Homilies on the Statues, Homily 4

1. Blessed be God, who has comforted your sorrowing souls and steadied your troubled spirits! That you have received considerable comfort is clear from the desire and eagerness to listen that you are now showing. For a soul in anguish, weighed down by a cloud of despair, cannot readily listen to anything that is said. But I see that you are listening to us with great goodwill and intense eagerness, and that in your loving desire to listen you have shaken off gloomy thoughts and set aside your sense of present distress. For this reason, I wholeheartedly thank God along with you that calamity has not overcome your philosophy; fear has not weakened your strength; tribulation has not quenched your eagerness; danger has not dried up your zeal; fear of men has not overcome your desire for God; and the difficulty of the times has not defeated your earnestness. Indeed, far from defeating it, it has strengthened it; far from weakening it, it has intensified it; far from quenching it, it has kindled it all the more. The marketplace is indeed empty, but the church is full; the former gives us cause for sadness, the latter for joy and spiritual gladness! So, beloved, when you go to the marketplace and the sight of its emptiness draws a groan from you, hurry back to your Mother, and she will immediately comfort you with the multitude of her children, show you the full chorus of the Brothers, and drive away all your despair! For in the city we long as eagerly to see human beings as those who live in the deserts; but when we take refuge in the church, the crowd leaves us little room. And just as, when the sea is in an uproar and a violent storm makes it rage, fear drives everyone outside the harbor to seek refuge within it, so now the waves of the marketplace and the storm of the city drive everyone from every direction into the church, and through the bond of love knit its members closely together. 2. Let us then thank God even for these things: that we have gathered so much fruit from tribulation, that we have gained so much from the trial. If there were no trial, there would be no crown; if there were no wrestling, there would be no prize; if there were no arenas marked out, there would be no honors; if there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer. We can observe this not only among people but even with seeds themselves. For if we expect the ears of grain to sprout and flourish, there must be plenty of rain, many gathering clouds, and much frost; and the sowing season is also a rainy season. Since winter has now set in—a winter of souls, rather than of the elements—let us too sow during this winter so that we may reap in summer; let us sow tears so that we may reap gladness. These are not my words, but a prophetic promise: “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.” The rain that falls does not make seeds sprout and grow as effectively as the shower of falling tears makes the seed of godliness spring up and flourish. This is what cleanses the soul, waters the mind, and makes the growing shoot of doctrine advance rapidly. For this reason, too, we need to plow a deep furrow. The Prophet indicated this when he said, “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.” So, just as someone who sets a plow in a field turns up the earth from below, preparing a safe place for the seeds so that they will not lie scattered across the surface but will be hidden in the very womb of the earth and put down their roots securely, we too must act in this way, using the plow of tribulation to break up the depths of the heart. Another Prophet urges this when he says, “Tear your hearts and not your garments.” Let us then tear our hearts, so that if any evil plant, any treacherous thought, is within us, we may pull it up by the roots and prepare pure soil for the seeds of godliness. For if we do not break up the fallow ground now, if we do not sow now, if we do not water it with tears now, during this time of tribulation and fasting, when will we ever be moved to remorse? When we are comfortable and living in luxury? But that is impossible. For comfort and luxury generally lead to laziness, just as tribulation leads us back to diligence and brings the mind back to itself after it has wandered away and dreamed of countless things. 3. Let us then not grieve over this discouragement, but even thank God, for tribulation brings great gain. When the farmer has sown the seed he gathered with so much labor, he prays for a shower; and someone who knows nothing about farming, watching what happens, will be astonished and perhaps say to himself, “What can this man be doing? He is scattering what he has collected; and he is not only scattering it but working hard to mix it into the earth, so that it will be no easy matter for him to gather it again. And besides mixing it with the earth, he even wants heavy rain, so that everything he has thrown into it will rot and become mud.” Such a person is also terrified when he sees thunder bursting through the clouds and lightning striking downward. But the farmer is not. He is glad and rejoices as he watches the heavy rain. For he does not look at the present, but waits for the future. He pays no attention to the thunder, but counts the sheaves he will have. He thinks of the flourishing ears of grain, not the decaying seed; of the delightful dust of the threshing floor, not the tiresome rain. In the same way, we too should look to the benefit that may come from our present tribulation—the fruit it will produce—rather than to the tribulation itself or its pain. Let us wait for the sheaves of the threshing floor; for if we stay watchful, we will be able to gather much fruit from the present time and fill the storehouses of our minds. If we stay watchful, we will not only escape harm from this trouble but also reap countless benefits. But if we are lazy, even peace will destroy us! Either condition harms someone who pays no attention; both benefit someone who lives with careful discipline. Gold, even when covered with water, still