Shepherd of Hermas on Envy, Dangers of Luxury, and Salvation

Today we will learn and reflect on a curious ancient church writing, the
Shepherd of Hermas.
Although the Shepherd of Hermas was regarded as Scripture by many
churches and some early church fathers, the ancient church historian
Eusebius reported that the consensus of the early church was that
although it was beneficial reading, it was not Scriptural. This book is an
account of visions where an angel, appearing as a shepherd, gives many
visions and parables to Hermas, and also twelve commandments for living
a godly life.

At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources used for this video, and my blogs
that also cover this topic. Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments, sometimes these will generate short videos of their own. Let us learn
and reflect together!

YouTube Video:
Ancient Church Writing: Shepherd of Hermas
https://youtu.be/NFQ3fGocis0
NOTE: YouTube video corrections may not be reflected
on the slides, and the blog may differ somewhat in
content.
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The Shepherd of Hermas
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YouTube Video:
Ancient Church Writing: Shepherd of Hermas
https://youtu.be/NFQ3fGocis0
NOTE: YouTube video corrections may not be reflected
on the slides, and the blog may differ somewhat in
content.
© Copyright 2021
Become a patron:
https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom
YouTube Channel (please subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg
https://amzn.to/2W4cxK2
https://amzn.to/3kca1sT
The best electronic version of Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers, Series 1, Volume 3, containing this work, is at:
https://www.christianbook.com

The Shepherd of Hermas was one of the books whose canonicity
was debated by the early Church leaders. Some early Church
Fathers, including St Irenaeus and St Clement of Alexandria,
accepted it as scriptural. Others took a more middle of the road
approach, Origen said that it was divinely inspired, but he also
said it was “useful for instruction and edification, but not to
establish any doctrine of the faith,”(AN Fathers) and St
Athanasius took a similar position.

The ancient church historian Eusebius, writing at
the time of Emperor Constantine, says that “St
Paul, in his salutations that conclude the Epistle
to the Romans, has referred among others to
Hermas, the reputed author of the ‘Shepherd of
Hermas.’ This has been rejected by some
authorities and therefore cannot be placed
among the accepted books. Others, however, has
judged it indispensable, especially to those in
need of elementary instruction. Hence, we know
that it has been used before now in public
worship, and some of the earliest writers made
use of it, as I have discovered.”

The Shepherd of Hermas is a book of visions revealed to Hermas, a
Christian living in Rome. The very first line reveals that he was a slave,
and he writes from the perspective of the lower classes. He may have
been a foundling who was exposed at birth, picked up by some who
raised him as a slave. Michael Holmes, a leading biblical scholar, points
out that, unlike many other writings of the early Church Fathers, it stands
more on its own, there are no direct references to the Old Testament,
and few references other than allusions to writings in the New
Testament. He notes that “Christological reflection is minimal,” with
angels instead imparting wisdom, and he does not have a clear concept
of the Holy Spirit as being a distinct person of the Trinity.

"The Good Shepherd" mosaic in mausoleum of
Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy. 5th century A.D.
Shepherd of Hermas:
Book 1: Visions
Book 2: Commandments
Book 3: Similitudes

Edgar Goodspeed says this: “Hermas was a
Christian prophet in Rome, who
understood Hebrews to teach that there
could be no repentance for serious sins
committed after baptism. The real meaning
of Hebrews was that if anyone renounced
his faith and became an apostate, he could
never regain it and re-enter the church.
Hermas records his interviews with the
angel of repentance, who appeared to him
as a shepherd, and taught him that there
might be one repentance for sin after
baptism, but only one.”

In the first paragraph we learn from the narrator that Hermas is a
former slave bought by a lovely lady named Rhoda, who he came to
love as a sister. Once he saw her bathing in a river and he reached his
hand to help her out of the water and was struck by her beauty. That
was that, nothing more, and sometime after when he had fallen asleep,
he saw his first vision. In all his visions the Spirit takes him to a pathless
place across a river where he kneels to pray for the forgiveness of his
sins. In his first vision, the lovely lady speaks to him from the sky
above, and accuses him for his sin of beholding.

