Chapters 15
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1 01 - Sermon 96 Lk 13:6-9 14:18
Commentary in the Gospel of Luke. Please visit LibriVox.org. Sermon Ninety-Six. Commentary in the Gospel of Luke. Sermons Ninety-Six through 110 by Cyril of Alexandria. Translated by R. Payne Smith. Sermon 96, Luke 13, 6-9. And he spake this parable. A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came out and sought fruit thereon, but found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Lo! three years indeed I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none. Cut it down therefore. Why doth it make the ground also barren? But he answered, and said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and dung it, and if it bear fruit in the coming year, well, and if not, thou shalt cut it down.
The psalmist shows the surpassing gentleness of Christ, the Saviour of us all, in these words. Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, Or the Son of Man, that thou visitest him. For man upon earth, as far as his bodily nature is concerned, is dust and ashes. But he has been honored by God, by having been made in his image and likeness, not in his bodily shape, that is, but rather because he is capable of being just and good, and fitted for all virtue. The Creator therefore takes care of Him as being His creature, and for the purpose of adorning the earth. For as the prophet Isaiah saith, He made it not in vain, but that it should be inhabited. Inhabited, of course, by a rational animal, who can discern with the eyes of the mind the Creator and Artificer of the universe, and glorify Him like the spirits that are above.
But because by the deceiving arts of the serpent he had turned aside unto wickedness, and was held fast by the chains of sin, and removed far from God, Christ, to enable him once again to mount upwards, had sought him out, and fashioned him anew to what he was at first, and granted him repentance as the pathway to lead him unto salvation. He proposes, therefore, a wise parable, but we ought perhaps first to explain what was the occasion which led to it, or what at all the necessity why he brought it forward. There were, therefore, certain who told Christ, the Savior of us all, that Pilate had put to death cruelly and without pity certain Galileans, and mingled their blood with their sacrifices.
and others that the tower near Shiloh had fallen, and eighteen persons perished beneath the ruins. And afterwards, referring to these things, Christ had said to his hearers, Verily I say unto you, Except ye repent, ye also shall in like manner perish. This was the head and root of the present parable, and that at which it was, as it were, aimed. Now, the outer sense of this passage needs not a single word for its explanation. But when we search into its inward and secret and unseen purport, it is, we affirm, as follows. The Israelites, after our Savior's crucifixion, were doomed to fall into the miseries they deserved, Jerusalem being captured, and its inhabitants slaughtered by the sword of the enemy.
Nor were they to perish thus only, but their houses were to be burnt with fire, and even the temple of God demolished. It is probable, therefore, that he likens the synagogue of the Jews to a fig-tree, for the sacred scripture also compares them to various plants, to the vine, for instance, and the olive, and even to a forest. For the prophet Jeremiah at one time says of Jerusalem, Or rather, of its inhabitants. Israel is a vine with many branches. And again at another, addressing it, he says, The Lord hath called thy name a beautiful olive tree, well shaded in appearance. At its pruning time a fire was kindled in it. Great was the tribulation that was upon it. Its branches were destroyed. And another of the holy prophets, comparing it to Mount Lebanon, thus speaks, Open thy doors, O Lebanon, and the fire shall devour thy cedars.
For the forest that was in Jerusalem, even the people there, many as they were and innumerable, was destroyed as by fire. He takes therefore, as I said, the fig-tree spoken of in the parable as a figure of the Jewish synagogue, that is, of the Israelites. And three years, he says, he sought fruit upon it, and found none. By which, I think, are signified to us those three periods during which the Jewish synagogue bore no fruit. The first of these, one may say, was that in which Moses and Aaron and his sons lived, who served God, holding the office of the priesthood according to the law. The second was the period of Jeshua, the son of Nun, and the judges who succeeded him, and the third, that in which the blessed prophets flourished down to the time of John the Baptist.
During these periods, Israel brought forth no fruit. But I can imagine persons making to this the following objection. But, lo, it did fulfill the service ordained by the law, and offered the sacrifices which consisted in the blood of victims and burning incense. But to this we reply, that in the writings of Moses there was only a type of the truth, and a gross and material service. There was not as yet a service simple, pure, and spiritual, such as we affirm God chiefly loves, having so learnt of Christ, who said, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. As far, therefore, as regarded the good will of the Father, And evidently that also of the sun, the service which consisted in shadows and types was unacceptable, being utterly without fruit in whatsoever appertains to a sweet spiritual savor.
And therefore it was rejected. For so the Savior teaches us, when saying to God the Father in heaven, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, and whole burnt offerings and sin offerings Thou didst not require. And again by the voice of Isaiah he saith himself to those who were seeking to fulfill it, For who hath required this at your hands? Tread my court no more. If ye bring fine meal, it is vain. Incense is an abomination unto me. How, therefore, can that which God hates and abominates be supposed to be the rational and spiritual fruit of the soul, and acceptable unto him? He says, therefore, Lo, three years do I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none. Cut it down, therefore. Why doth it make the ground also useless?
As though he would say, Let the place of this barren fig-tree be laid bare, for then there will come up, or may be planted there some other tree. And this, too, was done. For the multitude of the Gentiles was summoned into its room, and took possession of the inheritance of the Israelites. It became the people of God, the plant of Paradise, a germ good and honorable, and knoweth how to bring forth fruit, not in shadows and types, but rather by a pure and perfectly stainless surface, even that which is in spirit and in truth, as being offered to God, who is an immaterial being. The owner, then, of the ground, said that the fig-tree, which during so long a time had been barren and without fruit, must be cut down.
But the vinedresser, it says, besought him, saying, Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and dung it, and if it bear fruit in the coming year, well, and if not, thou shalt cut it down. Now it is necessary to inquire, who is to be understood by the vinedresser? If, then, anyone choose to affirm that it is an angel who was appointed by God as the guardian of the synagogue of the Jews, he would not miss a suitable interpretation. For we remember that the prophet Zechariah wrote that one of the holy angels stood offering supplications for Jerusalem, and saying, O Lord Almighty, How long wilt thou not have mercy upon Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah, which thou hast abandoned?
Lo, for seventy years. And it is written also in Exodus, that when the ruler of the land of the Egyptians with his warriors was pursuing after the Israelites, and was already upon the point of engaging with them in battle. The angel of God stood between the camp of the Israelites and of the Egyptians, and the one came not near the other all the night. There is therefore nothing unbefitting in supposing here also that the holy angel, who was the guardian of the synagogue, offered supplications in its behalf. And prayed for a respite, if, perchance yielding to better influence it, might yet bring forth fruit. But if any one should say that the vine-dresser is the Son, this view also has a reason on its side not unbefitting right arguments.
For He is our advocate with the Father, and our propitiation, and the husbandman of our souls. who pruneth away constantly whatever is to our hurt, and filleth us with rational and holy seeds, that so we may bring forth for him fruits. And so he spake of himself. A sower went out to sow his seed. And it in no respect militates against the glory of the Son that he assumes the character of the vine-dresser. For the Father is himself also found to have taken it, without being exposed to any blame for so doing. For the Son said to the holy apostles, I am the vine, ye are the branches, my Father is the husbandman. For the verbal expression must from time to time be made to accord with the suppositions which are laid down.
Let him therefore be supposed to be the advocate in our behalf. And he says, Let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and dung it. And what then is this year? But plainly this fourth year, this time subsequent to those former periods, is that in which the only begotten Word of God became man, to stir up like some husbandmen by spiritual exhortations the Israelites who had withered away in sin, Digging round them, and warming them, to make them fervent in spirit. For he repeatedly denounced against them destruction and ruin, wars and slaughters, burnings and captivities, and imitical wrath. While, on the other hand, he promised, if they would believe on him, and now at length become fruitful trees, that he would give them life and glory, the grace of adoption.
The communion of the Holy Ghost and the kingdom of heaven. But Israel was incapable of being taught even thus. It was still a barren fig-tree, and continued so to be. It was cut down, therefore, that it might not make the ground useless, and in its stead there sprung up, as a fertile plant, the Gentile church. Beautiful and fruit-bearing, deeply rooted, and incapable of being shaken. For they have been counted as children unto Abraham, and have been engrafted into the good olive tree. For a root has been preserved, and Israel has not utterly perished. But that it was doomed to be cut down on account of its utter barrenness, the blessed John the Baptist also declared in these words. Behold, the axe is laid at the root of the trees.
Every tree, therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire. And one of the holy prophets also.
TEXT MISSING End of Sermon 96
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2 02 - Sermon 97 Lk 13:11-17 14:19
Sermon 97, Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by R. Payne Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 13, 11. Behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. Now there was in the synagogue a woman who for eighteen years was bowed down by infirmity, and her case may prove of no little benefit to those who have understanding, for we must gather what is to our advantage from every quarter. Since by what happened to her, we may see that Satan often receives authority over certain persons, such, namely, as fall into sin, and have grown lax in their efforts after piety. Whomsoever, therefore, he gets into his power, he involves, it may be, in bodily diseases, since he delights in punishment and is merciless.
And the opportunity for this the all-seeing God most wisely grants him, that, being sore vexed by the burden of their misery, men may set themselves upon changing to a better course. For which reason St. Paul also delivered over to Satan a certain person at Corinth accused of fornication, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved. The woman, therefore, who is bowed down, is said to have suffered from this cruelty of the devil, according to our Master's words, whom Satan hath bound for eighteen years. God, as I said, so permitting it, either for her own sins, or rather by the operation of a universal and general law. For the accursed Satan is the cause of disease to the bodies of men, inasmuch as Adam's transgression was, we affirm, his doing, and by means of it our human frames have become liable to infirmity and decay.
But when this was the state of men, God, who by his very nature is good, did not abandon us when suffering under the punishment of a protracted and incurable malady, but freed us from our bonds, revealing as the glorious remedy for the sufferings of mankind his own presence and manifestation in the world. For he came to fashion our state again to what it was originally. For God, as it is written, made not death, neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living. For he created all things that they might have their being, and healthful were the generations of the world, and there is in them no poison of destruction. But by the envy of the devil death entered into the world. The incarnation of the Word and his assumption of human nature took place for the overthrow of death and destruction, and of that envy nourished against us by the wicked serpent, who was the first cause of evil, and this is plainly proved to us by facts themselves.
And so he set free the daughter of Abraham from her protracted sickness, calling out and saying, Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmity. A speech most worthy of God, and full of supernatural power. For with the kingly inclination of his will he drives away the disease, and he also lays his hands upon her, and immediately, it says, she was made straight. And hence, too, it is possible to see that his holy flesh bore in it the power and activity of God. For it was his own flesh, And not that of some other son beside him, distinct and separate from him, as some most impiously imagine. Verse 14. And the ruler of the synagogue answered, being indignant, that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, etc.
And yet how ought he not rather to have wondered at Christ having freed from her bonds this daughter of Abraham? Thou hast seen her unexpectedly delivered from her misfortune. Thou wast an eye-witness that the physician prayed not, nor received as a boon from another the healing of the sick woman, but that he wrought it as a deed of power. As being the ruler of a synagogue, thou knowest, I suppose, the writings of Moses. Thou sawest him praying upon every occasion, and working nothing whatsoever by his own power. For when Mariam was struck with leprosy, for having merely spoken something against him in the way of reproach, and that true, for he had taken, she says, unto himself an Ethiopian wife, Moses could not overcome the disease, but on the contrary fell down before God, saying, O God, I beseech thee, heal her.
And not even so, though he besought it, was the penalty of her sins remitted her. And each one of the holy prophets, if anywhere at all they wrought any miracle, is seen to have done it by the power of God. But here observe, I pray, that Christ, the Saviour of all, offers no prayer. But refers the accomplishment of the matter to his own power, healing her by a word and the touch of the hand. For, being Lord and God, he manifested his own flesh as of equal efficacy with himself for the deliverance of men from their diseases. And hence it was intended that men should understand the purport of the mystery concerning him. Had, therefore, the ruler of the synagogue been a man of understanding, he would have perceived who and how great the Savior was from so wonderful a miracle.
Nor would he have talked in the same ignorant manner as the multitudes, nor have accused those occupied with healing of a breach of the law respecting the traditional abstinence from labor on the Sabbath day. But plainly to heal is to labor. Is the law then broken, when God chose mercy even on the sabbath day? Whom did he command to desist from labor? Himself? Or was it not rather thee? If himself let his providence over us cease on the sabbath. Let the sun rest from his daily course. Let the rains not fall. Let the springs of waters, and the streams of ever-flowing rivers, and the winds be still. But if He commanded thee to rest, blame not God, because with power He has shown mercy on any even on the Sabbath.
And why did He command men at all to rest upon the Sabbath? It was, thou art told, that thy manservant, and thy ox, and thy horse, and all thy cattle might rest. When therefore he gives men rest by freeing them from their diseases, and thou forbiddest it, plainly thou breakest the law of the Sabbath, in not permitting those to rest who are suffering under sickness and disease, and whom Satan had bound. But the ruler of the unthankful synagogue, when he saw the woman whose limbs were crippled, and her body bent and crooked even to the ground, receiving mercy from Christ, and made perfectly upright by the touch alone of his hand, And walking with that erect gait which becometh man, and magnifying God for her deliverance, is vexed thereat, and burning with rage against the glory of the Lord, is entangled in envy, and calumniates the miracle.
