Paschal Homilies 1 part 12/28

'For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.' And that he will also come, according to the Scriptures, and will render to each according to his work, setting the divine tribunal before all, is in no way doubtful.

In view of all these things, we quite fittingly celebrate the feast so brightly, no longer living for ourselves according to the divine Scripture, but for Christ who bought us all.

Come then, let us bow our necks to him, and be strong for every good work, keeping the purity of the body, refusing the pollution of the soul;

holding fast to love for one another;

remembering the poor, and those in bonds, as being bound together with them;

remembering also those who are mistreated, as being ourselves also in the body.

For then, then indeed, being pure, shall we in purity complete this all-holy fast: beginning the holy forty days from the nineteenth of the month Mechir, and the week of the saving Pascha from the twenty-fourth of the month Phamenoth, dissolving the fasts on the evening of the twenty-ninth of the same month, deep in the night, according to the evangelical tradition, and celebrating on the following dawning Sunday, the thirtieth of the same month Phamenoth, then joining thereafter the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost, according to the ordinance of the divine law.

For thus, being made perfect by right faith and good works, we shall inherit the kingdom of heaven in Christ, unto the ages of ages.

'It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.' For to be subjected to the law, and to be trained by the ordinances that come through Christ -- how could one not greatly admire this, counting it among the very highest of all glories? For virtue, beloved, is indeed a precious and estimable possession;

and I think that, among all the things admired in this life, it would rank among the best, at least in the judgment of those accustomed to think rightly.

One might praise, and most fittingly so, the man who is decent and orderly, if, in order to fulfill countless labors for its sake, he should be willing and most industrious, and full of the best zeal of all;

and loves to bravely overcome hesitation and cowardice and all sloth, considering nothing to be steep or hard to traverse, but the rough path very smooth to tread, and whatever might be difficult to practice, quite easy to accomplish.

just as those who have practiced a skill -- whether the one honored in the wrestling-schools and in the gymnastic exercises befitting the cities, or that renowned in battle, and unassailable to those who attempt to oppose it -- hasten to bind upon their own heads the most splendid glory;

how much more, then, should those whom the God-equal Word has illumined -- men eager to obtain not worldly cheer nor a prosperity measured by time, but, as the most wise Paul said, an unshakable kingdom of heaven -- look with contempt upon the brief labors of this present life, and not seek release at a time when it is not fitting, even though Paul cries out most clearly and plainly:

'The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.'

'For the earnest expectation of creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the glory of the children of God.' That, then, the end of the most law-abiding life comes to rest in a most glorious hope, the divine oracle shall assure us:

'For of good labors,' it says, 'the fruit is also glorious.' But what occurs to me to marvel at is this:

For if one of our enemies were caught attempting to take away from us so bright a glory, we would quite reasonably raise no small outcry, as being deprived of the very best of all things, and as regarding the injury as intolerable.

But since nothing hinders us from being seen as glorious, how could it not be among the most absurd things, that while grieved at the ill-treatment received from others we find it unbearable, and are seen to be burdened with such bitter slanders, yet we of our own accord drag down upon our own heads the loss of good things, and by a willful inclination of mind utterly ruin our own life?

It is, then, a time for care, beloved, for sobriety and self-control, and for all-pure fasting;

for the season now unfolds it for us, and brings it at last to the door.

Therefore, following the ordinances of the Law, and all but lifting up the trumpet most fitting for those who have received the lot of the priesthood, we have hastened to sound forth a great and piercing proclamation, like a most clear-ringing blast, signaling to all everywhere that it is 'time to act for the Lord,' according to what is written — a time of contests and labors, and of victory over the passions both bodily and of the soul.

And a divine and sacred Writing sharpens us on to this proclamation, running thus and saying:

But if you go out to war in your land against the adversaries who oppose you, and you sound with the trumpets, over the whole burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings — it shall be to you a remembrance before your God.

'I am the Lord your God.' Since, then, especially at this present time, the ordinance of the fast persuades us that we must wage war against the flesh and the passions, come, let us bravely fit ourselves with the fitting weapons, and clothe ourselves with the whole spiritual armor.

