ACC ~ Matthew 10 v34

HOW PEACE REQUIRES A SWORD

CHRYSOSTOM: What sort of peace is it that Jesus asks them to pronounce upon entering each house? And what kind of peace is it of which the angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace”? And if Jesus came not to bring peace, why did all the prophets publish peace as good news? Because this more than anything is peace: when the disease is removed. This is peace: when the cancer is cut away. Only with such radical surgery is it possible for heaven to be reunited to earth. Only in this way does the physician preserve the healthy tissue of the body. The incurable part must be amputated. Only in this way does the military commander preserve the peace: by cutting off those in rebellion. Thus it was also in the case of the tower of Babel, that their evil peace was ended by their good discord. Peace therefore was accomplished. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 35.1. [1]

[1] PG 57:405; NPNF 1 10:232**.

GOD’S BATTLE AGAINST A CHEAP PEACE

APOLLINARIS: The unbelievers’ disagreement with the believers will produce a distinction. Now since the unbelievers think that peacemaking is their proper duty, they say, “Do not believe that it is best under all circumstances to be saved, for you owe it as a duty to be at peace with all.” But there are some who are preparing for battle against our peace, and you should not let their false peace rule. For the only true concord is according to God … and this above all is peace. FRAGMENT 57. [1]

[1] MKGK 17.

GOOD PEACE VERSUS BAD PEACE

ANONYMOUS: There is a good peace and there is an evil peace. There is a good peace among good, faithful and just people. … For faith is born through the word of God, but it is preserved through peace and nourished by love, as the apostle says: “It is faith which works through love.” [1] But faith devoid of love can produce none of the fruit of good works. And so if the faithful should be separated by any disagreement, that is an evil conflict, as the Lord has said: “No house divided against itself will stand.” [2] And if the brotherhood is divided, it will consume itself, as the apostle has said: “But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.” [3] On the other hand, there is an evil peace among unbelievers and iniquitous people. Among them is a single sinfulness, and so there is a common agreement to sin. For unbelief and iniquity are born through the encouragement of a demon, but they are preserved through peace. And so if at any time the unfaithful and iniquitous are divided against each other, that is a good conflict. For when there is peace among good people, faith and justice are established, but unbelief and injustice lie dormant. But when conflict arrives, faith and justice sink down while unbelief and injustice rise up anew. In the same way, when there is peace among iniquitous people, injustice and unbelief are established but faith and justice lie dormant. And when harmony arrives, unbelief and injustice sink down while faith and justice rise up. In this way then God brought a good disunity to the earth in order to break an evil unity. All people used to be together as if they lived in a single house of disbelief—all people, the good and the evil together, for some were in evil because they pursued evil, and others remained in evil out of ignorance of the good. But God brought a sword of disunity among them, which was the word of truth. Concerning this, the apostle says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” [4] INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 26. [5]

[1] Gal 5:6.

[2] Mt 12:25.

[3] Gal 5:15.

[4] Heb 4:12.

[5] PG 56:767-68.