HOMILY I ON JEREMIAH
When did Jeremiah begin to prophesy, and during which kings did he prophesy, and what followed that was spoken to him by the Lord? God is quick to show kindness, but slow to punish those who deserve punishment. For though He is able to bring punishment upon those condemned by Him in silence—without prior warning—He does not do so in any way; rather, even when He condemns, He speaks, the speaking having as its purpose that the one about to be condemned might turn back from his condemnation. There are many examples of this that can be taken from the Scriptures, but a few that fall under the present circumstances suffice, so that we may also come to the purpose of the readings set before us. For the Ninevites had become sinners and were condemned by God: "Yet three days, and Nineveh was about to be overturned." God did not wish to condemn it in silence, but "giving them a place for repentance" and return, He sent a Hebrew prophet, so that after he said, "Yet three days, and Nineveh will be overturned," those who had been condemned would not be condemned [finally], but by repenting would obtain the mercy of God.
the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned, as is clear from the words of God to Abraham; yet the angels did what was theirs to do, desiring to save those who did not wish to be saved, saying to Lot: “Are there any here who are sons-in-law, or sons, or daughters?” B—not that they were ignorant that those others would not follow Lot, but they were acting in accordance with the “goodness and philanthropy” of Him who sent them. You will find the same thing in the case of Jeremiah. C
A The time of his prophecy is recorded, [regarding] when he began and until when he prophesied. Then the reader, if he does not pay attention to the reading nor examine the intent of the recorded lessons, will say that it is [merely] history and that it is recorded when Jeremiah began to prophesy and until what length of time he ended his prophecy; "What, therefore, is this history to me? I have read it, I have learned that he began to prophesy 'in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, until the thirteenth year of his reign'; then 'it happened in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,' [that he was] prophesying 'until the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah,' and I have learned that his prophecy extended through three kings 'until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.' What, therefore, are we taught through these things, if we attend to the reading?" God condemned Jerusalem on account of her sins, and they were judged to be abandoned into captivity. Nevertheless, the philanthropic God, when the time was at hand, sent even this prophet above the third kingdom, which was [the one] in the captivity, B so that those who wished, by understanding [the situation], might repent on account of the prophetic words. He sent out a prophet to prophesy even during the second [reign] after the first king and during the third, up until the times of the captivity itself. For the long-suffering God was granting a reprieve, even up to one day, so to speak, before the captivity, encouraging those who were listening to repent, so that the grim events of the captivity might cease.
Whence it is written that "Jeremiah prophesied as far as the captivity of Jerusalem, as far as the fifth month." The captivity began, and yet he still prophesied, as if saying: "You have become captives, but even so, repent; for if you repent, the effects of the captivity will not advance, but the mercy of God will be visited upon you." We have, therefore, something useful from the record containing the times of the prophecy, in that God, in His philanthropy, exhorts those who hear Him not to suffer the things of the captivity. Things like this concern us also. If we sin, we too are about to become captives; for "handing over such a one to Satan" is no different from handing over those from Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar. For just as they were handed over to him because of their sins, so we are handed over to Satan—who is a Nebuchadnezzar—because of our sins; and the Apostle says concerning other sinners, "whom I handed over to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme."
See, then, what a great evil it is to sin, so that they may be "handed over to Satan," who takes captive the souls of those abandoned by God. But God does not abandon those whom He abandons without reason or without judgment. For when He sends rain upon the vineyard, and the vineyard produces "thorns" instead of "grapes," "what will" God do, or what "shall He command the clouds, not to rain down" rain upon the vineyard? Captivity therefore hangs over us as well because of our sins, and we are about to be handed over—unless we repent—to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, so that the spiritual Babylonians may tear us apart. These things hanging over us, the words of the prophets, the words of the law, the words of the apostles, the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to us concerning repentance and exhort us toward conversion. If we hear them, let us believe Him who said: "I also will repent concerning all the evils which I spoke to do to them."
These things then for the preface; and after the preface, it is written that "the word of the Lord came to him," clearly to Jeremiah. But what does the word of the Lord say to him? It is something distinct compared to what was said to the other prophets.
A I will advance to the proof of the interpreter, whoever among men he may be, that I may establish the words of the interpretation, taking two witnesses from the New and Old Testament; taking three witnesses from the Gospel, from the prophet, and from the Apostle. For thus every word shall stand. How, then, can we apply these things to the Savior? Bring a witness from the Old Testament: "For before the child knows good or evil, he disobeys in wickedness to choose the good" (Isa. 7:16). And this is spoken clearly regarding the Savior in Isaiah: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in the womb and will bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel" (Isa. 7:14)—and it is added there: "Before the child knows." And if it is also necessary to take an example from the Gospel: Jesus, not yet having become a man, but while still being an infant, because he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, was progressing. No one who is perfect progresses; rather, he progresses who is in need of progress. Therefore, he progressed in age, he progressed in wisdom, he progressed in grace with God and men (Luke 2:52). For if he emptied himself descending here, and by emptying himself took up again those things from which he had previously emptied himself, having willingly emptied himself, what is unworthy about his having progressed in wisdom, having progressed in age, and having progressed in grace with God and men, and these things being true concerning him which are said: "Before the child knows good or evil, he chooses the good, and disobeys in wickedness" (Isa. 7:16)? This I have brought forth from Isaiah.
8. But someone will say to me: Even if the statement can be understood of the Savior, because he does not know, and other things of this kind which are greater, and if you take him to be a child, do you not offend by feeling these things regarding the Only-begotten and Firstborn of all creation; regarding him who, before he was conceived, was announced by the speaking Gabriel: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35)? And do you dare to say that he does not know how to speak? Wherefore I will see if I can bring something worthy concerning the Savior in this place, that by not knowing certain things, he is greater for not knowing them than if he had known them. Let us use his own voice, how there are some things which he does not know. He answered those who were saying to him: "Did we not eat and drink in your name, and in your name perform many miracles? Depart from me, I never knew you" (Matt. 7:22). Do you think that this which he says, "I never knew you," approves a lesser power of his, or a greater and more B C wonderful one, because he does not know (in the sense of acknowledging) the wicked and those who are perishing? For he knows the differences between them, he knows the better things, the Lord knows those who are his; and if anyone does not know, he is not known (1 Cor. 14:38). Therefore, the sinner is not known by God. Someone among the auditors will say to me: You have shown that God does not know sinners, you have shown that he ignores those who work iniquity; for they are not worthy of his knowledge: how then will you show that it is a great and glorious thing that is said by the Savior: "I do not know how to speak," which is a human thing, and which we often use in speech, for the sake of example, in the language of the Hebrews, or of the Greeks, or the speech of the others? Therefore, if you ascend to the Savior, and know him to be the Word in the beginning with D
the God, you will see that he knows not how to speak. A If, however, you also compare the tongues of angels with the tongues of men, and know that he is greater even than angels—as the Apostle testified in the Epistle to the Hebrews—you will say that he was greater even than the tongue of angels when he was God the Word with the Father. He learns, therefore, and in a way receives the discipline, not of great things, but of lower and smaller things. And just as I, when I speak with children, learn to force myself to lisp—for not knowing how to speak in a childlike way, if I may so call it, I force myself, being mature—so too, being in the magnificence of the glory of God, he does not speak human things; he knows not how to utter sounds for those below. But when he comes into a human body, he says at the beginning: "I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth." And he is a youth because of his fleshly birth, but an elder according to the saying: "The firstborn of all creation." B He is a youth because he came at the consummation of the ages and arrived in the final time of this life. Therefore he says: "I do not know how to speak"; I know how to speak certain things greater than speaking, I know certain things greater than this human utterance. Do you want me to speak to men? I have not yet taken on human speech; I have your speech, O God, I am your Word, O God; to you I know how to converse, but to men I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth. I have assumed human frailty, I have your eloquence, I am your Word; to you I know how to speak, but to men I do not know how to speak, I am a youth.
C And the Lord says: "Do not say: I am a youth, for to all to whomsoever I shall send you, you shall go." Thus he stretches out his hand, touches his mouth, gives him words, and gives him words whereby he may root out kingdoms. But the Savior had no need of words so that he might receive them when he was in the Father, for there was nothing in heaven worthy of being overturned. (But now he receives small things, putting off the greater for a little while). And thus from this it is approved, just as elsewhere he had gloriously said: "I know you not, for you are workers of iniquity," and now, being God, he has gloriously received words, and according to the magnificence of his glory, has spoken: "I do not know how to speak," that is, I do not know human things.
10. Whether it is said to Jeremiah or to the Savior: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you," D by reading Genesis and observing what is written there concerning the creation of the world, you will find that the divine Scripture is very cautious in its words, and did not say: "Before I made you in the womb, I knew you." For when the creation according to the image was taking place, God said: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness"; and he did not say, "Let us form." But when he took clay from the earth, it is not written: "He made man," but: "He formed man," and he placed in paradise the man whom he formed, to dress it and to keep it. If you are able, understand the difference between making and forming, since in saying, whether to Jeremiah or to the Savior, he did not say: "Before I made you in the womb, I knew you."
A For that which is made does not come to be in the womb, but that which is formed from the dust of the earth is fashioned in the womb. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." If the Lord knew all men, how does He say: "I do not know how to speak," since the Lord knew all? One must say that he spoke to Jeremiah as if of something exceptional: "And I knew you." Therefore, God knows as if they were distinguished; God knows those who are worthy of His knowledge, and "The Lord knew those who were His"; but the unworthy God does not know, just as the Savior says: "I never knew you." We ourselves, being human, in so far as we make progress, judge someone worthy of being known by us. And some we do not even wish to hear, lest we become acquainted with them, even to the point of not acknowledging them; but others we desire to know. If, however, the God of the universe does not wish to know Pharaoh, does not wish to know the Egyptians, they are not worthy of the knowledge of God. But Moses is worthy, and [is] such a one B even among the prophets. You must accomplish many things so that God may count you worthy to be known. For He knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb; but another of the prophets He begins to know at thirty years of age, another at forty. The expressions concerning the Savior are ineffable and not to be sought after too curiously; but concerning Jeremiah, we have need of the ears of those who possess knowledge of the Scriptures.
11. How does He say: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you"? God sanctifies some for Himself. He does not wait for this one to be born in order to sanctify him, but sanctifies him before he comes forth from the womb. If you refer this to the Savior, it is not wrong to say that He was sanctified before He was born. [So also understand it of the Lord, who, before He came forth from the womb, was always holy: but this one was sanctified C before he came forth from the womb, but an infinite time earlier.]
12. "I have set you a prophet to the nations." If, O Jeremiah, you seek how he is set as a prophet to the nations, observe in what follows when he is commanded to prophesy to all the nations: for the Scripture of this kind is that Jeremiah prophesied over all the nations, Elam, Damascus, Moab; and you will have [proof] that he prophesied to all the nations, according to that which was said: "I have set you a prophet to the nations," if, however, you wish to understand these things as spoken of Jeremiah. But if you transfer the understanding to God, this one truly preached to all the nations. He is, indeed, as with many other things, so also a prophet. As He is high priest, as He is Savior, as He is physician, D similarly He is also a prophet. Moses, indeed, announcing [things] concerning Him, named Him not only a prophet, but an admirable prophet among all, saying: "The Lord our God will raise up to you a prophet from among your brethren, like me; hear him." And it shall be, whoever does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from his people. This, therefore, is He who was set as a prophet to the nations, and received grace from God poured out upon His lips, so that not only when He was present in the body, but also—
A now when He is present in virtue and spirit, He might prophesy to all nations, and His prophecy might draw men from the whole world to salvation.
13. And I said: "Who are you, Lord Master? Behold I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth." And the Lord said to him: "Do not say that 'I am a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go." We have often said that one may be a child according to the inner man, even if one is of a senile bodily age; and conversely, it is often found that a little one exists according to the man who is outside, while being a perfect man within. Such was Jeremiah, already having grace granted to him by God while he was still of child-like age according to the body. For this reason the Lord says to him: "Do not say that 'I am a youth'." And the sign of this fact—that he is not a youth, but a perfect man—He shows, saying: "To all to whom I send you, you shall go; and according to all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not fear from their face." The Word of God knows that those who serve the Word B incur danger from those who hear them; for when reproved, they hate them; when rebuked, they persecute them. Prophets suffer whatever they happen to suffer. "There is no prophet without honor, except in his own country and his own house." Of which matter we also made mention recently. God, therefore—as we have begun to say—knowing when He sends a prophet how great are the dangers he will endure, therefore exhorts him, saying: "Do not fear from their face, for I am with you, to deliver you, says the Lord." Whatever Jeremiah suffered is written: he was cast into a pit of mire; he remained there, barely eating the bread of the day, and drinking only water; and ten thousand other things he suffered, which his prophecy has revealed. "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" it has been said to the Jews. And it is necessary for those who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus that they must suffer persecution through the powers that are opposed, through the vessels in which they find them. For this reason, let those who are persecuted not be unsettled, but let them do everything, only praying that they may be persecuted unjustly, and not justly—not for injustice, not for sin, not for greed. But if anyone is ever persecuted for righteousness, let him listen: "Blessed are you when they shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all evil against you, for my sake; rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven: D for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
A And the Lord stretched forth his hand to me, and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me. Observe the differences between Jeremiah and Isaiah. Isaiah says: "Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; and mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." And because he confessed that he did not have unclean deeds, but only words (for until that point he had committed sins of speech), the Lord did not stretch forth his own hand. But one of the seraphim B touched his lips with his hand, and said: "Behold, I have taken away your iniquities." But Jeremiah, because he had been sanctified from the womb, no tongs are sent to him, nor is a burning coal from the altar; for he possessed nothing worthy of fire, but the very hand of the Lord touched him, for which reason he says: "The Lord stretched forth his hand to me, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me: Behold, I have given my words into your mouth; behold, I have set you over nations and kingdoms, to root out." Who is so blessed as to be able to root out with those words given to him by God those many kingdoms which the devil showed to Christ—the kingdoms of demons, the kingdoms of sin? For it is written: "Behold, I have given my words into your mouth; behold, I have set you today over nations and kingdoms, to root out." But just as there are many kingdoms, so there are likewise many nations. (Nor can any kingdom be named that does not contain nations under it.) By way of example, let it be said: lust reigns (in the sinful man), and it is necessary that the kingdom of lust should have its nations. That very general sin of avarice and fraud, from which scarcely anyone is immune, has its kingdom, and under one kingdom it possesses many nations, through the very many species of avarice, and for this reason there is need for the words of God, that kingdoms of this kind, together with their nations, may be rooted up. The Savior shows this in the Gospel, saying: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted C will be rooted up." There are certain things implanted within your souls which the heavenly Father has not planted. For all wicked thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies, are plantations which the heavenly Father has not planted. But if you wish to know whose plantation such a thought is, hear that "an enemy man has done this, who has oversown tares in the midst of the wheat." God stands present, and the devil also stands present, each having his own seeds. If we give place to the devil, the enemy man will oversow a plantation which the heavenly Father has not planted, which is certainly to be rooted up. But if, having repelled the devil, we give place to God, God, rejoicing, will scatter his seed in the D principal part of our heart. Nor let anyone think that Jeremiah received something sorrowful,
A from God; for it is established over nations and over kingdoms, to root out. God is good, through his words rooting out things that are base, the kingdoms hostile to the kingdom of heaven, the warring nations to the nation of God, rooting out and pulling down.
There is a certain building of the devil; there is a certain building of God. The building upon the sand is the devil's; for it is supported by nothing firm, steady, or unified; but the building upon the rock is God's. See what is said to those who are of God: "You are God's husbandry, you are God's building" (I Cor. III, 9). The words of God, therefore, are over nations and kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy. If a thing be rooted out, yet that which is rooted out is not destroyed. If it be pulled down, yet the stones of the pulling down are not lost, that which is pulled down exists. Therefore, it is a work of the goodness of God, after rooting out, to destroy that which has been rooted out; after pulling down, to destroy that which has been pulled down. Read diligently, in the case of those things which are being destroyed and rooted out, how such things are destroyed. "But the chaff you shall burn with unquenchable fire" (cf. Matth. III, 12); and, "Bind the tares in bundles, and deliver them to the fire" (Matth. XIII, 30). Thus, after the rooting out, it is destroyed. If you wish to see even after the destruction the things being destroyed of the evil building of the base material: that house, which is pulled down on account of leprosy, becomes dust, and when it has become dust, it is cast out B outside the city, so that not even a stone remains, likewise that (cf. Psalm XVII, 43): "As the mire of the streets I will trample them." For it is necessary that things that are worse should by no means stand. It was pulled down, so that the stones might not be useful for another building which the evil one is able to build; it was rooted out, so that he might not again find seeds from the things that were rooted out, so that he might not again sow the tares; for surely, having the seeds of the tares, he would sow them. On account of this: "Bind the tares, and burn them with fire," so that after being rooted out it might be destroyed, and after being pulled down the building of the devil might be destroyed.
But the words of God do not stop at these things, at rooting out, and pulling down, and destroying; for let the base things be rooted out from me, the worse things pulled down—what profit is it to me if, instead of the things rooted out, better ones are not planted? What profit is it to me if, instead of these, things that are excellent are not built up? For this reason the words of God first do what is necessary, rooting out, and pulling down, and destroying the base things, after which they also plant the better ones. And we have always observed in the Scripture the appearance of those things which seem sad, C as I might term it, named first, and then the things which appear to be cheerful named second. "I will kill, and I will make alive" (Deut. XXXII, 39). Whom will I kill? Paul the betrayer, Paul the persecutor. And I will make alive, so that he may become D indeed established for the eradication of kingdoms and nations. This is the mark of the goodness of God, to eradicate vices through words, to destroy the kingdoms hostile to the heavenly kingdom, and to overturn the nations that are warring against their own people, to eradicate and to subvert.
15. There is a certain building of Zabulus [the devil], and there is certain building of God; that which is built upon the sand, this is Zabulus's; for it is supported upon nothing, and it is not made solid. But that which is built upon the rock, this is God's. Whence it is said to those who are his: "You are God's husbandry, God's building." To eradicate over nations, and to subvert, and to destroy. If something is eradicated, and the eradication itself is not dispersed, that which was pulled up still remains. If a house is subverted, and the stones are whole in the ruin, the house is scattered, but not yet lost. Therefore, it is a work of the goodness of God that the eradication itself and the entire subversion should perish. Read diligently how things eradicated are lost: "But the chaff he shall burn with unquenchable fire" (Luke III, 17); and: "Bind the bundles of tares, and deliver them to the fire." Thus those things which are eradicated are destroyed. But if you wish to know how the dispersion is reduced to nothing, how the worst material of the building is ground into dust, that house which is commanded to be destroyed on account of leprosy, when it has been made dust, is cast outside the city, so that not even a stone from it should remain, according to what is written: "As the mire of the streets I will blot them out." For it is necessary that malice should utterly perish. Something has been subverted, the stones also themselves which have been destroyed should be crushed, so that they may not be able to be taken for any building which the devil is able to contrive. Something has been eradicated, the adversary finds even among those things which have been eradicated some seed which he may sow again. On account of which the Lord commands: "Gather," saying, "and burn them with fire," namely, so that the eradication of Zabulus, and the very subversion itself, may be consumed.
16. Truly not only in this does the divine word stand, that it should eradicate, and destroy, and disperse: for if all evils be eradicated in me, and the worst be destroyed and dispersed; what does it profit me, if instead of those things which have been eradicated and dug up, better things are not planted and built up in me? Therefore the words of God first do what is necessary: they eradicate, destroy, and lose, and after these they build and plant. We have always observed in the holy Scriptures that things which seem sad are named first; then the things which are more cheerful are said second: "I will kill, and I will make alive." He did not say first, I will make alive, and afterwards, I will kill. For it is impossible that what God has once made alive, [or] that from him— [alt-version omitted]
A Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. If only those miserable heretics had understood these things, they would never have constantly brought them against us, saying: "Do you see how the God of the Law and the prophets is ferocious and inhuman, and says: 'I will kill, and I will make alive'?" Do you not see in the Scriptures the announcement of the resurrection of the dead? Or do you not see the resurrection of the dead already beginning in each one of us? "We were buried with Christ through baptism, and we have risen with him." Therefore, God begins with more somber, but necessary words; as, "I will kill, and I will make alive; I will strike, and I will heal." For "whom the Lord loves, he corrects; and he scourges every son whom he receives," and after these things he heals. He creates pain, and again he restores joy. B Similarly, too, in the present text, the Lord says: "I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant." But the first thing is that those evils be removed from us. God cannot build upon a place of evil construction. "For what participation has justice with iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness?" It is necessary that wickedness be rooted out from its lowest foundations; it is necessary that the evil construction be thoroughly taken away from our souls, so that after these things the words of God may be built up and planted. For I cannot at all understand what is written: "Behold I have given my words into your mouth." And what do the words do? He says: "To root out, and to pull down, and to destroy." The words root out nations, the words pull down kingdoms—but not these kingdoms C of flesh and of the world, but kingdoms worthy of those who destroy, worthy of the words that root out, and such that they may perceive those things which have been rooted out and overturned. Do you think that there is no power in these things we are saying now, which the Lord grants, according to what is written: "The Lord shall give the word to those who preach with great power"? A power that roots out and pulls down, if there is any unbelief, if there is any lie, if there is any malice, if there is any lust, if there is any discord, it is pulled down. If anywhere an idol has been constructed in the heart, by its being put away, let the temple of God be built, and let his glory be found in it, and let it not be an unfruitful place, or a grove springing up, but a plantation of the paradise D of God, where the temple of God is in Christ Jesus, to whom is the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY II
A "How art thou turned into bitterness, O strange vine? And if thou wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself soap, thou art stained in thine iniquities before Me, saith the Lord."
The Same interpreter.
"God made not death, neither hath He pleasure in the destruction of the living." For He created all things that they might exist, and the salutary generations of the world; and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor the kingdom of Hades upon the earth. Then, proceeding a little further, I find from whence death came: "Through envy of the devil death entered into the world." If then God created for us that which is best, and we ourselves created evil for ourselves and our own sins, it is for this reason that the beginning of the reading, in a manner of inquiry, says to those who have turned to bitterness in their soul instead of sweetness, which God prepared for it: "How art thou turned into bitterness, O strange vine?" As if it said: God did not create lameness, but created all things perfect; what, then, is the cause that the lame became lame? B For God created all the members primarily to be in good health. Is there, then, any cause for someone suffering? In the same way, the soul, not only of that first man, was made according to the image, but the soul of every man. For He who "formed all the hearts of them" made man according to the image and likeness of God; and that image of God is the image of the devil, which we afterwards put on ourselves because of sin. Therefore, we must labor the more, how, by carrying the image of the earthly, we may, having turned to repentance, carry the image of the heavenly, unto which all created nature was first made, and for which reason He C now corrects those who sin by saying: "How art thou turned into bitterness, O strange vine?" For I planted thee a fruit-bearing vine, every way true.
And what has been said in these things, and by repeating a little I will persuade you, that God indeed planted a good vine, the soul of man, while each one, having turned, became contrary to the will of the Creator. "I planted thee a fruit-bearing vine, every way true; not in part, true; nor did I plant the true part, and the false part, but I planted thee a fruit-bearing vine, every way true." And how, then, having been planted by Me who created all things true, hast thou become a vine of bitterness, and become a strange vine?
D After these things, let us see: "If thou wash thyself with nitre," etc.
A "Though thou multiply thine herb to thyself, thou art stained in mine iniquities before me, saith the Lord." Are we to think, then, that because the sinful soul takes nitre and attempts to cleanse its stains with a sensible nitre, and takes the herb which grows from the earth, that it intends to cleanse itself from the defilement of transgressions? Wherefore then does the divine word address it thus: "If thou shalt be washed with nitre, and multiply thine herb to thyself, thou art stained in mine iniquities before me, saith the Lord"? Or is this indeed rather to be judged as true, because the sacred volumes are full of every virtue, and the word of God is full of such strength that it can purge vices, and, having wiped away the filth, can restore them to their pristine color? For the word of God is living, and sharper than any two-edged sword B and the rest. From which things we have said concerning the passions of the soul, that the word possesses remedies, and is as it were nitre, by which filth is washed away. Nor indeed can every sin be cleansed by the nitre of the word and the herb, but there are certain defects which do not require easy curing, neither do the nitre and the herb suffice to remove them. But now it is said: "If thou shalt wash thyself with nitre, and multiply thyself with herb, thou art stained in my presence in thine iniquities, saith the Lord." And how are there certain wounds which are rendered pristine in health by poultices and oil and bandages; yet there are others of such a sort, of which it is said: "There is neither poultice to be applied, nor oil, nor bandages, but your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire" C; so there are certain sins which stain the soul, and they require a man who has the herb and the nitre of the word; others are such that they cannot be cured by the virtue of the aforementioned word, nor are they comparable to filth. Therefore, knowing the differences of sins, through Isaiah the Lord says: "The Lord shall wash the filth of the sons of Zion (in blood). He shall cleanse from the midst of them with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning, the filth and the blood." (The filth with the spirit of judgment, the blood with the spirit of burning.) If thou art polluted with the filth of sin, the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and shall cleanse the blood from the midst of them. But if the sin is mortal, we cannot be cleansed by nitre and herb, but by the spirit of judgment, the spirit of burning and punishment. With judgment, we are in need of many things, when we have done something worse, even the spirit of burning.
5. Perhaps also Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire: not because He baptizes with the same Holy Spirit and fire; but because the holy [person] is baptized by D the Holy Spirit, and the one requiring purging is baptized by fire.
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HOMILY III.
A ...by the Holy Spirit. But he who, after faith and the teaching of God, has turned back to wickedness, is purged by the torture of fire. Blessed is he who has received the laver of the Holy Spirit, for he has no need of the fire of the laver. He is indeed wretched and worthy of all tears who—after the laver of the Spirit—is baptized by fire. For Jesus has both: *For there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root*; the rod for sinners, the flower for the just. For God is a consuming fire, and God is light; a consuming fire to the wicked, a light to the just and the saints. And blessed is he who has a part in the first resurrection; he who keeps the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Who, indeed, in the other resurrection is saved? Who is in need of baptism when he comes to that fire, and that fire tests him, and finds that the fire consists of wood, hay, and stubble, and burns them up? Let us, by these things that are said, gathering the power of the words of the Scriptures, store them up in our hearts, and try to live according to their precepts, so that before the day of departure, if possible, we may be cleansed of the filth of sins and be found worthy to be taken up with the saints, in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and empire for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY III.
On the text: *Was I made a wilderness to the house of Israel, or a waste land?* and what follows.1. The Lord says at the beginning of the things read concerning Israel, that B there was no wilderness to him, nor waste land. Who, then, coming upon this place, would not with earnest inquiry seek the meaning of the written word? Let us grant that God was not made a wilderness to Israel, nor was it made a waste land to Israel. But has the Lord become a wilderness or waste land to him today? But since, when Israel was not a wilderness nor a waste land, he was indeed a wilderness or waste land to the nations—but if he is not a wilderness to all, and is not a waste land to all always—what need is there for this to be said specifically to the house of Israel, that he did not become a wilderness or waste land? But it is possible to arrive at the grace of God, and then from general benefits to proceed to consider one's own. C
2. God is not a wilderness, causing his sun *to rise over the wicked and the good*, nor is he waste land, *raining upon the just and the unjust*. How then is he a wilderness, who brings forth day and night for rest? How is he a wilderness, who makes the earth fruitful? How is he a wilderness, to whom each man, ordering his soul, so that he may reason...
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Great then is it, as the saying "I know you not, for you are workers of lawlessness" is spoken by the Savior because of the surpassing greatness of His glory, and is equal in power to "I do not know how to speak human things," which is "I do not know how to speak"—whether it be said to Jeremiah or to the Savior: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Having read Genesis and kept what is said concerning the creation of the world, you will find that the Scripture, most dialectically, did not say: "Before I made you in the womb, I knew you." For when he who is "according to the image" was created, "God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness," he did not say, "Let us form." But when he took "dust from the earth," he did not "make" man, but "formed man" and "placed the man whom he had formed in the paradise, to work it and to keep it." If you are able, see the difference between "making" and "forming," that the Lord, when speaking either to Jeremiah or to the Savior, did not say: "Before I made you in the womb, I knew you." For that which is made does not come into being in the womb, but that which is formed from the dust of the earth, this is created in the womb.
so that he may be a participant of reason, so that he may acquire knowledge, and so that what can be understood by him might be sensed? Therefore, no one is desolate, in the general sense, toward God; but as far as it concerns the individual, I come to the matters of Israel and say: Or was it desolate, or was it a wilderness, when in Egypt He performed signs and wonders for the people? But if there was a time when they were abandoned, it was in a way desolate for them, yet not in vain did it happen to them. B When, however, God was not desolate or a wilderness to Israel, then, according to the just word, the nation was not desolate or a wilderness either. But when Israel turned away, and he himself became desolate and a wilderness, then grace was poured out upon the nations, and Christ became in us not desolate, but fruitful; not a wilderness, but a thing bringing forth fruit: "For many are the children of the desolate, more than of her who has a husband." And He repels those who have become desolate, and not a wilderness, saying: "I have not become to you a desolate or a wilderness; you are the ones who have said: 'We shall not be subject to power, nor shall we come to You again.'" Thus, the children of Israel said foolishly, just as the letter sounds: "We shall not be subject to power."
HOMILY IV.
(According to Jerome XIV.) Concerning that which is written: *And the Lord said to me in the days of Josia; up to that place where He says: Judah justified her soul from the sinner.*As interpreted by Jerome
1. We ought to examine this first passage of the reading that has been read, which is somewhat obscure, and afterward, if the Lord gives a way of understanding, to come to a loftier meaning. In the books of Kings, a history is provided that teaches that after Solomon’s death, in the times of Rehoboam, the people were divided into twelve tribes; that is, Jeroboam reigned over ten tribes, and they were called Israel; but Rehoboam reigned over two tribes, and they were called Judah. This distinction (1) of the people remains, according to the faith of the book, up to the present day. For in no volumes is it found where Israel and Judah are brought together again under one empire. Therefore, Israel sinned first under Jeroboam and his other successors; and he sinned so much that he was handed over to captivity by God, and served under the Assyrians up to the present day. But Judah sinned, and was handed over to the Babylonians, not up to the present day, but, as the Scripture testifies, for seventy years, concerning which Jeremiah the prophet and D Daniel speak. If you have understood the history that is in the books of Kings...
A regarding the things concerning which Jeremiah prophesied, and those concerning which Daniel was instructed, and if you understand these things as pertaining to that people of that time, the words of the prophet do not signify anything except those [events]. He accuses the sins of Israel according to the word, and says that, with so many sins having been committed by Israel, the congregation of Judah, having heard those offenses, and [having seen] in what manner those things have caused them to be in captivity, did not blush, but added to them [further] sins, so that by the addition of sins compared to the sins of Israel, justice is found in Israel compared to Judah. Then the prophet is commanded to preach to Israel, so that even though it has become worse than Israel, if it should turn to the Lord, Israel and Judah would be under one empire and would return to their pristine harmony. Which things are to be laid down as the plain sense of Scripture.
B And the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Hast thou seen what the congregation of the house of Israel hath done to me? He said not Judah, but first Israel. She went under every high mountain and under every shady tree, and committed adultery there. And I said after she had committed adultery, all these things: Return to me, and she returned not. And I saw the faithlessness of the congregation of Israel, and the treacherous Judah. And I saw those from Judah, that because of all the things for which she was caught, the congregation of Israel was considered as nothing compared to her, [for] I gave her a bill of divorce. I dismissed the people of Israel, and sent them into Assyria. And I gave a bill of divorce into the hands of the treacherous Judah. And she did not fear. C After she had suffered these things, when Israel was dismissed by God, receiving the bill of divorce into her hands, she ought to have returned from the sins of Judah, and to have avoided similar things: for she not only did not cease to sin, but doubled her previous wickedness, in that, by comparison, the congregation of Israel, which was previously considered cursed, was [more] just. And I gave her a bill of divorce into her hands, and treacherous Judah did not fear her sister, but went and committed adultery, and she became to her [as] nothing, and she committed adultery with wood and stone. And in all these things the treacherous Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but returned in falsehood. D They knew me not, she who has done to Israel, so that she ought to have returned completely, but ought to have returned to me in truth; but she who turned in falsehood, and in all these things the treacherous Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but in falsehood. And the Lord said to me: The congregation of Israel has justified her soul [more] than the treacherous Judah. The sin of Judah has become a justification for the soul of the congregation of Israel.
Go, therefore, and read these words toward the north. If you have understood the history, let us see what in these words.
A Moses, therefore, prophesying concerning Him, said not only that He was a prophet, but in an exceptional way declared: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers like me; you shall listen to Him. And it shall be that whoever does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from his people." This, then, is the One who is both a prophet "to the nations," and who received "grace" from God "poured out upon His lips," so that not only when He was present in the body, but even now, when He is present in power and in the Spirit, He might prophesy "to all nations," so that from all nations His prophecy might reach its fulfillment and draw men to salvation. "And I said: O Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am too young. And the Lord said to me: Do not say that I am too young, for to all to whom I send you, you shall go." We have said many times that it is possible for one to be a child according to the inner man, even if one is at a senile age of the body; and it is sometimes possible for one to be a child according to the outer man, but a man according to the inner.
