Homilies on the Gospel of John 8

'There was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.'

For nothing prevents us from taking up the same words today also, since previously, being occupied with the exposition of the doctrines, we were prevented from going through all that had been read.

Where then are those who deny that He is true God? For here He is called 'true Light';

and elsewhere, Truth itself, and Life itself.

But that saying we shall pursue more clearly when we come to that place;

for the present, however, it is necessary meanwhile to say this to your love:

If He lighteth every man that cometh into the world, how is it that so many have remained unenlightened? For surely

not all have acknowledged the worship of Christ.

How then doth He light every man? So far as it depends on Himself.

But if some, willingly closing the eyes of their understanding, are unwilling to receive the rays of this light, the darkening in them is not owing to the nature of the light, but to the wickedness of those who willingly deprive themselves of the gift.

For grace is poured out upon all, turning away neither Jew, nor Greek, nor barbarian, nor Scythian, nor free, nor slave, nor man, nor woman, nor old, nor young;

but receiving all alike, and calling them with equal honor.

But those who are unwilling to enjoy this gift may justly reckon this blindness to themselves.

For when the entrance is open to all, and there is nothing to hinder, yet some, willfully doing evil, remain outside, they perish for no other cause than their own wickedness alone.

But not as being contemporary with the world—far from it.

'And the world was made by Him;'

by this once more leading you up to the pre-eternal existence of the Only-begotten.

For he who hears that this universe is His work, even though he be utterly senseless, even though he be an enemy and a foe of the glory of God, will altogether, whether willing or unwilling, be compelled by the works to confess the Maker.

Whence it always comes over me to marvel at the madness of Paul of Samosata, how against so manifest a truth he dared to look, and willingly cast himself down headlong.

For it was not in ignorance, but even knowing full well, that he sinned, suffering the same as the Jews.

For just as those men, looking to men, betrayed the soundness of the faith, knowing indeed that He is the only-begotten Son of God, yet on account of the rulers not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;

so this man too, they say, to gratify a certain woman, bartered away his own salvation.

For terrible, truly terrible, is the tyranny of vainglory, and able to blind even the eyes of the wise, when they are not sober.

For if the taking of bribes has this power, much more that passion which is more violent than it.

For this cause also Christ said to the Jews:

'How can ye believe, receiving glory from men, and seeking not the glory that cometh from the only God?' 'And the world knew Him not.'

Here by 'world' He means the multitude, that which is corrupt and cleaves fast to earthly things, the common, and turbulent, and senseless throng.

Whereas the friends of God, and all the admirable ones, knew Him even before His incarnate coming.

And concerning the patriarch, Christ Himself speaks by name, saying that 'Abraham your father rejoiced to see My day;'

And concerning David also, reproving the Jews, He said:

'How then doth David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying:'

'The Lord said unto my Lord:'

'Sit thou at My right hand'? And in many places, standing against those men, He makes mention of Moses;

and concerning the rest of the prophets, the Apostle.

For Peter says that all the prophets from Samuel knew Him, and foretold His coming from afar, speaking thus:

'And all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have also proclaimed these days.' But to Jacob, and to his father, as also to his grandfather, He both appeared and conversed, and promised to give many and great blessings, which indeed He also brought to pass in deed.

How then, one says, did He Himself say:

'Many prophets desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not, and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not'? Did they then not partake of the knowledge concerning Him? Assuredly they did;

and this I will try to make plain even from this very saying, from which some suppose them to have been deprived of it.

'For many,' He says, 'desired to see the things which ye see.'

So that they knew that He would come to men, and would administer the things which He indeed administered.

For they would not have desired, had they not known.

For no one can conceive a desire for things of which he has not even a notion.

So that they knew the Son of God, and that He would come to men.

What then are the things which they knew not, and what the things which they did not

hear? These things which now ye see and hear.

But if they too heard a voice, and saw Him, yet not in the flesh, nor thus consorting with men, nor conversing with them with so great freedom.

This very thing, then, He Himself also makes plain, for He did not say simply:

but what? 'The things which ye see;'

so that even if they did not behold His coming in the flesh, yet nevertheless they knew that it would be, and even desired it;

and they believed in Him, even without having seen Him in the flesh.

When therefore the Greeks bring this charge against us, saying:

'What was Christ doing in the time before, not overseeing the race of men? And why in the last times did He come to succor our salvation, having neglected us for so long a time?'—we shall say that even before this He was in the world, and took forethought for His works, and was known to all the worthy.

But if, because not all then acknowledged Him, but He was known only by those noble and virtuous ones, you should say that He was not made known;

on this ground neither now will you confess that He is worshipped by men, since not even now do all know Him.

But just as at the present time no one, on account of those who are ignorant of Him, would disbelieve those who know Him;

In the same way, neither ought one to dispute concerning the ages that went before, that it was known to many—or rather to all those noble and admirable men of old.

