Spiritual Homilies 1 part 7/36

'If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread' — does he in the same way make war upon the righteous, speaking words from without in order to tempt them? Answer:

Upon those not yet made perfect, Satan converses secretly with the soul from within through evil reasonings; but the more infantile ones he often deceives from without as well, appearing in certain forms, in order to snatch away their mind.

But to great men, who have cast him out from within by divine power, he appears from without, troubled and constrained, in order to unsettle and preoccupy the mind, so that it may not draw near to God.

For when the mind has been purified, it sees him both from within and from without.

And what wonder is there, since the righteous also see Christ both within and without? For what does Stephen say? 'I see the heavens opened, and the Son of God standing at the right hand of God.'

'Why do you persecute me?' And concerning the apostles it is written that they saw tongues of fire distributed among them, and the crowd standing by both saw and heard what had happened.

Since, then, the mind is the house of God, and the evil one has been cast out from it, the spiritual, on account of their utmost purity, see from within both sin and grace.

This, then, is what is sought: that the mind may live with God and be strong.

And even if the body is afflicted and utterly destroyed, the soul suffers no wrong.

For what did the flesh suffer when the tunic that clothed it was torn? And Job, struck with a grievous sore by the devil from head to foot, was he harmed at all in mind, seeing that he was strong in love and faith toward God?.. Question:

Whether in sleep there is a good vision, in the same manner as there is also one of the evil one? Answer:

For those who have grace deep within them, there is prayer at all times.

For if Satan is idle neither by day nor by night in waging war, much more does grace, both by day and by night, and even while you sleep, come to your aid.

For sometimes the body lies asleep, yet the mind is awake and lives unto God, and weeps, and beholds pleasant countenances.

Jacob, by night, saw the ladder and the angels ascending and descending, and by night he wrestled with God.

For it is written: "Your sons shall see visions, and shall dream dreams."

And to Joseph, in a vision of the night, an angel appeared, saying:

"Do not be afraid, Joseph; but arise, take the child, and flee into Egypt,

for Herod seeks to destroy it... If Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, into waters, into clouds—he who is a slave and a creature—how much more shall God, who is rich, since by his own nature he is incomprehensible (for he is light unapproachable, whom no man has seen, nor is able to see), transform himself, being changed from glory to glory, into luminous clouds, into the sun of righteousness, into pure air.

But here there is need of much discernment, so as to understand each of these occurrences.

For each substance, in its working, draws toward its own love and nature.

Satan, being material and earthly, drives the mind toward love of the world and toward foul things.

But that which works from God is heavenly, and draws the mind away from the earth and from carnal things; and it always draws the mind toward the remembrance of God, toward love, toward prayer, toward supplication, and toward mourning.

And just as leaven, mixed with flour, brings the whole lump to be leaven, so also grace is leavened together with the soul, and makes one lump.

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened.

But sometimes Satan, through the scheming of deception, displays certain bright and dazzling things, and other such like.

Since these are unpleasant and troubled, having neither longing for God, nor peace, nor patience, nor joy, the soul spits them out and is repelled by them; and it happens again that the soul considers the things that are truly brought upon it as pleasant, even if they seem to be dimmer.

And the mind trusts these more, and rejoices in them, since they carry sweetness, and a homecoming to the Lord, and a most sweet taste; whereas that other thing, though it appeared radiant, since it brings neither rest nor joy, nor does it lighten the body and the soul, in the manner that grace does, but rather weighs them down, is thereby now made manifest to be of Satan.

You see, then, that everything is a matter of the working, and from the working the mind is able to discern the visions—which is of Satan, and which is of grace. Always take account with your body and your soul:

"What are we doing in the world? Our time is short."

"For you are about to perish and depart into the tomb." Say to your soul:

"What are you doing here? Depart, flee for refuge to God, lest you be punished with eternal fire."

Concerning filthy thoughts, how they work upon the heart.

When you bend the knee for prayer, and wish to send your mind toward God, you find yourself back in your homeland, and you wrestle against the thought, and bring it back from there.

And again you wish to direct your thought toward God, and another thought has drawn you into the marketplace.

Again you force your mind back, and behold, another thought has drawn you into fornication.

Again you bring your thought back from there, and another thought has drawn you into love of money.

Again, another thought of anger has filled your heart:

You seek peace, yet meanwhile within you are full of wrath.