displays its own beauty, and even if it falls into a furnace, it comes out brighter than before. But if clay or grass is mixed with water, the one dissolves and the other rots; and if they fall into fire, the one is dried out and the other burned up. So it truly is with the righteous man and the sinner! If the former enjoys rest, he remains radiant, like gold immersed in water; and if he falls into trial, he becomes more radiant, like gold tested by fire. But if the sinner finds rest, he is weakened and corrupted like grass and clay in contact with water; and if he undergoes trial, he is burned up and destroyed, just as grass and clay are by the action of fire! 4. Let us then not lose heart over the present troubles. If you have any sins remaining, they will disappear and be easily burned away by tribulation; but if you possess virtue, you will become more radiant and distinguished through it. For if you are continually alert and watchful, you will be beyond the reach of any harm. It is the apathy of those undergoing trials, rather than the nature of the trials, that tends to bring about their downfall. So if you want to rejoice and enjoy comfort and pleasure, seek neither pleasure nor comfort, but a soul full of patience and capable of showing courage. Without this, trial will shame you, and rest will destroy and overthrow you even more decisively. For to prove that the mind's apathy, rather than the assault of troubles, undermines our salvation, listen to what Christ says: “Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will compare him to a wise man who built his house on a rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock.” And again: “Everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house; and it fell, and its fall was great.” Do you see that the builders' foolishness, rather than the assault of these trials, caused the collapse? For there was rain there, and there was rain here; there were floods there, and there were floods here; here the winds beat, and there they did the same. One man built a house, and the other built a house. The building was the same; the trials were the same; but the outcome was not the same, because the foundation was not the same. The builder's foolishness, rather than the nature of the trials, caused the building to fall; otherwise the house founded on the rock should have fallen, whereas nothing of the kind happened to it. But do not suppose that these words were spoken merely about a house. He is speaking about a soul that shows by its actions whether it hears the divine word or rejects it. This is how Job built up his soul. The rain fell—for fire fell from heaven and devoured all his flocks. The floods came—the frequent, constant, successive messengers of his calamities, telling him of the destruction of his herds, his camels, his children. The winds blew—the bitter words of his wife: “Curse God,” she said, “and die.” Yet the house did not fall; the soul was not overthrown; the righteous man did not blaspheme, but even gave thanks, saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. As it pleased the Lord, so it has happened.” Do you see that the negligence of the lazy, rather than the nature of the trials, usually causes the downfall? For tribulation makes the strong man stronger. Who says this? The man who lived in tribulation, the blessed Paul. He says, “Tribulation produces patience, and patience proven character, and proven character hope.” Just as the violence of the wind, rushing against strong trees and swaying them in every direction, does not uproot them but makes them firmer and stronger through these assaults, so a holy soul that lives in devotion to God is not overthrown by the attacks of trial and tribulation, but stirred by them to greater patience—as with the blessed Job, whom they made more radiant and honored. 5. At present, then, a man is angry with us, a man with passions and a soul like ours, and we are afraid. But in Job's case, it was an evil and malicious demon who was angry; indeed, he was not simply angry, but set every kind of scheme in motion and deployed every strategy. Yet even with all this he could not overcome the righteous man's courage. Here, however, we have a man who is angry at one time and reconciled at another, and still we are dead with fear. On that occasion it was a devil who waged war, who is never reconciled to human nature but has undertaken a war without a treaty and a battle without a truce against our race. Yet the righteous man laughed contemptuously at his arrows. What excuse, then, or what pardon can there be for us if we cannot endure a trial imposed by a human being—we who are taught such spiritual wisdom under grace—when this man, before grace and before the Old Testament, endured this most terrible war so nobly! These, beloved, are the things we should always discuss with one another, encouraging ourselves with words like these. For you are witnesses, and your conscience is a witness, to how much we have already gained from this trial! The man who lived without restraint has now become self-controlled; the bold man, gentle; the lazy man, active. Those who had never once seen a church, but constantly spent their time at the theater, now remain in church all day long. Tell me, then, are you grieving because God has made you earnest through fear, because He has led you through tribulation to an awareness of your own safety? But is your conscience in pain? Yes, is your mind pierced every day as if by an arrow, expecting death and the most intense anger? Even from this we will make great progress toward virtue, if our devotion grows more earnest through our distress. For God is able to free you from all these troubles today. But He will not remove the tribulation completely until He sees that you are purified, until He sees that a conversion has taken place and that your repentance is firm and unshaken. The goldsmith will not take the gold out of the furnace until he sees that it is thoroughly refined; in the same way, God will not take away this cloud before He has thoroughly reformed us. For He Himself, who has permitted this trial, knows when to remove it. So it is also with someone who plays the harp: he neither stretches the string too tightly, for fear of breaking it, nor loosens it too much, for fear of spoiling its harmonious sound. This is how God acts. He places our souls neither in constant rest nor in prolonged tribulation, using both as He judges best. For he neither allows us to enjoy continual rest, so that we do not grow apathetic, nor permits us to remain in constant tribulation, so that we do not collapse under it and despair. 