Homilies on 2 Corinthians 30.1–30.2

"For this reason I write these things while absent, so that when present I may not [deal sharply, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for casting down]" [2 Cor 13:10]. [He knew that] he had spoken rather vehemently, and above all toward the end of the letter. For earlier he said, "Now I, Paul, myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you; but I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with the confidence with which I count on daring against some who count us as walking according to the flesh" [2 Cor 10:1–2]; and, "being ready to punish all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled" [2 Cor 10:6]; and, "I fear lest perhaps, when I come, I may find you not such as I wish, and I may be found by you such as you do not wish" [2 Cor 12:20]; and again, "lest my God should humble me before you, and I mourn many of those who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness and licentiousness which they practiced" [2 Cor 12:21]; and after this, "I have said beforehand, and I say beforehand, as when present the second time, and now being absent I write, that if I come again I will not spare, since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me" [2 Cor 13:2–3]. Since, then, he has said these and many other things, frightening, shaming, reproaching, attacking, he says in defense of them all, "For this reason I write these things while absent, so that when present I may not deal sharply." For I wish the sharpness to lie in the letters, but not in deeds; I wish the letters to be vehement, so that the threats may remain threats and not go out into action. Again in this defense too [he shows that] it is not he who will punish, but God; for he added, "according to the authority which the Lord gave me"; and again he shows that he does not desire to use the authority for their punishment. For he added, "for building up and not for casting down." And he hinted at this now, as I said: [if they] remain [incorrigible], this too is building up, to punish those so disposed. For so it is, and he himself knows this, and showed it by deeds.

"Finally, brothers, rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you" [2 Cor 13:11]. What is "Finally, brothers, rejoice"? You grieved them, you frightened them, you threw them into anxiety, you made them tremble and be afraid; and how do you bid them rejoice? For this very reason I bid them rejoice. For if your part, he says, follows on mine, nothing will hinder your joy. For all my part has been done so as to gather you from every side into the fruit of repentance. And now your part must be done, and so your joy will be unfading. "Be perfected." What is "be perfected"? Become perfect, fill up what is lacking. "Be comforted." For since the trials were many and the dangers great, he says, "Be comforted," both by one another, and by us, and by your change for the better. For if [your] joy comes from your conscience, and you become perfect, nothing is lacking for your good cheer and comfort; for nothing so produces comfort as a clean conscience, even if countless trials surround one. "Be of the same mind, live in peace"; which he also asked at the beginning of the first letter [1 Cor 1:10]. For it is possible both to be of the same mind and not to live in peace, when people agree in doctrines but are at variance in their dealings with one another. But Paul demands both. "And the God of love and peace will be with you." For he not only exhorts this, but also foretells what will be; or rather both. For if you do these things, he says, that is, if you are of the same mind and live in peace, God too will be with you; for God is of love and peace, and in these he rejoices, in these he delights. From this comes peace to you too, from his love; from this the removal of all evils. This love saved the world, this ended the long war, this mingled earth with heaven, this made men angels. Let us too, then, love this; for love is the mother of countless good things. Through it we were saved, through it we have all the unspeakable good things.

Then, leading them on to it, he says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss" [2 Cor 13:12]. What is "holy"? Not deceitful, not treacherous, as Judas kissed Christ [Matt 26:49]. For the kiss is given for this reason, that it may become a kindling of love, that it may set the disposition aflame, so that we may love one another as brothers love brothers, as children parents, as parents children; or rather even far more; for those things belong to nature, but these to grace. So souls are bound to one another. For this reason too, [when we return] from a journey, [we kiss one another,] hastening to be together. For this above all is the member that proclaims to us the love of the soul.

About this holy kiss one can also give another account. What is it? We are the temple of Christ [1 Cor 3:16]; so, in kissing one another, we kiss the porch and entrance of the temple. Or do you not see how many kiss even the porch of this temple, some stooping down, others holding it with the hand and bringing the hand to the mouth? And through these gates and doors Christ both entered and enters to us, whenever we communicate. You who share in the mysteries know what is said. For our mouth is honored not in an ordinary way, receiving the Lord's body. That is why above all we kiss here. Let those who utter shameful things, who bring out abuse, hear, and shudder at what kind of mouth they disgrace; let those who kiss shamefully hear. Hear what God has spoken through your mouth, and keep it unstained. He has discoursed about the life to come, about the resurrection, about immortality, that death is not death, and the other countless unspeakable things. For as to an oracle, the one who is to be initiated comes to the mouth of the priest. Let us hear how full of awe these things are. For he lost his life from his forefathers, and comes to seek it, and to ask how he may find and recover it. Then God declares to him how it may be found, and this mouth becomes more awesome than the mercy seat. For that mercy seat never uttered such a voice, but discoursed about far lesser things, about wars and peace here below; but these things are all about heaven and the life to come and new things that surpass understanding.

