224 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY IX. when I know your state. Here he shows that they ought to rejoice for his bonds, and to be conformed to them, for they begat in him great pleasure ; for the words, " that I too may be of good comfort," imply, just as you are. Oh, what longing had he toward Macedonia ! He testifies the same to the Thessalonians, as when he says, " But we, brethren, being bereaved of 1 you for a short season," &c. (i Thess. ii. 17.) And here he says, " I hope to send Timo thy " that I may " know your state," which is a proof of excessive care : for when he could not himself be with them, he sent his disciples, as he could not endure to remain, even for a little time, in ignorance of their state. For he did not learn all things by revelation of the Spirit, and for this we can see some reason ; for if the disciples had believed that it were so, they would have lost all sense of shame,2 but now from ex pectation of concealment, they were more easily corrected. In a high degree did he call their attention by saying, " that I too may be of good comfort," and rendered them more zealous, so that, when Timothy came he might not find any other state of things, and report it to him. He seems to have acted in like sort in his own per son, when he delayed his coming to the Cor inthians, that they might repent ; wherefore he wrote, " to spare you I forbare to come to Corinth." (2 Cor. i. 23.) For his love was manifested not simply in reporting his own state, but in his desire to learn of theirs ; for this is the part of a soul which has a care of others, which takes thought for them, which is always wrestling for them. At the same time too, he honors them by sending Timothy. " What sayest thou ? dost thou send Timothy? and wherefore?" Because " I have no one likeminded " ; that is, none of those whose care is like mine, none who " will care truly for you." (Phil. ii. 20.) Had he then no one of those who were with him? No one likeminded, that is, who has yearnings and takes thought for you as I do. No one would lightly choose, he means, to make so long a journey for this purpose. Timothy is the one with me who loves you.3 For I might have sent others, but there was none like him. This then is that likemindedness, to love the disciples as the master loves them. "Who," says he, " will truly care for you," that is, as a father. " For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ" (Phil. ii. 21), their own comfort, their own safety. This too he writes to Timo thy. But why doth he lament such things as 2 He means that if they thought he knew their exact condition by revelation, they would lose a motive for improvement, in the hope of standing well in his eyes. Such motives are of course still a part of our moral education. 3 Or, " the one who loves you with me," i.e. " as I." these? To teach us his hearers not to fall in like sort, to teach his hearers not to seek for remission from toil ; for he who seeks remission from toil, seeks not the things that are Christ s, but his own. We ought to be prepared against every toil, against every distress. Ver. 22. "Ye know trie proof of him, that as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Gospel." And that I speak not at random, " ye your selves," he says, " know, that as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Gospel." He presents then Timothy to them, and with reason, that he might enjoy much honor from them. This too he does when he writes to the Corinthians, and he says, " Let no man therefore despise him, for he worketh the work of the Lord as I also do." (i Cor. xvi. 10.) This he said not as caring for him, but for those who receive him, that they might receive a great reward. Ver. 23. "Him therefore," he says, "I hope to send forthwith, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me," that is, when I see where I stand, and what end my affairs will have. Ver. 24. " But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come to you shortly." I am not therefore sending him, as though I myself would not come, but that I may be of good courage when I know your state, that even in the mean time I may not be ignorant of it. " But I trust in the Lord," says he. See how he makes all things depend on God, and speaks nothing of his own mind. That is, God willing. 4 Ver. 25. " But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow- worker, and fellow-soldier." And him too he sends with the same praises as Timothy, for he commended him on these two points ; first, in that he loved them, when he says, " who will care truly for you " ; and secondly, in that he had approved himself in the Gospel. And for the same reason, and in the same terms, he praises this man also : and how ? By calling him a brother, and a fellow-worker, and not stopping at this point, but also " fellow- soldier," he showed how he shared in his dangers, and testifies of him the same things which he testifies of himself. For " fellow-soldier " is more than " fellow-worker " ; for perchance he gave aid in quiet matters, yet not so in wars and dangers ; but in saying " fellow-soldier," he showed this too. Ver. 25. "To send to you your messenger, and minister to my needs " ; that is, I give you your own, since I send to you him that is your * [This has the appearance of rough notes taken in shorthand. The usual editions place this brief sentence before " see," and thus make a somewhat better connection, but without known MS. au thority. J. A. B.]