Homilies on John 60.2–60.5

That is why he also opportunely introduces the discourse about the Gentiles. “For I have other sheep,” he says, “that are not of this fold; I must bring them also.” See again the word “must”: it does not indicate necessity, but what will certainly come to be; as if he were saying, “Why do you marvel if these are going to follow me and the sheep hear my voice? When you see others too following me and hearing my voice, then you will be amazed the more.” And if he says, “which are not of this [fold],” do not be disturbed. For the difference lies only in the law, as Paul too says, “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision.” [“I] must bring [them also].” He shows that both were scattered and mixed and without shepherds, both the one and the other, the good shepherd not yet having come. Then he also foretells their future union: “They will become one flock.” Which Paul again showed, saying, “that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two.” “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.” And what could be humbler than this saying, if our Master is to be loved because of us, since he dies for us? What then, tell me? Was he not loved before? Did the Father begin to love only now, and have we become the cause of his love? Do you see how he uses condescension? What then does he wish to establish here? Since they said he was a stranger to the Father and a deceiver, and had come for ruin and destruction, he says, “If nothing else, this at least persuaded me to love you: that you are so loved by the Father, as I am; and that I am loved by him for this reason, because I die for you.” And besides this he also wishes to establish that he comes to the thing not unwillingly (for if unwillingly, how could what happened produce love?), and that it is exceedingly pleasing to the Father. And if he speaks this as a man, do not marvel; for we have often stated the reason for this, and to say the same things again is superfluous and tiresome. “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” For since they had often wished to kill him, he says, “Unless I am willing, your toil is in vain”; and from the first he establishes the second, the resurrection from the death. For this is the wonderful and strange thing; for both happened in a new way, beyond common custom. Let us attend closely to what is said. “I have authority,” he says, “to lay down my life.” And who does not have authority to lay down his own life? For anyone who wishes can kill himself. But he does not mean it so; but how? “I have authority to lay it down in such a way that no one can do this against my will,” which is not possible among men. For we have no authority to lay it down otherwise than by killing ourselves; and if we fall among people who plot against us and have power to kill, we no longer have authority to lay it down or not, but they take it even against our will. But with him it was not so; even when others plotted against him, he was master of not laying it down. So, having said, “No one takes it from me,” he then added, “I have authority to lay down my life,” that is, “I alone am master of laying it down,” which is not so with you; for many others too are masters of taking it from us. But he did not say this at the beginning, for the saying would not have been credible; but when, after attempting [many times], they could not lay hold of him (for he escaped from their hands countless times), then at last he says, “No one takes it from me.” And if this is true, that other follows too: that he comes to it willingly. And if this is true, that too is established, that whenever he wishes he can take it up again. For if dying was more than human, do not doubt about that either. For his being the only master of giving up his life shows that he is master also of taking it up by the same authority. Do you see how from the first he established the second, and from the death showed the resurrection too to be beyond dispute? “This command I received from my Father.” What command is this? To die for the world. Did he then wait first to hear it, and then choose, and need to learn it? And who in his senses would say this? But as above, by saying, “For this reason the Father loves me,” he showed his voluntary impulse and removed the suspicion of opposition, so here too, by saying that he had received a command from the Father, he indicates nothing other than “What I do is pleasing to him,” so that when they killed him, they might not think that they had killed him as one abandoned and betrayed by the Father, nor reproach him as they did reproach him: “He saved others; himself he cannot save,” and, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” And indeed it was for this reason that he does not come down, because he is the Son of God.

