Spiritual Homilies 1 part 14/36

And these are sons and lords and gods, bound and taken captive and consecrated and crucified.

And even if they have not yet received the perfect inheritance, because of the flesh that surrounds them, yet through the pledge of the Spirit they are secure concerning their own salvation, as though already crowned and having reigned, and they do not doubt that they will reign together with Christ and will be in boldness and abundance of the Holy Spirit, because even while still in the flesh they had a taste of that sweetness and the working of that power.

For just as someone who has spent time in the palace, has been conversant there, and has become an intimate confidant of the king — if he should reign, he is not astonished nor made a stranger to it, because he had spent all that time together with the king (for it is not possible for one of the common sort to be anointed king) — so also the Christians who are about to reign in that age are not made strangers to it, having already come to know beforehand the mysteries of the divine grace, because the veil that was placed upon men by Satan after their disobedience, grace, coming in fully, strips away.

And it lifts away from the soul every defilement and every filthy thought, so that the soul, having become pure and having recovered its own nature — the creature that is blameless and clean — perfectly beholds with pure eyes the glory of the true light and the true sun of righteousness flashing forth within the very heart.

And just as at the consummation of the age, when the firmament of heaven is removed, the righteous, being in the kingdom and light and glory, behold nothing else than Christ in his glory, always at the right hand of the Father, so also these, having from now been caught up and carried captive into that age, behold all the beauties there and the wonders wrought there.

And though being here, they are not upon the earth; but while being upon the earth, they have their citizenship in heaven, and there they have all their conduct, and their mind, and their inner man.

And just as the bodily eye, being unimpaired and healthy, clearly beholds the sun, so also these, having their minds perfectly purified, always behold the glory of Christ, and both night and day they are together with the Lord, just as the body of the Lord, having been joined to the Godhead, is always together with the Holy Spirit.

Men do not attain to this measure immediately, but only after much toil and struggle and great contest.

For there are many with whom grace is present, working and giving rest, and with whom wickedness is also present, dwelling within, and the two spirits work in one heart, that of the light and that of darkness.

What fellowship has light with darkness? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? I too will answer you the same.

For what fellowship has light with darkness? Or where is the divine light overshadowed or clouded? Or where is that which is undefiled and pure ever defiled? For it is written:

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Therefore one must not understand these matters in only one way, nor grasp them one-sidedly.

For some rest so much in the grace of God that they become braver and stronger than the sin still present with them, and though having prayer now and much rest toward God, at another hour they are set in motion by filthy thoughts and are robbed by sin, all the while being in the grace of God.

But those who are shallow and inexperienced, when grace works in them only in part, suppose that sin is no longer present with them.

But those who have discernment and those who have understanding do not dare to deny that, even while having the grace of God, we are still set in motion by shameful and filthy thoughts. For we have often found among the brothers men who had received such grace that for five or six years they said that their desire had been dried up; and afterward, when they thought themselves to be free, the wickedness that had been hidden was stirred up in them, so that they were astonished and said, 'After so long a time, wickedness has risen up against me like this.' No one, then, among the discerning dares to say, 'Now that grace is present with me, I am henceforth freed from sin.' Rather, the two persons work in the same man, and those inexperienced in these matters, having some small spiritual movement, say:

We have already conquered, and we are Christians.

But I say that the matter stands thus:

Just as when the sun is clear in the sky and not overshadowed by clouds, a dark mist or fog suddenly running in darkens the brightness of the sun, so it is with those who are not yet perfectly purified: though being in the grace of God, and yet still held fast in the depths by sin, they have their impulses and thoughts vigorously turned toward God, even while not being wholly in what is good.

And just as the sun, even while within the clouds, remains the same, so likewise those who are held in the depth of the good part — I mean of grace — are still slaves and subject to evil thoughts and to the part of wickedness.

There is need, then, of much discernment, so that through experience one may know that these things are so.

But I tell you that even the apostles, though possessing the Comforter, were not entirely free of care; rather, fear and trembling were present together with their joy and exultation, arising from that very grace, not from the part of wickedness.

For it was grace itself that kept them secure, so that they might not turn aside even in some small thing.

And just as a young man, taking a small pebble and striking it against a wall, accomplishes nothing, or as a weak arrow does no harm to a strong furnace, but is hurled back by the resistance, so also, when some part of wickedness drew near to them, it did them no harm, since they were clothed with the perfect power of Christ.

