The author of the Homily, as portrayed in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. We are not sure whether it is an accurate portrait of his behavior during the reign of Queen Mary, but it certainly fits with the argument put forward below.
(1)
The best thing to teach to Christians is
charity, for it is necessary for us to speak of it and make use of it daily.
Many good works rely upon it. And if it is rare or absent, it is a disaster for
the world; virtue is put to flight and every vice grows like a weed. Now every
one of us comes up with our own definition of charity according to our own
desires and in line with our manner of life, no matter how good or bad it may
be. Indeed, we all persuade ourselves that we are overflowing with charity, at
least as we define it. Therefore, you will hear now a true and clear
description of charity, by which every person may look upon oneself, as if in a
mirror, and see clearly without any mistake whether he or she has true charity
or not.
Charity is to love God with
all our heart, all our life, and all our powers and strength. By “with all our
heart,” I mean that our heart’s mind and deepest eagerness should be to believe
His word, trust in Him, and love Him above all other things that we love best
in heaven or on earth. By “with all our life,” I mean that our chief joy and
delight should be fixed on Him and His honor and our whole life be given to His
service above all other things, to live and die with Him, and to forsake all
other things that would keep us from Him; for, “he that loves father or mother,
son or daughter, house or land more than me,” Christ says, ”is not worthy to
have me” (Matt. 10:37; 19:29). By “all our powers,” I mean that our hands and
feet, eyes and ears, mouths and tongues, and all other parts and powers of both
body and soul should be given to the keeping and fulfilling of His
commandments. This is the first and principal part of charity, but it is not
the whole. Charity also includes loving every person, good and evil, friend and
foe; Ans charity consists of acting with good will and heart toward every
person, to treat them well in word, attitude, and deed, whatever excuse you may
have to do otherwise. For so Christ Himself taught and did.
Christ
taught a doctor of the Law about the love of God in this way. The doctor asked
Him what was the greatest commandment of the Law. He replied, “Love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your life, and with all your mind”
(Matt. 22:37). And of the love we should share among ourselves, he teaches,
“You have heard it taught in times past that you shall love your friend and
hate your enemy, but I tell you, Love your enemies, bless those that curse you
and speak evil about you, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who
persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father that is in heaven;
for He makes the sun to rise both upon the evil and good, and sends rain on the
just and unjust alike. For, if you love those who love you, what reward will
you have? Do not the tax collectors do likewise? And if speak well only of
those who are your brothers and dear beloved friends, that is no big deal. Do
not unbelievers do the same?” (Matt. 5:43-47). These are the very words of our
Savior Christ on the love of our neighbor. To explain a bit of the context, the
Pharisees had used their diseased traditions, false interpretations, and
glosses to corrupt or even block this pure well of God’s living word. They
taught that love and charity only were owed to your friends and it was
sufficient to love those who loved you and hate your enemies. Therefore, Christ
opened this well again, purged it, and scoured it by interpreting this godly
law of charity truly and clearly, that we ought to love every one, both friend
and enemy. And He explained the advantages of doing so and the disadvantages of
doing the opposite. Indeed, what better thing can we wish for ourselves than
that the heavenly Father count and receive us as His children? And we shall be
sure that we are God’s children, Christ says, if we love everyone without
exception. And if we do otherwise, He says, we are no better than the
Pharisees, tax collectors, and unbelievers, and will have our reward with them,
that is, to be excluded from the number of God’s chosen children and from our
everlasting inheritance in heaven.
And
so Christ taught of true charity: that everyone is bound to love God above all
things, and to love everyone, both friend and enemy. And He acted according to
His own principles. He first worked to convince his enemies, then he criticized
their faults, and when he could not convince them to change their ways, He
still prayed for them. First, He loved God his Father above everything else, so
much that he sought the glory and to follow the will of His Father rather than
to seek His own glory or act in support of His own welfare, “I do not seek to
do my own will but the will of Him that sent me” (John 5:30). Nor did He refuse
to die in order to follow His Father’s will, saying, “If it be your will, take
this cup from me, but let your will be done, not mine” (Matt. 26:39, 42). He
did not only love his friends but also his enemies, whose hearts were filled
with overflowing hatred for him, whose tongues spoke every kind of evil about
him, and whose actions drove him to His death with all their power and might.
