Homilies on Matthew, Homily 33

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” After reassuring them about the food they needed, opening everyone’s houses to them, and giving their arrival a dignity that would inspire reverence, He instructed them to enter not as wanderers and beggars, but as people far more worthy of respect than those who welcomed them. (This is what He means when He says, “The worker deserves his wages”; when He commands them to find out who is worthy and stay there; when He tells them to greet those who welcome them; and when He threatens those who refuse them with those incurable evils.) After, as I say, removing their anxiety in this way, arming them with the display of miracles, and making them, so to speak, entirely of iron and diamond by freeing them from all worldly things and releasing them from every earthly concern, He goes on to speak of the evils that would happen to them. These included not only what would happen soon afterward, but also what would happen far into the future. From the very beginning, long beforehand, He prepared them for war against the devil. This secured many advantages. First, they learned the power of His foreknowledge. Second, no one would suspect that these evils came upon them because their Master was weak. Third, those who experienced these things would not be dismayed when they happened unexpectedly and contrary to their hopes. Fourth, they would not be troubled by hearing these things at the very time of the cross. In fact, that was exactly how they felt then, when He also reproached them, saying, “Because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’” Yet He had still said nothing about Himself—about His being bound, whipped, and put to death—so that this too would not overwhelm their minds. For now, He foretells what would happen to them. Then, to teach them that this way of waging war is new and this battle formation unusual, just as He sends them out with nothing, with one coat, barefoot, without a staff, belt, or bag, and tells them to live on the support of those who welcome them, so here too He goes further. To show His indescribable power, He says, “Even as you set out like this, show the gentleness of ‘sheep,’ even though you are going to ‘wolves’—and not simply to wolves, but ‘into the midst of wolves.’” And He tells them to have not only the gentleness of sheep, but also the harmlessness of the dove. “For this is how I will best display My might: when sheep overcome wolves, and while surrounded by wolves and receiving a thousand bites, far from being devoured, they actually change them. Changing their spirit and reforming their minds is far greater and more marvelous than killing them—and you will do this as only twelve people, while the whole world is full of wolves.” Then let us be ashamed, since we do the opposite and attack our enemies like wolves. As long as we are sheep, we conquer: even if ten thousand wolves prowl around us, we overcome them and prevail. But if we become wolves, we are defeated, because our Shepherd’s help leaves us. He feeds sheep, not wolves. He abandons you and withdraws, because you do not allow His might to be shown. When you respond gently to mistreatment, He counts the entire triumph as His own; but if you follow it up by striking back, you obscure His victory. 2. But consider, please, who is hearing these commands, so difficult and demanding: timid, ignorant people; uneducated and untrained people; people entirely without distinction, who have never been trained in Gentile laws and do not readily appear in public places; fishermen and tax collectors, men with countless shortcomings. If these things were enough to overwhelm even the powerful and great, how could they fail to discourage and terrify people who were completely untested and had never entertained any noble thought? Yet they did not discourage them. “And naturally enough,” someone may perhaps say, “because He gave them power to cleanse lepers and drive out demons.” I would answer: No, this very thing was especially likely to bewilder them—that despite raising the dead, they would experience these unbearable evils: trials, executions, the wars everyone would wage against them, and the universal hatred of the world; and that such terrors awaited them while they themselves were working miracles. 3. What, then, comforts them through all these things? The power of the One who sends them. That is why He puts this before everything else, saying, “Look, I am sending you.” This is enough to encourage you, to give you confidence, and to keep you from fearing any of your attackers. Do you see His authority? Do you see His prerogative? Do you see His invincible might? His meaning is this: “Do not be troubled,” He says, “because I send you among wolves and command you to be like sheep and doves. I could indeed have done the opposite, allowing nothing terrible to happen to you and keeping you from being exposed to wolves like sheep. I could have made you more fearsome than lions. But it is better for things to be this way. This makes you more glorious, and it also proclaims My power.” He also said this to Paul: “My grace is enough for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” “Take note: I am the One who has put you in this position.” That is what He indicates by saying, “I am sending you out as sheep.” “So do