Such was Jeremiah, already possessing grace from God while still in the age of a child according to the body; therefore the Lord says to him: "Do not say that I am younger," and a sign that he was not younger, but a "perfect man," was: "To all to whom I shall send you, you shall go, and according to all that I shall command you, you shall speak; do not fear their faces." The Word of God knows that those who act as ambassadors for the Word are in danger from those who hear them; for when they are rebuked, they hate them, and when they are reproved, they persecute them. The prophets suffer everything whatsoever: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house," as we recalled recently. God, therefore, when sending the prophet, knows how many dangers he will undertake, and says to him: "Do not fear their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." What Jeremiah suffered has been recorded; he was cast into a pit of mire, and remained there "eating one loaf of bread a day" and drinking only water, and ten thousand other things which his prophecy has made manifest he suffered. "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" was said to the Jews, and it is necessary for "all those who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus to be persecuted by the opposing powers through the vessels they find."
A For this reason, let those who are persecuted not be surprised, but let them do everything, praying only that they be persecuted unjustly and not justly, not because of unrighteousness, not because of sin, not because of greed. But if anyone is ever persecuted for righteousness' sake, let him heed the words: "Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for your reward is great in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." B "For I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. And the Lord stretched out His hand to me, and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me." Observe the differences between Jeremiah and Isaiah. Isaiah says: "I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, and I have seen the King, the Lord of Sabaoth, with my eyes." And since he confessed that he had not done unclean deeds, but only [uttered] words—for up to that point he was a sinner—the Lord did not "stretch out His hand to him." Instead, "one of the Seraphim touched his lips with his hand, and said: Behold, I have taken away your iniquities." But since this one was "sanctified from the womb," no "tongs" were sent to him, nor was a "coal from the altar"—he had nothing worthy of fire—but the very hand of the Lord touched him.
A
if someone has entered the house of a master, he inquires from one of the older servants who among those before him offended the master, and what he deserved; and if he wishes to persevere in the master's house, he takes care not to do those things which he heard that those who were deemed worthy of stripes, torments, and banishment have done. Then, most diligently inquiring what those who earned liberty from the master have done, he strives with every labor to do the things he knows they did. And so we, who were not servants of the Lord, but of idols and demons, we who gathered from the nations and believed in Christ, let us read the Scriptures; let us see who was justified, who offended God, and with all observation let us strive to do the things which we read the righteous did, and let us take care not to fall into the things into which those fell who were delivered to captivity and cast out from the inheritance of God.
6. *And the unfaithful Judah did not fear, but journeyed and played the harlot herself.* After the fornication in which Israel first fell, Judah also played the harlot. And her fornication became as nothing, and she committed adultery with wood and stone. When we sin with a hard heart against God, we do nothing else but play the harlot with stone. When we sin in our will, we B commit adultery beneath every leafy tree. *And in all these, the unfaithful Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but in lying.* And we have turned to the Lord, but because we have not turned with our whole heart, it is said: *The unfaithful Judah did not return to me with all her heart.* And it does not merely say, "The unfaithful Judah did not return to me," and grow silent; but it says, "She did not return to me with all her heart, but in lying," in order to show that those who are converted, if they are not converted with the whole heart, are converted in lying, not in truth. Therefore, let us read the histories of the Old Testament and the prophets, and if we find any who were justified, let us imitate the means by which they were justified; let us read the Gospels and all the New Testament; let us read all the Epistles of the apostle Paul, and let us write all these things in our hearts, living according to the heavenly precepts, so that a bill of divorce may not be given to us also, but that we may be able to reach the holy inheritance together with the fullness of the C nations which has been saved. And then may Israel also be able to enter—*for if the fullness of the nations enters in, then all Israel shall be saved*, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd, teaching us to glorify the Almighty Lord in Him, in Christ Jesus, to whom is the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. D
Homily V
On the text: "Return, O backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings; up to: Gird yourselves with sackcloth."
A 1. In the Acts of the Apostles we read clearly that the apostles first went into the synagogue of the Jews, announcing to them—as to their kinsmen for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the things that pertain to the advent of Jesus Christ. But when they did not receive what was said, and it was necessary for there to be other hearers of what was spoken, then, having cleared themselves of all guilt regarding them, they left them; for it is written, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you; but because you judge yourselves unworthy, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." This, which is clearly stated in the Acts of the Apostles, has been spoken in substance also by the prophets in many places. For indeed, the Holy Spirit speaks through the prophets primarily to those who are of that people; but if ever, after having said many things, He is not heard, He prophesies that the word will be preached to the Gentiles. This has come to pass also at the beginning of today’s reading, since before that word it is said to the Israelites: "You shall call me Father, and you shall not turn away from me. But as a wife acts treacherously B towards her husband, so has the house of Israel acted treacherously towards me, says the Lord." And when these things were spoken first concerning Israel, and the children of Israel heard: "For they have acted unjustly in their ways, and have forgotten their holy God"; thereupon the Holy Spirit transfers the word to us who are from the Gentiles, and says: "Return, O backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings."
For we are those filled with backslidings, and anyone could say (even if he is now purified and healed of his backslidings): "For we also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another; but when the kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared, through the washing of regeneration He poured out His mercy upon us." C
Furthermore, I shall attempt to explain more clearly that apostolic saying of which I once made mention. For [the Apostle] did not say: "We were once foolish, disobedient," but Paul the Apostle, who was from Israel, who was blameless according to the righteousness which is in the Law, says: "For we also who are from Israel were once disobedient, foolish." So, not only were those from the Gentiles foolish, nor were they the only ones disobedient, nor were they the only ones sinners; but we too, who had been taught the Law, were such before the advent of Christ. Therefore, after the things which were said to Israel, it is said to us who are from the Gentiles: "Return, O backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings."
A But someone will say: These things were spoken to Israel, and you draw them to those who are from the gentiles. We wish to show that not after much [time], but immediately, where He wishes to speak to Israel concerning conversion, He adds the name of Israel. Consequently, it is said: *If Israel returns, says the Lord, he will return to me; and if he removes his abominations from his mouth, and has been in awe before my face, and has sworn, As the Lord lives, with truth, and in judgment, and in righteousness; the nations will be blessed in him.* The former things, therefore, were spoken to those from the gentiles; then, since *when the fullness of the gentiles has entered, then all Israel shall be saved*, according to those things spoken by the Apostle in the Epistle to the Romans. Notice in what way God exhorts us who are converting to convert perfectly, promising that if we, in converting, convert to Him, He will heal our contritions through Jesus Christ.
But we, who neither delay nor put off [the matter of] salvation like that Israel, answer saying: "Behold, we shall be your servants!" God said: *Return, faithless sons, and I will heal your contritions*; but we who are from the gentiles [say]: "We shall be servants, we who previously were not yours, but belonged to the opposing powers." For when the Most High divided the nations, we were not your portion, nor the lot of your inheritance with the people of Jacob, but we became B the portions of others. Nevertheless, we who were once the portions of others, when You said to us, *Return, faithless sons, and I will heal your contritions*, we answer: "We are your portions!" For we were waiting only for the calling. Not as those who were called and refused, do we too, being called, refuse. For we have in the parables of the Gospel that, of those who were called first, one said: *I have married a wife, have me excused*; and another: *I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them; have me excused*. Not so, therefore, do we who are from the gentiles, when called, use excuses. For why? To what field should we go? To what wise woman? And about what else should we be busy?
God therefore has said to us: *Return, faithless sons, and I will heal your contritions*; and seeing our own contritions and the promise of healing, we immediately answer and say: "Behold, we shall be Yours, for You are the Lord our God." Being obedient, therefore, and saying, "We shall be Yours," we remember that we have pledged to God, saying to Him D: "We shall be servants to You!" And when we have said to Him: "We shall be Yours," let us not undergo the dominion of another—not the spirit of wrath, not the spirit of sadness, not the spirit of concupiscence, not the devil himself, nor his angels; but when we have been called [and] have said: "Behold, we shall be Yours,"
let us show by our deeds that, having promised to be His, we have entrusted ourselves to no one else but Him, and let us say: "For You, O Lord, are our God." For we acknowledge no god—not the belly, as the gluttons whose god is their belly; not silver, as the lovers of money, and greed, which is the service of idols; nor do we deify or make gods of anything else, as the multitude make gods, but for us the God who is over all, through all, and in all is God, A and we are held fast by the love that is toward God; for love binds us to God. We say: "Behold, we shall be Yours, for You are the Lord our God."
5. Then, having condemned our former evils, in that we thought the idols to be great and exalted and worshipped them, and thought those things we served to be admirable, but now have known that they were all false and amounted to nothing; we turn back and say: "Truly, the hills were in a lie," and we, having rejected those former exalted and admirable things, if we inquire diligently, perhaps we shall find the difference between the hills and mountains that are among the gentiles—things which those who said, "Behold, we shall be servants to You, for You are the Lord our God," abandon, as they condemn them as lies, both the hills and the mountains. B What then is the difference between the mountains and hills among the gentiles, in condemned status of which we say: "Truly, the hills and the strength of the mountains were in a lie"?
We say this, having rejected the former things. What is worshipped by the gentiles is worshipped by some as gods, and by others as heroes; for they themselves admit regarding some that, although they were previously mortal, they were promoted to the number of gods. They worship Hercules not as a god by nature, but as one changed from a man into a god; they revere Aesculapius as one raised from human to divine dignity on account of his virtue. C But when they worship the ancestors of these, who are called gods by them, they do not venerate them as those who have been transferred from being men into the number of the gods, but, as they themselves think, as gods from the beginning. Therefore, those who are held by the gentiles to be gods from the beginning will be the mountains and the strength of the mountains; but those who are considered by them to be gods now, but are believed to have been men previously, these are the hills. Knowing, therefore, that both those ranks are worshipped, they say: "Truly, the hills and the strength of the mountains were in a lie." For now, those who worship these things do not persuade themselves that these are lies. Wherefore the oracles and D
the healings they think to be true healings, not seeing the difference of all power, and signs, and wonders of a lie, which occur in all the deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing, compared to the power of the signs and wonders of truth. For what Christ Jesus did, these were the signs of truth. And before Him, what Moses did, the power was of truth; but what the Egyptians did, these were signs and wonders of a lie. So too what Simon the Magician did after Jesus, so as to deceive the nation of the Samaria and to be thought himself to be the power of God, these also were signs and wonders of a lie. Therefore, when we condemn those, we who have condemned say: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were in a lie."
B Furthermore, we who are from the Gentiles know that by the transgression of Israel the way of salvation has come to us, and they are cast out, until our fullness shall come in. We know that when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in, after this all Israel shall be saved. Therefore we say first: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were in a lie"; and second, concerning Israel being saved after the fullness of the Gentiles: "But by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel." C And since we once recalled the apostolic word saying that by the transgression in which Israel fell, salvation has come to the Gentiles, and when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in, while Israel remains outside after the entering fullness of the Gentiles, then all Israel shall be saved, come, let us unfold the things concerning these places.
Israel was being saved. The great Israel fell away; but a remnant has been made according to an election of grace; concerning which remnant it is spoken mystically in Elijah: "I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal." And interpreting concerning this remnant, the Apostle says: "Therefore, is there also in this present time a remnant according to the election of grace?" Therefore, there is a remnant of Israel that is being saved, Israel having been left behind. But D these two orders, if you are able, transfer them also to those from the Gentiles; for he did not say: "When all the nations are saved, then all Israel shall be saved," but "When the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in, then all Israel shall be saved." No Israelite shall be saved after all the nations, but after the fullness of the Gentiles. If anyone is able, moreover, (just as he found Israel being saved after the fullness of the Gentiles), by reasoning it through, let him perceive that all shall serve God under one yoke, according to what is said in Zephaniah, and from the ends of Ethiopia they shall bring Him sacrifices; for, as is said in the psalm, Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God; and the word shall extend to the kingdoms of the earth, saying: "Sing to the Lord, sing psalms to the God of Jacob."
Therefore, we who are from the nations say concerning our own selves, repenting for the false things which we thought to be true: "In truth, the hills were a lie, and the strength of the mountains"; but concerning the Israel that is to be saved after us: "Nevertheless, through the Lord our God [is] the salvation of the house of Israel." A Then, confessing the sins in which our fathers also lived, and we ourselves likewise, as we worshipped idols, we say: "But shame has consumed the labors of our fathers from their youth, their sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters." Therefore, if the evil labor and the lying work of the fathers is to be consumed, it must needs be born of shame; for before shame, the labor of our fathers and the things that follow it are not consumed. Therefore, let us consider the differences among those who sin. There are those who sin and are not confounded, nor do they conceive a sense of shame, nor do they blush for their sins: such as these are they who, despairing, have delivered themselves to all licentiousness and to all impurity. B For you see how pagans sometimes recount their fornications and adulteries as if they were distinguished deeds, and are not ashamed to confess that they have committed such things. And they do not call them sins; and so long as they are not ashamed, their labors are not consumed, nor are their sins consumed. The beginning of good things is to be affected with shame for those things of which one was not ashamed. Wherefore I do not consider that which is in the prophets to be a curse: "Let them be confounded and turned backward, all who hate Zion." For He prays that those who have no sense of shameful deeds may receive the sense C so that, being confounded, they may be able to consume their labors and their sins.
On the irrational movements of the fathers being called sheep and calves
6. He called the irrational movements of the fathers "sheep and calves." For not all irrational things are praiseworthy, but there are certain irrational things that are blameworthy, just as the sheep of the fathers who had sinned; but there are certain irrational things worthy of praise, according to that word: "My sheep hear my voice." These also were sheep, to which we have a corresponding reason, having the good shepherd in our souls. For when the Savior says, "I am the good shepherd," I do not understand it only in a universal sense, as all understand it, that He D is the shepherd of those who believe—and this indeed is sound and true—but I must also have Christ within my soul, within me the good shepherd, shepherding the irrational movements in me, so that they no longer go out to pasture as it may happen, but, led by the shepherd, these things which were once alien to Him might become His own. Wherefore, if now there is a shepherd in me who governs my senses, they are no longer subject to an alien mind, or to Pharaoh.
A Satan will be crushed under my feet in haste. But when He removes these two and those between them, He will restore Israel to his pasture; for then he shall graze in Carmel, and in Bashan, and in the mount of Ephraim, and in Gilead. Although there are so many places of Judea and of the land being inherited, He named only these. ... of the whole earth. He calls Babylon a hammer, which by its own greed crushed those upon the earth. But when Solomon built the divine temple, the third book of Kings says in praise that a hammer and an axe were not heard in the house of the Lord. And the house of God is the Church, in which a hammer ought not to be heard. But the hammer of the whole earth is the devil, and he who does not care for it is as some material struck by it yet suffering nothing. For behold, he says, a man standing upon an adamant wall, and in his hand an adamant; which adamant is crushed by no hammer. Even if the devil, the hammer, should stand over it, and the dragon should lie beneath as an untamable anvil, the adamant who is in the hand of the Lord and under the shelter of His protection will suffer nothing. For the saint is an adamant wall and remains impassible in the hand of the Lord, even if he be caught in the middle between the hammer and the dragon. And as he is struck, he shows his virtue the more brilliantly; for the devil, as one ignorant of the nature of stones, tests him who is like an adamant through many blows, while God alone knows their nature well. If there is no hammer, there will be no musical trumpet, which according to the Law was stirring those who heard it to the festivals of the Lord or urging them to war. B Such did the hammer make Paul through various temptations, he suffering nothing from it, but with a great voice urging the war against wickedness. The hammer indeed produces the temptation, but the hammerer born from Cain, the smith of bronze and iron, serves the hammer. Such was Judas at the time of the Savior, and those who cried, "Crucify, crucify him," through such ministers of the hammer. The Apostle also knows vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, that he might make known the riches of his glory toward vessels of mercy; for he divided all men into these two vessels, some of wrath, others of mercy; the former such as Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the latter such as Paul and those who have believed. But what is the treasury of the Lord, in which are the vessels of wrath? Perhaps the Church, in which such people often lie hidden. But the time is when He opens the Church; for now it is closed, and the vessels of wrath are pastured with the vessels of mercy, and the chaff is with the grain, and in one net are both the castaways and the chosen fish. But the Lord opens His treasure at the time of judgment, when, the vessels of wrath being cast out, he who is a vessel of mercy would fittingly say: "They went out from us, for they were not of us."
"God did not make death, nor does He delight in the destruction of the living; for He created all things that they might exist, and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor the kingdom of Hades upon the earth." Then, passing over a little, I shall cite the text: Whence, then, did death enter? "By the envy of the devil, death entered into the world." If, therefore, there is anything excellent in us, God has made it; but we have created for ourselves wickedness and sins. For this reason, the beginning of the reading in the Prophet also spoke somewhat as if in perplexity toward those who had developed bitterness in their soul, contrary to the sweetness which God had fashioned for it: "How have you turned into a bitter A vine, the strange one?" As if he were saying: God did not create lameness, but created everyone with sound feet; yet a cause has arisen for those who are lame to be so. God created all members primarily to be healthy, yet some cause has arisen for one to suffer. In the same way, the soul was made "according to the image," not of the first man alone, but of every human being—for the text "Let us make man according to our image and likeness" extends to all people. And that which many understand as the "according to the image"—the one assumed by him when he wore "the image of the earthly" because of sin—is older in Adam; thus, in all, the image of God is older than the inferior image.
A Let us confess our sins, not, I pray, those of yesterday, but those of fifteen years ago, for there is no longer room to have that sin after fifteen years. But if we sinned yesterday, we are not yet worthy to be heard confessing, because our sins have no place to be wiped away. For we have sinned, we and our fathers from our youth unto this day. This is indeed a teaching for the best manner of confession. This is the accusation of the long-standing habit of sinning: "From our youth, even unto this day," He says, "we have sinned, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God; we have sinned, and have not obeyed." Those who repent and have begun conversion B say: "We have sinned, and we have not obeyed." For we do not wish to obey at the same time as we begin to obey. Indeed, time is needed, just as in wounds for healing, so it is in conversion, that the turning to God may be perfect and pure.
C 11. After this, God says regarding Israel: "If Israel returns to me," says the Lord, "and if he returns"—that is, if he turns back perfectly—"he shall truly begin to turn." And then He says: "And if he removes his abominations from his mouth, and reveres my presence, and swears: The Lord lives, in truth, and in judgment, and in justice; and the nations shall bless themselves in him." "If you do these things," they shall bless themselves in him. What are the things that, if one does them, the nations shall bless themselves in him? "If he removes his abominations from his mouth." C What is it to remove the abominations from the mouth? Everything we speak that is abominable is in our mouth. Let us therefore remove the abominations from our mouth, by removing detractions, vain words, and idle words, from which we are to be made guilty on the day of judgment. "For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." If, therefore, we wish that it may come to pass for us: "And the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him they shall praise God in Jerusalem," let us do what we mentioned in the beginning. What is the first thing? Remove the abominations from our mouth. The next is this: "And he shall revere my presence." Let us do this second thing, not simply, that we may be filled with reverence. D For perhaps there is a certain reverence that is not from the sight of God. Those, therefore, who revere without knowledge, and propose to revere, but not the reverence of God; but those who with knowledge, while they always gaze upon and in themselves vividly portray the face of God, which is above those who do evil, that the memory of them may perish from the earth, these are they who revere the face of God.
Opposed to those who do evil, that they may be destroyed from before the face of God, are the reverent ones.
A In the preceding passages it has been said, and I shall take up a few things again to persuade you, that God planted the human soul as a beautiful vine, but each person turned and became opposed to the will of the Creator: "And I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true," not in part, nor one that was true and another that was false, but "I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true; how then have you turned," when I created you a "wholly true" vine, how have you turned to bitterness and become an "alien vine"?
After this, let us look at the passage: "If you wash with nitre and multiply for yourself herbs, you are blotted with your iniquities before me, says the Lord." Did any soul that had sinned think that by taking "nitre" and washing itself with sensible nitre, it would cease from the stain and cease from sin? And did anyone suppose that by taking "herbs," such as those that spring from the earth, and washing and scouring itself, the soul would be purified? For the Word says here to the soul that has turned to bitterness and become an alien vine: "If you wash with nitre and multiply for yourself herbs, you are blotted with your iniquities before me, says the Lord."
But it is necessary to know that the Word possesses every power; and just as it possesses the power of all Scripture, so the Word possesses the power of every remedy, and it is the power of everything that cleanses, and it is most scouring: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword," and whatever you might name that is needed, this exists within the power of the Word.
There is, therefore, a certain word that is "nitre," and there is a certain word that is "herb," which, when spoken, cleanses such stains. But since not every sin is healed by such a word as is "nitre" and such a word as is "herb"—for there are sins that do not require nitre nor herb—it is said to the one who imagines she has sins that can be washed away in nitre and herb: "If you wash in nitre and multiply for yourself herb, you are stained before me in your iniquities, says the Lord." And just as there are some wounds that are healed by a poultice, and others that are healed by oil, and others that require a bandage to be healed, while there are other wounds concerning which it is said: "There is no poultice to apply, nor oil, nor bandages; but your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire"; so too there are certain sins that stain the soul, and for these sins a man requires the word of nitre, the word of herb; but there are some sins that are not healed in this way, for they are not even compared to dirt.
Therefore, the Lord in Isaiah, knowing the differences of sins, see how he speaks: “The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood from their midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning,” filth and blood, filth by a “spirit” of judgment, blood by a spirit of burning. If you have not sinned “unto death,” but you have sinned, you are defiled; therefore, “the Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood from their midst,” then the correspondence: to “the filth” by a “spirit of judgment,” and to “the blood” by a “spirit of burning”; and most of us, when we have sinned more grievously, require not nitre nor a multitude of herbs, but the “spirit of burning.” For this reason Jesus baptizes—perhaps now I find the word—“with the Holy Spirit and with fire,” not that he baptizes the same person “with the Holy Spirit and with fire,” but the holy person “with the Holy Spirit,” while the other, after believing, after being deemed worthy of the Holy Spirit, because he has sinned again, he washes in “fire,” so that it is not the same person being baptized by Jesus “with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Blessed, then, is he who is baptized “in the Holy Spirit” and has no need of the baptism by fire; but thrice-wretched is he who has need to be baptized with fire. Yet Jesus possesses both: for “there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall grow out of his root,” the “rod” for those who are to be punished, the “blossom” for the righteous. Thus, “God is a consuming fire,” and “God is light”—a “consuming fire” to sinners, “light” to the righteous and the holy. And blessed is “he who has a part in the first resurrection,” he who has kept the baptism of the Holy Spirit; who is he that is saved in the second resurrection? It is he who needs the baptism of fire, when he comes to that fire, and the fire tests him, and that fire finds in him “wood, hay, and stubble,” so as to burn them up. Therefore, as these things are said, let us gather the sayings of the Scriptures with all our power, and lay them up in our heart, and let us try to live according to them, if perhaps we might be able to become pure before our departure, and having prepared our works for the departure, we might, upon departing, be received into those very good things and be saved in Christ Jesus, to whom is the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
3. On the passage: "Was I not a wilderness to the house of Israel?" unto "or a land desolate?" Homily III.
The Lord says at the beginning of the readings concerning Israel, that He did not become a "wilderness" to him, nor a "land desolate." Who, then, coming to this place, would not seek to examine the intention of what is written? Be it so, that God has not become a wilderness to Israel, nor has He become a land desolate to Israel; was the Lord, then, a wilderness to Israel today, or is He now a land desolate to him? But what of this? When He was not a wilderness nor a land desolate to Israel, was He a wilderness and a land desolate to the nations? For if He is not a wilderness to all at all times, and is not a land desolate to all at all times, what need was there for it to be said specifically with regard to Israel in a preeminent way: "Was I not a wilderness to the house of Israel, or a land desolate?" But it is possible to arrive at the universal blessings of God, and then, after His universal blessings, to arrive at the specific ones. To no one is God a wilderness, "making His sun to rise on the evil and on the good"; to no one is He a land desolate, "raining on the just and on the unjust."
How is He a wilderness, when He makes day and night for our rest? How is He a wilderness when He makes the earth to bear fruit? How is He a wilderness when He governs each one according to the soul, that he might be rational, that he might acquire knowledge, that he might exercise his intelligence, and according to the body, that he might have "senses" that are invigorated? God, therefore, is not a wilderness to anyone, according to the universal reason; but as regards the particular, I come to the affairs of Israel and say: He was neither a wilderness nor a parched land when He performed signs and wonders for the people in Egypt; and if any time has occurred when they were abandoned, it was only as if He were a wilderness to them, while He Himself was not a wilderness.
HOMILY VI. On the text: Domine, oculi tui ad fidem (Jeremiah 5:3), etc.
A 4. Domine, inquit, oculi tui ad fidem. As the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, for from the unjust He turns them away; so the eyes of the Lord are toward faith, for from infidelity He turns them away. Wherefore, by one who knows what it is he says when he prays, it is beautifully stated: *Domine, oculi tui ad fidem*. What is therefore written here is as follows: *Domine, oculi tui ad fidem*. Since, however, if a wise man hears a word, he will praise it and add to it, see how many things can be accomplished from this saying: *Domine, oculi tui ad fidem*. Paul says: "Now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." As the eyes of the Lord are to faith, so are the eyes of the Lord to hope, and the eyes of the Lord to charity. And since there is a spirit of fortitude, and of charity, and of temperance, just as the eyes of the Lord are to charity, so are the eyes of the Lord to fortitude, so are the eyes of the Lord to temperance; the eyes of the Lord are to justice, and so are the eyes of the Lord to all the virtues. If, therefore, you also wish for the rays of the spiritual eyes of God to reach you, prepare virtues for yourself; and it shall be that just as you say, *Domine, oculi tui ad fidem*, so you shall say: *Domine, oculi tui* to each of the good things you possess. And if you are of such a nature that the eyes of the Lord shine upon you, you will say: "The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us" (Ps. IV, 7).
B 2. Let us see what is said concerning sinners: *Flagellasti eos, et non doluerunt* (Jeremiah 5:3). These sensible scourges, when applied to living bodies, whether the subjects of the scourging wish it or not, afflict them with pain; but the scourges of God are such that some of those who are scourged feel pain, while others do not. Let us consider, if we can, what it means to feel pain from the scourges of God, and what it means not to feel pain; let us show that it is the unhappy who do not feel pain from the scourges of God, but the blessed who do feel pain from the scourges of God. For Wisdom says: "Who will set scourges over my thought, and the discipline of wisdom over my heart, that they spare me not in my ignorances, and that my sins may not destroy me?" (Eccl. XXIII, 2). Attend to that: "Who will set scourges over my thought?" Therefore, there are scourges that scourge the thought. The scourges of God scourge the thought. For a word that pricks the soul C and brings it into the consciousness of its sins, scourges; and it scourges the blessed man who feels pain at the scourges; for what is said reaches him, and he does not spurn the one who reproves him. But when one is discovered who is, so to speak, devoid of sense, of him it will be said: *Flagellasti eos, et non doluerunt*. By the same word uttered in the manner of a reproof, for example, that
A hits upon the consciousness of one who is stained by some sin, the saying is such that if one of those hearing suffers, so that it might be said regarding him, "You have seen how he was stung," but another of those hearing does not suffer, but remains insensible to those reproving, it is clear that it will be said regarding him who does not even feel: *Flagellasti eos, et non doluerunt*. This is one interpretation for "they did not feel," and "they felt"; but let us see if we have another development. Certain deadnesses and drynesses of some parts occur in bodies; and often such deadened limbs are so contrasted with living ones that, when those things capable of inflicting pain are applied to a living limb, the one to whom the thing causing pain is applied suffers, but when those things that cause pain are applied to the limb lacking sensation, he whose limb is dead does not feel it, since deadness is about him. If you see these things in the body, transfer them to the soul; and see that there is also a soul that is dead in its members, so that it does not feel B the lashes, even if certain painful things are brought upon it. It will be carved up, yet that soul will not feel; but another will feel, and perhaps the one who does not feel the things that cause pain suffers in a certain way more when he does not feel than when he feels, and wishes rather to feel when painful things are brought upon him, since this is a sign that he is alive, whereas he is distressed at not feeling the painful things. Just as indeed this happens in bodies, so I think it is implied in the text: *If they were scorched*, such a thing is signified; for instance, if fire is brought to someone, and the one being burned does not feel it, they would wish, having made a comparison of those who feel and those who do not feel, to feel in the fire rather than not to feel; and one might pray, when the fire judged [for sinners] is brought upon sinners, to feel rather than not to feel. These things [are said] because of: *Flagellasti eos, et non doluerunt; consummasti eos, et noluerunt recipere disciplinam*. When God, the Provider of all, administers cleansings for the salvation of the soul, then He has consummated it. C But you will understand: *Consummasti eos, et noluerunt recipere disciplinam*, by the example of him who imparts knowledge and him who does not wish to receive the knowledge from him who is imparting it. For the teacher should do all things that are of his office, and perform all things that pertain to imparting knowledge, but if the one [who hears] does not heed what is said, of this hearer I would say to the teacher: *Consummasti eum, et noluit recipere disciplinam*. When, therefore, all things are done towards us by Providence that we might be consummated and perfected, and we do not receive what Providence D administers
A unto our perfecting, that which is said by him who understands in God might refer to this: "You have chastised them, but they would not receive instruction."
3. "They have made their faces harder than a rock." Understand this also from the more carnal sinners. For some, when they hear words of rebuke for sin, blush and hide themselves, and yield, being struck by the word; others, however, are of such a kind that they lack shame, feeling no modesty for the things for which they are rebuked, and for what they have sinned. Of such, therefore, as are not ashamed, you may say: "They have made their faces harder than a rock." If you have understood this in a carnal sense, transfer it by thought to the soul, understanding the "face," of which it is said: "Then you had a harlot's face," B as was the hardened heart of Pharaoh, so that it resists those who admonish it, and as if rejecting those things which are said, it forms itself according to the admonition. There you will find it fitting to say: "They have made their faces harder than a rock, and would not return." 166 And I said: "Perhaps they are poor, for they have not been able to know the way of the Lord and the judgment of God; I will go to the great ones, and speak unto them." When he had understood from these that they do not want to receive discipline, nor do they return to a sound mind from the scourges, he examined the cause of them, seeing that the soul itself is indeed poor. "And I said: Perhaps they are poor, because they have not known the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of God; I will go to the great ones, and speak unto them." "Great ones" (optimates) are often spoken of for the sake of honor—for the term C *adros* is frequently used among the Greeks to signify the greatness of the soul utilizing reason. For when someone applies himself to great matters, and purposes anything for himself, he always thinks about what is decent, how he may order his life according to right reason, desiring nothing humble, nothing small, and looking to no mean end; such a one possesses this great and sublime spirit. Since, therefore, these were poor, whom the Prophet earlier rebukes, they did not hear, he says: "Therefore I will go to the great ones, and speak unto them." Because if it is a blessed thing to speak in the ears of those who hear, it is a blessed thing to find a "great" and noble auditor. Therefore, with these things said, knowing that it is not only a loss for the speakers, as much as it is for those who do not accept what is said (for that soul is accused of a lack of mind and intelligence), let us ask of God in our prayers, that as strength and magnitude grow in us D in Christ Jesus, we may attain to the holy and sacred...
SELECTA IN THRENIS
A...and thou, Lord, art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. Vers. 13. What shall I testify to thee? He signified an absolute wickedness, which would have no testimony of virtue, nor anyone who has sinned similarly. For what will be a sin like that of him who has become far from God, and after he has approached near, has turned back in rebellion? For "if I had not come," he says, "and had not spoken to them, they would not have sin." Wherefore "I will be sanctified in those who approach me"; since he who does not know the will of the Lord, and has not done it, will be beaten with few stripes; but he who knows, and has not done it, will be beaten with many stripes. So great, therefore, is the evil, to which the prophets could not bring a remedy, that it requires God alone. For this reason he also put on flesh, the prophets confessing their weakness by saying: "Lord, who hath believed our report?" And Jerusalem also said before: B "Behold if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow." Therefore he who struck, shall heal. For he himself brings the pain, and again delivers us. For the word "who" is used both of those things that rarely happen, and of those that have no place. For no man can cure the wound inflicted by God.
Vers. 14. Thy prophets have seen vain things for thee. A prophecy is vain to which the outcome does not correspond, and which proceeds from empty idols. There were some who prophesied from themselves, namely for a handful of barley and a morsel of bread, as it is written: those who know not how to argue against sin, and to rescue from the captivity of demons, perverting souls with pleasant discourses. But just as the assumption of true things and the word which they receive from God are by nature true and join to God, so also the word of the demons is fallacious, and separates from God, and drives away from divine aid. What, indeed, are these non-false C ejections, as it was shown, and assumptions? Those, namely, which snatch from error and lead to God.
Vers. 16. All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee, etc. For our enemy the devil goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and hisses at us like a serpent. Nevertheless, let it be far from him to say: "I have swallowed"; nor may he find in us the day which the scorching sun causes. For it was said: "By day the sun shall not burn thee." For he burns with pleasures and wrath, and offers the error to us as if it were light and knowledge. Singing, therefore, we shall say: "Unless the Lord had been with us, they would have swallowed us up alive"; and that: "The lamp of the ungodly shall be put out."
