Homilies on the Statues, Homily 17

1. How fitting that today we have all sung together, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.” For what has happened is marvelous and beyond all expectation! A whole city, with so many people, was about to be overwhelmed—to sink beneath the waves and be completely destroyed in an instant—and He has rescued it entirely from shipwreck in a single moment! Let us give thanks, then, not only that God has calmed the storm, but that He allowed it to happen; not only that He rescued us from shipwreck, but that He allowed us to fall into such distress and face such extreme danger. Paul also tells us to “give thanks in everything.” But when he says, “Give thanks in everything,” he means not only when we are delivered from evils, but also while we are suffering them. “For all things work together for good for those who love God.” Let us thank Him for this deliverance from trials, and let us never forget them. Let us devote ourselves to prayer, to constant pleading, and to deep devotion. 2. When the terrible fire of these calamities first broke out, I said that it was a time for prayer, not teaching. Now that the fire has been put out, I repeat the very same thing: now especially, more than before, is a time for prayer; now especially is the time for tears and remorse, for a deeply concerned soul, for great diligence, and for great caution. At that time, the very nature of our suffering restrained us, however unwilling we were, and made us sober-minded and more religious. But now that the bridle has been removed and the cloud has passed, there is a danger that we will fall back into laziness or let this relief make us careless, and that someone will have reason to say of us too, “When He killed them, then they sought Him, and returned, and eagerly inquired after God.” That is also why Moses warned the Jews, saying, “When you have eaten and drunk and are full, remember the Lord your God.” The goodness of your character will now become clear if you continue to practice the same devotion. At that time, many attributed your earnestness to fear and the approach of calamity. But now, if you keep up this earnestness, the achievement will be entirely your own. It is the same with a boy: as long as he is under a tutor he fears, there is nothing remarkable about his living with self-control and gentleness, because everyone attributes the young man's self-control to his fear of the tutor. But when he keeps behaving well after that restraint is removed, everyone gives him credit for the self-control he showed earlier in life too. Let us act this way as well. Let us continue in the same godly fear, so that we may receive great praise from God for our earlier diligence too. 3. We expected countless disasters: that our property would be plundered, that our houses would be burned with their inhabitants inside, that the city would be torn from the midst of the world, that even its ruins would be utterly destroyed, and that its soil would be plowed! But look! All these things remained only expectations and never happened. And the wonder is not only that God has removed so great a danger, but that He has also greatly blessed us, adorned our city, and made us more worthy of approval through this trial and calamity! I will explain how. When the Emperor's representatives set up that terrifying tribunal to investigate what had happened and summoned everyone to give an account of what they had done, and everyone's mind was filled with different expectations of death, then the monks who lived on the mountaintops showed their true philosophy. Although they had spent so many years secluded in their cells, when they saw such a cloud hanging over the city, without anyone pleading with them or advising them, they left their caves and huts and flocked together from every direction, like so many angels arriving from heaven. Then you could see the city become like heaven, as these saints appeared everywhere, comforting the mourners simply by their appearance and leading them to disregard the calamity completely. For who, seeing them, would not laugh at death and despise life? And the wonder was not only this: they approached the magistrates themselves, spoke boldly on behalf of the accused, and were all ready to shed their blood and lay down their heads to rescue the prisoners from the terrible fate they expected. They also declared that they would not leave until the judges spared the city's people or sent them along with the accused to the Emperor. “The man who rules our part of the world,” they said, “is godly, a believer, someone who lives a devout life. We will certainly persuade him to relent. We will not give you permission or allow you to stain the sword with blood or cut off a head. But if you do not stop, we too are fully resolved to die with them. We acknowledge that the crimes committed are very serious, but the wickedness of those deeds does not exceed the Emperor's humanity.” One of them is also reported to have made another statement full of wisdom: “The Statues that were thrown down have been set up again and restored to their proper appearance; the damage was quickly repaired. But if you put the image of God to death, how will you be able to undo the deed? How will you bring those deprived of life back to life and restore their souls to their bodies?” They also said many things to them about the Judgment. 