Homilies on Hebrews 33

Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Which he says elsewhere: 'For the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal'; and drawing from this his consolation concerning the evils which we endure in the present life, he does the very same thing here also, and says, 'Let us have grace';

that is, let us give thanks to God, let us remain steadfast.

For we ought not only not to be dispirited at the present things, but even to know the greatest gratitude toward Him for the things to come.

'Whereby we may serve God acceptably';

that is, For it is thus possible to serve God acceptably—by giving thanks in all things.

'Do all things,' he says, 'without murmurings and disputings.' For whatever a man does while murmuring, he cuts short and destroys his reward, just as the Israelites did;

for you know how great a penalty those men paid for their murmurings.

It is not possible, then, to serve acceptably without giving Him thanks for all things—both for the trials and for the reliefs.

'With reverence and godly fear';

that is, let us utter nothing rash, nothing shameless, but let us restrain ourselves, that we may be reverent;

for this is what he means by 'With reverence and godly fear.'

'Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers;'

'for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.'

See how he commands them to guard the things they already have;

and he does not add other things;

for he did not say, 'Become lovers of the brethren,' but, 'Let brotherly love continue.'

And again he did not say, 'Become hospitable,' as though they were not, but, 'Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers';

for this was likely to happen because of their afflictions.

Then he also adds that which was more sufficient to urge them on, saying:

'Some have entertained angels unawares.'

Do you see how great the honour, how great the gain? What does 'unawares' mean? 'Not knowing,' he says, 'they entertained them.'

For this reason a great reward also was given to Abraham, because, not knowing that they were angels, he entertained them;

since, if he had known, it would have been nothing wonderful.

Some say that here he hints also at Lot himself, and that he said this on his account.

'Remember those in bonds, as bound with them; those who suffer ill treatment, as being yourselves also in the body.'

'Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled;'

'but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.'

See how much discourse he has concerning chastity.

He said, 'Pursue peace and holiness';

and again, 'lest there be any fornicator or profane person';

now again he says, 'Fornicators and adulterers God will judge.'

And everywhere the prohibition is accompanied by a penalty.

And how, consider from this:

Having said, 'Pursue peace with all men and holiness,' he added, 'without which no one shall see the Lord';

and here, 'But fornicators and adulterers God will judge,' having first laid down, 'Marriage is honourable among all and the bed undefiled,' and then having added the penalty, he shows that he added what follows with justice.

For if marriage was permitted, justly is the fornicator punished, justly is the adulterer chastised.

Here he strips himself for the contest against the heretics.

Again he did not say, 'Let no one be a fornicator';

but, having said it once, he then added it as a general exhortation, and not as though directing it against them;

He did not say, 'Possess nothing,' but, 'Let your manner of life be free from the love of money';

that is, let the mind be free, let the judgement display a philosophic spirit;

and it will display it, if we do not seek superfluous things, if we content ourselves with need alone.

For above too he said, 'And you accepted with joy the plundering of your possessions.'

These things he exhorts, that they may not be lovers of money.

'Being content,' he says, 'with what you have.'

Then here too is the encouragement, so as not to make them lose heart:

'For He Himself,' he says, 'has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.'

So that we may say boldly, 'The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'

Behold again, in the trials, the consolation.

'Remember those who have the rule over you.'

This he had been in travail to say from the beginning;

for this reason he said, 'Pursue peace with all men.'

This he also urged upon the Thessalonians, that they should hold them in exceeding high esteem.

'Remember,' he says, 'those who rule over you, who have spoken to you the word of God;'

'considering the outcome of whose conduct, imitate their faith.'

For he says, 'Beholding their conduct'—that is, their manner of life—'imitate their faith;'

for from a pure life faith proceeds.

Or by 'faith' he means steadfastness.

How so? For he shows that, having believed steadfastly in the things to come, they achieved the most excellent way of life.

For they would not have displayed a pure life, if they had been in doubt concerning the things to come, if they had wavered.

So that here too he heals the same thing.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.

'Be not carried about with various and strange doctrines;'

'for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by foods, in which those who walked in them were not profited.'

Here, by 'yesterday' he means all the time that is past;

by 'today,' the present time;

and 'forever'—the infinite that has no end.