Then, so that on hearing “I received a command from the Father” you might not think the achievement was foreign to him, he said beforehand, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,” showing by this that the sheep are his, and that everything that was done was his own achievement, and that he did not need a command. For if he needed a command, how did he say, “I lay it down of myself”? For one who lays it down of himself does not need a command. And he states the reason why he does this. What is it? That he is a shepherd, and a good shepherd. And a good shepherd does not need another to rouse him to this. And if this is so among men, much more with God. That is why Paul too said, “He emptied himself.” So the command placed here means nothing else than to show his oneness of mind with the Father. And if it is spoken so humbly and in a human way, the cause is the weakness of the hearers. “There was again a division among the Jews. Some said, ‘He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him?’ Others said, ‘These are not the words of one who is demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” For since what he said was more than human and not of common custom, they said he was possessed, now calling him this for the fourth time (for earlier they said, “You have a demon; who is seeking to kill you?”, and again, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”, and here, “He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him?”); or rather not the fourth time, but he must have heard it many times. For to say, “Are we not right in saying that you have a demon?” is a sign of having said it not twice or three times, but often. “But others said,” it says, “‘These are not the words of one who is demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” For since they could not silence them by words, they then made their proof from the works. “In the first place, the words are not those of one possessed; but if you are not persuaded by the words, be shamed by the works. And if they are not those of one possessed, but more than human, it is clear that they belong to some divine power.” Do you see the reasoning? That they were more than human is clear from their saying, “He has a demon”; that he did not have a demon they showed from what he did. What then does Christ do? He makes no answer to these things. Earlier he answered, “I do not have a demon,” but now not so. For since he had given the proof by deeds, he was silent thereafter. For those who called him possessed for the very things for which they ought to have admired him and held him to be God did not even deserve an answer. And what need was there any longer of refutations from him, when they themselves stood against one another and refuted one another? That is why he was silent and bore everything meekly. And not for this reason only, but also to teach us all gentleness and long-suffering. Let us, then, emulate him. For he not only kept silent, but also came again, and when questioned he answers, and shows the works of his providence; and, called possessed and mad by men who had received countless benefits from him, and that not once or twice but many times, he not only did not take revenge, but did not cease to benefit them. And why do I say benefit? He even laid down his life for them, and while being crucified he speaks to the Father on their behalf. Let us, then, imitate this. For this is to be a disciple of Christ: to be meek and gentle. And how may this meekness come to us? If we constantly reckon up our sins, if we mourn, if we weep. For a soul that lives with such grief does not allow itself to be provoked and angered. For where there is mourning, anger cannot be; where there is grief, all anger is gone; where there is contrition of mind, there is no exasperation. For the mind lashed by mourning has no leisure even to be roused; it groans bitterly and will weep more bitterly. And I know that many laugh when they hear this; but I will not cease mourning for those who laugh. For the present time is one of mourning and lamentation and wailing. For we sin much both in words and in deeds. And those who offend in this way are awaited by hell and a river seething with a torrent of fire, and loss of the kingdom, the hardest thing of all. When these things are threatened, tell me, do you laugh and live in luxury? And when your Master is provoked and threatens, do you stand there at ease? And do you not fear that by this you are kindling the furnace brightly for yourself? Do you not hear what he cries every day? “You saw me hungry, and did not feed me; thirsty, and did not give me drink. Depart into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And he threatens this every day. “But I fed him,” someone says. When, and for how many days? Ten or twenty? But he wishes not only for so much time, but for as long as you live on earth. For the virgins too had oil, but not enough for their salvation. For they too lit their lamps, but they were shut out of the bridal chamber, and quite rightly; for their lamps had gone out before the bridegroom came. That is why we need much oil and abundant love for humankind. Hear, at any rate, what the prophet says: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.” So we too must have mercy on our neighbors in this way, according to the great mercy in us. For as we are toward our fellow servants, such shall we find our Master. And what is great mercy? When we give not from our abundance but from our want. And if we do