Homilies on Hebrews 1.1

“In many parts and in many ways God spoke of old to the fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages.” Truly, “where sin abounded, grace superabounded.” This at any rate is what the blessed Paul hints at here too, in the opening, writing to the Hebrews. For since it was likely that they, worn down and wasted by their troubles, and judging matters by these, would reckon themselves inferior to all others, he shows that in this very respect they had enjoyed a greater and far surpassing grace, rousing the hearer from the very beginning of his discourse. That is why he says, “In many parts and in many ways God spoke of old to the fathers by the prophets; in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” Why did he not set himself over against the prophets? And yet he was much greater than they, as much as greater things had been entrusted to him. But he does not do it. Why? First, because he declines to say great things about himself; second, because his hearers were not yet mature; and third, because he wished rather to lift them up and to show that the superiority was great. As if he said: What great thing is it that he sent prophets to our fathers? For to us he sent his only-begotten Son himself. And he rightly began by saying, “In many parts and in many ways”; for he shows that not even the prophets themselves saw God, but the Son did see him. For “in many parts and in many ways” means “in different ways.” “For I,” he says, “multiplied visions, and was represented by the hands of the prophets.” So the superiority lies not only in this, that prophets were sent to them but the Son to us, but in this, that none of them saw God, whereas the only-begotten Son saw him. And he does not state this at once, but establishes it through what follows, when he speaks about the humanity: “For to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my Son; and, Sit at my right hand?” And see his great wisdom: first he shows the superiority from the prophets; then, having established that as agreed, he declares that to them he spoke through the prophets, but to us through the Only-begotten. And if to them he spoke through angels too (for angels too conversed with the Jews), even in this we have the advantage, and by as much as we have the Master and they servants; for angels and prophets are fellow servants. And well did he say, “in the last days”; for this too rouses them and encourages them, when they were already worn out. For as he says elsewhere, “The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything,” and again, “For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed,” so here too. What then is it that he says? That everyone who is spent in a contest, when he hears of the end of the contest, breathes again a little, knowing that it is the end of his labors and the beginning of his rest. “In these last days he has spoken to us in a Son.” See again: “in a Son,” he says, that is, “through the Son,” against those who say that this applies to the Spirit. Do you see that “in” means “through”? And “in the last days” again hints at something else. What is that? That after a long time had passed in between, when we were about to be punished, when the gifts had failed, when there was no expectation of salvation, when we expected on every side to have less, then we have received more. And see how wisely he said it. He did not say, “Christ spoke,” though he was the one who spoke; but since their souls were weak and not yet able to hear the things about Christ, he says, “He has spoken to us in a Son.” What do you say? Did God speak through the Son? Yes. Where then is the superiority? For here you have shown that both the New and the Old belong to one and the same God, but not that the superiority is great. That is why he goes on to pursue this in his discourse, saying, “He has spoken to us in a Son.” See how Paul makes it common and puts himself on a level with the disciples, saying, “He has spoken to us.” And yet he did not speak to him, but to the apostles, and through them to the many. But he lifts them up and shows that he spoke to them too, and at the same time he does not yet attack the Jews. For nearly all to whom the prophets spoke were wicked and polluted men. And he does not yet speak about these, but for the present about the gifts that God bestowed. That is why he adds, “whom he appointed heir of all things.” Here he speaks of the flesh, as David too says in the second psalm, “Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance.” For no longer is Jacob the Lord’s portion, nor Israel his lot, but all. What is “whom he appointed heir”? That is, he made him Lord of all. Which Peter too said in the Acts: “God has made him both Lord and Christ.” And he has used the name of heir to show two things: the genuineness of the sonship and the inseparability of the lordship. “Heir of all things,” that is, of the whole world. Then he brings the discourse back again to the former point: “through whom also he made the ages.”

