Homilies on 2 Corinthians 16.1–16.4

"Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort; and we rejoiced the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all" [2 Cor 7:13]. See again how he heightens their praises and shows his love. For having said, "I was glad that the letter accomplished so much," and, "you gained so much" ("For I rejoice," he says, "not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance" [2 Cor 7:9]), and having shown his own love (for he says, "Although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did wrong, nor for the sake of the one who was wronged, but so that our earnestness for you might be made known to you" [2 Cor 7:12]), he now names another sign of their goodwill, which brings them great praise and shows the genuineness of their love: "For in your comfort we rejoiced the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus," he says. And yet surely this is not the part of one who loves them ardently, to rejoice more over that man than over them? Yes, it is, he says; for I was not so glad on his account as on yours. That is why he adds the reason too, saying, "Because his heart has been refreshed by you all." He did not say "he," but "his heart," that is, his love toward you. And how was it refreshed? "By you all." For this too is the greatest praise.

"For if I have boasted anything to him about you" [2 Cor 7:14]. Great is the praise when the teacher boasts; for he says, "I was not put to shame." Therefore I rejoiced, because you showed yourselves better and proved my words by your deeds. So that the honor to me is double: both that you made progress, and that I was not found to have fallen short of the truth. "But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus has proved to be truth." Here he hints at something else as well: that just as we spoke everything to you with truth (for it is likely that he had also said many things in praise of Titus to them), so too what we said about you to Titus has proved true. "And his inward affection is more abundantly toward you" [2 Cor 7:15]. This now is the language of one commending him, as being exceedingly inflamed and bound to them. And he did not say "his love," but "his inward affection." Then, so as not to seem to flatter, he everywhere lays down the causes of the friendship, so that, as I said, he may both escape the charge of flattery and urge them on the more, turning the praise back upon them and showing that they themselves laid in him the beginning and ground of such great love. For having said, "His inward affection is more abundantly toward you," he added, "while he remembers the obedience of you all." This shows Titus too to be grateful toward his benefactors, if indeed he came back carrying them all in his soul, and remembers them continually, and has them on his lips and in his mind. And again he adorns the Corinthians the more, because they so won him over before sending him away. Then he speaks of their obedience too, heightening their zeal; that is why he adds these words: "how with fear and trembling you received him." Not with love only, but with intense honor as well. Do you see how he bears witness to a twofold virtue in them: that they both loved him as a father and showed love to him as a ruler, while their love did not slacken their fear? He said this above too: "What earnestness your being grieved in a godly way worked in you, yes, what fear, yes, what longing!" [2 Cor 7:11].

"I rejoice therefore that in everything I have confidence in you" [2 Cor 7:16]. Do you see that he rejoices more on their account? Because you nowhere put your teacher to shame, he says, nor do you appear unworthy of my testimony. So he did not rejoice so much for Titus, because he enjoyed so much honor, as for them, because they showed such good feeling. For so that it might not be thought that he rejoiced more because of Titus, see how here too he lays down the reason. As above he said, "For if I have boasted anything to him about you, I was not put to shame," so here too: "that in everything I have confidence in you." Whether I must rebuke, I do not fear that you will break away; whether I must boast, I am not afraid of being refuted; whether I must praise you as obedient, or as loving, or as having zeal, I have confidence in you. I told you to cut him off, and you cut him off; I told you to receive him, and you received him; I said that you were great and admirable people in the presence of Titus, and knew how to reverence teachers: you showed these things true by your deeds. And he did not learn these things so much from me as from you. At any rate he came back an ardent lover of you, since you showed more than my words.

"Moreover, brothers, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia" [2 Cor 8:1]. Having lifted them up with praises, he again turns to exhortation. For this is why he mingled praises with the rebuke: so that, coming down from rebuke to exhortation, he might not make his word hard to accept, but having first smoothed their hearing, might thus prepare the way for the exhortation. For he wishes to discourse about almsgiving; that is why he said beforehand, "I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you," making them readier for this too from what they had already achieved. And he did not say at once, "Give alms, then"; but see his wisdom, how from far off and from a height he prepares the way for his word. "For we make known to you," he says, "the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia." So that they may not be puffed up, he calls the thing a grace; and by recounting the deeds of others, he makes these people more earnest through the praises of others. And he puts together two praises of the Macedonians, or rather three: that they bear trials nobly, that they know how to show mercy, and that they do so with understanding; for their possessions had been plundered. And he made this plain when he wrote to them: "For you became imitators," he says, "of the churches of God that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews" [1 Thess 2:14]. Hear what he said afterwards when writing to the Hebrews: "For you also accepted with joy the plundering of your possessions" [Heb 10:34]. He calls the thing a grace, not only to restrain them, but also to draw them on, and to make his word free from envy. That is also why he added the name "brothers," so as to cut off all jealousy; for he is about to praise those others beyond measure. Hear, then, the praises. Having said, "We make known to you the grace of God," he did not say, "which has been given in this city or that," but he praises the whole nation together, saying, "in the churches of Macedonia." Then he recounts the grace itself:

"That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy" [2 Cor 8:2]. Do you see his wisdom? He first says, not what he wishes to say, but something else before it, so that he may not seem to do this deliberately, but to come to it from another line of thought. "In a great trial of affliction." This he also said when writing to the Macedonians themselves: "You became imitators of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit" [1 Thess 1:6]; and again, "From you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has gone forth" [1 Thess 1:8]. And what is "in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy"? Both came to them beyond measure, he says, both the affliction and the joy. That is why the paradox was great, that so great an abundance of pleasure sprang up for them out of affliction. For the affliction not only did not bring forth grief, but became an occasion of gladness for them, and that though it was great. He said this to anoint them to be noble and unshaken in trials. For they were not simply afflicted, but in such a way as to become approved through their endurance; or rather, he does not say "through their endurance," but, what was more than endurance, "joy." And he does not say simply "joy," but "abundance of joy"; for great and unspeakable joy sprang up in them.

"And their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality." Again, both of these beyond measure. For as great affliction bore great joy, and abundance of joy, so great poverty bore great riches of almsgiving. For he showed this by saying, "abounded to the riches of their liberality." For generosity is judged not by the measure of what is given, but by the intention of those who give. That is why he nowhere speaks of the riches of what was given, but of "the riches of their liberality." What he says is this: not only did poverty not hinder their bounty, but it even became the occasion for their abounding, just as affliction became the occasion of their gladness. For the poorer they were, the more generous they were, and the more readily they gave. That is why he greatly admires them, because out of such poverty they showed such generosity. For "their deep poverty," that is, their great and unspeakable poverty, showed their liberality. But he did not say "showed," but "abounded"; and he did not say "liberality," but "the riches of liberality," that is, a liberality equal to the greatness of their poverty, or rather, they showed a far greater weight of bounty. Then he explains this more clearly, saying, "For according to their ability, I bear witness" [2 Cor 8:3] (the witness is trustworthy), "and beyond their ability"; that is, it "abounded to the riches of their liberality." Or rather, he shows it not by this alone, but by all that follows as well. "Of their own accord," he says. See another excess. ... "Begging us." See a fifth. "And while they were in affliction and poverty." This is a sixth. Both a seventh and an eighth. Then, since this is what he most wants to establish among the Corinthians, giving with free choice, he dwells most on it, saying, "with much entreaty" [2 Cor 8:4], and, "begging us." We did not beg them, but they begged us. Begging us for what? "The grace and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints." Do you see how he again exalts the thing, calling it by honorable names? For since they were zealous for spiritual gifts, he names it a "grace," so that they may run to it; and again "fellowship," so that they may learn that they receive, and do not only give. "This, then, they urged upon us," he says, "that we would take on such a ministry." "And not as we had hoped" [2 Cor 8:5]. He says this both with regard to the amount and with regard to the afflictions. For we would not have hoped, he says, that being in such affliction and poverty they would both press us and entreat us so much.

And he made plain their care for the rest of their life as well, saying, "But they first gave themselves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God." For in all things they obeyed more than we expected; nor, because they showed mercy, did they neglect the other virtues, but first "gave themselves to the Lord." What is, "They gave themselves to the Lord"? They dedicated themselves, they proved approved in the faith, they showed great courage in their trials, their orderliness, their gentleness, their love, their readiness and zeal in all other good things. What is, "and to us"? They became obedient to us, they loved us, they obeyed, both fulfilling the laws of God and being bound to us by love. And consider how here too he shows the intensity, saying, "They gave themselves to the Lord." They did not obey God in some things and the world in others, but gave everything to him, and gave themselves wholly to God. For it was not that, because they showed mercy, they grew proud; but with humility, much obedience, much honor, much philosophy, so they performed their almsgiving too. And what is, "by the will of God"? Since he said, "They gave themselves to us," he means that they did not do even this in a human way toward us, but did this too according to the mind of God.