not lose heart, for I know—I know for certain—that in this way, more than any other, you will be invincible against everyone.” After this, so that they too may contribute something of their own, and it may not seem that everything comes from His grace or that they are crowned arbitrarily and for nothing, He says, “So be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” “But what good,” someone might say, “will our wisdom do in such great dangers? Indeed, how will we be able to have any wisdom at all when so many waves are washing over us? However wise a sheep may be, what can it do when it is surrounded by wolves, and so many of them? However harmless a dove may be, what good will that do when so many hawks attack it?” In irrational animals, it would do no good at all; but in you, it will do the greatest possible good. But let us see what kind of wisdom He requires here. The serpent’s wisdom, He says. Just as that animal gives up everything, and does not struggle hard to defend even its body if it must be cut off, provided it can save its head, so you too, He says, must give up everything except the faith, even if possessions, body, and life itself must be surrendered. For faith is the head and the root; and if it is preserved, even if you lose everything, you will recover it all with much greater splendor. For this reason, He did not command them merely to be simple and sincere, or merely wise. He combined the two so that together they would constitute virtue: adopting the serpent’s wisdom so that we are not wounded in our vital parts, and the dove’s harmlessness so that we do not retaliate against those who wrong us or take revenge on those who set traps for us. Wisdom is useless unless this is added. Now what, I ask, could be stricter than these commands? Was it not enough to endure wrong? No, He says, I do not even allow you to be indignant. For this is what “the dove” means. It is as though someone threw a reed into a fire and commanded it not to be burned by the fire, but to put it out. Still, let us not be troubled, for these things have happened, have been fulfilled, and have been demonstrated in actual deeds. People became wise as serpents and harmless as doves, although their nature was no different from ours. So let no one consider His commands impossible to carry out. He knows the nature of things better than anyone else. He knows that fierceness is put out by gentleness, not by fierceness. And if you want to see this result in people’s actual deeds, read the book of the Acts of the Apostles. You will see how often, when the Jewish people rose against them and sharpened their teeth, these men imitated the dove and answered with fitting gentleness, removing their anger, extinguishing their madness, and breaking the force of their attacks. For example, when they said, “Did we not strictly command you not to speak in this name?” the apostles, although able to work any number of miracles, neither said nor did anything harsh. Instead, they defended themselves with complete gentleness, saying, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right to listen to you more than to God.” Have you seen the dove’s harmlessness? Look at the serpent’s wisdom: “For we cannot help speaking about the things we know and have heard.” Do you see how we must be perfect in every respect, neither crushed by dangers nor provoked to anger? 4. That is why He also said, “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to councils and whip you in their synagogues. And you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.” In this way He again prepares them to stay alert, always assigning them the endurance of wrong and allowing others to inflict it. This teaches you that victory lies in suffering evil, and that this is how His glorious trophies are set up. He never said, “You too must fight and resist those who would harm you,” but only, “You will suffer the worst evils.” Oh, how great is the power of the One who speaks! How great is the self-control of those who hear! We have every reason to marvel that they did not immediately run away from Him when they heard these things, since they were easily startled by every sound and had never gone farther than the lake where they used to fish. How did they not reflect and say to themselves, “After all this, where can we flee? The courts are against us, the kings are against us, the governors, the Jewish synagogues, the Gentile nations, the rulers, and those they rule.” (For by this He not only warned them beforehand about Palestine and its evils, but also revealed the wars throughout the world, saying, “You will be brought before kings and governors.” He indicated that afterward He would send them to the Gentiles too as heralds.) “You have made the world our enemy. You have armed everyone on earth against us—peoples, tyrants, kings.” And what follows is much more frightening, since because of us people are to become murderers of brothers, children, and fathers. “For brother,” He says, “will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.” “How, then,” someone might say, “will other people believe when they see children killed by their fathers because of us, brothers killed by brothers, and everything filled with horrors? What? Will people not drive us out from every place as destructive demons—will they not drive us out as accursed people and plagues on the world—when they see the earth filled with the blood of relatives and with so many murderers? What a fine peace—is it not?