Homilies on Matthew, Homily 89

“Now the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered before Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while He was still alive, After three days I will rise again. So command that the tomb be secured until the third day, so that His disciples do not come and steal Him away and tell the people, He has risen from the dead. Then the last deception will be worse than the first.” Everywhere deceit turns against itself and supports the truth against its will. Notice this. People needed to believe that He died, that He rose again, and that He was buried, and His enemies establish all these things. See how these words testify to every one of these facts. “We remember,” they say, “that that deceiver said, when He was still alive,” (so He was now dead), “After three days I rise again. So command that the tomb be sealed,” (so He was buried), “so that His disciples do not come and steal Him away.” So if the tomb is sealed, there can be no fraud. There could not be. So what you have put forward has made the proof of His resurrection indisputable. Because it was sealed, there was no fraud. But if there was no fraud and the tomb was found empty, it is clear and indisputable that He has risen. Do you see how, even against their will, they fight to prove the truth? But notice, please, the disciples’ love of truth: they hide from us nothing His enemies say, even when they use insulting language. Look: they even call Him a deceiver, and these men do not keep silent about that. These things also show their savagery (they did not let go of their anger even at His death), and these men’s straightforward and truthful character. But it would also be worth asking where He said, “After three days I rise again.” You would not find this stated so explicitly, but rather the example of Jonah. So they understood His saying and deliberately acted dishonestly. What, then, does Pilate say? “You have a guard; make it as secure as you can. And they secured it, sealing the tomb and posting the guard.” He does not let the soldiers seal it alone, because, having learned about Christ, he was no longer willing to cooperate with them. But to get rid of them, he puts up with this too and says, “Seal it yourselves however you wish, so that you cannot blame others.” For if only the soldiers had sealed it, they might have said (although the claim would have been implausible and false, still, just as they threw shame aside in everything else, they might have done so here too) that the soldiers had allowed the body to be stolen and given His disciples the opportunity to invent the story of His resurrection. But now that they have secured it themselves, they cannot say even this. Do you see how they work for the truth against their will? They themselves came to Pilate, made the request themselves, and sealed it themselves, posting the guard, so that they accuse and refute one another. And when could they have stolen Him? On the Sabbath? And how? They were not even allowed to go out. And even if they broke the law, how would men so timid have dared to come out? And how could they have persuaded the crowd? By saying what? By doing what? What kind of zeal could have led them to stand up for the dead? What reward were they expecting? What repayment? They had fled when they saw Him still alive and merely arrested. After His death, were they likely to speak boldly for Him unless He had risen again? How could that make sense? This makes it clear that they were neither willing nor able to invent a resurrection that had not happened. He spoke to them at length about a resurrection and kept saying, as these very men have stated, “After three days I rise again.” So if He had not risen again, it is quite clear that these men (having been deceived, made enemies of an entire nation for His sake, and left without a home or a city) would have hated Him. They would not have wanted to give Him such glory, since they had been deceived and had fallen into the greatest dangers on His account. Indeed, it does not even take an argument to show that they could not have invented the resurrection unless it had been real. What gave them confidence? Their clever arguments? No, they were the least educated of all men. Their great wealth? No, they had neither a staff nor shoes. Their distinguished ancestry? No, they were lowly men of lowly ancestry. The greatness of their homeland? No, they came from obscure places. Their numbers? No, there were no more than eleven of them, and they were scattered. Their Master’s promises? What promises? If He had not risen again, they would hardly have trusted those either. And how could they have faced a frenzied people? If their leader could not endure the words of a woman keeping the door, and all the others scattered when they saw Him bound, how could they have thought of running to the ends of the earth and spreading an invented story of a resurrection? If he could not stand a woman’s threat, and they could not stand even the sight of chains, how could they stand against kings, rulers, and nations, where there were swords, gridirons, furnaces, and ten thousand deaths every day, unless they had the help of the power and grace of Him who rose again? So many miracles, and such great ones, had been done, and the Jews paid no attention to any of them but crucified Him who had done them. Were they likely to believe these men merely on their word about a resurrection? These things are not so; they are not so. The power of Him who rose again brought them about. 