Homily 7 — Matthew 2, verses 4 to 10

“And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he asked them where Christ was to be born. And they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea.’” [a]

Do you see how everything is done to convict the Jews? As long as he was out of their sight, envy had not yet taken hold of them, and they recited the testimonies about him truthfully. But when they saw the glory that came from the miracles, a grudging spirit took possession of them, and from then on they betrayed the truth.

Yet the truth was lifted high by everything, and it gathered still more strength even from its enemies. Look, for example, at this very case: how wonderful and unexpected are the results that were quietly provided for. The barbarians and the Jews, at one and the same time, both learn something more from each other and teach each other. The Jews, for their part, heard from the wise men that a star too had proclaimed him in the land of the Persians. The wise men, in turn, were told by the Jews that this man whom the star proclaimed had also been made known by prophets long ago. So the ground of their inquiry became, for both, an occasion for clearer and more complete instruction.

And the enemies of the truth are forced, even against their will, to read out the writings that favor the truth and to interpret the prophecy — though not all of it. For after speaking of Bethlehem, and of how out of it would come the one who was to rule Israel, they do not go on to add what follows, out of flattery to the king. And what was that? That “his goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

But someone may say: “If he was to come from there, why did he live in Nazareth after his birth, and so obscure the prophecy?” No, he did not obscure it; he unfolded it all the more. For the fact that his mother lived permanently in the one place, while he was born in the other, shows that the thing was done by God’s own arrangement. [b]

And for this reason, let me add, he did not leave there immediately after his birth either, but stayed forty days, giving those who were inclined to inquire the chance to examine everything carefully. For there really were many things to move them to such an inquiry, if only they had been willing to pay attention to them. At the coming of the wise men, for instance, the whole city was in a flutter, and the king along with the city; the prophet was brought forward, and a court of high authority was summoned. And many other things were done there too, all of which Luke relates in detail: the things concerning Anna, and Simeon, and Zechariah, and the angels, and the shepherds. To anyone paying attention, all these were enough to give hints for finding out what had taken place. For if the wise men, who came from Persia, were not ignorant of the place, how much more could those who lived there have informed themselves of these things!

So he made himself known from the beginning by many miracles; but when they would not see, he hid himself for a while, to be revealed again from another, more glorious beginning. For it was no longer the wise men, or the star, but the Father from above who proclaimed him at the streams of the Jordan. The Spirit likewise came upon him, directing that voice to the head of the one just baptized. John, with complete plainness of speech, cried out everywhere in Judea, until the inhabited and the empty country alike were filled with that teaching. And the witness of the miracles too, and the earth, and the sea, and the whole creation, spoke out for him with a clear voice.

But at the time of his birth, just so many things happened as were suited to point out quietly the one who had come. So that the Jews could not say, “We do not know when he was born, or where,” all these events involving the wise men, and the other things we have mentioned, were brought about by God’s providence. And so they would have no excuse to plead for not having inquired into what had happened.

But notice also how exact the prophecy is. It does not say, “He will stay in Bethlehem,” but, “He will come out” from there. So this too was a matter of prophecy: that he would simply be born there.

Some of them, however, having lost all shame, say that these things were spoken of Zerubbabel. But how can they be right? Surely his “goings forth” were not “from of old, from everlasting.” And how can the words at the beginning, “Out of you he will come forth,” fit him? Zerubbabel was not born in Judea but in Babylon, which is also why he was called Zerubbabel: because he had his origin there. And all who know the language of the Syrians know what I mean.

And besides what has been said, the whole time that has passed since these events is enough to confirm the testimony. For what does he say? “You are not the least among the princes of Judah.” And he adds the reason for its distinction: “Out of you he will come.” But no one else has made that place famous or distinguished — no one but him alone. For instance, ever since that birth, people come from the ends of the earth to see the manger and the site of the shed. The prophet foretold this aloud from the first, saying, “You are not the least among the princes of Judah” — that is, among the heads of tribes. In that expression he included even Jerusalem. But not even so have they paid attention, although the benefit passes on to themselves.

Indeed, this is why at the beginning the prophets speak nowhere so much of his dignity as of the benefit that came to the Jews through him. So when the Virgin was carrying the child, he says, “You will call his name Jesus,” and gives the reason: “for he will save his people from their sins.” And the wise men too did not say, “Where is the Son of God?” but, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” And here again it is not said, “Out of you will come forth” the Son of God, but “a ruler, who will shepherd my people Israel.” For at first it was necessary to talk with them by stooping down very low to meet them, so that they would not take offense, and to preach what concerned their own salvation in particular, so that by this they might be won over all the more.