Let Christ's soldier, then, come forward to the contest — not armored with gleaming iron, not raising a fearsome crest, not brandishing a bronze-wrought shield and spear, but rather, as the inspired Paul says, having put on the whole armor of God: faith, hope, and love, and endurance, steadfastness in what is good; a spirit youthful and unbreakable, and a heart not easily shaken but rather unswerving and firmly set, unwarlike toward brethren, yet skilled in war against adversaries.

For this, I think, is what is rightly declared through the voice of the prophet:

'Let the gentle be a warrior.' For let no one suppose that the bitter host of the demons will grow quiet, or that Satan will cease his fury against us,

And it has indeed been said somewhere to the Jews:

...growing still greater and worse, and now advancing to the very summit of all wickedness;

but against those, at least, who have chosen to do good and to take pride in the achievements of righteousness, they rise up as the most hostile of foes, deploying against them the cruelty inherent in their own perversity.

For it is not blood and flesh that fight against us, but the utterly grievous and apostate multitude of demons; and besides these, also the law of the flesh's movements — a law innate indeed, yet untamed — which drags us the other way and forces us toward what seems good to it, raising a stiff neck against the Spirit.

For the two mindsets are opposed to one another;

and they are set far apart in their contrary dispositions.

And it seems to me that the souls of the unholy suffer something similar to what might well happen to certain cities or lands, upon which war is proclaimed from without by the neighboring barbarians;

while within the gates there is no peace either, but an inbred strife devours those within;

and that which might scarcely have prevailed over the enemy outside, had it possessed any concord, is shattered by itself, torn apart by its own dissensions.

That there is indeed no small difference of wills seen within us, the inspired Paul will testify, saying:

'For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man;

but I see another law warring against the law of my mind, and taking me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.'

But someone, I suppose, might say this and, even while I am speaking, inquire further:

'What then, my good sir? Must we lay down our arms and yield the victory to the enemy without a fight, and bow our necks as under the harshest of masters, knowing that to fight is perilous, and be forced to serve the flesh and the demons, having given up on salvation?' By no means!

for this is mere nonsense, and nothing else.

Away with such ill counsel, O man!

Turn your mind instead to the taking up of courage;

and even if you hear that the nature of the flesh has a disposition somewhat more inclined toward pleasures, do not therefore bind up your resistance;

for it is overcome by quite small labors; and if you see it stirred and sharpened in opposition to the wishes of the Spirit, cast off idleness at once, and, imitating the best of athletes, strip for the contest again with greater fervor;

and, fitted with the weapons of purity, show it the labor that comes from ascetic discipline, and the law of sin will flee away in rout, and at once you will see fleeing as a runaway the very thing you thought impossible to capture.

In this way the inspired Paul also waged war against the desires of the flesh, saying:

'I pommel my body and bring it into subjection, lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.' For those whose skill lies in that art turn the high-necked horse by means of bridles onto a well-trained course,

and the leaders of naval crews, by turning the rudders, guide the merchant ships to run a straight course.

But a sober and well-approved mind is by no means fickle, nor easily swayed by the deceits of reasonings,

but, standing firm as it were upon itself, and blamelessly established, it disciplines the flesh by the labors of ascetic practice, so that it may be willing to be subject to God;

and it makes its course through all that must be done entirely without deviation;

'For the thoughts of the righteous are judgments,' according to what is written.

And it would truly be, in another sense too, without excuse to be weak in self-control,

for it is not merely the way of gentleness that will prevail over the flesh, but rather that which caused division within it has already been put to death, and has been abolished through Christ.

And again the disciple of the Savior will explain both the force of this innate conflict and the manner of its mortification.

'So then, I myself with my mind serve the law of God;

but with my flesh, the law of sin.'

'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh.'

'For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death.' And again:

'God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.' Since, then, the flesh has been put to death, so far as concerns the matter of desire, so to speak;

for indeed it is granted to those who are willing to conquer;

'We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh,' as it is written.

'For if we live according to the flesh, we shall die;

but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, we shall live.'

'For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.' It follows fittingly to consider that it is truly shameful and ridiculous for those who have already arrived at, and been called to, such glory — so as to have obtained the dignity of adoption — to be seen as slaves of the flesh, rather than to be, as they ought, noble guardians of virtue, so that they might also preserve safe the glory they have found.

