Homilies on Romans, Homily 22

“Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.” After teaching them how they should regard one another and joining the members closely together as one, he next leads them out to the battle outside, making it easier through what he has taught up to this point. For just as someone who has not handled things well with those on his own side will find it harder to deal with strangers, someone who has trained himself properly among his own people will more easily gain the advantage over those outside as well. So Paul, too, as he continues on his journey, puts the second lesson after the first and says, “Bless those who persecute you.” He did not say, do not be spiteful or take revenge, but required something far better. A wise person could do the former, but the latter is truly the work of an angel. And after saying “bless,” he continues, “and do not curse,” so that we will not do both, instead of only the first. For those who persecute us provide us with a reward. But if you are clearheaded, there will be another reward after that one, which you will gain for yourself. Your persecutor will bring you the reward for persecution, but you will bring yourself the reward for blessing someone else, because you show a very great sign of love for Christ. For just as someone who curses his persecutor shows that he is not very happy to suffer this for Christ, someone who blesses him shows the greatness of his love. So do not insult him, so that you yourself may gain the greater reward and teach him that this is a matter of willingness, not necessity, of holiday and celebration, not calamity or despair. This is why Christ Himself said, “Rejoice when people falsely say every kind of evil against you.” (Matt. v. 11.) This is also why the Apostles returned with joy, not only after being spoken against, but also after being whipped. (Acts v. 40, 41.) For besides what I have mentioned, you will gain something else of no small importance: in this way you will both put your opponents to shame and teach them by your actions that you are traveling toward another life. For if your persecutor sees you joyful and uplifted, (πτερούμενον) because you suffer mistreatment, he will see clearly from your actions that you have other hopes greater than those of this life. So if you do not act this way, but weep and mourn, how can he learn from that that you are waiting for another life? Besides this, you will accomplish something else. For if he sees that you are not upset by the insults against you, but even bless him, he will stop harassing you. See how much good comes from this: a greater reward for yourself and a lighter trial; he will stop persecuting you, and God, too, will be glorified. And your endurance will teach godliness to the person who is in error. This is why he told us to repay with the opposite not only those who insult us, but even those who persecute and abuse us. Here he tells them to bless, but as he continues, he urges them to do good to them through their actions as well. Ver. 15. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Since it is possible to bless and not curse, yet do this without love, he wants the warmth of friendship to fill us completely. That is why he continues with these words: we should not only bless, but also feel compassion for their pain and suffering whenever we happen to see them in trouble. Yes, someone will say, we can see why he told them to share the sorrow of those who mourn, but why did he command the other thing, when it is no great matter? Yet rejoicing with those who rejoice requires a higher Christian character than weeping with those who weep. For nature itself fully accomplishes the latter, and no one is so hardhearted that he will not weep over someone in distress. But the former requires a very noble soul, not only to refrain from envy, but even to share the pleasure of someone who is honored. That is why he put it first. For nothing binds love so firmly as sharing one another’s joy and pain. So do not hold back from sympathizing just because you yourself are free from trouble. For when your neighbor is mistreated, you should make his suffering your own. Share his tears, then, so that you may ease his sadness. Share his joy, so that you may make that joy take deep root, firmly establish love, and benefit yourself even more than him by doing so: by weeping, you make yourself merciful, and by sharing his pleasure, you cleanse yourself of envy and resentment. And let me draw your attention to Paul’s thoughtfulness. He does not say, Put an end to the suffering, so that you cannot say in many cases (or perchance πολλάκις) that it is impossible. Instead, he has commanded the easier task, the one within your power. For even if you cannot remove the trouble, at least contribute your tears, and you will take away the worse half of it. And if you cannot increase someone’s prosperity, contribute your joy, and you will have added a great deal to it. So he urges us not merely to refrain from envy, but to do something much greater: to share the pleasure. For this is much greater than not being envious. Ver. 16. “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your minds on high things, but come down to people of low status.” Here again he strongly emphasizes humility, the subject with which he began this exhortation. For they were likely to be full of pride, both because of their city (see p. 343) and for various other reasons. So he keeps draining away (ὑποσύρει, 2 mss. ὐπορύττει) the diseased matter and reducing the inflammation. For nothing creates such divisions in the Churches as vanity does. And what does he mean by “Be of the same mind toward one another”? Has a poor man come into your house? Match his manner; do not put on an unusually pompous air because of your wealth. There is no rich and poor in Christ. So do not be ashamed of him because of his outward clothing, but welcome him because of his inward faith. And if you see him in sorrow, do not think it beneath you to comfort him. If you see him prospering, do not feel embarrassed to share his pleasure and rejoice with him, but have the same attitude toward his circumstances that you would toward your own. For it says, “Be of the same mind toward one another.” For example, if you think you are a great man, think the same of him as well. Do you consider him insignificant and small? Then pass the same judgment on yourself, and put aside every unequal distinction. And how can this happen? By putting aside that