Homilies on Romans 29

And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye yourselves also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others.

He said, that Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;

he said, that Lest haply he should not spare thee either;

he said, Be not wise in your own conceits;

and again, But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? and, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? and many other things far more numerous than these.

Since therefore in many places he made his discourse the rougher, he now applies healing;

and what he said at the beginning, this also at the close.

I thank my God for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world;

but here, I am persuaded, saith he, that ye are full of goodness, able also to admonish others.

And he said not, I have heard, but, I am persuaded, and I need not to learn from another, but I myself — that is, I who censure, I who bring the charge.

And, That ye are full of goodness.

the exhortation that had just now been given;

as though he said, that Not as unto harsh men, nor unto haters of the brethren, did I give these exhortations — to receive one another, and not to permit nor to overthrow the work of God;

for I know that ye are full of goodness.

And it seems to me that here he thus calls the whole of virtue by this name.

And he said not, Ye have, but, Ye are full of goodness.

And what follows is with the same intensity:

Filled with all knowledge.

For what if they were affectionate, but knew not how one ought to deal with those they love? For this cause he added, With all knowledge, able also to admonish others;

not only to learn, but also to teach.

But I have written the more boldly unto you in part.

Behold the humility of Paul, behold his wisdom, how both he gave a deep incision in what went before, and, when he had accomplished what he wished, he again employs much healing.

For even apart from what has been said, this very thing — to confess that he has ventured — is sufficient to relax their tension.

This also he does when writing to the Hebrews, speaking thus:

But we are persuaded better things of you, beloved, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

And again to the Corinthians in like manner: 'Now I praise you, that you remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.'

And writing to the Galatians he said: 'I have confidence in you, that you will be none otherwise minded.'

And everywhere throughout the Epistles one may find this observation in abundance.

For they were of greater dignity, and it was needful to check their inflamed mind, not only by astringency but also by relaxing it; for indeed he does this variously.

For indeed he does this in various ways.

Wherefore here too he says: 'I have written the more boldly to you.'

And not even with this is he content, but he added: 'In some measure,' that is, gently.

And not even here did he stop, but what does he say? 'As putting you in remembrance.'

And he did not say 'Teaching,' nor 'Reminding,' but 'Putting you again in remembrance,' that is, reminding you but a little.

Do you see how the conclusion agrees with the introduction? For as there he said that 'Your faith is proclaimed in all the world,' so also at the end of the Epistle.

'For your obedience has come to be known by all.'

And as at the beginning he said:

'For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established';

and this means, that I may be comforted together with you;

so also here he said, 'As putting you in remembrance.'

And having come down from the teacher's throne, both there and here he converses with them as with brethren, and friends, and equals in honor;

which is indeed most characteristic of a teacher: to vary his discourse for the benefit of the hearers.

See then how, having said that 'I have written more boldly,' and 'In some measure,' and 'As putting you in remembrance,' he was not content even with these, but making his word yet more humble, he added:

'Because of the grace that was given to me by God';

even as at the beginning he said, 'I am a debtor.'

As if he said: I did not seize the honor for myself, nor did I first leap upon this office, but God enjoined it, and this by grace, not as having set me apart for it as worthy.

for I do not rise up against it in rebellion.

And as there he says, 'Whom I serve in the gospel of His Son,' so here too, having said, 'Because of the grace given to me by God,' he added, 'That I should be a minister of Jesus Christ unto the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God.'

For after the abundant demonstration of what has been said, he leads his discourse to the more august, calling it not simply service, as at the beginning, but ministry and priestly office;

For this is my priesthood: to preach and to proclaim;

this is the sacrifice which I offer.

And no one would blame a priest who is zealous to offer the victim without blemish.

And these things he said, at once giving wings to their minds, and showing them to be a sacrifice, and making his defense concerning his own conduct, that this had been enjoined upon him.

'For my sword is the gospel,' he says, 'the word of the preaching.'

And the reason: not that I might be glorified, not that I might appear illustrious, but 'That the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.'

That is, that the souls of those who are taught may be received.

For it was not so much to honor me that God led me to this,

as out of care for you.

And how might it become acceptable? 'By the Holy Spirit';

for there is need not of faith alone, but also of a spiritual manner of life, that we may hold fast the Spirit once given.

For it is not wood and fire, nor altar and knife, but the Spirit is all things with us.

For this reason I do all things, that that fire may not be quenched;

for this too is enjoined upon me.

Why then do you speak to those who have no need? For this very reason I do not teach, but remind, he says;

even as the priest stands by kindling the fire, so also I, stirring up your zeal.

He did not say, 'That your offering might be,' but 'of the Gentiles.'

And when he says, 'Of the Gentiles,' he means the whole world, all the earth and sea, checking their high thoughts, so that they should not disdain to have as teacher one who reaches to the ends of the world;

which he said also at the beginning: 'Even as among the rest of the Gentiles, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish, I am a debtor.'

