Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 23.6–23.9

But if some think it laborious even so, the impression comes only from their own sloth. See, at any rate, how from another side too he makes it easy, commanding them not to have dealings with the dogs, nor to give themselves over to the swine, and to beware of the false prophets, and in every way making them ready for the contest. And the very calling it narrow contributed greatly to making it easy, for it prepared them to be watchful. Just as Paul, when he says, “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,” does this not to cast down but to rouse the spirits of the soldiers, so he too, waking the travelers from sleep, called the way rough. And not only in this way did he prepare them to be watchful, but also by adding that it has many who trip us up; and, what is harder still, that they do not even attack openly, but hide themselves; for such is the race of the false prophets. But do not look at this, he says, that it is rough and narrow, but at where it ends; nor at this, that the opposite way is wide and broad, but at where it comes out. And he says all this to rouse our eagerness, as he said elsewhere too, that “the violent take it by force.” For the one who contends, when he sees clearly that the president of the games admires the laboriousness of the contests, becomes more eager. Let us not, then, be distressed when many painful things befall us from this. For the way is hard and the gate narrow, but not the city. That is why one must neither expect rest here nor look for anything painful there afterward. And by saying that few are those who find it, he again showed here the sloth of the many, and taught his hearers to attend not to the prosperity of the many but to the toils of the few. For most, he says, not only do not walk it but do not even choose it, which is a charge of the utmost gravity. But we must not attend to the many, nor be troubled by this, but emulate the few, and, bracing ourselves on every side, walk it in this way. For besides being narrow, the way that leads there also has many who trip us up. That is why he added, “Beware of the false prophets; for they will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Look: besides the dogs and swine, another kind of ambush and plotting, much worse than that one. For those are acknowledged and open, but these are concealed. That is why he commanded them to keep away from those, but to examine these with care, since it is not possible to see through them at the first encounter. That is why he said, “Beware,” making them more exact in discerning them. Then, having told them of a narrow and hard way, and that they must walk contrary to the many, and guard against swine and dogs, and with these against another and more wicked race, that of the wolves, so that they might not lose heart at the multitude of painful things, being about to go contrary to the many and to take thought for these dangers besides, he reminded them of what happened in the time of their fathers by calling them false prophets; for then too such things happened. Do not then be troubled, he says; nothing new or strange will happen. For the devil always sets deceit beside the truth. And by false prophets here he seems to me to hint not at the heretics but at those who are of corrupt life but wear a mask of virtue, whom the many are accustomed to call impostors. That is why he added, “By their fruits you will know them.” For among heretics it is often possible to find a good life too; but among those I spoke of, never. “What then, if they play the hypocrite in these things too?” But they will be easily caught. For such is the nature of this way which I commanded you to walk, laborious and toilsome; and the hypocrite would not choose to toil, but only to make a show; that is why he is easily exposed. For since he had said that few are those who find it, he sifts them out again from those who do not find it but pretend to, commanding us not to look at those who merely wear masks but at those who pursue it in truth. “And why,” someone says, “did he not make them manifest, but threw us into the search?” So that we may be watchful and always ready for the contest, guarding against not only open enemies but also hidden ones; whom Paul too hinted at when he said that “by fair speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent.” Let us not, then, be troubled when we see many such people even now. For Christ foretold this too from the beginning.

And see his gentleness. For he did not say, “Punish them,” but, “Do not be harmed by them; do not fall in with them unguarded.” Then, so that you might not say that it is impossible to recognize such people, he again sets down an argument from a human example, saying, “Do people gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.” What he means is this: they have nothing gentle or sweet; the sheep goes only as far as the skin; that is why discerning them is easy. And so that you may not have even the least doubt, he compares this with the necessities of nature, things that cannot happen otherwise. This is what Paul too said: “For the mind of the flesh is death; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be.” And if he sets down the same thing a second time, it is not tautology. For lest anyone say that the evil tree bears bad fruit but also good, and makes discernment difficult since its crop is double, he says, It is not so; it bears only bad fruit, and would never bear good; and likewise the reverse. What then? Is there no good man who becomes wicked, and again the reverse? Life is full of many such examples. But Christ does not say this, that the wicked man cannot possibly change, or that the good man cannot fall away, but that as long as he lives in wickedness he will not be able to bear good fruit. For one who is wicked can change to virtue; but while he remains in wickedness he will not bear good fruit. What then? Did not David, being good, bear bad fruit? Not while remaining good, but after he had changed; since if he had remained continually what he was, he would not have borne such fruit. For surely it was not while he remained in the habit of virtue that he dared what he dared. He said these things also to stop the mouths of those who slander without cause, and to bridle the mouths of evil speakers. For since many suspect the good because of the wicked, he said this to deprive them of every excuse. For you could not say, “I was deceived and misled”; for I gave you an exact means of discernment from works, and commanded you to go by the deeds and not to confound everything without distinction. Then, since he had not commanded them to punish such people but only to guard against them, at once consoling those who are injured by them and frightening and changing those men, he fortified them with the punishment that comes from himself, saying, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Then, making his speech less offensive, he added, “So then, by their fruits you will know them,” so that he might not seem to bring in the threat as his main point, but to shake their minds by way of exhortation and counsel. Here he seems to me also to be hinting at the Jews, who were displaying such fruits. That is why he reminded them of the words of John, sketching their punishment in the same terms. For he too said these things, speaking to them of an axe, of a tree cut down, and of unquenchable fire. And it seems to be a single punishment, being burned; but if one examines it closely, these are two penalties. For the one who is burned is also wholly cast out of the kingdom, and this punishment is harsher than the other. And I know that many dread hell alone; but I say that falling from that glory is a punishment far more bitter than hell. And if it cannot be shown in words, there is nothing to wonder at. For we do not know the blessedness of those good things, so as to see clearly the misery that comes from being deprived of them; since Paul, who knew these things clearly, knows that to fall from the glory of Christ is harder than all things. And this we shall know then, when we come to the actual experience of it.