Vers. 17. The Lord hath done what he devised. The enemies did not do it of themselves; for so it seemed good to God, and it was done. Wherefore Nabuzardan also said: "The Lord thy God hath spoken these evils against this place, and the Lord hath brought them, because you have sinned against him." Every...
growing in us the vigor and greatness of the Word in Christ Jesus, that we may be able to hear the sacred and holy words, to whom be glory and power unto ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY VII
On this: *"And it shall be in those days," says the Lord thy God, "I will not strike you unto consumption,"* up to the words: *"so shall ye serve strangers in a land not yours."*A God, who judges those being punished little by little, gives space for repentance, and does not punish as soon as the sin is committed, bringing the consumption of the punishment upon the sinner; for this reason, punishing little by little, He punishes. And the example of this is in Leviticus; for in the curses against those who transgress the law, it is written after the former punishments: *"And it shall be, if after these ye are not converted,"* says the Lord, *"I will add unto you seven plagues."* And again, He narrates another punishment: *"And it shall be, if after these ye are not converted, but walk perversely with me, I also will walk with you in a perverse fury."* And thou shalt find God measuring out punishments with sparing, as one wishing to lead the sinner to conversion, and not bestowing them all at once. Thus, whatever happened according to the letter concerning the people, and the Word threatening them with what they were to suffer, B says: *"And it shall be in those days," says the Lord thy God, "I will not strike you unto consumption."* These things especially extend also to the future punishments. But if not, let him who is able to transfer what happened to the people in this life to those things also; for I, being persuaded, would say that, as they serve C as examples and shadows of heavenly things, so that people was punished for their own sins as an example and shadow of the true punishments; so that every punishment recorded in the Law and the Prophets concerning that people contains a shadow of the true punishments. Just as, therefore, consumption has not yet come upon them for their sins, but will come at the end, so perhaps there will also be punishment for those who have sinned after they depart this life.
The consumption upon Jerusalem was when the captivity of Nabuchodonosor occurred. And then one will say that not even then was there a consumption, nor in the times of the Maccabees; but the consumption was for the people at the advent of my Lord Jesus Christ. For as long as the Savior had not said to them: *"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate,"* it was not abandoned; but when He wept over Jerusalem, saying: *"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest those who are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children,"* D and so on. The sense is: Just as the Israelite people did not yet make an end of sin, but will nevertheless make it at some time, so neither does death put a limit to their chastisement and punishment, but rather that time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall arrive. For thus Origen believed, as it is possible to demonstrate in six hundred places.
Selecta in Threnos (Selections on Lamentations)
A ...mercy may come, and not depart, until the salvation of the Lord shall appear, so that one might hope in another. Perhaps, he says, he will even be quiet, not busybodying into the judgments of Providence. It is therefore necessary, even if we are ignorant, not to be recalcitrant against the Lord.
Vers. 27. It is good for a man when he hath borne the yoke from his youth.
For his yoke is good and his burden is light.Vers. 28. Sedebit singulariter, et silebit, quia tulit super se.
If, therefore, no one agrees with him regarding any matter, he must not join [with them]; but even if he is left alone in this, he must persist in what has been determined and remain firmly established. For "the Lord makes those of one mind to dwell in a house," says David; and, "I am alone until I pass over" — passing over the temptations, that is, having attained the mercy of God.Vers. 30. Dabit percutienti se maxillam.
For he will humble himself, saying: "I am earth and ashes," if he is truly a man and filled with the hope that does not put to shame; to which also this is related: "My soul has cleaved to the pavement."Vers. 31. For the Lord will not cast off forever.
He will not be angry forever; but he will say to him who has repented worthily: "Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from tears."Vers. 36. The Lord did not say.
From these things we learn that the Lord has not spoken, nor is He the author that those bound to the earth by sin should be humbled, nor that human judgments should be deflected before the face of God; for He loves justice and what is upright; indeed, neither [does He cause] that a man should be worthily condemned; for it is not possible, he says, for contrary things to proceed from the mouth of the Lord, good and evil; for a good tree does not produce evil fruits, nor an evil tree good fruits. That men suffer injustice from the wicked, therefore, happens outside of divine judgment; yet it happens among those whom God has overlooked, just as it happened to the Israelites by their enemies, and it is resolved upon the turning of God. Wherefore this turning of God must be sought by those who have been handed over for punishment.Vers. 39. Quid murmurabit homo?
In vain, therefore, do we murmur and shift the blame onto the Creator—which a person who is alive certainly cannot do; for such an intention belongs to those dead in their sins, unless perhaps it rebukes someone who is living in sin, by whom God is accused. Since, therefore, there is no other cause but our own selves, let us judge our own actions and be converted.Vers. 40. Investigata est via nostra.
For he who does not know himself cannot turn to the Lord. But a person knows himself when he applies his mind to his actions—at once observing them and treating them as objects for the mind. For then with unveiled face we behold the glory of the Lord, and confessing our former [sins], we shall say: "We have sinned and done wickedly in turning away from You. You have brought this about, for You are righteous in all that You have done to us."A Mammon is. For Jesus called him the master of the avaricious, saying: *You cannot serve God and Mammon.* No one can serve two masters. Therefore, he who honors silver and admires wealth, and counts these among good things, and receives the rich as if they were gods, but treats the poor with contempt as if they did not possess their own God—this man makes money into a god. If anyone in the land of God, that is to say, the Church, B has venerated strange gods, establishing as gods those things that are not worthy of being deified, he shall be cast out into a strange land, and let him adore the gods whom he adored when he was inside. Let the avaricious be cast out of the Church; whoever is given over to his belly, let him be outside. And this is according to one path of allegorical exposition, so that I may not now scrutinize things beyond my capacity, and concerning the land about which the Savior said: *Who will give you what is ours?* And because, when an adoration of someone else had occurred in the land, God thus arranged for some to be cast out from His own, and to travel to the land about which it is written: *Hear, O Israel: why is it that you are in the land of your enemies? You have been reckoned with those who go down into Hades; you have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord; if you had walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt in peace for ever.* Now, therefore, we are in a strange land, and we desire to do the opposite of what the sons of Israel did in the holy land. For they did alien things in the holy land, they adored strange gods; but we, in a strange land, adore God who is strange to the land, strange to the affairs of the earth; for the prince of this world rules here, and God is strange to his sons. C But when I say "strange," I do not mean this as if He did not create the world, but strange to the master of iniquity, strange to present sins. And indeed, let us look at what we should do, wishing to adore God who is strange to the works of iniquity in this land of affliction. Do we not say: *How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?* But: *How shall we sing the Lord's song in a land that is not strange?* We seek a place in which we may sing the Lord's song, in which we may adore the Lord our God in a strange land. Who, then, is this place? I have found it. He came to this land bearing a fruit-bearing body, who assumed the body of sin in the likeness of the flesh of sin, so that in this very place, through Him who arrived, Jesus Christ, who both D blotted out the prince of this world and abolished sin, I might here adore God, being about to adore afterward in the holy land. For if someone, having adored idols in the holy land, went away into a strange land, surely he who has adored God in a strange land will go away into the holy land.
and in Christ Jesus, to whom be honor and dominion for ages. Amen. A And having brought the ruler of this age to naught, and having brought sin to naught, I may be able to worship God here, and after this I shall worship in the holy land. For if anyone, having worshipped idols in the holy land, has gone away into the strange land, he that has worshipped God in the strange land shall depart unto the holy land in Christ Jesus; to whom be glory and might unto the ages. Amen.
HOMILY VIII
Upon that which is written: *He who made the earth in his strength* [Jer. x, 12].The prophet of God, having taken, as it were, three virtues—his strength, his wisdom, and his understanding—distributes to each of them its own proper work: the earth to strength: *He who made the earth in his strength*; the inhabited world to wisdom: *He who established the inhabited world in his wisdom*; the heavens to understanding: *And by his understanding he stretched out the heavens*. And we, too, with regard to our own earth (for it was said to Adam: “Earth you are”), stand in need of the strength of God; B for without the power of God we are not able to accomplish those things which are not according to the inclination of the flesh. But when the members that are upon the earth have been mortified, then they will be obedient to the will of the Spirit; for according to the Apostle, by the Spirit the deeds of the flesh are put to death. The Lord, therefore, *who made the earth in his strength*. But if you also come to this earth, and consider that which is written in Job [Job xxvi, 7], according to the most emended copies, how He set it upon nothing, you will see that by the strength of God it rests at the center. I come also to the inhabited world, which in Greek is called *oikoumenē*, that is, inhabited. I know my soul to be inhabited; I know my soul to be desolate. For if it does not have God the Father; if it does not have the Son saying [John xiv, 23]: *I and my Father will come to him, and will make our abode with him*; if the soul does not have the Holy Spirit, it is desolate. It is an inhabited world, however, when it is filled with God, when it has Christ, when the Holy Spirit is within it. These things, moreover, are spoken of in many C and various ways in the Scriptures, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell in the soul of man. For even David, in the psalm of confession, asks for these three spirits, saying: *With a princely spirit confirm me; a right spirit renew in my inward parts; and take not thy holy spirit from me*. What are these three spirits? The princely spirit is the Father; the right spirit is Christ; the holy spirit is the Holy Spirit. We have said these things in proof of the matter, that the inhabited world was fashioned in the wisdom of God. For wisdom shall help a just man [over] ten *potestates* having cities. But he who rejects wisdom and discipline is miserable, and his hope is vain, and his D labors are unprofitable; and he who is useless will not be accounted part of the city.
Then we knew and saw paradoxical signs and wonders; then the believers were few, yet truly believers, treading "the narrow and straitened way that leads to life." But now, when we have become many—since it is not possible for the elect to be many, for Jesus does not lie when He says: "Many are called, but few are elect"—out of the multitude of those who profess piety, very few are those who attain to the election of God and to blessedness.
Therefore, if He says that He first sent away Israel because of their sins and sent them into captivity, and that Judah, hearing of what had happened to Israel, did not repent, He is speaking about our own sins. When the events that befell Israel and the failings of that people are read aloud, we ought to be afraid and to say: "If He did not spare the natural branches, how much more will He not spare us?" If God, who is kind and at the same time a lover of mankind, did not spare those who boasted of being a "good olive tree," those who were rooted in the "root" of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but pruned them away, "how much more will He not spare us?" For "behold the kindness and severity of God."
For He is not only kind and not severe, nor yet severe and not kind; but if He were only kind and not severe, we would have thought even less of His kindness; if He were severe and not kind, we would perhaps have despaired over our sins. But now, as God—for we humans, when we repent, have need of His kindness, but when we persist in our sins, we have need of His severity—God is both kind and severe, and He speaks to us through the prophets, saying: "Have you seen what the house of Israel has done to Me?"—understand Israel to be that people—"They went up upon every high mountain and under every shady tree." If you see the Pharisee going up to the temple arrogantly, not striking his breast nor caring for his own evils, but saying, "I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector; I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess," you will see that he has gone up "upon every high mountain" in a blameworthy way, having loved self-exaltation "according to arrogance and according to pride."
A He who has ascended "upon every high mountain" and become "under every tree" not that is fruit-bearing, but "that is of a grove"—for the wood of a grove is one thing, and the fruit-bearing wood is another; for when they plant trees in groves, they do not plant the fruit-bearing ones, not a fig tree nor even a vine, but only fruitless trees for the sake of delight. Such you will find to be the words of the heterodox, and the beauties of their persuasiveness which do not convert their listeners. When, therefore, someone surrenders himself to such words, he has walked "under every tree of a grove"; he did not say "every tree" and remain silent, nor again did he add: "every fruit-bearing tree," but he said "under every tree of a grove." For this reason, you will understand why the lawgiver says: "You shall not plant any tree by the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall not make a grove"; for you have even the name of the grove forbidden. "And she committed fornication there. And I said after she had committed all these things: Return to me; and she did not return, and the treacherous Judah saw her treachery." We too are reviled, I mean those of us who sin and do not keep the covenants of God, nor see that those persons have destroyed the testament, even though they were noble, being from Abraham, having received the promise.
It is necessary, therefore, for us to consider that, if those men have fallen away from the blessings and the promises, and their being descendants of the fathers benefited them in no way, how much more shall we, if we sin, be abandoned? "If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham," the Savior says to them; and again John says, "Do not begin to say within yourselves, that we have Abraham as our father; for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham," hinting at us, who have a "heart of stone" and are hardened against the truth. And truly the powerful God raised up children to Abraham from the stones, if we "continue in childbearing" and keep "the spirit of adoption." Therefore, "she saw the faithlessness of her," that is, of the habitation of Israel, "the faithless Judah," who did not keep the covenants with God, "and she saw that because of all things for which she was left"—for we, Judah, see all these things if we read the Scripture—"that because of all things for which the habitation of Israel was left, in which she committed adultery, God sent her away and gave her a bill of divorce."
And we, being in need of being schooled by those things which He did to them, judging them according to their sins, having abandoned them and delivered them up to captivity, and delivered them up to slaughter, and delivered them up to the enemy—we are in need of turning back from these things and each of us considering that "if God spared not the natural branches, how much more will He not spare us?" If He so cast out those who came from the fathers, having become sinners, what shall we suffer, we who were called from the nations? We considered none of these things, having been called so that that people might be provoked to jealousy, seeing the slave honored, beholding the base-born having approached. If they have already suffered so much, how much more shall we be abandoned, if we sin? "In those things in which the habitation of Israel committed adultery, I sent her away and gave her a bill of divorce into her hands; and faithless Judah feared not." The things which I have done to the habitation of Israel because "I sent her away and gave her a bill of divorce," "she feared not," [deriving no lesson] from the things which had happened to them.
that I might convict the foolish? So, therefore, it is not for the wise to make the wisdom of the world foolish. For when it struggles with those things that are down below, it is wisdom; but that which is foolish of God is stronger than that of men; and the Savior, my Lord, has taken upon Himself all the contraries, so that He might dissolve the contraries, and we might be strengthened from the infirmity of Jesus, and be made wise by the foolishness of God, and, having been introduced into these matters, be able to ascend to the wisdom and power of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom is glory and power forever. Amen.
HOMILY IX
B (According to Jerome VI.) On that which is written: The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Hear the words of this covenant; as far as the place where it is said: The iniquities of their fathers have been turned back.In accordance with the truth of history, we do not deny the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh, and that it shone forth for the whole world when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. However, it behooves us to know that even before He assumed a body, He also did so concerning the holy ones; and after this corporal presence He will ascend as victor to the heavens, and again C He will come to us. If you wish to grasp the argument of this, listen to that which is said: The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Hear, and the rest. For who is this word which comes from the Lord, whether to Jeremiah, or to Isaiah, or to whomever of the prophets? Is it not He who was in the beginning with God? I know no other word of the Lord except Him whom the Evangelist names: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. But we ought to know that we have this benefit as believers, that it is a word for each of those who act. For what use is it to me if He descends into the world and I do not have Him? And if He does not come to the whole world, and I who am similar to the prophets have Him? I say, however, that just as to Moses, and to Jeremiah, and to Isaiah, and to each of the saints the same word has traveled, and that which was said by the Lord to the disciples: Behold, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the world, D remains in effect.
Someone enters the house of a householder; he is newly purchased; he inquires which of the former servants he honored and why, which of the servants he dishonored and why; having noted these things, if he wishes to be in the house of the householder, he guards against falling into those things which the former servants have done, having sinned and been cast out and handed over to punishment; then, having learned what the former servants have done and been approved for, and for what sort of things they have obtained freedom, he emulates those. And we, too, were not servants of God, but of idols and demons, gentiles; only yesterday or the day before we have approached God; let us read the Scripture, let us see who was justified, who was condemned, let us imitate those who were justified, let us guard against falling into those things which those who were taken captive, those who were cast out by God, have fallen into. "And the backsliding Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also herself"—the Israel having played the harlot first, Judah played the harlot afterwards—"and it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks." Whenever we sin, we do nothing other than, becoming stone-hearted, we commit adultery with "the stone"; whenever we sin and play the harlot "under every green tree," we also commit adultery with "the wood."
Homily IX
"And faithless Judah has not returned to me with all her heart, but in falsehood." A If we have turned to God, but deficiently, we are rebuked for not having returned "with all our heart." Therefore, "faithless Judah has not returned to me with all her heart"—it did not say: "And faithless Judah did not turn, and she stood still," but rather: "And faithless Judah has not returned to me with all her heart, but in falsehood" she has turned.
Therefore, true repentance is to read the "old" things, to know those who have been justified, to imitate them; to read those things, to see those who have been blamed, and to be on guard against falling into those same faults; to read the books of the New Testament, the words of the apostles, and after reading, to write all these things upon the heart and to live according to them, so that a "bill of divorce" may not be given to us, but that we may be able to come to the holy inheritance, and that after the fullness of the Gentiles has been saved, Israel may then be able to enter. For "if the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, then all Israel shall be saved," and "there shall be one flock and one shepherd" teaching us to glorify the Almighty God in Christ Jesus himself, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Homily IX: On the text "Return, O backsliding children, and I will heal your wounds" up to "gird yourselves with sackcloth for these things" (Jeremiah 3:22; 4:8)
A It is clearly written in the Acts of the Apostles that the apostles used to enter first into the synagogue of the Jews, announcing to them—as to those related through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the things written concerning the presence of Jesus Christ. But when those people did not receive what was being said, and it was necessary that there be other hearers for the message, then, having made their defense to them, they would depart from them; for it is written: "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing you judge yourselves unworthy, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." This statement, clearly made in the Acts of the Apostles, has likewise been spoken in various ways through the power of the prophets. For the Holy Spirit speaks primarily through the prophets to those of that people; and if, after saying many things, he is not heard, he then prophesies the word that will be preached to the Gentiles.
A What then does God promise? "You shall be my people, and I will be your God." God is not the God of all, but only of those upon whom he bestows himself; in the same way as he bestowed himself upon that patriarch to whom he said: "I am your God"; and again to another: "I will be your God"; and likewise concerning others: "I will be," he says, "their God." Do we then ever attain—of which I speak individually—that God might become our God? But if you wish to learn whose God he is, and upon whom he bestows the invocation of his own name: "I am," he says, "the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And in expounding this, the Savior says: "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Who is the dead? Surely the sinner who does not have the one who says, "I am the life," who holds dead works, and who has not yet repented from dead works: concerning whom the Apostle says: "Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works." If, therefore, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, and we know that he is living who lives according to Christ and abides with him; if we wish that God may be ours, let us renounce the works of death, that he may fulfill his promise in us, saying: "And I will be your God, that I may establish my oath, which I swore to your fathers to give them a land flowing with milk and honey." Observe what he says: "I will establish the oath, which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey." For this is not the land which God promised, the B land flowing with milk and honey; but that is the land concerning which the Savior taught, saying: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Then, to the things spoken beforehand by the Lord, the Prophet responds, to the words: "Cursed is the man who will not hear the words of this covenant"; and he says: "And I answered and said: So be it, Lord!" What is "So be it, Lord"? Surely that which God pronounced: "Cursed is the man who will not hear the words of this covenant." And the Lord said to me: "Read these words in the cities of Judah and without Jerusalem." And we read the words of God to those who are outside, calling them to salvation, the words of this covenant; and you shall do them—but they did not do them. And the Lord said to me: "A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among those who inhabit Jerusalem." C Therefore, let us hasten to repent of the aforementioned sins regarding the men of Judah, knowing that we are called men of Judah because of Christ, who was prophesied and spoken of as Judah. For fear that—since there are sinners among us, and some who act against the right word—the Prophet says: "A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among those who inhabit Jerusalem." For when there is found in some (as those from the Church are accounted), a conspiracy of iniquity, and a conspiracy of sins D tied by the chains of their own sins, each one is bound; then God says: "A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah." But may no conspiracy be found in us. How then is it not...
found in us—or is there perhaps, even until now, a conspiracy in some? A "Loose every bond of wickedness, dissolve the knots of violent exchanges, tear up every unjust contract. Break your bread to the hungry." A conspiracy, therefore, was found among the men of Judah, and in those who dwell in Jerusalem. "They have turned," it is said, "to the iniquities of their fathers, the former ones; they have turned to iniquities." Whose iniquities does He mention simply as those of the "fathers"? What is the addition, "they have turned to the iniquities of their fathers, the former ones"? We were saying that these things are spoken to us, and to the sinners who are among us. How then have those who sin among us turned not to the iniquities of the fathers, but of the "former" fathers? B Perhaps, therefore, our fathers are twofold, and there is among us a kind of father that is the worse; for before we believed, we were sons, so to speak, of the devil, whom the evangelical word points out, saying: "You are of your father the devil." But when we have believed, we have become sons of God. When, therefore, we sin, we turn to the iniquities not simply of the fathers, but of the former fathers. And to demonstrate that our fathers are twofold, I shall use the testimony from the forty-fourth Psalm, which reads thus: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and the house of your father." C For as a father He says: "Hear, O daughter." Therefore our fathers are twofold. "But," He says, "forget the house of your father, the former one." If, therefore, having forgotten the house of the former one, you have again turned to sins, you have fallen into what is here called sin: "They have turned to the iniquities of their fathers, the former ones." I was saying that the devil also was our father before God became our Father, if indeed even now the devil is not our father. This we shall demonstrate also from the Catholic Epistle of John, in which it is written: "Everyone who commits sin is born of the devil." If everyone who commits sin is born of the devil, we are, as it were, born of the devil as often as we sin. D Unhappy, therefore, is he who is always being born of the devil; just as, on the other hand, blessed is he who is always being born of God. For I would not say that the just man is born of God once, but through every individual work of virtue the just man is always being born of God. This, however, so that the argument may be more fully proven, let us state also concerning the daily birth of our Savior, maintaining clearly regarding the just that which preceded in the Lord. Our Savior is the splendor of glory, and splendor is not born once and then ceases to be born; as often as the light rises from which the splendor arises, so
I shall not once say that the just man has been begotten by God, but that he is always being begotten in each good deed, in which God begets the just man. If, then, I establish for you regarding the Savior that the Father did not beget the Son and then release Him from His generation, but is always begetting Him, I shall also demonstrate the same regarding the just man. Let us see who the Savior is for us: the radiance of glory. A The radiance of glory has not been begotten once, nor is it [only sometimes] begotten; but in as much as the light is productive of radiance, to that extent is the radiance of the glory of God being begotten. Our Savior is the wisdom of God. Now wisdom is the radiance of everlasting light. If, therefore, the Savior is always being begotten, and for this reason He says, "Before all the hills He begets me," and not, "Before all the hills He has begotten me," but, "Before all the hills He begets me"—and the Savior is always being begotten by the Father—so also you, if you have the spirit of adoption, God is always begetting you in Himself in every deed, in every thought, and being begotten in this way, you come to be a son of God who is always being begotten in Christ Jesus, to whom is the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY X
*On the text:* "Make me to know, O Lord, and I shall know," as far as the place where it says: "Go, gather together all the beasts of the field, and let them come to consume it."By the same interpreter.
1. If the Oracles of God are in the Law and the Prophets, in the Gospels and the Apostles, it behooves the disciple of the Divine Oracles to ascribe God as his teacher. For He who teaches man knowledge, according to the Psalmist, is God. The Savior also bears witness that no one should be called teacher upon earth, saying: "And you, do not call any teacher upon the earth; for one is your teacher, the Father who is in heaven." This Father teaches either by Himself, or through Christ, or in the Holy Spirit, or through Paul, C if it must be said, or through Peter, or through some others of the saints; provided that the Spirit of God and the Word of God condescend and teach. Why have I said this? Clearly because the Prophet says: "Make me to know, O Lord, and I shall know;" for I shall not know, unless You make it known to me. But if, when You show me, I shall know, then I shall look into their designs, and I shall understand what each one does and of what disposition he is. These things are the Prophet’s. But if the Savior is in the Prophet, let us see what He says: "I, as an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed, did not know. They devised a plan against me, saying: 'Come, let us put wood into his bread, and let us destroy him from the land of the living, and his name shall be remembered no more.'" As the prophet Isaiah also says, "Christ was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth." There, indeed, Isaiah speaks about Him, but here Christ speaks about Himself: "I," He says, "as an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed, did not know." He did not say what He did not know. For He did not say, "I did not know evils." He did not say, "I did not know goods." Nor did He say— D
A I did not know sin; but simply: "I did not know." He has therefore left it to you to seek out what He did not know. Read the Apostle: "Him who did not know sin, He made to be sin for us." For to know sin is to commit sin, just as to know righteousness is to act righteously. Hence, it is manifest that he who preaches righteousness, and does not act righteously, does not know righteousness.
2. "They devised a plan against me, saying: Come, let us cast wood into his bread." That the Lord was crucified by the Jews is a matter of no doubt, and we preach this with all freedom; but how we shall adapt to Him that which is said: "They devised a plan against me, saying: Come, let us cast wood into his bread," is a matter of some difficulty. The bread of Jesus, by which we are nourished, is interpreted as His word. Since, therefore, while He was teaching among the people, some wished to cast a stumbling-block into His teaching, by crucifying Him they said: "Come, let us cast wood into his bread." For when the crucifixion of the Master is joined to the word of the teaching of Jesus, wood is cast into B His bread. They, indeed, devising this out of malice, may say: "Come, let us cast wood into his bread"; but I shall say something more marvelous. The wood cast into His bread made the bread better. Take an example from the Law of Moses. As the wood which was cast into the bitter water made it sweet, so the wood of the passion of Jesus Christ, cast into His doctrine, made His bread sweeter. For before the wood was cast into His bread, when it was bread only and the wood was not in His teaching, His sound had not gone out into all the earth; but after it took strength through the wood, then the word of His passion was disseminated throughout the whole world. In the figure of which, the water in the Old Testament also was made sweet at the touch of wood. For I say that the law, when not understood, is bitter water. But when the wood of Jesus Christ has come, and the word of my Savior has descended into it, then it is sweetened, and the law of Moses, read and understood, becomes of the sweetest flavor. Therefore they said: "Come, let us cast wood into his bread."
1843. They also add this: "And let us crush him from the land of the living, and his name shall be remembered no more." For so they killed Him, as if they would utterly eradicate His name. But Jesus knows why and how He dies. On account of which He says: "Unless a grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, it bears no much fruit." D Therefore the death of Jesus Christ has become an ear of wheat, restoring sevenfold and much more than had been sown. Let us imagine for a little while that He had not been crucified, nor had descended to the lower world after death: it follows that the grain of wheat would remain alone, and many would not be born from it. Attend diligently to the divine oracles, as to what they contain in themselves.
death of Jesus made all these bear fruit, and if his death made them bear fruit, how much fruit will his resurrection bear B O Lord of hosts, judging justly, testing hearts and minds, may I see your vengeance upon them! He prays prophetically that he may see the vengeance upon them before the Father; for Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, and her desolation has drawn near, and it has been said to her: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." May I, therefore, see your vengeance upon them, because I have laid my cause before you. Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek my soul, who say: "You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or else you shall die by our hands." Behold, I shall visit them; their young men shall fall by the sword, and their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, and there shall be no remnant of them; for I will bring evils upon the inhabitants of Anathoth in the year of their visitation.
The name of Anathoth is taken here for the sake of the figure; the entire Jewish mystery is spoken of in it tropically, for Anathoth is interpreted as "the response of God." C In that people there was the kingdom of God, and it came to pass because of the kingdom that it was said: "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation producing its fruits." According to this, it has happened that the men of Anathoth—those who were in the "response"—should seek the soul, not of Jeremiah; for history does not say that the men of Anathoth sought the soul of Jeremiah. We possess the Books of Kings; the Scripture mentions Jeremiah there. Nothing of the sort is written in them, nor even in Chronicles; for we have the book of the prophet itself; the men of Anathoth have said nothing of the kind. But these things are said concerning Christ: "Those who seek my soul, who say, 'You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord'." The Jews forbade Jesus to teach: "Otherwise, you shall die by our hands." "Behold, I will visit them; their young men shall fall by the sword, and their sons and their daughters shall die in famine." They did not die by the sword in the times of Jeremiah, but after the coming of the Lord, then famine came upon them—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. For it is no longer said among them: "Thus says the Lord Almighty." D In this is the famine, so that prophecy is no more, and what do I say, prophecy? Not even doctrine. Even if wise men multiply among them, there is no word of the Lord in them. For that prophecy is fulfilled: "The Lord will take away from Judah and from Jerusalem the mighty and the strong, the strength of bread, and the strength of water, the strong giant, and..."
the A valiant man, and the judge, and the prophet, and the counselor, and the elder, and the captain of fifty, and the wonderful counselor, and the wise architect, and the intelligent listener." There is no longer among them one who can say: "As a wise architect I have laid the foundation." The architects have departed; they have come to the Church, and they have laid the foundation, Jesus Christ. To this foundation, those who have believed after them are building.
5. "For I will bring," he says, "evils upon the inhabitants of Anathoth, in the year of their visitation. Righteous art thou, O Lord, that I may plead my case before thee. Yet, I will speak judgments to thee. Why does the way of the wicked prosper?" All who have despised, B scoffingly, have abounded. Let us inquire whether God is good, who has bestowed the Law and the prophets, seeing the way of the impious prospering, and them suffering nothing from Him according to their deserts. For all who have despised have abounded—they who bark with rabid throats against the Creator, and who criminate Him with blasphemous speeches. They have abounded, they have been planted, and they have struck root; they have procreated children and have produced fruit. How much fruit has Marcion produced, begetting sons of infidelity? How much has Basilides? How much has Valentinus? For this is what is prophesied concerning the wicked and said in: "They have procreated sons and produced fruit." "Thou art near to their mouth, but far from their reins." They name Jesus, but they do not have Jesus; for they do not confess Him as Christ. "And thou, O Lord, C knowest me, thou hast seen me, and hast tested my heart in thy sight. Sanctify them in the day of their slaughter." What shall I do that I may explain this? He calls the torments the sanctification of those who are tormented. "Sanctify them," he says, "in the day of their slaughter," that is, by this, that you slaughter them, sanctify them. "For whom the Lord loves, he corrects; and he scourges every son whom he receives."
6. "How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of the field wither from the wickedness of those who dwell in the land?" As if the earth were a living creature, so now the prophet speaks, saying that it mourns when those who dwell in it are evil and inhabit it. For in each one of us, the earth either rejoices in the virtues of its inhabitants, D or it mourns in their vices. But if the earth, then consequently the other elements also, from which [is] water—that is, the angel who is set over the water. For not otherwise...
can I explain the mourning earth, or for that matter the rejoicing one; for sense does not grasp that we should believe an insensible body to feel, unless we understand that angels preside over all things—as much over the earth and water as over the air and fire—that is, that they rule the elements, and in this order reach down to all animals, to every germ, and to the very stars of heaven themselves. Another angel is set over the earth; and thus all these angels with whom we dwell on the earth rejoice when we act justly, but when we have sinned, they mourn. A *The earth shall mourn* because of all those dwelling upon it. By the same name they call the angel of the earth as that by which the earth itself is named. For just as that which is made by hand, when it is cursed, he who made it is cursed as well—not that the thing which lacks soul and sense is cursed, but he who attends to the insensible image is called by the same name as that which is fashioned—so too I will say that the angel set over the earth is called "earth," and he set over the water is called "water," according to what has been said: *The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, and they were afraid; and the abysses were troubled. The multitude of the sound of the waters gave a voice; the clouds gave a voice; for thy arrows pass through.*
"I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance. I have given my beloved soul into the hands of her enemies." Behold for me him who was in the form of God, being in the heavens. Behold his supercelestial house. If you wish to see even higher, because he says: *I in the Father, and the Father in me*, see his house to be God the Father. He leaves his Father and his mother—the Jerusalem above—and comes into this earthly place, and says: *I have forsaken my house; I have left my inheritance.* For that was his inheritance: the regions with the angels, the order with the holy powers. *I have given my beloved soul into the hands of her enemies.* He delivered his own soul into the hands of the enemies of his soul, into the hands of the Jews who killed him, B into the hands of the rulers who gathered together against him, into the hands of the kings: when *the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers gathered together in one against the Lord and against his Christ.*
*My inheritance became to me as a lion in the forest.* This is his inheritance upon earth, which he had inherited, [but it] grew beast-like against him; C and his inheritance became the Jews, having grown savage against him like a lion in a forest. It is not to be wondered at if his inheritance then became as a lion in the forest. Even now there are lions in the forest, D
When therefore we condemn them, we who have condemned them say: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains have been in vain." And then, since we who are from the nations know that "by the transgression of Israel we have received the way of salvation," and they have been cast out until our fullness comes in, and we know that if "the fullness of the nations comes in, after this all Israel will be saved," for this reason we say first: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were in vain," and secondly, concerning Israel, which will be saved after the fullness of the nations: "But through the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel."
And since we have once mentioned the apostolic saying which states that "by the transgression by which Israel fell, salvation has come to the nations," and that when "the fullness of the nations comes in," while Israel remains outside, after the fullness of the nations has entered, "then all Israel will be saved," come, let us unfold the matters pertaining to these passages. There was a certain Israel that was being saved.