Nevertheless he passes by our Lord, who would have exposed his hypocrisy, and rebukes the multitudes, that his indignation might seem to be aroused for the sake of the Sabbath day. But his object really was to prevail upon those who were dispersed throughout the week, and occupied with their labors, not to be spectators and admirers of the miracles of the Lord upon the Sabbath, lest ever they also should believe. But tell me, O thou slave of envy, what kind of work did the law forbid in commanding thee to abstain on the Sabbath day from all manual labor? Does it forbid the labor of the mouth and speaking? Abstain, then, from eating and drinking, and conversing, and singing psalms on the Sabbath.
But if thou abstainest from these things, and dost not even read the law, what good is the Sabbath to thee? If, however, thou confinest the prohibition to manual labor, how is the healing of a woman by a word a manual labor? But if thou callest it an act because the woman was actually healed, thou also performest an act in blaming her healing. But, says he, he said, thou art loosed from thy infirmity, and she is loosed. Well, dost not thou also unloose thy girdle on the Sabbath? dost not thou put off thy shoes, and make thy bed? And cleanse thy hands when dirtied with eating. Why, then, art thou so angry at the single word, thou art loosed? And at what work did the woman labor after the word was spoken?
Did she set about the craft of the brazier, or the carpenter, or the mason? Did she that very day begin weaving or working at the loom? No, she was made straight, he says. It was the healing absolutely that is a labor. But, no, thou art not really angry on account of the Sabbath, but because thou seest Christ honored and worshipped as God, thou art frantic and choked with rage, and pinest with envy. Thou hast one thing concealed in thy heart, and professest and makest pretext of another. For which reason thou art most excellently convicted by the Lord, who knoweth thy vain reasonings, and receivest the title which befits thee, in being called a hypocrite, and dissembler, and insincere? Verse 15.
Thou hypocrite, does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? Thou wonderest, he says, at me, who have loosed a daughter of Abraham, and yet thou givest rest to thy ox and thy ass, loosing them from their labors, and leading them away to watering. But when a human being suffering from sickness is marvelously healed, and God has shown mercy, thou blamest both as transgressors. The one for having healed And the other for being delivered from her malady. Behold, I pray, the ruler of the synagogue, how a human being is of less account in his sight than a beast, since at least he counts his ox and his ass worthy of care on the Sabbath.
But in his envy would not have Christ deliver from her infirmity the woman who was bowed together, nor wishes her to recover her natural form. But the envious ruler of the synagogue would have preferred the woman who is made straight to be bowed down after the manner of four-footed beast, rather than that she should recover the form fitting for man, having no other view than that Christ might not be magnified, nor be proclaimed as God by his deeds. But he is convicted of being a hypocrite. If at least he leads his dumb cattle upon the sabbath to watering, but is indignant that this woman, who was a daughter of Abraham by descent, and still more by her faith, should be freed from the chain of her infirmity, for he considers her deliverance from sickness as a transgression of the sabbath.
Verse 17. All his adversaries were ashamed. Shame fell, then, on those who had uttered these corrupt opinions, who had stumbled against the chief cornerstone and been broken, who had resisted the physician, who had clashed against the wise potter when busied in straightening his crooked vessels. And there was no reply which they could make. They had unanswerably convicted themselves, and were put to silence, and in doubt what they should say. So had the Lord closed their audacious mouth. But the multitudes, who reaped the benefit of the miracles, were glad, for the glory and splendor of his works solved all inquiry and doubt in those who sought him without malice.
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3 03 - Sermon 98 Lk 13:19-21 8:44
Sermon Ninety-eight. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. Sermons Ninety-six through one hundred ten by Cyril of Alexandria. Translated by R. Payne Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 13, 19-21. It is like a grain of mustard seed. The comparison is an excellent one, and most fit to set before them what took place And happened at the divine and sacred preaching of the gospel, to which he here gives the name of the kingdom of heaven, because it is through it that we gain the right of sharing Christ's kingdom. At first, then, it was addressed to few persons, and within a narrow range, but afterwards it widened its influence and spread abroad unto all nations. For at first it was spoken in Judea only.
where also the blessed disciples were very few in number. But when Israel disobeyed, the commandment was given to the holy apostles, having gone to make disciples of all the nations, etc. As therefore a grain of mustard seed is far inferior in size to the seeds of other plants, but shoots up to a great height, far beyond what is usual among herbs. So as for it even to become the lodging of many sparrows, so also the kingdom of heaven, even the new and sacred preaching of salvation, by which we are guided into every good work, and learn him who both by nature and verily is God. Being at first addressed to but few persons, and as it were small and limited, shot up afterwards into rapid growth, and became the refuge of those who fled to it for shelter, and who may be compared to sparrows, because human things are but of small measure in comparison with God.
The Law of Moses was given to the Israelites. But, inasmuch as the inhabitants of earth could not be saved by the shadow which alone it contained, and its material service, as a necessary consequence the saving preaching of the gospel sprang up, and is spread abroad unto all under heaven. And this, the letter of the Mosaic Law, has signified to us in an enigma, for it runs thus. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt make unto thyself two trumpets of beaten metal, of silver shalt thou make them, and they shall be unto thee to call the synagogue together, and to move the camp. And soon afterwards, And the priests, the sons of Aaron, shall sound the trumpets, and it shall be a perpetual law for your generations.
By this, then, thou art intended to understand both the preparatory training of the law and the perfectness attained to in Christ by the gospel mode of life, and the teaching which surpasses shadows and types. The law, then, is a trumpet, and equally so is the saving preaching of the gospel. For by this name does the prophet Isaiah also make mention of it, saying, And it shall come to pass on that day that they will sound with the great trumpet. For in very deed a great trumpet sounded forth by the voice of the holy apostles, not setting at naught the first trumpet, but containing it also within it. For they ever prove what they say concerning Christ by the law and the prophets, making use of the testimonies of older times.
There were then two trumpets made of beaten silver, in which the silver signifies splendor. For every word of God is glorious, having in it none of the darkness of the world. And the hammering out of the metal showed that the sacred and divine trumpet, that is, both the old and new preaching, would advance and grow onward. For that which is hammered out advances as it were continually onward, and extends in breadth and length. For at Christ rising for the inhabitants of the earth, both the ancient law was to advance unto its spiritual interpretation. For so we preach it who have attained unto spiritual illumination in Christ. And the message of the gospel was to spread until it embraced the whole world.
And to the priest the law gave the use of the trumpets to command the people. But Christ gave the ministers of the new proclamations, by whom are meant the holy apostles, the command to preach him and his precepts. For they proclaim his mystery, using as it were two trumpets, both preaching him as having been from the beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, and adding, In confirmation of their words, the true testimonies of the law and the prophets. And it is no difficult thing to see that the message of the gospel preaching, being small at first, was soon to leap forth as it were unto great increase, inasmuch as God had foretold of it by the voice of Isaiah, that the whole earth has been filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the deep waters that cover the seas.
For the preaching of salvation is everywhere poured forth like a sea, and its onward course is irresistible. And this, too, the God of all clearly told us by the voice of the prophet. And judgment shall roll as the waters, and righteousness as an impassable flood. For he gives the names of judgment and righteousness to the gospel message. and grants us the assurance that it shall roll over the world like waters and as a flood, whose rushing streams, as it violently pours along, no man can stay. And the same method of explanation will hold good of the kingdom of God being also compared unto leaven, for the leaven is small in quantity, Yet forthwith it seizes upon the whole mass, and quickly communicates to it its own properties.
And the word of God operates in us in a similar manner. For when admitted within us, it makes us holy and without blame, and pervading our mind and heart, it renders us spiritual, that, as Paul says, Our whole body and spirit and soul may be kept blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that the divine word is poured out even into the depth of our understanding, the God of all clearly shows, where he says by one of the holy prophets, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I will accomplish upon the house of Israel and upon the house of Judah a new covenant. Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, because they have not continued in my covenant, and I have also rejected them, saith the Lord.
But this is the covenant which I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind, and will write them on their hearts. We receive, therefore, the rational and divine leaven in our mind and understanding, that by this precious and holy and pure leaven we may be found spiritually unleavened, as having in us none of the wickedness of the world, but being rather pure and holy and partakers of Christ, by whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost. For ever and ever. Amen.
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4 04 - Sermon 99 Lk 13:22-30 13:40
Sermon 99 Commentary in the Gospel of Luke Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria Translated by R. Payne Smith This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 13 22-30 And he went about among the cities and villages teaching, and journeyed towards Jerusalem. And one said unto him, Lord, Are they few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the straight door, for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, directly that the master of the house ariseth, and shutteth the door. And ye begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open unto us. And he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are. Then ye will begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
And he will say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves cast out. And they shall come from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, and shall sit down to meet in the kingdom of God. And lo! there are last that shall be first, and first that shall be last. A ship is guided to the right port by means of the helm, but the word of God piloteth the soul of man, and leadeth him without risk of error to everything that is necessary for salvation. For so spake one of the holy prophets, Take with you words, even those which are inspired by the Holy Ghost.
For no man of sense will say that it means the words of the wise of this world. For their words lead men unto the pit of destruction, by bringing polytheism into the world, and by inciting unto carnal pleasure, and to the desire of the world's vain distractions. But the words of God point out the pathway to a better life, and beget in us an earnestness which makes us cheerfully advance unto the duty of performing all those things, by means of which we are made partakers of eternal life. Let us listen therefore to the Savior's words which he addressed unto those who wanted to learn, whether they be few who are saved. And to whom the Savior answered, Strive to enter in by the straight door. Now this reply may seem perhaps to wander from the scope of the question, for the man wanted to learn whether they be few who are saved.
But he described unto him the way whereby he might be saved himself, saying, Strive to enter in by the straight door. What reply, then, do we make to this objection? We answer as follows, that it was the custom of our common Saviour Christ to meet his questioners, not, of course, according to what might seem good to them, but as having regard to what was useful and necessary for his hearers. And this he especially did when any one wanted to learn what was superfluous and unedifying. For what good was there in wishing to learn, whether there be many or few that be saved? What benefit resulted from it to the hearers? On the contrary, it was a necessary and valuable thing to know in what way a man may attain to salvation.
He is purposely silent, therefore, with respect to the useless question which had been asked him, but proceeds to speak of what was essential, namely, of the knowledge necessary for the performance of those duties by which men can enter in at the straight and narrow door. For this he has also taught us in another place, saying, Enter in at the straight door. For wide is the door, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that go in thereby. For straight is the door, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. Now I consider it my duty to mention why the door is narrow through which a man goeth unto life. Whosoever then would enter must of necessity first before everything else, Possess an upright and uncorrupted faith.
And secondly, a spotless morality, in which is no possibility of blame according to the measure of human righteousness. For so the prophet David also somewhere says, very excellently framing his supplications unto God. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my innocency requite me. For the innocency and righteousness of the holy angels, being in proportion to their nature and glory, is entirely distinct from that which belongs to the inhabitants of the earth, for theirs is of a lower kind, and inferior in every respect, just as they are inferior to them also in nature. Nevertheless, those who wish to live holily cannot do so without labor. For constantly, so to speak, the pathway that leadeth unto virtue is rugged and steep, and for most men too difficult to walk upon.
For labours spring up before us, and we have need altogether of fortitude and patience, and nobleness of conduct. Yea, moreover, and of a mind that cannot be prevailed upon dissolutely to take part in base pleasures, or to be led by irrational impulses into carnal lust. He who has attained unto this in mind and spiritual fortitude will enter easily by the straight door, and run along the narrow way. For it is written, that, By labors a man laboreth for himself, and violently gaineth the mastery over his destruction. Thou hearest how the Prophet plainly saith, that he gaineth the mastery over his destruction by violence. For as the Lord himself again said, The kingdom of heaven is gained by violence, and the violent sees it.
For wide is the door, and broad the way that bringeth down many to destruction. And what are we to understand by its broadness? It means an unrestrained tendency to carnal lust, A base and pleasure-loving life, luxurious feastings and revelings and banquetings, and unresisted inclinations unto everything which is condemned by the law and displacing to God, a stiff-necked mind that will not bow to the yoke of the law, a life accursed and relaxed in all dissoluteness. Thrusting from it the divine law, and utterly unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth and the vices that spring from it, scorn and pride, and the vain imagining of transitory boastings. From all such things must those withdraw who would enter in by the straight door, and be with Christ, and keep festival with Him.
And that such as are not thus minded cannot walk upon this way he showed at once by a plain example. For those who were too late, and so to say, did not arrive at the feast, their lot was to be at once rejected. For when, he says, the master of the house entereth in, and shutteth the door, and they begin to say from without, Lord, open to us. He will say, I know you not whence ye are. For in the character, as it were, of some householder, who has gathered many of his neighbors to his house and table, and has afterwards entered in with his guest and closed the door, he says that those who subsequently knock shall have for answer, I know you not whence ye are. And though, he says, ye importune, saying, We have eaten before thee and drunk, and thou hast taught in our streets.
Ye shall hear none the less, I know you not whence ye are. Depart far from me, all ye workers of iniquity. For the light has no communion at all with the darkness, nor can any one be near unto the perfectly pure God, who is held by the pollutions of sin, and whose stain is not yet washed away. We must, however, next inquire who we are to understand by those who say unto Christ, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. Such an assertion, then, would suit the Israelites, to whom also Christ said, Ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast out. But how, then, were the eating and drinking before God?
