Homilies on Matthew, Homily 6

“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, look, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” We need great alertness and many prayers to understand the passage before us and learn who these wise men were, where they came from, how they came, who persuaded them, and what the star was. Or rather, if you like, let us first bring forward what the enemies of the truth say. For the devil has blown on them with such a violent blast that they try to use even this passage to arm themselves against the words of truth. What, then, do they claim? “Look,” they say, “even when Christ was born, a star appeared, which is a sign that astrology can be trusted.” How, then, if His birth followed that law, did He put an end to astrology, abolish fate, silence demons, drive out error, and overthrow all such sorcery? And what, moreover, do the wise men learn from the star itself? That He was King of the Jews? Yet He was not king of this kingdom, just as He also told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” At any rate, He made no display of that kind. He had no guards armed with spears or shields, no horses, no mule-drawn chariots, or anything else like that around Him. Instead, He lived this humble life of poverty, traveling with twelve men of low social standing. And even if they knew Him to be a king, why did they come? Surely astrology's business is not to learn from the stars who has been born, but to predict what will happen to people from the hour of their birth—or so it is said. But these men were not with His mother during her labor, nor did they know the time of His birth. Nor did they calculate what would happen from the movement of the stars beginning at that moment. On the contrary, having seen a star appear in their own country long before, they came to see Him who had been born. That circumstance by itself raises an even greater difficulty than the previous one. What reason moved them, or what benefits did they hope for, that they should worship someone who was king so far away? Why, even if He were going to rule over them, their conduct would still have no reasonable explanation. Certainly, if He had been born in a royal palace, with His father, himself a king, beside Him, anyone would naturally say that they had worshipped the newborn child to win His father's favor and so secure his future support. But as it was, they did not even expect Him to be their own king, but the king of a foreign nation far from their country, and they had not yet seen Him grown to manhood. Why, then, did they set out on so long a journey and offer gifts, when their entire undertaking was certain to be surrounded by dangers? For Herod was deeply troubled when he heard about it, and all the people were thrown into confusion when these men told them these things. “But these men did not foresee this.” No, that is not reasonable. However foolish they may have been, they could not have failed to know that if they came to a city ruled by a king, proclaimed such things, and announced another king besides the reigning one, they would inevitably bring a thousand deaths down on themselves. 2. And why did they worship someone still wrapped in swaddling clothes at all? If He had been a grown man, one might say that they knowingly exposed themselves to danger because they expected help from Him. Even that, however, would be utterly unreasonable: that Persians, barbarians with nothing in common with the Jewish nation, would be willing to leave their homes, abandon their country, relatives, and friends, and submit themselves to another kingdom. But if this is foolish, what follows is much more foolish. What is that? After making so long a journey, worshipping Him, and throwing everything into confusion, they immediately went away. And what sign of royalty did they see at all when they saw a shed, a manger, a child in swaddling clothes, and a poor mother? To whom, moreover, did they offer their gifts, and why? Was it then the usual custom to seek favor this way with kings born in every place? Did they constantly travel around the whole world, worshipping people they knew would rise from a low and humble position to become kings, before they ascended the royal throne? No one can say that. And why did they worship Him at all? If for present benefits, what did they expect to receive from an infant and a mother of low standing? If for future benefits, how did they know that the child they had worshipped in swaddling clothes would remember what they had done then? But if His mother was going to remind Him, even then they deserved punishment, not honor, for exposing Him to a danger they must have foreseen. At any rate, this was what troubled Herod and led him to search, investigate, and undertake to kill Him. Indeed, anywhere, someone who announces a future king while he is still a very young child in private life does nothing but betray him to slaughter and kindle endless warfare against him. Do you see how many absurdities emerge if we examine these events according to the course of human affairs and ordinary customs? We could mention not only these points but many more, raising even more questions than those we have discussed. But to avoid bewildering you by piling question on question, let us now begin answering what we have asked, starting with the star itself. 