Homily 30 — Romans 15, verse 25, to 16, verse 4

“But now I am going to Jerusalem to serve the saints. For it has pleased those of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints who are at Jerusalem. Yes, it has pleased them, and they are their debtors.” [a]

He had said that he no longer had “any more place in these parts,” and, “I have had a great desire these many years to come to you,” and yet he still meant to put it off. So, that no one would think he was making fun of them, he also gives the reason why he is still delaying. He says, “I am going to Jerusalem,” and on the surface he is giving his excuse for the delay. But by means of it he also achieves another aim: he urges them to give alms, and makes them more earnest about it.

If he had not meant to accomplish this, it would have been enough to say, “I am going to Jerusalem.” But as it is, he adds the reason for the journey: “For I am going,” he says, “to serve the saints.” And he lingers over the subject, and reasons it out, and says that they “are debtors,” and that “if the Gentiles have been made sharers in their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister to them in material things.” He does this so that the Romans would learn to imitate these givers.

That is why there is every reason to admire his wisdom in devising this way of giving advice. They were more likely to accept it this way than if he had put it as an appeal. For then he would have seemed to be insulting them, if he had set the Corinthians and Macedonians before them to spur them on. Yet that is exactly how he does spur the others on, saying, “Moreover, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God given to the churches of Macedonia” (Second Corinthians 8, verse 1). And again he spurs on the Macedonians by means of these: “For your zeal,” he says, “has stirred up very many” (Second Corinthians 9, verse 2). He does the same by means of the Galatians, as when he says, “As I gave orders to the churches of Galatia, so you do also” (First Corinthians 16, verse 1). But with the Romans he does not do so, except in a more hidden way.

He does this where the preaching is concerned as well, as when he says, “What? Did the word of God go out from you? Or did it come to you only?” (First Corinthians 14, verse 36). For there is nothing so powerful as the wish to match others, and so he uses it often. Elsewhere, too, he says, “And so I direct in all the churches” (First Corinthians 7, verse 17); and again, “As I teach everywhere in every church” (First Corinthians 4, verse 17). And to the Colossians he says that “the good news is growing and bearing fruit in all the world” (Colossians 1, verse 6).

This, then, is what he does here too, in the matter of alms. And notice the dignity of his language. He does not say, “I am going to carry alms,” but “to serve.” And if Paul serves, just think how great a thing is being done, when the teacher of the world undertakes to be the one who carries it, and when, on the point of setting out for Rome, and longing for them so much, he still puts this ahead of that. [d]

“For it has pleased those of Macedonia and Achaia”: that is, they approved of it; it was what they wanted. “A certain contribution”: he does not say alms, but “contribution.” And the word “certain” is not put in without meaning; it is there so that he will not seem to be casting reproach on them. And he does not simply say “the poor,” but “the poor saints,” so making his recommendation double, drawn both from their virtue and from their poverty.

And he was not satisfied even with this, but adds, “they are their debtors.” Then he shows how they are debtors. “For if,” he says, “the Gentiles have been made sharers in their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister to them in material things.” What he means is this. It was for their sake that Christ came. It was to them, to the Jews, that all the promises were made. From them Christ came.

That is why it was said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4, verse 22). From them came the apostles, from them the prophets, from them every good thing. In all these things the world was given a share. So, he says, if you have been given a share in what is greater — if, when the banquet was prepared for them, you have been brought in to enjoy the feast that was laid out, as the parable in the Gospel tells (Matthew 22, verse 9) — then you are debtors, bound to share your material things with them and to give to them. [e]

But he does not say “to share,” but “to minister,” so putting them in the rank of public officials, and of those who pay tribute to kings. And he does not say “in your material things,” as he had said “in their spiritual things.” For the spiritual things were theirs; but material things did not belong to these alone. They were the common property of all. For he commanded that money be held as belonging to everyone, and not only to those who possess it.

Verse 28: “So when I have finished this, and have sealed this fruit to them,”

That is, when I have stored it away, as it were, in the royal treasuries, in a place safe from robbers and danger. And again he does not say alms, but “fruit,” to show that those who gave it were the gainers by it. “I will come by way of you to Spain.” He mentions Spain again, to show his eagerness and his warmth toward them.

Verse 29: “And I am sure that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the good news of Christ.”

What is the force of “in the fullness of the blessing”? He is speaking either of alms, that is, of money, or of good deeds in general. For “blessing” is a name he very commonly gives to alms, as when he says, “as a blessing, and not as greed” (Second Corinthians 9, verse 5). And it was the custom of old to call the thing by this name. But since he has added here “of the good news,” we conclude on this ground that he is speaking not of money only but of everything else as well.