And what he says is of this sort:

You have heard of a High Priest, but not a High Priest who ceases;

And perhaps, as there were some who said that this crucified one is not the expected Christ, but that another shall come, he says, 'Yesterday and today,' and, 'The same forever;'

showing by this that he who came shall come again, and that this very same one both was before, and is, and shall be forever.

Since even now the Jews say that another shall come;

and they, having deprived themselves of him who is, shall fall in with Antichrist.

'Be not,' he says, 'carried about with various and strange doctrines.'

Not only strange, but not even with various doctrines does he wish them to be carried about;

for he knows that from both alike destruction is bred for those who are carried about.

'For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by foods, in which those who walked in them were not profited.'

Here he gently hints at those who were introducing the observance of foods;

for to faith all things are clean;

so then there is need of faith, not of foods.

'For we have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no authority to eat.'

The things among us, he says, are not such as the Jewish things, so that not even for the high priest is it lawful to partake of them.

So then, since he had said, 'Do not observe [distinctions of food],' and this seemed to be the mark of one who was pulling down his own [customs], he again turns it about.

For do not we too, he says, observe [such distinctions]? Yes, we do observe them, and even more strictly, not imparting of them even to the priests themselves.

'For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.'

'Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered,' he says, 'outside the gate.'

Do you see the type shining forth? 'Outside,' he says, 'the camp,' and, 'Outside the gate.'

Since therefore the things offered for sin were a kind of type, and were wholly burned outside the camp, Jesus also, who was offered for our sins, fittingly suffered outside the gate.

Therefore we too ought to imitate him who suffered for us, and to become outside the world—or rather, outside the affairs of the world.

Wherefore, making this clear, he added:

'Let us therefore go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach;'

that is, suffering the same things, sharing with him in his sufferings.

As one condemned he was crucified outside;

let us therefore not be ashamed to go forth outside the world;

for this he hinted at by saying, 'Outside the camp,' and, 'Outside the gate.'

'For here we have no continuing city,' he says, 'but we seek the one to come.'

'Through him therefore let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God;'

that is, 'the fruit of lips confessing his name.'

'Through him,' he said, as through a high priest, according to the flesh.

'Of those confessing,' he says, 'his name.'

As if he said: If we must confess him, let us utter nothing blasphemous, nothing reckless, nothing insolent, nothing audacious, nothing frantic, but let us do and say all things with reverence and godly fear.

These things he says not without cause, but since he knows that they were afflicted;

and a soul in afflictions despairs and grows shameless.

Behold, again he said the same thing which he had said above:

'Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together.'

Thus shall we be able to do all things with reverence;

for often, even out of respect for men, we abstain from many wicked deeds.

'But do not forget to do good and to share.'

These things Paul then said, and now I say:

I say the same things not only to the brethren who are present, but also to those who are absent.

No one has plundered your possessions;

but even if some have plundered them, show hospitality out of what you have.

For what excuse shall we then have, when these men, even after the plundering of their possessions, hear these things? And observe, here he says, 'Do not forget to do good,' having said above, 'Of hospitality;'

not signifying one thing and another, but the same thing by a different word.

And he did not say, 'Do not forget the receiving of strangers,' but, 'Of the love of strangers;'

that is, 'Do not simply receive strangers, but do so with love toward the strangers.'

And he did not speak of the future and reserved recompense, lest he should again make them more remiss, but of the one already given;

for he added, 'By it some have entertained angels unawares.'

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

'Marriage is honorable,' he says, 'in all, and the bed undefiled.'

How is marriage honorable? Because, he says, it keeps the believer in chastity.

Here he also hints at the Jews, that they regarded the marriage bed as abominable;

'And whoever,' he says, 'has an emission from bed is not clean.'

The things that come from nature are not abominable, O senseless and unfeeling Jew, but rather the things that come from deliberate choice.

For if marriage is honorable and pure, why then do you suppose that one is defiled even by it? 'Let your manner be free from the love of money,' he says.

Since many, after they have emptied out their possessions, afterwards wish under the pretext of almsgiving to recover them again, for this reason he says, 'Let your manner be free from the love of money';

that is, that we may have what suffices for our need and for the necessities of life.

'What then,' he says, 'if we should not have even these in abundance?' It is not so; it is not so;

for He Himself has said, and He does not lie, 'I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you.'

So that we may say with confidence:

'The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'

As though he were saying: You have the promise from Him; therefore doubt no longer;

He Himself has promised; do not dispute it.

