Homilies on Genesis 18–45

Homily 44

HOMILY 44 "Now, Abraham rose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before God. "I I ESTERDAY'S [405] THEME of the Samaritan woman I gave us adequate [406] instruction in the Lord's ineffable longsuffering and surpassing concern for her, as well as her gratitude.2 You saw how she came to draw material water but in fact drew from divine streams coming from an invisible spring, and thus went off home, fulfilling the word of the Lord, "The water that I shall give will become a spring of water in him gushing forth to life everlasting."3 Once she had drunk her fill of that divine and spiritual spring, remember, she did not keep the waters to herself but overflowed, so to say, and poured out on the inhabitants of the town as well the grace of the gift given her; the woman, the Samaritan, the foreigner, immediately turned preacher. You saw how important gratitude of soul is, you saw the Lord's loving kindness in not scorning anyone but immediately directing his grace to anyone, be it woman or pauperwherever at all he finds a spirit watchful and alive. (2) Accordingly, I beseech you, let us also imitate this woman and receive the teachings of the Spirit with close attention . They are not our words, you see, nor do we utter with our own tongue whatever we say; instead, we are guided by the Lord's loving kindness for the sake of your salvation and the building up of the Church of God. So do not have I. Gen 19.27. 2. This, in fact, was not the theme of Homily 43; the reference is lost on us, and we are encouraged to think that particularly in this post-Easter period the Genesis homilies were not necessarily given on successive days without interruption. See n. 5, infra. 3· John 4·14· 455 456 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM regard to my person as a speaker, dearly beloved, nor my poverty of expression, but to the fact that I pass on what comes from the Lord; so keep your thoughts fixed on the one who has commissioned me and in this way receive my words with lively attention. (3) This is true in human affairs, too. When the emperor wearing his crown dispatches letters, the bearer of them is in fact of no account in himself but only someone unimportant, often with no lineage to claim, an obscure son of obscure parents. Yet those due to receive them, while giving no heed to him personally, still pay him great respect also on account of the emperor's letters, and they receive the letters in great fear and complete silence. If, then, that person who brings the letters of a human being, and bears paper and nothing more, is given a welcome by everyone, much more would you be right in receiving with great attention the sayings of the Spirit sent to you by means of us, and thus win a great reward for your right attitude. You see, if the Lord of all sees your enthusiasm of spirit, he will also provide you with generous assistance with a view to your upbuilding and will grant you deeper understanding so as to grasp what is said. After all, the grace of the Spirit is abundant and, far from undergoing any diminution when poured out on everyone, it is rather increased by distribution, and the more numerous those who share in it, the more widely the effects of grace are felt.4 (4) So come now, if you don't mind, let us take up the thread of what we said the other day" and see where we closed the sermon and at what point we ought resume it today. Where, then, did we break our sermon and conclude our in4 . This passage expresses in striking form Chrysostom's thinking on Scripture and his role as scriptural commentator; the simile of the emperor's letters is akin to that in Homily 2, of Moses delivering letters from God. He sees himself speaking under divine inspiration (some manuscripts employ in place of "guided" the word Chrysostom normally uses for "inspired," enechoumenos , as applied to biblical authors); when he speaks, it is the Spirit speaking. He is commissioned to "pass on" what comes from the Lord, for the salvation of his listeners and the building up of the Church-all arising from God's loving kindness. 5. If...