Homilies on Acts, Homily 49

“But when Paul realized that one group consisted of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: I am on trial concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead. And when he had said this, a dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the crowd was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or an angel or a spirit: but the Pharisees acknowledge both.” Again he speaks simply as a human being, and he does not receive supernatural help in the same way on every occasion. “I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee:” both in this, and in what comes after it, he wished to divide the crowd, which had joined together against him for an evil purpose. And he does not speak a falsehood here either: for he was a Pharisee by descent from his ancestors. “I am on trial concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead.” Since they would not say why they were putting him on trial, he is forced to state the reason himself. “But the Pharisees,” it says, “acknowledge both.” Yet there are three things: how can he say both? “Spirit and Angel” are treated as one. When he is on their side, then they plead for him. “And a great outcry arose: and the scribes who belonged to the Pharisees stood up and argued, saying, We find no evil in this man: but” (what) “if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?” ( v. 9 .) Why did they not plead for him before this? Do you see how the truth comes to light when the passions subside? Where is the crime, they say, if an angel has spoken to him, or a spirit? Paul gives them no opportunity against him. “And when a great dispute arose, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul apart, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the barracks.” ( v. 10 .) The tribune is afraid of his being torn apart, now that he has said that he is a Roman: and the situation was dangerous. Do you observe that Paul was right to declare himself a Roman citizen? Otherwise, the tribune would not have been afraid now. So the soldiers have to carry him away by force. But when the wretches saw that everything was useless, they take the whole matter into their own hands, as they had wanted to do before but had been prevented from doing: and their wickedness has no limits, although it had been checked so often: Yet how many things providence had arranged to calm their rage and teach them what might help them recover! But they attack him nonetheless. Even this was sufficient proof of his innocence, that the man was saved when about to be torn apart, and that surrounded by such great dangers, he escaped them all. “And the following night the Lord stood by him, and said, Take courage, Paul: for as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome. And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty who had made this conspiracy.” ( v. 11–13 .) “They bound themselves under a curse,” it says. See how fierce and vindictive they are in their malice! What does this mean, “bound under a curse?” Why then those men are accused forever, seeing they did not kill Paul. And forty of them together. For such is the nature of that nation: when people need to work together for a good purpose, not even two agree with each other: but when it is for an evil purpose, the entire people does it. And they admit the rulers also as accomplices. “And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. Now therefore you and the council should inform the tribune that he is to bring Paul down to you tomorrow, as though you wished to investigate his case more thoroughly: and we, before he comes near, are ready to kill him. And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered the barracks, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions to him, and said, Bring this young man to the tribune: For he has something to tell him. So he took him, and brought him to the tribune, and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him, and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to say to you. Then the tribune took him by the hand, and took him aside privately, and asked him, What do you have to tell me? And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow into the council, as though they would investigate something about him more thoroughly. But do not give in to them, for more than forty of their men are waiting to ambush him, having bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him: and now they are ready, waiting for a promise from you. So the tribune let the young man go, instructing him, Make sure you tell no one that you have told me these things.” ( v. 14–22 ). Again he is saved by human planning. And observe: Paul lets no one learn this, not even the centurion, so that the matter would not become known. And the centurion went and reported to the tribune. The tribune also does well to tell him to keep it secret, so that it will not become known: moreover he gives his orders to the centurions only, at the time when the thing was to be done: and so Paul is sent into Caesarea, that there too he might speak in a greater theater and before a more splendid audience: so that the Jews may not be able to say, “If we had seen Paul, we would have believed—if we had heard him teaching.” Therefore this excuse too is cut off from them. “And the Lord,” it said, “stood by him, and said, Take courage: for as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome.” (Yet) even after He has appeared to him, He again allows him to be saved by human means. And one may well be astonished at Paul; he was not taken aback, and did not say, “Why, what is this? Have I, then, been deceived by Christ?” but he believed: Yet his belief did not make him fall asleep: no, he did not neglect what human wisdom put within his power. “Bound themselves by a curse:” it was a kind of necessity that those men fastened on themselves by the curse. “That they would neither eat nor drink.” Look at fasting becoming the mother of murder! Just as Herod imposed on himself that necessity by his oath, so also do these. For such are the devil’s (ways): under the supposed pretext of piety he sets his traps. “And they came to the chief priests,” etc. And yet they ought to have come (to the tribune), ought to have laid a charge, and assembled a court of justice: These are not actions fit for priests, but for bandit leaders; not for rulers, but for thugs. They also try to corrupt the ruler: but it was providentially ordered, so that he also should learn of their plot. For not (only) by their having nothing to say, but also by their secret attempt, they exposed their own worthlessness. It is likely too that after (Paul was gone) the chief priests came to (the tribune) making their request, and were put to shame. For