Homilies on Matthew, Homily 54

"Now when Jesus had gone out into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?" Why has he mentioned the city's founder? Because there was another Caesarea as well, Caesarea Stratonis. But He asks them in this one, not the other, taking them far away from the Jews so that, free from all fear, they could boldly say everything on their minds. And why did He not immediately ask their own opinion, but the people's? So that after telling Him the people's opinion, when they were asked, "But who do you say that I am?" the way He asked would lead them to a higher understanding, and they would not fall into the same low view as the crowd. Accordingly, He does not ask them at the beginning of His preaching. He waits until He has performed many miracles, spoken with them about many profound doctrines, and given so many clear proofs of His Godhead and His complete agreement with the Father. Then He puts this question to them. And He did not say, "Who do the scribes and Pharisees say that I am?" although they had often come to Him and spoken with Him. Instead, He asks, "Who do people say that I am?" asking for the people's judgment because it was unbiased. Although it fell far below what it should have been, it was free from malice, while the others' judgment overflowed with wickedness. And to show how earnestly He wants His incarnation to be confessed, He says, "The Son of Man," indicating His Godhead by these words, as He also does in many other places. For He says, "No one has ascended into Heaven except the Son of Man, who is in Heaven." And again, "But when you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before." Then, after they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, some Jeremiah, or one of the prophets," and presented the people's mistaken opinion, He added, "But who do you say that I am?" With His second question, He calls them to a higher understanding of Him and indicates that their previous judgment falls far short of His dignity. So He seeks a different judgment from them themselves and asks a second question, so that they will not agree with the crowd. Because the crowd saw that His miracles were beyond human power, they considered Him a man, but one who had appeared after a resurrection, as Herod also said. To lead them away from this idea, He says, "But who do you say that I am?" That is, "You who are always with me, who see me working miracles, and who have yourselves done many mighty works through me." 5. What, then, does Peter say, the mouth of the apostles, always fervent, the leader of the apostolic choir? When all are asked, he answers. When He asked for the people's opinion, they all answered the question; when He asked for their own, Peter springs forward, speaks before the others, and says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." What, then, does Christ say? "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you." Yet surely, unless he had rightly confessed Him as begotten of the very Father Himself, this would have required no revelation. If he had considered our Lord one among many, his statement would not have deserved a blessing. For even before this, those in the boat, I mean, who had witnessed the storm, said, "Truly He is Son of God," and were not blessed, although of course they spoke truly. They did not confess the same Sonship as Peter. They considered Him truly Son as one among many, and although especially so, beyond the many, still not of the same substance. And Nathanael too said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel." Far from being blessed, he is even rebuked by Him for saying something far short of the truth. At least, He replied, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." Why, then, is this man blessed? Because he acknowledged Him as the true Son. So you see that, although He had said nothing like this in those earlier instances, here He also indicates who had revealed it. Since Peter was an ardent lover of Christ, his words might have seemed to many to express friendship, flattery, and a desire to show Him favor. To prevent this, He identifies the person who had made those words ring in Peter's soul, so that you may know that Peter spoke, but the Father prompted him, and so that you may believe the statement to be a divine doctrine, no longer a human opinion. And why does He not declare it Himself and say, "I am the Christ," but establish it through His question, bringing them to confess it? Because this was more fitting for Him, indeed necessary at that time, and it drew them more strongly toward believing what was said. Do you see how the Father reveals the Son, and how the Son reveals the Father? For He says, "No one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." So no one can learn who the Son is from anyone other than the Father, nor learn who the Father is from anyone other than the Son. Thus even this makes clear that They are equal in honor and of the same substance. 