Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 89

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and said:

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of those who stood there, when they heard it, said that this man calls for Elijah.

And immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

This is the sign which before, when they asked for it, He promised to give, saying:

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah;

meaning the cross and the death, and the tomb and the resurrection.

And again another, declaring the power of the cross, He said:

When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you shall know that I am He.

And what He says is of this sort:

When you have crucified me and think that you have prevailed over me, then most of all shall you know my power.

For after the crucifixion the city was destroyed, the Jewish institutions came to an end, they fell away from their own polity and freedom, the preaching flourished, and the word was extended to the ends of the inhabited world.

both earth and sea, both the inhabited world and the uninhabited, proclaim His power without ceasing.

These things, then, He speaks of, and also the events that came to pass at the very moment of the cross.

For it was far more wonderful that these things should take place while He was nailed to the cross than while He walked upon the earth.

And it was not in this respect alone that the marvel lay, but also in that it came from heaven, which was the very thing they were seeking;

and that it came over the whole inhabited world, which had never happened before, save only in Egypt, when the Passover was about to be celebrated.

For those events were a type of these.

At midday, that all who dwell upon the earth might learn of it;

when everywhere throughout the inhabited world it was daytime;

which was sufficient to turn them, not by the greatness of the miracle alone, but also by its coming at so fitting a moment.

For after all the drunken revelry and the lawless mockery, this takes place: when they had let go their fury, when they had ceased from laughing, when they had had their fill of jeering and had uttered everything they wished;

then He displays the darkness, so that even so, laying aside their wrath, they might gain some profit from the miracle.

For this was more wonderful than to have come down from the cross: that being upon the cross He should work such things.

For whether they supposed that He Himself had done these things, they ought to have believed and feared;

or whether not He, but the Father, from these things too they ought to have been pierced with compunction;

for that darkness was the mark of One angered at what was being dared.

For that it was not an eclipse, but wrath and indignation, was plain not from this alone, but also—

for it lasted three hours;

whereas an eclipse takes place in a single moment of time;

and those who have beheld such a thing know it well;

for indeed it has happened even in our own generation.

And how was it, one may say, that not all marvelled, nor accounted Him to be God? Because the human race was then held fast in much slothfulness and wickedness.

And this marvel was but one, and having occurred it straightway passed away;

and no one troubled himself to inquire into its cause; and great was the prejudice and habit of their impiety.

And they did not even know what was the cause of what was happening;

and they perhaps supposed that this had come to pass by way of an eclipse or some other natural sequence.

And why do you marvel concerning those outside, who knew nothing and did not inquire because of their great slothfulness, when even those who were in Judaea itself, after so many miracles, still persisted in reviling Him, although He plainly showed them that He Himself had wrought this? For it was on this account that even after this He cried out, that they might learn that He was still alive, and that He Himself had done this, and might thence become more reasonable.

"Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani," that even to His last breath they might see that He honours the Father and is not opposed to God.

Wherefore also He uttered a certain prophetic voice, bearing witness even to His last hour to the Old Testament;

and not simply a prophetic voice, but also a Hebrew one, that it might become known and manifest to them;

and through all these things He shows His concord with Him who begat Him.

But behold from this too their wantonness, their intemperance, and their senselessness.

They supposed, it says, that He who was called upon was Elijah, and straightway they gave Him vinegar to drink.

And another, coming forward, pierced His side with a spear.

What could be more lawless than these men, what more brutal, who stretched their own madness to such a length as to outrage even a dead body? But do you consider how He turned their transgressions to our salvation.

For after the wound, the fountains of our salvation gushed forth from thence.

And Jesus, when He had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the spirit.

"I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again;"

and, "I lay it down of Myself."

For it was on this account that He cried with a voice, that it might be shown that the deed takes place by His own authority.

At all events Mark says that Pilate marvelled if He were already dead;

And observe that the centurion believed chiefly for this reason: because Christ died with authority.

This voice rent the veil, and opened the tombs, and made the house desolate.

But He did this not out of contempt for the temple;

(for how could He, who said, 'Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise'?) but rather to declare them unworthy even of dwelling there, just as also when He delivered it up to the Babylonians.

