On the Resurrection of the Dead · §5 · John Chrysostom

The present rewards of virtue's contest

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Chrysostom is arguing that the contest of virtue yields great rewards even before the future resurrection, just as bodily training and long sea voyages yield present gains.

Just as those who compete in a bodily contest receive a great reward even before the crowns and prizes, from the training itself and the wrestling, because they make their bodies healthier and stronger through the exercise and escape every illness, so also in the contests of virtue, even before heaven is opened, before the Son of God arrives, and before we receive our rewards, we already reap a great reward from this, because our soul becomes more philosophical. For those who have sailed a great deal of sea, endured countless waves, fought with many beasts, and borne many storms, even before the trading itself they reap no small profit from this long journey, by being bold and daring against the open sea and making these voyages across the water fearlessly and with pleasure. So also in this present life, the one who has borne many afflictions for Christ, who has suffered many terrible things, has received a great reward even before the kingdom of heaven, having already gained confidence before God from this, and having made his own soul more exalted, so that he now laughs at all terrible things.

To make what I am saying clearer, I want to show it by an example. This very Paul, who endured countless terrible things, received no small rewards even from this: he laughed at tyrants, withstood raging mobs, despised every punishment, and remained unshaken before beasts, iron, seas, cliffs, uprisings, plots, and all terrible things. What could equal this? The untrained person who has suffered nothing terrible is usually disturbed even by ordinary things—or rather, not only by the events themselves, but even by mere expectations. And why do I say mere expectations? Shadows frighten and terrify such a person. But the one who has stripped off everything, entered the contests, and suffered countless terrible things is now above them all, laughing at those who threaten him as if they were cawing jackdaws.

This is no small crown, no ordinary reward: when none of the things of human life can grieve him, when what is fearful to others becomes contemptible to him, when he is about to laugh at the very things that make others shudder and stand amazed, having transferred himself by the excess of his endurance into the philosophy of the angelic powers. For if we bless a body that can bear cold and heat without pain, and hunger, and want, and travel, and other hardships, much more should we bless a soul that can bear all the assaults of terrible things with steadfastness and nobility, and keep its purpose unenslaved through everything. Such a person is more royal than kings themselves. For a king can be wronged in many ways by bodyguards, friends, and enemies who plot against him and do him harm. But the one who has the kind of soul I have just described cannot be harmed by king, bodyguard, servant, friend, enemy, or the devil himself. How could he be, when he has trained himself to consider none of the things thought to be terrible as terrible?

