Homilies on 2 Corinthians 22.1–23.1

"Do you look at things according to outward appearance? If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again from himself, that as he is Christ's, so also are we" [2 Cor 10:7]. What one might especially admire in Paul, among other things, is this: that having fallen into a great necessity of exalting himself, he achieves both this very thing and not seeming burdensome to the many because of this self-praise; which one may see above all in the letter to the Galatians. For there too, having fallen into such a subject, he takes care of both of these; which is among the very hardest things and needs much wisdom: he both is moderate and says something great about himself. And consider how here too he does it.

"Do you look at things according to outward appearance?" See his wisdom here too. Having rebuked those who deceive them, he did not stop his word at them, but leaps from them to these as well; and he does this continually. For he attacks not only those who corrupt, but also those who have been deceived. For if he had let them go unaccountable, they would not have been corrected so easily by what was said to others, but would even have been greatly puffed up, as not liable to any charge. That is why he attacks them too. And not only is this admirable in him, but also that he rebukes each in a fitting way. Hear, at any rate, what he says to these: "Do you look at things according to outward appearance?" The charge is not small, but very great. How? Because the race of men is easily deceived, he says. What he says is this: You judge from what appears, from fleshly things, from bodily things. What is "from what appears"? If someone is rich, if someone is puffed up, if someone is surrounded by many flatterers, if someone says great things about himself, if someone is vainglorious, if someone feigns virtue without having virtue; for this is "Do you look at things according to outward appearance?" "If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again from himself, that as he is Christ's, so also are we." For he does not wish to be vehement from the outset, but grows little by little and reaches a climax. And consider here the great sharpness, and the great hint contained in it. For "from himself" is the language of one who indicates [more]. For let him not wait, he says, to learn from us, that is, through our rebuke against him; but let him reckon this from himself, "that as he is Christ's, so also are we": not that he was Christ's in the same way as that man, but "as he is Christ's, so I too am Christ's." In this respect there is fellowship; for it is not that he is Christ's and I someone else's.

And having set down this equality, he adds the superiority too, saying, "For even if I boast somewhat more about the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for casting down, I will not be put to shame" [2 Cor 10:8]. For since he was about to say something great, see how he softens it. For nothing so offends most hearers as someone praising himself. That is why, cutting off the heaviness, he says this: "For even if I boast somewhat more." And he did not say, "If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him reckon that he is far from us; for I have great authority from him, so as to punish and kill whomever I wish"; but what? "For even if I boast somewhat more." And yet he had unspeakable authority; but nevertheless he contracts it in his words. And he did not say, "I boast," but "if I boast," "if I wish to," being at once moderate and showing his superiority. "If, then, I boast," he says, "about the authority which the Lord gave me." Again he ascribes the whole to him and makes the gift common. "For building up and not for casting down." Do you see how again he soothes the envy that comes from praise, and draws the hearer on, by stating the use for which he received it? And how does he say, "casting down reasonings"? Because this very thing is above all a kind of building up: removing obstacles, refuting what is rotten, and putting together what is true. "For building up." For this, then, we received it, that we might build up. But if anyone fights and makes war and is incurable, we shall use the other operation too, casting him down and overthrowing him. That is why he says, "I will not be put to shame," that is, [even when casting down.]

"That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, he says, are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account. Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such are we also in deed when present" [2 Cor 10:9–11]. What he says is this: I could boast; but so that they may not say the same things again, that I brag when I write and am contemptible when present, I will say nothing great. And yet later he did speak, but not about this power through which he was formidable, but about revelations, and still more about trials. "So that I may not seem to terrify you, let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such are we also in deed when present." For since they said that he writes great things about himself, but when present is worth nothing, he therefore says this, and that too in a restrained way. For he did not say, "As we write great things, so we do great things when present," but rather in a subdued manner. For when he was speaking to those others, he set it down vehemently, saying, "I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with the confidence with which I count on daring against some"; but when to these, he lowered his tone. That is why he says, "what we are when present and when absent," that is, lowly, restrained, nowhere boasting. And this is plain from what follows: "For we do not dare to class or compare ourselves with some" [2 Cor 10:12].

