Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 16.6–16.9

So he legislated these things not to abolish the law, but for its greater safeguarding. For with what aim did the law give these commands? Was it not so that no one should kill his neighbor? So it would belong to one fighting the law to command [killing]; for killing is the opposite of not killing. But if he does not even allow anger, he establishes all the more what the law wanted. For the man who practices not killing will not abstain from murder as well as the one who has removed even anger; for the latter stands further off from the deed.

But so that we may refute them in another way too, let us bring into the open everything they say. What, then, do they say? They say that the God who made the world, who makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, who sends rain on the just and the unjust, is someone evil. The more moderate of them, forsooth, decline to say this, but while saying that he is just, they deprive him of being good; and they give Christ as Father another, who does not exist and made nothing of what exists. And they say that the one who is not good stays within his own and keeps what is his, while the good one covets what belongs to another, and suddenly wants to become the savior of things of which he was not the creator. Do you see the children of the devil, how they speak from the spring of their father, alienating creation from God, when John cries out that “he came to his own,” and that “the world came to be through him”? Then, examining the law in the Old Testament that commands taking an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, they immediately pounce, saying, “And how could he be good who says these things?” What then do we say to this? That it is the greatest kind of love for mankind. For he did not lay down this law so that we should knock out one another’s eyes, but so that, from fear of suffering at the hands of others, we might abstain from doing any such thing to others. Just as, then, he threatened the Ninevites with overthrow, not in order to destroy them (for if he had wanted that, he should have kept silent), but in order to make them better by fear and so stop his anger, so too for those who rashly attack the eyes of others he appointed a punishment, so that even if they would not abstain from cruelty from a good choice, they might be prevented by fear from injuring their neighbors’ sight. But if that is cruelty, so too is restraining the murderer and stopping the adulterer. But these are the words of fools and of those raving with the utmost madness. For I am so far from saying that these things belong to cruelty that I would say that the opposite of these would be against the law, by human reckoning. For you say that because he commanded taking an eye for an eye, he is therefore cruel; but I say that if he had not commanded this, then he would have seemed to most people to be what you say. For let us suppose for argument’s sake that the whole law has been dissolved, and that no one fears the punishment from it, but that all the wicked are free to follow their own way with complete impunity, adulterers and murderers and thieves and perjurers and parricides: would not everything have been turned upside down, and would not cities and marketplaces and houses and land and sea and the whole world have been filled with countless pollutions and murders? That is plain to everyone. For if, when there are laws and fear and threats, wicked purposes are restrained with difficulty, if even this safeguard had been removed, what would prevent men from choosing vice? And how great a ruin would not have rioted into human life? For it is not only cruel to allow the wicked to do what they want, but another thing, no less than this, is to overlook, without providing for him, the man who has done no wrong but suffers ill rashly and for nothing. For tell me: if someone gathered wicked men from every side, armed them with swords, and ordered them to go round the whole city and slaughter all they met, could anything be more savage than this? And what if someone else bound and imprisoned with all vigor those armed by that man, and snatched those about to be slaughtered from the hands of those lawless men: could anything be more humane than this? Transfer these examples, then, to the law as well. For he who commands digging out an eye for an eye has cast fear like a strong bond on the souls of the wicked, and resembles the one who imprisons those swordsmen; but he who sets them no punishment all but arms them with impunity, and imitates the one who put the swords in their hands and let them loose upon the whole city. Do you see how the commands belong not to cruelty but to great love for mankind?

But if for this reason you call the lawgiver harsh and burdensome, tell me, which is more toilsome and heavier: not to kill, or not even to be angry? Who is more severe: the one who exacts penalties for murder, or the one who does so even for anger? The one who subjects the adulterer to punishment after the deed, or the one who bids that a penalty be paid even for the desire itself, and a deathless penalty? Do you see that their argument has turned round to the opposite? And the God of the Old Testament, whom they call cruel, will be found gentle and mild; while the God of the New, whom they confess to be good, will be burdensome and heavy, according to their folly. For we say that there is one and the same lawgiver of both covenants, who ordered all things as was needful and fitted the difference of the two legislations to the difference of the times. So neither were those commands cruel, nor are these oppressive and burdensome, but all belong to one and the same care. For that he himself also gave the Old Testament, hear what the prophet says; or rather, why should I say “the prophet”? He and this one are the same: “I will make a covenant with you, not according to the covenant that I made with your fathers.” And if the one sick with the disease of the Manichees does not accept this, let him hear Paul saying the same thing again: “For Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman; and these are two covenants.” As, then, there the women are different, but the husband is one, so here too there are two covenants, but one lawgiver. And so that you may learn that it belonged to one and the same gentleness, there he says, “An eye for an eye,” but here, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” For as there he chastens the wrongdoer by the fear of suffering, so here too. “And how,” someone says, “when he bids us offer him the other cheek too?” And what of that? For he did not give this command to dissolve the fear, but as bidding you offer him the chance to take his fill of the whole; nor did he say that the other remains unpunished, but, “Do not you punish him”; at once frightening the striker more if he persists, and consoling the one struck.