Again, when you draw your thought back from there, it is dragged down by the evil demons, weighing you down into sleep.

Nevertheless, do not give in, but fight against wickedness, and seek God, that he himself, coming, may accomplish the victory.

For by your own power you are not able to cleanse yourself.

For in one respect Satan is stronger than you: in the insinuating of thoughts.

We ought, then, to seek God by persevering steadfastly in prayer.

For he alone is able to bring peace to the mind of man.

And if the brothers are afflicted by certain people, they ought not to be bewildered by this.

For indeed, of old, Moses and Aaron held the priesthood; likewise Caiaphas too, holding their seat, himself persecuted and condemned the Lord.

Nevertheless, the Lord honored the priesthood, and he himself was a priest.

Likewise, the prophets too were persecuted by that very race (of priests).

Henceforth Peter succeeded Moses, inheriting the new church of Christ, the true priesthood.

For now there is a baptism through fire and Spirit, and a circumcision that takes place in the heart.

For the divine and heavenly Spirit dwells within the mind.

Yet even these, as long as they are in the flesh, are not free from care;

for on account of free will, they are in fear.

For only if the soul manages to arrive at that city of the saints can it then be without afflictions and trials.

There, there is no longer care, or affliction, or pain, or old age, or Satan, or war, but rest, joy, and peace.

And the Lord is called Salvation, because he saves the captives.

He is called Physician, because he gives heavenly and divine medicine and heals the passions of the soul, since even now these still hold dominion, in some part, over the man himself.

Jesus is King and God; and Satan is a tyrant, and an evil ruler.

For God and his angels wish to claim this man for their own, for their kingdom; likewise also the devil and his powers wish to claim this man for their own.

And the soul stands in the middle between the two natures.

So then, to whichever side the will of the soul inclines, of that side it becomes both the possession and the son.

It is as if a father were to send his son to a foreign land, where wild beasts meet him along the way.

He therefore gives him medicines and antidotes, so that if beasts or serpents should come upon him, he may apply the medicine and kill the beasts. So also let us be eager to receive the heavenly healing medicine, the antidote of life, that through it we may kill the venomous beasts of the unclean spirits.

For it is no easy matter to acquire a pure heart; only after much struggle and toil does a man acquire a pure conscience and heart, so that evil may be uprooted altogether.

For indeed it happens that grace is present in someone, yet the heart has not been purified; and for this reason those who fell, fell, because they did not believe that, even after grace, smoke and sin could still coexist within them.

Through affliction they were well-pleasing to the Lord.

Abraham, rich both according to God and according to the world, called himself earth and ashes.

Likewise, all the prophets and the apostles were mistreated, persecuted, and reviled.

He came not for his own sake, but for yours, that he might become a pattern for you.

A King, the Son of a King; God, the Son of God—behold, to what humiliation he came, taking the form of a servant.

He was God, and he himself gave healing medicines and healed those who were wounded, yet outwardly he appeared as one of the afflicted.

But do not despise his divine dignity because you see him thus outwardly humbled, like unto us.

He appeared thus for our sake, not for his own.

"Crucify him, crucify him!"—and the crowd gathered together to see how he was humbled and set at naught by all.

And just as in these visible affairs, if someone is a wrongdoer and receives sentence from the ruler, he then becomes abhorred and despised by the whole populace, so also the Lord, in the hour of the cross, as a man about to die, was utterly disparaged by the Pharisees.

Then again they spat upon his face, they placed upon him a crown of thorns, they struck him.

For it is written: "I gave my back to the scourges, and I did not turn my face away from spitting, and my cheeks to blows."

But if God descended into such great insults, sufferings, and humiliation, then you, who by nature are mire, who by nature are mortal—however much you humble yourself, you have done nothing comparable to your Master.

God humbled himself for your sake; and will you not humble yourself for your own sake, but instead be lifted up and puffed up with pride? For he came to take upon himself burdens and afflictions, and to give you his own rest;

and will you not be willing to bear labors and sufferings, that your wound may thereby obtain healing?... For few are those willing to weigh out pearls and test precious stones.

For many possess a pearl, yet because they lack the faculty of discernment, they do not know what treasure they have acquired;

but those who have discernment or understanding also know how to test counterfeit coins.

But there are others in whom grace secretly dwells and inclines them toward the good, and they do good deeds without knowing from where they are moved, since they possess it discordantly and imperceptibly.

