Homilies on John, Homily 13

“John bears witness to Him and cries out, saying, This is He of whom I spoke, saying, He who comes after me ranks ahead of me, for He was before me.” [1.] Are we running and working in vain, then? Are we sowing on rocks? Does the seed fall on rocks? Does the seed fall along the roadside and among thorns without our knowing it? I am deeply troubled and afraid that our farming may yield nothing—not because I too will lose the reward for this work along with you. Teachers are not in the same position as farmers. Often, after a year of toil, hard work, and sweat, if the earth produces no adequate return for his efforts, a farmer can find no one to comfort him for his labors. He returns from his barn to his home, his wife, and his children ashamed and dejected, unable to demand payment from anyone for his long toil. But our situation is nothing like this. Even if the soil we cultivate bears no fruit, if we have made every effort, its Lord and ours will not let us leave with our hopes disappointed, but will reward us. For St. Paul says, “Everyone will receive his own reward according to his own labor” ( 1 Cor. iii. 8 ), not according to the outcome. And listen to the proof that this is so: “And You,” he says, “Son of man, testify to this people, whether they will listen and whether they will understand.” ( Ezek. ii. 5 , not from LXX.) And Ezekiel says, “If the watchman warns them what they must flee from and what they must choose, he has saved his own soul, even if no one pays attention.” ( Ezek. iii. 18, and xxxiii. 9 ; not quoted from LXX.) Yet although we have this powerful comfort and are confident of the reward we will receive, when we see that the work in you is making no progress, we are no better off than those farmers who lament and mourn, hide their faces, and feel ashamed. This is a teacher’s sympathy; this is a father’s natural concern. Moses too could have been freed from the Jews’ ingratitude and laid a more glorious foundation for another, far greater people (“Leave Me alone,” God said, “so that I may consume them and make you into a nation mightier than this”— Ex. xxxii. 10 ,). But because he was a holy man, God’s servant, and a truly loyal and generous friend, he could not bear even to hear these words. He chose to perish with those who had once been entrusted to him rather than be saved without them and receive greater honor. This is how anyone responsible for souls ought to be. It is strange that someone whose children are weak will accept being called the father only of those born to him, while someone entrusted with disciples should keep exchanging one flock for another, and that we should grasp at responsibility first for these, then for those, then again for others, without any real affection for anyone. May we never have reason to suspect this of you. We trust that you are growing still richer in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and in love for one another and for everyone. We say this because we want your zeal to increase and the excellence of your way of life to advance still further. This is how you will be able to bring your understanding to the very depths of the words before us: if no film of wickedness darkens the eyes of your mind and interferes with its clarity and sharpness. What, then, is before us today? “John bore witness to Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I spoke, He who comes after me ranks ahead of me, for He was before me.” The Evangelist repeatedly mentions John and often presents his testimony. He does this for a reason, and very wisely. All the Jews greatly admired the man (even Josephus attributes the war to his death and shows that, because of him, what was once the mother city is now no city at all, and continues praising him at great length). So, wanting to bring the Jews to shame through him, he continually reminds them of the forerunner’s testimony. The other Evangelists mention the earlier prophets and, at each successive event concerning Him, refer their hearers to them. Thus, when the Child is born, they say, “Now all this happened so that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Look, a virgin will be with Child and will give birth to a Son” ( Matt. i. 22; Isa. vii. 14 ). And when plots are made against Him and He is searched for so diligently everywhere that Herod slaughters even little infants, they introduce Jeremiah, saying, “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children” ( Matt. ii. 18; Jer. xxxi. 15 ). Again, when He comes up out of Egypt, they mention Hosea, saying, “Out of Egypt I have called My Son” ( Matt. ii. 15; Hosea xi. 1 ). They do this everywhere. But John, providing clearer and more recent testimony and raising a more glorious voice than the others, continually brings forward not only those who had departed and were dead, but also someone alive and present, who pointed Him out and baptized Him. He continually introduces this man, seeking to accommodate his hearers’ weakness rather than to establish the master’s credibility through the servant. For just as He would not have been readily accepted unless He had taken the form of a servant, so, unless He had prepared the ears of that servant’s fellow servants through his voice, the majority of the Jews, at least, would not have accepted the Word. [2.] Besides this, there was another great and wonderful provision. Since saying great things about oneself makes a person’s testimony suspect and often puts obstacles in the way of listeners, someone else comes to testify about Him. Besides, most people tend to respond more readily to a voice familiar and natural to them, recognizing it more easily than other voices. That is why the voice from heaven spoke once