Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 22

Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, devout and one that feared God with all his house, giving much alms to the people, and praying to God continually, who saw plainly in a vision, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him.

And he, gazing upon him, and becoming afraid, said:

'What is it, Lord?' And he said to him:

'Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God.'

This man was not a Jew, nor living according to the Law, but had already anticipated our way of life.

And observe two men believing as yet—both the eunuch from Gaza, and this man—both being in high positions, and much diligence being shown on their behalf.

But do not suppose that it was on account of their dignities.

It was not for these things—God forbid;

nay, for this very reason are their dignities set forth, that their devotion might be shown the greater.

For it is the more wonderful when a man, being in wealth and power, is nevertheless such a one.

But it was a great praise of that other man, to set out on so long a journey, and, though it was no fit season for it, to be reading on the road, and, while borne along in his chariot, to entreat Philip, and ten thousand other things;

and great also is this man's praise, to do alms and prayers, and to be devout while in such an office.

Wherefore also from this He makes the man known;

fitly, lest any should say that the narrative of the Scriptures is a falsehood.

'Of the band,' he says, 'called the Italian.'

A 'band' is what we now call a numerus (a regiment).

'Devout, and one that feared God with all his house.'

He says these things, that you may not suppose that the things concerning him are ordered thus on account of his rank.

So then, when Paul was to be brought forward, nowhere does an angel appear, but the Lord Himself is made manifest;

nor does He send him to any one of the Twelve, but to Ananias.

But here, on the contrary, He leads the chief one, as He led Philip to the eunuch, condescending to their weakness, and teaching how one ought to deal with such persons;

since Christ Himself also is often seen going away to those who are in evil case, and who are unable to come to Him by themselves.

But observe here again for me another encomium of almsgiving, just as there through Tabitha.

A man, it says, devout and fearing God with all his house.

Let us hear, as many of us as neglect our own household.

This man also took care of the soldiers, and gave alms to all the people.

Thus both his doctrines and his manner of life had been set right in him.

He saw plainly in a vision, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him, and saying to him:

Why does he see the angel? This too was for the full assurance of Peter;

or rather, not of him, but of the others who were weaker.

And at the ninth hour, when he was released from cares, and was in quiet, when he was in prayers and in compunction.

And when he looked intently upon him and became afraid, he said:

Observe the angel not immediately telling what he tells, but first dispelling the fear, and lifting up his mind.

For indeed from the sight there came fear;

but a measured fear, only so much as to make him turn.

Then the words dispelled the fear;

or rather, the praise conveyed through them smoothed away the harshness of the fear.

And hear too what the words are:

Your prayers and your alms are come up for a memorial before God.

Now therefore send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter.

That they might not come upon another, He indicates the man not only from his surname, but also from the place.

And he himself is lodging with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea.

Do you see how the apostles pursued the retired parts of the cities, being lovers of solitude and quiet? What then, if it chanced that there was also another Simon, and a tanner? But he had also another mark, that of dwelling by the sea.

The three could not coincide.

And He did not say why, lest He should relax his zeal;

but He left it, so that he might come to be in desire and longing for the hearing.

And when the angel who spoke to Cornelius had departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually, and having declared to them all things, he sent them to Joppa.

It is not merely to say this, but that even those who waited continually upon him were such men, in order to show it. And having declared to them all things, it says.

but that he might also persuade them, he related all things;

For he did not think fit to summon them by virtue of his rank;

on this account, accordingly, he relates the matter.

So exceedingly modest was the man;

and yet it was no great thing to have high notions concerning a man who was lodging with a tanner.

And on the morrow, as they were on their journey and drew near to the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.

Observe how the Spirit brings the seasons together, and makes this happen neither too quickly nor too slowly.

Peter, it says, went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour;

that is, privately, and in quiet, as though in an upper room.

And he became very hungry, and wished to taste food.

But while they were making ready, there fell upon him a trance, and he beholds the heaven opened.

What is a trance? A spiritual vision, it says, came to be for him;

his soul, as one might say, went out of the body.

