John Chrysostom, On "The harvest indeed is much"

it would not bear fruit, but arrogance not only yields no fruit, but also causes the existing to wither and dries up what has sprouted; just as, therefore, humility not only cherishes what exists, but is also accustomed to bring forth what does not exist.

4. And of the things said, the greatest examples are both the Pharisee and the tax collector.

For the one, having gone up with arrogance, not only bore no fruit, but even lost what he had; but the tax collector, being destitute and having nothing good, achieves a success for himself; for since he only groaned and, bowing his head, called himself wretched, he went down abounding in much righteousness and in this surpassed the Pharisee. But so that you may see from the deeds themselves, and learn from specific persons where Christ humbled a mountain and a hill, let the discourse again bring Paul to us. For this tentmaker (for I gladly dwell on his trade, so that you may learn that a trade is not a reproach, but idleness is an accusation and a crime); this Paul, then, being in Salamis, met a certain proconsul and a magician with him. The precipice was twofold, both the arrogance from his office, and the teaching from the magician. And when he saw that defiled and shameless beast hindering the proconsul and interrupting his teaching, listen to what he says, filled with the Holy Spirit: O, full of all deceit and all recklessness, son of the devil.

For to insult is not everywhere evil, but to insult rashly; for to this Christ has also attached a punishment; just as one who does this at the proper time imitates a physician who cuts at the proper time, and with the incision expels the decay. This indeed Paul also does: Will you not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord? But he does not tolerate your words, O Paul; bring on some apostolic reasoning, turn back his tongue, shut his mouth, stop the evil streams. What then does he do? Showing that his war is not against men, he says: And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you. For He who said, I am with you always, was also with Paul then, and having this promise he both calls upon Him and 63.522 deems Him worthy to become the avenger, and to take part in the matters at hand, and to tear up the impediments. And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you. How great is the condescension of Christ! How great is the boldness of Paul! How by a decree he brings on the blow, and Christ immediately assents to what is said. What is the Hand of the Lord? A striking, opposing power. For He was with them everywhere, readily obeying, and making the matter a harvest, not allowing them to labor nor to toil, but contributing His own part. And he became blind, not seeing for a time. Did you see the punishment with loving-kindness? For the decree is an admonition, not a punishment, a correction, not a destruction. For this reason he did not wither his hand, he did not cut out the tongue that uttered wicked words, he did not cripple his legs, but his very eyes. For since he himself was healed by this and was delivered from the erring way and from the harmful paths, he applies this same medicine to him also, as if saying: I too was running badly, and I was seeing deadly things; for this reason I was well blinded, so that I might see again better; this medicine I apply to you also and I blind your outer eyes, so that I may open the inner eyes.

Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed. Did you see the mountain made level, and the hill brought low, and the harvest completed, and the reaping prepared, and the ripe fruit gathered, and Paul, having neither labored nor toiled, but with a mere word having caught the proconsul in his net? For this reason it calls the Gospel a harvest, because of the speed and the ease which it provided for them. So also that eunuch, the barbarian and foreigner, and established in great power, was caught in the net, not even there of some time or

οὐκ ἂν ἐνέγκῃ καρπὸν, ἡ δὲ ἀπόνοια οὐ μόνον οὐ δίδωσί τινα καρπὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ὄντα καταμαραίνει καὶ τὸν βλαστήσαντα ξηραίνει· ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ ταπεινοφροσύνη οὐ μόνον θάλπει τὸν ὄντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν οὐκ ὄντα τίκτειν εἴωθε.

δʹ. Καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων μέγιστα παραδείγματα ὅ τε φαρισαῖος καὶ ὁ τελώνης.

Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀνελθὼν μετὰ ἀπο νοίας, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἔτεκέ τινα καρπὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ὄντα ἀπώλεσε· ὁ δὲ τελώνης ἔρημος ὢν καὶ οὐδὲν ἀγα θὸν ἔχων, ποιεῖ ἑαυτῷ κατόρθωμα· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ μόνον ἐστέναξε καὶ κάτω κύψας ἑαυτὸν ἐταλάνισε, κατῆλθε πολλῇ βρύων τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ παραδραμὼν κατὰ τοῦτο τὸν φαρισαῖον. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἴδητε τῶν πραγ μάτων, καὶ ἐπὶ ὡρισμένων προσώπων μάθητε ποῦ ὄρος καὶ βουνὸν ἐταπείνωσεν ὁ Χριστὸς, εἰσαγέτω πάλιν ἡμῖν τὸν Παῦλον ὁ λόγος. Οὗτος γὰρ ὁ σκηνοποιὸς (ἡδέως γὰρ τὴν τέχνην αὐτοῦ περιστρέφω, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐκ ὄνειδος ἡ τέχνη, ἀλλ' ἡ ἀργία κατηγορία καὶ ἔγκλημα)· οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Παῦλος, γενόμενος ἐν Σαλα μῖνι, συνέτυχέ τινι ἀνθυπάτῳ καὶ μάγῳ μετ' ἐκείνου. ∆ιπλοῦς ὁ κρημνὸς, ἥ τε ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀπόνοια, ἥ τε ἀπὸ τοῦ μάγου διδασκαλία. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἑώρα τὸ μιαρὸν ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἀναίσχυντον θηρίον ἐμποδίζον τῷ ἀνθυπάτῳ καὶ διακόπτον αὐτοῦ τὴν διδασκαλίαν, ἄκουσον τί φησι πλησθεὶς Πνεύματος ἁγίου· Ὢ παντὸς δόλου καὶ πά σης ῥᾳδιουργίας γέμων, υἱὲ διαβόλου.

