Homilies on Acts, Homily 20

“And there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight, and ask at Judas’s house for a man named Saul, from Tarsus. For look, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might regain his sight.” Why did He neither bring in anyone with great authority and standing nor arrange for such a person to instruct Paul? Because it was not fitting for him to be won over by men, but only by Christ Himself. In fact, this man taught him nothing; he merely baptized him. For as soon as he was baptized (φωτισθείς), he was to draw the grace of the Spirit upon himself through his zeal and intense earnestness. And it is clear that Ananias was not a particularly distinguished person. For “the Lord,” it says, “spoke to him in a vision, and Ananias answered and said, Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem.” (v. 13.) For if he raised an objection to Him, he would have done so all the more if He had sent an Angel. This is also why, in the earlier instance, Philip is not told what the matter is; instead, he sees the Angel, and then the Spirit tells him to approach the chariot. But notice here how the Lord frees him from his fear: “He is blind,” He says, “and is praying, and you are afraid?” Moses is afraid in the same way. So his words showed that he was afraid and recoiled from the task, not that he did not believe. He said, “I have heard from many people about this man.” What are you saying? God speaks, and you hesitate? They did not yet fully know the power of Christ. “And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind everyone who calls on Your name.” (v. 14.) How was this known? They were probably afraid and made detailed inquiries. He does not say this because he thinks Christ does not know the fact, but says, “Since this is the situation, how can these things happen?” Just as those (in the Gospel) say, “Who can be saved?”—(Mark x. 26.) This is done so that Paul may believe the man who will come to him: “he has seen in a vision.” It has shown him beforehand. “He is praying,” (the Lord) says; do not be afraid. And notice that He does not tell him about the victory He has won, teaching us not to talk about our achievements. Even though He saw him afraid, He still did not tell him. “You will not be disbelieved”: “he has seen,” He says, “in a vision a man (named) Ananias.” This is why it was “in a vision”: because he was blind. And not even the extraordinary wonder of the event took hold of the disciple’s mind, so great was his fear. But notice: this was how He restored Paul’s sight when he was blind. “But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel for Me, to carry My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (v. 15, 16.) “Not only,” He says, “will he be a believer, but also a teacher, and he will show great boldness: ‘before Gentiles and kings’—that is how far the teaching will spread!” Thus, just as He astonished (him) with the first announcement, He may (startle him even more) with the second. “And Ananias went and entered the house, and laid his hands on him and said, Brother Saul”—he immediately addresses him as a friend by that name—“Jesus, Who appeared to you on the road by which you came”—and yet Christ had not told him this; he learned it from the Spirit—“has sent me to you so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (v. 17.) As he said this, he laid his hands on him. “And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes.” (v. 18.) Some say this was a sign of his blindness. Why did He not blind his eyes (entirely)? It was more wonderful that he could not see with his eyes open: (v. 8) this was precisely his condition with respect to the Law, until the Name of Jesus was placed on him. “And he immediately regained his sight, got up, and was baptized. And after eating, he regained his strength.” (v. 19.) So he was weak both from his journey and from his fear, both from hunger and from his dejected state of mind. Wishing to deepen his dejection, He therefore kept the man blind until Ananias came. And the scales were there so that he would not imagine the blindness to be (only) an illusion. He needed no other teaching: what had happened served as a lesson (to him). “And he stayed with the disciples at Damascus for several days. And immediately he preached Jesus in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” (v. 20.) See, he was immediately a teacher in the synagogues. He was not ashamed of the change or afraid as he destroyed the very things in which he had once taken pride. From his very first appearance on the scene, here was a man bent on killing, ready for bloodshed. Do you see what a clear sign (was here)? And this very thing frightened everyone, for they said, He has come here too for this very purpose. “But all who heard him were amazed and said, Is this not the man who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and who came here for that purpose, to bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul grew stronger and stronger and confounded the Jews who lived at Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ.” (v. 21, 22.) As someone learned in the Law, he silenced them and left them unable to speak. They thought that by