3. For if you can learn what the star was and what kind it was, whether it was an ordinary star or a new one unlike the rest, and whether it was a star by nature or only in appearance, we will easily understand the other things too. How, then, will these points become clear? From the very things that are written. First, its course itself makes it clear that this was no ordinary star—or rather, at least as it seems to me, no star at all, but an invisible power that took on this appearance. For there is not, there is not a single star that moves this way. Whether you mention the sun, the moon, or all the other stars, we see them moving from east to west. But this one traveled from north to south, for that is where Palestine lies in relation to Persia. Second, we can also see this from the time when it appeared. It appeared not at night but at midday, while the sun was shining. This is beyond the power of a star, or even of the moon. For the moon, which far outshines them all, immediately hides and disappears when the sun's rays appear. But this star, through its extraordinary brilliance, overcame even the sun's rays, appearing brighter than they were and shining more brilliantly amid so much light. Third, we can see it from the star's appearing and then hiding again. On their journey as far as Palestine, it appeared and led them. But after they entered Jerusalem, it hid itself. Then, after they had left Herod, having told him why they had come, and were about to depart, it appeared again. None of this resembles the movement of a star, but rather that of a power endowed with great intelligence. For it did not even have any course of its own: when they needed to move, it moved; when they needed to stop, it stopped, arranging everything as needed. It acted in the same way as the pillar of cloud, which sometimes halted the Jewish camp and sometimes stirred it to move, as needed. Fourth, we can see this clearly from the way it pointed Him out. It did not remain high above and point out the place, since they could not have identified it that way. Instead, it came down and performed this task. For you know that a spot so small, taking up only as much space as a shed—or rather, as the body of a little infant—could not possibly be marked out by a star. Because of its immense height, it could not distinguish so small a spot precisely enough to show it to those who wanted to see it. Anyone can see this from the moon, which, though far greater than the stars, seems near to every person living in the world, scattered across so vast an expanse of earth—near to each of them, I say. Tell me, then, how did the star point out so small a spot, just the space of a manger and a shed, unless it left that height, came down, and stood directly over the young child's head? This is what the evangelist was suggesting when he said, “Look, the star went ahead of them until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was.” 4. Do you see how much evidence shows that this star was not one of the ordinary stars and did not appear according to the order of the visible creation? And why did it appear? To rebuke the Jews for their insensitivity and strip them of every excuse for their willful ignorance. For since He who came was going to end the ancient order, call the world to worship Himself, and be worshipped throughout all land and sea, He immediately opened the door to the Gentiles from the very beginning, intending to admonish His own people through foreigners. Thus, because they continually heard the prophets speaking of His coming and paid little attention, He brought even barbarians from a distant country to seek the king who was among them. And they first learned from someone speaking Persian what they refused to learn from the prophets. If they were willing to be honest, this would give them the strongest reason to obey; if they were argumentative, it would leave them without any excuse from then on. For what could they say, having failed to receive Christ after so many prophets, when they saw that wise men had received this same Christ at the sight of a single star and worshipped Him who had been revealed? So He acted in the case of the magi much as He did with the Ninevites when He sent Jonah, and with the Samaritan and Canaanite women. This is also why He said, “The men of Nineveh will rise up and condemn,” and, “The Queen of the South will rise up and condemn this generation”: because these believed the lesser things, while the Jews did not believe even the greater. “And why,” someone may ask, “did He draw them by such a vision?” Well, how should He have done it? By sending prophets? But the magi would not have submitted to prophets. By speaking from above? No, they would not have paid attention. By sending an angel? They would have passed even him by. So, setting all these means aside, God called them through familiar things, accommodating Himself to them to an extraordinary degree. He showed them a large and extraordinary star to astonish them both by the size and beauty of its appearance and by the way it traveled. Following this example, Paul also reasons with the Greeks from a pagan