Homilies on Matthew, Homily 73

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and make long prayers as a pretense: therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” After this, He next mocks them for gluttony. And the terrible thing was that they filled their own bellies with the goods of the poor, rather than the rich, and made worse the poverty they should have relieved. For they did not merely eat; they devoured. Moreover, the way they cheated people was still worse: “making long prayers as a pretense.” Everyone who does anything evil deserves punishment; but someone who even makes godliness his reason for doing it, and uses this cloak for his wickedness, rightly faces far more severe punishment. And why did He not remove them from office? Because the time did not yet allow it. So He leaves them alone for a time, but through His words He keeps the people from being deceived, so that these men’s standing will not lead them to imitate them. For since He had said, “Whatever they tell you to do, do it,” He shows how many things they do wrong, so that foolish people would not take this to mean that He entrusted everything to them. “Woe to you, for you shut the kingdom against people; for you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who are entering to go in.” But if helping no one is a charge against a person, what defense can there be for actually harming and hindering others? But what does “those who are entering” mean? Those who are fit for it. For when they had to give others commands, they made the burdens unbearable; but when they themselves had to do any of the things required, instead of doing anything, they went much further in wickedness: they even corrupted others. These are the people called pests, who make ruining others their occupation, acting in direct opposition to teachers. For if a teacher’s work is to save what is perishing, destroying what is about to be saved is the work of a destroyer. After this comes another charge: “You travel over sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” That is, even the fact that you have won him with difficulty and endless labor does not move you to treat him carefully. Although we take greater care of things we have acquired with difficulty, even this does not make you gentler. Here He charges them with two things: first, that they do nothing to save the many, and need a great deal of labor to win over even one; second, that they neglected to preserve the person they had gained. Or rather, they were not merely careless but actually betrayed him, corrupting him by their wicked lives and making him worse. For when the disciple sees that his teachers are like this, he becomes worse than they are. He does not stop at his teacher’s wickedness; just as he imitates his teacher when the teacher is virtuous, so when the teacher is bad, he goes even further, because of our tendency toward evil. And He calls him “a child of hell,” that is, hell itself. And He said “twice as much as you” both to alarm the disciples and to make their teachers feel the accusation more sharply, because they teach wickedness. And not only that, but because they work to instill greater wickedness in their disciples, hardening them into a depravity much greater than their own. This, above all, marks a depraved soul. Then He also mocks them for foolishness, because they told people to disregard the greater commandments. Yet earlier He had said the opposite, that “they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear.” But they did these things too, doing everything to corrupt those under their authority, demanding strictness in little things and disregarding the great ones. “For you pay a tithe,” He says, “of mint and anise, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith. You should have done these things without leaving the others undone.” Here, then, He naturally says this, where the subject is tithing and almsgiving—for what harm does giving alms do? But He does not say to keep the law; that is not what the passage says. So here He does say, “You should have done these things”; but when He speaks about clean and unclean things, He no longer adds this. Instead, He makes a distinction and shows that inward purity necessarily brings outward purity with it, but the reverse is not true. For where love for humanity can be offered as a reason, He treats the matter lightly, both for this very reason and because it was not yet time to repeal the provisions of the law explicitly and plainly. But where the issue is an observance of bodily purification, He overturns it more plainly. So, while He says about almsgiving, “You should have done these things without leaving the others undone,” He does not speak this way about purifications. What does He say instead? “You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and injustice. Clean what is inside the cup, so that the outside may be clean too.” And He drew His example from something obvious and acknowledged: a cup and a dish. 2. Then, to show that disregarding bodily cleansings does no harm, while neglecting the soul’s purifications, which are virtue, brings very severe punishment, He called the former “a gnat,” because they are small and insignificant, but the latter a camel, because they were more than people could bear. That is why He also says, “Straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel.” For the former were in fact established for the sake of the latter—I mean mercy and judgment—so that even then they did no good when practiced alone. For the little things were prescribed for the sake of the great ones; and when the great ones were neglected and effort was spent on the little ones alone, nothing was gained by this even then. For the greater things did not follow from the lesser, but the lesser were sure to follow from the greater. He says these things to show that even before grace came, these were not among the principal things, or the things on which people should spend their effort; what was required was something different. But if that was their place before grace, they were all the more useless once the higher commandments had come, and it was no longer appropriate to practice them at all. Vice, then, is terrible in every case, but especially when it does not even think it needs correction. And it is still worse when it thinks itself capable of correcting others. To express this, Christ calls them “blind guides.” For if a blind man’s failure to recognize his need for a guide is utter misery and wretchedness, see what a gulf he falls into when he wants to guide others himself. Through all these statements, He pointed to their mad desire for glory and their extreme frenzy over this plague. For this was the cause of all their evils: they did everything for show. This both led them away from faith and made them neglect true virtue, and prompted them to concern themselves only with bodily purifications while neglecting the soul’s