumscribed; but if it does circumscribe, it is infinite by nature. Again, does it circumscribe itself? But if it circumscribes itself, then it is not without beginning in relation to itself, but only to us; therefore it is not without beginning by nature. Everywhere one must grant the opposites. Do you see how great the darkness is, and that faith is needed everywhere? This is the solid thing. But, if you wish, let us come to lesser matters than these. That substance has an activity. And what is activity in its case? Is it some kind of motion? Then it is not immutable; for what is moved is not immutable, since it is moved from a state of immobility.

Yet it moves, and never stands still. What kind of motion, tell me? For among us there are seven: downward, upward, inward, outward, to the right, to the left, and circular; or if not these, then increase, decrease, generation, destruction, alteration. But it moves in none of these; rather, does it move as the mind moves? But not even that—far from it; for the mind moves in many and disordered ways. Is willing the same as acting? All men wish to be good and to be saved; why does it not happen? Or is willing one thing and acting another? Then willing is not sufficient for action; how then does Scripture say, "He did all that he willed"? And again the leper says to Christ, "If you will, you can cleanse me." Do you wish me to say something else? How did beings come from non-being? How do they dissolve into nothing? What is above the heaven? And above that, what? And above that, what? And after that, what? And so on to infinity. What is below the earth? The sea; and after this, what? And after that again, what? But to the right, to the left—is not the same perplexity?

But these things are invisible. Do you wish me to bring the argument to visible things, to things that have already happened? Tell me, how did the beast hold Jonah in its belly, and he did not perish? Is it not irrational? Does it not move simply? How did it spare the righteous man? How did the heat not suffocate him? How did he not rot? For if being in the deep alone is perplexing, being in the entrails and that heat is far more perplexing. How did he breathe the air from there? How was the breath sufficient for two living beings? How did it vomit him forth unharmed? How did he speak? How was he himself and prayed? Are these not incredible? If we examine by reason, they are incredible; but if by faith, they are very credible. Shall I say something more than this? The grain in the bosom of the earth decays and rises. Behold the wonders, contrary and conquering each other: it is wonderful that it did not rot, wonderful that it rotted and rose. Where are those who distrust the resurrection and say, "How is this bone glued to that?" and introduce such mythical things? Tell me, how did Elijah ascend in a chariot of fire? Fire is accustomed to burn, not to carry upward. How does he live for so long? In what place is he? Why did this happen? Where was Enoch translated? Does he enjoy food such as we do? And what prevents him from being here? But he does not enjoy it; and why was he translated? Behold God gradually educating us. He translated Enoch; this is not very great. He taught us this for the ascent of Elijah. Again, he shut Noah in the ark; this too is not very great. He taught us this for the confinement of the prophet in the whale.

Thus also the ancient things required forerunners and types. For just as on a ladder the first step leads to the second, and from the first it is not possible to go to the fourth, and this one to that one, so that that one becomes a path for this one; nor is it possible to go to the second before the first; so also here. And behold signs of signs; and you will see this in the ladder that Jacob saw: Above, it says, the Lord was fixed, and below angels ascended and descended. It was prophesied that the Father has a Son; this needed to be believed. From where do you wish me to show its signs? From above downward, or from below upward? It needed to be known that He begets impassibly; for this reason He first caused a barren woman to give birth. But rather let us lead the argument higher: it needed to be believed that He is from Him; what then? This happens, dimly indeed, as in type and shadow, yet it happens; and as it proceeds, it happens more clearly somehow. From a man alone a woman is born, and that man remains whole. Again, there needed to be some evidence of the birth from a Virgin. A barren woman gives birth not once, but also a second and third and many times. So the barren woman is a type of the birth from a Virgin; and she leads the mind to faith. Again, this became a type of the fact that only God can beget. For if a human being is more authoritative, and is born without this, much more is He born from the more authoritative. There is also another birth that is a type of the truth, our birth from spirit. Of this again the barren woman is a type, because it is not from blood; this is a type of the higher birth. So one shows its impassibility, the other that it can be born from one alone. Christ is above, holding sway over all.