And it was not for this reason alone that these things happened, but what took place was also a prophecy of the desolation that was to come, and of the transference to what is greater and more exalted, and of His own power.

And together with these, He also revealed Himself by the things that followed: by the resurrection of the dead [by the darkening of the light, by the alteration of the elements].

For in the case of Elisha, one dead man rose upon touching a dead body;

but now a voice raised them, while His body lay above upon the cross.

In another way too, those former things were a type of this.

For that this might be believed, on account of this that other thing also came to pass.

And they were not simply raised, but rocks also were rent, and the earth quaked, that they might learn that He was able both to blind and to shatter them as well.

For He who cleaved the rocks and darkened the whole world,

would much more have done these things against them, had He so willed.

But He did not will it; rather, letting His wrath fall upon the elements, He desired out of clemency to save them.

Yet they did not abate from their madness.

For such is envy, such is malice;

at that time, then, they shamelessly resisted even the very things that appeared before their eyes;

and afterwards, when He rose while a seal lay upon the tomb and soldiers kept watch, and they heard these things from the very guards, they gave money, so as both to corrupt others and to steal away the report of the resurrection.

Do not marvel, therefore, if even then they were unreasonable, being once for all so utterly disposed toward this.

But consider this: how great signs He wrought, some from heaven, some upon the earth, and some in the very temple;

at once displaying His indignation, and at once showing that henceforth the untrodden places shall be trodden, and that heaven shall be opened, and that the realities shall be transferred to the true Holy of Holies.

And they indeed were saying, 'If He is the King of Israel, let Him come down from the cross';

but He was showing that He is King of the whole world.

And they indeed were saying, 'You who destroy this temple and build it in three days';

but He was showing that it shall be made utterly desolate.

Again, these were saying, 'He saved others, but Himself He cannot save';

but He, while remaining upon the cross, was demonstrating this out of great abundance in the bodies of His servants.

For if it was a great thing that Lazarus came forth on the fourth day, much greater was it that all those who had long ago fallen asleep should suddenly appear alive;

which was a sign of the resurrection that is to be.

For 'many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,' it says, 'and entered into the holy city, and appeared to many.'

For lest what had happened should be thought to be a mere apparition, they also appear to many in the city.

And the centurion also then glorified God, saying:

'Truly this man was righteous.'

And the crowds too, who had come to the spectacle, returned, beating their breasts.

So great was the power of the Crucified One, that after so much mockery and derision and jeering, both the centurion and the people were pricked to the heart.

And some say that there is also a testimony of martyrdom concerning this centurion, who afterwards played the man in the faith.

And there were there many women beholding from afar, who had followed Him, ministering to Him: Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

These things the women behold as they take place—they who were most compassionate, they who most of all lamented.

And consider how great was their constancy in attendance.

They followed Him, ministering to Him, and were present even amid the dangers.

Therefore they also beheld all things: how He cried out, how He breathed His last, how the rocks were split, and all the rest. And these women are the first to see Jesus; and the sex that had above all been condemned is the first to enjoy the sight of these good things.

This above all displays their courage.

And while the disciples fled, these women were present.

And who were they? His mother;

for it is she whom he calls the mother of James.

And another evangelist says that many also mourned over what was happening, and beat their breasts;

which most of all shows the cruelty of the Jews, that at the very things over which others lamented, these men boasted, and were neither bent by pity nor restrained by fear.

For indeed the things that came to pass were signs of great wrath;

and they were not simply signs, but all of them signs of indignation:

the darkness, the rocks being cleft, the veil rent in the midst, the shaking of the earth;

and great was the excess of the displeasure.

And Joseph, coming forward, asked for the body.

This was that Joseph who formerly kept himself hidden;

yet now, after the death of Christ, he dared a great thing.

For he was not obscure, nor one of those who pass unnoticed, but a member of the council, and exceedingly distinguished;

whence one may most of all discern his courage.

For he gave himself over to death, taking upon himself the hatred of all men by his goodwill toward Jesus, and daring to ask for the body, and not withdrawing until he obtained it.

And not only by receiving it, nor by burying it lavishly, but also by placing it in his own new tomb, he shows both his love and his courage.

And this too was not arranged without purpose, but so that no bare suspicion might arise that one had risen in place of another.

And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the sepulchre.

For what reason do these women keep watch? They knew as yet nothing great or lofty about Him, as they ought;

wherefore they also brought spices, and continued at the tomb, so that, if the madness of the Jews should abate, they might go and anoint the body.

Do you see the courage of women? do you see their tender affection, do you see their magnanimity in the matter of possessions, even unto death? Let us men imitate these women;

for they spent so much even upon one who had died, and gave up their very lives;

but we (for again I will say the same things) neither feed Him when He hungers, nor clothe Him when He is naked, but seeing Him begging, we run past.

And yet, if you had seen that very One, each of you would have emptied out all his possessions.

But even now it is the same One.

For He Himself said, "It is I."

Why then do you not empty out everything? For even now you hear Him saying, "You do it unto Me";

and there is no difference, whether you give to this one or to that one;

you have no less than those women who then fed Him, but even much more.

For it is not the same thing to feed Him when He visibly appears as Lord — which was enough to draw even a soul of stone — as it is, for the sake of His declaration alone, to care for the poor man, the maimed, the bent-over.

For there the outward appearance and the dignity of the One who is manifest divides with you the deed that is done;

but here the whole prize of your loving-kindness is yours entirely;

and it is the proof of a greater reverence toward Him, when for the sake of His declaration alone you thus care for your fellow servant and give him rest in all things.

Give him rest, therefore, believing Him who Himself receives and says, "You give to Me."

For if you were not giving to Him, He would not have counted you worthy of the kingdom.

Were you not turning Him away, He would not have sent you into hell, if you were to overlook merely any chance person;

but since it is He Himself who is despised, for this reason the charge is great.

Thus also Paul persecuted Him, while persecuting His own people;

This is why He also said, 'Why do you persecute Me?' Let us, then, be so disposed, giving as though to Christ Himself whenever we give.

For His words are more to be trusted than our very sight.

Therefore, whenever you see a poor man, call to mind those words by which He made plain that it is He Himself who is being fed.

For even though what appears is not Christ, yet in this man's form it is He Himself who receives and who begs.

But are you ashamed to hear that Christ begs? Be ashamed rather when you do not give to Him who begs.

For this is shame, this is punishment and chastisement.

For that He begs belongs to His own goodness;

and for this reason we ought even to glory in Him;

but that you do not give belongs to your own cruelty. And if you do not believe now that in passing by a faithful poor man you pass Him by, you will believe then, when He brings you into the midst and says, 'Inasmuch as you did it not to these, neither did you do it to Me.'

But God forbid that we should learn it in this way; rather, may we believe now, and bear fruit, and hear that most blessed voice which brings us into the kingdom.

Every single day I discourse to you about almsgiving and love of mankind.

Nor will I cease from saying this.

For if this had been rightly achieved by you, even then indeed I ought not to have desisted, lest I make you the more slothful;

yet nevertheless, had it been rightly achieved, I would have relaxed a little;

but if you have not so much as reached the middle of the course, then say these things not to me, but to yourselves.

For in bringing this charge you do the very same thing as if a child who has heard the letter alpha many times, and yet does not learn it, should blame his teacher because he continually and without ceasing reminds him of it.

For who has become the more ready for almsgiving as a result of these words? Who has cast away his money? Who has cast away half his substance? Who a third? No one.

How then is it not absurd that, when you are not learning, we should be bidden to desist from teaching? On the contrary, the very opposite ought to be done;

even if we ourselves wished to desist, you ought to hold us back and say:

'We have not yet learned these things, and how is it that you have desisted from reminding us?' If someone chanced to suffer in his eye, and I happened to be a physician, and then, after applying a plaster, and anointing it, and bringing to bear all my other care, I profited him nothing great and desisted, would he not have come to the doors of my workshop and cried out, charging me with great negligence, that while the disease remained I myself withdrew?

And if, when charged with these things, I were to say, 'I applied a plaster, I anointed it,' would he indeed have put up with it? By no means, but he would immediately have said:

'And what is the benefit, seeing that I am still in pain?' Reckon this also in the case of the soul.

