Homilies on Matthew, Homily 71

“But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together; and one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him, saying, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Again the evangelist explains why they should have kept quiet, and this also shows their boldness. How, and in what way? Because when those others were silenced, these men attacked Him again. Though this alone should have made them keep quiet, they pushed their earlier efforts further and put forward the lawyer, wanting to test Him rather than learn, and asked, “What is the first commandment?” Since the first commandment was this, “You shall love the Lord your God,” they asked the question thinking He would give them some opening, as though He would change it to show that He Himself was also God. What, then, does Christ say? Showing what had led them to this—their lack of love, their consuming envy, their being gripped by jealousy—He says, “You shall love the Lord your God. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But why “like this”? Because this prepares the way for that, and is in turn established by it. “For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light”; and again, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.” And what follows from this? “They are corrupt and have become abominable in their ways.” And again, “The love of money is the root of all evils; by craving it some have wandered from the faith”; and, “Whoever loves me will keep my commandment.” But His commandments, and what they amount to, are: “You shall love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself.” So if loving God means loving your neighbor—“For if you love me,” He says, “O Peter, feed my sheep”—and loving your neighbor leads to keeping the commandments, He rightly says, “On these hang all the law and the prophets.” So He does here what He did before. There, when asked about the manner of the resurrection, He also taught that there is a resurrection, teaching them more than they asked; and here, when asked about the first commandment, He also states the second, which is not much inferior to it (for although it is second, it is like the first), indicating to them where the question came from: hatred. “For love does not envy.” By this He shows Himself obedient to both the law and the prophets. But why does Matthew say that the man asked to test Him, while Mark says the opposite? “For when Jesus,” he says, “saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God.” They do not contradict each other; in fact, they agree completely. He did begin by asking to test Him, but he benefited from the answer and was praised. He did not praise him at the beginning, but after he said, “To love your neighbor is more than whole burnt sacrifices,” He said, “You are not far from the kingdom,” because he looked beyond lower things and embraced the first principle of virtue. Indeed, all those things, the Sabbath as well as the rest, exist for this purpose. Even then He did not give him complete praise, but left it qualified. For His words, “You are not far,” indicate that he is still falling short, so that he might seek what he still lacked. But if He praised him when he said, “There is one God, and there is no other but He,” do not be surprised. Notice here too how He answers according to the understanding of those who come to Him. For although people say countless things about Christ that are unworthy of His glory, at least they will not dare to say that He is not God at all. Why, then, does He praise the man who said that besides the Father there is no other God? He is not excluding Himself from being God—dismiss that thought! But since it was not yet time to reveal His Godhead, He lets the man remain with the earlier teaching and praises him for knowing the ancient principles well, to prepare him for the teaching of the New Testament, which He is introducing at the proper time. Besides, the saying, “There is one God, and there is no other but He,” both in the Old Testament and everywhere else, is spoken to distinguish God from idols, not to reject the Son. So He also praises this man who spoke this way with that meaning in mind. Then, after answering, He asks in turn, “What do you think of Christ? Whose Son is He? They say to Him, The Son of David.” See how many miracles, how many signs, how many questions, how great a display of His unity with the Father, in both words and deeds, precede this. After praising the man who said that there is one God, He asks the question so that they cannot say that although He performed miracles, He was an opponent of the law and an enemy of God. So after all these things, He asks these questions, quietly leading them to confess that He too is God. He first asked the disciples what others said, and then what they themselves said; but He did not do that with these men, for they would surely have said, “A deceiver and a wicked man,” since they spoke without any restraint. That is why He asks for these men's own opinion. Since He was now about to undergo His passion, He presents the prophecy that plainly proclaims Him Lord. He introduces it for a good reason, without appearing to have brought it up without any occasion or to have made this His goal. For after He first questioned them, since their answer about Him was not true (for they said He was merely a man), He introduces David proclaiming His Godhead to overturn their mistaken opinion. They supposed that He was merely a man, which is why they said, “The Son of David”; but to correct this, He brings in the prophet as a witness that He is Lord, that His Sonship is genuine, and that He is equal in honor to His Father. He does not stop even here, but to stir their fear He adds what follows, saying, “Until I make Your enemies Your footstool,” so that