This had to be believed. This happens on earth in the case of man. For let us make, it says, man according to our image and likeness, and he is set over the rule of all irrational beings. Thus he taught you not through words, but through deeds. The seclusion of nature was indicated by paradise, and that man is the best of all. Christ was about to rise; see then how many proofs of this there are: Enoch, Elijah, Jonah, those in the furnace, the baptism in the case of Noah, seeds, plants, our own birth, that of all living things. Since everything was at stake in this, this above all had many types. That all things are not without providence, it is possible to infer from what is among us; for nothing remains without providence, but even flocks and all other things require a ruler. And that all things did not come about spontaneously, Gehenna shows, and the flood in the case of Noah showed it, fire, the drowning of the Egyptians, the events in the desert. Many things also had to precede baptism; this happened, as many as are in water, and countless others, such as those in the Old Testament, those in the baptismal font, the cleansing of the one who is not healthy, the flood itself, the baptism of John. It had to be believed that God gives up his own son; man anticipated this and did it. Who is this? Abraham the patriarch. Of all these, then, we shall find types, if we wish, if we search in Scripture. But let us not grow weary, but let us regulate ourselves by these things.

Let us have firm faith and display precision of conduct, so that, having given thanks to God in all things, we may be deemed worthy of the good things promised to those who love Him, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Homily 6. As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and confirmed in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 1. Again he anticipates them with his own testimony, saying, "As therefore you received." We are introducing nothing foreign, he says; therefore neither should you. Walk in Him; for He is the way that leads to the Father—not among the angels; that way does not lead there. Rooted, that is, fixed; not sometimes this way, sometimes that, but rooted; what is rooted would never change. See how he uses the words precisely. And built up, he says; that is, reaching Him in mind. And confirmed in Him; that is, holding Him fast, and building upon Him as a foundation. He shows that they had fallen; for "built up" indicates this. For faith is truly a building, and both the foundation must be strong and the construction secure. For if one builds without security, it is shaken; if with security, but it does not stand, it no longer remains. Just as you were taught. Again, "just as" indicates that he is saying nothing new.

Abounding, he says, in it with thanksgiving. For this is characteristic of grateful people; I do not simply mean giving thanks, but with great presence, more than you have learned, if possible, with great ambition. See that no one leads you astray. Do you see how he showed that he is a thief, and an alien, and how he enters stealthily? For he has already presented him as entering. And he rightly said, leading astray. Just as someone digging a mound from below does not provide sensation, but it subsides, so also does that one act. Therefore, be watchful; for this is his work, to provide no sensation. Through philosophy. Then, since the term philosophy seems dignified, he added, and empty deception. For there is also a noble deception, such as many have been deceived by, which ought not even to be called deception; concerning which Jeremiah says, You have deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived. For such a thing ought not even to be called deception; since Jacob also deceived his father, but it was not deception, but an economy. Through philosophy, he says, and empty deception, according to human tradition, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.

First, he touches on the refutation of the observance of days, calling the sun and moon elements of the world, just as he said in the Epistle to the Galatians: "Why do you again return to the weak and poor elements?" And he did not say "observances of days," but "throughout the whole of this present world," in order to show its worthlessness; for if the world is nothing, much more so are the elements. Having first shown how many benefits they received, how much good they experienced, then he brings the accusation, so as to make it greater and to convict the hearers. The prophets always do this: first they show the benefits, and then they amplify the accusations, as Isaiah says: "I begot sons and raised them up, and they rejected me"; and again, "My people, what have I done to you, or how have I grieved you, or how have I troubled you?" And David, as when he says: "I hearkened to you in the hidden place of the storm"; and again, "Open your mouth, and I will fill it." And everywhere you will find it thus. Most of all, even if they said something, one ought to obey; but now even apart from the benefits, one must flee those things. And it is not according to Christ, he says. For most of all, even if it were so halfway, that you could serve both this and that, not even then ought you; but now it does not permit you to be according to Christ. They bring these things from there. But first, having shaken the Greek observances, he then also destroys the Jewish ones. For both Greeks and Jews observed many things, but the former from philosophy, the latter from law. First, then, he approaches these, where the accusation is greater. How is it not according to Christ?

