Friday, March 15, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday in Lent

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:35–45)

What He is saying is that, if you wish the privilege of the first place and the highest honor, seek the place which is last, seek to be less worthy, more humble, less important than all, and to rank yourselves below the others. This is the virtue which gives this honor. And we have a most profitable example in the verse which follows, where He says: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” What He is saying is this. “You can see that to humble themselves is what makes men glorious and remarkable if you look at what happened to me, even though I have no need for honor and glory. Still it was by my humility that I accomplished countless good deeds.” For before He humbled Himself and became man, everything had perished and was destroyed. But after He humbled himself, He exalted all things.

He erased the curse, He triumphed over death, He opened paradise. He struck down sin, He opened wide the vaults of the sky, He lifted our first fruits to heaven, He filled the whole world with godliness. He drove out error, He led back the truth, He made our firstfruits mount to the royal throne. He accomplished so many good deeds that neither I nor all men together could set them before your minds in words. Before He humbled Himself, only the angels knew Him. After He humbled Himself, all human nature knew Him. You see how His humbling of Himself did not make Him have less but produced countless profits, countless deeds of virtue, and made His glory shine forth with greater brightness. God wants for nothing and has need of nothing. Yet, when He humbled Himself, He produced such great good, increased His household, and extended His kingdom.

Why, then, are you afraid that you will become less if you humble yourself? If you do humble yourself, you will become more exalted, you will be great, you will be illustrious, you will be renowned on every side. But this will happen only when you are satisfied to become less, to face dangers, and to be put to death. First you must seek to serve, to attend to and care for all men. If you will become exalted by humbling yourself, you must be ready to do and suffer all things.

Ponder this, my beloved, and then let us be fully prepared to pursue humility. When we shall be insulted and spat upon, when we shall be subjected to every humiliation, when we shall be dishonored and scorned, let us endure all this and be glad. Nothing is so likely to exalt us and win us glory and honor, nothing is so likely to show us as great as is the virtue of humility. May it come to pass that, while we succeed in gaining this virtue in its perfection, we may obtain all the blessings which have been promised through the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory and honor and worship to the Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever, world without end. Amen.

John Chrysostom, On the Incomprehensible Nature of God 45–48

Friday, March 8, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday in Lent

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. (John 3:14–21)

What He says, is of this kind: Marvel not that I am to be lifted up that you may be saved, for this seems good to the Father, and He has so loved you as to give His Son for slaves, and ungrateful slaves. Yet a man would not do this even for a friend, nor readily even for a righteous man; as Paul has declared when he said, Scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Now he spoke at greater length, as speaking to believers, but here Christ speaks concisely, because His discourse was directed to Nicodemus, but still in a more significant manner, for each word has much significance. For by the expression, so loved, and that other, God the world, He shows the great strength of His love. Large and infinite was the interval between the two. He, the Immortal, Who is without beginning, the Infinite Majesty, they but dust and ashes, full of ten thousand sins, who, ungrateful, have at all times offended Him; and these He loved. Again, the words which He added after these are alike significant, when He says, that He gave His Only-begotten Son, not a servant, not an Angel, not an Archangel. And yet no one would show such anxiety for his own child, as God did for His ungrateful servants.

John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John 27.2

Let us praise the Son first of all, venerating the blood that expiated our sins. He lost nothing of His divinity when He saved me, when like a good physician he stooped to my festering wounds. He was a mortal man, but He was also God. He was of the race of David but Adam's creator. He who has no body clothed Himself with flesh. He had a mother who, nonetheless, was a virgin. He who is without bounds bound Himself with the cords of our humanity. He was victim and high priest—yet He was God. He offered up his blood and cleansed the whole world. He was lifted up on the cross, but it was sin that was nailed to it. He became as one among the dead, but He rose from the dead, raising to life also many who had died before Him. On the one hand, there was the poverty of His humanity; on the other, the riches of His divinity. Do not let what is human in the Son permit you wrongfully to detract from what is divine. For the sake of the divine, hold in the greatest honor the humanity, which the immortal Son took on Himself for love of you.