But the prudent ought not only to say at the time of prayer, "We are praying," and then, once they rise, be idle, but they ought always to have this concern and always to pray, since the indwelling evil and the smoke and the sin that dwells with us continually gush forth like the eye of a spring, and the thoughts against the soul are never idle.

For these thoughts arise not only when you are praying, but when you attend to some necessary tasks and when you are asleep, they are always gushing forth.

So you too... possess the will always to speak against it.

You see a rich man of the world, and it at once suggests to you that he is glorious; immediately you too must speak against it:

"These things are corruptible; my concern is for that wealth which does not pass away."

It shows you a beautiful woman, and suggests desire to you; immediately say:

"This is uncleanness; behold, the tombs are full of the bones of the dead."

You see glorious things in life—buildings, cities—but you must always build up your soul spiritually and always speak against the indwelling sin, since you have the will to do so, and always pray to God.

For when you pray, what do you say? "I beseech you, I beseech you, Lord."

Say the same thing also while walking, and while eating and drinking, and never be idle.

For indeed, if the good should arrive to reach a man, prayer is never idle, but the Spirit itself always prays within him.

But this is the measure of the great and the perfect: even when they are walking or meeting with others, even then they are praying to the Lord.

"On my knees, I pray and am able to speak against sin, but when I am working or doing something else, I am not able to speak against it"—such a one is an amateur and has no discernment.

For sin is always waging war, and the mind has the power to counteract and always contend against the indwelling evil, whether one is walking, or journeying, or doing anything else.

Wherever a man's mind is bound, that thing is his god.

If you are bound to desire, or to gluttony, or to love of money, then that which has bound you is your god; for whatever a person is overcome by, to that he is also enslaved. But if, having renounced the world, you enter it again through a side window, and, having refused fleshly communion, you do not strive to have communion with the heavenly bridegroom and with the Holy Spirit, what have you gained by going out of the world? And if, having abandoned property and possessions and affairs, you do not receive another wealth in place of visible wealth, and heavenly delight in place of earthly delight, and do not yourself become a child of God in place of a child, what have you gained by renouncing? You have become foolish salt: you neither still have the things of the world, having abandoned them, nor have you acquired the heavenly and spiritual things.

Just as the pupil of the eye, though small, is able to see many things—heaven, earth, the sun—but when some small covering falls upon the pupil and overshadows it, the eye is blinded and remains in darkness, so too, if some small smoke or misty power darkens the mind, it is blinded and sees nothing; but if it shines forth again, it sees spiritual and heavenly things.

For just as the earth, when it is worked, appears fruitful, so also the earth of the heart, being worked by the Holy Spirit, is no longer left fallow.

Just as, if there is a city situated in a high place or lying on a mountain, having there great rest and much peace, wealth and treasures, and there are noble men and senators there, yet the road by which one passes to the city is narrow, having only the width of a footstep, the track of a single man's foot, and on the right is a great chasm of fire and on the left the depth of the sea—so that if the foot strays a little from the narrow path of the road, one is plunged either into the fire or into the water; but if someone, traveling safely, passes through the rough way and reaches the city, he is in rest and great wealth and much freedom from care.

So it is also with spiritual matters.

Rough is the road on which Christians travel.

For all around them is the fiery chasm of the unclean spirits.

But if they are able to overcome those spirits and pass by the fences, the ramparts of wickedness, they enter into the heavenly city, made peaceful, full of many good things and deep peace, where the spirits of the righteous have found rest.

"If, after the visitation of grace has taken place, some fall, has not Satan been shown to be far stronger? For where there is day, how can there also be night?" Answer:

It is not that grace is extinguished or grows weak, but here grace yields ground to evil, so that your free will and liberty may be tested, to see to which side you incline.

So then, by your own will you give power to evil; and likewise, by your will, drawing near to the Lord, you again prompt grace to visit you.

Is the Spirit then perhaps extinguished? No—that is unquenchable and full of light.

But you, through your own will, by being negligent and not being in accord, are extinguished from the Spirit.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were sealed.

You see that it lies within your will and within your own free power, to honor the Holy Spirit and not to grieve him.

But I say to you that even in perfect Christians, who have been taken captive and made drunk with the good, the will still remains present, whence in them too small defects are often found.

