Hebrews 11:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Read, heretic, your confession, which was pronounced at the hidden and dread mystery. When you approached baptism, what did you say? Did you ask and investigate, or did you believe?

You approached otherwise, and on other conditions you were counted worthy of that grace. If you were counted worthy of it with such a disposition, then you have violated the conditions.

At the dread and great mysteries you presented faith, but outside the mysteries you limit faith and put forward questions.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Why? Because only the one who believes that God exists and that there is recompense can receive recompense. From this comes well-pleasing.

For the one who comes to God must believe that He is, not what He is. If the fact that God exists is received by faith and not comprehended by reason, is it possible to comprehend by reason what He is?

If the fact that He is the Rewarder requires faith, not intellectual conjectures, how can reason encompass the properties of His essence? What reason can comprehend them?

There are people who say that everything that exists exists of itself. Do you see that if we do not believe everything, not only recompense but even the very being of God, everything is lost for us?

Many ask where Enoch was translated and why he was translated, why he did not die, and not only he, but also Elijah. They ask, if they live, how they live and in what condition.

But it is entirely needless to ask about this. Scripture said that the former was translated and the latter taken up to heaven. Where and how they exist, it did not add, because it says nothing except what is necessary.

Such an event, I mean the translation of Enoch, happened soon, at the very beginning, so that mankind might nourish hope for the cessation of death. It happened so they might hope for the destruction of the devil's power and the abolition of death.

For he was translated not as dead, but so that he did not see death. Therefore the Apostle, after saying that he was translated alive, adds: he pleased God.

It is like a father who has threatened his son and wishes to carry out the threat immediately after pronouncing it. Yet he restrains himself and delays, so as to instruct and shame his son, while leaving the threat in full force.

So also God, speaking in human terms, did not restrain Himself, but immediately showed that death would be destroyed. First He permitted death to strike a righteous man, wishing by the son to frighten the father.

To show that His decree remained in full force, He immediately subjected not wicked men to this punishment, but even one who had pleased Him, that is, blessed Abel. Then, soon after him, He translated Enoch alive.

He did not raise the first, lest people become careless. He translated the latter alive. By Abel He brought fear; by Enoch He inspired zeal to please Him.

Thus those who assert that everything turns and happens of itself, and who do not await recompense, do not please God, just like the pagans. But to those who seek Him by deeds and knowledge, He gives reward.

Therefore, since we have a Rewarder, let us do everything so that we may not be deprived of the rewards for virtue. Not to think of such recompense, to despise such reward, is worthy of many tears.

As He rewards those who seek Him, so He does the opposite to those who do not seek Him. "Seek, and you will find" (Mt 7:7), the Lord said.

And how can one find the Lord? Remember how gold is sought, with great labor. "I sought the Lord," says the Psalmist. "My hand was stretched out by night and did not grow weary" (Ps 76:3).

As we seek what is lost, so let us seek God. When seeking something, do we not direct our whole mind there? Do we not ask everyone? Do we not undertake journeys? Do we not promise money?

Suppose we have lost a son. What do we not do then? What land, what sea do we not cross? Do we not count money, houses, and everything else as less important than finding him?

And if we find him, we hold him, receive him into our arms, and do not let him go. If, in order to find something, we use every means to find what we desire, how much more should we act so in relation to God?

We should act as when seeking something necessary, or rather, not merely so, but much more. Yet since we are weak, seek God at least as you seek your money or your son.

Do you not undertake journeys for this? Have you never traveled for money? Do you not devise every means for it? And when you find it, are you not joyful?

"Seek," it is said, "and you will find." Seeking requires many cares, especially concerning God. For here there are many obstacles, many perplexities, and many things that strike our senses.

The sun itself is clear and appears to the eyes of all. We have no need to seek it. Yet if we bury ourselves in the earth and cover ourselves from every side, much labor will be required for us to see the sun.

So it is here. If we bury ourselves in the depth of vicious desires, in the darkness of passions and worldly affairs, we shall hardly be able to look, and hardly able to lift our head.

