Catechesis V
CATECHESIS V
On Faith "Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that are not seen; for by it the men of old had testimony borne to them."l
(1) How great a dignity the Lord confers upon you in transferring you from the rank of catechumens to that of the faithful Paul the Apostle indicates when he says: "God is faithful, by him you have been called into fellowship with his
Son, Jesus Christ."2 For, since God is called faithful, you also, in receiving this title, receive a great dignity. For as God is called Good, and Just, and Almighty, and Creator of the universe, so also is He called faithful. Consider then to what a dignity you are being exalted in that you are about to become a sharer of a title of God.
(2) Moreover, it is required that each of you be found faithful in conscience.3 For, "it is a task to find a faithful man."4 Not that you should show your conscience to mefor not by man's day are you to be judged5-but that you may show the sincerity of your faith to God, "the searcher of reins and hearts,"6 who "knows the thoughts of men."7 A great thing is a faithful man, no man is so rich as he. For,
1 Heb. 11.1,2.
2 1 Cor. 1.9.
3 Cf. 1 Cor. 4.2.
4 Prov.20.6 (Sept.).
5 Cf. 1 Cor. 4.3.
6 Ps.7.10.
7 Ps.93.11.
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"to the faithful man belongs the whole world of riches,"s inasmuch as he disdains wealth and tramples it underfoot.
For those who in appearance are rich, though they have many possessions, are yet poor in soul; for the more they amass, the more they pine with longing for what they lack. But the believer, paradoxically, is rich even when poor; for knowing that we have need only of raiment and food, and being content with these, he has trampled riches underfoot.9
(3) It is not only among us, who are marked with the name of Christ, that the dignity of faith is great; all the business of the world, even of those outside the Church, is accomplished by faith.10 By faith, marriage laws join in union persons who are strangers one to another; the spouses, though erstwhile strangers, bestow on each other their bodies and material possessions, because of faith in the marriage contracts.
By faith agriculture is sustained; for a man does not endure the toil involved unless he believes that he will reap a harvest.
By faith, seafaring men, entrusting themselves to a tiny wooden craft, exchange the solid element of the land for the unstable motion of the waves, surrendering themselves to uncertain hopes and carrying about with them a faith more sure than any anchor. Most of the affairs of men, then, depend on faith; and not only among us does this hold true, but also, as I have said, among those outside the fold. For though they do not accept the Scriptures but advance certain doctrines of their own, yet even these they receive on faith.
(4) The lesson read today likewise calls you to the true faith, as it points out the way by which you must please God; for it says that "without faith it is impossible to please
[God] ."11 For when will a man propose to serve God, unless he believes that He is a rewarder?12 When will a young
8 Prov.17.6 (Sept.).
9 Cf. 1 Tim 6.8. lO This chapter constitutes an excellent approach to the meaning of faith.
11 Heb. 11.6.
12 Cf. ibid.
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woman lead the life of a virgin or a young man a life of self-control, unless they believe that for chastity there is a never-fading crown? Faith is the eye that enlightens every conscience and produces understanding; for the Prophet says:
"If you will not believe, you shall not understand."13 Faith stops up the mouths of lions,14 according to Daniel; for Scripture says of him: "Daniel was removed from the den, unhurt because he trusted in his God."15 Is there anything more terrible than the devil? Yet, even against him, we have no other armor than faith, a spiritual shield against an invisible enemy. For he discharges manifold arrows, and shoots in the dark those who are not vigilant;16 but, though the enemy is unseen, we have our faith as a strong protection, according to the saying of the Apostle: "In all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the most wicked one."17 Oftentimes a fiery dart of desire of base indulgence is discharged by the devil; but faith, representing to us the Judgment, and cooling the mind, extinguishes the dart.
(5) Much is to be said about faith, and the whole day would not suffice for us to discourse fully upon it. For the present let us be content with Abraham as an example from the Old Testament, since of him also we have become sons by faith. He was justified, not by works alone, but by faith.
For he had done many things well, yet he was never called friend of God but when he believed;18 and further, every deed of his was perfected by faith. By faith, he left his parents; by faith, he left country, district, and home. Just as he was justified, so you also will be justified. He was dead in body for the further begetting of children; for he was an old man, his wife Sara was old also, and there was no hope left
HI Isa. 7.9 (Sept.).
