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"Now, Abram was very rich in cattle, silver and gold. He journeyed to where he had come from, into the desert as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had formerly been, between Bethel and Haggai, to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning."
EEING [305] YOUR GATHERING here today with such enthusiasm and your interest in listening to me, I want to discharge the debt I owe your good selves. I am aware that you for your part have possibly forgotten everything on account of the lapse of many days in the meantime and the fact that we have directed our sermon to other themes. The arrival of the sacred festival interrupted our series: it was not appropriate for us while celebrating the Lord's
Cross to have instruction on other matters; instead, each time we felt the need to lay before you a table suited to the occasion. This, of course, was the reason why, when the day of the Betrayal arrived, we interrupted the sequence of our instruction in response to need and directed our words to the betrayer, and then in turn proposed for your consideration thoughts about the Cross. Then, when Resurrection day dawned, it behooved us to instruct your good selves on the Lord's Resurrection, and next to provide you in the days following the Resurrection with a demonstration of it through the wonders that happened afterwards, when we took up the Acts of the Apostles and from there laid before you the customary feast, offering particular exhortation day after day to those who had just been granted the favor of baptism.
(2) So now we must remind you of the debt and at long last 1. Gen 13.2-4. This homily, as our Introduction explains and Chrysostom points out below, was delivered after a long gap for Easter and other occasional sermons. Cf. Introduction (1) & (8) in FOTC 74.
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ra proceed to discharge it. You see, even if you are not aware of the kind of debt on account of your being plagued with many cares, like having care of your wife, being concerned for your children, [306] being anxious for daily nourishment, and beset with many other worldly preoccupations, we on the contrary, being hampered by no such worries, can recall the debt to your mind and take steps to discharge it. Don't be surprised if we give evidence of such readiness to repay: this debt is of a kind different from material wealth. I mean, in the latter case the debtor would never be quick to display his readiness to repay, realizing that repaying his debt reduces his own means while increasing the wealth of his creditor. In the case of this spiritual debt, however, it is nothing like that; by repaying his debt the debtor is, on the contrary, all the better off, and the creditors' profit is greater. Hence, in the former case defaulting on debts is frequent, whereas in the latter case great gain accrues to both parties, both debtor and creditors. This is what Paul, too, says in his exhortation on love, "Don't owe anyone anything except to love one another,"? to show that this debt is always reckoned to be due for repayment, not for withholding. You, too, must not be negligent about keeping yourself in readiness to receive repayment: this makes us better off in making repayment, and will prove to be an occasion of greater benefit to you, too.
Since, then, this is what this kind of debt is like, the more we pay back the more we increase our wealth according to our greater repayment—come now, let us teach you also the basis of the debt so that you in your turn may more enthusiastically receive what we say, accept our readiness to make repayment, and reward us by attending to our words with enthusiasm.
(3) What, then, is the basis of our debt? You remember clearly that we brought to your attention the story of the patriarch—the journey he took down into Egypt on account of the famine, the abduction of Sarah perpetrated by Pharaoh,
God's anger against him arising from his care for the just man, against him and all his household, care shown by lead2. Rom 13.8.
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ing the patriarch to make the return journey from Egypt with great wealth. "Pharaoh gave his men instructions about Abram," the text says, remember, "to escort him and his wife, all his possessions, and Lot with him. Now, Abram left Egypt with his wife and all his possessions and Lot in his company, and he went into the desert."* At that point we cut short the sermon, and altered the topic by devoting all the intervening days to instruction on subjects relevant to the occasion. Hence our task today is to link up with the sequel and to join the verses yet to be read to what has already been commented on, like fitting together one whole body; this is the way, you see, that our treatment of the subject will be easily taken in by you.