not give even from our abundance, what hope shall we have? From where will come deliverance from those evils? Where shall we be able to flee and find salvation? For if the virgins, after so many and such great labors, had no consolation from any quarter, who will stand up for us when we hear those terrible words of the Judge himself, saying and reproaching us, “I was hungry, and you did not feed me”? “For as you did not do it to one of the least of these,” he says, “you did not do it to me”: saying this not only about the disciples, nor about those who have embraced the life of monks, but about every believing man. For such a man, even if he is a slave, even if he is one of those who beg in the marketplace, but believes in God, deserves to enjoy every kindness. And if we overlook such a one naked or hungry, we shall hear these words, and quite rightly. For what heavy or burdensome thing did he ask of us? What did he ask that is not among the very easiest and lightest? For he did not say, “I was sick, and you did not raise me up,” but “you did not visit me”; he did not say, “I was in prison, and you did not release me,” but “you did not come to me.” So the lighter the commands, the greater the punishment for those who disobey. For what is lighter, tell me, than to walk and go into a prison? And what is sweeter? For when you see some bound, some filthy, some with hair grown long and clothed in rags, some wasting away with hunger and running at your feet like dogs; others with their sides torn open; others just returning in chains from the marketplace, who by day beg and do not gather even their necessary food, and in the evening have that wicked and cruel service exacted from them by their keepers: even if you are a stone, you will surely become more humane; even if you live a soft and dissolute life, you will surely become wiser about human affairs, looking on the misfortunes of others. For you will surely take thought of that fearful day and of the various punishments. And turning these things over and reasoning on them, you will surely cast out anger and pleasure and the love of worldly affairs, and will make your soul calmer than any calm harbor; and you will practise wisdom about that judgment seat, considering that if there is so much forethought and order and fear and threatening among men, much more with God. “For there is no authority except from God.” So he who has given rulers these things to arrange will much more do them himself.

For if this fear did not exist, everything would have perished; since even with so many punishments laid up, many are those who desert to wickedness. Practising this wisdom, you will be more eager for almsgiving too, and will reap much pleasure, much greater than those who come down from the theater. For they, rising from there, are on fire, burning with desire. For when they see those women fluttering on the stage, and receive countless wounds from there, they will be in no better state than a stormy sea, the image of the faces, the postures, the words, the gait, and all the rest standing before their eyes and besieging their souls. But those who go out from here will suffer nothing of the kind, but will reap much calm and freedom from disturbance. For the compunction that comes from the sight of those in chains quenches all that fire. And even if a prostitute and licentious woman meets one who has come out from the prisoners, she will do him no harm. For having become, as it were, impervious from then on, he will not be caught in the nets of that sight, since the fear of the judgment then lies before his eyes instead of the licentious sight. That is why one who had gone through every form of luxury said, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of laughter.” And here you will show such great wisdom, and there you will hear words worthy of countless blessings. Let us, then, not neglect such [a practice and trade]. For even if we cannot help by giving money, we shall be able to encourage by a word and raise up the soul that lies prostrate, and to help in many other ways, both by speaking with those who cast them in and by making the keepers gentler; and we shall surely make some gain, small or great. But if you say, “They are murderers and grave-robbers and adulterers and licentious, and full of countless evils,” you again show from this a necessary reason for spending time there. For we were not commanded to have mercy on the good and punish the wicked, but to show this love for humankind toward all. “For be like your Father who is in heaven,” it says, “for he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” So do not accuse others bitterly, nor be a harsh judge, but gentle and humane. For we too, even if we have not become adulterers or grave-robbers or cutpurses, still have other offenses deserving countless punishments. For we have often called a brother a fool, which earns us hell; and we have looked at women with licentious eyes, which constitutes complete adultery; and, the gravest of all, we partake of the mysteries unworthily, which makes us guilty of the body and blood of Christ. So let us not become bitter examiners of others, but let us consider our own affairs, and so we shall cease from this inhumanity and cruelty. And besides this, one may also say that we shall find many good men there too, often worth the whole city. For the prison where Joseph was held had many wicked men too; yet that righteous man shared in everything and was with the others, hiding who he was. For he