January 25 – Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

PSALM 27:1-14

OVERVIEW: The twenty-seventh psalm in the Septuagint carries the superscription “before he was anointed,” which raises the question to which of David’s anointings should the psalm be referred (CASSIODORUS). Others relate it to later times (DIODORE). The Lord who is light is the source of our enlightenment (GREGORY OF NYSSA), our help in the darkness of trouble (DIODORE). Fear of the Lord casts out all other fear (CASSIODORUS), including the fear of demons (ORIGEN). We are confident through divine enablement (LEO). David gives thanks for the fall of his adversaries (DIODORE, THEODORET), adversaries of his flesh but not of his soul (AMBROSE). He has confidence based on experience (THEODORET), confidence of an uncreated liberty (ORIGEN), a confidence exhibited by Christ (ORIGEN). Two types of warfare can be thought of here—active and contemplative (EVAGRIUS). Salvation is found in the Lord’s house (THEODORET). We should, like David, long to dwell in the Lord’s house (BEDE), while not forgetting the present house, the church (BEDE). Our grace-giving head, the Lord Jesus, is lifted up (BEDE), and no other sacrifices are pleasing to God (DIODORE). We seek in him the face of mercy (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER), preferring even the face of correction to abandonment (DIODORE). We ask that the Lord not only teach us but also guide us (THEODORET), knowing that the law was given for our benefit (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER). We ask not to be given up to our adversaries but that the Lord improve us (DIODORE). We become strong waiting for God’s promises (THEODORET), maintaining doctrinal strength (EVAGRIUS), enabled by God, not by our own strength (FULGENTIUS), strengthened by the Holy Spirit (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM) so that we labor in the Lord (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).

Superscription: A Psalm of David

THE SECOND ANOINTING OF DAVID. CASSIODORUS: The history of this heading is indicated quite a bit more extensively in the book of Kings. After Saul sinned against God, David was anointed as king by the holy prophet Samuel in the presence of his father.¹ But this heading does not speak about that anointing, but it is properly understood to commemorate instead another anointing, when David was brought to the monarchy by the wish of the people after Saul’s persecutions. It is clear that David wrote this psalm in testimony of these events, for if you should wish to concentrate on that first anointing, one reads that he composed no psalm before it. For this reason, it remains for us to understand this second anointing as the reference made here. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 27.1.³

CONCERNING HEZEKIAH. DIODORE OF TARSUS: The twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth and thirtieth psalms have the same theme, composed from the viewpoint of blessed Hezekiah and directed against the Assyrians. The inspired author David prophesied and adopted this theme on the other’s part, using his very words in prophecy and displaying his feelings. The four have a certain change and difference from one another, which commentary on each psalm will mention: the twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth are triumphal odes on the destruction of the Assyrians alone, whereas the twenty-eighth and thirtieth make reference also to Hezekiah’s illness and recovery. COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 27.⁴

THE SOURCE OF LIGHT. GREGORY OF NYSSA: He is called a light by David, and from there the light of knowledge shines in people who are enlightened. AGAINST EUNOMIUS 2.15.⁵

THE LIGHT OF GOD’S HELP. DIODORE OF TARSUS: Tribulation caused the Israelites to live in darkness, as it were, whereas the Lord’s support proved a light and help to them. COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 27.⁶

FEAR CASTS OUT FEAR. CASSIODORUS: “Whom shall I fear” means “I will fear no one”; for the fear of the Lord has brought him to the point that he could not fear anyone else. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 27.2.⁷

NO FEAR OF DEMONS. ORIGEN: Christians have nothing to fear, even if demons should not be well-disposed to them; for they are protected by the supreme God, who is well pleased with their piety and who sets his divine angels to watch over those who are worthy of such guardianship, so that they can suffer nothing from demons. He who by his piety possesses the favor of the Most High, who has accepted the guidance of Jesus, the “angel of the great counsel,”⁸ being well contented with the favor of God through Christ Jesus, may say with confidence that he has nothing to suffer from the whole host of demons. AGAINST CELSUS 8.27.⁹

ENABLEMENT FROM GOD. LEO THE GREAT: In rendering service to the grace of God, we are not only made subject to our King through obedience but are even joined to him through the will. If we are of one mind with him (willing what he wills, disapproving of what he disapproves), he himself will bring us victory in all our battles. He who has given the “will” will bestow also the ability. In this way can we “cooperate” with his works, speaking that prophetic utterance in the exultation of faith: “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?” SERMON 26.4.2.¹⁰