6. Let us then leave to Him the time for removing our troubles. Let us simply pray; let us live in devotion to God. For our work is to turn to virtue; God's work is to free us from these troubles! Indeed, He is more eager to put out this fire than you who are being tried by it, but He is waiting for your salvation. Just as tribulation came from rest, so we must expect rest after tribulation. For it is neither always winter nor always summer; there are neither always waves nor always calm; it is neither always night nor always day. In the same way, tribulation does not last forever; there will also be rest. Only let us always thank God during our tribulation. For the three youths were thrown into the furnace, and even this did not make them forget their devotion to God. The flames did not frighten them. Surrounded by fire, they sent those sacred prayers up to heaven more earnestly than men sitting in a room with nothing to alarm them. Therefore the fire became a wall for them, and the flame a robe; the furnace became a fountain; and though it received them bound, it returned them free. It received mortal bodies, but left them untouched as if they were immortal! It knew their nature, yet respected their devotion! The tyrant bound their feet, and their feet bound the action of the fire! What a marvelous thing! The flame freed those who were bound, and was itself afterward bound by those who had been in bonds. For the youths' devotion changed the nature of things—or rather, it did not change their nature, but did something far more wonderful: it stopped their action while their nature remained. For it did not put out the fire, but made it powerless even while it burned. And it was truly marvelous and beyond explanation that this happened not only to the bodies of these saints but also to their clothes and shoes. Just as, in the case of the Apostles, Paul's garments drove out diseases and demons, and Peter's shadow put death to flight, so here the shoes of these youths extinguished the power of the fire. 7. I do not know how to speak of it, for the wonder surpasses all description! The force of the fire was both quenched and not quenched: when it touched the bodies of these saints, it was quenched; but when their bonds needed to be broken, it was not quenched. So it broke their bonds but did not touch their ankles. Do you see how close it came? Yet the fire made no mistake and did not dare penetrate inside the bonds. The tyrant bound them, and the flame set them free, so that you might learn at once the barbarian's ferocity and the element's obedience. Why did he bind them when he was about to throw them into the fire? So that the miracle might be greater, the sign even harder to explain, and you might not suppose that what people saw was an optical illusion. For if that fire had not been fire, it would not have consumed the bonds; and, even more, it would not have seized the soldiers stationed outside the furnace. As it was, it displayed its power over those outside, but its obedience toward those inside. But notice, please, how in everything the devil tears down his own power by the very means he uses to fight God's servants. He does this unintentionally, because God's wisdom and abundant ingenuity turn all his weapons and schemes back on his own head. This certainly happened on that occasion. For the devil, inspiring the tyrant at that time, did not allow the saints to be beheaded with a sword, handed over to wild beasts, or punished in any such way, but had them thrown into the fire. His purpose was that no relics of these saints should remain, their bodies being completely consumed and their ashes mixed with the ashes of the bundles of wood. But God accordingly used this very circumstance to do away with impiety. How? I will tell you. The Persians consider fire a god, and the barbarians who live in that country still worship it with great reverence even now. God, therefore, wishing to pull up the substance of impiety by the roots, allowed the punishment to take this form so that He might give His servants victory before the eyes of all these fire worshipers, persuading them by the plain fact that the gods of the Gentiles dread not only God but even God's servants. 8. Consider, too, how the adversaries wove the crown of this victory, and the enemies themselves were made witnesses to this trophy. For “Nebuchadnezzar,” it says, “sent to gather the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image, and they all gathered.” The enemy prepares the theater, gathers the spectators himself, and prepares the arena. And this theater contains no random people or private individuals, but everyone who holds honor and authority, so that the multitude will find their testimony credible. They were summoned for one thing, but all went away having seen another. They came to worship the image; they went away having mocked the image and been struck with wonder at God's power through the signs that had taken place concerning these young men. And notice where the field for this display was laid out. No city or specially chosen enclosure provided room for this theater of the whole world; instead, it was on level, bare plains. For he set up the image on the plain of Dura, outside the city, and the herald came and cried, “You are commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, that whenever you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and every kind of music, you fall down and worship the golden image;” (for worshiping