'I have therefore whereof to glory in Christ Jesus in the things pertaining to God.'

For since he had greatly humbled himself, he again lifts up his discourse, and this too he does for their sake, that he might not seem to be contemptible.

And even in lifting himself up, he keeps in mind his own accustomed character, speaking thus:

I glory, he says, not in myself, nor in our own diligence, but in the grace of God.

'For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought through me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.'

For no one could say, he says, that my words are a boast;

for of this my priestly office and of my ordination I have many proofs to show—not robes and bells, as the men of old, nor mitre and tiara, but signs and wonders far more awe-inspiring than these.

For it cannot be said that it was indeed entrusted to me, but that I did not perform what was enjoined;

or rather, it was not even I that did it, but Christ;

wherefore also I glory in Him, not for common things, but for spiritual ones.

For this is what is meant by 'The things pertaining to God.'

For that I accomplished that for which I was sent, and that my words are no boast, the wonders and the obedience of the Gentiles make plain.

'For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought through me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.'

See how he strives to show that the whole is God's, and nothing his own.

For whether I utter anything, or do anything, or work wonders, all is He, all is the Holy Spirit.

And this he says, showing also the dignity of the Spirit.

Do you see how these things are more marvelous and awe-inspiring than those of old—the sacrifice, the offering, the tokens? For when he says, 'By word and deed, through the power of signs and wonders,' he means this: the teaching, the philosophy concerning the Kingdom, the demonstration of works and of the manner of life, the dead who were raised, the demons who were driven out, the blind who were healed, the lame who leaped, and the other wonders, all of which the Holy Spirit wrought in us.

Then the proof of these things—since thus far this was but an assertion—is the multitude of the disciples.

'So that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.'

Count therefore both cities and countries, both nations and peoples—not only those under the Romans, but also those under the barbarians.

For do not come to me only with the road through Phoenicia and Syria and the land of the Cilicians and Cappadocians, but reckon also all that lies beyond—the land of the Saracens and Persians and Armenians, and that of the other barbarians.

For this reason he said, 'And round about,' that you might not travel only the straight highway, but might traverse in thought all of Asia also, even toward the south.

And as with a single word he passed over showers of wonders, saying, 'Through the power of signs and wonders,'

so also with this one word again he comprised countless cities, and nations, and peoples, and countries.

For he was far from all vainglory;

and these things too he uttered for their sakes, that they might not be high-minded concerning themselves.

And at the beginning too, he says, 'That I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.'

but he lays it down as a necessity of the priesthood.

For since he had spoken somewhat sharply, he also more plainly displays the authority given to him.

For this reason, in the one place he says simply, 'Even as also among the rest of the Gentiles.'

But here he names the whole place as well, so as to cut short their pride from every side.

And he did not simply say, 'to preach the Gospel,' but 'to have fully preached the Gospel of Christ.'

And that he thus made it his ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ had not been named.

Behold again another surpassing thing: that not only did he preach to so many and persuade them, but that he did not even go to those who had already been taught.

So far was he from thrusting himself upon the disciples of others, and doing this for glory's sake, that he even took pains to teach those who had not heard.

For he did not say, 'Where they had not been persuaded,' but 'Where Christ had not even been named.'

And for what reason did he make such things his ambition? 'That I might not build,' he says, 'upon another man's foundation.'

And he says these things to show that he was a stranger to vainglory, and to instruct them that it was not from a longing for glory and the honor coming from them that he came to write, but as fulfilling a ministry, as completing a sacred service, as loving their salvation.

He calls the apostles' foundation 'another man's,' not in respect of the quality of the person, nor in respect of the nature of the preaching, but in respect of the matter of reward;

for the preachings were not another's, but only as regards reward were they another's.

For the reward of what others had labored at was foreign to him.

Then he shows also a prophecy being fulfilled, saying:

'As it is written, They to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see;'

'and they that have not heard shall understand.'

Do you see him hastening to where the toil is greater, where the sweat is heavier? 'Wherefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you.'

Consider again how he weaves the conclusion to match the opening.

For indeed at the beginning of the Epistle too he said, 'Oftentimes I purposed to come to you, and was hindered until now;'

but here he also states the cause for which he was hindered, and that not once, but twice and many times.

For just as there he says, 'Oftentimes I purposed to come to you,' so also here, 'I was hindered these many times from coming to you.'

And this most of all shows his desire—that he attempted it so often.

'But now, having no more place in these regions.'

Do you see how he showed that it was not out of a desire for the glory from them that he wrote and came? 'And having a longing to come to you for many years.'

'Whenever I take my journey into Spain, I hope in passing through to see you, and to be brought on my way there by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.'

