Commentary on Luke 1 part 2/2

Therefore, that they might learn that those who minister the divine proclamation ought rather to be full of forbearance and gentleness, not vengeful and irascible nor savagely leaping upon those who trespass against them, they were taught this through this very rebuke.

That the ministers of the divine proclamations have indeed become forbearing, Paul will teach, saying:

Being reviled, we bless; being defamed, we entreat; we have become as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

To long for the gifts that come from above and from God is a thing truly worth acquiring, and would prove to be the procurer of every good.

Yet the Lord of all, though rich in gifts, does not bestow them simply upon all indiscriminately, but rather upon those who would be worthy to receive.

If, then, anyone wishes to be deemed worthy of such rewards, let him rid his own soul of the defilements and blameworthy things that lead to baseness;

but the one who is not so minded, let him depart far off.

And this the power of the evangelical words set before us will teach us.

For someone approached, saying to Christ the Saviour of us all:

But He would not admit the man, saying that the foxes have holes, but that He Himself has nowhere to lay His head.

How, then, does He send away one who was eager for this, if indeed following Him is the procurer of every good? For He said that the one who follows Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

What, then, do we say to these things? This was not that man's aim.

And this it is possible to see, for those who attend accurately, that first the approach has much that is undisciplined, and then that it is full of the utmost shamelessness;

For he did not seek simply to follow Christ, as also many others of the Jewish multitude did, but rather he leapt upon the apostolic dignities and sought to possess this following, and was self-invited to it, even though the blessed Paul writes that no one takes the honour to himself, but only when called by God, as also was Aaron and the divinely-inspired disciples.

And in yet another way He justly made him one to be sent away;

to die to the world, that is, to renounce the vain distractions of the present life;

for the friendship of the world is enmity with God.

The man being such, He reproves obliquely, not so much reproaching as correcting him, that he might become better than himself.

The foxes have holes, and so forth.

Now the simpler and more obvious sense of what has been said is something like this: that both the beasts and the birds have their lairs and lodgings, but I am not yet able to escape the troublings that come from many;

for I have nowhere to lodge and rest and lay down my head.

But the meaning hidden within comes through deeper thoughts.

For it seems that by foxes and birds of heaven He calls the wicked and crafty and adverse powers, that is, the herds of demons;

for they are so called in many places by the God-inspired Scripture.

For the blessed psalmist said concerning certain ones:

And in the Song of Songs it is written:

Catch us the little foxes that spoil the vineyards—for the great ones, evidently, had escaped.

And Christ Himself somewhere says concerning Herod:

And He said somewhere also concerning the seeds cast into the ground, that the birds of heaven came and devoured them.

And we do not say that He is speaking these things concerning perceptible and visible birds, but rather concerning unclean and wicked spirits.

When, therefore, foxes and birds have their holes and lodgings within us, how shall Christ come? And where shall He rest? What fellowship has light with darkness? For He lodges among those who love Him, but shuns the profane.

But another comes, not a deserter following of his own accord like this one, nor rash in his promises regarding such a matter, but rather one called by Christ to apostleship, being not unsuited for this;

except that he did not yet clearly understand in what manner one must adapt oneself to such a matter.

For perhaps he had a father worn down with old age, and he seemed exceedingly pious, being eager to keep the sparing care and love owed to him.

For assuredly he knew altogether, having met with the words of the Law, that this too was of concern to the God who is over all:

Honour your father and your mother, that it may be well with you and that you may be long-lived upon the earth.

But since he was called to the sacred and evangelical ministry—for this is what the 'Follow Me' spoken by Christ to him signified—he was carried away by human reasoning and sought a postponement of time, so that he might suffice for the care of the parent in his old age.

And we by no means say that he was asking to bury his father as one already lying dead and deceased;

for Christ would not have prevented one willing to do this.

But he says 'to bury' in the sense of 'to tend in old age until burial.'

What, then, says the Saviour to him? Let the dead bury their own dead, but you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God;

for there were doubtless also other guardians and kinsmen of the father according to family, but, as I think, dead, because they had not yet believed in Christ nor been able to receive the regeneration through the Holy Spirit unto incorruptible life.

Let them, He says, bury their own dead, since they too have a dead mind, and are not yet numbered among those who have the life in Christ.