Greek

Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ τὴν σωματικὴν ἀθλοῦντες ἄθλησιν, καὶ πρὸ τῶν στεφάνων, καὶ πρὸ τῶν βραβείων ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς γυμνασίας καὶ τοῦ παλαίειν μέγαν λαμβάνουσι τὸν μισθὸν, ὑγιεινότερα καὶ δυνατώτερα αὑτῶν τὰ σώματα διὰ τῆς γυμνασίας κατασκευάζοντες, καὶ πᾶσαν διαφεύγοντες ἀῤῥωστίαν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγώνων τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνοιγῆναι, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ παραγενέσθαι, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἡμᾶς ἀπολαβεῖν, μέγαν ἐντεῦθεν καρπούμεθα τὸν μισθὸν, τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῖν φιλοσοφωτέρας καθισταμένης. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ πολλὴν πλεύσαντες θάλασσαν, καὶ μυρίων ἀνασχόμενοι κυμάτων, καὶ πολλοῖς θηρίοις πυκτεύσαντες, καὶ πολλοὺς χειμῶνας ἐνεγκόντες, καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐμπορίας αὐτῆς οὐ μικρὸν ἀπὸ τῆς μακρᾶς ἀποδημίας ταύτης καρποῦνται τὸ κέρδος τῷ θαῤῥεῖν καὶ κατατολμᾷν τοῦ πελάγους, καὶ ἀδεῶς καὶ μεθ' ἡδονῆς τὰς διαποντίους ταύτας ποιεῖσθαι ἀποδημίας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος βίου, ὁ πολλὰς ἐνεγκὼν θλίψεις διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν, ὁ πολλὰ δεινὰ παθὼν, καὶ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν μεγάλην ἔλαβεν ἀμοιβὴν, παῤῥησίαν κτησάμενος πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη, καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κατασκευάσας ψυχὴν, ὡς ἁπάντων λοιπὸν καταγελᾷν τῶν δεινῶν. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ σαφέστερον γένηται τὸ λεγόμενον, ἐπὶ παραδείγματος αὐτὸ βούλομαι ποιῆσαι φανερόν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ οὗτος ὁ Παῦλος μυρίων ἀνασχόμενος δεινῶν, οὐ μικρὰς καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἔλαβε τὰς ἀμοιβὰς, καταγελῶν τυράννων, κατεξανιστάμενος μαινομένων δήμων, πάσης ὑπερορῶν τιμωρίας, καὶ πρὸς θηρία, καὶ πρὸς σίδηρον, καὶ πρὸς πελάγη, καὶ πρὸς κρημνοὺς, καὶ πρὸς ἐπαναστάσεις, καὶ πρὸς ἐπιβουλὰς, καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντα τὰ δεινὰ ἀκατάπληκτος μένων, οὗ τί γένοιτ' ἂν ἴσον; Τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἀγύμναστον καὶ μηδὲν παθόντα δεινὸν καὶ τὰ τυχόντα θορυβεῖν εἴωθε· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσδοκίαι ψιλαί· καὶ τί λέγω προσδοκίαι ψιλαί; αἱ σκιαὶ φοβοῦσι καὶ δεδίττουσι τὸν τοιοῦτον· ὁ δὲ ἀποδυσάμενος πάντα, καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἐμβὰς, καὶ μυρία δεινὰ παθὼν, ἁπάντων λοιπόν ἐστιν ἀνώτερος, ὥσπερ κολοιῶν κραζόντων, οὕτω τῶν ἀπειλούντων καταγελῶν. Οὐ μικρὸς δὲ οὗτος ὁ στέφανος, οὐδὲ ὁ τυχὼν μισθὸς, ὅταν μηδὲν αὐτὸν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων δυνήσηται λυπεῖν, ὅταν τὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις φοβερὰ τούτῳ εὐκαταφρόνητα γίνηται, ὅταν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἄλλοι φρίττουσι καὶ ἐξίστανται, ὑπὲρ τούτων μέλλῃ γελᾷν αὐτὸς, τῇ τῆς ὑπομονῆς ὑπερβολῇ εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀγγελικῶν δυνάμεων φιλοσοφίαν ἑαυτὸν μεταστήσας. Εἰ γὰρ δὴ σῶμα μακαρίζομεν τὸ δυνάμενον καὶ ψῦχος καὶ καῦμα ἀλύπως φέρειν, καὶ λιμὸν, καὶ ἔνδειαν, καὶ ὁδοιπορίαν, καὶ ταλαιπωρίας ἑτέρας· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ψυχὴν μακαρίζειν δεῖ τὴν δυναμένην καρτερῶς καὶ γενναίως ἁπάσας τῶν δεινῶν φέρειν τὰς προσβολὰς, καὶ διατηρεῖν ἀδούλωτον αὑτῆς διὰ πάντων τὸ φρόνημα. Ὁ τοιοῦτος τῶν βασιλέων αὐτῶν ἐστι βασιλικώτερος. Ἐκεῖνον μὲν γὰρ καὶ δορυφόροι καὶ φίλοι καὶ ἐχθροὶ πολλὰ δύναιντ' ἂν ἀδικῆσαι ἐπιβουλεύοντες καὶ κακουργοῦντες τὸν δὲ τοιαύτην ἔχοντα ψυχὴν, οἵαν εἶπον νῦν, οὐ βασιλεὺς, οὐ δορυφόρος, οὐκ οἰκέτης, οὐ φίλος, οὐκ ἐχθρὸς, οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ διάβολος παραβλάψαι δυνήσεται. Πῶς γὰρ, τὸν μελετήσαντα μηδὲν τῶν νομιζομένων εἶναι δεινῶν ἡγεῖσθαι δεινόν; δʹ.

About this text

Chrysostom preaches the resurrection of the dead from 2 Corinthians: it consoles the righteous who suffer and warns the wicked who prosper.

John Chrysostom (c. 349–407) preached this homily to a Christian congregation. He announces a move from earlier doctrinal discussion to a fuller treatment of the resurrection, aiming to correct doctrine, order moral life, and answer complaints against God's providence. He develops this through sustained exposition of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians.

The occasion is a pastoral shift in teaching. Chrysostom wants his hearers to see that belief in the resurrection shapes both doctrine and moral life: it consoles the righteous who suffer and warns the wicked who prosper. He addresses objectors who raise doubts or accusations, and he quotes Paul extensively, especially from 2 Corinthians, along with other epistles.

A reader should know that the body is called a tent and the resurrection body a dwelling. Corruption means decay and mortality, while incorruption means the immortal state of the risen body. The Spirit is called a guarantee, a down payment of future goods. The outer self is the body subject to decay, and the inner self is the soul being renewed. Affliction means trouble endured for Christ, and confidence means boldness before God. Bible books are cited by their standard English names, with Psalm numbering following the Septuagint.

No published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Migne PG text (Aegean University Digital Patrology, via (Greek)
Also checked Migne PG 50, archive.org scan patrologiae_cursus_completus_gr_vol_050 (Greek machine-read text) (Greek · check (same print; machine-read text compared word by word))

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