SALVATION IN THE LORD’S HOUSE. THEODORET OF CYR: Having enjoyed such beneficence, he is saying, I seek from my benefactor not wealth or influence, royalty or glory, but constant attendance in the divine temple, contemplation of the divine beauty there and inspection of everything happening in accordance with law. I have . . . already secured salvation from that source and escaped the hand of my pursuers. This the mighty David both asked for and received from the munificent God: he brought back the divine ark, erected another more wonderful tabernacle and assembled the different choirs of singers. You could gain a more precise knowledge of this from the books of Chronicles. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 27.4.¹⁸

LONGING FOR GOD’S HOUSE. BEDE: Let us strive with all our strength of soul to arrive there. Let us make our way there by the inward affection of our heart. Let us long [to arrive] there. Let us beg all together, and let us beg individually, of the Maker of that house, that we may dwell in his house all days of our life. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.4.¹⁹

REMEMBER THE PRESENT HOUSE. BEDE: The Lord, born a human being among human beings, did what God, by divine inspiration through [his] angels, prescribed for human beings to do. He himself kept the law that he gave in order to show us, who are human beings pure and simple, that whatever God orders is to be observed in everything. Let us follow the path of his human way of life if we take delight in looking on the glory of his divinity, if we want to dwell in his eternal home in heaven all the days of our lives, if it delights [us] to see the Lord’s will and to be shielded by his holy temple. And lest we be forever buffeted by the wind of wickedness, let us remember to frequent the house, the church of the present time, with the requisite offerings of pure petitions. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.19.²⁰

WAITING FOR GOD’S PROMISES. THEODORET OF CYR: The mind adorned with virility, he is saying, and by means of it getting the better of the onset of misfortunes, is strengthened, and gains the victory and awaits the divine promises, to which it becomes the heir, the body also co-operating. Now, he calls the life looked forward to “land of the living” insofar as it is separated from death and free of corruption and sadness. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 27.8.²⁸

THE STRONG HEART. EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS: The strong heart is that which is not filled with false doctrines or impure thoughts. NOTES ON THE PSALMS 26[27].14.²⁹

DIVINE ENABLEMENT. FULGENTIUS OF RUSPE: In your zeal for good works and your contempt of human praise, be careful lest you wish to assign the good that you do, not to the grace of God but to your own strength. Hold firmly that there can be no ability in you for good will or good works unless you received it by the free gift of divine mercy. Know, therefore, that it is God working in you both to will and to do, for a good will. Accordingly, work out your salvation in fear and trembling. Humble yourself in the sight of God that he may exalt you. Ask from him the beginning of a good will. Ask from him the effects of good works. Seek from him the gift of perseverance. Do not think at any time that you can either will or do anything good, once his assistance has ceased. Ask him to turn away your eyes lest they see vanity; ask him to show you the way in which you should walk; petition him to direct your steps according to his word and let no wickedness rule over you. Pray to him that he direct the works of your hands for you. “Be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.” LETTER 2.36.³⁰

STRENGTHENED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: [The Holy Spirit] is called Comforter, because he comforts and encourages us and “helps our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself pleads for us with unutterable groanings,”³¹ that is, clearly, to God. Often a person for Christ’s sake is treated with contumely and unjustly dishonored; martyrdom is at hand, tortures on every side, fire, swords, wild beasts and the abyss; but the Holy Spirit gently whispers, “Wait for the Lord,” for your present sufferings are slight, while your rewards will be great; endure for a little while, and you will be with the angels forever. “The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us.”³² He portrays for the person the kingdom of heaven and even gives him a glimpse of the paradise of pleasure; and the martyrs, who must present their bodily countenances to their judges, are in spirit already in paradise, despise what appear to be hardships. CATECHETICAL LECTURES 16.20.³³

LABOR IN THE LORD. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Great and distinguished successes are brought to completion not without labors. No doubt it is necessary that for every good thing sweat must be caused first. And no wonder if we see that such occurs in great matters, since common and inferior ones are full of care and come to pass through labors. But even in labor we have learned to say, “Be strong, and be of stout heart and wait for the Lord.” For we have taken heart that a glorious result attends zealous actions aimed at virtue, and we shall find that our reward from God is the gift of spiritual courage. LETTER 25.1.³⁴

1 CORINTHIANS 1:10-16

OVERVIEW: The Corinthian church was divided into factions (ORIGEN). Paul wanted them to be united in the teaching he had given them (AMBROSIASTER). Some were making Christ the head of a faction (CHRYSOSTOM), and thereby in their disunity rejecting Christ himself (THEODORET OF CYR). Baptism, the sacrament of unity, had become the point of division. The efficacy of baptism lies in the one whose name is invoked in the baptism (CHRYSOSTOM). In addition to addressing these great issues of truth and unity, the Fathers speculated about details, such as whether Chloe was a family (THEODORET OF CYR), a person or a place, or had some symbolic reference (AMBROSIASTER).

