Homilies on the Gospel of John 30

He who comes from above is above all;

he who is of the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth.

A terrible thing is the love of glory—terrible, and laden with many evils;

it is a thorn hard to pluck out, and an untamable beast, and many-headed, arming itself against those who nourish it.

For just as the worm eats through the wood from which it is born, and rust consumes the iron whence it proceeds, and moths the wool;

so also vainglory destroys the very soul that nourishes it.

Wherefore we have need of much diligence, so as to make away with the passion.

See, then, how many things even here John chants as a charm to his disciples who are suffering from this, and with difficulty soothes them.

For, in addition to what was said before, he pours over them yet other words.

What sort of words are these? 'He who comes from above,' he says, 'is above all;'

'he who is of the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth.'

'Since,' he says, 'you turn my testimony up and down, and by it declare me to be more worthy of belief, it is necessary for you to know this: that it is not possible for one who comes from the heavens to become worthy of belief on the ground of one who inhabits the earth.'

And the phrase 'above all'—what does it mean, and what does it wish to make plain? This is it.

For through this he shows that He has need of nothing, but is sufficient for Himself, and that He is greater than all beyond comparison.

And he says that he himself is of the earth and speaks of the earth—not that he uttered things from his own understanding, but just as Christ said:

'If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe;'

so calling baptism 'earthly,' not... (it is) vain, having a name void of any reality;

but that other is true, which is from the heavens, having as its praisers not men, but angels and archangels, and the Master of the archangels—nay rather, together with Him, men also.

If you look toward that theater, if you learn of the crowns there, if you transfer yourself to the applause from thence, the things here will never be able to hold you fast, nor will you deem them great when they come, nor seek them when they are absent.

For indeed, in these royal courts, none of the spearmen who stand beside the king, forsaking to please him who wears the diadem and sits upon the throne, busies himself with the cawings of jackdaws, or with the din of flies and gnats flitting about and buzzing;

for the praises of men are disposed in no way better than these.

Knowing, therefore, the worthlessness of human things, let us gather all into the treasuries that cannot be plundered, and seek after the abiding and unshakable glory;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages that have no end. Amen.