That in him dwells the whole fullness of the divinity bodily, and you are fulfilled in him, who is the head of every beginning and authority. 2. See how in the accusation against these things he digs that out, first placing the solution, and then the objection. For such a solution is unsuspected, and the hearer accepts it more readily, as if the speaker is not eager for this. For there he even strives not to be defeated, but here he does not. "That in him dwells." That is, that God dwells in him. But lest you think he is confined, as in a body, he says: "The whole fullness of the divinity bodily, and you are fulfilled in him." Others say that he means the church is fulfilled by his divinity, just as elsewhere he says: "Of him who fills all things in all"; and "bodily" here, as in a head the body. Why then did he not add, "which is the church"? Some say he speaks of the Father, that the fullness of the divinity dwells in him; but this is wrong. First, because "dwell" is not properly said of God; second, because the fullness is not that which receives; for "the earth of the Lord, and its fullness," and again the apostle: "Until the fullness of the nations enters." The whole is called fullness. Then, what does "bodily" intend to signify? As in a head. And what again does the same thing mean, "And you are fulfilled in him"? What then is it? That you have nothing less than him; just as he dwelt in him, so also in you. For Paul always strives to bring us near to Christ, as when he says: "He raised and seated us together"; and, "If we endure, we will also reign together.

And, will he not also grant us all things together with himself? And he calls them co-heirs. Then concerning the dignity: And he himself is the head of every beginning and authority. The one higher than all, the cause, is he not of the same substance? Then he added the matter of the benefaction in a wondrous way, and much more wondrous than in the Epistle to the Romans. For there he says, Circumcision of the heart in spirit, not in letter; but here, In Christ. In whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made by hand, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. See how close he comes to the matter. In the putting off, he says. He did not say, taking off. Of the body of the sins. He means the old life. He constantly turns these things about and in various ways, just as he said above: Who delivered us from the authority of darkness, and reconciled us who were alienated, so that we might be holy and blameless. No longer, he says, is the circumcision by the knife, but in Christ himself; for a hand does not perform this circumcision, as there, but the spirit; it circumcises not a part, but the whole person. This too is a body, and that is a body; but the one is circumcised in the flesh, the other spiritually; but not as the Jews; for you have not put off flesh, but sins. When, and where? In baptism. And what he calls circumcision, he again calls a tomb. See how he again passes on to the justifications. Of the sins, he says, of the flesh; that is, those things which they did in the flesh. He says it is greater than circumcision; for they did not cast away what was circumcised, but they destroyed it, they corrupted it.

Buried together with him, he says, in baptism, in which you were also raised together through the faith of the activity of God who raised him from the dead. But it is not only a tomb; for see what he says: In which you were also raised together through the faith of the activity of God who raised him from the dead. He spoke well; for it is entirely a matter of faith. You believed that God is able to raise, and thus you were raised. Then also the credibility: Of the one who raised him, he says, from the dead. He already shows the resurrection: And you, once being dead in your transgressions and the foreskin of your flesh, he made alive together with him. For you lay under the sentence of death. And even if you died, it was not simply, but a useful death. See how he again shows what they were worthy of, through what he added: Having forgiven us all transgressions. Having erased the handwritting against us by the doctrines, which was hostile to us, and he removed it from the midst, having nailed it to the cross, having stripped off the beginnings and the authorities, he displayed it openly, having triumphed over them in him. Having forgiven us, he says, all transgressions. Which ones? Those that caused the deadness. And what? Did he allow it to remain? No, but he also erased it; he did not only scratch it out, but he erased it, so that it does not even appear. By the doctrines, he says. Which doctrines? The faith. Therefore it is enough to believe. He did not set works against works, but he set works by faith. And what after these things? An intensification of forgiving, to erase again. And he removed it, he says, from the midst. And not even thus did he preserve it, but he also tore it apart, having nailed it to the cross.

Having stripped off the principalities and powers, he exposed them openly, triumphing over them in himself. Nowhere else did he speak so loudly. Do you see how much zeal he showed to have the bond annihilated? For example, we were all under sin and punishment; he, having been punished, dissolved both sin and punishment; and he was punished on the cross. There, then, he nailed it; then, as one having authority, he tore it apart. What bond? Either this, he says, which they spoke to Moses, that "Everything that God said we will do, and we will obey"; or if not this, that we owe obedience to God; or if not this, that the devil held the bond which God made with Adam, saying, "On whatever day you eat from the tree, you will die." So the devil held this bond. And Christ did not give it to us, but he himself tore it, which is characteristic of one who releases with joy. "Having stripped off the principalities and powers." He means the diabolical powers; either because human nature had put them on, or because he, having become man, stripped off the handle they had, as it were. This is what "he exposed" means. And he spoke well; for never was the devil so disgraced. For expecting to have him, he lost all those he had, and while the body was nailed, the dead were rising. There the devil received the blow, receiving the fatal wound from a dead body. And just as an athlete, thinking he has thrown his opponent, himself receives a fatal blow from him, so too this shows that dying with boldness is a disgrace for the devil.