1:10a An Appeal for Unity
LET THERE BE NO DISSENSIONS. ORIGEN: The visible church is a mixed body, consisting of both righteous and unrighteous people. This is why Paul praises some of its members and criticizes others. The person who agrees with the right doctrine and the church’s teaching concerning the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as with the dispensation concerning us, with resurrection and judgment, and who follows the rules of the church is not in schism. COMMENTARY ON 1 CORINTHIANS 1.4.¹

APPEAL IN CHRIST’S NAME. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul was right to add the name of Christ here, because that is what the Corinthians were really rejecting. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 167.²

1:10b United in Mind and Judgment
UNITED IN THINKING. AMBROSIASTER: Paul prays that the Corinthians will all think one thing, namely, that those who have been born again are children of God. He wants them to be perfectly united in the teaching which he had given to them. He challenges them to think this way and to defend his teaching. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.³

UNITED IN JUDGMENT. CHRYSOSTOM: It is possible to agree on a form of words but still harbor dissent, which is why Paul speaks the way he does here. It is also possible to share the same opinion with someone but not the same feelings. For example, it is possible to be united in faith without being united in love. This is why Paul says that we must be united both in mind and in judgment. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 3.2.⁴

WHETHER CHLOE IS A PLACE. AMBROSIASTER: Some people think that “Chloe’s people” are those who remain faithful and bear fruit in the faith of Christ. Others think that Chloe is a place, as if one were to say “Antioch’s people,” for example. But others think that she was a woman devoted to God, in whose company there were many faithful worshipers. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.⁵

PAUL’S SOURCE NOT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIED. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is careful to mention who his informers are without singling out one particular person. This gives his criticisms plausibility without allowing the Corinthians to direct their feelings toward any one person. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 3.3.⁶

WHETHER CHLOE IS A FAMILY. THEODORET OF CYR: Perhaps there was a family at Corinth called Chloe, but Paul does not give any details so as not to reveal their identity and start more quarreling. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 168.⁷

CORINTH HAD A HISTORY OF PARTISANSHIP. CLEMENT OF ROME: Inspired by God, Paul wrote to you concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos, because even then you were given to faction. But that factiousness involved you in less guilt, because then you were partisans of highly reputed apostles and of those commended by them. EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 47.3-4.⁸

ALL GOOD TEACHERS. AMBROSIASTER: Paul exposes their error without mentioning the names of the people responsible. The men whom he names here were all good teachers, but by alluding to them in this way he is really getting at the false apostles. For if the Corinthians were not to boast of their devotion to any of these men, how much more would this be true in the case of false teachers, whose corrupt doctrine he refers to next? COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.⁹

IS CHRIST THE HEAD OF A FACTION? CHRYSOSTOM: The quarreling at Corinth was not over trivial matters but over something fundamental. Even those who said they were of Christ were at fault, because they were implicitly denying this to others and making Christ the head of a faction rather than the head of the whole church. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 3.5.¹⁰

A RIDICULOUS CONFLICT. THEODORET OF CYR: In reality the Corinthians called themselves after other teachers, but Paul uses his own name and that of Apollos and Peter in order to make his point. By adding the name of Christ to the rest, he showed them how ridiculous the whole conflict was. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 168.¹¹

HOW CHRIST BECOMES DIVIDED. AMBROSIASTER: By believing different things about Christ, the people have divided him. One person thought that Christ was a mere man, another that he was only God. One says that he was foretold by the prophets, while another denies it. Paul starts with himself, so that nobody will think that he is disparaging the status of others. If Christ died for us, how can we attribute his grace and blessing to men, thereby doing him a grave injustice? COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.¹²

THE QUESTION RHETORICAL. CHRYSOSTOM: Whenever Paul uses rhetorical questions, as he does here, he implies that the whole argument is absurd. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 3.5.¹³