—we are to bring into people’s houses and give them, while filling those houses with so much slaughter. Even if there had been a great many of us instead of twelve; if, instead of being ‘uneducated and ignorant,’ we had been wise, trained in rhetoric, and powerful speakers; more than that, if we had even been kings with armies and abundant wealth, how could we have persuaded anyone while kindling civil wars, and other wars far worse than those? Even if we were to disregard our own safety, who else would listen to us?” But they neither thought nor said any of these things, nor did they demand an explanation of His commands. They simply submitted and obeyed. This came not only from their own virtue, but also from their Teacher’s wisdom. See how He attached encouragement to each frightening thing. In the case of those who would not welcome them, He said, “It will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city.” So here too, after saying, “You will be brought before governors and kings,” He added, “for My sake, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.” It is no small comfort that they suffer these things both for Christ and for the conviction of the Gentiles. Thus God is found doing His own works everywhere, even if no one pays attention. These things comforted them, not because they wanted other people punished, but because they could be confident that the One who had both foreknown and foretold these things would be present with them everywhere, and because they would not suffer all this as wicked men and plagues on the world. Along with these things He adds another comfort for them, and no small one, saying, “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you will speak, for what you are to speak will be given to you at that very hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” To keep them from saying, “How will we be able to persuade people when such things are happening?” He tells them to be confident about their defense too. Elsewhere He says, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom”; but here He says, “It is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you,” raising them to the dignity of the prophets. So after speaking of the power given to them, He also added the terrors, murders, and slaughters. “For brother,” He says, “will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.” He did not stop even there, but added something far more frightening, enough to shatter a rock: “And you will be hated by everyone.” Here again comfort is close at hand, for He says, “You will suffer these things for My name’s sake.” And with this comes another comfort: “But whoever endures to the end will be saved.” These things were also enough to lift their spirits in another way, since the power of their gospel would blaze so high that natural affection would be disregarded, family ties rejected, and the Word preferred to everything, powerfully driving everything else away. For if no tyranny of natural affection is strong enough to withstand your words, but is dissolved and trampled underfoot, what else will be able to overcome you? Still, your lives will not be secure because these things happen. Rather, everyone throughout the world will be united as your enemies and adversaries. 5. Where is Plato now? Where is Pythagoras? Where is the long chain of Stoics? The first, after enjoying great honor, was so thoroughly refuted by events that he was even sold abroad as a slave and achieved none of his aims, not even with a single tyrant. Indeed, he betrayed his disciples and ended his life miserably. And the Cynics, filthy creatures that they were, have all passed away like a dream and a shadow. Yet certainly nothing like this ever happened to them. Instead, they were regarded as glorious for their pagan philosophy, and the Athenians made a public monument of Plato’s letters, sent to them by Dion. They spent all their time at ease and possessed considerable wealth. Aristippus, for instance, used to pay for expensive prostitutes; another made a will leaving a substantial inheritance; another walked on his disciples after they had lain down like a bridge; and the man from Sinope, they say, even behaved indecently in the marketplace. Yes, these are their honorable deeds. But here there is nothing of the sort. Instead, there is strict self-restraint, perfect decency, war against the whole world for truth and godliness, being killed every day, and glorious trophies only in the life to come. But someone may say that among them there were also men skilled in war, such as Themistocles and Pericles. Yet these achievements too are children’s toys compared with the deeds of the fishermen. What can you say? That he persuaded the Athenians to board their ships when Xerxes was marching on Greece? Here it was not Xerxes marching, but the devil with the whole world and his countless evil spirits attacking these twelve men, not at one critical moment alone, but throughout their entire lives. Yet they prevailed and conquered, and, what was truly marvelous, they did so by converting and reforming their opponents rather than killing them. This is what you should especially notice throughout: they did not kill or destroy those who