For it is not possible, it is not possible, on the day of judgment, to shake off the blame for one's indolence by foolishly saying that:

since Christ refutes us, as it were, and the law of liberty all but compels an outcry against our own excuses.

Let, then, the trainer of the saints expound, and let him teach us the wrestling-holds against the flesh, writing thus:

'I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, your reasonable service; and do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good and perfect and well-pleasing will of God.' And indeed, in addition to this, the wise John says, 'Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world.'

'If anyone loves the world, the love of God is not in him.'

'For all that is in the world — the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life —

is not of the Father, but is of the world.'

'And the world passes away, and the desire thereof;

but he who does the will of God abides forever.' Surely, then, one would be devoid of sound sense if it should seem to him more profitable to abandon the better things and count them as nothing, choosing instead what proves to be both laughable and measured by a brief span of time.

For if someone, setting lead beside gold, bade us choose whichever we thought fit, would we not, letting go the one that is deemed of scarcely any worth at all, without delay assent that we must prevail toward what is incomparably superior — and would we not be judged, both by ourselves and by others, to have counseled most excellently? How then is it not utterly absurd, and altogether foolish, that in perishable materials and earthly matters we exercise such great discernment and just judgment, but in the goods of the soul — though it is especially necessary to examine with precision the natures of things — we are seen so slack, so negligent in the pursuit of what is fitting, that we either have no knowledge at all of what is profitable, or, knowing it, we overlook it; and toward that which is by nature always beneficial we take little or no account whatsoever, while leaping after the more shameful things? Come, then, let us show ourselves superior to the most abominable love of the flesh, and let us deem virtue — our fellow traveler — worthy of our foremost zeal, shaping our whole life toward every kind of good work.

For the mind, not tyrannized by wrath, having practiced the calm serenity that comes from gentleness,

for, 'he who restrains his wrath is better than one who takes a city,' according to what is written.

And indeed, in this respect too, the moderation we are speaking of shows itself most vigorous, being unconquered by unjust or superfluous gains;

considering freedom from love of money to be an undistracted righteousness, and preferring voluntary poverty to the anxiety that comes from wealth;

'Having food and covering, let us be content with these.'

'But those who desire to be rich fall into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and destruction.' Let, then, the pursuit of superfluous things be done away with;

let it be cast off, as some say, as onto a mountain or into a wave, and let the use of what is truly necessary — I mean, plain food and inexpensive garments — be set before the desire for more; for these are most easily obtained, and their acquisition brings no trouble at all.

And in addition to all these good things, let the law of brotherhood in Christ also be honored, and let the ordinance of love for one another prevail.

For, 'love is the fulfillment of the law,' according to what is written.

And we say that the fruit of love is to have compassion on those who are in want, and stand in need of the necessities of life.

For do not say within yourself, O man:

I have come to know him who is God and Lord by nature and in truth;

I have returned from the nets of the devil and from demonic deceit;

I have washed away the offenses of idolatry.

There remains to me the boast of good will.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but has no works? Can that faith save him? For if a brother or sister among you is naked and lacking daily food, and one of you says to them:

Be warmed and be filled,

yet you do not give them the things the body needs, what good is that? Or do you not know—or rather, are you unable to understand—that it befits believers to submit to the divine laws without delay?

For against a barbarian, banished from our lands and cities and wholly without a share in our customs and laws, no one, I think, would justly bring a charge of transgression, provided he were sensible;

but he might reasonably, and not without cause, blame those reared in cities and under laws, should any of them happen to fall short of what is fitting.

Therefore, for those who have not yet gained good repute in reasoned discourse, and for whom the matter is admittedly a hazardous one, it will nevertheless remain possible to shed the grounds of accusation, since not having been trained by the divine laws affords them a not implausible plea.

But for those who have chosen to believe, disobedience and unruliness are in no way excusable.

And to renounce servitude by casting off the divine yoke—how is that not utterly grievous? Let, then, the boasts that come from works be yoked together with faith;

as the Savior says, 'Let us become compassionate, just as your heavenly Father is compassionate.'

For judgment is merciless to the one who has shown no mercy, and mercy exults over judgment. And it is no difficult matter for us to show you, even from the sacred Scriptures themselves, both the rewards of mutual love and the condemnation that falls on its opposite.