Overview: Jesus waited until John’s imprisonment to begin the preaching of repentance (Chrysostom). When John had brought the old covenant to conclusion, Jesus “began to preach” the new, being himself the beginning of it (Origen). Jesus’ intention was not to trample on John’s teaching but to confirm it (Anonymous). No one can receive the grace of God unless he or she has been cleansed of every stain of sin by the confession of repentance (Chromatius). Let the just rejoice, for their troubles are now ending. Let sinners lament, for their troubles are beginning (Anonymous). In his withdrawal to Galilee, Jesus provided a pattern for us by which we are instructed not to look for temptations or persecutions (Cyril of Alexandria) but to withdraw ourselves from their sphere of influence (Chrysostom). The Lord withdrew to Galilee, not because he feared death but in order that he might reserve his passion for an appropriate time and that he might set an example for us about fleeing from the danger of temptation (Anonymous). The great light is the gospel (Cyril of Alexandria). The light shines upon those sitting in the shadow of death, even when they were not looking for it (Origen). It is appropriate that those tribes of Galilee of the Gentiles who had been first led into bodily captivity should first be brought back from spiritual captivity (Anonymous). Even as the Father is light, so too is the Son light. The region and shadow of death is the region of the infernal abode into which the Savior introduced the light of his majesty upon those who were shrouded in death (Chromatius). Matthew 4:12-22 Upon being called by Jesus, the disciples left their nets immediately. Christ seeks this kind of immediate obedience from us (Chrysostom). Those who hold onto spiritual things will be uplifted by them. Those who hold onto earthly things will be brought down by them (Anonymous). You will leave behind much if you renounce earthly desires. The Lord looks to the heart and not at our material goods (Gregory the Great). Every disciple who comes to Christ must leave behind these three inordinate attachments: acts of the flesh, material goods, parents in the flesh (Anonymous). The kingdom of God is worth sacrificing not only everything you have but all that you desire (Gregory the Great). Jesus neither resisted the disciples when they desired to withdraw from him, nor having withdrawn themselves, did he let them go altogether (Chrysostom). Jesus sees them not bodily but spiritually and chooses them not as apostles but because they could become apostles (Anonymous). He chose illiterate, unskilled and untutored fishermen, that God’s grace might be all the more apparent (Chromatius). He made them fishers of men, teachers, so that with the net of God’s word they might fetch people out of this delusive world, a world fluctuating and frenetic, unstable and treacherous (Anonymous).

Avoiding Persecution. Cyril of Alexandria: It was not out of fear that he withdrew. By doing the things he did, he taught us to escape from persecutors. He “withdrew” from Judea to the Gentiles. This showed that God removes himself to a remote part of the land of the Jews when they sin against the holy prophets and insult his deity. Fragment 34.1

Under God’s Care. Anonymous: Undoubtedly [John’s arrest]² was permitted by God, because no one can do anything against a holy man unless God permits him to. A sinner may perhaps do something against another sinner, for the sinner is not completely under God’s care. Against a man of God, however, he can undoubtedly do nothing, for “God is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”³ And thus he says in another place: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”⁴ . . . The Lord knew this, and he withdrew, not because he feared death but for two other reasons. First, that he might reserve his passion for an appropriate time, and second, that he might set an example for us about fleeing from the danger of temptation. It was not because he feared the danger of temptation, but because otherwise we would be unable to withstand all temptation. If he preceded us along every path of justice as our master that we might follow him as his disciples, it is clear that he did not consider what he could do but what we were capable of doing. Moreover, if Christ did those things which he could do and we could not do, we could not be his disciples, for we would lack the strength to follow him. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 6.⁵

Do Not Look for Temptations. Chrysostom: Why did he withdraw? He was serving as a pattern for us in instructing us not to seek out temptation but to withdraw ourselves from its sphere of influence. It is not a matter of reproach that one does not intentionally put oneself in danger. Yet one must stand nobly when one inadvertently falls into danger. So, to teach us this and to soothe the ire of the Jewish leaders,⁶ he withdrew to Capernaum, and in doing so he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah.⁷ The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 14.1.⁸

Galilee of the Gentiles. Anonymous: As history teaches us, these tribes were the first to cross over into Babylonia.⁹ It is appropriate therefore that all those whom the wrath of God has struck should first be visited by God’s mercy and those who have been led into bodily captivity should first be brought back from spiritual captivity. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”¹⁰ Jews also were sitting in darkness. Even though they were under the law, God’s justice was not being manifested. Although justice was there, it had been covered over with certain figures and mysteries of carnal things. What light of justice is there in circumcision? Indeed the darkness was especially poignant under the law, which was given more to punish the hardness of our hearts than to actually bring about righteousness. As the Lord said, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.”¹¹ The law was not given to save but to chastise them. The law blinded them, so that, inebriated with the law, they were unable to see the great light, Christ, when he came. There indeed were many lights among the Jews: Moses and Aaron and Joshua and the judges and prophets were all lights. Every teacher is a light to them, whom he enlightens by teaching, as is written: “You are the light of the world.”¹² But Christ is the great light. In the region and shadow of death were seated the Gentiles, either because they were committing iniquities or because they were worshiping idols and demons, the worship of which was leading them to everlasting death. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 6.¹³

