Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 25.1–26.1

“And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching.” And yet it would have been natural for them to be pained at the burdensomeness of what was said, and numbed at the loftiness of what was commanded; but as it was, so great was the power of the teacher that he took hold of many of them, threw them into the greatest amazement, and persuaded them, through the delight of what was said, not to go away even when he had stopped speaking. For not even when he came down from the mountain did the hearers depart; even so the whole audience followed; such love for what had been said had he put into them. And they were astonished above all at his authority. For he did not say what he said referring it to another, as the prophet and Moses did, but everywhere showed himself to be the one who has the authority. For in giving laws he continually added, “But I say to you”; and in reminding them of that day he showed himself to be the one who judges, both by the punishments and by the honors. And yet it would have been natural for them to be disturbed by this too. For if the scribes, seeing him display his authority by his works, stoned him and drove him out, when there were only words showing this, how was it not natural for them to be offended, especially when these things were said at the beginning, before he had given proof of his own power? But nevertheless they suffered none of this; for when the soul and mind are right-minded, they are easily persuaded by the words of truth. For this reason those men were offended even when the signs proclaimed his power, while these, hearing bare words, were persuaded and followed. This, at any rate, the evangelist too hinted at when he said that great crowds followed him: not any of the rulers, nor of the scribes, but all who were free of wickedness and had an unbribed judgment. And throughout the whole Gospel you see these attached to him. For when he spoke they listened in silence, not interjecting anything, nor breaking the sequence, nor testing him and wishing to find a handle, as the Pharisees did; and after the discourse they followed again, marveling. But consider, I pray you, the Master’s wisdom, how he varies the benefit to those present, passing from miracles to words, and again from the teaching of words to miracles. For before he went up the mountain he healed many, preparing the way for what he would say; and after completing this long discourse he comes again to miracles, confirming by what was done what had been said. For since he taught as one having authority, so that this manner of teaching might not be thought boasting and arrogance, he does the same in his works too, healing as one having authority, so that those who saw him teaching thus might no longer be disturbed, since he worked his miracles in the same way. “For when he came down from the mountain, a leper came to him, saying, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’” Great was the understanding and the faith of the one who came. For he did not interrupt the teaching nor break up the audience, but waited for the fitting time, and comes to him when he has come down. And not simply, but with great fervor; and he entreats him on his knees, as another evangelist says, with genuine faith and the right opinion about him. For he did not say, “If you ask God,” nor, “If you pray,” but, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Nor did he say, “Lord, cleanse me,” but entrusts everything to him, makes him lord of the healing, and bears witness to all his authority. “What then,” someone says, “if the leper’s opinion was mistaken?” Then he ought to have overthrown it, rebuked it, and corrected it. Did he then do this? Not at all; quite the opposite: he establishes and confirms what was said. For this reason he did not say, “Be cleansed,” but, “I will; be made clean,” so that the doctrine might no longer be the other’s supposition but his own judgment. But the apostles did not speak so; how, then? When the whole people were astonished, they said, “Why do you look at us, as though by our own power or authority we had made him walk?” But the Master, though he often uttered many modest things, lower than his own glory, here, to establish the doctrine of those who were amazed at him for his authority, what does he say? “I will; be made clean.” And yet, though he did so many and such great signs, nowhere does he appear to have said this word. But here, to ratify the supposition about his authority held by the whole people and the leper, for this reason he added, “I will.” And he did not say it and not do it; the deed followed at once. And if he had not spoken rightly, and what was said was blasphemy, the work ought to have been cut short. But as it was, nature yielded at his command, and with fitting speed, greater even than the evangelist said. For the word “immediately” is much slower than the speed with which the deed was done. And he did not simply say, “I will; be made clean,” but also “stretched out his hand and touched him,” which most of all deserves inquiry. For why, when he was cleansing him by will and word, did he add the touch of his hand? It seems to me it was for no other reason than to show by this too that he is not under the law but over it, and that from now on nothing is unclean to the clean. That is why Elisha did not even see Naaman, but, even when he saw him offended because he did not come out and touch him, he stays at home, keeping the strictness of the law, and sends him to the Jordan to wash. But the Master, showing that he heals not as a servant but as Lord, also touches him. For the hand did not become unclean from the leprosy, but the leprous body was made clean by the holy hand. For he had not come to heal bodies only, but also to lead the soul to philosophy. As, then, he no longer forbade eating with unwashed hands, bringing in that excellent law about the indifference of foods, so here too, teaching from now on that we must take care of the soul and, freed from outward purifications, scour it clean, and fear only its leprosy, which