Homilies on Acts 18.1–18.4

“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed their teeth at him.” That they found in what was said no pretext for killing him, but still rage and seek to maltreat him, is worth wondering at. So wrongdoers are always in distress. Just as the high priests in their perplexity said, “What shall we do with these men?”, so these too are cut to the heart. And yet the one who ought to have been angry was he, who had done no wrong but suffered what wrongdoers suffer and was falsely accused. But it is the false accusers who are rather convicted; and in this too the saying I always repeat is true, that to do evil is to suffer evil. And yet he made no false accusation, but gave proof. So, when we are insulted for things of which we are not conscious, we suffer nothing. They wanted to kill him, but they do not do it, wishing to put a plausible pretext on their daring. What then? Was his rebuke not a plausible ground? The rebuke was not his, but the prophet's accusation; and though they had it, they still held back, so as not to seem to kill him because of what was said against them, just as with Christ, but for impiety. But the saying was one of piety. So, trying to harm his reputation along with killing him, they were cut to the heart. For they feared lest something new should happen about him again. Then what they do in Christ's case they do also in Stephen's; and just as there, when he said, “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,” they called the thing blasphemy and made the crowds witnesses, so too here. There they tore their garments; here they stopped their ears. “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord. And casting him out of the city, they stoned him.” And yet if he was lying, they should have let him go as a madman. But he spoke so because he wished to draw them over. And since, though he had spoken of the death, he had said nothing about the resurrection, he now opportunely adds this doctrine as well. He says that he appeared to him in this way, as he relates, so that they might receive the word at least so; and since to say “seated” was offensive to them, for the present he raises the subject of the resurrection, and says that he stands. From this I conjecture that his face too was glorified. For God, being a lover of humankind, wished to call them by the very things through which they were plotting, even if nothing more came of it. “And casting him out of the city, they stoned him.” Again the death is outside the city, as in Christ's case, and in the very death the confession and the preaching are proclaimed. “And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man …” … and his face had been glorified. For … calling on [God] and saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.” In this he was at once showing and teaching them that he does not perish. “And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’” As if defending himself, that what he said before was not from anger either; or wishing to draw them by this. For to let go of anger and wrath at his murder and to show his soul clean of passion made his word acceptable. “And Saul was consenting to his death. And on that day there arose a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.” This persecution was not simply a matter of chance, but by dispensation … the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Do you see how God again allows trials to happen? But see from here too how affairs are ordered. They were admired for the signs; when flogged they suffered nothing; they were appointed over the widows; the word was growing; then he allows a great hindrance to arise. And a persecution arises, no ordinary one, so that these too fled at the same time (for they feared them, since they had grown bolder), and it was plain to all that those who feared and fled were men. For lest you say afterwards that they succeeded by grace alone, even when persecuted: they themselves became more timid, and their enemies bolder. “And all were scattered,” he says, “except the apostles.” So I did not say idly that the persecution was a matter of dispensation; for if it had not happened, the disciples would not … “And they made great lamentation over him.” Either they were not yet perfect, or because he was beloved and revered; being men, they felt not fear only, but also grief and lamentation.

For who would not have wept to see that gentle man, that lamb, stoned and lying dead? The evangelist has given a sufficient funeral oration for him in saying “kneeling down” and “crying with a loud voice”. “And they made great lamentation over him.” But let us look at what was said from the beginning. “Being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened.’ And they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one accord.” Yet where do these things deserve accusation? Nevertheless, the man who had worked such signs by his word, who prevailed over everyone by his word, who discoursed in this way, they seized as they wished, and so they glutted their anger. “And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” See how exactly he narrates what concerns Paul, to show you the work of God that took place in him afterwards. For the present, he not only does not believe, but even stones him with the countless hands of the murderers; and to make this plain he says, “And Saul was consenting to his death.” Nor does this blessed man pray carelessly, but with attention: “kneeling,” it says. Hence his death too became divine; for only until then had his soul been allowed to remain [in him]. “And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.” Those who had heard, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles,” now mingle freely with Samaria. “Except the apostles,” he says, showing that they did not leave the city, wishing in this way too to win the Jews, or to become a cause of courage to others. “But Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women he committed them to prison.” Great was the frenzy: that he was even alone, that he even entered the houses; so did he give his soul for the law. “Dragging off,” it says, “men and women.” See the boldness, the insolence, the frenzy. All who fell into his hands he subjected to countless evils, having grown bolder from this slaughter. “Those then who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to a city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was said by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs that he did. For of many who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, they were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But a certain man named Simon had previously been in the city practicing magic and amazing the nation of Samaria, saying that he himself was someone great, to whom all paid attention, from small to great, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’” [See] another trial too, that of Simon. “They paid attention to him,” it says, “because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic arts. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. And Simon himself also believed, and after being baptized he kept close to Philip; and seeing great miracles and signs taking place, he was amazed. Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for he had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me also this power, that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’” How then, someone says, had these not received the Spirit? They had received the Spirit of forgiveness, but the Spirit of signs they had not yet received. And that this is so, that they had not received the Spirit of signs, see how Simon, when he saw it, came asking for this. And although the persecution was then at its strongest, God nevertheless delivered them again, setting up the signs as a fortress in the enemy's land. Yet Stephen's death did not quench their enemies' anger, but rather increased it; that is why the teachers are scattered, so that the discipleship might grow. But see again good things succeeding for them, and them in joy. “For there was great joy,” it says, “in the city”; and yet there had also been great lamentation. So God always does: he mixes gladdening things with grievous ones, so that he may be the more admired. Simon had had the disease a long time; that is why even so he is not rid of it. How then did he even baptize him? Just as Christ chose Judas. This man, seeing signs taking place, is amazed, but does not dare ask for the grace of the signs, since he knew that the others had not yet received it either. How then did they not slay him, as they did Ananias and Sapphira? Because in old times too, when the man who gathered the sticks was put to death for the correction of others, no one else afterwards suffered the same. So too now Peter: having punished those, he does not punish this one, but says to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought to obtain the gift of God with money.” [3] And why had these, though baptized, not received the Holy Spirit? Either because Philip did not give it to them, perhaps out of honor for the apostles, or because he did not have such a gift (for he was one of the seven); and this is rather what one should say. Hence I think this Philip was one of the seven, the second after Stephen. That is why, though he baptized, he did not give the Spirit to those baptized; for he did not have the authority, since this gift belonged to the Twelve alone. But consider: those did not go out; it was arranged that these should go out, who also fell short of the grace, because they had not yet received [the power to give] the Holy Spirit. For they had received power to do signs, but not also to give the Spirit to others. So this was the special privilege of the apostles; hence one can see the leaders, and no others, doing this. “When Simon saw,” it says, “that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands.” He would not have said this unless something perceptible took place. Paul too did this, when they spoke in tongues. Did you see Simon's foulness? He offered money; and yet he had not seen Peter doing it for money; so the thing did not come from ignorance, but from one who was testing them and wished to entangle them in a charge. That is why he also hears: “You have neither part nor lot in this matter; for your heart is not right before God.” Again he brings into the open what was in his mind, since that man thought he was unnoticed. “Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered and said, ‘Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.’” He should have repented from the heart, he should have wept; but he does this only as a formality. “If perhaps it may be forgiven you.” He said this not as if it would not have been pardoned him if he had wept; but it is the custom even of the prophets only to forbid, and not to say, “If you do this, it will be pardoned you,” but rather, “The punishment will certainly come.” And do you, I pray, wonder at this too, how in the time of calamity they are not negligent but hold fast to the preaching; and how, just as in Moses' time the wonders took place by comparison, so too here. It was magic, and nevertheless these signs were manifest. [4] And yet there ought to have been no one possessed there, if indeed he had for a long time amazed them with his magic arts; but since there were many possessed, many paralyzed, those things were not real. But this man drew them not by signs only, but also by word, discoursing about the kingdom and about Christ. “And Simon,” it says, “after being baptized, kept close to Philip.” Not for faith's sake, but in order to become such a one, he kept close to him. “And they came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for he had not yet [fallen upon any of them … they laid their hands] on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Do you see that it was not done simply, but much power was needed to give the Holy Spirit? For it is not the same to obtain forgiveness and to receive such a power. “Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money.” Did he not see the others doing this? Did he not see Philip? Did he suppose they did not know with what intent he was approaching? So Peter rightly calls the thing a gift too, saying, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought to obtain the gift of God with money.” Do you see them everywhere clean of money? “You have neither part nor lot in this matter; for your heart is not right before God.” So he did everything from wickedness; and yet he ought to have been simple. “Repent therefore. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.” The words are full of indignation. But he does not punish him, so that faith might not from then on be a matter of compulsion, so that the thing might not seem cruel, so that he might bring in what belongs to repentance; or because it was enough for his correction to convict him, to tell what was in his heart, to make him confess that he had been caught. For in saying, “Pray for me,” he is at once confessing and showing it. See how, foul though he was, nevertheless when he was convicted, then he believed, just as he became humble too when he was convicted again. “Seeing signs taking place, he was amazed,” showing that all of his was a lie. He did not say, “He came forward,” but, “He was amazed.” And why ever does he not do that at once? He thought he could escape notice; he thought the thing was an art;

but when he could not escape the apostles' notice, he came forward. “For of many who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, they came out.” This is a plain sign of their coming out; but the magicians' doings are the opposite, for they rather bound them. “And many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.” There was no deception here, for they had to walk and act. “And all paid attention to him, saying, ‘This man is the power of God.’” Here what was said by Christ is fulfilled: “Many false christs and false prophets will come in my name.” And why did they not refute him at once? They were content that he condemned himself; for this too was a part of their teaching. But since he could not resist, he plays the hypocrite, just as the magicians did when they said, “This is the finger of God”; and so that he might not be driven away again, for this reason he kept close to Philip and did not leave him.