The Gospel a Great Light. Cyril of Alexandria: And the “great light” is Christ our Lord and the brightness of the gospel preaching. It is not, in fact, the law, which was likened to a lamp.¹⁴ For this reason a lamp always burned in the tabernacle, on account of the shortness of the law’s rays, which had strength to extend their light only within the confines of the Jewish territories. Therefore the Gentiles were “in darkness,” not having this lamplight. Fragment 34.¹⁵

The True Light of Revelation to the Gentiles. Chromatius: The Evangelist commemorated in this passage the prophet’s words: “Beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”¹⁶ In what darkness? Certainly in the profound error of ignorance. What great light did they see? The light concerning which it is written: “He was the true light that illumines everyone who comes into this world.”¹⁷ This was the light about which the just man Simeon in the Gospel declared, “A light of revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.”¹⁸ That light had arisen according to what David had announced, saying, “A light has arisen in the darkness to the upright of heart.”¹⁹ Also, Isaiah demonstrated that light about to come for the enlightenment of the church when he said, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”²⁰ Concerning that light also Daniel noted, “It reveals the profound and hidden things, knowing those things which are in darkness and the light is with it,”²¹ that is, the Son with the Father, for even as the Father is light, so too is the Son light. And David also speaks in the psalm: “In your light shall we see light,”²² for the Father is seen in the Son, as the Lord tells us in the Gospel: “Who sees me, sees the Father.”²³ From the true light, indeed, the true light proceeded, and from the invisible the visible. “He is the image of the invisible God,” as the apostle notes.²⁴ Tractate on Matthew 15.1.²⁵

The Shadow of Death. Origen: He spoke of “the shadow of death” and not simply “death.” This is because of the inability of sin utterly to corrupt the soul. Such complete corruption happens to bodies in death. But sin brings forth the shadow of death. And the words “light is sprung up” signify that it did not spring up upon us who were looking for it, but it shone upon those who were unprepared for it. Fragment 73.²⁶

The Descent of the Light into the Darkness. Chromatius: Concerning this light, the Evangelist points out in the present passage: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” They see not with bodily contemplation—for the light is invisible—but with the eyes of faith and in the mind’s eye. Therefore he says, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”²⁷ Therefore not only to those who were in darkness did this light appear, but he says that a light has arisen for those sitting in the region and shadow of death. This shows that there were others who were sitting in darkness—established in the region and shadow of death. And what is this region and shadow of death if not the region of the infernal abode, about which David speaks: “Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me”?²⁸ He shall not fear any evil, that is, the punishments of hell. Therefore a saving light has arisen for those who are seated in the region and shadow of death, that is, Christ the Son of God who says in the Gospel: “I am the true light. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness.”²⁹ He who after his venerable and life-giving passion and death went down into the region of the infernal abode suddenly introduced the light of his majesty upon those who were shrouded in death, so that he might free those who were being held among the dead in expectation of his arrival, as the Lord himself in the person of Wisdom says through Solomon: “I will go down into the depths of the earth and gaze upon all those who are asleep, and I shall enlighten those who hope in God.”³⁰ Tractate on Matthew 15.2.³¹

John’s Preaching Compared with Jesus’ Preaching. Origen: John’s preaching of repentance³² was not precisely the same as the preaching of Jesus, yet the Savior preaches in ways commensurable with John, for there is one God who sent them both. John first says “repent” in order to make ready a “people prepared” for God.³³ Jesus, when he has received a people who have been made ready and who have already repented, does not merely say to them, “Repent.” For he does not preach in competition with the law and the prophets. When John had fulfilled the old covenant, Jesus “began to preach” the new, being himself the beginning of it. For this reason the words “he began” are not written of John, for he was an end. Moreover, the one preaches in the wilderness, the other in the midst of the people. Fragment 74.³⁴