the idol truly was a fall) “and whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown that very hour into the midst of a furnace blazing with fire.” Do you see how difficult these struggles are made, how inescapable the snare, how deep the gulf, with a precipice on either side? But do not be afraid. The more the enemy increases his schemes, the more he displays the young men's courage. This is the reason for the combined music of so many musicians; this is the reason for the blazing furnace: so that both pleasure and fear may besiege the souls of those present. Is anyone among them harsh and unyielding in character? “Let the melody of every kind of music,” he says, “enchant and soften him.” But does he rise above this trick? “Let the sight of the flame frighten and stun him.” Thus both fear and pleasure were present, one entering to assault the soul through the ears, the other through the eyes. But the noble character of these youths could not be conquered by any such means. Just as they mastered the flames when they fell into the fire, so they laughed at all desire and all fear. For it was for them that the devil had prepared all these things in advance. He had no doubts about his own subjects, but was entirely confident that no one would resist the royal command. But when everyone had fallen down and submitted, then the youths alone were brought forward, so that this too might make the victory more radiant, as they alone conquered and were proclaimed victors among so vast a multitude. For it would not have been so surprising if they had acted courageously at the beginning, when no one had yet been overthrown. But the greatest and most astonishing fact was that the multitude of those who fell down neither frightened nor weakened them. They did not say to themselves the kinds of things many people often say: “If we were the first and the only people to worship the image, this would have been a sin; but if we do this with so many tens of thousands, who will not make allowances? Who will not think we deserve a defense?” They neither said nor thought anything of the kind when they saw the prostrate bodies of so many tyrants. Consider with me, too, the wickedness of their accusers, and how maliciously and bitterly they brought the accusation! “There are,” they say, “certain Jews whom you have placed over the work of the province of Babylon.” They did not merely mention their nation, but also recalled their honored position, to inflame the king's anger. It was almost as if they had said, “These slaves, these captives, these men without a city—you have made them rulers over us. But they show contempt for such honor and treat the man who gave it to them with insolence!” That is why they say, “The Jews whom you have placed over the work of the province of Babylon do not obey your decree or serve your gods.” The accusation becomes their greatest praise, and the crimes charged against them become a tribute to them—a testimony beyond doubt, since their enemies present it. What, then, does the king do? He orders them brought forward so that he may frighten them in every way. But nothing dismayed them: neither the king's anger, nor their standing alone among so many, nor the sight of the fire, nor the sound of the trumpet, nor the whole multitude glaring fire at them. Laughing at all these things, as if they were about to be thrown into a cool fountain of water, they entered the furnace speaking that blessed sentence: “We will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.” 9. I have referred to this history for a reason: so that you may learn that whether it is a king's anger, the violence of soldiers, the envy of enemies, captivity, destitution, fire, a furnace, or ten thousand terrors, nothing can shame or terrify a righteous man. For if the youths were not dismayed at the tyrant's anger when the king was godless, how much more confident we should be, having an emperor who is humane and merciful! And we should express our thanks to God for this tribulation, knowing from what has now been said that tribulations make people more radiant in the presence of both God and man, if they know how to bear them courageously! Indeed, if these men had not been made slaves, we would not have known their freedom! If they had not been captives, we would not have learned their nobility of soul! If they had not been exiles from their country below, we would not have known the excellence of their citizenship above! If the earthly king had not been angry with them, we would not have known the favor they enjoyed with the heavenly King! 10. You too, then, if you have Him as your Friend, do not despair even if you fall into the furnace; and likewise, if He is angry, do not think you are safe even in Paradise. For Adam was indeed in Paradise, yet when he had provoked God, Paradise did him no good. These youths were in the furnace, yet because they had God's approval, the furnace did them no harm at all. Adam was in Paradise, but when he became careless, he was overthrown! Job sat on the dung heap, yet because he stayed alert, he prevailed! And how much better Paradise was than a dung heap! Still, the excellence of the place did its inhabitant no good at all, because he had betrayed himself; likewise, the foulness of the place did no harm to the man fortified on every side by virtue. Let us then fortify our souls. For if the loss of wealth or even death threatens us, and yet no one can rob us of our religion, we are the happiest of people. Christ commended this when he said, “Be wise as serpents.” For just as the serpent exposes its whole body to save its head, you should do the same. Even if you must expose your wealth, your body, your present life, or everything to danger in order to preserve your religion, do not lose heart! For if you leave this life possessing it, God will restore everything to you with more abundant splendor and raise your body again with greater glory; and in place of riches, there will be good things beyond all power of description. Did Job not sit naked on a dung heap, enduring a life