Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostomendure? I entreat you, let us conceive some desire for those blessings, let us long for that Bridegroom,let us be virgins as to the true Virginity. For the Lord seeks after the virginity of the soul. With thislet us enter into Heaven, “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” ( Eph. v. 27 ); that wemay attain also to the good things promised, of which may we all be partakers through the graceand mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Ghost, beglory, power, honor, now and ever, and world without end. Amen.499Homily XXIX.Hebrews xii. 4–6“Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortationwhich speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth: and scourgethevery son whom He receiveth.” 3374[1.] There are two kinds of consolation, apparently opposed to one another, but yet contributinggreat strength each to the other; both of which he has here put forward. The one is when we saythat persons have suffered much: for the soul is refreshed, when it has many witnesses of its ownsufferings, and this he introduced above, saying, “Call to mind the former days, in which after yehad been illuminated ye endured a great fight of afflictions.” ( c. x. 32 .) The other is when wesay, “Thou hast suffered no great thing.” The former, when [the soul] has been exhausted refreshesit, and makes it recover breath: the latter, when it has become indolent and supine, turns it again3375and pulls down pride. Thus that no pride may spring up in them from that testimony [to theirsufferings], see what he does. “Ye have not yet” (he says) “resisted unto blood, [striving] againstsin.” And he did not at once go on with what follows, but after having shown them all those whohad stood “unto blood,” and then brought in the glory of Christ, His sufferings, 3376 he afterwardseasily pursued his discourse. This he says also in writing to the Corinthians, “There hath notemptation taken you, but such as is common to man” ( 1 Cor. x. 13 ), that is, small. For this isenough to arouse and set right the soul, when it considers that it has not risen to the whole [trial],and encourages itself from what has already befallen it.What he means is this: Ye have not yet submitted to death; your loss has extended to money,to reputation, to being driven from place to place. Christ however shed His blood for you, whileyou have not [done it] for yourselves. He contended for the Truth even unto death fighting for you;while ye have not yet entered upon dangers that threaten death.3374or, “ accepteth. ”3375ἐ πιστρέφει , or, “ turns, converts to God. ”3376τὸ καύχημα τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὰ παθήματα , or, “ our glory—our boast—the sufferings of Christ. ”723