Homily III. · Matt. I. 1. · 2

Homily III. · Matt. I. 1. · 2

Do not then mar thy labors, nor cast away from thee the fruits of thy toils, neither run thou in vain, making frustrate all thy labor after the many courses thou hast run. Nay, for thy Lord knows thy good works better than thou dost. Though thou give but a cup of cold water, not even this doth He overlook; though thou contribute but a farthing, though thou shouldest utter a sigh only, He receives it all with great favor and is mindful thereof, and assigns for it great rewards.

But wherefore dost thou search out thine own doings, and bring them out before us continually? Knowest thou not, that if thou praise thyself, God will no more praise thee? even as if thou bewail thyself, He will not cease proclaiming thee before all. For it is not at all His will that thy labors should be disparaged. Why do I say, disparaged? Nay, He is doing and contriving all things, so that even for little He may crown thee; and He goes about seeking excuses, whereby thou mayest be delivered from hell. For this cause, though thou shouldest work but the eleventh hour of the day, He gives thy wages entire; and though thou afford no ground of salvation, He saith, "I do it for mine own sake, that my name be not profaned:" though thou shouldest sigh only, though thou shouldest only weep, all these things He quickly catches hold of, for an occasion of saving thee.

Let us not therefore lift up ourselves, but let us declare ourselves unprofitable, that we may become profitable. For if thou call thyself approved, thou art become unprofitable, though thou wert approved; but if useless, thou art become profitable, even though thou wert reprobate.

7. Wherefore it is necessary to forget our good actions. "Yet how is it possible," one may say, "not to know these things with which we are well acquainted?" How sayest thou? Offending thy Lord perpetually, thou livest delicately, and laughest, and dost not so much as know that thou hast sinned, but hast consigned all to oblivion; and of thy good actions canst thou not put away the memory? And yet fear is a stronger kind of thing. But we do the very contrary; on the one hand, whilst each day we are offending, we do not so much as put it before our mind; on the other, if we give a little money to a poor person, this we are ever revolving. This kind of conduct comes of utter madness, and it is a very great loss to him who so makes his reckoning. For the secure storehouse of good works is to forget our good works. And as with regard to raiment and gold, when we expose them in a market-place, we attract many ill-meaning persons; but if we put them by at home and hide them, we shall deposit them all in security: even so with respect to our good deeds; if we are continually keeping them in memory, we provoke the Lord, we arm the enemy, we invite him to steal them away; but if no one know of them, besides Him who alone ought to know, they will lie in safety.

Be not therefore for ever parading them, lest some one should take them away. As was the case with the Pharisee, for bearing them about upon his lips; whence also the devil caught them away. And yet it was with thanksgiving he made mention of them, and referred the whole to God. But not even did this suffice Him. For it is not thanksgiving to revile others, to be vainglorious before many, to exalt one's self against them that have offended. Rather, if thou art giving thanks to God, be content with Him only, and publish it not unto men, neither condemn thy neighbor; for this is not thanksgiving. Wouldest thou learn words of thanksgiving? hearken unto the Three Children, saying, "We have sinned, we have transgressed. Thou art righteous, O Lord, in all that thou hast done unto us, because thou hast brought all things upon us by a true judgment." For to confess one's own sins, this is to give thanks with confession unto God: a kind of thing which implies one to be guilty of numberless offenses, yet not to have the due penalty exacted. This man most of all is the giver of thanks.

8. Let us beware therefore of saying anything about ourselves, for this renders us both odious with men and abominable to God. For this reason, the greater the good works we do, the less let us say of ourselves; this being the way to reap the greatest glory both with men and with God. Or rather, not only glory from God, but a reward, yea, a great recompense. Demand not therefore a reward that thou mayest receive a reward. Confess thyself to be saved by grace, that He may profess Himself a debtor to thee; and not for thy good works only, but also for such rightness of mind. For when we do good works, we have Him debtor for our good works only; but when we do not so much as think we have done any good work, then also for this disposition itself; and more for this, than for the other things: so that this is equivalent to our good works. For should this be absent, neither will they appear great. For in the same way, we too, when we have servants, do then most approve them when, after having performed all their service with good will, they do not think they have done anything great. Wherefore, if thou wouldest make thy good deeds great, do not think them to be great, and then they will be great.

