使徒行傳講道集 第 35 章

«And on the day of the sabbath we went forth outside the city beside a river, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.»

«And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, was listening;»

«whose heart the Lord opened, to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.»

Observe again Paul acting as a Jew, both from the occasion and from the manner.

«Where prayer was wont to be made,» it says.

For it was not only where there was a synagogue, but they also prayed outside, as though setting apart a certain place, seeing that the Jews were of a more bodily disposition.

«And on the day of the sabbath,» when it was likely that a crowd also would gather.

«And we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.»

«And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, was listening;»

«whose heart the Lord opened wide, to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.»

This woman was also of lowly station, and that is plain from her trade;

but observe her love of wisdom.

For first this was testified of her, that she worshipped God; and then, that she invited the apostles.

«And when she was baptized, she and her household, she besought us, saying:»

«My masters, if ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there.»

«And when she was baptized,» it says, «she and her household.»

See how she persuaded them all;

then behold her prudence—how she prevails upon the apostles, with how much humility her words are full, with how much wisdom.

«If ye have judged me,» she says, «to be faithful to the Lord.»

Whom would these words not have softened? She did not merely deem it fitting, nor did she simply entreat, nor did she leave them free to choose, but she even constrained them vehemently;

for this is the meaning of, «She constrained us»;

that is, by these very words.

See how straightway she bears fruit, and accounts the calling a great gain.

«That ye have judged me faithful» is plain from your entrusting to me such mysteries; for ye would not have entrusted them, had ye not judged me to be such.

And she did not venture to invite them before this, but only when she had been baptized;

thereby making it plain that otherwise she would not have prevailed.

But why were Paul and his companions unwilling, and drew back, so that they even had to be constrained? Either they were calling her forth to a greater earnestness;

or because Christ had said, «Into whatever city ye enter, inquire who is worthy, and there abide.»

So that they did all things by [divine] dispensation.

«And it came to pass, as we were going to prayer, that a certain damsel having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.»

«She, following after Paul and us, cried out, saying:»

«These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.»

Why in the world did the demon utter these things, and Paul forbid it? The one acted with malice, and the other with prudence;

for it wished to make him seem unworthy of credit.

For if Paul had accepted its testimony, he would have deceived many even of the faithful, as being received by that spirit;

for this reason it endures to speak the things concerning itself [the truth], that it may establish the things in its own favour, and it employs condescension unto [men's] destruction.

At first, then, Paul did not accept it, but spurned it, not wishing to cast himself rashly upon signs;

but when the spirit persisted in doing this for many days, and the deed itself made it manifest, saying, «These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation,»

then he commanded it to come out.

«And Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit:»

«I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.»

«But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace unto the rulers,»

«the magistrates; and having brought them to the praetors, they said:»

«These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and proclaim customs which it is not lawful for us to receive or observe, being Romans.»

Everywhere money is the cause of the evils.

O the savagery of the Greeks!

They wished the girl to be possessed by a demon, that they might make money.

«Having laid hold,» it says, «on Paul and Silas, they said:»

«These men do exceedingly trouble our city.»

By doing what? Why then did ye not drag them before this? «Being Jews,» it says.

«And they proclaim customs which it is not lawful for us to receive or observe, being Romans.»

They brought the matter round to [a charge of] high treason.

«And the multitude rose up together against them.»

They made no inquiry, they granted no hearing of a word in defence.

And yet, when so great a wonder had been wrought, they ought to have worshipped, they ought to have held these men as saviors and benefactors.

For if it was money you wanted, why, when you had found such wealth, did you not run after it? This makes them more illustrious—that they were able to drive out demons—than obeying them.

Behold, there were even signs, and yet the love of money prevailed the more.

And the magistrates, having rent their garments, commanded to beat them with rods;

and having laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely.

Now Paul indeed wrought the whole—both the miracles and the teaching;

but of the dangers Silas also had his share.

What is the meaning of, 'But Paul, being grieved'? He saw, it says, the malice of the demon, even as he himself says elsewhere:

'For we are not ignorant of his devices.'

Why did they not say that 'they cast out the demon,' that 'they committed impiety against God,' but instead turn to a charge of high treason? This was a defeat for them.

Thus also in the case of Christ they said:

'We have no king but Caesar.'

'Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.'

'And they cast them,' it says, 'into prison.'

Who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Observe, that man too again cast them into the inner prison, and this by a providential ordering.