Gregory Nazianzen, Poem 2

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The Life of Repentance

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” —Martin Luther, 95 Theses 1

And when I saw these things in that bright mirror of the holy Gospel of my Lord, my soul became weak and my spirit was at an end and my body was bent down to the dust; my heart was filled with bitter groans that perhaps my stains might be made white by the washing of my tears. And I remembered that good Lord and kindly God who cancels through tears the bond of those in debt and accepts lamentation in the place of burnt sacrifices. When I came to this point, I took refuge in repentance and I hid myself beneath the wings of compunction. I sought refuge in the shade of humility and I said, “What more than these am I required to offer to Him who has no need of sacrifices and burnt offerings?” Rather, a humble spirit, which is the perfect sacrifice that is able to make propitiation for defects, a broken heart in the place of burnt offerings, and tears of propitiation in the place of a libation of wine are things which God will not reject.

Ephrem the Syrian, Letter to Publius 24

Friday, March 1, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday in Lent

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:13–22)

If Jesus says that the temple in Jerusalem is the house of his own Father, and this temple was constructed for the glory of Him who created the heaven and the earth, are we not taught openly to consider the Son of God to be a Son of none other than the creator of heaven and earth? Since it is a house of prayer, the apostles of Christ, too, are commanded by the angel to enter this house of Jesus’ Father (as we have found in the Acts of the Apostles), and to stand and speak “to the people all the words of this life.” … Furthermore, if the house of Christ’s God were not the house of the same God, how would the disciples have remembered what is said in Psalm 68 [LXX]: “The zeal of your house has devoured me”? For that is what is stated in the prophet, and not ‘devours me.’ Now Christ is especially jealous for the house of God in each of us, not wishing it to be a house of merchandise, nor that the house of prayer become a den of thieves, since He is son of a jealous God. This is the case if we understand such words from the Scriptures in a reasonable manner, which were spoken metaphorically from the human viewpoint to set forth the fact that God wishes nothing alien to His will to be mingled with the soul of any men, but especially with the soul of those who wish to receive most divine faith.

Origen, Commentary on John 10.216, 220–221

Friday, February 23, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday in Lent

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:27–38)

Do you wish to follow Christ? Be humble where He was humble; do not despise His humility if you wish to reach His height. Truly, the path became rough when man sinned, but it is smooth since Christ through His Resurrection trod upon it and made a royal road out of the exceedingly narrow path. Men run upon this way with two feet, that is, through humility and charity. Loftiness delights all men on it, but humility is the first step. Why do you stretch your foot beyond you? You want to fall, not to rise. Begin with the first step, that is, with humility, and you have risen.

For this reason our Lord and Savior not only said: Let him deny himself, but He added: take up his cross, and follow me. What does this mean, take up his cross? Let him bear whatever is troublesome: thus let him follow Me. When he has begun to follow Me according to My morals and precepts, he will have many people who contradict him and stand in his way, many who not only deride but even persecute him. Moreover, this is true, not only of pagans who are outside of the Church, but also of those who seem to be in it corporally but are outside of it because of the perversity of their deeds. Although these men glory in merely the title of Christian, they continually persecute good Christians. Such men belong to the members of the Church in the same way that bad blood is in the body. Therefore, if you wish to follow Christ, do not delay in carrying His cross; tolerate sinners, but do not yield to them. Do not let the false happiness of the wicked corrupt you. You ought to despise all things for the sake of Christ, in order that you may deserve to arrive at His companionship. The world is loved, but let the One who made the world be preferred to it. The world is beautiful, but much fairer is the One by whom the world was made. The world is flattering, but more delightful is He by whom the world was created.

Caesarius of Arles, Sermons 159.4–5

Friday, February 16, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the First Sunday in Lent

Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you did this thing, and for My sake did not spare your beloved son, I will certainly bless you, and assuredly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall inherit the cities of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:15–18 LXX)

In the former promise there was only the statement; here an oath is interposed, which the holy Apostle writing to the Hebrews interprets in this way, saying: “God, meaning to show the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed an oath.” And again, Scripture says: “Men swear by one greater than themselves.” “But God, because he had no one greater by whom he might swear,” “ ‘I swear by myself,’ said the Lord.” It was not that necessity forced God to swear (for who would exact the oath from him?), but as the apostle Paul has interpreted it, that by this he might point out to his worshipers “the immutability of his counsel.” So also elsewhere it is said by the prophet: “The Lord has sworn nor will he repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

At that time in the first promise there is no reason stated why the promise is given, only that he brought him forth and “showed him,” Scripture says, “the stars of heaven, and said: ‘So shall your seed be.’ ” But now he adds the reason on account of which he confirms with an oath the promise which will be steadfast. For he says: “Because you have done this thing and have not spared your son.” He shows, therefore, that because of the offering or passion of the son the promise is steadfast. This clearly points out that the promise remains steadfast because of the passion of Christ for the people of the gentiles “who are of the faith of Abraham.”

