Homilies on John, Homily 86

“Then the disciples went back to their own home. But Mary stood outside at the tomb, weeping.” [1.] Women are somehow full of emotion and more inclined to pity. I say this so that you will not wonder how Mary could weep bitterly at the tomb while Peter was not affected that way at all. For, it says, “The disciples went back to their own home”; but she stood shedding tears. This was because her nature was weak, and she did not yet clearly understand the account of the Resurrection; whereas they, having seen the linen cloths and believed, went back to their own homes in amazement. And why did they not go straight to Galilee, as they had been commanded before the Passion? Perhaps they were waiting for the others, and besides, they were still completely overwhelmed with amazement. They went on their way, then, but she stayed at the place, for, as I have said, even the sight of the tomb did much to comfort her. At any rate, you see her stooping down and wanting to look at the place where the body had lain, to ease her grief further. And so she received a great reward for her great devotion. For the woman was the first to see what the disciples had not seen: Angels sitting, one at the feet and the other at the head, dressed in white; even their clothing was full of radiance and joy. Since the woman’s mind had not risen far enough to accept the Resurrection on the evidence of the face cloths, something more happens: she sees something more—Angels sitting in shining clothes, to lift her for a while out of her intense sorrow and comfort her. They said nothing to her about the Resurrection, yet she is gently led toward this teaching. She saw bright, unfamiliar faces; she saw shining clothes; she heard a sympathetic voice. For what does (the Angel) say? Ver. 13. “Woman, why are you weeping?” Through all these things, as though a door were opening for her, she was led little by little to understand the Resurrection. And the way they were sitting invited her to question them, because they showed that they knew what had happened; that was also why they sat apart from each other instead of together. Since she was unlikely to dare to question them immediately, both their question and the way they sat drew her into conversation. What, then, does she say? She speaks with great warmth and affection: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” “What are you saying? Do you still know nothing about the Resurrection? Are you still imagining that He has been laid somewhere?” Do you see how she had not yet grasped this exalted teaching? Ver. 14. “And when she had said this, she turned around.” And how does it follow that, after speaking to them and before hearing anything from them, she turned around? I think that while she was speaking, Christ suddenly appeared behind her and filled the Angels with awe; when they saw their Ruler, they immediately showed by their bearing, their expression, and their movements that they saw the Lord. This caught the woman’s attention and made her turn around. That, then, was how He appeared to them, but He did not appear that way to the woman. To avoid frightening her at first sight, He appeared in a humbler, ordinary form, as is clear from her supposing that He was the gardener. Someone whose understanding was so limited needed to be led gently to higher things, rather than all at once. So He in turn asks her, Ver. 15. “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” This showed that He knew what she wanted to ask and prompted her to answer. The woman understood this and did not mention Jesus’ name again, but replied as though the person questioning her knew whom she was asking about: “Sir, if you have carried him away from here, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Again she speaks of laying down, taking away, and carrying, as though she were speaking of a corpse. But she means this: “If you have carried him away from here because you are afraid of the Jews, tell me, and I will take him.” The woman’s kindness and loving affection are great, but her understanding has not yet risen to anything higher. So He now makes the truth clear to her through His Voice, rather than His appearance. For just as He was sometimes recognized by the Jews and at other times went unrecognized even though He was present, so too, when speaking, He made Himself known when He chose. Likewise, when He said to the Jews, “Who are you looking for?” they recognized neither His Face nor His Voice until He chose. The same thing happened here. He spoke only her name, reproaching and blaming her for imagining such things about One who was alive. But how was it that, Ver. 16. “She turned around and says,” if He was already speaking to her? It seems to me that after saying, “Where have you laid him?” she turned to the Angels to ask why they were astonished. Then Christ, by calling her by name, turned her away from them toward Himself and revealed Himself by His Voice. For when He called her “Mary,” she recognized Him; so she recognized Him by His Voice, rather than His appearance. And if anyone says, “How is it clear that the Angels were awestruck and that this was why the woman turned around?” they will also say here, “How is it clear that she was going to touch Him and fall at His feet?” Now, just as the latter is clear from His saying, “Do not touch Me,” so the former is clear from the statement that she turned around. But why did He say, Ver. 17. “Do not touch Me”? [2.] Some assert that she was asking for spiritual grace because she had heard Him say while He was with the disciples, “If I go to the Father, ‘I will ask Him, and He will give you another Comforter.’” ( c. xiv. 3, 16.) But how could she have heard this when she was not there with the disciples? Besides, that interpretation is far from the meaning here. And how could she ask when He had not yet gone to the Father? What, then, does it mean? I think she still wanted to interact with Him as before, and in her joy she perceived nothing great in Him, although He had become far more excellent in the Flesh. To move her beyond this idea and have her speak to Him with great awe, He lifts her thoughts so that she