A The great Israel fell away, but "there has come to be a remnant according to the election of grace," concerning which remnant it has been spoken mystically "in Elijah": "I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal." And interpreting concerning this remnant, the Apostle says: "So then at the present time also, there has come to be a remnant according to the election of grace." Therefore, Israel is even a remnant being saved, with the rest of Israel having been left behind. If you are able, transfer these two ranks for me also to those from the nations; for he did not say: "When all the nations are saved, then all Israel will be saved," but "when the fullness of the nations has entered, then all Israel will be saved." It is not some Israel that will be saved after all the nations, but after "the fullness of the nations."
If anyone is able, then, just as he has found Israel being saved after the fullness of the nations, let him pass over to the consideration of the Word, as to when "all shall serve" God, according to what is said in Zephaniah, "under one yoke, and from the ends of Ethiopia they shall bring sacrifices to him," and when, as it is said in the sixty-seventh Psalm, "Ethiopia shall outstretch her hand to God," and the Word commands the "kingdoms of the earth," saying, "Sing to the Lord, sing psalms to the God of Jacob." Therefore, we, who are from among the nations, say concerning ourselves, repenting of the falsehoods which we thought to be true: "Truly, the hills and the power of the mountains were a lie"; and concerning Israel, which is to be saved after us: "Truly, through the Lord our God is the salvation of the house of Israel." Then, confessing the sins in which our fathers also lived, and we ourselves while we were idolaters, we say: "And the shame has consumed the labors of our fathers from their youth, their sheep and their oxen, their sons and their daughters." "The shame has consumed the labors of our fathers" and these things that are said.
Therefore, if the wretched toil and the false work of our fathers are going to be consumed, there must be shame; for before shame, "the labor of our fathers is not consumed," and the things that follow. For this reason, let us consider the differences among those who sin. There are those who sin and are not ashamed, nor do they feel reverence for their sins, nor do they blush. Such are those "who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to all lewdness and all uncleanness." For you see how those from among the nations sometimes recount their fornications and adulteries as if they were feats of merit, not even being ashamed to confess having committed such things, and they do not call them sins. Insofar as they are not ashamed, their labors are not consumed; their sins are not consumed. To be ashamed of things one was not ashamed of is the beginning of good. For this reason, I do not consider it a curse when it is said in the prophets, "Let all those who hate Zion be ashamed and confounded." For he prays that those who are insensible to the works of shame may come to a sense of them, so that having been put to shame, they may be able to consume their labors and their sins. And he called the irrational movements of the fathers "sheep" and "oxen."
For not all irrational things are praiseworthy; rather, there are some irrational things that are blameworthy, just as the sheep of the fathers who have sinned, and there are some irrational things that are praiseworthy, for example: "My sheep hear my voice" (John X, 27). These, too, were sheep for whom we have the corresponding Word, having the Good Shepherd within our souls. For when the Savior says, "I am the good shepherd" (John X, 11), I do not hear it merely in a general sense, as all hear it—that He is the shepherd of those who believe (and this indeed is both sound and true)—but I also ought to have Christ within my soul, within me the Good Shepherd, shepherding the irrational movements within me, so that they no longer go out to pasture as they happen to chance, but being led by the Shepherd, these things that were once alien to Him may become His own. For this reason now, if the Shepherd is in me, He rules over my senses; they are no longer under an alien mind, or under Pharaoh, or under Nebuchadnezzar, but under the Good Shepherd. "Shame," therefore, "has consumed the labors of our fathers from their youth, their sheep and their oxen" (Jer. III, 24). There is something in us that cultivates us, either cultivating us poorly—if indeed one must speak of "poorly" in relation to one who cultivates—or cultivating us well.
HOMILY XII
(Regarding what is written: *Every skin shall be filled with wine; and up to that word: And your eyes shall draw forth tears, for the flock of the Lord is shattered.*)
A It is the Prophet who is ordered by God to speak, and he ought to be worthy of God. But it does not seem worthy if we remain in the letter and seek nothing higher, as if we were to accommodate the ear of a simple auditor to these things, and only know what is read. This is the saying of the animal man: *The animal man does not perceive the things of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him.* Let us consider, therefore, what God’s discourse orders: *And you shall say to this people: Thus says the Lord God of Israel.*
Is it worthy, I ask, of the Lord God of Israel, that *every skin shall be filled with wine*? And if they answer you: *Do we not know that every skin shall be filled with wine?* And if those who remain in the letter say these things, B and say they know that every skin shall be filled with wine—are there not then skins filled with oil, or with another liquid? They are mistaken if they think *every skin shall be filled with wine*. But if we know the differences of wines, and follow the skins, we shall see that it is true that *every skin shall be filled with wine*. Whether you call a good person a "skin," he will be filled with wine according to his own goodness; or whether you call a wicked person a "skin," and in the judgment concerning skins he is wicked, he will be filled with wicked wine. C How, then, can we take from Scripture about the different wines? Concerning the worse ones it is written: *For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their shoot of Gomorrah. Their grape is a grape of gall, a cluster of bitterness; their wine is the fury of dragons, and the fury of asps is incurable.* Concerning these it is said as of the worst. But Wisdom calls to her own wine-press, saying: *Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine which I have mixed for you.* There truly is wine from Sodom, and there is the wine which Wisdom mixes. And again: *The vine was brought over, that which was beloved in the fertile place, planted by God, being the chosen vine, Sorek, and marvelous.* Is there also a vine of the Egyptians, which God strikes, according as it is written: *He struck their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost.* D
Consider, then, for me that all people are now figuratively capable of wine. And I name them...
I say, as the base man who is full of the wine of the vine of Sodom and the Egyptians, full of the wine of the enemies of Israel; but the holy man, and he who profits in virtues, is full of the wine of the vine of Sorek, of the wine about which it is written: *Thy cup that makes me drunk, how excellent it is!* And again, he is filled who is holy, since he has drunk from what Wisdom has mixed. Let this, then, be understood by me in accordance with vice and virtue, so that it may be observed that everyone is filled. But if one must see that because of vice and because of virtue, those who are filled—punishments for vice, but blessings and promises for virtue—let us demonstrate from the Holy Scriptures in what manner punishments and promises are, so to speak, called wine. Take the cup A of this unmixed wine, and you shall make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. Jeremiah says these things; and what does he infer? *And they shall drink, and they shall come, and they shall be maddened, and they shall fall.* It follows, then, that he has named punishments *unmixed wine* in this place; those who drink it are worthy of unmixed torments; but others drink wine, though not entirely unmixed, but in some part tempered: *For a cup is in the hand of the Lord of pure wine full of mixture, and he has inclined it from this into that, but the dregs thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink of it.* If you wish to look toward the cup of blessings which the righteous drink, the testimony of Wisdom suffices, where it says: *Drink the wine which I have mixed for you*; yet see how the Savior also, ascending into the great upper room, spread and cleared, and keeping the Passover with his disciples, and granting them that cup, of which the Gospel says he mixed it, and he thus delivered it; Jesus, gladdening, pours out the cup for the disciples, and says: *Take and drink: This is my blood which is shed for you in remission of sins. Do this, as often as ye drink, in my remembrance.* And: *Amen I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth [of this fruit of the vine] until I drink it with you new in the kingdom of God.* You see the cup of punishments which we explained above, full of pure wine, B or is it another cup, which is mixed for you in compensation for the good things you have done, or for the evils? Understand for me those who have departed entirely from piety, and are turned in every way to the religion of the world, in that they live by chance and by sin, drinking the cup of pure wine, which Jeremiah brings forth: *but they were sinners, and are judged unworthy of the cup of the New Testament, and often do good deeds, frequently contrary things, drinking the cup of mixed wine. For God has inclined from this into that. What is it that is said: from this into that? I see two cups.* C Concerning the veil that is laid upon the face of those who do not turn toward the Lord, it has often been spoken by us; because of which veil, "if Moses is read," the sinner does not understand him; for "a veil lies upon his heart"; because of which veil, if the Old Testament is read, the hearer will not understand; because of which veil, also "the gospel is veiled to them that are perishing." We said, therefore, concerning the veil, that shame is the veil; for so long as we possess the works of shame, it is manifest that we possess the veil according to what is said somewhere in the forty-third Psalm: "And the shame of my face has covered me." I set forth that he who does not have the works of shame does not have a veil, such as Paul was, saying: "But we all with open face beholding the glory of the Lord are transformed." Paul, therefore, has an unveiled face; for he does not have the works of shame; he who is not as Paul is, has his face veiled. As, therefore, there it is said in the forty-third Psalm, "the shame of my face has covered me," in the same manner it is said here: "Our disgrace has covered us." So long as we perform the works of disgrace, we have a veil lying upon our heart. And there follows for those who dogmatize these things from the whole heart the removal of what is in our own power; for which reason also praise and blame and acceptable actions, and again, on the other hand, things worthy of blame. Which, if they are so, the things of the proclaimed judgment of God depart, and threats toward those who have sinned as about to be punished, and honors again toward those who have given themselves to the better things, and beatitudes; for nothing of these will any longer be happening reasonably. And if one were to see the consequences for himself upon what he dogmatizes, and faith will be vain, and the arrival of Christ achieving nothing, and the whole dispensation through the law and the prophets, and the labors of the apostles for the purpose of establishing the churches of God through Christ; unless perhaps, according to those who so dare, even Christ, having been born under the necessity of the movement of the stars by having assumed a genesis, has done and suffered everything, not because the God and Father of all granted him the paradoxical powers, but the stars. To which godless and impious doctrines there follows also this: that those who believe are said to believe in God while being led by the stars. D
If we wish to put off the veil that comes from dishonor, let us attain to the works of honor and understand that which was said by the Savior: "That all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father," and let us understand also that which was said by the Apostle: "Through breaking the law you dishonor God." The righteous man "as he honors the Father, so he honors the Son"; dishonor, when I dishonor the Son—that very act by which I dishonor the Father or the Son—becomes a veil upon my face, and I say: "And dishonor has covered us." Therefore, having understood the veil that is laid upon us from the works of shame, from the deeds of dishonor, let us remove the veil. It is in our power to have the veil removed, it is in no one else’s; for "whenever Moses returned to the Lord, the veil was removed." And we might inquire of them, for what reason did God, wishing for such a world, create it so that some men in it suffer the lot of women, in no way having become the cause of their own lasciviousness, while others have taken on the nature of wild beasts, because the motion of the universe has made them such, so that God has ordered the whole such that they surrender themselves to the most cruel and utterly inhuman acts, and to murders and piracies? And what need is there for us to speak of the things that happen among men and are sinned by them, being of ten thousand kinds, whom those who stand as proponents of these grand arguments absolve of every charge, while ascribing to God the cause of all things that are done evilly and worthily of blame? But if some of them, as if offering an apology for God, say that there is another who is good, having no part in the origin of these things, but ascribe all such things to the Creator; first, not even in this way will they be able to prove that He is just; for how could the father of so many evils, according to them, be reasonably thought of as just? And second, we must examine what they will say concerning themselves.
A Jerusalem, says God, I will fill with drunkenness, and I will scatter them, a man and his brother, and their fathers, and their sons in the same place. We shall understand these things in this way: God gathers the righteous, but he scatters the sinners. Therefore, when men were not moving from the east, God did not scatter them; but when they moved from the east and man said to his neighbor, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, whose top shall reach to heaven," God says concerning these things, "Come, and let us go down and there confound their tongue." And everyone is confounded, and he is scattered to some place on the earth. And the people of Israel, while they were not sinning, were in Judea; but having sinned, they were afterwards scattered from the inhabited world and dispersed everywhere. B You should think of something of this kind concerning us all. There is a Church of the firstborn enrolled in the heavens, where Mount Sion is, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. The blessed ones shall be gathered there, so that they may be together. But even in this, the sinners are punished, that they may not be with one another. I know some in this life who, wishing to punish those who have harmed their kingdom, are accustomed to deport them to desert islands; and as a great punishment, they order that they should not endure the hardship of exile in one place, but that the wife should be exterminated to one part of the world, and the children to another; and the son here, and then the other elsewhere; so that not even in their calamity may they enjoy the consolation of the mother of the son, or the brother of the brother. Think of something of this kind concerning the unrighteous. You must taste something of a bitterness from the sinner who is being governed by God, so that being disciplined, you may be saved. C Just as you do not punish a servant or a son who is being chastised by you because you simply wish to torture him, but so that you may bring him back through his pains; so also God will discipline those who do not turn back by his word, and those who have not been healed, through the pains of lessons, since discipline involves it, according to that which is said: "With every pain and scourge you shall be disciplined, O Jerusalem." In order, therefore, that the disciplining pain may increase, those who are suffering are scattered from one another, so that this man and that man may not be together. For the intensity of the pain would be dissolved by the consolation of each one toward the other.
D But if one must add to the discourse another reason for the scattering, I shall present this as well. Evil men, when they are together, devise and increase evil things; just as the good, when they are with the good, take thought for good things and are gathered. And an evil counsel is divided and grows weak even among those who are like-minded, when the wicked are scattered from one another. For this reason, God manages that the base should not be with one another, perhaps even providing for them so that their wickedness may not increase together, but may be diminished, being dissolved. These things are for this reason: "I will scatter them, a man and his brother, and their fathers, and their sons in the same place, says the Lord; I will not relent, and I will not spare, and I will not have pity, so as to turn from their destruction."
A Those who belong to the heresies press upon such sayings, saying: "Do you see what the Creator is like, and the God of the prophets, who says, 'I will not spare, and I will not have pity from their destruction'? How can this one be good?" If I should take as an example B a judge who does not have pity when it is for the common good, I shall be able, through that example, to persuade them that, by sparing many, God does not spare the one; and I shall take as an example the art of medicine, showing that by sparing the whole body, it does not spare one single limb. For instance: Let the judge before us have this purpose—to produce peace and to establish for the people under him what is advantageous. Now let a murderer be brought forward, fair in appearance and handsome to look upon. Let his mother come forward, offering pitiful words to the judge that he might have mercy upon her old age; let the wife of this unworthy man plead for him that he might find mercy; let his children standing around beg for him. In these circumstances, what is advantageous to the community? Is it for this man to be pitied, or not to be pitied? If he is pitied, he will return to the same deeds; but if he is not pitied, he himself will die, but the community will be improved. C Thus, if God spares the sinner and shows him mercy, so as not to punish him, who then of the wicked will be restrained? And failing to be restrained from sins through the fear of punishments, will he not become worse? Such instances can also be seen occurring in the Churches. Someone has sinned and, after the sin, asks for communion. If he is quickly shown mercy, the community is harmed, and the sin of others increases. But if, with reasoning—not as though he were unmerciful or a cruel judge, but as one who provides for the individual, yet provides more for the many than for the one—he considers the damage that will occur to the community from the communion and the pardon of that person's sin, it is clear that he will cause the one to be cast out, so that he may save the many. Look also at the physician with me. If he is sparing D in cutting when he ought to cut, if he is sparing in cauterizing because of the pains that follow such remedies, in some way the disease increases and becomes worse. But if he approaches the cutting and the burning with more boldness, he heals because he did not show mercy, and by seeming not to have pity on the one who is being cauterized and cut. Thus also, God does not manage only one man, but He manages the whole world; He governs the things in heaven, the things on earth, everywhere. Therefore, He considers what is advantageous to the whole world and to all who exist, as far as is possible. He considers also what is advantageous to the one, yet not so that the advantage of the one becomes the ruin of the world. For this reason, eternal fire has been prepared, for this reason Gehenna has been made ready, and for this reason there is also outer darkness, which are necessary not only for the one being punished, but especially for the common good.
A 6. If, however, you wish to take the Scripture as a witness that sinners are punished for the instruction of others, even if these sinners themselves are beyond hope of cure, hear Solomon saying in the Proverbs: *When the pestilent man is flogged, the imprudent will become more clever* (Prov. XIX, 25). He did not say that the one being flogged would become more clever and wiser on account of his own chastisement, but he says that the imprudent man turns from foolishness to prudence on account of the floggings brought upon the pestilent one. For this is what is signified here by the name of "cleverness," and the imprudent man changes by seeing others being flogged. Therefore, it is advantageous for us—if indeed we are worthy of salvation—that others be punished for our utility. And just as the transgression of Israel was useful for the salvation of the Gentiles, so the punishment of some is useful for the salvation of others. And therefore the good and merciful God says: *I will not spare, and I will not have mercy from their destruction.*
7. But having circumscribed the one chapter, let us see what the following Scripture teaches us: *Hear and perceive with your ears, and do not be exalted, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before it grows dark, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains; and you shall wait for light, and there is the shadow of death, and they shall be placed into darkness. But if you will not hear secretly, your soul shall weep from the face of insult, and your eyes shall shed tears, because the flock of the Lord has been shattered* (Jer. XIII, 15-17). He wishes them to hear and to perceive with their ears, not being content with hearing alone, nor with the perception of their ears; for which reason he says: *Hear and perceive with your ears,* and, what is greater than these, *do not be exalted,* and the remaining things which follow. B What is it, therefore, to hear, and what is it to perceive with the ears? Let us consider this from the words themselves. To perceive with the ears is, as it seems to me, to hear with the ears what is being said. But the word that precedes, "hear," if it is said with a distinction from that precept which is introduced afterward, "perceive with your ears," commands that they should take into the mind and sense those things which are said. Yet this is not only in this place, but in all Scripture there are certain things both easy and prompt to understand, which as soon as they have been read, grant utility to those who read them. There are other things more secret and ineffable, and, so to speak, wrapped in certain obscurities. Therefore, of those things which lie hidden and require exposition, I think it is now said: *Hear;* but of those things which are advantageous to the hearer without the scruple of interpretation: *Perceive with your ears.* C Let us run through the whole of the Scriptures, and having become proven money-changers, let us say: this we must "hear," and this we must "perceive with our ears." Finally, when we have heard and perceived with our ears what is said, D he commands us: *And do not be exalted; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled* (Luke XIV, 11). And the Savior also, when saying: *Learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls* (Matt. XI, 29), teaches us the
way of not being puffed up. For with other human evils this sin is also very much within us, when we are being puffed up in a completely irrational manner, and over things which one should not be puffed up about at all; at other times, with some plausibility, we are puffed up over that which is reasonable, although it is not healthy to be puffed up even then.
B 8. I will take an example so that it might become clear. There are some who are puffed up because they are children of rulers, or because they are of the lineage of people with great secular positions. Such people, even though they are puffed up over matters that are indifferent by choice and in fact, do not have a reasonable plausibility for the puffed-up pride that is brought forward by them. There are those who are puffed up because they have the power to kill men; and they think themselves to be so exalted that they want to behead men. The glory of such people is in their shame. And others are puffed up over riches, not the true ones, but those that are of the earth below. And others are puffed up, if I may say so, over having a fine house or many fields. None of these are things one should be puffed up over. And the plausibility that exists regarding being puffed up occurs when a wise man is puffed up, and is conscious within himself that already from ten years of age he kept himself from sexual acts, or that from childhood he has remained chaste. And again, another is puffed up, because he bore chains for Christ. Plausibility is what is being hinted at here, that it is reasonable to be puffed up. But even in this case, it is not reasonable to be puffed up. Paul had something to be puffed up about because of his visions, because of his sights, and because of his signs and wonders, because of the labors which he performed for Christ, because of the churches which he ambitiously cared for, where Christ had not been named, having established the Church. All these were the material of his puffing up, if one might call it that, and he had a plausibility in being puffed up, in that it seemed to some that it was right for him to be puffed up. C But nevertheless, since it is not without danger even for such people to be puffed up, the kind Father, who granted him those visions and sights, also in the portion of gifts gave him the angel of Satan, that he might buffet him, so that he might not be puffed up; and concerning this he besought the Lord three times, that the angel of Satan might depart from his [d] (which in accordance with his dispensation for him, was given so that he might not be puffed up), and the Lord answered Paul (for Paul was worthy of the Lord’s reply), and said to him: *My grace is sufficient for you; for power is made perfect in weakness* (II Cor. XII, 9). For he is not to be puffed up over anything; for it is followed by this: *Before destruction the heart of a man is exalted, and before glory it is humbled* (Prov. XVIII, 12). These things are for saying: *Hear, and be not puffed up, because the Lord has spoken*.
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I will call thee by thy name, and I will accept thee* (Isa. XLV, 4). For it is clearly shown even by these things that for the sake of the people whom Cyrus benefited, God granted him, who did not know the religion according to the Hebrews, to rule over many nations; and it is possible to learn these things even from the Greeks who have written about the prophesied Cyrus. Furthermore, in Daniel as well, while the Babylonians were ruling then, the kingdoms to come after him are shown to Nebuchadnezzar. They are shown through the image: the Babylonian rule being named gold, that of the Persians silver, that of the Macedonians bronze, and that of the Romans iron. And again, in the same prophet, things concerning Darius and Alexander and the four successors of Alexander the Macedonian king, and Ptolemy who ruled Egypt and was called Lagus, are prophesied thus: *And behold, a he-goat came from the west upon the face of the whole earth; and there was a horn between the eyes of the goat. And it came even unto the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the Ulai, and it ran at him in the fury of its power.
And I saw him reach unto the ram, and he was moved with rage against him, and he struck the ram, and broke both his horns; and there was no strength in the ram to stand before him; and he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. And the he-goat of the goats magnified himself exceedingly; and when he had become strong, his great horn was broken, and there came up other four horns under it toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and he grew exceeding great, toward the south and toward the west.» What need is there to mention the prophecies concerning Christ, such as his place of birth, Bethlehem, and the place of his upbringing, Nazara, and his flight into Egypt, and the miracles that he performed, and in what manner he was betrayed by Judas, who had been called to the apostleship? For all these things are signs of the foreknowledge of God. But the Savior himself also says: «When you behold Jerusalem being encircled by armies, then you shall know that her desolation has drawn near.» For he foretold the end result that subsequently came to pass regarding the razing of Jerusalem.
A Since it has been demonstrated to us, therefore, that God is a foreknower—and not inappropriately, so that we may explain how the stars serve as signs—it must be understood that the stars have been ordered to move in such a way that the so-called wandering stars travel in opposition to the fixed stars, so that from the configuration of all the stars, both those pertaining to the individual and those of a general nature, observers might gain knowledge. Yet it is not men who do this—for the ability to apprehend, in accordance with truth, the things pertaining to the actions and experiences of every individual from the movement of the stars is far too great a task for man—but rather the Powers, which it is necessary to know by reason of these many matters, as we shall endeavor to show in what follows. B Humans, however, having become puffed up from certain observations, or perhaps from the teachings of angels who had transgressed their own proper order and, for the ruin of our race, had instructed them in some of these things, supposed that those objects from which they think they receive signs are the very causes of the things which the text says they signify. Regarding these things themselves, we shall straightway provide a more careful, albeit concise, discussion to the best of our ability. Therefore, these are the problems that lie before us:
A How, when God has had foreknowledge from eternity concerning the things deemed to be done by each person, our free will remains intact; B and in what manner the stars are not the causes of things in human life, but are only signs; C and that human beings cannot possess exact knowledge regarding these matters, but the signs are set forth for powers superior to those of men; D and finally, a fourth point: what is the reason for God having created the signs for the knowledge of these powers?
Let us, then, examine the first point, regarding which certain of the Greeks—fearing that things are necessitated and that our free will could not possibly be preserved if God foreknows the future—have dared to adopt an impious doctrine rather than accept that which they call glorious concerning God, yet which destroys our free will and, consequently, praise and blame, as well as the praiseworthiness of virtues and the blameworthiness of vices.
thee, O Jerusalem? Or who shall bemoan thee? Or who shall turn aside to ask for peace to thee?” Thou hast turned away from me, saith the Lord. A Thou goest backward, and I will stretch out my hand over thee, and I will destroy thee, and I will no longer allow thee, and I will scatter them in dispersion. I said: “My sons are finished; want has taken hold.” I will take an example: if some enemy and rebel against the king who is judged by this man is taken away from all mercy; that is, while he is condemned, even if someone starts to offend the one condemning, it is not permitted for such a person to show mercy, lest he seem to be displeased at the king who condemned him. If you have understood this, look at the one condemned B by God for his many sins, and see how he is judged by the innumerable angels who preside over human generation as someone not worthy of even the slightest mercy. Each of the angels, looking at the one who condemned, and seeing that it is God who has condemned, that it is the Creator who is the adversary, and that the sin is such that even the good God, so to speak, is compelled to bring judgment against the one who has sinned, each of the spectators does not spare him, does not pity him, does not turn away, nor does he pray for peace for him. Jerusalem, therefore, even in her former wickedness, added this, that she crucified my Lord Jesus, and arose in such a great crime, that the Savior said C about her: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not? Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” Therefore it is left and until 206 the present time is destitute. The angels, indeed, who always helped her, and for whom the law of Moses given to her was arranged by angels in the hand of the Mediator, deserted her, and said: “Oppressed by many sins, she killed Jesus, and laid hands on our Lord.” When she sinned in lesser matters, we could pray for her, we could beseech the Lord, we could spare her: but this D is a matter of pity! If a man has sinned against a man, he will be prayed for; but if a man has sinned against God, who will pray for him? Jerusalem has committed a great wickedness, a great crime; therefore she is in agitation; and it is said to her: “We do not sorrow over Jerusalem, and over her calamities, and over all her people. For salvation has been made for us to provoke them to emulation.” And because she has so sinned that it is said by the voice of the Lord: “Who shall pity thee, O Jerusalem? And who shall sorrow over thee?” towards those transgressions: our salvation has become a reality, to provoke them to emulation. And that transgression, these will seem to spring up of their own accord; but the truth is that they will not spring up of themselves after their mention, but God will increase them: “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” And if anyone has been able to understand the scriptures, he has done the ploughing, and having done the ploughing, he has sown not among thorns.
These seeds are cared for by God so that the ears of corn should not appear suddenly, but as in the Gospel according to Mark, “first the blade, then the ear,” and then it becomes ready “for the harvest.” When it is ready for the harvest, those who are sent out for the harvest will come; when it is ready for the harvest, they will come to those of whom the Word says: “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest already.” He says to us, therefore: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” If, however, before you cleanse your soul, you still having thorns, you approach someone who is either able or considered or claims to be a teacher, and you ask for teachings and spiritual seeds, you transgress the commandment that says: “Sow not among thorns.” And following this, it is said: “Circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart.” “Circumcise yourselves to your God”: the addition “to your God” is necessary, and you will understand it from the tangible example. People are circumcised—I speak of the tangible context—not only those of the circumcision according to the Law of Moses, but also many others.
forgetting the things behind and reaching forward to the things before, let us thus present ourselves. The righteous man reaches forward to the things before, and forgets the things behind. It is clear that the contrary is true for the one who dwells on the things behind, who remembers them and does not reach out to the things before; for the one who remembers the things behind disobeys the Lord, who teaches and says: "Let him not turn back to take his garment." He disobeys the Lord, who says: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." And it is written in the Law that the angels said to Lot when he was leaving Sodom: A "Do not look back, and do not stand in all the region: flee to the mountain, that you not be caught." And you have this understanding worthy of the Spirit of God: Do not, He says, look back, that is, do not reach toward the things behind. You have dismissed Sodom, do not return to Sodom. You have dismissed vice and sins, do not return to them. Do not stand in all the region. Even if you hold the Lord’s command, of whom it is said: "Do not look back," it is not enough for your salvation, unless you observe what follows: "Do not stand in all the region"; for it is not expedient for one who has started to make progress that he should stand in the region of the Sodomites. And if you have departed from Sodom 208 and are departing from the region of Satan, and you are beginning to be rid of punishments, it is expedient that you be saved in the mountain; "flee to the mountain lest you be caught." If you wish not to be caught in the ruin of the Sodomites, do not look back, do not stand in their region, and do not proceed to other places, but when you have departed from there, ascend to the mountain in which alone there is salvation, the name of Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire for ever and ever. B Amen.
For there is the only place to be saved. And the mountain is the Lord Jesus, to whom is the glory and the power for ever. Amen.
HOMILY XIV
(According to Jerome XI.)From the place where it is written: "Woe is me, mother, up to the place where it says: "If you will return, I will restore you."
By the same interpreter.
Physicians of bodies, attending upon the sick, and wishing according to the discipline of their art to cure those who are established in infirmities, see sad matters, C and in the misfortunes of others they are consumed by their own grief: for their conversation is always in groaning, always in cares; they never have a share in joys; they are with the wounded, with those whose flesh is weakened by various ailments, who are burning with fevers, who are tortured with pain, and persist in constant service. And if any of them wishes to fulfill the medicine, he does not grow indignant, nor does he forget the purpose of his art, even when he is mentioned in speech as we have done here. Therefore, we said in the beginning that the prophet is a kind of physician of souls, and always D the priests of the Egyptians circumcise themselves for the sake of idols, but that circumcision is a circumcision for idols and it is not a circumcision performed "unto God"; but that of the Jews perhaps, and certainly at that time, was performed "unto God." If, therefore, the Word says: "Be circumcised unto your God," having understood the plain meaning, pass on also to the figurative sense, so that you may find how of those who are circumcised figuratively—so that some of them might perhaps say: "We are the circumcision"—some are circumcised unto God, but others are indeed circumcised, yet not unto God. There are also other words besides the word of truth, besides the word of the Church; they circumcise their characters and their hearts, so that those who philosophize might say they are instructing, those who are from the heresies are instructing, and a circumcision comes to pass for them, but it is a circumcision indeed, yet not unto God; for circumcision by a false word comes to pass among them; but when you are in communion according to the ecclesiastical rule and according to the intention of sound doctrine, you have not only been circumcised, but you have been circumcised "unto God." "Be circumcised," therefore, "unto your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart." Who does not pass over these things as clear? Therefore, there is a certain foreskin of the heart, and this must be circumcised.
He who examines the word precisely will investigate by inquiring into the place: foreskin is born with us, whereas circumcision is acquired; and circumcision removes that which has come from birth. If, therefore, the word commands that the "foreskin of the heart" be removed, there must be something innate to the heart which it calls a foreskin, which must be removed in order for someone to be circumcised in the "foreskin of the heart." If someone understands the phrase "we were by nature children of wrath, even as others," if someone understands the "body of humility" in which we were born, if someone understands, "No one is free from stain, not even if his life has been but a single day; his months are numbered," he will see in what manner we were born with impurity and the foreskin of our hearts.
In order that this may be spoken of according to a simpler example, one capable of leading you to see "the foreskin of the heart," I shall propose that in our first age, false opinions arise in the soul; for it is not possible that a human being should receive true and pure doctrines from the beginning. Now the divine Word has provided for history and for Scripture according to the literal sense, in order that it might nourish him who was born according to the flesh to Abraham, first in the matters according to the flesh, so that "he who is from the bondwoman" might be first, to the end that after him might be born "he of the freewoman" and "he given through the promise." If this is understood as to why it was accepted, the foreskin of the heart, which comes to be before the circumcision, may be understood. Therefore, we have need to take up the Word that cleanses the doctrines and removes everything that arises among us according to false opinion. For thus, indeed, the foreknowledge of the good that is to be might become a kind of hindrance. At any rate, God, rightfully ordering all things in the world, has reasonably blinded us also toward things future. For the knowledge of these would have released us from struggling against wickedness, but would have crushed us, having deemed it to be already grasped, so that we, not having wrestled against sin, would more quickly have become subject to it. At the same time, it also became a struggle against one becoming fine and good, that the foreknowledge should have come to a certain person that he will certainly be good. For in those matters wherein we have need of intensity and of greater tension in order to become fine and good, the foreknowledge, having been anticipated, that one will certainly be fine and good, weakens the exercise. Wherefore, it is beneficially that we do not know whether we shall be good or whether we shall be evil. Since we have said that God has blinded us toward the future, see if we are able, from a passage in Exodus that is called into question, to explain it thus: "Who has made the slow of hearing and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Is it not I, the Lord God?" So that He might have made the same man blind and seeing: seeing indeed the things present, but blind toward the things future.
This then is the putting away of the foreskin of our hearts. For if the heart is that which possesses our ruling faculty, where thoughts reside, from whence "evil thoughts proceed," he who removes evil thoughts removes "the foreskin of the heart," and he who lays aside false doctrine has circumcised "the foreskin of his heart" and becomes "a man of Judah" and a "dweller in Jerusalem," being purely circumcised. But if anyone does not put away "the foreskin of his heart," let us see what the Word threatens him with: "Lest," he says, "my wrath go forth like fire and be kindled, and there be none to quench it." The wrath of the Lord goes forth therefore like fire upon those who have not been circumcised unto God, upon those who have not put away "the foreskin of their heart," "and there shall be none to quench it because of the wickedness of your doings." That fire has for its fuel the wickedness of our doings; where there is no wickedness of doings, the fire has nothing to feed upon. And that the fuel of that fire is the wickedness of our doings, hear the prophet saying: "and there shall be none to quench it because of the wickedness of your doings." For as for what is said concerning the deaf and the blind, it is not the time to recount it now.
However, that many of the things which are in our power are caused by many things which are not in our power, we also will admit. Yet if the latter—that is, the things not in our power—did not exist, some of those things which are in our power would not be performed; yet some of those things which are in our power are performed consequent to those things which happened before and are not in our power, though it is possible, given the same preceding events, to have done other things than those we did. But if anyone seeks for what is in our power to be absolutely stripped of the whole, so that we do not choose these things because of those things that have happened to us, he has forgotten that he is a part of the world and is contained within the communion of men and the whole that encompasses him.