For he would have done everything, if he had been able, to persuade people that he had not died. Since after the resurrection every subsequent time was evidence of it, but for death, if that had not occurred, there would have been no other occasion, for this reason he died publicly while all watched, but he did not rise publicly, knowing that the time afterward would bear witness to the truth. For the serpent being sacrificed on the wood above, while the world watched, that is the marvel. And what did the devil not do, so that he might die unnoticed? Listen to Pilate saying, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no fault in him." And again the Jews said to him, "If you are the son of God, come down from the cross." Then, since he received a fatal blow and did not come down, for this reason he was also handed over for burial; for it was possible for him to rise immediately, but so that the matter might be believed. Yet in private deaths it is possible to accuse faint-heartedness; here not even that. For the soldiers did not break his legs, as they did to others, so that it might be evident that he had died. And those who buried the body are known; for this reason the Jews also seal the stone together with the soldiers. For this was what was most eagerly sought after, that it not be obscured. And the witnesses are from the enemies, from the Jews. Listen to them saying to Pilate, "That deceiver said while still living, 'After three days I rise.' Order then that the tomb be guarded by the soldiers." And while they were sealing it, this happened.

Listen also to them saying this after these events to the apostles: "Do you wish to bring the blood of this man upon us?" He did not allow the manner of his crucifixion to be disgraced. For since the angels have suffered nothing of the kind, for this reason he does everything on behalf of this, showing that death accomplished a great feat. For it was like a single combat. Death struck Christ, but Christ, though struck, afterward destroyed it. With a dead body, that which seemed immortal was undone, and this the whole world saw. And what is remarkable, he did not entrust this to another. But another contract was made again, not of the same kind as the former. 4. See, then, that we are not caught by this after saying, "I renounce Satan and I pledge myself to you, Christ." Rather, this would not be called a contract, but a covenant. For a contract is when someone is held liable for debts; but this is a covenant. It has no penalty, nor does it say, "If this, or if not this." Moses, who sprinkled the blood of the covenant, spoke thus, and God promised eternal life. All these things are a covenant. There, a slave to a master; here, a friend to a friend. There, "On whatever day he eats," it says, "he will die"—immediately a threat; here, nothing of the sort. Here, nakedness; there, nakedness. But there, having sinned, he was stripped, because he sinned; here, in order to be freed, he is stripped. Then, he stripped off the glory that that one had; now, this one strips off the old man, and before even entering, he strips it off as easily as garments. He is anointed, like athletes about to enter the stadium.

For as soon as he is born, not little by little like that first one, but immediately; not as the priests of old anointed only the head, but rather more fully. For that one anointed the head, the right ear, the hand, in order to rouse him to obedience and good works; but this one anoints the whole body. For he does not come only to be taught, but also to contend and to be trained, and he is led up to another creation. For when he confesses to eternal life, he has confessed another creation. He took dust from the earth and fashioned the man; but thereafter it is no longer dust, but the Holy Spirit; by this he is formed, by this he is shaped, just as he himself was in the womb of the Virgin. He did not say "in paradise," but "in heaven." Do not think, because earth lies beneath, that you are on earth; he has transferred you there to heaven; these things happen there among angels; above, God takes your soul, above he reshapes it, he sets you beside the royal throne. He is formed in the water, and receives a spirit as a counter-soul. And after he is formed, he does not bring beasts against him, but demons and their chief, and says, "Tread upon snakes and scorpions." He does not say, "Let us make a man according to our image and likeness"; but what? He gives them the ability to become sons of God, who were born not from blood, but from God, he says. Then, lest you listen to the serpent, he immediately teaches you to say, "I renounce you"; that is, "Whatever you say, I will not listen to you." Then, lest he ensnare you through others, he says, "and to your procession and your worship and your angels." He set him no longer to guard paradise, but to dwell in heaven.

