Homilies on John, Homily 12

“And we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” [1.] Perhaps the other day we seemed unnecessarily harsh and burdensome to you, speaking too sharply and carrying our rebukes of the many people who are sluggish too far. Now if we had done this simply because we wanted to upset you, each of you would have had reason to be angry. But if we put your benefit first and passed over what might please you in our speech, then even if you will not credit us with foresight, you should at least forgive us because of such tender love. For we are truly very afraid that if we take pains while you are unwilling to listen with the same diligence, the account you must give in the future may be more severe. That is why we are compelled to keep stirring you and waking you up, so that nothing we say escapes you. In this way you will be able to live with great confidence now and show that confidence on that Day before the judgment seat of Christ. Since we have recently pressed you enough, let us begin today with the words themselves. “We saw,” he says, “His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father.” After declaring that we were made “sons of God” and showing how—by the “Word” having been “made Flesh”—he again mentions another benefit we gain from this same event. What is it? “We saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father.” We could not have seen it unless it had been shown to us through a body like our own. For if the people of ancient times could not even bear to look at the glorified face of Moses, who shared our nature, if that righteous man needed a veil to shade the purity of his glory and make their prophet’s face look mild and gentle to them, how could we, creatures of clay and earth, have endured the unveiled Godhead, which even the powers above cannot approach? That is why He tabernacled among us: so that we could approach Him, speak to Him, and converse with Him without fear. But what does “the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father” mean? Many of the Prophets were also glorified, such as Moses himself, Elijah, and Elisha, one surrounded by the fiery chariot ( 2 Kings vi. 17 ), the other taken up by it; and after them, Daniel and the Three Children, and the many others who displayed wonders. Angels, too, have appeared among human beings and partly revealed to those who saw them the flashing light of their own nature. And not only angels, but even the Cherubim were seen by the Prophet in great glory, as were the Seraphim. The Evangelist leads us away from all these, turns our thoughts away from created things and the brightness of our fellow servants, and places us at the very summit of good. For, he says, we “saw the glory” “not of a prophet, or an angel, or an archangel, or a higher power, or any other created nature,” if there is any other, but of the Master Himself, the King Himself, the true Only-Begotten Son Himself, the very Lord of all. For the expression “as” here does not indicate similarity or comparison, but confirmation and an unmistakable definition. It is as though he said, “We saw the kind of glory that was fitting and to be expected for the Only-Begotten and true Son of God, the King of all.” This habit (of speaking this way) is widespread. I will not hesitate to support my argument even with common usage, since my purpose now is not beautiful language or elegant composition, but only your benefit. So nothing prevents me from establishing my argument with an example from everyday practice. What, then, do most people do? Often, when people have seen a king richly dressed and glittering on every side with precious stones, and afterward describe his beauty, ornaments, and splendor to others, they list as much as they can: the glowing color of his purple robe, the size of his jewels, the whiteness of his mules, the gold around the yoke, the soft and shining couch. But after listing these things and others besides, when nothing they say can fully convey the splendor, they immediately add, “But why say so much about it? To put it all in a word, he was like a king.” By saying “like,” they do not mean that the person they are describing resembles a king, but that he is a real king. In just this way the Evangelist uses the word as here to convey the transcendent nature and incomparable excellence of His glory. For all the others, angels, archangels, and prophets alike, did everything under orders; but He acted with the authority fitting for a King and Master. Even the crowds marveled at this, because He taught as “one having authority.” ( Matt. vii. 29.) Angels too, as I said, have appeared on earth in great glory, as in the cases of Daniel, David, and Moses; but they did everything as servants who have a Master. He acted as Lord and Ruler of all, even when He appeared in a poor and humble form. Yet even then creation recognized her Lord. There was the star from heaven that called the wise men to worship Him, and the vast host of angels streaming everywhere, attending the Lord and singing His praise. Besides them, many other heralds suddenly appeared, and all, as they met, told one another the good news of this inexpressible mystery: the angels to the shepherds; the shepherds to the people of the