Homilies on Romans 27

Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept in silence through times eternal, but now made manifest, and through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known unto all the nations unto the obedience of faith—

to whom be the glory unto the ages.

It is ever Paul's custom to shut up his exhortation with prayers and doxologies;

for he knows that the matter carries no small weight.

And this he is wont to do out of tender affection and reverence.

For it belongs to a teacher who loves his children and loves God, not only to instruct by word, but also through prayers to bring in for those he teaches the alliance that comes from God;

and the connexion is this:

'Now to Him who is able to establish you...be glory unto the ages.'

For again he takes hold of those weak ones, and turns his discourse toward them.

For when he was rebuking, he made the rebuke a common one;

but now, in praying, on behalf of these he offers up his supplication.

And having said 'to establish,' he adds also in what manner;

and this was to show that they were not yet firmly settled, but were indeed standing, yet being shaken.

Then, making the word worthy of credence, he added, 'And the preaching of Jesus Christ';

that is, that which He Himself preached.

But if He Himself preached it, the doctrines are not ours, but the laws are His.

And discoursing further concerning the preaching, he shows that this gift is of great beneficence, and of great honour.

And first he establishes this from the One who proclaimed it, and then also from the very things proclaimed.

In addition to these, he argues it from the fact that it was made known to no one before us.

This, at any rate, he hinted at when he said, 'According to the revelation of the mystery.'

And this is the sign of the greatest friendship: to make others partakers of mysteries, and to have made them known to no one before us.

'Kept silent through eternal ages, but now made manifest.'

For long ago indeed it was foreordained, but it appeared only now.

How did it appear? 'Through the prophetic Scriptures.'

Here again he dispels the fear of the weak.

For what do you dread? That you may depart from the Law? This is what the Law wills, this it foretold from of old.

But if you go on to inquire why it was now made manifest, you do a thing that is not safe, prying into the mysteries of God and demanding an accounting.

For one ought not to be curious about such things, but to love and to cherish them.

Therefore he too, curbing such a disposition, added, 'According to the commandment of the eternal God, unto the obedience of faith.'

For faith requires obedience, not idle curiosity.

And when God commands, one must obey, not go prying.

Then from another quarter also he encourages them, saying,

'Made known unto all the nations.'

For you are not alone, but the whole inhabited world believes in this way, having received not a man, but God, as its teacher.

Wherefore he also added, 'Through Jesus Christ.'

And it was not only made known, but also confirmed.

Wherefore it is also to be read thus: 'To him that is able to establish you through Jesus Christ.'

For indeed, as I said, he ascribes both to Him.

Or rather, not only both, but also the glory that ascends to the Father.

And again he glorifies Him, being struck with amazement at the incomprehensibility of these mysteries.

For not even now, when it has appeared, is it possible to grasp these things by reasonings; rather, one must know them through faith, and otherwise it cannot be.

Well did he say, 'To the only wise God.'

For when you consider how He brought in the nations and mingled them with those who had of old attained righteousness; how He saved those given up as lost; how He raised to the heavens those who were unworthy of the earth; how He brought those fallen from the present life into that immortal and unspeakable life; how He made those trodden underfoot by demons the equals of angels; and opened paradise, and abolished all the ancient evils—and these in a brief span of time, and by a way easy and most short—

then you will know the wisdom, when you see that which neither angels nor archangels knew, this suddenly learned by those of the nations through Jesus.

One ought therefore to marvel at His wisdom, and to glorify Him;

but you busy yourself about petty things, still sitting close by the shadow;

which is not at all the mark of one who glorifies Him.

For he who does not take courage in Him, nor is confident in the faith, bears no witness to the greatness of the things that have been done.

But he himself rendered up the glory on their behalf, leading them too into the same zeal.

But when you hear him saying, 'To the only wise God,' do not suppose that this is said to set aside the Son.

For if all these things, from which His

wisdom is displayed, came to pass through Christ, and without Him was not anything made that was made, it is quite evident that the things pertaining to wisdom are likewise equal.

For what reason, then, did he say 'only'? By way of contrast with the whole creation.

Having therefore rendered the doxology, he again passes from prayer to exhortation, turning his word toward the stronger, and speaking thus:

'Now we that are strong ought.'

What ought we? 'To bear the infirmities of the weak.'

Do you see how he lifted them up by his praises, not only by calling them strong, but also by ranking them along with himself? And not by this alone, but also by drawing them again through their advantage, and that without offense.

'For you are strong,' he says, 'and in coming down you suffer no harm;

but for him the danger concerns his uttermost estate, if he be not borne up.'

And he did not say 'the weak,' but 'the infirmities of the weak,' drawing them on to compassion for them and enlisting their aid;

as also elsewhere he says, 'Ye that are spiritual, restore such a one.'

Have you become strong? Render to God the recompense, to Him who made you such;

and you will render it by setting right the weakness of the sick.

For indeed we too were weak, but by grace we became strong.

And this one ought to do not only here, but also in the case of those weak in other ways;

for instance, if a man be irascible, if insolent, or if he have any other such fault, bear him up.