I answer, by performing the service enacted in the law. For when offering unto God sacrifices by the shedding of blood, they ate and made merry. And they heard also in their synagogues the writings of Moses, interpreting God's messages. For constantly he prefaced his words with, Thus saith the Lord. These, then, are they who say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But the worshipping by the shedding of blood is not sufficient for justification, nor verily does a man wash away his sins by having become a hearer of the divine laws, if he does nothing of what has been commanded. And in another way, as long as they refuse to accept the faith which justifieth the wicked, Nor would follow the Evangelic commands, by means of which it is possible to practice the excellent and elect life.
How could they enter the kingdom of God? The type therefore profiteth not, for it justifieth no man, and it is a thing impossible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sins. With the above named, Thou mayest number certain others also, as able to say to the Judge of all, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. And who again are these? Many have believed in Christ, and celebrate the holy festivals in his honor. And frequenting the churches, they also hear the doctrines of the Gospel. But they lay up in their mind of the truths of Scripture, Absolutely nothing. And it is with difficulty that the practice of virtue is brought with them even to this extent, while of spiritual fruitfulness their heart is quite bare.
These two shall weep bitterly, and gnash their teeth, for the Lord shall deny them also. For He has said that, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. But that the Jews were about to fall utterly from their rank of being in a spiritual sense his household, and that the multitude of the Gentiles should enter in their stead, he showed by saying, that there shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, many who received the call, And shall rest with the saints. But they shall be driven away. And whereas they once had the first rank, they shall now take the second, by reason of others being preferred before them.
Which also happened. For the Gentiles have been honored far above the Jewish herd. For it was guilty both of disobedience and of the murder of the Lord. But they honored the faith that is in Christ. By whom and with whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
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5 05 - Sermon 100 Lk 13:31-35 15:58
Sermon 100, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by Arpan Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 13, 31-35 That same hour there drew near certain Pharisees, saying unto him, Depart, and go hence, for Herod desireth to kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell this fox. Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to-morrow, and on the third I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day and to-morrow, and the day afterward, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem! that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her. How often would I have gathered thy children, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.
The Pharisee crew, was always, so to speak, wicked and designing, and eager for fraud, gnashing their teeth at Christ, whenever he was regarded with admiration, and with their heart consumed by the fire of envy. And yet how was it not rather their duty, as being the people's guides, and set over the ordinary multitude, to lead them on under the confession of Christ's glory? as being the purpose both of the enactment of the law and of the preaching of the holy prophets. But this in their great wickedness they did not do. Yea, rather in every way they resisted him, and provoked him incessantly to anger. And therefore Christ said unto them, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, Ye enter not in yourselves, and those that were entering ye have hindered.
For one can see that they had fallen into such a state of malice, and into a disposition so contrary to the love of God, that they were not willing for him even to dwell in Jerusalem, Lest He should benefit men, partly by filling them with wonder at His divine miracles, and partly by shedding upon them the light of the accurate vision of God by means of the teaching of truths superior to those of the law. Such are the thoughts to which we are here led by the purport of the lessons now said before us. For in that same hour, it says, certain Pharisees drew near, And said unto him, Depart, and go hence, for Herod desireth to kill thee. Come, then, and let us fix the scrutinizing eye of the mind on what is here said by them.
Let us accurately examine which of the two is the case, whether the speakers are to be reckoned among those who love him, or among those who would oppose him. But, as it appears, there is no difficulty whatsoever in perceiving that they were his thorough opponents. For Christ, for instance, raised the dead from the grave, employing therein a power such as belongs to God. For he cried, Lazarus, come forth. And to the widow's son, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. But they made the miracle food for their envy, and even said, when gathered together, What do we, because this man doeth many miracles? If we thus leave him alone, the Romans will come and take away our people and our land. And then, even then, it was that Caiaphas, planning wicked murder against him, said, As for you, Ye know nothing at all that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and not that the whole people perish.
And they resisted him also in other ways, at one time treating him with scorn, and mocking his miraculous power, and venturing even to accuse his godlike authority, saying that whatever was done was wrought by the help of Beelzebub. and at another even endeavoring to give him up to Caesar's satellites. For as though he prohibited the Israelites from paying tax unto Caesar, they drew near to him in treachery and guile, saying, Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? Can those then who laid for him all kinds of snares, who, in their audacity and hardihood, did not even abstain from murder, Who, being cunning for wickedness, attacked him with remorseless violence, and readily practiced all such arts as those do who hate utterly?
How, I say, can such be reckoned among those who love him? Why, then, did they draw near, saying, Depart hence, for Herod wishes to kill thee? And what object had they in so doing? The evangelist tells us this by saying, That same hour they drew near to him. And what is the meaning of this carefulness of language? Why was there this exactitude? Or what hour does he mean is that in which the Pharisees said these things to Jesus? He was occupied in teaching the Jewish multitudes when someone asked him whether there be many that are saved. He passed by the question, however, as unprofitable, and turning to that which was fitting for him to tell, the way, namely, by which men must walk to become heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
For he said, Strive to enter in at the straight door, and told them that if they refuse so to do, they will see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and themselves cast out. And he added thereunto, that, whereas they had been the first, they should be the last, upon the calling namely of the heathen. These remarks goaded the mind of the Pharisees unto anger. They saw the multitudes already repenting, and receiving with eagerness faith in him, And that they needed now but a little more instruction to learn his glory and the great and adorable mystery of the Incarnation. As being likely, therefore, to lose their office of being chiefs of the people, and as already fallen and expelled from their authority over them, and deprived of their profits, for they were fond of wealth and covetous, and given to lucre.
They made the pretence of loving him, and even drew near, and said, Depart, and go hence, for Herod desireth to kill thee. But, O stony-hearted Pharisee, hadst thou been wise? Hadst thou been well acquainted with the law of the most wise Moses? Hadst thou really fixed thy mind upon the declarations of the holy prophets? It could not have escaped thee that there was no possibility of thy being undetected in feigning a false show of affection, while thy mind was full of gall. He was not a mere man, and one of those like unto us, and so liable to deception. But God in our likeness, God, who understandeth everything, and knoweth secrets, as it is written, And trieth the hearts and reins, to whom all things are naked and spread open, and from whom nothing is hid.
But thou knewest not this precious and mighty mystery. Thou thoughtest that thou couldest deceive even him who saith, Who is this that hideth from me his mind, and shutteth up words in his heart, and thinketh that from me he hideth them? What, then, does Christ answer to these things? He replied to them gently, and with his meaning veiled, as was his wont. Go and tell, he says, this fox. Attend closely to the force of the expression, for the words used seem forsooth to be directed, and to have regard, as it were, to the person of Herod. But they really rather refer to the craftiness of the Pharisees. For while he would naturally have said, Tell that fox, he does not do so, but using very skillfully a middle sort of expression, he, so to speak, pointed to the Pharisee, who was close beside him, and said, This fox.
And he compares the man to a fox, for it is constantly a very crafty animal, and, if I may so speak, malicious, such as were the Pharisees. But what did he bid them say? Behold, I cast out devils, and do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third I shall be perfected. Thou seest that he declares his intention of performing what he knew would grieve the troop of Pharisees. For they drive him from Jerusalem, lest by the display of miracles he should win many unto faith in him. But inasmuch as their purpose herein did not escape Him as being God, He declares His intention of performing what they hated, and says that He shall also rebuke unclean spirits, and deliver the sick from their sufferings, and be perfected.
Which means that of His own will He would endure the passion upon the cross for the salvation of the world. He knew, therefore, as it appears, Both how and when he would endure death in the flesh. The Pharisees, however, imagined that the power of Herod would terrify him, and humble him unto mean fears, although he is Lord of powers, and begets in us spiritual bravery by his words. Fear not them who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. And that he too makes no account of the violence of men, he showed, saying, But I must walk to-day and to-morrow and the day after. And in saying, I must, he does not imply that an inevitable necessity, so to speak, was laid upon him, but rather that by the power of his own will, freely and without danger, he would go wherever he chose, and traversed Judea without any one opposing him or plotting him ill, until of his own accord he received his consummation upon the precious cross.
Let not, therefore, those murderers of the Lord pride themselves or superciliously vaunt themselves against him. Thou didst not win a victory over one who fled from suffering. Thou didst not seize one unwilling. Thou didst not prevail over one who refused to be caught in the meshes of thy craftiness. Of his own will he consented to suffer, as being well assured that by the death of his flesh he would abolish death, and return again to life. For he arose from the dead, having raised up with him the whole nature of man, and having fashioned it anew unto the life incorruptible. But he shows that Jerusalem is guilty of the blood of many saints, declaring that it is not possible for a prophet to perish out of her.
And what follows from this? That they were about to fall from being members of God's spiritual family, that they were about to be rejected from the hope of the saints, and entirely deprived of the inheritance of those blessings which are in store for them who have been saved by faith. For that they were forgetful of God's gifts, and intractable, and slothful unto everything that might have profited them, he showed, saying, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her. How often would I have gathered thy sons, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is abandoned unto you. For he taught them by the most wise Moses, and ordained for them the law to direct them in their conduct, and be their ruler and guide in the life worthy of admiration.
and which, though it was but as yet in shadows, nevertheless possessed the type of the true worship. He admonished them by the holy prophets. He would have had them under his wings, under the protection, that is, of his power. But they lost blessings thus valuable by being evil-disposed, and ungrateful, and despisers. But, saith he, Ye shall not see me henceforth, until ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And what again is this? The Lord withdrew from Jerusalem, and left as unworthy of his presence those who said, Depart, and go hence. And afterwards, having traversed Judea, and saved many, and performed miracles which no words can adequately describe, he returned again to Jerusalem.
And then it was, even then, that he sat upon a foal and an ass, while vast multitudes and young children, holding up brantise of palm trees, went before him, praising him, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Having left them therefore as being unworthy, he says that he will then barely be seen by them when the time of his passion has arrived. For then again he went up to Jerusalem, and entered amid praises, and at that very time endured a saving passion in our behalf, that by suffering he might save. And renew unto incorruption the inhabitants of the earth. For God the Father has saved us by Christ. By whom and with whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever.
Amen.
End of Sermon 100
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6 06 - Sermon 101 Lk 14:1-6 11:47
Sermon 101, Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by R. Payne Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 14, 1-6. And it came to pass, when he had gone into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath day to eat bread, That they watched him. And behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. And Jesus answered and speak unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, or no? And they were silent. And he took him and healed him, and sent him away. And he answered them, saying, Which of you shall have a son or an ox? fall into a pit, and will not immediately draw him out on the Sabbath day.
And they could not return him an answer to these things. Again, the Lord worketh miracles, and, exercising a divine and supreme power, performs his accustomed acts, and manifests his glory. He benefits, then, in more ways than one, the intractable and contentious Pharisee. For just as maladies of more than usual violence will not yield to the skill of physicians, but require the main force of persons of blunter feelings, so also the human mind, that has turned aside to wickedness, rejects all that could benefit it, directly that it has once become the victim of an uncontrollable tendency to disobedience. Being brought into this state by unreproved departures from the right path. And that this is undeniably true, anyone may see who will give his attention to the lessons here set before us.
For a Pharisee, of higher rank than usual, invited Jesus to a banquet, and he, although he knew their malice, went with him, and dined in their company. And he submitted to this act of condescension, not to honor his inviter, but rather to benefit those in whose company he was, by such words and miraculous deeds as might lead them to the acknowledgment of the true service, even that which is taught us by the Gospel. For he knew that even against their will he would make them eyewitnesses both of his power and of his more than human glory. If, perchance, even so, they might believe that he is God, and the Son of God, who assumed indeed our likeness, but continued unchanged, nor ceased to be that which he had been.
He became the guest, then, of his inviters, to fulfill, as I said, a necessary duty. But they, it says, watched him. And for what reason did they watch him, and on what account? To see forsooth whether he would disregard the honor due to the law, and so do something or other forbidden on the sabbath day. But, O senseless Jew, understand that the law was a shadow and type waiting for the truth, and the truth was Christ and his commandments. Why then dost thou arm the type against the truth? Why settest thou the shadow in array against the spiritual interpretation? Keep thy sabbath rationally. But if thou wilt not consent so to do, then art thou cut off from that sabbath-keeping which is well pleasing to God, and knowest not the true rest which he requires of us who of old spake the law of Moses.
Let us cease from our sins. Let us rest from our offenses. Let us wash away our stains. Let us abandon the impure love of the flesh. Let us flee far from covetousness and extortion, and from disgraceful gains and the love of lucre. Let us first gather provisions for our souls on the way, the meat that will suffice us in the world to come. And let us apply ourselves to holy works, thereby keeping the Sabbath rationally. Those whose office it was to minister among you according to the law used to offer unto God the appointed sacrifices, even upon the Sabbath. They slew the victims in the temple, and performed those acts of service which were laid upon them. And no man rebuked them, and the law itself was silent.
It did not therefore forbid men ministering upon the Sabbath. This, then, was a type for us, for, as I said, it is our duty, keeping the Sabbath in a rational manner, to please God by a sweet spiritual savour. And, as I have already before said, we render this when ceasing from sins, We offer unto God as a sacred oblation a life holy and worthy of admiration, steadily advancing unto all virtue. For this is the spiritual sacrifice well pleasing unto God. But if, having naught of this in thy mind, thou cleavest solely to the grossness of the legal scripture, abandoning the truth as something thou canst not attain to, Listen unto God, who tells thee by the voice of the prophet Isaiah. The heart of this people is waxed gross.
