2Tim 2:20

“God who from the beginning felt it just to arrange his creation according to merit gathered the diversities of minds into the harmony of a single world, so as to furnish, as it were, out of these diverse vessels or souls or minds one house. In this house there must be "not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some unto honor and some unto dishonor."”

“For although there seem to be tares in the Church, yet neither our faith nor our charity ought to be hindered, so that because we see that there are tares in the Church we ourselves should withdraw from the Church: we ought only to labour that we may be wheat, that when the wheat shall begin to be gathered into the Lord's barns, we may receive fruit for our labour and work. The apostle in his epistle says, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour and some to dishonour." Let us strive, dearest brethren, and labour as much as we possibly can, that we may be vessels of gold or silver. But to the Lord alone it is granted to break the vessels of earth, to whom also is given the rod of iron. The servant cannot be greater than his lord, nor may any one claim to himself what the Father has given to the Son alone, so as to think that he can take the fan for winnowing and purging the threshing-floor, or can separate by human judgment all the tares from the wheat. That is a proud obstinacy and a sacrilegious presumption which a depraved madness assumes to itself. And while some are always assuming to themselves more dominion than meek justice demands, they perish from the Church; and while they insolently extol themselves, blinded by their own swelling, they lose the light of truth. For which reason we also, keeping moderation, and considering the Lord's balances, and thinking of the love and mercy of God the Father, have long and carefully pondered with ourselves, and have weighed what was to be done with due moderation.”

“Then, moreover, what a swelling of arrogance it is, what oblivion of humility and gentleness, what a boasting of his own arrogance, that any one should either dare, or think that he is able, to do what the Lord did not even grant to the apostles; that he should think that he can discern the tares from the wheat, or, as if it were granted to him to bear the fan and to purge the threshing-floor, should endeavour to separate the chaff from the wheat; and since the apostle says, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth," should think to choose the vessels of gold and of silver, to despise, to cast away, and to condemn the vessels of wood and of clay; while the vessels of wood are not burnt up except in the day of the Lord by the flame of the divine burning, and the vessels of clay are only broken by Him to whom is given the rod of iron.”

“Every one of us, indeed, who is instructed in the holy Scripture is the administrator of some one of those gifts which, according to the gospel, have been apportioned to us. In this great household of the church not only are there vessels of every kind—gold, silver, wooden and earthen—but also a great variety of pursuits.”

“Many men are still even now perplexed to account for the fact, that the wicked are suffered to remain, and are not yet destroyed. Now doubtless various reasons may be assigned for this, as, that they may be converted, or that by their punishment they may be made an example to the multitude. But Paul here mentions a similar case. For he says, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth." Showing by this, that as in a great house it is likely there should be a great difference of vessels, so here also, in the whole world, for he speaks not of the Church only, but of the world at large. For think not, I pray, that he means it of the Church; for there he would not have any vessels of wood or of earth, but all of gold or silver where is the body of Christ, where is that "pure virgin, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." (Eph. v. 27) And this is what he means to say: Let it not disturb thee that there are corrupt and wicked men. For in a great house there are such vessels. But what then? they do not receive the same honor. But some are to honor and some to dishonor. "Nay," says one, "in a house they may be of some use, but not at all in the world." Though God employs them not for such honorable service, he makes use of them for other purposes. "If therefore a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified." Seest thou that it is not of nature, nor of the necessity of matter, to be a vessel of gold or of earth, but of our own choice? For otherwise the earthen could not become gold, nor could the golden descend to the vileness of the other. But in this case there is much change, and alteration of state. Paul was an earthen vessel, and became a golden one. Judas was a golden vessel, and became an earthen one. The earthen vessels, therefore, are such from uncleanness. The fornicator and the covetous man become earthen vessels. "If a man," he says, "purge himself from these," not merely "cleanse," but "cleanse out," that is, cleanse himself perfectly, "he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use." The others therefore are useless for any good purpose, though some use is made of them. "And prepared unto every good work." Even though he do it not, he is fit for it, and has a capacity for it. We ought therefore to be prepared for everything, even for death, for martyrdom, for a life of virginity, or for all these.”

“Noah's ark was a type of the church.… As in the ark there were all kinds of animals, so also in the church there are men of all races and characters. As in the one there was the leopard with the kids, the wolf with the lambs, so in the other there are found the righteous and sinners, that is, vessels of gold and silver with those of wood and earth.”

“The house described by Paul cannot be the church, which is pure, but must be the world with its mixture of wheat and tares.”

“Here the house is the church, where different persons are not at all equal, yet each serves his or her use.”

“Cyprian argued against those who, under the pretext of avoiding the society of wicked men, had severed themselves from the unity of the church. By the great house of which the apostle spoke—in which there were not only vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of earth—Paul understood nothing else but the church. In the church there should be good and bad, till at the last day it should be cleansed as a threshing floor by the winnowing fan.”

“That law of charity was pronounced by the lips of the Lord Christ, for those parables are his about the cockle scattered through the world in the unity of the field until the time of the harvest and about the bad fishes which are to be left in the same net until the time for landing on the shore.”

“But in the Christian community, as far as sharing and communion in the sacraments goes, they have been multiplied beyond number. So number is one thing; beyond number is something else. Number is those of whom the apostle says, The Lord knows who are his. There are some beyond number, though, because in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also ones of wood and earthenware; some for noble, others for ignoble use. Number, then, applies to vessels for noble use; beyond number are vessels for ignoble use.”

“A brother asked Abba Poemen saying, "Why do the demons persuade my soul to look up to him who is superior to me and make me despise him who is my inferior?" The old man replied, "About that, the apostle has this to say: 'In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware; and if anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work.' "”

“Paul applies the image of the great house to the world, where the golden vessels are persons of faith and virtue, the silver those who embrace civil life virtuously and righteously and the wooden those who live irreverent and disgraceful lives.”

