Homilies on the Gospel of John 82

'I have manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world.'

'Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word.'

The Son of God is called the Angel of Great Counsel, both on account of the other things which He taught, and chiefly because He proclaimed the Father unto men.

'I have manifested Thy name unto the men.'

For having said, 'I have finished Thy work,' He again explains it, telling what manner of work it was.

And yet the name was well known.

'Ye shall fear the Lord the true God.'

But what I have often said, this also I now say, that even though it was known, yet it was so only to the Jews, and not even to all of these.

But now He speaks concerning the Gentiles.

And He signifies not this only, but also that they came to know Him as Father.

But it is not the same thing to learn that He is Creator, and that He hath a Son.

And He manifested His name both by words and by deeds.

'Whom Thou gavest Me out of the world.'

'No man cometh unto Me, except it be given him;'

and, 'Except My Father draw him;'

so also here, 'Whom Thou gavest Me.'

And yet He Himself saith that He is the Way.

Whence it is clear that by what He hath said He here establishes two things: both that He is not opposed to the Father, and that it is the Father's will that they should believe on the Son.

'Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me.'

Here He would teach that He is greatly loved by the Father.

Since that He needed not to receive them is clear from this:

He Himself both made them, and He Himself provideth for them continually.

How then did He receive them? But, as I said, this shows His concord with the Father.

But if any should choose to examine this in a human fashion, and as it hath been said, then they will no longer belong to the Father.

For if, when the Father had them, the Son had them not, it is plain that when He gave them to the Son, He Himself withdrew from His lordship over them;

for they would be found, while they were with the Father, to have been imperfect;

but when they came to the Son, then becoming perfect.

But these things are ridiculous even to utter.

What then does He signify by this? That to Him also it seemed good that they should believe on the Son.

'And they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are from Thee.'

How have they kept Thy word? By believing on Me, and not giving heed to the Jews.

For 'he that believeth on Him,' He saith, 'hath set his seal that God is true.'

For some indeed say that, 'Now I have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are from Thee;'

but this could have no reason in it.

For how was the Son to be ignorant of the things of the Father? But it is spoken concerning the disciples.

'For from the time that I spake these things to them,' He saith, 'they learned that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are from Thee;'

nothing alien, nothing that is Mine as apart from Thee.

For 'one's own' He often uses as opposed to 'another's.'

They knew therefore that all things whatsoever I teach are Thine, both teachings and doctrines.

And whence did they learn it? From My words.

And not this only, but also that 'I came forth from Thee;'

for this He was ever earnest to establish throughout the Gospel.

What sayest Thou? Dost Thou teach as though the Father were ignorant? Dost Thou converse as with a man that knoweth not? What then does this distinction mean? Seest thou that the prayer is made for no other cause, but that they may learn the love which He hath toward them? For He who not only bestowed what was His own, but also called upon Another to this end, shows the greater longing.

What then is, 'I pray concerning these'? 'Not for the whole world,' He saith, 'but for those whom Thou hast given Me.'

Continually He sets down the word 'Thou gavest,' that they may learn that this seemeth good to the Father.

Then, since He had continually said, 'They are Thine, and Thou gavest them to Me,' to remove the wicked suspicion, lest any should think that His origin was recent, and that He had but now received them, what saith He? 'All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine, and I have been glorified in them.'

Seest thou the equality of honour? For lest, hearing 'Thou gavest Me,' thou shouldest think that they were alienated from the Father's authority, or before this from the Son's, He removed both suppositions by saying what He said;

so that neither, hearing, 'Thou gavest them to Me,' shouldest thou think that they were alien to the Father (for what is Mine is His);

nor, hearing, 'They were Thine,' shouldest thou think them alien to Me;

so that the word 'Thou gavest' is spoken only for condescension's sake.

For whatsoever the Father hath, is the Son's;

and whatsoever the Son hath, is the Father's.

But this cannot be said even of a son after the human manner, but only because He is of a greater.