is sin (for being a leper is no hindrance to virtue), he himself first touches the leper, and no one accuses him. For the court was not corrupt, nor were the spectators possessed by envy. For this reason they not only did not find fault, but were amazed at the miracle and yielded, worshiping his irresistible power both from what was said and from what was done. Having healed his body, then, he commands him to tell no one, but to show himself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. Now some say that he commanded him to tell no one so that they might not act maliciously in judging his cleansing, a very foolish supposition. For he did not cleanse him in such a way that the cleansing could be disputed; but he commands him to tell no one, teaching us to avoid boasting and love of honor. And yet he knew that the man would not obey, but would proclaim his benefactor; but nevertheless he does his own part. “How then,” someone says, “does he elsewhere command one to tell?” Not contradicting himself or being inconsistent, but teaching us to be grateful. For there too he did not command him to proclaim himself, but to give glory to God; through this leper making us free from pride and vainglory, and through that one making us thankful and grateful, and teaching us everywhere to refer the praise for what is done to the Master. For since people for the most part remember God when they are sick, but when freed from their illness become more careless, he commands us constantly, both sick and healthy, to attend to the Master, and says, “Give glory to God.” But why did he also command him to show himself to the priest and to offer a gift? Again here fulfilling the law. For he did not everywhere set it aside, nor everywhere keep it, but sometimes did this, sometimes that: by the one preparing the way for the philosophy to come, by the other restraining for the time the shameless tongue of the Jews and condescending to their weakness. And why do you wonder if he himself did this at the beginning, when even the apostles, after being commanded to go to the Gentiles, after the doors of teaching throughout the world had been opened, and the law shut up, and the commandments renewed, and all the old things put to rest, appear sometimes keeping the law and sometimes passing it by? “And what does this contribute,” someone says, “to the keeping of the law, the saying, ‘Show yourself to the priest’?” No small thing. For there was an ancient law that the leper, when cleansed, should not entrust the examination of his cleansing to himself, but appear before the priest and present the proof to his eyes, and by his verdict be counted among the clean. For if the priest did not say, “The leper has been cleansed,” he still remained with the unclean outside the camp. That is why he says, “Show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded.” He did not say, “that I command,” but for the time being sends him to the law, stitching shut their mouths on every side. For lest they say that he had seized the priests’ glory, he himself completed the work, but entrusted the examination to them and seated them as judges of his own miracles. For I am so far from fighting with Moses or the priests, he says, that I even lead those I have benefited to obey them. And what is “as a testimony to them”? For reproof, for proof, for accusation, if they are ungrateful. For since they said, “We persecute him as a deceiver and impostor, as an enemy of God and a transgressor of the law,” you will bear witness for me, he says, at that time, that I am no transgressor of the law. For having healed you I send you to the law and to the examination of the priests; which was the act of one who honored the law and admired Moses, and did not oppose the ancient decrees. And if they were going to gain nothing, from this especially one may learn his honor for the law: that, though he foreknew that they would reap no fruit, he fulfilled all his own part. For he foreknew this very thing and foretold it. For he did not say, “for their correction,” nor “for their instruction,” but, “as a testimony to them,” that is, for accusation and for reproof and for testimony that everything on my part has been done; and though I foreknew that they would remain uncorrected, not even so did I leave undone what had to be done; but they went on keeping their own wickedness. This, at any rate, he says elsewhere too: “This gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come”; to the nations who do not obey, who are not persuaded. For lest anyone say, “And why do you preach to all, if not all are going to be persuaded?”, it is so that I may appear to have done all my own part, and that no one may be able afterward to complain that he did not hear. For the preaching itself will bear witness against them, and they will not be able afterward to say, “We did not hear”; for the word of godliness has gone out to the ends of the world. Considering these things, then, let us too fulfill all our own part toward our neighbors, and give thanks to God continually. For it is absurd, while enjoying his kindness in deed every day, not even to acknowledge the favor in word, and this when the acknowledgment again brings the benefit to us. For he needs nothing of ours, but we need everything of his. Thanksgiving adds nothing to him, but makes us more his own. For if, when we call to mind the kindnesses of men, we are warmed the more with affection, much more, when we continually remember the Master’s good deeds toward us, shall we be more zealous for his commandments. That is why Paul too said, “Be thankful.” For the best safeguard of a kindness is the memory of the kindness and continual thanksgiving. That is why the awesome mysteries too, full of great salvation, which are celebrated at every gathering, are called a Thanksgiving, the Eucharist, because they are a remembrance of many benefits, display the sum of God’s providence, and in every way prepare us to give thanks. For if being born of a virgin was a great wonder, and the evangelist said in amazement, “Now all this took place,” where shall we put his being