Homilies on John, Homily 82

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” [1.] When the wicked persecute us after we have become virtuous, or mock us when we want to pursue virtue, let us not become distraught or angry. This is the natural course of things, and everywhere virtue tends to stir up hatred in wicked people. They envy those who want to live rightly, and think they can make an excuse for themselves if they can destroy other people’s reputations. So they hate them for pursuing things opposed to their own pursuits, and use every means to disgrace their way of life. But let us not grieve, for this is a mark of virtue. That is why Christ also says, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own.” ( c. xv. 19.) And again elsewhere, “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you.” ( Luke vi. 26.) That is also why He says here, “I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them.” Again He explains why they deserved so much care from the Father: “For Your sake,” He says, “they have been hated, and for Your word’s sake”; so they would be entitled to every kind of providential care. Ver. 15. “I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from evil.” Again He simplifies His language; again He makes it clearer. By pleading for them so precisely, He shows nothing other than His very tender care for them. Yet He Himself had told them that the Father would do whatever they asked. Why, then, does He pray for them here? As I said, for no other purpose than to show His love. Ver. 16. “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Why, then, does He say elsewhere, “Whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours”? ( Ver. 6.) There He is speaking of their nature; here, of wicked actions. And He puts together an extended tribute to them: first, that “they were not of the world”; then, that “the Father Himself had given them”; that “they had kept His word”; and that because of this “they were hated.” And if He says, “As I am not of the world,” do not be troubled, for “as” here does not express exact correspondence in every respect. When “as” is used of Him and the Father, it signifies a great Equality because of Their Relationship in Nature. But when it is used of us and Him, the distance is great because of the great and infinite distance between our respective natures. For if He “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” ( 1 Pet. ii. 22 ), how could the Apostles be considered equal to Him? What, then, does He mean by saying, “They are not of the world”? “They look toward another world; they have nothing in common with earth, but have become citizens of heaven.” And in these words He shows His love by commending them to the Father and entrusting them to Him who begot Him. When He says, “Keep them,” He is not speaking only of rescuing them from dangers, but also of their remaining in the faith. That is why He adds, Ver. 17. “Sanctify them through Your truth.” “Make them holy by the gift of the Spirit and of right doctrines.” Just as He says, “You are clean through the word I spoke to you” ( c. xv. 3 ), so now He says the same thing: “Instruct them; teach them the truth.” “And yet He says that the Spirit does this. Why, then, does He now ask it of the Father?” So that you may learn again Their equality of Honor. For right doctrines stated about God sanctify the soul. And if He says they are sanctified by the word, do not be surprised. To show that He is speaking of doctrines, He adds, “Your word is truth.” That is, “there is no falsehood in it, and everything said in it must happen.” It also means that it signifies nothing that is a type or bodily. Paul likewise says of the Church that He has sanctified it by the Word. For the Word of God also cleanses. ( Eph. v. 26.) Moreover, “sanctify them” seems to me to mean something else as well, something like this: “Set them apart for the Word and for preaching.” What follows makes this clear. For He says, Ver. 17. “As You have sent Me into the world, so I too have sent them into the world.” As Paul also says, “Having placed in us the word of reconciliation.” ( 2 Cor. v. 19.) For the same purpose for which Christ came, these men took possession of the world. Here again “as” is not used to indicate resemblance between Himself and the Apostles; for how was it possible for men to be sent otherwise? But He habitually spoke of the future as though it had already happened. Ver. 19. “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified in the truth.” What does “I sanctify Myself” mean? “I offer You a sacrifice.” Now all sacrifices are called “holy,” and things set apart for God are especially called “holy things.” In the past, sanctification was accomplished through sheep as a type, but now it is accomplished through the truth itself, rather than through a type. That is why He says, “So that they may be sanctified in Your truth.” “For I both dedicate them to You and make them an offering.” He says this either because their Head was being made an offering, or because they too were sacrificed; for it says, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy” ( Rom. xii. 1 ); and, “We were counted as sheep for slaughter.” ( Ps. xliv. 22.) And He makes them a sacrifice and offering without death. That He was referring to His own sacrifice when He said, “I sanctify,” is clear from what follows. Ver. 20. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe.” [2.] Since He was dying for them and said, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself,” He added, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word,” so that no one would think He did this only for the Apostles. By this He again revived their souls, showing that the disciples would be many. Because He extended to everyone what had belonged especially to them, He comforts them by showing that they were becoming the cause of others’ salvation. After speaking in this way about their salvation and their sanctification through faith and the Sacrifice, He then speaks of harmony, and finally closes His discourse with it, having begun and ended with it. For at the beginning He says, “A new commandment I give you” ( c. xiii. 34 ); and here, Ver. 21. “So that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You.” Here again “as” does not indicate exact similarity in their case (for that degree of similarity was not possible for them), but only as much as was possible for human beings. It is just as when He says, “Be merciful, as your Father.” ( Luke vi. 36.) But what does “In Us” mean? In faith in Us. Because nothing offends everyone so much as divisions, He makes provision for them to be one. “Well then,” someone says, “did He accomplish this?” Certainly He accomplished it. For all who believe through the Apostles are one, though some were torn away from among them. Nor was He unaware of this: He even foretold it and showed that it came from people’s carelessness. “So that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” As He said at the beginning, “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” And how would this lead them to believe? “Because,” He says, “You are a God of peace.” So if they follow the same practices as those from whom they have learned, their hearers will recognize the teacher by the disciples. But if they quarrel, people will deny that they are disciples of a God of peace, and will refuse to believe that I have been sent by You, since I am not peaceable. Do you see how, right to the end, He demonstrates His unity of mind with the Father? Ver. 22. “And the glory You gave Me, I have given them.” The glory that comes through miracles, that which comes through doctrines, and that of being of one soul; for their being one is glory, and greater even than miracles. Just as people admire God because there is no strife or discord in That Nature, and this is His greatest glory, “so let these too,” He says, “become glorious for this reason.” “And how,” someone says, “does He ask the Father to give them this, when He says that He Himself gives it?” Whether He is speaking about miracles, unity of mind, or peace, He Himself is clearly seen to have given them these things. This makes it clear that He makes the request to comfort them. Ver. 23. “I in them, and You in Me.” “How did He give the glory?” By being in them and having the Father with Him, so as to weld them together. But elsewhere He does not speak this way. He does not say that the Father comes through Him, but “that He and the Father come and make Their home with him,” “there” removing the suspicion of Sabellius, “here” that of Arius. “So that they may be made perfect in unity, and that the world may know that You have sent Me.” ( c. xvii. 23.) He says these last words immediately after the others to show that peace has more power to attract people than a miracle does. For just as strife naturally separates, agreement naturally welds together. “And I have loved them as You have loved Me.” Here again “as” means as far as it is possible for a human being to be loved; and the sure proof of His love is His giving Himself for them. After telling them that they will be safe, that they will not be overthrown, that they will be holy, that many will believe through them, that they will enjoy great glory, and that the Father also loved them, as He Himself did, He next tells them what will follow their stay here: the prizes and crowns stored up for them. Ver. 24. “Father,” He says, “I want those whom You have given Me also to be with Me where I am.” “Then do You obtain through prayer something You do not yet possess—the very thing they continually asked about when they said, ‘Where are You going?’ What are You saying? How, then, did You tell them, ‘You will sit on twelve thrones’? ( Matt. xix. 28.) How did You promise other things, more numerous and greater?” Do you see that He says all this by accommodating Himself to them? Otherwise, how could He have said, “You will follow afterward”? ( c. xiii. 36.) He speaks this way to convince them more fully and demonstrate His love. “So that they may see My glory, which You have given Me.” This again is a sign of His being of one mind with the Father, a higher sign than the earlier ones, for He says, “Before the foundation of the world.” Yet it too involves a certain accommodation, for He says, “You have given Me.” Now if this is not so, I would gladly ask His opponents a question. Someone who gives gives to someone who already exists. Did the Father, then, first beget the Son and afterward give Him glory, having previously allowed Him to be without glory? How could this be reasonable? Do you see that “He gave” means “He begot”? [3.] But why did He not say, “So that they may share My glory,” instead of, “So that they may see My glory”? Here He implies that the whole of that rest consists of looking at the Son of God. This is certainly what causes them to be glorified, as Paul says, “With unveiled face mirroring the glory of the Lord.” ( 2 Cor. iii. 18.) For just as those who look at the sun’s rays and enjoy a very clear atmosphere find enjoyment in what they see, this will also give us pleasure then, and to a much greater degree. At the same time He also shows that what they would see was not the body they then saw, but some awe-inspiring Substance. Ver. 25. “O righteous Father, the world has not known You.” What does this mean? How is it connected? Here He shows that no one knows God except those who have come to know the Son. What He says amounts to this: “I wanted everyone to be like this, yet they have not known You, although they had no complaint against You.” For this is the meaning of “O righteous Father.” And here He seems to me to say these words in distress that they would not know One so just and good. Since the Jews had said that they knew God, but that He did not know Him, this is what He addresses when He says, “For You loved Me before the foundation of the world,” thus putting together a defense against the Jews’ accusations. For how could He who had received glory, who was loved before the foundation of the world, who wanted to have them as witnesses of that glory—how could He be opposed to the Father? “So what the Jews say is not true: that they know You and I do not know You. On the contrary, I know You, and they have not known You.” “And these have known that You