Homilies on Hebrews 10.1–10.4

“For land that drinks the rain that often comes upon it, and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” Let us hear the oracles of God with fear, with fear and much trembling; for “Serve the Lord,” it says, “with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling.” And if even our joy and our gladness ought to be with trembling, when what is said is also fearful, such as the present words, what punishment do we not deserve if we do not listen to what is said with shuddering? Having said that it is impossible for those who have fallen away to be baptized a second time and to receive again the forgiveness that comes through the washing, and having shown the fearfulness of the thing, he adds, “For land that drinks the rain that often comes upon it, and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” Let us fear, then, beloved. This threat is not Paul’s; the words are not a man’s; they are the Holy Spirit’s, of Christ speaking in him. Who, then, is clean of these thorns? And even if we were clean, not even so ought we to be confident, but to fear and tremble lest thorns sprout in us; but when we are wholly thorns and thistles, from where do we take confidence, tell me, and become careless? What makes … [one who thinks he] stands not fall? “For let him who thinks he stands,” it says, “take heed lest he fall.” How ought one who has fallen to be anxious so as to rise? If Paul fears that, having preached to others, he himself may become disqualified, and fears becoming disqualified, he who was so approved, what defense and what pardon shall we have who have already become disqualified, having no fear, but fulfilling our Christianity as a habit, and discharging it as a formality? … “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven”; let us fear; for it is revealed not against ungodliness only, but also against all unrighteousness, both small and great. Here he hints at God’s loving-kindness. By “rain” he means the teaching; and what he said above, “though by this time you ought to be teachers,” this he says here too. And in many places Scripture calls the teaching rain: “For I will command the clouds,” it says, “not to rain rain upon it,” speaking of the vineyard; which elsewhere it calls a famine of bread and a thirst for water. And again, “The river of God is filled with water.” “For land that drinks,” he says, “the rain that often comes upon it.” Here he makes plain that they both received and drank in the word, and obtained it often, and not even so profited. For if you had not been cultivated, he says, if you had not enjoyed rains, the evil would not be so great: “For if I had not come,” he says, “and spoken to them, they would not have sin”; but if you drank often and received, why did you bring forth other things instead of fruits? “For I waited,” it says, “for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns.” Do you see that everywhere Scripture calls sins thorns? For David too says, “I was turned to misery while a thorn was fixed in me.” For it does not simply come upon one, but is fixed in; and even if a little of it remains and we do not take it all out, the little itself pains just the same, as with a thorn. And why do I speak of the little? Even after it has been taken out, it leaves the pain of the wound for a long time; and for this reason there is need of much care and treatment, so as to be wholly freed from it. For it is not enough only to take out the sin; the wounded place must also be cared for. But I fear that the saying is addressed to us rather than to others: “land that drinks the rain that often comes upon it.” For we are always drinking, always hearing, but at once, when the sun rises, we lose the moisture, and for this reason we bear thorns. What then are the thorns? Let us hear Christ saying that “the care of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” “For land that drinks,” he says, “the rain that often comes upon it, and produces vegetation useful.”

2. Nothing is so useful as purity of life, nothing so well ordered as the best life, nothing so useful as virtue. “And produces,” he says, “vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.” Here he says that God becomes the cause of all things, quietly striking at the Greeks, who ascribe the birth of fruits to the power of the earth. For it is not the farmers’ hands, he says, that rouse the earth to the bearing of fruits, but the command from God; that is why he says, “receives a blessing from God.” And see how in the case of the thorns he did not say “producing thorns,” nor did he use this word of good things, but what? “Bearing thorns,” as one might say, casting them up, throwing them out. “Worthless,” he says, “and near to being cursed.” Oh, how much consolation the word has! For he said “near to being cursed,” not “a curse”; and one who has not yet fallen into the curse, but has come near it, will be able also to come to be far from it. And he consoled them not by this alone, but also by what follows. For he did not say, “worthless and near to being cursed, which will be burned,” but what? “Its end is to be burned,” showing that if it remains so to the end, it will suffer this. So if we cut out and burn up the thorns, we shall be able to enjoy countless good things, and become approved, and share in blessing. And he rightly called sin a thistle, saying, “but if it bears thorns and thistles”; for wherever you take hold of it, it strikes and bites, and it is ugly even to look at. Having, then, taken hold of them sufficiently, and frightened and struck them, he heals again, so as not to cast them down further and make them careless; for one who strikes the sluggish makes him more sluggish. He neither flatters wholly, so as not to puff them up, nor strikes wholly, so as not to make them more careless; but putting in a little of what strikes, he applies much of what heals by what follows, so as to achieve what he wishes. For what does he say? “But we are persuaded of better things concerning you, beloved, and things belonging to salvation, even though we speak thus.” That is, we say these things not as having condemned you, nor as thinking you full of thorns, but fearing lest this happen; for it is better to frighten you with words, so that you may not suffer pain from deeds. And this belongs especially to Paul’s wisdom. And he did not say, “We think,” nor “We conjecture,” nor “We expect,” nor “We hope,” but what? “We are persuaded.” Which he said too writing to the Galatians: “I am confident about you in the Lord that you will think nothing else.” He did not say “you think,” but “you will think.” For there, since they were very much at fault and he could not