For that what belongs to the lesser belongs also to the greater, this is somehow clear to all;

but here He reverses it, and this reversal shows the equality.

This also He showed elsewhere when He said:

'All things that the Father hath are Mine,' speaking concerning knowledge;

but the words 'Thou gavest Me,' and all such expressions, are that He may show that He did not draw them to Himself as a stranger coming in, but received His own.

Then He sets down the cause and the proof, saying:

'And I have been glorified in them;'

that is to say, either that I have authority over them, or that they will glorify Me, believing on Thee and on Me, and will glorify us alike.

But if He hath not been glorified in them alike, then what is His is no longer the other's.

For no one is glorified in that over which he hath no authority.

But how hath He been glorified alike? They all alike die for Him, as also for the Father, and preach Him, even as they preach the Father;

and just as they say that all things come to pass in His name, so also in the name of the Son.

'And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world.'

That is, Even though I appear not according to the flesh, yet through these am I glorified.

But why does He repeatedly say, 'I am not in the world'?

And, 'Since I am leaving them, I commend them to Thee'?

And, 'While I was in the world, I kept them'? For if one were to take these words in a merely literal sense, many absurdities would follow.

For how could it stand to reason that He is not in the world, and that, when He departs, He entrusts them to Another? Such words would befit a mere man who was being parted from them for good.

You see that He speaks for the most part after the manner of men, and in accommodation to their understanding, since they supposed that they had some greater security from His presence. Therefore He says:

'While I was with them, I kept them.'

And yet He says, 'I come to you,' and, 'I am with you until the consummation of the age.'

How then does He now speak thus, as though about to be parted from them? But, as I said, it was in accommodation to their surmise, that they might have a little breathing space when they heard Him saying these things and commending them to the Father.

For since, though they had heard many words of comfort from Him, they were not persuaded, He now converses with the Father, showing His tender love toward them:

'Since Thou art calling me to Thyself, establish them in safety.'

What sayest Thou? Art Thou not able to keep them? Yea, I am able.

Why then dost Thou say these things? 'That they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves';

that is, that they be not troubled, being as yet somewhat imperfect.

In saying these things He made it plain that it was for the sake of their repose and joy that He spoke all this in this manner;

since otherwise the saying would seem to be contradictory:

'And now I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world.'

For this was what they suspected.

So for the time being He condescends to them.

For had He said, 'I keep them,' they would not so readily have believed;

'Holy Father, keep them in Thy name';

that is, By Thy help.

'While I was in the world, I kept them in Thy name.' Again He speaks as a man and as a prophet;

since nowhere does He appear to have done anything in the name of God.

'Those whom Thou gavest me I guarded, and none of them perished except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.'

And yet not he alone perished, but many others afterward as well.

How then does He say, 'I shall in no wise lose'? 'That which is My part, I shall in no wise lose';

which elsewhere too He declared more clearly, saying:

'not through any fault of mine, nor because I thrust them away, nor because I forsook them.'

But if of their own accord they leap away, I do not drag them by constraint. 'And now I come to Thee.'

You see that the discourse is framed in a more human fashion? So that if anyone should wish to lessen the Son on the ground of these words, he will be lessening the Father also.

Observe then from the beginning: part of it is by way of teaching and explaining to Him, and part by way of enjoining;

some by way of teaching, as when He says:

'I pray not for the world';

'I have kept them until now, and none has perished';

and, 'Do Thou therefore keep them,' He says;

'They were Thine, and Thou gavest them to me';

and, 'While I was in the world, I kept them.'

But the solution of all is this: that the things spoken were said in accommodation to their weakness.

And having said, 'None of them perished except the son of perdition,' He added:

What Scripture does He mean? That which foretold many things concerning Him.

Not, however, that he perished on this account, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

And concerning this we have discoursed much before, that this is a manner peculiar to Scripture, in that it sets down as a cause the things that come to pass as a result.

