Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 9

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the magi, was exceedingly wroth;

and he sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly ascertained from the magi.

And yet he ought not to have been wroth, but to have feared and shrunk back, and to have seen that he was attempting things that could not be accomplished.

For when a soul is ungrateful and past cure, it yields to none of the remedies given by God.

See, then, how this man too strives to outdo his former deeds, linking murder to murder, and everywhere hurled headlong down the precipice.

For, as though driven into frenzy by some demon of this wrath and envy, he takes account of nothing, but rages even against nature itself, and vents upon children who had done no wrong the anger he felt against the magi who had mocked him, daring in Palestine a deed akin to those that once took place in Egypt.

For 'he sent forth,' it says, 'and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.'

Here I beg you to attend with all diligence.

For many people prate much concerning these children, charging injustice upon what was done;

and some raise their perplexity about them more moderately, while others do so more boldly and more madly.

That we may free the one sort from their madness and the other from their perplexity, bear with us while we discourse a little upon this subject.

For if they bring this charge, that the little ones were suffered to be slain, they will bring the same charge concerning the slaughter of the soldiers who guarded Peter.

For as here, when the child had escaped, other children were slain in the place of Him who was sought;

so also then, when the angel had freed Peter from the prison and the chains, a man of the same name as this tyrant and of the same character, having sought and not found him, put to death in his stead the soldiers who guarded him.

This, however, is no solution, but rather an adding to what is sought.

I too know this, and for that very reason I bring all such cases into the midst, that I may apply one solution to them all.

What then is the solution of these things? And what plausible account could we give? That it was not Christ who became the cause of their slaughter, but the cruelty of the king;

just as, in the other case, it was not Peter who caused their death, but the folly of Herod.

For if he had seen a wall dug through, or the doors broken open, he might perhaps have had ground to charge negligence upon the soldiers who guarded the Apostle;

but as it was, when everything remained in its own arrangement, and the doors were shut, and the chains were joined to the hands of the guards (for they were bound together with him), he might from these things have reasoned, had he judged rightly of what occurred, that what happened was not of human power nor of evil-doing, but of some divine and wonder-working power; and he might have worshipped Him who wrought these things, instead of making war upon the guards.

For God so ordered all that He did, that not only were the guards not betrayed, but the king too might through them be led by the hand to the truth.

But if that man showed himself ungrateful, what has the disorder of the patient to do with the wise physician of souls, who works all things for their benefit? Which very thing may also be said here.

For what reason wast thou enraged, O Herod, at being mocked by the magi? Didst thou not know that the birth was divine? Didst not thou thyself summon the chief priests? Didst not thou thyself gather the scribes? Did not those, when called, bring the Prophet also along with them into thy court, foretelling these things from of old? Didst thou not see the old things agreeing with the new? Didst thou not hear that a star also ministered to these men? Didst thou not reverence the zeal of the barbarians? Didst thou not marvel at their boldness? Didst thou not shudder at the truth of the Prophet? Didst thou not perceive, from the former things, the latter also? For what cause didst thou not reason within thyself from all these things, that what was happening was not of the deceit of the magi, but of a divine power ordering all things to their fitting end? And even if thou wast deceived by the magi, what has that to do with the children who had done no wrong?

But while thou hast rightly deprived Herod of his defence, and shown him to be a murderer,

thou hast not yet answered the question concerning the injustice of what was done.

For even if that man acted unjustly, for what reason did God permit it? What then shall we say to this? That which I never cease to say, both in the Church, and in the market-place, and everywhere;

which I wish you also to keep with all diligence;

for it is a kind of rule that fits every such perplexity of ours.

What then is the rule, and what is the principle? That those who do injustice are many, but he who is injured is no one at all.

And that the riddle may not trouble you further, I will quickly bring on the solution also.

For whatever we may suffer unjustly at any one's hands, God reckons that injustice to us either for the loosing of our sins, or for the recompense of rewards.

And that what is said may become clearer, let us bring the argument to an illustration.

Let us suppose there is a household servant owing his master much money;

then that this servant is wronged by unjust men, and some of his goods are taken from him.

If then the master, being able to hinder the robber and grasping man, does not restore those goods, but reckons what was taken away against the debt owed to him by the servant, has the servant been wronged? By no means.