Their eyes they have closed, and made their ears heavy, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. For how were not they, heavy and without understanding, and of a mind past helping, who, when they might have perceived that he was the Christ by his teaching being superior to the law, and by the wonderful works that he wrought, were obdurate and regarded only their own preconceived idea of what was right, or rather that only which brought them down to the pit of destruction, But what was the miracle of which they were spectators? There was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. The Lord, therefore, asks the lawyers and Pharisees whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day or not.
But they, it says, were silent. But why, O lawyer, wast thou silent? Quote something from the Scriptures. Show that the law of Moses ever blamed the doing good on the Sabbath. Prove to us that it wishes us to be hard-hearted and unmerciful because of the rest for our bodies, that it forbids kindness in order that we may honor the Sabbath. But this thou canst not prove from any part of it. and as they were silent from malice, Christ refutes their immitigable shamelessness by the convincing arguments which he uses. For whose son of you, he says, or whose ox shall fall into a pit, and he will not immediately draw him out on the sabbath-day? If the law forbids the showing of mercy on the sabbath, why dost thou thyself take compassion on that which has fallen into the pit.
Trouble not thyself about thy son's danger upon the Sabbath. Rebuke the sting of natural affection which incites thee to feel a father's love. Commit thy child with joy to the grave, that thou mayest honour the giver of the law, as knowing that he is harsh and unmerciful. Let thy friend be in danger, but pay not thou the slightest heed thereto. Nay, though thou hearest a young child weeping, and asking for help, say to it, Die, such is the will of the law. But thou wilt not assent to such reasonings. Thou wilt stretch out thy hand to one who is distressed, esteeming him of more account than the honor due to the law, or rather than a senseless rest, Even if thou wilt not as yet acknowledge that the Sabbath ought to be kept in a spiritual manner.
The God of all ceaseth not to be kind. He is good and loving unto men. He instituted not the law of Moses as the mediator of harshness, nor appointed it as a teacher of cruelty, but rather to lead thee on to the love of thy neighbor. How then was it fitting that a commandment thus venerable and worthy of admiration should by the will of God lose its force upon the Sabbath day. Why, therefore, wast thou silent, O lawyer? Confessedly, because thou hast nothing to say. For the force of truth is something great and invincible, able to confound the envious mind and to muzzle the fault-finding tongue. Paying then no further heed to the envyings of the Jews, he delivers from his malady the man afflicted with the dropsy, and tyrannized over by an incurable disease.
Thou hast seen, O Jew, the miracle. Extol then the worker of it. Understand his might and the gloriousness of his dominion. Acknowledge that he is God. Offer him thy faith. Be not obdurate. But, as the prophet Jeremiah says, this discrepancy is noted in the margin, which says, this text is found in Joel.
Rend your hearts, and not your garments. Expand thy mind. Open the eye of thine heart. Understand that the acts which he works are those of deity, even though in appearance he be a man like unto us. Recognize therefore him who for our sakes bore our likeness, but even so was far above us, or rather far above all creation, by his ineffable generation from God the Father. For he is the Son of him who transcends all. But though he was Lord, he took the form of the slave, that he might make the slave like unto himself. Yet he did not cease to be God, but remains the same, whom angels worship, and principalities, and thrones, and lordships. The Settaphim praise him, and let us also serve him in faith, mounting upward by his aid to the lot of the saints.
By whom and with whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
End of Sermon 101
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7 07 - Sermon 102 Lk 14:7-11 9:42
Sermon 102 Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by R. Payne Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 14, 7-11 And he spake a parable unto them, which were bidden, preventing how they chose the foremost seats, saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any one, seat not thyself at the head of the seat, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. And when he that bade thee unto him cometh, he say unto thee, Give this man place. And then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art bidden, go seat thyself in the lowest place, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher.
Then shalt thou have honor before all who sit with thee at meet. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Never does the Saviour cease from doing some act or other replete with benefit, guiding by admonitions and counsels all who draw near unto him into propriety of conduct, and teaching them that sobriety which becometh saints, that, as Paul says, the man of God may be perfect, complete unto every good work. Seizing therefore every opportunity, however slight, for his words he wove for us admonitions well worthy of our attention, therein resembling an act of husbandman. For whatsoever is liable to blame and reprehension, and covers with utter infamy those who were guilty of it, this he cuts away from our minds, and plants, so to speak, every fruit of virtue.
For we, as Scripture says, are God's husbandry. What benefit, then, he has hereto discovered for us, we learn from the passage now read. For he was dining on the Sabbath day with one of the Pharisees, at his special request. And his purpose in so doing and motive we explained unto you when last we met together. But inasmuch as he saw certain of those who were invited foolishly seizing the uppermost seats as a thing of importance, And worth the taking, and that they were eager after vainglory, for the benefit both of them and us, he utters an urgent warning, saying, When thou art bidden of any one, seat not thyself at the head of the seat, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. And when he that bade thee and him cometh, he say unto thee, Give this man place, and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place.
Now such things may seem perchance to some to be but trifling matters, and not worthy of much attention. But when any one fixes upon them the eye of his mind, he will then learn from what blame they deliver a man, and how great orderliness they produce in him. For in the first place, to hurry inconsiderately after honors neither suitable nor due to us shows us to be foolish. Rude and arrogant, seizing what is not fitting for us, but for others rather, who are greater than and superior to ourselves. Whoever he be that thus acts, is hated, and often too becomes an object of ridicule, when he has to restore to others, and that often against his will, the honor which in no respect belongs unto him.
For when, he says, a more honorable man than thou cometh, he that bade thee and him will say, Give this man place. Oh, what great ignominy is there in having so to do! It is like a theft, so to speak, and the restitution of the stolen goods. He must restore what he has seized, for he had no right to take it. But the modest and praiseworthy man, who might without fear of blame have claimed the dignity of sitting among the foremost, seeks it not, but yields to others what might be called his own, that he may not even seem to be overcome by vainglory. And such an one shall receive honor as his due, for he shall hear, he says, him who bade him say, Come up hither. A modest mind, therefore, is a great and surpassing good, for it delivers those who possess it from blame and contempt, and from the charge of vaingloriousness.
But, yes, says the lover of vainglory, I wish to be illustrious and renowned, and not despised and neglected, and numbered among the unknown. If, however, thou desirest this transitory and human glory, thou art wandering away from the right path, by which thou mightest become truly illustrious, and attain to such praise as is worthy of emulation. For it is written, All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. And the prophet David also blames those who love temporal honors, for he also thus speak of them. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth before it is plucked up. For just as the grass that springs up upon the housetops has no deep fixed root, and for this reason is easily parched up, so he who values worldly honor, after he has been for a short time conspicuous, and, so to speak, in flower, sinks at last into nothingness.
If then any one wished to be set above others, let him win it by the decree of heaven, and be crowned by those honors which God bestows. Let him surpass the many by having the testimony of glorious virtues. But the rule of virtue is a lowly mind that loveth not boasting. Yea, it is humility. And this the blessed Paul also counted worthy of all esteem. For he writes to such as are eagerly desirous of saintly pursuits, Love humility. And the disciple of Christ praises it, thus writing, Let the poor brother glory in his exultation, and the rich in his humiliation, because as the flower of the grass he passeth away. For the moderate and bridled mind is exalted with God. For God, it says, will not despise the contrite and abased heart.
But whosoever thinks great things of himself, and is supercilious and elate in mind, and prides himself on an empty loftiness, is rejected and accursed. He follows a course the contrary of Christ, who said, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. For the Lord, it says, resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. The wise Solomon also shows in many places the safety of the humble mind, at one time saying, Exalt not thyself, that thou fall not. And at another time he figuratively declares the same thing. He that maketh his house high seeketh an overthrow. Such a one is hated of God, and very justly, as having mistaken himself, and senselessly aimed above the limits of his nature.
For upon what ground, I pray, does man upon earth think great things of himself? For certainly his mind is weak, and easily led into base pleasures. His body is tyrannized over by corruption and death, and the duration of his life is short and limited. Nor is this all For naked were we born, and therefore riches and wealth and worldly honor come to us from without, and are not really ours, for they belong not to the properties of our nature. For what reason, therefore, is the mind of man puffed up? What is there to exalt it to superciliousness and boasting? Were any one but to regard his state with understanding eyes, he would then become like Abraham, who mistook not his nature, and called himself dust and ashes.
And like another also who says, Quit a man who is rottenness, and the son of man who is a worm. But he who is a worm and rottenness, this dust and ashes, this very nothingness, becomes great and admirable and honorable before God, by knowing himself. For so he is crowned by God with honor and praise. For the Savior of all and Lord giveth grace to the humble. By whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, Amen.
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8 08 - Sermon 103 Lk 14:12-14 11:02
Luke 14 12-14 Then said he also to them that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, Call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors, lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, because they cannot recompense thee. For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Remarkable indeed is the beauty of the mind of man, and it shows itself in various ways, and is conspicuous in a diversity of manners. For just as those who are skilled in delineating forms in pictures cannot by one color attain to perfect beauty in their painting, but rather use various and many kinds of hues, so also the God of all, who is the giver and teacher of spiritual beauty.
Adorns our souls with that manifold virtue which consists in all saint-like excellence of living, in order to complete in us His likeness. For in His rational creatures the best and most excellent beauty is the likeness of God, which is wrought in us by the exact vision of God, and by virtue perfected by exact exertion. Consider, therefore, how our Lord Jesus Christ makes our souls beautiful by every spiritual adornment. For here He had commanded the Pharisees and lawyers, or rather the scribes, to think lowly of themselves, and to cultivate a mind free from the love of vainglory, bidding them not to seize upon the foremost seats. For He was dining with them, that being in their company He might benefit them even against their will.
And after them he next addressed him who had invited them, and assembled them to the entertainment, saying, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbors, but rather the lame and the blind and the maimed. Would he then produce in us a morose state of mind? Is it his will that we be unsociable and unloving, so as not even to deem our friends and relatives worthy of that affection which especially is fitting and due to them? Are we to pay no regard to those who are near us in affection and love? Does he forbid the rights of hospitality? But how is it not absurd and ignorant to imagine that he contradicts his own laws? What, then, does he wish to teach?
Something, perhaps, like what follows. Those who possess great store of wealth make much account, so to speak, of a constant display and ostentation, for oftentimes they bring men to banquet with them and make entertainments at vast cost with curiously prepared viands, and such as do not escape the blame of prodigality. And this it is their custom to do, in order to gain the praises and applause of their guests. And in receiving the praises of their flatterers, as the wages, so to speak, of their extravagance, they rejoiced greatly, as though they had gained something of value. For it is the habit of flatterers to praise even those things which deserve blame. For what good is there in such prodigal abundance Beyond what necessity requires.
For as Christ Himself somewhere said, few things are needful, or one, for the necessary appeasing of the wands of the body. That we may escape, therefore, the danger of losing the reward of our outlay by expending our wealth in such pursuits as will bear good fruit. He has commanded us to invite the poor, and the maimed, and the blind, and those who are suffering under other bodily maladies, that by our liberality in so doing we may attain to the hope that cometh from above from God. The lesson, therefore, which he teaches us is love unto the poor, which is a thing precious in the sight of God. Dost thou feel pleasure in being praised when thou hast any friends or relatives feasting with thee?
I tell thee of something far better. Angels shall praise thy bounty, and the rational powers above, and holy men as well. And he too shall accept it who transcends all, and who loveth mercy and is kind. Lend unto him, fearing nothing, and thou shalt receive with usury whatever thou gavest. For he, it says, who hath pity on the poor, lendeth unto God. He acknowledgeth the loan, and promiseth repayment. For when the Son of Man, he saith, shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels, and shall sit upon the throne of his glory, he shall set the sheep upon his right hand, and the goats upon his left. And he shall say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world.
For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was naked, and ye covered me, sick, and ye visited me, in prison, and ye came unto me. And to this he added, Verily I say unto you, That whatsoever ye have done to one of these little ones, ye have done unto me. The outlay therefore is not unfruitful. Rather shall compassion upon the poor make thy wealth breathe forth a sweet savour. Purchase the grace that cometh from God. Buy for thy friend the Lord of heaven and earth. For verily we oftentimes purchase men's friendship with large sums of gold, and if those of high rank are reconciled unto us, we feel great joy in offering them presents, even beyond what we can afford, because of the honor which accrues to us from them.
And yet these things are but transitory, and quickly fade away, and are like the fantasies of dreams. But to be members of God's household, must we not count that as a thing worth the gaining, and esteem it as of the highest importance? For certainly after the resurrection from the dead we must stand in Christ's presence, and there a recompense shall of necessity be made to the compassionate and merciful. But a condemnation commensurate with their deeds shall be the lot of those who were harsh and without mutual love. For it is written, that there is judgment without mercy for those who have showed no mercy. And if so, how is it not the proof and perfection of a sound mind, that before we descend to the pit of torment we should take forethought for our life?
For come, And let us discuss this among ourselves. Suppose that for some cause or other which the law condemned they had dragged us before the judges, and so a sentence such as our offenses deserved had been passed upon us after our conviction. Should we not with pleasure offer up our wealth to escape from all torment and punishment? And how can there be any doubt of this? For one's self is better than possessions. And life, then wealth. Now we are guilty of many sins, and must give an account to the judge of whatsoever we have done. And why, then, do we not deliver ourselves from judgment in the everlasting fire while time permits? And the way in which to deliver ourselves is to live in virtue, to comfort the brethren who are grieved with poverty, and to open our hand wide to all who are in need.
and to sympathize with the sick. For tell me what is harder than poverty, that implacable beast of prey, that bane which no admonition can charm away, that worst of maladies, or rather more cruel than any malady. We therefore must give a helping hand to those who are suffering under it. We must open wide to them our heart, and not pass by their lamentation. For, suppose a savage beast of prey had sprung upon some wayfarer, would not any one who witnessed the occurrence seize up anything that came to hand, a stone, for instance, or stick, and drive away the beast that was mercilessly rending and tearing the man fallen beneath its blow? Who is so hard-hearted and full of hatred to mankind as to pass by one thus miserably perishing?
