Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 55.6–56.4

Then again they seem to begin from a fresh opening, but they hold to the same discourse. Just as Paul too, at the opening of a letter, having ended in a doxology, and having said, “according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory to the ages, amen,” begins again the subject about which he was writing; and again elsewhere, having said, “they worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed to the ages, amen,” he did not end his discourse, but begins again. Let us not, then, blame these angels either as acting out of order, because, having ended in a doxology, they begin the sacred hymns again. For they follow apostolic laws, beginning from a doxology and ending in it, and after this ending opening again. That is why they say, “Glory to you, Lord; glory to you, Holy One; glory to you, King, for you have given us food for gladness.” For we must give thanks not only for great things but also for small. And they give thanks for these too, putting to shame the heresy of the Manichaeans and all who say that the present life is evil. For so that you may not, because of their extreme self-denial and their disregard of the belly, suspect them of loathing food, as is the case with those who strangle themselves, they teach you by the prayer that it is not from loathing God’s creatures that they abstain from most things, but because they are practicing wisdom. And see how from the thanksgiving for what has already been given they also entreat for greater things, and do not stay with the things of this life, but ascend above the heavens and say, “Fill us with the Holy Spirit.” For it is not possible to be approved as one ought without being filled with that grace; just as it is not possible to do anything noble or great without enjoying the help of Christ. As, then, having said, “that we may abound in every good work,” they added, “in Christ Jesus,” so here too they say, “Fill us with the Holy Spirit, that we may be found well-pleasing before you, and not be put to shame.” Do you see how for the things of this life they do not pray but only give thanks, while for spiritual things they both give thanks and pray? “For seek,” he says, “the kingdom of the heavens, and all these things will be added to you.” But consider also another wisdom of theirs. “For that we may be found,” it says, “well-pleasing before you, and not be put to shame.” “For we do not care about shame before the many,” it says; “but whatever men may say about us, laughing, reproaching, we do not even turn round; our whole struggle is not to be put to shame then.” And when they say this, they bring in also the river of fire, and the prizes and the rewards. They did not say, “that we may not be punished,” but, “that we may not be put to shame.” For this is much more fearful to us than Gehenna, to seem to have offended the Master. But since this does not frighten the many and the coarser sort, they add, “when you repay each according to his works.” Do you see how much these strangers and sojourners have benefited us, these citizens of the desert, or rather citizens of the heavens? For we are strangers to the heavens and citizens of the earth; but they the opposite. And after this hymn, filled with great compunction and with many hot tears, they go so to sleep, taking only so much of it as to rest a little. And again they turn the nights into days, passing them in thanksgivings and the singing of psalms. And not men only, but women too practice this wisdom, overcoming the weakness of their nature by the abundance of their eagerness. Let us men, then, be ashamed at their vigor, and cease being melted into the present things, the shadow, the dreams, the smoke. For indeed the greater part of our life is spent in insensibility. For the first age is full of much folly; and the age that travels toward old age withers again all the sense in us; and small is the middle part that can enjoy luxury with full sense; or rather not even that shares in it purely, since countless cares and labors spoil it. That is why I beg you, let us seek the unshakable and immortal good things, and the life that never has old age. For it is possible even for one who lives in the city to emulate the wisdom of the monks; it is possible for one who has a wife and is busy in a household both to pray and to fast and to feel compunction. For those too who were instructed by the apostles at the beginning lived in the cities, yet showed the piety of those who have occupied the deserts; and others again presided over workshops, like Priscilla and Aquila. And all the prophets had wives and households, like Isaiah, like Ezekiel, like the great Moses; and they were not harmed at all in virtue by this. Emulating these, then, let us too give thanks to God, let us hymn him continually, and let us care for self-control and the other virtues, and bring the wisdom of the deserts into the cities, so that we may appear both well-pleasing to God and approved by men, and attain the good things to come, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory, honor, might to the Father, together with the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.

