Homilies on Titus 1.1–1.3

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before eternal times, and at his proper times manifested his word in the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour; to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Among Paul's companions this man was one of the approved; for if he had not been approved, Paul would not have entrusted him with a whole island, nor ordered him to fill up what was lacking—“so that you might set right what was lacking,” he says—nor would he have entrusted him with the judging of so many bishops, if he had not had great confidence in the man. They say that he was young, because Paul calls him child; but this is not yet clear from that. I think there is mention of him in the Acts too. Perhaps he was a Corinthian, unless there was someone else of the same name. And Paul calls Zenas to himself and wishes Apollos to be sent on, but not Titus; for he bore witness to their greater courage and virtue before the emperor. The time seems to me to be an interval, and Paul writes these things while at liberty; for he says nothing about trials, but continually turns the grace of God over this way and that, which is sufficient encouragement to virtue for those who have believed. For to learn what they deserved, and to what they have been transferred—and that by grace—and what they have been counted worthy of, is no small incentive. He also has the Jews in view. And if he insults a whole nation, do not wonder; for he does the same with the Galatians, saying, “O foolish Galatians.” This comes not from an insulting disposition but from a loving one. For if he did these things for his own sake, one would rightly blame him; but if he did it on fire and burning for the preaching, he did not do it insultingly. Christ too reproached the scribes and Pharisees countless times, not for his own sake, but because they were destroying all the others. He makes the letter short, and reasonably so. And this too was a proof of Titus's virtue, that he did not need many words, but only a kind of reminder. This letter seems to me to be earlier than the one to Timothy. For that one he wrote near his end, in bonds; but here he is free and at liberty, … which was proof that he was not yet in bonds; whereas there he continually calls himself a prisoner. What, then, does he say? “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect.” Do you see how he uses these titles without distinction, sometimes calling himself a servant of God and an apostle of Christ, sometimes a servant of Christ—“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ”? So he knows no difference between Father and Son. “According to the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that accords with godliness.” Does he mean that you believed, or that he was entrusted? I think he means that he was entrusted with God's elect. That is, I did not receive the dignity from good deeds, nor from labours and sweat; the whole came from the kindness of the one who entrusted it. Then, so that grace might not be thought irrational—for it is not wholly his doing; otherwise, why did he not entrust it to others too?—he added, “and the knowledge of the truth that accords with godliness.” Because of this, he says, I was entrusted; or rather, this too I was entrusted with by his grace, for he is the cause of this too. That is why Christ himself says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you”; and again this blessed man, writing elsewhere, says, “That I may know, as I have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” First we were laid hold of, and afterwards we knew; first we were called, and then we obeyed. By saying “according to the faith,” he credits everything to them: I am an apostle because of them, not as one worthy of it, but because of the elect; as he says elsewhere, “For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos.” “And the knowledge,” he says, “of the truth that accords with godliness.” For there is a truth of things that is not according to godliness: for instance, to know farming, to know the crafts, is truly to know; but this truth is according to godliness. Or “according to the faith” means that they believed, as the other elect did, and came to know the truth. So knowledge comes from faith, not from reasonings. “In hope of eternal life.” He spoke of the present life in the grace of God; he speaks of the future life too, and sets out for us prizes for the benefits he has conferred on us. For since we have believed and been freed from error, he wishes to crown us. See how full the opening is of God's benefits; and this whole letter from beginning to end is especially of this kind, rousing that holy man himself all the more to his labours, and those he teaches. For nothing benefits us so much as continually remembering God's benefits, both those given to all in common and those given to each. For if we are warmed when we recall a friend's kindnesses, or hear a gentle word, or receive a kind deed, much more, when we see into how many dangers we fell and that God delivered us from them all, shall we be more eager to obey. “And the knowledge,” he says, “of the truth.” He spoke of truth here in contrast to the type. For that too was knowledge, and it was godliness, but not of the truth—nor, indeed, of falsehood—but of types and an image. He said well, “in hope of eternal life,” because that was in hope of the present life: “For whoever does them,” it says, “shall live by them.” Do you see how already from the opening the difference that grace makes is shown? They are not elect, but we are; for even if they too were called elect, they are no longer. “Which God, who does not lie,” he says, “promised before eternal times.” That is, not now from a change of mind, but these things were foreordained from of old. He puts this in many places, as when he says, “set apart for the gospel of God”; and again, “Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined,” showing our noble birth, that he loved us not now but from of old. And it is no small thing to have been loved from of old and from the beginning. 2. “Which God, who does not lie,” he says, “promised.” If he does not lie, what he promised will certainly come about; if he does not lie, we must not doubt, even if it comes after death. “Which God, who does not lie, promised before eternal times.” By saying “before eternal times” he shows its trustworthiness. It is not because the Jews have not come in now, he says, that these things are so; they were foreshadowed thus from of old. Hear, at any rate, what he says: “And he manifested at his proper times.” Why, then, the delay? For the sake of his care for us, and to do it at the right time. “It is time,” says the prophet, “for the Lord to act.” For “proper” means fitting, due, suitable. “And he manifested,” he says, “at his proper times his word in the preaching with which I have been entrusted,” that is, the preaching. For this contained everything—the gospel—both present things and those to come: life, godliness, faith, all together. “In the preaching,” that is, openly, with boldness; for this is what “in the preaching” means. For as the herald proclaims in the theatre with everyone present, so we too proclaim, adding nothing, but saying exactly what we have heard. For the excellence of a herald lies in telling everyone what has happened, not in adding or taking away anything. If, then, one must proclaim, one must proclaim with boldness; otherwise it is not proclaiming. That is why Christ did not say, “Say it on the housetops,” but “Proclaim it on the housetops,” presenting what happens both by the place and by the manner. “With