And he beholds heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it were a great sheet, bound at the four corners and let down upon the earth; in which were all the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the birds of the heaven.

And there came a voice to him:

Rise, Peter; kill and eat.

By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.

And a voice came again a second time to him:

What God has cleansed, do not you make common.

And this took place three times;

and again the vessel was taken up into heaven.

What ever can this be? The thing becomes a symbol of the whole inhabited world.

The man was uncircumcised, and had nothing in common with the Jews.

Since therefore all were going to accuse him as a transgressor, and this stood very much in their way, it is providentially ordered that he should say, I have never eaten;

not that he himself was afraid, God forbid, but being providentially guided by the Spirit, as I said, that he might have a defence against those who accused him, namely that he had even gainsaid it;

for they cared very greatly about the keeping of the Law.

In order therefore that these also might not accuse him, as I said before, these things are providentially ordered;

or also, that it might not seem to be some phantasm, he said, By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.

And there came a voice to him:

What God has cleansed, do not you make common.

This seems indeed to be said to him;

but the whole is said with reference to the Jews.

For if the teacher is rebuked, much more these.

The linen cloth, then, this is the earth;

and the wild beasts in it are those from among the nations;

and the Kill and eat, that they too must be approached;

and this taking place three times signifies baptism.

By no means, Lord, I have never eaten anything common or unclean.

And why, one asks, did he gainsay it? That no one might say that God was tempting him, as in the case of Abraham, when he was commanded to offer up his son as a sacrifice;

As in the case of Philip, when he was asked by Christ, 'How many loaves have you?'

not that He might learn, but to prove him.

And indeed in the Law Moses made distinction concerning clean and unclean, both of the things upon the earth and of the things in the sea.

Now while Peter was perplexed within himself as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius, having inquired for the house of Simon, stood before the gate; and calling out, they asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, was lodging there.

While Peter was amazed within himself and at a loss, the men come opportunely, resolving his perplexity.

For in the same way He allowed Joseph also first to be troubled, and then sends the archangel.

For the soul readily receives the solution when it has first been brought into perplexity.

So then his perplexity neither continues for long, nor comes before this, but at about the hour of the midday meal.

And while Peter was pondering upon the vision, the Spirit said to him:

But arise, get down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.

And again this served as Peter's defence to the disciples, that they might learn both that he had doubted, and

was instructed to doubt nothing.

'Because,' He says, 'I have sent them.'

See how great is the authority of the Spirit.

And that which God does, this the Spirit is said to do.

The angel, then, does not act thus;

but having first said, 'Your prayers and your alms,' then he says, 'Send,' that he might show that he had been sent from thence;

but the Spirit, since He is Lord, says, 'I have sent them.'

And Peter, having gone down to the men, said:

Behold, I am he whom you seek.

What is the cause for which you are come? And they said:

Cornelius the centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well attested by the whole nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you into his house, and to hear words from you.

They speak the words of praise, so as to persuade him that an angel also had appeared to him.

So he called them in and lodged them.

Do you see whence the beginning of the calling of the Gentiles comes? From a devout man, shown to be worthy by his works.

For if, even though this took place, they were nonetheless offended, had this not been so, what would the Jews not have said? 'So he called them in,' he says, 'and lodged them.'

So that they might suffer nothing dreadful, he calls them in, and thereafter lives together with them with all boldness.

And on the next day Peter arose and went forth with them, and certain of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him; and on the following day they entered into Caesarea.

The man was of distinction, being in a distinguished city.

Wherefore also in his case everything is ordered together, and the matter takes its beginning from Judea;

such as that it appeared to him not while sleeping but while awake, and that it was in the daytime;

But let us look at what has been said from the beginning.

Your prayers and your alms have gone up for a memorial before God.

From this it is plain that the angel called by a voice, and thus he saw him;

for had he not called, he would not even have seen him;

so intent was he upon the matter in which he was engaged.

And send for Simon who is surnamed Peter.

For the present, that he was summoning him for good things, he made clear;

but what sort of good things, not yet.