Yet, despite all of their opposition, he did not withdraw his favor from them.
He still loved them, critiqued their false teachings and their wicked living,
and treated them kindly, patiently enduring whatever they spoke or did against
them. When they insulted them, He did not insult them in return. When they
struck him, he did not hit them back. And when they murdered Him, He did not
kill them or threaten them, but prayed for them, submitting everything to the
Father’s will. Just like a sheep led to the slaughter or a lamb shorn of its
fleece makes no sound or resistance, He went to his death without any
reluctance or curses to his tormentors (Is. 53:7).
Thus, I have shown what
charity is and how it is taught by the example of Christ Himself. From this
example, it is possible for every one to know unmistakably their state and
condition with respect to charity and therefore with respect to their status as
children of their Heavenly Father. For although every one is persuaded that
they are in charity, they ought to examine no one but themselves, closely
investigating their own hearts, lives, and interactions with others. And if
they follow this standard, they will not be deceived but discern whether they
are in perfect charity or not. If you do not follow your own desires and will
but give yourself earnestly to God in order to His will and commandments, you
may be sure that you love God above all things. And if you do not, you do not
love Him, whatever you may pretend. As Christ said, “If you love me, keep my
commandments. He that knows my commandments and keeps them is one who loves me”
(John 14:15, 21). And again he says, “He that loves me will keep my word, and
my Father will love Him, and We will both come to him and dwell with him. [And]
he that does not love me will not keep my words” (John 14:23-24). And
similarly, if you maintain an even temper and treat both friends and enemies
well in both word and deed, you may be sure that you have charity. And then you
will be sure as well that Almighty God has received you as His dear beloved
child, as St. John says, “This is what shows who are God’s children and who are
the devil’s: anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God” (1
John 3:10).
(2)
You have heard a plain and fruitful
explanation of charity and how profitable and necessary charity is. You have
heard how charity extends both to God and human beings, friends and enemies,
and how charity is demonstrated by both the teaching and example of Christ. You
finally have heard how you may evaluate whether you have perfect charity or
not. Now we shall continue to speak on the same matter.
Our nature is depraved, corrupt with sin, and empty of God’s
word and grace, so it thinks it utterly irrational that one should love his or
her enemy and has many excuses to the contrary. All of these excuses shrink to
nothing before the teaching and living of Our Savior Christ, who loving us when
we were His enemies, teaches us to love our enemies. He patiently endured many
insults, suffered beating, and a tortuous death for our sake. Therefore, we are
not members of His Body if we do not follow Him. “Christ,” says St. Peter,
“suffered for us, leaving us an example to follow Him” (1 Pet. 2:21).
Furthermore, we must consider that loving our friends is no more than what thieves,
adulterers, murderers, and all wicked people do. Indeed, Jews, Muslims, and all
others of any religion or none do so. And even domestic and wild animals love
their friends, by which I mean those who give them food, shelter, or any other
benefit. But to love one’s enemies is only the proper behavior of the children
of God, the disciples and followers of Christ. Despite this, our corrupt and
depraved nature weights heavily upon us. Over and over again, we reflect upon
the offense and distress caused by our enemies. We think it impossible to bear
the burden of loving those who hate us. But the burden should be easy enough if
we consider the other side of the question: how much harm have we done to our
enemies and how much pleasure we have received from our enemies. And if the
scales still do not balance, then let us reflect on how much we have grieved
Almighty God, how often we have grievously sinned against Him. For if we seek
and have forgiveness from God, we also need to forgive the offenses done to us,
which are very small compared to our offenses against God. And if we think that
the one who has offended us is unworthy of forgiveness, let us think that we
are even less deserving of God’s forgiveness. And although our enemy does not
deserve to be forgiven for his or her own sake, yet we should forgive him on
the example and from the store of the love of God. We should think about the
great and many underserved benefits we have received from Him and that we owe
Christ the forgiveness of those who sin against us.