plotted against them. Instead, finding them as bad as demons, they made them rivals of angels, freeing human nature from this evil tyranny. As for those accursed demons that were throwing everything into confusion, they drove them out of marketplaces and houses, or rather, even out of the wilderness itself. The choirs of monks they have planted everywhere bear witness to this, clearing not only inhabited land but even uninhabited land. More marvelous still, they accomplished all this by enduring evil, rather than in open combat. People actually had these twelve uneducated men in their midst, binding them, whipping them, and dragging them around, yet could not silence them. Just as it is impossible to bind a sunbeam, so it was impossible to bind their tongues. The reason was that “it was not they” themselves “who spoke,” but the power of the Spirit. This is how Paul overcame Agrippa and Nero, who surpassed everyone in wickedness. “For the Lord,” he says, “stood with me and strengthened me, and delivered me from the lion’s mouth.” But you too should admire them: when they were told, “Do not worry,” they believed and accepted it, and none of the terrors overwhelmed them. And if you say that He gave them enough encouragement by saying, “It will be the Spirit of your Father who speaks,” that is precisely why I admire them most: they did not doubt or seek escape from their dangers, even though they would suffer these things not for two or three years, but throughout their lives. For the saying, “Whoever endures to the end will be saved,” indicates this. His will is that He should not be the only One to contribute, but that they too should do good deeds. Notice how, from the beginning, one part is His and another His disciples’. Working miracles is His part; providing themselves with nothing is theirs. Again, opening everyone’s houses came from grace above; asking for no more than they needed came from their own self-denial. “For the worker deserves his wages.” Their giving peace came from God’s gift; their seeking out the worthy, rather than entering everyone’s house indiscriminately, came from their own self-control. Again, punishing those who refused to welcome them was His part; leaving them gently, without abuse or insults, came from the apostles’ meekness. Giving the Spirit and freeing them from worry came from the One who sent them; becoming like sheep and doves and bearing everything nobly came from their own composure and prudence. Being hated without losing heart, and enduring, was their part; saving those who endured was the part of the One who sent them. That is why He also said, “Whoever endures to the end will be saved.” Because most people tend to be eager at first but grow faint afterward, He says, “I require you to reach the end.” What use are seeds that flourish at first but wither soon afterward? So He requires lasting endurance from them. I mean, to prevent anyone from saying that He did everything Himself, and that it was no wonder they turned out as they did since they suffered nothing unbearable, He says to them, “You too need endurance. Even if I rescue you from the first dangers, I am keeping you for others more severe, and after these still others will follow. Traps will continue to be set for you as long as you breathe.” This is what He indicated by saying, “But whoever endures to the end will be saved.” For this reason, although He said, “Do not worry about what you will speak,” elsewhere He says, “Be ready to answer everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope within you.” That is, as long as the debate is among friends, He commands us to give it thought ourselves. But when there is a terrifying court, frenzied assemblies, and terrors on every side, He supplies His own power so that they may take courage and speak openly, without losing heart or betraying the righteous cause. It was truly an extraordinary thing for a man whose work involved lakes, hides, or collecting taxes to enter alone, bound and with his head bowed, and still be able to open his mouth, while tyrants sat on their thrones with satraps and guards beside them, swords drawn, and everyone on their side. They allowed the apostles neither to speak nor to defend their teachings, but set about torturing them to death as public plagues on the world. For it says, “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too”; and again, “They proclaim things contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that Jesus Christ is king.” Everywhere the courts were already filled with such suspicions, and great power from above was needed for them to show both the truth of the teaching they preached and that they were not violating the common laws. In their eagerness to speak about their teaching, they must not fall under suspicion of overthrowing the laws; nor, in their eagerness to show that they were not overthrowing the established government, must they compromise the perfection of their teachings. You will see Peter, Paul, and all the rest accomplish all this with careful judgment. Yes, throughout the world they were accused of being rebels, innovators, and revolutionaries. Nevertheless, they both dispelled this impression and gained the opposite reputation, with everyone celebrating them as saviors, guardians, and benefactors. They achieved all this through their great endurance. That