Homilies on Acts 47.1–47.3

“And Paul said, ‘I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city; I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.’ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying.” See how, when he speaks to those outside, he does not refuse to make use of the help that the laws give. Here he makes the tribune respect him because of his city. So too earlier he said, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and thrown us into prison.” For since the tribune asked, “Are you the Egyptian?” “I am,” he says, “a Jew.” By saying this he at once drew him away from that suspicion. Then, so that “Jew” might not be taken to mean his nation, he speaks of his religion; for elsewhere too he calls himself “under the law of Christ.” What is this? Does Paul lie? Away with the thought! What then? Did he deny? God forbid: for he was a Jew and a Christian, keeping what had to be kept, since he obeyed the law more than anyone, by believing in Christ; and in speaking to Peter he says, “We who are Jews by nature.” “I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” And this is a proof that he does not lie, since he called everyone as witnesses. See him again speaking with mildness. And this again is the greatest proof that he was guilty of nothing: that he was so ready to make a defense, and wished to stand up and give an account to the populace of the Jews. See a man of composure; see the dispensation: if the tribune had not come, if he had not bound him, he would not have asked for a hearing for his defense, he would not have enjoyed such silence. “And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps.” From the place too there was great convenience: that he should address the people from a height, and in chains. What is equal to this sight, to see Paul bound with two chains addressing the people? How was he not troubled, how was he not confounded, seeing so great a populace up in arms against him while the ruler stood by? First he drew them away from their anger, then he speaks; and see how prudently. For what he did in the Epistle to the Hebrews, this he does here too: first he draws them by the kinship of the language, then by his very gentleness; and so, to show this, it goes on: “And when there was a great silence,” it says, “he addressed them in the Hebrew … ‘[Brothers and fa]thers, hear the defense I now make to you.’” See how his speech is free of flattery and has mildness. For he did not say, “Masters,” or “Lords,” but “Brothers,” which is what they most wanted, as if he were saying, “I am not a stranger to you, nor against you.” “Men, brothers and fathers,” he says: the one a mark of honor, the other of kinship. “Hear the defense I now make to you.” He did not say “my teaching” or “my address,” but “my defense”: he puts himself in the position of a suppliant. “And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became all the more quiet.” You see how the common language won them? For they had a certain reverence for that tongue. And see how he prepares the way for his speech, beginning thus and saying: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the strictness of our ancestral law, being zealous for God, as all of you are today.” “I am,” he says, “a Jew,” which is what they most of all wanted to hear. “Born in Tarsus in Cilicia.” So that they might not again think his nation another, he added his religion. “Brought up in this city.” He shows his great zeal for the worship, seeing that he left so great a homeland, so far away, and chose to be brought up here for the sake of the law. See how from the first he was devoted to the law. And he says this not only in defending himself to them, but also showing that it was not by a human purpose that he was brought to the preaching, but by divine power; for, having been educated so, he would not have changed all at once. For if he had been one of the many, it would have been natural to suspect this; but if he was one of those held most of all by the law, it was not likely that he would change his mind casually, with no strong necessity. But perhaps someone might say, “It means nothing that you were brought up here; for what if you came here for trade or some other reason?” So that this might not be thought, then, he added, “At the feet of Gamaliel”; and he did not simply say, “From Gamaliel,” but “At the feet,” showing his perseverance, his constant attendance, his zeal in listening, his great reverence for the man. “Educated according to the strictness of our ancestral law.” Not simply “the law,” but he adds “ancestral,” showing that he was such from the first, and did not merely know the law. These things seem to be said on their behalf, but they were against them, since he knew the law and yet left it. Then, so that no one might again object, “What then, if you know the law accurately, but do not defend it or love it?” he says, “being zealous,” that is, not merely knowing it, but being very zealous for it. Then, since he had spoken great praises of himself, he now makes the statement common to them, adding, “as all of you are today.” For he shows that they act not with a human purpose, but with divine zeal. He says this to please them and to win their minds in advance, and to hold them in matters where there was no harm. Then he also brings forward proofs, saying: “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and handing over to prisons both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders bear me witness.” So that no one may say, “And how is this clear?” he brings forward as witnesses the high priest himself and the elders. And he speaks to soften them: “Being zealous, as you are,” that is, equal to you; but he shows by his deeds that he went beyond them. For “I did not wait to arrest them, but I stirred up the priests and undertook journeys; and I did not go only as far as men, as you do, but to women too; and I bound them all and put them in the prisons of the Jews.” See how many witnesses he brings forward: the council of elders, the high priest, those in the city.