["... of those who commend themselves."] Here he shows that those others are boasters, speaking great things about themselves; and he ridicules them as commending themselves. But we do nothing of the kind, he says; but if we have done anything great, we refer it all to God, and compare ourselves with one another. That is why he added, "But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding." What he says is this: we do not compare ourselves with those men, but with one another. For further on he said, "I am in nothing behind the super-apostles" [2 Cor 11:5; 12:11]; and in the first letter, "I labored more abundantly than they all" [1 Cor 15:10]; and again, "The signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all endurance" [2 Cor 12:12]. So we compare ourselves with ourselves, not with those who have nothing; for such arrogance belongs to folly. Either, then, he says this about himself, or about those others: "We do not dare to compare ourselves with those who vie with one another and boast great things, and are without understanding," that is, do not perceive how ridiculous they are in such bragging, exalting themselves among one another.

"But we will not boast beyond measure" [2 Cor 10:13], as these do. For it is likely that they bragged, saying, "We have converted the world, we have reached the ends of the earth," and spoke many other such big words. But not so we, he says; "but according to the measure of the rule which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you." So that on both sides his humility shines: both that he [boasted of nothing more than he had done,] and that he ascribes this very thing to God. "For according to the measure of the rule," he says, "which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you." As one dividing a vineyard among husbandmen, so he marked out our portion for us. As far, then, as we were counted worthy to reach, so far we boast. "For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach to you; for we came even as far as you in the gospel of Christ" [2 Cor 10:14]. We did not simply come; we set things right. For it is likely that those men, simply arriving among the disciples of the apostles, reckoned the whole to themselves from their bare visit. But not so we; nor could anyone say that we were not able to come as far as you, and only by word extend our boasting as far as you; for we preached the word to you too. "Not boasting beyond measure in other men's labors; but having hope that, as your faith increases, we shall be enlarged among you according to our rule abundantly, so as to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, not to boast in another's rule of things made ready to hand" [2 Cor 10:15–16]. From this he shows a great accusation against those men: that they boasted beyond measure, and in what belonged to others, and that the sweat was all the apostles', while they prided themselves on those men's labors. But we, he says, have shown these things by deeds. We will not, then, imitate those men, but we will say those things to which our deeds bear witness. And why do I speak of you, he says? "For I have hope that as your faith increases"; for he does not declare it simply, following his own character, but, "I hope," he says, "as you advance, that our rule will be extended still further, so as to preach the gospel in the regions beyond." For we shall go on still further, he says, so as to preach and toil, not so as to brag in words about what others labored at. And well he called it a rule and a measure, as one who had come to take possession of the world, a most excellent inheritance, and showing the whole to be the work of God. Having, then, such works, he says, and expecting greater, we do not brag, as those men do who have nothing, nor do we reckon anything to ourselves, but the whole to God. That is why he adds, "But he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord" [2 Cor 10:17; Jer 9:24]. And this too, he says, comes to us from God. "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends" [2 Cor 10:18]. He did not say, "We are," but "the one whom the Lord commends." Do you see how restrained his language is? And if further on he rises to loftier things, do not wonder; for this too belongs to Paul's wisdom. For if he had been going to speak humbly everywhere, he would not have struck those men so, nor freed the disciples from their error. For one can do harm by being moderate out of season, and help by saying something wonderful about oneself in season. Just as he himself did. For there was no small danger that the disciples might be persuaded of something bad about Paul; not because Paul sought glory from men. For if he had sought it, he would not have kept silent so long a time about those great and wonderful things of fourteen years before [2 Cor 12:2]; nor, when necessity pressed, would he have drawn back so and hesitated to speak. And it is plain that he would not have spoken even then, if [he had not been compelled.] So then he did not seek glory from men [but cared for the disciples]. For since they slandered him as a boaster who bragged in words but could show nothing in deeds, he is at last compelled to come to those revelations. And yet, though he could persuade them by deeds when he was saying these things, nevertheless he uses the threat in words. For both his former life and his later one were utterly free of vainglory. For this reason, at any rate, he changed sides all at once, and having changed, confounded the Jews, and threw away all that honor from them, [though he was their leader.] But he gave no thought to any of these things once he had found the truth, but took in exchange their insults and dishonors; for he looked to the salvation of the many, counting this as everything. For a man who counted neither hell nor the kingdom as anything, nor ten thousand worlds, compared with his longing for Christ, how would he hunt after glory from the many? Not at all; but he is even very humble when he may be, and publishes his former life as on a pillar, calling himself a blasphemer and persecutor and insolent man [1 Tim 1:13]. And his disciple Luke says much about him, having learned it from him, as he exposed his former life no less than the later one. And I say these things not that we may only hear, but that we may also learn.