“Truly, truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” For since he had spoken much about dangers and death, and about his own passion, and the slaughter of the disciples, and had laid on them those severe commands, and these were in the present life and at hand, while the good things were in hopes and expectations—for example, that those who lose their life save it, that he will come in the glory of his Father, that he will repay the prizes—wishing to give full assurance also to their sight, and to show what that glory is with which he is about to come, as far as it was possible for them to learn, he shows and reveals it to them even in the present life, so that they might no longer grieve at their own death or at the Master’s, and especially Peter, who was in pain. And see what he does. Having spoken about Gehenna and the kingdom (for by saying, “He who finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses it for my sake will find it,” and by saying, “He will repay each according to his conduct,” he made both of these plain), having spoken, then, about both, he shows the kingdom to their sight, but not Gehenna. Why? Because if they had been some others, coarser, this too would have been necessary; but since they were approved and right-minded, he leads them on by the more pleasant things. And not for this reason alone does he show this, but also because this was more fitting for him. Yet he does not pass over that part either; but there are places where he brings the very realities of Gehenna almost before the eyes, as when he brings in the picture of Lazarus, and mentions the one who demanded the hundred denarii, and the one clothed in filthy garments, and many others. “And after six days he takes with him Peter and James and John.” But another says “after eight,” not contradicting this one, but agreeing with him exactly. For the one counted both the very day on which he spoke and that on which he led them up; but the other only the days between these. But consider, I pray you, how Matthew shows wisdom, not hiding those who were preferred to himself. John too does this in many places, recording with great truthfulness the special praises of Peter. For the band of these saints was everywhere free of envy and vainglory. Taking, then, the leaders, “he brings them up onto a high mountain by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as the light. And there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him.” Why does he take these alone? Because they were superior to the others. And Peter showed his superiority by loving him greatly; John, by being greatly loved; and James, by the answer he gave together with his brother, saying, “We are able to drink the cup”; and not by his answer alone, but also by his deeds, both the others and those by which he fulfilled what he said. For he was so vehement and so heavy upon the Jews that even Herod thought it would be the greatest gift he could grant to the Jews if he killed him. And why does he not lead them up at once? So that the other disciples might not feel something human. That is why he does not even name those who were about to go up. For the others would have very much wished to follow, since they were going to see a pattern of that glory, and they would have been pained as overlooked. For even if he showed it in a rather bodily way, yet the thing aroused great desire. Why, then, does he even foretell it? So that from what he foretold they might become more ready to learn about the vision, and, filled with a more vehement desire through the counting of the days, they might come with a sober and attentive mind. And why does he bring Moses and Elijah into the midst? One could give many reasons; and first this one: since the crowds were saying, some Elijah, others Jeremiah, others one of the ancient prophets, he brings the leaders, so that from this too they might see the difference between the servants and the Master, and that Peter was rightly praised for confessing him the Son of God. After that one may give another reason too. For since they continually accused him of transgressing the law, and thought him a blasphemer, as appropriating a glory not belonging to him, the Father’s, and said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath,” and again, “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God,” so that it might be shown that both charges were from envy, and that he is free of both, and that what was done was neither a transgression of the law nor his calling himself equal to the Father an appropriation of a glory not belonging to him, he brings into the midst those who shone in each of these. For Moses gave the law, and the Jews could reason that he would not have overlooked its being trampled underfoot, as they thought, nor would he have served one who transgressed it and was an enemy of the one who laid it down. And Elijah was zealous for the glory of God; and if he had been an adversary of God, and called himself God, making himself equal to the Father, not being what he said and doing this unfittingly, he would not have stood by him and obeyed him.

One may give yet another reason besides those mentioned. What is it? That they might learn that he has authority over death and life, and rules the things above and the things below. That is why he brings into the midst both the one who had died and the one who had not yet suffered this. The fifth reason (for this is the fifth, in addition to those mentioned) the evangelist himself has revealed. And what was it? To show the glory of the cross, and to comfort Peter and the others who feared the passion, and to raise up their minds. For when they came they were not silent, but “spoke,” it says, “of the glory which he was about to fulfil in Jerusalem,” that is, of the passion and the cross; for so they always call it. And not in this way alone did he anoint them, but also by the very virtue of the men, which he required of them most of all. For since he had said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me,” he brings into the midst those who had been ready to die for what pleased God and for the people entrusted to them. For each of these, losing his life, found it. For each of them spoke boldly to tyrants, the one to the Egyptian, the other to Ahab; and on behalf of ungrateful and disobedient men; and by those very men who were being saved by them they were brought into the utmost danger; and each of them wished to free them from idolatry; and each of them was an unlearned man: for the one was slow of speech and weak of voice, and the other too was rather rustic in his ways. And both kept voluntary poverty with great strictness: for Moses possessed nothing, nor did Elijah have anything more than his