And how this might come about, hear from what follows.

For having said, 'We ought to bear,' he added, 'And not to please ourselves.'

'Let each one of you please his neighbour for that which is good, unto edification.'

Are you strong? Let the weak make trial of your strength;

let him learn your might, please him.

And he did not simply say 'Please,' but 'For that which is good';

and not even simply 'for that which is good,' lest the perfect man should say, 'Behold, I am indeed drawing him to the good,' but he added, 'Unto edification.'

So that even if you are rich, even if you are in power, please not yourself, but the poor man and the needy;

for thus you will both enjoy the true glory, and work much profit.

For the glory of worldly things straightway flies away;

but that of spiritual things abides, if you do this unto edification.

Wherefore he requires this of all;

for he says not 'this one and that one,' but 'each one of you.'

Then, since he had enjoined a great thing, and had bidden them let down somewhat of their own perfection in order to set right another's weakness, he again brings Christ into the midst, saying:

'For Christ also pleased not himself.'

For indeed, when he was speaking about almsgiving, he brought Him forward, saying:

'Ye know the grace of the Lord, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor;'

and when he was urging them to love, he urged them from that same source, saying:

'Even as Christ also loved us;'

and when he was counseling them concerning the bearing of shame and dangers, he took refuge in Him, saying:

'Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame.'

So here too he shows both that Christ did this very thing, and that the prophet had foretold it long before.

Wherefore he also added, 'As it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me.'

But what is the meaning of 'He pleased not himself'? It was in his power not to be reproached, in his power not to suffer what he suffered, had he wished to consult his own interest.

Yet nevertheless he willed it not, but consulting our good, he overlooked his own.

And for what reason did he not say, 'He emptied himself'? Because he wished to show not this only, that he became man, but also that he was insulted and gained an evil reputation among many, being thought to be weak.

For, 'If thou art the Son of God,' they say, 'come down from the cross';

and, 'He saved others, himself he cannot save.'

Therefore he made mention of a matter that served his present purpose, and he shows far more than he had promised.

For he shows not only Christ reproached, but the Father also;

'For the reproaches,' he says, 'of them that reproached thee fell upon me.'

And what he means is something of this kind:

Nothing new has happened, nothing strange.

For those who under the Old Testament made a practice of reproaching him, these same men also raged against the Son.

'And these things were written that we might imitate them.'

Here he anoints them also for the endurance of trials.

'For whatsoever things were written aforetime,' he says, 'were written for our instruction';

'that through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope'—that is, that we might not fall away.

For the conflicts are manifold, both within and without, so that being braced and comforted by the Scriptures we may show forth endurance, and that living in endurance we may abide in hope.

For these are productive of one another—endurance of hope, and hope of endurance;

and both of these come from the Scriptures.

Then again he turns his discourse into a prayer, saying:

'Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one toward another according to Christ Jesus.'

For since he had spoken his own words, and had brought forward the examples of Christ, and had added the testimony from the Scriptures, showing that together with the Scriptures God himself again bestows endurance;

for this reason he said, 'Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one toward another according to Christ Jesus.'

For this is the mark of love, that whatever one thinks concerning himself, this he thinks also concerning the other.

Then again, showing that he seeks not love simply, he added, 'According to Christ Jesus';

which he does everywhere, since there is also another kind of love.

And what is the gain of this concord? 'That with one accord,' he says, 'ye may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

He said not simply, 'With one mouth,' but he commanded them to do this also with one soul.

Seest thou how he has united the whole body, and how he has again shut up his discourse in doxology? Whence he leads them most of all to concord and harmony.

Then again from this point he holds to the same exhortation, saying:

'Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you unto the glory of God.'

Again the example is from on high, and the gain unspeakable;

for this above all glorifies God, that they be knit together.

So that even if, grieving on thine own account, thou art at variance with thy brother, reflect that by putting away thine anger thou glorifiest thy Master; and so, if not for thy brother's sake, yet at least for this very reason be reconciled;

or rather, for this reason first of all.

For Christ also turns this over and over, and in conversing with the Father he said:

'By this shall all men know that thou didst send me, if they be one.'

Let us therefore be persuaded, and let us join ourselves one to another.

For here he no longer rouses the weak only, but all.

And even if someone wishes to break away from thee, do not thou also break away, nor utter that cold word, 'If he love me, I love him;'

'if my right eye love me not, I will pluck it out;'

for these are Satanic words, worthy of publicans, and of the meanness of the heathen.

But thou who art called to a greater citizenship, and enrolled in the heavens, art bound by greater laws.

Say not then these things, but when he is unwilling to love thee, then show forth the greater love, that thou mayest draw him to thee;

for when a limb is by some necessity severed from the rest of the body, we do everything to unite it again, and we then show the greater care.

For the reward too is greater, when thou drawest to thyself one who is unwilling to love.

For if in the matter of a feast he bids us call those who cannot make us any return, that the recompense may be increased;

much more in the matter of friendship ought we to do this.