Thus neither does Peter tell the whole;

but everywhere the narratives are given in part, so as to rouse the hearers.

Thus also He calls Philip alone into the desert.

And Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour, and a trance fell upon him, and he beholds a certain vessel like a sheet.

Observe that not even hunger compelled him to run to the linen sheet.

But that Peter might not be in greater perplexity, he hears a voice saying:

Rise, Peter, kill and eat.

Perhaps he beheld the vision while lying upon his knees;

but it seems to me that he saw it on account of the preaching.

And that what took place was also divine, is plain both from his seeing it descend from above, and from his being in a trance.

And that a voice too was borne from thence, and that this happened three times, and that heaven was opened, and that it came from thence, and that it was caught up again to that place—these are a great proof that the matter was divine.

But why does this take place? For the sake of those who came afterwards, to whom he was about to relate it;

since he himself had already heard the words, 'Go not into the way of the Gentiles.'

For if Paul had need of circumcision and of sacrifice, much more at that time, in the beginning of the preaching, when they were weaker, was there need of these things.

And behold the men, he says, who had been sent from Cornelius, stood before the gate;

and calling out they asked whether Simon who is surnamed Peter was lodging there.

Inasmuch as it was a humble house, they inquired from below, and did not ask the neighbours.

And while Peter was pondering, the Spirit said to him:

Arise, get down, and go, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.

For it was on this account that the vision appeared to you;

but rather, 'I have sent them;'

showing that one ought so to obey, without demanding an accounting.

For it suffices for full assurance to hear from Him:

Do this, speak this, and seek nothing further.

Behold, I am he whom you seek.

Why then did he not receive them at once, but inquires? He saw that those who had come were soldiers.

Wherefore he does not simply ask, but having first confessed that he himself was the man, then he inquires the

cause of their coming, that it might not be thought that he inquired on this account, as though wishing to hide himself.

And he inquires, in order that, if there were urgent pressing, he might also go forth together with them;

But for what reason do they say, 'He sends for you into his house'? Because he had so commanded them.

And perhaps also, as if making a defence on his behalf, they all but say:

He sent not as one who despised, but because he had been commanded to do so.

But Cornelius, it says, was waiting for them, having called together his kinsmen and his near friends.

For it was not right that he should fail to bring in with him both his kinsfolk and his friends.

And besides, being present there they would the rather have heard him.

You have seen how great is the power of almsgiving, both in the former discourse and here. That one delivered from a temporal death, this from the eternal death;

this also opened the gates of heaven.

See, then, how great a matter it was made that Cornelius should believe, so that even an angel was sent, and the Spirit wrought, and the chief of the apostles was summoned, and such a vision appeared, and absolutely nothing was left undone.

How many centurions were there, and captains of thousands, and kings, and none of these obtained what this man obtained? Hearken, all you who are in the armies, all you who stand before kings.

He was devout, it says, and one that feared God;

and what is greater, that he was such a man together with all his house.

So well-disciplined was he to this end, and so disposed, that not only did he order his own affairs aright, but did this very same thing also in the matter of his household.

For he was not like us, who do everything to make our servants fear us, but nothing at all to make them reverent toward God.

But this man was not so; rather, together with his whole household he feared God, being not only as it were the common father of all who were with him, but of the soldiers also who were under him.

But hear also what other thing they say;

for it is added of necessity: Being well reported of by the whole nation.

For what, if he was uncircumcised? Even those men, it says, bear witness to him.

Therefore nothing is equal to almsgiving;

or rather, so great is the strength of the thing, when it is poured forth out of pure treasuries; whereas the things poured out from unjust gains are like a spring that sends up mire;

but the things from righteous gains are like a stream clear and pure in a paradise, sweet to behold, sweet to touch, light and cool, given in the noonday heat.

By this spring stand not poplars and pines, nor cypresses, but other plants far better than these, tall and lofty;

the friendship of God, the praise of men, glory that goes up to God, goodwill from all, the blotting out of sins, great boldness of speech, contempt of riches, almsgiving, whereby the plant of love is nourished.