3. What, then, does Christ say? "You are Simon, the son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas." "Since you have proclaimed my Father, I too name the one who fathered you." He is virtually saying, "As you are the son of Jonah, so I am the Son of my Father." Otherwise, it would be unnecessary to say, "You are the son of Jonah." But since Peter had said, "Son of God," He added this to show that He is Son of God as the other is son of Jonah, of the same substance as the One who begot Him: "And I say to you, You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church"—that is, on the faith expressed in his confession. By this He indicates that many were now about to believe, lifts Peter's spirits, and makes him a shepherd. "And the gates of hell will not prevail against it." "And if they cannot prevail against it, much less against me. So do not be troubled because you are soon to hear that I will be betrayed and crucified." Then He mentions another honor as well. "And I also will give you the keys of the heavens." But what does "And I also will give you" mean? "As the Father has given you knowledge of me, so I too will give to you." And He did not say, "I will ask the Father" (although the display of His authority was great, and the greatness of the gift beyond words), but, "I will give you." Tell me, what do You give? "The keys of the heavens, so that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven." How, then, is it not "His to grant a seat at His right hand and at His left," when He says, "I will give you"? Do you see how He Himself leads Peter to a higher understanding of Him, reveals Himself, and indicates through these two promises that He is Son of God? For He promises that He Himself will give what belongs to God alone: to absolve sins, to make the church impossible to overthrow amid such battering waves, and to make a fisherman more solid than any rock while the whole world is at war with him. So too the Father, speaking to Jeremiah, said that He would make him "a bronze pillar and a wall"; but Jeremiah was to stand against only one nation, while this man would stand in every part of the world. I would like to ask those who want to diminish the Son's dignity which gifts were greater: those the Father gave Peter, or those the Son gave him? For the Father gave Peter the revelation of the Son, but the Son enabled him to sow the revelation of the Father and of Himself in every part of the world. He entrusted a mortal man with authority over everything in Heaven, giving him the keys; He extended the church to every part of the world and declared it stronger than heaven. "For heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away." How, then, is He less, when He has given such gifts and accomplished such things? I say this without dividing the works of Father and Son ("for all things are made through Him, and without Him nothing was made"), but to restrain the shameless tongues of those who dare to speak this way. But notice His authority throughout: "I say to you, You are Peter; I will build the Church; I will give you the keys of Heaven." 4. And then, after He had said this, "He instructed them to tell no one that He was the Christ." And why did He give them this instruction? So that, once the things that cause people to stumble have been removed, the cross has been accomplished, and the rest of His sufferings have been fulfilled, there will be nothing left to interrupt and disturb the people's faith in Him, and the right understanding of Him can be engraved, pure and unshakable, in His hearers' minds. For His power had not yet clearly shone out. Accordingly, He wanted them to preach Him when both the clear truth of the events and the power of His deeds supported the apostles' assertions. For seeing Him in Palestine, sometimes performing miracles and sometimes insulted and persecuted, was by no means the same as seeing Him worshiped and believed in throughout the world, no longer suffering anything like what He had suffered. This was especially true when the very cross was soon to follow the miracles then taking place. That is why He tells them to "tell no one." For something that has once taken root and then been pulled up will hardly take hold again among the people if replanted. But something that, once established, has remained unshaken and suffered no injury from any direction easily rises and grows still greater. And if those who had benefited from many miracles and shared in so many mysteries beyond words stumbled merely at hearing about it—or rather, not only they, but even Peter, the leader of them all—consider how ordinary people would probably have felt if they had first been told that He is the Son of God and then had seen Him crucified and spit on, without knowing the secret of those mysteries or sharing in the gift of the Holy Spirit. For if He said to His disciples, "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now," much more would the rest of the people have completely collapsed if the greatest of these mysteries had been revealed to them before the proper time. Accordingly, He forbids them to tell. And to understand how much it mattered that they later learned His teaching in full, after the things that caused them to stumble had passed, learn from this very leader of theirs. This same Peter, who after so many miracles proved weak enough to deny Him and be afraid of a lowly servant girl, later held so unshakably to the Spirit's teaching that he sprang upon the Jewish people more fiercely than a lion, despite the dangers and countless deaths threatened against him. By then the cross had taken place, he had received certain proofs of the resurrection, and nothing remained to make him stumble or trouble him. With good reason, then, He told them not to tell the people before the crucifixion, since He did not venture to entrust everything even to those who were to teach until after the crucifixion. "For I have many things to say to you," He says, "but you cannot bear them now." And even among the things He did say, there were many they did not understand, which He did not make clear before the crucifixion. At any rate, only when He had risen from the dead did they understand some of His sayings. 