At any rate, all the testimonies that are cited first — those whose season came right at the time of his birth — say nothing great or lofty about him, nothing like the ones that came after the miracles had been shown, for these speak more plainly of his dignity. For example, when children were singing hymns to him after many miracles, hear what the prophet says: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have perfected praise.” And again: “I will look at the heavens, the works of your fingers,” which shows him to be the Maker of the universe. And the testimony produced after the ascension shows his equality with the Father, for it says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand.’” And Isaiah too says, “He who rises up to rule over the Gentiles — in him will the Gentiles trust.”

But how does he say that Bethlehem is “not the least among the princes of Judah,” when the village has become famous not in Palestine alone but in the whole world? Why, up to this point he was speaking to Jews; that is why he also added, “He will shepherd my people Israel.” And yet he shepherded the whole world. But, as I have said, he does not want to give offense yet by revealing what he has to say about the Gentiles.

But someone may say: “How was it, then, that he did not shepherd the Jewish people?” I answer, first, that this too has been fulfilled. For by the word Israel here he meant, figuratively, those from among the Jews who believed in him. Paul interprets this when he says, “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” but only as many as have been born through faith and promise.

And if he did not shepherd them all, that is their own fault and their own blame. They ought to have worshiped with the wise men and glorified God that such a time had come, a time that did away with all their sins — for not a word was spoken to them of judgments passed or of accounts to be given, but only of a mild and gentle Shepherd. Instead they, for their part, do just the opposite: they are troubled, they stir up disturbance, and they go on endlessly weaving plots.

“Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, asked them carefully what time the star had appeared.” [j]

He was trying to kill the newborn child — an act not only of madness but of the utmost stupidity, since what had been said and done was enough to hold him back from any such attempt. Those events were not of the human kind. I mean a star calling the wise men from on high; barbarians making so long a pilgrimage to worship one who lay in swaddling clothes and a manger; prophets too, long ago, proclaiming all this in advance. These and all the rest were more than human events. Yet none of these things restrained him. That is what wickedness is like: it trips over itself, and it is always attempting the impossible.

And look at his utter folly. If, on the one hand, he believed the prophecy and held it to be unchangeable, it was perfectly clear that he was attempting the impossible. If, on the other, he did not believe it and did not expect those sayings to come true, he had no need to be afraid and alarmed, or to form any plot on that account. So either way his cunning was pointless.

This too came of the utmost folly: to think that the wise men would make more of him than of the child who had been born, for whose sake they had come so long a journey. If they were so on fire with longing for him before they saw him, how did he hope to persuade them to betray the young child to him after they had seen him with their own eyes and been confirmed by the prophecy?

Nevertheless, with so many reasons to hold him back, he made the attempt: having “secretly called the wise men, he asked them.” For he thought the Jews would take the child’s side, and he could never have expected them to sink into such madness as to be willing to hand over to his enemies their Protector and Savior, the one who had come to deliver their nation. That is why he calls the wise men secretly, and asks about the time not of the child but of the star — so marking out the object of his hunt as to take in far more than it.

For the star, I think, must have appeared a long time before, since the wise men had to spend a long time on their journey. It was fitting that he should be worshiped in his very swaddling clothes, so that the marvelous and strange nature of the thing might be seen. So, in order that the wise men might present themselves just after his birth, the star shows itself a long time beforehand. If it had been seen by them in the East only at the moment of his birth in Palestine, and not before, they would have used up a long time on the journey and would not have seen him in swaddling clothes when they arrived. As for his killing the children “from two years old and under,” let us not be surprised. His anger and his fear, for the sake of fuller security, added a great deal to the time, so that not one might escape.

So, having called them, he says, “Go and search carefully for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, so that I too may come and worship him.”

Do you see his extreme folly? Why, if you are saying these things sincerely, why do you inquire in secret? And if you intend to plot against him, how do you not see that the very secrecy of their questioning will let the wise men see through your cunning? But as I have already said, a soul taken captive by any wickedness becomes more senseless than anything.

And he did not say, “Go and learn about the King,” but “about the young child”; for he could not bear even to call him by the name of his rule.