Likewise also, in one who is made drunk with evil, free will still remains present, whence many, having been tested amid countless evils, turn to the good.

Some are men of rank, and rich, and noble, and these, by their own will and choice, abandon wealth and rank and nobility, and having set them aside, put on filthy and poor garments, and dishonor instead of glory, and become afflicted and despised.

This has been left to one's own will.

But I say to you that even in the apostles, who had been made perfect in grace, the will remained present to such a degree that, had they themselves wished not to do what was pleasing to grace, grace would not have prevented them from doing what they willed.

For indeed our nature is receptive of both good and evil, and the opposing power is exhortative, not compulsive.

So then, you have free will, to incline wherever you wish.

Do you not see that Peter, great as he was, stood condemned, and Paul went and reproved him, and, great as he was, he still stood condemned? And Paul, of his own spiritual will, made a separation with Barnabas, and they parted from one another.

You who are spiritual, restore such a one, watching yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Are not even the spiritual tempted, because the will still remains present, and the enemies press upon them, so long as a man is in this age, and he cannot be entirely free of care?

"If the apostles too were able to sin, had they wished, was not grace stronger than that very will?" Answer:

They were not able to sin, for they did not even choose to, being in such light and in such grace.

Yet we do not say that grace in them was weak, but we say that grace yields ground even to those who are perfectly spiritual, that they may have will and authority to do what they wish and to turn wherever they choose.

For human nature itself is weak and has the power to turn away, even though the good is present within it.

It is as if there were some clothed in full armor, breastplate and weapons, and thus secured from within—yet is it that, because they are secured, the enemies no longer come upon them? They do come upon them; but whether to make use of the weapons and contend against the enemies and wrestle against them and carry off the prizes of victory lies within their will—or, again, their will can, even while wearing the weapons, take pleasure in and make peace with the enemy and not fight, though possessing the weapons. So too the Christians, clothed with the divine power and possessing the heavenly weapons, if they wish, take pleasure with Satan and make peace with him and do not fight.

For nature is mutable, and if one wishes, one becomes a son of Satan, and if one wishes, one becomes a son of God, because free will remains.

It is one thing for someone to speak of bread and the table, and another to eat and receive the nourishment of the bread and have all one's members strengthened.

It is one thing to speak of a most sweet drink, and another to go and draw from the very spring itself and be filled with the taste of that most sweet drink.

It is one thing to narrate about war and noble champions and warriors, and another for someone to go out into the battle line and engage the enemies, and to advance and retreat, and to give and take blows, and to carry off the prizes of victory.

It is one thing to recount words by some knowledge and understanding, and another to have, in substance and in deed and in full assurance, in the innermost man and in the mind, the treasure and the grace and the taste and the working of the Holy Spirit.

For those who speak mere words become fanciful and are puffed up by their own mind.

"For our word," he says, "and our preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."

"But the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart and unfeigned faith," from which some, having missed the mark, have made shipwreck concerning the faith.

Seek this, then, all the more:

to have the love of God in a pure heart and unfeigned faith.

To many who earnestly sought God, a door was opened, and they saw a treasure, and they went in to it, and as they were rejoicing, they said:

"We have found a treasure!"—but the doors were shut against them, and they began to cry out and mourn and seek earnestly again, saying:

"We found a treasure, and we have lost it."

Grace withdraws in accordance with its providential dispensation, so that they may seek all the more earnestly.

For the treasure is shown for no other reason than as an incentive to seeking.

"But since some say that after grace they have passed from death into life, can it be that one who is in the light still has filthy thoughts or thinks dark things?" Answer:

It is written: "Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?"

To speak plainly on this point, there are two types.

"Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

Where was he when he put on the weapons, and where is he when he fights against principalities, against powers, being in the light? And again, "so that you may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the devil."

He puts on the weapons first, and then he quenches the fiery darts of the devil.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were sealed.

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and then have fallen away..."—for indeed those who have been enlightened and have tasted do fall away.

You see that he has the will to be in accord with the Spirit, and he has the will to grieve him.

For assuredly he takes up arms, that he may go forth to war and struggle against the enemies; assuredly he has been enlightened, that he may wage war against the darkness.

Just as when someone departs from the world and his body is buried and covered over in the earth:

then this man no longer walks about or engages in business in this world, or enters into cities—for once his body has been covered under the earth, he no longer belongs to this age—so too those who have the foundation of the Lord, though appearing in the flesh in this age, are transposed in mind and heart into another age, and there they are held captive and crucified.