“Since many are troubled by why evil people exist in the world, Paul, setting aside other reasons, now points to this one: because in a great house there are different vessels. By the great house he means the world, and not the Church; he desires that not a single wooden vessel, but all gold and silver vessels be found in the Church, where the Body of Christ is, where the Virgin is, having no blemish. Golden vessels, that is, virtuous people, are for honorable use, while wooden and clay ones, that is, wicked people, are for lowly use. He did not say "useful" and "not useful," because even wicked people, although they are unfit for virtue, are still useful in the general state of the world, for a certain economy, as for example, Pharaoh.”

“But in a great house: he tells why God permits some to fall into error, even though he loves everyone. This statement can be understood in two ways, namely, in general, or specifically as applied to this and that person. For if you ask about a definite person why God gives the gift of perseverance to one and not to another, the reason can be found in God's will alone. Hence Augustine says: why he draws this man and does not draw that man; endeavor not to judge lest you err. But if you ask in general why he gives to some and not to others, there is a reason and it is given by the Apostle in Romans (Rom 9:16). This reason is essentially the same as he gives here, although the figures used are different: for in Romans he says: what if God, willing to show his wrath, endured with much patience vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction (Rom 9:22). For inasmuch as all the works God performs in nature and in grace are performed to manifest his glory: full of the glory of the Lord is his work (Sir 42:16), he formed various creatures, so that the perfection of God's goodness, which cannot be heralded sufficiently by one creature, might be manifested by another. The same is found in works of art: in one house we find one window more beautiful than another. Therefore, if someone asks why the whole house cannot be a window, the reason would be given that the house would then be imperfect. Along the same lines, the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians: if the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? (1 Cor 12:17). The same, therefore, in regard to the effects of grace: because it was fitting that God disclose his justice and his mercy. For if everyone were saved, only mercy would be revealed; if everyone were condemned, only justice: therefore, God, willing to show his wrath, i.e., his justice, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath suited for destruction (Rom 9:22). And the same reason is given for the perfection of the Church, which must be perfect; which it would not be, if there were no diversity within it. For we discover in it a threefold diversity: first, the contrast between the good and the wicked; second, between the good and the better; third, between the evil and the worse. Then with this in mind he says, but in a great house, i.e., in the Church: O Israel, how great is the house of God, how vast is the place of his possession (Bar 3:32), there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth. Here the gold and silver vessels are distinguished from the earthen, and the golden ones from the silver ones, and the earthen from the wooden. In the first distinction he contrasts the good against the wicked; in the second, he compares the good with the better; and in the third, the wicked with the worse. For the gold and silver vessels are the good: the golden being the better, and the silver the less good. Similarly, the wooden and the earthen are the evil; the earthen being the worse, and the wooden the less evil. Then he describes this diversity in terms of the use to which these vessels are put; for the good are the vessels unto honor, i.e., reserved for an honorable use; but the evil are the earthen and wooden vessels dedicated to dishonor, i.e., reserved for a base use. For in the human race there are some who are saints, i.e., precious vessels: as a massive vessel of gold, adorned with very precious stone (Sir 50:10); this man is to me a vessel of election (Acts 9:15). There are also some who are earthen vessels, namely, the wicked: the vessels of the deceitful are most wicked (Isa 32:7); the heart of a fool is like a broken vessel (Sir 21:17). The first vessels are unto honor, and they deserve eternal life: to them, indeed, who according to patience in good work seek glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life (Rom 2:7). The second vessels are unto shame: those that despise me, shall be despised (1 Kgs 2:30). The aforesaid diversity can be applied to the Church's diversity in another way, so that the golden vessels are the prelates, but silver, the earthen and the wooden are persons holding lower rank, among which there are various grades. The fact that he adds, some indeed unto honor, but some unto dishonor, should not lead us to suppose that all golden and silver vessels are destined unto honor, and all the wooden unto dishonor, because from each state some will be saved and some will be damned.”

“Paul indicates that the church has diverse members, who are at differing levels of maturity. The heretic Novatian believes that this passage applies to the world, since he defends the general truth and holiness of his church. But this is wrong.”

“In a large house, there are not only golden and silver vessels, but also wooden and pottery, some of which are for honor, and others for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Even now there are some who marvel at why the wicked are not destroyed. And we say that just as in a large house there are various vessels, so too in the world there are different kinds of people, not made so by God. For how could the wicked have the power to cleanse themselves? For this, going forward, commands those who lead themselves to this. and others for dishonor, such as wooden and pottery items. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself. If the pottery vessel is something dishonorable and unclean, for Paul said, "If anyone purifies himself," how then does he speak concerning the apostles, "Having therefore this treasure in earthen vessels"? (2 Cor. 4:7) And we say that there it discusses the nature of the body, not as something impure, but as something made of clay and earth. For from these the shell, the hard shell, is received there, as in relation to the comparison of the treasure contained within it. However, here it discusses virtue and wickedness, calling the wicked ones "pottery" and the virtuous ones "golden." Such persons are able, by their own choice, to be changed, both toward the good and toward the bad. a vessel for honor. As for vessels made of gold and pottery in a house, the vessels always remain the same. But for such-shaped people, it is serious that the pottery becomes gold, and the gold through negligence becomes pottery. Therefore, if someone cleanses himself from these wooden and pottery-like people, as having nothing of their kind, he becomes useful to the Master, since those others are clearly useless. prepared for every good work. Even if now is not the time or opportunity to do this, one must nevertheless be ready and prepared to endure persecutions, sufferings, and martyrdom. On divine teaching and a life pure and peaceful even toward adversaries.”