276 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY IV. ascribed the whole to Him, because through His death He achieved these things; "what then, says one, is it to us? we need nothing." Therefore he added, Ver. 23. " If so be that ye continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel." Here he strikes a blow at their listlessness. And he said not simply " continue," for it is possible to continue wavering, and vacillating ; it is possible to stand, and continue, though turned this way and that. " If so be that ye continue," he saith, " grounded and steadfast, and not moved away." Wonderful ! What a forcible metaphor he uses ; he says not only not tossed to and fro, but not even moved. And observe, he lays down so far nothing burden some, nor toilsome, but faith and hope ; that is, if ye continue believing, that the hope of the things to come is true. For this indeed is possible ; but, as regards virtuous living, it is not possible to avoid being shaken about, though it be but a little ; so (what he enjoins) is not grievous. " From the hope," he saith, " of the Gospel, which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven." But what is the hope of the Gospel, except Christ? For He Himself is our peace, that hath wrought all these things : so that he who ascribes them to others is " moved away " : for he has lost all, unless he believe in Christ. " Which ye heard," he saith. And again he brings themselves as witnesses, then the whole world. He saith not, " which is being preached," but hath already been believed and preached. As he did also at the outset (ver. 6), being desirous by the witness ofthe many to establish these also. " Whereof I Paul was made a minister." This also contributes to make it credible ; " I," saith he, " Paul a minister." For great was his author ity, as being now everywhere celebrated, and the teacher of the world. Ver. 24. " Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body s sake, which is the Church." And what is the connection of this ? It seems indeed not to be connected, but it is even closely so. And " minister," he says, that is, bringing in nothing from myself, but announcing what is from another. I so believe, that I suffer even for His sake, and not suffer only, but even re joice in suffering, looking unto the hope which is to come, and I suffer not for myself, but for you. " And fill up," he saith, " that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh." It seems indeed to be a great thing he has said ; but it i? not of arrogancy, far be it, but even of much tender love towards Christ ; for he will not have the sufferings to be his own, but His, through desire of conciliating these persons to Him. And what things I suffer, I suffer, he saith, on His account : not to me, therefore, express your gratitude, but to him, for it is He Himselfwho suffers. Just as if one, when sent to a person, should make request to another, saying, I beseech thee, go for me to this person, then the other should say, " it is on his account I am doing it." So that He is not ashamed to call these sufferings also his own. 1 For He did not only die for us, but even after His death He is ready to be afflicted for your sakes. He is eagerly and vehemently set upon showing that He is even now exposed to peril in His own Body for the Church s sake, and he aims at this point, namely, ye are not brought unto God by us, but by Him, even though we do these things, for we have not undertaken a work of our own, but His. And it is the same as if there were a band which had its allotted leader to protect it, and it should stand in battle, and then when he was gone, his lieutenant should succeed to his wounds until the battle were brought to a close. Next, that for His sake also he doeth these things, hearken : " For His Body s sake," he saith, assuredly meaning to say this : " I pleas ure not you, but Christ : for what things He should have suffered, I suffer instead of Him." See how many things he establishes. Great, he shows, is the claim upon their love. As in his second Epistle to the Corinthians, he wrote, saying, " he committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. v. 20) ; and again, "We are ambassadors on behalf of Christ ; as though God were entreating by us." So also here he saith, " For his sake I suffer," that he may the more draw them to Him. That is, though He who is your debtor is gone away, yet I repay. For, on this account he also said, " that which is lacking," to show that not even yet does he consider Him to have suffered all. " For your sake," he saith, and even after His death He suffers ; seeing that still there remains a defi ciency. The same thing he doeth in another way in the Epistle to the Romans, saying, " Who also maketh intercession for us " (Rom. viii. 34), showing that He was not satisfied with His death alone, but even afterwards He doeth countless things. He does not then say this to exalt himself, but through a desire to show that Christ is even yet caring for them. And he shows what he says to be credible, by adding, " for His Body s sake." For that so it is, and that there is no unlikelihood in it, is plain from these things being done for His body s sake. Look how He hath knitted us unto Himself. Why then intro duce Angels between? "Whereof I was made," he saith, " a minister." Why introduce Angels 1 As Acts ix. 5.