It is as if he had said: “I know that when I come, I will find you with the honor and the bloom of every good deed upon you, and worthy of countless praises in the good news.” And this is a very striking way of giving advice: getting in ahead of them with praise. For when he appeals to them by way of advice, this is the way of setting them right that he adopts.

Verse 30: “Now I beg you, brothers and sisters, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the love of the Spirit,” [g]

Here again he puts forward Christ and the Spirit, and makes no mention at all of the Father. I point this out so that, when you find him mentioning the Father and the Son, or the Father alone, you will not look down on either the Son or the Spirit. And he does not say “the Spirit,” but “the love of the Spirit.” For as Christ loved the world, and as the Father does, so does the Spirit also. And what is it you are begging of us? Let me hear. “That you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,”

Verse 31: “that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe,”

So a great struggle lies before him, and that too is why he calls for their prayers. And he does not say, “that I may be engaged in it,” but “that I may be delivered,” just as Christ commanded us to “pray that we may not enter into trial” (Matthew 26, verse 41). And by saying this he showed that certain evil wolves would attack them, men who were wild beasts rather than human beings.

And from this he also found grounds for something else: for showing that he had good reason to take on the task of serving the saints, since the unbelievers were so strong that he even prayed to be delivered from them. For those who lived among so many enemies were in danger of dying of hunger as well. So there was every need for help to come to them from elsewhere. “And that my service for Jerusalem may be accepted by the saints.”

That is, that my sacrifice may be accepted, that they may receive what is given them gladly. See how he again lifts up the dignity of those who were to receive it. Then he asks for the prayers of so great a people so that what was sent might be accepted. And by this he shows something else as well: that having given alms does not make sure that the gift will be accepted. For when someone gives under compulsion, or out of dishonest gain, or for empty glory, its fruit is lost.

Verse 32: “that I may come to you with joy by the will of God,”

As he had said at the beginning, “if by any means now at last I may have a prosperous journey, by the will of God, to come to you” (Romans 1, verse 10), so here again he takes refuge in the same will, and says: “This is why I press on and want to be delivered from them: so that I may see you soon, and with gladness, without bringing any load of sorrow with me from there.” “And that I may be refreshed together with you.”

See how he again shows that he claims nothing for himself. He does not say, “that I may teach you and give you a lesson,” but “that I may be refreshed together with you.” And yet he was the very man engaged in the struggle and the contest. In what sense, then, does he say, “that I may be refreshed together with you”? It is to please them on this point too, and to make them more cheerful by making them sharers in his crown, and to show that they too struggle and labor. [i]

Then, as was always his custom, he adds a prayer after the appeal, and says, Verse 33: “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

Romans 16, verse 1: “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae,”

See how many ways he takes to give her dignity. He has mentioned her before all the rest, and he has called her sister — and it is no small thing to be called the sister of Paul. And he has added her rank as well, by mentioning that she is a “deaconess.”

Verse 2: “that you receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of the saints,” [j]

That is, for the Lord’s sake, so that she may be honored among you. For whoever receives someone for the Lord’s sake receives him with care, even if it is no great person he is receiving. But when it is a saint, think what care ought to be shown him! That is why he adds, “in a way worthy of the saints,” as such people ought to be received. For she has two claims on your care: that she is received for the Lord’s sake, and that she is a saint herself.

“And that you help her in whatever business she needs you for.” See how little he lays on them. He does not say, “that you carry it through for her,” but that you contribute your own part and lend her a hand; and that “in whatever business she needs you for” — not in whatever business she may be engaged in, but in whatever she may ask of you. And she will ask for things that are within your power. Then comes very great praise of her once more: “For she has come to the aid of many, and of me as well.”

See his good sense. First comes praise; then he puts an appeal in between; and then he gives praise again, so placing her praises on either side of this blessed woman’s needs. For how can a woman be anything but blessed, when she has the blessing of so favorable a testimony from Paul, and had the power to help the man who had set the whole world right? This was the summit of her good deeds, and so he placed it last, when he says, “and of me as well.” What does the phrase “of me as well” convey? Of the herald of the world, of the man who has suffered so much, of the man able to help tens of thousands! [k]

So let us imitate this holy woman, both men and women, and the woman who follows her too, together with her husband. And who are they?

Verse 3: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila,” he says, “my helpers in Christ Jesus.”