For as soon as he goes up, he utters these words: "Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth." The child does not fall upon its face; you see no tree nor fountain, but you immediately embrace the Lord himself, you are mingled with the body, you are blended with the body that lies above, where the devil cannot approach. There is no woman, that he might approach and deceive her as the weaker; for there is, it is said, neither female nor male. Unless you descend to him, he will not be able to set foot where you are; for you are in heaven, and heaven is inaccessible to the devil. There is no tree of knowledge of good and evil, but only the tree of life. No longer is woman from your rib, but we are all one from the rib of Christ. For if those anointed by men suffer nothing from serpents, neither will you suffer anything, as long as you are anointed, so that you may be able to seize the serpent and strangle it, to tread upon serpents and scorpions. But just as the gifts are great, so too is the punishment great for us; it is not possible for one who has fallen from paradise to dwell opposite paradise, nor to return whence we fell. But what after this? Gehenna, and an unending worm. But may none of us become liable to this punishment; but living virtuously, let us strive to do what is pleasing to him; let us please God, so that we may both be delivered from punishment and obtain the eternal goods, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 7. Let no one, therefore, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in a part of a feast or of a new moon or of sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is Christ's. Let no one defraud you, wishing in humility and religion of the angels, which he has not seen while entering, vainly puffed up by the mind of his own flesh, and not holding the head, from which the whole body is supplied and joined together through the contacts and ligaments, and increases the increase of God. a. Having first spoken enigmatically, "See that no one will be leading you astray according to the tradition of men," and again above, "I say this so that no one may deceive you with plausible reasoning," and having taken hold of the soul beforehand and made it anxious, then having inserted the benefits, and having done this more strongly, then he brings the refutation later, and says: "Let no one, therefore, judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in a part of a feast or of a new moon or of sabbaths." Do you see how he demolishes them? If you have obtained such things, he says, why do you make yourselves liable to small things? And he belittles them, saying, "Or in a part of a feast"—for they did not indeed hold all the former things. "Or of a new moon or of sabbaths." He did not say, "Do not, therefore, observe," but, "Let no one judge you." He showed them transgressing and dissolving, but he brought the charge against others. Do not tolerate those who judge, he says. But not even this; rather, he speaks only to those, not silencing them, that "You ought not to examine." But he would not have attacked these things. He did not say, "In pure and impure," nor did he say, "In the Feast of Tabernacles and Unleavened Bread and Pentecost," but, "In a part of a feast.

For they did not dare to keep the whole law; and if they did keep it, it was not so as to celebrate a feast. "In part," he says, showing that the greater part has been dissolved. For even if they observed the sabbath, they did not do so precisely. "Which is a shadow of things to come," he says, of the New Covenant. "But the body is Christ's." Some punctuate this as "But the body, Christ's," and the truth has come to be concerning Christ; others as "But the body of Christ. Let no one defraud you," that is, insult you. For to be defrauded is when the victory belongs to one party but the prize to another, when one who has won is insulted. You have stood above the devil and sin from above; why do you again subject yourself to sin? For this reason he said that he is a debtor to fulfill the whole law; and again, "Was Christ found to be a servant of sin?" as he wrote in the Epistle to the Galatians. When, therefore, he had filled them with anger by saying "Let him defraud," then he begins: "Wishing," he says, "in humility and worship of angels, prying into things he has not seen, vainly puffed up by the mind of his own flesh." How "in humility"? Or how "puffed up"? He shows that the whole thing is a matter of vainglory. What, then, is the meaning of what is said? There were some who said, "We ought not to be brought near through Christ, but through the angels; for that is greater than we are." For this reason he turns over and over the things said to him on behalf of Christ: "Through the blood of his cross we were reconciled," "That he suffered for us," "That he loved us." And in this very matter they were again puffed up. And he did not say "approach" but "worship." "Prying into things he has not seen." For he has not seen angels, and yet he is in such a state as if he had seen them.