was worth all Egypt, and yet he lived in the prison, and none of those inside knew him. So it is likely that now too there are many good and upright men, even if they are not evident to all; and your care for such men repays you for your zeal toward all. And even if there is no such man, here too the recompense is great. For your Master did not converse only with the pure Jews, but received the unclean and the Canaanite woman with much kindness, and the defiled and unclean Samaritan woman, and again another woman, a prostitute, for whom the Jews reproached him; he both received her and healed her, and bore his feet being wet by the tears of the defiled woman, teaching us to come down to those who are in sins. For this above all is love for humankind. What do you say? Robbers and grave-robbers live in the prison? And tell me, are those who live in the city [all] righteous? Are not many of them worse than these, robbing with greater [shamelessness]? For the former, if nothing else, at least shelter behind solitude and darkness, and do these things in secret; but the latter, throwing off the mask, pursue their evils bareheaded, being violent and grasping and greedy. For it is hard to find a man pure of injustice. For even if [we do not rob] so much and so much, yet by some fraud and theft we do the same thing in smaller matters, and as far as we can. For when in contracts, and whenever we have to buy or sell something, we wrangle and force a price below the value, and do everything for this, is the thing not robbery? Is it not theft and greed? For do not tell me that you have not carried off a house or slaves. For injustice is judged not by the measure of what is taken, but by the will of those who steal. For the unjust and the just have the same force in great things and in small; [and I call a man a cutpurse equally whether he] cuts a purse and takes gold, or, when buying from some marketman, filches something from the value of the price. And a housebreaker is not only one who breaks through a wall and takes something from inside, but also one who perverts justice and takes something from his neighbor. So let us not pass over our own affairs and become judges of others’, nor seek out wickedness where there is an occasion for love of humankind; but considering how we too were once disposed, let us at last become gentle and humane. “For we too were once disobedient, foolish,” and again, “We were by nature children of wrath.” But God, seeing us held as in a prison, and bound with heavy chains, much heavier than those of iron, was not ashamed, but came and stood in the prison, and led out from there those who deserved countless punishments, and brought them into the kingdom, and made them brighter than heaven, so that we too might do the same according to our power. For when he says to the disciples, “If I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet; for I have given you an example, that as I have done, you also should do,” he writes this law not only about washing feet, but also about all the other things he showed toward us. Is the one living in the prison a murderer? But let us not grow weary in doing good. Is he a grave-robber and adulterer? Let us pity not the wickedness but the misfortune. And often, as I said, one man will be found there worth ten thousand men. If you go to the prisoners continually, you will not miss such a catch. For as Abraham, entertaining ordinary people, once came upon angels too, so we too shall come upon great men, if we make it our work. And if one must say something wonderful, the one who receives a great man is not so worthy of praise as the one who receives the pitiable and wretched. For the former has in his own life no small claim to be treated well; but the one who is cast off and betrayed by all has one harbor only, the mercy of the one who does him good; so this above all is pure love for humankind. And the one who serves the admirable and distinguished has often done it for display before men; but the one who serves the cast off and despaired of does it only for God’s command. That is why, if we give a feast, we are commanded to receive the lame and maimed; and if we do almsgiving, we have been ordered to have mercy on the least and lowly. “For as you did it,” he says, “to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” Knowing, then, the treasure laid up there, let us go in continually and do business, and turn our eagerness for the theaters there. Even if you have nothing to bring in, bring in the encouragement that comes from words. For God rewards not only the one who feeds, but also the one who goes in. For when you go in, encouraging, helping, promising to defend, preparing them to live wisely, you will receive no small reward from this too. For outside, when you speak of such things, many will even laugh, dissipated by much luxury; but those in misfortunes, their mind being subdued, will attend to what is said with great gentleness, and will praise it, and will become better. For when Paul preached, the Jews often mocked; but the prisoners listened in great quiet. For nothing so prepares the soul to be apt for wisdom as misfortune and temptation and pressing affliction. Considering, then, all these things, how much good [we do] to those inside, how much [we gain] ourselves, let us spend there our time in the marketplace and our untimely occupations, so that we may gain them, and gladden ourselves, and [cause] God to be glorified, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.