2. Where are those who say, “There was when he was not”? Then, going up by steps, he afterwards utters what is much greater than these, saying, “Who, being the radiance of his glory and the exact imprint of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of our sins by himself, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” Oh, the apostle’s wisdom! Or rather, it is not Paul’s wisdom but the grace of the Spirit that one must admire here. For he did not utter these things from his own mind, nor did he find such wisdom of himself; for from where? From the knife and the hides, or the workshop? No, it was the work of divine power to speak so. For it was not his mind that gave birth to these thoughts, a mind then so lowly and humble as to have nothing more than the people of the market; for how could a mind spent on contracts and hides? It was the grace of the Spirit, which shows its strength through whomever it will. For just as, if someone wished to lead a little child up to some high place reaching to the very summit of heaven, he does it gently and little by little, leading it up by the steps from below; then, when he has set it on high and bidden it look down, and sees it growing dizzy, he brings it down again to a lower place, letting it breathe; then, when it has recovered, he leads it up again, and again brings it down; so did the blessed Paul do with the Hebrews and everywhere, having learned this from his Teacher. For he too did so, sometimes leading his hearers up to a height, sometimes bringing them down, and not letting them linger long at the same point. See him, at any rate, here too: by how many steps he led them up and set them on the very summit of godliness, and, before they grow dizzy and are seized with vertigo, how he brings them down again lower and, letting them breathe, says, “He has spoken to us in a Son,” and again, “He appointed him heir of all things.” For so far the name of Son is common. Where he is understood as a genuine Son, he is above all; but for the present, whatever he may be, he goes on to establish and show that he is from above. And see how he first stands on the lower step, saying, “whom he appointed heir of all things”; for “he appointed him heir” is lowly; then on the higher, adding, “through whom also he made the ages”; then on the higher still, beyond which there is no other: “who, being the radiance of his glory and the exact imprint of his substance.” Truly he has led them into light unapproachable, into the radiance itself. And before they are darkened, see how he again gently brings them down, saying, “and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of our sins by himself, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty.” He did not say simply, “He sat down,” but “after the purification he sat down.” For he has touched on the incarnation, and again utters lowly things. Then, having again uttered something lofty (“at the right hand,” he says, “of the Majesty on high”), he again utters something lowly by adding, “having become as much better than the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” For here he is discoursing about the dispensation according to the flesh. For “having become better” does not indicate the essence according to the Father (for that did not come to be, but was begotten), but that according to the flesh; for this came to be. But his discourse now is not about coming into being; rather, just as John, saying, “He who comes after me has become before me, because he was before me,” shows this, that he is more honored and more illustrious, so here too Paul, saying, “having become so much better than the angels,” showed that he is superior, and that “he has inherited a name.” Do you see that the discourse was about what is according to the flesh? For this name God the Word always had; he did not inherit it later, nor did he become better than the angels when he made purification of our sins; he was always better, and better beyond comparison. But this is said of what is according to the flesh. So too it is our custom, when we discuss man, to say both lofty and lowly things. For when we say, “Man is nothing,” “man is earth,” “man is ashes,” we name the whole from the worse part; but when we say, “Man is an immortal living being,” and “man is rational,” and “akin to the things above,” we again name the whole from the better part. So also concerning Christ, Paul speaks sometimes from the lesser, sometimes from the greater, wishing both to establish the dispensation and to teach about the incorruptible nature.

3. Since, then, he has made purification of our sins, let us remain pure and receive no stain, but let us be eager to guard the beauty and comeliness that he has put into us so undefiled and pure as to have no spot or wrinkle or any such thing. For even the small sins are a spot and a wrinkle: I mean, for example, reviling, insult, falsehood; or rather, not even these are small, but very great, and so great as to deprive us even of the kingdom of heaven. How, and in what way? “He who calls his brother a fool,” it says, “is liable to the gehenna of fire.” And if he who calls him “fool,” which seems the lightest of all and children’s talk, is liable, the one who calls him malicious and villain and envious, and pelts him with countless other reproaches, what penalty of punishment will he not undergo? What is more terrifying than this? But bear with the discourse, I beg you. For if he who does it to one of the least does it to him, and he who does not do it to one of the least does not do it to him, how is it not the same with praise and with accusation? For he who insults his brother has insulted God, and he who honors his brother honors God.

