Homilies on Second Corinthians 30

'For this cause I write these things while absent, that being present I may not deal severely, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for building up, and not for tearing down.'

He perceived that he had spoken rather vehemently, and especially toward the end of the Epistle.

For indeed earlier he had said, 'Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ,

who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.'

'But I beseech you, that I may not when present be bold with the confidence wherewith I reckon to be daring against some, who reckon of us as though we walked according to the flesh;'

and, 'Being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled;'

and, 'For I fear, lest by any means, when I come, I should not find you such as I would, and that I should be found by you such as you would not;'

and again, 'Lest, when I come, my God should humble me among you, and I should mourn many of those who have sinned already, and have not repented of the lasciviousness and uncleanness which they have committed;'

and after these, 'I have said beforehand, and I foretell, as if present the second time, and now being absent I write, that if I come again, I will not spare;'

'seeing that you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me.'

Since, then, he had spoken these things and many others besides—frightening, shaming, reproaching, rebuking, defending himself concerning all—he says:

'For this cause I write these things while absent, that being present I may not deal severely.'

'For I wish the severity to lie in the letters, but not in the deeds;'

'I wish the Epistles to be vehement, that the threatenings may remain and not pass into action.'

Again in this defense he makes his word more fearful, by showing also that it is not he himself who is about to punish, but God;

for he added, 'According to the authority which the Lord has given me;'

and again showing that he does not desire to abuse his authority for their punishment.

For he added, 'Not for tearing down, but for building up.'

And he did hint at this now, as I said;

but he left it to them to reckon that, if they should remain uncorrected, this too again is building up—namely, to punish those who are so disposed.

For indeed so it stands, and he himself knows this, and showed it by his deeds.

'Finally, brethren, rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace;

and the God of love and peace shall be with you.'

What is the meaning of, 'Finally, brethren, rejoice'? You have grieved them, frightened them, cast them into agony, made them tremble and be afraid—and how do you bid them rejoice? For this very reason indeed I bid them rejoice.

'For if your part,' he says, 'should follow upon my part, there will be nothing to hinder the joy.'

'For all that pertains to me has been done;'

I was longsuffering, I deferred, I did not cut you off; I exhorted, I counseled, I put you in fear, I threatened, so that from every side I might gather you together unto the fruit of repentance.

But now it remains that the part which is from you should come to pass.

And so your joy shall be unfading.

What means, 'Be perfected'? Become complete, fill up the things that are lacking.

For since the temptations were many and the dangers great, he says:

Be comforted both by one another, and by us, and by the change unto that which is better.

For if joy should arise from a good conscience and you should be established as perfect, nothing is wanting to your cheerfulness and comfort;

for nothing so produces comfort as a pure conscience, even though countless temptations should encompass one.

'Be of the same mind, live in peace.'

In the letter, from the very outset, he had made this request.

For it is possible both to be of the same mind and yet not to live in peace, when some agree in the doctrines but are at variance with one another in their mutual dealings.

But Paul demands both.

'And the God of love and of peace shall be with you.'

For he does not merely admonish and counsel, but also prays.

For either he prays for this, or he foretells that which shall be.

'For if you do these things,' he says, that is, if you are of the same mind and live in peace, then God also shall be with you;

for God is of love and of peace, and in these He rejoices, in these He is well pleased.

From this source comes to you also peace, from His love;

from this source comes the removal of all evils.

This it was that saved the world; this that dissolved the age-long war; this that mingled earth with heaven; this that made men into angels.

Let us, therefore, also love this same love;

for love is the mother of countless good things.

Through this we were saved; through this all the unspeakable good things are ours.

Then, leading them on unto this love, he says:

'Salute one another with a holy kiss.'

What means 'holy'? Not treacherous, not guileful, as Judas kissed Christ.

For this reason the kiss is given, that it may be a kindling of love, that it may inflame the disposition, that so we may love one another as brothers love brothers, as children their fathers, as fathers their children;

nay, rather even far more;

for the former are of nature, but these are of grace.

