On the Cross and the Thief (Homily 2)

and pray for our enemies? Or, rather, should we do the opposite and pray against our enemies? No, I beg you, no, brethren. For as the examples are more numerous, so much greater is the punishment if we do not imitate them. It is of greater value to pray for enemies than for friends; for the latter does not benefit you as much as the former. "For if you love those who love you," He says, "you do nothing great; for even the tax collectors do the same." So if we pray for our friends, we have not yet become better than the heathen or the tax collectors; but when we love our enemies, we have become, as far as human capacity allows, like God, in that He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. Let us therefore become like the Father. "Be," He says, "like your Father which is in heaven," that we may also be found worthy of the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

A Sermon on the Cross and on the Confession of the Thief, delivered on the Holy and Great Friday; and on the fact that we ought to pray for our enemies. Homily II.

1. ^A We are celebrating a feast and a festival today, beloved; for our Master is found nailed with nails upon the cross. And do not be surprised if, while the affair is a dismal one, we are celebrating a feast; for all such spiritual things are contrary to human custom. And that you may know this accurately, the cross was formerly a name of condemnation and punishment, but now it has become a thing precious and desirable; the cross was formerly a subject of shame and punishment, but now it has become an occasion of glory and honor. And that the cross is glory, hear Christ saying: "Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with you before the world was" (John 17:5), calling the cross glory. The cross is the head of our salvation; the cross is the subject of countless good things. Through it, we who were formerly dishonored and cast out, have now been received into the rank of sons; through it, we no longer wander, but have known the truth; through it, we who formerly worshipped wood and stones, have now known the Creator of all things; through it, we who were slaves of sin have been led up into the freedom of righteousness; through it, the earth has henceforth become heaven. It has freed us from error, it has guided us to the truth, it has brought about the reconciliation of God to men, it has raised us from the abyss of wickedness to the very summit of virtue, it has extinguished the error of demons, it has destroyed their deception. Through it, there is no longer smoke and incense and the shedding of irrational blood, but everywhere spiritual worship and hymns and prayers; through it, demons flee, through it, the devil is put to flight, ^B through it, human nature vies with the angelic life, through it, virginity is practiced upon the earth. Ever since He came forth from the Virgin, human nature has known the way of this virtue. It has illuminated us as we sat in darkness, it has reconciled us who were once at war, it has made those who were far off to be near, it has brought those who were alienated into intimacy, it has made those who had become strangers citizens of heaven, it has become for us the destruction of wars, it has become for us the security of peace. Through it, we no longer fear the burning darts of the devil; for we have found the fountain of life. Through it, we are not in widowhood; for we have received back the Bridegroom. Through it, we no longer fear the wolf; for we have known the good Shepherd. "For I am," He says, "the good shepherd" (John 10:11). Through it, we no longer shudder at the tyrant; for we have fled for refuge to the King. Do you see of how many good things the cross is the subject for us? Justly, therefore, do we celebrate a feast. Thus also Paul exhorts us to celebrate, saying: "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8). And for what reason do you bid us celebrate, O blessed Paul? Tell us the cause. "For Christ our Passover," he says, "is sacrificed for us" (Ibid. 7). Do you see how the cross is a feast? Have you learned that it is for the sake of the cross that he bids us celebrate? For He was sacrificed on the cross; and where there is sacrifice, there is the remission of sins, there is the reconciliation of the Master, ^C there is feast and joy. "Christ our Passover," he says, "is sacrificed for us." Where was He sacrificed, tell me? Upon the high cross. New and strange is the altar, because strange and changed is the sacrifice. For He Himself is both sacrifice and priest; sacrifice according to the flesh, but priest according to the spirit; He Himself both offered and was offered. Hear again Paul saying: "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Heb. 5:1). It is necessary, therefore, that this One also should have something to offer. Behold, for the time being, He offers Himself. Elsewhere, again, he says: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9:28). Behold, here He was offered, there He offered Himself. You see how He became both sacrifice and priest, and the cross was the altar? But it is necessary to learn for what reason the sacrifice is not offered in the temple—I mean in the Jewish temple—but outside the city, outside the walls. For He was crucified outside the city, just like some criminal, so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, that "he was numbered with the transgressors" (Isa. 53:12).