And must not thou own that poverty, as I said, is more cruel than any beast of prey? Aid, therefore, those who are fallen under it. Incline thine ear to the poor, and listen to him, as it is written. For he, it saith, who stoppeth his ears, that he may not hear the feeble, he also shall cry, and there shall be none to listen. Give, that thou mayest receive. Hear, that thou mayest be heard. Sow thy little, that thou mayest reap much. And besides, the pleasure of the body is short and temporary, and ends in rottenness. But almsgiving and charity to the poor crown those who practice them with glory from God, and lead them to that incorruptible happiness which Christ bestows on those who love Him.
By whom and with whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
End of sermon, one hundred three.
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9 09 - Sermon 104 Lk 14:15-24 16:43
Sermon 104, Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by R. Payne Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 14, 15-24. And when one of them that reclined at table with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many, and sent his servant at supper-time to say to them that were bidden, Come, for, lo, all things are ready. And they at once began all of them to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go to see it. I pray thee permit me to be excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them.
I pray thee permit me to be excused. And another said, I have taken a wife, and therefore I cannot come. And when the servant returned, he told his lord these things. Then the master of the house was angry, and said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and marketplaces of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the blind, and the lame. And the servant said, Lord, what thou commandest is done, and yet there is room. And the Lord said to his servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper. Again, the purport of the lessons laid before us obliges me to say that the fruit of good works is praiseworthy, for not unrewarded is the toil of the saints, as they strenuously labor to lead that life which is truly worthy of admiration both with God and men.
For the wise Paul writes, For God is not unrighteous to forget your labor and your love, which ye have showed unto his name. And again in another place he uses similar words. For the lightness, he says, of our present affliction worketh for us abundantly and in a higher degree an eternal greatness of glory. When we look not at the things which are seen, but at those which are not seen. For the things which are seen are those of time, but the things which are not seen are for eternity. For the things of time are those of earth, and these, we say, are what are here called the things which are seen. But those which are to come, and which at present are not seen, but consist in those hopes which are with God, are stored up for us in mansions that cannot be shaken.
And who are they for whom these things are prepared, and unto whom they will be given, the Saviour has here shown, portraying as in a picture by the parable set before us, the nature and efficacy of the dispensation. It is necessary, however, for me first to say what was the occasion which led to this discourse. Our Lord, then, was feasting at a certain Pharisees, in company with many others assembled there, the friends of him who had bidden them to the entertainment, and the sharers of his sentiments. There again the Saviour of all, to benefit those who were gathered there, For he loveth mercy rather, and not honor and vainglory. Perfected him that invited them, by not permitting him to make lavish expense, or aim at what was beyond his means, to gain the praise of men.
For he said, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor further Any others who are rich, and thy neighbors, but rather the poor, and the maimed, and the blind. For those, he said, who so act shall be blessed at the resurrection of the just. Upon which one of those who were reclining with them at meat, on hearing words thus excellent, said, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Probably, however, this man was not as yet spiritual, but rather animal, nor fitted to understand correctly what was spoken by Christ, for he was not one of those who believed, nor had he as yet been baptized. For he supposed that the rewards of the saints for their mutual labors of love would be in things pertaining to the body, because then they were too dull in heart to comprehend a precise idea.
Christ frames for them a parable which with sufficient oppositeness sets forth the nature of the dispensation about to be instituted for their sakes, and says, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. And he sent his servant at supper-time to say to them that were bidden, Come, for lo, all things are ready. And here let us first of all inquire what was the reason why it is rather to a supper than a dinner that the guests were invited. Or rather, even before this, who is to be understood by the man who sent one to invite to the supper, and who also is the inviter, and who, in fine, they are who were invited, but despised the summons. By the man, therefore, is to be understood God the Father, for similitudes are formed to present the truth, and are by no means the truth themselves.
He, therefore, the Creator of the universe, and the Father of glory, made a great supper, that is, a festival for the whole world, in honor of Christ. In the last times, then, of the world, and, so to speak, at this our world's setting, The sun arose for us, at which time also he suffered death for our sakes, and gave us his flesh to eat, as being the bread from heaven, which giveth life to the world. Towards evening also, and by the light of torches, the lamb was sacrificed according to the law of Moses, and therefore with good reason the invitation that is by Christ is called a supper. And next. Who is he that was sent, and who it also says was a slave? Perchance Christ himself, for though God the Word is by nature God, and the very Son of God the Father, from whom he was manifested, yet he emptied himself to take the form of a slave.
As being therefore God of God, he is Lord of all. But one may justly apply the appellation of a slave to the limits of his humanity. Yet, though he had taken, as I said, the form of a slave, he was even so lord as being God. And when was he sent? At supper-time, it says. For it was not at the commencement of this world that the Only Begotten Word of the Father descended from heaven, and was in form like unto us, but rather when the omnipotent himself willed it, even in these latter times, as also we have already said. And what was the nature of the invitation? Come, for, lo, all things are ready. For God the Father has prepared in Christ for the inhabitants of earth those gifts which are bestowed upon the world through Him, even the forgiveness of sins, the cleansing away of all defilement, the communion of the Holy Ghost, the glorious adoption as sons, and the kingdom of heaven.
Unto these blessings Christ invited by the commandments of the gospel Israel before all others. For somewhere he has even said by the voice of the psalmist, But I have been set as a king by him, that is, by God the Father, upon Zion his holy mount, to preach the commandment of the Lord. And again I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And their determination, then, was it for their own good? Did they regard with admiration the gentleness of him who bade them, and the office of him who ministered the call? Not so. For they began, it says, all of them at once to make excuse. That is, as with one purpose, without any delay, they made excuse. For the first said, I have bought a field, and I must needs go to see it.
I pray thee, permit me to be excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. I pray thee permit me to be excused. And another said, I have taken a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Thou perceivest that by senselessly giving themselves up to these earthly matters they cannot see things spiritual. For being overcome by the love of the flesh They are far from holiness, and are covetous and greedy after wealth. They seek those things which are below, but make no account, no, not in the slightest degree, of those hopes which are stored up with God. Far better would it have been instead of earthly fields to gain the joys of paradise. And instead of transitory tillage, for this was the object of the yokes of oxen, to gather the fruits of righteousness.
For it is written, Sow for yourselves righteousness. Gather as vintage the fruit of life. Was it not their duty, rather, instead of the carnal procreation of children, to have chosen spiritual fruitfulness? For the one is subject unto death and corruption, The other is an eternal and abiding affluence for the saints. When then the householder heard their refusal, he was angry, it says, and commanded that from the streets and marketplaces of the city there should be gathered the poor, and the maimed, and the blind, and the lame. And who then are to be understood by those who, for the sake, as I said, of lands and tillage, and the carnal procreation of children, Refused to come. Certainly it must be those who stood at the head of the Jewish synagogue, men with wealthy purses, the slaves of covetousness, with their mind set on lucre, on which they lavished all their earnestness.
For, so to speak, throughout the whole of inspired Scripture, one may see them blamed for this very thing. Those then who were superior in station to the mass of the common people did not submit themselves to Christ when saying unto them, Take my yoke upon you. They rejected the invitation. They did not accept the faith. They remained away from the feast, and scorned the great supper by their hardened disobedience. For that the scribes and Pharisees did not believe in Christ is manifest by what he says unto them. Ye have taken away the key of knowledge. Ye enter not in yourselves, and those that are entering ye have hindered. In their stead, therefore, those were called who were in the streets and marketplaces, who belonged, that is, to the Jewish common people, whose mind was sickly, and infirm, and dark, and halting.
For such one may consider to be blind and lame. But they became strong and whole in Christ. They learned to walk uprightly, and received the divine light into their mind. And that a multitude of the Jews not easy to number believed, one may learn from the Acts of the Apostles. When then those, it says, who were in the straits had been called, he whose office it was to bid them to the supper said to the householder, Still there is room. And the Lord said to his servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that no one of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper. Here observe, I pray, the calling of the Gentiles, after that the Israelites had entered by faith.
For in old time the Gentiles were boorish in mind, and uncultivated in understanding, and, so to say, outside the city, as living in lawlessness, and more like cattle than men, and with little use of reason. And on this account he who invites to this supper is sent into the highways, outside the city, and to the hedges in the fields. Moreover, he is commanded by him who sent him not merely to invite and offer them exhortation only, but even to compel them. And yet in all men faith is a voluntary act, and by attaining unto it of their own free will men are acceptable unto God, and largely endowed with his gifts. How then are men compelled? Yes, this also was said advisedly. For it was necessary, absolutely necessary, for the Gentiles, as being fettered by an intolerable tyranny, and fallen under the yoke of the devil, and caught, so to speak, in the indissoluble meshes of their sins, and utterly ignorant of him, who by nature and verily is God.
That their calling should be very urgent, resembling the use of force, that they might be able to look up unto God, and taste the sacred doctrines, and leave off their former error, and spring away, as it were, from the hand of Satan. For Christ also said, No man can come unto me except my Father who sent me drag him. But dragging implies that the calling is an act of power such as God only can exercise. And the blessed David is also found addressing God in similar terms respecting them. With bridle and bit shalt thou restrain the jaws of those that draw not near unto thee. Thou seest how the God of all, as with a bridle, turns unto himself those who fiercely have departed from him. For he is good and loving unto mankind, and willeth that all men should be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth.
The chiefs, therefore, of the Israelitish populace remained aloof from the supper, as being obdurate and proud and disobedient, and scorned so surpassing an invitation, because they had turned aside to earthly things, and fixed their mind upon the vain distractions of this world. But the vulgar multitude was called in, and after them immediately and without delay the Gentiles. For when our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead, he cried out unto the holy apostles, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing ye them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And teaching ye them to observe all those things that I have commanded you.
And, lo, I am with you every day, even unto the end of the world.
End of sermon, one hundred four.
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10 10 - Sermon 105 Lk 14:25-35 7:14
Sermon 105. Commentary in the Gospel of Luke. Sermons 96-110. By Cyril of Alexandria. Translated by Arpain Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 14.25-35. And great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said unto them, Whosoever cometh unto me, and hateth not his father and his mother, and his wife and his children, and his brethren and his sisters, yea, and his own self also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you that wisheth to build a tower sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, to see whether he hath sufficient to finish it? Lest when he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Or what king going to make war with another king sitteth not down first, and considereth? Whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand. And if he be not, while the other is yet afar off, he sendeth ambassadors, and asketh conditions of peace. So therefore every one of you that forsaketh not all his possessions cannot be my disciple. Salt therefore is good, but if the salt have no savour, with what shall it be seasoned? It is useful neither for the land nor yet for the dunghill. They cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Those who command warlike armies, and have won for themselves martial glory whenever the time for battle has arrived, instruct the troops under their orders in what way Arraying themselves manfully against the phalanxes of the enemy, they will gain a triumphant victory.
And the Savior of all, imitating the skillfulness of those here mentioned, very clearly shows unto all who would follow him the pathway of spiritual manfulness, that advancing with unrestrainable impetuosity unto every triumph of piety, And exerting a stern and irresistible earnestness, they may win by a just decree the right of being with him and following him. This lesson, then, clearly teaches us what sort of persons he... Note. Two pages of text are missing here due to apparent scanning errors. End note. Blessings laid up in hope. Many, too, the fear of death is terrified, and when the season called them unto persecutions, that being proved they might receive the crown of incorruption, they have denied the faith, have avoided, that is, the duty of suffering patiently, and, having shown themselves weak and cowardly, have fallen from their steadfastness.
To work in us therefore a mind incapable of being broken, and make us careless of every worldly matter for our love of Him, He commands us to hate even our relatives according to the flesh, and our own self also, if, as I have just said, the season call us thereto. And next he uses two examples to encourage unto an invincible fortitude those who are his friends, and to establish in an unwavering zeal those whose desire it is to attain to honors by patience and endurance. For if, saith he, any one wished to build a tower, he reckoneth first if he have the means sufficient to finish it. Lest, when he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, men laugh at him. For those whose choice it is to lead a glorious and blameless life ought to store up beforehand in their mind a zeal sufficient thereunto, and to remember him who says, My son, if thou draw near to serve the Lord, prepare thyself for every temptation, make thy heart straight, and endure.
But those who have no such zeal, how will they be able to reach the mark that is set before them? Or what king, he saith, wishing to make war with another king, doth not consider with himself whether with his ten thousand he can prevail over one who is more mighty than himself? And what does this mean? Our wrestle is not against blood and flesh, but against governments, against empires, against the world-holders of this darkness, against wicked spirits in the heavenly regions. We have, too, a crowd, as it were, of other enemies. The carnal mind, the law that rages in our members, passions of many kinds, the lust of pleasure, the lust of the flesh, The lust of wealth and others. With these we must wrestle.
This is our savage troop of enemies. How therefore shall we conquer? By believing that in God we shall do valiantly, as Scripture saith, and He shall bring to naught those that oppress us. In this confidence one of the holy prophets said, Behold, the Lord helpeth me, who shall make me ashamed? And the divine David also sings, The Lord is my light and my Savior, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the helper of my life, at whom shall I tremble? For he is our strength, and by him we shall gain victory. For he has given unto us to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy. As therefore he says, salt is good, but if the salt be tasteless with what can it be seasoned, it is cast out.