sheepskin; and this in the time of the old covenant, and without having received so great a grace of signs. For if Moses divided the sea, yet Peter walked on the water, and was able to move mountains, and set right bodily diseases of every kind, and drove out savage demons, and by the shadow of his body worked those great wonders, and changed the whole world. And if Elijah too raised a dead man, yet these raised countless dead, and that before they had yet been counted worthy of the Spirit. For this reason too, then, he brings them into the midst. For he wished them to emulate those men’s leadership of the people, and their vigor, and their inflexibility; and to be gentle like Moses, and zealous like Elijah, and caring like both. For the one endured a three years’ famine for the sake of the Jewish people; and the other said, “If you will forgive them their sin, forgive; otherwise blot me too out of the book which you have written.” All these things he reminded them of by the vision. For he brought them in glory … not that they should stop at their measure, but that they should go beyond those bounds. At any rate, when they said, “Shall we bid fire come down from heaven?” and mentioned Elijah as having done this, he says, “You do not know what spirit you are of,” anointing them for forbearance by the difference in the gift. And let no one think that we condemn Elijah as imperfect; we do not say this, for he was very perfect; but in his own times, when the minds of men were more childish, they needed this training too. For Moses too was perfect in this respect; but nevertheless more is required of these than of him too. “For unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” For they were not entering Egypt, but the whole world, worse disposed than the Egyptians; nor were they to converse with Pharaoh, but to box with the devil himself, the tyrant of wickedness. For their contest was both to bind him and to plunder all his goods; and they did this not by splitting a sea but an abyss of ungodliness, through the rod of Jesse, which had far harder waves. See, at any rate, how many things frightened men: death, poverty, disgrace, countless sufferings; and they trembled at these more than the Jews then trembled at that sea. But nevertheless he persuaded them to brave all these things, and to pass over as on dry land with all safety. To train them for all these things, then, he brought forward those who had shone in the old covenant. What then does the fervent Peter say? “It is good for us to be here.” For since he had heard that he must go away to Jerusalem and suffer, still fearing and trembling for him even after the rebuke, he does not dare to come and say the same thing again, “Mercy on you”; but from that fear he hints at the same things again in other words. For since he saw the mountain, and the great seclusion and solitude, he reasoned that he had great safety from the place; and not only from the place, but also from his no longer going away to Jerusalem; for he wishes him to be there continually; that is why he also mentions tents. “For if this should happen,” he says, “we shall not go up to Jerusalem; and if we do not go up, he will not die; for he said that it was there that the scribes would set upon him.” But he did not dare to say it so; but wishing to arrange this, he said, “It is good for us to be here” in safety, where Moses too is present, and Elijah: Elijah who brought down fire on the mountain, and Moses who entered the darkness and spoke with God; and no one will even know where we are.

Do you see the fervent lover of Christ? For do not look into this, that the manner of his entreaty was not well considered, but how fervent he was, how he burned for Christ. For that he did not say these things trembling so much for himself, when Christ foretold his coming death and the attack on him, hear what he says: “I will lay down my life for you”; and, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And see how he risked himself even in the midst of the dangers themselves. At any rate, when so great a crowd stood round, not only did he not flee, but even drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. So he did not consider his own case, but trembled for his teacher. Then, since he had spoken decisively, he checks himself, and, thinking that he might be rebuked again, he says, “If you wish, let us make three tents here, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” What are you saying, Peter? Did you not a little while ago set him apart from the servants? Do you again number him with the servants? Do you see how very imperfect they were before the cross? For even if the Father had revealed it to him, yet he did not keep hold of the revelation continually, but was troubled by his agony—not only this one I spoke of, but also another, that arising from that vision. At any rate, the other evangelists, making this plain, and showing that the confusion of mind with which he spoke these things came from that agony, said: Mark, that “he did not know what to say, for they were terrified”; and Luke, after saying, “Let us make three tents,” added, “not knowing what he said.” Then, showing that he and the others were held by great fear, he says, “They were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake they saw his glory,” here calling “sleep” the great stupor that came upon them from that vision. For as eyes are darkened by excessive brightness, so they suffered then. For it was not night but day, and the overwhelming radiance weighed down the weakness of their eyes. What then? He himself says nothing, nor Moses, nor Elijah; but he who is greater than all and more worthy of belief, the Father, sends forth a voice from the cloud. Why from the cloud? So God always appears: “For cloud and darkness are round about him”; and, “He sits on a light cloud”; and again, “He who makes the clouds his chariot”; and, “A cloud took him up out of their sight”; and, “one like a son of man coming on the clouds.” So that they might believe, then, that the voice is borne from God, it comes from there. And the cloud was bright. “For while he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice from the cloud saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’” For when he threatens, he shows a dark cloud, as on Sinai: “for Moses entered,” it says, “into the cloud and into the darkness, and the smoke went up like vapor”; and the prophet, speaking of his threatening, says, “dark water in clouds of the air.” But here, since he did not wish to frighten but to teach, there was a bright cloud. And Peter said, “Let us make three tents”; but he showed a tent not made with hands. That is why there was smoke and the vapor of a furnace there, but here