Homilies on John, Homily 7

“That was the true Light, which gives light to every person who comes into the world.” [1.] Dearly loved children, the reason we present thoughts from the Scriptures to you a little at a time, instead of pouring them all out at once, is to make it easy for you to remember what is presented in succession. Even in building, someone who lays more stones before the first ones have settled builds a thoroughly unsound wall that is easily knocked down. But someone who waits for the mortar to harden first, and then adds the rest little by little, completes the whole house securely and makes it strong, so that it will not last only a short time or easily fall apart. We imitate these builders and build up your souls in the same way. We are afraid that, while the first foundation has only just been laid, adding further reflections may undermine the earlier ones because the mind cannot hold them all at once. Now, what was read to us today? “That was the true Light, which gives light to every person who comes into the world.” Earlier, when speaking of John, he said that he came “to bear witness to that Light,” and that he was sent in our own days. To keep anyone who hears this from suspecting something similar about Him to whom John bears witness, because the witness came so recently, he has lifted our thoughts and carried them back to that existence which precedes every beginning and has neither end nor beginning. “And how is it possible,” someone says, “for Him to possess this (nature), since He is a Son?” We are speaking of God, and you ask how? Aren’t you afraid? Don’t you tremble? Yet if someone asks you, “How will our souls and bodies have endless life in the world to come?” you will laugh at the question, because it is beyond the human mind to investigate such questions. A person should simply believe, without prying into this subject, since the power of Him who spoke is enough to prove what He said. And if we say that He who created our souls and bodies, and who incomparably surpasses all created things, is without beginning, will you demand that we explain “How?” Who could call this the action of a well-ordered soul or sound reason? You have heard that “That was the true Light.” Why are you vainly and recklessly trying, by force of reasoning, to reach beyond this unlimited Life? You cannot do it. Why seek what must not be sought? Why pry into what is incomprehensible? Why investigate what cannot be investigated? Look directly at the very source of the sun’s rays. You cannot, yet you are neither upset nor impatient with your weakness. How, then, have you become so bold and reckless in greater matters? John, the son of thunder who sounds the spiritual trumpet, heard the word was from the Spirit and asked no further questions. And do you, who do not share his grace but speak from your own miserable reasoning, aspire to exceed the limits of his knowledge? For that very reason, you will never even be able to reach the limits of his knowledge. This is the devil’s trick: he leads those who obey him beyond the limits God has set, as though toward much greater things. But once he has enticed us with these hopes and driven us out of God’s grace, he not only gives us nothing more (how could he, being the devil?), but does not even let us return to our former position, where we lived safely and securely. Instead, he leads us wandering in every direction, with no firm ground to stand on. That is how he caused the first-created man to be banished from his home in Paradise. After puffing him up with the expectation of greater knowledge and honor, he drove him out of what he already possessed securely. For he not only failed to become like a god, as (the devil) had promised him, but even fell under the power of death. By eating from the tree, he not only gained no further advantage, but, through his hope of greater knowledge, lost a considerable part of the knowledge he already possessed. For a sense of shame and a desire to hide because of his nakedness then came over him, though before the deception he had been above all such shame. This very awareness that he was naked, his need from then on to cover himself with clothes, and many other weaknesses now became natural to him. To keep this from happening to us, let us obey God, continue to keep His commandments, and avoid prying into anything beyond them, so that we may not be driven out of the good things already given to us. This is what happened to them (of whom we speak). In seeking a beginning for the Life that has no beginning, they lost what they could have kept. They did not find what they sought (that is impossible), and they fell away from the true faith concerning the Only-Begotten. So let us not move the eternal boundaries our fathers set, but always submit to the laws of the Spirit. When we hear that “That was the true Light,” let us seek to discover nothing more. For it is impossible to go beyond this statement. If His generation had been like a human being’s, there would necessarily have been an interval