Peter Chrysologus — Commentary on Scripture

John 20:19 · 2 passages

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

It was evening more by grief than by time. It was evening for minds darkened by the somber cloud of grief and sadness because although the report of the resurrection had given the slight glimmer of twilight, nevertheless the Lord had not yet shone through with his light in all its brilliance.

The extent of their terror and the disquiet caused by such an atrocity had simultaneously locked the house and the hearts of the disciples and had so completely prevented light from having any access that for their senses, overwhelmed more and more by grief, the murkiness of night increased and became more pervasive. No darkness of night can be compared with the gloom of grief and fear because they are incapable of being tempered by any light of either consolation or counsel.

John 20:21 · 2 passages

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

What does this repetition in bestowing peace mean, except that he wants the tranquility that he had announced to their minds individually also to be kept collectively among them by granting peace repeatedly? He knew, at any rate, that they were going to have far from insignificant struggles in the future stemming from his delay, with one boasting that he had persevered in faith and another in grief because he had doubted. … Peter denies, John flees, Thomas doubts, all forsake him: unless Christ had granted forgiveness for these transgressions by his peace, even Peter, who was the first in rank of all of them, would have been considered inferior and undeserving of his subsequent elevation to the primacy.

The mention of his having been sent does not diminish him as Son but declares that what he wants to be understood here is not the power of the one who sends but the charity of the one who has been sent. This is why he says, “Just as the Father,” not the Lord, “has sent me, so I send you.” In other words, I send you no longer with the authority of a Master but with all the affection of someone who loves you. I send you to endure hunger, to suffer the burden of chains, to the squalor of prison, to bear all kinds of punishments and to undergo bitter death for all: all of which charity, and not power, enjoins on human minds.

John 20:25

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Why does the hand of a faithful disciple in this fashion retrace those wounds that an unholy hand inflicted? Why does the hand of a dutiful follower strive to reopen the side that the lance of an unholy soldier pierced? Why does the harsh curiosity of a servant repeat the tortures imposed by the rage of persecutors? Why is a disciple so inquisitive about proving from his torments that he is the Lord, for his pains that he is God, and from his wounds that he is the heavenly Physician?…Why Thomas, do you alone, a little too clever a sleuth for your own good, insist that only the wounds be brought forward in testimony to faith? What if these wounds had been made to disappear with the other things? What a peril to your faith would that curiosity have produced? Do you think that no signs of his devotion and no evidence of the Lord’s resurrection could be found unless you probed with your hands his inner organs that had been laid bare with such cruelty? Brothers, his devotion sought these things, his dedication demanded them so that in the future not even godlessness itself would doubt tha…

Why does the hand of a faithful disciple in this fashion retrace those wounds that an unholy hand inflicted? Why does the hand of a dutiful follower strive to reopen the side that the lance of an unholy soldier pierced? Why does the harsh curiosity of a servant repeat the tortures imposed by the rage of persecutors? Why is a disciple so inquisitive about proving from his torments that he is the Lord, for his pains that he is God, and from his wounds that he is the heavenly Physician?…Why Thomas, do you alone, a little too clever a sleuth for your own good, insist that only the wounds be brought forward in testimony to faith? What if these wounds had been made to disappear with the other things? What a peril to your faith would that curiosity have produced? Do you think that no signs of his devotion and no evidence of the Lord’s resurrection could be found unless you probed with your hands his inner organs that had been laid bare with such cruelty? Brothers, his devotion sought these things, his dedication demanded them so that in the future not even godlessness itself would doubt that the Lord had risen. But Thomas was curing not only the uncertainty of his own heart but also that of all human beings. And since he was going to preach this message to the Gentiles, this conscientious investigator was examining carefully how he might provide a foundation for the faith needed for such a mystery. … For the only reason the Lord had kept his wounds was to provide evidence of his resurrection.

Joshua 4:3-4

And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

The twelve patriarchs destined to become twelve tribes were arranged to be a type and pattern of the number of the apostles. So were the twelve fountains in the desert and twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan. We leave it to the student of the law to find deeper proof of all this.

Jude 1:9

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

The angels were present at the death of Moses, and God himself took care of his burial.

Luke 1:26-29

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

“The Lord is with you.” Why is the Lord with you? Because he is coming to you not merely to pay a visit, but he is coming down into you in a new mystery, that of being born. Fittingly did the angel add, “You are blessed among women.” Through the curse she incurred, Eve brought pains upon the wombs of women in childbirth. Now, in this very matter of motherhood, Mary, through the blessing she received, rejoices, is honored, is exalted. Now too womankind has become truly the mother of those who live through grace, just as previously by nature are subject to death.…She soon realized that she was receiving within herself the heavenly judge, there in that same place where with lingering gaze she had just seen the harbinger from heaven. It was by a soothing motion and holy affection that God transformed the virgin into a mother for himself and made his handmaid into a parent. Nevertheless her bosom was disturbed, her mind recoiled, and her whole state became one of trembling when God, whom the whole of creation does not contain, placed his whole Self inside her bosom and made himself a man.

Luke 7:36

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.

You perceive that Christ came to the Pharisee’s table not to be filled with food for the body but to carry on the business of heaven while he was in the flesh.

Luke 7:37-38 · 2 passages

And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

“And behold,” it says, “a woman in the town who was a sinner.” Who is this woman? Beyond any doubt, she is the church.…She heard that Christ had come to the house of the Pharisee, that is, to the synagogue. She heard that there, that is, at the Jewish Passover, he had instituted the mysteries of his passion, disclosed the sacrament of his body and blood, and revealed the secret of our redemption. She ignored the scribes like contemptible doorkeepers. “Woe to you lawyers! You who have taken away the key of knowledge.” She broke open the doors of quarrels and despised the very superiority of the Pharisaical group. Ardent, panting and perspiring, she made her way to the large inner chamber of the banquet of the law. There she learned that Christ was betrayed amid sweet cups and a banquet of love.

With her hands of good works, she holds the feet of those who preach his kingdom. She washes them with tears of charity, kisses them with praising lips, and pours out the whole ointment of mercy, until he will turn her. This means that he will come back to her and say to Simon, to the Pharisees, to those who deny, to the nation of the Jews, “I came into your house. You gave me no water for my feet.”When will he speak these words? He will speak them when he will come in the majesty of his Father and separate the righteous from the unrighteous like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. He will say, “I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in.” This is equivalent to saying, “But this woman, while she was bathing my feet, anointing them and kissing them, did to the servants what you did not do for the Master.” She did for the feet what you refused to the Head. She expended upon the lowliest members what you refused to your Creator. Then he will say to the church, “Your sins, many as they…

With her hands of good works, she holds the feet of those who preach his kingdom. She washes them with tears of charity, kisses them with praising lips, and pours out the whole ointment of mercy, until he will turn her. This means that he will come back to her and say to Simon, to the Pharisees, to those who deny, to the nation of the Jews, “I came into your house. You gave me no water for my feet.”When will he speak these words? He will speak them when he will come in the majesty of his Father and separate the righteous from the unrighteous like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. He will say, “I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in.” This is equivalent to saying, “But this woman, while she was bathing my feet, anointing them and kissing them, did to the servants what you did not do for the Master.” She did for the feet what you refused to the Head. She expended upon the lowliest members what you refused to your Creator. Then he will say to the church, “Your sins, many as they are, are forgiven you because you have loved much.”

Luke 12:29-33

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

The flock is little in the eyes of the world, but great in the eyes of God. It is little—because he calls glorious those whom he has trained to the innocence of sheep and to Christian meekness. The flock is little, not as the remnant of a big one, but as one which has grown from small beginnings. This little flock denotes the infancy of his newborn church, and immediately he promises that through the blessings of heaven this church will soon have the dignity of his kingdom.

Luke 12:34

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

All this is what that treasure brings about. Either through almsgiving it raises the heart of a man into heaven, or through greed it buries it in the earth. That is why he said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” O man, send your treasure on, send it ahead into heaven, or else your God-given soul will be buried in the earth. Gold comes from the depth of the earth—the soul, from the highest heaven. Clearly it is better to carry the gold to where the soul resides than to bury the soul in the mine of the gold. That is why God orders those who will serve in his army here below to fight as men stripped of concern for riches and unencumbered by anything. To these he has granted the privilege of reigning in heaven.

Luke 13:18-19

Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

As the text says, the kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, because the kingdom is brought by a word from heaven. It is received through hearing and sown by faith. It takes root through belief and grows by hope. It is diffused by profession, and it expands through virtue. It is spread out into branches. To these branches, it invites the birds of heaven, the powers of spiritual insight. In those branches, it receives them in a peaceful abode.

Luke 15:11-24 · 6 passages

And he said, A certain man had two sons:

“He had two sons,” that is, two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles. Prudent knowledge of the law made the Jewish people his older son, and the folly of paganism made the Gentile world his younger son. Just as surely as wisdom brings distinguished gray hairs, so does foolishness take away the traits of an adult. Morals and not age made the Gentiles the younger son. Not years but understanding of the law made the Jews the older son.

“And he killed for him the fattened calf.” About that David sang: “And it shall please God better than a young calf, that brings forth horns and hoofs.” The calf was slain at this command of the Father, because the Christ, God as the Son of God, could not be slain without the command of his Father. Listen to the apostle: “He who has not spared even his own son but has delivered him for us all.” He is the calf who is daily and continually immolated for our food.

“He divided his means between them.” The son is as impatient as the father was kind. He is weary of his father’s own life. Since he cannot shorten his father’s life, he works to get possession of his property. He was not content to possess his father’s wealth in company with his father, and he deserved to lose the privileges of a son.Let us make some inquiries. What reason brought the son to such actions? What bold prospect raised his spirits to make so startling a request? What reason did he have? Clearly the Father in heaven cannot be bounded by any limit, or shut in by any time, or destroyed by any power of death. The son could not await his father’s death to get his wealth, so he conceived the desire to get his pleasure from the generosity of his father while he was still alive. The father’s bounty proved that the insult lay in his request.

“He went and joined one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his farm to feed swine.” This is the experience that comes to one who refuses to trust himself to his father but delivers himself to a stranger. He flees from a most generous provider and endures a severe judge. A deserter from affection, a refugee from fatherly love, he is assigned to the swine, sentenced to them, and given over to their service. He wallows in their muddy fodder. The rush of the restless herd bruises and soils him so he perceives how wretched and bitter it is to have lost the happiness of peaceful life in his father’s house.

“He fell on his neck and kissed him.” This is how the father judges and corrects his wayward son and gives him not beatings but kisses. The power of love overlooked the transgressions. The father redeemed the sins of his son by his kiss, and covered them by his embrace, in order not to expose the crimes or humiliate the son. The father so healed the son’s wounds as not to leave a scar or blemish upon him. “Blessed are they,” says Scripture “whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

“Give him a ring for his finger.” The father’s devotion is not content to restore only his innocence. It also brings back his former honor. “And give him sandals for his feet.” He was rich when he departed, but how poor he has returned! Of all his substance, he does not even bring back shoes on his feet! “Give him sandals for his feet” that nakedness may not disgrace even a foot and that he may have shoes when he returns to his former course of life.