Moderately then, as in an epitome, I think it has been demonstrated that the foreknowledge of God is not strictly causative of the things foreknown. More on the same subject may be found in the second volume of the work *Against Celsus* in the following terms. Celsus thinks that for this reason things happen, because they were foretold by some foreknowledge, since it was foretold;
we, however, not admitting this, say that the one who utters the prophecy is not the cause of what is to come, even though he foretold that it would happen, but that the thing which is to come, which would come to pass even if it were not prophesied, has provided the cause for the one who has foreknowledge to foretell it. And indeed, this whole matter exists in the foreknowledge of the one who prophesies it; for when a thing is able to happen, and is also able not to happen, one of those two will occur. And we do not say that the one who has foreknowledge, by taking away the possibility of its happening or not happening, says, as it were, something like this: "This will absolutely happen, and it is impossible for it to happen otherwise." And this kind of analysis extends to all foreknowledge concerning that which is up to us, whether according to the divine Scriptures or according to the histories of the Greeks. Furthermore, the so-called "idle argument" among the dialecticians, which is a sophism, will not be a sophism as far as Celsus is concerned, but according to sound reasoning, it is a sophism. But in order for this to be understood, I shall use from Scripture the prophecies concerning Judas or the foreknowledge of our Savior regarding him as one who would betray Him; and from the Greek histories, I shall use the oracle given to Laius, granting for the present that it is true, since it does not trouble the argument.
"Declare in Judah, and let it be heard in Jerusalem: say, [declare,] sound the trumpet in the land, and cry aloud." These things, he says, are the things to be declared, "say in Judah," to those from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Christ, "for it is manifest that from Judah our Savior has sprung." "Sound the trumpet in the land": the sublime word, which stirs up the listener, which prepares him "for the war" against the passions, "for the war" against the workings of the adversaries, which prepares him for the heavenly "feasts"—for it is spoken for both these things—a trumpet is employed. In the book of Numbers such a word is a trumpet; for example, the Word commands me, and if anyone else—for it is given to whoever wills it and seeks the meaning of the Scriptures—commands us to make "trumpets of hammered silver." Thus says the Word: "Sound the trumpet in the land, and cry aloud: say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the walled cities." The Word of God does not wish us to enter into an unwalled city, but into one that is walled. "The Church of the living God" is walled by "the truth" of the Word; for this is the wall, as it is set down in the seventeenth Psalm, that God also is a "wall."
A "Take refuge and flee to Sion," you who are outside of Sion; "take refuge, flee to Sion; hasten, do not stand still." You who are in progress, hasten to the Watchtower, "for I bring evil from the north, and a great destruction." Since evils are being brought "from the north"—the north of the adversary, as has often been said—whoever is found not having hastened or entered "into the walled cities," not having made himself "in the churches of God," but standing outside, he, having been seized by the enemies, shall be destroyed.
And who is the enemy? Let us see from the following in what manner it is said: "A lion has come up from his lair, destroying nations, he has set out." This is the enemy whom we must flee.
Therefore, concerning Judas, it is said in the one hundred and eighth Psalm in the person of the Savior, the beginning of which is: "O God, do not keep silence at my praise; for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful have been opened against me." And if you observe the things said in the psalm, you will find that, just as it was foreknown that he would betray the Savior, so he was also the cause of the betrayal and worthy of the curses mentioned in the prophecy because of his malice. For let him suffer these things, for "Because," it says, "he did not remember to show mercy, but pursued the poor and needy man." Therefore, he was able to remember to show mercy and not pursue him whom he pursued; but being able, he did not do so, but betrayed him; so that he is worthy of the curses pronounced against him in the prophecy.
And we shall also use the saying against the Greeks in this manner, in relation to Laius, whether the tragic poet recorded it in these very words or something equivalent to them. For it is said to him by one who truly knew the things that were to come: Do not sow the furrow of children against the will of the gods; For if you beget a child, he who begot him shall kill you, And your whole house shall pass away through blood.
And in this, therefore, it is clearly shown that it was possible for Laius not to sow the furrow of children;
A taking the form of a servant, he now also speaks: *My strength has failed in those who curse me.*
10. Let us see, moreover, if, while the Word Himself grants us understanding, we can also say something clearer than what has been spoken regarding the passage: *My strength has failed in those who curse me.* The *true light* was that *which enlightens every man coming into the world*. And whoever is rational participates in the true light. Now, every man is rational. Since, therefore, all men are rational, in some the rational virtue increases, while in others it diminishes. If you see a soul full of vices and a slave to perturbations, you will see how the virtue of the Word fails in it; but if you see a holy and just soul, you will see that the virtue of God makes progress and grows in it every day: and that which is written concerning Jesus is applied to it. For not only did Jesus increase *in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men*, but He also increases in wisdom, age, and grace with God and men in those who individually receive the progress of wisdom, age, and grace. The Word, therefore, the Son of God, who was God the Word, who dwells in the one saying, "Woe is me, my mother," and the rest, speaks according to the nature of His majesty: *My strength has failed in those who curse me.* If anyone curses the Word, this person immediately receives retribution for cursing the Word, for blaming the teaching of Jesus. For the strength of Jesus fails in such a person, and there is no strength of the Word in him; just as, conversely, if you bless Jesus and receive Him, His strength suffers the opposite of what it suffered in those who curse Him; for just as it failed in those who curse, so here it increases in those who bless. B C
11. *Let it be, O Lord, that they be directed, if I have not stood by you in the time of their evils.* What is this which is said: *Let it be, O Lord*? Let him who is able understand this from the discourse itself. That is, *O Lord, let them be directed*—those who were cursing me—*let the virtue which was failing in them be made (fiat) in them*, when, having changed to repentance after the curses with which they were persecuting me, they have begun to walk in the right way. *Let it be, O Lord, that they be directed, if I have not stood by you.* He gives the reason why he asks for direction and virtue for those who were cursing him, saying: *If I have not stood by you in the time of their evils.* He stood by the Father as a propitiation for our sins, and he interceded for them at the very time of our evils; for he did not stand by after the time of our affliction, but *while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us*. *If I have not stood by you in the time of their evils, and in the time of their tribulation, let the enemy rise up: I have stood by you for them.* But who is our enemy, if not the Devil, who was afflicting us and pressing us down with the yoke of servitude? Against him the Savior stood by the Father, and, delivering us from captivity, D our, and he pleaded for our captivity, so that we might be redeemed and rescued from…
the enemy. A Let the Savior, or indeed the prophet, have said these things. For the prophet is also able to say such things, and to have prayed for the people in the time of their troubles.
B To these things, what does God reply to the people accused by the prophet or by Christ? And he says these things to them: *Iron and a bronze covering is your strength.* Hard, unyielding, not driven, like something sharp and dividing, your strength, not being a strength for good. *And I will give your treasures for plunder, as an exchange for all your sins.* What treasures of those who sin does God give for plunder, and give them as an exchange for all their sins? Is it, perchance, those stored up for them on earth? For every man gathers treasure: if he is base, on earth; but if he is noble, in heaven, as we were taught by the Gospel. Or is he saying to that people that, "Because of your sins, I am about to give your treasures for plunder"? Now, one of the treasures was Jeremiah; another treasure was Isaiah; a treasure was also Moses. God took these treasures away from that people; and through Christ who said: *The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruits* (Matt. xxi, 43), he bestowed them upon us. "I will give, therefore, because of your sins, your treasures for plunder." And the Lord gave the treasures of that people to us; for they were first entrusted with the oracles of God; then, after them, we. We were entrusted, the oracles of God having been taken from them and given to us. And we say that, *The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruits*, to have been spoken by the Savior and to have been fulfilled; not because Scripture was taken away from them, but now they (2) do not have the law and the prophets, so as to perceive the mind within them; for they do have the books. But how was the kingdom of God taken away from them? The mind of the Scriptures was taken away from them; no longer is the legal or prophetic narrative preserved among them, but they are reading and C not understanding; for through the coming of Christ, that which was said has been fulfilled: *Say to this people: By hearing you shall hear, and you shall not understand, and seeing you shall see, and you shall not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown fat.* There has also been fulfilled that which was said by Isaiah (Isa. iii, 1-2), that: *The Lord will take away from Judea and from Jerusalem the mighty man and the mighty woman, the giant and the warrior man, the judge and the prophet, and the guesser, and the wise architect, and the understanding hearer.* All these things God took away from them, and gave the Gospel to us who are from the Gentiles; these things because of the [words], *And I will give your treasures for plunder, as an exchange for all your sins, and in all your borders.* D As if saying because of your sins, which have reached to all your borders. For there is no border of that people which has not been filled with its sins; nor could all its borders not be filled with sins, which, as much as it was in its power, killed justice—if Christ is justice—killed wisdom—if Christ is wisdom—killed...
truth—if Christ is truth. For by having condemned the Son of God to death, they cast away and lost all these things. And my Lord Jesus, having risen from the dead, no longer appeared to those who killed him; for we do not find in history that he appeared to those who killed him, but he appeared risen from the dead only to those who believed. B
15. *And I will make you serve your enemies in a land which you did not know.* The people of the Jews served their enemies and were scattered into a land which they did not know. *Because a fire has been kindled in my wrath, it will burn upon you.* After these things which we have set forth, and the words of warning spoken to the people, he who had prayed above completes his prayer, and joins to the preceding things that which follows: *You have known, O Lord, remember me, and visit me; make me innocent from those who are persecuting me, not in patience.* And the prophet can say this, having suffered persecution from those whom he rebuked, who did not wish to hear the truth, for he became an enemy to them by speaking the truth. But the Savior could also say these things, who suffered persecution from the people even to the cross, not in patience. What is this which he says: *Not in patience*? It is this: "You were always long-suffering in patience toward this sinning people, but because they have raised their rashness against me through this, do not be long-suffering." And truly God was not patient; for if you consider the times of the Lord’s passion and the ruin of Jerusalem, when it was overturned, you will see how God did not continue to use patience with them. For from the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar up to the subversion of the temple of God (because it was fitting that some small amount of time intervene), he left them in patience, on account of those who were to believe through the signs and wonders of the apostles. C
14. *Know how I have accepted reproach on your behalf from those who despise your words.* It is possible that the prophet says this, being treated with contempt by the sinful people concerning those things which he was preaching; for he says elsewhere: *I have spent my days in mockery.* Therefore, he suffers reproach from those who despise the words of God, and he prays to have the help of God, saying: *Know how I have accepted reproach on your behalf from those who despise your words.* The prophet is speaking, and being treated with contempt by sinners D because of what he was saying, being despised; for he says: *I have continued to be mocked.* Therefore, he was being reproached by those who despised the words spoken through him by God; and he prays that, because he was reproached, he might be helped by God, saying, *Know how I have accepted...*
your reproach because of those who despise your words.* A *Consummate them.* Perhaps a prophet can say this, but it is more fitting for the Savior, after whose passion the consummation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish people took place. Since the prophets suffered much on account of their mission of the Word and the rebukes from God which they brought to the people, it is necessary to remind the listeners of their life, their promises, and our own intention, so that, if we wish to attain rest with the prophets, we may strive to do their works as far as our strength allows.
What I mean is of this sort: we frequently say in our prayers, "Almighty God, give us a share with the prophets; give us a share with the apostles of your Christ, that we may be found following in the footsteps of your Only-begotten." When we say these things, we do not grasp what we are asking; for in effect we are saying this: "Make us to be hated just as the prophets were hated, and grant us words such as those for which we might suffer persecution; grant that we might fall into the same calamities that the apostles endured." Indeed, to say, "Give me a share with the prophets," while unwilling to suffer what the prophets suffered, is the most unjust thing of all. To say, "Give me a share with the apostles," while unwilling to speak truthfully from the affection of Paul—*in labors more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often* B and all the rest—is most inequitable.
If, therefore, you wish to be with the prophets, look at the lives of the prophets, since it was from their rebuking, their reproving, and their castigating that they were judged, condemned, and sentenced. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the edge of the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, wandering in deserts and in mountains and in caves and in holes of the earth. What is it, then, so paradoxical if someone, wishing to emulate the prophetic life—rebuking and reproving the sinner—is slandered, hated, and plotted against? So it must also be in the present time in the Church of God. Someone has been found guilty because, while sitting [in his position], he was doing this or that. There had to be ecclesiastical justice, C and it has taken place. The one entrusted with the work has done what he was required to do; that same person goes around speaking evil of the one who defended the truth. But let us do only this: let us not offer our ears to those who, because they have been cast out, speak evil of the one who cast them out or of the one who was of the same mind. For even when injustice is rebuked and justice has been done, the wondrous apostles, while suffering countless insults for the sake of the truth, say: *Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in anxieties for Christ’s sake.* D It is fitting to labor only for this: that we endure insult for no other cause than for Christ, and that the cause of our necessity be Christ. Let us desire that, having suffered reviling, we realize that we are reviled for the sake of the truth.
and intercede for those written in the scriptures, that all things may occur according to the Word of God, and that for this we are reviled. And we all, as much as we are able, let us hasten toward the prophetic life, toward the apostolic life, not fleeing from the toil of that athletic struggle, for the athlete, if he flees from the difficulty of the struggle, will not be crowned with joy, nor will he attain the glory of praise.
A 45. *And your word was to me for joy.* He says not: "It was," but "It will be," because in the present time, prisons, exile, insults, and labors are allotted to me; but the end of all these things is joy. *And your word was to me for joy, and for the rejoicing of my heart, for your name is called upon me, O Lord God Almighty.* Even if Christ says this, it is not unreasonable; for the name of the Father is called upon Him. *I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers.* If he saw that the assembly of the prophets was not of those of concern, but of those mocking, he used to flee from it. Whence it is necessary to know the differences between assemblies, of the concerned and of the mocking. This assembly of ours is a concerned one, if it seeks after all things with ecclesiastical diligence, if the word is with discipline, if life is concerned; it is business with caution, it is an assembly, not of mockers, but of the concerned. But if it abandons the study of religion and wastes time in the mocks of this world, which come from wickedness, it is an assembly of mockers. Therefore, it says: *I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, and I feared from the face of your hand.* Two things were proposed: B either to sit in the assembly of mockers, and to offend you, O God, and not to please You, or to rise from the assembly of mockers, and to do those things which were pleasing to You. I chose rather to rise from the assembly of mockers, and to be a friend to You, than by doing the contrary, to be numbered among those who are enemies. *I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, but I feared from the face of your hand.* And our Savior, not sitting in the assembly of the mockers, but rising, teaching us, said: *Your house is left to you desolate.* He left the divine assembly of the Jews, and another assembly He gathered for Himself from the nations.
46. *I sat alone.* And the words here build up those who hear. When the multitude of those who sin, C and who do not sustain the just man to live piously, exists, then it is necessary to flee the congregation of them, and to imitate the prophet who laments miserably: *Lord, they have killed your prophets, and have digged down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.* But if we wish to accept something sacred in that saying: *I sat alone,* perhaps we shall find one worthy of interpretation by the Holy Spirit. When we imitate the life of the multitude, neither is our conversation better than the people, nor is our contempt for the wickedness of men judged by God D as known, that I am not reviled for any other reason than for Christ, and as one who has come into necessities, Christ is the cause. I would that, with the rest, it be known that the pretext for the reviling is naught else than that I defend the truth, and intercede for those things written, so that in accordance with the Word, all things may occur, and that for this I am reviled. And we all, as much as we are able, let us hasten toward the prophetic life, toward the apostolic life, not fleeing from the toil of that athletic struggle, for the athlete, if he flees from the difficulty of the struggle, will not be crowned with joy, nor will he attain the glory of praise.
45. *And your word was to me for joy.* He says not: "It was," but "It will be," for indeed in the present time my word is prisons, judgements, deeds, for insults, for toils, but the end of these things is joy. And *your word is for me for joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for your name is called upon me, O Lord God Almighty.* And if Christ says, the name of the Father is called upon Him. *I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers.* If I saw that the council of the prophets was not of those laboring, but of those mocking, I fled rather the gathering, than hastened toward the gathering of those mocking. Therefore it is necessary to know the difference between the assembly of those mocking, and those laboring. This assembly is concerned, and does everything with diligence, and with concerned worth, and according to what is said, concern is the word, concern is the life, and in every way the assembly is not of mockers, but of those laboring. But when the assembly abandons the concern for necessary things, and idles with the mocks of this world and with the mocks that arise from wickedness, it becomes an assembly of mockers. By saying this: *I did not sit in the assembly of those mocking, but I feared from the face of your hand.* With two things proposed, either to sit in the assembly of the mockers, and to offend God and not please Him, or to arise from the assembly of the mockers, and to do those things which were pleasing to You, I chose rather to arise from the assembly of the mockers, and to be a friend to You, than by doing the contrary to become an enemy to blessedness! I did not sit in the assembly of those mocking, but I feared from the face of your hand. And our Savior did not sit in the assembly of those mocking. And this is the sign of the Savior arising from the assembly of those mocking, the saying to it: *Your house is left to you desolate.* For the Word of God left the assembly of the Jews, and another assembly He gathered for Himself from the nations.
46. *I sat alone.* And the words here build up. When the multitude of sinners is present, and does not bear the one living justly, then it is nothing strange for the one fleeing the assembly of wickedness to imitate the one saying: *Elias: Lord, they have killed your prophets, and have digged down your altars; and I am left alone, and they seek to take my life.* Perhaps, even if you examine it more deeply, *I sat alone*, you will find some one worthy of the depth of the prophetic. "When you imitate the life of the many, so that you are separated from them, and better and more excellent than the many, you are able to say, *I sat alone*, but..."
when my life becomes difficult to imitate, so that no one is comparable to me in my character, in my life, in my deeds, in my wisdom, then I am able to say, *I sat alone* in relation to the many, and I have no one to imitate me." A *I sat alone.* Is it permitted, then, even for one who is not a presbyter, or a bishop, or a deacon, or dignified by any ecclesiastical honor, if he lives well, to say this: *I sat alone, because I am full of bitterness?* If the path is narrow and constrained that leads to life, you must be satisfied to be filled with bitterness in this life; you can enjoy nothing sweet. Or do you not know that the feast takes place with bitter herbs? For "the festival" he says, "must be eaten with bitter herbs." What is the meaning of the Word speaking, that the one who feasts to God must eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs? Consider this. The unleavened bread has been explained; but the consequence of the interpretation of the bitter herbs must also be related, and be close to the apostolic account. The Apostle related the unleavened bread by saying, "We celebrate the festival not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." It is necessary to provide the account of the bitter herbs in a way that follows the unleavened bread being sincerity and truth. You possess sincerity and truth, and bitterness will accompany you, and you will eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth with bitter herbs; just as Paul, since he ate the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, ate also the bitter herbs, B saying, "Have I become your enemy by telling the truth?" How did he eat bitter herbs when he was beaten, and in toil, and in sleeplessness, and in hunger and thirst, often, apart from the hardships he suffered? If these were not truth with bitterness—"You shall eat the unleavened bread with bitter herbs"—he did not say, "You shall eat the unleavened bread with bitter herbs, and you will be filled, just as it is said of the others: 'You shall eat and you will be satisfied.'" The prophet does not retract, saying he did not eat the bitter herbs, but: "I was filled with bitterness," as much as possible partaking of bitter things, so that he might partake of the most perfect bitter herbs.
"That those who persecute me may be put to shame." He had many affairs, and suffered from those who wished to hear the truth, and yet they did not wish to hear it. It is possible here in this age, because the kingdom of God is not of this age, C but of that which is more excellent, as the Savior says: "If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would struggle so that I would not be handed over to the Jews," and they would not be comforted. D Many things was Jeremiah suffered at the hands of those who did not wish to hear the truth, and they were stronger in this age, because the kingdom of God is not of this world, but of another region of the living, as the Savior says: If this were my kingdom of this world, my servants would struggle so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; and they, for the sake of, say, telling of this person, that he will suffer this and will die having fallen among robbers and having been killed, they say that he is able to receive this from his own nativity, even if it happens that he has many brothers, and from the nativity of each one of them. For they think that the nativity of each one contains a brother who is going to be killed by robbers, and likewise that of his father and mother, and of his spouse, and of his children, and of his servants, and of his dearest ones, and perhaps even that of the killers themselves. How, therefore, is it possible for one encompassed by so many nativities—if this were to be granted to them—to be shaped by the configuration of the stars of this nativity more than those? For it is also implausible to claim that the configuration in the nativity of this person himself has brought these things about, but that the one in the nativity of those others has not brought it about, but only signified it; for it is foolish to say that the nativity of all contained in each case the power for this person to be killed, so that in fifty nativities, for the sake of argument, it is contained that this person should be killed.
I do not know how they will be able to sustain the claim that the formation of nearly all those in Judea at birth is such that they receive circumcision on the eighth day, having their extremities mutilated, suffering from wounds and inflammation, and requiring physicians at the very entrance into life, while the formation of those among the Ishmaelites in Arabia is such that all are circumcised at thirteen years of age—for this is what is recorded about them—and again that some among these Ethiopians have the caps of their knees removed, and the Amazons one of their breasts. For how do the stars bring these things about for these nations? I believe that if we were to pay attention, we would not be able to state anything true about them, not even to the point of setting it forth. With so many predictive methods being circulated, I do not know how men have drifted away from saying that augury and the art of sacrifice do not contain the causing factor but only provide a sign, while holding this to be true for astrology, but not for the calculation of nativities.
Since, then, everything comes to us from providence so that we might be completed and perfected, yet we do not accept the things of providence that draw us toward perfection, it may be said by the one who understands concerning God: "O Lord, You have finished them, and they have refused to receive instruction. They have made their faces harder than a rock." You will understand this also from more bodily things. Of those who sin, some, when they hear words of rebuke for their sin, blush and sink down and fall under the weight of the rebuking Word; others are of such a sort that they are shameless, not feeling shame for those things for which they are rebuked, or for those things in which they have sinned. You might say, then, concerning those who do not feel shame: "They have made their faces harder than a rock." If you have understood this in regard to physical things, cross over with me in your understanding to the soul, considering the "face," concerning which it is said, "Then face to face," and see a hard soul, such as the heart of Pharaoh, which was hardened, so that it stood as an image against the things being announced, and, as if casting off what was being said, it was not fashioned according to the things announced; for there you will find that "They made their faces harder than a rock" is fitting. For if, since it is known, that we might also grant what is known, it comes from that source from which knowledge is taken, why should future events come more from the stars than from auguries, or more from auguries than from the entrails of sacrificial victims, or from shooting stars? These things, then, will suffice for the present to refute the idea that the stars are the makers of human affairs.
C But that which we have conceded—for it did not trouble the argument—namely, that men are able to grasp the heavenly configurations and the signs and that of which they are signs, let us now examine whether it is true. The experts in these matters say, therefore, that he who is about to grasp accurately the affairs of the calculation of nativities must know not only in which dodecatemorion the so-called star is found, but also in which degree of the dodecatemorion and in which sixtieth; and the more precise ones, even in which sixtieth of a sixtieth. And they say that this must be done for each of the wandering stars, examining its relation to the fixed stars.
"And they would not turn back, and I said: Perhaps they are poor, because they would not know the way of the Lord and the judgment of God; I will go to the great and will speak to them." Having understood these things concerning those who do not wish to be instructed, and who do not understand the scourges of God, he says, having perceived the cause of this: Their soul is poor. "And I said: Perhaps they are poor, because they could not, because they did not know the way of the Lord and the judgment of God; I will go to the great and will speak to them." The "great" are spoken of in praise regarding their souls. For among the Greeks, the term "great" (*hadron*) is frequently used to denote also the magnificence of the rational soul. For when someone applies himself to great matters and has noteworthy purposes and always contemplates what is necessary—how he might live according to right reason, wishing to see or do nothing base or small—such a person possesses greatness and nobility in his soul. Since, therefore, those whom the Word previously censured were "poor," they did not hear, the prophet says; for this reason they did not hear, since they are poor. "I will go to the great and I will speak to them." And if it is a blessed thing to be able to say, "in the ears of those who are listening," it is indeed a blessed thing if one happens upon a great and noble hearer.
Therefore, with these things being said in this way, since we know that the failure to accept what is announced is not so much a detriment to those who speak as it is to those who hear—and it accuses their mind and understanding of poverty—let us pray to God to receive, as the Word in us grows, fullness and magnificence in Christ Jesus, so that we may be able to hear the sacred and holy words, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
7. On the text: "And it shall be in those days, says the Lord your God, I will not strike you to the end," up to: "so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours." Homily 17.
Homily 17
God, who A "judges little by little," gives the punished "a place for repentance," and does not, as soon as one has sinned, bring the "completion" of the punishment upon the wrongdoer. For this reason, in "judging little by little," he punishes, and the example of this is in Leviticus. For in the curses against those who transgress the Law, it is recorded after the earlier punishments: "And it shall be, if after these things you do not turn, says the Lord, I will also add to you seven plagues," and again he recounts another punishment: "And it shall be, if after these things you do not turn, but walk perversely with me, I also will walk with you in a perverse wrath." B And you will find God adding punishments with sparingness, since he desires to lead the one who has sinned to repentance, and does not render them all at once.
Such, therefore, insofar as the literal sense goes, was what happened to the people; and the Word, in threatening them with what they would suffer after those things, says: "And it shall be in those days, saith the Lord thy God, I will not smite you to an end." But if you ask whether these things extend even to the future punishments, if not, let him who is able to transition from the events that occurred in life regarding the people, transfer also to those. For I, being persuaded, would say that as "they serve the copy and shadow of heavenly things," so, as a copy and shadow of the true punishments, that people was punished for their own sins, in such a way that every punishment recorded according to the law and the prophets regarding the people contains a shadow of true punishments. If, therefore, for them an end did not come upon their sins, but at the conclusion of time, perhaps in this way there will also be punishment for those who have sinned after their departure from this life; but the end for Jerusalem is when the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar occurs.
Yet someone might say that this is not even then the consummation, nor even in the time of the Maccabees, but rather the consummation for the people is at the arrival of my Lord Jesus Christ. For as long as the Savior did not say to them, "Behold, your house is left unto you," it was not left; but when He wept over Jerusalem, saying, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," the house was left, and Jerusalem was compassed "by camps," as the house had been left and "its desolation approached." Then, after their transgression, "salvation" came to us, "to the Gentiles." They were therefore being punished, and the consummation did not reach them until the arrival of my Lord Jesus. I consider, however, whether such things exist also for us, and whether certain punishments come about so that some may not have the experience of second punishments but be satisfied with the first, while others come even to the second, though not to the third, and others will come even to the fourth. "For this same cause have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth." For if Pharaoh was preserved for a demonstration of the power of God and the declaration of His name in all the earth, consider how much of a demonstration of the power of God the heavenly signs contain, since everything from the beginning of the age until the consummation is inscribed in the worthy book of God, the heaven. Secondly, I conjecture that the signs are set before the powers that manage human affairs so that they may know some things while executing others; just as in the books among us, some things are written so that we may know them, such as those concerning the creation of the world and any other mysteries; while others are for us to do after having known them, such as those concerning the commandments and the ordinances of God. It is possible, then, that the heavenly letters, which angels and divine powers are well able to read, contain some things to be read by the angels and ministers of God, so that they may rejoice in knowing them, while others they perform as if receiving them as commandments. And we shall not commit an error in saying that the heaven and the stars correspond to those things which are in the Law.
For the phrase “I will add seven plagues” indicates whatever mystery belongs to a single plague occurring, and a second, and a third, up to the seven mentioned, against certain people. Yet not all are struck with seven plagues; but I think some will be struck with six plagues, others five, others four, others three or two, while those who are inferior to all in their punishments, I think, will be struck with one plague. God, therefore, knows even the matters concerning the plagues, for which reason it is written here at the beginning of the reading: “And it shall be in those days,” those concerning the things mentioned, “I will not bring you to an end.” But the end is not in those days, for there are certain days when He will bring those whom He will bring to an end. “And it shall be when you say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these evils to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘Because you have forsaken me and served strange gods in your land, so you shall serve others in a land that is not yours.’” Let the passage be understood, and, for the present, it suffices to set forth the reminder to those who are able to hear from the passage. Therefore, the sons of Israel had the holy land, the temple, the house of prayer. If, however, worse and other activities of man produce something of those things foreknown and signified in the heaven, there is no necessity that they, being reminded by the scriptures of God, do what they do. But just as men doing wrong—not having learned that God had foreknown that such a one would be wronged by them—perform the wrongdoing out of their own wickedness, so too the opposing powers—with God having foreknown the wickedness of the men and powers who intend evil—carry out [these things] by their own most shameful will. The holy angels, however, the ministering spirits sent forth for service, it is likely that, as though receiving the commandments from the written law of God, they perform the better things in an orderly manner, when it is necessary, as it is necessary, and as much as is necessary; for it is absurd that they, being divine, should come by chance and not definitely, for instance, to grant an oracle to Abraham, or to do something for Isaac, or to rescue Jacob from danger, or to stand by the spirit of this or that prophet. In order, therefore, that they may not do this by chance nor by coincidence, they read the book of God and thus perform the tasks that fall to them.
It was their duty to worship God, but in transgressing the divine commandments they were idolaters, and they adopted the idols of Damascus, as is written in the Books of Kings, and they accepted other idols of the nations into the holy land. By accepting the idols of the nations, they made themselves worthy to be cast down into the land of the idols, to settle there where they used to worship those idols. The Word therefore says to them according to the literal meaning: "Forasmuch as you have forsaken me and served strange gods in your land, so shall you serve strange gods in a land not yours." Everyone, moreover, who deifies something serves strange gods. Do you deify foods and drinks? "Your belly" is your "god." Do you honor silver as a great good and wealth that is below? Mammon is your god and lord. For Jesus called him the lord of the covetous, saying: "You cannot serve God and Mammon; no one can serve two masters." Therefore, he who honors silver and marvels at riches and considers them to be a good, and who accepts the rich as gods, while despising the poor as though they did not possess their God, this man deifies silver.
As we said before, what we do, or the opposing energies that are performed upon us, we do by our own free choice; by an unruly choice, when we sin; but by a disciplined choice—not without angels, nor without divine scriptures, nor without holy ministers—when we do things pleasing to God.
Clement of Rome, a disciple of Peter the Apostle, in agreement with these things on the present problem in his address to his father in Laodicea as recorded in the *Periodoi* (Journeys), says something most necessary at the conclusion of his discourses concerning this subject, in Book 14, regarding those who seem to have turned out according to their horoscope.
"And the father said: 'Forgive me, my child; for your words yesterday, being true, persuaded me to agree with you. But my conscience still torments me a little toward unbelief, like the remnant of a fever, for I am conscious to myself that all the things of my horoscope were fulfilled for me.'
"And I answered: 'Consider with me, father, what nature this study has, from what I advise you to do. When you meet with an astrologer, say first to him: "Such and such evil things happened to me at such and such a time; I wished to learn from which of the stars this happened to me."
And he will tell you that it was because Mars or Saturn, or one of these, took charge of your times, or that some of these were in ap...
oversaw this year from a square or a diameter, or was in conjunction, or was centered, or was apart from its sect. Nevertheless, he has also ten thousand other things to say. In addition to these, he will say that either a benefit-bringing planet was bound to an evil one, or was unobserved, or was in a certain configuration, or was apart from its sect, or was in an eclipse, or was without configuration, or was among dim stars. And yet, for the many excuses that exist, he has proofs to provide for the things you heard. After this mathematician, then, approach another and say the opposite: "This good thing has happened to me at this time." But you name the same time and demand to know from which part of his nativity this has happened. And yet, as I said before, though you are lying to him, he has the power to find one configuration out of many, and a second and a third and more, as the very one that operated from where he will say the good things happened. For it is impossible in any nativity of men that at every hour some of the stars should not be situated well and others evilly; for there is an equal-portioned, varied circle, having infinite excuses for which each one has what he wishes to say.
B Those from the Britannic Ocean are taken as if among pearls; third, but falling short not only of the first but also of the second, are those found on the Bosporus around Scythia. B Furthermore, these things were said about the Indian pearl, that it is formed in shells C resembling in their nature very large conchs. These are reported to graze, as it were, throughout the whole sea, as if some leader of the flock were directing them, remarkable in color and size, and differing from those under him; so that he has a relationship D to what is called the king bee. There is also a story about the hunting of the distinguished ones, that is, those in India, as follows: that the locals, enclosing a large circle of the shore with nets, dive down, seeking to seize the leader from among them all; for when this one is caught, they say the hunting of the flock under him becomes effortless, as none of those 820A which follow him any longer remain still, but are as if bound by a strap and following the leader. It is said also that the generation of the pearls in India occurs over time, with the animal undergoing many turnings and changes, until it is perfected. Furthermore, this is also reported, that the shell of the animal bearing the pearl opens in a gap, B and once opened, it receives the heavenly dew into itself; and if it is filled with this, if it is pure and unclouded, it becomes bright, and brings forth a large and symmetrical stone. But if at any time it receives dark, uneven, and wintry dew, it gives birth to a cloudy pearl, blemished with spots. C And we have also found this, that if one wandering toward its completion is intercepted, it is said that the rest of the procession of pearls immediately revolves around it; but if the king escapes them, it is no longer possible for them to catch the others. Those who were caught they leave to have their flesh putrefy, while using the bone for ornament. D Megasthenes says pearl-bearing shells are caught with nets: Pliny, Aelian, and Origen mention the care of divers and nets; these two different types of fishing they have confounded into one. This method of fishing, which is done by means of nets, has almost died out, except in certain regions of the New World. But that method which Philostratus describes in Book II of *The Life of Apollonius*, chapter 16—which is perhaps a fable, such as almost all those things which the idle sophist proposed in this book—has gone completely into disuse. Almost the only one in use is that which is done by divers.