But what if he even pay back more? Has he not gained even greater profit? This is surely plain to everyone.

This, then, let us reckon also concerning the things which we suffer.

For that in return for the evils we suffer we either loose our sins, or receive more glorious crowns, if we have not so many sins, hear Paul saying to him who had committed fornication:

'Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved.'

For the discourse was concerning those who are wronged by others, not concerning those who are corrected by their teachers.

In truth there is no difference at all;

for the question was, whether to suffer evil be not an injury to the one who suffers.

But that I may bring the discourse yet nearer to the point in question, call to mind David, who, when he then saw Shimei pressing upon him and leaping upon his calamity, and drenching him with countless reproaches, while his generals wished to slay him, forbade them, saying:

'Let him curse, that the Lord may see my humiliation, and requite me good in place of this cursing in that day.'

And in the Psalms too, singing, he said:

'Consider mine enemies, for they are multiplied, and they hated me with unjust hatred; and forgive all my sins.'

And Lazarus too, for this reason, enjoyed repose, since he suffered ten thousand ills during this life.

Those, then, who are wronged are not wronged, if they nobly bear all that they suffer, but even gain the greater profit, whether they be smitten by God or scourged by the devil.

And what sin, he says, had the little children, that they should loose it? For concerning those who are of age and have committed many faults, one might with reason say such things;

but those who thus endured an untimely end, what sins, by suffering evil, did they lay aside? Didst thou not hear me saying that, even though there be no sins, there is a recompense of rewards there for those who suffer evil here? What harm, then, did the children take by being slain upon such a pretext, and being quickly borne away to the unruffled haven? Because, one says, having lived, they would often have accomplished many and great things.

But for this very reason no small reward is laid up beforehand for them, namely, that they ended their life upon such a pretext.

And in any case He would not have suffered them to be snatched away beforehand, if these children were going to be some great persons.

For if He bears with so much long-suffering those who are going to live perpetually in wickedness, much more would He not have suffered these to be thus borne away, had He foreknown that they would accomplish some great things.

And these indeed are the reasons on our part;

yet these are not all, but there are others more ineffable than these, which He who Himself orders these matters knows with exactness.

Yielding to Him, therefore, the more exact comprehension in this matter, let us hold to what follows, and let us be trained by the calamities of others to bear all things nobly.

For no small tragedy then befell Bethlehem, as the children were snatched from their mothers' breasts, and

led away to this unjust slaughter.

But if thou art still faint-hearted, and fallest short of the philosophy needful in these matters, learn the end of him who dared these things, and take a little breath.

For a most speedy vengeance overtook him for these deeds, and gave him the fitting punishment for this pollution, as he ended his life by a grievous death, more pitiable than the deed now dared, and suffering ten thousand other ills besides—which ye will know by going through the account of Josephus concerning these things;

which, that we may not make our discourse long and break its continuity, we did not think it necessary to insert into the present matters.

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

'A voice was heard in Ramah, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are not.'

For since he had filled the hearer with horror by relating these things—the violent, the unjust, the most cruel, the lawless slaughter—he consoles him again, saying that it came to pass, not because God was unable to hinder these things, nor because He was ignorant of them, but because He both foreknew and foreannounced them through the Prophet.

Be not therefore troubled, nor cast down, looking to His unspeakable providence, which it is especially possible to see both in the things He works and in the things He permits;

which very thing He hinted at also elsewhere, when discoursing with the disciples.

For since He foretold to them the tribunals, and the arrests, and the wars of the world, and the truceless conflict, upholding their soul and consoling them, He says:

'Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father which is in heaven.'

And this He said, showing that nothing comes to pass while He is ignorant of it, but that He knows all things indeed, though He does not work all things. Be not therefore, He says, disturbed nor troubled.

For He who knows what ye suffer, and is able to hinder it, plainly does not hinder it because He provides for you and cares for you;

which we ought to consider also in the case of our own temptations;

and from this we shall receive sufficient consolation.

And what, one says, has Rachel in common with Bethlehem? one might perhaps say.

'Rachel,' it says, 'weeping for her children.'

But what has Ramah to do with Rachel? Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, and when she died they buried her by the racecourse that lies near this place.