For he who is loved and loves in return has repaid thee thy recompense;

but he who is loved and loves not in return has made God thy debtor in his own stead;

and apart from these things, when he loves thee, he needs not much diligence;

but when he loves thee not, then he has need of thy support.

Make not then the very ground for diligence a ground for slothfulness, nor say, 'Since he is sick, therefore I neglect him';

for the cooling of love is itself a sickness;

but do thou warm again that which has grown cold.

'What then if it be not warmed?' saith one. Continue doing thine own part.

'What then, if he grow yet more perverse?' Again he procures thee the greater recompense, and shows thee so much the more an imitator of Christ.

For if to love one another is the mark of disciples—

'For by this,' he says, 'shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another'—

consider how great a thing it is to love him that hateth thee.

He loved those who hated thee, and exhorted them;

and the weaker they were, so much the more did he care for them, and cried aloud, saying, 'They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.'

And he vouchsafed his own table to publicans and sinners;

and however great the dishonor with which the people of the Jews dishonored him, so great was the care—nay rather, far greater—which he showed toward them.

For no small thing is the thing accomplished, but that without which not even the martyr can greatly please God, as Paul says.

Say not then, 'I am hated, and therefore I love not';

for on this very account thou oughtest most of all to love.

And otherwise, it is not even possible that one who loves should quickly be hated, but even were a man a wild beast, he loves those who love him;

'for this,' he says, 'even the heathen and the publicans do.'

For if each person loves those who love him, who would not cherish those who love even while being hated? This, then, is what you must display; and cease not to speak this word: 'However much you may hate me, I shall not cease to love you.' Thus you loosen all contentiousness, and soften every soul.

For this malady arises either from inflammation or from coldness;

but the power of love is wont to correct them both by its warmth.

Do you not see those who love shamefully, being slapped, spat upon, reviled,

suffering ten thousand terrible things at the hands of those harlot women? What, then, dissolved this passion? The insults? By no means; rather, it was all the more inflamed.

And indeed, the women who do these things, besides being fornicators, are of obscure and worthless birth; whereas those who suffer such treatment can often number illustrious ancestors and recount much other distinction;

yet not even this releases them, nor draws them away from the woman they love.

Are we then not ashamed, that the strength which love of the devil and of demons possesses, we are unable to display in friendship according to God? Do you not consider that this is a mighty weapon against the devil?

Do you not perceive that that wicked demon stands by, dragging toward himself the one who is hated, and desiring to seize the member for himself? And you run past, and betray the prize of the battle? For your brother lies as a prize set in the midst;

and if you prevail, you have received the crown;

but if you are slothful, you have departed uncrowned.

Cease, then, from uttering that satanic word: 'If my brother hates me, I do not even wish to see him.'

For nothing is more shameful than this word, though the multitude set it down as a token of a noble soul;

but nothing is baser than these things, nothing more senseless, nothing more brutal.

For this reason especially do I mourn, that the multitude regard the works of vice as virtue, and that to look down on and despise others has come to seem splendid and dignified;

which is the devil's greatest snare — to invest wickedness with a good reputation;

and for this reason it becomes hard to blot out.

For I myself have heard many priding themselves on not admitting those who turn away from them;

and yet your Master even glories in this very thing.

How many times have men spurned Him? How many times have they turned away? Yet He does not cease running after them.

Do not, then, say, 'I cannot admit those who hate me,' but say, 'I cannot spurn those who spurn me.'

This is the word of the disciple of Christ, even as the other is the word of the devil;

this word makes men splendid and glorious, even as the other makes them shameful and ridiculous.

For this reason we admire Moses, that even when God said, 'Let Me alone, and in wrath I will consume them,' he could not spurn those who had so often turned away from him, but said, 'If Thou wilt forgive them their sin, forgive it;'

for he was God's friend and imitator.

Let us, then, not pride ourselves in things wherein we ought to hide our faces, nor say the words of these vulgar and dissolute men, 'I know how to spit upon ten thousand;'

but even if another says this, let us laugh at him and stop his mouth, seeing that he preens himself over things whereof he ought to be ashamed.

What do you say, tell me? Do you spit upon a believing man, upon whom, when he was an unbeliever, Christ did not spit? Why do I say 'did not spit'? Nay,

on the contrary, He so loved him when he was an enemy and unsightly, that He even died for him.

So then, when He loved him thus, even though he was such a one, do you now, when he has become fair and admirable, spit upon him — tell me — when he is a member of Christ, and has become a body belonging to the Master? Do you not consider what you are uttering? Do you not perceive what you are daring? He has Christ for his Head, and for his table and garment and life and light and bridegroom, and Christ is all things to him; and do you dare to say, 'I spit upon this man'? And not upon this one only, but upon ten thousand others together with him? Restrain yourself, O man, and rest from this madness;

recognize your brother, learn that these words are the marks of folly and derangement, and say the opposite: 'Even if he should spit upon me ten thousand times, I will not stand aloof;'

thus you will both gain your brother, and live to the glory of God, and partake of the good things to come;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness [of our Lord Jesus Christ], and so forth.