4. Who could fail to be astonished? Who could fail to admire these men's moral wisdom? When the mother of one of the accused uncovered her head, exposed her gray hair, took hold of the judge's horse by the bridle, and ran beside him through the forum into the court of justice, we were all astonished; we all admired her extraordinary tenderness and courage. Shouldn't these men's conduct have filled us with even greater wonder? Even if she had died for her son, there would have been nothing strange about it, since nature exercises such a powerful tyranny, and the bond created by the pains of childbirth is irresistible! But these men so loved people they had not fathered or raised—indeed, people they had never seen, heard of, or met, whom they knew only through their calamity—that if they had possessed a thousand lives, they would have chosen to give them all up for their safety. Do not tell me that they were not slaughtered and did not shed their blood. Consider instead that they spoke to the judges with a boldness unlikely to be shown by anyone who had not already given up his own life, and that they ran from the mountains to the tribunal with this resolve. Indeed, if they had not already prepared themselves for every kind of slaughter, they could not have spoken so freely to the judges or shown such greatness of soul. They sat all day long outside the doors of the court of justice, ready to snatch from the executioners' hands those about to be led away for punishment! 5. Where now are those men dressed in threadbare cloaks, displaying long beards and carrying staffs in their right hands—the world's philosophers, whose character is more servile than that of the dogs under the table, and who do everything for the sake of their bellies? All those men abandoned the city then; they all hurried away and hid in caves! Only those who truly show their love of wisdom through their actions appeared in the forum as fearlessly as if no evil had overtaken the city. The city's inhabitants fled to the mountains and deserts, while the citizens of the desert hurried into the city. Their deeds proved what I have kept saying over the preceding days: even the furnace cannot harm someone who leads a virtuous life. Such is the soul's philosophy: it rises above everything, above prosperity and adversity alike. Prosperity does not weaken it, and adversity does not crush or degrade it. Through every turn of events it remains steady, showing its own inherent strength and power! Who, indeed, was not exposed as weak by the difficulty of the present crisis? Those who had held the highest offices in our city, who occupied positions of power, who were surrounded by immense wealth, and who enjoyed great favor with the Emperor, all left their houses completely deserted and looked after their own safety. All friendship and kinship proved worthless. In this time of calamity, they wanted no connection with those they had once known, and prayed that those people would not recognize them! But the monks, poor as they were, with nothing more than a shabby garment, living in the roughest conditions, formerly seeming to be nobodies, men accustomed to mountains and forests, came forward like so many lions with great and noble souls. While everyone was trembling with fear, they removed the danger, and did so in a brief moment, not over many days! Just as distinguished warriors rout the enemy without engaging them in close combat, simply by appearing in the ranks and shouting, so these men came down in one day, spoke their words, removed the calamity, and returned to their own dwellings. So great is the moral wisdom Christ brought among human beings. 6. And why speak of the rich and those in authority? When these very monks pleaded with the men appointed to judge the offenders, men acting with the highest authority, to grant a pardon, the judges said that they had no power over the outcome. It was unsafe and dangerous, they said, not only to insult the Emperor, but even to release without punishment those arrested for insulting him. But no one could resist these men. Through their greatness of soul and perseverance, they pressed the officials so insistently that they persuaded them to exercise a power the Emperor had not granted them. They even succeeded in persuading the judges, when men had clearly been convicted of the offense, to withhold the sentence of condemnation and leave the final decision to the Emperor. They promised that they would certainly persuade him to pardon those who had offended him, and they were about to set out to see him. But the judges, respecting these men's moral wisdom and struck by their nobility of spirit, would not allow them to make this long journey. They promised that if they could simply receive the monks' words in writing, they themselves would go and successfully plead with the Emperor to put aside all anger (which, indeed, we now expect him to do). For when sentence was about to be passed, the monks were admitted into court, spoke with the greatest wisdom, and appealed to the Emperor in letters to show mercy. They reminded him of the Judgment and said that they would lay down their own heads if he did not grant mercy. The judges took down these words in writing and left. This will adorn our city more than the brightest crown. The Emperor will now hear what has happened here; yes, the great City will hear, and the whole world will hear that the monks who live at the city of Antioch have shown apostolic boldness. And now, when their letters are read at court, everyone will admire their greatness of soul; everyone will call our city blessed. We will shake off our bad reputation, and it will be known everywhere that what happened was the work of outsiders and corrupt men, rather than the city's inhabitants, and that this testimony from the monks is enough to establish the city's character. 