altar and brings forward testimony from the poets. And he does not address the Jews without circumcision. He begins his instruction to those living under the law with sacrifices. For since everyone loves what is familiar, both God and those He sends act on this principle for the salvation of the world. So do not think it unworthy of Him to have called them through a star, since by the same reasoning you will also find fault with all the Jewish rites: the sacrifices, purifications, new moons, ark, and even the temple itself. For these too originated in Gentile crudeness. Yet even so, to save those in error, God accepted being served through things that outsiders were accustomed to using to serve demons. He only altered them slightly, so that He could gradually draw people away from their customs and lead them toward the highest wisdom. He did just the same with the wise men, not considering it beneath Him to call them through the sight of a star, so that He could lift them higher afterward. Therefore, after bringing them, leading them by the hand, and placing them beside the manger, He no longer speaks to them through a star, but through an angel. In this way they gradually became better men. He also did this for the people of Ashkelon and Gaza. For when the ark's arrival had struck those five cities with a deadly plague, and they could find no relief from the evils afflicting them, their people called their prophets, gathered an assembly, and tried to find an escape from this divine punishment. Their prophets then told them to yoke to the ark heifers that had never been trained and had just had their first calves, and let them go without anyone to guide them. This would make it clear whether the plague came from God or whether some accident had brought the disease. (“For if,” it says, “they break the yoke to pieces through inexperience, or turn toward their lowing calves, ‘it is a chance occurrence’; but if they go straight ahead without straying from the road, and neither their young ones' lowing nor their unfamiliarity with the road affects them, it is perfectly clear that God's hand has struck those cities.”) When, I say, the inhabitants of those cities obeyed their prophets' words and did as they were commanded, God also carried out the prophets' advice, accommodating Himself to them in that case too. He did not consider it unworthy of Himself to fulfill the prophets' prediction and make them seem trustworthy in what they had said. For the good accomplished was greater in this way, because His very enemies bore witness to God's power; yes, their own teachers spoke in His favor. And we can see many other such things brought about by God. What happened in the case of the witch is another example of this kind of arrangement, something you will now be able to explain from what has been said. We have said these things about the star, and perhaps you may have more to say. For it is said, “Give a wise man an opportunity, and he will become wiser still.” But now we must turn to the beginning of what has been read. 5. And what is the beginning? “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, look, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem.” While wise men followed a star's guidance, these people did not believe, even with prophets sounding in their ears. But why does he mention both the time and the place, saying, “in Bethlehem,” and, “in the days of Herod the king”? And why does he also add his rank? His rank, because there was another Herod, the one who killed John; but that one was a tetrarch, while this one was a king. He also records the place and time to remind us of ancient prophecies. One was spoken by Micah, who said, “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means the least among the princes of Judah.” The other was spoken by the patriarch Jacob, who clearly marked out the time for us and set forth the great sign of His coming. For he says, “Judah will not lack a ruler, nor will his offspring lack a leader, until He comes for whom it is appointed, and He is the One the Gentiles await.” This too is worth investigating: how they came to entertain such a thought, and who stirred them to it. For it does not seem to me to have been the work of the star alone, but also of God, who moved their souls. He did the same kind of thing with Cyrus, inclining him to let the Jews go. Yet He did not do this in a way that destroyed their free will, since even when He called Paul from above with a voice, He revealed both His own grace and Paul's obedience. And why, someone may ask, did He not reveal this to all the wise men of the East? Because not all would have believed, but these were better prepared than the rest. Likewise, countless nations perished, but the prophet was sent only to the Ninevites; and there were two thieves on the cross, but only one was saved. See these men's virtue, at least, not only in their coming but also in their bold speech. To avoid seeming like impostors, they tell who showed them the way and how far they have traveled. And once they arrive, they speak boldly: “For we have come,” they declare, “to worship Him.” They feared neither the people's anger nor the king's tyranny. So it seems to me, at least, that they were also teachers of their countrymen at home. For if they did not shrink from saying this here, they would speak much more boldly in their own country, having received both the angel's message and the prophet's testimony. 