praise them from the present, he does it from the future, saying, “you will think nothing else”; but here from the present: “But we are persuaded of better things concerning you, beloved, and things belonging to salvation, even though we speak thus.” And since he could not say so much from the present, he builds the consolation from the past, and says, “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in having served the saints and in serving them.” Oh, how he restored and strengthened their soul by reminding them of former deeds, and put them under necessity not to expect that God had forgotten! For one who is not fully assured of God’s just judgment, and of his repayment to each according to the worth of his life, must sin and say that God is unjust. So he compelled them by all means to expect those things to come. For one who has despaired and given up because of present things, one will be able to strengthen from the things to come; as he himself too said writing to the Galatians, “You were running well; who hindered you?” and again, “Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain?” And just as here he sets the praise with rebuke, saying, “though by this time you ought to be teachers,” so there too: “I am astonished” … praise; for we are astonished about great people when they fall away. Do you see the praise hidden in the accusation and the charge? And he says this not about himself only, but about all; for he did not say, “I am persuaded,” but “We are persuaded of better things concerning you,” that is, good things. He says these things either about their way of life or about the recompense. Then, having said above, “worthless and near to being cursed,” and that it will be for burning, so that he may not seem to say this about them, he at once added, “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the labor of love,” showing that even if we speak thus, we do not altogether say this about you. And if you do not say it about us, why do you attack us, calling us sluggish, and … “We desire,” he says, “each one of you to show the same earnestness for the full assurance of hope to the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit [the promises].”

“We desire,” he says; so we wish this not only as far as words. But what do you desire, tell me? We desire you to hold fast to virtue; not as condemning the former things, he says, but fearing for the things to come. And he did not say, “Not as condemning the former things, but the present ones; for you have grown faint, you have become more careless.” But see how gently he showed it, and did not strike. For what does he say? “But we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to the end.” For this is the wonderful thing in Paul’s wisdom, that he does not show that they have given way, that they have slackened. For to say, “We desire each one of you,” is, as one might say, “I wish you to be always earnest, and to be now and in the future such as you were before.” For this made the reproof gentler and easier to accept. And he did not say, “I wish,” which belonged to a teacher’s authority, but what belonged to a father’s affection and is more than wishing, “We desire” … “For we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness for the full assurance of your hope to the end.” What is this? Hope, he says, sustains; it restores again; do not grow faint, do not despair, so that your hope may not be in vain; for he who does good things also hopes for good things, and never despairs of himself. “So that you may not become sluggish,” [but may remain] at your height. And yet above he said, “since you have become dull of hearing.” But see how there he limited the sluggishness to hearing; here, though he utters this same word, he hints at something else; for instead of saying, “Do not remain in carelessness,” he said, “Do not become sluggish.” Again he leads them out to the future time, which is free from blame, saying, “so that you may not become more sluggish”; for while that time is not yet present, we would not be answerable. For one who is exhorted to be earnest about the present, as being careless, will perhaps become more reluctant too; but one exhorted about the future, not so. “But we desire,” he says, “each one of you.” Great is the affection: he cares for great and small alike, and knows all, and overlooks no one, but shows the same care for each and equal honor toward all; for which reason he persuaded them the more to accept the heaviness of his words. “So that you may not become sluggish,” he says. For just as idleness harms the body, so too idleness in good things makes the soul more careless and weak. “But imitators,” he says, “of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” And who these are he says next. “[For when God made a] promise …” Then, so that they might not say, “What [promises]?”, he leads them up to the patriarch, bringing them examples of achievements from home, but of thinking themselves forsaken, from the patriarch. And he does this so that they might not say that they had been forsaken as men of no account, despised, but might know that this belongs to the noblest men above all, to travel through life by trials, and that God has dealt so with wonderful and great men. One must bear everything, he says, with patience; for this too is to believe. For if he says that he gives, and you receive at once, why did you even believe? For this is no longer of your faith, but of me, he says, who anticipated the promise and gave. But if I say that I give, and I give after a hundred years, and you do not despair, then you have thought me trustworthy, then you have the right opinion about me. Do you see that unbelief often comes not only from hopelessness, but also from losing heart and not being patient, not from the one who promised? “For God is not unjust,” he says, “so as to forget your love and the earnestness which you showed toward his name, in having served the saints and in serving them.” He bears witness to great things about them: not works only, but works done with eagerness; which he says elsewhere too: “And not only this, but they gave themselves to the Lord and to us.” “Which you showed,” he says, “toward his name, in having served the saints and in serving them.” See how he again treats them by adding and saying, “in serving them”? Even now, he says, you are serving them; rousing them and showing that they did it not to those men but to God. “Which you showed,” he says; not simply toward the saints, but toward God; for this is “toward his name”; as if he said, You have done everything for his name’s sake. He, then, who has enjoyed so much earnestness and love from you will never despise you.

