John Chrysostom, On the Acts of the Apostles

Will you say these things to Christ, being buried with him, when you are about to leap away? For it is right to show your good will both through deeds and through words. But you are doing the same thing as if a soldier wished to enlist when the war was about to end; or an athlete to strip for the contest when the theatre was already breaking up. For you receive arms for this reason, not that you may immediately leap away, but that having received them you may set up a trophy against the enemy. Let no one think this discourse on these things is untimely, if it is not Lent now. For I am vexed for this reason, that you observe a season in such matters. And yet that eunuch, being a barbarian and on a journey, and in the midst of a highway, did not seek a season; nor did the jailer, and this while being among prisoners, and seeing his teacher scourged and bound, and for the time being about to have him inside. But here, not dwelling in a prison, nor being on journeys, many put it off, and this while at their last gasp. 8. If, then, you still doubt that Christ is God, stand outside, and do not listen to the divine words, nor number yourself among the catechumens; but if you are confident, and know this clearly, why do you delay? Why do you shrink back and hesitate? "I am afraid lest I sin," he says. But are you not afraid of what is more grievous, that you may depart thither with so many burdens? For it is not the same thing to fail to obtain the grace set before you, and to fail when attempting to live aright. Tell me, for if he should accuse you, "For what reason did you not come forward? For what reason did you not live aright?" what will you say? For in the latter case perhaps you can mention the burdensome nature of the commandments and of virtue; but in the former there is nothing of the sort. For it is grace, freely bestowing freedom. But you are afraid lest you sin? Say this after baptism. Then have the fear, so as to keep the confidence which you have received, not so as to fail to receive such a gift. But now before baptism you are scrupulous, and after baptism you are slothful. But are you waiting for the season of Lent? For what reason? For does that season have something more? The apostles, at any rate, were not deemed worthy of grace at Easter, but at another time; and the three thousand and the five thousand, when they were baptized, it was not the season of Easter; and Cornelius, and the eunuch, and many others. Let us not then wait for a season, lest by delaying and putting it off we depart empty and destitute of so many 60.25 good things. How do you think I am pained, when I hear that some uninitiated person was carried away from here, thinking of those unbearable punishments, the inevitable penalty? How am I vexed again, when I see others reaching their last gasp, and not even from this being made sober? For this very reason many things unworthy of this gift happen. For when it is right to rejoice, and to dance, and to be glad, and to be crowned, when another is being initiated, when the wife of the sick