But the wise men noticed none of this, because of their great reverence. They could never have expected that he would go so far in wickedness as to attempt to plot against so marvelous a plan of salvation. So they leave, suspecting none of these things, but judging all the rest of mankind by what was in themselves. [l]

“And look, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.” It was hidden for this reason only: so that, having lost their guide, they would be forced to make inquiry of the Jews, and so the matter would be made plain to everyone. For after they have made their inquiries, and have had his enemies for informants, it appears to them again.

And notice how excellent the order was. First, after the star, the Jewish people receives them, and the king, and these bring in the prophecy to explain what had appeared. Next, after the prophet, an angel took them up in turn and taught them everything. But for a time they travel from Jerusalem to Bethlehem under the guidance of the star, the star journeying with them from that place too — so that from this also you might learn that it was not one of the ordinary stars, for there is not a single star that has this nature. And it did not merely move, but “went before them,” drawing them and guiding them on in the middle of the day.

But someone may ask: “What need was there of this star any more, once the place had been found out?” So that the child too might be seen. For there was nothing to make him stand out: the house was not conspicuous, and his mother was neither famous nor distinguished. So the star was needed to set them at the place. That is why it reappears as they come out of Jerusalem, and does not stop until it has reached the manger.

And marvel was linked to marvel. Both were strange things — the magi worshiping, and the star going before them — and enough to draw even people made entirely of stone. For if the wise men had said that they had heard prophets say these things, or that angels had spoken with them privately, they might not have been believed. But as it was, when the sight of the star appeared on high, even the most shameless had their mouths stopped.

Moreover, when the star stood over the young child, it halted its course again. This itself belonged to a greater power than a star has: now to hide itself, now to appear, and having appeared, to stand still. From this they too received an increase of faith. This is why they also rejoiced: because they had found what they were looking for, because they had proved to be messengers of truth, because they had not come so great a journey for nothing — such a longing, so to speak, did they have for Christ. For first the star came and stood over his very head, showing that the child born is divine; then, standing there, it leads them to worship him. And these were not simply barbarians, but the wiser sort among them.

Do you see how fittingly the star appeared? For even after the prophecy, and after the chief priests and scribes had interpreted it, their minds were still turned toward the star.

Shame on Marcion, shame on Paul of Samosata, for refusing to see what those wise men saw — the forefathers of the church, for I am not ashamed to call them that! Let Marcion be ashamed, seeing God worshiped in the flesh. Let Paul be ashamed, seeing him worshiped as not merely a man. That he was in the flesh is shown first by the swaddling clothes and the manger. That they did not worship him as a mere man they make plain by offering him, at that tender age, such gifts as it was fitting to offer to God. [o]

And along with them let the Jews be ashamed too, seeing themselves outrun by barbarians and magi, while they will not even consent to come after them. For what happened then was a type of the things to come, and from the very beginning it was shown that the Gentiles would get ahead of their nation.

But someone may ask: “How was it, then, that he said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations,’ not at the beginning but afterward?” Because what happened was a type, as I said, of the future, and a kind of announcement of it in advance. The natural order was that the Jews should come to him first. But since they, by their own choice, threw away the benefit that was theirs, the order of things was turned around. For not even in this case should the wise men have come before the Jews. People from so great a distance should not have gotten ahead of those settled around the very city, and those who had heard nothing should not have come before those raised on so many prophecies. But because the Jews were utterly ignorant of their own blessings, those from Persia get ahead of those at Jerusalem.

And this is exactly what Paul too says: “It was necessary that the word of the Lord should be spoken to you first; but since you judge yourselves unworthy, look, we are turning to the Gentiles.” For even if they had not obeyed before, at least when they heard it from the wise men they ought to have made all haste; but they would not. So while those are sleeping, these run on ahead.

So let us too follow the magi. Let us separate ourselves from our barbarian customs and put a great distance between us and them, so that we may see Christ; for they too, if they had not gone far from their own country, would have missed seeing him. Let us depart from the things of earth. For while the wise men were in Persia, they saw only the star; but after they had left Persia, they saw the Sun of Righteousness. Or rather, they would not have seen even the star if they had not readily risen up from there. [r]

So let us rise up too. Even if everyone is troubled, let us run to the house of the young child. Even if kings, even if nations, even if tyrants cut across this path of ours, let our desire not fade. For in this way we will drive off all the dangers that surround us. These men too, had they not seen the young child, would not have escaped their danger from the king. Before they saw the young child, fears and dangers and troubles pressed on them from every side; but after they had worshiped, there is calm and safety. And it is no longer a star but an angel that receives them, since by the act of worship they had become priests — for we see that they offered gifts as well.