is why Paul also said, “I die daily”; and he continued to “stand in danger” to the end. 6. What, then, must we deserve, when we have such lofty examples and yet give way to unmanly softness and carelessness in peacetime? With no one waging war against us—it is all too clear—we are killed. We faint when no one pursues us. We are required to be saved in peace, and we cannot manage even that. They, when the world was on fire and the pyre was being kindled over the whole earth, went in and snatched those who were burning from the midst of the flames. But you cannot even preserve yourself. What confidence, then, will we have? What favor? No whips, prisons, rulers, synagogues, or anything of that kind are attacking us. Quite the opposite: we rule and prevail. Both emperors are godly, and Christians receive many honors, precedence, distinctions, and exemptions; yet even so we do not prevail. They, teachers and disciples alike, were led to execution daily, endured countless lashes and constant branding, and yet enjoyed greater delight than those who live in Paradise. We, who have experienced nothing like this even in a dream, are softer than any wax. “But they,” someone will say, “worked miracles.” Did that protect them from the whip? Did it free them from persecution? No, the extraordinary thing is that they often suffered these things at the hands of the very people they benefited. Yet even then they were not shaken, although they received only evil in return for good. But if you do someone even a small kindness and are repaid with something unpleasant, you are shaken and troubled, and regret what you have done. If a war against the churches and a persecution should come—as I pray may never happen—imagine how great the ridicule and how bitter the reproaches will be. And naturally so: when no one trains in the wrestling school, how can anyone distinguish himself in the contests? What champion who has not trained under a coach will be able, when called to the Olympic contests, to show anything great and noble against his opponent? Should we not wrestle and fight and run every day? Do you not see how those called Pentathli, when they have no opponents, fill a sack with plenty of sand, hang it up, and test their full strength against it? And those who are younger still practice fighting their enemies by sparring with their companions. You too should imitate them and practice the wrestling of self-denial. There are many who provoke anger, stir up lust, and kindle a great flame. So stand against your passions and bear the pains of the mind nobly, so that you may also endure those of the body. 7. In the same way, if blessed Job had not trained himself well before his struggles, he would not have shone so brightly in them. Unless he had practiced freedom from all despair, he would have spoken some reckless word when his children died. As it was, he stood against every assault: the ruin of his fortune and the destruction of such great wealth, the loss of his children, his wife’s pity, bodily plagues, his friends’ reproaches, and his servants’ insults. If you also want to see how he trained, hear him describe how he used to despise wealth: “If I ever rejoiced,” he says, “because my wealth was great; if I piled up gold, if I put my trust in a precious stone.” That is why he was not shaken when these things were taken away, since he had not desired them while he had them. Hear how he also dealt with his children, refusing to give way to excessive indulgence as we do, but requiring them to be careful in everything. If he offered sacrifices even for their secret sins, imagine how strictly he judged their open ones. And if you also want to hear about his efforts to practice sexual self-restraint, listen when he says, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to think about a young woman.” That is why his wife did not break his spirit: even before this he loved her, but not excessively—only as a wife ought to be loved. That is why I am even led to wonder how the devil thought of starting the contest, knowing, as he did, about Job’s earlier training. How, then, did it occur to him? The monster is wicked and never gives up hope. This becomes a very serious condemnation of us: he never gives up hope of destroying us, while we despair of our own salvation. But notice how Job trained himself for bodily mutilation and humiliation. Since he himself had never experienced anything like this, but had continued to live in wealth, luxury, and every other kind of splendor, he used to imagine other people’s calamities, one by one. He made this clear when he said, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I was afraid of has happened to me.” And again, “But I wept for every helpless man, and groaned when I saw a man in distress.” Because of this, nothing that happened shook him—not one of those great and unbearable evils. For I ask you to look beyond the ruin of his possessions, the loss of his children, that incurable plague, and his wife’s scheme against him, to things far more painful than these. “And what,” someone says, “did Job suffer that was more painful than these? His story gives us nothing beyond these things to learn.” We fail to learn because we are asleep. Anyone who is eager and searches carefully for the pearl will certainly discover many more details. For the things that were more painful and more likely to cause deeper bewilderment were different. First, he knew nothing certain about the kingdom of heaven and the resurrection, which he also spoke of in his lament: “For I will not live forever to suffer for long.” Second, he was conscious of having done many good works. Third, he was conscious of no evil deed. Fourth, he supposed he was suffering these things at God’s hands; or, if at the devil’s, that too was enough to make him stumble. Fifth, he heard his friends accusing him of wickedness: “For you have not been whipped,” they say, “as much as your sins deserve.” Sixth, he saw people who lived wickedly prospering and gloating over him. Seventh, he had no one else to look to who had ever suffered such things. 