Yet even being perfect, they still had, from their own free will, the liberty to work out righteous deeds.

Since some say that after grace the soul is henceforth free of all care, yet God, even in the perfect, seeks the will of the soul for the service of the Spirit, so that they may be in accord with it and honor it.

Within themselves, some did not want to become a burden to others, but provided for themselves, while others, receiving from worldly people, distributed to the poor; and this is higher than that measure.

...they are careful how they may be in harmony with God, while others are eager to benefit other souls as well, and undertake toil for their sake.

Again, then, these too are higher than those.

But there are also others who wish to boast and to be honored by men and to show that we are partakers of Christ, while others hasten to remain unnoticed and to hide themselves from men.

And these are higher than those, and greater.

And others, having the grace of God, deliver their bodies over to sufferings and insults for the sake of his name, and again these are higher.

You see, then, how even within perfection itself there is found a greater goodwill toward God, accomplished out of natural free will.

For just as a poor man, lacking everything, might in a vision imagine that he sees himself rich, having cast off his filthy garments and clothed himself in splendid apparel, and then, out of the great joy at what he had seen, upon rising he finds his poverty still on hand —

so those who speak spiritual discourse, even if they seem to speak the truth, but do not have the work of that discourse hidden within their mind in some taste and power and full assurance, stand only in a kind of fantasy.

And just as a woman clothed in splendid apparel yet standing in a brothel and in uncleanness, so also these, having a heart that is a brothel of unclean spirits, wish to speak about righteousness, without having in any way looked closely into the truth of the matter.

For just as it is not possible for a fish to live without water, or for a man to walk without feet, or to see light without eyes, or to speak without a tongue, or to hear without ears, so it is not possible, without Jesus and the divine working, to know the mysteries, or to know the wisdom of God, or to be rich in spirit, or to become a Christian.

But these are wise, and wrestlers, and courageous, and friends of God — those who are guided and shepherded according to the inner man by the divine power.

And the philosophers of the Greeks learn discourses and practice sophistic disputation, but the servants of God, though unskilled in speech, rejoice and exult in the grace of God and practice reverence toward God.

Judge for me, then, which differ from which: those who trust in words and myths, or those who hold the truth in deed and in power.

The kingdom of heaven is not in word, but in deed and in power.

And to speak and to construct matters in words is easy.

For anyone can easily say that this bread was made from wheat, but to set forth its preparation in detail, part by part, is not easy — and this, indeed, is more truly the case, and is the task of those experienced in it.

So too, then, to speak about passionlessness and perfection is effortless, but to grasp the matter by experience and in truth and in deed, and to arrive at the fashioning of perfection, belongs to few.

And the Gospel declaratively commanded every man to be a friend of God the King, saying:

Do not be angry, do not lust.

If anyone slaps you on the cheek, turn to him the other also.

If anyone sues you and would take your tunic, give him your cloak also, and so forth.

But the apostle, following close upon what had been said, teaches how one must carry out little by little the work of purification with patience and long-suffering, first nourishing with milk as infants, then bringing them on to growth and progress, and again to perfection.

Let a perfect tunic be made from wool; and the apostle taught how the wool must be carded, and the tunic woven, and how it must be made.

...as to one who has never tasted the quality of honey, yet describes to others its sweetness.

Such are those who speak discourse about perfection and sanctification and passionlessness, without having these things in deed and in full assurance.

For the truth does not turn out to be as they speak of it.

For if God should ever grant that someone come to a small perception of the things he had been speaking about, he will, discerning for himself, come to know the difference in these matters — that he did not find the truth to be as he had spoken of it, but that he himself had spoken one way, while the Spirit worked in another way.

For truly Christianity is food and drink.

And the more one eats of it, the more, because of its sweetness, one is stirred to greater desire, and the mind becomes insatiable and unrestrainable.

As if one were to give a thirsty man a sweet and delightful drink, and he, having tasted it, would come to the drink more eagerly, not only because of his thirst, but also because of its sweetness.

So, in this way, the taste of the Spirit is insatiable.

But these things are not understood by bare words, but are accomplished by the working of the Holy Spirit in mystery within the mind, and are spoken of in this way.

But there are some who abstain from outward fornication or theft or similar evils, and suppose themselves to be holy.