7. So, beloved, let us not be distressed, but have good hopes. If their boldness before human beings could avert such a danger, what will their boldness before God fail to accomplish? Let us tell these things to the Greeks too, when they dare to argue with us about their philosophers! This makes it clear that their stories of former times are false, while the ancient accounts handed down among us are true: the accounts of John, Paul, Peter, and all the rest. Because these monks have inherited those men's devotion, they have also shown their boldness. Because they were brought up under the same laws, they have also imitated their virtues. So we have no need of writings to demonstrate the apostles' virtues, when the facts themselves cry aloud and the students reveal their teachers. We have no need of debate to expose the Greeks' foolishness and their philosophers' small-mindedness, when their deeds now loudly proclaim, as they did before, that everything among them is a fable, a stage play, an act. 8. The priests showed the same greatness of soul as the monks, and they shared the responsibility for our safety. One of them went to court, putting his love for you ahead of everything else, ready to lay down his own life if he could not persuade the Emperor. Those who stayed here showed the same virtues as the monks themselves. They held the judges fast with their own hands and would not let them enter the court until they made a promise about the outcome of the trial. When they saw them signaling refusal, they pressed them again with great boldness. As soon as they saw them agree, they embraced their feet and knees and kissed their hands, giving extraordinary proof of both virtues: freedom and gentleness. By kissing the judges' knees and embracing their feet, they made it clear that their boldness did not come from arrogance. And their earlier bold actions proved that this was no flattery, no servile fawning, no product of a slavish spirit. These are not the only benefits we have gained from the trial: we have also gained an abundance of self-control and gentleness, and our city has suddenly become a monastery. No one could have adorned it with golden statues in the forum as beautifully as it has now been adorned and distinguished by producing these beautiful images of virtue and displaying its true riches! 9. But perhaps the Emperor's decrees are painful. No! Even these are not really burdensome; they have brought great benefits with them. What, I ask, is oppressive about any of them? That the Emperor has shut down the Orchestra, forbidden the Hippodrome, and closed and sealed these fountains of wickedness? May they never open again! From them the roots of wickedness grew and harmed the city! From them came those who ruin its reputation: men who sell their voices to the dancers and, for three obols, prostitute their salvation to them, turning everything upside down! Are you distressed about these things, beloved? You should truly be glad, rejoice, and thank the Emperor for them, since his chastisement has brought correction, his punishment has brought discipline, and his anger has brought instruction! But is it that the Baths are closed? This is no unbearable hardship either: those who live soft, effeminate, and dissolute lives are being brought back, however unwillingly, to the love of true wisdom. 10. But is the complaint that the Emperor has stripped the city of its dignity and no longer allows it to be called a metropolis? What was he supposed to do? Praise what had happened and accept it as a favor? Who, then, would not have blamed him for failing to show even an outward sign of anger? Don't you see that fathers often do similar things to their children? They turn away from them and forbid them to eat at the table. The Emperor has done the same by imposing punishments that cause no harm but bring much correction. Think of what we expected and what has happened, and then we will see God's favor especially clearly! Are you grieving because the city has lost its dignity? Learn what a city's dignity is, and then you will clearly understand that unless its inhabitants betray it, no one else can take it away! A city's dignity, adornment, and defense lie in its inhabitants' virtue and devotion: not in being a metropolis, having large and beautiful buildings, many columns, spacious porticoes and walkways, or being named before other cities in proclamations. If virtue and devotion are absent, it is the most insignificant city in the world, even if Emperors give it unlimited honor! Do you want to learn your city's dignity? Do you want to know its ancestry? I will tell you exactly, so that you may both know it and follow its example. What, then, is the dignity of this city of ours? “It happened that the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.” No other city in the world possesses this dignity, not even the city of Romulus herself! Because of this, it can look the whole world in the face: because of that love for Christ, that boldness and