Homily 22 — Romans 12, verse 14, to the end of the chapter

“Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.” [a]

After teaching them how they ought to be disposed toward one another, and after joining the members closely into one, he next goes on to lead them out to the battle outside, which he makes easier by what has come before. For just as someone who has not managed things well with those on his own side will find it harder to settle his affairs with strangers, so the one who has trained himself properly among his own will more easily get the better of those outside too. That is why Paul, as he goes on his way, sets the one after the other and says, “Bless those who persecute you.”

He did not say, “Do not be spiteful or vengeful,” but asked for something far better. The first a wise man might manage; but this is plainly the part of an angel. And after saying “bless,” he goes on, “and do not curse,” so that we would not do both, blessing and cursing, rather than the first only. For those who persecute us are suppliers of a reward to us. But if you are self-controlled, there will be another reward after that one, which you will win for yourself. He will give you the reward for being persecuted; but you will give yourself the reward for blessing him, because you are bringing out a very great sign of your love for Christ. For just as the one who curses his persecutor shows that he is not very pleased to suffer this for Christ, so the one who blesses him shows how great his love is.

So do not abuse him, so that you may win the greater reward yourself, and may teach him that what is happening is a matter of your own choice, not of compulsion: a holiday and a feast, not a disaster or a cause for gloom. That is why Christ himself said, “Rejoice when people say all kinds of evil against you falsely” (Matthew 5, verse 11). And that is also why the apostles went away rejoicing, not only at having been spoken ill of, but even at having been flogged (Acts 5, verses 40 and 41).

Besides what I have mentioned, you will make another gain too, and no small one. You will put your opponents to shame by this, and teach them by your actions that you are traveling toward another life. For if he sees you joyful and in high spirits from suffering ill, he will see plainly from your actions that you have other hopes, greater than those of this life. But if you do not do this, but weep and lament, how is he to learn from that that you are waiting for another life? And besides this, you will gain yet another thing. If he sees that you are not upset by the insults done to you, but even bless him, he will stop harassing you.

See, then, how much good comes from this: a greater reward for you and a lighter trial; he will stop persecuting you; God too will be glorified; and to the one who is in error your endurance will be a lesson in godliness. That is why he told us to repay with the opposite not only those who insult us, but even those who persecute us and mistreat us. And for now he orders them to bless; but as he goes on, he urges them to do them good in deeds as well.

Verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

Since it is possible to bless and not curse and still not do it out of love, he wants us to be warmed through and through with friendship. That is why he goes on in these words: we are not only to bless them, but even to feel for their pains and sufferings whenever we see them fallen into trouble.

Someone will say: “Yes, but one can see why he commanded them to share the grief of mourners. But why ever did he command the other thing, when it is no great matter?”

Ah, but it takes a loftier Christian spirit to rejoice with those who rejoice than to weep with those who weep. Nature itself does the second perfectly: no one is so hard-hearted as not to weep over someone in disaster. But the other takes a truly noble soul, one that not only keeps from envy but even takes pleasure along with the person who is held in honor. And that is why he put it first. For nothing binds love so firmly as sharing both joy and pain with one another.

So do not stand aloof from sympathy just because you yourself are far from trouble. When your neighbor is mistreated, you ought to make the disaster your own. Share his tears, then, so that you may lighten his low spirits. Share his joy, so that you may make the joy strike deep root and fix the love firmly. And in doing so you serve yourself rather than him, since by weeping you make yourself merciful, and by sharing his pleasure you purge yourself of envy and grudging.

And let me draw your attention to how considerate Paul is. He does not say, “Put an end to the disaster,” so that you could not say, as you often might, that it is impossible. He has laid on you the easier task, the one that is in your power. Even if you cannot remove the evil, contribute your tears, and you will take away the worse half of it. And if you cannot increase a man’s prosperity, contribute your joy, and you will have added a great deal to it. So it is not only refraining from envy that he urges on us, but something much greater: sharing in the pleasure. For this is a much greater thing than not envying.

Verse 16: “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on lofty things, but come down to people of low position.” [c]

Here again he presses hard on humility, the subject he began this exhortation with. For it was likely that they would be full of high-mindedness, both because of their city and for various other reasons. So he keeps drawing off the diseased matter and bringing down the inflammation. For nothing causes such splits in the churches as empty glory does.

And what does he mean by “Be of the same mind toward one another”? Has a poor man come into your house? Be like him in your bearing; do not put on any unusual, pompous air because of your wealth. There is no rich and poor in Christ. So do not be ashamed of him because of his outward clothing, but welcome him because of his inward faith. If you see him in sorrow, do not disdain to comfort him; and if you see him prospering, do not be embarrassed to share his pleasure and be glad with him. Be of the same mind in his case as you would be in your own. For it says, “Be of the same mind toward one another.” For instance, if you think yourself a great man, then think him one too. Do you suspect that he is lowly and insignificant? Well then, pass the same sentence on yourself, and throw aside all inequality.