2. But notice, please, how ridiculous their cunning is. “We remember,” they say, “that that deceiver said, while He was still alive, After three days I rise again.” Yet if He was a deceiver who boastfully spoke lies, why are you afraid, running back and forth, and taking so much trouble? We are afraid, they reply, that the disciples might steal Him away and deceive the crowd. Yet this has been proved completely implausible. Malice, however, is quarrelsome and shameless and attempts what is unreasonable. And they order it secured for three days, fighting for their doctrines and intending to prove that He had been a deceiver before that time too, and they extend their malice even to His tomb. This is why He rose sooner: so that they could not say He had spoken falsely and had been stolen. His rising sooner gave them no grounds for accusation, but rising later would have aroused great suspicion. For if He had risen only after they had left at the end of the three days, instead of while they were sitting there keeping watch, they would have had something to say against it, however foolishly. That is why He acted ahead of the appointed time. It was right for the resurrection to take place while they were sitting there keeping watch. It was therefore also right for it to take place within the three days, since if it had happened after they had passed and the men had left, the matter would have been viewed with suspicion. That is also why He allowed them to seal it as they wished, and soldiers sat around it. They had no concern about doing these things and working on a Sabbath day. They had only one thing in view: their own wicked purpose, as though that would bring them success. This showed their extreme foolishness and the fear that was now overwhelming them. Those who arrested Him while He was alive are afraid of Him when He is dead. Yet if He had been merely a man, they would have had reason to take courage. But so that they might learn that, while alive too, He willingly endured what He endured, look: there is a seal, a stone, and a guard, and they could not hold Him. There was only one result: His burial became publicly known, and this proved His resurrection. For soldiers sat beside it, and Jews were keeping watch. “But at the end of the Sabbath, as dawn approached on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And look, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, came and rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb, and sat on it. His face was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.” The angel came after the resurrection. Why, then, did he come and take away the stone? Because of the women, for they themselves had seen Him in the tomb at His burial. So, to help them believe that He had risen again, they saw the tomb empty of His body. This is why he removed the stone, and why an earthquake took place: to rouse them fully and wake them up. They had come to pour oil on Him, and these things happened at night, so some of them had probably grown drowsy. And why, for what purpose, does he say, “You need not be afraid”? First he frees them from dread, and then he tells them of the resurrection. The “you” shows them great honor and indicates that extreme punishment awaits those who dared to do what the others had dared, unless they repent. He means that fear is for those who crucified Him, not for you. After freeing them from fear both by his words and by his appearance (for he appeared radiant, since he brought such good news), he went on to say, “I know that you seek Jesus the Crucified.” And he is not ashamed to call Him “crucified,” for this is the greatest of blessings. “He has risen.” How is that clear? “As He said.” He means: if you refuse to believe me, remember His words, and then you will not disbelieve me either. Then comes another proof: “Come and see the place where He lay.” This is why he had lifted away the stone, so that they could receive proof from this too. “And tell His disciples that you will see Him in Galilee.” He prepares them to bring good news to others, which helped them believe more than anything else. And He was right to say “in Galilee,” freeing them from troubles and dangers so that fear would not hinder their faith. “And they left the tomb with fear and joy.” Why was this? They had seen something astonishing and unexpected: an empty tomb where they had previously seen Him laid. This is also why He had led them to see it: so that they could become witnesses to both things, His tomb and His resurrection. They reasoned that no one could have taken Him while so many soldiers sat beside Him, unless He had raised Himself. This is also why they rejoice and marvel and receive the reward for staying with Him so faithfully: they are the first to see and joyfully announce not only what had been said, but also what they had seen. 3. Then, after they had left with fear and joy, “Look, Jesus