virtue. Do you want to hear of another dignity and reason for praising this city? A severe famine was once approaching, and the inhabitants of Antioch decided that each person would send as much help as he could afford to the Saints living in Jerusalem. Here is a second dignity: love expressed in giving during a famine! The circumstances did not make them stingy, nor did the expected calamity make them reluctant to help. At a time when everyone is likely to scrape together what belongs to others, they distributed what belonged to them, not merely to those nearby, but also to those living far away! Do you see their faith in God and their love for their neighbor? Would you like to learn another dignity of this city? Certain men came down from Judea to Antioch, corrupting the doctrine being preached and introducing Jewish observances. The men of Antioch did not silently tolerate this novelty. They did not keep quiet. They came together, held an assembly, and sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, prompting the Apostles to arrange for pure doctrines, cleared of all Jewish imperfection, to be spread throughout the world! This is the city's dignity! This is its precedence! This makes it a metropolis in heaven, rather than on earth, since all other honors decay, pass away, and perish with this present life. Often they end even before life does, as they have in the present case! To me, a city without devout citizens is more wretched than any village and more dishonorable than any cave. 11. And why speak of a city? To make you understand clearly that virtue alone adorns its inhabitants, I will set a city aside and try to prove the point by presenting something more venerable than any city: the Temple of God in Jerusalem. This was the Temple where sacrifices, prayers, and services took place; where the Holy of Holies, the Cherubim, the Covenant, and the golden pot were found—the great symbols of God's providence toward that people. There, messages from heaven were continually received and prophets were inspired. Its design came from God's wisdom, rather than human skill. Its walls shone on every side with abundant gold, and costly materials and perfect craftsmanship came together in surpassing excellence, showing that no other temple on earth was like it! Indeed, more than perfect craftsmanship, God's wisdom also contributed to that building. Solomon had learned everything from God, rather than through intuition or on his own. After receiving its design from heaven, he laid it out and built it. Yet when those who used it became corrupt, this beautiful, marvelous, sacred Temple was so dishonored, despised, and profaned that even before the captivity it was called “a den of robbers, a cave of hyenas.” Afterward it was handed over to barbarous, polluted, and profane hands! 12. Would you like to learn the same truth about cities? What could have been more splendid than the cities of Sodom? Their houses, buildings, and walls were magnificent, and the land was rich and fertile, “like the Paradise of God.” But Abraham's tent was humble and small, without fortifications. Yet when war came from abroad, the foreigners broke into the walled cities, captured them, and left with their inhabitants as prisoners. But they could not resist Abraham, the citizen of the desert, when he attacked them! And that was only to be expected. He had true devotion, a power far greater than numbers or defensive walls. If you are a Christian, no earthly city is yours. “The Builder and Maker” of our City “is God.” Even if we gain possession of the whole world, we are still strangers and temporary residents throughout it! We are registered in heaven; our citizenship is there! Let us not behave like little children, despising great things and admiring little ones! The soul's virtue is our adornment and defense, rather than our city's greatness. If you think dignity belongs to a city, consider how many people must share that dignity who visit prostitutes, are effeminate and depraved, and are full of ten thousand evils, and finally learn to despise such honor! But the City above is different: no one can share in it without having displayed every virtue. 13. So let us not be senseless. Let us grieve only when someone deprives us of our soul's dignity, when we commit sin, when we have offended the common Lord of all. As for what has now happened to us, it is so far from harming the city that, if we remain watchful, it will greatly benefit us. Already our city looks like a dignified, noble, sober-minded matron. Fear has made her gentler and more dignified and freed her from the villains involved in the recent outrageous deeds. So let us not give way to wailing like women. I have heard many people around the forum saying, “Alas for you, Antioch! What has happened to you! How disgraced you are!” When I heard this, I actually smiled at the childish mind that could utter such words! Those words are out of place now. But when you see people dancing, drunk, singing, blaspheming, swearing, committing perjury, and lying, then say something like this: “Alas for you, O city! What has happened to you!” But if you see only a few people in the forum, and they are gentle, modest, and self-controlled, then call the city “Blessed!” Small numbers can never harm it in any way if virtue is present, just as great numbers can never benefit it at all while wickedness is there. “Even if,” the prophet says, “the