For lest he should seem to disparage them by saying, 'Since I have nothing else to do, therefore I come to you,' he again strikes the note of love, saying, 'Having a longing to come to you for many years.'

'For not on this account did I desire to come, because I have leisure, but that I might bring to birth this desire with which I long since travailed.'

Then, lest this again should puff them up, observe how he restrains them, saying, 'Whenever I take my journey into Spain, I hope in passing through to see you.'

For it was for this reason that he added this, that they might not be high-minded;

for at once he wishes both to show his love, and to prevent those men from being enervated.

Wherefore he continually sets it forth, and in turn alternates the things that establish each of these.

For this very reason again, lest they should say, 'He makes us a by-work of his journey,' he added, 'And to be brought on my way by you;'

that is to say, 'That you may be my witnesses that it is not out of contempt for you, but drawn on by necessity, that I pass by.'

And since this still grieves them, he tends to it more assiduously, saying, 'If first I be somewhat filled with you.'

For by saying, 'Passing through,' he shows that he is not coveting their glory;

but by saying, 'That I may be filled,' he shows that he loves their love, and not simply loves it, but loves it vehemently;

wherefore he did not even say, 'That I may be filled,' but 'somewhat.'

'For no length of time is able to fill me, nor to work in me any satiety of your company.'

Do you see how he shows his love, when, even though pressed for time, he will not rise up until he be filled? And this too is a sign of his great tenderness—the very wording.

For he did not say, 'I shall see you,' but 'that I may be filled,' imitating the words of parents.

And at the outset he said, 'That I might have some fruit;'

but here, 'That I may be filled;'

both of which were the words of one who was drawn to them.

For the one was their greatest praise, if indeed they were about to yield him fruit through their obedience;

and the other was a genuine token of his own affection.

And to the Corinthians too, in writing, he spoke thus:

'That you may bring me on my way wherever I go;'

through all things displaying his love toward the disciples, than which nothing is equal.

Wherefore also at the beginning of his Epistles he always makes this his prelude, and at the close he again resolves into this.

For just as a father who loves his children loves an only-begotten and true-born child, so did he love all the faithful;

wherefore also he said, 'Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is made to stumble, and I burn not?' For before all else the teacher ought to have this.

Wherefore also Christ said to Peter, 'If you love me, feed my sheep.'

For he that loves Christ also loves his flock.

And Moses too he set over the people of the Jews at the time when he had displayed his goodwill toward them;

and David too came to the kingdom in this way, having first shown himself tender-hearted concerning them.

So indeed, while yet young, he grieved on behalf of the people, so as even to give up his own life, when he brought down that barbarian.

'What shall be done for him who slays this alien?' He said this not as demanding a reward, but wishing to be entrusted and to have the battle against him committed to his hand.

At any rate, when he came in before the king after the victory, he said nothing about these matters.

Samuel too was exceedingly tender-hearted;

wherefore he also said, 'But far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.'

So too Paul—or rather not so, but far more—was aflame for all those under his charge.

Wherefore he also so disposed his disciples toward himself, as to say, that 'If it were possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.'

For this reason too God brings this charge before all others against the teachers of the Jews, saying:

'O you shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds feed themselves? do they not feed the sheep?' But those men did the contrary.

'For you eat the milk,' he says, 'and clothe yourselves with the wool, and slay the fatling, but you feed not the sheep.'

And Christ too, setting forth the rule of the best shepherd, said:

'The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.'

This David did in many other places, and especially when from on high that dreadful wrath was borne down against the whole people.

For while all were being smitten, he said, 'I the shepherd have sinned, I the shepherd have done wickedly;'

And these, the flock — what had they done? For this reason, even in the choice of those punishments, he chose neither famine nor the persecution of enemies, but the death sent from God, through which he expected to set the others in safety, while he himself would be struck down before all the rest.

But when this did not come to pass, he laments and says:

'And if that be not enough, let it fall also upon the house of my father.'

'For it is I, the shepherd,' he says, 'who have sinned.'

As though he were saying: Even if these also sinned, I was the one liable to punishment, for I failed to set them straight;

but when the sin is my own as well, I should in justice be the one to pay the penalty.

For indeed, wishing to magnify the accusation, he laid upon himself the name of the shepherd.

In this way, then, he stayed the wrath; in this way he called back the sentence —

so great a thing is confession;

'For the righteous man is his own accuser at the opening of the plea;'

so great is the tender care and compassion of a most excellent shepherd.

For indeed his very bowels were torn as those men fell, as though his own true children were being slain;

wherefore he begged that the wrath might come upon himself.

And at the very beginning of the slaughter he would have done this, had he not hoped that the plague, while it was still on its way, would come upon him as well.

So when he saw that this was not happening, but that the calamity was spreading over those men, he could no longer bear it, but was kindled to grief even more than over Amnon his firstborn.

