Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ” (Luke 17:5–10)

From the mustard seed we spoke above; now it is mulberry that must be treated. I read: a tree; I do not believe, however, that it is a tree: for what reason, what profit for us, that a tree, made to give fruit to the toilers who toil, is uprooted and thrown into the sea? Doubtless we believe it possible, by virtue of faith, that insensible nature obey perceptible orders; yet what does this species of tree mean? I read, it is true: "I was a shepherd of goats, grazing blackberries" (Amos 7:14), and I think the Prophet wanted to mark us that he was from the flock of sinners, sinner him himself, and withdrew from it. It is also fitting that, in order to prophesy to the nations, he sought fruits on the bushes, drew his food from the bushes. He was going to settle the Gentiles' dark and smelly flocks, the peoples of the nations, into the pastures of his writings, where they would fatten with spiritual nourishment, while he would draw from the sinner converted the spiritual milk. But, as in another book of the Gospels (Matt 17:19) is spoken of a mountain - whose bare silhouette, deprived of fertile vineyards and olive trees, barren in harvests, conducive to the dens of animals, troubled by the incursions of wild beasts, seems to translate the haughty elevation of the evil spirit (2 Cor 10:15), as it is written: "I speak to you, corrupt mountain, who corrupts the whole earth (Jer 51:25) - there is reason to believe that in this passage again we are shown faith expelling the foul spirit. Especially as the nature of the tree fits with this opinion: because its fruit is white at first in its flower, then once formed blushes, maturing becomes black. The devil too, fallen from his prevarication of the white flower of the angelic nature and the scarlet of his power, took the horrible blackness and odor of sin. See the One who says to the mulberry tree: "Rip yourself and throw yourself into the sea": when He hunts a Legion of a man, He allows him to pass into pigs, who, carried away by the diabolical impulse, have drowned in the sea (Luke 8:30 ff). This passage is therefore an exhortation to the faith; in the moral sense he teaches us that even what is most solid can be destroyed by faith. But from faith come charity, from charity hope, and they come back to one another as by a sacred circle.

The following shows that no one should boast of his works, since it is in justice that we owe the Lord our service. For if you do not say to a servant who has plowed or grazed the sheep, go on (here), put yourself at the table - where you hear that no one sits down if he does not pass first: Moses first began to move to see the great vision (Exod 3:3) - so if you not only do not say to your servant: sit down to table, but you claim from him another service and do not 'Do not thank it, so the Lord does not admit that you are giving Him a single work or work; for as long as we live, we must always work. Recognize, therefore, that you are a servant of many services. Do not worry about being called a child of God - you must recognize grace, but without forgetting nature - do not boast if you have served well: you had to do it. The sun does its work, the moon obeys, the angels do their service; the instrument chosen by the Lord for the Gentiles says, "I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I have persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor 15:9); and in another place, after having shown that he is not aware of any fault, he adds: "But I am not justified for that reason" (1 Cor 4:4). So we, too, do not pretend to be praised for ourselves; do not anticipate the judgment of God; let us not prevent the judge's judgment, but reserve it for his time, for his judge.

Ambrose, Homilies on Luke 17

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Woe to those who disdain Zion,
and to those who trust in the mountain of Samaria.
They picked the rulers of the nations,
and they entered.
O house of Israel, walk, all of you, and see,
and pass through from that place to Hamath Rabbah,
and go down from that place to Gath of foreigners,
the nobles from all these kingdoms,
if their borders are greater than your borders.
Those who are coming to a bad day,
who are drawing near and holding false sabbaths,
those laying down to sleep upon beds of ivory
and living luxuriously upon their beds,
and eating kids from the flocks
and suckling little calves from the midst of herds,
those clapping to the music of the instruments,
since they considered them as having stood and not as fleeting,
those drinking filtered wine
and those anointing themselves with first-rate myrrh,
and they would not suffer anything
because of the ruin of Joseph.
On account of this, now they will be captives
from the beginning of the mighty ones,
and the neighing of horses
will be removed from Ephraim. (Amos 6:1–7 LXX)

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.” Then he said, “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:19–31)

Nevertheless he who lived in wickedness and inhumanity enjoyed every kind of good fortune, while the righteous man who practiced virtue endured the extremes of ill fortune. For again in Lazarus’ case, we can prove that he was righteous both by his end and, before his end, by his patient endurance of poverty. Do you not seem to see the whole situation as if it were present? The rich man had his ship full of merchandise, and it sailed before the wind. But do not be surprised: he was hastening to shipwreck, since he refused to unload his cargo with discretion. Shall I tell you another wickedness of his? His daily luxurious and unscrupulous feasting. For truly this is extreme wickedness, not only now, when such great wisdom is expected of us, but even at the beginning, under the old covenant, when not so much wisdom had been revealed.… For when he said, “Woe … to you who are approaching the evil day,” and added, “and adopting false sabbaths,” he showed by his next words how their sabbaths were false. How did they make their sabbaths false? By working wickedness, feasting, drinking, and doing a multitude of shameful and grievous deeds. To prove that this is true, hear what follows. He reveals what I am saying by what he adds immediately: “Who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls … who drink filtered wine, and anoint yourselves with the best ointment.” You received the sabbath to free your soul from wickedness, but you have enslaved it further. For what could be worse than this frivolity, this sleeping on beds of ivory? The other sins, such as drunkenness, greed, and profligacy, provide some pleasure, however small; but in sleeping on beds of ivory, what pleasure is there? What comfort?

