Homilies on the Gospel of John 26

That which is born of the flesh is flesh;

and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

The Only-begotten Son of God has counted us worthy of great mysteries;

great mysteries, and such as we were not worthy of, but such as it befitted Him to bestow.

For if one should reckon our own desert, we were not only unworthy of the gift, but also liable to chastisement and punishment.

But since He looked not to this, He not only freed us from chastisement, but also bestowed on us a life far brighter than the former, brought us into another world, and fashioned another creation;

'For if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature,' he says.

What manner of new creation? Hear Him speaking:

'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'

We were entrusted with Paradise, and did not appear worthy even of the life therein, yet He led us up into the heavens.

In the first things we were not found faithful, and He put greater into our hands;

we had not strength to abstain from a single tree, and He granted us the delight that is above;

we did not endure in Paradise, and He flung open the heavens to us.

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

No longer a mother, no longer birth-pangs, nor sleep, nor intercourse and the embraces of bodies;

henceforth the framing of your nature is woven on high, from the Holy Spirit and water.

And the water is taken up, becoming a birth for the one being born.

For what the womb is to the embryo, that the water is to the believer;

for in the water he is fashioned and formed.

For at the first it was said:

'Let the waters bring forth creeping things of living souls;'

but from the time when the Master stepped into the streams of Jordan, the water no longer sends forth creeping things of living souls, but rational souls that bear the Spirit.

And that which was said concerning the sun, that 'As a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber,' this it would rather be the fitting time to say concerning the faithful.

For they send forth rays far more radiant than his.

But that which is fashioned in the womb needs time;

in the water it is not so, but in a single moment all things come to pass.

For where the life is perishable and takes its beginning from bodily corruption, that which is born comes slowly (for such is the nature of bodies;

it acquires its completion in time);

but with things spiritual it is not so.

Why so? Because the things that come into being are wrought perfect from the beginning.

But since Nicodemus, hearing these things, was continually troubled, observe how He opens up to him a little the ineffable nature of this mystery, and makes clear to him what was hitherto obscure, saying, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh;'

'but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'

He leads him away from all things sensible, and does not permit him to pry into the mystic rite with these bodily eyes.

'For we are not speaking concerning flesh,' He says, 'but concerning the Spirit, O Nicodemus.'

For the while, by this word He directed him upward.

Seek then nothing of things sensible;

for the Spirit could not be seen by these eyes;

neither suppose that the Spirit begets flesh.

How then, one might perhaps say, was the flesh of the Lord begotten? Not of the Spirit only, but also of flesh.

Wherefore Paul also, making this plain, said:

'Made of a woman, made under the law.'

For the Spirit did indeed fashion Him thus, yet not out of things that were not;

For what need was there of a womb? Rather, He was formed from the flesh of the Virgin.

But the how of it, I am not able to explain.

This came to pass so that no one should suppose that the One begotten was foreign to our nature.

For even when this had taken place, there are some who disbelieve such a birth; had He not partaken of the Virgin's flesh, into what depths of impiety would these men not have fallen? That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do you see the dignity of the Spirit? For it is shown to do the very work of God.

Above, then, He said that 'they were born of God.'

But here, that the Spirit begets them.

'That which is born,' He says, 'of the Spirit is spirit.'

And what He means is this:

He who is born of the Spirit is spiritual.

For here He speaks of a birth not according to substance, but according to honor and grace.

If, then, the Son too was begotten in this manner, what more would He have than men who are begotten in this manner? And how is He the Only-begotten? For I also have been begotten of God, yet not of His substance.

If, then, He too were not of the substance, in what respect would He in this differ from us? And He would be found, moreover, to be in this way less than the Spirit as well.

For such a birth comes about from the grace of the Spirit.

Is it, then, in order that He may remain Son, that He needs the help that comes from the Spirit? And in what does this differ from Jewish teachings? Christ, therefore, having said that 'he who is born of the Spirit is spirit,'

since He saw him once more troubled, brings His discourse to a perceptible example.

'Do not marvel,' He says, 'that I said to you that you must be born from above.'

'The wind blows where it wills.'

For by saying 'Do not marvel,' He points to the trouble of his soul, and leads him on to the subtler of bodies.

For He had led him away from things carnal by saying, 'That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'

But since he did not understand what it could be that He was saying—'That which is born of the Spirit is spirit'—He thereafter transfers him to another image, neither bringing him down to the grossness of bodies, nor discoursing in a purely incorporeal manner (for that man was not able, in his hearing, to take it in), but having found something midway between the corporeal and the incorporeal, namely the motion of the wind, He raises him up from thence.

For concerning it He says that 'You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes.'

And when He says, 'It blows where it wills,' He does not say this as though the wind had some choice, but declaring the natural motion that is unhindered and comes to pass with authority.

For Scripture knows how to speak in this way even concerning inanimate things, as when it says:

'For the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly.'

Therefore the words 'It blows where it wills' declare that it is uncontrollable, and that it is diffused everywhere, and that there is no one to hinder it from being borne this way and that;

but it is scattered abroad with much authority, and there is no one strong enough to turn aside its rush.

'And you hear its sound;'

that is, the din, the roar;

'but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes.'

'So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'

Here is the conclusion. In everything.

For if you do not know how to explain the impulse of this wind—whose sensation you receive by hearing and by touch—nor its path,

how do you pry curiously into the working that comes from the divine Spirit, when you do not understand that of the wind, though you hear its sound? Therefore the words 'It blows where it wills' were spoken also to set forth the authority of the Paraclete.

And what He means is this:

For if no one restrains this, but it is borne wherever it wills,

much more will neither the laws of nature be able to restrain the working of the Spirit, nor the bounds of bodily birth, nor any other such thing.