A And may they attain rest and blessedness with the prophets. It is possible in many ways to gather together the excellent virtues of the prophets, their freedom, their constancy, their vigilance, and their readiness; for, being set in the midst of dangers, they exhibited such freedom of spirit that they were not in the least concerned as to how they should rebuke and how they should convert; inasmuch as the prophets, with liberty, announced the word of God, rebuking sinners even if those whom they rebuked seemed to possess great power. Although it is possible to prove this from every side, let us consider it from what has been read today. The prophet rebukes many, and he had spoken to many; for he was indeed born in a time of sinners, as is clear from the fact that the captivity occurred in his own age. Having rebuked many and having been judged by many, he utters such things as these.
2. Let us first see the literal meaning of the prophetic word, and then also the anagogical, if we have first put on the constancy, the freedom, the virtue, and the confidence of the prophet. "Woe is me, mother, that thou hast born me a man to be judged and discriminated in all the earth?" (Jer. xv, 10). O mother, to what purpose hast thou born me, a man to contend in judgment B with all who are on the earth, and to be discriminated against by all who are on the earth? For it was the purpose for this prophet, as for Isaiah and the others, to teach, to rebuke, and to convert in the prophetic manner. It was therefore the purpose for this prophet, who was able to discriminate, to rebuke, and to judge, also to contend in judgment with sinners and to rebuke the sins of the people. And as for what the people perpetrated against them, what is the need to speak? They stoned one, they sawed asunder another, they slew another between the temple and the altar, and him, when they were rebuked, they cast into a pit of mire. But C indeed, our Savior did this more than all, and more excellently than they, as He is the Lord of the prophets. For since He Himself was scourged and crucified, and delivered up by the Jews—or rather, by the teachers of the Jews and the leader of the people—He said: "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (Matt. xxiii, 13). And He adds "woe" to each one, assigning this or that reason. Let us therefore strive for the beatitudes of the prophets, and let us do the same things, so that by speaking, and by being judged by many people, we also may say: "Woe is me, mother, that thou hast born me a man to be judged and discriminated in all the earth!"
3. Truly, this can the more authoritatively be regarded as prophetic when referred to the Savior. D For let us suppose the prophet is saying this; yet he will not say it truly, but perhaps hyperbolically; for he did not contend in judgment with the whole earth. But if I come to my Savior and Lord, and especially because of that saying: "He shall come into judgment" (John ix, 39), and that: "That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art..."
appraised," A I say, that the Savior and Lord is about to stand before the Father, being judged with all of us men. And He is judged with all men; I say, He is judged, He is examined, and He acts as one who champions the truth, but not as an accuser. Woe is me, mother! Why did you give birth to me as a man to be judged and discerned in all the earth? B The prophet cannot say "in all the earth," but I know those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and not only who love Him, but who are indeed devoted to Him, are indignant and say that these words are not of the Savior, nor do they befit the Son of God. It must be shown, therefore, that this "Woe is me, mother!" is not at all alien to the Son of God. For these words: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death" (Matt. xxvi, 38) and "My soul is troubled" (John xii, 27), and those which are similarly found in the prophets, are akin to this: "Woe is me, mother, why did you give birth to me as a man, to be judged and discerned in all the earth?" or: "When the grape-gleaning is perished, so as to find a bunch, woe to me, my soul, for the godly man is perished from the earth, and there is none who can set things right among men" (Mich. vii, 1-2). Who says there: "Woe is me, for I am become as one that gathereth stubble in the harvest?" (Mich. vii, 1). Did the prophet gather, or did he want to gather? Did the prophet have a field? But it belongs to no one to gather everything from the harvest and the sown fields, except the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Since, therefore, there are many crimes among the nations, C and indeed among us who are esteemed as a part of the Church, He laments and mourns our sins, saying: "Woe is me, for I am become as one that gathereth stubble." Let each of us examine himself whether he be wheat, and whether the Son of God will find in him what to harvest or to reap. We shall indeed find that we are some of us corrupted by the wind. Even if we have a little something, two or three grains, surely our many sins are upon us. Seeing, therefore, the churches which now exist, full of sinners, He says: "Woe is me! For I am become as one that gathereth stubble in the harvest, and as a gleaning in the vintage." He came seeking fruit in the vineyard. For each of us is planted like a vine in a rich place; and: "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt" (Ps. lxxix, 9). "Yet I have planted thee a fruitful vine, all true" (Jerem. ii, 21). D He comes, He seeks how He might harvest, He finds a certain gleaning and small bunches, not thriving, nor many. Who among us has bunches of virtue? Who among us has the offspring of God? O Lord our God, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth! (Ps. viii, 1). These things I have said by way of digression, that the "Woe is me, mother," is not foreign to our Savior.
[Note: The previous page’s ending, already fixed and immutable, is here repeated for context as instructed:]
(For this first page of the sequence, the entry point is the beginning of the text provided.) A Or let those who introduce natural dispositions from the parable of the net tell us: the wicked man who later turns away from all his sins which he has committed, and keeps the commandments 81 of the Lord, and does justice and mercy—of what nature was he when he was wicked? Not, surely, of a praiseworthy one. But if he is then of a blameworthy one, of what nature could it be reasonably said he is when he turns away from all the sins he has committed? For if he was of a base nature because of his former deeds, how did he change to better things? But if he was of a noble nature because of his later deeds, how was he wicked while being of a noble nature? A similar objection will arise regarding the just man who turns away from his justice and commits injustice according to all the sins; for before he turned away from justice, while he was in just works, he was not of a base nature; for a base nature could not exist in justice, since evil, which is a corrupt tree, cannot produce good fruits which are from virtue. Again, on the other hand, being of a noble and unchangeable nature, he would not turn away from the good, after being accounted just, from his justice, to do injustice according to all the sins which he committed.
B These things having been said, it must be thought that “the kingdom of heaven is likened to a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind” 83, in order to represent the variety of moral choices in men, which have a very great difference among themselves, so that the phrase “gathered of every kind” 84 comprehends those who are praiseworthy and those who are blameworthy in their inclinations toward the forms of either virtues or vices. The kingdom of heaven is likened to a net of varied texture 85, in accordance with the Old and New Scripture, interwoven from all-embracing and varied thoughts. Just as of the fish falling under the net, some are found in these parts of the net, and others in others, and each is in that part by which he has been caught; so you would find also among those who have come under the net of the Scriptures, some caught under the prophetic texture—to say, for instance, under Isaiah because of this pronouncement, or Jeremiah, or Daniel; others under the legal [texture], others under the evangelical, and some under the apostolic. For one, when first being caught by the Word, or seeming to be caught, is taken from a certain part of the whole net. And there is nothing absurd if some of the caught fish are encompassed by the whole texture of the net which is in the Scriptures, and are held and grasped from every side, not being able to escape, but are as if completely enslaved, and are not permitted to fall out of the net. And this net was cast 86...
The subject of possibilities also pertains to logical agility and contemplation, so that he who has cleansed the eye of his soul may be able, by following the subtlety of the proofs, to understand how, even in the case of random events, that a thing might be one of many possibilities is not hindered, since the thing that will come to pass is one of many, and yet it will not come to pass by necessity. For it is foreknown in this way: that it will be, but it will not be of necessity, but since it is possible for it not to happen, that which was not stated by conjecture but truly foreknown shall come to pass. Let no one think that we have passed over the phrase "according to purpose" as if it creates an obstacle to our argument; since Paul says: "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose." But let him observe that the Apostle immediately provided the reason for being called according to purpose, saying: "For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son." And who more than those who love Him ought to have been included in the call that justifies by the purpose of God? Truly, he clearly sets forth the reason for the purpose and foreknowledge as stemming from that which is within our own power.
“We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.” For he has practically said that if all things work together for good, it is because those who love God are worthy of this cooperation. At the same time, let us also query those who say the opposite, and let them answer us regarding these things. Let it be assumed that there is something within our own power; and this we shall say to them who abolish what is within our own power, until their argument is proven unsound from the very premise they have given. Since, then, there is that which is within our own power, did God, establishing the sequence of future events, foresee what would be done by each of those who have this power of agency within themselves, or did He not foresee it? Now, to say that He does not foresee it is to be ignorant of the Mind over all and the greatness of God. But if they grant that He does foresee it, we shall again ask them: is the fact that He knew it the cause for the occurrence of what will be, given the fact that there is that which is within our own power? Or is it because it will come to pass that He foreknew it, and the foreknowledge is in no way the cause of the future events derived from the agency of each person? It was, therefore, possible for a person created with free will to have acted not in this way, but that way, when certain circumstances occurred. Therefore, as such and similar things might be said, there is preserved also the statement:
A We said that the saints are clouds; for "Thy truth [reaches] even to the clouds" cannot be referred to inanimate clouds, but the truth of God is even to the clouds, which hear the command of God and know where they send down rain and from what [places] they withhold it; for as there are clouds to which God commands not to rain or to rain, it is written: "I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." Therefore, in the case of these clouds, if there is no rain, God does not command the clouds not to rain upon the vineyard or the country, but rather no cloud appears at all, as it is written in the Third [Book] of Kingdoms, where during the time of drought no cloud appeared, but when, according to the word of the prophecy of Elijah, the rain was about to come, a trace of a cloud was seen "like a man's footprint," and there came a cloud producing the rain; but as the clouds exist, yet are commanded not to rain when the soul is unworthy of the rain, the text is said: "I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." B "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many; enter into the joy of thy lord"; and every [other] praise. And the reasonableness of the saying is also preserved: "Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou oughtest to have put my money to the bankers." For thus will the things justly said be preserved only in this way: to those on the right: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat," and the rest; and to those on the left: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and ye gave me no food," and the rest. But also, if the passage "Separated unto the gospel of God," C and that which says, "He who set me apart from my mother's womb," contained some necessity, how could he reasonable have said: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway"? And that:
A Since every one of the saints is a cloud—Moses was a cloud, and as a cloud he said: "Give ear, O heaven, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. Let my speech be looked for as the rain"—(if he had not been a cloud, he would never have said: "Let my speech be looked for as the rain")—"and let my words descend as the dew"; as a cloud he says: "as the rain upon the grass, and as the snow upon the hay, because I have called upon the name of the Lord." Thus also Isaiah speaks as a cloud: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken." And because he himself was also a cloud, and he called those who prophesied with him clouds, he says by way of prophecy: "I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." If, then, it is understood by us who the clouds are, let us see how God is he who "brings up the clouds from the end of the earth." "For woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!" For he clearly demonstrates from these things that if he did not keep under his body and bring it into subjection, it was possible for him, having preached to others, to become a castaway, and that it was possible for woe to come upon him if he did not preach the gospel. B Perhaps, therefore, with these things in mind, God set him apart from his mother's womb and set him apart for the gospel of God, having seen the reason for this righteous separation—that he would keep under his body and bring it into subjection, fearing lest, having preached to others, he himself might become a castaway; and that, knowing a woe would be upon him if he did not preach the gospel, he would not be silent, but—out of fear toward God—preach the gospel, so that he would not fall into that woe. And he who set him apart from his mother's womb and set him apart for his own gospel saw these things as well: that "he will be in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often; of the Jews five times he will receive forty stripes save one, thrice he will be beaten with rods, once he will be stoned"—and that he will suffer these things while glorying in tribulations, and knowing that tribulation works patience, and he will persevere.
How is it "from the end of the earth"? The Savior says, "He who wishes to be first among you shall be the last of all." Paul kept this commandment, and he was last in this world; wherefore he says, "For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men doomed to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men." If, therefore, anyone is keeping the Savior’s commandment and has become last in relation to this life, he becomes a cloud, and God raises up clouds not from the first of the earth, He does not raise up clouds from those in high office, He does not raise them up from rulers, He does not raise them up from the wealthy; for "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Do you see how God raises them up from the last and gives substance to the clouds? For this reason, if we wish to become "clouds, upon which the truth" of God reaches, let us become last of all and let us say in our works and disposition that "For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last." And even if I am not an apostle, it is possible for me to become last, so that God, in raising up clouds from the "end of the earth," may raise me up. Because of these things, it was fitting for him to be set apart for the gospel of God, being foreknown to be such, and to be set apart from his mother’s womb. And he was being set apart for the gospel of God not because of a nature having something exceptional and greater than the natures of those who are not such, as far as concerns the constitution, but because of the actions foreknown beforehand, which came about later, each one from the preparation and the apostolic predisposition. But now, to give an account of the statement from the Psalm was not opportune, for it was a digression; therefore, it will be given in its proper order, God granting, when we expound the Psalm. These things, added for the sake of the word "Set apart," will suffice.
Concerning which things are good and which are evil, and that these are found in things involving choice and in that which is without choice, and according to the teaching of Christ, but not as Aristotle thinks. From the Tome on the 4th Psalm, on the text: "Many say, Who will show us good things?"
Since there is much searching among men concerning which things are good and which are evil—and while some say that good things and evil things are things without choice, as if declaring pleasure to be a good, and pain to be an evil;
"And he hath made lightnings unto rain." Those skilled in these matters say that the generation of lightnings comes from the clouds rubbing against one another; for just as it happens with flint stones on earth, so that when two stones strike each other fire is produced, they say that the same occurs in the clouds; when the clouds strike one another during the winter, the lightning occurs. For this reason, lightning happens for the most part together with thunder, the thunder manifesting the sound of the collision of the clouds, and the lightning producing the light. If you have understood the example, look with me also at the intelligible cloud. Moses was a cloud, Joshua the son of Nun was a cloud; they converse with each other, and from their words lightning is produced. Jeremiah was a cloud, Baruch was a cloud; they converse with one another; the lightning came from the words of Jeremiah and the words of Baruch. In this way, if you are able, gather from the Scriptures the manner in which lightning comes; and in the New Testament, Paul and Silvanus were two clouds, they came to the same place, and the lightning of the epistle was produced. God, therefore, "hath made lightnings unto rain and hath brought forth winds out of his treasures."
Are these winds, then, in storehouses? Or does the nature of these winds, as they blow upon the earth, not reveal how they come to be? But there are certain storehouses of winds, storehouses of spirits: "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and godliness," "the spirit of the fear of God," "the spirit of power and love and self-control"; and you yourself might gather these winds from the Scriptures. These spirits are in storehouses. And what are these storehouses? "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"; these treasures are in Christ. From there, then, these winds, these spirits, come, so that one may be wise, another faithful, another have knowledge, or another receive whatever gift of God: "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit." A He "causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries." And we also, through God, hope to arrive at these treasure-stores; and since there are many treasure-stores, perhaps according to the ranks of those who are rising B there will be rest in the treasure-stores of God. What I mean is like this:
A there is the one spring and the one well. And in turn it is called sometimes a spring, sometimes a well. Let him who can consider this, that for the one who remains on the surface it is a spring, but for him who has penetrated more deeply it is a well. This is my prelude to the explanation, concerning the pottery which fell from the hands of the potter and was molded again. Some have considered these things too simply and have understood them in a way lacking depth. We shall set before you the word and the account after these things, if we possess anything deeper, and we shall explain that too. It is possible, they say, for it to be indicated here concerning the resurrection. For if the vessel fell from the hands of the potter, and from the same lump of clay he makes the same vessel into another, as it pleased him, B the potter—that is, God, the creator of our nature—is able, when this has fallen and been broken for any reason whatsoever, to take it up and renew it, and to make it another vessel, more beautiful and better, as it pleased him to do. Let this account also have its favor.
5. But let us hear the Lord himself relating and saying: *If, as this potter, I shall not be able to make you, O house of Israel? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay of the potter, so are you in my hands.* I will speak in summary C of a nation and a kingdom, to pluck them up and destroy them; and if that nation turns from all the evil things of which I have spoken against it, I will repent of the evils which I thought to do to them. And in summary I will speak of a nation and a kingdom, to build up and to plant; and if they do evil things before me, not listening to my voice; and I will repent of the good things which I spoke to do to them, saith the Lord. That which is said about the potter is not referred to one, but we see it referred to two nations. For he says at the beginning that he is about to speak of nations, so that, to those who are able to hear, he might propose some hidden mystery. D *I will speak in summary of a nation.* He asks about the summary and the first nation, that of destruction on account of its sins. And he speaks of extermination on account of sins, nevertheless he promises that if it repents, he also will repent of the evils which he said he would bring upon it. And again he speaks of another nation; and because this nation, which is to be built up and planted, has good promises, he speaks after this, saying: *If they recede from good works, I will repent of the good things which I spoke to do to them.* Which then are the two nations? The first, already named, which the word threatens; and the second, to which he promises. Yet he threatens, so that if it repents, there might not be destruction; and he promises, so that if the other nation renders itself unworthy of the promises, it might not attain them. Concerning the two nations, he says: [index: entries preserved]
entire wisdom concerning humans in this world depends on all of God's economy. The first nation was Israel, the second after the advent of Christ is this nation. To the former, God threatened what he threatened, and we see A fulfilled the threats against the former nation. In captivity it was taken, its city was torn down, the holy place was razed, the altar was cast down; nothing of the ancient solemnities remains for them. For God said to that nation: Repent; and they did not repent. After these things were said to that one, he says to this second one: God desires also this nation to be rebuilt. But see that these also are men, who can fall again: therefore B he threatens also this one, and says: If I have predicted the things pertaining to the building, and the things pertaining to the planting, and the agriculture, yet because this nation also is a sinful nation, the same things shall happen that were said concerning the other because of sins, and it will undergo the same penalties, if it does not repent. Search all the Scripture, and you will find that it is said of these two C nations. God chose the fathers, gave the promise to them, a people who traced their origin from the fathers, led them out of Egypt; he tolerated them as they sinned; like a father he trained them, brought them in, gave them the promised land; through the prophets he instructed them and turned them from sins; he was always patient, sending physicians, until the prince of physicians came, the physician more excellent than the physicians. When he had come, they betrayed him, and killed him, carry him off, carry him off, they shouted, to the ground: crucify, crucify him. D Immediately this nation was visited; and the place where Jesus my Lord was crucified was reduced to solitude. He chose another nation. You see how ample the harvest is, although the laborers are few. Or does he not otherwise dispense the net, so that it is cast into the world of this life to be drawn: fish of every kind are gathered, he sends out many, he sends forth the hunters; they hunt from every mountain, they hunt from every hill. See how much providence there is in saving the nations. See therefore A the kindness and the severity of God. Upon the former nation that fell, severity; upon the other, indeed, the promise and the kindness, provided it remains in goodness, otherwise it too will be cut off. For not then for the first time was the axe placed at the root of the trees: it was prepared also to come. For the axe was placed at the root of the trees, he was saying, even Jesus my Lord, of Israel, before whom the axe was, prophesying: it is itself the fruitless axe. Whatever trees there did not bear fruit, they were cut out, B and delivered to the fire, and subjected to punishments. But now another crop has arisen, not unlike the first, of which it was said: Introducing you plant them into the mountain of your inheritance, into the prepared habitation of yours. God introduces his own nation into the mountain of his inheritance. I seek the mountain, not as the Jews...
A in a matter without sense; our mountain is Christ; in him we are planted, in him we are founded. See, therefore, lest after he has been long-suffering, the Father of the household should say: "For three years I have been coming even to this fig tree, and have found no fruit; cut it down; why does it also make the land useless?" For the good land occupies the earth, Christ, the mystery of the Church, and whoever comes to the assembly, and brings no fruit.
The end, B I will speak concerning a nation, or also concerning a kingdom. I will speak simply concerning the end. But the end is said in such a way: "I will tear down," it is said to the previous nation, the end to the second nation, "I will build you up." And again, "I will root out" is said to the first, and "I will plant" to the second. Is it the case, therefore, that because the end is spoken of, the end must come? God, though not prone to regret by nature, is said to repent in the Scriptures. And let us attend to the word, so that, if we are able, we might render a rationale why these things are said, if we admit the word. C And I will speak, he says, concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, to uproot and to destroy them. And if that nation has turned from its evils, and itself repents of the evils which I had reckoned to do to them. And concerning the end, I will speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build up and to plant; and if they do evil before me, that they may not hear my voice, then I will repent of the good things which I had spoken to do to them. We are required to render an account concerning the repentance of God; it seems that it is not only reprehensible and unworthy for God, but even for a wise man to repent. For I do not praise D a wise man repenting. But he who repents is, by the custom of usage of the word, one who acts upon his having taken good counsel. Now God, being a foreknower of things to come, cannot fail to take good counsel, and for this reason repent. How then does Scripture introduce him saying: "I will repent"? Or, I say, that since in the Books of Kings it is said: "I have regretted, for I have made Saul king." And when it is spoken of him universally, that he does not repent in his wickedness. But see what we are taught concerning God, when it is said: "Not as a man does God change;" nor are we taught that God is not like a human being; to others, however, God is like a human being, as they say: "For the Lord your God has educated you, as if a man were to educate his own son." And again: "He carried you as a man carries his son." Therefore, with God, as he is, the speech
A of the Scriptures does not have God, nor does it touch upon his providence regarding human affairs, they say, as if his greatness were not without limit; and: "Terrible is he above all gods," and: "Praise him, all angels 248 of God; praise him, all his powers; praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you stars and light," and countless other things collected from the holy Scriptures, which you will find, to which you might apply: "There is no man like God." When divine providence concerns itself with human affairs, it adopts human senses, and habits, and words. For just as we, when addressing a two-year-old child, stammer—not that it is possible, when we address children, that they understand us, unless we descend a little from the dignity of the perfect man to their own dialect—so I wish you to contemplate something similar regarding God, when he addresses the human race, and especially those who are still in the state of infancy. See how we transform names B when we—the mature—speak to infants. Bread, indeed, we name for them in a peculiar way, and drink by another word; not that we use that word when we address perfect men, our peers, but rather that we use a childlike and infant-like word: and we do not apply their clothing to children, but we impose upon them other names, as if forging a childlike name. Are we, then, imperfect? And if one of us hears a man speaking to children, will he say, "This old man has become senseless, this man has forgotten his own lineage and the age of a man," because he has yielded to the custom of a child speaking and does not use the dialect of an elder, nor a perfect one, but a childlike one? And God, in fact, speaks to children. "Behold," he says, "I and the children whom God has given me." C If I were to say to a senior speaking to a child in a childlike way, or to speak more emphatically, "in an infantile way," that he has carried his son and assumed his condition, notice how you understand the Scripture saying: "The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son." And those who translated from the Hebrews into Greek, not finding a word used literally, composed this new one, just as they did many others, that "he carried you" (etrophorēsen), that is, he bore your customs, O Lord your God/Lord our God, just as if one were to use the example I produced about himself accommodating to the customs of his son. When, therefore, God repents, because we repented, he addresses us, saying: "I repent," D and he threatens us, not because he possesses premonition of things, but just as a father threateningly addresses his children, we assume the customs of the infants. Take, therefore, the Scripture saying: "The Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son." And it seems that those who translated from the Hebrews, not finding the word used among the Greeks, have entwined this—as in many other cases—and have done this, the "Lord your God carried you," that is, he bore your customs, as a man bears, according to this example which he has spoken, his own son. Since, therefore, we repent, those who say such things will pass on even to the future age, asserting that it is an evil for the sinful to be delivered to eternal fire; but if pain is an evil, it is necessary that pleasure be a good. It is clear, therefore, from what has been said, that the things which are able to shame those who are not able to solve the things brought forward concerning the three types of goods and the three of evils are according to the account of the Scriptures. This deception, therefore, has not only deceived those who are confessedly simple among the faithful, but even some of those who profess the wisdom according to Christ, imagining that the Creator has such promises, and that nothing beyond what is revealed by the literal wording is meant concerning the threats. To all, therefore, who suppose such things from the Scriptures, one ought to inquire whether the prophets kept the Law, whose sins are not denounced; for instance, Elijah the most destitute, so that he did not even have bread to eat at his own house and therefore was sent to a woman in Sarepta of Sidonia; and Elisha, who received at the Shunammite's a very small lodging and a stool and a cheap lamp, who also, having fallen sick, died.
And Isaiah who walked naked and barefoot for three years; and Jeremiah who was cast into a pit of mire and was always mocked, so that he even prayed to dwell in a desert; and John who spent his time in the deserts, partaking of nothing but locusts and wild honey, girded with a leather garment about his loins, and clothed with camel’s hair. For they will acknowledge that these held to the law. And we shall demand to know if the things they conceive of as "good" were possessed by those who held to these things. But since they cannot show it, they will be shut up into the alternative that either the promises said to be given to the godly are false, or, if they happen to be true, they require an allegorical interpretation. And if, compelled, they come to allegory, their belief will be invalidated—that belief which suggests that the Law threatens bodily disease and what are considered external evils to those who have acted impiously, or promises that the bodies of those who have followed the Lord will be healthy and that there will be abundance. And how is it not foolish to be proud and to boast in evils, when one is actually in them? For if tribulations are evils—and the Apostle says that we should boast in tribulations—it is clear that he would be boasting in evils; but this is foolish, and the Apostle is not foolish.
Therefore, such exercises of the saint are not evils; for he, though afflicted in everything, is not crushed; though perplexed, he is not driven to despair; though persecuted, he is not forsaken; though he seems to be poor, he makes many rich; and though he is supposed to possess nothing, he possesses all things. For the whole world of wealth belongs to the faithful, whereas not even a single obol belongs to the unbeliever. Furthermore, it follows for those who suppose—according to Scripture—that there are three kinds of goods (and clearly, therefore, three kinds of evils as well) that the righteous are always in many evils, according to the truth of the prophecy which says: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." Nor is it untimely to remind those who consider such things to be evils of what happened to Job; to him, the divine response, after he had borne his surrounding struggles most nobly, says: "Do you think that I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear righteous?" For if Job does not appear righteous in any other way than through these very afflictions having come upon him, how could we say that those causes which prompted the manifestation of his righteousness are evils for him? It would follow from this that even the devil himself is not an evil to the saint. To Job, at any rate, the devil was not an evil.
in their ways, with everlasting chains, to walk in paths that have no way for traveling, to set their land for astonishment and an everlasting hissing. A He has recounted here the distinctions of the waters: first, in the words, "Shall the breasts from the rock fail?" Second, "Or the snow of Lebanon?" And third, in the words, "Shall water be turned aside that is borne away by a violent wind?" These three kinds of waters are the fountains of waters which the soul of the righteous, likened to a deer, longs for, so that each one might say: "As the deer longs for the fountains of waters, so my soul longs for you, O God." Who, then, has become a deer hostile to the race of serpents, suffering no harm from their poison, as the story of the deer tells? Who has thus thirsted for God, so as to be able to say: "My soul has thirsted for the living God"? B Who has thus thirsted for the breasts of the rock? And the rock was Christ. Who has thus thirsted for the Holy Spirit, so as to be able to say: "As the deer longs for the fountains of waters, so my soul longs for you, O God"? Unless we thirst for these three fountains of waters, we shall find no fountain of waters. The Jews seemed to have thirsted for one fountain of the waters of God; but because they did not thirst for Christ and the Holy Spirit, they possess nothing to drink, not even from God. Those who are from the heresies seemed to have thirsted for Christ Jesus; but because they did not thirst for the Father, who is the God of the Law and the prophets, for this reason they do not drink even from Jesus Christ. But those who worship one God, yet treat the prophecies with contempt, did not thirst for the Holy Spirit who spoke in the prophets; for this reason they do not drink from the paternal fountain, nor from him who C cried out in the temple and said: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink." The breasts, therefore, do not fail from the rock, but those men abandoned the fountain of living water. The fountain of living water did not abandon them. For God distances himself from no one, but those who distance themselves from him shall perish; rather, God draws near to certain ones, and meets the one who is coming to him. When, therefore, the son who had devoured his substance returned, the father met him. And he makes promise through the prophets, saying: "I will draw near to them as the garment of their skin." For God, he says, is drawing near, "I am, and not a God far off," says the Lord. The breasts, therefore, do not fail from the rock—that is, the waters of Jesus—nor does the snow fail from Lebanon—that is, the paternal waters. For Lebanon is the sacred incense according to the law of God; and clear frankincense is offered upon the altar, D equal to equal. The name of this mountain and the incense is common, and it is the snow descending from Lebanon, in the same way as the water of the Holy Spirit, about whom it is said: "Shall water be turned aside?" For it is borne by the wind; the water of the Holy Spirit shall not be turned aside, it does not flee, but each one of us, while we sin, flees so as not to drink of the water of the Holy Spirit.
B 40. "For my people have forgotten me; they have offered incense in vain." Every one who sins has forgotten God; but the righteous man says: "All this has come upon us, and we have not forgotten you, nor have we dealt unjustly in your covenant" (Ps. XLIII, 18). But that people truly forsook God, and offered incense in vain. What "offered incense in vain" means, we must consider. If we recall what was said recently concerning the hundred and fortieth Psalm, we shall understand what "they offered incense in vain" means. For there was something similar said in that Psalm: "Let my prayer be set forth as incense before you" (Ps. CXLI, 2). Therefore, my prayer, composed of a sincere heart, when our heart is not hardened, being sent up, becomes as incense before God. If, then, the prayer of the righteous is incense before God, the prayer of the unrighteous is indeed incense, but such incense that it can be said of him and of the unrighteous person who prays: "They offered incense in vain," just as it is written concerning Judas: "Let his prayer become sin" (Ps. CVIII, 7). He, by the way he was praying, offered incense in vain. And who it is that offers incense in vain, let us understand even more in this way: "Three times in the year," he says, "all your males shall appear before the Lord your God" (Exod. XXIII, 17), to which is immediately added: "You shall not appear before me empty" (Exod. XXIII, 15). From this it is clear to the eye of the Scripture that perceives the explanation of the sacred letters. These things have been said by me in the preface, rousing and stirring up both myself and the hearers to attend to what has been read, that we may ask Jesus to come, and to appear to us, and C to teach us now the things written here.
41. "Jeremiah prophesied, and Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest, heard the words of the prophecy" (Jer. XX, 1). Even though so many men, as is likely from the bare sequence of the prophecy, heard Jeremiah, yet no other is recorded to have heard him so quickly except Pashhur. It was the concern of the Scripture to say whose son he was, namely, Immer; and that he was a priest; and what rank he held among the people, namely, that he was a supervisor of the house of the Lord at the time when Jeremiah was delivering these prophetic sermons. And it is written that, having heard the words of this prophecy, Pashhur beat Jeremiah, and he was not content with having beaten him, but he also threw him into a certain stocks. The Scripture was also careful to say where these stocks were: namely, in the gate of Benjamin, at the upper chamber. Yet the chamber was that of none other than the house of the Lord. The Holy Spirit wrote that these things happened to Jeremiah by the agency of Pashhur on account of the prophecy; then it says: "On the next day Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks, and being brought out, Jeremiah said to Pashhur: The Lord has not called your name Pashhur; D
A but your name has been set as Israel was to Jacob, as Abraham to Abram, as Sarra to Sarah; thus he has set for you the name 'Migrator' (Magor-missabib)." And therefore He called you Migrator, because the Lord says: "Behold, I will give you over to migration with all..." with whom? Not with your wife and children, but with your friends. And when you are given over to migration, your friends will fall by the sword. Then, as if it mattered whether those who fall by the sword, fall by the sword of enemies or by the sword of others, he says that the friends of the one who had cast Jeremiah into the stocks would fall by the sword of his enemies. "And your eyes," he says, "shall see these things that are prophesied: But you and all Judah I will give into the hands of the king of Babylon; and after these things have happened to your friends, they shall also lead them into migration to Babylon and shall slaughter them." For they shall slaughter the king of Judah and those born of Judah with the sword. And it is no longer added "of their enemies," as in the previous instances, where they were said to be friends of Pashhur. Then He says: "And I will give all the strength of this city, and all the treasures of the king of Judah, and all the labors of this city, into the hands of their enemies, that the enemies may plunder the treasures and seize the things mentioned, and lead Judah and its king into Babylon. But you, O Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity to Babylon, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied falsely." This entire section needed to be divided, and it was not fitting to declare its profound meaning first, if we happen to grasp it, but rather the literal sense, which anyone can easily understand, provided he pays attention and does not run through it cursorily. What, then, do these things mean? Here the struggle is to set forth the intention of these writings. And indeed I confess regarding myself that I am unable to expound them, but I need, as I have said before, the manifestation of the power of Jesus, according as He is wisdom, according as He is the Word, according as He is the truth, that His manifestation might shed light upon the face of my soul.
