Homilies on Acts 16.1–16.4

[Lemma] “And God spoke thus: that his offspring would be sojourners in a foreign land, and they would enslave them and ill-treat them four hundred years; and the nation which they serve I will judge, said God, and after that they will come out and serve me in this place.”

See how many years beforehand the promise was given, and the manner of the promise; and nowhere sacrifice, nowhere circumcision. Here he shows that God himself let them suffer ill, and that these things would not go unpunished. “But the nation which they serve I will judge, said God.” Do you see? The one who promised, who gave the land, first permits the evils. So now too: even if he has promised a kingdom, he lets us be trained by trials. If here freedom came after four hundred years, what wonder if the same happens with the kingdom? Still, he did it, and time could not prove the word false, though they endured no ordinary slavery. Nor did he stop at the punishment of their oppressors, but he promises good things to them too. To me he seems by these words also to remind them of the benefit they had received. “And he gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so he begot Isaac.” Here at last he gives some ground. “And circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs …” “into Egypt.” This happened in Christ’s case too; for Joseph was his type; and that is why, hinting at it, he goes through the whole story. For though they had nothing to charge him with, when he came to bring them food they ill-treated him. And see that here too again the promise is long in coming, and yet it reaches its fulfillment. “And God was with him”: this too was on their account. “And he rescued him out of all his afflictions.” Here he shows that without knowing it they worked together with the prophecy, and that they themselves became its causes, and the evils turned back on themselves. “And he gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt.” He gave him favor, and that before a barbarian, to a slave and captive; the man whom his brothers sold, that king honored. “Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time. And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers.” They went down to buy, and found themselves in need of him. What then did he do? He did not show his kindness only so far, but also made them known to Pharaoh: “[and Joseph’s family became known] to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his kindred, seventy-five souls. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers; and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until another king arose who did not know Joseph.” Again, another hopeless situation: first the famine; second, falling into the hands of their brother; third, the decree given by the king that they be killed; and yet they were brought safely through all these. Then, showing God’s resourcefulness, he says, “At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God.” If that was wonderful, that he was sold by his brothers, this is more wonderful: that the king reared the very one who was to bring down his rule, he himself who was to perish. Do you see the resurrection all but sketched out everywhere, as from the dead? And yet it is not the same thing for God himself to do something and for something to happen through human choice. These things, at any rate, did not come from human choice. “And he was powerful in word and deed.” He said this to show both that Moses was a savior and that these men were ungrateful toward their benefactor. So then, as they were saved then by Joseph, who had been ill-treated, so now too they were saved by one who had been ill-treated, I mean Moses. For what of it, if they did not kill him in fact? In word they killed him, as those others did. And those sold Joseph out of their own land into a foreign and strange one; these drive Moses out as a fugitive from a foreign land into another foreign land; and the one was bringing them food, the other was counseling them how they might be with God. So true, from what was ordered now as well, is that saying of Gamaliel: “If it is of God, you cannot overthrow it.” And you, when you learn that those who were plotted against became the cause of salvation to those who plotted against them, be astonished at God’s resourcefulness and wisdom; for if those men had not been plotted against, these would not have been saved. There was a famine, and it did not consume them; and not only this, but they were saved through the very one they expected to have perished. There was a royal decree, and it did not wipe them out; but the multitude grew most when the king who knew them had died. They wanted to kill their savior, and not even so did they prevail.