Gabriel, Michael
and Raphael,
depicted in
stained glass in
St Ailbe's Church,
a Catholic church
in Ireland

Hermas objects, says he has always respected her, but
she smiles and responds, “the desire of wickedness
arose within your heart, a great sin, for the thoughts of
a righteous man should be righteous.” She bids him to
pray to God to heal him of his sins.
The heavens shut, and Hermas hails an old woman he
sees sitting in a large chair nearby, and she asks him
why he is so downcast. He tells her of his rebuke, and
she gently responds, “it is a wicked and horrible wish
in a chaste and well-tried spirit to desire an evil deed;
and especially for you, Hermas, you who avoids wicked
desires, full simplicity, totally without guile.” This
reminds us of the story of David and Bathsheba, sin is
so devastating to the faithful servant of God.
The Good Shepherd, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, painted 1660
.

.
The Good Shepherd, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1670's
The Shepherd of Hermas teaches us that “we are to guard
ourselves from wild and wicked desires which are difficult
to tame.” Foremost among the desires we should contain
“is the desire after another’s wife or husband, and after
extravagance, and many useless dainties and drinks, and
many other foolish luxuries; for all luxury is foolish and
empty.” Instead, “put on the desire of righteousness,
arming yourself with the Fear of the Lord, resisting evil
desires.” The temptations of a life of luxury leads to
covetousness, which leads to all the other sins against our
neighbor.
The Shepherd of Hermas also urges us to a life of chastity
and loyalty to our spouses and offers valuable advice to
the jilted partner of the wayward spouse which is very
relevant to Christians in any age.

.
The Young Christ as the Good Shepherd,
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, late 1600's
The message of Hermas runs counter to the
prosperity gospel, he condemns luxurious
living. He has a vision in Similitude 6 of a false
shepherd, “an angel of luxury and deceit,”
whose sheep “were feeding luxuriously and
riotously, merrily skipping about,” “deceived by
wicked desires, forgetting the commandments
of the Living God.” Those who are lost in
luxurious living, spending their time eating “the
richest delicacies and in drunken revels,” cannot
“return to life through repentance, because they
are adding to their sins, and blaspheming the
name of the Lord.”

We will revisit this vision of the happily skipping sheep later in
this discussion.
A vision in the Shepherd of Hermas is referenced in this section
of the Catholic Catechism.

CCC 760: Christians of the first
century said, “The world was created
for the sake of the Church.”
Also credited for this saying are the
Apologies written by St Justin the
Martyr, Aristides, and Tertullian.
Vision 2,4,1

The Catechism refers to Vision 2, Chapter 4:
Now a revelation was given to me, my brethren, while I slept,
by a young man of comely appearance, who said to me,
"Who do you think that old woman is from whom you
received the book?"
And I said, "The Sibyl."
"You are in a mistake," says he; "it is not the Sibyl."
"Who is it then?" say I.
And he said, "It is the church."
And I said to him, "Why then is she an old woman?"
"Because," said he, "she was created first. On this account is
she old. And the world was made for the sake of the church."
Michelangelo's Libyan Sibyl
and Delphic Sibyl, Sistine
Chapel, painted 1511

The old woman then told Hermas she had some teachings he
needed to transmit to the churches
The ancient listeners knew what is a sibyl, but many modern
readers will ask, What is a sibyl?
A Sibyl in the ancient world is a prophetess at shrines like that at
the Delphi Oracle in Greece, and other pagan temples in the
ancient world. The messages these sibyls deliver from the god
Apollo at the Oracle at Delphi are a big part of the history of
ancient Greece, as Greek cities consulted the oracle before they
went to war or made any other important decisions, and the
oracle even answered a query from a friend on whether Socrates
was the wisest man in Athens, and this message helped get him
executed by a jury in Athens, as we learn in the famous Platonic
dialogues.

Priestess of Delphi
(1891) by John
Collier, showing the
Pythia sitting on a
tripod with vapor
rising from a crack
in the earth
beneath her.
Lycurgus of
Sparta consulting
the Pythia, or
Delphic Oracle,
Eugène Delacroix,
painted 1840.

(REPEAT) There are many other visions seen by Hermas. The
vision in Chapter VIII describes seven women who surround a
tower symbolic of the Church. The first woman, Faith, clasping
her hands, saves the elect, and her daughter is Self-restraint, the
restraint from evil desire to inherit eternal life. From Faith
comes Self-restraint, and from her comes the qualities of the
other five women, Simplicity, leading to Guilelessness, to
Chastity, Intelligence, and Love. “Whoever devotes himself to
these, holding fast to their works, shall have his dwelling in the
Tower of the Church with the saints of God.”
In his last vision he sees a radiant shepherd with white goat’s
skin sent by the angels to dictate to him the commandments
and similitudes in the next two books of this work.