This is why he says, "Puffed up by the mind of his own flesh in vain." For he is not puffed up on account of any true matter, on account of the doctrine. And he puts forward a pretense of humility; as if he said: Of fleshly understanding, not spiritual, the reasoning is human. And "not holding the head," he says, "from which the whole body." That is, from there it has its being, and its well-being. Why then, leaving the head, do you hold to the members? If you fall away from there, you are lost. "From which the whole body." Whoever it may be, he says, not only living, but also being composed from there for him. The whole church, as long as it has the head, grows; since the passion of folly and vainglory is no longer, the invention of human thought. Behold the "From which," in reference to the Son. Through the contacts and bonds, he says, being supplied and joined together, it grows the growth of God; the growth according to God, he says, that from the best way of life. If then you died with Christ. He places that in the middle, and the more vehement on each side. If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, he says, why do you, as if living in the world, hold doctrines? It has no consistency; for he ought to have said: How, as if living, are you subject to the elements? But leaving this aside, what does he say? Do not touch nor taste nor handle; which are all for corruption in their use, according to the commandments and teachings of men.

You are not in the world, he says; and how are you subject to the elements? How to the observances of the world? And see how he mocks them: Do not touch, do not handle, do not taste, as if they were abstaining from great things. All these things are for corruption in their use. He took down the puffing up of the many, and added: According to the commandments and teachings of men. What are you saying? Even if you speak of the law, it is henceforth a teaching of a man after the time. Either he said this because they were corrupting it, or he alludes to the teachings of the Greeks. The whole doctrine is human, he says. These things have a word of wisdom in will-worship and humility and disregard of the body, not in any honor for the gratification of the flesh. A word, he says, not power; therefore not truth. So even if it has a word of wisdom, let us turn away from it. For someone seems to be pious and moderate and to despise the body; but he is not. Not in any honor for the gratification of the flesh. For God gave honor, but they have not used it in honor. Thus, when there is a doctrine, he knows to call it honor. They dishonor the flesh, he says, depriving it and taking away its authority, not allowing it to hold willingly; God honored the flesh. If then you have risen with Christ. He gathers them together, having established above that he died. For this reason he says, If then you have risen with Christ, seek the things above. There is no observance there. Seek the things above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Wow! Where has he raised our mind? With how great a spirit has he filled them?

It was not enough to say "the things above," nor "where Christ is," but he adds, "sitting at the right hand of God." From there, then, he prepared them not to look at the earth. Think of the things above, not the things on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. This is not your life, he says; your life is something else. Already he is pressing to transfer them, and he strives to show them seated above and being dead, constructing from both sides that they should not seek the things here. For if you are dead, you ought not to seek; if you are above, you ought not to seek. Does Christ not appear? Then neither does your life. It is above in God. What then? When shall we live? When Christ, your life, is revealed, then seek glory, then seek life, then seek luxury. These are preparatory things to lead them away from luxury and ease. It is his custom, while constructing one thing, to leap over to others; for example, as if while discussing those who anticipate banquets, he suddenly fell into the observance of the mysteries. For it has great force of refutation when it happens unsuspectedly. It is hidden from you, he says. Then you also will be revealed with him. So now you are not seen. See how he transferred them into heaven itself. For, as I said, he always strives to show them having the same things as Christ; and throughout all his epistles this is the argument, to show them sharing in everything with him. For this reason he also says "head" and "body," and does everything to present this.

If, then, we are revealed at that time, let us not be pained when we do not enjoy honor; if this life is not life, but is hidden, we ought to live this life as dead. Then you also, he says, will be revealed with him in glory. —He said "in glory," not simply; for even the pearl is hidden until it is in the oyster. Therefore, whether we are insulted, let us not be pained, or whatever we suffer; for this life is not our life; for we are strangers and sojourners. For you have died, he says. Who is so foolish as to buy slaves for a dead buried body, or to build houses, or to prepare costly garments? No one. Let us then not do so either; but just as we seek only one thing, that we not be naked, so here let us seek only one thing. Our first man was buried; he was buried not in earth, but in water, not with death dissolving him, but with the one who dissolved death burying him, not by the law of nature, but by the stronger command of the master over nature. For things produced by nature might be dissolved by someone, but those produced by his command, no longer. There is nothing more blessed than this burial, at which all rejoice—angels, humans, and the Master of the angels; for this burial there is no need of garments, of a coffin, or of any other such thing. Do you wish to see the symbol? I will show you a font, in which one was buried, another arose; in the Red Sea, Egyptians were drowned, but Israelites came up; and the same thing buries one and gives birth to another.