Why, then, outside the city, on high, and not under some roof? Not even this is without reason, but that He might purify the nature of the air. For this reason, He was lifted up high, and with no roof overhanging, but with the heaven itself covering Him instead of a roof, so that the heaven might be purified once and for all—the sheep being sacrificed on high. It was cleansed. ^D

^A For the blood was dripping from His side onto the earth, and washing away all its stains and defilements. And for this reason, the sacrifice is not performed under a roof; yet, why not in the Jewish temple itself? This, too, was not done rashly or without cause: it was so that the Jews might not claim this sacrifice as their own, and so you would not think this sacrifice was offered for that nation alone. Therefore, it takes place outside the walls, so that you may learn that the sacrifice is universal, and that it is offered for the entire earth and constitutes a common expiation. For God had commanded the Jews to leave the whole earth behind and offer their sacrifices in one place and pour out their prayers in one place. Since the entire earth was at that time contaminated by smoke, by the odor of burned offerings, by idolatrous blood, and by other pagan defilements, He commanded them to use one place. But when Christ came and died outside the city, He cleansed the entire earth and made every place suitable for prayer. Do you wish to learn how the entire earth has henceforth become a temple, and how every place has been designated for prayer? Hear again the blessed Paul as he says: "Lifting up pure hands in every place without anger and disputation" (1 Tim. 2:8). Do you see how He has cleansed the inhabited world? Do you see how we can everywhere lift up pure hands? For every part of the earth has been sanctified from this time forward, or rather, it is even holier than those sanctuaries of the Jews. By what reason? Because there, an irrational sheep was offered, but here, the rational Sheep. Therefore, by as much as the rational is superior to the irrational, by so much is the sanctification here greater. Truly, then, the Cross produces for us a feast.

^B Do you wish to learn another of His greatest achievements, which surpasses all human intellect? He has today opened the closed paradise; for today He led the thief into it. Two of the greatest achievements: He unbarred paradise and led in the thief. He restored to him his ancient fatherland, leading him back into his ancestral city. "Today," He says, "you shall be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). What do you say? You are crucified and fastened to the Cross with nails, and you promise paradise? How do you grant such things? Yet Paul says, "He was crucified out of weakness." But hear what follows: "But He lives by the power of God" (2 Cor. 13:4). And again elsewhere: "My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). For this reason, I make the promise upon the Cross, so that through this, you may also learn My power. For since the Cross is something joyless and ^C burdensome, that you might not cast down your face in looking at the nature of the Cross, but rather become joyful and alert by looking at the power of the Crucified, for this cause He displays His power to you there. For not by raising the dead, not by commanding the sea, not by rebuking demons—but being crucified, nailed, subjected to insult, spat upon, reviled, and held up for mockery and derision by all—was He able to draw the wicked mind of the thief toward Himself. See His power shining forth from both sides. He shook creation, He rent the rocks, and He made the soul of the thief, which was harder than rock, softer than wax. "Today you shall be with Me in paradise." What do you say? The Cherubim and the flaming sword guard paradise, and you promise the thief entry into it? "Certainly," He says. "For I am also the Lord of the Cherubim, and I hold authority over fire and Gehenna, over life and death; for this reason I say: 'Today you shall be with Me in paradise.'" ^D When those powers see the Lord, they will yield and give place. And though no king would ever allow a thief or any other of his servants to enter the city seated beside him, this most humane Lord did just that: having entered into His own holy fatherland, He leads the thief in with Him—not dishonoring paradise, God forbid, with the feet of the thief, but by this very act honoring it all the more. For it is an honor for paradise to have such a Lord, so powerful and humane, that He can even make a thief worthy of the delights of paradise. For indeed, when He called publicans and harlots into the kingdom, He did not do so to the shame of His kingdom, but rather with greater honor; for He showed Himself to be such a Lord of the kingdom of heaven that He could even make harlots and publicans so approved that they would appear worthy of the glory and the gift that is within it. Just as, therefore, we admire a physician when we behold him restoring people who are laboring under incurable diseases, once the infirmity is dispelled, to their original and pure health; so also admire Christ, most beloved, and stand in awe, because He was able to liberate those who were bound by the incurable diseases of the soul from malice, and make those who had ascended to the supreme height of wickedness worthy of the kingdom of heaven. "Today you shall be with Me in paradise." A great honor, a vast magnitude of this humanity, an inexplicable immensity of this goodness. For if it is a glory to enter paradise, it is a greater glory to enter with the Lord. What, I ask, happened? What did the thief do of this kind, that he was suddenly judged from the Cross as worthy of paradise? I will say it briefly, if you please, and I will show the goodness and uprightness of the thief. When Peter, the prince of the disciples, was denying Him below, that man, fixed above on the Cross, was confessing Him. And I have not said this with the intention of reproaching Peter, God forbid; but to demonstrate the magnanimity of the thief and his excellent manner of philosophizing. He did not withstand the threats of a simple maid; this man, having beheld the entire populace raging, and standing by, and shouting, and hurling infinite insults at the Crucified, did not turn his eyes to the insult of the Crucified; but bypassing all these things with the eyes of faith, and casting away every stumbling block—all that was able to be a hindrance—he recognized the Lord of heaven, having spoken those few words which showed him worthy of paradise: "Remember me in Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Let us not pass over this saying simply, and let it not shame us to accept the thief as our teacher, whose Lord was not ashamed to be the first to lead him into paradise; let us not be ashamed to have as a teacher that man who, before the entire human race, was held worthy of life in paradise. Let us therefore weigh each word, so that we may learn from this the power of the Cross. For He did not say to him, as He did to Peter and Andrew, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19); nor did He say to the

