Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 28

So these, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed away to Cyprus.

And when they had come to Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.

And they had John also as an attendant.

As soon as they had been ordained they went out, and sailed away to Cyprus, inasmuch as there was no plot against them there, and the word had already been sown throughout.

For in Antioch there were enough men;

and Phoenicia too was near to Palestine, but Cyprus was not.

For the rest, do not ask, why? — when they are moved by the Spirit;

for they were not merely ordained by the Spirit, but also sent forth by it.

And when they had come to Salamis, they were proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.

Do you see how they make every effort to proclaim the word to those first, so as not to render them more contentious? Both those others did not speak except to the Jews only, and these went off to the synagogues.

And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man;

who, summoning Barnabas and Saul, sought to hear the word of God.

But Elymas the magician (for so his name is interpreted) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.

Again a Jewish magician, just like Simon.

And observe this man: when they were preaching to the others, he was not exceedingly indignant;

but when they drew near to the proconsul, then he was.

But what is marvelous about the proconsul is that, even though he had been preoccupied by that man's magic, he still wished to hear the apostles.

So too the Samaritans did, and from the comparison the victory becomes evident, since the magic is convicted.

Everywhere vainglory and the love of power are the causes of evils.

But Saul, who is also Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixing his gaze upon him, said:

O you who are full of all guile and all villainy, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.

Here his name is changed together with his ordination, which also happened in the case of Peter.

And observe, the thing is not an insult, but an act of amazement-inducing rebuke.

For the reckless and shameless must be struck with dismay in this way.

'O you who are full of all guile,' he says, 'and all villainy,'

'son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness.'

Here he lays bare the things in the man's mind, since under the pretext of salvation he was destroying the proconsul.

'Will you not cease,' he says, 'to pervert the ways of the Lord?' And credibly so: 'It is not against us that you war,' he says, 'nor with us that you fight, but you pervert the straight ways of the Lord' — and this with a word of commendation.

'And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind.'

By the very sign through which he himself had been brought over, by that same he wished to bring this man over also.

And the phrase 'for a season' was not the word of one punishing, but of one turning him back.

For if it were the word of one punishing, he would have made him blind for good;

but as it is, not this, but only for a season, that he might gain the proconsul.

And immediately there fell upon him a mist and darkness, and going about he sought people to lead him by the hand.

Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

For it was necessary that the man who had been preoccupied by the magic should be instructed by this punishment.

So too the magicians in Egypt were of old instructed by means of the boils.

And observe them, not tarrying there, seeing that the proconsul had now believed, nor softened by the flattery and the honor, but immediately holding fast to the work and hastening to the country over against them.

Now Paul and his companions, having set sail from Cyprus, came to Perga in Pamphylia.

But John, departing from them, turned back.

But they themselves, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia; and entering into the synagogue on the day of the sabbath, they sat down.

Again they went into the synagogues in the guise of Jews, so as not to be warred against nor driven out, and thus they accomplished the whole matter.

And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying:

Men and brethren, if there is among you any word of exhortation for the people, speak.

For the rest, from here on we learn the things concerning Paul, having learned no small things concerning Peter in what was said before.

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

'And when they were at Salamis,' he says, 'they preached the word of God' in the mother-city of Cyprus.

They spent a whole year at Antioch.

It was needful that they should depart thither also, and not sit here continually.

Those people had need of greater teachers.

Observe how in Seleucia too they do not tarry, though they knew that from a neighbouring city they might have reaped much benefit; but they hasten there also toward what was more pressing.

For having come to the mother-city of the island, they were eager to set the proconsul right.

That it was no flattery to say, 'He was with the proconsul, a man of understanding,' learn from the deed itself: how he had no need of many words, how he desired to hear them.

And he recounts the names of the cities also;

showing that, since they had but recently received the word, there was need for them to be strengthened, so as to abide in the faith;

for which reason also they visited them continually.

Observe that he said nothing to the sorcerer until that man gave occasion;

but they only preached the word of the Lord.

For since he saw the others giving heed, he himself looked to this one thing, namely, that that man should not be persuaded.

And why did he not work some other sign? Because there was none equal to this, the seizing of the enemy.

And observe, first he rebukes, and then he punishes.

And he shows that the man suffered justly by saying:

That is to say, 'having nothing lacking,' he says.

And well did he say, 'Full of all guile;'

for he was doing that one's work.

For this was truly all righteousness.

It seems to me that in saying these things he also convicts the man's manner of life.

And that he might show that the words were not of anger, for this reason he first premised, 'Being filled with the Holy Spirit;'

'And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee.'

It was not, then, punishment, but healing.

'It is not I who do it, but the hand of God.'

'Thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.'

This he says, that he might give him room to repent.

For nowhere did they wish to appear from the more grievous side, even though these things befell enemies.

But in the case of their own, this was fitting;

yet in the case of strangers not so, lest the matter should henceforth be thought to be one of compulsion and fear.

And a proof of the blindness was his seeking those to lead him by the hand.

Then the proconsul sees the disablement, and straightway believes;

and not simply so, but 'being astonished;'

for he saw that these things were neither mere words nor deceit.

Observe how great a love of teaching he had, being at the very beginning in so great a state.

He did not say to him, 'Wilt thou not cease perverting the proconsul?'

but, 'The ways of the Lord,' which was more.

But why does John withdraw from them? 'For John,' he says, 'departing from them, returned to Jerusalem;'

inasmuch as they were now setting out on a longer journey;

and yet he was their attendant, while they were the ones who bore the danger.

Again, having come to Perga, they pass by the other cities;

for they were hastening to the mother-city, Antioch.