He says, Let there be therefore he proceeds salt in you, that is, the divine words which bring salvation, but which if we despise, we become without savor, and foolish, and utterly useless. Such things must the congregation of the saints cast out, by the gift unto them of mercy and love from Christ, the Saviour of us all. By whom and with whom, to God the Father, be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
End of Sermon CXV
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11 11 - Sermon 106 Lk 15:1-10 13:28
Sermon 106, Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by Arpaine Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 15, 1-10. Now all the publicans and sinners used to draw near unto him to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he hath come home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.
I say unto you that likewise there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, having ten drams, if she lose one of them, Doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and search diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the dram which I had lost. Likewise I say unto you, that there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Ye have no doubt attended here also to what has been read. Ye have wondered with me at the Saviour's words. Have ye also understood it thoroughly and spiritually, and fixed the searching eye of the mind upon its profounder interpretation?
Has the sense of what has been said been caught by you? Or possibly has the word, after having wrung in your hearing, flown away, and nothing settled there that would be to your profit? But as I imagine, in that ye are believers, and love instruction, the Savior illumineth your understanding. For He it is who revealeth the deep things of darkness, and putteth the light of understanding in the hearts of those that love Him. The two parables, then, that follow close upon one another depict to us an image of the divine gentleness, being both of similar meaning and, so to say, at concord with one another. But the senseless Jew was openly reproved for refusing in every way to understand the great and profound mystery of the Incarnation.
From him it was completely hidden that God the Father sent the Son from heaven not to judge the world, as he himself declares, but that the world might be saved through him. In what manner, then, was it fitting for the world to be saved, which had been caught in the meshes of sin, and proved guilty of the charge of wickedness, and that was subject to a cruel tyrant, even Satan? Was it by demanding of it punishment for having fallen into transgression and sin? Or was it not rather by helping it, in that God is long-suffering? and ready, so to speak, to cover over in forgetfulness those things wherein man had transgressed, and to renew unto holiness of life those who knew not how to live uprightly.
Tell me, therefore, O Pharisee, why thou murmurest, because Christ disdained not to be with publicans and sinners, but purposely provided for them this means of salvation? To save men he yielded himself to emptiness, and became in fashion like unto us, and clothed himself in human poverty. And dost thou then blame the dispensation of the only begotten in the flesh? Dost thou find fault with his humbling himself from above in heaven, who transcends all? Nay, leavest thou not the very incarnation without censure? And yet the holy prophets wondered at the beautiful skill of the mystery, for the prophet David in the Psalms declares, Sing ye with understanding, God hath set a king over all the nations.
And the prophet Abacuc says, That he heard his hearing, and was afraid, and that he considered also his doings, and was astonished. How therefore art thou not ashamed? of blaming those things which thou oughtest to have admired. Wouldest thou have the Lord of all, stern and inexorable, or rather good and kind to men? The family upon earth had gone astray. It had wandered from the hand of the chief shepherd. And therefore he who feedeth the flocks above in heaven became like unto us, that he might make us also dwell in his vault. that he might unite us to those who had never gone astray, and drive from us the beast of prey, and ward off, like some impious band of robbers, those impure demons, who had led astray all beneath the sky.
He sought therefore that which was lost, and to show that the Jewish fault-finding on this account was vain, he saith unto them, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go to seek that which is lost? And if it chance to be found, he rejoiceth in it, he saith, more than in those that went not astray. Understand from this, my beloved, the wide extent of the Saviour's kingdom, and the multitude past numbering of his subjects. And the skillful plan of the dispensation to usward. For the sheep, he says, are a hundred, so making the number of his subjects mount up to a multitude complete and altogether perfect. For constantly, so to speak, a hundred is a perfect number, being composed of ten times ten.
And we have learnt also from the divinely inspired scripture that a thousand thousands minister to God, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand around His lofty throne. The sheep, therefore, are a hundred, and of them one has gone astray, even the family upon earth, which also the chief shepherd of all sought, having left in the wilderness those ninety and nine. Was it therefore because he had no regard for the many, that mercy was shown to the One only? No, not because he had no regard for them, that were impossible, but because they are in security, guarded by his Almighty Hand. It was right, therefore, that mercy should rather be shown to that which was lost, that evidently nothing might be wanting to that other multitude.
But the One being restored thereto, The hundred might regain its beauty. The search, therefore, after that which was lost was no act of contempt toward those who had not erred, but one of grace and mercy and love to mankind, fit for the supreme and transcendent nature to bestow on his fallen creatures. For come, and let us examine the matter by the help also of another example, in order that we may at all times defend the incomparable gentleness of Christ, the Saviour of us all. For let it be supposed that in one house there are many inmates, of whom it so chances that one falls ill. For whom, then, are those skilled in healing summoned? Is it not for him only who has fallen ill? But it is not through any disregard of the many that those who have been called in to heal attend only to him who is sick, and give him the benefit of their skill, as the time and his need require.
In like manner, therefore, it was worthy, right worthy of God, who ruleth over all, to stretch out his saving hand to that which had gone astray. The wild beast had seized it. It had led the family upon earth astray from the pasture, and had hurried it into all misery. The chief shepherd saved it, for he sought that which had wandered, and has established for us a fold, unassailable and impregnable, against wild beasts and robbers, even the church. In admiration of which we may say, in the words of the prophet, Behold, we have a strong and secure city. He will place for us a wall and rampart. And the sense of the parable which immediately follows is exactly similar, in which he says that a woman who had ten drams lost one of them, and having lit a lamp and found it, rejoiced greatly therein, and made it a reason for special joy.
By the former parable, therefore, in which the wandering sheep signified the family upon earth, we learned that we are the property of God over all, in that He it is who brought into existence those things which previously had no existence. For He made us, and not we ourselves, as it is written. And He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. And by this second parable, in which that which was lost is compared to a drachma, and that again is one out of ten that is of a perfect number, and of a sum complete in the reckoning. For the number ten also is perfect, being the close of the series from the unit upwards. It is clearly shown that we are in the royal likeness and image, even that of God over all.
For the drachma is, I suppose, the denarius, on which is stamped the royal likeness. That we then who had fallen, and, so to speak, been lost, have been found by Christ, and transformed by holiness and righteousness into his image, how can any one doubt when the blessed Paul has thus written, But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as of the Lord the Spirit. And he sends to the Galatians also in these words, My children, of whom I am again in travail, until Christ is formed in you. A search then was made for that which had fallen, for which purpose the woman lighted a lamp. For we were found, as I said, by the wisdom of God the Father, which is the Son, when the divine and intellectual light shone upon us, and the sun arose, and the day-star ascended, and the day dawned, according to the scripture.
For God also has somewhere said by one of the holy prophets of Christ the Saviour of us all, My righteousness quickly approacheth, and my mercy to be revealed, and my salvation shall burn as a lamp. And he saith of himself at one time, I am the light of the world. And again at another, I am come a light into this world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall possess the light of life. By the light therefore that which was lost is saved, and there was joy thereby to the powers above. For they rejoice even in one sinner that repenteth, as he hath taught us who knoweth all things. If they then keep festival over one who is saved, in unison altogether with the divine purpose, and laud with never-ceasing praises the Saviour's gentleness, with how great joy must they be filled, when all beneath the heaven is saved, and called by faith in Christ to the acknowledgment of the truth, having put off the pollutions of sin, and loosed its neck from the bonds of death, and escaped from blame, even the blame of its wandering and fall.
For all these things we gain in Christ. By whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen. End of Sermon 1006
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12 12 - Sermon 107 Lk 15:11-32 15:30
Sermon 107 Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by Arpain Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 15, 11-32 And he said, A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy goods that cometh to me. And he divided unto them his substance. And not many days after the younger son gathered everything together, and journeyed into a far country, and there scattered his goods by riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine.
And he desired to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating, and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have bread in abundance, and I perish here with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and went to his father. And while he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and his bowels yearned, and he ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And his son said unto him, My father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
But his father said to his servants, Bring forth quickly the chief robe, and clothe him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and we will eat, and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive, and was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came in Junear to the house he heard the sound of music and rejoicing. And he called one of the servants, and asked him what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him sound. And he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore came his father out, and besought him.
But he answered, and said to his father, Lo, all these years do I serve thee, and never have transgressed thy commandment, and thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this thy son, who hath eaten up thy wealth with harlots, is come, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, My son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. But it was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead, and is alive, and was lost, and is found. I hear one of the holy prophets trying to win unto repentance those who are far from God, and saying, Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God, for thou hast become weak in thy iniquity. Take with you words, and return to the Lord our God.
What sort of words, then, did he, under the influence of the Spirit, command them to take with them? Or were they not such as become those who wish to repent, such, namely, as would appease God, who is gentle and loveth mercy? For he even said by one of the holy prophets, Return, ye returning children, and I will heal your breeches. And yet again by the voice of Ezekiel. Return ye altogether from your wickednesses, O house of Israel. Cast away from you all your iniquities which ye have committed, that they be not to you for a punishment of iniquity. For I have no pleasure in the death of the sinner, as that he should turn from his evil way and live. And the same truth Christ here also teaches us By this most beautifully composed parable, which I will now, to the best of my ability, endeavor to discuss, briefly gathering up its broad statements and explaining and defending the ideas which it contains.
It is the opinion, then, of some that by the two sons are signified the holy angels, and we the dwellers upon earth. and that the elder one, who lived soberly, represents the company of the holy angels, while the younger and profligate son is the human race. And there are some among us who give it a different explanation, arguing that by the elder and well-conducted son is signified Israel after the flesh, while by the other, whose choice it was to live in the lust of pleasures, and who removed far from his father, is depicted the company of the Gentiles. With these explanations I do not agree. But I would have him who loveth instruction search after that which is true and unobjectionable. What, then, I say is as follows.
Giving occasions to the wise and to the just offering knowledge, as Scripture commands, for they will examine for a fitting meaning the explanations proposed to them. If, then, we refer the upright Son to the person of the holy angels, we do not find him speaking such words as become them, nor sharing their feelings toward repentant sinners, who turn from an impure life to the conduct which is worthy of admiration. For the Saviour of all and Lord saith that, There is joy in heaven before the holy angels over one sinner that repenteth. But the son, who is described to us in the present parable as being acceptable unto his father, and leading a blameless life, is represented as being angry, and as even having proceeded so far in his unloving sentiments as to find fault with his father for his natural affection for him who was saved.
For he would not, it says, Go into the house, being vexed at the reception of the penitent almost before he had come to his senses, and because there had even been slain the calf in his honor, and his father had made for him a feast. But this, as I said, is at variance with the feelings of the holy angels, for they rejoice and praise God when they see the inhabitants of the earth being saved. For so, when the son submitted to be born in the flesh of a woman at Bethlehem, they carried the joyful news to the shepherds, saying, Fear ye not, for behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people, that there is born to you to-day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
And crowning with lauds and praises him who was born, they said, Glory to God in the highest, and upon earth peace, and among men good will. But if any one say that Israel, according to the flesh, is meant by the virtuous and sober Son, we are again prevented from assenting to this opinion by the fact that in no way whatsoever is it fitting to say of Israel that he chose a blameless life. For throughout the whole of the inspired scripture, so to say, we may see them accused of being rebels and disobedient. For they were told by the voice of Jeremiah, What fault have your fathers found in me, that they have wandered far from me, and have gone after vanities, and become vain? And in similar terms God somewhere spake by the voice of Isaiah, This people draweth near unto me, With their lips they honour me, but their heart is very far from me.
But in vain do they fear me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. And how, then, can anyone apply to those who are thus blamed the words used in the parable of the virtuous and sober son? For he said, Lo, all these years do I serve thee, and never have I transgressed thy commandment. But they would not have been blamed for their mode of life, had it not been that, transgressing the divine commandments, they betook themselves to a careless and polluted mode of life. And, yet again, for I think it right to mention this also, some would refer to the person of our Saviour, that fatted calf which the father killed when his son was called unto conversion. But how then could the virtuous son, who is described as wise and prudent, and constant in his duty, and whom some even refer to the person of the holy angels, treat it as a reason for anger and vexation that the calf was slain?
For one can find no proof of the powers above being grieved when Christ endured death in the flesh, and, so to speak, was slain in our behalf, Rather, they rejoiced, as I said, in seeing the world saved by His holy blood. And what reason, too, had the virtuous Son for saying, Thou never gavest me a kid? For what blessing is wanting to the holy angels, inasmuch as the Lord of all has bestowed upon them with bounteous hand a plentiful supply of spiritual gifts? Or of what sacrifice stood they in need as regards their own state? For there was no necessity for the Emmanuel to suffer also in their behalf. But if anyone imagine, as I have already said before, that the carnal Israel is meant by the virtuous and sober Son, how can he say with truth, Thou never gavest me a kid?
For whether we call it calf or kid, Christ is to be understood as the sacrifice offered for sin. But he was sacrificed. Not for the Gentiles only, but that he might also redeem Israel, who by reason of his frequent transgression of the law had brought upon himself great blame. And the wise Paul bears witness to this, saying, For this reason Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his blood, suffered outside the gate. What, then, is the object of the parable? Let us examine the occasion which led to it, for so we shall learn the truth. The blessed Luke, therefore, had himself said a little before of Christ the Saviour of us all. And all the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him.
