Homilies on 2 Corinthians 26.1–26.2

["It is not profitable for me, doubtless, to boast; for I will come to visions and revelations] of the Lord" [2 Cor 12:1]. "It is not profitable for me," he says. As though he had said nothing? Not as though he had said nothing; but since he is about to pass on to another kind of boasting, which does not have so great a reward, but seems to the many, not to those who examine carefully, to show him more glorious, he says, "It is not profitable for me to boast." For the great boasts were those he enumerated, those of his trials; but he has other things to tell too, those of revelations, those of unspeakable mysteries. And why does he say, "It is not profitable for me"? "So that it may not lift me up to arrogance," he means. What are you saying? If you do not tell them, do you not know them? But we are not lifted up in the same way when we know them ourselves as when we publish them to others. For it is not the nature of good deeds that usually lifts men up, but the testimony and knowledge of the many. That is why he says, "It is not profitable for me," and also so as not to put into his hearers a greater idea about himself. For those false apostles said even things that were not true about themselves; but this man hides even what is true, and that with so great a necessity pressing; and he says, "It is not profitable for me," teaching all in great abundance to flee such a thing. For the thing has no gain, but even harm, unless some necessary and useful pretext leads one to it. Having spoken, then, of the dangers, the trials, the plots, the despondencies, the shipwrecks, he passes to another kind of boasting, saying, "I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know; God knows), such a one caught up to the third heaven. And I know that such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows) was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; but of myself I will not boast" [2 Cor 12:2–5]. This was a great revelation. But it was not the only one; there were many others too; but he sets down one out of many. For that there were many, hear what he says: ["And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations"] [2 Cor 12:7]. "And yet," one might say, "if he wished to hide it, he ought not to have given a riddle at all, nor to have said any such thing; but if he wished to speak, he ought to have spoken clearly." Why then did he neither speak clearly nor keep silent? So as to show here too that he comes to the matter unwillingly. That is why he set down the time too, the fourteen years. For he does not mention it idly, but to show that one who had held out for so long a time would not have spoken out now if the necessity had not been great, but would have kept silent, if he had not seen the brothers perishing. And if from the beginning Paul was such as to be counted worthy of such a revelation, when he did not yet have such achievements, consider how great he had become in fourteen years. And see how in this very thing too he is moderate, by stating some things and confessing that he does not know others. For he said that he was caught up; but whether in the body or not in the body he says he no longer knows. And yet it was enough, having spoken of the rapture, to keep silent; but now, out of moderation, he adds this too. What then? Was the mind caught up and the soul, while the body remained dead? Or was the body caught up? It is not possible to say. For if Paul, the one who was caught up and obtained such and so many unspeakable things, did not know, much less do we. For that he was in paradise he knew, and that he was in the third heaven he was not ignorant; but the manner he did not know clearly. And consider his freedom from pride from another side too. For in the case of the city of the Damascenes he confirms his word with an oath, but here no longer; for he did not wish to establish it strongly, but only to mention it and hint at it. That is why he adds, "Of such a one I will boast"; not showing that the one caught up was someone else, but he so shapes his word as far as was possible, so as both to speak and to avoid speaking openly about himself. For what sequence would there be in bringing someone else forward while speaking about himself? Why then did he set it down so? It was not the same to say, "I was caught up," and "I know one who was caught up"; and "I boast of myself," and "Of such a one I will boast." And if anyone says, "And how is it possible to be caught up without a body?" I will ask him, "And how is it possible to be caught up with a body?" For this is more perplexing than that, if you examine with reasonings and do not yield to faith. And why was he caught up? So that he might not seem, as I think, to have less than the other apostles. For since they had been with Christ, but he not at all, for this reason [Christ] caught him up too into paradise in glory. For great is the name of this place, and it was celebrated everywhere.