And one must examine everything with exactness—the manner of the speaker, the subject-matter, and the laws of Scripture—if indeed we are not to be led into error;

'For, brethren, be not children in understanding.'

And this we ought to read not only for the understanding of the Scriptures, but also for earnestness in the conduct of life.

For little children too do not long for great things, but are wont to admire things of no worth.

For they delight to look at carriages, and horses, and the muleteer, and the wheels, all made of clay;

but if they should see a king seated on a golden chariot, and a pair of white mules, and great splendor, they do not even turn to look.

And brides again, made from the same material, they take and deck out;

but the truly real and radiant ones they do not even recognize;

and in many other cases they experience the same thing.

This many even of grown men now endure.

For when they hear of the things of heaven, they pay no heed;

but toward all things of clay they are, like the children, agog, and they stand agape at the wealth that comes from the earth, and they prize glory and luxury in the present life;

and yet these things are but children's playthings, just as those were;

whereas the others are the causes of life and glory and repose.

But just as the children weep when deprived of these toys, yet know not even to feel a desire for those greater things;

so also is it with many of those who are reputed to be men.

'Be not children in understanding.'

Thou lovest riches, tell me, and lovest not the wealth that abides, but children's baubles? Then, if thou shouldest see someone marveling at a coin of lead, and stooping down to pick it up, thou wilt condemn him for his great poverty;

yet thou, who gatherest things more paltry than these, dost thou reckon thyself among the wealthy? And how could this stand to reason? For we shall call him rich who despises all present things.

For no one, no one of these little ones, will choose to laugh to scorn silver and gold and the rest of the show, unless he has a longing for the greater things—just as neither will one scorn the coin of lead unless he possesses coins of gold.

And thou likewise, whenever thou seest a man passing by all the world, believe that he does this from no other cause than from looking to a greater world.

So too the husbandman despises the few ears of wheat, when he looks for a greater harvest.

But if, while the hope is uncertain, we despise the things at hand;

much more ought we to do this in the case of a sure expectation.

Wherefore I beseech and exhort you, do not injure yourselves, nor, by clinging to mire, rob yourselves of the treasures above, bringing your ship into harbor laden with stubble and chaff.

Let anyone say of us what he will, let him be vexed at the constancy of the exhortation;

let him call us babblers, tiresome, burdensome;

we shall not cease from exhorting continually on their behalf, and continually sounding forth to you all that word of the prophet:

Redeem your sins by almsgiving, and your iniquities by mercy to the poor, and bind them about your neck.

Do not do this today only to fall away tomorrow.

For this body too requires daily nourishment.

So also does the soul—and far more than the body.

And if it receives none, it grows weaker and more disgraceful.

Let us not, then, look on while it perishes and is strangled.

It receives many wounds each day—by lusting, by growing angry, by sloth, by reviling, by seeking revenge, by envying.

It is necessary, therefore, to prepare remedies for it as well.

And no small remedy is that of almsgiving, which can be applied to every wound.

For 'Give alms,' He says, 'and behold, all things are clean unto you'—

alms, that is, not what comes of greed;

for what comes of covetousness does not endure, even if you give it to the needy.

For almsgiving is that which is free from all injustice.

This is better than both fasting and sleeping on the ground.

And though those practices are more laborious and toilsome, yet this one is more profitable;

it enlightens the soul, makes it rich, and renders it fair and comely.

The fruit of the olive does not so sustain athletes as this oil restores the contenders of godliness.

Let us then anoint our hands, that we may nobly rise up against our adversary.

He who practices mercy toward the needy will quickly desist from covetousness as well. He who continues in giving to the poor will quickly desist from anger too, and will never think highly of himself.

For just as a physician who continually tends the wounded is easily kept humble, beholding in the calamities of others the frailty of human nature,

so too, if we enter into the succor of the poor, we shall easily grow wise in spirit, and shall not marvel at wealth, nor deem present things to be anything great, but shall despise all things; and being lifted up toward heaven, we shall easily attain the eternal good things, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory to the Father, unto the ages of ages.