John Chrysostom, On the Acts of the Apostles

shared with him in the journey to Palestine, by being unfaithful; much more will the children not share, even if they have come a long way on the road, if they do not emulate their father's virtue. And He promised to give it to him and to his seed, he says, after him. Here both the great philanthropy of God is shown, and the faith of Abraham. For, when he had no child, to be persuaded, this shows both his obedience and his faith; and yet the things that happened showed the contrary; for instance, after he arrived he did not have a footstep of land, he had no child, which things were contrary to faith. Let us then, understanding these things, accept whatever God promises, even if what happens is somehow contrary; and yet in our case they are not contrary, but very much in accord. For where there are promises, when contrary things happen, they are truly contrary; but in our case it is the opposite: here He spoke of affliction, but there of rest. Why do we confuse the times? Why do we turn things upside down? Are you afflicted, tell me, because you live in poverty, and are you disturbed because of this? Be not disturbed; for it is worthy of disturbance if you are to be afflicted there; for this affliction is a cause of rest. This sickness, he says, 60.124 is not unto death. That affliction is punishment; this one is discipline and correction. The present time is a contest; therefore there is need of boxing; it is a war and a battle. No one in war seeks rest, no one in war seeks luxury, no one is anxious for money, no one cares for his wife, but looks to one thing only, how he may overcome his enemies. Let us do this too; and if we overcome and return with trophies, God will give us all things. Let this one thing be our concern, how we may overcome the devil; or rather, the whole matter is not of our effort, but of the grace of God. Let one thing be our concern, how we may draw His grace to us, how we may draw that inclination to ourselves. If God is for us, who is against us, he says? Let us be concerned about one thing only, that He may not become an enemy to us, that He may not turn away from us. 4. To be afflicted is not evil, but to sin is evil. This is the grievous affliction, even if we live in luxury; I do not speak of the future, but also of the present. For how do you think our conscience is bitten? What torment is not worse? I would wish to ask with accuracy those who live in evil things, if they never come to the thought of their own sins, if they do not tremble, if they are not afraid, if they do not suffer pain, if they do not call blessed those who live in fasting, on the mountains, in philosophy. Do you wish to find rest there? Be afflicted here for Christ's sake; nothing is equal to this rest. The apostles rejoiced when they were scourged. Paul exhorts this, saying: Rejoice in the Lord. And how is it possible to rejoice, one says, where there are bonds, where there are tortures, where there are courts of justice? Most of all is it possible to rejoice here. But how it is possible to rejoice where these things are, learn. He who is conscious of no evil in himself will somehow be greatly pleased, so that, the more you speak of the affliction, the more you speak of the pleasure. For tell me, a soldier who has received countless wounds and is returning, will he not return with much pleasure, having his wounds as a ground for confidence, and for splendor and good repute? And you, if you are able to utter that saying which Paul did, that I bear the marks of Jesus, will be able to become great and glorious and of good repute. But is there no persecution? Stand against glory; and if anyone says something against you, do not be afraid to be spoken ill of for Christ's sake; stand against the tyranny of pride, stand against the battle of anger, stand against the torment of desire. These too are marks, and these are torments. For tell me, what is the most terrible of torments? Is it not that the soul is pained and burned? For in that case, the body is divided, but in this one, the whole is the soul's. The pain is about it, when it is angry, when it is envious, when it does some such thing, or rather when it suffers it. For this is not to do, but to suffer, to be angry, to have envy; for this reason they are also called passions of the soul, and wounds, and scars. For it is truly a passion, and more grievous than a passion. Consider, you who are angry, that you do these things 60.125 with passion. Therefore, he who is not angry does not suffer, Do you see that he who is insulted does not

ἐκοινώνησεν αὐτῷ τῆς ἐπὶ Παλαιστίνην ἀποδημίας, τῷ ἄπιστος εἶναι· πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ παιδία οὐ κοινωνήσουσι, κἂν ἐπὶ πολὺ ἔλθωσι τῆς ὁδοῦ, τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς μὴ ζηλώσαντα ἀρετήν. Καὶ ἐπηγγείλατο αὐτὴν δοῦναι αὐτῷ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ, φησὶ, μετ' αὐτόν. Πολλὴ ἐνταῦθα καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ φιλανθρωπία δείκνυται, καὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἡ πίστις. Τὸ γὰρ, Οὐκ ὄντος αὐτῷ τέκνου, πείθεσθαι, τοῦτο δείκνυσι καὶ τὴν ὑπακοὴν καὶ τὴν πίστιν· καίτοι γε τὰ γενόμενα τοὐναντίον ἐδείκνυ· οἷον, μετὰ τὸ ἐλθεῖν οὐκ εἶχε βῆμα ποδὸς, παῖδα οὐκ εἶχεν, ἅπερ ἐναντία ἦν τῇ πίστει. Ταῦτα δὴ κατανοοῦντες καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἅπερ ἂν ἐπαγγέλληται ὁ Θεὸς, δεχώμεθα, κἄν που ἐναντία ᾖ τὰ γινόμενα· καίτοι ἐφ' ἡμῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐναντία, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα ἀκόλουθα. Ἔνθα μὲν γὰρ ἂν ὦσιν ὑποσχέσεις, ὅταν τὰ ἐναντία γένηται, ἐναντία ἐστὶν ὄντως· ἐφ' ἡμῶν δὲ τοὐναντίον· ἐνταῦθα μὲν θλῖψιν εἶπεν, ἐκεῖ δὲ ἄνεσιν. Τί συγχέομεν τοὺς καιρούς; τί τὰ ἄνω κάτω ποιοῦμεν; Θλίβῃ, εἰπέ μοι, ὅτι ἐν πενίᾳ διάγεις, καὶ θορυβῇ διὰ τοῦτο; Μὴ θορυβοῦ· θορύβου γὰρ ἄξιον, εἰ ἐκεῖ μέλλοις θλίβεσθαι· αὕτη γὰρ ἡ θλῖψις, ἀνέσεως αἰτία. Ἡ ἀσθένεια αὕτη, φησὶν, 60.124 οὐκ ἔστι πρὸς θάνατον. Ἐκείνη ἡ θλῖψις, κόλασις· αὕτη, παιδεία καὶ διόρθωσις. Ἀγών ἐστιν ὁ παρὼν καιρός· οὐκοῦν τοῦ πυκτεύειν χρεία· πόλεμός ἐστι καὶ μάχη. Οὐδεὶς ἐν πολέμῳ ζητεῖ ἄνεσιν, οὐδεὶς ἐν πολέμῳ ζητεῖ τρυφὴν, οὐδεὶς ὑπὲρ χρημάτων μεριμνᾷ, ὑπὲρ γυναικὸς οὐδεὶς φροντίζει, ἀλλ' εἰς ἓν ὁρᾷ μόνον, ὅπως περιγένοιτο τῶν ἐχθρῶν. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιῶμεν· καὶ ἂν περιγενώμεθα καὶ ἐπανέλθωμεν μετὰ τροπαίων, πάντα ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς δώσει. Τοῦτο μόνον ἡμῖν σπουδαζέσθω, πῶς περιγενώμεθα τοῦ διαβόλου· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ τῆς ἡμετέρας τὸ πρᾶγμα σπουδῆς, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτός ἐστι τὸ πᾶν. Ἓν ἡμῖν σπουδαζέσθω, ὅπως ἐπισπασώμεθα αὐτοῦ τὴν χάριν, ὅπως ἑλκύσωμεν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς τὴν ῥοπὴν ἐκείνην. Εἰ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ' ἡμῶν, φησίν; Ἓν μόνον σπουδάζωμεν, ὅπως οὗτος ἡμῖν μὴ ἐχθρὸς γένηται, ὅπως ἡμᾶς μὴ ἀποστραφῇ. δʹ. Οὐ τὸ θλίβεσθαι κακὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν κακόν. Ἡ χαλεπὴ θλῖψις τοῦτό ἐστι, κἂν ἐν τρυφῇ διάγωμεν· οὐ λέγω ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι. Πῶς γὰρ οἴει τὸ συνειδὸς ἡμῶν δάκνεσθαι; ποίας βασάνου οὐκ εἶναι χεῖρον; Ἐβουλόμην μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐρωτῆσαι τοὺς ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς ζῶντας, εἰ μηδέποτε εἰς ἔννοιαν ἔρχονται τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων, εἰ μὴ τρέμουσιν, εἰ μὴ δεδοίκασιν, εἰ μὴ ὀδυνῶνται, εἰ μὴ μακαρίζουσι τοὺς ἐν νηστείᾳ, τοὺς ἐν ὄρεσι, τοὺς ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ζῶντας Βούλει ἄνεσιν εὑρεῖν ἐκεῖ; Θλίβηθι ἐνταῦθα διὰ τὸν Χριστόν· οὐδὲν ταύτης τῆς ἀνέσεως ἴσον. Ἔχαιρον οἱ ἀπόστολοι μαστιζόμενοι. Παῦλος τοῦτο παραινεῖ λέγων· Χαίρετε ἐν Κυρίῳ. Καὶ πῶς ἔνι χαίρειν, φησὶν ἔνθα δεσμὰ, ἔνθα βάσανοι, ἔνθα δικαστήρια; Μάλιστα ἐνταῦθα χαίρειν ἔνι. Πῶς δὲ ἔνι χαίρειν, ἔνθα ταῦτα, μάνθανε. Ὁ μηδὲν ἑαυτῷ συνειδὼς, μέγα πως ἡσθήσεται, ὥστε, ὅσῳ ἂν εἴπῃς τὴν θλῖψιν, τοσούτῳ λέγεις τὴν ἡδονήν. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, ὁ μυρία τραύματα λαβὼν στρατιώτης καὶ ἐπανιὼν, ἆρ' οὐχὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐπανήξει τῆς ἡδονῆς, παῤῥησίας ὑπόθεσιν ἔχων τὰ τραύματα, λαμπρότητός τε καὶ εὐδοκιμήσεως; Καὶ σὺ ἂν δυνηθῇς ῥῆξαι τὴν φωνὴν ἐκείνην, ἣν Παῦλος, ὅτι Τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ βαστάζω, δυνήσῃ μέγας γενέσθαι καὶ λαμπρὸς καὶ εὐδόκιμος. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι διωγμός; Στῆθι πρὸς δόξαν· κἂν εἴπῃ τις ἐναντίον τι, μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀκοῦσαι κακῶς διὰ Χριστόν· στῆθι πρὸς τύφου τυραννίδα, στῆθι πρὸς θυμοῦ μάχην, στῆθι πρὸς ἐπιθυμίας βάσανον. Καὶ ταῦτα στίγματά ἐστι, καὶ αὗται βάσανοι. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, τί τὸ δεινότατον τῶν βασάνων; ἆρ' οὐχ ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ ἀλγεῖ καὶ καίεται; Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ κἂν τὸ σῶμα μερίζεται· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὸ πᾶν αὐτῆς ἐστι. Περὶ αὐτὴν ἡ ὀδύνη, ὅταν ὀργίζηται, ὅταν βασκαίνῃ, ὅταν τι τοιοῦτον ποιῇ, μᾶλλον δὲ ὅταν πάσχῃ. Οὐ γὰρ ποιεῖν τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ πάσχειν, τὸ ὀργίζεσθαι, τὸ φθόνον ἔχειν· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πάθη καλεῖται ψυχῆς, καὶ τραύματα, καὶ ὠτειλαί. Ὄντως γὰρ πάθος ἐστὶ, καὶ πάθους χαλεπώτερον. Ἐννοήσατε, οἱ ὀργιζόμενοι, ὅτι πάθει ταῦτα 60.125 ποιεῖτε. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὴ ὀργιζόμενος οὐ πάσχει, Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι ὁ ὑβριζόμενος οὐ