man hears that the physician has prescribed this, she laments and wails as if over some evil, and shrieks and groans are everywhere in the house as if over condemned men being led away on their last journey. And he again is then pained the more, and even if he should recover from the illness, he grieves more grievously as though he had been insulted. For since he had not been prepared for virtue, he hesitates henceforth, and shrinks back from the contests that come after. Do you see what devices the devil contrives, how much shame, how much ridicule? Let us therefore be rid of this ridicule; let us live as Christ commanded. For this reason he gave baptism, not that having received it we might depart, but that having lived on we might show forth fruits. How will you say, "Bear fruit," to him who is departing, to him who has been cut off? Have you not heard that "The fruit of the Spirit 60.26 is love, joy, peace"? How then do the opposite things happen? For the wife stands by mourning, when she ought to rejoice; the children wailing, when they should be glad with him; the man himself lying there darkened, full of turmoil and confusion, when he ought to be celebrating a festival; filled with much despondency, because of the orphanhood of his children, because of the widowhood of his wife, because of the desolation of his house. Does one thus approach mysteries? tell me; does one thus touch a holy table? these things

ἐκεῖνα πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν ἐρεῖς, Συνθαπτόμενος αὐτῷ, μέλλων ἀποπηδᾷν; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων, καὶ διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων ἐπιδείκνυσθαι χρὴ τὴν εὔνοιαν. Σὺ δὲ ταὐτὸν ποιεῖς, οἷον ἂν εἴ τις ἀπογράφεσθαι βούλοιτο στρατιώτης, τοῦ πολέμου λύεσθαι μέλλοντος· ἢ ἀθλητὴς ἀποδύεσθαι, τοῦ θεάτρου λοιπὸν ἀναστάντος. Καὶ γὰρ ὅπλα διὰ τοῦτο λαμβάνεις, οὐχ ἵνα εὐθέως ἀποπηδήσῃς, ἀλλ' ἵνα λαβὼν κατὰ τοῦ ἐναντίου τρόπαιον στήσῃς. Μηδεὶς νομιζέτω ἄκαιρον εἶναι τὸν περὶ τούτων λόγον, εἰ μή ἐστι τεσσαρακοστὴ νῦν. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο δάκνομαι, ὅτι καιρὸν παρατηρεῖτε ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις. Καίτοιγε ὁ εὐνοῦχος ἐκεῖνος, καὶ βάρβαρος ὢν καὶ ὁδοιπορῶν, καὶ ἐν μέσῃ λεωφόρῳ ὢν, καιρὸν οὐκ ἐζήτησεν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ, καὶ ταῦτα μεταξὺ δεσμωτῶν ὢν, καὶ τὸν διδάσκαλον μεμαστιγωμένον καὶ δεδεμένον ὁρῶν, καὶ τέως αὐτὸν μέλλων ἔνδον ἔχειν. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐ δεσμωτήριον οἰκοῦντες, οὐδ' ἐν ὁδοῖς ὄντες, ἀναβάλλονται πολλοὶ, καὶ ταῦτα ὄντες πρὸς ἐσχάτας ἀναπνοάς. ηʹ. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἔτι ἀμφιβάλλεις, ὅτι Θεός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἔξω στῆθι, καὶ μηδὲ θείων ἄκουε λόγων, μηδὲ ἐν τοῖς κατηχουμένοις ἀρίθμει σαυτόν· εἰ δὲ θαῤῥεῖς, καὶ οἶδας τοῦτο σαφῶς, τί μέλλεις; τί δὲ ἀναδύῃ καὶ ὀκνεῖς; ∆έδοικα μὴ ἁμάρτω, φησί. Τὸ δὲ χαλεπώτερον οὐ δέδοικας, μὴ μετὰ φορτίων τοσούτων ἀπέλθῃς ἐκεῖ; Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον, χάριτος προκειμένης μὴ τυχεῖν, καὶ κατορθοῦν ἐπιχειροῦντα