John Chrysostom, On John

knowing this, let us also do all things, so that we may be able to be saved through our own works, that we may not in vain deceive ourselves with hopes in others, and then learn that we were deceived in vain, when there is no benefit to us from this knowledge. 59.134 For in Hades, he says, who will confess to you? Therefore, let us repent here, so that we may obtain the eternal good things, which may it be that we all attain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be the glory and the power, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

59.133 HOMILY 22. What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come.

1. There is indeed a certain labor in speaking; and Paul, indicating this, said: Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. But you are masters of making this labor both light and heavy. For if you reject what is said, or do not reject it but do not show it in your works, the toil will be heavy for us because we labor rashly and in vain; but if you pay attention, and provide the demonstration through your works, we will not even feel the sweat; for the fruit born from the labors will not allow the severity of the labor to be apparent. So if you wish to stir up our zeal, and not extinguish it, nor make it weaker, show us, I beseech you, the fruit, so that seeing the grain fields flourishing, we too, being nourished by the hopes of abundance and reckoning our wealth, may not grow numb in carrying on this good trade. For no small question is set before us today. For when the mother of Jesus said, They have no wine, Christ says, What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come; and having said this, He did what His mother said. This is no less a matter for inquiry than the former. Therefore, having called upon Him who worked the miracle, let us thus come to the solution. For not only is this said here, but the same evangelist, proceeding, appears to say: They could not seize Him, because His hour had not yet come; and again: No one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come; and again: The hour has come; glorify Your Son. All these things, said throughout the Gospel, I have gathered here, so that I might apply one solution to all. What then is the solution of these sayings? Christ, not being subject to the necessity of times, nor to the observance of an hour, said, My hour has not yet come; (for how could the maker of the seasons, and the creator of times and ages?) but by these words He wishes to show this, that He does all things at the proper time, not doing all things at once; since some confusion and disorder would have resulted from this, if He had not created each thing at its proper time, but mixed all things together, both birth, and resurrection, and judgment. Consider: Creation had to come into being, but not all at once; and man with woman, but not even these at the same time. It was necessary for the human race to be condemned to death, and for the resurrection to happen, but there is a great interval between the two. It was necessary for the law to be given, but not grace at the same time, but 59.134 for each to be ordered at its proper time. Christ, therefore, was not subject to the necessity of times, who indeed especially imposed order on the times, since He is also their maker. But John here introduces Christ saying, My hour has not yet come, showing that He was not yet manifest to the many, and that He did not yet have the full company of disciples, but Andrew followed Him and with him Philip, but no one else; rather, not even all of these knew Him as they ought, neither His mother, nor His brothers. For after the many miracles, the evangelist said this about His brothers, that Not even His brothers believed in Him. But neither did those in the

εἰδότες, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἅπαντα πράττωμεν, ὥστε διὰ τῶν οἰκείων ἔργων σωθῆναι δυνηθῆναι, ἵνα μὴ μάτην ἑαυτοὺς ταῖς εἰς ἑτέρους ἀπατήσαντες ἐλπίσι, τότε μάθωμεν ὅτι μάτην ἠπατήθημεν, ὅτε τῆς γνώσεως ἡμῖν ταύτης 59.134 ὄφελος οὐδέν. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ ᾅδῃ, φησὶ, τίς ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι; Οὐκοῦν ἐνταῦθα μετανοήσωμεν, ὥστε τῶν αἰωνίων τυχεῖν ἀγαθῶν, ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

59.133 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΚΒʹ. Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ, γύναι; Οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου.