6. But “when Herod heard,” Scripture says, “he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Herod's reaction was natural, since he was king and feared both for himself and for his children. But why Jerusalem? Surely the prophets had foretold Him as a Savior, Benefactor, and Deliverer from above. Why, then, was Jerusalem troubled? From the same feeling that had previously led them to turn away from God while He poured His benefits on them, and to remember the meat pots of Egypt while enjoying great freedom. But notice, I ask you, the prophets' accuracy. For the prophet had also foretold this very thing from the beginning, saying, “They would be glad if they had been burned with fire; for to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given.” Nevertheless, although troubled, they do not try to see what has happened, follow the wise men, or make any particular inquiry. They were so argumentative and more careless than anyone else. They had reason instead to take pride in the fact that the king had been born among them and had drawn the land of the Persians to Him, and that they were about to have everyone subject to them, as though their affairs had taken a turn for the better and His empire had become so glorious from the very outset. Yet even this does not make them better. And they had only just been freed from their captivity there. It would have been natural for them to think (even if they knew nothing of those high and mysterious things, but judged only by present circumstances), “If they tremble like this before our king at His birth, they will fear and obey Him much more when He is grown, and our condition will be more glorious than that of the barbarians.” 7. But none of these things fully awakens them, so great was their dullness, and their envy along with it. We must root both out of our minds with the greatest care, and anyone who is to stand in such a battle line must be more fervent than fire. This is also why Christ said, “I have come to send fire on earth, and I wish it were already kindled.” And for this reason the Spirit appears in fire. But we have grown colder than a cinder and more lifeless than the dead, even as we see Paul soaring above Heaven and the Heaven of Heaven, more fervent than any flame, conquering and surpassing everything: things below and things above, things present and things to come, things that are and things that are not. But if that example is too great for you, first of all, that very statement comes from laziness. For what did Paul have that you do not, that you should say it is impossible for you to imitate him? Still, to avoid an argument, let us leave Paul and consider the first believers. They gave up possessions and income, together with all worldly worries and worldly leisure, and devoted themselves entirely to God, attending to the teaching of the word every night and day. For such is the fire of the Spirit: it does not allow us to desire the things here, but carries us away to another love. For this reason, someone who has set his love on such things does everything with perfect ease, whether he must give away his possessions, scorn luxury or glory, or surrender his very soul. For the warmth of that fire enters the soul, drives out all sluggishness, and makes the person it has seized lighter than anything that soars. From then on, looking beyond visible things, such a person lives in constant remorse, pouring out unceasing fountains of tears and reaping from them a harvest of great delight. For nothing binds and unites us to God like such tears. Though living in the middle of cities, such a person spends his time as though in a desert, among mountains and woods. He sees none of those around him and never grows weary of such mourning, whether he is weeping for himself or for others' negligence. This is why God pronounced these people blessed above all others, saying, “Blessed are those who mourn.” 8. And how does Paul say, “Rejoice in the Lord always”? The joy he speaks of springs from those tears. For just as people's worldly joy has sorrow as its companion, so godly tears are the seed of perpetual and unfading joy. In this way even the prostitute became more honorable than virgins when this fire seized her. That is, thoroughly warmed by repentance, she was carried beyond herself by her longing for Christ: loosening her hair, drenching His holy feet with her tears, wiping them with her own hair, and using up the ointment. All these were outward effects, but what was happening in her mind was far more fervent, and God Himself alone saw it. Therefore, everyone who hears rejoices with her, delights in her good works, and clears her of every blame. But if we who are evil pass this judgment, consider what verdict she received from that God who loves humanity, and how great a blessing her repentance brought her even before God's gifts. For just as a clear, open sky follows a violent downpour, so when tears pour down, calm and serenity arise, and the darkness that follows our sins completely disappears. And just as we are