And observe how the writer cuts his account short.

'They sat down in the synagogue,' he says, 'and on the day of the sabbath;'

so as to prepare the way for the word.

And they do not speak first, but only when given leave, inasmuch as they were invited as strangers.

And had they not waited, there would have been no discourse.

Here for the first time Paul preaches.

And observe his discretion;

where the word had already been sown, he passes by;

but where there was no one, he tarries, even as he himself says in writing:

And thus being ambitious to preach the gospel, not where Christ had been named.

And this too was a mark of great courage.

Truly, from the very outset the man was admirable;

crucified, drawn up in battle-array, he knew how great grace he had enjoyed;

he brought in a zeal to counterbalance it.

He was not angry with John;

he did not shrink, he was not afraid, though hemmed in amid a multitude.

Observe how it is providentially ordered that Paul should not preach in Jerusalem;

even this alone suffices—to hear that he believed;

but had he preached, they would not have borne it, because of their hatred;

and so he goes far off, where he was not known.

First he convicted the sorcerer, showing what manner of man he was;

and that he was such, the sign made manifest.

This was a sign of the blindness in his soul;

and he suffers only for a season, so that he might repent.

And well did they enter into the synagogue on the sabbath, when all were gathered together.

'And after the reading of the law and the prophets,' he says, 'the rulers of the synagogue sent, saying:'

'Men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.'

Observe how they did this ungrudgingly at that time, but afterward no longer.

If you desired this, you ought rather to have exhorted them.

But oh, the love of power! oh, the vainglory! how it overturns and destroys all things!

It sets a man to stand against his own salvation and against that of others;

it renders men so maimed and blind that they even have need to seek those who will lead them by the hand.

Would that it were even so; would that they did but seek those to lead them by the hand!

But they will no longer endure even this, but entrust the whole matter to themselves.

Like a mist and gloom it settles upon them, not allowing them to see clearly.

What defence shall we have, when we master one passion for the sake of another passion, but not for the fear of God? For instance, many who are licentious and fond of money have, out of their stinginess with money, bridled their pleasure;

others, on the contrary, for the sake of pleasure have despised money.

Again, those overcome by vainglory have gotten the better of both, spending money unsparingly and living chastely to no purpose;

others again, being exceedingly vainglorious, have made light of the passion, having endured many shameful things, both for the sake of their lusts and for the sake of money;

yet others, in order to glut their own anger, have chosen to suffer countless losses, and none of these things concerned them, so long only as they might do their own will.

And what passion has power to do, the fear of God has had no power to do with us.

And why do I speak of passion? What the shame before men has power to do, the fear of God has not.

Many good deeds we accomplish, and many sins we commit, out of regard for men;

but God we do not fear.

How many have parted with money out of shame? How many have lavished their honour to no purpose in serving their friends to their own hurt? How many, out of regard for friendship, have committed countless sins?

If, then, both passion and human shame are able to cast us both into sins and into good deeds, we say idly that we cannot.

Tell me, I pray you, why can you not master the love of glory, when others master it who have the same soul, the same body, the same form, living the same life? Think upon God, think upon the glory from above;

set the things present over against it, and you will speedily leap away from this glory.

In sum, if you desire glory, desire the glory that truly is.

What kind of glory is it, when it brings dishonour? What kind of glory, when it forces one to crave the honour of inferiors, and stands in need of it? For honour consists in enjoying the esteem of those who are greater.

In sum, if you are in love with glory, be rather in love with that which comes from God.

If, being in love with that glory, you despise this one, you will see this one to be without honour;

but so long as you do not behold that glory, you will not be able to see this one either—how shameful it is, how ridiculous.

For just as those who are held captive beforehand by some wicked woman, ugly and shameful, so long as they love her, cannot see her ill-favouredness, the passion casting a shadow over their judgement;

so long as we are held fast by the passion, we cannot discern what an evil thing it is.

'How then,' says one, 'might we be delivered from it?' Consider those who have spent countless sums, and reaped no profit from them;

consider how great a glory the dead enjoyed, and how nowhere is it secure, but has perished and been destroyed;

consider that it is a mere name, and has no reality;

for what, tell me, is glory?

'To be admired by all,' one says.

For if it be unjustly, this would not be admiration, but accusation, and flattery, and slander;

and if justly, this is not possible;

for the multitude has no right judgements, but admires those who minister to their own lusts.

And if you will, observe those who give their possessions to harlots, to charioteers, to dancers.

'But it is not these,' one says, 'that we mean, but the just, and the upright, and those able to do great and noble things.'

Would that they were willing, and they would speedily do good things;

but now they do none of these things. Who, tell me, praises the just and the upright man nowadays? Quite the contrary, in fact.

And what is more feeble than a just man, if, while accomplishing such a work, he still craves the glory of the many? For he does the same as if some painter, being most excellent and painting a royal portrait, should welcome the praises of the unskilled.

Moreover, the man who looks to human glory will speedily fall away from the pursuits that accord with virtue.

For if he is going to gape after praises, he will do whatever those men wish, not whatever he himself would.

What then would I henceforth counsel you to do? To give heed to God, to be content with the praises that come from Him, to do all that seems good to Him, and to practise good works, gaping after nothing of what is human;

for this it is that spoils both fasting and prayer and almsgiving, and empties out all our good works.

That we may not suffer this, let us flee this passion.

Let us look to one thing only—the praise that is from God, the acceptance from thence, the commendation from our common Master;

that, having passed the present life with virtue, we may attain the promised good things together with those who love Him, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honour, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.