And see that his defense comes not from cowardice, but is rather teaching and instruction. For if his hearers had not been stones, they would have paid attention to what was said. For up to this point he had them as witnesses, but the rest was without witnesses. “From whom I also received letters … to those who were there, to bring them bound to Jerusalem to be punished. And as I was on my way and drawing near to Damascus, about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying … I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’” These things ought to have been credible most of all from what went before; for he would not have turned round. “What then, if he is boasting?” one says. Not at all. For why, tell me, did he suddenly throw away so great a zeal? Expecting honor? But he endured the opposite. Ease, then? Not that either. Then what else? Nothing can be found by reasoning. Leaving them, then, to draw these conclusions, he narrates the facts. “As I was drawing near to Damascus,” he says, “about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me, and I fell to the ground.” See how overwhelming the light was. And that I am not boasting, those who were with me bear witness, those who led me by the hand, those who saw the light. “Those who were with me saw the light and were afraid, but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.” Do not be surprised that here he says this, and elsewhere it says, “They stood hearing the voice, but seeing no one.” This is not contradictory. For there were two voices, Paul’s and the Lord’s: there, then, it speaks of Paul’s voice; and here he even added, “They did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.” So “seeing no one” does not refer to seeing, but shows that they did not hear; for it did not say that they did not see the light, but “They stood seeing no one,” that is, no one speaking. And this happened fittingly; for he was the one who had to be counted worthy of that voice. For if they too had heard, the wonder would not have been so great. Since, then, the duller sort are persuaded more by sight, for this reason they saw only the light, which was enough to persuade them; that is why they were afraid. Besides, the light did not do as much to them as to him; for it blinded his eyes, while through what happened to him it gave them too the chance to recover their sight, if they wished. It seems to me, at any rate, that it was also by dispensation that they did not believe, so that they might be trustworthy witnesses. “And he said to me,” he says, “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’” The city is fittingly added, so that they might recognize him. And the apostles spoke thus: “Jesus of Nazareth.” See: he himself too bears witness that he was being persecuted. “Those who were with me saw the light and were afraid, but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up, go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you must do.’ And since I could not see because of the glory of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews in Damascus, came to me and stood by me and said … at that very hour I looked up and saw him.” “Go into the city,” he says, “and there you will be told what you must do.” See, another witness again. And see how he makes him trustworthy too: “And a certain Ananias,” he says, “a man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews, came to me and stood by me and said to me, ‘Receive your sight.’” So there is nothing foreign here. “And at that very hour I received my sight.” Then comes the witness of the facts. And see it woven of persons and facts, persons both of their own and strangers. Persons: the priests, the elders, his fellow travelers; facts: what he did, what he suffered; and facts bear witness to facts, not only persons. Or otherwise: Ananias is a stranger; then the fact itself, the recovery of sight; then a great prophecy. “And he said,” it says, “‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will and to see the Righteous One.’” He fittingly said, “of our fathers,” to show that they were not Jews but strangers to the law, and that they acted from envy, not from zeal. “To know,” he says, “his will and to see the Righteous One.” So this is his will. See how, in the form of a narrative, it is teaching. “And to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.” “And to see,” he says, “the Righteous One.” For the present he says this; and if he is righteous, these men are guilty. “And to hear a voice from his mouth.” See how he exalts the matter. “For you will be,” he says, “a witness for him.” So for this reason you will not betray the sight and the hearing, “of what you have seen and what you have heard”: by both senses he confirms him. “And now why do you wait? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”

Here he uttered something great. For he did not say, “Be baptized into his name,” but “calling on the name” of Christ. This belongs to one who shows that he is God; for one may not call on anyone else but God. Then he shows that he himself too was not forced into what he says. “And the Lord said to me, ‘Go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you must do.’” Nothing is without witness: he brings forward the testimony of a whole city, which indeed saw him led by the hand. And see the prophecy fulfilled, which he heard, that he would be a witness of the Lord. For he truly became his witness, and a witness as he should be, both by what he did and by what he said. Such witnesses we too must be, and not betray what we have been entrusted with: I do not speak of doctrines only, but also of life. For see: because he saw, because he heard, he bears witness to all people, and nothing hindered him. We too have heard that there is a resurrection and countless good things; so we are bound to bear witness to this to all people. “But we do bear witness,” one says, “and we believe.” How, when you do the opposite? Tell me: if someone called himself a Christian, and then fell away and held Jewish views, would this witness suffice? Not at all; for people would look for the witness of his deeds. So too with us: if we say that there is a resurrection and countless good things, and then despise them and prefer the things here, who will believe us? For everyone pays attention not to what we say but to what we do. “You will