But these things have been said by us about all the commandments in passing, as one might say. We must now come to what is before us and keep to the sequence of what was said earlier. “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be liable to the judgment,” he says. For he did not abolish the thing altogether: first, because it is not possible for one who is a man to be free of passions; it is possible to master them, but impossible to be entirely without them; then, because this passion is even useful, if we know how to use it at the fitting time. See, at any rate, how much good Paul’s anger against the Corinthians brought about then. For it freed them from great ruin; and it won back the nation of the Galatians, which had fallen away, and many others besides. What then is the fitting time for anger? When we are not avenging ourselves, but restraining others who are running wild and turning back the indolent. And what is the unfitting time? When we do this avenging ourselves. Paul too forbade this when he said, “Not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath”; and when we fight about money; for he removed this too when he said, “Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” For as this anger is superfluous, so that is necessary and profitable. But most people do the opposite, turning into wild beasts when they are wronged, but slack and soft when they see another abused; both of which are contrary to the laws of the Gospel. It is not, then, being angry that is against the law, but doing it out of season. That is why the prophet too said, “Be angry and do not sin.”

“Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be liable to the council.” By “council” he here means the court of the Hebrews; and he has put it now so as not to seem everywhere to speak strangely and to innovate. And this “raca” is not a word of great insult, but rather of contempt and some slighting on the part of the speaker. For as we, when giving orders to servants or to some inferiors, say, “Go, you; tell so-and-so, you,” so those who use the Syrian tongue say “raca,” putting it instead of “you.” But God, who loves mankind, pulls up even the smallest things, bidding us treat one another fittingly and with due honor, so that through these the greater things too may be removed. “Whoever says, ‘Fool,’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.” To many this command seemed heavy and burdensome, if we are to pay so great a penalty for a bare word; and some say it was spoken rather hyperbolically. But I fear lest, having deceived ourselves here with words, we suffer the utmost punishment there in deeds.

For why, tell me, does the command seem to you burdensome? Do you not know that most punishments and sins have their beginning from words? For blasphemies come through words, and denials through words, and abuse and insults and perjuries and false witness and killing. Do not look, then, at the fact that it is a bare word, but examine whether it does not carry great danger. Or do you not know that in a time of enmity, when anger is ablaze and the soul on fire, even the smallest thing seems great, and what is not very insulting seems grievous? And often these small things have even given birth to murder and overthrown whole cities. For as, when there is friendship, even grievous things are light, so when enmity underlies, even small things appear unbearable; and even if something is said simply, it is thought to have been said with evil intent. And as with fire, if the spark is small, even if ten thousand logs lie beside it, it does not easily take hold of them; but if it becomes a fierce and high flame, it easily seizes not only wood but stones too and all material that falls into it, and is kindled the more by the very things by which it is usually quenched (for some say that then not only wood and tow and other combustibles but even water thrown on it fans its strength the more), so too with anger: whatever one says becomes at once food for this evil blaze. Restraining all these beforehand, Christ condemned to the judgment the one who is angry without cause (that is why he said, “He who is angry shall be liable to the judgment”), and the one who says “raca” to the council. But these are not yet great; for the punishments are here. That is why to the one who calls another a fool he added the fire of hell, now for the first time naming hell. For having spoken much about the kingdom before, then he mentioned this, showing that that is from his love for mankind and his will, but this from our indolence.