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. As therefore the Pharisees and scribes made this outcry at his gentleness and love to man, and wickedly and impiously blamed him for receiving and teaching men whose lives were impure, Christ very necessarily set before them the present parable, to show them clearly this very thing, that the God of all requires even him who is thoroughly steadfast and firm, and who knows how to live holily, and has attained the highest praise for sobriety of conduct, to be earnest in following his will, So that when any are called unto repentance, even if they be men highly blameable, he must rejoice rather, and not give way to an unloving vexation on their account.
For we also sometimes experience something of this sort. For some there are who live a perfectly honorable and consistent life, practicing every kind of virtuous action, and abstaining from everything disapproved by the law of God, and crowning themselves with perfect praises in the sight of God and of men. While another is perhaps weak and trodden down, and humbled unto every kind of wickedness, guilty of base deeds, loving impurity, given to covetousness, and stained with all evil. And yet such a one often in old age turns unto God, and asks the forgiveness of his former offenses. He prays for mercy, and putting away from him his readiness to fall into sin, sets his affection on virtuous deeds.
Or even, perhaps, when about to close this mortal life, he is admitted to divine baptism and puts away his offenses, God being merciful unto him. And perhaps sometimes persons are indignant at this, and even say, This man who has been guilty of such and such actions, and has spoken such and such words, has not paid unto the judge the retribution of his conduct. but has been counted worthy of a grace thus noble and admirable. He has been inscribed among the sons of God, and honored with the glory of the saints. Such complaints men sometimes give utterance to from an empty narrowness of mind, not conforming to the purpose of the universal Father. For he greatly rejoices when he sees those who were lost obtaining salvation, and raises them up again to that which they were in the beginning, giving them the dress of freedom, and adorning them with the chief robe, and putting a ring upon their hand, even the orderly behavior which is pleasing to God and suitable to the free.
It is our duty, therefore, to conform ourselves to that which God wills. For He heals those who are sick. He raises those who are fallen. He gives a helping hand to those who have stumbled. He brings back him who has wandered. He forms anew into a praiseworthy and blameless life those who were wallowing in the mire of sin. He seeks those who were lost. He raises from the dead those who had suffered the spiritual death. Let us also rejoice. Let us in company with the holy angels praise him as being good and loving unto men, as gentle and not remembering evil. For if such is our state of mind, Christ will receive us. By whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever.
Amen.
End of Sermon 107
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13 13 - Sermon 108 Lk 16:1-9 11:14
Sermon 108 Commentary in the Gospel of Luke Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria Translated by R. Payne Smith This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 16, 1-9 And he said unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and they accused him of scattering his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? Give up the account of thy stewardship, for thou canst be no longer steward. And the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship. I cannot dig, and to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that when I am removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called each one of his lord's debtors, and said unto the first, How much ow'st thou unto my lord?
And he said, A hundred baths of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy writing, and sit down, and write fifty quickly. And afterwards he spake to the second, How much ow'st thou? And he said, A hundred cores of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy writing, and write eighty. And the Lord praised the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. For the children of this world are wise in their generation more than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make for yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, that when it has failed they may receive you into eternal tabernacles. Our Lord Jesus Christ, revealing His glory to the Jewish multitudes, or rather to all those who have believed on Him, said, I am the light of the world, and again I am come a light into this world.
For he fills the mind of those who fear him with a divine and intellectual light, that they may not wander from the right way, by walking in gloom and darkness, but may rather know how to advance uprightly in every good work, and in whatsoever aids a man in leading a saintly life. He would have us, therefore, to be good, and ready to communicate. Loving one another, and merciful, and adorned with the honors of charity. Most wisely, therefore, did he prepare us for the present parable, which we, being anxious to explain to the best of our ability, of necessity speak as follows to those who love instruction. The parables, then, indirectly and figuratively, explain to us much that is for our edification, provided only we consider their meaning in a brief and summary manner.
For we are not to search into all the parts of the parable in a subtle and prying way, lest the argument by its immoderate length weary with superfluous matter even those most fond of hearing, and tire men with a crowd of words. For if, for instance, any one were to undertake to explain who is to be regarded by us as the man who had a steward, who was accused unto him, or who possibly it is that accused him, and who too those are who owed the debts and subtracted a portion from them, and for what reason one is said to have owed oil and the other wheat, he will render his discourse at once obscure and redundant. All the parts of the parable, therefore, are not necessarily and in every respect useful for the explanation of the thing signified, but, so to speak, have been taken to form an image of some important matter, which figuratively sets forth some lesson for the profit of the hearers.
The sense, therefore, of the present parable is something like the following. The God of all willeth that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. For this reason he also gave the law for a help, according to the expression of the prophet. And the law in such passages, we say, means not, of course, that which was ministered by Moses, but rather the whole inspired scripture, by means of which we learn the path which leads straight unto every good and saving thing. The Lord of all, therefore, requires us to be thoroughly constant in our exertions after virtue, and to fix our desires upon the better and holy life, setting ourselves free from the distractions of the world, and from all love of riches, and of the pleasure which wealth brings, that we may serve him continually, and with undivided affections.
For he also says by the harp of the psalmist, Be constant, and know that I am God. And further, by his own mouth, the Saviour of all says to those who possess worldly riches, Sell your possessions and give alms. Make for you purses that grow not old, a treasure for ever unfailing in heaven. Now the commandment is indeed for our salvation, but the mind of man is very weak, fixed constantly, so to speak, upon things which are of earth chiefly, and unwilling to withdraw itself from the delight of riches. It loves vain boasting, is soothed much by the praises of flagellors, longs for beautiful equipment, and counts nothing better than temporal honor. And, knowing this, the Savior has himself somewhere said of them, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God?
And further, that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the kingdom of God. For as long as a man lives in wealth and pleasure, he is careless about piety to God. For wealth renders men contemptuous, and sows in the minds of those that possess it the seeds of all voluptuousness. Is there, then, no way of salvation for the rich, and no means of making them partakers of the hope of the saints? Have they fallen completely from God's grace? Is hell and the fire necessarily prepared for them, such as is the fitting lot of the devil and his angels? Not so, for, lo, the Savior has shown them a means of salvation in the present parable. They have been entrusted with worldly wealth by the merciful permission of Almighty God.
According, nevertheless, to His intention, they have been appointed stewards for the poor. But they discharge not their stewardship rightly, in that they scatter, so to speak, what has been given them of the Lord. For they waste it solely on their pleasures, and purchase temporal honors, not remembering God, who says, Thou shalt open wide thy mercy unto thy brother, even to him that hath need of thee. Nor, moreover, Christ himself, the Saviour of us all, who says, Be ye merciful, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is merciful. But they, as I said, make no account whatsoever of showing mercy to their brethren, but study only their own pride. And this it is which accuseth them before the Lord of all.
And, of course, upon the approach of death they must cease from their stewardship, withdrawing them as it does from human affairs, for the net of death no man can escape from. What, therefore, would Christ have them to do? It is that while they are yet in this world, if they are unwilling to divide all their wealth among the poor, that, at least, they should gain friends by a part of it. And numerous witnesses to their charitableness, even those who have received well at their hands, that when the earthly wealth fails them, they may gain a place in their tabernacles. For it is impossible for love to the poor ever to remain unrewarded. Whether therefore a man give away all his wealth, or but a part, he will certainly benefit his soul.
It is an act, therefore, that becometh the saints, and is worthy of perfect praises, and that wins the crowns above, to set no store by earthly wealth, but distributing it among those that are in need, to gather rather that which is in heaven, and obtain purses that grow not old, and possess a treasure that faileth not. And next in order comes the employment of a sort of artifice, so as to obtain those for friends who are especially near unto God, by giving them some portion of their wealth, and comforting the many who are afflicted with poverty, that so they may share what is theirs. And something of this sort the very wise Paul also advises, saying unto those who love wealth, Let your abundance be for their want, that their abundance also may be for your want.
It is our duty, therefore, if we are right-minded, if we fix the eye of the mind on what will be hereafter, if we remember the sacred scripture which says plainly, that we shall all be manifested before the judgment seat of christ that each one may receive retribution for the things done by means of the body according to that he hath done whether good or bad if we fear the cruel and unappeasable flame To remember God, who requires us to show mercy upon the brethren, to suffer with those that are sick, to open our hand wide to those that are in need, and to honor the saints, of whom Christ says, He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. For that mercy towards the brethren is not without profit and benefit, the Savior himself teaches us, saying, Whosoever shall give only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward.
For the Savior of all is bounteous in giving. By whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost forever and ever. Amen.
End of Sermon 108
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14 14 - Sermon 109 Lk 16:10-13 15:09
Sermon 109 Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by R. Payne Smith. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Luke 16, 10-13 He that is faithful in little is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in little is unjust also in much. If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will give you the true? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will honor the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The most distinguished and experienced teachers, when they wish to fix any important doctrine deep in the minds of their disciples, omit no kind of reasoning able to throw light upon the chief object of their thoughts, at one time weaving arguments together, at another employing opposite examples, and so gathering from every quarter whatever is serviceable for their use.
And this we find Christ also, who is the giver unto us of all wisdom, doing in many places. For oftentimes He repeats the very same arguments upon the subject, whatever it may be, that the mind of those who hear may be led on to an exact understanding of His words. For look again, I pray, at the purport of the lesson said before us, for so thou wilt find our words to be true. He that is faithful in little, he says, is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in little is unjust also in much. Before, however, I proceed further, I think it would be useful to consider what was the occasion of a discourse such as this, and from what root it sprung, for so the sense of what is said will become very evident.
Christ then was teaching the rich to feel a special delight in showing kindness to the poor, and in opening their hand to whoever are in need, so laying up treasures in heaven, and taking forethought for the riches that are in store. For he said, Make for yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, that when it has failed they may receive you into eternal tabernacles. But as being God by nature, he well knew the slothfulness of the human mind in every earnest and good work. It escaped not his knowledge that men, in the greediness after wealth, giving up their mind to the love of lucre, and being tyrannized over by this passion, become hard-hearted and unsympathizing with affliction, and show no kindness whatsoever to the poor, Even though they have heaped up much wealth in their stores.
That those, therefore, who are thus minded, have no share in God's spiritual gifts, he shows by most evident examples, and says, He that is faithful in little is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in little is unjust also in much. O Lord, explain unto us the meaning. Open thou the eye of our heart. Listen, therefore, while he explains clearly and exactly what he said. If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will give you the true? The little, therefore, is the unrighteous mammon, that is, worldly wealth, gathered often by extortion and covetousness. But those who know how to live virtuously, and thirst after the hope that is in store, and withdraw their mind from earthly things, and think rather of those things that are above, utterly disregard earthly wealth.
For it offers nothing but pleasures and voluptuousness, and base carnal lust, and splendor that profiteth not, but is transitory and vain. And so one of the holy apostles teaches us, saying, that all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of the world. But such things as these are absolutely nothing to those who lead a sober and virtuous life, for they are trifling and temporary, and full of impurity, and provocative of the fire and judgment, and scarcely reaching to the end of the life of the body. Even if they do not, when any danger suddenly befalls those that possessed them, unexpectedly depart away. Christ's disciple therefore rebukes the rich, saying, Come now, ye rich men, weep, and lament over the miseries that are coming upon you.
Your wealth is decayed, your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and your silver are rusted, and the rust of them shall be your testimony. How, then, are the gold and silver rusted? By being stored up in excessive abundance, and this very thing is the witness against them before the divine judgment-seat of their being unmerciful. For, having gathered into their treasuries a great and unnecessary abundance, they made no account of those who were in need, although it was in their power, had they so wished to do good easily to many. But they were not faithful in the little. But in what way men may become faithful the Saviour himself next taught us, and I will explain how. A certain Pharisee besought him to eat bread with him on the Sabbath day, and Christ consented.
And having gone there, he sat down to meet, and there were many others also feasting with them. And none of them by any means resembled men who possessed nothing. But, on the contrary, they were all persons of distinction, and great haughtiness, and lovers of the foremost seats, and thirsting after vainglory, being clothed, as it were, in the pride of wealth. What then said Christ to his inviter? When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors, lest they also invite thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, because they cannot recompense thee.
For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. This, then, I think, is a man's being faithful in little, that he have pity upon those who are in need, and distribute assistance from his means to such as are in extreme distress. But we, despising a way thus glorious and sure of reward, choose one dishonorable and without reward, by treating with contempt those who are in utter poverty. and refusing even sometimes to admit their words into our ears, while, on the other hand, we luxuriously provide a costly table either for friends who live in pomp or for those whose habit it is to praise and flatter, making our bounty an occasion for indulging our love of praise. But this was not God's purpose in permitting us to possess wealth.
If, therefore, we are unfaithful in the little, by not conforming ourselves to the will of God, and bestow the best portion of ourselves upon our pleasures and our boasts, how can we receive from him that which is true? And what is this? The abundant bestowal of those divine gifts which adorn man's soul and form it in a godlike beauty. This is the spiritual wealth. Not that fattens the flesh which is held by death, but rather that saves the soul, and makes it worthy of emulation, and honorable before God, and that wins for it true praises. It is our duty, therefore, to be faithful unto God, pure in heart, merciful and kind, just and holy. For these things imprint in us The outlines of the divine likeness, and perfect us as heirs of eternal life.