So you too: leave the Jewish people, the troubled city, the bloodthirsty tyrant, the pomp of the world, and hurry to Bethlehem, where the house of the spiritual Bread is. Even if you are a shepherd, if you come here, you will see the young child in an inn. Even if you are a king, if you do not come here, your purple robe will do you no good. Even if you are one of the wise men, that will be no hindrance to you. Only let your coming be to honor and to worship, not to spurn the Son of God. Only do this with trembling and joy — for the two can go together.

But take care that you are not like Herod, saying, “so that I may come and worship him,” and then, when you have come, intending to kill him. For those who share in the mysteries unworthily are like him, since it is said that such a person “will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” Yes, for they have within themselves the tyrant who is grieved at Christ’s kingdom, one more wicked than Herod of old: Mammon. He wants to have the rule, and he sends his own people to worship in appearance, but to kill while they worship. So let us be afraid that at some time, while we have the look of suppliants and worshipers, we may in fact show the opposite.

And when we are to worship, let us throw everything out of our hands. Even if what we have is gold, let us offer it to him and not bury it. For if those barbarians offered it then to honor him, what will become of you, who do not give even to him when he is in need? If those men traveled so far to see him newly born, what kind of excuse will you have, when you will not go even one alley’s length out of your way to visit him sick or in chains? Yet when even our enemies are sick or in chains, they have our pity; yours is denied even to your Benefactor and Lord. They offered gold; you hardly give bread. They saw the star and were glad; you see Christ himself a stranger and naked, and are not moved.

Which of you, for Christ’s sake, has made so long a pilgrimage — you who have received countless benefits — as these barbarians did, or rather, these men wiser than the wisest philosophers? And why do I speak of so long a journey? Many of our women are so delicate that they will not cross even one street to see him on the spiritual manger unless they have mules to pull them. And others, who are able to walk, prefer to their attendance here some a crowd of worldly business, some the theaters.

The barbarians made so great a journey for his sake before they saw him. You do not imitate them even after you have seen him; you abandon him after seeing him, and run off to see the actor. (For I am touching on the same subjects again, as I did lately too.) You see Christ lying in the manger, and you leave him to go and see women on the stage.

What thunderbolts do these things not deserve? Tell me: if someone were to take you into a palace and show you the king on his throne, would you really choose to see the theater instead? And yet in the palace there is nothing to be gained, while here a spiritual spring of fire gushes up from this table. And you leave this, and run down to the theater to watch women swimming and nature put to open dishonor, leaving Christ sitting by the well? Yes, for now, as long ago, he sits down by the well, talking not with a Samaritan woman but with a whole city. Or perhaps even now with a Samaritan woman only. For even now no one is with him: some are here with their bodies only, and some not even with those. Nevertheless he does not go away. He stays, and asks us for a drink — not of water, but of holiness, for “he gives his holy things to the holy.” For it is not water he gives us from this spring, but living blood. It is indeed a symbol of death, but it has become the cause of life. [w]

But you leave the spring of blood, the awe-inspiring cup, and go off to the devil’s spring, to watch a prostitute swim and to suffer the shipwreck of your soul. For that water is a sea of lust. It does not drown bodies; it wrecks souls. She swims with her body naked, and you, watching, sink into the depths of lust. That is the devil’s net. It sinks not those who go down into the water itself, but those who sit above it, even more than the ones who wallow in it; and it chokes them more cruelly than Pharaoh, who long ago sank in the sea with his horses and his chariots. If only souls could be seen, I could show you many of them floating on these waters, like the bodies of the Egyptians back then. But what is still more grievous is this: they even call such utter ruin a delight, and they name the sea of destruction a channel for a pleasure trip. Yet surely a person could cross the Aegean or the Tuscan Sea in safety more easily than this show.

For first, the whole night long, the devil fills their souls in advance with the expectation of it. Then, having shown them what they were waiting for, he binds them at once and makes them his captives. And do not think that because you have not joined yourself to the prostitute you are clean of the sin; in the intent of your heart you have done it all. If you are caught by lust, you have fanned the flame higher. If you feel nothing at what you see, you deserve a heavier charge: you are a stumbling block to others, encouraging them to go to these shows, and you defile your own eyes, and with your eyes, your soul.