between the begetter and the begotten. But since it takes place in a way that is beyond words and worthy of God, give up “before” and “after.” These words name points in time, but the Son is the Creator even of all ages. [2.] “Then,” someone says, “He is not Father, but brother.” Why must that follow? If we had claimed that the Father and the Son came from a different root, you might rightly have said this. But if we reject this impiety and say that the Father, besides being without beginning, is also Unbegotten, while the Son, though without beginning, is Begotten of the Father, why must this idea lead to that unholy claim? There is no reason at all. For He is Radiance, and radiance is inseparable from the idea of the nature whose radiance it is. This is why Paul called Him this: so that you would imagine no interval between the Father and the Son. ( Heb. i. 3.) This expression therefore makes that point clear. But the next part of the passage quoted as proof corrects a mistaken opinion that might trouble ordinary people. For the Apostle says: because you have heard that He is Radiance, do not suppose that He lacks His own distinct person. This is impious and belongs to the madness of the Sabellians and the followers of Marcellus. We do not say this, but say that He also exists in His own distinct Person. For this reason, after calling Him “Radiance,” Paul added that He is “the express image of His Person” ( Heb. i. 3.), to make clear His distinct Personality and that He belongs to the same Essence of which He is also the express image. For, as I said before, a single expression is not enough to present the doctrines concerning God to people. We should bring many expressions together and take from each what is appropriate. In this way we will be able to speak worthily of His glory—worthily, I mean, as far as we are able. For if anyone thinks he can speak words that do justice to His inherent worth, and aspires to do so, saying that he knows God as God knows Himself, that person is the most ignorant of God. Knowing this, then, let us continue to hold firmly to what “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have handed down to us.” ( Luke i. 2.) Let us not pry beyond this. For those who suffer from this disease (curiosity,) will experience two evils: they will wear themselves out in vain by seeking what cannot be found, and they will provoke God by trying to overturn the boundaries He has set. You already know what anger this provokes, so you do not need us to teach you. Let us therefore keep away from their madness and tremble at His words, so that He may continually build us up. For He says, “upon whom will I look” ( Isa. lxvi. 2 , LXX.), “but upon the humble and quiet person who fears my words?” So let us abandon this destructive curiosity and bruise our hearts. Let us mourn for our sins, as Christ commanded. Let us feel pierced to the heart over our transgressions. Let us carefully count up all the wicked deeds we have dared to commit in the past, and earnestly strive in every way to wipe them away. God has opened many paths to us for this purpose. For He says, “First tell your sins, so that you may be justified” ( Isa. xliii. 26); and again, “I said, I have declared my iniquity to You, and You have taken away the unrighteousness of my heart” ( Ps. xxxii. 5 , LXX.). For continually accusing ourselves and remembering our sins does a great deal to lessen their magnitude. But there is another, more effective way: to hold no grudge against anyone who has wronged us, and to forgive the trespasses of everyone who has trespassed against us. Would you like to learn a third? Listen to Daniel saying, “Redeem your sins by giving to the poor, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.” ( Dan. iv. 27 , LXX.) There is another way besides this: constant prayer and persistent participation in intercessions offered to God. Fasting likewise brings us considerable comfort and release from the sins we have committed, provided it is accompanied by kindness to others, and quenches the intensity of God’s anger. ( 1 Tim. ii. 1.) For “water will quench a blazing fire, and sins are cleansed away by giving to the poor.” ( Ecclus. iii. 30 , LXX.) Let us travel along all these paths. For if we devote ourselves completely to these activities and spend our time on them, we will not only wash away our past transgressions but also gain very great benefits for the future. For we will not give the devil an opportunity to attack us through free time spent either in lazy living or in destructive curiosity. These are among the means by which he leads us into foolish questions and harmful disputes, because he sees us unoccupied and idle, giving no thought to living well. Let us block this route of attack against him. Let us stay watchful and sober, so that, after a little labor in this short time, we may obtain eternal good things through endless ages, by the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom and with whom, to the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever. Amen.