Homilies on Genesis, 1–17

Homily 10

HOMILY 10 An exhortation to those ashamed to attend the evening congregation after eating; and from the verse, "'Let us make a human being in our image and likeness,'" up to the verse, "God made the human being; in God's image he made them; male and female he made them." I UR CONGREGATION today is smaller, and the participants in the action less numerous. Why is this, and what is responsible for it? Perhaps some people are ashamed to attend this spiritual banquet after their material repast, and this is responsible for their absence. Let them, however, heed the words of the wise man: "Shame it is that leads to sin, and shame it is that is glory and grace." 2 It is not cause for shame for a person to have partaken of (82a) a material repast and then come to spiritual food. You see, spiritual affairs are not divided into distinct times like human affairs; in other words, discourse on spiritual topics is suited to any time of the day. Why do I say time of the day? Even if night falls, that is no obstacle to spiritual teaching. Hence Paul said in writing to Timothy, "Press on whether the time is ripe or not: argue, censure, cajole."3 Listen further to blessed Luke when he says that "as Paul was due to leave Troas the next day, he began talking to them and prolonged his discourse to midnight ." 4 Was time a problem for him, I ask you, or did it interrupt the thread of his teaching? No. The alert listener, (82b) even after dining, would be in a suitable condition for this spiritual gathering, just as by the same token the slothful 5 and I. Gn 1.27. 2. Sir 4.21. 3· 2 Tm 4·2. 4. Acts 20·7· 5. Again it is rhathumia-indifference, sloth, negligence, carelessnessthat Chrysostom sees as the besetting weakness of the Christian. 127 ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM dilatory person even on an empty stomach would get no benefit from it. (2) I'm not making this point to undermine the importance of fasting-God forbid: on the contrary, I'm all in favor of it. Instead, my intention is to teach you to take an active part in spiritual matters with alert mind, not just follow along out of habit. The shameful thing, you see, is not attendance at this spiritual teaching after partaking of food, but attendance with an attitude of sloth, addiction to passion, and failure to control the movements of the flesh. There is nothing wrong with eating-God forbid; the harmful thing is gluttony, stuffing yourself with food in excess of need, and ruining your stomach-something, after all, that destroys even the pleasure that comes from food. (82C) SO, too, in like manner, there is nothing wrong with drinking in moderation, but rather with surrendering to drunkenness and losing control of your reasoning through excess. If, however, dearly beloved, you are unable to go a whole day without food because of physical weakness, no right-minded person could find fault with you in this. We have, you see, a gentle and loving Lord who demands nothing of us beyond our capabilities. In other words, it is not arbitrarily that he looks for fasting and abstinence from food to be performed by us, nor simply for the sake of our remaining without food, but rather that we may be detached from things of this life and devote all our spare time to spiritual matters. If we conduct our lives with sober mind, use all our spare time in spiritual matters, eat only for nourishment (82d) and spend our whole life in good practices, we would have no need of the help that comes from fasting. But since human nature is lazy and is given rather to indulgence and luxury, the loving Lord accordingly like a kindly father devised for us the healing that comes from fasting so that the effects of luxury might be cut out of us and we might replace worldly concerns with performance of spiritual exercises. (3) So, if there are some of the congregation here who because of bodily weakness are prevented from going without food and incapable of doing so, I advise them both to come to terms with their bodily weakness, and not to deprive them- HOMILY 10 129 selves of this spiritual instruction (83a) but rather...