That is why Christ too said, "Today you will be with me in paradise" [Luke 23:43]. "Of such a one I will boast." Why? For if another was caught up, why do you boast? From this it is plain that he said these things about himself. And if he added, "But of myself I will not boast," he says nothing else than that, when there is no necessity, I will say nothing of the kind idly and at random; or he again shadows over what had been said, as far as was possible. For that the whole discourse was about himself, what follows also shows; for he added, saying, "For if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I will speak the truth" [2 Cor 12:6]. How then did you say before, "I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness," and, "What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as in foolishness," while here you say, "For if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool"? Not with regard to boasting, but with regard to lying; for if boasting belongs to folly, how much more lying? In this respect, then, he says, "I shall not be a fool." That is why he added, "For I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me." This is the acknowledged reason; for they even thought them gods because of the greatness of their signs [Acts 14:11–13; 28:6]. As, then, in the case of the elements God did both, making them weak and bright, the one to proclaim his power, the other to prevent the error of men, so too here they were both wonderful and weak, so that unbelievers might be taught through the deeds themselves. For if they had remained only wonderful and borne no sign of weakness, and by word drew the many away from suspecting more about them than the truth, not only would they have accomplished nothing, but they would even have brought about the opposite. For their refusals in words would have seemed rather to be humility, and would have caused them to be admired more. That is why their weakness was disclosed in deed and in fact. And one may see this in the case of the men of the Old Covenant. For Elijah was wonderful, but he was once convicted of cowardice [1 Kgs 19:3]; and Moses was great, but he too fled because of this very passion [Exod 2:15]. And they suffered these things when God stood aside and allowed human nature to be exposed. For if, because he had led them out, they say, "Where is Moses?" [Exod 32:1], if he had also led them in, what would they not have said? That is why he himself says, "I refrain, lest anyone should think of me." He did not say "say," but "so that no one may even think anything greater than my worth." So from this too it is plain that the whole discourse is about himself. That is why at the beginning he said, "It is not profitable for me to boast." He would not have said this if he had been going to say what he said about another; for why is it not profitable to boast about another? But he himself was the one counted worthy of these things.

That is why he adds, saying, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me" [2 Cor 12:7]. What are you saying? He who thought the kingdom nothing, nor hell, compared with his longing for Christ, thought honor from the many something, so as even to be puffed up and to need a continual bridle? For he did not say, "that he might buffet me," but "to buffet me" continually. And who would say this? What, then, is meant? When we have uncovered what the thorn is and who the messenger of Satan is, then we shall say this too. Some have said that he means a headache caused by the devil; but God forbid. For the body of Paul would not have been given over into the devil's hands, when the devil himself obeyed Paul at a bare command, and he laid down laws and limits for him, when he handed over the man who had committed sexual immorality "for the destruction of the flesh" [1 Cor 5:5]. What, then, is meant? Satan is called the adversary in the Hebrew tongue; and in the third book of Kingdoms Scripture called adversaries so, and narrating about Solomon it says, "There was no satan in his days" [1 Kgs 5:4], that is, no adversary, making war or troubling him. What he says, then, is this: God did not allow the preaching to go forward [unhindered], humbling our pride, but allowed the adversaries to attack us. For this was enough to pull down pride, but that other thing, the headache, no longer. By a messenger of Satan, then, he means Alexander the coppersmith [2 Tim 4:14], the party of Hymenaeus and Philetus [2 Tim 2:17], all who opposed the word, those who contended with him and beat him and led him away; since they did the work of Satan. As, then, he calls the Jews sons of the devil, since they emulated his deeds [John 8:44], so too he calls everyone who opposed him a messenger of Satan. This, then, is what he says: "A thorn was given me, to buffet me"; not as though God armed such men (God forbid), nor as though he punished or took vengeance, but as allowing it and letting them be for the present.

"Concerning this I besought the Lord three times [that it might depart from me]" [2 Cor 12:8]. This too belongs to great humility, not to hide that he could not bear the plots, that he grew weary, and needed prayer for deliverance. "And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness" [2 Cor 12:9]. That is: it is enough for you that you raise the dead, that you heal the blind, that you cleanse lepers, that you work the other wonders; do not seek also to preach without danger and without fear and without trouble. But are you pained and despondent? Let it not seem to be a mark of my weakness that there are many who plot against you and beat you and drive you out and scourge you; for this very thing shows my power. "For my power," he says, "is made perfect in weakness": when, being persecuted, you prevail over your persecutors; when, being driven out, you master those who drive you out; when, being bound, you put to flight those who bind you. Do not, then, seek what is superfluous. Do you see how he himself gives one reason and God another? For he says, "So that I might not be exalted above measure, a thorn in the flesh was given me"; but he says that God said that he allows this in order to show his own power. So you are not only seeking something superfluous, but something that even darkens the glory of my power. For "is sufficient for you" is the language of one who shows that nothing else ought to be added, but that the whole is complete. So from this too it is plain that he does not mean a headache. For they did not preach while sick (for they could not preach while ill), but [the point is] that being driven out and persecuted they prevailed over all.