twelve, "You shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28). Indeed, He did not even deign to address him with a word. He saw no miracles, no dead raised, no demons expelled, no sea obeying His command, nor did He speak to him about the kingdom. Whence, then, did he know even the name of the kingdom? Let us see his great understanding. "Another thief," he says, "was reviling Him." For there was another thief crucified [with Him], that the word spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: "And He was reckoned with the lawless" (Isai. 53:12). For the ungrateful Jews sought even to slander His glory, and they were harassing Him at every turn with what was happening; but through all things the truth increased, and through the very obstacles it became more brilliant. Therefore, the other thief was reviling Him; but one of the evangelists says that ^A both were reviling Jesus (Mark 15:32). And this is true, and it most serves to heighten the gratitude of this one. For it is likely that he began by reviling Him, but suddenly displayed such a transformation. "Another thief," he says, "was reviling Him." Do you see thief and thief? Both on the cross, both from a life of wickedness, both from a life of thievery, but not both in the same state. For the one inherited a kingdom, while the other was being dispatched to Gehenna. So too yesterday, a disciple and disciples; but the one was preparing for betrayal, while the others were preparing themselves for service. And he said to the Pharisees, "What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver Him to you?" (Matt. 26:15, 17), while they approached Jesus saying, "Where do you want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" So too here, thief and thief; but the one was reviling, while the other was silencing him; the one was blaspheming, while the other was rebuking him—and this while seeing Him crucified, condemned, the crowd below reviling and shouting loudly. Yet none of these things turned him aside, nor led him away from the glory that was due, but he even sets himself fiercely against the other thief and says to him, "Do you not fear God?"

^B 3. Do you see the boldness of the thief? Do you see how, even on the cross, he does not forget his own art, but through this very confession he loots the kingdom? "Do you not fear God?" he says. Do you see boldness on the cross? Do you see philosophy, do you see piety? For since he was in himself, since he had his mind entirely transfixed with nails and was enduring the unbearable pain from the nails, is he not worthy to be admired for his noble spirit? For my part, I would say he is worthy not only to be admired but also to be called blessed. For not only was he not turned toward his own torments, but, leaving his own affairs behind, he cared for another's and strove to snatch him from error and to become a teacher while on the cross. "Do you not fear God," he says, "you?" He is saying to him, as it were: Do not attend to the earthly tribunal, do not form your judgment from those visible things, do not look only at what is happening; there is another invisible Judge, there is that judge's seat—incorrupt, incapable of being deceived. Do not, therefore, look at the fact that He was condemned below; the things above are not like this. For here, in the lower tribunal, even the innocent are often condemned, and the guilty are released, and the just are sentenced, and ^C the unjust escape. For many of the people either willingly or unwillingly corrupt justice; for either/being ignorant of justice/they are deceived, or, though they see it, they are corrupted by money and betray the truth and pass judgment against the innocent. But above there is nothing of the kind. For God is a just judge, and His judgment will come forth as light; it has no darkness, it has no hiding place, it admits no perversion. So that the other might not say, "Why do you plead for Him, for He was condemned below?" he led him to the heavenly tribunal, to the fearful judgment seat, to the incorrupt judge, to the judge who cannot be deceived; he reminded him of that fearful judgment. "Look there," he says, "and you will not bear the verdict of condemnation, nor will you stand with the people below, but you will admire and approve the judgment from above." "Do you not fear God," he says, "you?" Do you see the philosophy of the thief, do you see the understanding, do you see the instruction? Suddenly he flew from the cross to heaven. And see him already fulfilling the apostolic law, and not looking only to his own things, but doing everything and working to relieve even him of his error and to bring him back to the truth. For having said, "Do you not fear God, you?" he added: "For we are in the same judgment" (Luke 23:40). Observe the perfected confession. What does ^D "we are in the same judgment" mean? We are in the same punishment, he says; for we also are on the cross. By reviling him, therefore, you cast yourself into accusations before him. Just as, therefore, he who is in sins and condemns another condemns himself before the other; so also he who is in misfortune and reproaches another's misfortune, reproaches himself before the other. "In the same judgment," he says, "we are." He reads him the apostolic law, speaking the evangelical words: "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged." "For we are in the same judgment." What are you doing, thief? Are you making him a partner of yours by saying, "We are in the same judgment"? He says: No, I am adding the correction through what follows: "And we indeed justly; for we receive what is due for what we have done." So that, having heard that he said, "We are in the same judgment," you might not think that he made him a partner in sin, he added the correction, and says: "We indeed justly; for we receive what is due for what we have done." Do you see perfect confession on the cross? Do you see how he washed away his sins through his words? Do you see how he fulfilled that prophetic command: "You speak your lawlessness first, that you may be justified"? No one forced him, no one accused him, no one attacked him; he becomes his own accuser; for this reason, he had no other accuser left. For, having anticipated him, he took the rank of the accuser and branded himself, saying, "We justly; for we receive what is due for what we have done; but this One has done nothing amiss." Do you see the heightened piety? When indeed he accused himself, when he laid bare his own affairs, when he pleaded for the Master by saying, "We indeed justly; but this One has done nothing amiss"—then also the...