For the blessed Job is admired when he says of himself:

'The powerless were never denied whatever need they had;

I did not let the widow's eye waste away with weeping;

and if I ate my morsel alone, and did not share it with the orphan—

and if I looked with indifference upon one perishing naked, and did not clothe him—

if the poor did not bless me, and their shoulders were not warmed by the shearing of my lambs—

if I raised my hand against the orphan, trusting that I had abundant support—

then let my shoulder fall away from its socket, and let my arm be broken from the elbow.'

Condemned, and subject to inescapable punishment, is the rich man in the Gospels, of whom the Savior says:

'There was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day.'

'And a certain poor man named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table;

but even the dogs came and licked his sores.'

'And it came to pass that the poor man died, and was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham.'

'And the rich man also died and was buried.'

'And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham, and Lazarus in his bosom, and he cried out and said:

...that he might dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.'

'Child, remember that you received your good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise received bad things;

but now he is comforted here, while you are in torment.' And if we must say something brief on these matters:

the rich man's garments were exceedingly fine and dyed purple, and here and there, perhaps, even interwoven with gold;

his house was resplendent, surpassing, I think, even wonder, and able to kindle madness through envy;

there was no small multitude of finely dressed servants, and carpets of every kind spread even upon the very floors;

cupbearers, cooks, and bakers, skilled and refined in their craft;

a table ever laden with food.

But there was, no doubt, also a swarm of flatterers hanging on the rich man's tongue, swearing that it was the finest thing of all should he choose to admire even the most absurd of things, and quick to disparage—even virtue itself—the moment he disparaged it.

As for the god-hated and ever-fading debauchery—I mean the revels, the applause, the songs sung over the table, and the dances of the flute-girls—what need is there even to speak of them? For I think it fitting that these be passed over in silence, since even one who merely calls them to mind would come away not unscathed.

But the other man was thrice-wretched and poor, unclothed, homeless, bereft of any to care for him, and lacking in bodily strength, the whole aim of his desire fixed on procuring bare necessities, and measuring the breadth of his prosperity by the smallest of things.

For he thought that his hope and prayer would reach their fulfillment if only he might obtain a share of bread and rags.

The account of the gospel parable records that he had fallen into such extremity of misery that he even lay down with foul-smelling dogs, and had them alone as companions, most gladly welcoming their attentions—when, thrusting out their gluttonous tongues upon him, they were bent on providing him that very remedy for wounds which, by nature's own laws, they would likewise have devised for themselves, bestowing it now upon Lazarus as well.

But that high-minded and boastful man took none of this into account;

for he was hard-hearted and unfeeling, and though pity was called for, he considered it a burden, and, thrusting it away with no regard for God, called it an idle encumbrance to let fall even one tear of gentleness upon the irremediable misfortunes of the suffering man;

he thought that Lazarus differed in no way from refuse,

was on a level with those in tombs, loathsome and detested, and worthy of no consideration whatsoever.

He ought surely to have reflected wisely that the author and craftsman of our nature has not granted one avenue into being for the rich, and another for those in want;

but the deposit from father into mother is equal for all, and the birth-pangs and manner of bringing forth are no different, and indeed the body itself comes to be through the same forms;

and we are all alike encompassed by one heaven;

we are all honored by the light of one sun, which does not pour out a better and brighter beam upon those made more conspicuous by wealth, nor illumine those in want any less than it does the rich.

Nature, then, knows no such corruption, nor indeed does God, the author of the coming-to-be of all things; rather, this has been additionally contrived by human greed.

But surely there was, perhaps, nothing to prevent him, through what we have just said, from aiming well at the divine intention itself,

and letting our affairs run their course as with a fair wind, governed toward equality by the bond of love.

For he who apportioned all the goods of nature equally, and honored no one with surplus or abundance, how would he not have wished to banish the greed found among others, and to establish those who have as stewards, so to speak, of those in want, so that those thus benefited might be able to share in a measure of glory and in delight everlasting? But something has very nearly slipped past my mind, which it is good to add to what has been said.