The Good Shepherd, Marten van Cleve, painted late 1500’s
Seven Women around the Tower,
That is symbolic of the Church:
Faith, Save the Elect
Self-Restraint, daughter of faith,
Restrains from evil desires.
From Self-Restraint comes:
Simplicity,
Leading to Guilelessness,
Then to Chastity,
Intelligence,
Love
“Whoever devotes himself to these,
holding fast to their works, shall
have his dwelling in the Tower of
the Church with the saints of God.”

There are twelve commandments in the Shepherd of Hermas,
but these are all positive commandments, teaching us how to
live a godly life. Each of the Ten Commandments in the
Decalogue are worked into his Twelve Commandments.
Did I mention that Hermas was born a slave, was likely
abandoned by his parents, exposed in the marketplace either
to die or be raised to be sold as a slave, and knew poverty,
abuse, and hardship all his life? That experience colors his
message, giving alms to the poor is a big part of his message.

The Infant Christ as the Good Shepherd, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1665 The first commandment is to
have faith in God:
“First of all, believe there is one
God who created and finished
all things, and made all things
out of nothing.” Therefore,
“have faith in God and fear
Him, exercising self-control,
keeping His Commandments.”
The second commandment is
“On Avoiding Evil-Speaking,
and on Giving Alms in
Simplicity.” This commandment
is referenced in the Catholic
Catechism for the
commandment, Do Not Envy:

CCC 2517 The heart is the seat of moral
personality: "Out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery,
fornication.”(Mt 15:19)
The struggle against carnal
covetousness entails purifying the
heart and practicing temperance:
Quote from Shepherd of Hermas:
Remain simple and innocent, and you
will be like little children who do not
know the evil that destroys man's life.

El Buen Pastor, Vicent López Portaña, painted 1800
This is worded differently in the Ante-Nicene
Fathers translation:
“Be simple and guileless, be like the children
who are ignorant of the wickedness that
ruins the life of men.”
The Shepherd of Hermas instructs us how to
cultivate the purity in our hearts by avoiding
covetousness, as he continues:
“Speak evil of no-one, and do not revel in
anyone who speaks evil of another.” You sin
when you listen to slander, and when you
believe the slander, you become a
slanderer. “Slander is evil and an unsteady
demon, never peaceful, always stirring up
discord.”

.
Suffer the Little Children to come unto Me, Pieter van Lint, late 1600's
The command that we
should be guileless infers
that this simplicity requires
effort and vigilance, while
the command to be
innocent like children
reminds of the words of
Jesus, “Truly I tell you,
unless you change and
become like children, you
will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble
like this child is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven.”

One way to prevent envy is to give alms.
The angel Shepherd continues, “Practice goodness,
and from the rewards of your labors, which God gives
you, give to all the needy in simplicity, not hesitating
as to whom you are to give or not to give.” In other
words, you do not need to analyze who is worthy to
receive your gifts. But rather, “give to all, for God
wishes His gifts to be shared with everyone.” “He
who gives is guiltless.” This giving, “if given in
simplicity, is glorious with God.” “Keep these
commandments, that your repentance and the
repentance of your house may be found in simplicity,
and your heart may be pure and stainless.”

Are we saved by giving alms? St Paul exhorts that we are saved by faith
rather than by works, but St James also says that faith without works is
dead. We often totally twist this argument in an evil way when we use
it to justify withholding alms from the poor, we forget that giving alms
to the poor is emphasized in a key story early in the book of Acts, the
story of the visions of both St Peter and Cornelius, the Roman
centurion who is the first recorded Gentile convert to the faith.
Cornelius has a brief vision where an angel instructs him to seek out
Peter. Peter has a vision where the Lord tells him that Gentiles need not
follow the dietary laws of Judaism before they are converted. When St
Peter’s vision ends is when Cornelius knocks on his door.