4. Let us train our tongue, then, to speak well; for “Keep your tongue,” it says, “from evil.” For God did not give it for this, that we might accuse, that we might insult, that we might slander one another, but that we might sing hymns to God, that we might say the things that give grace to the hearers, the things for building up, for profit. Have you spoken ill of someone? What do you gain? You have even got the name of slanderer. For there is no evil, there is none, that stops at the one who suffers it; it takes in the doer too. For example, the envious man seems to plot against another, but he himself is the first to reap the injustice, wasting away and being consumed and hated by all. The covetous man robs another of money, but also robs himself of being loved; or rather he makes himself spoken ill of by all. And “a good name is much better than riches”; for the one is not easy to wash off, whereas the others are easy to acquire; or rather, riches when absent do not harm the one who lacks them, but a good name when absent makes a man a reproach and a laughingstock, and an enemy and adversary to all. Again, the wrathful man first punishes himself, tearing himself to pieces, and only then the one with whom he is angry. So the slanderer first disgraces himself, and only then the man he slanders; or perhaps he cannot even do this, but goes away having gained the reputation of a polluted and despicable person, while making the other the more loved. For when the one who is spoken ill of does not defend himself in the same way, but praises and admires the other, he will be praising not him but himself. For just as, as I said before, slanders against our neighbors first touch those who plot them, so too the good done to our neighbors first gladdens those who do it. For whoever gives birth to good or evil naturally enjoys it first himself; and just as spring water, whether salt or sweet, fills the vessels of those who bring them and does not diminish the spring that sends it forth, so too vice and virtue, wherever they come from, gladden or destroy that person. And these things are here. But the things there, the good or the evil, what speech will describe them? There is none. For the good things surpass all understanding, not speech only; and the opposite things are spoken of with names familiar to us: for there is fire there, it says, and darkness and bonds and an undying worm. But it does not set forth only these things that are named, but others more grievous. And that you may learn this, consider this first at once. Tell me, if it is fire, how is it also darkness? Do you see that that fire is more grievous than this? For it has no light. If it is fire, how does it always burn? Do you see that it is more grievous than this? For it is not quenched; that is why it is called unquenchable. Let us consider, then, how great an evil it is to be burned forever, and to be in darkness, and to groan countless groans, and to gnash the teeth, and not even be heard. For if someone among those nobly reared, thrown into a prison here, says that the stench alone, and lying in darkness, and being bound with murderers, is harder than any death, consider what it is when with … neither being seen, but thinking themselves alone in so great a multitude. For the darkness and the absence of light do not let us recognize even those near us, but each will feel as though he alone suffered this. And if darkness by itself afflicts and troubles our souls, what will it be when together with the darkness there are so many pains and burnings? So I beg you to turn these things over continually within yourselves, and to bear the pain that comes from words, so that we may not undergo the punishment that comes through deeds. For all these things will certainly be, and those who have done things deserving of the punishments there no one will rescue, not father, not mother, not brother, however much boldness he has, however great his power with God. For a brother does not redeem …; for it is he who renders to each according to his works, and by these one can be saved or punished … “Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness.” Let us obey, then, for it is the Master’s commandment, and let us scatter the superfluities of our wealth among those in need; let us practice almsgiving while we are masters of it; for this is “making friends by means of mammon.” Let us empty out our money on the poor, that we may empty out that fire, that we may quench it, that we may have boldness there. For there it is not these who receive us, but our work. For that it is not simply their being our friends that can save, one can learn from the addition. For why did he not say, “Make friends for yourselves, that they may receive you into their eternal tents,” but added the manner as well? By saying, “by means of the mammon of unrighteousness,” he showed that it is fitting to make these friends with money, making clear that friendship will not simply stand by us unless we have good works, unless we justly empty out the wealth unjustly gathered. And this discourse of ours on almsgiving will fit not the rich only but the poor too. Even if someone is fed by begging, this discourse is for him too; for there is no one, there is no one so poor, however very poor, as not to have two lepta. It is possible, at any rate, giving little out of little, to surpass those who possess much and give more, like that widow. For the greatness of almsgiving is judged not by the measure of what is given, but by the means and the will of the givers. So everywhere we need the will, everywhere love toward God. If we do everything with this, even if, having little, we give little, God will not turn away his face, but will receive it as great and wonderful. For he looks to the will, not to the gifts; and if he sees that it is great, by it he casts his votes and gives his judgments, and makes us partakers of the eternal good things; which may we all obtain, by grace and loving-kindness …