And see how he advances little by little in the punishments, all but defending himself to you and showing that he himself does not wish to threaten any such thing, but we drag him to such sentences. For consider: “I said,” he says, “‘Do not be angry for nothing, since you are liable to the judgment.’ You despised the first. See what anger gave birth to: it led you straight into insult; for you called your brother ‘raca.’ Again I set another punishment, the council. If you overlook this too and go on to something worse, I no longer punish you with these moderate penalties, but with the deathless punishment of hell, so that you may not at last leap into murder as well.” For there is nothing, there is nothing, more unbearable than insult, nothing that can bite a man’s soul more. And when the word of the insult itself is more stinging, the blaze becomes double. Do not think, then, that it is an ordinary thing to call someone a fool. For when you take away from your brother that by which we differ from irrational animals and by which above all we are men, mind and understanding, you have deprived him of all his nobility. Let us not, then, simply attend to the words, but entering into the things themselves and the passion, let us consider how great a wound this word inflicts and to how great an evil it leads. That is why Paul too excluded from the kingdom not only adulterers and the effeminate but also revilers; and very rightly. For the insulter ruins the good of love, entangles his neighbor in countless evils, produces continual enmities, tears apart the members of Christ, and drives away every day the peace that God longs for, giving the devil much room through his insults and making him stronger. That is why Christ too, cutting out the sinews of his power, brought in this law. For he takes great account of love. For it, the mother of all good things, the mark of the disciples, that which holds together all that concerns us, is this above all. Rightly, then, does he remove with great vehemence the roots and springs of the enmity that ruins it. Do not think, then, that what is said is a kind of hyperbole; but considering what is achieved by it, admire the gentleness of these laws. For nothing is so earnestly sought by God as that we be united and bound to one another. That is why, both by himself and through his disciples, both those in the New Testament and those in the Old, he takes great account of this commandment, and is a severe avenger and punisher of those who despise the matter. For nothing so brings in and roots all wickedness as the removal of love. That is why he said, “When lawlessness is multiplied, the love of the many will grow cold.” Thus Cain became a fratricide, thus Esau, thus the brothers of Joseph; thus countless evils rioted in when this was torn apart. That is why he himself also removes with great precision on every side the things that ruin it.

And he does not stop at what has been said, but adds still more besides, by which he shows how great an account he takes of love. For having threatened by the council and the judgment and hell, he added again other things in harmony with the former, speaking thus: “If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first and be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” O the goodness! O the surpassing love for mankind! He disregards the honor paid to himself for the sake of love toward one’s neighbor, showing that the former things too which he threatened he did not threaten out of any hatred or desire to punish, but out of great affection. For what could be gentler than these words? “Let my worship be interrupted,” he says, “so that your love may remain”; since this too is a sacrifice, reconciliation with one’s brother. For this reason he did not say, “after you have offered,” or “before you offer”; but while the gift itself is lying there and the sacrifice has begun, he sends him to be reconciled to his brother; and neither after clearing away what has been set out nor before setting it out, but while it lies in the middle, he bids him run there. For what reason does he bid him do this, and why? He hints at and establishes two things by this, as it seems to me: one, as I said, wishing to show that he greatly honors love and considers it the greatest sacrifice, and without it does not accept that one either; and the other, laying on him a necessity of reconciliation that cannot be refused. For the man who has been commanded not to offer until he has been reconciled, even if not out of love for his neighbor, at least so that his offering may not lie unfinished, will hasten to run to the one he has pained and dissolve the enmity. That is why he has said everything most vividly, frightening him and rousing him. For having said, “Leave your gift,” he did not stop there, but added, “before the altar,” throwing him into awe again by the place too, “and go.” And he did not simply say, “Go,” but added, “first, and then come and offer your gift,” showing by all these that this table does not receive those who are at enmity with one another. Let the initiated hear, as many as come with enmity; let the uninitiated hear too; for the word has something in common with them as well. For they too bring a gift and sacrifice; I mean prayer and almsgiving. For that this too is a sacrifice, hear what the prophet says: “A sacrifice of praise will glorify me”; and again, “Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise”; and, “The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice.” So even if you are offering prayer with such a disposition, it is better to leave the prayer and go to be reconciled with your brother, and then to offer the prayer. For it is for this that everything was done; for this God too became man and wrought all those things, so that he might bring us together.