Thus are souls bound together with one another.

For this reason also, when we return from a journey, we kiss one another, our souls hastening on to communion with each other.

For this is above all the member which proclaims to us the affection of the soul.

But concerning this holy kiss there is yet another word to be spoken.

What manner of word is this? We are the temple of Christ;

therefore, when we kiss one another, we kiss the porch and the entrance of the temple.

Or do you not see how many kiss even the porch of this temple, some stooping down, others holding it with the hand and bringing the hand to their mouth? And through these gates and doors Christ both entered and enters in unto us, whenever we partake of the Communion.

You who partake of the mysteries know what is being said.

For not as a common thing has our mouth been honored, in receiving the Lord's body.

For this reason especially we kiss here.

Let those who utter shameful things hear this, those who pour forth revilings, and let them shudder at what a mouth it is they are disgracing;

let those who kiss shamefully hear this;

hear what oracles God has uttered through your mouth, and keep it unstained.

He discoursed concerning the life to come, concerning resurrection, concerning immortality, that death is no death, and countless other unspeakable things.

For just as one who is about to be initiated draws near to the mouth of the priest as to an oracle,

let us hear how full of awe are all these things.

For indeed he has lost his life from his forefathers, and he comes to seek it out again, and to ask how he might find it and recover it.

Then God gives him an oracle as to how it might be found, and this mouth becomes more awful than the mercy-seat.

For that mercy-seat nowhere sent forth such a voice, but discoursed concerning far lesser matters, concerning wars and the peace here below;

but all these things are concerning heaven, and the life to come, and matters new and surpassing the understanding.

And having said, 'Salute one another with a holy kiss,' he added:

'All the saints salute you;'

and thereby giving them good hopes.

This he wrote in place of a kiss, joining them together by means of the greeting;

for from the same mouth from which the kiss proceeds, the words also proceed.

Do you see how he gathers all together, both those far separated in body and those near at hand, the one class by the kiss, the other by the letters? 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.'

Since he had joined them to one another by means of greetings and kisses, he again closes his discourse in prayer, with great exactness joining them also to God.

'The Holy Spirit is not ranked in the opening salutations of the Epistles'—is He then not of the same essence? For behold, now he has reckoned Him together with the Father and the Son.

And apart from this, it is possible to say that also—that when writing to the Colossians and saying, 'Grace to you and peace from God our Father,' he was silent concerning the Son, and did not add, as in all the Epistles, 'and the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Will the Son then, on this account, not be of the same essence? But this is the extreme of folly.

For this very thing especially shows Him to be of the same essence—namely, that Paul uses this order in varying ways.

And that what has been said is no mere conjecture, hear how he makes mention of the Son and of the Spirit, and passes over the Father in silence.

For writing to the Corinthians he says, 'But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.'

What then, tell me, were these not baptized into the Father? Surely then they were neither washed nor sanctified.

even as, in fact, they were also baptized.

How then did he not say, 'You were washed in the name of the Father'? Because it is indifferent to him, at one time to make mention of this Person, at another of that;

and you may find this usage in many places of the Epistles.

For indeed, writing to the Romans, he says, 'I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God;'

and yet the mercies are also of the Son;

and, 'I beseech you by the love of the Spirit;'

and yet the love is also of the Father.

Why, then, did he make no mention of mercies in connection with the Son, nor of love in connection with the Father? Because he passed over these things in silence as being plain and universally acknowledged.

And these gifts too will be found again to be set in an interchangeable order.

For having said, 'The grace of Christ, and the love of God and Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit,' elsewhere he speaks of the communion of the Son and the love of the Spirit.

'For I beseech you,' he says, 'by the love of the Spirit.'

And in the Epistle to the Corinthians: 'God is faithful, through whom you were called into the communion of His Son.'

Thus the properties of the Trinity are undivided.