But here arises an objection
that requires a clear answer. If charity requires us to think, speak, and
otherwise treat others well, whether they are good or evil, how can judges,
police officers, and other enforcers of the law uphold the law against
criminals with charity? How can they put wrongdoers in prison, fine them, and
sometimes order their execution according to the law, if charity will not
permit them to do so?
The clear and brief answer to
this objection is that plagues and punishments are not evil, if they do not
affect the innocent; and to wrongdoers they are both good and necessary, may be
imposed according to charity, and should be imposed with charity.
And to further explain, you
should know that charity has two roles, the one opposite to the other, and yet
both are necessary to be used on people of opposite characteristics. The first
role of charity is to make good and harmless people happy, not to oppress them
with false accusations, but to encourage them with rewards to do good and to
continue in doing so, even defending them from their enemies with force. And
the office of bishops and pastors is to praise good people for doing good, that
they may continue to do so, and to criticize and correct by the word of God the
offences and crimes of those inclined to evil. The other role of charity is to
criticize, correct, and punish vice without fear or favoritism. And this is
only to be done to those who do harm. It is equally the role of charity to
criticize, punish, and correct those that are evil as it is to cheer and reward
those that are good and harmless. St. Paul writes to the Romans that “the civil
authorities are instituted by God” not to trouble those who do good but
criminals, against whom they use force “to bring retribution to the offender”
(Rom. 13:1-4). And St. Paul advises Timothy strongly and earnestly to criticize
sin with the word of God (1 Tim. 5:20). In this way, both roles are diligently performed
and the kingdom of the devil is combated. The preacher strikes with the Word
and the governor strikes with the sword. Otherwise, they neither love God nor
those they govern, if because they do not enforce the laws, they voluntarily
permit God to be offended and those whom they govern to perish. For just as
every loving parent disciplines their natural children when they do wrong, or
else they do not love them, so all governors of nations, states, cities, and
houses should lovingly correct offenders under their government and seek the
happiness of those who live innocently. They will do if they have any respect
for God and the office they hold or love of those whom they govern. And let
criticism and punishment be done quickly. If you dally, the offenders will get
into worse trouble and not only be bad themselves but be an example of evil for
others to fall into sin and outrage after them. One thief may rob many and thus
make many into thieves. And a seditious person may allure many and subvert the
allegiance of a whole town or country. And charity requires that such evil
people, who offend so greatly against God and the commonwealth, should be cut
off from the body of the commonwealth, so that they do not corrupt good and
honest people. Just like a good surgeon cuts away infected tissue or even
amputates a limb for the sake of his care for the entire body, so that it does
not infect the other parts of the body connected to it.
I have declared to you what
true charity or Christian love is, so clearly that no one can be deceived. Whoever
maintains charity toward God, whom he is bound to love above everything, and
also toward his neighbor, will surely avoid all offense to God and genuine
offense to other people. Here’s the takeaway: true Christian charity is: (a) to
love God above all things; (b) to love our neighbors whether they are friends,
enemies, or indifferent; (c) to love our neighbors who are good and harmless by
doing what good we can for them; (d) to love our neighbors who are bad and
harmful by seeking their correction and just punishment, so that that they may
be converted to goodness or at least so that God and the commonwealth may be
hurt and offended less. And if we shape our life by Christian love and charity,
then Christ promises and assures us that He loves us, that we are the children
of our heavenly Father, reconciled to his favor, true members of the Body of
Christ, and that after the brief time of our present and mortal life, we shall
share with Him eternal life in his everlasting Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore to
Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory now and forever.
Amen.
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