presumptuous attitude. So he continues: “Do not set your minds on high things, but come down to people of low status.” That is, lower yourself to their humble circumstances, associate with them, walk with them; do not merely be humble in your mind, but also help them and reach out your hand to them, through your own personal involvement, not through others, like a father caring for a child, like the head caring for the body. As he says elsewhere, “being bound with those who are in chains.” (Heb. xiii. 3.) But here, by people of low status he means not merely the humble in mind, but those of low rank, whom people are inclined to scorn. “Do not be wise in your own eyes.” That is, do not think you can manage on your own. For Scripture also says elsewhere, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and sensible in their own estimation.” (Is. v. 21.) With this, again, he quietly drains away presumption and reduces conceit and self-importance. For nothing so inflates people and makes them feel set apart from others as the idea that they can manage by themselves. That is also why God has made us need one another, and even if you are wise, you will need someone else. But if you think you do not need him, you will be the most foolish and helpless of people. For someone like this strips himself of all help, and whatever error he falls into, he will have the benefit of neither correction nor pardon. He will provoke God by his presumption and fall into many errors. For it does happen, and often, that a wise person fails to see what is needed, while someone less perceptive hits on something useful. This happened with Moses and his father-in-law, with Saul and his servant, and with Isaac and Rebekah. So do not suppose that needing another person lowers you. It raises you all the more; it makes you stronger, more distinguished, and more secure. Ver. 17. “Repay no one evil for evil.” For if you find fault with someone else for plotting against you, why do you make yourself liable to the same accusation? If he did wrong, why do you not avoid imitating him? And notice how he makes no distinction here, but lays down one law for everyone. He does not say, “Do not repay evil” to a believer, but to “no one,” whether he is a pagan, defiled, or anything else. “Take care to do what is honorable in everyone’s sight.” Ver. 18. “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” This is the meaning of “let your light shine before people” (Matt. v. 16): we should not live for vanity, but neither should we give those who want it grounds to attack us. That is why he also says elsewhere, “Give no offense, either to the Jews, or to the Gentiles, or to the Church of God.” (1 Cor. x. 32.) And in what follows he properly qualifies his meaning by saying, “If possible.” For there are cases in which it is not possible, as when we must argue about religion or fight for those who are wronged. And why be surprised that this is not always possible with other people, when he even made an exception to the rule for husband and wife? “But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him leave.” (1 Cor. vii. 15.) His meaning is roughly this: Do your own part, and give no one a reason for war or fighting, neither Jew nor Gentile. But if you see the cause of religion suffering anywhere, do not value harmony above truth, but stand nobly firm even to death. Even then, do not be at war in your soul or hostile in your disposition, but fight only over the issues. For this is the meaning of “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” But if the other person will not be at peace, do not fill your soul with a storm. Instead, remain friendly in mind (φίλος, several mss. φιλόσοφος), as I said before, without ever giving up the truth. Ver. 19. “Beloved friends, do not avenge yourselves, but instead make room for anger. For it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” What anger? The anger of God. Now, since what an injured person most wants to see is his own enjoyment of revenge, Paul grants him this very thing in full measure. He means that if you do not avenge yourself, God will be your avenger. So leave it to Him to pursue the wrongs done to you. This is the force of “make room for anger.” Then, to give further comfort, he also introduces the quotation. And after winning the injured person over more completely in this way, he asks for greater Christian heroism (φιλοσόφιάν) from him and says: Ver. 20, 21. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Why, he means, am I telling you that you must keep the peace? I even insist that you show kindness. For he says, “give him food, and give him something to drink.” Then, because the command he gave was very difficult and demanding, he continues: “for by doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head.” He said this both to humble one person through fear and to make the other more willing through the hope of vengeance against his enemy. For when the injured person is weak, he is less attracted by any benefits to himself than by vengeance against the person who has hurt him. For nothing is so sweet as seeing an enemy punished. So Paul first grants him what he longs for, and once he has released his venom, Paul again gives him counsel on a higher level, saying, “Do not be overcome by evil.” For he knew that even if the enemy were an utter brute, he would not remain an enemy after being fed. And however small-minded the injured person may be, still, when he feeds his enemy and gives him something to drink, he himself will no longer even desire his punishment. So, confident of the result of this action, Paul does not merely threaten, but even speaks at length about vengeance. For he did not say, “you will take revenge,” but “you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Then he further declares the injured person the victor by saying, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” And he gently hints that we should not do it with that intention, since continuing to hold a grudge would mean “being overcome by evil.” But he did not say this at once, since he did not yet think it advisable. Once he had relieved the man of his anger, however, he went on to say, “overcome evil with good.” For this would be a victory. A fighter is more truly the winner when he draws back and makes his opponent waste his strength on the air than when he puts himself in position to take the blows. In this way he will avoid being struck himself and also exhaust all the other man’s strength. The