While Lazarus was in the midst of those hardships and overtaken by death, it came to pass that he removed from things human,

and was carried away by angels into the bosom of Abraham;

whereas the other man—often called better than Lazarus—having succumbed to the laws of nature and entered the snare of death, was shut up in deep darkness,

and in exchange for the good things on earth received the judgment in Hades, about to pay the penalty for his lack of tender affection.

But perhaps some of those listening might say this:

'What arguments, then, will you use, if someone should come up and inquire eagerly, saying:

"If poverty in itself has bound upon itself the crown of piety toward God, and has been honored by the law of righteousness, while wealth is accursed and has drawn upon itself a bitter sentence—

how could this be so?"' Yet this must be examined:

for wealth in this life is somehow always attended by, and yoked together with, no small number of improprieties, for the most part;

the rich man is more ready for disdain, unrestrained in greed, and overcome by pleasures to the very degree that he is overcome by luxury.

But the one worn down by poverty—how could he fall prey to any of the things just mentioned? He is forever lamenting that he possesses nothing, and is troubled and groans within himself;

and he is removed as far from pleasure as he is from luxury;

and he is wholly absorbed in the care of gathering some small thing, and finding modest relief for his need.

In addition to all this, I think it necessary to say this also: that each person's character, having power to turn the nature of each thing to whatever it wishes, causes it to be numbered either among base things or among things admired.

And just as one might say that the fine hues from dyes take on the appearance of whatever they are applied to, so too is the character of the one handling a matter in relation to the natures of things.

Therefore I shall say without hesitation that the one who manages poverty with prudence is best of all.

For if a man, content with scant means, and having obtained with sweat that which is, so to speak, the easiest of all things to acquire, offers up prayers of thanksgiving;

how could he not be worthy of this, and most fittingly praised—having necessity as his counselor toward baseness, yet so greatly honoring the law of self-control that he was found altogether guiltless of any wrongdoing? But the man conspicuous for abundance of wealth, how would he not be held to account, and most justly so, if, though it was possible for him to have the God of all well-disposed toward him by pitying others, granting a little to those in need, and thereby somehow rising above and swimming clear of unremitting misfortune, he instead made his transient riches the servant of his own pleasure alone? Therefore Lazarus was amid unexpected delights;

while the rich man, unaccustomed to it, was in flame and scourges.

If, then, someone had come to him at that very moment and spoken, and asked to learn for how much money he would wish to purchase his escape from punishment, setting aside the choice of the better thing, would he not most readily and most emphatically have declared that he would give up his whole estate for this? And to whom among all beings would this be doubtful? It is unwise, then, and altogether foolish, to wait to learn by experience the terrors to come, when it is possible for those who wish it to keep their foot outside the snare and outside compulsion.

And if our worship stands on better footing than that of the Jews, how is it not utterly evident to all that no one would seem to have judged well who thought it unnecessary to surpass, by excelling toward the better, what was observed among them? For this very reason the Savior himself said to us:

'Amen, amen I say to you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' What, then, did the law given through Moses proclaim to those of Jerusalem, persuading them through type and shadow to honor equality toward their brethren? While running through that vast wilderness, and having come into want of food—on account of which they raised their outcry against the all-wise Moses—and as though it were no longer possible for them to be saved, the famine prevailing, they were already rehearsing the funeral dirge;

and as though they had slipped from every hope, they said:

'Would that we had died, struck down in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread to the full!'

while Moses had absolutely nothing he could do or say in response to this;

but having taken courage again toward hope in God alone, the fulfillment of what they had expected showed itself as the cause thereof, without any delay.

For the Lord said to him:

'This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat;'

'This is the word which the Lord has commanded:'

'Gather of it, each one, according to what is fitting, an omer per head, according to the number of your persons.'

'Each of you gather for those in your own tents.'

And the sons of Israel, it says, did so, and they gathered;

and he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no lack. For the Lord of the law nowhere permitted them to gather beyond their need;

but only what was sufficient for food for that day.

But if anyone gathered in more than this, bidding the law a long farewell, the surplus was transformed into a swarm of worms;

the law thereby showing, I think, quite clearly, that the possession of what is sufficient is pleasant and blameless;

but that what is stored away and heaped up without restraint, beyond actual need, will become the cause of worms.

These, then, are the things the law set before the men of old;