But the matter is not as those inexperienced in the truth assert.

For wickedness still lives and creeps in the mind of such people.

But the holy one is he who has been sanctified and purified in the inner man.

Yet wherever truth arises, there the battle of deception is stirred up.

for it strives to cover it over and to muddy it.

For instance, when the priesthood and the Spirit were among the Hebrews, it was from that very nation that the faithful of God were persecuted.

But now, from the time when they tore the veil of the temple, the Holy Spirit departed from the typological altar and passed over to the church of the Gentiles.

And again, the faithful are persecuted by their own kinsmen, and those who love the truth become martyrs.

For truth does not appear to be truth, unless it has those who oppose and fight against it.

And there are also among the brethren those who bear passions and afflictions, so that they may not fall.

For one of the brethren, praying together with certain others, was seized by the divine power, and being caught up, saw the Jerusalem above, and the luminous images there, and infinite light, and heard a voice saying:

"This is the place of the rest of the righteous." And being a little puffed up, and thinking something of himself, he was afterward found to have fallen into the hidden recesses and depths of sin, and into countless evils.

If then the inner man fell, how can any ordinary person say, "By fasting and living as a stranger and giving away my possessions in alms, I am holy"? For abstaining from visible evils is not perfect purification, but perfect purification is that according to conscience.

Enter, then, O man, through the intensifying scrutiny of your thoughts, into the mind that is a captive and slave of sin, and see, lower than the mind and deeper than the thoughts, the serpent creeping into the so-called inner chambers of the soul and lurking there, killing you through the most vital members of your soul.

For the heart is an abyss, and incomprehensible; and if you have slain this serpent, and if you have cast out the lawlessness and all the uncleanness within you, then boast in God concerning your purity.

But if not, then humble yourself as one needy and sinful, and come, beseeching the Lord concerning your hidden faults.

For every Scripture, both Old and New, and the Apostle, and the coming of the Savior, speak concerning purity and freedom; and every man, whether Jew or Greek, loves purity, even if he is unable to be pure.

But you must seek how, and by what means, the purity of the heart can come about, and you will find that it is by no other means than through Jesus, who was crucified for us.

For he himself is the life and the truth, the straight way, the door, the pearl, the living and heavenly bread.

As, then, with respect to visible things pertaining to the outward man you renounced them, and gave away and scattered your possessions in alms, so also you must renounce the preconceptions of your character.

And if you have learned a fleshly wisdom, if you have gained knowledge of worldly matters, renounce it.

If you trust in the righteous deeds of the flesh, withdraw from them, humbling yourself.

And thus you will be able to become a disciple of the foolishness of the preaching, in which preaching you will find the true wisdom—not adorned with words, but wrought by the power of the holy cross in those who have been deemed worthy to possess it in reality.

For what does Paul say? "The cross of Christ is to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness, but to us who are being saved, the power of God and the wisdom of God; and we preach Jesus Christ, and him crucified."

And perhaps someone of those men, playing the sophist against him, replied:

"Do you tell us to believe in a dead man who could not save himself, but who underwent the most dishonorable death as a criminal, and do you assert that this man is the Creator of all things? What do you want to be, O babblers and proclaimers of strange demons?"

For these were the words of the wise men of that time, who considered the preaching to be foolishness.

For the world did not know God through wisdom, but he was well pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the preaching.

But you, even if you have received some taste from heaven, and have had rest in your soul, and have partaken of that wisdom of the age to come, do not be puffed up, and do not exalt yourself as though you had already arrived and grasped the whole truth, lest you too hear:

"Already you have become rich, and without us you have become kings!"

"And would that you had indeed become kings, so that we might also reign with you!"

But having tasted within, be as one who has not yet even begun Christianity.

And this, not merely in words, but so that it may be implanted in the very mind itself and confirmed, remaining always in one's purpose.

For just as a lover of riches, though he has gathered countless treasures, does not check his desire, but the increase added day by day only enlarges his appetite for more; and just as one who has drawn from a most pleasant and sweetest drink is not satisfied, but rather has his thirst inflamed all the more—

so also the taste of God has no satiety or end, but the more one grows rich in it, the more he regards himself as poor, and even while eating and drinking, he is inflamed with a greater appetite for what he is receiving.

Such Christians do not hold their own soul precious, but consider themselves as of no account before God, and are servants of all men.