The one buried in the depth will draw nearer to the sun the higher he looks. Let us also shake off the dust from ourselves. Let us scatter the darkness surrounding us.

It is thick and impenetrable, and it does not allow us to look upward. And how, you ask, can we disperse this cloud?

If we draw to ourselves the rays of the spiritual sun, the Sun of righteousness. If we lift our hands to heaven, for the Psalmist says, "The lifting up of my hands is as an evening sacrifice" (Ps 140:2).

If with our hands we also direct the mind upward. You who are initiated into the mysteries know what I am saying. You probably understand what was said and perceive what I am hinting at.

Let us then direct our mind upward. I know many men who have almost withdrawn from earth. They lift up their hands beyond measure and grieve that it is impossible to rise still higher, and they pray with such zeal.

I wish that you also would always be such. If not always, then often. If not often, then at least sometimes, at least in the mornings and evenings.

Tell me, can you not lift up your hands? Then lift up your mind as much as you wish. Lift it up to heaven itself. If you wished to reach the very summit, rise higher still, and walk there, this too is possible for you.

Our mind is lighter than any bird and soars higher. And when it also receives the grace of the Spirit, oh, how swift it is then, how impetuous, how it flies over everything, and how hard it is for it to descend and fall to the earth.

Let us fashion such wings for ourselves. On them we shall be able to fly over even the stormy sea of the present life.

The swiftest birds fly without harm, in a short time, over mountains and hills, seas and cliffs. Such is the mind also. When it is winged, when it leaves everything worldly, nothing can hold it. Then it is above everything, even the fiery darts of the devil.

The devil is not such a skillful archer that he can reach this height. What then? He shoots arrows because he is shameless, but they do not reach the target.

The arrow returns to him without success, and not only without success, but upon his own head. For when shot by him, it must necessarily strike someone.

An arrow shot by men either strikes what it was aimed at, whether bird, wall, garment, or tree, or it cuts through the air. So the devil's arrow must necessarily strike someone.

If it has not struck the one at whom it was shot, it necessarily strikes the shooter. From many examples one can be convinced that when we are not struck by it, he is necessarily struck.

For example, he plotted against Job and did not strike him, but was struck himself. He plotted against Paul and did not strike him, but was struck himself. Everywhere one can see this, if we are attentive.

When he does not strike, then he himself suffers the blow. This is even more so when we arm and guard ourselves against him with the sword and shield of faith, carefully watching lest we be caught.

The devil's arrow is vicious desire. Anger in particular is fire and flame, which seizes, kills, and burns. But let us quench it with long-suffering and self-control.

As heated iron, when plunged into water, loses its heat, so anger, when it falls into the soul of a long-suffering man, does no harm to the long-suffering one.

On the contrary, it benefits him, so that he becomes even stronger. Nothing can equal long-suffering. Such a man is never insulted.

As adamantine bodies are not shattered, so these souls are not shattered. He is higher than arrows. The long-suffering man is lofty, and so lofty that the blow of the arrow does not reach him.

When someone loses his temper, laugh. Yet do not laugh openly, so as not to provoke him still more. Laugh in your soul, within yourself.

When children strike us in anger, as though wishing to avenge themselves, we laugh at them. So also with such a man. If you laugh, there will be the same difference between you and him as between a child and a man.

But if you become irritated, you will be a child, because the angry man is more senseless than children. Tell me, when someone sees a child losing his temper, does he not laugh?

The same is true of those who grow angry. They are fainthearted, and if fainthearted, then senseless. "A quick-tempered man displays folly," says the wise one. This means he is an unreasonable child.

"But a patient man is rich in understanding" (Prov 14:29). Let us then acquire this long-suffering, from which great prudence arises in those who preserve it.