Do you see that through the very things by which the devil was trying to overthrow God’s promise, it grew? This it would have suited them to say then too: that God is resourceful and able to bring us up out of this. For God’s resourcefulness lay above all in this, that even in their estrangement the nation grew, while it was enslaved, ill-treated, and killed. This is the greatness of the promise. For if it had grown in their own land, it would not have been so wonderful. And they were not in the foreign land for a short time, but four hundred years. From this we learn how great a philosophy they showed. For the Egyptians did not treat them as masters treat slaves, but as enemies and tyrants. That is why he foretold that they would be in great freedom (for this is what “they will serve me” means), and that they would come back here, and that it would not go unpunished. And see how he seems to grant something to circumcision, but gives it nothing, since the promise came before it, and it came after. “And the patriarchs,” he says, “being jealous.” Where it does no harm, he concedes to them. He calls the forefathers patriarchs, since they prided themselves on these too. And besides, he shows that the saints were not free of affliction, but that even in the midst of afflictions they received help. And the persecutors not only did not undo what God intended, but even helped it along, while they meant rather to cut it short. As, then, those men made Joseph more glorious by selling him, so the king made Moses more glorious by ordering the children to be killed; for if he had not ordered it, this would not have happened. And consider God’s care. That man drives Moses into exile; and God does not prevent it, arranging what was to come, so that there he might obtain the vision, having become worthy of it. So too he makes the slave who was sold a ruler in the very place where he was thought to be a slave. And as Joseph rules there where they sold him, so Christ too shows his power in death. This was a matter not only of honor, but also of confidence in his own power. But let us look at what was said from the beginning. “And he made him governor over Egypt and over all his house.” See what he arranges through a famine. “With seventy-five souls,” he says, “Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers; and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.” He shows that they were not masters even so far as a grave. “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until another king arose who did not know Joseph.” See that he does not make them grow even in so many years, but only when the end was about to draw near; and yet four hundred years and more had already passed in Egypt. This, then, is the wonderful thing. “This man,” he says, “dealt craftily with our race and ill-treated our fathers, making them expose their infants so that they would not be kept alive.” He said “dealt craftily,” hinting at the secret killing; for he did not wish to kill them openly. That is why he added, making this clear, “making them expose their infants.” “At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God.” This is the wonderful thing: that the one who was to be their leader was born neither after this nor before, but in the very midst of the wrath. “And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house.” He hints at them as not wishing to kill openly: “making them,” he says, “expose their infants.” When, then, human hopes had been given up …, then the dispensation of God was shown, shining out. “And when he had been exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up and brought him up as her own son.” Nowhere a temple, nowhere a sacrifice, though so many dispensations had taken place. “And he was brought up in a barbarian house … and was powerful in words and deeds.” It occurs to me to wonder how he was there forty years and was not found out from his circumcision; or rather, how, though they were in the palace, both he and Joseph disregarded their own interests, so as to save others too. “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And seeing one being wronged, he defended him and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand; but they did not understand.” See how for the time being he does not seem burdensome, though he accuses them of so much, and they bear to hear it: so did he hold them by the grace of his face. “He supposed,” he says, “that his brothers would understand.” And yet the deliverance came through deeds, and there was no need of understanding here; but even so they did not understand. Do you see how he speaks with gentleness, and how, having shown the anger of the one, he shows the mildness of the other? “And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them to peace, saying, Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another? But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed him away, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” From the same disposition they are evidently saying the same things against Christ: “We have no king but Caesar.” So it is always the custom of the Jews to act, even toward those who benefit them. Did you see the folly? They slander the one who is about to save them, by saying, “as you killed the Egyptian yesterday.” “And Moses fled at this word, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons.” … and not even the flight quenched the dispensation, just as death did not either. “And when forty years had passed, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of the mountain [Sinai] in a flame of fire in a bush.”

