276 Christ asks charity of us for our own good.

HOMIL, former ground or the latter, thou mightest be minded to shew XV. some pity. I fasted for thee, again I am hungry for thee. I

was athirst when hanging on the Cross, I am athirst also through the poor, that by the former as also by the latter I may draw thee to Myself, and make thee charitable to thine own salvation. Hence also of thee that owest Me the requital of benefits without number, I make not request as of one that oweth, but crown thee as one that favoureth Me, and a kingdom do I give thee for these small things. For I do not say so much as put an end to my poverty, or give me riches, and yet I did become poor for thee; yet still I ask for bread and clothing, and a small solace for My hunger. And if I be thrown into prison, I do not insist upon thy loosing my bonds and setting me free, but one thing only 1 or am do I seek after, that thou wouldest visit Me, who was1 bound for thee, and I shall have received favour enough, and for this only will I give thee Heaven. And yet I delivered thee from most galling bonds, but for Me it is quite enough, if thou wilt but visit Me when in prison. For I am able indeed to crown thee even without all this; yet I would feign be a debtor to thee, that the crown may give thee some feeling of confidence. And this is why, though I am able to support

5 Mss.

παριστά

μένος

3

2 or, at Myself, I come about begging, and stand before thy door, and stretch out Mine hand, since My wish is to be supported by thee. For I love thee exceedingly, and so desire to eat at thy table, which is the way with those that love a person. 3 John And I glory in this. And when the whole world are spec15, 8. tators, then am I to herald thee forth, and in the hearing of all men to display thee as My supporter. Yet we, when we are supported by any one, feel ashamed, and cover our faces; but He, as loving us exceedingly, even if we hold our peace, will then tell out what we did with much praise, and is not ashamed to say, that when Himself was naked we clothed Him, and fed Him when hungry. Let us then lay all these things to heart, and not be contented with passing mere praises upon them, but let us even accomplish what I have been speaking of. For what is the good of these applauses and clamours. I demand one thing only of you, and that is the display of them in real action, the obedience of deeds. This is my praise, this your gain, this gives me more lustre

Obedience of the people the Preacher's crown. 277

than a diadem. When you have left the Church then, this is Rom. the crown that you will make for me and for you, through the hand of the poor; that both in the present life we may be nourished with a goodly hope, and after we have departed to the life to come, we may attain to those good things without number, to which may all of us attain by the grace and love toward man, &c.

HOMILY XVI.

HOMIL.

XVI.

ROM. xi. 1.

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.

DID I not seem yesterday to you to have spoken some
great and exorbitant things of Paul's love toward Christ?
And great indeed they were, too great for any words to
express. Yet what you have heard to-day are as far above
those things, as those things were above ours. And yet I did
not think they could be exceeded, still what has been read
to-day as it reached my ears did appear far more glorious
than the whole of the former. And that he was aware of
15 Mss. this himself he shews by his exordium. For' as on the
ἅτε γὰρ
point of entering upon greater things than those, and there-
fore liable to be disbelieved by the generality, he first uses
a strong asseveration about the matter he is going to speak
of; which men are in the habit of doing when they are
going to say somewhat which is not believed by the gene-
rality, and about which they feel the utmost certainty in their
own minds. Hence he says, I say the truth in Christ, I
lie not, and my conscience beareth me witness,

and om.

Ver. 2, 3. That I have a great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ.

What sayest thou, O Paul? from Christ, thy beloved One, from whom neither kingdom nor hell, nor things visible nor intelligible, nor aught else of the kind, would separate thee, is it from Him that thou wouldest now again be accursed? What has happened? Hast thou changed, hast thou given. over that love? No, he replies, fear not. Rather I have

།

St.Paul's wish to be accursed from Christ was of love to Him.279

even made it more intense. How then is it that thou RoM.

thema

wouldest fain be accursed, and seekest a separation, and 9,2.3. a removal to such a distance, that after it there is no possibility of finding a more distant one ? Because I love Him exceeding, he may reply. Now, pray, and in what manner? For the things seem a riddle. Or rather, if you will, let us learn what the curse is, and then we will question him upon these points, and shall understand this unspeakable and extraordinary love. What then is the curse? Hear his own words, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed1. That is, let him be set apart from all, removed' anafrom all. For as in the case of a thing dedicated, which is 1 Cor. set apart for God, no one would venture so much as to touch 16, 22. · ἀνάθημα it with his hand or even to come near it; so too with a man who is put apart from the Church, in cutting him off from all, and removing him as far off as possible, he calls him by this name in a contrary sense, thus with much fear denouncing 3àváliμa to all men to keep apart from him, and to spring away from him. For the thing set apart, no one, from respect of it, ventures to come near to. But from him who is cut off, all men separate themselves from a very opposite feeling. And so the separation is the same, and both the things and the man' are equally removed from the generality. Still, the 4 Mss. mode of separation is not the same, but in this case it is the opposite to what it is in that. For from the one they keep back as being dedicated to God; from the other as being estranged from God, and broken off from the Church. This then is what Paul means when he says, I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ. And he does not say merely that I could be willing, but using a stronger term, he says, I could wish5. But if what he says trouble you in “huxóμnv your feebleness, consider the real state of the case, not and 4 only that he wished to be separated, but also the cause for Mss. which he wished it, and then you will see the greatness Tig of his love. Now he even circumcised7, and we pay no attention to what was done, but to the intention of it, and the cause of it, and hence we wonder at him the more.

a Thus sacer is used in both senses, what similarly.

and devoted in our own language some

ixsivos

Mar.

Ο ασθε

Timo

thy. Acts 16,

And 3.

XVI.

Acts 18,

18;

280 Acts not be judged without thinking of the reasons.

HOMIL. he not only circumcised a person, but he even shaved himself and sacrificed, and yet surely we do not therefore assert him to be a Jew, but upon this very score to be per21, 24. fectly free from Judaizing, and clear of it, and a genuine worshipper of Christ. As then when you see him circumcising and sacrificing, you do not therefore condemn him as Judaizing, but upon this very score have the best reason for crowning him as quite an alien to Judaism; thus when thou seest him to have become desirous of being accursed, do not therefore be troubled, but upon this very ground give him the loudest praise, when thou knowest the cause why he wishes this. For if we do not look narrowly into the causes, we shall call Elijah a manslayer, and Abraham not a manslayer only, but a murderer of his son. And Phinees and Peter we shall implead for murder likewise. Nor is it in the case of the saints alone, but also of the God of the universe, 15 Mss. that he who does not keep to this law', this rule, will be suspecting sundry unbecoming things. Now to prevent this happening in all cases of the kind, let us bring together both 24 Mss. the cause, and the intention, and the time, and all that' makes in behalf of what is so done, and in this way let us investigate the actions. And this we must do now also in the case of this blessed soul. Now what is the cause? It is Jesus Himself who is so beloved. And yet he does not say for Him; for what he says is, I would wish that I were accursed from Him for my brethren. And this comes of his humbleness of mind. For he has no wish to make himself conspicuous, as if he were saying something great, and doing Christ a favour in this. And so he speaks of - his kinsmen, that he may conceal his high aim3. Since to see that he wished it all for Christ's sake, just hear what comes next. After speaking of kinsmen then, he proceeds,

om. this law

τὰ

τημα

Ver. 4, 5. To whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

b Aug. de Civ. Dei, i. 21. Butler, Anal. p. 262. ii. 3. v. fin.