of course he would have been reluctant either to refuse or to grant their request. How did he come to believe (the young man’s tale)? He did so because of what had already happened; because it was likely that they would do this too. And observe their wickedness: they practically imposed an obligation on the chief priests also: for if they undertook so great a thing themselves, and took on the whole risk, the others ought all the more to do at least this much. Do you see how outsiders judge Paul innocent, as was also Christ by Pilate? See how their malice comes to nothing: they delivered him up, to kill and condemn him: but the result is just the opposite; he is both saved, and held innocent. For had it not been so, he would have been torn apart: had it not been so, he would have perished, he would have been condemned. And not only does (the tribune) rescue him from the rush (made upon him), but also from much other (violence): see how he serves him, so that without risk he is carried off safe with so large a force. “And he called to him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night; and provide animals on which they can place Paul, and bring him safe to Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter as follows: Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix sends greetings. This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them: then I came with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I wanted to know why they accused him, I brought him out into their council: I found that he was accused over questions about their law, but that nothing charged against him deserved death or imprisonment. And when it was told me that the Jews were planning an ambush for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and gave instructions to his accusers also to say before you what they had against him. Farewell.” ( v. 23–30 ). See how the letter speaks in his defense—for it says, “I found nothing worthy of death,” but as an accusation against them (rather) than against him. “About to have been killed by them:” they were so determined to kill him. First, “I came with the army, and rescued him:” then also “I brought him down to them:” and even then they found nothing to charge him with: and when they ought to have been struck with fear and shame for the former act, they again attempt to kill him, so that again his case became all the clearer. “And his accusers,” he says, “I have sent to you:” that at the tribunal where these things are more strictly examined, he may be proved innocent. (Recapitulation.) Let us return, then, to what has been said above. “I,” he says, “am a Pharisee:” then, that he may not seem to flatter them, he adds, “It is concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” ( v. 6 .) He turns their accusation and slander into a recommendation for himself. “For the Sadducees indeed,” etc. The Sadducees have no knowledge of anything without a body, perhaps not even God; so crude ( παχεἵς ) are they: which is why they also refuse to believe that there is a Resurrection. “And the scribes,” etc. Look: the tribune too hears that the Pharisees have acquitted him of the charges, and have given judgment ( mss. and Edd. ἐψηφίσατο , “he gave sentence”) in his favor, and with greater confidence carries him off by force. Moreover all that was spoken (by Paul) was full of right-mindedness ( φιλοσοφίας ). “And the night following the Lord stood by him,” etc. See what strong consolation! First he praises him, “As you have testified to My cause in Jerusalem;” then He does not leave him afraid of the uncertain outcome of his journey to Rome: for you will not go there alone either, He says ( μόνος , Cat. and Edd. μόνον ), but you will also have all this boldness of speech. This made it clear, not (only) that he should be saved, but that (he should be so) in order to receive great crowns in the great city. But why did He not appear to him before he fell into the danger? Because God always comforts us in our afflictions: that is when His appearance is more deeply desired, while even in danger He exercises and trains us. Besides, he was then at ease, when free from imprisonment; but now great dangers were awaiting him. “We have bound ourselves,” they say, “under a curse, that we will not eat nor drink.” ( v. 14 .) What extraordinary zeal! “That he may bring him down,” it says, “to you, as though you wished to investigate his case more thoroughly.” ( v. 15 .) Has he not spoken to you twice? Has he not said that he is a Pharisee? What more would you want than this? They were so reckless and afraid of nothing, neither courts nor laws. Such was their audacity: they shrank from nothing. They both declare their purpose, and announce how they will carry it out. “Paul’s sister’s son heard of it.” ( v. 16 .) It was God’s providence that kept them from realizing someone would overhear. What, then, did Paul do? He was not alarmed, but perceived that this was God’s doing: and by entrusting everything to Him, he frees himself from further worry: “having called one of the centurions,” etc. ( v. 17 .) He told of the plot, he was believed; he is saved. If he was acquitted of the charge, why did (the tribune) send the accusers? That the investigation could be more thorough: that the man could be cleared more completely. This is how God arranges things: the very things that hurt us also benefit us. Thus it was with Joseph: his mistress tried to ruin him: and she seemed indeed to be planning his ruin, but by her planning she placed him in a state of safety: for the house where that wild beast (of a woman) was kept was a den in comparison with which the prison was gentle. ( Gen. xxxix. 1–20 .) For while he was there, although he was looked up to and courted, he was in constant fear, afraid that his mistress would attack him, and the fear weighing on him was worse than any prison: but after the accusation he was in security and peace, well rid of that beast, of her lewdness and her plots to destroy him: for it was better for him to keep company with human beings in miserable circumstances, than with a maddened mistress. Here he comforted himself with the thought that he had fallen into it for the sake of chastity: there he had lived in fear of a fatal blow to his soul: for nothing in the world can be more oppressive than a woman in love to a young man who will not (meet her advances): nothing more detestable (than a woman in such case), nothing more fierce: all the chains in the world are light compared with this. So that the fact was not that he got into prison, but that he got out of prison. She made his master his enemy, but she made God his friend: brought him into closer relation to Him Who is indeed the true Master; she cast him out of his management of the household, but made him a familiar friend to that Master. Again, his brothers sold him ( Gen. xxxvii. 