And the Lord greatly rejoices and rests upon such a heart, because of its humility.

For the Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Let no one, then, think of himself as being something, or having something, or having attained something, even if he does have something and is rich, because arrogance and self-conceit have been shown to be abominable before God, and it was through this that he cast man out of paradise from the beginning.

For he heard, "You shall be as gods," and he was elated over his vain hope.

Greatly, then, as has been said, does the Lord reject and turn away from such a disposition.

Consider well how God, and King, and Son of God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and how he became poor, being dishonored, being spat upon, suffering.

And if God did so, do you, who bear blood and flesh, being entirely earth and ashes in filth and every uncleanness, think highly of yourself and boast? But if you were prudent, even concerning what the Lord has given you, you would speak thus:

"It is not mine; another gave it to me; it is foreign to my nature, and whenever he wishes, he takes it from me." And render every good thing back to the Lord.

the Lord rests. And every day, as though beginning Christianity today, be before the Lord more humble and more needy than all men, and consider yourselves sinners beyond all who dwell upon the earth.

Concerning those who say that the revelation, which the Scriptures speak of as coming to those who understand with faith, occurs only in thoughts and interpretations, and that no true light of God actually shines—let us take our testimonies from the Scriptures.

The Apostle, comparing the same kind of glory of the light that shines around the worthy to the glory of the face of Moses, says: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord..."

And Stephen, standing, said:

"I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of power."

"He who loves me," he says, "shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him."

It has therefore been demonstrated that these are not mere mental concepts, but a reality and substance, and the shining divine light of the Holy Spirit, upon those who are worthy and faithful.

And gathering from the rest of the Scriptures also, you will find many things that agree with this.

But since some say that the revelation occurs in only one manner, namely in interpretations and mental concepts, relying on the testimony of the Apostle:

"But if a revelation is made to another sitting by, let the first keep silent," and also:

"The commandment of the Lord is radiant, enlightening the eyes," and, "Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

We too confess that revelation occurs also in the interpretation of the Scriptures, brought about by the Spirit; let them also confess, in turn, that a divine light shines in substance and reality within the hearts of the faithful.

Revelation, then, is to be understood in two ways: both in mental concepts and in the knowledge of the Scriptures, and in a divine and substantial light, which appears and shines upon souls, surpassing the light of the sun.

Concerning those who lack endurance and do not have a foundation of faith, that their dispositions are of this sort:

"If I do not receive a share of the grace of the Spirit, I am unable to persevere; but if I receive it, then I will persevere."

Such a one, even if he receives it, does not persevere, because he is unable to bear afflictions nobly, not having prepared himself in this way.

One ought rather to judge thus: "It is owed by me to my Master to serve him with all goodwill; and whether he gives to me or not, I will not abandon the race."

considering this, that I am not worthy even to have his name called upon me.

"And even if he should hand me over to gehenna to be punished, I will not forsake him."

"Even if you should kill me, I will not forsake you, and I will by no means depart from my guilelessness."

Such a one will justly inherit life.

For the man of God makes progress in each of the virtues—in humility, in kindness, in longsuffering.

And the foundation of all these is trust in God.

For those who do not have such a foundation are like those who build a house without a foundation.

And just as those around the Maccabees, having greatly proven their valor, subdued their enemies in bodily warfare—for let us take them as an example in the warfare against the spiritual forces of wickedness—so too are the noble and great-souled true warriors of Christ.

Concerning the fact that a man ought never to fall into despair at all, but always to rejoice in hope:

For this is what the evil one wishes and seeks—to instill despair in this soul in order to destroy it, bringing to remembrance former sins or evil thoughts.

For just as those in war who are killing their adversaries, at the very moment of striking with the sword, raise a great battle cry, in order to instill fear and terror, and by that cry the more to unnerve them, so also the evil one, having instilled evil, foul, and unclean thoughts in the soul, or certain other improprieties, or laxity, or leading the mind into a deviation into sins, immediately instills despair in the soul, so that it can no longer be recalled, in order to destroy the man completely.

Of these thoughts, then, one ought not to take heed, but to despise them and to be manful in faith and in hope in the Lord, because he himself has promised to justify the ungodly.

But even if Satan has turned us aside into sins or evil thoughts, let us, hanging upon the hope of God and despising the counsel of the evil one, take refuge with our whole heart in the Lord, so that we may be able to attain life.