It was in this way that the centurion also said, "I am not fit that thou shouldest enter under my roof;" because of this, he became worthy, and was "marvelled at" above all Jews. On this wise again Paul saith, "I am not meet to be called an apostle;" because of this he became even first of all. So likewise John: "I am not meet to loose the latchet of His shoe;" because of this he was the "friend of the Bridegroom," and the hand which he affirmed to be unworthy to touch His shoes, this did Christ draw unto His own head. So Peter too said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man;" because of this he became a foundation of the Church.

For nothing is so acceptable to God as to number one's self with the last. This is a first principle of all practical wisdom. For he that is humbled, and bruised in heart, will not be vainglorious, will not be wrathful, will not envy his neighbor, will not harbor any other passion. For neither when a hand is bruised, though we strive ten thousand times, shall we be able to lift it up on high. If therefore we were thus to bruise our heart likewise, though it were stirred by ten thousand swelling passions, it could not be lifted up, no, not ever so little. For if a man, by mourning for things pertaining to this life, drives out all the diseases of his soul, much more will he, who mourns for sins, enjoy the blessing of self-restraint.

9. "But who," one may say, "will be able thus to bruise his own heart?" Listen to David, who became illustrious chiefly because of this, and see the contrition of his soul. How after ten thousand good works, and when he was on the point of being deprived of country, and home, and life itself, at the very season of his calamity, seeing a vile and outcast common soldier trample on the turn of his fortunes and revile him; so far from reviling him again, he utterly forbad one of his captains, who was desirous to have slain him, saying, "Let him alone, for the Lord hath bidden him." And again, when the priests desired to carry about the ark of God with him, he did not permit it; but what doth he say? "Let me set it down in the temple, and if God deliver me from the dangers that are before me, I shall see the beauty thereof; but if He say to me, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him." And that which was done with regard to Saul, again and again, even oftentimes, what excellence of self-restraint doth it not show? Yea, for he even surpassed the old law, and came near to the apostolic injunctions. For this cause he bore with contentedness all that came from the Lord's hands; not contending against what befell him, but aiming at one object alone, namely, in everything to obey, and follow the laws set by Him. And when after so many noble deeds on his part, he saw the tyrant, the parricide, the murderer of his own brother, that injurious, that frenzied one, possessing in his stead his own kingdom, not even so was he offended. But "if this please God," saith he, "that I should be chased, and wander, and flee, and that he should be in honor, I acquiesce, and accept it, and do thank God for His many afflictions." Not like many of the shameless and impudent ones, who when they have not done, no not the least part of his good works, yet if they see any in prosperity, and themselves enduring a little discouragement, ruin their own souls by ten thousand blasphemies. But David was not such an one; rather he showed forth all modesty. Wherefore also God said, "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart."

Such a spirit as this let us too acquire, and whatever we may suffer we shall bear it easily, and before the Kingdom, we shall reap here the gain accruing from lowliness of mind. Thus "learn," saith He, "of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Therefore in order that we may enjoy rest both here and hereafter, let us with great diligence implant in our souls the mother of all things that are good, I mean humility. For thus we shall be enabled both to pass over the sea of this life without waves, and to end our voyage in that calm harbor; by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might for ever and ever. Amen.