However, so as not merely to find fault, come, let us work out a way to correct this as well. What will that way be? I would hand you over to your own wives, to be taught by them. It is true that by Paul’s law you ought to be the teachers. But since sin has turned that order upside down, and the body has come to be on top and the head underneath, let us take even this road. But if you are ashamed to have a woman for your teacher, flee from sin, and you will soon be able to climb back up onto the throne God has given you. For as long as you sin, Scripture sends you not just to a woman but even to creatures without reason, and lowly ones at that. Yes, it is not ashamed to send you, who are honored with reason, to the ant as its pupil. Plainly this is no charge against Scripture, but against those who betray their own noble birth like this. We will do the same, then. For the present we will hand you over to your wife; but if you despise her, we will send you off to the school of the very beasts, and point out to you how many birds, fish, four-footed animals and creeping things are found to be more honorable and chaster than you.

If you are ashamed now, and blush at the comparison, climb back up to your own nobility, and flee the sea of hell and the flood of fire — I mean the pool in the theater. For this pool leads into that sea and kindles that abyss of flame. If “the one who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery,” how is the one who is made to see her naked as well not ten thousand times more a captive? The flood in Noah’s day did not destroy the human race as completely as these swimming women drown everyone who is there, and in great disgrace. That rain did bring death to the body, but it held back the wickedness of the soul. This does the opposite: the bodies are left standing, and it destroys the soul. And you — when it is a question of rank, you claim precedence over the whole world, because our city was the first to crown itself with the name of Christian. But in the contest of chastity you are not ashamed to trail behind the most backward cities.

Someone says: “Well then, what do you want us to do? Take to the mountains and become monks?” That is the very thing that makes me groan: that you think decency and chastity belong properly to them alone. And yet Christ certainly made his laws common to all. So when he says, “If anyone looks at a woman to lust after her,” he is not speaking to the solitary only, but also to the man who has a wife; for that mountain was filled at the time with all sorts of people of that kind. So picture that amphitheater in your mind, and hate this one, which is the devil’s. [ag]

And do not condemn my words as harsh. I do not “forbid marriage,” nor do I stop you from enjoying yourselves; but I want it done in chastity, not with shame and reproach and endless accusations. I do not lay it down as a law that you are to take to the mountains and the deserts, but that you are to be good and considerate and chaste while living in the middle of the city. For in fact all our laws are shared with the monks as well, except marriage. Or rather, even in this Paul commands us to put ourselves entirely on a level with them, when he says, “For the form of this world is passing away,” and that “those who have wives should be as though they had none.”

So, I say, I do not bid you take possession of the mountain peaks. True, I could wish it, since the cities imitate what was done in Sodom. Nevertheless I do not force it on you. Stay where you are, with your house and children and wife. Only do not insult your wife, do not put your children to shame, and do not bring the infection of the theater into your home.

Do you not hear Paul saying, “The husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does,” and laying down laws common to both? But you, if your wife is forever pushing her way into public gatherings, are severe in blaming her, while you yourself spend whole days at the public shows and do not think yourself deserving of blame. Where your wife’s modesty is concerned you are so strict that you go beyond need or measure, and do not allow her even the outings she cannot do without; but for yourself you think everything is allowed. Yet Paul does not allow it, for he gives the wife the same authority too. This is what he says: “Let the husband give the wife the honor that is due to her.”

What sort of honor is this, then, when you insult her in the things that matter most, and hand her body over to prostitutes — for your body is hers? When you bring uproar and war into your home? When in the public square you do things of such a kind that, as you tell them yourself to your wife at home, they overwhelm her with shame, and your daughter too if she is there, and surely yourself more than both? For you must either keep silent, or conduct yourself so indecently that your very servants would deserve a whipping for it. What defense, I ask you, will you have, when you watch so eagerly things that are disgraceful even to name, and prefer above every other sight these shows that are unbearable even to describe?

For now, so as not to be too burdensome, I will bring my sermon to a close here. But if you go on in the same ways, I will make the knife sharper and the cut deeper, and I will not stop until I have scattered the devil’s theater and so cleansed the assembly of the church. For in this way we will both be set free from our present disgrace and reap the fruit of the life to come, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.