cleansed by water and the spirit, so we are cleansed a second time by tears and confession—unless we are doing this for show and vanity. For I would rightly consider a woman whose tears were of that kind more deserving of condemnation than if she decorated herself with both lines and coloring. For I seek tears shed from remorse, not for show: tears that trickle down secretly in private rooms, unseen by anyone, gently and silently; tears that rise from a certain depth of mind, shed in anguish and sorrow, for God alone. Such were Hannah's, for “her lips moved,” it says, “but her voice was not heard.” Yet her tears alone cried out more clearly than any trumpet. Because of this, God also opened her womb and made the hard rock a fruitful field. If you also weep like this, you have become a follower of your Lord. For He too wept, both over Lazarus and over the city, and He was deeply troubled about Judas. We can often see Him doing this, but nowhere laughing, or even smiling a little; at least, none of the evangelists has mentioned it. Likewise, Paul himself says that he wept night and day for three years, and others say this of him too. But nowhere does he say that he laughed, nor does any other saint say this about him or anyone like him. This is said only of Sarah, when she is blamed, and of Noah's son, when he became a slave instead of a free man. 9. I say these things to remove frivolity of mind, not to suppress all laughter. For why, I ask you, do you live in luxury and abandon yourself to pleasure while you are still liable to such heavy charges, and must stand before a fearful judgment seat and give a strict account of everything you have done here? Yes, we must give an account both of the sins we committed willingly and of those committed against our will. For He says, “Whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father.” Surely such a denial is against our will, yet it does not escape punishment; we must give an account of that too. We must account both for what we know and for what we do not know: “For I am aware of nothing against myself,” one says, “yet that does not justify me.” And we must account both for what we have done in ignorance and for what we have done knowingly: “For I testify about them,” it says, “that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” Yet this is not enough to excuse them. And when writing to the Corinthians, he also says, “For I fear that, just as the serpent deceived Eve through his cunning, your minds may somehow be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” When the things for which you must give an account are so serious, do you sit laughing, making witty remarks, and giving yourself over to luxury? “Well,” someone may say, “if I mourned instead, what good would it do?” A very great deal—so much that words cannot even express it. For in earthly courts, however much you weep, you cannot escape punishment after the sentence. Here, by contrast, if you merely sigh, you have canceled the sentence and obtained pardon. This is why Christ speaks to us so often about mourning, blesses those who mourn, and declares those who laugh miserable. For this is no theater for laughter, and we have gathered to groan and through this groaning inherit a kingdom, rather than indulge in excessive amusement. Yet when standing beside a king, you do not dare even to smile. With the Lord of the angels dwelling in you, then, do you fail to stand trembling and with all proper self-restraint, and instead laugh, often while He is displeased? Do you not consider that you provoke Him more by this than by your sins? For God does not usually turn away as much from those who sin as from those who feel no awe after their sin. Yet despite all this, some people are so senseless that even after these words they say, “No, may I never weep at any time! May God grant me laughter and play all my days.” What could be more childish than this attitude? For it is the devil who grants play, not God. At least hear what happened to those who played. “The people,” it says, “sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Such were the people of Sodom, and such were the people at the time of the flood. For it is also said of the people of Sodom that “in pride, in abundance, and with more than enough bread, they became recklessly self-indulgent.” And those in Noah's time, though they saw the ark being built for so many years, went on living in senseless amusement, foreseeing nothing of what was coming. For this reason the flood came, swept them all away, and in that instant brought about the shipwreck of the whole world. Do not, then, ask God for these things that you receive from the devil. For God's part is to give a contrite and humbled heart, sober, self-controlled, and filled with awe, repentance, and remorse. These are His gifts, since these are also the things we need most. Yes, a terrible conflict is near, and we wrestle against unseen powers. We fight against “spiritual wickedness”; we wage war “against principalities, against powers.” Even if we are earnest, sober, and fully awake, we will do well to withstand that savage battle formation. But if we laugh and play and always take things easily, our own carelessness will overthrow us before the conflict even begins. 