touto parthena Mara, ka tokets at, moo ka thnato to Kurou tra mustria kraug tina n such Theo prchthe. "Now the virginity of Mary, and her delivery, was kept in secret from the prince of this world, as was also the Lord's death; three most notable mysteries, yet done in Secret of God." [See Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I., p. 57. The Greek given in this note is from the "briefer" form of the Ignatian Epistles. But the "longer" form differs very little, and the Syriac version, brief as it is, contains this sentence.--R.] And Origen, 6th Homily on St. Luke, says, "It has been well written in one of the epistles of a certain martyr, I mean Ignatius, the next Bishop of Antioch after the blessed Peter, him who fought with wild beasts in the persecution at Rome, Now the virginity of Mary was kept in secret from the prince of this world.' It was concealed because of Joseph, because of her espousals, because she was supposed to have a husband. For, had she had no spouse or supposed husband, it could not have been concealed from the prince of this world. For presently the thought would have silently occurred to the evil one, How is she with child, who knoweth not a man? This conception must be divine, it must be something higher than human nature.' On the contrary, our Saviour had purposed that the devil should be ignorant of his OEconomy and Incarnation: for which cause He both in His birth concealed the same, and commanded His disciples afterwards that they should not make Him known. Also when tempted by the devil in person, He no where owned Himself Son of God." Origen then quotes 1 Cor. ii. 6-8, to the same effect. And in answer to the objection, How the devils which were from time to time cast out knew Him to be the Son of God, he suggests that it might be owing to their inferiority in malice and mischief: according to the rule among men, that the worse they are, the less they can know of Christ. [The Homilies of Origen are not included in the Ante-Nicene Fathers.] See also a supposed Homily of St. Basil's, De Christi generatione, Ed. Ben. ii. 598, c.; and St. Jerome on St. Matt. i. 18.

breach against thee?" Gen. xxxviii. 29. [R.V. text: "Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself," with the margin: "Or, How hast thou made a breach ! A breach be upon thee!" The LXX. rendering, which Chrysostom cites, misses the suggestion of the original Hebrew.--R.]

that the name of the child came from the greeting given it by the midwife.--R.]

Genesis, t. i. 478, ed. Sav. "Zara being interpreted, is the East.' And that these things did not take place at random, but were a type of what was to come, the facts themselves indicate. For that which happened was not in the order of nature. For how was it possible, when the hand had been bound with the scarlet thread, for it to be again drawn back to afford passage to him who came after had there not been some divine power which before ordained these things, and as in a kind of shadow drew out this figure; that at first and from the beginning Zara (that is the East, which is the type of the Church) began to increase, and after it had made a little progress and then retired, the observance of the Law, represented by Phares, came in: and after prevailing a long time, on a second advance of Zara, who had before retired, made room on the contrary for the Church; I mean, the whole Jewish polity did so." "Perhaps, however, it is necessary now to state the matter more briefly and clearly. There was a beginning, like the putting forth of Zara's hand, in Abel, Enoch, Noah, Melchisedek, Abraham, making extreme account of what might please God. Afterwards, when they had grown into a multitude, and had heaped on themselves heavy burdens of sin, and needed the benefit of some slight consolation, the Law was given as a kind of shadow, not as taking away sins, but as declaring and making them manifest: that as imperfect children living on milk they might be capable of attaining full age. But when even thus they failed of profiting, yea, kept mingling themselves up again with their sins, all the while that the Law was pointing out the greatness of the same, He came who is our common Lord, and freely bestowed on mankind this present spiritual polity, full of all virtue, whereof Zara was to stand as a type. For this cause the evangelist also both mentioned Thamar and her children, saying, Judas begat Pharez and Zarah of Thamar.'" Compare also St. Cyr. of Alex. 6 lib. in Gen. t. i. 201, ed. Aubert; Theod. in Gen. qu. 96; St. Aug. in Ps. 61, t. iv. 442, D. [A good specimen of the allegorizing exegesis which even such an expositor as Chrysostom could indulge in. The detailed account of the birth of Pharez is justified by the importance attached to the position of first-born.--R.]

it: the word hedge occurs verse 5. [R.V., verse 2. "He made a trench about it," with margin, "Or, digged it." In the LXX. phragmn occurs, however.--R.]

in the R.V.]

introducing phragms suggests an idea foreign to the original Hebrew.--R.]

paraphrased by the translator.--R.]

meanings of confiteor and the kindred words.

meanings of confiteor and the kindred words.

Church of adding imposition of hands for the gift of the strengthening Spirit immediately on baptism, if the bishop were present. See Bingham, xii. 1, 1, and the writers quoted by him, especially Tertullian, de Bapt. 7. "As soon as we are come out of the water, we are anointed with the consecrated oil...Then we receive imposition of hands, summoning and inviting the Holy Spirit in the way of solemn benediction." [Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. iii. p. 672. The second sentence is the beginning of chap. 8 in Tertullian's treatise.--R.]

place: if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord," &c. Benedict. and Savil. 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26.