getting rid of Stephen they had put an end to debate about these matters, and they found another man more forceful than Stephen. (Recapitulation.) But let us look at what concerns Ananias. The Lord did not tell him, Talk with him and instruct him in the faith. For if He did not persuade him when He said, “He is praying and has seen a man laying his hands on him,” (v. 11, 12.) He would have persuaded him still less if He had said that. So that he will not disbelieve you, “he has seen in a vision.” Notice how, in the earlier instance, Philip is not told everything immediately either. Do not be afraid, He says, “for this man is a chosen vessel for Me.” (v. 15.) He did more than enough to free him from his fear, if this man was going to be so zealous for our cause that he would even suffer many things. And he is rightly called “a vessel” (or, instrument)—for reason shows that evil is not an inherent physical quality. “A vessel of election” (or, chosen instrument), He says, for we choose what has proved suitable. And let no one imagine that (Ananias) speaks out of disbelief in what he was told, as though he thought Christ had been deceived. Far from it! Instead, frightened and trembling, he did not even pay attention to what was said when he heard Paul’s name. Moreover, the Lord does not tell him that He has blinded Paul. At the mention of his name, fear had already taken hold of his soul. “Look who You are handing me over to,” he says. “‘And he has come here for this very purpose, to bind everyone who calls on Your Name.’ I am afraid he will take me to Jerusalem. Why do You throw me into the lion’s mouth?” He is terrified even as he speaks these words, so that from every direction we may learn the man’s forceful character (ἀρετήν). For it would be no wonder if Jews said these things; but that these (the believers) are so terrified is an extremely powerful proof of God’s power. Both his fear and his still greater obedience after that fear are shown. For strength was certainly needed. Since He says, “a vessel of election,” He adds, “to carry My Name before Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel,” so that you may not imagine that God will do everything. Ananias has heard what he most wanted to hear—that Paul will take his stand against the Jews too. This encouraged him more than anything. “For I,” He says, “will show him how much he must suffer for My Name’s sake.” At the same time, this is also said to put Ananias to shame: This man, who was so frenzied, will suffer everything, and you are not even willing to baptize him! “It is better,” he says, “to let him stay blind” (this is why he says these words). “He is blind. Why do You tell me to open his eyes at all, so that he can bind (men) again?” Do not fear the future: he will use the opening of his eyes for you, not against you (these words refer to the saying, “That he may receive his sight” (v. 12)). For not only will he do you no harm, but he “will suffer many things.” And what is truly wonderful is that he will first know “how much he will suffer,” and then go out to face the dangers.—“Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus”—he does not say, “Who made you blind,” but, “Who appeared to you on the road, has sent me to you so that you may regain your sight” (v. 17). Notice this man too, how he says nothing boastful. Just as Peter said in the case of the lame man, “Why do you look at us as though we had made him walk by our own power or holiness?” (ch. iii. 12), so here he also says, “Jesus, Who appeared to you.” (b) Or, (he saith it) so that the other man may believe. And he does not say, He Who was crucified, the Son of God, He Who works wonders. What does he say instead? “He Who appeared to you”: (speaking) from what the other man knew. Christ too added nothing more; He did not say, I am Jesus, the Crucified, the Risen. What did He say instead? “Whom you persecute.” Ananias did not say, “The persecuted,” so that he might not seem to be gloating over him (ἐπενθουσιᾷν), mocking him. “Who appeared to you on the road”: and yet He did not (visibly) appear, but was seen through what happened. And immediately he added, wishing to draw a veil over the accusation, “So that you may regain your sight.” I did not come to reproach you for the past, but to give you the gift: “so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (a) He spoke these words with his hands laid on him. “And immediately something fell from his eyes,” etc. (v. 18): a double blindness is removed.