But from this it is possible to learn that piety toward God must be set before both the reverence and love owed to parents.

And indeed the law of Moses, having first said:

You shall love the Lord your God, placed second the reverence toward parents, saying:

Honour your father and your mother.

For come, let us examine among ourselves what sort of reason it is on account of which we hold in earnest esteem the honour and love toward parents.

Because through them we were begotten, one would surely say.

He brought us wholly into being, but father and mother became the ministers of the passage into being for those born of them.

Shall not, then, the first benefactor be loved more than the second ones that come after Him? It is therefore necessary that piety toward those who begot us should yield to the love toward God, and that human things should come after the divine.

And this also the Saviour Himself taught us, saying:

He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me.

He therefore permits the loving of those who begot us, only not above Himself.

For this reason too, having said to the disciple that he ought rather to follow closely, but leaving the burying of the dead to others, He taught that the things concerning us should fittingly be cast behind the love toward God, since even the things of God are greater than the reverence toward parents;

for He Himself is the author of birth and the maker of all things.

It is therefore necessary for us, if we are to follow Christ, to hold nothing more precious than Him, but whatever runs together with this to pursue and do, and whatever works against it to decline and flee; and if some activity moderately partaking of the good, yet able to be accomplished through others, this we should hand over to those others, while we ourselves cleave to the greater and nobler.

At any rate one may see that even the holy apostles let go of a need still greater than this—the care for the poor—for the sake of the ministry of the word, yet not letting go of it in such a way as not also to make provision for this.

But both the lesser was managed—the ministry concerning the tables—and the greater was not hindered—the proclamation of the message.

The promise is worthy of emulation and full of all praise.

But to seek to bid farewell to those in his house shows that he is somehow divided and does not yet walk toward this with a steadfast mind.

For to wish altogether to consult with one's kinsfolk according to family, and to have as counsellors those who have not chosen to think the same things as he, nor have on occasion approved of it, would at once declare the purpose in this matter to be still somehow weak and limping.

Wherefore also he hears, more in rebuke than in teaching, the words: No one who has put his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

For just as the husbandman who has begun the cleaving of the ground with the ploughs, when he shrinks from the whole labour that remains, will not see the earth abounding with ears of grain, nor the threshing-floor full of sheaves, but will incur laughter from those who look on; so, if anyone should choose to follow Christ, yet still delay, having bid farewell to the affairs in the world.

But having renounced also his kinsfolk according to the flesh, this man will accomplish that good courage which is praiseworthy in all things, and will be fit for the kingdom of God.

But he who is not such puts his hand to the plough, because he is eager to follow, yet looks back, because he makes his journey homeward and his conversation with his kinsfolk a pretext for delay and postponement.

But we shall not find the holy apostles to have been of such a kind;

for they had heard Jesus saying,

'And they,' it says, 'immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him.'

And the all-wise Paul also writes,

'But when it pleased God to reveal His Son in me, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood.'

Such ought they to be who wish to follow Christ.

The reason for the sending forth of the seventy is this:

the multitude of those who were to believe in Him was destined to be great;

for not Israel alone was being drawn in as with a net, but also the flocks of the Gentiles.

For that the saving proclamation was destined to lay hold of all that is under heaven, the God of all things gave full assurance when He said concerning Him through the holy prophets,

'Judgment shall spring up like couch-grass upon the fallow ground of a field.'

For in the fallow, uncultivated parts of fields the couch-grass springs up, and lays hold of and spreads over every place, ever running forward; and in a manner corresponding to this the judgment—that is, the grace that justifies all that is under heaven, namely the evangelic and saving proclamation—laid hold of every city and country.

There were therefore appointed by Christ, in addition to the Twelve, others also, seventy in number.

And of this too the type was written in the words of Moses;

for at God's command he himself chose out seventy, and God sent down the Spirit upon those who had been chosen.

And in yet another way we shall find both the twelve disciples and the seventy themselves signified through the shadow of the Law.

For it is thus written in Exodus concerning the sons of Israel:

'They came,' it says, 'to Elim'—and it is interpreted as 'unto ascent,' that is, unto increase—'and there were there,' it says, 'twelve springs of waters and seventy palm trees.'