Since, then, both her tomb was nearby and the inheritance of this her child belonged to Benjamin (for Ramah was of the tribe of Benjamin),

it is with good reason that, both from the chief of the tribe and from the place of burial, he calls the slaughtered children hers.

Then, showing that the wound which had befallen was incurable and raw, he says:

'She would not be comforted, because they are not.'

Here again we are taught this very thing which I said before: never to be disturbed when the things that happen run contrary to God's promise.

Behold, at any rate, when He came for the salvation of the people—or rather for the salvation of the whole world—what manner of things were its beginnings.

His mother is in flight, His homeland falls into irremediable calamities, and the most bitter of all murders is dared, and there is lamentation and much wailing and cries of grief on every side.

For He is ever wont to accomplish His dispensations through their opposites, thereby furnishing us with the greatest proof of His power.

Thus also He trained His own disciples, and prepared them to prosper in all things, ordering contrary results through contrary means, that the wonder might be the greater.

Being scourged, at any rate, and driven out, and suffering countless dreadful things, they thus prevailed over those who scourged and drove them out.

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph, saying:

'Arise, take the young child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel.'

He no longer says 'Flee,' but 'Go.'

Do you see once more, after the trial, a respite; and then after the respite, danger again? For he was released from the exile, and returned to his own country, and saw the murderer of the children himself slain;

but on setting foot in his own land, he again finds relics of the former dangers—the son of the tyrant.

And how did Archelaus reign over Judaea, when Pontius Pilate was governor? The death had but recently taken place, and the kingdom had not yet been divided into many parts;

but, as though he had just then departed, his son for the time being held the rule in place of his father Herod;

for his brother too bore this same name;

wherefore the Evangelist added, 'in the place of his father Herod.'

But if, he says, Joseph feared to take up his abode in Judaea on account of Archelaus, he ought also to have feared Galilee on account of Herod.

Yet by changing the region, the matter was thereafter kept in the shade;

for the whole onslaught had been directed against Bethlehem and its borders.

Now that the slaughter had taken place, the youth Archelaus thereafter supposed that the whole affair had reached its end, and that among the many the sought-for one too had been destroyed.

And besides, seeing that his father had so ended his life, he became more cautious about proceeding further and contending on behalf of lawlessness.

So then Joseph comes to Nazareth, both fleeing the danger and at the same time cleaving with affection to his homeland.

That he might have the greater confidence, he receives also a divine intimation from the angel concerning this.

And yet Luke does not say that he came there in consequence of a divine intimation, but that, when they had fulfilled all the purification, they returned to Nazareth.

What then is one to say? That Luke relates these things when narrating the time before the descent into Egypt.

For he would not have brought them down thither before the purification, so that nothing unlawful might occur; rather, He waited for them to be purified and to come to Nazareth, and then to go down into Egypt.

Then, after their return, He bids them come to Nazareth.

But before this they had not been divinely instructed to come thither; rather, out of affection for their homeland they did so of their own accord.

For since they had gone up for no other reason than the census, and had no place to stay, when they had accomplished that for which they had gone up, they went down to Nazareth.

For this very reason the angel now, giving them rest, restores them to their home;

and this not simply, but with prophecy as well;

'For it was that it might be fulfilled,' he says, 'which was spoken by the prophets, that He shall be called a Nazarene.'

And what prophet said this? Do not be over-curious, nor busily inquisitive.

For many of the prophetic books have been lost;

and this one may perceive from the history of the Chronicles (Paralipomena).

For being slothful, and continually falling into impiety, they allowed some to perish, while others they themselves burned and cut to pieces.

The one Jeremiah relates, the other he who composed the fourth book of Kings, saying that after a long time the book of Deuteronomy was scarcely found, buried somewhere and made to disappear.

But if, when no barbarian was present, they thus betrayed the books, much more so when the barbarians came upon them.

That the prophets did foretell it is evident, since the apostles too in many places call Him a Nazarene.

Did this, then, cast into shadow the prophecy concerning Bethlehem? By no means;

rather, this very thing especially stirred men up, and roused them to the search into the things said about Him.

Thus, at any rate, Nathanael too comes to the inquiry concerning Him, saying:

'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' For the place was mean;

or rather, not the place only, but the whole region of Galilee.