slain, tell me? For if being born is called “all this,” being crucified and pouring out his blood and giving himself to us for a feast and a spiritual banquet, what would that be called? Let us give thanks to him continually, then, and let this go before our words and our works. And let us give thanks not only for our own goods but also for those of others; for in this way we shall be able both to destroy envy and to bind love tighter and make it more genuine. For you will no longer be able to envy those for whom you give thanks to the Master. That is why the priest too bids us give thanks for the world, for those who were before, for those now, for what has been done for us before and what will be hereafter, when that sacrifice is set forth. For this both frees us from the earth and transfers us to heaven, and makes angels out of men. For they too, having formed a choir, give thanks to God for the good things done to us, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good pleasure among men.” “And what is this to us, who are not on earth, nor men?” Very much indeed to us; for so we have been taught to love our fellow servants as to think their goods our own. That is why Paul too everywhere in his letters gives thanks for the good deeds of the world. Let us too, then, give thanks continually, for our own goods and for others’, for small and for great. For even if what is given is small, it becomes great by being given by God; or rather, nothing from him is small, not only because it is given by him but also by its very nature. And, to pass over all the other things, which surpass the sand in number, what is equal to the dispensation made for us? For what was most precious of all to him, his only-begotten Son, him he gave for us his enemies; and not only gave, but after giving set him before us as a table, himself doing everything for us, both giving and making us thankful for it. For since man is for the most part ungrateful, everywhere he himself takes in hand and arranges what is for us. And what he did with the Jews, reminding them of his benefits by places and times and feasts, he has done here too, putting us by the manner of the sacrifice into a continual remembrance of his kindness in these things. So no one has been as eager for us to become approved and great and in every way grateful as God who made us. That is why he often benefits us even against our will, and mostly without our knowing. And if you wonder at what has been said, I show you this happening not with some ordinary person but with the blessed Paul. For that blessed man, being in many dangers and afflictions, often begged God that the temptations might depart from him; but nevertheless God attended not to his request but to his benefit; and showing this he said, “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So before he told him the reason, he benefits him against his will and without his knowing. What great thing, then, does he ask in commanding us to be thankful in return for such great care? Let us obey, then, and keep this everywhere. For nothing so destroyed the Jews as being ungrateful, and those many successive blows nothing else brought on but this; or rather, even before the blows, this destroyed and corrupted their soul. “For the hope of the ungrateful is like winter frost,” it says; it so numbs and deadens the soul as that does bodies. And this comes from arrogance and from thinking oneself worthy of something. But the contrite man will give thanks to God not only for good things but also for things that seem the opposite, and whatever he suffers he will think he has suffered nothing undeserved. Let us too, then, the more we advance in virtue, make ourselves the more contrite; for this too is virtue most of all. For just as the more sharply we see, the more we learn how far we are from heaven, so the more we advance in virtue, the more we are taught to know the distance between God and us. And this is no small part of philosophy, to be able to perceive our own worth. For he most of all knows himself who thinks himself nothing. That is why David and Abraham too, when they had climbed to the very summit of virtue, then most of all achieved this: the one called himself earth and ashes, the other a worm; and all the saints, like them, call themselves wretched. So the one who is lifted up to arrogance is the one who above all is ignorant of himself. That is why in common usage too we are accustomed to say of the proud, “He does not know himself; he is ignorant of himself.” And the one who is ignorant of himself, whom will he know? For as the one who knows himself will know all things, so the one who does not know this will not know the other things either. Such was he who said, “I will set my throne above the heavens.” For since he did not know himself, he did not know all the other things either. But Paul was not such; he called himself an untimely birth and the least of the saints, and thought himself not even worthy of the name of apostle, after so many and such great achievements. Him, then, let us emulate and imitate. And we shall imitate him if we are freed from the earth and the things on it. For nothing so makes one ignorant of oneself as being nailed to worldly things; and again nothing so prepares one to be nailed to worldly affairs as being ignorant of oneself; for these things hang on each other. For just as the one who loves outward glory and thinks present things great, even if he strives ten thousand times, is not allowed to see himself, so the one who looks down on these will easily know himself; and having learned himself, he will go on in due course to all the other parts of virtue. So then, that we may learn this excellent knowledge, let us be freed from all the perishable things that kindle a great flame in us, and, having learned our own worthlessness, let us show all humility and philosophy, so that we may obtain both the present and the future good things, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory, might, and honor to the Father, together with the holy and good Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.