αʹ. Ἔχει μέν τινα πόνον τὸ λέγειν· καὶ τοῦτο ὁ Παῦλος δηλῶν ἔλεγεν· Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι, διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν· μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ. Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν πόνον τοῦτον ὑμεῖς κύριοι καὶ κοῦφον ποιῆσαι καὶ βαρύν. Ἂν μὲν γὰρ ἀποπτύητε τὰ λεγόμενα, ἢ μὴ ἀποπτύητε μὲν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἔργοις μὴ δεικνύητε, βαρὺς ὁ κόπος ἡμῖν ἔσται διὰ τὸ πονεῖν εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην· ἂν δὲ προσέχητε, καὶ τὴν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπίδειξιν παρέχητε, οὐδὲ αἴσθησιν ληψόμεθα τῶν ἱδρώτων· ὁ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν πόνων τικτόμενος καρπὸς οὐκ ἀφήσει φαίνεσθαι τοῦ πόνου τὸ σφοδρόν. Ὥστε εἰ βούλεσθε ἡμῖν τὴν προθυμίαν διεγεῖραι, καὶ μὴ σβέσαι, μηδὲ ἀσθενεστέραν ποιῆσαι, δείξατε ἡμῖν, παρακαλῶ, τὸν καρπὸν, ἵνα κομῶντα ὁρῶντες τὰ λήϊα, καὶ ἡμεῖς ταῖς τῆς εὐθηνίας ἐλπίσι τρεφόμενοι, καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον ἡμῶν ἀναλογιζόμενοι, μὴ ναρκῶμεν ἐμπορευόμενοι τὴν καλὴν ταύτην πραγματείαν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ μικρὸν ἡμῖν καὶ τήμερον πρόκειται ζήτημα. Τῆς γὰρ μητρὸς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ εἰπούσης, ὅτι Οἶνον οὐκ ἔχουσιν, ὁ Χριστός φησι, Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ, γύναι; οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου· καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν, ἔπραξεν ὅπερ εἶπεν ἡ μήτηρ. Τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ προτέρου οὐκ ἔλαττόν ἐστιν εἰς ζητήσεως λόγον. Αὐτὸν οὖν τοῦτον παρακαλέσαντες τὸν τὸ θαῦμα ἐργασάμενον, οὕτως ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τὴν λύσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τοῦτο μόνον εἴρηται, ἀλλὰ καὶ προϊὼν ὁ αὐτὸς φαίνεται εὐαγγελιστὴς λέγων· Οὐκ ἠδύναντο αὐτὸν πιάσαι, Ὅτι οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ πάλιν· Οὐδεὶς ἐπέβαλεν ἐπ' αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας, ὅτι οὔπω ἐληλύθει ἡ ὥρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα· δόξασόν σου τὸν Υἱόν. Ταῦτα πάντα δι' ὅλου τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου εἰρημένα ἐνταῦθα συνήγαγον, ἵνα πᾶσι μίαν ἐπαγάγω τὴν λύσιν. Τίς ποτ' οὖν ἐστι τῶν λεγομένων ἡ λύσις; Οὐκ ἀνάγκῃ καιρῶν ὁ Χριστὸς ὑποκείμενος, οὐδὲ ὥρας παρατηρήσει, ἔλεγεν, Οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου· (πῶς γὰρ ὁ τῶν καιρῶν ποιητὴς, καὶ τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν αἰώνων δημιουργός;) ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν οὕτως εἰρημένων τοῦτο δηλῶσαι βούλεται, ὅτι πάντα μετὰ καιροῦ τοῦ προσήκοντος ἐργάζεται, οὐχ ὁμοῦ πάντα ποιῶν· ἐπεὶ σύγχυσίς τις ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι καὶ ἀταξία ἐντεῦθεν, εἰ μὴ τοῖς προσήκουσι καιροῖς ἕκαστον ἐδημιούργει, ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ πάντα ἔφυρε, καὶ γέννησιν, καὶ ἀνάστασιν, καὶ κρίσιν. Σκόπει δέ· Ἔδει γενέσθαι τὴν κτίσιν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοῦ πᾶσαν· καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον δὲ μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τούτους ὁμοῦ. Ἔδει θανάτῳ καταδικασθῆναι τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ πολὺ τὸ μέσον ἑκατέρων. Ἐχρῆν δοθῆναι τὸν νόμον, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν χάριν, ἀλλ' 59.134 ἕκαστα καιροῖς τοῖς προσήκουσιν οἰκονομεῖσθαι. Οὐ τοίνυν ὁ Χριστὸς ὑπέκειτο τῇ τῶν καιρῶν ἀνάγκῃ, ὃς καὶ τοῖς καιροῖς μάλιστα τάξιν ἐπέθηκεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ ποιητὴς αὐτῶν ἐστιν. Ἀλλ' Ἰωάννης ἐνταῦθα τὸ, Οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου, εἰσάγει τὸν Χριστὸν λέγοντα, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὔπω δῆλος ἦν τοῖς πολλοῖς, καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲ τῶν μαθητῶν τὸν χορὸν πάντα εἶχεν, ἀλλ' Ἀνδρέας αὐτῷ ἠκολούθει καὶ μετ' αὐτοῦ Φίλιππος, ἄλλος δὲ οὐδείς· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ οὗτοι πάντες ὡς ἐχρῆν αὐτὸν ἐγίγνωσκον, οὐδὲ ἡ μήτηρ, οὐδὲ οἱ ἀδελφοί. Μετὰ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ θαύματα τοῦτο περὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἔφησεν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, ὅτι Οὐδὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπίστευον εἰς αὐτόν. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οἱ ἐν τῷ