For since a great miracle was about to take place, the place outside the city is judged suitable for the hearing, being free from temptations and dangers.

See how he who writes the history is not ashamed to recount their occupations.

Inasmuch as there was also leisure, they gave the more heed to the things that were spoken;

and neither was this city of the Philippians a great one.

Having learned these things, then, let us also be ashamed of no man.

Peter lodges with a tanner, Paul with a seller of purple.

Where is pride? So then, we have need of God, that He may open the heart;

and God opens the hearts that are willing;

for it is possible to see even hearts that are maimed.

But let us look at what has been said from the beginning.

'A woman,' it says, 'a seller of purple, whose heart the Lord opened, to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.'

The opening, then, was God's;

so that it was both divine and human.

'And when she was baptized,' it says, 'she besought us, saying:'

Observe, she is both baptized, and receives the apostles with so great supplication—with more than Abraham.

And she gave no other token, but that one from which she had been saved;

she did not say, 'If you have judged me to be a great woman, if a devout one;'

but what? 'Faithful to the Lord;'

if to the Lord, much more to you, if you do not dispute it.

And she said not, 'With me,' but, 'Come into my house and abide,' so as to show that she did this with much readiness of mind.

Tell me now, who is this demon? 'A god,' it says, 'Python;'

it is so called from the place.

Do you see that Apollo also is a demon? And since it wished to cast them into temptations, so as the more to provoke them, it urged them on to speak.

If then you know that they proclaim the way of salvation, why do you not willingly stand aside? But it was the very thing which Simon wished when he said:

'Give me this, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit;'

since it saw them in good repute, and here too plays the hypocrite, it expected by this to be let alone in the body, if it proclaimed the same things.

From a man: 'Praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner,' much more so from a demon;

if Christ does not accept testimony from men, nor even from John, much less from a demon.

For the preaching is not of men, but of the Holy Spirit.

Since, then, they did it boastfully, crying aloud, they thought by their outcry to strike terror, saying:

'These men do exceedingly trouble our city.'

What do you say? Are you persuaded by the demon? Why not here too? That one says, 'Servants of the Most High God;'

you say, 'They trouble our city;'

that one says, 'They proclaim to us the way of salvation;'

you say, 'They teach customs which it is not lawful for us to receive.'

See how they gave heed not even to the demon, but looked to one thing only—the love of money.

'And they dragged them,' it says, 'into the marketplace unto the rulers;'

and the multitude rose up together against them.

See them making no answer nor defense, that they might be counted worthy of a greater miracle.

'For when I am weak,' he says, 'then am I strong;'

'for my power is made perfect in weakness.'

So that even from their forbearance they ought to have been admired.

The more strict the custody becomes, so much the more brilliant is the miracle.

Perhaps those men did this wishing to cut short the gathering.

Since they saw the crowd standing by, they wished for the present to stay their wrath with the stripes, but by casting them into prison and charging that they be kept securely, they desired to hear into the matter.

'And he made them fast,' it says, 'in the stocks,' as one might say, 'in the block.'

How much do the present times deserve tears? Those men suffered whatever they suffered, but we are in luxury, we are in the theaters.

Wherefore also we perish and are drowned, seeking ease everywhere, and not enduring to be grieved even to the point of a reproach for Christ's sake, no, not even to the point of a word.

Let us continually remind ourselves of these things, I beseech you—how much they suffered, how much they endured, how they were not troubled, how they were not offended.

They were doing the work of God, and yet suffered these things.

They did not say, 'Why do we preach this, and God does not protect us?' But this too profited them, and even without the help it made them more vigorous in the very work, stronger, undismayed.

'Tribulation,' he says, 'works patience.'

Let us not, then, seek the soft and dissolute life.

For as here the good is twofold—both that they become strong and that the rewards are great—so there the evil is twofold—both that they are rendered more effeminate and that it is for no good end, but even for evil.

For nothing could be more useless than a man who spends his whole time in ease and luxury.

For it says, 'A man untried is also unproven'—

unproven, not only in these very contests, but in all other things as well.

Ease is a useless thing, and even in luxury itself there is nothing so unfit as living in luxury, for it breeds satiety.

Neither is the pleasure of food so great, nor that of ease, but all things fade away and dissolve.

For if we are willing to consider who lives the more pleasantly—the one who toils and endures hardship, or the one who lives in luxury—

In the first place, the body of such a man is itself slack and flabby;

and then the senses of the body too are neither pure nor healthy, but grown soft and feeble;

and when these are lacking, not even the pleasure of health is to be seen.