(4) For our words to be clearer to you, however, it would be worth our while also proposing to your good selves the very beginning of today's reading. The text reads: "Now,
Abram was very rich in cattle, silver and gold. He journeyed to where he had come from, into the desert as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had formerly been, between Bethel and Haggai, to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning. [307] Then Abram called on the name of the Lord God." Let us not rush idly by this reading, but rather recognize clearly the precision of Sacred Scripture in recounting nothing to us as of no importance. "Now, Abram was very rich," the text says. Consider first of all this very fact that its habit had been to convey nothing idly or to no pur- . pose, nor in this case is it without reason that it calls him rich: nowhere else had it made mention of his being rich—this was the first time. Why, and to what purpose? For you to learn the inventiveness of God's wisdom and providence displayed in favor of the good man, as well as his boundless and extraordinary power. The man who had gone into exile in Egypt under the pressure of famine, unable to sustain the privations of Canaan, suddenly became rich—and not just rich but very rich, not only in cattle but also in silver and gold.
3. Gen 12.20-13.1.
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(5) Do you see the extent of God's providence? Abram left to find relief from famine, and came back not simply enjoying relief from famine but invested with great wealth and untold reputation, his identity well-known to everyone: now the inhabitants of Canaan gained a more precise idea of the good man's virtue by seeing this sudden transformation that had taken place—the stranger who had gone down into Egypt as a refugee and vagabond now flush with so much wealth. Notice how he had not become less resolute or devoted under the influence of great prosperity or the abundance of wealth, but rather he pressed on once more to that place where he had formerly been before going down into Egypt. "He went into the desert," the text says, "to the place where his tent had formerly been, to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning. He called on the name of the Lord
God." Consider, I ask you, how he was a lover of peace and quiet, and was constantly attentive to divine worship. The text says, remember, that he went down to that place where he had previously built the altar; by calling on the name of God he already right from the very beginning fulfilled in anticipation that saying of David, "I would rather be of no account in the house of my God than take up residence in sinners' dwellings."* In other words, solitude turned out to be preferred by him for invoking the name of God, instead of the cities. After all, he well knew that cities' greatness is not constituted by beauty of buildings nor by multitude of inhabitants, but by the virtue of the residents—hence too the desert proved to be more desirable than the cities, adorned as it was by the just man's virtue and thus a more resplendent vision than the whole world.
(6) "Lot, who accompanied Abram," the text goes on, "had flocks, herds and cattle. The countryside could not manage to support their living together, since their company was numerous, and they could not dwell together."®> Not only had there been an increase in wealth in the patriarch's favor, but "Lot too had flocks, herds and cattle." Perhaps on the one
4. Ps 84.10.
5. Gen 13.5-6.
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hand Abram, being generous, was in the habit of favoring his nephew with these things, while on the other hand other people would supply him with them out of regard for the patriarch. "The countryside could not support them," the text says, "because their company was numerous." Notice the abundance of their possessions proving at once responsible for their separation, creating a division, sundering their harmony, and undoing the bond of kinship. "Trouble developed between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. Now, the Canaanites and the Pherezites inhabited 'the land at the time."® Notice how the relatives [308] are responsible for the first signs of separation: invariably this is the source from which spring all problems—discord among brethren. The text says, remember, "Trouble developed between the herdsmen." They are the ones who provide the occasion for separation, who sunder the harmony, who give evidence of bad feeling. "Now, the Canaanites and the Pherezites inhabited the land at that time." Why did it mention that to us? Because it had said that, "the countryside could not manage to support their living together," Sacred Scripture wanted to teach us the reason why it could not support them, namely, because it was still occupied by these peoples.
(7) But let us see the patriarch's godfearing attitude in quenching by his characteristic restraint the fire that threatened to break out. "Abram, however, said to Lot, 'Let there be no trouble between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers.'"' See the extraordinary degree of his humility, see the height of his wisdom: the elder, the senior, addresses his junior and calls his nephew "brother," admits him to the same rank as himself and retains no special distinction for himself; instead, he says, "'Let there be no trouble between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours.'" Nor would it be proper, after all, for this to happen, he says, since we are brothers. Do you see him fulfilling the apostolic law, which says, "Already, then, the verdict has completely gone against you for having lawsuits with one
6. Gen 13.7.
7. Gen 13.8.
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another. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? Instead, you do wrong and defraud, and this to your own brethren."* All these admonitions the patriarch observes in fact by saying, "'Let there be no trouble between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, because we are brothers.''"®
What could be more peace-loving than such a spirit as this?