—And why does it say, “After eating, he regained his strength”? (v. 19.) Because people in such a condition become weak. Before this he had no desire to eat, until he received the mighty gifts. (c) It seems to me that both Paul and Cornelius received the Spirit at the very moment the words were spoken. And yet (in this case) the giver was no great person. This shows how true it is that nothing in what happened came from man, nor was anything done by man; God was present, doing these things. At the same time, (the Lord) both teaches him to think humbly of himself, by not bringing him to the Apostles who were so admired, and shows that nothing here comes from man. He was not filled, however, with the Spirit Who works signs, so that his faith might also be shown in this way; for he performed no miracles. “And immediately,” it says, “he preached Jesus in the synagogues”—(v. 20) not that He has risen, not this; no, nor that He lives. What then? Immediately he explained the doctrine precisely—“that this is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed,” etc. (v. 21.) They were left utterly unable to believe it. And yet they should not merely have wondered, but worshiped and shown reverence. “Is this not the man,” etc. He had not merely been a persecutor, but “destroyed those who called on this Name”—they did not say, “on Jesus,” because their hatred made them unable to bear even hearing His name. And what is still more wonderful, “and came here for this purpose,” etc. “We cannot say that he associated with the Apostles before.” See how many (witnesses) acknowledge that he had been among the enemies! But Paul was not confounded by these things, nor did he hide his face in shame. Instead, he “grew stronger and stronger and confounded the Jews” (v. 22), that is, silenced them and left them nothing to say for themselves, “proving that this is the very Christ.” “Teaching,” it says, for this man was a teacher. “And after many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him.” (v. 23.) The Jews again resort to that sound argument (ἰσχυρὸν συλλογισμόν) of theirs. They no longer look for false accusers and false witnesses; they cannot wait for these now. What do they do instead? They set about it themselves. For as they see the movement growing, they do not even go through the form of a trial. “But Saul learned of their ambush. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.” (v. 24.) For this was more intolerable to them than the miracles that had taken place—than the five thousand, the three thousand, than everything, in fact. And notice how he is rescued through human wisdom, rather than by (miraculous) grace, as the apostles were—(ἐκεἴνοι, ch. v. 19)—so that you may learn the man’s forceful (ἀρετὴν) character, how he shines even without miracles. “Then the disciples took him by night,” so that no one would suspect what was happening, “and lowered him down the wall in a basket.” (v. 25.) What then? After escaping such a danger, does he flee? By no means; instead, he goes where he stirred them to still greater rage. (Recapitulation, v. 20, 21.) “And immediately he preached Jesus in the synagogues”—for he understood the faith precisely—“that this is the Son of God. But all who heard him were amazed,” etc., for it was indeed incredible. “But Saul grew stronger,” etc. So it is “after many days” that this happens: the Jews “plotted to kill him. And Saul learned of their ambush.” (v. 22–24.) What does this mean? He probably chose for a while not to leave there, though many people may have begged him to do so. But when he learned of it, he allowed his disciples to act; for he had disciples immediately. “Then the disciples,” etc. (v. 25.) He says of this event, “The ethnarch of King Aretas guarded the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, wanting to arrest me.” (2 Cor. xi. 32.) But notice that the Writer here does not tell the story for effect or try to show what an important person Paul was by saying, “For they stirred up the king,” and so on. He says only, “Then the disciples took him by night and lowered him down the wall—in a basket.” For they sent him out alone, with no one accompanying him. And it was good that they did this: the result was that he presented himself to the Apostles in Jerusalem. They sent him out because they had a duty to keep him safe by helping him escape; but he did just the opposite—he leaped into the midst of those who were raging against him. This is what it means to be on fire, to be truly fervent! From that day on, he knew all the commands the Apostles had heard: “Unless a man takes up his cross and follows Me.” (Matt. x. 38.) The very fact that he had come later than the others made him more zealous. For “the one who is forgiven much” (Luke vii. 47) will love more, so that the later he came, the more he loved: * * * and having done ten thousand wrongs, he thought he could never do enough to throw his former deeds into the shade. “Proving” (v. 22), it says: that is, teaching gently. And notice, they did not say to him, You are the man who destroyed them; why have you changed? They were ashamed, so they said it among themselves. For he would have said to them, This very thing should teach you—as he does in fact argue in his speech before Agrippa. Let us imitate this man; let us carry our souls in our hands, ready to face every danger.