Then we shall be counted worthy of the good things promised to us in Christ Jesus our Lord, with Whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, honor, and worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Our faith must not be in words only, but in deed. True faith naturally expresses itself in good works. 3. It must be constant. Faith is for the development of the soul what air is for the body. One cannot live without air, and without faith in God life is no life. The soul grows cold and becomes insensitive to the poor and suffering people around it, and to world events. It lives from day to day, not thinking of its calling or its correction. Sadly, our faith often wavers because of failures in life, or because of the visible inequality of fortune, or because of poor early upbringing. It may also waver because of common opinions contrary to faith, or because of our dissolute life. Such was not the faith of the saints portrayed by the holy Apostle. The Apostle Paul himself says of himself and his disciples that no one and nothing can separate them from faith in God and love for Him. Neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecutions, nor hunger, nor danger, nor sword; neither death, nor life, nor angels; nor any other creature can do so (Rom 8:35, 38-39).

Is there anything more terrible than the devil? Against him we have no other weapon than faith, this immaterial shield against an invisible enemy. For he shoots various arrows and strikes in darkness those who do not watch (cf. Is 10:2 LXX). Since our enemy is invisible, we have a strong defense against him, faith, according to the Apostle's words: "Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one" (Eph 6:16). The devil often shoots a burning arrow of lust toward shameful pleasure. But faith, pronouncing judgment and cooling the thought, extinguishes the arrow.

For as righteousness is obtained by faith, so true eternal life is obtained by faith, according to the words of the Lord our Savior: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent" (Jn 17:3). May He cause you to advance on this path and endure to the end. And may He Who lives unto the ages of ages reign. Amen.

With their careful help, and with good winds, the earth bears, multiplies, and brings forth good fruits. There is no undertaking among all that may be done in life which is not first preceded by due trust. What is surprising, then, if in drawing near to God we begin first of all with faith? Without it even ordinary life cannot be conducted. We have dwelt on this premise because pagans are accustomed to reproach us. They claim that our religion, since it supposedly suffers from lack of rational grounds, is centered on persuasion by faith alone. In response we point out that nothing can exist or be accomplished unless the power of belief is placed before it. Marriages are contracted because there is faith in future offspring. Boys are given over to be trained in the arts because parents believe that the learning of teachers will be passed on to the pupils. Someone is clothed with the emblems of imperial dignity because he believes that cities, peoples, and armed armies will obey him. If, even in these examples, no one would undertake anything without prior belief in future success, is faith not more necessary on the way to the knowledge of God? Is 7:9 in the LXX reads: "If you do not believe, neither will you understand."

It is the soul's decisive direction toward the divine, as if naturally meeting the grace of God. To this belongs the faith that receives the saving power of the mysteries and, in special cases, is marked by miraculous gifts. But Christ's truly fearful saying does not allow us to doubt that even this kind of faith, even miracle-working faith, can sometimes be incomplete, unjustifying, and unsaving: "Many will say to Me in that day: Did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many mighty works? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you who work lawlessness" (Mt 7:22-23). Therefore the necessary completion of faith, so that it may be justifying and saving, must be faithfulness. The Apostle indicates this completion of faith when he says: "The righteous shall live by faith; and if he draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we, brethren, are not of those who draw back to destruction, but of faith to the preserving of the soul" (Heb 10:38-39). Faith opposed to destructive drawing back, wavering, retreat, inconstancy, and betrayal, is faithfulness. It is faithfulness to God and Christ in the unchanging confession of the Orthodox faith. It is faithfulness with respect to God's commandments, consisting in their diligent fulfillment. It is faithfulness with respect to the mysteries, gifts, and ministries, in their careful use according to God's intention and for God's glory.

Enoch did not know whether there was recompense in the future life for the deprivations endured for God's sake in this life. Nevertheless, he led a life pleasing to God. For this he was rewarded by being translated to heaven without tasting death. This last expression is not found in Genesis, but was added to clarify the matter by the God-inspired Apostle himself. Noah also showed his faith when, reverently fulfilling God's command, he built the saving ark at a time when nothing in nature yet foretold the approaching catastrophe. By this faith, says the Apostle, Noah completely condemned, katekrine, his unbelieving contemporaries. That is, by his deed he showed that they too could have corrected their conduct, yet they did not. He became heir of righteousness, that is, one who was to receive righteousness by faith, since he manifested the latter in his life [...].