They are bound willingly; and unwillingly they are bound, wherever they are bound.

So then, whether they pray in the body, or do not pray—

there he is, willing and unwilling, held captive.

For he who is taken captive by another power stronger than himself is held fast and taken captive—he journeys, he eats, he sleeps.

Once he is there, where he has been transposed, he is inebriated, and is always as one struck with wonder, and lifted up on high by the extraordinary working and the contemplations of the Spirit.

But such a foundation I seek, and as yet I have not found it in a Christian, except a few out of many.

What does the Lord say in the Gospel?

The kingdom of heaven is like a wise man, who dug and went deep and laid the foundation upon the rock.

And when the flood came, and the winds, it did not fall:

for it had been founded upon the rock.

For the foundation of which we speak, and the rock, is the Lord himself.

That it is necessary to labor and toil upon the soil of the heart.

For was God unable, without olive trees being planted in the earth, to make oil without labor? Or was he unable, without the toil of digging and planting the vine, to give wine to men? Or without the working of the ground, to give grain? But for this reason it has been so ordained, that one should farm with labor and receive the produce.

So it is also with respect to spiritual things:

the gift of the Holy Spirit is given.

For it happens that there is land which is worked with toil and cultivated deeply, and another which is not so lovingly tended but worked carelessly; and upon both lands seed falls and rain comes, but where it has been worked deeply and has received good cultivation, there the fruit multiplies and that land flourishes, and then the harvest is sweet to those who have gained it with labor.

For indeed, those who receive ready-made wealth do not consider it precious, but squander it recklessly, because they did not acquire it with labor.

But those who acquire it through labor and diligence know how to preserve and guard their wealth, knowing through how many labors they acquired it.

And now, if the good were not to be acquired through toil and labor, they would not have held even this gift of grace given to them as precious, if it were possible to receive it without labor.

But as it is, rejoicing in grace, they rest for this reason, because they know through what labors and afflictions they acquired it.

For this reason the wealth is sweet to them:

for that is the deposit laid up in spiritual things.

And being comforted, one also becomes braver than wickedness through the grace that dwells with him.

Did Adam have a pure nature? Answer:

Just as spoken word issues forth without passion, or as saliva or the tongue moves without passion, so before the transgression Adam had intercourse with Eve without passion.

Is it not so, that when the Holy Spirit comes, natural desire also is uprooted together with sin? Answer:

I have said before that sin also is uprooted, and man recovers the first formation of the pure Adam.

Thus, indeed, through the power of the Holy Spirit and through spiritual regeneration, he comes to the measure of the first Adam, and becomes even greater than he:

Is Satan let loose in measure, or can his impulse wrestle with man however it wishes? Answer:

Not only over Christians, but even over idolaters and over the whole world, he does not have full authority.

But if it were permitted to him to wage war as he wishes, he would have destroyed everything; each man would have murdered his neighbor.

Why? Because this is the will of Satan.

Just as the potter sets his vessels and stokes the kiln in measure—not too much, lest, being fired beyond what is fitting, it should crack; and not too little, lest, remaining as raw clay, it should be spoiled—and as the silversmith and the goldsmith apply the fire in measure—for if the fire be excessive, the gold or silver melts and dissolves and is ruined—and if even the human mind knows how to measure out the loads of animals, understanding the strength of each animal, how it is able, in proportion, to bear its burden, how much more does God, since he knows the vessels of men, likewise let loose the opposing power to wage war upon men, each in different measure.

And just as the earth, being one, is in one place rough, in another of fine soil, and one part is suited for the planting of a vineyard, another for the sowing of wheat and barley, so too these very lands of the hearts and purposes of men are different, and thus also the gifts are bestowed from above.

To one, the teaching of the word is suited; to another, powers of discernment; to another, gifts of healing.

For God knows who is able to administer in what way, and so he bestows the gifts variously.

Likewise also with respect to the wars, the opposing power is let loose upon them in a certain measure, as men are able to receive and endure it.

If someone receives the divine power and is partially transformed, does he remain in his nature? Answer:

So that the will, even after grace, may be tested—to which side it inclines, and whether nature agrees, or remains in its sameness, whether the hard man remains in his hardness, or the light man in his lightness.