which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour.” Both “I have been entrusted” and “by command” show its trustworthiness, so that no one may feel slighted, or be stung, or be annoyed. If, then, it is a command, I am not my own master; for I am carrying out a command. For of the things to be done, some lie in our power and some do not. What he says by way of command does not lie in our power; what he says by way of permission does. For instance, “If anyone says to his brother, ‘Fool,’ he will be liable to the hell of fire”: this is a command. And “When you offer your gift at the altar and know that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”: this too is a command, and the one who does not do it must be liable to punishment. But when he says, “If you wish to be perfect, sell your possessions,” and again, “Whoever is able to receive it, let him receive it,” it is no longer a command; for he makes the hearer master of what is said and gives him the choice of what to do. These things it is in our power to do or not to do; but commands are not in our power: one must either do them, or, if one does not, be punished. This, then, is what he means when he says, “For necessity is laid upon me; woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.” I will say it more clearly, so that it may be plain to all. For instance, one who has been entrusted with the government of the church and honoured with the dignity of the episcopate is not free from account if he does not declare to the people what they must do; but the layman is under no such necessity. That is why Paul too says, “I do this by the command of our Saviour.” And see how the epithets fit what I said. Having said above, “God, who does not lie,” here he says, “by the command of God our Saviour.” If, then, he is Saviour, and he commanded these things because he wishes us to be saved, the thing does not come from love of power; for it is a trust, and it is a command of God the Saviour. “To Titus, my true child.” For it is possible to be children who are not true, like the one of whom he says, “If anyone who is called a brother is sexually immoral or greedy or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard, do not even eat with such a one.” See, he is a child, and yet not a true child: a child, since he once received grace and was born again; not a true one, since he is unworthy of his father, since he deserts to another tyrant. For with natural children, being legitimate or not is judged from the mother who bore them and the father who begot them; but here it is not so, but from the choice of the will. For it is possible for one who has become a true child not to remain one; it is possible for one who is not a true child to become one. For these things are not shut in by the necessity of nature but by the freedom of choice; and so they admit continual changes. Onesimus was a true child, but he was also not a true one, for he became useless; but again he became so true a child that he was even called the apostle's own heart. “To Titus, my true child according to a common faith.” What does “according to a common faith” mean? Since he had said “child” and taken the place of his father, hear how he lowers and moderates this honour: he added, “according to a common faith,” that is, according to the faith I have nothing more than you; for it is common, and both I and you were born through the same faith. Why, then, does he call him child? Either because he wishes only to show his affection, or because he was earlier in the preaching, or because Titus had been enlightened through him. That is why he calls them both children and brothers: brothers, since they were born of the same faith; children, since it was through his hands. So by saying “according to a common faith” he hinted at their brotherhood. “Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Since he had said “child,” he added, “from God the Father,” so as to raise up his mind and teach him whose child he is; and not only by saying “common faith,” but also by adding “our Father,” he shows that Titus shares the same honour.

See how what he prays for the disciples and for the many, he prays for the teacher too; for he too needs such prayers just as much, and much more than they do, inasmuch as he has more enmities and more pressures that make him offend God. For the greater the dignity, the greater the dangers for one who holds the priesthood; a single good deed of the episcopate is enough to raise him to heaven, and a single sin to throw him into hell itself. For, to pass over all the other things that happen every day, if he ever happens, through friendship or for some other reason, to bring an unworthy man into the episcopate and entrust him with the government of a great city, see to what fire he makes himself liable. For he will give account not only for the souls that perish—for that man destroys them, being irreverent—but also for everything that man does. For whoever is irreverent while in the rank of a private person will be much more so when he takes hold of office; for it is a great thing if even the reverent man remains such when he takes hold of office. For then vainglory becomes more vehement, since office gives the power, and so do offences and insults and abuse and countless other things. If, then, someone is irreverent, he will be the more irreverent once he has become such a ruler. So when one appoints such a ruler, he will be answerable for all the sins committed by him, and for whole peoples. And if for one who causes one soul to stumble “it is better that a great millstone be hung around his neck and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea,” what will he undergo who causes so many souls to stumble—whole cities and peoples and countless souls, men, women, children, citizens, farmers, those in the city itself and those in the other towns under that city? Even if you name a punishment three times as great, you will say nothing to the point: so great is the punishment and penalty for which he will be liable. So this man above all needs the grace and peace of God; for if he does not steer the people with these, everything is gone and lost, since he has no rudders. For even if he is skilled in steering, if he does not have these rudders, the grace and peace that come from God, he will sink the ship and those sailing in it. Hence I cannot help wondering at those who desire so great a burden. Wretched and miserable man, do you not see what you are desiring? If you are on your own, unknown and obscure, then even if you sin countless times, you will give account for one soul and be examined for that alone; but when you have been brought into this office, consider for how many heads you are liable to punishment. For hear Paul saying, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give account.” But do you desire honour and office? And what is the pleasure of this honour? For I do not see even that. It is not possible to be a ruler in truth. How so? Because obedience lies in the power of those who are ruled. And if one examines the matter carefully, such a man does not come into office but serves countless masters who desire and say contrary things. What one praises, another blames; what this man censures, another admires. Whom, then, should one listen to, whom obey? It is not possible. And the slave bought with silver is annoyed if his master gives him contrary orders; but you, if you are annoyed when so many masters [give contrary orders], pay the penalty, and all their mouths are opened against you. Is this, then, tell me, honour? Is this office? Is this authority? … it is not possible to say … it is not possible to anyone …