met them, saying, Greetings.” But “they held Him by the feet,” and ran to Him with overwhelming joy and gladness. Through touch too, they received unmistakable proof and full assurance of the resurrection. “And they worshiped Him.” What, then, does He say? “Do not be afraid.” Again, He Himself drives out their fear, making way for faith: “But go, tell my brothers to go into Galilee, and there they will see me.” Notice how He Himself sends good news to His disciples through these women, bringing honor and good hopes, as I have often said, to the sex that was most dishonored, and healing what was diseased. Perhaps one of you would like to be like them and hold Jesus’ feet. You can even now, and not only His feet and hands: you can even take hold of that sacred head by receiving the awe-inspiring mysteries with a pure conscience. And not only here: on that day too you will see Him coming with that indescribable glory and the multitude of angels, if you are willing to show compassion. And you will hear not only these words, “Greetings!” but also those others: “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world.” So be compassionate, so that you may hear these things. And you women who wear gold, who have seen these women running, give up at last, however late, the disease of craving gold ornaments. So if you want to imitate these women, change the ornaments you wear and clothe yourselves instead with almsgiving. What use, I ask you, are these precious stones and garments glittering with gold? “My soul,” you say, “is glad and pleased with these things.” I asked you about the benefit, but you tell me about the harm. Nothing is worse than being absorbed in these things, delighting in them, and being chained to them. This terrible slavery is all the more bitter when someone even delights in being a slave. How will a woman ever give spiritual matters the attention she should, or laugh scornfully at the things of this world as she should, when she thinks being chained in gold is a reason to rejoice? Someone who stays in prison and enjoys it will never want to be freed, and neither will this woman. Having become a kind of prisoner of this wicked desire, she will not tolerate even listening to spiritual teaching with the desire and attention it deserves, much less putting it into practice. What, then, is the benefit of these ornaments and this luxury? Tell me, please. “I enjoy them,” you say. Again you have described the harm and ruin. “But I also receive,” you say, “great honor from those who see me.” And what is that? It is a cause of further destruction, when you become puffed up with pride and arrogance. Come now, since you have not told me the benefit, bear with me while I tell you the harms. What harms come from it? Anxiety greater than the pleasure. This is why many onlookers, I mean those of the coarser sort, get more pleasure from it than the woman wearing the gold. You adorn yourself with anxiety, while they feast their eyes without it. There are other things too: the degradation of the soul and the envy directed at you from every side. Neighboring women, stung by it, turn against their own husbands and stir up bitter wars against you. Along with these things, all your free time and concern are spent on this one object, and you do not devote yourself earnestly to spiritual achievements. You become full of pride, arrogance, and craving empty praise; you are chained to the earth, lose your wings, and become a dog or a pig instead of an eagle. Having given up looking up to Heaven and flying there, you bend down to the earth like a pig, preoccupied with mines and caverns, with an unmanly and degraded soul. But do you turn the eyes of people in the marketplace toward you when you appear? Well, for that very reason you should not wear gold, so that you do not become a public spectacle and give many accusers a chance to speak. None of those who look at you admires you. They mock you as a woman obsessed with clothing, boastful, and carnal. And if you enter a church, you leave having gained nothing but countless leering looks, insults, and curses, not only from those who see you but also from the prophet. For Isaiah, whose voice is the strongest of all, will cry out as soon as he sees you, “This is what the Lord says against the princely daughters of Zion: because they walked with their necks held high, winking their eyes, trailing their garments as they walked and taking dainty steps with their feet, the Lord will take away their finery, and instead of a sweet smell there will be dust, and instead of a decorated bodice, you will tie a cord around yourself.” This is what your splendid clothing brings you. These words are addressed not only to them, but to every woman who acts like them. And Paul joins him as an accuser, telling Timothy to instruct women “not to adorn themselves with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or expensive clothing.” So wearing gold is harmful everywhere, but especially when you enter a church and pass through the poor. If you were doing your utmost to bring an accusation against yourself, you could wear nothing more fitting than this display of cruelty and inhumanity. 