But consider, I ask you, how much is arranged through the death of Stephen. They are scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria; they preach the gospel …, they proclaim Christ, they perform signs, … these receive the gift. This was a … sign; for both to give to them and to … give was the greatest sign. “So they, having testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.” Rightly so … so that they might not be deceived, so that they might be in safety from then on … lest they be carried away through inexperience. … Jerusalem. Why do they go back there, where … was, where the beginning of the evils was, where the … were? Just as in wars generals … and occupy the part of the war that is hard pressed, so these men do too. See … coming to Samaria first, … the disciples, as also in Christ's case … the apostles to those who believed … “The apostles in Jerusalem,” he says, “[sent] to them Peter and John.” [Why] are they sent? To free [them] from magic … to remind [them] of the teaching which from Christ … they first believed. He ought then, on the contrary, … to receive the Holy Spirit; but he, since he had not … this, asks in order to give to others. And yet … this … so as to give; but he wanted … to become more illustrious, … among the disciples … “May your silver perish with you.” These are not … but the words of one instructing. Since … he did not use it, “Let it be yours,” he says … as one might say, “Let it perish together with your intention,” because you think so little of the gift of [God] … you expected the thing to be altogether human … this is. If at least he had come as he should …, he would have been received, and he would not have been driven out like a pest. See … imagining small things about great ones, double … So he commands him: “Repent and pray … [if perhaps] the intent of your heart may be forgiven you” … he had devised something evil. That is why he also says, “if it may be forgiven you,” because he knew him to be incorrigible … he fears the crowd, and is afraid lest … he was disturbed, he would have said, “I did not know … I did”; but he was struck with amazement, first … at the signs, and second at this, that what was in his [heart] was made manifest. That is why … far off afterwards to Rome, as if the apostle would not overtake him. “And they preached the gospel,” it says, “to many villages of the Samaritans.” See how even their journeys … were; and they did not make them idly. … we ought to make our journeys. And what am I saying? Many have villages and estates, and … take no account of them; but how … may come about, and how the rents …, [how] halls, and how they may put up buildings, … they take great pains over; but how souls …, no longer. And you, if you [see] thorns by the …, you cut them out, you burn them, you destroy them, so that the [land may be rid] of the harm they do; but seeing [your laborers' souls] full of thorns and not cutting them out, do you not shudder, tell me, at the one who will demand an account of you for these too? For ought not each of the faithful to build a church, to take a teacher to help him, and before all else to look to this, that all may be Christians? How, tell me, will the farmer become a Christian, when he sees you so neglectful of his salvation? You cannot work signs and persuade? Persuade by what you have: by kindness, by protection, by gentleness, by courtesy, by everything else. Most people build markets and baths, but not churches; anything rather than this. Therefore I urge and entreat and ask it as a favor, or rather I lay it down as a law, that no one be seen owning an estate without a church. Do not say to me, “There is one nearby, in the neighborhood; the expense is great, the income not great.” If you have anything to spend on the poor, spend it there; better there than here. Support a teacher, support a deacon and a priestly body. Just as if you were bringing home a wife or a bride, or giving away a daughter, so give the church a dowry. In this way your estate will be filled with blessing. For what good thing will not be there? Is it a small thing, tell me, that the winepress is blessed? A small thing that God first receives a share and first-fruits of all your crops? This is useful for the peace of the farmers. The presbyter too will be respected from then on, and this will contribute to the safety of the estate. There will be continual prayers there because of you, hymns and assemblies because of you, an offering every Lord's Day. What greater cause for wonder is there than this: while others build splendid tombs so that those after them may hear, “So-and-so built this,” you raise up churches! Consider that until the coming of Christ you will have the reward, you who raised up an altar of God. [5] For tell me, if a king commanded you to build a house so that he might lodge there, would you not have done everything? Now the building of the church is a palace of Christ. Do not look at the expense, but reckon the fruit. They cultivate the land; you cultivate their souls. They bring you fruits; you bring them up to heaven. The one who made the beginning is the cause of all the rest as well. So you too will be the cause of the catechumens there, and of those in the neighboring estates. And yet baths make the farmers softer, and taverns more given to luxury; but nevertheless you build these for the sake of glory. Markets and festivals again make them brazen; but what is here does quite the opposite. How delightful it is to see a presbyter walking in the image of Abraham, grey-haired, girded, digging and working with his own hands! What is more desirable than that field? There virtue is greater. There is no licentiousness there; it has been driven out. There is