And the words, 'I will never leave you,' he speaks not only concerning money, but also concerning all other things.

'The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'

Fittingly he brought in the saying of the prophet, sealing his discourse with it, and making them yet more eager, so that they should not lose heart.

This, then, let us also say in all our trials, and let us laugh at the affairs of men;

as long as we have God gracious toward us, no one shall prevail against us.

For just as, if He be our enemy, even though all be our friends, there is no gain;

so, if He be our friend, even though all wage war against us, there is no harm.

For this reason he said, 'I will not fear what man shall do to me.'

'Remember your leaders, who spoke to you the word of God.'

Here I think he speaks also concerning material support;

for this is what is meant by, 'Who spoke to you the word of God.'

'Considering the outcome of whose manner of life, imitate their faith.'

What does 'Considering' mean? Continually turning it over, examining it within yourselves, reasoning, seeking accurately, testing it as you will.

Well did he say, 'The outcome of their manner of life';

that is, their conduct even to the end;

for their manner of life had a good end.

'Jesus Christ,' he says, 'is the same yesterday and today, and forever.'

Do not suppose that then He worked wonders, but now He works no wonders;

He is the same, and since He is the same, there is no time when He cannot work the same things.

Perhaps it was with a view to this that he said, 'Remember your leaders.'

'Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings.'

'Strange,' that is, contrary to what you heard from us;

for such teachings have nothing secure, but they are diverse, and especially the difference concerning foods;

wherefore, taking his stand also against this, he adds, 'For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by foods.'

These various ones, these strange ones.

Here he ridicules them for their scrupulous observance of foods;

for he shows that from their observance of foods they fell away into teaching what is contrary, and from these they were carried off toward the various and strange teachings.

And observe that he does not dare openly

to say this, but as it were in a riddle;

for by saying, 'Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings,' and, 'It is good that the heart be established by grace, not by foods,' he all but says what Christ said, in the words where He declared:

'It is not what enters that defiles a man, but what comes out.'

And he shows that the whole matter is faith;

if this establish it, the heart stands in security;

so then it is reasonings that shake it;

for faith is contrary to reasoning.

'In which,' he says, 'those who walked were not profited.'

'For what is the gain,' he says, 'from this observance? tell me. Does it not rather destroy? Does it not bring such a one under sin?' If one must observe anything, there is that which may be observed, whereby profit shall come to those who observe.

A good observance is the fleeing from vice, uprightness of heart, piety toward God, right faith.

'In which,' he says, 'those who walked were not profited';

that is, those who kept them continually.

There is one observance: to abstain from sin.

For what benefit is there, when indeed some are so defiled as not to be able to partake of the sacrifices? So that nothing saved them, even though they were zealous concerning their observances; but since they had not faith, they were in no wise profited even so.

Then he takes away the sacrifice from the type, and leads the discourse up to the archetype, saying that, 'For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest are burned outside the camp.'

'Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.'

So then those things were a type of these, and thus Christ fulfilled all things by suffering outside.

Here he also declares that He suffered willingly;

for he shows that neither were those things done simply, but were a certain type, and that this very dispensation was not apart from suffering, but the blood was carried up into heaven.

You see, then, that we partake of the blood that is brought into the holy places, the true holy places, of the sacrifice which the high priest alone enjoyed.

We, then, partake of the truth.

If, therefore, we partake not of reproach, but of sanctification, then reproach is the cause of sanctification;

for just as He Himself was reproached, so also are we.

If, then, we go forth, we have fellowship with Him.

What then does 'Let us go forth to Him' mean? Let us have fellowship with Him in His sufferings, let us bear His reproach;

for not simply did He suffer outside the gate, but in order that we also might take up His cross, and remain outside the world, and be eager so to be.

As, then, He was reproached as a condemned man, so also are we.

'And through Him let us offer up a sacrifice to God.'

But what sort of sacrifice does he mean? He himself has interpreted it, saying, 'The fruit of lips that confess to His name';

that is, prayers, hymns, thanksgiving;

for these are the fruit of the lips.

They used to offer sheep and calves, and gave them to the priest;

but let us offer none of these things, but rather thanksgiving, and, so far as is possible, the imitation of Christ in all things;

let this be the fruit that springs forth from our lips.