For if that man remembered the offenses committed before the washing, though they had all been blotted out, what pardon could we have, who do not remember those committed after the washing? What do you say, man? You have offended God, and you forget? This is a second offense, a second enmity. For what sins, then, do you ask release? Those which you do not even know yourself? Yes indeed. For you are not anxious and concerned about how you will give account, you who do not even take pains to remember them, but play with things that are not for play. But there will be a time when play will no longer go forward for us. For we must certainly die (for because of the great insensibility of the many one must speak even about what is obvious), and certainly rise again, and certainly be judged, and be punished; or rather, this last not certainly, if we are willing. For of those things we are not masters, neither of our death, nor of our resurrection, nor of the judgment, but our Master is; but of paying the penalty, or not, we are masters; for this is among the things that may or may not happen. But if we are willing, we shall make it impossible, as Paul did, as Peter, as all the saints; for it is impossible for them to be punished. If, then, we are willing, it is likewise impossible for us to suffer anything. For even if we have committed countless offenses, it is possible to recover ourselves as long as we are here. Let us recover ourselves, then. And let the old man consider that a little later he will depart, since he has had his fill of luxury in his youth (though what sort of luxury is it to live in vice? But for now I speak according to his opinion); let him consider, after this, that he can wash away the whole in a short time. Let the young man in turn consider the uncertainty of death, and that often, while many older men remain here, the young are carried off before them. For so that we might not make a business of our death, it lies in uncertainty. That is why a certain wise man exhorts us, saying, "Do not wait to turn to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day" [Sir 5:7]; "for you do not know what the coming day will bring forth" [Prov 27:1]. For from putting off come danger and fear, but from not putting off, a salvation that is clear and safe. Hold fast, then, to virtue. For so, even if you depart young, you will have departed safely; and if you come to old age, you will have departed with great wealth; and you will keep a double festival through your whole life, both abstaining from vice and laying hold of virtue. Do not say, "There will be a time when I must turn"; for these words greatly provoke God. Why? Because he has promised you endless ages, while you are not willing to toil even through the present life, this short and temporary one, but are so slack and unmanly as to seek one shorter even than this. Are not the revels the same every day? Are not the tables the same? Are not the harlots the same, the theaters the same, the money the same? How long will you love these things as though they were something? How long will you have an insatiable desire for vice? Consider that [as often as you have committed sexual immorality, so often you have condemned yourself.] For such is sin: no sooner is it done than [sentence is passed. Have you been drunk, or gluttonous,] or have you robbed? Stop now, turn back the other way, give thanks to God that he did not snatch you away in the midst of your sins; do not seek another term for doing evil. Many [have been snatched away] in the midst [of their greed and have gone to] a manifest penalty. Fear lest you too suffer this without excuse. "But God has given many a term, and to confess in extreme old age." What then? Will he give it to you as well? "Perhaps he will," someone says. What do you say? "Perhaps," and "sometimes," and "often"? Consider that you are deliberating about a soul, and set down the opposite too, and reckon and say, "What if he does not give it?" "And what if he does give it?" he says. He has indeed given it; but this course is safer and more profitable than that. For if you begin now, you have gained everything, whether you receive a term or not; but if you are always delaying, for this very reason you will often not receive one. When you go out to war, you do not say, "There is no need to make a will; perhaps I shall return"; nor when deliberating about marriage do you say, "Let me take a poor wife; many have grown rich even so, against expectation"; nor when building a house [do you say, "Let me lay a rotten foundation; many houses] have stood even so"; but when deliberating about the soul, you take hold of what is more rotten, setting down "perhaps" and "surely" and "sometimes," and [entrust] yourself to uncertainties? "Not to uncertainty," he says, "but to the lovingkindness of God; for God is lovingkind." I know it too; but this lovingkind God snatched away those I spoke of as well. And what if, having received time, you remain the same? For such a man will be careless even in old age. "No," he says. For this reasoning, even after eighty years, seeks ninety, and after ninety a hundred, and after a hundred he will be lazier still. And so the whole life will be spent in vain, and what was said about the Jews will happen to you too: "Their days were consumed in vanity" [Ps 78:33]. And would that it were in vanity only, and not also for evil. For when we depart there carrying the heavy load of our sins (for this is "for evil"), we shall bring food for the fire and a rich table for the worm [Mark 9:48]. Therefore I beg and entreat you to stand firm at last, nobly, and to depart from vice, so that we may obtain the promised good things; which may we all attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, might, honor, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.