or twice, while John’s spoke often and continually. Those among the people who had overcome the weakness of their nature and had been freed from everything belonging to the senses could hear the Voice from heaven. They had little need of a human voice, but obeyed that other Voice in everything and were led by it. Those who still moved at a lower level and were wrapped in many veils needed that lesser (voice). In the same way, because John had stripped himself in every way of the things of the senses, he needed no other teachers but was taught from heaven. “He who sent me,” he says, “to baptize with water, the Same said to me, The One on whom you will see the Spirit” of God “descending is He.” ( c. i. 33 ) But the Jews, who were still children and could not yet reach that height, had a man as their teacher—a man who spoke no words of his own to them, but brought them a message from above. What, then, does he say? He “bears witness about Him and cries out, saying.” What does “cries out” mean? He means that he proclaims boldly and freely, holding nothing back. What does he proclaim? To what does he “bear witness” and “cry out”? “This is He of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks ahead of me; for He was before me.” The testimony is obscure and also says much about Him in lowly terms. He does not say, “This is the Son of God, the Only-begotten, the true Son.” What does he say instead? “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me; for He was before me.” Mother birds do not teach their young to fly all at once or finish teaching them in a single day. At first they lead them just outside the nest; then, after letting them rest, they set them flying again. The next day they extend the flight much farther, and so, gently, little by little, bring them to the proper height. In just this way, blessed John did not immediately bring the Jews to lofty things, but for a while taught them to fly a little above the earth by saying that Christ was greater than he was. Yet even this was no small achievement at the time: to persuade his hearers that someone who had not yet appeared or performed any wonders was greater than a man (John, I mean) so remarkable and famous, to whom everyone flocked and whom they thought to be an angel. For a while, then, he worked to establish this in his hearers’ minds: that He to whom he testified was greater than the one testifying; He who came afterward, greater than the one who came first; He who had not yet appeared, greater than the one who was visible and famous. Notice how wisely he introduces his testimony. He points Him out not only when He has appeared, but proclaims Him even before He appears. The words “This is He of whom I spoke” show that he had already announced Him. Matthew likewise says that when everyone came to him, he said, “I indeed baptize you with water, but He who comes after me is mightier than I, and I am not worthy to untie His sandal strap.” Why, then, did he do this even before His appearance? So that when He appeared, the testimony would be readily accepted, his hearers’ minds already shaped by what had been said about Him, and His humble outward appearance would not undermine it. If they had seen the Lord without having heard anything about Him, and at the same time as they saw Him had received John’s testimony in such wonderful and lofty words, His humble appearance would immediately have been an objection to the grandeur of those expressions. For Christ took on so humble and ordinary an appearance that even Samaritan women, prostitutes, and tax collectors felt confident approaching Him boldly and talking with Him. As I said, then, if they had heard these words and seen Him at the same moment, they might perhaps have mocked John’s testimony. But now, because they had often heard and grown used to what was said about Christ before He appeared, they responded in the opposite way. They did not reject the teaching of those words because of the appearance of the One they described; instead, because they believed what they had already been told, they regarded Him as even more glorious. The phrase “who comes after” means “who” preaches “after me,” not “who” was born “after me.” Matthew hints at this when he says, “after me comes a man,” speaking of His coming to preach (the Gospel), not of His birth from Mary. If he had been speaking of His birth, he would not have said “comes,” but “has come,” since He had already been born when John said this. What, then, does “is before me” mean? It means He is more glorious, more honored. “Do not,” he says, “suppose that I am greater than He because I began preaching first. I am far inferior—so inferior that I am not worthy to be counted even among His servants.” This is the meaning of “is before me.” Matthew expresses it differently when he says, “I am not worthy to untie His sandal strap.” ( Luke iii. 16.) Again, what follows makes it clear that “is before me” does not refer to His coming into Being. If that had been his meaning, the words that follow, “for He was before me,” would be unnecessary. Who is so dull and foolish as not to know that someone who “was born before” him “was before” him? Or, if the words refer to His existence before the ages, the statement means nothing more than “He who comes after me came into being before me.” Besides, such a statement makes no sense, and the reason is introduced needlessly. If he had wanted to say this, he should have put it the other way around: “He who comes after me was before me, since He was also born before me.” For one could reasonably give “being born before” as the reason for “being before,” but not “being before” as the reason for “being born.” Our interpretation, however, makes very good sense. You