For as we ascend to a more perfect understanding and run up to spiritual increase, we shall find the twelve springs—that is, the holy apostles—and the seventy stems of palm trees, namely those manifestly appointed by Christ;

for from the disciples of our Saviour, as from holy springs, we draw the knowledge of every good thing; and we marvel also at the seventy, and say that they are, as it were, palm trees.

For this plant is stout of heart, well-rooted and fruitful, ever flourishing beside the waters, of great stature and lofty foliage.

But it was likely that some might suspect that the first had been set aside, and that these had been brought in as being able to initiate men into the mysteries better than those others.

In order therefore to shear away such suspicions from our minds, He who knows the heart and knows the things to come well-nigh even makes a defence, saying:

'The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the labourers are few,' and what follows.

For just as fields luxuriantly rich, broad and long, require many reapers, so the whole earth—that is, the multitude of those destined to believe in Christ, being great and numberless—had need of not a few to initiate them into the mysteries.

So they went, sent two by two into cities and villages, well-nigh crying aloud the words uttered through the voice of John:

'Prepare the way of the Lord.'

And yet who else could be the Lord of the harvest, that is, of those upon the earth, save Him who is by nature and truly God? For His is the whole earth and the fulness thereof, as it is written.

Then how is it that, though it befits God who is over all alone to send forth the labourers, it was Christ who appointed these? He therefore is the Master of the harvest, and through Him and with Him God the Father rules over all things.

For all things are His own, and there is nothing which the Father may be said to possess that is not also the Son's.

Wherefore, having ascribed the appointing of the reapers to the will of the Father, He forthwith declared Himself the Master of the harvest, assigning to the holy apostles the duty of initiating men into the mysteries.

'Go your way; be not dismayed at the onslaught of persecutions.'

'I will deliver you from evil; I will change the wolves into sheep;

for I do all things and transform all things, and there is nothing that withstands My will.'

And that the outcome of these matters advanced to this very end, one may see from the results themselves;

for the divine Paul was a blasphemer and an insolent man and a persecutor, and more savage than any wolf towards those who believed in Christ; yet he was called by Christ and became gentler than a sheep.

So He did not permit them even to have care for the body itself—much less did He allow them to busy themselves about the things outside the body—inasmuch as He did not permit them to concern themselves even with provisions for the journey, nor to carry anything not already placed upon the body, such as sandals, but to set all their hope upon Him.

For not only did He forbid them to carry wallet and purse, but He did not even suffer them to admit any hindrance to their zeal—He who did not permit them to be drawn aside even for the greeting of those they met; which very thing was long ago spoken by Elisha to the one who was sent, that he should proceed straight upon his errand and not even return a blessing to one who blessed him; for the turning aside to others is a loss to zeal, and to spend uselessly the time befitting the proclamation upon matters not necessary, and to bestow upon friendships the profitless delay.

O the great renown and the incomparable dignities! O the honour befitting God!

Though they were men, He clothed them with glory befitting God; He entrusts to them His own words, so that those who in any respect at all disobey them become liable to judgment.

For when they are rejected, He maintains that He Himself suffers this, and through Himself He refers the charges of impiety even up to the Father.

And in yet another manner it is possible to attend to the force of the words spoken by Christ.

'For he that heareth you,' He says, 'heareth Me.'

He gives to those who love learning boldness to be confident that whatever might be said concerning Him by the holy apostles, or rather the evangelists, this is by all means to be received;

for he who hears them hears Christ.

And indeed the blessed Paul says,

'Since ye seek,' he says, 'a proof of Christ speaking in me.'

And moreover Christ Himself said somewhere to the holy disciples:

'It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.'

For Christ speaks in them through the consubstantial Spirit.

An inescapable sentence therefore hangs over the unholy heretics, who set at nought the words of the holy apostles and evangelists;

It has been said that He sent them, having rendered them illustrious by the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that they might not be disbelieved by any, nor be thought to be self-appointed deserters unto the apostolate;

for since the divine sign followed upon the word, no form of calumny could have prevailed against them.

The grace of the Spirit therefore bore witness to those sent forth, that they were not self-summoned or deserters as regards the duty of speaking the things concerning Christ, but rather had been ordained ministers of the proclamations concerning Him.