Which horse is useful—the pampered one or the one exercised? Which ship—the one that sails or the one that lies idle?

Which water—the running or the standing? Which iron—the one in use or the one that lies unworked? Does not the one gleam and resemble silver, while the other rusts all over, being useless everywhere and losing something of its own substance? Something of this kind happens also to the idle soul;

a kind of rust is poured over it, and eats away both its brightness and all else besides.

With what, then, might one scour off this rust? With the whetstone of afflictions;

these render the soul useful and fit for all things.

For how, tell me, will it be able to cut through the passions, when its edge has been blunted and bent back like lead? How will it wound the devil? And to whom is a man not distasteful who cultivates an excess of flesh, like a seal?

I do not say this concerning those who are so by nature, but concerning those who by luxury have made their bodies such—concerning those who are by nature slender.

The sun has risen and cast its bright rays everywhere; it has roused each man to his labors;

the farmer takes his mattock and goes out, the smith his hammer, and each of the craftsmen the tool suited to him, and you will find each one plying his own instruments;

the woman takes up the distaff or the weaving;

but he himself, like a pig, goes out at once from early morning to the pasturing of his belly, seeking how he may set up a costly table.

And yet it belongs to the brute beasts alone to feed from early morning, since they are of no use except for slaughter.

But those of them that bear burdens and take up labor—even these go forth to their work from the night.

This man, however, having risen from his bed after the sun has filled the marketplace and all have had their fill of their own work, gets up stretching himself, like a hog truly being fattened, having wasted the fairest part of the day in darkness.

Then he sits a long while upon his bed, often not even able to recover from the previous evening's drunkenness, having consumed the greater part of the time in these things.

Then he adorns himself and comes forth as a spectacle of unseemliness, having nothing of a man about him, but everything of a beast in human form;

his eyes are moist, his mouth reeking of wine, his wretched soul as though flung upon a couch beneath the immoderately poured-in fumes of stale drink, carrying about the bulk of his flesh like an elephant.

Then, having come, he sits down in public places, and says and does such things that it were better for him to be still asleep than awake.

If dreadful tidings are announced, he becomes softer than any little girl;

if good news, more slack than any little child.

He lies open to all who wish to do him harm—if not to men, then to the passions;

and anger easily rouses such a man, and lust, and envy, and all the rest.

All flatter him, all pay him court, making his soul softer than it is;

and day by day he goes on, taking in much more of the disease.

If he falls into some hard turn of affairs, he becomes ashes and dust, and his silken garments avail him nothing.

These things have not been said by us idly, but that we may teach that no one should live idly or at random.

For idleness and luxury are unfit for work, fit only for vainglory, only for pleasure.

How will all not condemn such a man—both household folk and friends and kinsfolk? And who will not justly say, 'This man is a burden of the earth; such a one has come into the world in vain'?

or rather not in vain, but even to the harm of his own head, to his own ruin, to the injury of others. Let us see, then, what is more pleasant to such a soul;

for this is what is sought—leisure and inactivity.

And what could be more distasteful than a man who has nothing to do? What more miserable, what more wretched? This is no better than ten thousand chains—to yawn and gape continually as one sits in the marketplace watching the passersby. For the soul, having by nature the property of being ever in motion, does not endure to remain still.

God made this living creature for action, and it is according to its nature to work, but contrary to its nature to be idle.

Let us not judge things from those who are diseased, but let us take our trial of the matter from the thing itself.

Nothing is more wretched than leisure, nothing than idleness;

for this reason God has placed us under the necessity of work.

For idleness harms all things, and even the very members of the body are somehow harmed by idleness.

For indeed the eye too, if it does not do its own work, and the mouth, and the belly, and every one of the members one might name, falls into the utmost disease;

and nothing so much as the soul.

But just as idleness is an evil, so also is work that is not fitting.

For just as, if one does not eat, he is harmed in his teeth, and if he eats what is not fitting, he makes them set on edge;

so indeed here too, whether one does not work, or works at what is not fitting, he destroys his own strength.

Let us then be earnest to flee both—idleness, and work that is worse than idleness.

And what is this? Acts of covetousness, anger, envyings, and the rest of the passions.

let us pursue instead a rest from these, that we may attain the good things promised to us, by the grace and love toward mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, might, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.