18 ); but they freed him from having enemies dwelling in the same house with him, from envy and much ill will, and from daily plots to ruin him: they placed him far away from those who hated him. For what can be worse than this, to be compelled to dwell in the same house with brothers who envy you; to be an object of suspicion, to be a mark for evil designs? So that while they and she were each trying to achieve their own ends, God’s providence was bringing about very different and powerful consequences for that righteous man. When he was honored, he was in danger; when he was dishonored, he was safe. The eunuchs did not remember him, and it was very good that they did not, so that the occasion of his release would be more glorious: so that everything would be attributed to God’s providence rather than human favor ( Gen. xl. 23 ): that at the right moment, Pharaoh, reduced to need, might bring him out; so that the king would release him from prison as someone receiving a benefit rather than granting one. ( ib. xli. 40 .) It had to be more than a favor granted to a slave: the king had to be forced by necessity to do it, and Joseph’s wisdom had to become clear. That is why the eunuch forgets him, that Egypt might not forget him, that the king might not be ignorant of him. Had he been delivered at that time, it is likely he would have desired to depart to his own country: therefore he is kept back by countless constraints, first by subjection to a master, secondly by being in prison, thirdly by being over the kingdom, so that all this might be brought about by the Providence of God. Like a spirited horse eager to leap away to its companions, God kept him there, for reasons full of glory. His summoning his father there shows that he longed to see him and free him from distress. ( Gen. xlv. 9 .) Shall we look at other examples of evil plots turning out for our good—not only through the reward they bring, but also through their producing, at that very time, exactly what benefits us? This (Joseph’s) uncle (Esau) had ill designs against his father (Jacob), and drove him out of his native land: what then? ( Gen. xxvii. 41 .) He too, by doing this, removed him from danger and brought him into safety. He made him a wiser and a better man ( φιλοσοφώτερον ); he brought about his having that dream ( Gen. xxviii. 12 .) But, you will say, he was a slave in a foreign land? Yes, but he arrives among his own relatives, and receives a bride, and appears worthy to his father-in-law. ( ib. xxix. 23 .) But he too cheated him? Yes, but this also turned out to his good, that he might be the father of many children. But he intended to plot evil against him? True, but even this was for his good, that he might then return to his own country; for if he had been in good circumstances, he would not have so longed for home. But he cheated him of his wages? Yes, but he got more by the means. ( ib. xxxi. 7 .) So at every point in these men’s history, the more others planned to hurt them, the more they prospered. If (Jacob) had not received the elder daughter, he would not soon have been the father of so many children; he would have dragged out a long period in childlessness, he would have mourned as his wife did. For she did have reason to grieve, since she had not become a mother ( ib. xxx. 1, 2 .); but he had his consolation: which is also why he rebukes her. Again, had not (Laban) cheated him of his wages, he would not have longed to see his own country; the higher points ( φιλοσοφία ) of the man’s character would not have come to light, (his wives) would not have become more closely attached to him. For see what they say: “He has completely consumed us and our money.” ( Gen. xxxi. 15 .) So that this became the means of binding their love to him. After this he had in them not merely wives, but (devoted) slaves; he was beloved by them: a thing that no possession can equal: for nothing, nothing whatever, is more precious than to be thus loved by a wife and to love her. “And a wife,” Scripture says, “that agrees with her husband.” ( Ecclus. xxv. 1 ) “A man and a wife that agree together.” E.V.) This is one, as the Wise Man puts it, of the things for which a man is to be counted happy; For where this exists, all wealth and prosperity abound; where it does not, everything else is useless, everything goes wrong, and all is unpleasantness and confusion. Then let us seek this before all things. The person who seeks money does not seek this. Let us seek those things which can remain fixed. Let us not seek a wife from among the rich, so that the greater wealth on her side does not produce arrogance and that arrogance does not ruin everything. Do you not see what God did? how He put the woman in subjection? ( Gen. iii. 16 .) Why are you ungrateful, why without perception? Do not ruin the help that the very benefit God has given you by nature was meant to provide. So that it is not for her wealth that we ought to seek a wife: it is that we may receive a partner of our life, for the appointed order of having children. It was not that she should bring money, that God gave the woman; it was that she might be a helper. But the woman who brings money, becomes, instead of a wife, someone who imposes her own will ( ἐπίβουλος ), a mistress—it may be a wild beast instead of a wife—while she thinks she has a right to put on airs because of her wealth. Nothing is more shameful than a man who devotes himself to getting rich in this way. If wealth itself is full of temptations, what shall we say to wealth obtained in this way? Do not focus on the fact that one person or another has succeeded as a rare exception, against the logic of the situation. In other matters too, we should not focus on people’s good fortune or chance successes outside the usual course. Let us examine the logic of the situation itself and see whether it is not full of endless trouble. Not only do you bring yourself into a disreputable position; you also disgrace your children by leaving them poor, if you happen to die before the wife: and you give her incomparably more occasions for marrying a second husband. Or do you not see that many women make this the excuse for a second marriage—that they may not be despised; that they want to have some man to take the management of their property? Then let us not bring about so great evils for the sake of money; but let us put aside all (such aims), and seek a beautiful soul, so that we may also find love. This is the surpassing wealth, the great treasure, the endless good things: which we may all attain by the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit together be glory, dominion, honor, now and always, forever and ever. Amen.