What sayest thou, O woman? Thy husband or thy son was thy protector? But does not thy God spare thee? Who gave thee thy very husband? Was it not He? And who made thee? Was it not He? He surely who brought thee out of nothing into being, and breathed into thee a soul, and put in thee a mind, and vouchsafed to favor thee with the knowledge of Himself, and for thy sake spared not His only-begotten Son, does not He spare thee? And does thy fellow-servant spare thee? What wrath is due to these words! What of this kind hast thou had from thy husband? Thou canst not say anything. For if he has even done thee any kindness, it was after he had received kindness, you having previously begun. But in the case of God no one can say any such thing. For it is not as having received any favors from us that God benefits us, but being incapable of want, from His goodness alone He does good to mankind. He has promised thee a kingdom, He has given immortal life, glory, brotherhood, adoption. He has made thee fellow-heir with His Only-Begotten. And dost thou after so great benefits remember thy husband? What has he bestowed of this kind? He has made His sun to shine, He has given rain, He sustains thee with yearly nourishment. Woe to us for our great ingratitude!
For this reason He takes thy husband, that thou mayest not seek him. But dost thou still cling to him though departed, and forsakest God, when it was thy duty to give thanks, to cast it all upon Him? For what is it that thou hast received from thy husband? The pains of childbirth, and labors, and insults and reproaches often, and chidings, and bursts of anger. Are not these the things that come from husbands? But there are, you say, other things too that are good. Of what sort then are these? Did he set off thy beauty with costly garments? Did he put gold ornaments about thy face? Did he make thee respected by all? But if thou wilt, thou shalt adorn thyself with a much better ornament than the departed. For gravity makes its possessor much more admirable than golden ornaments. This King also has garments, not of this sort, but much better. With those, if thou wilt, invest thyself. Of what sort then are they? There is a clothing which has fringes of gold; if thou wilt, array the soul. But did he make thee not to be despised by men? And what is there great in that? Thy widowhood suffers thee not to be despised by the demons. Then thou ruledst over thy servants, if at least thou didst at all rule over them. But now, instead of thy servants, thou hast mastery over unbodied powers, principalities, authorities, the ruler of this world. And thou dost not mention the troubles, in which thou sharedst with him, sometimes the fear of magistrates, sometimes the preference given to neighbors. From all these things thou art now delivered, from dread and fear. But art thou solicitous who will support the children that are left thee? The "Father of the fatherless." For tell me, who gave them? Dost thou not hear Christ in the Gospels saying, "Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?" (Matt. vi. 25.)
Seest thou, that thy lamentation is not from loss of his society, but from want of faith. But the children of a father that is dead are not equally illustrious. Wherefore? They have God for their Father, and are they not illustrious? How many can I show you brought up by widows, who have become famous, how many who have been under their fathers, and have been undone! For if thou bringest them up from their first youth, as they ought to be brought up, they will enjoy an advantage much greater than a father's protection. For that it is the business of widows--I speak of the bringing up of children--hear Paul saying, "If she hath brought up children" (1 Tim. v. 10.); and again, "She shall be saved through the child-bearing," (he has not said through her husband,) if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety." (1 Tim. ii. 15.) Instill into them the fear of God from their first youth, and He will protect them better than any father; this will be a wall not to be broken. For when there is a guard seated within, we have no need of contrivances without: but where he is not, all our outward contrivances are vain.
This will be to them wealth and glory too and ornament. This will make them illustrious, not upon earth, but even in heaven. For do not look to those who are begirt with the golden girdles, nor those who are borne on horses, nor those who shine in kings' palaces on account of their fathers, nor those who have footmen and tutors. For these things perhaps cause widows to bewail over their orphans, thinking that this my son also, if his father at least were living, would have enjoyed so much happiness; but now he is in a state of depression and dishonor, and worthy of no consideration. Think not of these things, O woman, but open to thee in thought the gates of heaven, consider the palace there, behold the King who is there seated. Consider if those who are upon the earth can be more illustrious than thy son there--and then groan. But if some are of good repute on earth, this is not worth any consideration. It is allowed him, if thou wilt, to be a soldier in heaven, to enlist him in the ranks of that army. For those who are enlisted there are not borne on horses, but in the clouds. They walk not upon earth, but are caught up into heaven. They have not slaves to go before them, but the Angels themselves. They stand not in the presence of a mortal king, but of Him who is immortal, the King of kings and Lord of lords. They have not a leathern girdle about their loins, but that glory which is unspeakable, and they are more splendid than kings, or whoever have been most illustrious. For in those royal courts not wealth is required, nor noble birth, nothing else than virtue alone; and where that is present, nothing is wanting to their obtaining the chief place.