5. "From that time on He began to show them that He must suffer. From that time." What time? When He had firmly established the doctrine in them; when He had introduced the beginning of the Gentiles' inclusion. But even then they did not understand what He said. "For the saying," we are told, "was hidden from them," and they were in a kind of confusion, not knowing that He must rise again. So He spends more time on the difficulties and explains at greater length, to open their minds and help them understand what He is talking about. "But they did not understand; the saying was hidden from them, and they were afraid to ask about this"—not whether He would die, but how, in what manner, and what this mystery could be. For they did not even know what this rising again was, and thought it much better not to die. So, while the others were troubled and confused, Peter alone, in his fervor, again ventures to discuss these things. Even he does not do so openly, but takes Him aside—that is, separates himself from the other disciples—and says, "May this never happen to You, Lord; this will not happen to You." What is this? Has the man who received a revelation, the man who was blessed, fallen away and been overthrown so soon that he fears His suffering? And why be surprised that someone who had received no revelation on these matters should feel this way? Indeed, to show you that he did not say those earlier things on his own either, see how, in matters not revealed to him, he is confused and overthrown, and though told ten thousand times, does not know what the saying means. For he had learned that He is Son of God, but what the mystery of the cross and the resurrection might be was not yet clear to him. For "the saying," we are told, "was hidden from them." Do you see that He had good reason to tell them not to declare it to the others? For if it so confused those who had to be made aware of it, how would everyone else have felt? 6. But to show that He is far from going to His suffering against His will, He both rebuked Peter and called him Satan. Let everyone who is ashamed of the suffering of Christ's cross hear this. For if the chief apostle, even before he had learned everything clearly, was called Satan for feeling this way, what excuse can those have who deny His incarnation after such abundant proof? I mean, when the man who had been so blessed and made such a confession has these words addressed to him, consider what those will suffer who, after all this, deny the mystery of the cross. And He did not say, "Satan spoke through you," but, "Get behind me, Satan." For it was indeed the adversary's desire that Christ should not suffer. That is why He rebuked him so severely, knowing that both he and the others were especially afraid of this and would not easily accept it. So He also reveals the thoughts of Peter's mind, saying, "You set your mind on human things instead of the things of God." But what does "You set your mind on human things instead of the things of God" mean? Examining the matter through human, earthly reasoning, Peter considered it disgraceful and unfitting for Him. So He sharply confronts him and says, "My suffering is not unfitting, but you pass this judgment with a fleshly mind. If you had listened to my words in a godly way, freeing yourself from your fleshly understanding, you would know that this is more fitting for me than anything else. You suppose that suffering is unworthy of me; but I tell you that wanting me not to suffer reflects the devil's mind." By stating the opposite, He restrains Peter's alarm. Thus John, thinking it unworthy of Christ to be baptized by him, was persuaded by Christ to baptize Him when He said, "This is fitting for us." And this same Peter, who tried to prevent Him from washing his feet, was persuaded by the words, "You have no part with me unless I wash your feet." In the same way here, He restrained him by mentioning the opposite and, through the severity of His rebuke, checked his fear of suffering. 7. So let no one be ashamed of the honored symbols of our salvation and of the greatest of all good things, through which we live and through which we exist. Instead, let us carry Christ's cross like a crown. For through it everything that takes place among us is accomplished. Whether someone is to be born anew, to be nourished with that mystical food, to be ordained, or to do anything else, our symbol of victory is present everywhere. That is why we carefully inscribe it on houses, walls, windows, our foreheads, and our minds. For this is the sign of the salvation accomplished for us, of our common freedom, and of our Lord's goodness. "For He was led like a sheep to the slaughter." So when you make the sign of the cross on yourself, think of the cross's purpose and put out the fire of anger and all the other passions. When you make the sign on yourself, fill your