It wasn't idly, of course, or to no purpose that I mentioned at the outset that his reason for preferring solitude to the whole civilized world was a love for peace and quiet. See him in this case, too, when he noticed the herdsmen completely at odds, how right from the very beginning he tried to quench the fire that threatened to break out, and put a stop.to the rivalry. You see, it was important for him in his role of teacher of wisdom sent to the inhabitants of Palestine, far from providing any bad example or offering any encouragement, rather to give them all the clearer instruction through the clarion call of his restraint in manners and to convert them into imitators of his own virtue.
(8) "'Let there be no trouble,'" he says, "'between you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers.'"
Remarkable restraint in those words, "'between you and me." Notice how he addresses Lot on terms of equality—and yet I have the impression that the outbreak of trouble had no other origin than in the refusal of the patriarch's herdsmen to allow Lot's to enjoy the same privilege as they. The just man, however, handles everything with restraint, demonstrating the remarkable degree of his own good sense, and teaching not only those present at the time but also everyone in future never to settle our differences with our relatives by feuding. Their squabbling brings great disgrace on us, and instead of the trouble being attributed to them, the blame reverts to us. So what fittingness could there be for brothers, sharing in fact the same nature, the same links of kinship and [309] due at that point to dwell near to each other, to engage in hostilities when it was expected of them to play the role of 8. 1 Cor 6.7-8. g. This time Chrysostom quotes the verse in a slightly different LXX text.
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teaching all these people restraint, gentleness and complete good sense? Let people who judge they are above such reproach give heed to this example when on the grounds of relationship they connive at their relatives' larceny, rapacity, scheming beyond measure, both in the city and in the country, confiscation of one person's farm and another's home, and on that basis they show such scoundrels even greater favor. I mean, even if the felony was the work of someone else, still you shared personally in the guilt of the crime, not only by taking satisfaction in the deed and considering your own stocks to be increased by it and your wealth to grow greater, but also in not preventing the crime that was about to take effect. After all, the person who is in a position to forestall the criminal and does not do it is no less liable to punishment than the criminal.
(9) Far from deceiving ourselves, therefore, I beseech you, let us personally shun larceny, rapacity and the temptation to add to our wealth from these sources, and let us teach our relatives not to commit this kind of thing. In fact, instead of leaving us free of guilt, this would bring us heavier condemnation: to win our favor these people betray their own salvation by committing a crime, thus involving us in their own ruin. If, however, we are prepared to be on the alert and we disentangle ourselves from the ensuing disaster, we will also extricate them from the evil venture. Don't, pray, address to me those frivolous words, "That's got nothing to do with me;
I've cheated no one, have I? I had no idea! Someone else committed the crime, I took no part in it." That's pretext and excuses. If you want to prove you had no part in the crime, that you weren't an accomplice, and didn't take the role of an agent of rapacity, repair the damage, solace the victim, restore what has been stolen. This, you see, is the way to clear yourself of charges and reform the culprit, by showing that the crimes committed by him were contrary to your intention, and by comforting the victim you will not allow him to be overwhelmed by the depression that he would likely succumb to owing to the robbery.
(10) "'Let there be no trouble,'" the text reads, "'between
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me and you, and between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers.'" Do you see the mild manner? do you see the restraint? Listen as well to the sequel so as to come to know the extraordinary degree of his good sense. How, then, was the threat of trouble put to rest and the outbreak of hostility quenched? "'Lo, all the land lies before you. Part from me; if you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right,
I'll go to the left.'"!° Notice our hero's good sense and the extent of his deference. Prior to this, however, dearly beloved, consider, I ask you, how great is the harm ensuing from wealth and the disagreement from great prosperity: their flocks grew bigger, great wealth accrued to them, and.immediately harmony between them was disrupted—where there had been peace and the bonds of affection, now there was trouble and hostility. You see, whenever it is a question of mine and yours, there are grounds for the utmost trouble and a basis for hostility; by contrast, where this isn't the case, habits of peace and harmony exist together without any confusion.