be a witness,” he says, “to all people”: not only to your own, but also to unbelievers; for this is what witnesses are: they persuade not those who know, but those who do not. Let us become trustworthy witnesses. And how shall we be trustworthy? By our life. The Jews attacked him; the passions attack us, bidding us forswear our testimony. But let us not obey them: we are witnesses sent by God. God is put on trial among some people, as if he were not God; he has sent us to bear witness for him. Let us bear witness and persuade those who sit in judgment; if we do not bear witness, we too are the cause of their error. And if in a court of law, where the business is of this life, no one would accept a witness full of countless vices, much more here, where the inquiry concerns such matters. We say that we have heard Christ and believe what he promised; they say, “Show this by your deeds; for your life testifies the opposite, that you do not believe. Shall we look at the money-makers, the robbers, the grasping? at those who mourn, who beat their breasts, who build, who busy themselves with everything as though they would never die? If, then, you do not believe that you will die, a thing so plain and evident, how shall we believe you when you bear witness?” For there are, there are many people who are so disposed as if they would never die. For when in long old age they begin to build and to farm, when will they take thought of death? Not small is the punishment for us who were called to bear witness, but were not able to bear witness to what we saw. We too have seen the angels with our eyes, and more clearly than those who have looked on them. So let us bear witness to Christ; for not only those are witnesses, but we too. Those are called martyrs for this reason, that when commanded to forswear, they endure everything in order to speak the truth; and we, when under the passions … says, “Say that Christ is not Christ,” then do not listen to it as to God, but despise its commands. Evil desires say the same; but do not be won over; stand firm nobly, so that it may not be said of us too, “They profess to know God, but deny him by their deeds.” For this is not what witnesses do, but the opposite. And that others deny is nothing surprising; but that we, who were called to bear witness, should become deniers, is grievous and burdensome: this most of all harms our cause. “It will turn out for you as a testimony,” he says; but when we do not leap away, when we stand firm. If we all wished to bear witness to Christ, we would quickly have persuaded most of the Greeks. Life is a great thing, beloved: even if someone is very savage, even if he openly condemns you because of your doctrine, still he accepts you in secret, still he will praise, still he will admire. “And where,” one says, “could the best life come from?” From nowhere but from divine working. “What then, when Greeks too are such?” If anywhere they are such, some are so by nature, others through vainglory. Do you want to learn how great is the brilliance of a life, how great its power to persuade? Many of the heretics … prevailed; and although their doctrines were corrupt, most people, out of reverence for their life, no longer examined the doctrine; and others, though condemning them for their doctrine, respected them for their life; not rightly, but still this is what they felt. This is what has brought the solemn truths of our faith into reproach, this has overturned everything: that no one takes any account of life; this damages the faith. We say that Christ is God; we bring forward countless other things, and among the rest this too, that he persuaded everyone to live rightly; but this is found in few. Wickedness of life damages the doctrine of the resurrection, that of the immortality of the soul, that of the judgment; it draws in many others too: fate, … , as if the soul were trying to devise these as consolations for itself, so as not to be pained in reflecting that there is a judgment and that virtue and vice lie in our own power. Such a life works countless evils: it makes men beasts, and more irrational than beasts; for what is found in each kind of beast, it has often gathered into one man, and has overturned everything. This is why the devil brought in fate, why he said that the world is without providence, why he posits natures good and evil, why he supposes evil without beginning and material, why he does everything: to corrupt our life. For it is not possible for one who lives such a life either to recover from corrupt doctrines or to remain in a sound faith; he must of great necessity accept them. For I do not think that anyone of those who do not live rightly is readily found who is not devising countless satanic things: that there is a birth-fate, that affairs are carried along at random, that everything is managed in confusion and disorder. Therefore, I beg you, let us take care for a good life, so that we may not accept wicked doctrines. Cain received as his punishment to groan and tremble. Such are the wicked: conscious of countless evils, they often leap up out of their sleep; their thoughts are in tumult, their eyes troubled; everything is full of suspicion, everything strikes them with terror; their soul is filled with harsh expectation and cowardice, and, shaken by fear and trembling, it becomes powerless. Nothing could be softer than such a soul, nothing more foolish. As madmen are not in possession of themselves, so neither is such a soul in possession of itself. When, then, will it come to awareness, having such dizziness, so as to … recognize its own nobility? When everything frightens and troubles it, dreams and words and gestures and mere suspicions, when will it be able [to come back] to itself …? … its fear; let us break its bonds. For even if there were no punishment, what punishment is not less bad than this: to live always under fear, never to take courage, never to be at ease? Knowing all this exactly, then, let us keep ourselves in calm and care for virtue, so that, having both sound doctrines and an upright life, we may pass through the present life without stumbling and may be able to attain the good things promised to those who love him, by the grace and love for humankind of his only-begotten Son, with whom to the Father, together with his Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.