"So that we urged Titus that, as he had begun before, so he would also complete among you this grace as well" [2 Cor 8:6]. And what sort of sequence is this? A close one, very much connected with what went before. For since we saw them so ardent, he says, and fervent in everything, in trials, in almsgiving, in their love for us, in the purity of the rest of their life, we sent Titus, so that you too might be made equal to them. He did not say it so, but he made it plain. Consider the excess of his friendship. While we were being entreated and asked by them, he says, we were anxious about your affairs, lest you should fall short of them. That is why we sent Titus, so that, roused and reminded from this quarter too, you might emulate the Macedonians. For Titus happened to be there when this letter was being written. And he shows that Titus had made a beginning of this before Paul's urging: "as he had begun before," he says. That is why he speaks great praises of him: at the beginning, "I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother" [2 Cor 2:13]; and here all that he has said, and this very thing too. For this too is no small praise, that he had begun beforehand; for this belongs to a warm and fervent soul. That is why he sent him, placing within them, through the presence of Titus, the strongest encouragement to give. That is why he also lifts him up with praises, wishing to bind the man more closely to the Corinthians. For this too is a great help in persuading, that the counselor be regarded with affection. And well, having mentioned almsgiving once, twice, and three times, he calls the thing a grace: now saying, "We make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia"; now, "of their own accord, with much entreaty begging us for the grace and the fellowship"; and again, "so that as he had begun before, so he would also complete among you this grace as well."

For it is a great good and a gift of God, which, when achieved, makes us like God himself as far as is possible; for this is above all what makes a human being. At any rate, someone giving the mark of a human being set down this: "For a man is a great thing, and a merciful man is precious" [Prov 20:6 LXX]. This grace is greater than raising the dead. For to feed Christ when he is hungry is far greater than to raise the dead in the name of Jesus: for here you do good to Christ, there he does good to you. And the reward lies in doing good, not in receiving good. For there, in the case of miracles, I mean, you are the one in debt to God; but in the case of almsgiving, you have God as your debtor. And it is almsgiving when it is done with readiness, when with bounty, when you do not think you are giving but receiving, when you give as one benefited, as one gaining and not losing; for otherwise it is not even a grace. For one who shows mercy to another ought to rejoice, not to be vexed. For how is it not absurd, if in relieving another's despondency you are despondent yourself? For you no longer allow it to be almsgiving. For if you are despondent because you freed another from despondency, you display a sign of the utmost cruelty and inhumanity; for it is better not to free him than to free him so. And why are you despondent at all, man? Lest your gold become less? If you have such a mind, do not give at all; if you are not confident that it is multiplied for you in heaven, do not offer it.

But you seek the repayment here. Why? Let almsgiving be almsgiving and not trade. Many, indeed, have received a return here as well; but they did not receive it in such a way as to have more on that account than those who received nothing here; rather, some of them received it as being weaker, since they were not much drawn by the things there. And just as greedy, ill-bred people, slaves of their belly, who are invited to a royal table and do not wait for the proper time, like little children spoil their own enjoyment by snatching beforehand and filling themselves with inferior food, so too these who seek and receive here lessen the reward there. Then, when you lend, you wish to get back the principal after a long time, and perhaps not even to get it back, so that the delay may make the interest greater; but here you demand it at once, and that though you are not going to be here, but there forever, and are not going to be judged here, but will give your account there? And if someone were building you houses where you were not going to stay, you would think the thing a loss; but now you wish to be rich here, from where you will often depart even before evening? Do you not know that we are living in a foreign land, as strangers and sojourners [Heb 11:13]? Do you not know that it is the lot of sojourners to be thrown out when they do not expect it or hope for it? This is what happens to us as well. For this very reason, whatever we build, we leave here. For the Master does not allow us to depart taking these things with us, whether we build houses, or buy fields, or slaves, or furniture, or anything else of the kind. And not only does he not let us depart taking them from here, but he does not even reckon you a reward; for he told you beforehand not to build or spend on what belongs to another, but on what is your own [Luke 16:12]. Why then, leaving what is yours, do you work and spend on what belongs to others, so as to lose both the labor and the reward and to suffer the utmost punishment? Do not, I beg you; but since we are sojourners by nature, let us become so by choice as well, so that there we may not become sojourners, dishonored and cast out. For if we wish to become citizens here, we shall be citizens neither here nor there; but if we remain sojourners, and live as it is fitting for sojourners to live, we shall receive the freedom of citizens both here and there. For the righteous man, even possessing nothing, will live here among the things of all men as among his own; and when he departs to heaven, he will see his eternal tents [Luke 16:9]. And here he will suffer nothing unpleasant (for no one will be able to make a stranger of the man who has the whole earth for his city), and having recovered his own fatherland, he will receive the true riches. So that we may gain both, then, the things here and the things there, let us use what we have as we ought. For so we shall be citizens of heaven and shall enjoy great boldness; which may we all attain, by the grace and lovingkindness, and so on.