Hearing these things, I beg you, let us serve the saints. For every believer is a saint, inasmuch as he is a believer; even if someone is a man of the world, he is a saint: “For the unbelieving husband,” it says, “is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife in the husband.” See how faith makes sanctification. Even if, then, we see a man of the world in distress, let us stretch out our hand; let us not be earnest only toward those who sit in the mountains. For those are saints both by life and by faith, and these too are saints by faith, and many by life too. Let us not, if we see a monk in prison, go in, and if a man of the world, not go in; this man too is a saint, and a brother. “What then,” one says, “if he is impure and polluted?” Hear Christ saying, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” Do it for God’s sake. And what am I saying? Even if we see a Greek in distress, we must do good, and simply to every man who is in distress, and much more to a believer who is a man of the world. Hear Paul saying, “Do good to all, and especially to those of the household of faith.” But I do not know from where this has been brought in, and from where this custom has prevailed. For he who seeks out only the monks, and wishes to do good to them only, and inquires curiously into these too, saying, “If he is not worthy, if he is not righteous, if he does not work signs, I do not stretch out my hand,” has taken away the greater part of almsgiving, and in time will do away even with this very part. And yet that is almsgiving which is done to sinners, to those who are guilty. For this is almsgiving: to have mercy not on those who have done right, but on those who have done wrong. And that you may learn this, hear what Christ says through the parable: “A certain man was going down,” it says, “from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers; and having beaten him, they left him by the road half dead. And by chance a Levite came along the road, and seeing him, passed by on the other side; and likewise a priest too did the same and ran past. But afterwards a Samaritan came, and took great care of him. For he bound up his wounds, poured on oil, set him on his donkey, brought him to the inn, and said to the innkeeper, Take care of him.” And see his great munificence: “And I will repay you,” he says, “whatever you spend.” Then he asks, “Which, then, do you think became a neighbor to him?” And the lawyer, having said, “The one who showed mercy on him,” hears, “Go, then, and do likewise.” And see what kind of parable he spoke. He did not say that a Jew did good to a Samaritan, but that a Samaritan showed all that munificence. From this we learn to provide equally for all, not caring only for those of the household of faith and neglecting the strangers. So you too, if you see someone suffering ill, inquire into nothing further; his suffering ill gives him the right to help. For if you see a donkey choking, you raise it up and do not inquire whose it is; much more must one not inquire whose a man is. He is God’s, whether he is a Greek or a Jew. For even if he is an unbeliever, still he needs help. For if it had been entrusted to you to examine and judge, you would rightly say these things; but now the misfortune does not allow you to examine. For if one ought not to inquire curiously into those who are in health, nor busy oneself with others’ affairs, much more those who are suffering ill. And besides, what? Did you see him prospering or in good repute, that you say he is wicked and worthless? He is suffering ill; and if you see one suffering ill, do not say that he is wicked. For when he is in good repute, we rightly say these things; but when he is in misfortune and needs help, one should not say that he is wicked; for this belongs to cruelty and inhumanity and arrogance. What was more lawless than the Jews, tell me? But nevertheless, God punished them, and very justly; and nevertheless he accepted those who grieved with them, and punished those who rejoiced over them. “For they did not suffer at all,” it says, “at the breaking of Joseph.” And again, “Rescue those who are led away to death; do not spare.” He did not say, “Inquire, and learn who he is”; and yet for the most part those led away are wicked; but he said simply, “Rescue him, whoever he may be.” For this above all is almsgiving. For he who does good to a friend does not altogether do it for God’s sake; but he who does good to one unknown, he does it purely for God’s sake. And he says, “Do not spare money, but even if you must empty out everything, give”; but we, seeing people choking, lamenting, suffering things harder than countless deaths, and often unjustly, spare our money and do not spare our brothers; we care for lifeless things, but neglect a soul. And yet Paul commands us to instruct opponents with gentleness: “in case,” he says, “God may grant them repentance leading to knowledge of the truth, and they may be taken captive by him to do his will.” “In case,” he says: do you see with how much patience the word is full? Imitating him, let us too despair of no one. For fishermen too, having often cast the hook into the sea, caught nothing, but afterwards, casting it, took the whole. So we too do not despair, but expect that you will suddenly show us ripe fruit. For the farmer too, when he sows, waits the first day and the second, and waits a long time; then suddenly he sees the fruits sprouting on every side. This we expect will happen with you too, by the grace and loving-kindness 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. Amen.