city; Gabriel to Mary and Elizabeth; Anna and Simeon to those who came to the Temple. Nor were only men and women lifted up with joy. Even the infant who had not yet come into the light—I mean the citizen of the wilderness, who shared this Evangelist’s name—leaped while still in his mother’s womb, and all soared with hopes for the future. This happened immediately after the Birth as well. But when He revealed Himself further, other wonders appeared, greater still than the first. For now it was no longer a star or the sky, no longer angels or archangels, neither Gabriel nor Michael, but the Father Himself from heaven above who proclaimed Him, and with the Father the Comforter, flying down as the Voice spoke and resting on Him. So he truly said, “We saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father.” [2.] Yet he says this not only because of these things, but also because of what followed. For now it is no longer only shepherds, widows, and old men who announce the good news to us, but the very voice of the events themselves, sounding more clearly than any trumpet, and so loudly that the sound was immediately heard even in this land. “For,” someone says, “his fame spread into all Syria” ( Matt. iv. 24 ). He revealed Himself to everyone, and everything everywhere cried out that the King of Heaven had come. Evil spirits everywhere fled and recoiled from Him; Satan covered his face and withdrew; death retreated before Him then, and afterward disappeared altogether. Every kind of infirmity was removed; the graves released the dead, the devils released those they had driven mad, and diseases released the sick. People could see strange and wonderful things, which the prophets had good reason to long to see, but did not see. They could see eyes being formed ( John ix. 6, 7 ), (could see) Him showing everyone, in a short time and in the nobler part of the body, that marvelous thing everyone would have wanted to see: how God formed Adam from the earth. They could see paralyzed and distorted limbs joined and fitted together, lifeless hands moving, paralyzed feet leaping vigorously, closed ears reopened, and the tongue that had been bound in speechlessness sounding aloud. For He took our common human nature in hand as an excellent craftsman might take a house that had decayed with age: He filled in what had broken away, bound together its cracks and loosened parts, and raised again what had completely fallen down. And what can anyone say about the shaping of the soul, which is so much more wonderful than that of the body? The health of our bodies is a great thing, but the health of our souls is as much greater as the soul is better than the body. The soul’s health is greater for another reason too: our bodily nature follows wherever the Creator chooses to lead it, with nothing resisting, while the soul is its own mistress, has control over its actions, and does not obey God in everything unless it chooses to do so. For God will not make it beautiful and excellent against its will, as though compelled by force, because that is not virtue at all. He must persuade it to become so by its own will and choice. So this cure is more difficult than the other. Yet even this succeeded, and every kind of wickedness was banished. And just as He restored the bodies He healed not merely to health but to the greatest vigor, so He not only delivered souls from the most extreme wickedness, but brought them to the very summit of excellence. A tax collector became an Apostle; a persecutor, blasphemer, and violent abuser appeared as a herald to the world; the Magi became teachers of the Jews; a thief was declared a citizen of Paradise; and a prostitute shone through the greatness of her faith. Of the two women, from Canaan and Samaria, the latter, who was another prostitute, undertook to preach the Gospel to her countrymen and, catching a whole city in her net, brought them to Christ. The former, through faith and perseverance, secured the expulsion of an evil spirit from her daughter’s soul. And many others much worse than these were immediately counted among the disciples. At once all their bodily infirmities and the diseases of their souls were transformed, and they were made new, restored to health and the most complete virtue. And it was not only two or three people, or five, or ten, or twenty, or a hundred, but entire cities and nations that were very easily reshaped. Why speak of the wisdom of the commands, the excellence of the heavenly laws, the good order of the angelic commonwealth? For He has set before us such a life, appointed such laws for us, and established such a commonwealth that those who put these things into practice immediately become angels and like God, as far as we are able, even if they have been worse than everyone else. [3.] So the Evangelist brought all these things together—the wonders in our bodies, in our souls, in the elements (of our faith), the commandments, those inexpressible gifts higher than the heavens, the laws, the commonwealth, the persuasion, the future promises, His sufferings—and spoke those wonderful words, full of exalted teaching: “We saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” For we admire Him not only because of the miracles, but also because