For nothing is wont so to nourish love as for a man to be merciful.

This makes the branches to rise on high;

this spring is better than that in paradise, being divided not into four heads, but reaching to heaven itself;

this gives birth to that river which springs up unto eternal life;

into this, when death falls, it is consumed like a spark by the spring;

thus, wherever it may drop, it works great blessings.

This quenches the river of fire like a spark;

this so chokes the worm, as nothing else can.

He that has this gnashes not his teeth.

If of this water it drop upon the bonds, it parts them asunder;

and if it fall into the furnaces, it quenches them all.

As, then, the spring in paradise does not now pour forth its streams and now dry up (since otherwise it would no longer be a spring), but ever gushes forth;

so also let ours. Ever let the stream flow more abundantly toward those who most stand in need of mercy, that it may remain a spring.

This makes glad him that receives;

this is almsgiving, that the stream should not only flow forth strongly, but also continually.

If you would have the mercy of God rain upon you as from springs, do you also keep a spring.

If you open the mouths of this spring, such will be the mouths of the spring of God, as to overcome every abyss.

God seeks only to receive an occasion from us, and

he pours forth his good things out of his treasuries.

When it spends, when it expends, then it is rich, then it abounds.

Great is the mouth of that spring;

pure is its stream, and clear.

If you stop not up this one, neither will he stop up that one.

Let no unfruitful tree stand beside it, lest it consume away its moisture.

Have you riches? Plant not poplars there;

it consumes much, and shows nothing in itself, but loses the fruit.

Plant not a pine, nor a fir, nor any other of such trees, which consume much but are nowhere useful;

for such is the luxury of garments: fair only to look upon, but nowhere useful.

Plant all the fruitful trees in the hands of the poor, whatsoever you will.

Nothing is richer than this soil;

and though the span of the hand is small, yet nevertheless the tree that is planted there reaches to heaven itself, and stands firm.

For that which is planted in the earth, if not now, yet after a hundred years will perish.

Why do you plant trees which you shall not enjoy, but ere you enjoy them, death coming upon you snatches you away beforehand? This tree, when you die, then it gives you its fruit.

If you plant, plant not in the belly of gluttony, lest the fruit pass out into the draught;

but plant in the afflicted stomach, that the fruit may leap up toward heaven.

Give rest to the straitened soul of the poor man, that you straiten not your own soul that is at large.

Do you not see that trees watered immoderately rot from the root,

but those watered with due measure grow? Even so do you also not water your own belly immoderately, lest the root of the tree rot;

water the thirsty soul, that it may bring forth fruit.

The things watered with due measure the sun rots not, but those watered immoderately it rots;

for such is the nature of the sun.

Everywhere excess is an evil;

wherefore let us cut it away, that we also may obtain the things we ask for.

In the highest places the springs are said to be brought forth.

Let us then also become lofty in soul, and quickly will almsgiving flow;

for it is not possible that the lofty soul should not also be merciful, nor the merciful soul not also lofty.

He, at any rate, who despises riches is above the root of evils.

The springs are for the most part in desert places;

let us also lead our soul out of the throng of the crowd, and almsgiving will spring up in us.

The more springs are cleansed, the more abundantly they flow;

even so with us also: the more we spend, the more do good things spring up.

He who has a spring is not afraid;

if then we too have almsgiving for our spring, we shall have no fear.

For indeed, for drink, for watering, for building, for all things this spring is useful to us.

Nothing is better than this draught;

it knows not how to work drunkenness;

it is better to have such a spring than for fountains of gold to flow.

Better than any gold-bearing land is the soul that bears this gold.

For it accompanies us not into these earthly palaces, but into those above.

Gold becomes an ornament to the Church of God;

from this gold is fashioned the sword of the Spirit, the sword by which the dragon is cut off.

From this spring proceed the precious stones that are about the King's head.

Let us not then be careless of so great wealth, but let us contribute almsgiving with liberality, that we may be counted worthy of the loving-kindness that comes from God, by the grace and mercies of His Only-begotten Son, to whom be all glory, honor, and might, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages.