John Chrysostom, On the Acts of the Apostles

He formed a holy temple in the Virgin, they laugh; if, because He dwelt in the spiritual temple, again they laugh. But they are not ashamed to bring down the substance of God into cucumbers and melons, and flies, and caterpillars, and asses, inventing some new manner of idolatry. But the onion is not in God; but God is in the onion. For let not the onion be God. Why do you flee the incarnation of God? It is shameful, he says. Is not this then much more shameful? But it is not shameful? How so? For whatever happens to us, is truly shameful. Do you see this rabble of impiety? But why do they not want the body to rise? And what will they say? That the body is evil? From where then, tell me, do you know God? from where do you have the knowledge of existing things? And from where is the philosopher a philosopher, if the body contributes nothing? Maim the senses, and learn something of what is needed. For what could be more foolish than a soul, if from the beginning its senses were maimed? For if the maiming of only one part, of the brain I mean, becomes a damage to its entirety; if the other parts also were to be maimed, where will it be useful? Show me a soul without a body. Or do you not hear the physicians saying: For a present sickness terribly obscures the soul? How long will you not hang yourselves? The body is of matter? tell me. Well. Therefore one ought to hate it; why then do you nourish it? why cherish it? [Therefore one ought to destroy oneself?] therefore one ought to get free from the prison. Otherwise, God cannot overcome matter, unless He is entwined with it. For He cannot command, until He has associated with it, and stood throughout it. Oh, the weakness! And a king by commanding does all things, but God not by commanding the evil things? And in general if it were devoid of any good, matter would not exist. For wickedness does not have the nature to subsist, unless it lays hold of some of the things of virtue; so that if before this it was unmixed with virtue, it would long ago have been destroyed; for this is the manner of evil things. Let there be some licentious man, and let him not at all restrain himself, will he live ten days? Let there be some robber and unscrupulous towards all, even towards his fellow robbers, will he live at all? Let there be 60.33 a shameless thief, and let him not blush, but steal publicly, will such a one survive? Evil things do not have the nature to subsist, unless they receive even some little thing from the good, so that according to them God established them. Let there be a city of wicked men, will it ever stand? But let them be wicked, not towards the good, but also towards themselves. But it is not possible for it to stand. Truly they became fools, professing to be wise. If the body is evil, all visible things are simply and randomly so, both water, and earth, and sun, and air. For even the air is a body, even if not thick and solid. 60.34 It is seasonable therefore to say: Lawless men have told me idle tales. But let us not endure them, but let us wall up our ears against them. For there is, there is a resurrection of bodies. This the tomb in Jerusalem declares; this the wood, where He was bound and scourged. For we ate with Him, he says, and we drank with Him. Let us believe therefore in the resurrection, and let us do things worthy of it, that we may also obtain the good things to come, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

60.33 HOMILY 3. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath's

journey away. 1. Then, he says, they returned. Then, when? When they had heard. For not otherwise

would they have endured it, if He had not promised them another coming. And it seems to me that these things also happened on a Sabbath. For he would not have so indicated the distance, saying, From the mount of

ἅγιον ναὸν ἔπλασεν ἐν τῇ Παρθένῳ, καταγελῶσιν· ἂν, ὅτι ἐνῴκησεν ἐν τῷ πνευματικῷ ναῷ, πάλιν γελῶσιν. Αὐτοὶ δὲ καὶ εἰς σικυοὺς καὶ πέπονας, καὶ μυίας, καὶ κάμπας, καὶ ὄνους τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν οὐσίαν κατάγοντες οὐκ αἰσχύνονται, καινόν τινα εἰδωλολατρείας ἐξευρίσκοντες τρόπον. Ἀλλ' οὐ τὸ κρόμμυον ἐν τῷ Θεῷ· ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῷ κρομμύῳ ἐστί. Μὴ γὰρ τὸ κρόμμυον ἔστω Θεός. Τί φεύγεις τὴν μετενσωμάτωσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Αἰσχρὸν, φησὶν, ἐστίν. Οὐκοῦν πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοῦτο αἰσχρόν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ αἰσχρόν; Πῶς; Ὅπερ γὰρ ἂν εἰς ἡμᾶς γένηται, ὄντως αἰσχρόν. Εἴδετε συρφετὸν ἀσεβείας; Ἀλλὰ διατί οὐ βούλονται ἀνίστασθαι σῶμα; Τί δὲ καὶ ἐροῦσιν; Ὅτι τὸ σῶμα πονηρόν; Πόθεν οὖν οἶδας, εἰπέ μοι, τὸν Θεόν; πόθεν ἔχεις τῶν ὄντων τὴν γνῶσιν; Ὁ δὲ φιλόσοφος πόθεν φιλόσοφος, εἰ μηδὲν συντελεῖ τὸ σῶμα; Πήρωσον τὰς αἰσθήσεις, καὶ μάθε τι τῶν δεόντων. Τί δὲ μωρότερον ψυχῆς γένοιτ' ἂν, εἰ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὰς αἰσθήσεις εἴη πεπηρωμένη; Εἰ γὰρ ἑνὸς μέρους μόνον πήρωσις, τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου λέγω, τὸ πᾶν αὐτῆς βλάβη γίνεται· εἰ μέλλοι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πεπηρῶσθαι, ποῦ χρήσιμος ἔσται; ∆εῖξόν μοι χωρὶς σώματος ψυχήν. Ἢ οὐκ ἀκούεις ἰατρῶν λεγόντων· Νόσος γὰρ παροῦσα δεινῶς ψυχὴν ἀμαυροῖ; Μέχρι τίνος οὐκ ἀπάγξεσθε; Τὸ σῶμα τῆς ὕλης ἐστίν; εἰπέ μοι. Καλῶς. Οὐκοῦν ἔδει μισεῖν αὐτό· τί τοίνυν αὐτὸ τρέφεις; τί θάλπεις; [Οὐκοῦν ἔδει ἀναιρεῖν σαυτόν;] οὐκοῦν ἔδει ἀπαλλάττεσθαι τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου. Ἄλλως δὲ, ὁ Θεὸς οὐ δύναται περιγενέσθαι τῆς ὕλης, ἂν μὴ συμπλακῇ. Ἐπιτάξαι γὰρ οὐ δύναται, ἕως ἂν οὐ συγγένηται αὐτῇ, καὶ δι' ὅλης σταθῇ. Ὢ τῆς ἀσθενείας! Καὶ βασιλεὺς μὲν ἐπιτάττων πάντα ποιεῖ, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς τοῖς πονηροῖς οὐκ ἐπιτάττων; Ὅλως δὲ εἰ ἀγαθοῦ τινος ἄμοιρος ἦν, οὐκ ἂν ἔστη ἡ ὕλη. Οὐ γὰρ ἔχει φύσιν ἡ πονηρία συνίστασθαι, ἂν μή τινος ἐπιλάβηται τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς· ὥστε εἰ πρὸ τούτου ἀμιγὴς ἦν ἀρετῆς, πάλαι ἂν διεφθάρη· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον τὰ κακά. Ἔστω τις ἀσελγὴς, καὶ μηδὲ ὅλως ἑαυτοῦ κατεχέτω, εἰ ζήσεται δέκα ἡμέρας; Ἔστω τις λῃστὴς καὶ πρὸς πάντας ἀσυνείδητος, ἔστω καὶ πρὸς τοὺς συλλῃστεύοντας, εἰ ζήσεται ὅλως; Ἔστω 60.33 τις κλέπτης ἀναίσχυντος, καὶ μὴ ἐρυθριάτω, ἀλλὰ δημοσίᾳ κλεπτέτω, εἰ βιώσεται ὁ τοιοῦτος; Οὐκ ἔχει φύσιν τὰ κακὰ συνίστασθαι, ἂν μὴ καὶ μικρόν τι παρὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν λάβῃ, ὥστε κατ' αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὰ συνέστησεν. Ἔστω πόλις ἀνδρῶν πονηρῶν, εἰ στήσεταί ποτε; Πονηροὶ δὲ ἔστωσαν, μὴ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτούς. Ἀλλ' οὐ δυνατὸν στῆναι. Ὄντως ἐμωράνθησαν φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοί. Εἰ τὸ σῶμα κακὸν, πάντα ἁπλῶς καὶ εἰκῆ τὰ ὁρώμενα, καὶ ὕδωρ, καὶ γῆ, καὶ ἥλιος, καὶ ἀήρ. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ σῶμα, εἰ καὶ μὴ παχὺ καὶ ναστόν. 60.34 Εὔκαιρον οὖν εἰπεῖν· ∆ιηγήσαντό μοι παράνομοι ἀδολεσχίας. Ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀνεχώμεθα, ἀλλ' ἀποτειχίσωμεν αὐτοῖς τὰς ἀκοάς. Ἔστι γὰρ, ἔστι σωμάτων ἀνάστασις. Τοῦτο ὁ τάφος δηλοῖ ὁ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις· τοῦτο τὸ ξύλον, ἔνθα προσεδέθη καὶ ἐμαστιγώθη. Συνεφάγομεν γὰρ αὐτῷ, φησὶ, καὶ συνεπίομεν. Πιστεύωμεν τοίνυν τῇ ἀναστάσει, καὶ πράττωμεν ἄξια ταύτης, ἵνα καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτύχωμεν ἀγαθῶν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, κράτος, τιμὴ, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

60.33 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Γʹ. Τότε ὑπέστρεψαν οἱ ἀπόστολοι εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἀπὸ ὄρους τοῦ καλουμένου Ἐλαιῶνος, ὅ ἐστιν ἐγγὺς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, σαββάτου

ἔχον ὁδόν. αʹ. Τότε, φησὶν, ὑπέστρεψαν. Τότε, πότε; Ὅτε ἤκουσαν. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἄλλως

ἠνέσχοντο, εἰ μὴ ἑτέραν αὐτοῖς παρουσίαν ὑπέσχετο. ∆οκεῖ δέ μοι καὶ ἐν σαββάτῳ γεγονέναι ταῦτα. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν οὕτω καὶ τὸ διάστημα ἐδήλωσεν εἰπὼν, Ἀπὸ ὄρους τοῦ