But may we never suffer this, O only-begotten Son of God, nor ever have any experience of this incurable punishment. How great an evil it is to fall from those good things it is not possible to say clearly; yet, as far as I am able, I will strive and endeavor by an example to make it plain to you, at least a little. Let us suppose a wonderful child who, together with virtue, holds the kingship of the world, and is in every way so virtuous as to be able to bring everyone to the affection of a father’s love. What then do you think his father would not gladly suffer so as not to lose his company? What evil, small or great, would he not accept in order to see and enjoy him? Let us reason in the same way about that glory. For no child, though ten thousand times virtuous, is so longed for and so lovely to a father as is the inheritance of those good things, and “to depart and be with Christ.” Hell is unbearable, and that punishment too. Yet even if someone sets down ten thousand hells, he will say nothing comparable to falling from that blessed glory: to be hated by Christ, to hear “I do not know you,” to be charged that we saw him hungry and did not feed him. For it is better to endure ten thousand thunderbolts than to see that gentle face turned away from us, and that serene eye not enduring to look at us. For if, when I was his enemy and hated him and turned away from him, he so pursued me as not even to spare himself but to give himself up to death; when after all that I do not even think him worthy of a loaf of bread when he is hungry, with what eyes shall I look at him then? But consider his gentleness here too. For he does not speak of his benefits, nor say that you neglected one who had helped you so much. He does not say: “Me, who brought you from not being into being, who breathed a soul into you and set you over all things on earth; who for your sake made earth and heaven and sea and air and all that is; who was dishonored by you and seemed to you of less honor than the devil, and did not withdraw even so, but devised countless things for you afterward; who chose to become a slave, who was struck and spat upon, who was slain, who died the most shameful death, who also intercedes for you above, who gives you the Spirit, who counts you worthy of a kingdom, who makes you such promises, who willed to be your head and bridegroom and garment and house and root and food and drink and shepherd and king and brother, who chose you as heir and joint heir, who brought you out of darkness into the authority of light.” For though he could say these things and more than these, he says none of them. But what? Only the sin itself. And here he shows his love and displays the longing he has for you. For he did not say, “Go into the fire prepared for you,” but, “prepared for the devil.” And first he says what wrongs they did, and even so he does not bring himself to say everything, but only a few things. And before these he calls those who have done well, to show from this too that his charges are just. What punishment, then, is not lighter than these words? For if someone who saw a man who had been his benefactor hungry would not neglect him; and if he did neglect him and were reproached for it, he would rather choose to sink into the earth than hear these things before two or three friends: what shall we suffer, hearing these things before the whole world, things which he would not have said even then had he not been hastening to make his own defense? For that he brought these things forward not to reproach but in his own defense, and to show that it was not in vain or rashly that he said to them, “Depart from me,” is clear from his unspeakable benefits. For had he wished to reproach, he would have brought all those things forward; but as it is, he speaks only of what he suffered.