Supplication he dared to offer with these words: "Remember me, O Lord, when Thou shalt come in Thy kingdom." He did not dare to say it before, until he had purged himself from the filth of sins by confession, until by condemning himself he had made himself free of guilt, until by his accusation he had put aside his offenses.

^A Do you see how much confession counts, even upon the cross itself? Seeing these things, beloved, do not despair of yourself; but thinking of the ineffable magnitude of divine benevolence, hasten to the rectification of the sins you have committed. For if He deemed the robber on the cross worthy of such honor, much more will He deem us worthy by His own natural benevolence, if we should wish to perform the confession of our sins. In order, therefore, that we also may enjoy His benevolence, let us not be ashamed to confess our own sins; for great is the power of confession, and much is its virtue. For look, this man confessed and found paradise open; he confessed and received the liberty of speech and the request for the kingdom, he who had been a robber. For until that time, he did not seek the kingdom of heaven. Whence, tell me, O robber, did you remember the kingdom? What kind of thing like it did you see now? The things you see are nails, and a cross, and accusations, and mockery, and insults. "Assuredly," he says; "for to me that very cross seems to be the symbol of a kingdom. Therefore I call Him King, because I see Him crucified; for it is the character of a king to die for his subjects." He Himself said, "The good shepherd lays down his soul for the sheep" (John 10:11). Therefore, a good king also lays down his soul for his subjects. Since, therefore, he laid down his soul, for this reason I name Him King. "Remember me, O Lord, when Thou shalt come in Thy kingdom."

^B Do you wish to learn how the cross is even the symbol of a kingdom, and how glorious a thing it is? He did not leave it on the earth, but led it into heaven. From where is this evident? It is destined to come with Him in His second and glorious advent. But let us see when it is to come with Him.