"Most gladly, therefore," since I have heard these things, he says, "I will rather boast in my weaknesses." For so that they may not be cast down, since those false apostles [prided themselves] on the opposite, he shows that through this he becomes more glorious, and that so the power of God shines out more, and what happens is worthy of boasting. That is why he says, "Most gladly, therefore, I will boast." Not grieving have I said these things which I enumerated, or this which I have said now, that "a thorn was given me," but priding myself on them and drawing more power. That is why he adds, "so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Here he hints at something else too: that the more the trials intensified, the more grace increased and remained. "Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses" [2 Cor 12:10]. What sort, tell me? "In insults, in persecutions, in necessities, in distresses." Do you see how he has now revealed it most clearly? For in speaking of the kind of weakness, he did not say fevers, or some such recurring fit, or any other bodily sickness, but insults, persecutions, distresses. Do you see a grateful soul? He desired to be freed from the terrible things; but when he heard from God that this must not happen, not only was he not despondent at failing in his prayer, but he even rejoiced. That is why he said, "I take pleasure": I rejoice, I desire to be insulted, persecuted, distressed for Christ. He said these things both to put down those men and to lift up the spirits of these, so that they might not be ashamed of Paul's sufferings. For the cause was enough to make anything more glorious. Then he sets down another reason too: "For when I am weak, then I am strong." Why do you wonder if the power of God is then displayed? I too am then strong; for then above all grace came upon me. "For as his sufferings abound, so our comfort also abounds" [2 Cor 1:5]. Where there is affliction, there is comfort too; where there is comfort, there is grace too. At any rate, when he fell into prison, then he did those wonderful things [Acts 16:25–34]; when he was shipwrecked and cast up on the barbarian land, then above all he was glorified [Acts 28:1–10]; when he went into the court bound, then he prevailed even over the judge [Acts 26:28]. So it happened in the Old Covenant too: in trials the righteous flourished; so the three youths, so Daniel, and Moses, and Joseph: all became glorious from this and were counted worthy of great crowns. For then the soul too is purified, when it is afflicted for God's sake; then it enjoys greater help, needing more support and being worthy of more grace. And even before the reward laid up with God it reaps great good things by becoming philosophical. For affliction strips off pride, cuts off all sluggishness, anoints for endurance; it uncovers the meanness of human affairs and brings in much philosophy. For all the passions give way to it: envy, jealousy, desire, love of power, love of money and of bodies, boastfulness, pride, anger, the whole remaining swarm of these diseases. And if you wish to see it in actual cases, both in a man privately and in a whole people, I can show you them both in affliction and in ease, and teach you how great the gain from the one is and how great the slackness from the other.

For the people of the Hebrews, when they were ill-treated and driven out, groaned and called upon God, [but when] they grew fat, they kicked [Deut 32:15]. The Ninevites again, when they enjoyed security, so provoked God that he threatened to tear up the whole city from its foundations; but when they were humbled by that preaching, they showed all philosophy [Jonah 3]. And if you wish to see a man by himself, consider Solomon. For he, when he was in cares and trouble, deliberating about ruling that nation, was counted worthy of that vision [1 Kgs 3:5]; but when he came to luxury, he slipped into the very pit of wickedness [1 Kgs 11:1–8]. And what of his father? When was he wonderful and marvelous? Was it not when he was in trials? And Absalom, as long as he was in flight, was he not sober, but when he returned, he became a tyrant and a parricide [2 Sam 15]? And what of Job? He was glorious even in ease, but appeared more glorious after the affliction. And why need one speak of ancient and old things? For if one examines our own affairs now, he will see how great is the [gain] of affliction. For now, enjoying peace, we have grown slack and dissolute, and have filled the church with countless evils; but when we were persecuted, we were more sober and gentler and more earnest, and readier for these assemblies and for hearing. For what fire is to gold, affliction is to souls, scouring off the filth, making them pure [and bright]. This leads into the kingdom, but that into hell. That is why the one way is broad and the other narrow [Matt 7:13–14]. That is why he himself said, "In the world you will have affliction" [John 16:33], as laying up some great good for us. If, then, you are a disciple, travel the narrow and afflicted way, and do not be vexed nor lose heart. For even if you are not afflicted in this way, you must certainly be afflicted from another, profitless cause. For the envious man, and the lover of money, and the one burning for a harlot, and the vainglorious, and each of the others who pursue wicked things, endure many despondencies and afflictions, and are afflicted no less than mourners. And if he does not weep or mourn, it is through shame and insensibility; for if you examined his soul, you would see it full of countless waves. When, then, those who follow this life and that must be afflicted, why do we not