unspeakable light and a voice. Then, to show that it was not said of any one of the three indifferently, but of Christ alone, when the voice was borne, those men were taken out of the way. For if it had been said of any one of them indifferently, this one would not have remained alone when the two were separated. Why then did the cloud not take up Christ alone, but all? If it had taken up Christ alone, he would have been thought to have uttered the voice himself. That is why the evangelist too, guarding against this very thing, says that the voice was from the cloud, that is, from God. And what does the voice say? “This is my beloved Son.” And if beloved, do not be afraid, Peter. For you ought already to have known his power and to have been fully assured about the resurrection; but since you do not know, at least take courage from the Father’s voice. For if God is mighty, as indeed he is mighty, it is plain that the Son is likewise. Do not, then, fear the dangers. But if you do not yet accept this, at least consider that he is both Son and loved. “For this,” he says, “is my beloved Son.” And if he is loved, do not be afraid. For no one gives up one whom he loves. Do not, then, be troubled; even if you love him countless times, you do not love him as much as the one who begot him. “In whom I am well pleased.” For he loves him not only because he begot him, but also because he is equal to him in all things and of one mind with him. So the love is double, or rather triple: because he is Son, because he is beloved, because he is well pleased in him. And what is “I am well pleased”? … “I am satisfied,” because he is made equal to him in all things exactly, and there is one will in him and in the Father, and, remaining Son, he is in all things one with the one who begot him. “Listen to him.” So that even if he wishes to be crucified, do not oppose him. “And when they heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. And Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Rise, and do not be afraid.’ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”

How was it that they were struck with terror on hearing this? And yet before this too such a voice was borne at the Jordan, and a crowd was present, and no one suffered anything of the kind; and again afterward, when they even said it had thundered; but not even then did they undergo anything of the kind. How then did they fall on the mountain? Because there was solitude and height and great stillness, and a transfiguration full of awe, and pure light, and a cloud spread out; all of which threw them into great agony. And astonishment gathered from every side, and they fell, at once afraid and worshiping. But so that the fear, remaining long, might not drive out their memory, he at once dissolved their agony, and he is seen alone, and he commands them to tell this to no one until he has risen from the dead. “For as they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them to tell the vision to no one until he had risen from the dead.” For the greater the things said about him, the harder they were for the many to accept then; and the offense of the cross was heightened the more by this. That is why he bids them keep silent; and not simply so, but reminding them again of the passion, and all but telling them the reason for which he commanded them to be silent. For he did not command them to tell no one ever, but until he had risen from the dead. And keeping silent about the hard part, he shows only the good part. What then? Were they not going to be offended afterward? Not at all. For what was in question was the time before the cross. For afterward they were also counted worthy of the Spirit, and had the voice of the signs pleading for them, and everything they said was from then on readily accepted, the facts proclaiming his might more clearly than a trumpet, and no such offense intervening in what was done. Nothing, then, is more blessed than the apostles, and especially the three, who were counted worthy to be under the same roof with the Master even in the cloud. But if we wish, we too shall see Christ, not as they did then on the mountain, but much more brightly. For he will not come later in this way. For then, sparing the disciples, he opened only so much of his brightness as they could bear; but later he will come in the very glory of the Father, not with Moses and Elijah only, but with the boundless army of the angels, with the archangels, with the cherubim, with those boundless multitudes, not with a cloud over his head, but with heaven itself rolled up. For as with judges, when they judge in public, those standing by draw back the curtains and show them to all, so then too all will see him seated, and all human nature will stand by, and he himself will answer them in his own person; and to some he will say, “Come, you blessed of my Father; for I was hungry and you gave me food”; and to others he will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many.” And giving the opposite verdict, he answers some, “Depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”; and others, “You wicked and slothful servant.” And some he will cut in two and hand over to the torturers; others he will command to be bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness. And after the axe the furnace will follow, and what is thrown out of the dragnet will fall there. “Then the righteous will shine like the sun”; or rather more than the sun. And so much is said, not because their light will be only so much, but because we know no star brighter than this one, and he wished to set forth the future brightness of the saints from what is familiar. For on the mountain too, when he said that he shone like the sun, he spoke so for the same reason. For that the light was greater than the comparison, the disciples showed by falling. For if the light had not been unmixed but equal to the sun, they would not have fallen, but would easily have borne it. The righteous, then, will shine like the sun, and then above the sun; but sinners will suffer the utmost. Then there will be no need of records, of proofs, of witnesses; for he himself is all: the one who judges, and witness, and proof, and judge. For he knows all things clearly: “for all things are naked and laid bare to his eyes.” No rich man, no poor man, no ruler, no weakling, no wise man, no unwise, no slave, no free man will appear there; but, these masks being broken, the examination of works alone will remain. For if in the law courts, when someone is tried for tyranny or murder or whatever it may be, even if he is a prefect, even if a consul, whatever he is, all his dignities fly away, and the convicted man pays the utmost penalty, much more will this be so there.