Luke too bears witness to their excellence: partly when he says that Paul “stayed with them, for by trade they were tentmakers” (Acts 18, verse 3), and partly when he points to the woman taking Apollos in and instructing him in the way of the Lord (Acts 18, verse 26).

These are great things, but the things Paul mentions are greater. And what does he mention? First he calls them “helpers,” to point out that they had shared in his very great labors and dangers. Then he says, Verse 4: “who for my life laid down their own necks.” [l]

You see, they are martyrs in every respect. For in Nero’s time there were very likely thousands of dangers, at the time when he even ordered all Jews to be removed from Rome (Acts 18, verse 2).

“To whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”

Here he hints at their hospitality and their help with money. He holds them in admiration because they had both poured out their blood and thrown their whole property open to everyone. You see, these were noble women, in no way held back by their sex on the road of virtue. And this is only what one would expect: “For in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female” (Galatians 3, verse 28).

And what he had said of the first woman, he said of this one too. Of the first he had said, “she has come to the aid of many, and of me as well.” So too of this woman: “not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.” And so that he would not seem to be flattering them in this, he also brings forward a good many more witnesses for these women.

Verse 5: “Greet also the church that is in their house.” [m]

For she had been so worthy of esteem as even to make their house a church, both by making everyone in it believers and by opening it to every stranger. He was not in the habit of calling any house a church except where there was great devotion and a deep-rooted fear of God. That is why he also said to the Corinthians, “Greet Aquila and Priscilla, with the church that is in their house” (First Corinthians 16, verse 19). And when writing about Onesimus: “Paul, to Philemon, and to the beloved Apphia, and to the church that is in their house” (Philemon, verses 1 and 2).

For it is possible for someone even in married life to be worthy of respect and noble. See, then, how these two were in that state and became highly honored, even though their trade was far from honored — they were “tentmakers.” Still, their virtue covered all this and made them more brilliant than the sun. Neither their trade nor their marriage did them any harm; the love that Christ required of them, they showed. “For no one has greater love than this,” he says, “that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15, verse 13). And they accomplished what is the proof of being a disciple, since they took up the cross and followed him. For people who did this for Paul would much more have shown their courage for Christ.

Let rich and poor alike hear all this. If people who lived by their own labor and ran a workshop showed such lavish generosity as to be of service to many churches, what pardon can the rich expect, who neglect the poor? They did not spare even their blood for the sake of God’s will; but you spare even small sums, and often do not spare your own soul.

But were they like this toward the teacher, and not toward the disciples? No, not even this can be said. For “the churches of the Gentiles,” he says, “give thanks” to them. And yet they were Jews. Still, their faith was so pure that they served the Gentiles too with complete willingness.

This is how women ought to be: not adorning themselves “with braided hair, or gold, or costly clothing” (First Timothy 2, verse 9), but with these good deeds. For tell me, what empress was ever so brilliant or so famous as this wife of the tentmaker? She is on everyone’s lips, not for ten or twenty years, but until Christ comes; and all proclaim her fame for things that adorn far more than any royal diadem. For what is greater, or even as great, as to have come to Paul’s aid, and at her own peril to have saved the teacher of the world?

And think about it: how many empresses there are that no one speaks of! But the wife of the tentmaker is spoken of everywhere, along with the tentmaker; and her glory reaches over as much of the world as the sun looks down upon. Persians and Scythians and Thracians, and those who live at the ends of the earth, sing of this woman’s Christian spirit and call it blessed. How much wealth, how many diadems and purple robes would you not gladly give to gain such a testimony? [n]

Nor can anyone say that they were like this in dangers, and lavish with their money, and yet neglected the preaching. It is for this very reason that he calls them “fellow workers and helpers.” And this “chosen vessel” (Acts 9, verse 15) is not ashamed to call a woman his helper; he even counts it an honor. For it is not a person’s sex he looks at; it is the will that he honors.

What is equal to this adornment? Where now is wealth overflowing on every side? Where is the adorning of the body? Where is empty glory? Learn that a woman’s clothing is not what is put around the body, but what adorns the soul — the clothing that is never taken off, that is not kept in a chest, but is laid up in the heavens. Look at their labor for the preaching, their crown in martyrdom, their generosity with money, their love for Paul, the charm they found in Christ. Compare with this your own condition: your anxiety about money, your rivalry with prostitutes in dress, your competing with the grass. Then you will see who they were and who you are.

Or rather, do not only compare; compete with this woman. Lay aside the burdens of grass — for that is what your costly dressing is — and put on the clothing that comes from heaven, and learn how Priscilla came to be what she was. How, then, did they become so?