more painful than ten thousand deaths? Yet because he did not throw away his devotion to God, all he had before returned to him in greater abundance: bodily health and beauty, his full company of children, his possessions, and, greater than all these, the splendid crown of his patience. For just as a tree will grow back whole and more beautiful if someone plucks away both its fruit and its leaves, or even cuts off all its branches, leaving only the root, so it is with us. If the root of devotion remains, even if wealth is taken away, even if the body is destroyed, everything returns to us with greater glory than before. So let us cast away all anxiety and unnecessary care, turn our attention back to our own souls, and adorn body and soul with the ornament of virtue, turning our bodily members into instruments of righteousness rather than instruments of sin. 11. First of all, let us train our tongue to serve the grace of the Spirit, driving all venom and malice and the practice of shameful speech from our mouths. For we have the power to make each of our members an instrument of wickedness or of righteousness. Listen, then, to how people make the tongue an instrument, some of sin, others of righteousness! “Their tongue is a sharp sword.” But another says this about his own tongue: “My tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.” The former brought destruction; the latter wrote the divine law. Thus one was a sword, the other a pen, according to the choice of those who used it, rather than its own nature. For the nature of this tongue and that tongue was the same, but their action was not the same. Again, we can see the same thing with the mouth. These people had mouths full of filth and wickedness, and so this accusation is made against them: “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” His was not like that, but “My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will be understanding.” Again, there were others whose hands were full of wickedness, and in accusing them he said, “Wicked deeds are in their hands, and their right hand is filled with gifts.” But his own hands were trained only to reach up toward heaven. Therefore he said of these too, “The lifting up of my hands (let it be) an evening sacrifice.” We can see the same thing with the heart: their heart was foolish, but this man's was true. So he says of them, “Their heart is empty,” but of his own, “My heart is composing a good theme.” And with the ear, we can see that the case is the same. Some people have hearing like that of beasts, which cannot be charmed or moved to pity; and the Psalmist reproaches such people by saying, “They are like the deaf adder that blocks her ears.” But his ear received the divine words, and he again makes this clear when he says, “I will turn my ear to a parable; I will unfold my obscure saying on the harp.” 12. Knowing these things, then, let us fortify ourselves on every side with virtue, and in this way avert God's anger. Let us make the members of the body instruments of righteousness, and train our eyes, mouth, hands, feet, heart, tongue, and whole body to be used only in the service of virtue. And let us remember those three precepts I discussed with you, my beloved, urging you to consider no one an enemy, to speak evil of none of those who have wronged you, and to drive the evil habit of oaths from your mouth. We will discuss the first two precepts with you on another occasion, but throughout this entire week we will speak to you about oaths, beginning in this way with the easier precept. For overcoming the habit of swearing takes no effort at all if we are only willing to make a little attempt: reminding one another, giving advice, keeping watch, and requiring those who forget themselves in this way to give an account and pay the penalty. For what will we gain by abstaining from food if we do not also drive out the soul's evil habits? Look, we have spent this whole day fasting, and in the evening we will set a table unlike yesterday evening's, one of a different and more solemn kind. Can any of us say, then, that he has also changed his life today, that he has changed his bad habit along with his food? Truly, I suppose not! What good, then, is our fasting? That is why I urge you, and will not stop urging you, to take up each precept separately and spend two or three days putting it into practice. Just as some people compete with one another in fasting and show remarkable zeal in trying to outdo one another (some indeed go two whole days without food; others exclude from their tables not only wine and oil but every dish, taking only bread and water, and continue this practice throughout Lent), so let us also compete with one another in putting an end to frequent oaths. For this is more useful than any fasting, more beneficial than any austerity. Let us show the same care in abstaining from oaths that we show in abstaining from food. Otherwise we will deserve to be called extremely foolish, as we pay no attention to prohibitions and devote all our care to things that are morally neutral. For eating is not forbidden, but swearing is forbidden; yet we abstain from what is permitted and boldly venture into what is forbidden! For this reason, I beg you, my beloved, to make a change and let its beginning be visible today. For if we spend this entire fast with such zeal, learning this week not to swear at all, extinguishing anger the following week, uprooting evil speech the week after that, and then correcting whatever remains, we will move forward in our course and little by little reach the very summit of virtue. We will escape the present danger, win God's favor, and see the multitude return to our city. And we will teach those who have fled that we must place our hopes of safety in devotion of soul and virtuous conduct, rather than in a secure location or in flight and seclusion. In this way we will obtain the good things of this life and the life to come. May God grant that we may all be found worthy of them, by the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.