Do not be surprised if generation and corruption occur in baptism; for, tell me, is not dissolving opposed to gluing? That is clear to everyone. This fire does: it dissolves and destroys wax, but it fuses metallic earth and produces gold. So also here, the power of fire, having obliterated the waxen statue, displayed a golden one in its place; for we were truly clay before the bath, and golden after it. How is this clear? Listen to him saying: The first man is from earth, earthy; the second man is heavenly, from heaven. I said the difference between clay and gold, but I found a greater difference between heavenly and earthly; the interval between clay and gold is not so great as that between earthly and heavenly things. We were waxen, and clay; for the flame of desire melted us much more than fire melts wax; and any trial shattered us much more than stone shatters clay vessels. And, if you wish, let us describe the former life, whether it was not all earth and water, possessing instability, dust, and flux. And, if you wish, let us examine not the former things, but the present ones, whether we will not find all existing things to be dust and water. For what do you wish to speak of? Rulers and powers? For nothing seems more enviable than this in the present life. But one would find dust standing in the air more stable than these, especially now. For to what are they not subject? To those who love them, to eunuchs, to those who do everything for the sake of money, to the anger of the people, to the wrath of the more powerful.

Yesterday the one who was high on the tribunal, having heralds shouting with a clear voice, and many running ahead and bustling about the agora, today is cheap and lowly, and bereft and stripped of all those things, like dust that has been stirred up, like a stream that has passed by. And just as dust is raised from our feet, so also are offices born from those who revolve around money, and who have the rank of feet in the whole of life; and just as dust, when it is raised, occupies a large part of the air, but itself is small, so also is office; and just as dust blinds the eyes, so also the pride of office maims the eyes of the mind. But what? Do you wish to examine the much-desired thing, wealth? Come, let us examine it in detail. It has luxury, it has honors, it has power. First, then, if you wish, let us examine luxury; is it not dust? Rather, it passes by even more quickly than this; for the pleasure of luxury extends only to the tongue; but when the stomach is filled, it does not even reach the tongue. But these honors themselves are a pleasant thing, one says. And what is more unpleasant than that honor, when it occurs for the sake of money? When it is not from choice, nor from any goodwill, you do not reap the honor, but wealth does. So that this very thing makes the wealthy person most dishonorable of all. Tell me, if everyone honored you because you had a friend, but they admitted that you yourself were worthy of nothing, and that they were compelled to honor you because of him, would they have dishonored you in any other way?

Thus wealth is a cause of dishonor for us, being more valuable than its own possessors, and a sign of weakness rather than of power. How then is it not absurd that we should not consider ourselves worthy of earth and ashes (for that is what gold is), but that we should be honored on account of it? Reasonably so; but he who despises wealth is not thus honored; for it is better not to be honored than to be honored in this way. Tell me, if someone said to you, "I consider you worthy of no honor, but I honor you on account of your servants," what could be worse than this dishonor? If being honored on account of servants, who share the same soul and nature as us, is shameful, how much more so on account of these things, which are more worthless—I mean the walls of houses, courtyards, gold vessels, and garments. This is truly a laughingstock and a disgrace; it is better to die than to be honored in this way. Tell me, if someone, while you were in danger in this pride, a cheap and contemptible person, wished to rescue you from the danger, what could be worse than this? What you say to one another about the city, I wish to say to you. Once our city offended the ruler, and he ordered it to be utterly destroyed, along with men, children, and buildings. For such are royal rages; they indulge their authority as much as they wish; so great an evil is authority. It was thus in extreme danger. The neighboring city, this maritime one, came and interceded with the king on our behalf; but the inhabitants of our city said that this was worse than the city being razed to the ground. Thus being honored in this way is worse than being dishonored. For see from what root the honor springs.

Cooks' hands make us honored, so that we owe them gratitude; and swineherds, providing a rich table; and weavers and spinners, and those who work metals, and cake-makers, and table-makers. Is it not better, then, not to be honored, than to know gratitude to these for the honor? And apart from this, that wealth is full of dishonor, I will clearly attempt to demonstrate. It makes the soul ugly; what is more dishonorable than this? Tell me, if the body were beautiful, surpassing all in comeliness, and wealth, approaching, promised to make it ugly, and instead of healthy, diseased, instead of calm, inflamed, and, having filled all the limbs with dropsy, it swelled the face and made it swell from all sides, and swelled the feet and made them heavier than beams, and swelled the belly and made it larger than any jar, and after this it promised not to allow those who wished to treat it (for this is the authority), but to give such freedom that if someone should try to lead it away from the harmful things, it would punish him; would anything be more cruel than this, tell me? Therefore, when wealth works these things upon the soul, how could it be good? But the authority of this disease is more grievous; for being sick and not obeying the laws of physicians is more grievous than being sick; which wealth possesses, making the soul inflamed from all sides and preventing the physicians from approaching. So let us not bless these men on account of their authority, but let us pity them.