Do not forget to do good and to share;

for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Let us offer Him such a sacrifice, he says, that He may present it to the Father;

for otherwise it is not presented, unless it be through the Son;

or rather, also through a contrite heart.

All these things he said thus for the sake of those among his hearers who were still more weakly disposed;

since that the grace is the Son's own, is manifest;

for otherwise, how is the honor equal? That all, he says, may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.

If, when the Father is glorified, the Son is not also glorified together with Him, where is the honor equal? Since it is the fruit of lips that confess to His name, giving Him thanks, that is, for all things, and for the things He suffered on our account;

let us bear all things with thanksgiving, whether it be poverty, whether sickness, whether anything else whatsoever;

for He alone knows the things that are profitable for us.

For what we should pray for as we ought, he says, we know not.

Those, then, who know not even how to ask for what is needful, unless we lay hold of the Spirit, how could we know the things that are profitable? Let us therefore be earnest to offer up thanksgiving for all things, and let us nobly bear all that befalls us.

Whenever, then, we are in poverty, whenever in sickness, let us give thanks;

whenever we are falsely accused, let us give thanks;

whenever we suffer ill, let us give thanks;

this makes us to be near to God;

we have God as our debtor.

But when we fare well, we ourselves are debtors and accountable to God;

moreover, these things often turn to our condemnation, but those to the expiation of our sins.

Those draw down mercy, those draw down loving-kindness;

but these lift a man up to arrogance, these lead him out into slothfulness, and prompt him to imagine great things about himself; these make him dissolute.

For this reason also the prophet said:

It is good for me, O Lord, that You have humbled me, that I might learn Your statutes.

When Hezekiah was benefited and delivered from his troubles, his heart was lifted up on high;

when he fell sick, then he was humbled, then he drew near to God.

When, he says, He slew them, then they sought Him out, and turned and sought God early;

When he grew fat and thick, the beloved kicked.

For the Lord is known by executing judgments.

so that tribulation thrusts us into the narrow way;

he who is not afflicted will not be able to enter.

For he who straitens himself in the narrow way, this is the one who also enjoys refreshment;

but he who enlarges himself neither enters, and is afflicted, being wedged in, so to speak.

Hear how Paul entered upon this narrow way.

I buffet my body, he says, and bring it into bondage.

He buffeted his body, so as to be able to enter in;

for this cause he continued giving thanks to God in all his tribulations.

this lightened for you the great burden of the broad way.

Have you fallen from glory? This is another kind of enlargement.

Have you been slandered? Have the things spoken against you, of which you are not conscious to yourself, been believed? Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.

For blessed are you, he says, when they reproach you, and speak every evil word against you, lying, for My sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in the heavens.

Why do you marvel if you are vexed and wish to be relieved from your trials? Paul too wished to be relieved, and often besought God, and did not obtain it;

for thrice means often.

Concerning this, he says, I besought the Lord thrice, and He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you;

for My power is made perfect in weakness;

by weakness he here means tribulations.

What then? Since he heard these things, he bore them with thanksgiving, and says:

Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses;

that is, I am well content, I find rest in my tribulations.

For all things, then, let us give thanks, both for relief and for tribulation; let us not murmur, let us not be unthankful.

Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return.

Naked, not only of possessions, but also of glory and good report, were you brought into this life.

Consider how many evils have often arisen from riches;

or rather, hear what Christ says:

For it is easier, he says, for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Do you see of how many good things riches become a hindrance, and yet you seek to be rich? And do you not rejoice, being in poverty, that the obstacle has been overturned? So narrow is the way that leads into the kingdom;

so broad is wealth, full of bulk and of puffing up.

Sell your possessions, that the way may receive you.

Why do you long for riches? For this reason He took them from you, that He might free you from bondage;

since even fathers who are true, when their son happens to be corrupted by some harlot, and though they exhort him much they cannot persuade him to depart from her, banish the harlot into exile.

Such also is the abundance of riches.

Caring, therefore, also for us, and delivering us from the harm that comes thence, the Master takes away our riches.

Let us not, then, think poverty to be an evil;

For neither is wealth a good thing in itself;

to be well pleasing to God is the only good.

Let us therefore seek poverty, let us pursue it;

Thus shall we lay hold of heaven, thus shall we attain the good things that are in the heavens;

which may it be granted to us all to attain, by 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.