For this reason the Pharisees said:

'Search, and see, that out of Galilee has arisen no prophet.'

Yet nevertheless He is not ashamed to be called even from thence, thereby showing that He has need of none of the things of men;

and He chooses His disciples also out of Galilee;

everywhere cutting away the pretexts of those who wish to be slothful, and showing that we have need of nothing external, if we practise virtue.

For this reason He chooses not even a house of His own;

'For the Son of Man,' He says, 'has nowhere to lay His head;'

and when Herod plotted against Him He flees, and being born He is laid in a manger, and He lodges in an inn, and takes a lowly mother;

teaching us to deem none of such things shameful, and trampling down from the very outset human vainglory, and bidding us to be of virtue alone.

For why do you pride yourself upon your homeland, when He commands you to be a stranger to the whole world?

when it is in your power to become such that the whole world is not worthy of you? For these things are so contemptible that not even among the philosophers of the Greeks are they deemed worthy of any account, but are called externals, and hold the lowest place.

And yet Paul, one says, accepts it, speaking thus:

'But as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.'

But tell me, when, and concerning whom, and to whom was he discoursing?

For it was against those of the Gentiles who greatly puffed themselves up over their faith, and rose up against the Jews, and by this were rending them the more asunder;

abating the swelling pride of the former, and drawing the latter to himself, and rousing them to the same zeal.

For when he speaks concerning those noble and great men, hear how he says:

'And they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.'

'And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to return;'

'but now they long after a better, that is, a heavenly one.'

'These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and greeted them.'

And John too said to those who came to him:

'Do not presume to say that we have Abraham for our father.'

For not all who are of Israel are Israel, nor are the children of the flesh the children of God.

For tell me, what did the sons of Samuel gain from the nobility of their father, when they did not become heirs of their father's virtue? And what did the sons of Moses profit, when they did not emulate his exactness? Indeed, they did not even succeed to his office.

But while they indeed inscribed him as their father, the leadership passed over to another—to the one who, through virtue, had become his son.

And what harm did Timothy suffer from being the son of a Greek father? And again, on the other hand, what did the son of Noah gain from his father's virtue, becoming a slave instead of a free man? Do you see how a father's nobility is not enough to give the children pre-eminence? For the wickedness of the will overcame the laws of nature, and cast him out not only from the nobility that came from his begetter, but even from his freedom.

And what of Esau? Was he not a son of Isaac, and did he not have his begetter championing him? For indeed the father too was zealous and eager that he should partake of the blessings, and Esau himself did all that was commanded him for this end.

Yet nevertheless, because he was perverse, none of these things availed him.

But though he was first by nature, and had his father doing everything with him for this purpose, since he did not have God with him, he fell from all.

And why do I speak of men? The Jews became sons of God, and gained nothing from this nobility.

But if one who has become a son of God, unless he displays a virtue worthy of this nobility, is even punished the more severely, why do you parade before me the nobility of ancestors and forefathers? For not in the Old Testament alone, but in the New as well, one may find this principle prevailing.

For 'as many as received him,' it says, 'to them he gave the authority to become children of God.'

Yet nevertheless Paul declared that many of these children were profited nothing by their father.

For 'if you are circumcised,' he says, 'Christ shall profit you nothing.'

But if Christ profits nothing those who are unwilling to give heed to themselves, how shall a man give them pre-eminence? Let us then be high-minded neither over nobility nor over wealth, but let us even despise those who are so disposed;

nor let us be cast down over poverty;

but let us seek that wealth which consists in good works;

let us flee that poverty which establishes us in wickedness, on account of which even that rich man was poor;

wherefore he did not become master even of a single drop, and that though he had offered up much supplication.

And yet, who among us could become so poor [as to lack even water to enjoy]? There is no one.

For even those wasting away in the extremity of famine are able to enjoy a drop;

and not a single drop only, but much greater consolation besides.

But not so that rich man; rather, even in this respect he was poor;

and what is yet harder, he was not able to console his poverty from any source whatever.

Why then do we gape after riches, when they do not bring us into heaven? For tell me:

if some king of those on earth said that it was impossible for a rich man to shine in the palace, or to enjoy any honour, would you not all, holding riches in contempt, have flung them away? Then, if riches were to exclude us from the honour that is in the palaces below, they would be despicable;

but when the King of heaven cries out day by day and says that it is hard for men to set foot with them within those sacred portals, shall we not part with all, and stand aloof from our possessions, that we may enter the kingdom with boldness?