“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, entreating him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, terribly tormented.’” The leper came to him when he came down from the mountain, but this centurion when he had entered Capernaum. Why then did neither this one nor that one go up the mountain? Not through sloth, for the faith of both was fervent, but so as not to interrupt the teaching. And when he came, he says, “My servant is lying at home paralyzed, terribly tormented.” Some say that he was excusing himself and stated the reason why he had not brought him. For it was not possible, he says, to carry on a litter one who was paralyzed and tormented and at his last breath. For that he was about to expire, Luke says: that he was about to die. But I say that this is a sign of his having great faith, much greater than that of those who let the paralytic down through the roof. For since he knew clearly that even a command alone was enough to raise up the one lying there, he thought it superfluous to bring him. What then does Jesus do? What he had nowhere done before, he does here. For everywhere he follows the will of those who entreat him, but here he even springs forward, and promises not only to heal but also to come to the house. And he does this so that we may learn the virtue of the centurion. For if he had not promised this, but had said, “Go, let your servant be healed,” we would have known none of these things. This at any rate he did in the opposite way with the Phoenician woman. For here, though not invited to the house, he says of his own accord that he will come, so that you may learn the centurion’s faith and great humility; but with the Phoenician woman he both refuses the gift and leaves her at a loss while she persists. For being a wise and resourceful physician, he knows how to bring about opposite results by opposite means. And here by his self-offered coming, there by his intense delay and refusal, he reveals the woman’s faith. So too he does with Abraham, saying, “I will not hide from my servant Abraham,” so that you may learn his affection and his concern for Sodom. And with Lot, those who were sent refuse to go in to him, so that you may learn the greatness of the righteous man’s hospitality. What then does the centurion say? “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.” Let us hear, as many of us as are going to receive Christ; for it is possible to receive him even now. Let us hear and emulate, and receive him with as much zeal; for when you receive a poor man who is hungry and naked, you have received and fed him. “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” See this man too, like the leper, having the fitting opinion about him. For he too did not say, “Entreat God,” nor, “Pray and supplicate,” but, “Only say the word.” Then, fearing lest out of modesty he decline, he says, “For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” “And what of it,” someone says, “if the centurion supposed so? The question is whether Christ declared this and ratified it.” You speak well and very wisely. Let us then look at this very thing; and we shall find that what happened with the leper happened here too. For just as the leper said, “If you will” (and it is not only from the leper that we maintain the point about his authority, but also from the voice of Christ; for he not only did not overthrow the supposition but confirmed it the more, adding what was superfluous to say, “I will; be made clean,” to ratify that man’s doctrine), so here too it is right to examine whether anything of the kind happened; and indeed we shall find this same thing happened again. For when the centurion had said such things and borne witness to so great an authority, he not only did not reproach him, but accepted it, and did something more than accept it. For the evangelist did not say that he only praised what was said, but, indicating the intensity of the praise, he says that he even marveled; and not simply marveled, but with the whole people present, and set him as an example to the others, so that they might emulate him. Do you see how each of those who bore witness to his authority is admired? “And the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he taught as one having authority”; and he not only did not reproach them, but took them with him when he came down, and by cleansing the leper ratified their judgment. Again, that man said, “If you will, you can make me clean”; and he not only did not rebuke him, but healed him and cleansed him in the very way that man had said. Again the centurion: “Only say the word, and my servant will be healed”; and marveling at him he said, “Not even in Israel have I found such faith.”