Sermon: The Church's Failure

Selection from Advent Readings from the Church Fathers by W. J. E. Bennett.

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Second Thursday: The Church's Failure

Saint John Chrysostom, on Acts of the Apostles, Homily xxix.

Saint John Chrysostom from the fresco Chiesa di Santa Maria in Aquiro by Cesare Mariani (d. 1901) (source)

The Church indeed is in very evil case, although ye think her affairs to be in peace. For the mischief of it is, that while we labour under so many evils, we do not even know that we have any. What sayest thou? "We are in possession of our Churches, our Church-property, and all the rest, the services are held, the congregation comes to Church every day." True, but one is not to judge of the state of a Church from these things. From what then? Whether there be piety, whether we return home with profit each day, whether reaping some fruit, be it much or little, whether we do it not merely of routine, and for the formal acquittance of a duty. Who has become a better man by attending daily service for a whole month? That is the fruit: otherwise the very thing which seems to bespeak a flourishing condition of the Church, does in fact bespeak an ill condition, when all this is done, and nothing comes of it. Would to God that were all, that nothing comes of it; but indeed, as things are, it turns out even for the worse! What fruit do ye get from your services? Surely if you were getting any profit by them, ye ought to have been long leading the life of true wisdom, with so many Prophets twice in every week discoursing to you, so many Apostles, and Evengelists, all setting forth the doctrines of salvation, and placing before you with much exactness that which can form the character aright. The soldier, by going to his drill, becomes more perfect in his tactics; the wrestler, by fire-quenting the gymnastic ground, becomes more skilful in wrestling; the physician, by attending on his teacher, becomes more accurate, and knows more, and leams more: and thou — what hast thou gained? I speak not to those who have been members of the Church only a year, but to those who from their earliest age have been attending the services. Think you that to be religious is to be constant in Church-going? This is nothing, unless we reap some fruit for ourselves; if from the gathering together in Church we do not gather something for ourselves, it were better to remain at home. For our forefathers built the Churches for us, not just to bring us together from our private houses and shew us one to another; since this could have been done also in a market-place, and in baths, and in a public procession: — but to bring together learners and teachers, and make the one better by means of the other. With us it has all become mere customary routine, and formal discharge of a duty: a thing we are used to; that is all. Easter comes, and then great the stir, great the hubbub, and crowding of — I had rather not call them human beings, for their behaviour ia not commonly human. Easter goes, the tumult abates, but then the quiet which succeeds is again fruitless of good. "Vigils, and holy hymn singing." And what is got by these? Nay, it is all the worse. Many do so merely out of vanity. Think how sick at heart it must make one, to see it all like so much water poured into a cask with holes in it! But ye will assuredly say to me. We know the Scriptures. And what of that? If ye exemplify the Scriptures by your works, that is the gain, that the profit. The Church is a dyer's vat: if time after time perpetually ye go hence without receiving any dye, what is the use of coming here continually? Why, the mischief is all the greater. Who of you has added ought to the customary practices he received from his fathers? For example: such an one has a custom of observing the memorial of his mother, or his wife, or his child; this he does whether he be told or whether he be not told by us, drawn to it by force of habit and conscience. Does this displease thee, you ask? God forbid: on the contrary, I am glad of it with all my heart; only, I would wish that he had gained some fruit also from our discoursing, and that the effect which habit has were also the effect as regards us your teachers — the superinducing of another habit. Else why do I weary myself in vain, and talk uselessly, if ye are to remain in the same state, if the Church services work no good in you? Nay, you will say, we pray. And what of that? "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven." Many a time have I determined to hold my peace, seeing no benefit accruing to you from my words; or perhaps there does accrue some, but I, through insatiableness and strong desire, am affected in the same way as those that are mad afler riches. For just as they, however much they may get, think they have nothing; so I, because I ardently desire your salvation, until I see you to have made good progress, think nothing done, because of my exceeding eager desire that you should arrive at the very summit. I would that this were the case, and that my eagerness were in fault, not your sloth; but I fear I conjecture but too rightly. For ye must needs be persuaded, that if any benefit had arisen in all this length of time, we ought ere now to have done speaking. In such case there were no need to you of words, since both in those already spoken there had been enough said for you, and you would be yourselves able to correct others. But the fact, that there is still a necessity of our discoursing to you, only shews that matters with you are not in a state of high perfection. Then what would we have to be brought about? for one must not merely find fault. I beseech and entreat you not to think it enough to have invaded the Church, but that ye also withdraw hence, having taken somewhat, some medicine for the curing of your own maladies, and, if not from us, at any rate from the Scriptures, ye have the remedies suitable for each. For instance, is any passionate? Let him attend to the Scripture readings, and he will of a surety find such either in history or exhortation. In exhortation, when it is said, "The sway of his fury is his destruction;" and, "A passionate man is not seemly;" and such like: and again, "A man full of words shall not prosper:" and Christ again, "He that is angry with his brother without a cause;" and again the Prophet, "Be ye angry, and sin not;" and, "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce." And in histories, as when thou hearest of Pharaoh filled with much wrath, and the Assyrian. Again, is any one taken captive by love of money? let him hear, that "There is not a more wicked thing than a covetous man; for this man setteth even his own soul for sale;" and how Christ saith, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon;" and the Apostle, that "the love of money is the root of all evil;" and the Prophet, "If riches flow in, set not your heart upon them;" and many other like sayings. And from the histories thou hearest of Gehazi, Judas, the chief scribes, and that "gifts blind the eyes of the wise." Is another proud? Let him hear, that, "God resisteth the proud;" and, "Pride is the beginning of sin;" and, "Every one that hath a high heart, is impure before the Lord." And in the histories, the devil, and all the rest. In a word, since it is impossible to recount all, let each choose out from the Divine Scriptures the remedies for his own hurts.