The Preaching Ministry Begins. Chrysostom: “From that time.” What time? After John was cast into prison. But why didn’t he start preaching this from the beginning? What occasion did John provide? Didn’t the witness of his works already make this proclamation? He began only at this time to preach in a public way, so that his unique divine identity might become recognized, of which the patriarchs and prophets had already spoken by way of anticipation, as in the voice of Zechariah: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.”³⁵ And that he might leave no occasion for impetuous Pharisaic interpretations, he remarked, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”³⁶ It was necessary, furthermore, that he be correctly identified not by his own words alone but by another. Otherwise, even after so many and such powerful testimonies and demonstrations, they would merely dismiss him by saying “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.”³⁷ If John had said nothing, and if Jesus had first come into their midst and testified only of himself, you can imagine what they would have said. So he did not preach publically before John’s coming, nor did he work miracles until John was cast into prison, lest the people be confused. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 14.1.³⁸

Confirming John’s Teaching. Anonymous: From the time when John was delivered, Jesus began to preach. For if he had begun to preach while John was alive, doubtless he would have belittled John, and John’s preaching would have been considered superfluous compared with that of Jesus—as the light that rises at the same time with the lamplighter overshadows the lamplighter’s grace. How wisely then did he begin preaching as John was accustomed to preach: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”³⁹ His intention was not to trample on John’s teaching but to confirm it all the more. For if he were to preach while John was still teaching, he might seem to be intruding on John’s mission. But now, with John confined, he takes up John’s teaching. There is no trampling, but confirmation. He confirmed John’s teaching, that he might point him out as a true witness. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 6.⁴⁰

Not a Place. Origen: “The kingdom of heaven” is not in a place but in disposition. For it is “within” us.⁴¹ John preaches the coming of that kingdom of heaven, which Christ the King will deliver up “to God, even the Father.”⁴² Fragment 74.⁴³

The Call to Repentance. Chromatius: The voice of the Lord urging the people to repentance—the Holy Spirit made it known to the people that they might take heed, saying, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of testing in the wilderness.”⁴⁴ In the same psalm above, he made clear that he was urging the sinful people to repentance and showed the state of a repentant soul, saying, “Come, let us fall down before him and lament before the Lord who made us, for he is our God.”⁴⁵ The Lord urges the people to repentance, and he promises to pardon their sins, according to Isaiah’s words: “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your iniquities, and I will not be mindful of your sins. But you be mindful, declare first your iniquities that you may be justified.”⁴⁶ Rightly then does the Lord urge the people to repentance when he says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” so that through this confession of sins they may be made worthy to approach the kingdom of heaven. For no one can receive the grace of the heavenly God unless one has been cleansed of every stain of sin by the confession of repentance, through the gift of the saving baptism of our Lord and Savior. Tractate on Matthew 15.3.⁴⁷

At Hand. Anonymous: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This refers to the blessedness of the heavenly kingdom, which God has prepared for the faithful. The message is to prepare yourselves by penance and by patience to receive the blessedness of the heavenly kingdom. The time for receiving a reward is at hand. You who fear to do evil and desire to do good, pay heed, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. If you are repelled by what is evil or attracted by what is good, or if you do not desire kingdoms or if you fear torments, pay heed. Let the just rejoice, for their troubles are now ending and their good fortune is beginning. Let sinners lament, for their good fortune is now passing and their troubles are beginning. No harm is being done to just people. Their troubles are over, and their good fortune beginning. The recollection of past troubles not only does not harm them but gives even greater delight. Indeed, as long as troubles are present, they seem to be oppressive. When they are a thing of the past, the memory of them is a cause for delight. But what good is it when sinners have obtained fortune and are beginning to experience trouble? For the recollection of past fortune not only does no good but becomes even disagreeable. For as long as that fortune is present, it is a source of enjoyment; when it is a thing of the past, however, the recollection of it becomes a source of annoyance. Did this preaching yield the fruit of bringing people to Christ? It sowed the word of repentance and produced virtuous preachers of justice. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 6.⁴⁸

How Much Did the Poor Fishermen Leave Behind? Gregory the Great: Someone may wonder: At the Lord’s beckoning, what or how much did these two fishermen, who scarcely had anything, leave behind? On this, my beloved, we should attend to one’s intention rather than one’s wealth. That person has left behind a lot who keeps nothing for himself, who, though he has little, gives up everything. We tend to be attached to those things we own, and those things we scarcely own, we carefully hold on to. Therefore Peter and Andrew left much behind when they left behind covetousness and the very desire to own. That person has left much behind who renounces with the thing owned the very coveting of that thing. Therefore those poor who followed Jesus left behind just as much as those less poor who did not follow him but were able to covet. So when you notice that some have left a great deal behind, you need not say to yourself, I want to imitate those who disdain this world, but sorry, I have nothing to leave behind. You will leave much behind, my brothers, if you renounce earthly desires. External things, however small they may be, are sufficient for the Lord, since he looks at the heart and not at our material goods. Nor does he judge by how much is involved in our sacrifice but from how much it is made. For if we judge by external goods, our holy merchants traded in their nets and vessels for the perpetual life of the angels. Forty Gospel Homilies 5.2.⁴⁹