For even if I saw a man with dropsy lying down, with no one preventing him from drinking as many drinks as he wished and eating the meats that harm him, I would not have deemed him blessed because of his license. For license is not everywhere a good thing, just as honors are not; for these too fill one with great pride. If you would not choose to accept that disease along with wealth for your body, how do you overlook your soul, not only suffering this but also receiving another punishment? For it is inflamed on all sides by fevers and inflammations, and no one can quench that fever; for wealth does not allow the things that are defects to be seen as such, having persuaded them to be advantages: for example, tolerating no one and doing everything with license. For one will not find another soul so full of desires and such absurd ones as those of people who wish to be rich. For how many absurdities do they not picture for themselves? More than those who fashion hippocentaurs and chimeras and dragon-footed beings and Scyllas and monsters, one could see them fashioning such things. And if you wish to fashion one of their desires, neither Scylla nor Chimera nor Hippocentaur will appear monstrous compared to that monstrosity, but you will find it containing all the beasts together. And perhaps someone will think that I have been born into great wealth, so truly do I speak of what happens. A story is told: for I will first confirm my argument from what is sung among the Greeks; a certain king among them is said to have so insulted luxury that he made a golden plane tree and a heaven above, and thus sat down, and this while campaigning against men trained in warfare.

Is this not the desire of centaurs? Is this not Scylla? Another again cast men into a wooden cow. Is this not Scylla? Formerly, from a man, he made the king a woman, the soldier; from a woman, what shall I say? an irrational beast, and even worse than this. For beasts, if they are under trees, endure their nature and seek nothing more; but this man has outdone even the nature of beasts. What then could be more senseless than the rich? This comes from the excess of desires. Do not many admire him? Therefore they share in his laughter. This showed not wealth, but folly. How much better is the earthly plane tree than that golden one? For things according to nature are sweeter than those contrary to nature. What did your golden sky mean to you, fool? Do you see how wealth makes men mad, how it inflames? I think he is ignorant even of the sea, and perhaps wishes to walk upon it. Is this not a chimera? Is this not a centaur? But there are even now some who are not inferior to that man, but are much more senseless. For what, tell me, do those who make golden pots and jars and alabaster vessels differ in folly from the golden plane tree? And what of women (I am ashamed, but it is necessary to say) who make silver chamber pots? You who make these things ought to be ashamed. While Christ is starving, do you live so luxuriously? Or rather, are you so senseless? What punishment will these women not pay? Do you still ask, why are there robbers, why murderers, why evils, when the devil has swept you away thus?

For to have silver dishes is not in accordance with a philosophical soul, but is entirely a matter of luxury. But to make even unclean vessels out of silver—is that luxury? I would not call it luxury, but folly. Yet not even that, but madness, or rather worse than madness. I know that many mock me for this, but I do not care, provided that some good comes of it. Wealth truly makes men senseless and mad. If their abundance were so great, they would have wanted the earth to be gold, and the walls gold, and perhaps even the sky and the air to be made of gold. What madness, what lawlessness, what fever is this? Another perishes from the cold, he who is in the image of God, and you prepare such things? O the vanity! What more would a madman have done? Do you honor excrements so much as to receive them in silver? I know that you are numbed by hearing this, but those who cause the numbness ought to be the ones, and the men who serve such diseases. For this is licentiousness, cruelty, inhumanity, bestiality, and wantonness. What Scylla, what Chimera, what dragon, or rather what demon, what devil would have done these things? What is the use of Christ? What is the use of faith, when one tolerates men who are Greeks, or rather not Greeks, but demons? If one ought not to adorn the head with gold and pearls, what forgiveness will he obtain who uses silver for such unclean service? Are not the rest enough—though even those are intolerable—chairs and footstools all of silver? Yet even these are folly. But everywhere there is excessive vanity, everywhere vainglory.