at least in this way He might win them over. And so that they cannot say David called Him this out of flattery, or that this was a human judgment, see what He says: “How, then, does David in spirit call Him Lord?” See how humbly He introduces this statement and judgment about Himself. First He said, “What do you think? Whose Son is He?” to lead them to answer through a question. Then, when they said, “The Son of David,” He did not say, “And yet David says these things,” but again put it as a question: “How, then, does David in spirit call Him Lord?” so that His words would not offend them. That is also why He did not say, “What do you think of me?” but “of Christ.” For this reason the apostles also argued humbly, saying, “Let us speak freely of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried.” For the same reason He Himself also introduces the teaching through a question and an inference, saying, “How, then, does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool?” And again, “If David, then, calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?” He is not denying that He is his Son—dismiss that thought! For then He would not have rebuked Peter for this. He is correcting their unspoken thoughts. So when He says, “How is He his Son?” He means, “Not in the way you say.” For they said that He is only Son, and not also Lord. And He says this after presenting the testimony, and then humbly: “If David, then, calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?” Nevertheless, even after hearing these things, they answered nothing, because they did not want to learn any of the things they needed. So He Himself adds that “He is his Lord.” Or rather, He does not say even this without support, but brings the prophet alongside Him, because they deeply distrusted Him and spoke evil of Him. We should pay particular attention to this fact, and if He says anything lowly and humble, we should not take offense. For this, along with many other reasons, is why He speaks to them by accommodating Himself to their understanding. That is why here too He presents His teaching through questions and answers; yet even in this way He hints at His dignity. For being called Lord of the Jews was not as great as being called Lord of David. But notice also, please, how timely this is. After He had said, “There is one Lord,” He then spoke of Himself as Lord and showed it through prophecy, no longer through His works alone. He also shows the Father Himself taking vengeance on them on His behalf, for He says, “Until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” This too shows how fully He who begot Him agrees with Him and how greatly He honors Him. He ends His arguments with them on this lofty and powerful point, enough to shut their mouths completely. From then on they were silent, unwillingly, because they had nothing to say; and they received so deadly a blow that they no longer dared to attempt the same things. For, it says, “From that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions.” This was no small benefit to the crowd. So from then on He directs His words to them, having driven away the wolves and beaten back their plots. Those men gained nothing, held captive by the craving for empty praise and overcome by this terrible passion. For this passion is terrible and has many heads: because of it some set their hearts on power, some on wealth, some on strength. But it keeps advancing, reaching even almsgiving, fasting, and prayers, and teaching. This monster has many heads. There is nothing surprising about craving empty praise over those other things; but craving it over fasting and prayer is strange and heartbreaking. But so that we do not merely blame it again, come, let us explain how to avoid it. Whom shall we prepare to fight first: those who seek glory in money, clothing, positions of power, learning, art, their physique, beauty, ornaments, cruelty, kindness and almsgiving, wickedness, death, or what comes after death? For indeed, as I have said, this passion has many links and extends beyond our life. For we are told that someone has died, and to win admiration he left instructions for such and such things to be done; and because of this one person is poor and another rich. The terrible thing is that it is made up even of opposites. Against whom, then, shall we take our stand and first draw up our battle lines? For the same argument will not work against everyone. Would you like us, then, to take on those who crave empty praise for their almsgiving? That seems good to me, at least, for I love almsgiving deeply, and it pains me to see it spoiled, with the craving for empty praise plotting against it like a nurse who plots against a young princess by acting as her pimp. She does feed her, but to bring her disgrace and harm, prostituting her and ordering her to despise her father and adorn herself to please unholy and often contemptible men. She dresses her as strangers wish, in disgraceful and dishonorable clothing, instead of as her father wishes. Come, then, let us take aim at these people, and suppose that abundant alms are given for display before the crowd. First, the craving for empty praise leads her out of her Father's chamber. And while her Father requires her not to appear even to the left hand, the craving for empty praise displays her to slaves and common people who have never even known her. Do you see the prostitute and pimp, making her fall in love with foolish men so that she will shape her conduct to their demands? Do you want to see how it makes such a soul insane as well as a prostitute? Then consider her state of mind. When she lets go of heaven and runs after fugitives and menial slaves, pursuing through streets and alleys those who hate her, the ugly and deformed, those unwilling even to look at her, those who hate