Having said, "Greet one another with a holy kiss," he added, "All the saints greet you" [2 Cor 13:13], giving them good hopes from this too. He wrote this instead of the kiss, joining them by the greeting; for from the same mouth from which the kiss comes, the words also come. Do you see how he gathers all together, both those far off in body and those near, the one through the kiss, the others through the letter? "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen" [2 Cor 13:14]. Since he joined them to one another through the greetings and kisses, he again ends his discourse in prayer, joining them with great exactness to God as well. Where now are those who say that, since the Holy Spirit is not ranked in the openings of the letters, he is not of the same essence? For see, now he has listed him with the Father and the Son. And besides this, one may also say that, writing to the Colossians and saying, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father" [Col 1:2], he was silent about the Son and did not add, as in all the letters, "and the Lord Jesus Christ." Will the Son, then, not be of the same essence for this reason? But these things belong to the utmost folly. For this very thing above all shows that he is of the same essence, that Paul uses it variously. And that what has been said is no conjecture, hear how he mentions the Spirit too and is silent about the Father. For writing to the Corinthians he says, "But you were washed, [but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name] of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" [1 Cor 6:11]. What then, tell me? Were these not baptized into the Father? Then they were neither washed nor sanctified. But they were baptized; as indeed they were baptized. Why then did he not say, "You were washed in the name of the Father"? Because it was indifferent to him to mention now this person, now that; and you will find this custom in many places of the letters. For writing to the Romans he says, "I exhort you, then, by the mercies of God" [Rom 12:1]; and yet the mercies are the Son's too; and, "I exhort you by the love of the Spirit" [Rom 15:30]; and yet the love is the Father's too. Why then did he not mention the Son in the mercies, nor the Father in the love? Because he was silent about them as plain and agreed. And he will be found again setting down the gifts themselves the other way round. For having said, "The grace of Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit," elsewhere he speaks of the fellowship of the Son and the love of the Spirit: "For I exhort you," he says, "by the love of the Spirit." And in the letter to the Corinthians: "God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son" [1 Cor 1:9]. So the things of the Trinity are undivided; and whose the fellowship of the Spirit is, it was found to be the Son's too; and whose the grace of the Son is, it is the Father's and the Holy Spirit's too: "Grace to you," he says, "from God the Father" [Rom 1:7]. And elsewhere, having listed many kinds of it, he added, "But all these the one and the same Spirit works, distributing to each one individually as he wills" [1 Cor 12:11]. And I say these things not confusing the persons (away with it!), but knowing both what is proper to them and distinct, and the unity of the essence.

Let us remain, then, holding the exactness of these doctrines, and drawing to ourselves the love of God. For before, he loved us when we hated him, and reconciled us when we were enemies [Rom 5:10]; but now he wishes to love us when we love him. Let us remain, then, loving him, so as also to be loved by him. For if, when we are loved by powerful men, we are formidable to all, much more when loved by God. Even if we must give money, or bodies, or life itself for this love, let us not spare them. For it is not enough to say in words that we love, but we must also supply the proof of deeds; for he too showed his love not by words only, but also by deeds. Show this, then, you too by works, and do what pleases him; for so you yourself will reap the gain again. For he needs nothing from us; which is above all a mark of genuine love, that one who needs nothing and is in no want does everything in order to be loved by us. That is why Moses said, "For what does the Lord your God ask of you, but to love him and to be ready to walk after him?" [Deut 10:12]. So when he bids you love him, then above all he shows that he loves you. For nothing so establishes our salvation as loving him. See, at any rate, that all his commands too tend to our rest and salvation and good repute. For when he says, "Blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the peacemakers" [Matt 5:3–9], he gives these commands needing nothing himself; and when he says, "I was hungry" [Matt 25:35], it is not because he needs our service, but to anoint you for kindness. For he could feed the poor man even without you; but bestowing on you the greatest treasure, he gave these commands. For if the sun, being a creature, does not need our eyes (for it keeps its own brightness even if no one looks at it), but we are the ones who gain when we enjoy its ray, much more does this hold of God. And so that you may learn this from another side too, hear: how great do you think the distance is between God and us? As great as between gnats and us, or much more? Plainly much more, and infinite. If, then, we who are vainglorious do not need help or glory from gnats, much more the Godhead, being both impassible and without need. He enjoys us, then, so far as we are benefited, so far as he delights in our salvation. For this reason in many places too he lets go what is his and seeks what is yours.

"For if anyone," he says, "has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, [let him not put her away]" [1 Cor 7:12]; [and, "Whoever puts away his wife,] except on account of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery" [Matt 5:32]. Do you see unspeakable goodness? If the wife is a prostitute, he says, I do not compel you to live with her; but if she is an unbeliever, I do not forbid it. [Again, if you are grieved with someone, I bid the one who grieved you leave my gift and run to you.] For "if you are offering your gift," he says, "and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" [Matt 5:23–24]. And what of the parable of the one who had devoured everything? Does it not show this? For when he had devoured the ten thousand talents, he had mercy on him and released him; but when he demanded a hundred denarii from his fellow servant, he both called him wicked and handed him over to punishment [Matt 18:23–35]: so much account does he make of your rest. The barbarian was about to sin with the wife of the righteous man, and he says, "I spared you from sinning against me" [Gen 20:6]. Paul was persecuting the apostles, and he says to him, "Why do you persecute me?" [Acts 9:4]. Others are hungry, and he says that he himself is hungry, and goes about naked and a stranger [Matt 25:35–36], wishing to shame you and in this way to bring you to the work of almsgiving. Considering, then, the love which he has shown and shows through all things, having deigned to make himself known to us, which is the greatest sum of good things, and light of the mind, and teaching of virtue; and having laid down a life pleasing to him, and having done everything for us, and having given his Son, and promised a kingdom, and calling us to the unspeakable good things, and preparing for us a most blessed life, let us do and say everything so as to appear worthy of his love and to obtain the good things to come; which may we all attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, with the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.