And how is this to happen? By throwing aside that arrogance. That is why he goes on: “Do not set your mind on lofty things, but come down to people of low position.” That is, bring yourself down to their humble condition: keep company with them, walk with them. Do not be humble in mind only, but help them too, and reach out your hand to them, not through others but in your own person, as a father takes care of a child, as the head takes care of the body. As he says in another place, “as bound together with those in chains” (Hebrews 13, verse 3). And here by people “of low position” he means not merely the humble-minded, but people of low rank, the kind one is apt to look down on.

“Do not be wise in your own opinion.” That is, do not think you can manage by yourselves. For Scripture says in another place as well, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight” (Isaiah 5, verse 21). And by this again he quietly draws off arrogance and brings down conceit and swollen pride. For nothing so puffs people up and makes them feel set apart from everyone else as the notion that they can manage by themselves. [f]

That is why God has made us need one another. Even if you are wise, you will need someone else; and if you think you do not need him, you will be the most foolish and feeble of men. A man like this strips himself of all help. Whatever error he falls into, he will have the benefit of neither correction nor pardon; he will provoke God by his arrogance, and he will fall into many errors. For it happens, and often too, that a wise man does not see what is needed, while a man of less shrewdness hits on something that fits the case. This happened with Moses and his father-in-law, with Saul and his servant, and with Isaac and Rebekah. So do not suppose that you are brought down by needing another man. This raises you higher; this makes you stronger, and brighter too, and more secure.

Verse 17: “Repay no one evil for evil.” [h]

For if you find fault with someone else who plots against you, why do you make yourself open to the same charge? If he did wrong, how is it that you do not avoid imitating him? And notice how he makes no distinction here, but lays down one law for all. He does not say, “Do not repay evil” to the believer, but to “no one,” whether he is a pagan, or defiled, or anything else.

“Take thought for what is honorable in the sight of all people.”

Verse 18: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.”

This is the same as “Let your light shine before people” (Matthew 5, verse 16). It does not mean we are to live for empty glory, but that we are not to give those who want one an opening against us. That is why he says in another place too, “Give no cause for stumbling, either to Jews or to Gentiles or to the church of God” (First Corinthians 10, verse 32). And in what follows he limits his meaning well, by saying, “If it is possible.” For there are cases where it is not possible: for instance, when we have to argue about religion, or to fight for those who are wronged. And why be surprised if this is not possible in every case with other people, when even in the case of husband and wife he made an exception to the rule? “But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart” (First Corinthians 7, verse 15).

His meaning is roughly this: “Do your own part, and give no one occasion for war or fighting, neither Jew nor Gentile.”

But if you see the cause of religion suffering anywhere, do not prize harmony above truth, but make a noble stand, even to death. And even then do not be at war in your soul, do not be hostile in spirit, but fight only against the thing itself. For this is what “as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people” means. But if the other will not be at peace, do not fill your soul with a storm; be friendly in mind, as I said before, without giving up the truth on any occasion.

Verse 19: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather leave room for wrath. For it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.’” [l]

Room for what wrath? For the wrath of God. Now, since what the injured man most wants to see is himself enjoying revenge, Paul gives him this very thing in full measure. If you do not avenge yourself, he means, God will be your avenger. So leave it to him to pursue your wrongs. That is the force of “leave room for wrath.” Then, to comfort him further, he brings in the quotation too. And having won him over more thoroughly in this way, he asks a greater philosophy of him, and says:

Verses 20 and 21: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

What he means is this: “Why am I telling you that you must keep the peace? I am even insisting that you do him kindness.”

For he says, “Feed him, and give him a drink.” Then, since the command he gave was very difficult and very great, he goes on: “for by doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head.” He said this both to humble the one through fear and to make the other more willing through the hope of recompense. For when the man who has been wronged is weak, he is not so much taken with any good of his own as with vengeance on the one who has hurt him. There is nothing so sweet as to see an enemy punished. So what he is longing for, Paul gives him first; and once he has let the venom go, Paul then gives him advice of a higher tone, saying, “Do not be overcome by evil.”

For he knew that even if the enemy were an animal without reason, he would not go on being an enemy once he had been fed. And however small-souled the injured man may be, once he feeds his enemy and gives him a drink, he will no longer have any craving for his punishment. So, confident of what the action will bring about, Paul does not merely threaten; he even dwells at length on the vengeance. He did not say, “You will take vengeance,” but, “You will heap coals of fire on his head.” Then he goes further and declares him the victor, saying, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” And he gives a kind of gentle hint that one is not to do it with that intention, since still nursing a grudge would be “being overcome by evil.” But he did not say this at once, because he did not yet think it wise. Only when he had relieved the man of his anger did he go on to say, “Overcome evil with good.” For this would be a victory.