her while she burns with love for them, what could be more insane? For the crowd hates no one so much as those who want the glory it can give. At any rate, they make countless accusations against them, and the result is the same as if someone brought a king's virgin daughter down from the royal throne and required her to prostitute herself to gladiators who loathed her. The more you pursue these people, the more they turn away from you. But if you seek the glory that comes from God, He draws you all the more closely to Himself, praises you, and gives you a great reward. But if you want another way to recognize its harm, consider, when you give for show and display, how great a sorrow comes over you and how constant your dejection is, as Christ's voice sounds in your ears, saying, “You have lost all your reward.” Craving empty praise is bad in every matter, but especially in doing good, because it is the height of cruelty to make a spectacle of others' misfortunes and practically reproach those in poverty. For if mentioning your own good deeds amounts to reproaching someone, what do you think it means to publicize them to many others? How, then, shall we escape the danger? By learning how to give alms and recognizing whose approval we should seek. For tell me, who understands the skill of almsgiving? Clearly God, who has made it known, knows it best of all, and practices it without limit. What, then? If you are learning to wrestle, whom do you look to? To whom do you show what you do in the wrestling school: the vegetable sellers and fish sellers, or the trainer? Yet they are many, and he is one. What, then, if he admires you while others ridicule you? Will you not join him in laughing at them? And if you are learning to box, will you not likewise look to the person who knows how to teach it? And if you are practicing public speaking, will you not accept the praise of the rhetoric teacher and disregard the rest? How, then, is it anything but absurd to look only to the teacher in other arts, but do the opposite here? And the loss is not equal. There, if you wrestle according to the crowd's opinion instead of the teacher's, your loss concerns wrestling; but here it concerns eternal life. You have become like God by giving alms; become like Him, then, by avoiding display. For even He, when healing, told them to tell no one. But do you want people to call you merciful? And what do you gain? You gain nothing, but the loss is infinite. For the very people you call as witnesses become robbers of your treasures in heaven; or rather, we ourselves do this, plundering our own possessions and scattering what we have stored above. What a new calamity this strange passion is! Where no moth destroys and no thief breaks in, the craving for empty praise scatters everything. It is the moth of those treasures there, the thief of our wealth in heaven. It steals riches that cannot be plundered; it spoils and destroys everything. For when the devil saw that this place was secure against thieves, worms, and all other schemes against these treasures, he used the craving for empty praise to steal the wealth. But do you want glory? Is the glory given by the recipient himself, the glory from our gracious God, not enough for you? Do you set your heart on glory from people too? Be careful that you do not get the opposite, that some do not condemn you for making a display and seeking honor instead of showing mercy, for making a spectacle of others' misfortunes. For showing mercy is a mystery. So shut the doors, so that no one sees what it is impious to display. For our mysteries too are, above all, a showing of God's mercy and loving-kindness. In His great mercy He had mercy on us when we were disobedient. The first prayer too is full of mercy, when we plead for the energumens; and so is the second, for others undergoing penance, seeking great mercy; and the third also, for ourselves. This prayer brings forward the innocent children of the people to plead with God for mercy. For since we condemn ourselves for our sins, we ourselves cry out for those who have sinned greatly and deserve blame; but for ourselves, the children cry out, for the kingdom of heaven is reserved for those who imitate their simplicity. This image shows that those who are like these children, humble and simple, are above all others able to deliver the guilty through their prayers. But those who have been initiated know how much mercy, how much love for humanity, the mystery itself contains. So when you show mercy to someone as far as you are able, shut the doors. Let only the person receiving your mercy see it, and if possible, not even that person. But if you throw the doors open, you are profanely exposing your mystery. Consider that the very person whose praise you seek will himself condemn you. If he is a friend, he will accuse you in his own mind; if an enemy, he will ridicule you to others as well. You will experience the opposite of what you want. You want him to call you merciful, but he will instead call you someone who craves empty praise, a people-pleaser, and other names far harsher than these. But if you hide it, he will call you the opposite: merciful and kind. For God does not let it remain hidden. If you conceal it, the other person will make it known, and the admiration will be greater and the gain more abundant. So even for the very purpose of winning glory, making a display works against us. It works against us most of all in the very thing we are most eager and determined to obtain. Far from gaining a reputation for mercy, we gain the opposite, and besides this, we suffer a great loss. For every reason, then, let us avoid this and set our love on God's praise alone. In this way we will both receive honor here and enjoy eternal blessings, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.