For two years they had Paul as their guest; and what might those two years not have done for their souls? [q]

You will say: “What am I to do, then, since I do not have Paul?” If you are willing, you may have him in a truer sense than they did. For even with them it was not the sight of Paul that made them what they were, but Paul’s words. So, if you are willing, you will have Paul, and Peter, and John, and the whole company of the prophets together with the apostles, keeping you company continually. Take the books of these blessed men, spend your time constantly with their writings, and they will be able to make you like the tentmaker’s wife.

But why do I speak of Paul? If you want, you may have Paul’s Master himself, for through Paul’s tongue he too will talk with you. And in another way again you will be able to receive him: when you receive the saints, when you care for those who believe in him. And so even after they have gone you will have many reminders of devotion. For the table at which the saint ate, and the seat on which he sat, and the couch on which he lay, can pierce the heart of the one who received him, even after he has gone.

How, do you think, was that Shunammite woman’s heart pierced when she entered the upper room where Elisha stayed, and saw the table and the couch on which the holy man slept? What reverence must she have felt come from them? If it had not been so, she would not have laid the child there when he was dead; she must have gained great benefit from that place. For if we, so long afterward, on entering where Paul stayed, where he was held in chains, where he sat and taught, are lifted up and find ourselves carried from the places themselves to that memory, what must those have been likely to feel who had devoutly welcomed him, while things were still fresh?

Knowing all this, then, let us receive the saints, so that our house may shine, that it may be freed from choking thorns, that the bedroom may become a harbor.

And let us receive them and wash their feet. You are not better than Sarah, or more noble, or more wealthy, even if you are an empress. For she had three hundred and eighteen servants born in her house, at a time when even to have two servants was to be wealthy. But why do I mention the three hundred and eighteen servants? She had come to possess the whole world in her descendants and in the promises; she had “the friend of God” (Isaiah 41, verse 8; James 2, verse 23) for her husband, and God himself as her protector, a thing greater than any kingdom. [t]

And yet, though she was in so brilliant and honored a position, this woman kneaded the flour and did all the other servants’ tasks, and stood by the guests as they ate, in the rank of a servant. You are not of nobler birth than Abraham, who nevertheless did the work of household servants — after his great deeds, after his victories, after the honor paid him by the king of Egypt, after driving out the kings of the Persians and setting up glorious trophies.

And do not look at this: that the saints who stay with you are poor to look at, like beggars, and often in rags. Remember that voice which says, “As you did it to the least of these, you did it to me” (Matthew 25, verse 40); and, “Do not despise one of these little ones, for their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18, verse 10).

Receive them, then, with a ready mind, since they bring you countless blessings through their greeting of peace (Matthew 10, verses 12 and 13). [u]

And after Sarah, think of Rebekah too, who drew water and gave the stranger a drink, and invited him in, trampling down all haughtiness. And through this, how great were the rewards of hospitality she received!

And you too, if you are willing, will receive even greater rewards than those. For God will give you not only the fruit of children, but heaven, and the blessings there, and freedom from hell, and the forgiveness of sins. For great — yes, very great — is the fruit of hospitality (Luke 11, verse 41).

So too Jethro, even though he was a foreigner, gained as a relative the man who commanded the sea with such great power (Daniel 4, verse 27; Exodus 3, verse 1). For his daughters too drew this honorable prey into his net (Numbers 10, verse 29).

Set your thoughts, then, on these things; and as you reflect on the manly and heroic spirit of those women, trample on the finery of our day — the ornaments of dress, the costly jewelry, the anointing with perfumes. Have done with those wanton, pampered airs and that mincing walk, and turn all this attentiveness to the soul, and kindle in your mind a longing for heaven. For if his love once takes hold of you, you will see these things for the mud and clay they are, and laugh at what is now so admired. It is not even possible for a woman adorned with spiritual achievements to go chasing after this ridiculous nonsense.

So cast this aside — the thing the wives of debauched men, and actresses, and singers take such pride in — and clothe yourself with the love of wisdom, with hospitality, with helping the saints, with heartfelt sorrow, with constant prayer. These are better than cloth of gold; these are more splendid than jewels and necklaces. These make you well thought of among people, and bring you a great reward from God. This is the dress of the church; that, of the theaters. This is worthy of heaven; that, of horses and mules. That is put even around dead bodies; this shines only in a good soul, in which Christ lives. [w]

Let this, then, be the dress we acquire, so that we too may have our praises sung everywhere and be pleasing to Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.