And this, then, is that which is true. And that this is the purport and view of the Savior's words, any one may readily learn from what follows. For he said, If ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? And again we say that which is another's is the wealth we possess. For we were not born with riches, but, on the contrary, naked, and can truly affirm the words of Scripture, that we neither brought anything into the world, nor can carry anything out. For the patient Job also had said something of this kind. Naked was I born from my mother's womb. Naked also shall I go onwards. It is therefore no man's own by right of nature that he is rich, and lives in abundant wealth, but it is a thing added on from without, and is a chance matter, and if it cease and perish, it in no respect whatsoever harms the definitions of human nature.
For it is not by virtue of our being rich that we are reasonable beings, and skilful in every good work. But it is the property of our nature to be capable of these things. That, therefore, as I said, is another's which is not contained in the definitions of our nature, but, on the contrary, is manifestly added to us from without. But it is our own, and the property of human nature, to be fitted for every good work. For, as the Blessed Paul writes, We have been created unto good works, which God hath before prepared, that we should walk in them. When, therefore, any are unfaithful in that which is another's, in those things namely, which are added unto them from without, how shall they receive that which is their own?
How, that is, shall they be made partakers of the good things which God gives? which adorn the soul of man, and imprint upon it a divine beauty, spiritually formed in it by righteousness and holiness, and those upright deeds which are done in the fear of God. Let such of us, then, as possess earthly wealth, open our hearts to those who are in need. Let us show ourselves faithful and obedient to the laws of God, and followers of our Lord's will in those things which are from without, and not our own, that we may receive that which is our own, even that holy and admirable beauty which God forms in the souls of men, fashioning them like unto himself, according to what we originally were. And that it is a thing impossible for one and the same person to divide himself between contraries, and still be able to live blamelessly, he shows by saying, No man can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will honor the one and despise the other.
And this, indeed, is a plain and evident example, and very suitable for the elucidation of the subject before us. For that which follows is, so to speak, the conclusion of the whole argument. For ye cannot serve God and mammon. For if, he says, A man be a slave of two masters, of diverse and contrary wills, and whose minds are irreconcilable with one another, how can he please them both? For being divided and endeavoring to do that which each one approves, he is in opposition to the will of both. And so the same person must inevitably appear bad and good. If, therefore, he says, he determined to be true to the One, He will hate the other, and set him, of course, at naught. It is not, therefore, possible to serve God and mammon.
For the unrighteous mammon, by which wealth is signified, is a thing given up to voluptuousness, and liable to every reproach, engendering boasting, and the love of pleasure, making men stiff-necked the friends of the wicked and contemptuous. Yea. What base vice doth it not produce in them that possess it? But the good will of God renders men gentle, and quiet, and lowly in their thoughts, long-suffering and merciful, and of exemplary patience, not loving lucre, nor desirous of wealth, contend with food only and raiment, and especially fleeing from the love of money, which is the root of all evils. Joyfully undertaking toils for piety's sake, fleeing from the love of pleasure, and earnestly shunning all feeling of wearisomeness in good works, while constantly they value, is that which wins them reward, the endeavor to live uprightly, and the practice of all soberness.
This is that which is our own, and the true. This God will bestow on those who love poverty, and know how to distribute to those who are in need that which is another's, and comes from without, even their wealth, which also has the name of Mammon. May it then be far from the mind of each of us to be its slaves, that so we may freely and without hindrance bow the neck of our mind to Christ, the Saviour of us all. By whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.
End of sermon one hundred nine.
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15 15 - Sermon 110 Lk 16:14-17 17:50
Sermon 110 Commentary in the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by Arpaine Smith. This LibraBox recording is in the public domain. Luke 16, 14-17 And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, Heard all these things, and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is high among men is an abomination before God, the law and the prophets, until John. Thenceforth the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone taketh it by force. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one point of the law to fall. The love of money, my brethren, is a most wicked passion and not easy to abandon.
For when Satan has planted this malady in a man's soul, he next proceeds to blind him. Nor does he permit him to listen to the words of exhortation. Lest there be found for us a way of healing, able to save from misery those who are ensnared thereby. And observe again, I pray, how true my words upon this subject are, from the instance even of the Pharisees. For they were lovers of riches, and enamoured of gain, and regarded a bare sufficiency with contempt. For even, so to speak, throughout the whole of the divinely inspired scripture, one may see them blamed on this very account. For it is said by the voice of Isaiah to the mother of the Jews, I mean Jerusalem, Thy princes are rebellious, and partners of thieves, loving bribes, pursuing after reward.
They judge not the fatherless, neither do they regard the widow's suit. And the prophet Habakkuk Also said, How long, O Lord, shall I cry unto thee, and thou wilt not hear? And shout unto thee, being oppressed, and thou wilt not deliver? Judgment is before me, and the judge hath taken a bribe. Therefore is the law of none avail, and judgment cometh not forth unto completion, for the wicked prevaileth over the righteous. Therefore doth judgment come forth perverted. For as being lovers, as I said, of Lucre, they repeatedly gave judgment on the matters before them, not according to what was agreeable to the laws of God, but on the contrary, iniquitously, and in opposition to God's will. Moreover, the Savior himself rebuked them, thus saying, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who tithe anise and mint and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.
For as the law had set apart for them the right of receiving tithes of every one, they extended the exactness of the search after them down to the most insignificant vegetables, While they made but slight account of the weightier matters of the law, that is, of those commandments which were of necessary obligation and for men's good. Because, therefore, the Pharisees, it says, were lovers of money, they derided Jesus, for directing them by his salutary doctrines to a praiseworthy course of conduct, and rendering them desirous of saintly glories. For it was their duty, he tells them, to sell their possessions, and make distribution to the poor. So would they possess in heaven a treasure that could not be plundered, and purses that could not be harmed, and wealth that would not have to be abandoned.
And why, then, did they deride him? For certainly the doctrine was salutary, a pathway of hope and things to come, and a door leading unto life incorruptible. For they were being taught by him the manners of true prosperity, and learning how they must seize the crown of the heavenly calling, how, too, they might become partakers with the saints, and children of the city that is above, the Jerusalem which is in heaven, and which is truly free, and the mother of the free. For as the blessed Paul writes, Jerusalem, which is our mother and is above, is free. And why, then, did they mock him? Let us see the cause of their wickedness. The passion of avarice had possession of their heart, and their mind, being tyrannized over by it, was in subjection even against its will, humbled under the power of wickedness, and bound, as it were, by inevitable bonds.
For so the writer of Proverbs somewhere says, that every man is bound by the cords of his sins. For as the more virulent diseases of the body do not admit of the remedies of medicine, and flee away, as it were, from healing, and, if any one apply that which is naturally adapted to do good, are irritated the more, and grow angry, however gently treated by the art. So also those passions to which the souls of men are liable, are sometimes obdurate, and refuse to listen to admonition, and will not hear a single word that summons them to depart from evil and directs them into a better course. And as horses that are hard-mouthed and unmanageable and excessively spirited will not obey the reins, so also the mind of man, when under the influence of passion, and thoroughly inclined to turn aside unto evil, is disobedient and intractable, and rejects with hatred the being healed.
When, therefore, the Saviour of all had expended upon them many words, but saw that they would not change from their crafty purposes and passions, but preferred rather to abide in their innate folly, he betakes himself at length to sterner reproofs, the very occasion calling them thereto. He shows, therefore, that they are hypocrites, And liars in wait among the altars, and eager after the glory due to righteous and good men, without being such in reality, not being in earnest and meriting the approval of God, but hunting on the contrary eagerly after the honors which come from men. He said therefore, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men. But God knoweth your hearts, for that which is high among men is an abomination before God.
This he is found also in another place, saying unto them, How can ye believe, who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from the one God? For the God of all crowns with praises unto righteousness those who are truly good. But those who love not virtue, but are hypocrites, steal perchance by their own votes solely the reputation of being honorable. But no one, O worthy sirs, some perchance may say, crowns himself. And the man is justly ridiculed, who devises praises for himself, for it is written, Let thy neighbor praise thee, and not thy own mouth, a stranger, and not thy own lips. But though hypocrites may be able possibly to remain undetected, and seize the honors which men bestow, yet God, he says, knoweth your hearts.
The judge cannot be deceived. He seeth the depth of our mind. He knoweth who is the true combatant. And who steals by fraud the honor which another truly deserves. And while he honoureth him who is truly just, he scattereth the bones of the men-pleasers, according to the psalmist's expression. For the desire of pleasing men is constantly, so to speak, the nurse, and head, and root of that accursed pride which is hated alike by God and men. For he who is the victim of this passion lusteth after honor and praise, and this is hateful unto God. For he hateth the proud, but accepteth and showeth mercy to him who loveth not glory, and is lowly in mind. And when Christ had crushed them with these reproofs, he added thereto yet something more, even that which they were about to suffer by reason of their disobedience and wickedness.
For the law, he says, and the prophets until John, thenceforth the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone taketh it by force. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one point of the law to fall. Again does he conceal in obscurity that which would give them pain, and veils, so to speak, the prediction of those things that were about to happen to all who would not obey him. For Moses, he says, and with him the company of the holy prophets, before announced the import of my mystery to the inhabitants of earth, Both the law declaring by shadows and types that to save the world I should even endure the death of the flesh, and abolish corruption by rising from the dead, and the prophets also speaking words of the same import as the writings of Moses.
It is nothing strange, therefore, he says, or that was not known before, that ye spurn my words, and despise everything that would avail for your good. For the word of prophecy concerning me, and you, extends until the holy Baptist John. But from the days of John the kingdom of heaven is preached, and every one taketh it by force. And by the kingdom of heaven he here means justification by faith, the washing away of sin by holy baptism, sanctification by the Spirit, worshipping in the Spirit, The service that is superior to shadows and types, the honor of the adoption of sons, and the hope of the glory about to be given to the saints. The kingdom of heaven, therefore, he says, is preached, for the Baptist has stood forth in the midst, saying, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
and has shown that, lo, he is already near, and as it were within the doors, even the true Lamb of God, who beareth the sin of the world. Whosoever therefore is a hearer and lover of the sacred message taketh it by force, by which is meant that he uses all his earnestness and all his strength and his desire to enter within the hope. For, as he saith in another place, the kingdom of God is taken by violence, and the violent sees upon it. And it is easier, he says, for heaven and earth to pass away, before the day that God commandeth this to be, than for one point of the law to fall. Now, sometimes, by the word law, he signifies collectively the whole divinely inspired scripture, the writings, that is, of Moses and the prophets.
What, then, did it foretell, which must also necessarily reach its accomplishment? It foretold that by reason of their excessive unbelief and immorality, Israel would fall from being of God's family, even though he be the eldest son. And that Jerusalem would be thrust away from his indulgence and his love. For so he spake concerning it by the voice of Jeremiah, Behold, I will hedge up her way with stakes, and block up her ways, and she shall not find her path. Note. The margin notation states that this refers to Hosea 2.6. The footnote mentions that, Probably it is a later correction, for nothing is more common both in the New Testament and the fathers than for the minor prophets to be quoted under Jeremiah's name."
For the way of those who fear God is straight, nor is there any steep part therein, but all is level and well beaten. But the path of the mother of the Jews is hedged up with stakes, in that the path of piety has been rendered impassable for them. And that they were darkened in mind, and did not accept the light of the glory of Christ, for they knew him not, he before proclaimed, saying unto the multitude of the Jews, I have likened thy mother unto the night. My people is like unto one that hath no knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, therefore will I reject thee from being my priest. And thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, and I will forget thy children. Thou hearest that the multitude of the disobedient are very justly compared unto darkness and the night.
For the intellectual day-star and the sun of righteousness arises and shines in the mind and heart of those who believe. But the mind of those who treat with contumely a grace so splendid and worthy of our possessing is blackened in darkness and intellectual gloom, and thus much then concerning those which the company of the holy prophets before announced respecting Israel. But unto those who have acknowledged the revelation of the glory of Christ, the Saviour of all, God the Father promised by one of the holy prophets, thus saying, And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in the name of their God they shall be established. And in accordance with this the psalmist also says in the Spirit unto our Lord Jesus Christ, They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, and in thy name shall they rejoice all the day.
For thou art the glory of their strength, and in thy righteousness shall our horn be exalted. For we glory in Christ. and as being justified by him are exalted, having cast off the abasement of sin, and living in the excellence of every virtue, we have been enriched also with the exact and unadulterated knowledge of the doctrines of truth. For this God promised us, where he says by the voice of Isaiah, And I will lead the blind by a way that they know not, and in paths which they have not known I will make them walk. I will make their darkness to be light, and all their steep places to be smooth. For we, who were once blind, have been enlightened, and travel in an unwanted pathway of righteousness, while those who boasted of the law as their schoolmaster have become darkened.
For as Christ himself said, Darkness hath blinded their eyes, and blindness in part hath happened unto Israel, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not hear. For they sinned against the holy prophets, and even ventured to lift their hands against him who was calling them to salvation and life. Even though therefore, he says, Ye be disobedient, And though ye foolishly deride my words, which would guide you in the attainment of that which is useful and becoming, yet this conduct, he says, was not unforeknown, but already had been declared by the law and the prophets. And it is a thing impossible for the words of God to fail of their accomplishment, for he declared that which he knew must altogether and necessarily happen.
Unbelief, therefore, brings upon men destruction, as also does the stretching out of the haughty neck of the mind from excessive pride against Christ, the Savior of us all. By whom and with whom, to God the Father, be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
End of Sermon 110 End of Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermons 96-110 by Cyril of Alexandria Translated by Robert Payne Smith