The fighter is the real conqueror, not when he puts himself in the way of the blows, but when he slips out of reach and makes his opponent waste his strength on the air. In this way he is not struck himself, and he wears out all the other man’s strength as well. The same happens with insults. When you insult in return, you get the worst of it, beaten not by a man but, what is far more disgraceful, by the slavish passion of anger. But if you keep silent, you will conquer: you will set up a trophy without a fight, and you will have thousands to crown you and to condemn the slander as false. For the one who answers back seems to be speaking because he has been stung; and the one who has been stung gives reason to suspect that he knows he is guilty of what is said about him. But if you laugh at it, by your laughter you cancel the verdict against you.

And if you want clear proof of what I have said, ask the enemy himself when he is most annoyed: when you are heated and insult him back, or when you laugh at him while he insults you? You will be told: the second. For he is not so much pleased at not being insulted back as he is annoyed that his abuse could get no hold on you. Have you never seen people in a rage, how they take little account of their own wounds, but rush on with great violence, worse than wild boars, bent on hurting their neighbor? They look to this alone, and care more for it than for guarding themselves against harm. So when you deprive him of what he wants most, you rob him of everything. By holding him so cheap, and showing him to be easy to despise, a child rather than a man, you have gained the reputation of a wise man, and you have clothed him with the character of a harmful beast.

Let us do this too when we are struck: when we want to strike back, let us refrain. Do you want to deal him a deadly blow? “Turn the other cheek to him also” (Matthew 5, verse 39), and you will strike him with countless wounds. Those who applaud you and marvel at you are more galling to him than men stoning him would be. Even before them, his own conscience will condemn him and exact the heaviest punishment from him, and he will go away with a face full of confusion, as though he had been treated with the utmost severity. And if it is the good opinion of the crowd you are looking for, you will have this too, and in larger measure. For in general we feel a kind of sympathy for those who suffer; but when we also see that they do not strike back, but even give themselves up to it, we not only pity them, we admire them.

Here, then, I find reason to lament. We could have both the things of this life and the things to come, if we listened to Christ’s law as we should; but we are cast out of both, because we pay no attention to what we have been told, and give ourselves instead to reasoning about it with no warrant. For he has given us laws on all these points for our good, and has shown us what brings us a good name and what brings us disgrace. If this was likely to make his disciples look ridiculous, he would not have commanded it. But since it makes them the most distinguished of men (not speaking ill when we are spoken ill of, not doing ill when ill is done to us), that is why he commanded it. And if that is so, much more will speaking well when we are spoken ill of, praising those who insult us, and doing good to those who plot against us, make us so. That, then, is why he gave these laws. For he cares for his own disciples, and knows well what makes a person small or great. If, then, he both cares and knows, why do you quarrel with him and want to go by another road?

For winning by doing harm is one of the devil’s laws. That is why in the Olympic games, which were held in his honor, this is how all the competitors win. But in Christ’s contest this is not the rule for the prize. On the contrary, the law is that the one who is struck, not the one who strikes, is crowned. Such is the nature of his contest: all its rules run the other way, so that the marvel lies not only in the victory but also in the manner of the victory. When he shows that the things that are signs of victory on the other side bring defeat on this side, this is the power of God, this is the contest of heaven, this is the theater of angels.

I know that you are thoroughly warmed now and have become as soft as wax; but when you have gone from here, you will spit it all out. That is why I grieve: what we speak of, we do not show in our actions, and that although we would be the greatest gainers by it. For if we let our moderation be seen, no one will be able to overcome us, and there is no one, great or small, who will have the power to do us any harm. If someone abuses you, he has not hurt you at all, but has badly hurt himself. And again, if he wrongs you, the harm stays with the one who does the wrong. Have you never noticed that even in the law courts those who have been wronged are honored, and stand and speak with complete freedom, while those who have done the wrong are bowed down with shame and fear?

And why do I speak of abuse and of wrong? Even if he were to sharpen his sword against you and stain his right hand with your blood, it is not you he has harmed; it is himself he has butchered. The first man ever killed this way, by a brother’s hand, will bear witness to what I say. He went away into a harbor untouched by any wave, having won a glory that never fades; while the other lived a life worse than any death, groaning and trembling, and carrying about in his body the charge of what he had done. So let us not pursue the one, but the other. For the man who has evil done to him does not have an evil that makes its home with him for good, since he is not its parent; he received it from others, and he turns it to good by his patient endurance. But the man who does evil has the spring of the mischief within himself.

Was not Joseph in prison, while the prostitute who plotted against him was in a fine and splendid house? Which of the two would you rather have been? And do not tell me yet about the repayment that came later; examine what had happened on its own terms. Done that way, you will rate Joseph’s prison infinitely above the house with the prostitute in it. For if you could see the souls of both, you would find his full of freedom and confidence, but the Egyptian woman’s full of confinement, shame, dejection, confusion, and a deep heaviness of heart. Yet she seemed to win; but this was no real victory.

Knowing all this, then, let us fit ourselves to bear ill-treatment, so that we may even be freed from bearing ill-treatment, and may attain the blessings to come. May God grant that we all attain them, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.