How Jesus Called His First Disciples. Chrysostom: “And they left their nets, and followed him.”⁵⁰ And yet John (the Evangelist) says that they were called in a different way.⁵¹ From this it is evident that this was a second call. One may conclude this from several evidences. For there it is said that they came to him when “John had not yet been thrown into prison”;⁵² but here it says after he was in confinement. And there Andrew calls Peter, but here Jesus calls both. On the one hand, John says, “Jesus saw Simon coming and said, ‘You are Simon, the Son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter.’ ”⁵³ On the other hand, Matthew says that he was already called by that name, for he says, “Seeing Simon who was called Peter.” . . . In the other instance, Andrew is seen coming into his house and hearing many things. But here, having heard one brief call, they both followed immediately. When they earlier had seen that John was in prison and that Jesus was withdrawing, it would not have been unnatural for them to return again to their own craft, fishing, having followed him at the beginning and then later having left him to fish. Accordingly, you now see that Jesus finds them actively fishing. But he neither resisted them at first when they desired to withdraw from him, nor having withdrawn themselves, did he let them go altogether. He gave way when they moved aside from him and came again to win them back. This, after all, is exactly what fishing is all about. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 14.⁵⁴

Why the Lord Chose Fishermen. Chromatius: Here they proved that they were true sons of Abraham, because by a similar pattern they followed the Savior on hearing God’s voice. For they immediately gave up hope of material advantage that they might seek eternal rewards. They left behind their earthly father that they might have a heavenly Father, and hence not undeservedly were they chosen. So the Lord chose fishermen who in a better way of plying their fishing trade were converted from earthly to heavenly fishing, that they might catch the human race for salvation like fish from the deep waters of error, according to what the Lord himself said to them: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” It was the very same thing he had promised through Jeremiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, says the Lord, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters and they shall hunt them.”⁵⁵ So we see that the apostles are called not only fishermen but also hunters: fishermen, for in the nets of gospel preaching they catch all believers like fish in the world; hunters, for they catch for salvation by heavenly hunting those people who are roving in this world as though in the woods of error and who are living like wild animals. Tractate on Matthew 16.2.⁵⁶

Fishers of Men. Anonymous: “And he said to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ ” That is, I will make you teachers, so that with the net of God’s Word you may catch people in this delusive world,⁵⁷ a world fluctuating and frenetic, unstable, treacherous and always dangerous, and never safe for anyone, where people do not walk but are borne along as though against their will. The devil’s wrath made clever use of the instability of strong desire. He lied to them that their will would be accomplished. He took delight in impelling them to evil deeds, so they may feed upon each other like big fish eating the weaker fish, lest having been removed from the water they live on the fruitful land of the body of Christ. Otherwise, having been made limbs of Christ’s body, they could have lived on the fruitful earth, on the sweet and ever tranquil earth, where there is no storm that brews destruction, except perhaps for the testing of their faith and the flowering of their patience. In that body people walk safely, not being coerced. They do not devour each other but support each other. Behold, I am not handing over to you a new gospel. It is not like another net woven with numerous narrations billowing here and there like waves of various opinions and indispensable parables, admirable virtues and manifold teachings, and bound by threats of judgments and promises of happiness. It is not made of rigid ties, or highlighted by predictions or the knowledge of occult thinking, or confessions of devils and resurrections of the dead, in order for its secure texture to diligently hold rational people captive and prevent them from exiting by any means as through some fissure overlooked by the Holy Spirit who wove that net. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 7.⁵⁸

No Middle Way. Anonymous: Someone may ask, “So I cannot love riches and please Christ?” The apostles gave us a lesson in leaving behind their nets immediately, for no one can own earthly things and completely attain to heavenly things. Notice how, between the earth and the sky, there is an intermediate layer that separates both creations. This shows that between the heavenly and earthly bodies there can be no commingling. The heavenly bodies are spiritual and light, and naturally they always tend upward. The earthly bodies are heavy, and they always hang downward. So, if you hold onto spiritual things, they will bring you up; if you hold onto earthly things, they will bring you down. Therefore they left behind their nets, lest these things become more of an impediment to them than an added benefit. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 7.⁵⁹

