To Leontius, Former Consul, on Citizens of Babylon and of Jerusalem

Gregory to Leontius, and so on. [a] “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay, some for honor and some for dishonor” (Second Timothy 2, verse 20). Who, then, can fail to know that in the bosom of the universal church some, as vessels of dishonor, are assigned to the lowest uses, while others, as vessels of honor, are made fit for clean uses? And yet it commonly happens that the citizens of Babylon do task-work for Jerusalem, while the citizens of Jerusalem, that is, of the heavenly country, are assigned to the task-work of Babylon. For when God’s chosen ones, gifted with moral excellence, known for their moderation, not seeking their own gain, are assigned to earthly business, what is this but the citizens of holy Jerusalem serving in the work of Babylon? And when some who are unbridled in immorality hold places of holy rank, and seek praise for themselves in the very things they seem to do well, what is this but the citizens of Babylon carrying out the task-work of the heavenly Jerusalem? So Judas, mingled with the apostles, preached the Redeemer of the human race for a long time and worked signs with the rest. But because he had been a citizen of Babylon, he carried out his work as task-work for the heavenly Jerusalem. Joseph, on the other hand, carried off into Egypt, served an earthly court, bore the charge of administering temporal things, and rendered to a passing kingdom everything justly due to it. But because he was still a citizen of holy Jerusalem, he carried out the service of Babylon, as we have seen above, only as task-work. [b]

A follower of his, good man, I believe you to be. I know that, though caught up in earthly affairs, you act with a gentle spirit, keep the citadel of humility in every way, and give everyone what is just. For so many good things are reported of your glory by many people that I would wish not to hear of them but to see them. Yet still I am fed by the good name of one whom I am not allowed to see. The woman who poured out ointment from the alabaster jar, showing a figure of holy church, that is, of all the chosen, filled the house with its fragrance (Luke 7). And we, whenever we hear something about good people, draw in, as it were through our nostrils, a breath of sweetness. And when Paul the apostle said, “We are a good fragrance of Christ to God” (Second Corinthians 2, verse 15), he plainly gives us to understand that he showed himself as a taste to those who were present, but as a fragrance to those who were absent. So we, since we cannot be nourished by the taste of your presence, are nourished by the fragrance of your absence.

We also rejoice greatly at this: that the gifts you sent us were not unlike your character. For we received oil of the holy cross and wood of aloes, the one to bless by its touch, the other to give a sweet smell when it is burned. For it was fitting that a good man should send us things that might appease the wrath of God against us. [e] You have also sent many other things for our storehouses, since, as we live both in soul and in flesh, it was necessary that we should be sustained in both. And yet in sending these things your most sweet soul declares that it blushes deeply for shame, and holds up the shield of love before this very modesty. But I rejoice entirely in these words, since from this witness of the soul I know that one who blushes even in giving away what is his own can never take what belongs to another. Your gifts, however, which you call small, are great, and I think your glory’s very humility makes them greater still. And you beg me to receive them kindly. But meanwhile, call to mind the two mites of a certain widow (Luke 21). For if she pleased God when she offered a little with a good will, why should not the one who has given much with a humble mind please men? Furthermore, we send you as a blessing from Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, a key of his most sacred tomb, in which is set a blessing from his chains, so that what bound his neck for martyrdom may loose yours from all sins. [g]