number of the sons of Israel is like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.” That is to say, “Great numbers will never carry weight with Me.” Christ also spoke this way. He called cities wretched, not because they were small or lacked metropolitan rank. And He calls Jerusalem itself wretched for the very same reason, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you!” What advantage, I ask, do great numbers bring if people's way of life is wicked? On the contrary, they even cause harm. What else brought about the evils that have recently arisen? Wasn't it the inhabitants' laziness, recklessness, and depravity? Did the city's dignity, its magnificent architecture, or its status as a metropolis help it at all? If nothing could protect it before the earthly king when it had done such wrong, and all these privileges are being taken away, how much more will its dignity fail to protect it before the Lord of angels? On that Day, it will do us no good to have lived in a metropolis with many spacious porticoes and other distinctions of that kind! And why speak of that Day? Even in the present life, what benefit do you get from your city's being a metropolis? Tell me, has anyone rescued a family in distress through this? Has anyone received income from this dignity, driven away sorrow, recovered from a bodily illness, or removed a vice from the soul? Beloved, let us stop being foolish and paying attention to the crowd's opinions. Let us understand what a city's dignity really is, and what truly makes a city a metropolis. 14. I say all this even though I expect the city to regain this outward distinction too and take its rightful place of precedence again. The Emperor is both humane and godly. But if it is restored, I want you not to think too highly of it, boast about it, or make it the basis of our city's honor. When you want to praise the city, do not tell me about the suburb of Daphne, its many towering cypresses, its fountains of water, the great number of people who live in the city, the great freedom with which people frequent its marketplace even until midnight, or the abundance of its goods! All these things appeal to the outward senses and last only for this present life. But if you can speak of virtue, gentleness, giving to the poor, nighttime vigils, prayers, self-control, and the soul's true wisdom, praise the city for these things! For those who live in the desert, the presence of these things makes it more splendid than any city; and, conversely, it becomes the most worthless of all places if these things are absent from its citizens. Let us judge this way not only about cities, but also about people. If you see a big man in good physical condition, tall and longer-limbed than others, do not admire him until you have learned what his soul is like. We should call people blessed because of the beauty of their souls, rather than their outward attractiveness! David was little and short. Yet, short and little as he was, and entirely unarmed, he brought down so great an army and that tower of flesh with a single blow. He did it without throwing a spear, shooting an arrow, or drawing a sword, but accomplished everything with a small pebble! That is why someone gives this advice: “Do not praise a man for his beauty or despise a man for his outward appearance. The bee is small among flying creatures, but her fruit is the finest of sweet things.” 15. Let us speak this way about both cities and people, share such wisdom with one another, and continually thank God for present and past mercies alike. Let us call on Him together with all our strength, so that those now in prison may be released and those about to be sent into exile may return. They too are members of our body. They have battled the waves with us; they have stood against the storm with us! Let us plead with the merciful God that they may enjoy the calm with us too! Let no one say, “What more does this have to do with me? I am out of danger; let this person perish or that one be destroyed!” Let us not provoke God by this indifference. Instead, let us mourn as though we ourselves were in the same danger. Let us plead with God with intense earnestness, fulfilling Paul's words: “Remember those in chains as though chained with them, and those who suffer adversity, since you yourselves are also in the body. Weep also with those who weep; associate with people of low standing.” This will greatly benefit us too, for nothing delights God so much as our readiness to mourn for our own members. So let us plead with Him together, both for present things and for things to come, so that He may deliver us from punishment in the next life. Present troubles, whatever they may be, can be endured and come to an end; but the torments there are undying and endless! And as we receive comfort, let us also make every effort to avoid falling into such sins again, knowing that if we do, we will receive no further pardon! So let us all fall down together before God. Both here and at home, let us say, “You, O Lord, are righteous in everything You have done to us, for everything You have brought upon us, You have brought by a just judgment.” If “our sins rise up against us, act on our behalf for your Name's sake,” and do not allow us to experience such terrible troubles again. “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Yours is the kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen.”