same thing happens with insults. For when you insult someone in return, you lose, overcome (so 1 ms. νικηθεὶς, Sav. κινηθεὶς) not by a human being, but, far more disgracefully, by the enslaving passion of anger. But if you remain silent, you will conquer, raise a trophy without a fight, and have thousands to crown you and condemn the slander as false. For someone who answers back seems to be replying because he has been stung. And someone who is stung gives people reason to suspect that he knows he is guilty of what is said about him. But if you laugh at it, your laughter dismisses the charge against you. If you want clear proof of what I have said, ask the enemy himself when he is most upset: when you get angry and insult him in return, or when you laugh at him as he insults you? You will be told it is the latter. For the pleasure he takes in not being insulted in return is outweighed by his frustration that his abuse could get no hold on you. Have you never seen how people in a rage pay little attention to their own wounds, but rush forward violently, worse than wild boars in their eagerness to hurt their neighbor? They look only to this and care more about it than about protecting themselves from harm. So when you deprive him of what he most desires, you rob him of everything by treating him as so insignificant and showing that he can easily be despised, a child rather than a man. You gain the reputation of a wise man, while you give him the character of a vicious beast. Let us do this, too, when we are struck, and when we want to strike, let us refrain from striking back. But would you like to deal a mortal blow? “Turn the other cheek to him also” (Matt. v. 39), and you will strike him with countless wounds. For those who applaud and admire you trouble him more than people throwing stones at him would. And before they do so, his conscience will condemn him and inflict the greatest punishment on him, so that he will go away looking bewildered, as though he had been treated with the utmost severity. And if you seek the crowd’s esteem, you will have a greater share of that, too. In general, we feel a certain sympathy for those who suffer. But when we also see that they do not strike (several mss. resist, ἀντιπίπτοντας) back, but even submit to it, we not only pity them, but admire them as well. Here, then, I find reason to grieve: if we listened to Christ’s Law as we should, we could have the good things of the present and also attain those to come, yet we lose both by ignoring what we have been told and indulging in unwarranted speculation about it. For He has given us laws on all these matters for our good and has shown us what gives us a good name and what brings us disgrace. If this were likely to make His disciples ridiculous, He would not have commanded it. But because it makes them the most distinguished of people—refraining from speaking evil when others speak evil of us, and from doing evil when others do evil to us—He commanded it. And if this is so, then speaking well of those who speak evil of us, praising those who insult us, and doing good to those who plot against us will make us even more distinguished. This, then, is why He gave these laws. For He cares for His own disciples and knows very well what makes a person insignificant or great. If He both cares and knows, why do you quarrel with Him and want to take another road? For conquering by doing evil is one of the devil’s laws. That is why, in the Olympic games celebrated in his honor, all the competitors win in this way. But in Christ’s race, this is not the rule for awarding the prize. On the contrary, the law is that the person struck, rather than the person striking, is crowned. For that is the nature of His race: all its rules run the other way, so that the greater wonder lies not only in the victory, but also in the way it is won. When He shows that the very things that signal victory on the other side produce defeat on this side, this is the power of God, this is the race of Heaven, this is the theater of Angels. I know that you are thoroughly warmed now and have become as soft as wax, but when you leave here, you will vomit it all out. This is why I grieve: we do not put what we are discussing into practice, even though we would gain the most by doing so. For if we let our restraint be seen, we will be invincible against anyone. No one, great or small, will have the power to harm us. For if someone insults you, he has not harmed you at all, but has severely harmed himself. And if, again, he wrongs you, the harm will fall on the person who does the wrong. Have you never noticed that even in courts of law, those who have been wronged are honored and stand and speak with complete freedom, while those who have done wrong are bowed down with shame and fear? And why do I speak of slander (Sav. conj. and 5 mss. κακηγορίαν) and wrongdoing? Even if he sharpened his sword against you and stained his right hand with your lifeblood (εἰς τὸν λαιμὸν, as p. 505), he would have harmed himself: he would have butchered himself, without harming you. The man who was first killed in this way by a brother’s hand will bear witness to what I say. For he departed to the harbor without a wave, having gained a glory that never dies, while the other lived a life worse than any death, groaning and trembling, carrying in his body the accusation of what he had done. So let us follow the former course rather than the latter. For someone who suffers wrongdoing has no evil permanently lodged within him, since he is not its parent. Instead, having received it from others, he turns it into good through his patient endurance. But someone who does evil has the wellspring of that evil within himself. Was Joseph not in prison, while the prostitute who plotted against him was in a fine and splendid house? Which, then, would you have wanted to be? And do not speak to me yet about the eventual repayment; examine what had happened on its own. For in this way you will value Joseph’s prison infinitely more highly than the house with the prostitute in it. If you could see both their souls, you would find his full of spacious freedom and confidence, but the Egyptian woman’s cramped with shame, dejection, confusion, and deep despair. Yet she seemed to win; but she was no real victor. Knowing all this, then, let us prepare ourselves to bear suffering, so that we may be freed from suffering and attain the blessings to come. May God grant that we all attain them, by the grace and love for humanity, etc.