Jesus Chooses Them for What They Can Become. Anonymous: Before he says or does anything, he calls the apostles so nothing may be concealed from them as to Christ’s words or works and they may later say in confidence: “For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”⁶⁰ He sees them not bodily but spiritually, regarding not their appearance but their hearts. And he chooses them not as apostles but because they could become apostles. Just as an artist who sees precious, and not rough-hewn, stones chooses them—not because of what they are but because of what they can become. Like the sensitive artist who does not spurn the unshaped good—so too the Lord, upon seeing them, does not choose their works but their hearts. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 7.⁶¹

Jesus Chose the Lowly to Demonstrate Divine Grace. Chromatius: Oh, blessed are those fishermen whom the Lord chose from among so many doctors of the law and scribes, from among so many sages of the world, for the task of divine preaching and the grace of the apostolate! Worthy of our Lord, indeed, and appropriate for his preaching was that choice, so that in the preaching of his name all the greater might be the wonder of praise as the humble and lowly of the age preached his word—not that they might capture the world through the wisdom of the word but that they might liberate the human race from the error of death through the simple preaching of the faith, as the apostle says: “That your faith may not be in human wisdom but in the power of God.”⁶² And in another place: “But the foolish things of the world has God chosen to put to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world has God chosen to put to shame the strong, and the base things of the world and the despised has God chosen, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.”⁶³ Therefore he has not chosen the noble of the world or the rich, lest their preaching be suspect; not the wise of the world, lest people believe that they persuaded the human race with their wisdom; but he chose illiterate, unskilled and untutored fishermen, so that the Savior’s grace might be open. Tractate on Matthew 16.1.⁶⁴

Immediately They Left the Boat. Chrysostom: But note both their faith and their obedience. For though they were in the midst of their work (and you know how time-consuming a chore fishing is), when they heard his command they did not delay or procrastinate. They did not say, “Let us return home, and talk things over with our family.” Instead, “they left everything behind and followed,” even as Elisha did when he followed Elijah.⁶⁵ For Christ seeks this kind of obedience from us, such that we delay not even for a moment, though something absolutely most necessary should vehemently press in on us. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 14.2.⁶⁶

The Kingdom Worth Everything. Gregory the Great: The kingdom of heaven has no price tag on it: It is worth as much as you have. For Zacchaeus it was worth half of what he owned, because the other half that he had unjustly pocketed he promised to restore fourfold.⁶⁷ For Peter and Andrew it was worth the nets and vessel they had left behind; for the widow it was worth two copper coins;⁶⁸ for another it was worth a cup of cold water.⁶⁹ So, as we said, the kingdom of heaven is worth as much as you have. Forty Gospel Homilies 5.2.⁷⁰

What Is Left Behind in Discipleship. Anonymous: Notice that Peter and Andrew are said to have left behind their nets, whereas James and John their father and a vessel. There are generally three things that each person who comes to Christ should leave behind: acts of the flesh, material goods, parents in the flesh. By leaving behind the fishing nets means leaving behind acts of the flesh; by leaving behind the vessel means material goods; by leaving behind their father, all parents. And notice that first they leave behind their nets, then their vessel and, third, their father. It is appropriate to leave behind worldly acts first, for they are particularly harmful to spiritual things. Second, worldly goods, for it is not as harmful to have something in the world as to do some act, though also to have is harmful. Last, one’s parents, for they too can be harmful, though less harmful than the riches and actions of this world. So they left behind their vessel, that they might become helmsmen of the church’s vessel; they left behind their nets, that they might no longer bring fish to the earthly city but people to the heavenly city; and they left behind a father, that they might become the parents of all spiritual beings. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 7.⁷¹

Jesus’ Healings Prophesied. Chromatius: Isaiah predicted this would happen when he said, “He himself took our infirmities and bore our sickness.” To this end the teacher of life and heavenly physician Christ the Lord had come that by his direction he might educate people to life and with his heavenly medicine cure the sickness of body and soul, that he might free bodies beset by the devil and restore those persons afflicted by various infirmities to true and complete health. By the word of divine power he cured the weaknesses of the body, but by the medicine of heavenly teaching he healed the wounds of the soul. David clearly noted that the wounds of the soul are healed by God alone when he said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,” to which he added, “who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.”¹ He is the true and perfect physician therefore who gives healing to the body and restores the soul to health: our Lord and Savior. Tractate on Matthew 16.4.²

Like a Devoted Doctor. Anonymous: He traveled throughout Galilee; like a devoted doctor he attended the seriously ill, dispensing suitable medicines for each and every ailment, because all those weak and suffering people could not come to the doctor. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 8.³