ἀποτυχεῖν. Εἰπὲ δή μοι, ἂν γὰρ ἐγκαλῇ, Τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐ προσῆλθες. τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐ κατώρθωσας, τί ἐρεῖς; Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ τάχα τὸ φορτικὸν ἔχεις εἰπεῖν καὶ τῶν προσταγμάτων καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον. Χάρις γάρ ἐστι δωρεὰν παρεχομένη τὴν ἐλευθερίαν. Ἀλλὰ δέδοικας μὴ ἁμάρτῃς; Ταῦτα μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα λέγε. Τότε ἔχε τὸν φόβον, ὥστε φυλάξαι τὴν παῤῥησίαν, ἣν ἔλαβες, οὐχ ὥστε μὴ λαβεῖν δωρεὰν τοιαύτην. Νῦν δὲ πρὸ μὲν τοῦ βαπτίσματος εὐλαβὴς σὺ, μετὰ δὲ τὸ βάπτισμα ῥᾴθυμος. Ἀλλὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἀναμένεις τῆς τεσσαρακοστῆς; Τίνος ἕνεκεν; μὴ γὰρ ἔχει τι πλέον ἐκεῖνος ὁ καιρός; Οἱ γοῦν ἀπόστολοι οὐκ ἐν τῷ πάσχα κατηξιώθησαν τῆς χάριτος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἑτέρῳ καιρῷ· καὶ οἱ τρισχίλιοι καὶ οἱ πεντακισχίλιοι, ὅτε ἐβαπτίσθησαν, πάσχα οὐκ ἦν καιρός· καὶ ὁ Κορνήλιος, καὶ ὁ εὐνοῦχος, καὶ ἕτεροι πλείους. Μὴ τοίνυν καιρὸν ἀναμένωμεν, μήποτε μέλλοντες καὶ ἀναβαλλόμενοι ἀπέλθωμεν κενοὶ καὶ ἔρημοι τοσούτων 60.25 ἀγαθῶν. Πῶς οἴεσθε ὀδυνῶμαι, ὅταν ἀκούσω, ὅτι ἀμύητός τις ἀπηνέχθη ἐντεῦθεν, τὰς ἀφορήτους ἐννοῶν κολάσεις ἐκείνας, τὴν ἀπαραίτητον τιμωρίαν; πῶς δάκνομαι πάλιν, ὅταν ἑτέρους ἴδω πρὸς τὰς ἐσχάτας φθάνοντας ἀναπνοὰς, καὶ μηδὲ ἐντεῦθεν σωφρονιζομένους; ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο πολλὰ τῆς δωρεᾶς ταύτης ἀνάξια γίνεται. ∆έον γὰρ εὐφραίνεσθαι, καὶ χορεύειν, καὶ χαίρειν, καὶ στεφανοῦσθαι, ἑτέρου μυσταγωγουμένου, ὅταν ἀκούσῃ τοῦ κάμνοντος ἡ γυνὴ, ὅτι τοῦτο ἐπέσκηψεν ὁ ἰατρὸς, ὡς ἐπὶ κακῷ τινι κατακόπτεται καὶ θρηνεῖ, καὶ κωκυτοὶ καὶ οἰμωγαὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκίας ὡς ἐπὶ καταδίκων τῶν τὴν ἐσχάτην ἀπαγομένων ὁδόν. Καὶ ἐκεῖνος δὲ πάλιν τότε ὀδυνᾶται πλέον, κἂν ἀνενέγκῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀῤῥωστίας, χαλεπώτερον ἀλγεῖ ὡς ἐπηρεασθείς. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐ παρεσκεύαστο πρὸς ἀρετὴν, ὀκνεῖ λοιπὸν, καὶ ἀναδύεται πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα. Ὁρᾷς, οἷα ὁ διάβολος κατασκευάζει μηχανήματα, ὅσην τὴν αἰσχύνην, ὅσον τὸν γέλωτα; Ἀπαλλαγῶμεν τοίνυν τούτου τοῦ γέλωτος· ζήσωμεν ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκέλευσε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἔδωκε τὸ βάπτισμα, οὐχ ἵνα λαβόντες ἀπέλθωμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἐπιζήσαντες καρποὺς ἐπιδειξώμεθα. Πῶς ἐρεῖς, Καρποφόρει, τῷ ἀπιόντι, τῷ ἐκκοπέντι; οὐκ ἤκουσας, ὅτι Ὁ καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύ 60.26 ματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρὰ, εἰρήνη; Πῶς οὖν τὰ ἐναντία γίνεται; Καὶ γὰρ ἡ γυνὴ παρέστηκε πενθοῦσα, ὅτε χαίρειν ἔδει· τὰ τέκνα ὀδυρόμενα, ὅτε συνήδεσθαι ἐχρῆν· αὐτὸς ὁ κείμενος ἐσκοτωμένος, θορύβου γέμων καὶ ταραχῆς, ὅτε πανηγυρίζειν ἔδει· ἀθυμίας πεπληρωμένος πολλῆς, διὰ τὴν ὀρφανίαν τῶν τέκνων, διὰ τὴν χηρείαν τῆς γυναικὸς, διὰ τὴν ἐρημίαν τῆς οἰκίας. Οὕτω τις προέρχεται μυστηρίοις; εἰπέ μοι· οὕτως ἅπτεται τραπέζης ἱερᾶς; ταῦτα