For the Lord came for the sake of sinners, that he might bring vindication to those who are oppressed, because he who has promised is faithful.

For just as the body, wherever it works, is wholly given to the work, and its members help one another, so also let the soul, in prayer, not be wandering in its thoughts, but let it, as much as it is able, force itself to gather itself together from every side, so that the soul and its thoughts may be in prayer and in expectation of God, asking that the one who truly teaches may draw near to it and give it a pure prayer worthy of God, so that at last the soul may worship in the Holy Spirit.

And just as the merchant does not know how to procure gain by one way alone, but looks about on every side, and if he happens to fail in this, he turns to another — for his one aim is to make gain — so let us also arrange our prayer in various and skillful ways, for the great and true gain, for the sake of God who teaches us all goodness in truth, that the Lord who is seated on the throne of our soul may find rest.

For just as the rod of Aaron that budded put away its reproach, so also the soul, when it buds forth the flower of the Holy Spirit, puts away the reproach of its enemies.

And just as certain birds, when they see the gleam of fire at night, hurl themselves against the fire and perish, so also a man, wandering gladly toward the worse and coming in darkness, throws himself into evils, and thus in the end he perishes by the fire of darkness.

But to our God belongs the glory forever.

The intelligent and precious formation of the soul, being of a certain subtlety hard to discover and an unsearchable depth, is like a kind of abyss, as someone has said somewhere:

He himself searches the abyss and the heart, likening the intellectual creation of the soul to an abyss.

But when man turned aside from the commandment and came under the sentence of God's wrath, sin took him into subjection; and sin itself, being like a certain abyss of bitterness in subtlety and depth, entering within, beginning from the outside, took hold of the pastures of the soul, penetrating even to its deepest chambers and regions, and filled it with passions of dishonor.

Just as, if there is a very great tree having many boughs and lesser branches and twigs and the rest of the structure of its arrangement, and it also has roots in the deepest parts of the earth, these too resembling branches, and again there are sinews and extensions of fibers, and there is much other subtlety and a kind of intricate weaving there — so the sin that entered in through the transgression, having beforehand taken possession through the passions of the pastures of the deepest parts of the soul, has come to be in humanity through habit and prepossession and much custom, keeping company with each person and secretly teaching him to do evil.

When, therefore, the divine grace of the working overshadows the soul that has believed and made supplication, and it obtains some help and cleansing in part — if it should happen that the divine grace has overshadowed a certain branch and in a part of the places of the soul — let no one, deceived by the conceit of wickedness, suppose that the whole soul has already been illumined and perfectly purified.

For there still remains there a great and very deep pasture of wickedness, and it needs much time and labor and toil and zeal and faith, with the man himself agreeing and consenting to the grace given to him, in order that he may be perfectly illumined and perfectly purified.

For indeed the method of wickedness, wishing to remain hidden and desiring to be concealed, deceives the soul through conceit and makes it think that through the little grace it has already been purified and that it is wholly illumined, merely so that, being itself hidden within, it may accomplish its own desires unnoticed.

For this reason, the divine grace began to visit the believing soul only in part, although it was able in a moment of an hour to purify the man and set him perfectly free — but this was so that it might test his purpose over occasions and times, whether he preserves his love toward God entirely at all times, joining himself in nothing with the evil counselor, but giving himself wholly over to grace alone; and thus, as the soul proves well-pleasing and gives satisfaction to the Lord over times and occasions, and after many trials grieves the grace in nothing, little by little the grace of the Spirit itself takes possession again in the soul.

And it takes root even in the deepest members and parts and reasonings of the soul, over many more occasions, as it proves well-pleasing and is in accord with grace, until the whole soul, being wholly encompassed by the heavenly grace and mastered and made a kingdom by the power of the Spirit, is able to be driven out completely — so that the sin of the passions and the darkness of sin, altogether and entirely, may be perfectly separated.

Grace, then, thereafter reigns in that very vessel — I mean, in the whole body and soul.

He, therefore, who after many trials and labors and long periods of time has pleased the Spirit, is firmly, securely, and steadfastly established as worthy of the Lord.

But if, having obtained a little grace, he advances into conceit and departs from a humble mind, then he becomes estranged even from the little gift that he has, because of the folly of his childishness.