all know, at least, that it is uncertain things, not obvious ones, whose causes need to be explained. Now, if the argument concerned the coming into existence of substance, there could be no uncertainty that someone who “was born” first must necessarily “be” first. But because he is speaking about honor, he rightly explains what seems difficult. Many might reasonably ask how, and on what grounds, He who came afterward came to rank ahead—that is, appeared with great honor. So, in answer to this question, he immediately gives the reason: His Being first. He does not say, “Through some kind of advancement He pushed me, who had been first, behind Him, and so came to rank ahead of me,” but “He was before me,” even though He arrives after me. But someone asks: If the Evangelist is referring to His appearance among people and the glory He was to receive from them, how does he speak of something that had not yet happened as though it had already taken place? He does not say “will be,” but “was.” Because the ancient prophets customarily speak of the future as though it were past. Thus Isaiah, speaking of His slaughter, does not say, “He will be led (which would have indicated the future) as a sheep to the slaughter,” but “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter” ( Isa. liii. 7 ). Yet He had not yet become Incarnate; the Prophet speaks of what was to happen as though it had already happened. In the same way David, pointing to the Crucifixion, did not say, “They will pierce My hands and My feet,” but “They pierced My hands and My feet, divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing” ( Ps. xxii. 16, 18 ). Speaking of the traitor, who had not yet been born, he says, “He who ate My bread has lifted his heel against Me” ( Ps. xli. 9 ). And of the circumstances of the Crucifixion: “They gave Me gall for food, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.” ( Ps. lxix. 21.) [4.] Would you like us to give more examples, or are these enough? For my part, I think they are. Even if we have not dug over the whole field, we have at least dug down to its depths; and this work is no less demanding than the other. We are afraid that by straining your attention too much, we may cause you to fall back. Let us then bring our discussion to a fitting conclusion. And what conclusion is fitting? Giving proper glory to God. And we give it properly through actions far more than through words alone. For He says, “Let your light shine before people so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.” ( Matt. v. 16.) Now nothing is more full of light than an excellent way of life. As one of the wise men said, “The paths of the righteous shine like the light” ( Prov. iv. 18 , LXX.). They shine not only for those who kindle the flame by their works and guide others along the way of righteousness, but also for their neighbors. Let us pour oil into these lamps, then, so that the flame rises higher and a rich light shines out. This oil has great power now, and even when sacrifices were at their height, it was far more acceptable than they could be. “I desire mercy,” He says, “and not sacrifice.” ( Matt. xii. 7; Hos. vi. 6.) And with good reason: that altar is lifeless; this one is living. Everything laid on that altar becomes food for fire and ends in dust. It is poured out as ashes, and its smoke dissolves into the air. Here there is nothing like this; the fruits it bears are different. Paul’s words make this clear. Describing the treasures of kindness to the poor stored up by the Corinthians, he writes, “For carrying out this service not only supplies what the saints lack, but also overflows in many thanksgivings to God.” ( 2 Cor. ix. 12.) And again: “They glorify God for your professed obedience to the Gospel of Christ and for your generous sharing with them and with everyone; and they pray for you, longing for you.” Do you see how it becomes thanksgiving and praise to God, continual prayers from those who have benefited, and more fervent love? Let us sacrifice, then, dear friends; let us sacrifice every day on these altars. This sacrifice is greater than prayer and fasting and many other things, provided it comes from honest earnings and honest work, and is free from all greed, plunder, and violence. God accepts offerings like these, but turns away from and hates the others. He will not be honored through other people’s suffering. Such a sacrifice is unclean and profane, and would anger God rather than appease Him. So we must take every care that, instead of serving Him, we do not insult the One we want to honor. If Cain suffered extreme punishment for making a second-rate offering, having done no other wrong, how much more severely will we suffer when we offer something gained through plunder and greed? This is why God has shown us the form of this commandment: so that we may show mercy, not treat our fellow servants harshly. But someone who takes what belongs to one person and gives it to another has shown no mercy; he has inflicted harm and committed a terrible injustice. Just as a stone cannot yield oil, cruelty cannot produce kindness. Giving to the poor with such a root is no longer giving to the poor. So I urge us to look not only at whether we give to those in need, but also at whether we give from what has been stolen from others. “When one person prays and another curses, whose voice will the Lord hear?” ( Ecclus. xxxiv. 24.) If we hold ourselves strictly to this, we will be able, by God’s grace, to receive great loving kindness and mercy and forgiveness for the wrongs we have done throughout all this long time, and to escape the river of fire. May we all be delivered from it and ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever. Amen.