And for what reason did not all give heed to Him, nor all worship Him at that time, but only the righteous? I too will ask: for what reason do not all even now know Him? And why do I speak concerning Christ? For His Father—why did not all, either then or now, come to know Him? But some say that all things are borne along of their own accord; others entrust the providence of the universe to demons.

And there are some who even fashion for themselves another god besides this One.

And there are those who besides this fabricate for themselves yet another god.

Some of them even blaspheme, saying that His power is the opposing power, and they suppose that His laws are those of some wicked demon. What then? Because of this, shall we say that He is not God, since there are some who say so; and shall we confess that He is evil? For there are indeed those also who blaspheme Him in this way.

Away with such madness and utter derangement!

For if we are to characterize doctrines by the judgment of madmen, nothing prevents that these very men should be mad with the most grievous madness.

Then again, no one will say that the sun is harmful to the eyes because of those who are diseased in their sight, but rather that it gives light, taking his judgments from those who are in health.

And no one will call honey bitter because it seems so to the sense of the sick.

But shall certain men, on the supposition of those who are sick, decree God either not to exist, or to be evil, or at one time to exercise providence and at another not to do so at all? And who would say that such men are in health, and not rather that they have gone out of their minds and are raving and mad with the utmost madness? 'The world knew Him not,' he says.

But those of whom the world was not worthy—these knew Him.

And having spoken also of those who knew Him not, he set down in brief the cause of their ignorance as well.

For he did not simply say that no one knew Him, but that 'The world knew Him not'—that is, the men who are nailed to the world alone and who mind the things of the world.

For thus Christ also is wont to call them, as when He says:

'Holy Father, the world also has not known Thee.'

Not Him alone, therefore, but His Father also the world knew not, even as we were saying.

For nothing so troubles the understanding as to be glued fast to present things.

Knowing these things, then, withdraw yourselves from the world and tear yourselves away from fleshly affairs, as far as it is possible.

For it is not in chance matters that the loss from these things comes upon you, but in the sum total of your good things.

For it is not possible for a man who clings vehemently to the affairs of the present life to lay hold genuinely of the things in the heavens.

But it is necessary that he who is zealous about these things should fall away from those.

'For ye cannot,' He says, 'serve God and mammon.'

For it is necessary to hold to the one and

And these things the very experience of affairs cries aloud.

Those, at any rate, who have laughed to scorn the desire for riches—these especially are they who love God as they ought.

Just as, on the other hand, those who admire that dominion of wealth—these of all men are they who have a duller love toward Him.

For a soul once and for all taken captive by the love of money will not easily nor readily decline to do and to say something of the things that provoke God, inasmuch as it has become the slave of another master, one who enjoins all things contrary to God.

Come to your senses at last, then, and be roused; and considering whose household servants we are, let us love His kingdom alone.

Let us weep, let us lament over the former times in which we were slaves to mammon.

Let us cast off once and for all his yoke, the unbearable and heavy one, and let us abide bearing the yoke of Christ, the light and easiest one.

For He enjoins upon us nothing such as mammon does.

For the latter commands us to become enemies to all men.

But Christ, on the contrary, commands us to embrace and to love all.

The former, having nailed us fast to the clay and the brick-making (for this is what gold is), does not permit us even in the nights to draw breath a little.

But He delivers us from this superfluous and senseless anxiety, and commands us to gather treasures in the heavens, not from injustice toward others, but from our own righteousness.

The former, after our many sweats and hardships, is neither able to stand by us when we are punished yonder and suffer evil for the sake of his laws, but rather intensifies the flame.

But He, even if He should enjoin us to give a cup of cold water, does not permit us ever to lose the reward and recompense of even this, but repays it with great abundance.

How then is it not the utmost folly, that neglecting a lordship so gentle and full of so many good things, we should be slaves to a thankless and ungrateful tyrant, who is able neither here nor there to profit those who obey and give heed to him? And this is not the only terrible thing, nor is this the only loss, that he does not defend us when we are punished.

but that, in addition to this, he also surrounds with countless evils—as I said before—those who obey him.

For the greater part of those who are punished yonder, one might see punished for this cause—that they were slaves to money and loved gold, and did not succor those in need.

That we too may not suffer these things, let us scatter abroad, let us give to the poor, let us deliver our soul both from the hurtful anxieties here and from the punishment laid up for us yonder because of these things.

Let us lay up righteousness in the heavens; in place of the riches on earth let us gather treasures that cannot be plundered, treasures that are able to journey together with us to heaven.

treasures able to stand by us when we are in peril, and to make the Judge merciful to us in that day.

May it come to pass that we all have Him gracious both now and in that day, and enjoy with much boldness the good things prepared in the heavens for those who love Him as they ought.

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.