That the words 'You hear its sound' were spoken concerning the wind is clear from this.

For He would not, when conversing with an unbeliever who did not know the working of the Spirit, have said, 'You hear its sound.'

As, then, the wind is not seen, though indeed it gives forth a sound,

so neither is the birth of the spiritual man seen by the eyes of the body—although the wind is a body, even if a most subtle one; for whatever is subject to sense-perception is a body.

If, then, you are not vexed that you do not see the body of the wind, nor do you disbelieve on that account, why in the world, when you hear about the Spirit, do you grow dizzy and demand so many explanations, though you do not do this in the case of a body? What, then, of Nicodemus? He still remains in the pettiness of the Jews, and that too when the example had been stated so plainly.

And when he again spoke in perplexity, saying, 'How can these things be?' Christ thereafter discourses with him more sharply, saying, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do you not know these things?' See how nowhere does He charge the man with wickedness, but rather with simplicity and naivety.

'And what,' one might say, 'has this birth in common with Jewish things?'

For what is not in common, tell me? For the first man that came into being, and the woman that came from his rib, and the barren women, and the things accomplished through waters—I mean the matters concerning the spring from which Elisha made the iron to float, the things concerning the Red Sea which the Jews crossed, the things concerning the pool which the angel stirred, the things concerning Naaman the Syrian who was cleansed in the Jordan—

all these things foreproclaimed, as in a type, the birth and the cleansing that were to come.

And the things spoken by the prophets hint at this manner of birth;

such as, 'The generation that is to come shall be announced to the Lord, and they shall declare His righteousness to a people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made;'

the words, 'Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's;'

'Behold, your King comes;'

the words, 'Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven.'

And Isaac too was a type of this birth.

For tell me, O Nicodemus, how was he born? Was it by the law of nature? By no means.

Thus this mode was midway between that birth and this birth;

belonging to that one, in that it was from marital union;

but to this one, in that he was not born of blood.

But I show that these modes foreproclaimed not only this birth, but also that from the Virgin.

For since one would not easily have believed that a virgin bears, barren women came first, and then not merely barren women, but women grown old as well.

And yet it is far more marvelous than the case of the barren woman that a woman should come into being from a rib;

but since that was ancient and of old, again another mode comes about, new and fresh—that of the barren women—preparing the way for faith in the Virgin's travail.

Reminding him, then, of these things, He said:

'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do you not know these things? We speak what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and no one receives our testimony.'

These things He added, once more from another quarter making the word worthy of credence, and by His mode of expression condescending to that man's weakness.

'We speak what we know, and we testify to what we have seen'? Since among us also the sight is more trustworthy than the other senses, and whenever we wish to convince someone, we speak thus: that we have seen with our eyes, we do not know it by hearsay;

for this reason Christ too discourses with him in a more human manner, from this quarter also making the word credible.

And that this is so, and that He wishes to set forth nothing else, nor indicates any sensible sight, is clear from this.

For having said, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh,' and, 'That which is born of the Spirit is spirit,' He added:

'We speak what we know, and we testify to what we have seen.'

But this had not yet come to be born.

How, then, does He say, 'What we have seen'? Is it not quite evident that He speaks concerning exact knowledge, and knowledge that cannot be otherwise? 'And no one receives our testimony.'

Now the words, 'What we know,' He speaks either concerning Himself and the Father, or concerning Himself alone.

But the words, 'No one receives,' are not now the utterance of one who is displeased, but of one who is declaring what actually comes to pass.

And what could be more devoid of understanding than you, who do not accept things so accurately declared by us? Yet He, displaying all gentleness both through His works and through His words, uttered none of these reproaches, but meekly and mildly foretold what was to come, thereby leading us also to all gentleness, and teaching us, whenever we converse with any and fail to persuade them, not to be displeased nor to grow savage.

For it is not possible to accomplish anything by dealing harshly, but rather one only renders the other more disobedient.

Therefore one must abstain from anger, and make one's speech worthy of credence on every side—not only by not being angry, but also by not even shouting.

Let us clip the wings of wrath, and the evil will no longer be lifted up on high.

For anger is a swift passion—swift, and terrible in stealing away our souls.

For this reason we must block up its entrance on every side.

For it is absurd that we can tame wild beasts, yet look on while our own mind runs wild.

Wrath is a fierce fire, devouring all things.

For it both injures the body, and corrupts the soul, and makes a man unpleasant and shameful to behold.

And if it were possible for the angry man to see himself clearly at the moment of his anger, he would need no other exhortation.

For nothing is more repulsive than an angry countenance.

Anger is a kind of drunkenness—nay, more grievous than drunkenness, and more pitiable than a demon-possessed man.

But if we take care not to shout, we shall find the best road of true wisdom.

For this reason Paul writes to do away with shouting together with anger, saying:

'Let all wrath and clamour be put away from you.'

Let us then obey the Teacher of all true wisdom;

and whenever we are angry with our servants, let us call to mind our own sins, and be ashamed before their forbearance.

For when you insult, while he bears the insult in silence—when you behave unseemly, while he acts with true wisdom—take this in place of all admonition.

For even if he is a servant, yet he is a man, possessing an immortal soul, and honoured by the common Master with the same gifts as you.

But if he who is our equal in the greater and more spiritual things, on account of some paltry and small human superiority bears so meekly our treatment of him, what pardon should we deserve, or what defence could we offer—we who, for the fear of God, are unable to practise true wisdom, or rather are unwilling, as he is for the fear of us? Weighing therefore all these things, and considering our own sins, and the common lot of human nature, let us take care to speak calmly everywhere, so that, becoming humble in heart, we may find rest for our souls, both the present rest and the rest to come;

which may it be granted us all to 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.