And where the communion of the Spirit is, there it has been found to be also of the Son;

and where the grace is of the Son, it is also of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.

'For grace to you,' he says, 'from God the Father.'

And elsewhere, having enumerated many kinds of it, he added: 'But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each one severally as He wills.'

And I say these things not confounding the hypostases—far be it—but knowing both their distinctness and separateness, and the oneness of the essence.

Let us, then, remain holding fast the exactness of these doctrines, and drawing to ourselves the love of God.

For formerly, when we hated Him, He loved us, and when we were enemies He reconciled us;

and now that we love Him, He wills to love us.

Let us, then, remain loving Him, so that we may also be loved by Him.

For if, when we are loved by powerful men, we are formidable to all, how much more when we are loved by God.

And whether it be needful to give money, or bodies, or even the very soul for the sake of this love, let us not spare it.

For it is not enough to say in words that we love; but we must also furnish the demonstration by deeds;

for neither did He show His love by words alone, but also by deeds.

Do you also, then, show this by works, and do the things that seem good to Him;

for thus you yourself will again reap the profit.

For He has need of nothing that comes from us;

and this indeed is most of all the mark of genuine love: that One who has no need and is in no want should do all things in order to be loved by us.

Wherefore Moses also said: 'For what does the Lord your God seek of you, but to love Him, and that you be ready to walk after Him?' So that, when He commands us to love Him, then above all He shows that He loves you.

For nothing so establishes our salvation as loving Him.

See, then, how all His commandments tend to our rest and salvation and good repute.

For when He says, 'Blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the peacemakers,' He Himself reaps nothing from this, but adorns us,

and setting these things in order He gives His commands;

not needing the service that comes from us, but anointing you unto lovingkindness.

For He was able even without you to feed the poor man; but bestowing on you a very great treasure, He gave these commands.

For if the sun, though it is a created thing, has no need of our eyes (for it remains possessing its own brightness, even though no one looks upon it), while it is we who profit when we enjoy its ray;

much more does this hold true in the case of God.

But that you may learn this from another quarter also, listen:

How great do you suppose the distance is between God and us? Is it as much as between gnats and us, or much more? It is quite plain that it is much more, and indeed infinite.

If, then, we who are vainglorious have no need of help or glory from gnats, much more does the Divine, being both impassible and in want of nothing.

He therefore enjoys us only so far as we are benefited, so far as He delights in our salvation.

For this reason too, in many places, forgoing what is His own, He seeks what is yours.

'For if any man,' he says, 'has a wife that is an unbeliever, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not put her away.'

'But whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her to commit adultery.'

Do you see His unspeakable goodness? If the wife be a harlot, He says, I do not compel you to dwell with her;

again, if you have grieved anyone, I bid you leave My offering and hasten to the one you have grieved.

'For if you bring your gift,' He says, 'and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.'

And what of the parable of him who had devoured all? Does it not indicate this same thing? For when he had devoured the ten thousand talents, He had mercy on him and released him;

but when he demanded the hundred denarii of his fellow-servant, He both called him wicked and delivered him over to punishment;

so great is His concern for your rest.

The barbarian was about to sin against the wife of the righteous man, and He says, 'I kept you from sinning against Me.'

Paul was persecuting the apostles, and He says to him:

'Why do you persecute Me?' Others hunger, and He Himself says that He hungers, and goes about naked and a stranger, wishing to shame you, and by this to bring you into the reckoning of almsgiving.

Considering, then, the love which through all things He has shown and continues to show, having deigned to make Himself known to us—

which is the greatest sum of all good things, and the light of the understanding, and the teaching of virtue—

and having legislated a life pleasing to Him, and having wrought all things for our sake, and having given His Son, and having promised a kingdom, and calling us to unspeakable good things, and having prepared for us a most blessed life, let us do and say all things, so that we may both be shown worthy of His love and attain the good things to come;

which may it be that we all attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.