Οὐ γὰρ τὸ ὑβρίζειν πανταχοῦ κακὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ εἰκῆ ὑβρίζειν· τούτῳ γὰρ καὶ κόλασιν ὁ Χριστὸς ἔθηκεν· ὡς ὅ γε μετὰ και ροῦ τοῦ προσήκοντος τοῦτο ποιῶν, ἰατρὸν μιμεῖται τέμνοντα μετὰ τοῦ καιροῦ τοῦ προσήκοντος, καὶ τῇ τομῇ τὴν σηπεδόνα ἐκβάλλοντα. Τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ποιεῖ· Οὐ παύσῃ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς τοῦ Κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀνέχεταί σου τῶν ῥημάτων, ὦ Παῦλε· ἐπάγαγέ τινα συλλογισμὸν ἀποστολικὸν, ἀπό στρεψον τὴν γλῶτταν, ἔμφραξον αὐτοῦ τὸ στόμα, στῆσον τὰ πονηρὰ ῥεύματα. Τί οὖν ποιεῖ; ∆εικνὺς ὅτι οὐ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὁ πόλεμος αὐτῷ, φησί· Καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ χεὶρ Κυρίου ἐπὶ σέ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ εἰπὼν, Μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, παρῆν καὶ τῷ Παύλῳ τότε, καὶ ταύτην ἔχων τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν καλεῖ τε αὐτὸν καὶ 63.522 ἀξιοῖ γενέσθαι τιμωρὸν, καὶ συνεφάψασθαι τῶν προκει μένων, καὶ τὰ κωλύματα ἀνασπάσαι. Καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ χεὶρ Κυρίου ἐπὶ σέ. Πόση τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ συγκατάβα σις· πόση τοῦ Παύλου ἡ παῤῥησία· πῶς ἐν ἀποφάσει τὴν πληγὴν ἐπάγει, καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς εὐθέως ἐπινεύει τῷ λεγομένῳ. Τί ἐστι Χεὶρ Κυρίου; ∆ύναμις ἐναντία πλη κτική. Παρῆν γὰρ αὐτοῖς πανταχοῦ, ἑτοίμως ὑπακούων, καὶ θερισμὸν τὸ πρᾶγμα ποιῶν, οὐκ ἀφιεὶς πονεῖν οὐδὲ ταλαιπωρεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ συνεισάγων. Καὶ ἔστη τυφλὸς, μὴ βλέπων ἕως καιροῦ. Εἶδες καὶ τὴν τιμωρίαν μετὰ φιλανθρωπίας; νουθεσία γὰρ, οὐ κόλα σις ἡ ἀπόφασις, διόρθωσις, οὐκ ἀφανισμός. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο οὐ χεῖρα ἐξήρανεν, οὐ γλῶτταν τὰ πονηρὰ ῥήματα φθεγγομένην ἐξέκοψεν, οὐ σκέλη ἐπήρωσεν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτούς. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐντεῦθεν ἰάθη καὶ τῆς πεπλανημένης ὁδοῦ καὶ τῶν δρόμων ἀπηλλάγη τῶν βλαβερῶν, καὶ τούτῳ τὸ αὐτὸ φάρμακον ἐπιτίθησι, μονονουχὶ λέγων· Ἔτρεχον κἀγὼ κακῶς, καὶ ἔβλεπον θανάσιμα· διὰ τοῦτο ἐπηρώθην καλῶς, ἵνα ἀναβλέψω ἄμεινον· τοῦτο καὶ σοὶ τὸ φάρμακον ἐπιτίθημι καὶ πηρῶ τοὺς ἔξωθεν ὀφθαλμοὺς, ἵνα ἀνοίξω τὰ ἔνδοθεν ὄμματα.

Τότε ἰδὼν ὁ ἀνθύπατος τὸ γεγενημένον, ἐπί στευσεν. Εἶδες τὸ ὄρος ἰσόπεδον γενόμενον, καὶ τὸν βου νὸν ταπεινωθέντα, καὶ τὸν θερισμὸν ἀπαρτισθέντα, καὶ τὸν ἄμητον παρεσκευασμένον, καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ὥριμον συναγόμενον, καὶ τὸν Παῦλον οὐδὲν καμόντα οὐδὲ ταλαι πωρηθέντα, ἀλλὰ ῥήματι ψιλῷ σαγηνεύσαντα τὸν ἀνθ ύπατον; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο θερισμὸν τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον καλεῖ, διὰ τὴν ταχυτῆτα καὶ τὴν εὐκολίαν, ἣν αὐτοῖς παρεῖχεν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ εὐνοῦχος ἐκεῖνος ὁ βάρβαρος καὶ ἀλλό φυλος καὶ ἐν δυναστείᾳ μεγάλῃ καθεστὼς, ἐσαγηνεύετο, οὐδὲ ἐκεῖ χρόνου τινὸς ἢ