Homilies on Romans 5 part 2/2

For fearful is that judgment seat, dreadful is the tribunal, the reckonings are full of trembling, a river of fire is dragged along;

A brother does not redeem; shall a man redeem? For call to mind the things spoken in the Gospel: the angels running to and fro, the bridal chamber shut, the lamps not quenched, the powers dragging men into the furnaces.

And consider this too: that if some hidden deed of any one of us were brought into the midst today before the Church alone, how much rather would he pray to perish and for the earth to open beneath him, than to have so many witnesses of his wickedness!

What then shall we suffer at that time, when before the whole world all things shall be brought into the midst, in so bright and conspicuous a theatre, with both those known and those unknown to us beholding all things? But alas, from where am I compelled to strike fear into you? From men's opinion, when I ought to do this from the fear of God and from a man's own self-condemnation. For what shall we be then, tell me, when we are bound and, our teeth gnashing, are led away into the outer darkness? Or rather, what shall we do—which is more fearful than all—when we have offended God? For if anyone has any sense and understanding, he has already endured hell itself when he is cast out from the sight of God;

but since this does not pain us, for this reason He threatened fire.

For indeed we ought to grieve, not when we are punished, but when we sin.

Hear, at any rate, Paul lamenting and bewailing over sins for which he was not about to pay any penalty.

For I am not worthy, he says, to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church.

Hear too, at any rate, David—delivered from the punishment, but, since he thought he had offended God, calling down the vengeance upon himself and saying:

Let Your hand be against me, and against the house of my father.

For to offend God is more grievous than to be punished.

But now we are so wretchedly disposed that, if there were no fear of hell, we would not even quickly choose to do any good thing.

Wherefore, even if for no other reason, for this reason at least we would be worthy of hell, in that we fear hell rather than Christ.

But not so the blessed Paul—rather the opposite.

And since we are otherwise minded, for this reason we are condemned to hell;

for if indeed we loved Christ as we ought to love, we would have known that to offend the Beloved is more grievous than hell;

but since we do not love, we do not know the greatness of this punishment.

And this is what I most bewail and lament.

And yet what did God not do in order to be loved by us? What did He not devise? What did He leave undone? We insulted Him who had done us no wrong, but had rather bestowed on us countless and unspeakable benefits; we turned away from Him who called us and drew us from every side, and not even so did He punish us, but Himself ran after us and held us fast as we fled; and we shook Him off and leapt away to the devil;

and not even so did He withdraw, but sent countless messengers to entreat us again—prophets, angels, patriarchs;

but we not only did not receive the embassy, but even insulted those who came.

Yet He did not, even for these things, cast us off in disgust; but like ardent lovers of those who are despised, He went about appealing to all—to heaven, to earth, to Jeremiah, to Micah—not that He might

burden them, but that He might make His defence concerning His own dealings; and together with the prophets He Himself also drew near to those who turned away from Him, being ready to render an account and deigning to enter into argument, and dragging those who were deaf toward everything into discourse with Him.

For My people, He says, what have I done to you? Or in what have I grieved you? Answer Me.

After all these things we killed the prophets, we stoned them, we wrought countless other evils.

What then in return for these things? No longer prophets, no longer angels, no longer patriarchs, but He sent His very Son.

The Son too was slain when He came, and not even so did He quench His love, but kindled it the more, and continues entreating even after His own Son had been slain, beseeching and doing all things for the sake of turning us to Himself.

Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating you through us;

But none of these things reconciled us.

Yet He did not even so abandon us, but abides both threatening hell and promising a kingdom, that even in this way He might draw us to Himself;

but we still remain unfeeling.

What could be worse than this brutishness? For if a man had done these things, would we not many times over have become his slaves? Yet when God does them, we turn away? Oh, the sloth!

we who live continually in sins and wickednesses, yet if ever we do even some small good, like ungrateful servants we scrutinize it with much haggling, and calculate exactly concerning the recompense, whether the deed has some reward.

And yet the reward is greater if you do it not in hope of rewards;

for to say these things and to calculate exactly is the language of a hireling rather than of a grateful servant.

For we ought to do all things for Christ's sake, not for the reward's sake;

for indeed, both hell was threatened and a kingdom promised for this very reason: that we might be loved by Him.

Let us therefore love Him as it is fitting to love;

for this is the great reward, this is kingdom and delight, this is luxury and glory and honour, this is light, this is the ten-thousandfold blessedness, which no word is able to set forth, nor mind to comprehend.

But indeed I know not how I was led into these words, bidding men who despise not even the rule and glory of the present life to despise, for Christ's sake, a kingdom;

and yet those great and noble men attained even to this measure of love.

Hear, at any rate, how Peter burns with love for Him, setting Him before both soul and life and all things;

and when he denied Him, he mourned not on account of the punishment, but because he had denied the One he longed for, which was to him more bitter than any punishment.

And all these things he displayed before the grace of the Spirit, and continually he pressed on, saying:

Where are You going? and before this, To whom shall we go away? and again, I will follow You wherever You go.

For He was all things to them, and they preferred neither heaven nor the kingdom of heaven before the One they longed for.

For You are all those things to me, he says.

And why do you marvel if Peter was so disposed? For hear too what the prophet says:

For what have I in heaven? And besides You, what have I desired upon earth? And what he means is this:

I long for nothing else, neither of the things above nor of the things below, but for You alone.

This is love, this is friendship;

if we love thus, we shall count as nothing, in comparison with that love, not only the things present, but not even the things to come, and from hence we shall reap the kingdom, revelling in His love.

And how, one asks, shall this come to pass?

If we consider how often we affront Him after receiving ten thousand blessings, while He yet stands beseeching us;

how often we run past Him, yet He overlooks it not, but runs after us, draws us on, and pulls us to Himself.

For if we reflect on these things and the like, we shall be able to kindle this longing within us.

For if he who loved thus were a man of no account, and he who was so loved were a king, would he not be ashamed at the greatness of such affection? Assuredly he would.

But when the reverse is the case—when the beauty, the glory, and the riches of Him who loves us are unspeakable, while ours is utter meanness—how are we not deserving of ten thousand

punishments, we who are so mean and abject, yet loved beyond all measure by so great and wondrous a One, and who wantonly abuse His love? He needs nothing of ours, yet not even so does He cease to love us;

while we stand in great need of what is His, and yet not even so do we cling to His love, but prefer to Him money, and the friendships of men, and bodily ease, and power, and glory—we who prefer nothing of His! For He had one only-begotten and true Son, and not even Him did He spare for our sake;

but we prefer many things to Him.

Are we not then justly deserving of hell and punishment, even were it double and triple and ten thousand times as great? For what could we say, when we prefer Satan's commands to the laws of Christ, and are careless of our own salvation, that we may prefer the works of wickedness to Him who suffered all things for us? And of what pardon are such deeds worthy? Of what defence? Of none whatever.

Let us then at last stand fast, not being borne down over the precipices; let us come to our senses again, and, having weighed all these things, let us render glory to Him through our deeds;

for it is not enough to do so by words alone;

that we may also enjoy the glory that comes from Him, which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and love toward man of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honour, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.