D And Pashhur, the son of Immer, a priest (and he was established as the leader of the house of the Lord), heard Jeremiah prophesying these words, and he struck him, and so on. The magicians of the Egyptians also had rods, which sought to cast envy upon the rods of Moses and Aaron, as though they were not from God. But the things that are of God overturn those that were of the sophists and magicians. The rod of Aaron swallowed them; for it was sufficient for this even without the rod of Moses. Pashhur therefore struck Jeremiah the prophet, and that grievously. It is also added: "the prophet." Here, then, the one who struck Jeremiah struck a prophet. It is written in the Acts of the Apostles that at the order of Ananias, the high priest, Paul was struck by someone; wherefore Paul said: "God shall strike you, you whitewashed wall." And even today, by the order of a high priest of their own impious mind, the Ebionites [persecute] the Apostle of Jesus Christ.
with abusive words. And Paul says as regards such a high priest: "God is about to strike." And such a high priest is, on the surface, fair and a whited wall, but within he is full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. What do I say of Paul and Jeremiah? My Lord Jesus Christ himself says: "I gave my back to the scourges, and my cheeks to the blows, and I did not turn away my face from the shame of spitting." These things simple people think happened only at that time when Pilate scourged him, when the Jews plotted against him; but I see Jesus daily being lacerated by the lashes of the Jews. Go into the synagogues of the Jews and behold Jesus being lacerated by their tongues of blasphemy. Behold those gathered from the nations, plotting against Christians, in what way they catch Jesus. And he himself offers his back to the lashes. Consider the Word—insulted, vexed by malice, hated by the faithless; see how he has given over his cheeks to the blows; and when he has taught that if anyone strikes you on one cheek, you should offer the other, he does this himself. A For there are those who strike him with blows and scourge him, and he is silent and does not speak; for the Scripture says he is silent amid the lashes, and his face he does not turn away from the insult of spitting. Who of them that despise his teaching, even until this day, in a way does not defile Jesus by their tolerance? Jesus has not turned away from the shame of spitting. Who of those who insult his teaching is not, as it were, spitting upon Jesus until this day?
C 13. It remains, after the prophet’s striking, to speak of those who were struck, as, for instance, the Apostle, and if any other has been struck, not from among those who have suffered what Jesus suffered. Therefore Pashur struck the prophet Jeremiah, and cast him into the cataract which was in the gate of Benjamin. Now the upper gate of Benjamin contains the cataract. To Benjamin belongs the return to Jerusalem, in which the temple is assigned in the diving readings, so that it becomes manifest if you look at what is written in the Book of Joshua concerning the allotment. Since then the temple was in the inheritance of Benjamin, which is interpreted "son of the right hand," for there is nothing sinister concerning the temple of God, therefore he casts him into the cataract which was in the gate of Benjamin, in the upper gate in the house of the Lord. He cast the prophet into the cataract. But let us too, having taken the prophet Jeremiah, bring him into the upper part of the house; for this sentiment is sublime and exalted in Scripture, where it testifies that the saints were received in the upper part of the house by them. In the third Book of Kings it is written that the widow of Sarepta of Sidon received the prophet in the upper part of the house; and in the fourth Book, that the Shunammite received and prepared for Elisha a dwelling in the upper part of the house. D Now the sinner Ahaziah ...
A fell from the upper part of the house. And Jesus also gives you the command not to descend from the roof. When it says, "when this and that happens, then let him who is on the roof not come down to take what is in his house." He who flees during the time of persecution should not go up to the roof, but if he is on the roof, he should not come down to take what is in the house. It is good, therefore, to be in the upper parts of the house, it is good to be on the roofs, and to be above. And the marvelous apostles, as is written of them in the Acts B when they were in the same place 256 gathered together, were occupied in prayers and in the word of God, they were in the upper room; and because they were in the upper room, they were not below, and therefore there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire. And Peter, when he was praying to God, went up to the housetop, or else he would not have seen from heaven the vessel descending, as it were a sheet let down from heaven by four corners. And she who did the almsgivings, Tabitha, who C is interpreted as Dorcas, was not below, but in the upper room, where Peter having gone up raised her from the dead. And Jesus himself also, about to celebrate with the disciples this feast, of which we make the symbol the Passover, being asked by them: "Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee the Passover?" said: "There shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water," follow him; "he will show you a large upper room furnished, prepared, there make ready." No one, therefore, who celebrates the Passover as Jesus wills, is below the upper room; but he feasts with Jesus, D staying in a large upper room, in an upper room furnished, in an upper room adorned and prepared. But if you go up with him to celebrate the Passover, he gives you the bread of blessing and his own body, and bestows his own blood upon you. Therefore we exhort you, go up to the height, lift up your eyes to the height. And to me, teaching the divine word, the Word says, "Get you up into the high mountain who bringest good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength who bringest good tidings to Jerusalem. Lift up, be not afraid." He said these things because of Pashur, that he had placed the upper room in the house of the Lord, in the gate of Benjamin; he did not make the prophet go up to the upper room, but cast him into the dungeon below.
And it came to pass on the morrow, and Pashur brought B Jeremiah out of the dungeon. O Lord Jesus, be present again; explain these things also to me and to those who have come for spiritual food. How on the morrow does he himself bring Jeremiah out of the dungeon? "This present age is, as it were, this day," and the sinner casts the prophet down into the dungeon below; if he falls in the present day, and tomorrow comes, then he brings him out, having repented from the dungeon. Then Jeremiah says to him what Pashur will suffer. He says to him: Pashur did not call your name, but C Migor — for thus saith the Lord. "You will be about to be fearful," he says... (And God also brought us "out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace," especially according to him who understands what is written in the Revelation of John, that the place "where their Lord was crucified is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt." For if "it is called spiritually Egypt," and this which is spiritually called Egypt is not the Egypt which is perceived by sense, it is evident that if you understand the spiritually called Egypt and go out from it, you are the one who has gone out "from the land of Egypt and from the iron furnace," and it is said to you: "Hear my voice and do according to all these things." Then there is a promise of God to those who hear, if they do what has been commanded, saying: "And you shall be my people, D and I will be your God." Not everyone who says he is the people of God is the people of God. Therefore, he who promised to be the people of God, "you are not my people," they heard in the "because you are not my people," and it was said to that people "not my people," and again this people was called "people"; for "they provoked me with that which is no god"—but he speaks about those—"they angered me with their idols; and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a nation, I will provoke them with a foolish nation." We suppose such a cause also for that which is said concerning Ezekiel, that he walked blamelessly in all his ways until iniquity was found in him, to be his having fallen, according to Isaiah, from heaven, having once been Lucifer, rising in the morning, later broken upon the earth. For it is not only in the case of the sons of men, if one be perfect, in the absence of the wisdom from God, true that he is accounted as nothing; but also in the case of the angelic and princely order, and all that is divine insofar as God is present to them. Perhaps, therefore, the holy apostle seeing our own act of choice to be much less than the power of God for obtaining good things, says the end is "not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy"—not as if the God that showeth mercy were without willing and running, but as if the willing and running were nothing in comparison to the mercy of God; and for this reason it is more fitting to attribute the inscription of the good to the mercy of God rather than to human willing and running. We have examined these things, appearing to have digressed at length, being persuaded that they are necessary for the: "Many say:
"Who will show us good things?" For according to his ability, the Word stands by those who say, "Who will show us good things?" and shows what the *good things* are, and it is manifest that he also shows what the *evil things* are, so that through both exercises and prayers we may acquire the good and overturn the evil from our souls. But since it is the case in speaking that one sometimes uses words literally and sometimes uses them figuratively, it is no wonder if we sometimes find the appellation of "good" and "evil" applied to bodily things and those called "external" by those who do not hold sound doctrines; for example, in Job: "If we have received the good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil?" And in Jeremiah: "Evil has descended from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem." For instead of saying: "If we have received such things as happen to be beneficial and pleasant, having come to us from Providence, shall we not willingly bear the bitter and painful things?" it is said: "If we have received the good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil?" And instead of saying: "According to providence, these things have happened to Jerusalem for the sake of disciplining those who dwell in it," it is written: "Evil has descended from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem."
What, then, does God promise me? "You shall be to Me for a people, and I shall be to you for a God." He is not the God of all, except of those to whom He grants Himself, just as He granted Himself to that patriarch to whom He said, "I am your God," and again to another, "I shall be your God," and concerning others, "I shall be their God." When, therefore, do we reach this point—I speak of each one individually—that God is our God?
If you wish to learn whose God He is, and to whom He grants the invocation of Himself: "I," He says, "am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob," and in explaining such a thing, the Savior says, "God is not of the dead, but of the living." Who is the dead one? He who is a sinner, he who does not have the One who said, "I am the life," he who has "dead works," he who has not yet repented from "dead works," concerning which the Apostle says, "Not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works." If, therefore, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," and we know who the living one is—that he is the one living according to Christ and remaining with Him—if we wish for God to be ours, let us renounce the works of death, so that He may fulfill His promise which says, "And I shall be to you for a God, in order to establish the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey." Note that He says, "I shall establish My oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey," as if He had not yet given them the "land flowing with milk and honey." For this is not the land which God promised to be "flowing with milk and honey," but rather that land concerning which the Savior taught, saying, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Then, to the things mentioned before by the Lord, the prophet answers, to the statement "Cursed is the man who will not listen to the words of this covenant," and he says, "And I answered and said, So be it, Lord." What is "So be it, Lord"? Cursed is the one who will not abide "by the words of this covenant." Therefore, it is necessary for those who understand the matters not to be stingy with the terminology, but to grasp when these things are properly assigned to the realities, and when they are used in a secondary sense due to the scarcity of terms.
If the Savior also healed certain people of these things, and gifted health, and sights, and hearing to men, primarily the figurative meaning of them must be sought, as the Word is shown to heal the passions of the soul through these accounts. It is not absurd, regarding such things, to understand that the events told in history also took place for the sake of striking wonder in the people of that time, so that those who were not persuaded by demonstrative and instructional words might be shamed by the miraculous powers and give their assent to the Teacher.
Regarding the text: "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." "And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not want to send them away." The statement, "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh," occurring many times in Exodus—and "I will harden the heart of Pharaoh"—disturbs almost everyone who encounters it, both those who disbelieve it and those who claim to believe.
And the Lord said to me: "Read these words in the cities of Judah and without Jerusalem"—and to those who are outside we read the words of God, calling them to salvation—"saying: Hear the words of this covenant and do them." And they did not do them. And the Lord said to me: "A conspiracy *[sundesmos]* is found among the men of Judah and among those who dwell in Jerusalem." Were we about to repent for the sins mentioned regarding the men of Judah, knowing that we are the men of Judah for the sake of Christ, who was prophesied and called Judah? Perhaps, since there are some sinners among us acting against the right word, for this reason the prophet says: "A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among those who dwell in Jerusalem." For whenever a "conspiracy of iniquity" and a bond of sins is found in some who are called by the name of the Church, so that one might apply to the sinner the words, "each is bound by the cords of his own sins," God might say: "A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah." But may no conspiracy be found among us. How, then, is a conspiracy not found among us, if even until now there is a conspiracy among some? "Loose every bond of iniquity, break the knots of forced contracts, tear up every unjust agreement." For to those who disbelieve, along with many other things, this also seems to be a cause of unbelief: that things unworthy of God are said about God. And it is unworthy of God to effect hardening in the heart of anyone, and to effect hardening so that he disobeys the will of the one who is hardening him who is being hardened. "And how," they say, "is it not absurd for God to effect something for the purpose of disobeying His own will?" For it is clear that He did not desire to have Pharaoh obey the things He commands. But for those who are considered to believe, no slight disagreement has arisen because of the text: "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." For those who are persuaded believe that there is no other God than the Creator, and as a result they think that God "has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens," with there being no reason why one is shown mercy and another is hardened by Him. Others, however, who hold a better view than these, say that many other meanings of the Scripture are hidden from them, and that they do not turn away from the sound faith because of this; and that one of the hidden things is the sound reason regarding this passage of Scripture.
Homily XVIII
A I shall set forth the history of how God, for the sake of salvation, deceives, and speaks a certain thing so that the sinner might cease from doing what he had done; for if he had heard these words of the prophecy, "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," whether He is telling the truth or deceiving—if he repents, which he would not have done if this had not been said—it is no longer a deception, but it is the truth that is spoken. And the destruction of Nineveh followed from this truth. B It was not against those hearing, nor against those who were deceived and trusted these words as if they were true—for, because the thing did not occur as spoken, and he was not deceived but understood that what was said would not happen, and, despising those words which were in deception, suffered not that which was said, "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," but I dare to say something much more grievous than: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." For against those who, because of the premise, had sinned and not repented, Nineveh perhaps would have been overthrown. But because this did not happen—it became something worse: they were handed over to eternal fire. Therefore, there is another punishment according to the law, as was the case for those who were being trained as children, to whom, when the fullness of time had come, other punishments were prescribed. If you compare the punishments for sins according to the law with the punishments for sinners according to the Gospel, you will see that they heard the punishment as children—the sort suited to children—while we, as those mature in age, hear of heavier punishments. C If one had committed adultery or fornication then, Gehenna, that eternal fire, 261 was not held out to him, but he was to be overwhelmed by stones. "Stone him," he says, "all the congregation." Any adulterer found is to be killed, or the adulteress caught in the act: I wish even that this were said of me, that the people should stone me, and that I should not be reserved for eternal fire. For one who is condemned to the fire of Gehenna is not only the adulterer, but also he who says to his brother, "Fool." But if he who says to his brother, "Fool," shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna, whose shall the adulterer be liable to? Does the fire of Gehenna ask for anything more severe, or is it possible that at the judgment, secret sins—which can be expiated—are counted as Gehenna? Just as it is said of the good things of the just: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him," so, too, that which is prepared for sinners—for whoring, for committing adultery—has not entered into the heart of man. For he who has become liable because he said to his brother, "Fool," D clearly has a liability that is greater than what has entered the heart of man for those who have sinned more grievously. But I cannot conceive of anything greater than Gehenna, but I only believe that something greater than Gehenna is prepared for those who commit adultery. Thus I come to the rest of the punishments of the law, and I take a word of the Apostle which agrees with the works; which conversion, if it had not followed, there would have been no deception, but it would have been the truth that forsooth was said, and the overthrow of Nineveh would have followed. It was in the will of the listeners, or of the deceivers, and of those who believed that what was said was true, to be benefited and not overthrown; but if they had not repented, then the prophecy would no longer have been a deception but the truth, and they would have suffered not merely the predicted destruction, not that which was said: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown"; but I dare say many things more grievous than this: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." From the hypothesis, unless the Ninevites had repented, perhaps the event would have been: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." But let us assume that what was future might not have happened, had they been handed over to eternal fire. Therefore, by the law, another penalty was constituted for those who were being trained like children; for whom, when the fullness of time arrived, other penalties were assigned. Compare these penalties, which the law imposes upon sinners, with those which the Gospel imposes upon the wayward, and you will see that they heard the punishment as infants, suited to infants. We, however, as those perfect in age, are subjected to much more severe ones. If one were then an adulterer or an adulteress, Gehenna was not being threatened, nor eternal fire, but he was to be pelted with stones. "Stone him," he says, "all the congregation." The one found to be an adulterer, or the woman who is caught in adultery: I wish even that it were said over me: let the people pelt me with stones, and let me not be reserved for eternal fire. For the one liable to the fire of Gehenna is not only the adulterer, but he who says to his brother, "Fool." But, "if thou hast called thy brother 'fool,' thou shalt be liable to the fire of Gehenna." Does the fire of Gehenna seek anything else more severe, or is it perhaps possible to think that Gehenna is for those who are unintentional, who can be purified? Just as it is said concerning the good of the just: "What has not entered into the heart of man, God has prepared for those who love Him," so too He has prepared for sinners—for those who whore, for those who commit adultery—what has not entered into the heart of man. For he who has become liable by saying to his brother, "Fool," clearly is greater than what has entered into the heart of those who have sinned worse. But I cannot conceive of anything greater than Gehenna, but I only believe that it is something greater than Gehenna, that which is prepared for those who commit adultery. Thus, I come to look at the remaining punishments of the law, and I take a word of the Apostle agreeing with what has been done:—if this conversion had not followed, there was no deception, but the truth was what was said, and the overthrow of Nineveh followed. It was in the judgment of the hearers, either of the deceivers or those who believed that what was said was true, to be benefited and not to be overthrown. But if it was not true, that which was said, it was in the power of those who heard and were not deceived, but understood that what was said would not happen, and did not suffer what was said: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown"—but I dare to say many things more grievous than this. "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." From the premise, if those who had sinned had not repented, perhaps "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" would have happened. But as it was, it did not happen, it became something worse: they were handed over to eternal fire. Therefore, there was another punishment according to the law for those who were being instructed as children; to whom, when the fullness of time arrived, other punishments were assigned. Compare those punishments which the law inflicts upon sinners with those which the Gospel imposes upon the wayward, and you will see that they, as infants, heard a punishment suited to infants; we, however, as those mature in age, hear of more severe punishments. If then there were a man who was an adulterer, or a woman who was an adulteress, Gehenna, that is, eternal fire, was not being 261 threatened, but he was to be crushed by stones. "Stone him," he says, "all the congregation. Any adulterer that is found to be such, or the woman caught in adultery: I wish even that it were said over me: let the people overwhelm me with stones, and not be reserved for the eternal fire. For he who is liable to the fire of Gehenna is not only the adulterer, but also he who says to his brother, 'Fool.' But he who says to his brother, 'Fool,' shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna; what will the adulterer be liable to? Does the fire of Gehenna seek something more severe, or is it possible that the fire of Gehenna is to be counted among involuntary sins that can be expiated? Just as it is said concerning the good of the just: 'What has not entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love Him, nor has it entered into the heart of man.' For he who says to his brother, 'Fool,' is surely liable to something more than that which is greater than what has entered the heart of man. I can conceive of nothing greater than Gehenna, but I believe that something greater than Gehenna is prepared for adulterers. I say the same of the remaining legal punishments, and using this apostolic saying, which I take, if I have sinned, I will not be spared. I have been deceived, willing to be well deceived. What, then, does the Apostle say? 'He who has treated the law of Moses as nothing, dies without mercy, under two or three witnesses; how much worse do you think he deserves to suffer, who has trampled underfoot the Son of God?'" Shame, o
punishment; express it. I shall not say, he says, "it is greater than those things which are spoken of as punishment in the Gospel, greater than those which are heard, greater than those which are devised." The prophet, having heard, had feared, had been instructed, and afterwards after attaining perfection, was led to say: "You have deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived." And so while you are a child, fear the threats, those things which are above punishments, suffer eternal penalties, inextinguishable fire, or perhaps something even greater than this, which is reserved for those who continue to live otherwise than by right reason. Of all of which may we never make trial, but rather, having attained perfection in Christ Jesus, may we be justified, so that we may become worthy of the celestial celebrations and of that Passover, which is there fulfilled according to the anagogical sense, in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and empire B for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY XIX
On that which is written: "You have deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived," up to: "the Lord who proves the righteous."1. All things which are written by God, however much they may seem in themselves absurd, must yet be thought worthy of the good God. For who would deny that things attributed to God, such as anger, being inflamed, being led to repentance, or even sleeping, are absurd? But each of these must be understood by the person who knows how to hear them, as being worthy of God. For his anger is fruitless, but just as his Word instructs, so also does his anger; for whom his Word does not instruct, his anger does instruct, and it is necessary for God to use that which is called anger, just as he uses that which is named the Word. For his Word is not such as any of the words of all men. No word is living, no word is God. No word was in the beginning with God, whose word it was. Although it was alone, it was from no beginning. Similarly, God’s anger is not anger, whose it is. And just as the Word of God has something peculiar to itself compared to any other word, and this is peculiar to it, to be God, and a living Word subsisting and ministering to the Father; so where the anger of God is once named, it has something peculiar and different from any human anger. In the same way, his fury has a peculiar quality. For when he argues in anger, his fury arises from a purpose: he wants to convert the one being rebuked by the rebuke. He argues, just as the Word instructs, but he does not argue as the Word to rebuke. For those who are not C called back to better fruit by the rebuke of the Word, it is necessary...
D Therefore, our fathers are twofold. But "forget your father’s house," the former one. If, having forgotten your former house, you turn back again to sins, you have committed the sins mentioned here: "They turned back to the iniquities of their fathers, the former ones." I was saying that even the devil was our father before, before God became our Father, if indeed the devil is not even now our father; which we shall also demonstrate from the Catholic Epistle of John, in which it is written: "Everyone who commits sin is born of the devil." If "everyone who commits sin is born of the devil," we are born of the devil as often as we sin. Wretched, therefore, is he who is always being born of the devil, just as, on the other hand, blessed is he who is always being born by God; for I shall not say that the righteous man was born by God once, but that he is always being born with every good deed in which God begets the righteous man. If, therefore, I establish for you concerning the Savior, that the Father did not beget the Son and then release him from his generation, but is always begetting him, I shall also show a parallel case regarding the righteous man.
A Let us see who our Savior is: "The radiance of [His] glory." The radiance of the glory is not begotten once, nor is it [only] being begotten; but as much as the "light" is the productive source of the radiance, to that extent the radiance of the glory of God is being begotten. Our Savior is the "wisdom of God"; and wisdom is the "radiance of eternal light." If, therefore, the Savior is always being begotten—and for this reason He says: "Before all the hills He begets me," not: "Before all the hills He has begotten me," but: "Before all the hills He begets me"—and the Savior is always being begotten by the Father, so also you, if you have "the spirit of adoption," God is always begetting you in Him, in every work and in every thought; and being thus begotten, you are always becoming a child of God, being begotten in Christ Jesus; to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Homily XX on [the passage] "Make known to me, O Lord, and I shall know," up to "Gather all the beasts of the field, and let them come to devour it."
Homily XIX
If the oracles of God are in the Law and the Prophets, in the Gospels and the Apostles, then one who is being instructed in the oracles of God must inscribe God as his teacher. For "God is the one who teaches man knowledge," as it is written in the Psalms, and the Savior too bears witness that no one on earth should be inscribed as a teacher, saying: "And you, do not call any teacher on earth; for one is your teacher, the Father who is in the heavens." Now "the Father who is in the heavens" teaches either by Himself, or through Christ, or in the Holy Spirit, or through Paul, for example, or through Peter, or through any of the other saints; only let the Spirit of God and the Word of God visit and teach. For what reason is this said by me? Because the prophet says: "Make known to me, O Lord, and I shall know"; for I shall not know unless You make it known to me, but if I know when You are making it known, "then" I shall see "their practices" and I shall understand what each one does and what his disposition is. Thus the prophet. Then let us see what the Savior says in the prophet: "I, as a guileless lamb led to be sacrificed, did not know."
But we, persuaded from many quarters, both from the Holy Scriptures and from the operation according to the magnitude and order of the created things, by God who created things visible and invisible, the temporal and the eternal—as being one and the same in all things with the Father of our Lord and Savior, a good, just, and wise God—strive to bring the Scriptures to that goal, namely, to show that everything is of a good, just, and wise God, and not to fall into suspicions that might occur to those who have intelligence, but according to whether the things said fit or do not fit His goodness, justice, and wisdom, we stand in need of God the Savior. Such things, therefore, do we also conceive concerning the passage: "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." The Word of God is a physician of the soul, using ways of healing that are most varied and appropriate for those who are ill, and most timely; and of the ways of healing, some produce more pain and torment in those being led to a cure, while others produce less; and again, remedies sometimes appear unseemly, while other times it is not so; and again, they act either more quickly or more slowly.
And after one has been sated with sin, or after he has, so to speak, only tasted it. A And the whole of divinely inspired Scripture is full of testimonies for each individual case, recording how more somber remedies have come upon the people, for the sake of conversion and correction, in greater or lesser wars, and in famines of longer or shorter duration; while also recording things that seem unseemly, as in: "I will not visit your daughters when they play the harlot, and your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery." For perhaps He abandons the souls that are over-eager for things that are thought to be bodily and pleasant, until, sated, they turn away from the things they desire, as if desiring also to vomit them up, and not easily falling into the same things again, because they have been sated and tormented by them to such a degree. B But those who would have despised a second fall into the same things are led to their cure more slowly, on account of having been rid of their evils too quickly. God, the Craftsman, knows the dispositions of each, and, as befits Him alone, is able to apply remedies skillfully, knowing what is necessary and when to do it for each one.
A Just as in certain bodily ailments, where the evil has penetrated to the depth, so to speak, the physician, by means of certain medicines, draws it out and pulls the matter to the surface, causing severe inflammations, swellings, and pains greater than those someone had before setting out to be healed—just as it is their custom to do for those bitten by mad dogs and others who have suffered similar things—so I think that God manages the hidden wickedness that has reached the depth of the soul.
And just as a physician might say regarding someone: "I will cause inflammation around the place of relief, and I will compel these specific parts to swell, so as to produce a severe abscess"—and while the physician is saying these things, someone who hears him with more scientific understanding will not blame him but will even praise the one who is, as it were, threatening to produce these effects, whereas someone else will censure him, claiming that making a person who ought to be healing lead instead to inflammations and abscesses is foreign to the profession of physicians. It is in this way, I think, that God also has said: B
"I will harden Pharaoh's heart." When these things are written, one who hears them as the oracles of God accepts them while preserving the dignity of the speaker, and everyone who seeks finds how to demonstrate that goodness of God is occurring even in these events. A It is more manifest regarding the salvation of the people, being confirmed through many wonders, and secondly regarding those Egyptians who were destined to be struck with fear by what was happening and follow the Hebrews: "For a mixed multitude of Egyptians went up with them," he says; but it is more hidden and deeper, perhaps, even regarding the benefit to Pharaoh himself, who was no longer hiding his poison nor restraining his condition, but was drawing it out and bringing it into the open, and perhaps by acting was exhausting it, in order that, having finished all the emissions of the wickedness residing within him, he might later have the tree that bears evils powerless, perhaps even drying up at the end, when he is drowned—not, as one might think, to perish utterly, but so that, casting off his sins, he might be unburdened, and perhaps go down to Hades in peace or at least not in so great a war of the soul.
But it is likely that those who encounter this will be hard to persuade, supposing that what is said is forced, as if it were really beneficial for Pharaoh that his heart was hardened, and that all the things written concerning him happened even until his drowning. Consider whether we can from this remove the difficulty and produce persuasion regarding what has been said. "Many are the scourges," says David, "of sinners," while his son teaches that "God scourges every son whom He receives." Furthermore, David himself, prophesying the promise concerning Christ and those who believe in Him, says: "If his sons forsake my law, and do not walk in my judgments; if they profane my statutes, and do not keep my commandments; I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquities with scourges; but my mercy I will not take away from them." Therefore, it is a grace of the Lord for the lawless to be visited with a rod and the sinner with scourges. And in so far as the one who sins is not scourged, he is not yet subjected to discipline and correction.
A Sequitur promissio: *Quoniam ridebitis.* Just as the promise is, "They shall be called sons of God," and "They shall see God," and "They shall inherit the earth," and "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven," so there is a promise of laughter, to which is opposed the mourning that is called blessed. You will ask whether to this good laughter there corresponds, in one sense or another, the mourning that is called blessed, and whether, on the other hand, another mourning is opposed to it which is declared miserable B and awaits those who, by contrast, are laughing now. "Woe to those who laugh now, for they shall mourn and weep." For one mourning is that which is called blessed, and another is that which awaits those who have lived wickedly. Whether the latter also has some useful end, I do not know. What do I mean? Hear Paul. When he was teaching, he strove to make his audience sorrowful; and he confesses that he was then most delighted when someone was made sorrowful by him. For he says: "And who is he that makes me glad, but he who is made sorrowful by me?" And if anyone is capable of moving the soul of a listener, especially one who has sinned, he desires to bring forward such words as, by their power, order, divinity, and the weight of their sacred meanings, may strike the soul of the hearer and move it to mourning, to weeping, and to tears, so that the orator rejoices when he sees the listeners C, who were steeped in joy at what was being said, smiling. For when he leads them to the promises as if by a narrow and affliction-filled path to life, in that way he leads them through weeping to the blessed laughter. But when he does not accomplish this, I fear lest he say such things as: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep." But why have these things been said by me, except that I wished to indicate obscurely what he says with these words: "I shall laugh at my bitter word," and to show that the laughter is of weeping, and that the weeping which those who laugh here will shed—perhaps with God forcing them to mourn—is that of which it is written, "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And God effects this, seeing that the one who weeps over his own sins, the one who laments over his own transgressions, has already arrived at a consciousness of his own evils. Would that each of us, for his individual sins, might say: "I will wash my bed every night, and with my tears I will water my couch." Would that D each of us, for his own sins, might say, weeping: "My tears have been my bread day and night." If my discourse here should be more bitter, and bitter because I am in pain, the listeners who are being rebuked bear it ill; but when they bear it ill that I am speaking, I know that the end of my bitter word will be laughter—the laughter of the blessed. Perhaps the prophet, knowing this, was saying: "For with my bitter word I shall laugh." Now indeed with a bitter word, and I do not yet laugh, but with my bitter word I shall laugh. "I shall call upon disobedience and misery." The righteous man calls upon God, the unjust man also calls upon wisdom. "For there will be," he says, "when you call upon me, but I shall not..."
A hear you." There, indeed, the unjust and the righteous alike clearly call upon wisdom. And "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"; but here the prophet says: "I shall call upon disobedience and misery." Just as one would upon God, so too upon disobedience; just as upon the Lord, so too upon misery. Is it a good thing, then, that Jeremiah calls upon, when he promises, saying: "I shall call upon disobedience and misery"? But it is necessary to consider the covenants we make, and how they are broken; for sometimes covenants are formed iniquitously, and regarding these, once made iniquitously, would that we might call upon disobedience!
So too, if I consider the broad and spacious way that leads to destruction, and that in journeying upon it I suffer no affliction, I depart from the broad and spacious way and come to the narrow and constricted one, and being afflicted, I say: "I shall call upon misery." For I intend to break the covenants made with the world and worldly things, so that I may take up heavenly covenants. "I shall call upon disobedience." Thus, having abandoned the life of the broad and spacious way, and coming to the narrow and constricted one, in order that I may become wretched like Paul, I say: "I shall call upon misery." B For not every man will say: "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?" But he who has understood the body of death, he who wishes to be liberated from this body of death, he will say: "Wretched man that I am." But he who loves the body—the common man, the one who does not believe in the age to come—does not say: "Wretched man that I am," but considers himself blessed that he is a man and that he exists in this body of death. If, therefore, I could perceive how Paul said: "Wretched man that I am," and I have not yet called upon misery, I shall call upon it by breaking my pacts with sin, and I shall say with Jeremiah: "I shall call upon disobedience and misery." For he did not say: "I shall call upon the disobedience of God."
I wish to bring an example from Scripture of a righteous person breaking a pact, in order to demonstrate how she called upon disobedience through her deed. Judith made a pact C with Holofernes that, after so many days had passed, she would go out to pray to God, and after those days she would surrender herself to the bed of Holofernes. Holofernes accepted these pacts; he granted Judith the power to pray to God outside the tents. What was Judith to do? Was the pact to be kept or broken? Certainly it was to be broken, as all admit. For to violate the pacts entered into with Holofernes was blessed in the sight of God. Judith was about to violate the pact with Holofernes, and she said: "I shall call upon disobedience"; and indeed she did call upon disobedience. Would that I, too, might become such a one as to say: "I shall call upon disobedience," and I shall call upon the disobedience of the pact with the serpent, the pact with the devil. A covenant was once made D by the serpent with Eve. That one was friendly to her, and the serpent was a friend to the woman. But God, being good, saw to it that these pacts were dissolved and this wicked friendship destroyed, and as a good God says: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed." Piously, therefore, let us hear in what way God [set] enmity...
towards the latter, so that He may fashion friendship towards Christ; for it is impossible to be a friend at the same time to opposites. And just as no one can serve two masters, so no one can be a friend both to God and Mammon, a friend both to Christ and to the serpent; but it is necessary that the friendship for Christ should create enmity towards the serpent, and that the friendship for the serpent should give birth to enmity towards Christ.
"I will invoke transgression and misery." But so that you may better understand what is meant by "I will invoke misery," I will describe what is accustomed to happen among ascetics B. For often, when it is open to one to marry and thus avoid the vexation of the flesh rising up against the spirit, someone chooses not to use the power to marry, but to suffer and to toil, to discipline the body with fastings, and to lead it into subjection by abstinence from such foods, and in every way to mortify by the spirit the deeds of the flesh. Has not such a one "invoked misery," when he could have given himself over to delights and pleasures and not "invoked misery"? If, therefore, anyone can imitate the prophet, let him invoke "transgression," as we have explained, and let him also invoke "misery" in his pious exercises. And it is true that this also occurred in the case of Jeremiah, since he lived chastely as a celibate; for God said to him: "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you beget children"; and he lived in chastity. For he "invoked transgression and misery."