Origen, Homilies on Genesis 9.1

Friday, February 9, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Transfiguration

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (Mark 9:2–9)

Make an effort, and do not grow weary of my prolonged discourse. For as when He manifests Himself, He is not manifested as He really is, nor is His bare essence manifested (for no man has seen God in His real nature; for when He is but partially revealed the Cherubim tremble—the mountains smoke, the sea is dried up, the heaven is shaken, and if the revelation were not partial who could endure it?) as then, I say, He does not manifest Himself as He really is, but only as the beholder is able to see Him, therefore does He appear sometimes in the form of old age, sometimes of youth, sometimes in fire, sometimes in air, sometimes in water, sometimes in armor, not altering his essential nature, but fashioning His appearance to suit the various condition of those who are affected by it. In like manner also when any one wishes to say anything concerning Him he employs human illustrations. For instance I say: "He went up into the mountain and He was transfigured before them, and His countenance shone as the sun, and His raiment became white as snow." He disclosed, it is said, a little of the Godhead, He manifested to them the God dwelling among them "and He was transfigured before them." Attend carefully to the statement. The writer says and He was transfigured before them, and His raiment shone as the light, and His countenance was as the sun. When I said "such is His greatness and power" and added "be merciful to me O Lord," (for I do not rest satisfied with the expression but am perplexed, having no other framed for the purpose) I wish you to understand, that I learned this lesson from Holy Scripture. The evangelist then wished to describe His splendor and he says "He shone." How did He shine? Tell me. Exceedingly. And how do you express this? He shone "as the sun." As the sun do you say? Yea. Wherefore? Because I know not any other luminary more brilliant. And He was white do you say as snow? Wherefore as snow? Because I know not any other substance which is whiter. For that He did not really shine thus is proved by what follows: the disciples fell to the ground. If he had shone as the sun the disciples would not have fallen; for they saw the sun every day, and did not fall: but inasmuch as he shone more brilliantly than the sun or snow, they, being unable to bear the splendor, fell to the earth.

Tell me then, O evangelist, did He shine more brightly than the sun, and yet do you say, "as the sun?" Yea: wishing to make that light known to you, I know not any other greater luminary, I have no other comparison which holds a royal place among luminaries. I have said these things that you may not rest contentedly in the poverty of the language used: I have pointed out to you the fall of the disciples: they fell to the earth, and were stupefied and overwhelmed with slumber. "Arise" He said, and lifted them up, and yet they were oppressed. For they could not endure the excessive brightness of that shining, but heavy sleep took possession of their eyes: so far did the light which was manifested exceed the light of the sun. Yet the evangelist said "as the sun," because that luminary is familiar to us and surpasses all the rest.

John Chrysostom, Homily 2 on Eutropius 10–11

Friday, February 2, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Cor 9:16–27)

Paul is free from all men because he preached the gospel without getting any praise for it and never wanted anything from anyone except their salvation. He has not accepted large sums of money to spend on himself, which would have been sheer hypocrisy. He says that he has acted as a slave to all in order to show by his humility that he was not unlike anyone who is weak in his thinking. Paul wanted to strengthen them by patience for their future salvation by showing his great concern for those who were sinning or who were being slow to follow the commands of their faith. All along, his main aim was that they should not feel bitter resentment at being rebuked.