—(That he fled from Damascus) was no act of cowardice: he kept himself alive for preaching. If he had been a coward, he would not have gone to Jerusalem or immediately begun teaching. He would have toned down his intensity, for Stephen’s fate had taught him what to expect. He was no coward, but he was also prudent (οἰκονομικός) (in husbanding himself). So he did not think it any great thing to die for the Gospel’s sake unless his death would accomplish great good. He was willing to put off even seeing Christ, Whom he longed to see more than anything, while the work entrusted to him among men was still unfinished. (Phil. i. 23, 24). This is what a Christian’s soul should be like. From his first appearance, from the very beginning, Paul’s character showed itself. Indeed, even before this, even in the things he did “not according to knowledge” (Rom. x. 2), he was not moved to act by human calculations. For if, so long afterward, he was content not to depart, how much more at the beginning of his trading voyage, when he had only just left the harbor! Christ leaves many things to be done by (ordinary) human wisdom, so that we may learn that (his disciples) were men, that grace was not to do everything everywhere. Otherwise they would have been mere motionless logs; but in many things they managed matters themselves.—This is no less than martyrdom: to recoil from no suffering for the salvation of the many. Nothing delights God so much. Once again I will repeat what I have often said, and I repeat it because I desire it so intensely. Christ did the same when speaking about forgiveness: “When you pray, forgive if you have anything against anyone.” (Mark xi. 25.) And again He said to Peter, “I do not tell you to forgive up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Matt. xviii. 22.) And He Himself actually forgives offenses against Him. We too continually speak about this because we know it is the very goal of Christianity. Nothing is colder than a Christian who does not care about the salvation of others. You cannot plead poverty here, for the woman who put in the two small coins will accuse you. (Luke xxi. 1.) And Peter said, “I have no silver or gold.” (Acts iii. 6.) And Paul was so poor that he was often hungry and lacked the food he needed. You cannot plead humble birth, for they too were men of low social standing, born to parents of low social standing. You cannot claim a lack of education, for they too were “uneducated men.” (Acts iv. 13.) Even if you are a slave, then, and a runaway slave, you can do your part. For that is what Onesimus was; yet see what Paul calls him to, and how greatly he honors him: “so that he may share with me,” he says, “in my chains.” (Philem. v. 13.) You cannot plead illness, for Timothy too was often ill. The apostle says, “Use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent illnesses.” (1 Tim. v. 23.) Everyone can benefit his neighbor if he is willing to do his part. Do you not see the unfruitful trees, how strong they are, how beautiful, how large and smooth and tall? But if we had a garden, we would much rather have pomegranate trees or fruitful olive trees. For the others delight the eye but provide little practical benefit. Such are the people who consider only their own interests. Indeed, they are not even like those trees, since these people are fit only for burning, while those trees are useful both for building and for sheltering those inside. Such too were those Virgins: chaste, respectable, and modest, but of use to no one (Matt. xxv. 1); that is why they are burned. Such are those who have not fed Christ. For notice that none of them is charged with particular sins of their own—with sexual immorality, for instance, or perjury; in fact, they are charged with no sin except being of no use to someone else. Such was the man who buried his talent, living a blameless life but being of no use to anyone else. (ib. 25.) How can such a person be a Christian? Tell me, if leaven mixed into flour did not change the whole into its own nature, would such a thing be leaven? Again, if a perfume gave off no sweet fragrance to those who came near it, could we call it a perfume? Do not say, “It is impossible for me to persuade others (to become Christians).” For if you are a Christian, it is impossible for this not to happen. Just as the natural properties of things cannot be denied, so it is here: this belongs to the Christian’s very nature. Do not insult God. To say that the sun cannot shine would be to insult Him; to say that a Christian cannot do good is to insult God and call Him a liar. For it is easier for the sun to give neither heat nor light than for a Christian to give off no light. It is easier for light to be darkness than for this to happen. Do not tell me it is impossible: the opposite is impossible. Do not insult God. Once we put our own affairs in order, the other result will certainly follow as a natural and necessary consequence. A Christian’s light cannot be hidden; a lamp so conspicuous cannot be concealed. Let us not be careless. For just as the benefit of virtue reaches both ourselves and those who benefit from it, so vice causes a double loss, both to ourselves and to those it harms. Suppose there is (if you will) an ordinary man who has suffered countless wrongs from someone, and no one takes his side, yet he continues to return kindness. What teaching is as powerful as this? What words or appeals could equal it? What anger would it not be enough to extinguish and soften? Knowing these things, then, let us hold firmly to virtue, knowing that we cannot be saved unless we spend this present life doing these good works, so that we may also obtain the good things to come, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, might, and honor, now and forever, through all eternity. Amen.