choose this one, which with affliction brings countless crowns? For God led all the saints so, through affliction and distress, at once benefiting them and securing the rest, so that they might not have a greater opinion of them than they deserved. For so idolatries prevailed in the beginning, when men were admired beyond their worth; so the Roman senate thought Alexander a thirteenth god. For it had this power, to vote and enroll gods. At any rate, when all the things concerning Christ were reported, the ruler of the nation sent to ask whether they thought fit to vote him a god as well. But they did not assent, being angry and indignant that before their vote and judgment the power of the Crucified had [taken possession of] the whole world. And this was arranged even against their will, so that the divinity of Christ might not be proclaimed by human vote, nor he be thought one of the many voted [gods] by them. For they thought even boxers gods, and Hadrian's favorite; that is why the city is called Antinous. For since death testifies to a mortal nature, the devil found another way, the immortality of the soul, and mixing with it excessive flattery, led many away into impiety. And see his wickedness: when we bring it forward for a right purpose, he overturns the argument; but when he wishes to use it for harm, he sets it up with great zeal. And if someone says, "How is Alexander a god? Did he not die, and miserably?" "But the soul is immortal," he says. Now you make the argument for immortality and play the philosopher, so as to draw people away from the God over all; but when we say that this is God's greatest gift, you persuade those who are better disposed that they have been deceived. And if we say that the Crucified lives, there is laughter at once, though the whole world cries it aloud, both of old and now: then from the signs, now from the converts; for these achievements are not those of a dead man. But if someone says that Alexander lives, you believe it, though you have no sign to name. "Yes," he says; "for he achieved many great things while living; he subdued nations and cities, won many wars and battles, and set up trophies." If, then, I show what neither he while living imagined, nor any other man who ever lived, what other proof of the resurrection will you seek? For to achieve wars and victories while living, being a king and having armies, is nothing wonderful, nor marvelous and new; but to do such things after a cross and a tomb, everywhere on land and sea, this is what is above all full of [wonder], and proclaims the divine and unspeakable power. And Alexander after his death did not restore his empire, torn apart and utterly destroyed; how could the dead man? But Christ established his above all then, when he died. And why do I speak of Christ, when he granted even to his disciples to shine after they died? For where, tell me, is the tomb of Alexander? Show it to me, and tell me the day on which he died. But the tombs of Christ's servants are glorious, having taken possession of the most royal city, and their days are well known, making a festival for the world. And his tomb not even his own people know, but this one's [even the barbarians know]. And the tombs of the servants of the Crucified are more glorious than royal courts, not only in the size and beauty of the buildings (for in this too they prevail), but, what is much more, in the zeal of those who gather there. For he himself who wears the purple goes to embrace those tombs, and, laying aside his pride, stands begging the saints to intercede for him with God; and he who wears the diadem begs the tentmaker and the fisherman, though they are dead, to be his protectors. Will you dare, then, tell me, to call their Master dead, whose servants, even when dead, are the protectors of the kings of the world? And one may see this happening not only in Rome, but in Constantinople too. For here too the son thought he honored Constantine the Great with great honor if he laid him in the porch of the fisherman; and what doorkeepers are to kings in palaces, kings are to fishermen at the tomb. And the fishermen, as masters of the place, occupy the inside; while the kings, as sojourners and neighbors, were content to have the outer door assigned to them, showing even the unbelievers from what happens here that in the resurrection the fishermen will have a greater preeminence. For if it is so here in the tombs, much more in the resurrection. And the order has been exchanged: kings take the rank of servants and attendants, while subjects are invested with the dignity of kings, or rather a more glorious one. And that the thing is not flattery, the truth itself shows; for through those men these too have become more glorious. For these tombs are far more venerable than the other royal tombs; for there there is great solitude, but here a great festival. And if you wish to compare these tombs with royal courts as well, here again is the victory. For there are many who drive people away, but here many who invite and draw in rich, poor, men, women, slaves, free; there great fear, here unspeakable pleasure. "But it is a sweet sight to see a king wearing gold and crowned, and soldiers standing beside him." But the things here are so much more venerable and awesome that one would think those things a stage show and child's play compared with these. For as soon as you have stepped over the threshold, the place sends your mind up to heaven, to the King above, to the camp of the angels, to the lofty throne, to the unapproachable glory. And here he made one subject to a ruler of those under him, to loose one and bind another; but the bones ...