purifications. So, to lead them to true virtue and the soul’s purifications, He mentions mercy, judgment, and faith. For these are the things that make up our life, the things that purify the soul: justice, love for humanity, and truth. One inclines us to pardon and does not allow us to be excessively harsh and unforgiving toward those who sin (for then we will gain twice over, both becoming kind to others and, as a result, receiving much kindness ourselves from the God of all), and leads us both to sympathize with those who are mistreated and to help them; the other does not allow people to be deceitful and crafty. But when He says, “You should have done these things without leaving the others undone,” He is not introducing an observance of the law. Put that thought away! Nor, when He said about the dish and cup, “Clean what is inside the cup and dish, so that their outside may be clean too,” does He bring us back to the old concern for little things. On the contrary, He does everything to show that it is unnecessary. For He did not say, “Clean their outside too,” but “what is inside,” and the outside is sure to follow; for we showed this before. Besides, He is not speaking about a cup and dish, but about soul and body, meaning the body by the outside and the soul by the inside. But if attention to the inside is necessary in the case of a dish, it is much more necessary in your case. But you do the opposite, He says: you observe trivial, outward things and neglect great, inward things. This causes tremendous harm, because, thinking you have properly done everything, you disregard the other things; and because you disregard them, you do not even try or make an effort to do them. After this, He again mocks them for their craving for praise, calling them “whitewashed tombs” and adding “you hypocrites” to all His charges. This is the cause of all their evils and the source of their ruin. And He did not merely call them whitewashed tombs, but said that they were full of uncleanness and hypocrisy. He said these things to show why they did not believe: because they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. But Christ is not alone in bringing these charges against them; the prophets also constantly accuse them of plundering and of having rulers who do not judge according to justice. Everywhere you can find sacrifices rejected and these things required instead. So there is nothing strange or new either in the giving of the law or in the accusation, or even in the comparison to a tomb. For the prophet mentions this too, and did not merely call them a tomb, but called “their throat an open tomb.” Many people are like this now too, adorning themselves outwardly but full of lawlessness within. For now too there are many methods of outward purification, and much care devoted to them, but not a single bit of care for the purifications of the soul. But if someone were to tear open each person’s conscience, he would find many worms and much decay, and a stench beyond description. I mean irrational and wicked desires, which are more unclean than worms. 3. But that “they” should be such people is not “so” dreadful a thing (though it is dreadful); that “you,” who have been considered worthy to become temples of God, should suddenly have become tombs with just as much stench—this is utter wretchedness. That someone in whom Christ dwells, in whom the Holy Spirit has worked, and in whom such great mysteries have been performed should be a tomb—what wretchedness is this? What mourning and lamentation does this call for, when the members of Christ have become a tomb of uncleanness? Consider how you were born, what things you have been considered worthy of, what kind of garment you have received, how you were built into a temple without a crack! How beautiful! Adorned neither with gold nor with pearls, but with the Spirit, who is more precious than these. Consider that no tomb is built in a city; so neither will you be able to appear in the city above. For if this is forbidden here, much more there. Indeed, even here everyone scorns you for carrying around a dead soul—and they not only scorn you but also shun you. For tell me, if someone went around carrying a dead body, would not everyone rush away? Would not everyone flee? Think of your condition in the same way now. For you go around carrying a sight far more terrible than this: a soul deadened by sins, a paralyzed soul. Who, then, will pity such a person? For when you do not pity your own soul, how will another pity someone so cruel, such an enemy to himself? If someone had buried a dead body where you sleep and eat, what would you not have done? But you are burying a dead soul, not where you eat or sleep, but in the members of Christ. And are you not afraid that a thousand flashes of lightning and thunderbolts may be hurled down on your head from above? And how do you even dare to set foot in the churches of God and in holy temples, carrying within you the stench of so much abomination? For if someone who carried a dead body into the king’s courts and buried it there would suffer the severest punishment, consider what punishment you will undergo when you set foot in the sacred courts and fill the house with so much stench. Imitate that prostitute who anointed Christ’s feet with ointment and filled the whole house with its fragrance—the opposite of what you do to His house! So what if you do not notice the stench? This is the most terrible part of the disease; that is also why your disease is incurable, and worse than that of people whose bodies are mutilated and become foul-smelling. For that disease is both felt by the sick and free from blame; indeed, it even deserves pity. But this disease deserves hatred and punishment. Since, then, it is more serious both in this respect and because the sick person does not recognize it as he should, come, pay attention to my words, so that I may teach you plainly how harmful it is. But first listen to what you say in the Psalm: “Let my prayer be presented in Your sight as incense.” When, then, it is not incense but foul-smelling smoke that rises from you and your deeds, what punishment do you not deserve to undergo? What, then, is the foul-smelling smoke? Many come in gazing around at women’s beauty; others peer at boys in the bloom of youth. After this, do you not wonder why thunderbolts are not hurled down and everything torn up from its foundations? For the things being done deserve both thunderbolts and hell. But God, who is patient and full of mercy, holds back His anger for a while, calling you to repentance and a better life. What are you doing, man? Are you scrutinizing women’s beauty, and do you not shudder at insulting the temple of God in this way? Does the church seem to you a brothel, and less worthy of respect than the marketplace? For in a marketplace you are afraid and ashamed to be seen looking at any woman, but in God’s temple, while God Himself is speaking to you and making threats