For then he did not ask for death, but now he begs to fall before the rest.

Such ought the ruler to be, and he should grieve more at the calamities

of others than at his own.

Something of this kind, indeed, he experienced also in the case of his son, that you may learn that he loved the child no more than those under his charge.

And yet the young man was licentious and a would-be parricide; yet nevertheless he said:

'Who will grant me to die instead of you?' What are you saying, O blessed one, gentlest of all men? Your son was eager to slay you, and beset you with a thousand evils;

and now that he has been removed from your midst, and the victory-monument has been set up, do you then pray to be slain? 'Yes,' he says.

'For the army has not conquered for me, but I am warred against still more fiercely than before, and my bowels are now cut through even more grievously.'

These men, then, cared for those entrusted to them.

But the blessed Abraham took much forethought even for those who had not been entrusted to him — and so much, indeed, that he cast himself into grievous dangers.

For that it was not merely on behalf of his nephew that he did what he did, but also on behalf of the Sodomites, is clear from this: he did not desist from driving those Persians before him until he had set them all free.

And yet it was open to him to take his nephew and withdraw; but he was not willing,

for indeed he cared alike for all.

And this too he made plain by what followed after.

For when it was no longer an army of barbarians that was to besiege them, but the wrath sent from God that was to tear their cities up from their foundations — and it was no longer a time for arms, nor for battle and array, but for supplication — he made as great an effort on their behalf as if he himself were about to perish.

For this reason he approaches God once, twice, thrice, and many times, and takes refuge in his own nature, saying:

'But I am dust and ashes.'

And since he saw that they had betrayed themselves by their own conduct, he begs that they might be saved for the sake of others.

For this reason too God said:

'Shall I hide from Abraham my servant what I am about to do?' — that we might learn how the righteous man is a lover of mankind.

And he would not have desisted from his entreaty, had not God first desisted.

And though he seems to be interceding on behalf of the righteous, he was doing the whole for the sake of those others.

For the souls of the saints are exceedingly gentle and full of love toward mankind, both toward their own and toward strangers; and they extend this gentleness even to the brute beasts.

Wherefore a certain wise man said: 'The righteous man has pity on the souls of his cattle;'

and if of his cattle, how much more of men! But since I have made mention of cattle, let us consider also the shepherds of the sheep in the land of the Cappadocians, what and how great things they endure for the protection of the brute beasts.

For often, buried in snow, they have remained three days on end.

And those in Libya are said to endure no lesser hardships than these, roaming for whole months on end through that harsh wilderness teeming with the most savage wild beasts.

But if there is such zeal over brute beasts, what defense could we have who have been entrusted with rational souls, yet sleep this deep sleep? For ought we to breathe at all — nay, to be at rest at all, and not rather to run everywhere and give ourselves over to a thousand deaths for the sake of these sheep? Or do you not know the dignity of this flock? Was it not for its sake that your Master accomplished ten thousand things, and afterward poured out even his own blood? And do you seek repose? And what could be worse than these shepherds of ours? Do you not consider this, that these sheep are beset by wolves far bitterer and fiercer than those others? Do you not reckon within yourself what manner of soul he must have who is to take in hand this office? But whereas men who are popular leaders, deliberating over ordinary affairs, add the nights to the days and keep vigil,

shall we, who have the struggle on behalf of heaven, sleep even in the daytime? And who then will deliver us from the punishment for these things? For if the body had to be cut in pieces, if one had to undergo ten thousand deaths, ought we not to run to it as to a festival? And let not only shepherds hear these things, but sheep also, that they may make the shepherds more eager, that they may all the more anoint their resolve — offering nothing else, but rendering all obedience and submission.

So too Paul commanded, saying:

'Obey those who have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they

keep watch over your souls, as those who must give account.'

And when he says, 'They keep watch,' he means ten thousand toils and cares and dangers.

For the good shepherd, and such a one as Christ wills, vies with ten thousand martyrs.

For the martyr died once for His sake, but this man dies ten thousand times for the flock's sake — if indeed he be such a shepherd as one ought to be;

for indeed such a one is able to die every single day.

Wherefore you also, knowing the toil, cooperate by your prayers, your zeal, your eagerness, your love, that we may be your boast, and you ours.

For this reason indeed He entrusted this charge to the chief of the apostles, who loved Him above the others, first asking him whether he was loved by him, that you might learn that He sets this before all else as a proof of love toward Himself;

for indeed this requires a valiant soul.

But these things have been said by me concerning the most excellent shepherds — not concerning myself and those of our own sort, but if there be any such a one as Paul was, as Peter, as Moses.

These, then, let us imitate, both rulers and ruled;

for it is possible even for one who is ruled to be in part a shepherd — of his household, of his friends, of his servants, of his wife, of his children;

and if we thus order our own affairs, we shall attain all good things;

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