4. Just consider how many hungry bellies you pass by in this clothing, how many naked bodies you pass with this satanic display. How much better to feed hungry souls than to pierce your earlobes and hang from them the food of countless poor people, for no purpose or benefit. What? Is being rich a recommendation? What? Is wearing gold a reason for praise? Even if what you wear comes from honest earnings, what you have done is still a very serious charge against you. But when it also comes from dishonesty, consider how enormously serious that charge is. But do you love praise and honor? Then take off this ridiculous clothing, and everyone will admire you. Then you will enjoy both honor and pure pleasure, since at present you are overwhelmed with mockery and create many causes of distress for yourself through these things. If any of them goes missing, consider how many evils arise from it: how many female servants are beaten, how many men are put through trouble, how many are led to execution, how many are thrown into prison. From this come trials, lawsuits, and countless curses and accusations from the husband against the wife, from her friends against the husband, and from the soul against itself. “But it will not be lost.” First, that is not easy to guarantee. But even if it is always kept safe, keeping it causes great anxiety, worry, and discomfort, and brings no benefit. What benefit does it bring the household? What advantage does it bring the woman wearing it? No advantage, but much impropriety and accusations from every side. How will you be able to kiss Christ’s feet and cling to them dressed like this? He turns away from this adornment. This is why He chose to be born in the carpenter’s house—or rather, not even in that house, but in a shed and a manger. How, then, will you be able to look at Him when you lack the beauty He desires and wear clothing He hates instead of clothing He finds lovely? Anyone who comes to Him must clothe himself in virtue instead of dressing himself in such garments. Consider what these jewels really are. Nothing but earth and ashes. Mix water with them, and they are clay. Think about this, and be ashamed of making clay your master, abandoning everything and clinging to it, carrying it around even when you enter a church, where you should flee from it most of all. The church was built for you to display spiritual riches there, not these riches. But you adorn yourself all over as though entering a grand procession, imitating women on the stage, and carry around this ridiculous mass in abundance. That is why, I tell you, your coming harms many people. When the congregation is dismissed, you can hear most of them describing these things in their homes and at their tables. They have stopped saying, the prophet and the apostle said this or that. Instead, they describe the expense of your garments, the size of your precious stones, and all the other improprieties of those who wear these things. This makes you and your husbands reluctant to give alms. One of you would not readily agree to break up one of these ornaments to feed a poor man. If you would choose to suffer hardship yourself rather than see these things broken into pieces, how could you sacrifice them to feed someone else? Most women feel about these things as though they were living beings, and care for them no less than for their children. “God forbid,” you say. Then prove it to me; prove it by your actions, since at present I see the opposite. Which of those who are completely captive to these things has ever melted them down to rescue a child’s soul from death? And why do I say a child’s? Who has redeemed his own soul with them when it was perishing? On the contrary, most even put their soul up for sale for these things every day. If any bodily illness occurs, they do everything they can. But if they see their soul becoming corrupt, they take no such trouble. They neglect both their children’s souls and their own, so that these things can remain and corrode with time. And while you wear jewels worth ten thousand talents, a member of Christ does not have even the food he needs. While the common Lord of all has given everyone an equal share of heaven, the things in Heaven, and the spiritual table, you do not give Him a share even of perishable things, so that you can remain forever bound by these terrible chains. From this come countless evils; from this come men’s acts of sexual immorality, when you prepare them to cast off self-restraint and teach them to delight in the things prostitutes use to adorn themselves. This is why they are so quickly taken captive. If you had taught him to look down on these things and to delight in chastity, godly fear, and humility, he would not have been so easily struck by the arrows of sexual immorality. A prostitute can adorn herself in this way even more lavishly, but she cannot do the same with those other ornaments. So accustom him to delight in the ornaments he cannot see on a prostitute. And how will you form this habit in him? By taking these off and putting on those others. Then your husband will be safe, you will be honored, God will look on you with favor, everyone will admire you, and you will attain the good things to come, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.