Nothing is painful to us, if we are willing to cultivate wisdom. Look up to heaven, and see how much more splendid it is than the roofs of palaces. And if the pavement of the palaces above is so much more grand than those below, that the one may be considered as dirt in comparison with the other; if any one should be thought worthy to see those palaces perfectly, what blessedness will not be his!
"But she," he says, "that is a widow indeed, and desolate, hath her hope set on God." (1 Tim. v. 5.) To whom is this said? To those who have no [1005] children, because they are more highly approved, and have a greater opportunity of pleasing God, because all their chains are loosened to them. There is no one to hold them fast, no one to compel them to drag their chains after them. Thou art separated from thy husband, but art united to God. Thou hast not a fellow-servant for thy associate, but thou hast thy Lord. When thou prayest, tell me, dost thou not converse with God? When thou readest, hear Him conversing with thee. And what does He say to thee? Much kinder words than thy husband. For though indeed thy husband should flatter thee, the honor is not great, for he is thy fellow-servant. But when the Lord flatters the slave, then is the courtship great. How then does He court us? Hear by what means he does it. "Come," He says, "unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. xi. 28.) And again through the Prophet He calls, saying, "Will a woman forget to have compassion on the offspring of her womb? But even if a woman should forget, yet will I not forget thee, saith the Lord." (Isa. xlix. 15, Sept.) Of how great a love are these words? And again, "Turn unto Me" (Isa. xlv. 22.); and again elsewhere, "Turn unto Me, and thou shalt be saved." (Isa. xliv. 22.) And if one was willing to select too from the Canticles, taking them in the more mystical way, he will hear Him conversing and saying to every soul that is fitted for Him, "My fair one, my dove." (Cant. ii. 10.) What is sweeter than these words? Seest thou the conversation of God with men? But what? tell me, seest thou not how many children of those blessed women are gone, and are in their tombs; how many have suffered more severely, and with their husbands have lost also their children? To these things let us attend; let us be anxious about these things, and nothing will be grievous to us, but we shall continue passing all our time in spiritual joy; and we shall enjoy the eternal blessings, of which may we all be partakers, by the grace and lovingkindness, &c.
[997] [Chrys. reads "we," as do many N.T. documents; yet "ye" is pretty certainly right, having been altered because "ye have no need to write to you" is a harsh construction. The "and" after "brethren" is quite certainly genuine for Chrys., but has very slight authority for the N.T. text.--J.A.B.]
[998] philadelphia is strictly "lovingness toward brethren," not merely "as of brethren."
[999] [This ought to be now rendered "becomingly," the English word "honestly" having ceased to carry that meaning.--J.A.B.]
[1000] [Chrys. is aiming to quote (ii. 14.), "Ye became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judæa"; and he then explains the situation in Judæa by quoting from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The chronology of the Epistles is seldom very real to his mind. The inaccurate and abridged quotation is natural, but of course the amended text filled it out, as seen in the earlier editions.--J.A.B.]
[1001] [Chrys. thinks of 1 Cor. xv. as preceding Thess. in time, and he had himself previously discoursed thereon.--J.A.B.]
[1002] [Chrys. has, as so often, the reading which became the Textus Receptus, viz. here the perfect participle, "them that are asleep." The Rev. Ver. properly adopts the other reading, the present participle, "them that fall asleep," in the successive instances. In ver. 14 and 15 (Hom. vii.) both Chrys. and N.T. have the aorist participle, "them that fell asleep," loosely translated, "them that are fallen asleep."--J.A.B.]
[1003] [See this subject copiously and admirably treated in one of Chrys.'s seven sermons on the Rich Man and Lazarus, entitled "Excessive Grief at the Death of Friends," and translated in Fish's "Masterpieces of Pulpit Eloquence" (New York), Vol. I., pp. 83 ff.--J.A.B.]
[1004] i.e. "because you say such things about him."
[1005] [Two mss., which generally present good readings, give the negative. Other mss. and two editions have no negative, and that is the harder reading, likely to be altered. It may possibly be explained (Field) by understanding the foregoing question thus: "With reference to whom is this said?" i.e. in comparison with whom? Then the thought is that, in comparison with those who have children, a widow that is really such has better opportunities of usefulness. Comp. 1 Cor. vii. 32.--J.A.B.]