["I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you do bear with me"] [2 Cor 11:1]. Being about to enter on his own praises, he uses much correction beforehand. And he does this not once or twice; and yet the necessity of the subject was enough to excuse him, as well as what he had often said. For one who remembered sins which God did not remember, and for this reason said that he was unworthy even of the very name of apostle [1 Cor 15:9], is plainly, even to the very dull, not saying what he is now about to say for the sake of glory. For indeed, if one must say something wonderful, this above all hurt him with regard to glory, saying something about himself; and this offends the many. But nevertheless he gave no thought to any of these things, but looked to one thing, the salvation of his hearers. So, then, so as not to harm the foolish by this, by saying great things about himself, he uses these many corrections in abundance. "I wish you would bear with me" ... as one acting foolishly; "but indeed you do bear with me." Do you see his wisdom? For to say "I wish" is the part of one who makes them masters of the matter; but to declare it outright is the part of one very confident of their love, and showing that he both loves and is loved; or rather, he says that they must bear with him even when he acts foolishly, not from simple love, but from a warm and frenzied passion. That is why he added, "For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy" [2 Cor 11:2]. He did not say, "For I love you," but sets down what was far more vehement than this. For souls that burn exceedingly for those they love are jealous, and jealousy could not be born from anything but vehement love. Then, so that they may not think that he desires their friendship for the sake of power, or honor, or money, or anything else of the kind, he added, "with a godly jealousy." For God too is said to be jealous, not so that anyone may suspect passion (for the divine is free from passion), but so that all may learn that he does everything for nothing else than for the sake of those over whom he is jealous, not to gain anything himself, but to save them. For among men jealousy does not arise so, but for the sake of one's own [repose; not because the loved ones are insulted, but] so that those who love may not be wounded, nor be outdone by others, nor have less with those they love. But here it is not so. For I do not care about this, he says, lest I have less with you, but lest I see you corrupted. For such is the jealousy of God, and such is mine too, vehement and pure at once.

Then the reason too, a compelling one: "For I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." So then I am jealous not for myself, but for him to whom I betrothed you. For the present time is the time of betrothal, but the time of the bridal chamber is another, when they will say, "The bridegroom has risen." O new things! In the world, women are virgins before marriage, but after marriage no longer. But here it is not so; but even if they are not virgins before this marriage, after the marriage they become virgins. So the whole church is a virgin. For he says these things speaking to all, both married men and married women. But let us see what he brought when he betrothed us, what bridal gifts. Not gold, not silver, but the kingdom of heaven. That is why he said, "We are ambassadors for Christ" [2 Cor 5:20], and he entreats, when he was about to take the bride. A type of this was what happened with Abraham. For he sent his faithful servant to seek in betrothal a Gentile girl [Gen 24]; and here God sent his own servants to seek the church in betrothal for his Son, and the prophets from of old, saying, "Hear, O daughter, and see, and forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty" [Ps 45:10–11]. Do you see the prophet too making the betrothal? Do you see the apostle too uttering this word with great boldness and saying, "I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ"? Do you see his wisdom again? For having said, "You ought to bear with me," he did not say, "For I am your teacher," nor, "I speak for my own sake"; but he sets down what brought them the greatest dignity, placing himself in the position of the one who arranges the betrothal, and them in the rank of the bride. And he adds, saying, "But I am afraid lest, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is toward Christ" [2 Cor 11:3]. For even if the ruin would be yours, the despondency is common. And consider his wisdom: he does not declare it outright, though they had been corrupted; and making this plain he said, "when your obedience is fulfilled" [2 Cor 10:6], and, "I shall mourn many of those who have sinned before" [2 Cor 12:21]; but nevertheless he does not let them become shameless; that is why he says, "lest." For he neither condemns nor keeps silent; for neither is safe, either to speak openly or to conceal continually. That is why he sets down the middle course, saying, "lest." For this belongs to one neither greatly condemning nor greatly confident, but standing between the two. Thus, then, he comforted them; but by recalling the story he brought them to fear. For even if the serpent was wicked and she was foolish, yet none of these things excused the woman.