Do you see how the dispensation is not cut short even by time? For when he was a fugitive, when he was a stranger, when he had spent much time in the foreign land, so that he even had children, when he no longer expected to return, then the angel appears to him. He calls the Son of God an angel, just as he also calls him a man. And where does he appear? In a wilderness, not in a temple. Do you see how many wonders take place, and nowhere a temple, nowhere a sacrifice? And not simply in the wilderness, but in the bush. “When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord.” He was counted worthy of the voice as well. “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Here he shows not only that the one who appeared to him was the Angel of Great Counsel, but also how great a love for humankind he shows by his appearing. “And Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. And the Lord said to him, Take off the sandals from your feet; for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Nowhere a temple, and the place is holy by the appearing and working of Christ. This is far more wonderful than what was in the Holy of Holies; for there God nowhere appeared in this way, nowhere did Moses tremble so. Did you see his love for humankind? See next his care as well. “I have surely seen,” he says, “the ill-treatment of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” See how he shows that God was drawing them to himself by benefits, by punishments, and by wonders; but they remained the same. So from this we learn that God is present everywhere. Hearing these things, let us too take refuge in him in our afflictions. “For I have heard their groaning,” he says. He did not say simply, “I have heard,” but because of their calamities. And if anyone should say, “And why did he leave them so long in that state?” let him hear that above all, for every righteous man, ill-treatment becomes the cause of rewards; or else he let them be ill-treated for this reason too: to show his power shining out even from this, and by means of their ill-treatment to train them to be philosophers in everything. See, at any rate, how when they were in the wilderness they not only grew sleek, grew fat, grew broad, but also forsook God. For everywhere ease, beloved, is an evil. That is why from the beginning he said to Adam, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread.” So that they might not grow insolent when they came out of great ill-treatment into ease, he allows them to be afflicted; for affliction is a great good. And that it is good, hear David saying, “It is good for me that you have humbled me.” If affliction is a great thing for great and wonderful men, much more is it for us. And if you like, let us examine affliction itself, on its own. Let there be someone rejoicing greatly, glad and dissipated: what is more unseemly, more foolish than he? Let there be someone in pain and dejected: what is more philosophic than he? That is why the wise man too advises, saying, “It is better to go into a house of mourning than into a house of laughter.” Perhaps you even laugh at what is said. But let us see what Adam was like in paradise and what he was like afterwards; what Cain was before this and what he was afterwards. The soul does not stay in its own seat, but, as if by some wind of pleasure, it is lifted up and made light, having nothing firm. For it is quick to make announcements and ready with promises, and the tossing of its thoughts is great. From this come untimely laughter, cheerfulness without reason, a great deal of idle and superfluous chatter. And why do I speak of the others? Let us take one of the saints and see who he was when he lived in pleasure, and who again in dejection. Shall we look at David, then? When he was in pleasure and joy from his many trophies, from victory, from crowns, from luxury, from confidence, see what he said and did: “But I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.” But when he was in affliction, hear what he says: “And if he says to me, I have no pleasure in you, here I am; let him do to me what is pleasing in his sight.” What is more philosophic than these words? Whatever is dear to God, he says, let it be so. And again he said to Saul, “If the Lord stirs you up against me, may your sacrifice be acceptable.” Then, when he was in affliction, he spared even his enemies; but afterwards he spared not even his friends, not even those who had done him no wrong. Again Jacob, when he was in affliction, said, “If the Lord will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear.” And Noah’s son did nothing of the kind before this; but when he felt secure about his safety, you hear what an insolent man he became. And Hezekiah, when he was in affliction, see what he did for his safety: he put on sackcloth and sat on the ground; but when he came into pleasure, he fell through the haughtiness of his heart. That is why Moses too advises, saying, “When you have eaten and drunk and are full, remember the Lord your God.” For the place of luxury is a precipice, and it produces forgetfulness of God. When the Israelites were afflicted, they became much more numerous; but when he let them be, then they all perished. And why do I give examples from the men of old? Let us look at ourselves, if you like. Most of us, when we are in prosperity, become puffed up, hostile to all, quick to anger while power is in our hands; but when it is taken away, gentle, humble, meek, and we come to think of our own nature. And that it is so David also shows, saying, “Pride has taken hold of them completely; their injustice will come forth as from fat.” I have said these things so that we may not seek joy by every means. “And how,” someone says, “does Paul say, Rejoice always?” He did not say simply, “Rejoice,” but added, “in the Lord.”

This is the greatest joy; this is the joy with which the apostles rejoiced: a joy that brings gain, that has its beginning, its root and its ground in prisons, in scourgings, in persecutions, in being spoken ill of, in painful things of every kind; and so it also comes to a good end. But the joy of the world is the opposite: it begins from pleasant things and ends in painful ones. I too do not forbid rejoicing in the Lord; I urge it strongly. The apostles were scourged [and rejoiced; they were bound and gave thanks; they were stoned,] and they preached. This joy I too want. Such joy has its beginning in nothing bodily, but in spiritual things. It is not possible to rejoice in the world’s way and in God’s way at the same time; for everyone who rejoices in the world’s way rejoices in wealth, in luxury, in glory and power, in boasting; but the one who rejoices in God’s way rejoices in dishonor for his sake, in poverty, in owning nothing, in fasting, in humility. Do you see that the grounds are opposite? Those who are without joy here are also