14 Cf. Dan. 6.23; Heb. 11.33.
15 Dan. 6.24.
16 Cf. Ps. 10.3.
17 Eph.6.16.
18 Cf. Gen. 15.6; James 2.23.
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of offspring. God promised offspring to the old man; and Abraham was not weak in faith,19 and considering his own body now dead, he looked not to the weakness of his body, but to the power of Him who promised, believing "that he who had given the promise was faithful,"2o and so from bodies as good as dead, beyond all expectation, he obtained a son. Then, .after begetting a son, when he was commanded to offer him, though he had already heard the words: "In Isaac thy seed shall be called,"21 he proceeded to offer his only-begotten son to God, "reasoning that God has power to raise up even from the dead."22 And when he had bound his son and placed him on the wood, in will, indeed, he sacrificed him, but by the goodness of God, who supplied him a lamb in place of his child, he received his son alive. Therefore, because he was faithful, he was sealed unto righteousness, and he received circumcision as the seal of the faith which he had while uncircumcised,23 having received a promise that he would be "the father of a multitude of nations."24
(6) Let us see in what respect Abraham is the father of many nations. Admittedly, he is the father of the Jews, by succession according to the flesh. But if we look only to succession according to the flesh, we shall be forced to say that the oracle is false; for he is no longer father of all of us according to the flesh. But the example of his faith makes us all sons of Abraham. How and in what manner? It is incredible among men that one should rise from the dead; as it is likewise incredible that offspring be born of aged persons as good as dead. But when Christ is preached as having been crucified on the tree, as having died and risen again, we believe it. By the likeness of our faith, therefore, we become the adopted sons of Abraham; and consequent upon our faith,
19 Rom. 4.19.
20 Heb. 11.11.
21 Heb. 11.18.
22 Heb. 11.19.
23 Cf. Rom. 4.11.
24 Gen. 17.5.
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like him we receive the spiritual seal, being circumcised by the Holy Spirit through the laver of baptism, not in the foreskin of the body, but in the heart, according to the words of Jeremia: "For the sake of the Lord, be circumcised, remove the foreskins of your hearts,"25 and according to the Apostle:
In the "circumcision which is of Christ, buried together with him in baptism," and so forth.26
(7) If we guard this faith, we shall be free from condemnation and be adorned with virtues of every kind. For the power of faith is so great that it even buoys up men walking upon the sea. Peter was a man like ourselves, composed of flesh and blood, and living on like foods. But when
Jesus said: "Come,"27 believing, he walked upon the waters, having in his faith a support firmer than any natural ground, and upholding the weight of his body by the buoyancy of his faith. Now as long as he believed, he had firm footing upon the water, but when he doubted, then he began to sink; for as his faith gradually gave way, his body also was drawn down along with it. Realizing his predicament, Jesus, who cures our souls' sicknesses, said: "0 thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?"28 Then, strengthened by Him who grasped his right hand, as soon as he had recovered his faith, led by the hand of the Master, he walked upon the waters as before. For the Gospel signifies this indirectly in the words: "And when they got into the boat."29 For it does not say, swimming to the boat, Peter got into it, but it gives us to understand that, after retracing the distance he had traversed in going to Jesus, he re-entered the boat.
(8) Further, faith has such power that not only is the believer saved, but some have been saved through the faith of others. The man sick of the palsy in Capharnaum was not a believer; but those who brought him, and let him down
25 Jer. 4.4.
26 Cf. Col. 2.11. 12.
27 Matt. 14.29.
28 Ibid. 14.31.
29 Ibid. 14.32.
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through the tiles, had faith; for the soul of the sick man shared the sickness of his body. And do not think that I accuse him rashly. The Gospel itself says: "Jesus seeing," not his faith but "their faith, he said to the paralytic, Arise."30
They who brought him believed and the one sick with the palsy got the benefit of the cure.
(9) Do you wish to see with more certainty that some are saved by the faith of others? Lazarus died; one day had passed, and a second, and a third, and dissolution and putrefaction were already setting into his body. How could one four days dead believe and call upon the Redeemer on his own behalf?
But what was lacking in the dead man was supplied by his sisters. For when the Lord came, one of them fell at His feet. To His question: "Where have you laid him?"31 she answered: "Lord, by this time he is already decayed, for he is dead four days."32 Then the Lord said: "If you believe, you shall behold the glory of God."33 This was tantamount to saying: Wake up what is wanting in your dead brother's faith. And the sisters' faith, in fact, availed to recall the dead man from the gates of hell. Now if men, believing one for another, have been able to raise from the dead, will not you, if you believe sincerely on your own behalf, be profited all the more? Indeed, even though you be faithless or of little faith, the Lord is benevolent, and shows indulgence to you when you repent; only do you, too, say with all sincerity:
"I do believe, Lord; help my unbelief."34 But if you think that you are a believer, but have not yet attained the perfection of faith, you too have need of saying with the Apostles:
Lord, "increase our faith."35 For, while you have some part from yourself, the greater part you receive from Him.