Here, then, he sends the wrongdoer to the one wronged; but in the prayer he leads the one wronged to the wrongdoer, and reconciles them. For there he says, “Forgive men their debts”; but here, “If he has something against you, go to him.” Or rather, here too he seems to me to be sending the one wronged; that is why he did not say, “Reconcile your brother to yourself,” but, “Be reconciled”; and what is said seems to be on behalf of the one who has caused pain, but the whole is on behalf of the one pained. “For if you are reconciled to him,” he says, “through your love toward him you will have me too gracious, and you will be able to offer the sacrifice with great boldness. And if you are still inflamed, consider that I too gladly bid my own things to be disregarded so that you may become friends; and let this be a consolation for your anger.” And he did not say, “When you have been greatly wronged, then be reconciled,” but, “even if he has anything at all against you.” And he did not add, “whether justly or unjustly,” but simply, “if he has something against you.” For even if it is justly, not even so [keep up] the enmity; since Christ too was justly angry with us, but nevertheless gave himself up to slaughter for us, not reckoning those trespasses. That is why Paul too, urging us to reconciliation in another way, said, “Let not the sun go down on your anger.” For as here Christ presses us to this very thing from the sacrifice, so there Paul does from the day. For he fears the night, lest, catching the one who has been struck alone, it make the wound worse. For in the day there are many who distract and draw him away; but at night, when he is alone and reckons things up by himself, the waves swell and the storm becomes greater. That is why Paul, forestalling this, wants to hand us over to the night [already reconciled], so that the devil may have no further occasion from the solitude to kindle the furnace of anger and make it fiercer. So too Christ does not allow even a little delay, lest when the sacrifice is completed such a man become more indolent, putting it off from day to day. For he knows that the passion needs great speed; and as a wise physician puts down not only preventives of diseases but also correctives, so does he. For forbidding to call someone a fool is a preventive of enmity; and bidding to be reconciled removes the diseases that come after enmity. And see how each is laid down with vehemence. For there he threatened hell; but here he does not accept the gift before the reconciliation, showing great anger, and by all these removing both the root and the fruit. And first he says, “Do not be angry”; and after this, “Do not revile.” For both of these grow by each other: from enmity reviling, from reviling enmity. That is why now he heals the root, now the fruit, preventing the evil from even growing at all at the beginning, and if it should sprout and bear its most wicked fruit, burning it out all the more from every side.

That is why, having spoken of the judgment and the council and hell, and having discoursed about his own sacrifice, he adds other things again, speaking thus: “Be well disposed toward your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him.” For so that you may not say, “What then if I am wronged? What then if I am robbed and dragged into court?” he took away this occasion and excuse too; for he bids us not to be at enmity even so. Then, since this command was great, he makes his counsel from the present things, which are accustomed to restrain the duller sort more than the things to come. “For what do you say?” he says, “that he is more powerful and does wrong? Then he will wrong you more if you do not settle, but are forced to go to court. For then, by giving up money, you will have your body free; but once you have come under the judge’s verdict, you will be bound and will pay the utmost penalty. But if you avoid the fight there, you will reap two good things: both suffering nothing unpleasant, and the good deed becoming yours, and no longer the result of his violence. [But if] you are unwilling to be persuaded by what is said, you wrong not him so much as yourself.” And see here too how he urges him on. For having said, “Be well disposed toward your adversary,” he added, “quickly”; and he was not content with this, but sought another intensification of this speed, saying, “while you are on the way with him,” by these words pushing him and pressing him with great vehemence. For nothing so overturns our life as delaying and putting off in the doing of good. Often, at any rate, this has made us lose everything. As, then, Paul says, “Before the sun goes down, dissolve the enmity,” and he himself in what preceded, “Before the offering is completed, be reconciled,” so here too he says, “quickly, while you are on the way with him,” before you come to the doors of the court, before you stand at the judgment seat and come at last under the authority of the one judging. For before the entrance you are master of everything; but if you set foot on those thresholds, not even with great effort will you be able to arrange your affairs as you wish, having come under another’s necessity. And what is “to be well disposed”? He means this: either be willing rather to be wronged, or judge the case as though holding his place, so as not to corrupt justice by self-love, but deliberating about another’s matter as though it were your own, so that you may bring in this verdict. And if this is a great thing, do not wonder. For this is why he set all those beatitudes beforehand, so that, having smoothed and prepared the hearer’s soul beforehand, he might make it more fit for receiving all this legislation.