(11) To grasp this, listen to what blessed Luke says about those embracing the faith from the beginning: "They all had one heart and one soul,"!! he says, not that they all had one soul (how could they, after all, being in different bodies?), but because they give us an example of the most highly developed harmony. Had the good man not been most longsuffering and skilled in practicing good sense, he would have lost his temper and [310] said to Lot, What is the meaning of such frenzy? Your kindred haven't dared raise their voice against my retainers, have they? Have they not considered the distance between us? I mean, what is the cause of your prosperous circumstances? Is it not my provident care? But who thrust you into public notice? Was it not I who took pride of place in your regard, and acted as a father to you in every respect? Is this the reward you bestow on me for the great attention I have showered on you? Was this what I could expect for bringing you everywhere with me? All right, granted
10. Gen 13.9.
11. Acts 14.32.
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you have in mind none of the things that have come your way at my hands: should you not at least have shown regard for my age and respected my grey hairs? Instead, you took no notice of your herdsmen debauching my herdsmen, all heedless of the fact that as resentment against them reverted to me, so their froward behavior would be turned home to you.
(12) None of this, however, did the just man deign to allow to enter his mind; rather, rejecting any such thought, his single concern was how to quench the hostility threatening to flare up, and how he might arrange their dwelling without any trouble by devising a separation free from recrimination.
"'To,'" he said, "'does not all the land lie before you? Part from me; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left; if you go to the left, I'll go to the right.'"!? See the just man's restraint: he shows Lot by his behavior that far from doing this by choice or out of a wish for them to be parted, it was rather under pressure of hostility and for the purpose of avoiding a continual feud in the household. Consider how, by means of his words, he allays the ill feeling, giving Lot complete right of choice and offering him all the territory in the words, "'Lo, does not all the land lie before you?'" Choose whatever you wish, and I will be ready with great contentment to accept the part you have left for me. Tremendous wisdom on the just man's part: in every way he tries to be no burden to his nephew. His meaning is, after all, Since what I didn't want has taken place—the need for a parting of the ways so as to allay the outbreak of hostility—accordingly I give you prior right of choice and confer on you complete authority so that you may choose whatever land you decide is more desirable and leave the rest to me. Did anyone ever deign to do as much for a very brother of his own, such as the patriarch was shown to do in favor of his nephew? Even if he, for his part, had taken the initiative in exercising his choice, and after choosing the principal portion had permitted the other man what was left over, would it not have been a great thing done even in this manner? Yet, on the contrary, he wanted to show the 12. Again Chrysostom recalls his text inexactly.
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extent of his virtue and satisfy the young man's desire so that he should have no grounds for resentment from the separation; so he completely ceded the right in the words, "'Lo, all the land lies before you; part from me'" and choose whatever you wish.
(13) Accordingly, it behooved the nephew, who had experienced such restraint, to show respect for the patriarch in return, and cede to him the exercise of choice. You see, it is usual with practically all of us, whenever we see our opponents at the point of concocting some stratagem against us or struggling to usurp pride of place, not to allow ourselves to be bettered or give way to them. On the other hand, whenever we see them giving ground and conceding every right to us in conciliatory terms, out of regard for their great restraint we desist from hostility and reverse our position by ceding them every right, even if the person at odds with us seems inferior. Accordingly, Lot, too, should have behaved this way
[311] in regard to the patriarch, yet on account of his youth and being a prey to waxing greed he usurped what he thought to be the best parts and made his choice on that basis. The text goes on, "Lot looked about and saw that all the region of the Jordan was well-watered, up as far as Zogora (this was before God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah), like the garden of God and like the land of Egypt.
Lot chose for himself all the region of the Jordan; he moved off from the east, and the brothers parted from each other."!8
Do you see the extraordinary degree of the just man's virtue in not allowing the root of the trouble to grow; instead, at once he dug out the weed about to flourish and destroyed it.
By employing great restraint and demonstrating unspeakable contempt of other things for the sake of virtue, did he not show everyone how peace and freedom from hostility are in fact more estimable than all his wealth?
(14) I mean, in case anyone should condemn the just man for proving ill-disposed towards Lot or believe he uprooted him from his home, led him into foreign parts and now
13. Gen 13.10—-11.
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drives him from his new home, or think he does this out of enmity, instead of our all learning that it is under the impulse of peace that he does it, he even yielded the choice to Lot and made no objection when he chose the prime land, so that everyone would be in a position to know the goodness of our hero's attitude and the object of his peaceable disposition.