no drunkenness and luxury; they have been banished. There is no vainglory; it has been quenched. Good cheer shines out more there because of the simplicity. How fine it is to go out and enter the house of God, and to know that one built it oneself, and to lie down at ease, and after the body's airing to be present at the evening and morning hymns, to have the priest at one's table, to converse with him and enjoy his blessing, to see others coming there! This is a wall, this is the security of an estate. This is the field of which it says, “The smell of a full field which the Lord has blessed.” Even without this the field is fine, because of its quiet and because it is full of freedom from business; but when it has this too, what will it not equal? For a field that has a church resembles the paradise of God. There is no shouting there, no tumult, no quarreling enemies, no heresies; one sees all as friends, sharing the same doctrines. The quiet leads you to philosophy; taking you from this philosophy, the presbyter will easily tend you. For here, whatever we say, the marketplace drives it out; but there, whatever you hear you will keep fixed in your mind; you will be another man in the field through him; and he will watch over them and be their guard, both by being present and by ordering their lives. And how great, tell me, is the expense? For the present make a small house in the form of a temple; the one after you will build a portico, the one after him will add other things, and so the whole will be reckoned to you. You give a little; lay the foundation. Or rather, urge one another on; make the matter a contest. As it is, where chaff and grain and all such things must be stored, they build readily; but where the produce of souls must be gathered, they take no thought at all, and people are forced to walk countless stades and make long journeys in order to go to church. How great a good it is for the priest to be present in the church in great quiet, so that he may approach God and speak every day for the village and for the owner! Is it a small thing, tell me, that your name is always included in the holy offerings, and that prayers are made to God every day for the village? How much this profits you in other things too! It happens that some live nearby and have stewards; not one of them will deign even to come to you, a poor man; but the presbyter he will perhaps even invite and make a sharer of his table. Do you see how many good things will come of this? The village will meanwhile be free of every evil suspicion; no one will bring a charge of murder, no one of theft; no one will suspect any such thing. They have another consolation too, if sickness befalls, or death. The friendships of those who go there together do not arise casually or by chance; and the gatherings will be much pleasanter than those at the festivals. And not only the gatherings, but the leading men themselves will be more respected because of the presbyter. You surely hear that among the ancients Jerusalem was more honored than the other cities; but not without reason, but because of the piety that prevailed then. That is why, where God is honored, there is nothing evil; just as again, where he is not honored, there is nothing good. There will be much security both with God and with men. Yes, I urge you, take up the matter not as a sideline but with eagerness. For if the one who brings forth the precious from the worthless will be as the mouth of God, the one who benefits and wins back so many souls, both those that are and those that will be until the coming of Christ, what favor will he not enjoy from God! Build a fortress against the devil; for this is what the church is. Let the hands set out from there to their toil; let them first lift them up in prayers, and then go off to their work. So they will have strength of body, so the harvest will be plentiful, so all evils will be far away. The pleasure that comes from this cannot be described in words until it happens in deed. Do not look at this, that it brings no income. If you look at things that way, do not build it, unless you think you receive an income greater than the whole estate; if you are not so minded, do not even undertake it, unless you suppose this work to stand above everything you own. What income is greater than this, to bring souls into the threshing floor in heaven? Alas! that you do not know how great a thing it is to gain souls. Hear what Christ says to Peter: “If you love me, tend my sheep.” If, seeing the king's sheep or a herd of horses without a fold, you had built a fold and a stable, or even set a shepherd over them, with what would the king not have repaid you? Now you gather the flock of Christ and set a shepherd over it, and do you not think you are doing something great? What am I saying? If the one who causes even one to stumble is threatened with suffering so great a punishment, will not the one who saves so many, tell me, be saved? Clearly he will. For what sin will he have after that? Or even if he has one, does this not wipe it out? From the punishment of the one who causes stumbling learn the prize of the one who saves. If the salvation even of one soul were not of great concern to God, its loss would not have caused him such wrath. Knowing these things, then, let us take up this spiritual work at once; let each of you call me, and we will help as far as we can. If there are three owners, let them do it by joint contribution; if one, he will persuade his other neighbors as well. Only be eager to accomplish this, I urge you, so that, pleasing God in every way, we may attain the eternal good things, by the grace and love for humankind 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.