forehead with courage and set your soul free. And you know very well what gives freedom. That is why Paul, leading us there—I mean, to the freedom fitting for us—led us to it in this way, reminding us of our Lord's cross and blood. "For you were bought," he says, "with a price; do not be slaves of men." Consider, he says, the price paid for you, and you will be no one's slave. By the price he means the cross. For we should inscribe it not merely with our fingers, but first with our heart's resolve and great faith. And if you have marked it on your face in this way, none of the unclean spirits will be able to stand near you, seeing the blade that wounded the devil, seeing the sword that dealt him his mortal blow. For if we shudder at the sight of places where criminals are beheaded, think what the devil must suffer when he sees the weapon with which Christ ended all his power and cut off the dragon's head. So do not be ashamed of such a great blessing, or Christ may be ashamed of you when He comes in His glory and the sign appears before Him, shining brighter than the sun's own rays. For the cross will indeed come then, speaking through its appearance, pleading our Lord's case before the whole world, and showing that nothing on His part has been left undone. This sign, both in our ancestors' days and now, has opened locked doors; this has neutralized poisonous drugs; this has taken away hemlock's power; this has healed the bites of venomous animals. For if it opened the gates of hell, threw wide the archways of Heaven, made a new entrance into Paradise, and severed the devil's sinews, why be surprised if it overcame poisonous drugs, venomous animals, and everything else of that kind? So engrave this on your mind and embrace the salvation of our souls. For this cross saved and converted the world, drove away error, brought back truth, made earth Heaven, and turned human beings into angels. Because of this, demons are no longer terrifying but contemptible; death is no longer death but sleep; because of this, everything at war with us is thrown to the ground and trampled underfoot. So if anyone says to you, "Do you worship the crucified?" say, with a voice full of joy and a glad expression, "I do worship Him, and I will never stop worshiping Him." And if he laughs, weep for him because he is mad. Thank the Lord that He has given us such benefits, which no one can even learn about without His revelation from above. Why, this is the very reason he laughs: "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit." Our children also react this way when they see something great and marvelous; and if you bring a child into the mysteries, he will laugh. Now the pagans are like these children—or rather, they are even less developed than children. That is also why they are more miserable: they have the feelings of infants when they are full-grown, rather than at an immature age. So they do not deserve leniency either. But let us cry out clearly, shouting loudly at the top of our voices, and declare (and if all the pagans are present, with all the more confidence) that the cross is our glory, the sum of all our blessings, our confidence, and our entire crown. I wish that I too could say with Paul, "Through which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world." But I cannot, held back as I am by various passions. 8. So I urge both you and, first of all, myself to be crucified to the world, to have nothing in common with the earth, and to set your love on your country above and the glory and good things that come from it. For we are soldiers of a heavenly King, clothed in spiritual armor. Why, then, do we take up the lives of traders and charlatans—or rather, of worms? For where the King is, the soldier should be too. Yes, we have become soldiers who stand near Him, rather than far away. An earthly king would not allow everyone to be in the royal courts and at his side, but the King of the Heavens wants everyone near His royal throne. And how, someone may ask, can we stand beside that throne while we are here? Because Paul too, while on earth, was where the seraphim and cherubim are, and nearer to Christ than these bodyguards are to the king. For they turn their faces in many directions, but nothing lured him away or distracted him; he kept his whole mind fixed on the king. So if we are willing, this is possible for us too. For if He were far from us in location, you might reasonably doubt it. But since He is present everywhere, He is near anyone who strives and is earnest. That is why the prophet also said, "I will fear no evil, for You are with me," and God Himself again, "I am a God nearby, and not a God far away." Just as our sins separate us from Him, our righteous deeds draw us near Him. "For while you are still speaking," He says, "I will say, Here I am." What father would ever be so responsive to his child? What mother is so ready, constantly standing by in case her children call her? There is not one, no father or mother. But God constantly stands waiting in case any of His servants should call Him; and whenever we have called as we should, He has never refused to hear. That is why He says, "While you are still speaking." I do not wait for you to finish; I listen immediately. 9. So let us call Him as He wants to be called. But what does He want? "Release," He says, "every bond of injustice, untie the twisted knots of oppressive agreements, tear up every unjust contract. Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the poor who have been driven out into your house. If you see someone naked, clothe him, and do not neglect your own kin. Then your light will break forth in the morning, your healings will spring up quickly, your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will cover you. Then you will call on me, and I will listen to you; while you are still speaking, I will say, Look! Here I am." And who can do all this? someone may ask. But who cannot, tell me? Which of the things I have mentioned is difficult? Which is hard work? Which is not easy? Why, these things are so completely possible, and even easy, that many have actually gone beyond what these sayings require. They have not only torn up unjust contracts but even stripped themselves of all their possessions; they have welcomed the poor into their homes and to their tables, and even offered the sweat of their own bodies, working to support them; they have done good not only to relatives but even to enemies. But what is even hard at all in these sayings? For He did not say, "Cross the mountain, travel across the sea, dig through so many acres of land, go without food, wrap yourself in sackcloth." Instead, He said, "Share with the poor; share your bread; cancel contracts made unjustly." Tell me, what could be easier than this? But even if you consider it difficult, look at the rewards too, I beg you, and it will become easy for you. For just as our emperors pile crowns, prizes, and garments before the competitors at the horse races, so Christ too places His rewards in the middle of His racecourse, holding them out through the prophet's words as though with many hands. And the emperors, even if they are emperors ten thousand times over, are still human: their wealth is being spent and their generosity is being exhausted. So they are eager to make a little appear to be much. That is why they put each separate thing into the hands of a different attendant and present it that way. Our King, by contrast, heaps everything together and presents it all at once, because He is very rich and does nothing for show. And what He holds out in this way is immeasurably great and will require many hands to hold it. To understand this, examine each part of it carefully. "Then," He says, "your light will break forth in the morning." Does this gift seem to you to be a single thing? But it is not one thing; it contains many things—prizes, crowns, and other rewards. And if you wish, let us take it apart and show all its wealth, as far as we can show it. Only do not grow tired. First, let us learn the meaning of "It will break forth." For He did not say, "It will appear," but, "It will break forth," showing us its speed and abundance, how intensely He desires our salvation, and how the good things themselves labor like a woman giving birth, pressing forward to emerge. Nothing will check their indescribable force. Through all this He indicates their abundance and the boundlessness of His bounty. But what does "the morning" mean? It means, "Not after we have entered life's trials, nor after our troubles have come upon us." Rather, it comes well before them. For just as we call fruit early when it appears before its season, so here too He speaks this way to show its speed, much as He said above, "While you are still speaking, I will say, Look! Here I am." But what kind of light is He speaking of, and what can this light be? Not the light perceived by the senses, but another, far better light, which shows us Heaven, the angels, the archangels, the cherubim, the seraphim, the thrones, the dominions, the principalities, the powers, the whole host, the royal palaces, and the tabernacles. For if you are counted worthy of this light, you will both see these things and be delivered from hell, the venomous worm, the gnashing of teeth, the bonds that cannot be broken, the anguish and affliction, the darkness without light, being cut in two, the river of fire, the curse, and the dwellings of sorrow. And you will go "where sorrow and grief have fled away," where there is great joy, peace, love, pleasure, and gladness; where there is eternal life, glory beyond words, and indescribable beauty; where there are eternal tabernacles, the King's untold glory, and those good things "which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and which have never entered the human heart"; where there are the spiritual bridal chamber, the rooms of the heavens, the virgins carrying bright lamps, and those wearing the wedding garment; where our Lord's possessions and the King's storehouses are many. Do you see how great the rewards are, how many He has presented in one expression, and how He has brought them all together? In the same way, by unfolding each of the expressions that follow, we will find that our abundance is great and the ocean immense. Will we still delay, I beg you, and hesitate to show mercy to those in need? No, I implore you: even if we must throw everything away, be cast into the fire, face the sword, leap onto daggers, or suffer anything at all, let us bear it all readily, so that we may obtain the garment of the kingdom of Heaven and that untold glory. May we all attain it through the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.