of His sufferings: that He was nailed to the Cross, that He was whipped, that He was beaten, that He was spat on, that He received blows on the cheek from those He had helped. For even about those very things that seem shameful, it is right to repeat the same expression, since He Himself called that act “glory.” For what happened then was (proof) not only of kindness and love, but also of inexpressible power. At that time death was abolished, the curse was lifted, devils were put to shame, led in triumph, and publicly exposed, and the handwritten record of our sins was nailed to the Cross. And then, since these wonders were happening invisibly, others happened visibly, showing that He truly was the Only-Begotten Son of God, the Lord of all creation. For while that blessed Body still hung on the tree, the sun withdrew his rays, the whole earth was shaken and became dark, the graves opened, the ground quaked, and a countless multitude of the dead leaped out and went into the city. And while the stones of His tomb were secured over the vault and the seals were still on them, the Dead One arose, the Crucified One, the One pierced by nails. After filling His eleven disciples with His mighty power, He sent them to people throughout the world to be the healers of all humanity, to correct their way of life, to spread knowledge of their heavenly teachings through every part of the earth, to overthrow the tyranny of devils, to teach those great and inexpressible blessings, and to bring us the good news of the soul’s immortality, the eternal life of the body, and rewards beyond anything we can imagine that will never end. The blessed Evangelist had these things and still more in mind—things he knew but could not write, because the world could not have contained them (for if all things “were written down individually, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written”— c. xxi. 25 ). Reflecting on all these things, he cries out, “We saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Those who have been considered worthy to see and hear such things, and who have enjoyed so great a gift, must therefore also display a life worthy of these teachings, so that they may also enjoy the good things that are (laid up) there. For our Lord Jesus Christ came so that we might see not only His glory here, but also His glory to come. That is why He says, “I want these also to be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory.” ( c. xvii. 24.) Now if His glory here was so bright and splendid, what can anyone say about that (which shall be)? For it will appear not on this corruptible earth, nor while we are in perishable bodies, but in a creation that is imperishable and never grows old, and with a brightness that cannot even be expressed in words. Blessed, three times blessed, yes, many times blessed are those considered worthy to see that glory! It is about this that the prophet says, “Let the unrighteous be taken away, so that he does not see the glory of the Lord.” ( Isa. xxvi. 10 , LXX.) May God grant that not one of us is taken away or ever excluded from seeing it. For if we will not enjoy it in the life to come, then it is time to say of ourselves, “It would have been good for” us “if” we “had never been born.” For why do we live and breathe? What are we if we miss that sight, if no one then allows us to see our Lord? If those who do not see the light of the sun endure a life more bitter than any death, what must those deprived of that light suffer? For in the one case the loss is limited to this one deprivation; but in the other it does not stop there (though if this were the only thing to fear, even then the punishments would not be equal: one would be as much more severe than the other as that sun is incomparably superior to this one). As it is, we must also expect further punishment. For whoever does not see that light must not only be led into darkness, but must also burn continually, waste away, gnash his teeth, and suffer ten thousand other dreadful things. So let us not allow ourselves to fall into everlasting punishment by spending this brief time in carelessness and neglect. Instead, let us stay watchful and sober, do everything we can, and make it our whole concern to attain that happiness and stay far from that river of fire that rushes with a loud roar before the terrifying judgment seat. For anyone once thrown into it must remain forever. No one can deliver him from his punishment: no father, no mother, no brother. The prophets themselves declared this aloud. One says, “A brother does not deliver a brother. Will a man deliver?” ( Ps. xlix. 7 , LXX.) And Ezekiel has declared something more than this, saying, “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they will deliver neither sons nor daughters.” ( Ezek. xiv. 16.) For there is only one defense there, the defense through works, and anyone who lacks it cannot be saved by any other means. So, turning these things over in our minds and reflecting on them continually, let us cleanse our life and make it shine, so that we may see the Lord with confidence and obtain the promised good things, through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom, to the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever. Amen.