Another wonderful design in particular had been provided for so that many good effects might follow from his example, namely, that Lot might be taught through the events that it had not been proper for him to make the choice, that the people of Sodom might come to know Lot's virtue, and that despite the separation the promise made to the patriarch might take effect as the words said, ""To you and your descendants I will give this land.'" We shall see this as we gradually proceed, Sacred Scripture making everything clear.
(15) "Abram stayed in the land of Canaan," the text goes on, "whereas Lot settled in the cities of the region, pitching his tent in Sodom. Now, the people of Sodom were very wicked sinners in God's sight."!* Do you observe Lot having regard only for the nature of the land and not considering the wickedness of the inhabitants? What good, after all, is fertility of land and abundance of produce when the inhabitants are evil in their ways? On the other hand, what harm could come from solitude and a simple lifestyle when the inhabitants are more restrained? The summit of blessings, you see, is the uprightness of those who dwell in a place. Lot, however, had eyes for one thing only, the richness of the countryside. Hence Scripture's desire to indicate to us the wickedness of those who dwelt there in the words, "Now, the people of Sodom were very wicked sinners in God's sight"; not merely "wicked" but also "sinners," and not simply "sinners" but also "in God's sight," that is, the extent of their sins was extreme and their wickedness superabounded—hence it added as well, "very wicked in God's sight." Do you see the extremity of the evil? Do you see how great an evil it is to usurp pride of place and not to consider what is for the com14. Gen 13.12—13.
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mon good? Do you see what a great thing is deference, ceding pride of place, taking second place? Take note, in fact: as the instruction develops we shall see that the one who took the pick of the best places gained no advantage from it, whereas he who chose the lesser became more resplendent day by day
[312] and, with his wealth increasing, he became the attraction of all eyes.
(16) Lest we prolong the sermon to great length, however, let us terminate it at this point and postpone the sequel to next time while giving you this exhortation, to imitate the patriarch by never aspiring after the first places but rather heeding blessed Paul's words, "outdoing one another in respect,"!° especially our superiors, and being anxious to take second place in everything. This, in fact, means filling first place, as Christ himself said, ""Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.'"'® So what could parallel this, when by ceding pride of place to others we ourselves enjoy greater esteem, and by showing them special honor we bring ourselves into the highest honor? Accordingly, I beseech you, let this be our particular concern, to imitate the patriarch's humility, and by following in the steps of this man who displayed such wonderful good sense before the time of the Law, let us, who enjoy grace itself, advance in virtue. It really is, in fact, a genuine instance of humility that this remarkable man gave in regard to the person far inferior to himself, not only on the score of virtue but also of age and all other respects. Consider, after all, that the elder man gave way to the younger, the uncle to the nephew, and the recipient of such wonderful favor from God to the one who so far had nothing worthwhile to show for himself; what the latter should have said as befitting a younger man addressing his senior and his own uncle, this the patriarch said to his junior.
(17) So let us in our turn show signs of respect not only for our superiors or those who happen to be our equals. This, you see, would not be humility; whenever you do what is imposed by necessity, it is not humility but duty. True humility
15. Rom 12.10.
16.) Luke v4s00; 18.14.
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it is, on the contrary, when we defer to those who seem to be our inferiors and give pride of place to those judged to be of much lower estate. If we view these things aright, however, far from judging anyone to be our inferior we shall consider all people our superiors. I say this not in the light of our condition of being overwhelmed by countless failings; rather, even if someone is convinced of his good deeds beyond number, unless the conviction he has about himself is that he is the last of all, he would gain no benefit from all his good deeds. This, you see, is humility, when someone has grounds for complacency but lowers and humbles himself and keeps pride in check. Then, in fact, he will reach true heights, according to the promise of the Lord in the words, "'Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.'" Accordingly, I beseech you, let us all take every effort to reach the heights that are scaled by humility so that we may enjoy from the Lord the same favor as that just man Abram and be accorded those ineffable blessings, thanks to the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages. Amen.