Did Paul merely pretend to be all things to all men, in the way that flatterers do? No. He was a man of God and a doctor of the spirit who could diagnose every pain, and with great diligence he tended them and sympathized with them. We have something or other in common with everyone, and this is what Paul brought out in dealing with particular people. He became a Jew to the Jews in that he circumcised Timothy, because that was a scandal to them, and when he went to the temple he practiced the rite of purification, so that the Jews would not be given an opportunity to blaspheme on his account. He performed an action which by its nature should have been obsolete, but he acted in accordance with the law. He agreed with the Jews that the law and the prophets were from God, and on that basis he showed them that Christ was the promised one. He agreed with them, in other words, in order to get them to accept his teaching. …

Paul became weak by abstaining from things which would scandalize the weak. Here he shows the true marks of a wise and spiritual man, because having become all things to all men, he nevertheless did not transgress the bounds of his faith. When he made allowances, he did so in order to do good, but he never did anything other than what the law commanded. Paul did all these things in order to share in God’s plan for the salvation of the human race.

Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 19–20, 22–23

Friday, January 26, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. (Mark 1:21–28)

Even the demons cried out, on beholding the Son: “I know who You are, the Holy One of God.” Later the devil looking at him and tempting him, would say: “If You are the Son of God.” All of these thus recognized the Son and the Father, yet without believing. So it was fitting that the truth should receive testimony from all, and should become a means of judgment for the salvation not only of those who believe, but also for the condemnation of those who do not believe. The result is that all should be fairly judged, and that the faith in the Father and Son should be a matter of decision for all, so that one means of salvation should be established for all, receiving testimony from all, both from those belonging to it who were its friends, and by those having no connection with it who were its enemies. For that evidence is most trustworthy and true which elicits even from its adversaries striking testimonies on its behalf.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.6.6–7

And again, when He put a curb in the mouths of the demons that cried after Him from the tombs. For although what they said was true, and they lied not then, saying, ‘You are the Son of God,’ and ‘the Holy One of God;’ yet He would not that the truth should proceed from an unclean mouth, and especially from such as them, lest under pretense thereof they should mingle with it their own malicious devices, and sow these also while men slept. Therefore He suffered them not to speak such words, neither would He have us to suffer such, but hath charged us by His own mouth, saying, ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves;’ and by the mouth of His Holy Apostles, ‘Believe not every spirit.’ Such is the method of our adversary’s operations; and of the like nature are all these inventions of heresies, each of which has for the father of its own device the devil, who changed and became a murderer and a liar from the beginning. But being ashamed to profess his hateful name, they usurp the glorious Name of our Savior ‘which is above every name,’ and deck themselves out in the language of Scripture, speaking indeed the words, but stealing away the true meaning thereof; and so disguising by some artifice their false inventions, they also become the murderers of those whom they have led astray.

Athanasius, To the Bishops of Egypt 1.3

Friday, January 19, 2024

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday after Epiphany

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. (Mark 1:14–20)

For you have our Savior Jesus, the Christ of God, admitted by your own teachers to be, not an enchanter or a sorcerer, but holy, wise, the justest of the just, and dwelling in the vaults of heaven. He, then, being such, could only have done His miracles by a divine power, which also the holy writings bear witness that He had, saying that the Word of God and the highest Power of God dwelt in man’s shape and form, nay, even in actual flesh and body therein, and performed all the functions of human nature. And you yourself may realize the divine elements of this power, if you reflect on the nature and grandeur of a Being who could associate with Himself poor men of the lowly fisherman’s class, and use them as agents in carrying through a work that transcends all reason. For having conceived the intention, which no one ever before had done, of spreading His own laws and a new teaching among all nations, and of revealing Himself as the teacher of the religion of One Almighty God to all the races of men, He thought good to use the most rustic and common men as ministers of His own design, because maybe He had in mind to do the most unlikely things. For how could men unable even to open their mouths be able to teach, even if they were appointed teachers to only one person, far less to a multitude of men? How should they instruct the people, who were themselves without any education?

But this was surely the manifestation of the divine will and of the divine power working in them. For when He called them, the first thing He said to them was: ” Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And when He had thus acquired them as His followers, He breathed into them His divine power, He filled them with strength and bravery, and like a true Word of God and as God Himself, the doer of such great wonders, He made them hunters of rational and thinking souls, adding power to His words: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” and sent them forth fitted already to be workers and teachers of holiness to all the nations, declaring them heralds of His own teaching.

Eusebius, Proof of the Gospel 3.7