So wash out, if not the whole at once, a part at any rate, part to-day and part tomorrow, and then the whole. And with regard to repentance too, and confession, and alms-giving, and justice also, and temperance, and all other things, thou wilt find many examples. "For all these things," says the Apostle, "were written for our admonition." If then Scripture, in all its discoursing, is for our admonition, let us attend to it as we ought. Why do we deceive ourselves in vain? I fear it may be said of us also, that "our days have fallen short in vanity, and our years with haste." Who from hearing us has given up the theatres? Who has given up his covetousness? Who has become more ready for alms-giving? I would wish to know this, not for the sake of vain-glory, but that I may be inspirited to more zeal, seeing the fruit of my labours to be clearly evident. But as things now are, how shall I put my hand to the work, when I see that for all the rain of doctrine pouring down upon you shower after shower, still our crops remain at the same measure, and the plants have waxed none the higher! Anon the time of thrashing is at hand, and He with the fan. I fear me lest it be all stubble: I fear, lest we be all cast into the furnace. The summer is past, the winter is come: we sit, both young and old, taken captive by our own evil passions. Tell not me, I do not commit fornication; for what art thou the better, if though thou be no fornicator, thou art covetous? It matters not to the sparrow caught in the snare that he is not held tight in every part, but only by the foot, he is a lost bird for all that; in the snare he is, and it profits him not that he has his wings free, so long as his foot is held tight. Just so thou art caught, not by fornication, but by love of money; but caught thou art nevertheless; and the point is, not how thou art caught, but that thou art caught. Let not the young man say, I am no money lover: well, but perchance thou art a fornicator: and then again what art thou the better? For the &ct is, it is not possible for all the passions to set upon us at one and the same time of life; they are divided and marked off, and that, through the mercy of God, that they may not, by assailing us all at once, become insuperable, and so our wrestling with them be made more difficult. What wretched inertness it shews, not to be able to conquer our passions even when taken one by one, but to be defeated at each several period of our life, and to take credit to ourselves for those which let us alone, not in consequence of our own hearty endeavours, but merely because, by reason of the time of life, they are dormant. Look at the chariot-drivers, do you not see how exceedingly careful and strict they are with themselves in their training-practice, their labours, their diet, and all the rest, that they may not be thrown down from their chariots, and dragged along by the reins. See what a thing art is. Often even a strong man cannot master a single horse; but a mere boy who has learnt the art shall often take the pair in hand, and with ease lead them and drive them where he will. Nay, in India, it is said, that a huge monster of an elephant shall yield to a stripling of fifteen, who manages him with the utmost ease. To what purpose have I said all this? To shew that, if by dint of study and practice, we can throttle into submission even elephants and wild horses, much more the passions within us. Whence is it that throughout life we continually fail in every encounter? We have never practised this art. Never in a time of leisure, when there is no contest, talked over with ourselves what shall be useful for us. We were never to be seen in. our place on the chariot, until the time for the contest is actually come. Hence the ridiculous figure we make there. Have I not often said, Let us practise ourselves upon those of our own family before the time of trial? With our servants at home we are often exasperated, let us there quell our anger, that in our intercourse with our friends we may come to have it easily under control. And so, in the case of all the other passions, if we practised ourselves beforehand, we should not make a ridiculous figure in the contests themselves. But now we have our implements and our exercises and our trainings for other things, for art and feats of the palaestra, but for virtue nothing of the sort. The husbandman would not venture to meddle with a vine, unless he had first been practised in the culture of it; nor the pilot to sit by the helm, unless he had first practised himself well at it: but we in all respects unpractised, wish for the first prizes! It were good to be silent, good to have no communication with any man in act or word, until we were able to charm the wild beast that is within us. The wild beast, I say, for indeed is it not worse than the attack of any wild beast, when wrath and lust make war upon us? Beware of invading the market-place with these beasts, until thou have got the muzzle well upon their mouths, until thou have tamed and made them tractable. Those who lead about their tame lions in the market-place, do you not see what a gain they make of it, what admiration they get, because in the irrational beast they have succeeded in producing such tameness: but should the lion suddenly take a savage fit, how he scares all the people out of the market-place, and then both the man that leads him about is himself in danger, and if there be loss of life to others, it is his doing. Well, then, do thou also first tame thy lion, and so lead him about, not for the purpose of receiving money, but that thou mayest acquire a gain to which there is none equal. For there is nothing equal to gentleness, which both to those that possess it, and to those who are its objects, is exceeding useful. This then let us follow after, that having kept in the way of virtue, and with all diligence finished our course therein, we may be enabled to attain into the good tidings eternal, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom, to the Father and the Holy Ghost together, be glory, might, honour, now and ever, world without end. Amen.