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

ineffable humanity. And listen to those very words. For as those who had crucified Him stood by, burning with rage, He says: "Father, forgive them this sin; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Do you see the benevolence of the Master? While being crucified, He interceded for those who were crucifying Him; yet they mocked and ridiculed Him, saying: "If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt. 27:40). And yet, for this very reason He does not come down from the cross, because He is the Son of God; for this reason He came, that He might be crucified for us. "Let Him come down," they said, "from the cross, that we may see and believe in Him" (Ibid. 42). Behold the steps of shamelessness and the pretexts of unbelief. He had worked signs greater than coming down from the cross, and they did not believe, and now they say: "Come down from the cross, and we will believe in You." For it was a much greater thing to raise the dead from the tomb, when the stone had been laid upon it, than to come down from the cross; it was a much greater thing to bring forth the one who had been dead four days, Lazarus, already bound in burial cloths, from the tomb along with these. Do you see the words of folly? Do you see the excess of madness? But attend with precision, I beseech you, that you may know the surpassing benevolence of God, and how Christ uses this very folly of theirs as an occasion for forgiveness. "Father," He says, "forgive them the sin; for they know not what they do." For He declares nothing other than this by His words: "They are senseless, and ignore what they are doing." And while they were saying, "If You are the Son of God, save Yourself," He was striving to save those who were insulting, mocking, and reviling Him. "Forgive them," He says, "this sin; for they know not what they do." What then? Did He forgive them the sin? He forgave those who wished to show repentance. And if He had not forgiven them the sin, Paul would not have become an apostle; if He had not forgiven them the sin, three thousand and five thousand, and those many myriads of Jews, would not have believed later. For hear what James says to Paul in Jerusalem: "You see, brother, how many myriads there are of those of the Jews who have believed" (Acts 21:20). Let us therefore imitate the Master, I beseech you, and pray for our enemies. What I advised yesterday, I again advise today; knowing the greatness of this righteous deed, imitate your Master; He was being crucified, and He interceded for those who were crucifying Him. And how, you say, can I imitate the Master? If you wish, you can; if it were not possible, He would not have said: "Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29); if it were not possible for a man, Paul would not have said: "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). But you do not wish to imitate the Master? Imitate your fellow servant, I mean Stephen, who first opened the doors of martyrdom; he imitated the Master. For just as the Master, hanging amidst those who were crucifying Him, interceded for those who were crucifying Him, so too the servant, being amidst those who were stoning him, hit by all, and receiving the snow-fall of stones, letting go of the pains arising from these, said: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). Do you see how the Son speaks, and how the servant prays? He says: "Father, forgive them this sin; for they know not what they do"; the latter says: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And that you may know that he does this earnestly, he did not pray simply, nor merely as a formality, nor while standing, but having knelt, with compunction, with much sympathy. Do you wish that I show you another fellow servant praying a greater prayer for his enemies? Hear the blessed Paul saying this; for after recounting how much he had suffered, that "Five times I received forty stripes save one from the Jews, thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck" (2 Cor. 11:24, 25); and having enumerated the whole string of events and the plots which he endured from them day by day, he himself says: "I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites" (Rom. 9:3). Do you wish to see others, not from the New Testament, but also from the Old, doing this same thing? For this is what is most wondrous, when those who were not commanded to love their enemies, but to cast out "eye for eye, and tooth for tooth" (Exod. 21:24, 25), and to defend themselves with equal measures, reach the apostolic peak. Hear then what Moses says, who was many times pelted with stones by the Jews: "If You will forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of the book which You have written" (Exod. 32:31, 32). Do you see each of the righteous placing the safety of others before his own salvation? Do you see how he does not feel the lack of success, nor ask why you wish to share in their punishment, since you indeed have not sinned? ^B It is possible to see also another making such a prayer. For I produce many examples on purpose, so that even thus we might correct ourselves and banish this grievous disease of ours, I mean wishing evil upon our enemies. Hear also the blessed David, when, God having been provoked and having sent an angel to punish the multitude, he sees the angel holding the naked sword and being about to bring the plague; what does he say? "I, the shepherd, have done evil, and these, the sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand be upon me, and upon the house of my father" (2 Reg. 24:17). Do you see again the kindred righteous deeds? Do you wish that I show you another doing this? Samuel the prophet was insulted by the Jews, treated with contempt, dishonored, so that God even wished to console him. Attend, I beseech you, with precision. For God said to him: "They have not treated you with contempt, but Me" (1 Reg. 8:7). What then [did] he who was treated with contempt, who was dishonored, who was despised, who was insulted [say]? Hear what he says: "Far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you" (1 Reg. 12:23). He considered it a sin not to pray for one's enemies. "Far be it from me," he says, "to sin in such a way as not to pray for you." Do you see each of the righteous, how much care he took for this righteous deed, following the Master? Let us see then from the beginning the things said. The Master says: "Father, forgive them the sin; for they know not what they do." Stephen said: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Paul says: "I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites."

^A (Rom. 9. 3)." Moses in like manner: "If you will forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of the book which you have written (Exod. 32. 32)." David says: "Let your hand be upon me and upon my father's house." Samuel in like manner: "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord, by ceasing to pray for you (1 Reg. 12. 23)." What pardon, then, shall we obtain hereafter, when both those from the New and those from the Old Testament all urge us to this, that we should pour forth prayers for our enemies, if we do not strive to perform this with all zeal and diligence? Let us not, therefore, delay, I beseech you; for the more examples that abound, the greater is the punishment that will hang over us if we are unwilling to imitate ^B them. For it is a much greater thing to pray for enemies than for friends; and the prayer for friends does not bring us as much benefit as the prayer for one's enemies. Hear Christ saying: "If you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same (Matth. 5. 46)?" If, therefore, we pray for our friends, we have not yet become better than the tax collectors; but when we love our enemies and pray for our enemies, we are made like unto God, as far as human nature allows. "For you shall be," he says, "like your Father who is in heaven, because he makes his sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and rains upon the just and the unjust (Matth. 5. 45)." Since, therefore, examples are provided for us by both the Lord and His servants, let us emulate them and in deed itself perform this virtue; so that we may also be ^C counted worthy to attain the kingdom of heaven, and may approach this fearful table with greater boldness, having cleansed our own conscience, and may attain the promised good things, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and honor, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen. ^D