What happens when the most powerful man in the world — the emperor — turns his wrath upon your city? When fear stalks the streets, and the threat of bodily harm is no idle word but a real possibility? In such a moment of crisis truth seems a luxury. The lie becomes a shield, a means of survival, a way of soothing power. But is that path the path to peace?

In this historic homily St. John Chrysostom steps into the very heart of this fear. The people of Antioch had cast down the imperial statues, and now waited in dread for the emperor’s vengeance. Chrysostom offers them no political stratagem and no false hope. Instead, he confronts the lies of fear with the reality of faith. He shifts the gaze from the power of the emperor — which can break only the body — to the power of God, who preserves the soul. He teaches his people that true safety lies not in evading suffering but in embracing a deeper reality. The emperor may rule the temporal, but the true reality — the veritas of God’s presence and mercy — is the only source of unshakable certainty. In that truth, in veritate, there is rest.

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St. John Chrysostom: On the Statues (Homily 2)

What is this? Yesterday we were in joy, and today we are in mourning. Yesterday was a festival; today, ashes. The events of yesterday gave me much to speak of, but the calamities of today have struck my tongue dumb. The devil saw our city flourishing, and was filled with envy; he saw the Church rejoicing in the multitude of her children, and he laid a plan to destroy our well-being. But be not cast down, beloved! For though the devil has shown forth his malice, God has shown forth His love for mankind; and the wicked demon shall not attain his end, but all things shall turn to good for us, and those whom we counted lost we shall recover with even greater gain.

I ended my discourse yesterday with a reference to God’s ineffable love toward man. I said to you: “He has set man above the heavens, and has promised him a throne of glory.” But the devil, unable to bear this teaching, has done everything to drive it from your souls. Yet he has accomplished nothing. For with the help of God I shall today plant the same words in your ears once again, and I shall not cease to remind you of them until I have fixed this teaching unshakably in your minds.

For man is dearer to God than the angels. And why do I speak of angels? He is dearer than heaven itself, dearer than the earth, dearer than the sun and the moon and the stars. And that this is no boast appears from the words of the Master Himself. For Christ says: “I tell you, there shall be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” And again: “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that has gone astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”

If you would understand the truth of these words, do not consider only the numerical proportion — one sinner against ninety-nine righteous — but consider the worth. For man is the creature made after the image and likeness of God. And though that likeness has been marred by sin, it has not been wholly effaced. Therefore the Good Shepherd seeks the one sheep; not because it is more precious than the ninety-nine, but because it is His own. He seeks it not for its worth, but out of love.

The events of this day, painful though they be, are not without profit. They have shown us the vanity of earthly things. They have taught us not to put our trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. Today the rich man is poorer than any, fearing for his life and trembling at the shadow of a wall. The poor, on the contrary, is safe; he has nothing to lose, and therefore he fears nothing. This teaches us not to strive after wealth, but after virtue; for virtue is a possession of which no one can deprive us.

Let us not, then, give way to grief, beloved. For grief is not in itself an evil, but is made evil by our own disposition. There is a grief that leads to God, and a grief that leads to the world. The grief that leads to God brings forth repentance and salvation; the grief of the world brings forth death. Let us mourn, not over the threat of the emperor, but over our sins, which have offended God. If we weep for our sins, God will have compassion on us; and if God is on our side, who can be against us?

What have you to fear? Death? But death is not an evil. It is the passage to a better life. For a Christian, death is but a sleep. Christ has conquered death and given us the promise of the resurrection. Do you fear the confiscation of your goods? Your true treasure is in heaven, where no thief can approach and no moth destroy. Do you fear exile? But the whole earth is the Lord’s. Wherever you go, you are under the keeping of your Master.

Emperors are men. Today they are; tomorrow they are not. Their power is temporal, their wrath fleeting. But the power of God is eternal, and His love unchanging. Let us not fix our hope upon men, but upon God. He who delivered the three young men from the burning furnace, He who rescued Daniel from the lions’ den — He will also rescue us from this trial, if we turn to Him with our whole heart.

I have heard that the emperor is greatly enraged. And this is understandable. He is a man, and the offense was great. But he is also a Christian. And the name of Christ, when it is invoked, has power to calm every wrath. Let us therefore pray. Let us call together the whole Church. Let us sing the psalms of David. Let us, with tears and prayers, draw near to the throne of God’s grace. And if God hears us, He will soften the emperor’s heart.

For the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; He turns it whithersoever He will. Let us beseech Him to incline the heart of our emperor, not toward vengeance but toward mercy. Let us beseech Him to remind the emperor of the day of judgment, when he himself shall stand in need of forgiveness. For it is written: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” And again: “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.”

Let us spend these days in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Let us confess our sins and amend our lives. And I am persuaded that God will spare our city. He will scatter this cloud of sorrow and cause the sun of His grace to shine again. He will turn our mourning into joy, and our fear into peace. For He is our Father; and a father chastens his children, but does not forsake them. To Him be glory and dominion, now and unto the ages of ages. Amen.