But what if, having many times bathed a hand that was numb and contracted, I had not the strength to soften it? Would he not have

said the same thing? And now too we are bathing a hand that is contracted and withered;

and for this reason, until we have stretched it out completely, we will not desist.

Would that you too discoursed of nothing else, both at home, and in the marketplace, and at table, and by night, and in your dreams.

For if we were always careful about these things by day, we would be occupied with them even in our dreams.

What do you say? That I am always discoursing about almsgiving? I too could wish that I had no great need of this counsel toward you, but rather that I might discourse about the contest against Jews and Greeks and heretics;

but how could one arm men who are not yet healthy? How could he lead into battle-array men who still have wounds and scars? For were I to see you clearly restored to health, I would have led you out into that battle-array, and you would have seen, by the grace of Christ, countless corpses laid low, and their heads borne along one upon another.

At all events, in other books many discourses have been delivered by us concerning these matters;

but not even so are we able to keep festival purely over the victory, because of the neglectfulness of the many.

For when we have conquered them ten thousand times over in doctrines, they reproach us with the life of the many who are gathered together among us — the wounds, the diseases of the soul.

How then shall we display you as men of courage in the line of battle, when you insult even us, being straightway struck down by the enemy and made a laughing-stock? For this man's hand is in pain, and is contracted so as to be unfit for giving.

How then will such a man be able to grasp a shield and hold it before him, and not be wounded by the taunts of his own cruelty? Others have limping feet — all those who go up into theatres, and into the haunts of harlot women.

How then will these be able to stand firm in the battle, and not be smitten by the reproaches of licentiousness? Another has pain in his eyes and is maimed, seeing not aright, but full of wantonness, assailing the chastity of women and breaking into marriages.

How then will this man be able to look the enemy in the face, and brandish a spear, and let fly an arrow, being pricked on every side with taunts? One may see also many suffering in the belly no less than those who have dropsy, whenever they are held fast by gluttony and drunkenness.

How then shall I be able to lead these drunken men out to war? Another's mouth is putrid;

for such are the irascible and the abusive and the blasphemous.

How then will such a man ever raise the war-cry in battle, and accomplish something great and noble, being himself drunk with another kind of drunkenness, and affording much laughter to the enemy? For this reason I go about this camp every single day, tending these wounds, setting right these sores.

But if you should ever come to your senses, and become fit to strike others also, then I will teach you these tactics as well, and train you to handle these weapons.

Rather, these very works will be weapons for you, and all men will straightway bow down, if you become merciful, if forbearing, if gentle and long-suffering, if you display every other virtue.

But if any should contradict, then we shall add also what comes from ourselves, bringing you forward into the midst;

since as things now stand we are even hindered, so far as your part is concerned, in this course.

We say that Christ wrought great things, having made angels instead of men;

then, when we are called to give an account, and are bidden to furnish the proof from this very flock, we are put to silence.

For I am afraid lest, instead of angels, I bring forth as it were swine out of a sty, and horses maddened with lust.

I know that you are pained; yet these things are not spoken against all of you, but against those who are guilty;

or rather not even against those, if they be sober, but on their behalf.

For as things now are, everything has been ruined and corrupted;

and the Church differs in nothing from a cattle-stall, and from a fold of asses and camels;

and I go about seeking a sheep, and am not able to see one.

So do all men kick, like certain wild horses and asses, and fill this place with much dung;

for such are their conversations.

And if one could see the things said at each assembly by men and by women, you would see the foul refuse of that dung.

Wherefore I beseech you to change this evil habit, that the Church may breathe forth the fragrance of myrrh.

But as it is, we lay aside in her the sensible incense, yet we take no great pains to purge out and drive away the spiritual uncleanness.

What then is the profit? For we do not so disgrace the Church by bringing in dung, as we disgrace her by uttering such things to one another—about gains, about trafficking, about huckstering, about matters that in no way concern us—when there ought to be choirs of angels here, and we ought to make the Church a heaven, and to know nothing else but earnest prayers and silence together with attentive listening.

And let us do this even from now, that we may both cleanse our own life, and attain the good things that have been promised, by the grace and love toward man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory unto the ages of ages.