(10) Though the term "faith" is one, as far as expression 30 Matt. 9.2. 6.
31 John 11.34.
32 Ibid. 11.39.
33 Ibid. 11.40.
34 Mark 9.23.
35 Luke 17.5.
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goes, it may mean either of two things. Dogmatic faith involves an assent to some truth; and this truly profits the soul, as the Lord says: "He who hears my words, and believes him who sent me, has life everlasting; and does not come to judgment." And again: "He who believes in the Son is not judged, but has passed from death to life."36 0 the great lovingkindness of God! Now the just, indeed, in many years of service have pleased God; but what they succeeded in gaining by many years of well-pleasing service, this Jesus now bestows on you in a single hour. For, if you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved and translated into paradise by Him who brought the robber into paradise. Doubt not that this is possible; for He who here on holy Golgotha saved the robber after a single hour of faith will save you also when you believe.
(11) There is a second kind of faith, which is bestowed by Christ as a special gift. "To one through the Spirit is given the utterance of wisdom; and to another the utterance of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; to another the gift of healing."37 Now this faith, given as a grace by the Spirit, is not only doctrinal, but also effects things beyond man's power. For whoever possesses this faith "will say to this mountain, 'Remove from here,' and it will remove."38 For whenever anyone shall say this in faith, believing that it will come to pass, "and does not waver in his heart,"39 then he receives that grace. It is of this grace that the saying stands: "If you have faith like a mustard seed."40 For just as the mustard seed, tiny as it is, has a fiery power and, narrow though its seed-bed, has a mighty spread of branches, so that when full-grown it affords shelter to the birds of the air, so also faith, in a twinkling, produces mighty effects in the soul. For when it is enlightened by faith,
36 John 3.18; 5.24.
37 1 Cor. 12.8, 9.
38 Matt. 17.19.
39 Mark 11.23.
40 Matt. 17.19.
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the soul has visions of God, and contemplates God, as far as it may; it ranges over the bounds of the universe, and before the consummation of this world, beholds the judgment and the payment of the promised rewards. Cherish therefore that faith which comes from yourself and is directed towards Him, that you may also receive from Him that faith which accomplishes things beyond man's power.
(12) In learning and professing the faith, embrace and guard that only which is now delivered to you by the Church, and confirmed by all the Scriptures. For since not everyone has both the education and the leisure required to read and know the Scriptures, to prevent the soul perishing from ignorance, we sum up the whole doctrine of the faith in a few lines. This summary I wish you to commit to memory, word for word, and to repeat among yourselves with all zeal, not writing it on paper, but engraving it by memory on the heart.
Only take care, in rehearsing it, that no catechumen chance to overhear what has been delivered to you. Keep it as a provision for the way throughout the whole course of your life, and beyond this, never receive any other, even though we ourselves should change and contradict what we now teach; nay, even though an enemy angel, transformed into an angel of light, should try to lead you astray. For "even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel to you other than that which you have now received, let him be ana thema."41 For the present, just listen and memorize the creed as I recite it, and you will receive in due course the proof from Scripture of each of its propositions. For not according to men's pleasure have the articles of faith been composed, but the most important points collected from the Scriptures make up one complete teaching of the faith. And just as the mustard seed in a small grain contains in embryo many future branches, so also the creed embraces in a few words all the religious knowledge in both the Old and the New
Testament. Take heed, therefore, brethren, and hold fast to 41 Gal. 1.8,9.
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the teachings42 which are now delivered to you, and "write them on the tablet of your heart."43
(13) Guard them with care else by chance the enemy may despoil those who have grown remiss, or some heretic may pervert the traditions entrusted to you. Faith is like opening a deposit account at the bank, as we have now done; but it is God who is the author. "I charge thee," as the Apostle says, "in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who bore witness to that great claim before Pontius Pilate,"44 that you keep this faith which is delivered unto you, without stain until the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. A treasure of life has now been committed to you, and the Master will require the deposit at the time of His coming, which "he in his own time will make manifest, who is the blessed and the only sovereign, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; who alone has immortality and dwells in light inaccessible, whom no man has seen nor can see";45 to whom be glory, honor, and power forever and ever. Amen.
42 2 Thess. 2.14, 15.
43 Provo 7.3. The text of the Nicene creed follows this chapter in some manuscripts.
44 1 Tim. 6.13, 14.
45 1 Tim. 6.15, 16.