Do you wish to see what makes a bed truly beautiful? I will show you now the splendor of a bed, not of a citizen or a soldier, but of a king. For even if you are the most ambitious of all men, I am sure that you will not wish to have a bed more splendid than the king’s; and, what is more, I do not refer to any ordinary king, but the greatest king, more kingly than all other kings, who is still honored in song throughout the world: I am showing you the bed of the blessed David. What kind of bed did he have? Not adorned all over with silver and gold, but with tears and confessions. He himself tells this, when he says, “I shall wash my bed every night; I shall water my couch with my tears.” He fixes his tears like pearls everywhere on his bed. And consider with me how he loved God in his soul. Since in the daytime many concerns about rulers, commanders, nations, peoples, soldiers, wars, peace, politics, and troubles in his household or outside or among his neighbors, distracted him and diverted his attention, the time of leisure, which everyone else uses for sleep, he used for confession, prayers, and tears. He did not do this on one night only, ceasing on the second night, nor on two or three nights, omitting the nights in between, but he kept on doing this every night. For he says, “I shall wash my bed every night; I shall water my couch with my tears,” revealing the abundance and continuity of his tears. When everyone was quiet and at rest, he met God alone, and the unsleeping eye was with him as he wept and mourned and told of his private sins. You also ought to make a bed like this for yourself. Silver surrounding you awakens jealousy from men and stirs up anger from above; but tears like David’s are able to quench the very fires of hell.

John Chrysostom, Homilies on Lazarus and the Rich Man 1

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. (Luke 16:1–8)

There are certain documents which God writes; certain documents which we ourselves write. We write documents of sin. Hear the Apostle saying: “Blotting out the handwriting in the decrees that was against us, which was contrary to us, he has taken it out of the way, fastening it to his cross.” That which he calls handwriting was the bond of our sins. For each of us in these things which he commits is made a debtor and writes the documents of his sins. For also in the judgment of God which Daniel describes as having sat, he mentions “the books which were opened,” without doubt the books which contained the sins of men. We ourselves, therefore, write these documents for ourselves by those things which we commit. For that which is said in the Gospel of “the unjust steward” is also an image of this matter. He says to each debtor, “take your bill and sit down and write eighty,” and the other things which are related. You see, therefore, that it is said to each man: “Take your bill.” Whence it is evident that ours are documents of sin, but God writes documents of justice. For thus the Apostle says: “For you are an epistle written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart.” You have, therefore, in yourself documents of God and documents of the Holy Spirit. But if you transgress, you yourself write in yourself the handwriting of sin. But notice that at any time when you have approached the cross of Christ and the grace of baptism, your handwriting is affixed to the cross and blotted out in the fountain of baptism. Do not rewrite later what has been blotted out nor repair what has been destroyed. Preserve only the documents of God in yourself. Let only the Scripture of the Holy Spirit remain in you.

Origen, Homilies on Genesis 13

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:1–7)

When one ailing sheep lags behind the others
And loses itself in the silvan mazes,
Tearing its white fleece on the thorns and briers,
Sharp in the brambles,

Unwearied the Shepherd, that lost one seeking,
Drives away the wolves and on His strong shoulders
Brings it home again to the fold’s safekeeping,
Healed and unsullied.

He brings it back to the green fields and meadows,
Where no thorn-bush waves with its cruel prickles,
Where no shaggy thistle arms trembling branches
With its rough briers,

But where palm trees grow in the open woodland,
Where the lush grass bends its green leaves, and laurels
Shade the glassy streamlet of living water
Ceaselessly flowing.

Prudentius, Hymn for Everyday 8.33–48

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 14:25–35)

The Father did not send the only-begotten Son, the living God, to judge the world but to save the world. True to himself and faithful to the will of the good God his Father, he points to a doctrine whereby we may be made worthy of becoming his disciples with his severe decree. He says, “If any man comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and his wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” This hatred teaches the virtue of piety by withdrawing us from distractions and does not lead us to devise hurtful schemes against one another. “Whoever,” says the Lord, “does not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Receiving the baptism of water, we make this same agreement when we promise to be crucified and to die and to be buried with him.

Basil of Caesarea, Concerning Baptism 1.1

If you want to be the Lord's disciple, you must take up your cross and follow the Lord. Take up your stress and your tortures or at least your body, which is like a cross. Parents, wives, children are all to be left for God's sake. Are you hesitating about crafts, businesses and professions for the sake of children or parents? The proof that family as well as crafts and business are to be left for the Lord's sake was given us when James and John were called by the Lord and left both father and ship. It was given when Matthew was roused from the seat of custom and when faith allowed no time even to bury a father.

Tertullian, On Idolatry 12

People of God are truly the salt of the earth. They preserve the order of the world. Society is held together as long as the salt is uncorrupted. If the salt lost its savor, it is neither suitable for the land or the manure pile. It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “He that has ears, let him hear” the meaning of these words. When God gives to the tempter permission to persecute us, then we suffer persecution. When God wishes us to be free from suffering even in the middle of a world that hates us, we enjoy a wonderful peace. We trust in the protection of him who said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Origen, Against Celsus 8.70