about these things, you are committing sexual immorality and adultery at the very moment you are being told not to do this. And do you not shudder or stand aghast? This is what those indecent spectacles teach you: that plague so hard to suppress, those deadly enchantments, those terrible snares for the thoughtless, that pleasurable destruction of the unchaste. That is why the prophet also rebuked you, saying, “Your eyes are not good, nor is your heart.” It would be better for such people to be blind; it would be better to be diseased than to misuse your eyes for these purposes. You should have had a wall within you to separate you from the women; but since you do not have that disposition, our fathers thought it necessary to wall you off with these boards. For I hear from the older people that in earlier times there were not even these partitions: “For in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.” And in the apostle’s time too, men and women were together. That was because the men were men and the women were women; but now it is entirely the opposite. The women have adopted the ways of prostitutes, and the men are no better than frenzied horses. Have you not heard that the men and women gathered together in the upper room, and that congregation was worthy of heaven? And with good reason. For even the women then practiced great self-denial, and the men dignity and chastity. Listen, for instance, to the seller of purple saying, “If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come in and stay with me.” Listen to the women who traveled with the apostles, having taken on manly courage: Priscilla, Persis, and the rest. Our women today are as far removed from them as our men are from the men of that time. 4. For in those days, even when women traveled to distant countries, they did not bring a bad reputation on themselves; but now, even when they are brought up confined to a room, they scarcely escape this suspicion. These things arise from their adornments and luxury. In those days, those women’s work was to spread the word; but now it is to look beautiful, attractive, and lovely in the face. This is their glory, this their salvation; they do not even dream of lofty and great works. What woman makes an effort to improve her husband? What man has taken on the task of improving his wife? Not one. Instead, the woman’s whole attention is devoted to gold ornaments, clothing, and other bodily adornments, and to increasing their wealth; while the man’s attention is devoted both to this and to other things beyond it, all of them worldly. Who, when he is about to marry, asks about the young woman’s character and upbringing? No one. Instead, he immediately asks about money, possessions, and the amounts of various kinds of property, as if he were about to buy something or enter into an ordinary business contract. That is even what they call marriage. For I have heard many people say, “Such a man has contracted with such a woman,” meaning he has married her. And they insult God’s gifts, marrying and being given in marriage as though they were buying and selling. And there are written agreements demanding greater guarantees than contracts for buying and selling. Learn how people married in earlier times, and imitate them. How, then, did they marry? They asked about ways of life, morals, and the soul’s virtue. That is why they needed no written agreements or guarantees on parchment and in ink; the bride’s character was enough to take the place of all these. So I beg you too to seek a good character and gentleness, rather than wealth and affluence. Look for a devout young woman who practices self-denial, and these qualities will be better for you than countless treasures. If you seek the things of God, these other things will come too; but if you pass over the former and rush after the latter, these will not follow either. But someone will say, “Such a man became rich through his wife!” Are you not ashamed to bring forward examples like that? I would ten thousand times rather become poor—as I have heard many people say—than gain wealth from a wife. For what can be more unpleasant than that wealth? What more painful than that abundance? What more shameful than to be known for it, and to have everyone say, “Such a man became rich through a wife”? I pass over the troubles at home, all that must result from this: the wife’s pride, the servility, the quarrels, the servants’ insults. “The beggar,” “the man in rags,” “the lowborn man from a lowborn family.” “Why, what did he have when he came here?” “Doesn’t everything belong to our mistress?” But you do not care at all about these remarks, because you are not a free man either. For parasites likewise hear worse things than these and feel no pain; so neither do these men, who instead take pride in their disgrace. And when we speak to them about these things, one of them says, “Let me have something pleasant and sweet, and let it choke me.” Alas! What proverbs the devil has brought into the world, powerful enough to overturn these people’s whole lives! Just look at this very devilish and destructive saying, how full of ruin it is. For it means nothing other than this: Have no regard for what is honorable; have no regard for what is just; throw all those things aside and seek only one thing, pleasure. Even if it chokes you, choose it; even if everyone who meets you scorns you, even if they smear your face with mud, even if they drive you away like a dog, endure it all. And what else would pigs say if they had a voice? What else would filthy dogs say? But perhaps even they would not have said the things the devil has persuaded people to rave about. So I beg you, recognizing the senselessness of words like these, to avoid such proverbs and choose the sayings in Scripture that oppose them. What are these? “Do not follow your lusts,” it says, “and restrain your appetites.” And again, about a prostitute, it says in opposition to this proverb, “Pay no attention to a bad woman: for honey drips from the lips of a woman who is a prostitute, and for a time it is delicious to your throat; but afterward you will find it more bitter than gall and sharper than a two-edged sword.” Let us listen, then, to these latter sayings, not the former. For this is where our degrading thoughts come from, this is where our slavish thoughts come from, this is how people become beasts: in everything they insist on pursuing pleasure according to this proverb, which is ridiculous in itself, even without our arguments. For once someone has choked, what good is the sweetness? Stop, then, promoting such great absurdity and kindling hell and unquenchable fire. And let us at last, though late, look steadily toward the things to come as we should, removing the film from our eyes, so that we may both live this present life honorably, with great reverence and godly fear, and attain the good things to come, through the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.