8. If you want to learn how great these things are, consider our present condition. Even now, when we look forward to a kingdom and hope for a resurrection and indescribable blessings, when we are conscious of countless evil deeds, have so many examples, and share in such lofty philosophy, some people who lose a little gold—often after taking it by force—think life is not worth living. They have no wife tormenting them, have not lost their children, are not reproached by friends or insulted by servants, but instead have many people comforting them, some with words and others with deeds. What noble crowns, then, must he deserve who sees what he gathered through honest labor snatched away from him for no reason and at random, and after all that endures countless trials like driving sleet, yet remains unmoved through everything and offers the Lord the thanksgiving He is due for it all? Even if no one had spoken any of the other taunts, his wife’s words alone were enough to shake a solid rock. Look, for example, at her cunning. She says nothing about money, camels, flocks, or herds (because she knew her husband’s self-control concerning these things). Instead, she speaks of what was harder to bear than all of them: their children. She deepens the tragedy and adds her own influence to it. Now if women have often persuaded men in many matters while those men were wealthy and suffering no distress, imagine the courage of the soul that repelled her as she attacked him with such powerful weapons, and trampled underfoot the two most tyrannical passions, desire and pity. Many who have conquered desire have nevertheless yielded to pity. Noble Joseph, for instance, mastered the most tyrannical of pleasures and repelled that woman who was not his wife, despite the countless schemes she used against him. But he could not hold back his tears: when he saw his brothers who had wronged him, he burned with that emotion, quickly cast off his disguise, and revealed the role he had been playing. But here, when she is, first of all, his wife, when her words arouse pity, and when the moment favors her, along with his wounds, his lashes, and those countless waves of calamity, how can anyone fail to call the soul that remained unshaken by so great a storm firmer than any diamond? Let me say frankly that the apostles themselves, if they are not inferior to this blessed man, are at least no greater than he was. They were comforted by suffering for Christ, and this medicine was so effective in bringing them daily relief that the Lord offers it everywhere, saying, “for Me,” “for My sake,” and, “If they call Me, the master of the house, Beelzebub.” But Job lacked this encouragement, as well as the encouragement of miracles and of grace, for he did not have such great power of the Spirit. Greater still, he had been brought up in great luxury. He did not come from among fishermen, tax collectors, or people who lived frugally; rather, after enjoying so much honor, he suffered everything he suffered. And what seemed hardest to bear in the apostles’ case, he too experienced: hatred from friends, servants, enemies, and those who had received kindness from him. Yet he had no glimpse of that sacred anchor, that harbor without waves—the words spoken to the apostles, “for My sake.” I also admire the three children because they dared to face the furnace and stood up to a tyrant. But hear what they say: “We do not serve your gods or worship the image you have set up.” This was their greatest encouragement: knowing for certain that whatever they suffered, they suffered for God. But Job did not know that it was all a contest and a wrestling match. If he had known, he would not have felt what was happening. At any rate, when he heard, “Do you think I have spoken My oracles to you for nothing, or so that you might be proved righteous?” consider how immediately, at a mere word, he breathed freely again, how he counted himself as nothing, and how he considered himself not even to have suffered what he had suffered. He said, “Why do I argue any further, when the Lord has corrected and rebuked me, when I hear such things and am nothing?” And again, “Before, I had heard of You only with my ears; but now my eye has seen You. Therefore I have humbled myself and melted away, and I have counted myself earth and ashes.” Then let us too, who live after law and grace, imitate the courage and moderation of this man who lived before law and grace, so that we too may share the eternal tents with him. May we all reach them through the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and victory forever and ever. Amen.