without grief; and those who are without grief here are also without pleasure. And truly these are the things that make true joy, since the others have only the name of joy, while the whole of them lies in grief. How much distress the boaster has! How he is cut to pieces in his very boasting, contriving countless insults for himself, much hatred, great enmity, much envy, much spite! For if he is insulted by those greater than he, he is pained; if he does not rise above everyone, he is stung. But the humble man is in great pleasure, expecting honor from no one: if he is honored, he is pleased; if he is not honored, he is not pained, but is content that he was not honored. So, from not seeking honor, and from being honored, the pleasure is great. There it is the opposite: he seeks honor and is not honored. And the one who seeks honor does not delight in it as the one who does not seek it does. The one, however much he receives, thinks he has received nothing; the other, even if you give him little, receives it as though he had received everything. Again, the man who lives in luxury has countless troubles: even if his revenues flow in easily, as from springs, he fears the evils that come from luxury and the uncertainty of the future; but the other is always in safety and pleasure, having accustomed himself to a plain diet. For he does not so much count himself wretched for having no share in a costly table, as he lives in delight from not fearing the uncertainty of the future. What evils come from luxury no one is ignorant; but it must be said now too. The war is double, I mean that of the body and that of the soul; double the storm, double the diseases; and not only this, but they are incurable as well, and they bring great misfortunes. But plain living is not like this: double is the health, double the goods. “Healthy sleep,” it says, “comes from a moderate stomach.” For everywhere what is in measure is desirable, but what is beyond measure no longer. For see: put a great heap of wood on a small spark, and you will no longer see a shining fire, but very unpleasant smoke. Put on a very strong and big man a burden that exceeds his strength, and you will see him lying on the ground, thrown down with the burden. Throw a great cargo into a ship, and you have caused a grievous shipwreck. Luxury is something of this kind. For as in overloaded ships there is a great commotion of the sailors, throwing some things into the sea from above and others from below, so too here: vomiting from above and from below and ruining themselves, they perish. And what is most shameful of all, the mouth itself takes over the use of the hinder parts and becomes more dishonorable than they. And if there is such indecency in the mouth, consider what there is in the soul. For there everything is gloom, everything storm, everything darkness, great confusion of the thoughts, pressed and afflicted, while the soul itself cries out at the outrage. From this the gluttons themselves blame one another, are vexed, hurry to get rid of the dung within. Yet even after it is got rid of, not even so does the tossing cease; but fevers and diseases come from this. “Yes,” someone says, “they are sick and disgraced: the sermon goes through these things for nothing and lists diseases to us; for it is I who am sick, I who am mocked, I who am disgraced, I who have nothing to eat; but these men rejoice, riding about on horses.” Alas! These words deserve lamentation. But the gouty, carried in litters, bandaged up, where do we see them coming from, tell me? And if they did not think it offensive to say, I would long ago have brought them forward by name. “But there are some,” he says, “who are healthy.” Because they are given not only to luxury but also to labors. Otherwise give me a man always filled, lying idle, doing no work, and let me see him healthy. But you will not find one. For even if a crowd of countless physicians comes together, they will not be able to free him from his diseases while he continually gorges; for the thing is not so by nature. And I will tell you a physicians’ account too. Of what is thrown down into the stomach, not all becomes nourishment; since not even in the nature of the food itself is the whole nourishing, but part of it is separated off for excretion, and part turns into nourishment. If, then, you give it moderate amounts and it is completely digested, this happens, and the food takes its proper course: what is sound and useful runs to its proper place, while what is superfluous and useless withdraws and goes out. But if a great amount comes in, even as much as is nourishing becomes harmful. I will give an example of this sort, so that what I am saying may become clearer to you. Of wheat, part is fine flour, part meal, part bran. If, then, the mill can grind it, it separates all these; but if you put too much on it, everything is confused. Again, if wine receives the proper working and mixing of its parts, at first it is all together; then afterwards part of it settles as lees, part runs up as froth, and part remains, the enjoyment of those who share it; and this is the good part, and it would not quickly turn; but before this there is neither wine nor lees, everything being mixed. One may see this in the sea too, when there is an excess of storm. As, then, we see the fish floating dead which could not get down to the depths because of the cold, so it happens with us too. For if the great flood of gluttony pours in from above and stirs everything up, it makes the thoughts that until then were healthy and lived in us float dead. Since, then, from so many examples the harm has been shown to be great, let us stop calling these men blessed, whom we ought to call wretched, and weeping for those whom we ought to call blessed, and let us love frugality. Or do you not hear physicians saying that want is the mother of health? But I say that want is the mother not of bodily health but of the health of the soul. This Paul too cries aloud, the great physician, saying, “Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” Let us, then, obey him, so that, being healthy, we may do what we ought, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, might, now and always and to the ages of ages.