Moreover they received authority both to rebuke the evil spirits and to be able to crush Satan—not that they themselves might rather be admired, but that through them Christ might be glorified and be believed by those initiated into the mysteries to be by nature both God and Son of God, so great in glory and might and pre-eminence that He could even grant to others to have Satan beneath their feet.

And those who had been counted worthy of such grace returned, it says, rejoicing and saying:

'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Thy name.'

For they confess the authority of Him who had honoured them; yet they seem to rejoice, not because they had rather become ministers of the proclamations concerning Him and had been deemed worthy of apostolic prerogatives, but because they had become workers of signs.

This from some quarter—but rather that they might not, when preaching, be disbelieved.

It would therefore have been better for them to be seen rejoicing over those who had been caught in the net through them, even as the all-wise Paul takes pride in those called through him, saying:

But they said nothing of such things, and rejoice only in being able to crush Satan.

And what does Christ say to this? 'Yea,' He says, 'I have not been ignorant of this;

for armed as it were by My nods, ye have conquered Satan.

I beheld him falling as lightning from heaven'—that is, brought down from on high to earth, from glory to dishonour, from great strength to utmost weakness.

For before the sojourning of the Saviour he held sway over all that is under heaven; he was worshipped by all; everywhere were temples and altars and sacrifices;

but when the only-begotten Word of God came down from the heavens, that one fell like lightning;

for he who had all the deceived as his worshippers has been placed beneath the feet of those who worship Him.

But why, O Master, dost Thou not permit those who have been honoured to exult in the honours that come from Thee? And yet it is written concerning those appointed unto the apostolate:

'Lord, in the light of Thy countenance shall they walk, and in Thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted; for Thou art the boast of their strength, and in Thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.'

How then hast Thou commanded them in these matters not to rejoice over the honour and glory given by Thee? What then shall we say to this? Christ raises them up to something greater and bids them make that their boast—I mean the fact that their names are written in the heavens.

For it is said concerning the saints before God:

'And in your book shall they all be written.'

First of all, let us examine what is meant by 'He rejoiced in the Spirit.'

For the Holy Spirit proceeds as from a fountain from God the Father, yet is in no way alien to the Son;

for all the distinctive property of the Father inheres in the Word who is by nature and truly begotten of Him.

He beheld, therefore, through the working of the Spirit which He had given to those who were worthy—those whom He also commanded to perform the sacred office of the divine proclamation—that many had been caught as in a net; He saw wondrous signs accomplished through them, and He saw that the salvation which comes through Him, that is, the salvation through faith, was now in its beginnings throughout all that is under heaven.

And for this reason He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, that is to say, over the works and powers wrought through the Holy Spirit.

Knowing well that those sent forth by Him had profited many, and that they before all others had, through this very experience, come to know His glory, He was filled with gladness, that is to say, with exultation.

For as one who is good and loving toward mankind, and who wills that all men should be saved, He made the conversion of those who had gone astray an occasion of gladness.

For it is customary for the God-inspired Scripture to take the word 'confession' in some such sense as this.

It is written, then: 'Let them give thanks, O Lord, to your great name.'

'I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.'

'But look,' say those perverted in mind, 'the Son gives thanks to the Father;'

'then how is He not less than He?' To this one of those well versed in shielding the doctrines of truth might reply:

'And what hinders, O most excellent ones, the consubstantial Son from acknowledging and praising His own Father, who through Him saves all that is under heaven? But if you suppose that because of the confession He is among those inferior to the Father, consider also what follows:'

for He calls the Father 'Lord of heaven and earth.'

Since God rules over all things, assuredly together with Him the Son also holds dominion over all and is above all—not as one lesser or of a different essence, but as God from God, crowned with equal glories, and possessing in essence equality with Him in every single respect.

For indeed the Master blessed the disciples, and after going forward a little was taken up into heaven, that He might sit enthroned with the Father even together with the flesh that had been united to Him.

And this He Himself foretold to us, speaking thus to the Father:

Therefore the ascension and return of the Son—His being taken up from earth—came about so that He might be in that glory which was first, in the beginning, and existing before all things.

And this way He inaugurated for us, the Word having come to be in human form.

And in due seasons He will come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels, and will take us up together with Himself.