"For the word of the Lord has become a reproach to me." C Blessed is Jeremiah, having no other reproach than the word of the Lord; but we wretched ones have reproaches not because of the word of the Lord, but because of our own sins! And we are reproached for the faults into which we have fallen and continue to fall, and we are reviled for our evil deeds. But the Savior does not wish us to be vexed by such reproaches when He says: "Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you for my sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy." The word, therefore, he says, of the Lord has become to me a reproach and for a derision all the day. Then consider how the prophets are candid men, not, as we do, concealing their own sins, but saying openly—not only to the men of their own age, D but to all generations—if they have sinned. For my part, I hesitate to confess my iniquities here before a few, since those who hear me are about to condemn me; but Jeremiah, when he had committed some fault, did not blush, but committed his sin to writing. For the sin was what follows: "And I said: I will not mention the name of the Lord, nor will I speak anymore in His name." You have been taught to do all things in the name of the Lord; but you say: "I will not mention the name..."
of the Lord, and I will not speak any more in His name." A You see how one who has suffered something human—which we too often run the risk of suffering—speaks this way? And indeed, when someone is conscious of having been mistreated because of his teaching and his word, and has been vexed and held in hatred, he often says: "I am departing; what have I to do with these troubles? Because of this I am hated, because of this instruction, because of this word." Why then do I not rather depart into solitude and quiet? A prophet, too, has felt something like this when he said: "I will not mention the name of the Lord, nor will I speak anymore in His name." But the good Lord, who prevents the sins of so many, did not allow the prophet to stop at these things said, and to fall into this falsehood; but He willed that he should call out against his transgression. B He said, in fact: "I will not mention the name of the Lord, nor will I speak anymore in His name." "But there has become in my heart as it were a burning fire, flaming in my bones, and I am dissolved on all sides, and I cannot bear it." The word of the Lord has become a burning fire in his heart. "It has become as a burning fire, flaming in my bones." He submitted the sin he had committed, saying: "I will not mention the name of the Lord, nor will I speak anymore in His name," and he simultaneously confessed the sin of Jeremiah, that he had uttered a word worthy of rebuke, feeling in his heart a burning fire, a fire in my bones, so that I cannot bear it. Boldly, even if it is stated, whether this is to be profitable to these listeners, I do not know. C He said that there is a certain kind of fire, a fire not perceived by sensation, a fire that punishes the one being punished with such pain that it is intolerable. He said, in fact: "It has become in my heart as a burning fire, and it is burning not only in my heart, but in my bones, and I am dissolved, and I cannot bear it." I fear lest there be reserved for us a fire like that which was in the heart of Jeremiah. But we, not being experienced in this, if we were to be proposed two fires—this one, and the external one which we see burning those who are punished by the rulers of the nations—we would prefer this one to the other; for that one burns the surface, but this one burns the heart, and starting from the heart it permeates through all the bones, through all the parts of the body, and so it invades so that it consumes what it burns. D Who can speak of such a fire? And I cannot bear it? I know also of robbers, who, because of the force of the pain which it inflicts, could not bear this fire. It is another pain, which the fire that Jeremiah describes brings, saying: "And it became in my heart as a burning fire, burning in my bones, and I am dissolved on all sides, and I cannot bear it." The Savior kindles this fire, and says: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth." And because He Himself kindles that fire, He therefore says to those beginning to listen to Him:
He casts fire first upon their hearts, just as Simon and Cleopas confess, saying regarding His words: "Did not our heart burn within us, as He opened to us the Scriptures?" And the heart burns with fire, both Simon's and Cleopas's; listen to them saying: "Was not our heart burning?"
Who is now worthy to receive that fire into his heart? If he has not received it in vain, I wish to describe who it is that has this fire in his heart. I am describing two who have sinned the selfsame sin: the defiled one, and the impure fornication—and of these two who have committed fornication, the one is not sorrowing, nor pained, nor stung, but suffers what is said in Proverbs regarding the harlot woman, who, whatever she does, washing herself, says she has done nothing amiss. See the other, who after his fall cannot bear it, but is tortured by his conscience, and experiences the torments of the heart, neither being able to eat nor drink, and even if she fasts under judgment, it is not from a willing heart, but because she lacks sustenance due to the pain of repentance; furthermore, she is sad all day long, afflicted, wandering, roaring from the groaning of her heart, having her sin before her eyes, and is always being reproved. And such a person is not for one day, or for one night, but for a long time tortured. Which of the two do you prefer? Which one do you say has hope in God? Or is it the one who fornicated and did not care, but became hardened, as if having surrendered himself to licentiousness; or the one who after that one sin is mourning and lamenting? This one is clearly superior in hope. For exactly as much as one is burned by the pain of the fire, by so much the more is he pitied, and for him the time of this punishment is sufficient, just as for those who are punished for the one who fornicated and is sorrowful. And since time is profitable for this one to be punished here, for this reason He brought about the punishment of the fornicator; and when He punished him through sorrow, and saw the sorrow to be sufficient, He says: "Lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow, confirm charity towards him." Each of us must examine his own conscience, and see if he has sinned. Since it is necessary for him to be punished, let him pray to God for this fire of Jeremiah to come upon him, and then he will be kept from the other fire; for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned and did not take care, he will be kept for that other fire. For if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for that other fire; for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned and took no care, he will be reserved for the other fire—for if he did not receive fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for the other fire—for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for that other fire; for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for the other fire—for if he did not take the fire here, but sinned and took no care, he will be reserved for the other fire—for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned and took no care, he will be kept for that other fire; for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for the other fire—for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be reserved for the other fire; for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for the other fire—for if he did not receive the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be reserved for the other fire; for if he did not take the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be kept for the other fire—for if he did not take the fire here, but sinned, and did not take care, he will be reserved for the other fire; for if he did not take the fire here, but sinned and did not take care, he will be reserved for the other fire. And indeed the blessed Jeremiah, except, I say, for the qualification of this minor sin, and he "leaves 'father and mother'"—that is, the "Jerusalem above"—and comes to the earthly place and says: "I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance"—for that was his inheritance, the places with the angels, the order with the holy powers—"I have given my beloved soul into the hands of her enemies"; He delivered His soul into the hands of the enemies of the soul, into the hands of the Jews who killed Him, into the hands of the rulers gathered against Him, into the hands of kings, when "the kings of the earth stood, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ." "My inheritance has become to me as a lion in a forest." This, his inheritance on earth which he has inherited, became beast-like toward Him, and the inheritance became the Jews, who grew savage against Him "as a lion in a forest." It is no wonder if then His inheritance became "as a lion in a forest"; even now, there are lions in a forest desiring to anathematize Jesus and blaspheming Him and plotting against those who believe in Him. "My inheritance" therefore "became to me as a lion in a forest, it has lifted up its voice against me, therefore I have hated it." "And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to afflict you and test you, and that what was in your heart might be known, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He afflicted you, and made you hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God shall man live." For He keeps in these things that God afflicts and tests, so that what is in the heart of each may be known, as being indeed there, but stored up in the depth and coming to light through the afflictions. Such also is that which is told in Job by the Lord through whirlwinds and clouds to Job thus: "Do you think that I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear righteous?" For He did not say: "that you might become righteous," but "that you might appear"; being such even before the trials, but appearing so in the things that have happened. And again in another place in the same notes on Exodus—
"Is mine inheritance to me as a hyena's den?"
He prophesies concerning this inheritance: "Has my inheritance become a hyena's den?" A hyena's den, that most wild creature, that eater of corpses, that haunts the tombs, that devours dead bodies? "Is mine inheritance to me as a hyena's den? Or is there a den in it round about it? Go,"—since they have become such, I command you, the angels, to go and gather together the wild beasts and deliver them to the beasts—"go and gather together all the beasts of the field, and let them come to eat it up." The "beasts of the field" have come, they are devouring that people; look at their hearts being devoured by the opposing powers.And one of our own people, seeking to explain the difficulty from common usage, said that often good masters, being long-suffering toward their sinning servants, are accustomed to say: "I have ruined you," and "I have made you evil," indicating in their manner that their goodness and long-suffering seemed to have become the pretext for greater wickedness. Just as, when such things are said, a slanderer might say that the master has confessed to having made the servant evil, so too, the things brought about by the goodness of God have been recorded as having hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the goodness becoming the pretext for Pharaoh's hardness. But this man will further support what he has understood by citing words from the Apostle: "Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds." The same apostle, at any rate, in the same Epistle to the Romans says:
If Jesus did not spare them, but said, "Go, gather the beasts," how much more will He not spare us? If we do not keep the law of God, the word of the Gospel, He will say again: "Go, gather the beasts, and deliver her up." But we have boldness, so that we may say in our prayers: "Do not deliver to the beasts a soul that confesses to You." Let us confess our transgressions, repenting, and we shall not be delivered to the beasts, but to holy angels who shall be our nurturers, carrying us in their bosoms, transferring us from this age to the age to come in Christ Jesus, to whom is the power and the glory unto the ages. Amen.
11. On "Because of me, the whole earth has been destroyed by destruction" and on "the girdle." Homily 11.
"But if God, willing to show His wrath and to make known His power, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction"—as if the longsuffering of God had endured the vessels of wrath and, as it were, given birth to them. For if, because of His forbearance in not punishing those who sin but having mercy upon them, they abounded in the pouring out of wickedness, He in a way endured the vessels of wrath by His own longsuffering, and, if I may so say, He Himself made them vessels of wrath, and according to this He Himself hardened their heart. For when, with so many signs and wonders taking place, Pharaoh is not persuaded, but resists after such great things, how is he not proved to be harder and more unbelieving, the hardness and unbelief seeming to have come about from the miraculous powers? Similar also is that which is in the Gospel: "For judgment I came into this world"—for the Savior did not purpose to come for judgment, but there followed upon His coming that He came for judgment for those who, after the wonders, did not believe Him; but He also came for the fall of many; not purposing when He was coming to cause those to fall for whose fall He had come. And after other things:
Who is he that says: "Because of Me, the whole earth has been utterly devastated"? Christ says these things, before whose coming many sins had indeed been committed by the people, but not such that they were entirely forsaken and delivered into long-lasting captivity. But when they "filled up the measure of their fathers," and added to the slaying of the prophets and the persecution of the righteous the killing of "the Christ of God," then came to pass that saying, "Your house is left unto you," and because of Him they have suffered these things, and "the whole earth has been utterly devastated." But if you wish to hear a higher meaning of "Because of Me, the whole earth has been utterly devastated," observe how the earth within you has been devastated by the coming of Jesus; for it has been devastated through the "mortifying of the members that are upon the earth," and the earth no longer produces its own fruits. No longer do "the works of the flesh," which once made the flesh flourish, occur in the righteous man; no longer "fornication," no longer "uncleanness," no longer "lasciviousness," no longer "idolatry," no longer "sorcery," and the rest.
Thus, the wonders that were performed were a mercy to those who received them and believed, just as they were to the mixed multitudes of Egyptians who had accompanied the people; but to the disobedient, they brought hardness to their hearts. And from the Gospel, beyond what has already been said, it is possible to set forth similar things concerning the fact that the Savior appeared to be the cause of evils to some: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you," He says, "Capernaum," and what follows. For since the Savior was a foreknower of the unbelief of those in Chorazin and in Bethsaida and in Capernaum, and that it would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for them, why did He perform the wonders in Chorazin and in Bethsaida, seeing that because of them it would be more tolerable for the Tyrians and Sidonians in the day of judgment than for these?
And after other things: "But you shall say to Pharaoh: Thus says the Lord: Israel is My firstborn son; and I said to you: Let My people go, that they may serve Me."
And the Savior also says: "Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? I have not come to bring peace but a sword." For truly, before He came, there was no sword on earth, nor did "the flesh lust against the Spirit, nor the Spirit against the flesh." But when He came and we were taught what things are of the flesh and what are of the Spirit, this teaching, having become like a "sword" on earth, separated the flesh and the earth from the Spirit. And "the earth" is indeed "made to disappear" when "we bear about the dying of Jesus in the body," and we no longer "live according to the flesh," but the Spirit lives, and we sow nothing "to the flesh" but everything "to the Spirit," so that we may not "reap corruption" from the flesh, but "from the Spirit eternal life." And it is said to those who have sinned: "Sow wheat and reap thorns." For even if they discourse on the oracles of God, those who do not discourse on them well, nor live in the manner that they ought, nor believe, sow wheat and reap thorns. And these things are most especially to be understood regarding the heterodox who encounter the Scriptures and reap thorns, not from the Scriptures, but from their own inventions.
"Their lots shall not profit them." These things others have explained before us; and since we do not reject their explanation, we gratefully bring it forth, not as having discovered it ourselves, but as having learned a good lesson. This word will profit both you and us, if we pay attention to what is written, we who seem to be seated before you as being from a "lot," so that some wish to come to this lot. But know that the lot does not save entirely; for many elders will perish, and many among the laity will be shown to be blessed. Since, therefore, there are some in the lot who do not live in such a way as to profit and adorn the lot, for this reason, they who have explained it say, it is written: "Their lots shall not profit them"; for that which profits is not the very fact of sitting in the presbytery, but living in a way worthy of the place, as the Word requires.
The Word demands that you live well, and me too, but if one must say it thus: "The mighty shall be mightily examined," I am required to do more than the deacon, the deacon more than the layman, and he who has been entrusted with the oversight of us all, the ecclesiastical authority itself, is required to do even more. This is why the one entrusted with great things, the Apostle, you hear him saying: "Let a man so account us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God; moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." And it is so rare to find a faithful and good steward, as Jesus, "who knows all things before they come to pass," says: "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" Then He rebukes certain stewards and says: "But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 'My lord delays to come,' and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink and be drunken, the lord of that servant will come in a day he looks not for him, and in an hour he is not aware, and will cut him in pieces, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."
These things are in regard to "Their inheritances shall not profit them." But let us also see the following necessary rebuke, which it is well to take up into the moral discourse, which says: "Be ashamed of your boasting, of your reproach before the Lord." There are certain things in which we boast because of our folly, which are not worthy of boasting; for instance, if anyone boasts that he is wealthy and possesses much, it might be said to him: "Be ashamed of your boasting." If anyone boasts in this outward nobility, it will be said to him: "Be ashamed of your boasting." If anyone boasts in the extravagance of clothing, or in the building of a luxuriously furnished house, this boasting is alien to the boasting of the saints, wherefore it will be said to such a one: "Be ashamed of your boasting."
Hear the Word through the prophet Jeremiah commanding us not to boast even in wisdom; for He says: "Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, nor the strong boast in his strength, nor the rich boast in his riches; but in this let him who boasts boast, to understand and know that I am the Lord." Do you wish to boast, and in boasting not to hear, "Be ashamed of your boasting"? Boast as the Apostle did and say: "But God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Do you wish to boast, so that it may not be said, "Be ashamed of your boasting"? Hear Paul boasting and learn when he says: "Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Hear the kinds of boasts he boasts of: "In labors more abundantly"—which of us can say this?—"in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one, thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck."
Homily XXI
A ...one's own soul. For as long as one is in Babylon, he cannot be saved. And even if he recalls Jerusalem there, he laments and says: *How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?* And because it is impossible for one settled in Babylon to sing to God with instruments, since the instruments of God's hymns are idle there, therefore it is said through the prophet: *By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion: we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.* Our instruments are hung up so long as we are in Babylon, upon the willows of the rivers of Babylon. But if we have come into Jerusalem, into the place of vision and peace, the instruments that before hung idle are then taken into the hands, then we continually play the cithara, and there is no time when we do not praise God through the instruments we have in our hands. Therefore, as we had begun to say, the soul is always in some nominal place of the earth; and as sinners are in Babylon, so on the contrary are the righteous in Judea. Nevertheless, according to the quality of life and faith, even within Judea itself they are separated into various places among themselves. For whether one is in Dan, which are the extreme parts of Judea, or in places a little higher and better than Dan, or in the middle borders of Judea, or around Jerusalem—and the most blessed of all is that which consists in the middle city of Jerusalem. But he who is a sinner and oppressed by excessive crimes, this man is in Babylon; but one minor in this respect, and not yet having ascended to the highest peak of sins, dwells in Egypt and in the parts of Egypt. And just as those who are in Judea do not all possess equal places—for one indeed is in Jerusalem, and another in Dan, another in Naphtali, another in the borders of Gad—so all who are in Egypt do not inhabit equal parts of Egypt. One dwells in Taphnis, another in Memphis, another in Syene, another in Bubastis. These places, which the prophet Ezekiel testifies are full of mysteries, explaining also the names of the parts of Egypt: concerning which, if any reader is spiritual, judging all things and himself judged by no one, he will allegorize not only the greater regions, like Judea and Egypt and Babylon, but also the particles of the earth; and as he reads of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and the other cities in Judea, so in Egypt he will figure according to the understanding of things: Diospolis, Bubastis, Taphnis, Memphis, Syene. *Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? or who is prudent, and he shall know them?* Who, even if established in a more subtle sense, will be able to know the will that the Holy Spirit has for the letter?
D 2. But now another proposal is this: what is commanded to those who are in Babylon by the word of God? *Flee out of the midst of Babylon.* Not gradually, not step-by-step, but with speed, with running flee—for this is what it is to flee. *Flee out of the midst of Babylon.* Whoever has a soul confused by the passion of various vices, the discourse is directed to you. And to me also the same thing is commanded: for I am still hardened in confusion, and therefore I am in Babylon. What, then, does God command? He does not say, "Go out from the midst of Babylon"—for this can happen even gradually—but, *Flee out of the midst of Babylon.*
I, indeed, seek the reason of the discourse even in what is said, *from the midst.* For it can happen that someone is in Babylon, but since he dwells in its extreme borders, he is seen in a certain way to be outside Babylon. But it is one thing to consist in the middle of Babylon, so that the space is equal from every side, and thus he dwells, as it were, in its navel, in the middle of the heart of the beast. For just as the middle of an animal is the heart, and in the Gospel according to Luke, the heart of the earth is called the middle of the earth; so it seems to me it is said also in Ezekiel, *Tyre is placed in the heart of the sea*; and now that sinners ought to flee from the midst of Babylon, that is, from its heart. B *Flee therefore from the midst of Babylon*, that deserting the middle of Babylon, you may begin to be in its borders, not in its middle. But if this seems obscure to anyone, it will be made manifest thus: because he who is deeply submerged in vices, he is a middle inhabitant. But he who gradually leaving evil, and turning his nature to better things, has not yet so much begun to possess virtues as to desire them, he, although he has fled from the middle of Babylon, has not yet departed from Babylon. According to expositions of this kind, it is fitting to believe that the holy scriptures do not have even one apex empty of the wisdom of God. For He who commands me, a human, saying: *Thou shalt not appear before my face empty*, does much more this Himself, lest He speak anything empty. Receiving from His fullness, the prophets sang those things which were taken from the fullness; and for this reason the sacred volumes breathe the fullness of the Spirit, and there is nothing, whether in prophecy, or in the law, or in the Gospel, or in the Apostle, which does not descend from the fullness of the divine majesty. For which reason the words of fullness still breathe today in the holy Scriptures. But they breathe to those who have both eyes to see heavenly things, and ears to hear divine things, and nostrils to perceive those things which are of the fullness.
I have said these things because it is not placed simply, *Flee from Babylon*, but with a necessary addition: *Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and let everyone save his own soul.* First it is necessary to flee from the midst of Babylon, then for each one to save their own souls when they have fled. Nor indeed did He say "save," but *resalvate* ("re-save" or "save anew"). The addition of the syllable signifies a sacrament, because having once tasted salvation, and afterwards falling from it on account of sins, they came to Babylon. For the sake of which thing it is necessary to *re-save* one's soul, so that it may begin to recover what it lost, according to the apostle Peter saying: *Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.* However, it is in us to flee from Babyl...
Babylon, and it is placed within our power, if we will, to raise up what has fallen.
4. The third commandment is: *And be not cast into her iniquity.* When someone has fled from the injustice of Babylon and has not done penance, then it follows that he is cast out. Observe, however, how Scripture, although it has been translated from the Hebrew language into Greek, has nevertheless expressed the differences of the words as significantly as it can. For it says in another place: *I have chosen to be an outcast in the house of the Lord,* A and it does not say "cast out" (*projectus*). Here, however, it did not set "and be not cast away (*abjiciamini*) into her iniquity," but "be not cast out (*projiciamini*) into her iniquity." For it is one thing to be cast out, another to be cast away. For that which is in disdain and neglect is not cast out, but cast away. But that which is outside of salvation, and alien to blessedness, that is cast out—which the divine Scripture declares in another place, saying: *The leaders of my people shall be cast out from the dwelling of their affairs on account of their most evil wills.* For their clergy shall not profit them. But even you yourself will be able to gather, wherever you find in the Scriptures the term of "projection" and "abjection," so that from the comparison of the words you might be more confident in offering an opinion. Because the dispensation of Providence, even if it did not greatly care to follow the distinction which is praised in the Greek tongue when interpreting into Greek, nevertheless took care to exhibit those things which are significant, and to explain the difference of them clearly to those who most diligently search the Scriptures.
5. *Be not cast out into the iniquity of Babylon, for the time of her vengeance is from the Lord.* With a marvelous sense, he says that punishments are brought on because of the vengeance of him who suffers them. For when someone is not avenged and is left unpunished, I remember often having said that which is written in the twelve Prophets: *I will not visit your daughters when they commit fornication, and your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.* Therefore, it is not as some think, that God punishes sinners in anger; but, if it is proper to speak thus, it is a great anger from God not to suffer torments. For he who is punished, even if he is chastised by that which is called the anger of God, is punished to the end that he may be amended. O Lord, says David, *rebuke me not in thy anger, neither chasten me in thy fury.* But even if you will argue, argue us in judgment, and not in fury, said Jeremiah. Moreover, you will find that even from the promise of God, chastisement is given to some. Therefore, when punishment is promised to the sinning children of Christ, mercy is not denied, as it is written: *If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they profane my justices, and keep not my commandments, I will visit their crimes with a rod, and their iniquities with stripes; but my mercy I will not take away from them.* Considering these things, see how he who is not yet worthy of punishment is not punished. For the visitation of God is shown by the visited torments; but he who is chastised while sinning, you do not know what may run out for him as punishment. These things are on account of what was said, that the time of her vengeance is from the Lord.
6. It follows: *He himself will render retribution to her.* Not by ministers will God render retribution to Babylon, but he himself will render what is deserved. I wish to say something on the addition of the pronoun in that which is written "he himself": for he says, *He himself will render retribution to her.* God does not himself render to all what they deserve, but there are some to whom he restores through others, whether punishing or medicating through pain, as is contained in the Psalms: *He sent upon them the wrath of his indignation, fury, and wrath, and anguish, a mission through evil angels.* For through these he did not restore himself, but for their retribution he used evil angels as ministers; and to others perhaps he renders not through the evil, but through the good, as in those who are punished for their crimes. And you will find many similar things of this kind throughout the Scriptures, if you search. Yet there is a time when the office of ministers is rejected, and God himself restores the retribution, as now to Babylon. I fear to interpose something obscure in a manifest place, which seems to me to lie hidden if I am silent. B Nevertheless, one must dare to touch upon at least a few things. When wounds are easy and ready for cure, the physician sends his servant, he sends his disciple, so that the sick person may be medicated through him; for the wounds are not great. It happens also at times that he who is being healed needs the section and the iron; yet the physician himself does not go to the cure, but choosing one of the disciples who is able to heal, he uses him as a minister. But when the sores are incurable, so that even the dead flesh has rotted away with putrefaction, and the ill-health is to such an extent that he does not need the servants or disciples who have now approached him with the knowledge of their art, but the hands of the master himself, then the great physician himself, having girded his loins, is stirred up to the section of the most terrible wound. Similarly, therefore, when there are lesser sins, God does not himself render to the sinners, but uses other ministers. But when through his own merits a huge sickness seizes a man, as now Babylon, which is confounded by the grave wounds of its own malice, then God himself hastens to the retribution. If you seek similar things to this, you will find them also concerning Jerusalem, which happened to her after the prophets, because she had lain in wait for Christ. Thus is the content of the first chapter finished.
7. Let us see the rest: *A golden cup is Babylon in the hand of the Lord, making all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her wine. For this reason the nations are moved, and suddenly Babylon has fallen and is crushed.* Nebuchadnezzar, wishing to deceive men through the deceitful cup of Babylon, did not mix in an earthen vessel what he was preparing to give to drink, nor yet in one a little better, and brazen, C or that which excels these, one of silver; D [alt-version omitted]
but choosing a golden vessel, he mixed a drink in it, so that whoever sees the beauty of the gold, while being delighted by the splendor of the radiant metal, and fixes his whole gaze upon the appearance, might not consider what lies hidden within; and taking the cup, he drinks, not knowing the cup of Nebuchadnezzar, but thinking only of the golden cup mentioned at the present time. But you should observe what kind of composition, what splendor of eloquence, and what kind of division of subjects the deadly words of the most wicked dogmas have. You will recognize how each of those poets who are thought by you to be the most eloquent 284 mixed a golden cup, and how they poured into the golden cup the poison of idolatry, and the poison of foul talk, the poison of those dogmas which destroy the soul of man, and the poison of that which is science falsely so-called. B But my Jesus has done the opposite, knowing the golden cup of the devil, and taking precautions lest anyone coming to his faith might suspect that even Christ’s cup is such as he might desire, and on account of the similarity of the material might fear this error; therefore he took care that we should have this treasure in earthen vessels. I have often seen a golden cup in the beautiful adornment of speech, and considering the poisons of the dogmas, I have detected the cup of Babylon. C But when it comes to vengeance, and it has been placed in the hand of God, then it becomes the land which was once struck in Job. Nor indeed is it held forever in the hand of God, but only at the time of vengeance, when the Lord begins to restore to it what it deserves, then in his hand that golden cup, Babylon, will make the whole earth drunk. But how he will make the whole earth drunk, you will easily know if you consider all drunken men. We are made drunk by anger, we are made drunk by sadness, we are made drunk by the mind, we are overcome by love, by concupiscences, and by vain glory. What great goblets he has mixed, how many glasses he has offered to those he makes drunk, what is the need to say? D Observe that the whole earth is full of sins, and you will not ask how Babylon has made the whole earth drunk. But if by chance you see yourself as a just man not drunk from the cup of sinners, do not think that Scripture has lied by saying, *making the whole earth drunk*, even though this man is not drunk by Babylon, and yet stands upon the earth. Hear why the just man is not earth. This golden cup makes the whole earth drunk. But since the just man is upon the earth, he has his conversation in heaven. And for this reason, it is not fitting for the just man to be told: *You are earth, and into earth you shall go*. But it is necessary to speak boldly: God says to the just man still standing upon the earth, *You are heaven, and into heaven you shall go*. For he bears the image of the heavenly. Therefore, to conclude, the golden cup makes the whole earth drunk, that is, we all are made drunk by it as long as we are earth.
10. *Of its wine the nations have drunk, therefore they have been moved.* Just as in the case of those who drink the liquor of wine which is in common use, if they drink beyond thirst and beyond measure, we see the drunkard’s body moved, his feet staggering, his head and temples heavy, his mouth loose, and his tongue signaling the speech of a drunkard with words clipped by clinging lips: it is similar to see those who have drunk from the golden cup of Babylon, how they are moved, how they are unsteady in their gait, how with weakened mind and fluctuating thought they hold nothing firmly, but are always driven in uncertainties and disturbances. Wherefore the divine Scripture says in another place about men of this kind: *Therefore they have been moved*. Let us insert some mystery: what is said about the sinner, Cain? When he went out from the face of God, he dwelt in the land of Naid, opposite Eden. Naid in the Greek language is interpreted as "commotion." For he who abandons God, he who deserts the sense of thinking of him constantly, this man dwells today in the land of Naid, that is, he consists in the tribulation of an evil heart and in the commotion of the mind.
11. *Babylon has suddenly fallen, and is crushed.* When it says: *Suddenly Babylon has fallen*, it seems to me to prophesy that the end of the world will be sudden. For just as in the days of the flood they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, until the flood came and took them all, and suddenly the inundation came, and likewise also in the days of Lot; so too the consummation of the world will not happen in parts, but suddenly. Consider to be compared to this what is written in Joshua, when by the voice of the trumpet alone, the city of Jericho fell and suddenly perished; and according to this likeness that Babylon also is to fall at the consummation of the age, and to be suddenly crushed. And let these things be said concerning the consummation. But if you come to the advent of my Lord Jesus Christ, and see his great work, how he has overturned all the dogmas of the nations concerning idols, so that he might rescue them as believers from the yoke of error, you will understand that in the time of his passion Babylon immediately fell, and was crushed. Let each one of us consider himself, and observe that Babylon has fallen in his own breast. But if the city of confusion has not fallen in the heart of anyone, to him Christ has not yet come. For when he comes, Babylon is accustomed to fall. For this reason, taking refuge in the protections of prayers, ask that Jesus may come into your hearts, and crush Babylon and make all its malice fall, and rebuild in place of those things which have been overturned—in place of the Babylon which had been built before—in that very principal part of your heart, Jerusalem, the holy city of God.
*Plaint it, and take the balm of its correction, if by any means it shall be healed.* Wail, it says, for Babylon. Then, because every soul can receive salvation, and there is no one who is incurable before God, for that reason he gives counsel to those who can migrate into
Jerusalem to be a witness, provided with resin to make plasters, that they might take up medicines, and with as much zeal as they possess, restore Babylon to health. Let us attempt to do this as well, beseeching God that He may grant us reasonable resin, and from that reasonable resin we may learn to apply to it a poultice, and oil, and bandages; and by applying them, let us bind up the wounds of Babylon, imitating the Samaritan, that the miserable city may be healed and, once cured, cease to be what it had been. This is what it means to take up the resin of His A correction, if by any means it might be healed. Where are the heretics? Where are those who introduce certain natures, asserting that there is a nature so desperate that it does not receive salvation at all? If there is a nature that perishes, what other will be such as Babylon? Yet God does not look down even upon her. For God commands the physicians to take up resin for Babylon, if by any means she might be healed. Therefore, some of those who had received the commandment, taking the resin for the correction of Babylon, if by any means she might be healed, did what had been commanded; they received the resin for her correction, hearing that it was possible for Babylon to receive health. And because they did not accomplish what they had hoped—for Babylon, persevering in her former malice, did not wish to be healed—the good physicians satisfy their duty and say: "We have cured Babylon, B and she is not healed. Let us leave her." But see, O man, lest at some time God command the angels to prepare plasters of medicines for the languor of your soul, if by any means you might be healed from sickness, and the angels answer: "We have cured Babylon," showing your soul to be confused by passions, "and she is not healed." They do not blame the knowledge of their art, nor the power of the resin, but you, who did not wish to obey their precepts, as they say: "We have cured Babylon, and she is not healed. Let us leave her." The angels of God stood under the great Physician, wishing to heal our weaknesses, wishing to free the soul from vices, but we ourselves repel them while we do not acquiesce to their counsels. They see that they are wasting their effort when they speak to one another, and say: "Let us leave her, and let us go away each to his own land." This means: the medicine has been entrusted to us by God, that we might heal the human soul; C we have applied the remedy, we have applied the medicine, it is very stubborn, it does not want to observe what we say, our effort does not result in the effect. Let us leave her, and let us go away each to his own land, that is, to his own proper and domestic place. Beware, O man, lest at any time your physician should leave you, whether he be an angel of God, or any of men, to whom the care of words has been entrusted for the purpose of bringing the medicine of salvation. For if they should abandon you and say: "Let us go away each to his own land, because her judgment has approached to heaven," it is manifest that their withdrawal might be your condemnation, as being irremediable and unwilling to be cured. But when they have deserted you, what else is to happen to you, except what is accustomed to happen to those who are despaired of by physicians, using the will of their own disease, so that they might be plunged into worse things? And so, in the custom of this life, it happens similarly with prudent physicians. One of them approaches a sick man: as much as the art and industry permit, the medicines do not cease; but if either the illness is so great that it resists the cure, or the patient himself, through impatience of pain, does the opposite of what is commanded, the physician leaves, despairs of such a man, and withdraws, lest the man expire in his hands and the cause of his death be turned back upon him. If, therefore, we also, lest we die in the hands of the holy angels who are destined by the Lord to heal us, are abandoned by them as they despair of our soul, and they say: "There is no poultice to apply, nor oil, nor bandages, because her judgment has approached to heaven, and it is lifted up even to the stars." He who has a small sin, his judgment is not carried up to heaven and the stars. For it is small and lowly. But he who grows in wickedness, grows also in judgment, and at the same time, punishment increases with vices; and because he has sinned so much that his judgment is raised even to the heavenly realms, and through his impiety resisting God he ascends to the heights, God brings forth His judgment into the humiliation of that judgment which was hidden from the sinner; and bringing forth His judgment, He indeed humbles the sinner, but renders to the just the things worthy of his life, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion for ages of ages. Amen.
FROM HOMILY XXXIX
D Explanations on the prophet Jeremiah, on that: *The Lord could not bear it because of the wickedness of your ways.*
If at any time, reading Scripture, you stumble upon a sentiment which is indeed pleasant, but is a stone of offense and a rock of scandal, accuse yourself; for one must not despair that this stone of offense and rock of scandal has meanings, so that what is said may come to pass: *And he who believes will not be confounded.* First believe, and you will find beneath that stumbling block much holy utility. For if we have a commandment not to speak a vain and useless word, as if we were to render an account for it on the day of judgment, and as much as we can strive...