will regard Him with greater reverence (for from this point on He does not appear as familiar as before even with the disciples). To have said, “Do not approach Me as you did before, for things have changed, and from now on I will not be with you in the same way,” would have sounded harsh and overbearing. But the saying, “I have not yet ascended to the Father,” though it was not painful to hear, declared the same thing. For by saying, “I have not yet ascended,” He shows that He is hurrying and pressing on toward that destination, and that it was not appropriate to regard One who was about to go there and no longer live among people with the same feelings as before. What follows shows that this is the case. “Go and tell the brothers that I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.” Yet He was not going to do this immediately, but after forty days. Why, then, does He say this? Because He wants to lift their minds and convince them that He is departing into the heavens. But “To My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” belongs to the Dispensation, since the “ascending” also belongs to His Flesh. For He speaks these words to someone whose thoughts had not risen high. “Is the Father, then, His in one way and ours in another?” He certainly is. For if He is God of the righteous in a different way from how He is God of other people, how much more is this true of the Son and us. Because He had said, “Tell the brothers,” He showed the difference so that they would not infer any equality from this. He was going to sit on His Father’s throne, while they would stand nearby. So although in His Subsistence according to the Flesh He became our Brother, in Honor He differed greatly from us—by more than words can express. Ver. 18. “So she leaves, bringing this news to the disciples.” Perseverance and endurance are so valuable. But why did they no longer grieve when He was about to leave, or speak as they had before? At that time they felt that way because they thought He was going to die; but now that He had risen again, what reason did they have to grieve? Moreover, Mary reported His appearance and His words, which were enough to comfort them. Now, when the disciples heard these things, they were likely either to disbelieve the woman or, if they believed her, to grieve that He had not considered them worthy to see Him, even though He had promised to meet them in Galilee. To keep them from dwelling on this and becoming distressed, He did not let even a single day pass. Their knowledge that He had risen and what they heard from the woman had made them long for Him. When they were thirsting to see Him and were very afraid (which itself made their longing especially strong), He appeared before them that evening, in a truly marvelous way. And why did He appear in the “evening”? Because that was probably when they would be especially afraid. But the marvel is that they did not suppose Him to be an apparition, for He entered suddenly, “when the doors were shut.” The main reason was that the woman had already inspired great faith in them; besides, He showed them His face, clear and gentle. He waited until after daytime so that they could all gather together. For their amazement was great: He did not even knock at the door, but suddenly stood among them and showed His side and His hands. At the same time, with His Voice He also calmed their tossing thoughts by saying, Ver. 19. “Peace be with you.” That is, “Do not be troubled.” At the same time He reminded them of what He had told them before the Crucifixion: “My peace I leave with you” ( c. xiv. 27 ); and again, “In Me you have peace, but” “in the world you will have suffering.” ( c. xvi. 33.) Ver. 20. “Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” Do you see His words becoming deeds? For what He had said before the Crucifixion—“I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy from you” ( c. xvi. 22 )—He now fulfilled in action. All these things led them to a thoroughly accurate faith. Since they were in a war with the Jews that allowed no truce, He kept repeating, “Peace be with you,” giving them this comfort to counterbalance the war. And so this was the first thing He said to them after the Resurrection (which is also why Paul continually says, “Grace and peace be with you”). To women He brings good news of joy, because that sex was in sorrow and had received sorrow as the first curse. So He gives each the appropriate good news: peace to men because of their war, and joy to women because of their sorrow. Then, after removing everything painful, He tells them of the victories of the Cross, and these were the “peace.” “Since all obstacles have now been removed,” He says, “and I have made My victory glorious, and everything has been accomplished,” (then He says afterward,) Ver. 21. “As My Father has sent Me, so I send you.” “You face no difficulty, because of what has already happened and because of My dignity as the One who sends you.” Here He lifts their spirits and shows them what great reason they have for confidence, since they are about to undertake His work. He no longer appeals to the Father, but gives them power with authority. For, Ver. 22, 23. “He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whoever’s sins you retain are retained.” Just as a king sending out governors gives them power to imprison and release, so Christ, in sending these men out, invests them with the same power. But how can He say, “If I do not go away, He will not come” ( c. xvi. 7 ), and yet give them the Spirit? Some say that He did not give them the Spirit, but prepared them to receive It by breathing on them. For if Daniel was afraid when he saw an Angel, how much would they have suffered when they received that indescribable Gift if He had not first trained them? That is why He did not say, “You have received the Holy Spirit,” but, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Yet it would not be wrong to say that even then they received some spiritual power and grace: not to raise the dead or work miracles, but to forgive sins. For the gifts of the Spirit are of different kinds. That is why He added, “Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven them,” showing what kind of power He was giving. But on the other occasion, after forty days, they received the power to work miracles. That is why He says, “You will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea.” ( Acts i. 8.) And they became witnesses through miracles, for the grace of the Spirit is beyond description, and the gift takes many forms. But this happens so that you may learn that the gift and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is One. For things that appear to belong particularly to the Father are also seen to belong to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. “How, then,” someone says, “does no one come to the Son ‘unless the Father draws him’?” ( c. vi. 44.) Why, this very thing is shown to belong to the Son as well. “I,” He says, “am the Way: no one comes to the Father except through Me.” ( c. xiv. 6.) And notice that it belongs to the Spirit too, for “No one can call Jesus Christ Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” ( 1 Cor. xii. 3.) Again, we see that the Apostles were given to the Church in one instance by the Father, in another by the Son, and in another by the Holy Spirit, and that the “varieties of gifts” ( 1 Cor. xii. 4 ) belong to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [4.] Let us, then, do all we can to have the Holy Spirit with us, and let us greatly honor those into whose hands its work has been entrusted. For priests have great dignity. It says, “Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven them”; that is why Paul also says, “Obey those who rule over you, and submit to them.” ( Heb. xiii. 17.) And hold them in the very highest honor. For you concern yourself with your own affairs, and if you manage them well, you give no account for others. But even if the priest lives his own life rightly, if he does not take great care over yours, and indeed over the lives of everyone around him, he will go to hell with the wicked. Often, even when his own conduct does not bring him down, he perishes because of yours, if he has not fully done his part. Knowing, then, how great the danger is, give them a generous share of your goodwill. Paul also indicated this when he said, “For they watch over your souls,” and not merely that, but “as those who will give an account.” ( Heb. xiii. 17.) They should therefore receive great care from you. But if you join the others in trampling on them, your own affairs will not go well either. For as long as the person at the helm remains in good spirits, the crew will be safe too. But if their insults and hostility wear him out, he cannot keep watch as well or maintain his skill, and without intending to, he plunges them into ten thousand troubles. So too, if the priest receives honor from you, he will be able to manage your affairs well. But if you drive them to despair, you weaken their hands and make both them and yourselves easy prey for the waves, even if they are very courageous. Consider what Christ says about the Jews: “The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; therefore do everything they tell you to do.” ( Matt. xxiii. 2, 3.) Now we must say that priests sit in Christ’s seat, rather than Moses’ seat, for they have received His teaching in succession. That is also why Paul says, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were appealing to you through us.” ( 2 Cor. v. 20.) Do you not see that everyone bows to Gentile rulers, often including people who surpass those judging them in family background, conduct, and intelligence? Yet because of the one who appointed them, they set all these things aside and respect their governor’s decision, whoever receives authority over them. Is there such fear, then, when a human being appoints someone, while when God appoints, we despise the person appointed, abuse him, and smear him with ten thousand accusations? And although we are forbidden to judge our brothers, do we sharpen our tongues against our priests? How can this be excused, when we fail to see the beam in our own eye but scrutinize the speck in someone else’s with such bitterness? Do you not know that by judging this way you make your own judgment harsher? I say this without approving of those who exercise their priesthood unworthily; I deeply pity them and weep for them. Yet I do not therefore grant that it is right for those under their authority to judge them. And even if their lives are widely criticized, if you pay attention to yourself, you will suffer no harm at all regarding the things God has entrusted to them. For if He caused a donkey to speak and bestowed spiritual blessings through a diviner, working through Balaam’s foolish mouth and impure tongue on behalf of the sinning Jews, much more will He, for the sake of you who are right-minded, carry out all that belongs to Him and send the Holy Spirit, even if the priests are utterly vile. For even a pure man does not bring down that Spirit through his own purity; grace does everything. “For all,” it says, “is for your sake, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas.” ( 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23.) For the things placed in the priest’s hands are God’s alone to give, and however far human wisdom may reach, it will prove inferior to that grace. I say this so that when some of those set over you live carelessly, you who are under their authority will not repeatedly pile up evil for yourselves; I do not say it to encourage us to live carelessly ourselves. But why speak of priests? Neither an Angel nor an Archangel can do anything concerning what God gives; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit distribute everything, while the priest lends his tongue and provides his hand. For it would not be just for those who come in faith to the symbols of their salvation to suffer harm through someone else’s wickedness. Knowing all these things, let us fear God and honor His priests, showing them every reverence, so that both for our own good deeds and for the care we show them, we may receive a great reward from God, through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, and honor, now and always, forever and ever. Amen.