Let us fear, then, beloved, to hear these words. Life is not a game; or rather, the present life is a game, but the things to come are not games. And perhaps life is not only a game but even worse than that. For it does not end in laughter, but brings great harm to those who will not manage their own affairs with care. For in what, tell me, do we who build splendid houses differ from children who play at building houses? In what do we who live in luxury differ from them when they make their dinners? In nothing, except that we do these things to our punishment. And if we do not yet perceive the worthlessness of what we do, it is no wonder; for we have not yet become men; but when we become men, we shall know that all these things are childish. For when we become men we laugh at those things too; but while we are children we think them worth much zeal, and, gathering potsherds and clay, we think no less of ourselves than those who raise great circuits of walls. But nevertheless they are at once destroyed and fall down, and even while standing they could be of no use to us, just as neither are these splendid houses. For they could not receive the citizen of heaven, nor would the one who has the fatherland above endure to remain in them; but as we throw down those with our feet, so he overthrows these with his mind. And as we laugh at children weeping over the overthrow, so these men too, when we lament these things, not only laugh but also weep, since their hearts are full of compassion and great is the harm that comes from this. Let us become men, then. How long shall we be dragged along the ground, priding ourselves on stones and wood? How long shall we play? And would that we were only playing! But as it is we are also betraying our own salvation. And just as children, when they spend their leisure on these things and neglect their letters, undergo the severest beatings, so we too, spending all our zeal on these things, and being asked then for our spiritual lessons in deeds and having none to give, shall pay the utmost penalty. And there is no one to rescue us, whether father or brother or anyone else. But these things will all pass away, while the torment that comes from them remains immortal and unending; just as happens with children too, when the father utterly destroys their childish toys because of their idleness and sets them weeping continually. And so that you may learn that these things are of this kind, let us bring forward what seems most of all to be worth zeal, wealth, and set against it whatever virtue of the soul you like, and then you will see its worthlessness most clearly. Let us suppose, then, two men; and I do not yet speak of greed, but of just wealth. Of these two, let the one gather money, sail the sea, till the land, and find many other ways of trade (though I do not know whether one who does these things can gain justly; but still, let it be so, and let it be supposed that he makes just gains and buys fields and slaves and all such things, and that no injustice attaches to these); and let the other, who possesses as much, sell fields, sell houses and vessels of gold and silver, and give to those in need, help the poor, care for the sick, release those in distress, bring out some from chains, set free those in the mines, take down others from the noose, release the captives from punishment. On which side, then, do you wish to be? And we have not yet spoken of the things to come, but so far only of the things here. On which side, then, do you wish to be? Of the one who gathers gold, or of the one who relieves misfortunes? Of the one who buys fields, or of the one who makes himself a harbor for human nature? Of the one clothed in much gold, or of the one crowned with countless praises? Is not the one like an angel come down from heaven for the amendment of the rest of mankind, while the other is not even like a man, but like a child gathering everything together idly and at random? And if just money-making is so ridiculous and a mark of the utmost folly, how is such a man not the most wretched of all when not even justice attends it? For if the laughter is so great, when hell too is added and the loss of the kingdom, of how many lamentations would he be worthy, both living and dead? But do you wish us to take up another part of virtue too? Let us bring forward, then, another man who is in power, commanding all, invested with great dignity, having a splendid herald and girdle and lictors and a great company of attendants. Does this not seem great and enviable? Come, then, let us set another against him too: the man who bears wrongs patiently, meek and humble and long-suffering; and let this man be insulted, let him be beaten, and let him bear it easily and bless those who do such things. Which, then, tell me, is admirable: the one who is puffed up and inflamed, or the one who is calm? Is not the one, again, like the powers above, which have great freedom from passion, and the other like a blown-up bladder, or a man who has dropsy and great inflammation? And the one like a spiritual physician, the other like a ridiculous child puffing out its cheeks? For why do you pride yourself, O man? Because you are carried high on a chariot? Because a pair of mules draws you? And what is that? One could see this happening to wood and stones too. Because you are clothed in fine garments? But look at the one who has put on virtue instead of garments, and you will see yourself like rotting grass, and him like a tree bearing wonderful fruit and giving great delight to those who see it. For you carry about food for worms and moths, which, if they attack you, will quickly strip you bare of this finery (for garments and gold and silver are, the one the spinning of worms, the other earth and dust, and earth again, and nothing more); but the one clothed in virtue has such a robe as not only moths but not even death itself can spoil; and very reasonably. For these virtues of the soul do not have their origin from the earth, but are the fruit of the Spirit; that is why they are not subject to the mouths of worms. For these garments are woven in heaven, where there is no moth, no worm, nor any other such thing. Which, then, tell me, is better: to be rich or to be poor? To be in power or in dishonor? In luxury or in hunger? Clearly, in honor and luxury and wealth. Therefore, if you want the realities and not the names, leave the earth and what is on it and move to heaven; for the things here are a shadow, but the things there are realities, unshaken, firmly fixed, and beyond the reach of all. Let us choose them, then, with all exactness, so that we may be freed from the turmoil of things here, and, sailing into that calm harbor, may appear with much cargo and with the unspeakable wealth of almsgiving; which may we all obtain, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the might for ever and ever. Amen.