And of what pardon are we worthy, when we heap around ourselves with great zeal the very things that wall up the way to that place, and hide them away not only in coffers but even in the earth, when it is possible to hand them over to the keeping of heaven? For as it is, you do the very same thing as if some farmer, having received grain to sow a rich field, should abandon the field and bury all the grain in a pit, so that neither should he himself enjoy it, and the grain, being spoiled, should perish.

But what is their long argument, when we bring these charges against them? 'It brings no small consolation,' one says, 'to know that all is stored up for us safely within.'

Nay, rather, not to know that it is stored up—that is the consolation.

For even if you do not fear famine, yet on account of this store you must needs fear other things more grievous—deaths, wars, plots.

And if famine should ever seize the city, again the populace, compelled by their belly, arms its right hand against your house.

Nay rather, when you do these things, you yourself bring famine into the cities;

and you build for your own house this pit that is more grievous than famine.

For by the constraint of famine I do not know that any have died quickly;

for it is possible to devise many things from many quarters for the alleviation of this evil;

but on account of money and wealth and such dealings I can point to many who have been made away with—some secretly, others in public.

And of such examples the highways are full, and full are the law-courts and the market-places.

And why do I speak of highways and law-courts and market-places? For you will see the very sea itself filled with blood.

For this tyranny has not gained the mastery of the land alone, but has burst in upon the deep also with great drunken violence.

And one man sails for the sake of gold, while another is slaughtered for this very same thing;

and the same tyranny made the one a merchant and the other a murderer.

What then could be more faithless than mammon, when for its sake a man goes abroad, and runs into danger, and is slaughtered? But 'Who will pity a snake-charmer bitten by a serpent?' For men who know its savage tyranny ought to flee its servitude, and to break off this grievous love.

'And how,' one says, 'is this possible?' If you bring in another love—the love of heaven.

For he who desires the kingdom will laugh covetousness to scorn;

he who has become Christ's servant is not the servant of mammon, but even its master;

for mammon is wont to pursue him who flees it, but to flee him who pursues it.

It does not so honour him who pursues it as him who despises it;

it laughs at none so much as at those who desire it;

and it not only laughs at them but also enwraps them in ten thousand bonds.

Let us then at length loose these grievous chains.

Why do you enslave the rational soul to irrational matter, the mother of ten thousand evils? But oh, the absurdity of it!

for we war against it with words, while it wars against us by deeds, and leads us everywhere and drags us about, dishonouring us as though we were bought slaves and worthy of the lash;

than which what could be more shameful and more dishonourable? For if we do not get the better of insensate matter, how shall we prevail over the bodiless powers? If we do not despise cheap earth and cast-off stones, how shall we subdue the principalities and the powers? How shall we practise self-control? For if silver, gleaming, dazzles us, when shall we be able to pass by the beauty of a face? For indeed some are so given over to this tyranny that even at the very sight of gold their eyes are affected, and jesting they say that a golden coin, when it appears, even benefits the eyes.

But do not jest in such matters, O man;

for nothing so injures the eyes—both those of the body and

those of the soul—as the desire of these things.

This grievous love, at any rate, quenched the lamps of those virgins, and cast them out of the bridal chamber.

This sight, which benefits the eyes—as you said—did not suffer the wretched Judas to hearken to the Master's voice, but led him to the noose, and made him burst asunder in the midst, and after all this sent him on to hell.

What then could be more lawless than this, what more dreadful? I speak not of the substance of riches, but of the desire of them, which is unseasonable and frenzied.

For it drips with human blood, and looks upon murder, and is more savage than any wild beast, tearing to pieces those who fall into it; and what is far worse, it does not even suffer them to feel these lacerations.

For whereas those who suffer such things ought both to stretch out their hand to the passers-by and to call for aid, they instead even give thanks for these very manglings;

than which what could be more wretched? Considering therefore all these things, let us flee the incurable disease, let us heal its bites, and let us stand far off from such destruction;

that both here we may live a life secure and untroubled, and may attain the treasures that are to come;

[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, dominion, and honour, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.