10. So constant laughter, unrestrained behavior, and luxury do not suit us. They belong to people on the stage, prostitutes, men groomed for this purpose, parasites, and flatterers. They do not belong to those called to heaven, enrolled in the city above, and carrying spiritual arms, but to those enlisted on the devil's side. For it is he, yes, he, who has even made this into an art, to weaken Christ's soldiers and loosen the muscles of their zeal. This is also why he built theaters in the cities. After training those buffoons, he uses their destructive influence to spread that kind of plague throughout the whole city, persuading people to pursue what Paul told us to flee: “foolish talk and joking.” And something still worse is what they laugh at. For when those performing these absurdities utter any blasphemous or filthy word, many of the more thoughtless laugh with pleasure, applauding them for what they ought to stone them for, and through this amusement bringing the furnace of fire down on their own heads. For those who praise the speakers of such words are the very people who most encourage them to speak that way. So they deserve even more to be held liable for the punishment assigned to these things. If no one watched such performances, no one would perform them. But when they see you abandoning your workshops, your trades, the income they provide, and, in short, everything, to stay there, they become more eager and work harder at these things. I say this without excusing them from rebuke, so that you may learn that you are chiefly the source and root of such lawlessness: you who spend your whole day on these things, profanely display the sacred things of marriage, and openly mock the great mystery. For even the performer is less guilty than you, you who tell him to make a play of these things—or rather, who not only tell him but enthusiastically support it, enjoying, laughing at, and praising what is done, and strengthening these workshops of the devil in every way. Tell me, then, how will you look your wife in the eyes at home after this, having seen her insulted there? How do you not blush when reminded of the woman who shares your home, as you see nature herself publicly shamed? Do not tell me that what is done is acting, for this acting has made many adulterers and ruined many families. What grieves me most is that what is done does not even seem evil; instead, there is applause, shouting, and loud laughter at the commission of such foul adultery. What are you saying? That what is done is acting? Why, for that very reason they deserve ten thousand deaths: they have taken pains to imitate what every law commands people to avoid. For if the thing itself is bad, imitating it is also bad. And I have not yet spoken of how many adulterers those who perform these scenes of adultery create, or how they make the spectators bold and shameless. For nothing is more filled with sexual immorality and boldness than an eye that can bear to look at such things. You would not choose to see a woman stripped naked in a marketplace—or even in a house—but would call such a thing an outrage. Do you then go up into the theater to insult the nature shared by men and women and disgrace your own eyes? Do not say that the woman being stripped is a prostitute. Consider instead that her nature is the same, and that the prostitute's body and the free woman's body are alike. For if there is nothing wrong with this, why, if you saw it happen in a marketplace, would you hurry away yourself and drive away the woman behaving indecently? Or is such a thing outrageous when we are apart, but no longer equally shameful when we gather and all sit together? No, this is absurd and disgraceful, and these are utterly insane words. It would be better to smear your eyes all over with mud and filth than to watch such a transgression. For surely filth does less harm to an eye than an unchaste sight and the spectacle of a woman stripped naked. Hear, for example, what caused nakedness in the beginning, and read what brought about such disgrace. What, then, caused nakedness? Our disobedience and the devil's advice. Thus, from the first, from the very beginning, this was his scheme. Yet at least they were ashamed when they were naked, while you take pride in it, “having,” as the apostle says, “your glory in your shame.” How, then, will your wife look at you afterward, when you return from such wickedness? How will she receive you? How will she speak to you, after you have so publicly shamed the nature shared by all women and have become the prostitutes' captive and slave through such a sight? Now if hearing these things grieves you, I thank you very much, for “who makes me glad except the one I have made sorrowful?” So never stop grieving and being distressed over these things, for the sorrow they cause will become the beginning of a change for the better. This is also why I have made my language stronger: by cutting deeper, I hoped to free you from the venom of those who intoxicate you and bring you back to pure health of soul. May God grant that we all enjoy this health in every way and attain the rewards stored up for these good deeds, through the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.