have sent Me.” Do you see that He is referring to those who said He was not from God, and that everything is finally brought together to answer this argument? Ver. 26. “And I have made Your Name known to them, and will make it known.” “Yet You say that perfect knowledge comes from the Spirit.” “But the things of the Spirit are Mine.” “So that the love with which You have loved Me may remain in them, and I in them.” “For if they learn who You are, then they will know that I am not separated from You, but am one of those greatly loved, a true Son, and closely united with You. And those who are rightly convinced of this will maintain both their faith in Me and perfect love; and as they love as they ought, I remain in them.” Do you see how He has reached a good ending, finishing the discourse with love, the mother of all blessings? [4.] Let us, then, believe in and love God, so that it may not be said of us, “They profess to know God, but deny Him by their works.” ( Tit. i. 16.) And again, “He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” ( 1 Tim. v. 8.) For when the unbeliever helps his household members, relatives, and strangers, while you do not even help those related to you by birth, what excuse will you have when God is blasphemed and insulted because of you? Consider what opportunities God has given us to do good. “Have mercy on one,” He says, “as a relative, on another as a friend, on another as a neighbor, on another as a fellow citizen, on another as a human being.” And if none of these things restrains you, but you break through every bond, hear Paul tell you that you are “worse than an unbeliever.” For although he has heard nothing about giving to the poor or heavenly things, he has surpassed you in love for humanity. But you, who are commanded to love even your enemies, regard your friends as enemies and care more about your money than their bodies. Yet money will suffer no injury by being spent, while your brother will perish if neglected. What madness, then, to care about money and neglect your relatives! Where did this craving for riches come bursting in on us from? Where did this inhumanity and cruelty come from? For if someone could look down on the whole world as though seated on the highest bench of a theater—or rather, if you like, let us consider just one city for now—if someone seated high up could take in at a glance everything people there were doing, consider what folly he would condemn, what tears he would shed, how he would laugh, and how intensely he would hate. For our actions deserve laughter, the charge of folly, tears, and hatred alike. One man keeps dogs to catch wild animals, sinking into brutality himself. Another keeps oxen and donkeys to transport stones, but neglects people wasting away from hunger. He spends gold without limit to make men of stone, but neglects real men who are becoming like stones through their wretched condition. Another takes great pains to collect golden mosaic pieces and puts them around his walls, but is unmoved when he sees the bare bellies of the poor. Others devise garments to wear over their garments, while their brother has nothing even to cover his naked body. Again, one has swallowed up another in the law courts; another has spent his money on women and freeloaders; another on actors and theatrical troupes; another on magnificent buildings, on purchases of fields and houses. Again, one man calculates interest, another interest on interest; another draws up contracts full of many deaths, and enjoys no rest even at night, lying awake to plan harm to others. Then, when day comes, they run: one to his unjust profit, another to his reckless spending, others to public robbery. They put enormous effort into things that are unnecessary and forbidden, but pay no attention to what is necessary. Those who decide legal disputes have the title of jurors, but in reality are thieves and murderers. And if someone investigated lawsuits and wills, he would again find countless evils, frauds, robberies, and plots. They spend all their time on these things, but give no care to spiritual things, and they all burden the Church merely to watch. But this is not what is required; we need deeds and a pure mind. If you spend the whole day grasping for riches, and then come in and say a few words, you have not only failed to appease God, but have angered Him even more. If you want to win your Lord’s favor, show it by your deeds. Acquaint yourself with the mass of suffering; look at the naked, the hungry, the wronged. He has opened up countless ways for you to show love for humanity. Let us not deceive ourselves, then, by living aimlessly and to no purpose, or grow overconfident because we are now healthy. Instead, remembering how often, when we have fallen sick and reached the point of extreme weakness, we have been dead with fear and the expectation of what was coming, let us expect to find ourselves in that state again. Let us recover that same fear and become better people, since what is being done now deserves infinite condemnation. For those in the courts of justice are like lions and dogs; those in the public squares are like foxes. And even those who live at leisure do not use their leisure as they should, spending all their time on theaters and the evils that arise from them. No one rebukes what is being done. Instead, many envy them and resent not being in the same position, so that these people in turn are punished, even though they do not actually commit wicked deeds. For they “not only do these things, but also take pleasure in those who do them.” Their wills are equally corrupt, which makes it clear that intention too will be punished. I say these things every day, and I will not stop saying them. For if anyone listens, there is a gain. But if no one pays attention, you will hear these things when they can no longer help you, and you will blame yourselves, while we will be free from fault. But may we never have only this excuse to offer. May you instead be our boast before the judgment seat of Christ, so that together we may enjoy the blessings, through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, forever and ever. Amen.