Vision of the Centurion Cornelius by Zanobi Rosi

There was a certain
man in Caesarea called
Cornelius, a centurion
of what was called the
Italian Regiment, a
devout man and one
who feared God with
all his household, who
gave alms generously
to the people, and
prayed to God always.
About the ninth hour
of the day, he saw
clearly in a vision an
angel of God coming in
and saying to him,
“Cornelius!”
And when Cornelius
observed him, he was
afraid, and said, “What
is it, Lord?”
Acts 10

So the angel
said to him,
“Your prayers
and your alms
have come up
for a memorial
before God.
Now send men
to Joppa, and
send for Simon
whose surname
is Peter. He is
lodging with
Simon, a
tanner, whose
house is by the
sea. He will tell
you what you
must do.”
Acts 10

REPEAT: Whenever there is a narration in the Bible that is repeated by a character in
the story, and particularly if this story is retold, pay close attention to the various
stories, and what is emphasized or even slightly altered in the retelling, that will
enable you to more fully understand the message the passage is trying to tell you.
Here in the narration, we learn that Cornelius: is a Devout man, who Feared God,
and who Gave alms generously, and who Prayed to God always.
In the angel’s message to Cornelius, he only tells Cornelius that his Prayers and alms
are a memorial before God.
And later, and we did not recite this part, when Cornelius recounts the angel’s
message to Peter, the angel said that his Prayer has been heard, and that his Alms
have been remembered.
So, the chicken and egg question is this: What comes first, faith, or works?
It can go both ways, as the Ten commandments and the first Psalms exhorts, right
thought leads to right speech, and right thought and right speech leads to righteous
deeds.
But this we can learn from the story of Cornelius: What we do makes us who we are.

Narration:
Devout man
Feared God
Gave alms generously
Prayed to God always
Angel message:
Prayers and alms are
memorial before God
Cornelius recounting
of angel’s message:
Prayer has been heard
Alms have been
remembered
MESSAGE:
What we do makes us
who we are.

The third commandment is “on avoiding
falsehood.”
“The Shepherd angel said, ‘Love the
truth, and let nothing but truth proceed
from your mouth,” so that the “Lord, who
dwells in you, will be glorified, because
the Lord is truthful in every word, and in
Him is no falsehood. Those who lie deny
the Lord, and rob the Lord, not giving
back to Him the deposit they have
received. For they have received from
Him a spirit free from falsehood.’”
The Good Shepherd and Light of the World by A.L.
Moore, circa 1903, St Mary's church, Salehurst, UK

The fourth commandment recited by the shepherd is to be
chaste, remember your wife, never let the thought of
cheating enter your mind, always be faithful to her in your
heart and in your soul and in your deeds.
Then our Hermas asks the Shepherd what a man should
do if his wife was guilty of adultery but did not want to
repent and did not want to end the affair. The first bit of
advice from the shepherd holds true today, doing nothing
is not an option. “If the husband knows his wife has gone
astray, and his wife will not repent, but persists in her
fornication, and yet the husband continues to live with
her, he is also guilty of her crime, and a sharer in her
adultery.” “We may balk at this moral condemnation of
the jilted partner, but we must agree that this serious sin
should not be condoned..” Good shepherd, Jean Baptiste
de Champaigne, 1600's

There was definitely more of a double standard in the ancient world than
today, men could consort with concubines and courtesans, while the
punishment for errant wives was quite severe. In our modern world,
husbands cheat more than wives, but the Shepherd only discusses the
unfaithful wife. But it is a simple matter to allegorize his advice as
applying to both husbands and wives.
I would like to note that my comments here reflect my general
observations during my years spent in divorce support ministries.
The angel Shepherd says the husband should only forgive his wayward
wife once, and then discusses the general question of sin after
baptism. The early Church was tough on this issue, converts had to
complete a lengthy catechetical period of prayer and study before
baptism, for you were only permitted one serious sin after baptism.

https://www.divorcecare.org/ Please, if you anyone who is facing divorce, let them know support is available.

If she continues, “her husband should put her away, and remain by himself.” But if she
repents, he needs to take her back, and he needs to be patient. “If the husband does not
take her back, he sins, and brings a great sin upon himself, for he ought to take back a sinner
who has repented.” We would add, as Christ forgave us. Furthermore, “in case the divorced
wife may repent, the husband ought not to marry another, when his wife has been put away.”
Parable of Christ as the Good Shepherd, Marten van Valckenborch, painted 1580's

It was impossible for the Church to keep this level of discipline over the centuries,
and as a consequence the Church has lost its deep sense of repentance necessary,
although being too judgmental is also harmful. The message to us is we should
consider forgiving our wayward spouse at least once, giving them the benefit of the
doubt, for perhaps they will reform, and you will never re-marry the perfect spouse.
Often in life we are confronted with difficult decisions, whether we should divorce a
wayward spouse, whether we should put an elderly parent in a nursing, how tough
we should be with a wayward child. What is most important is not so much what
decision we make, although the decision matters deeply, but rather how we make
the decision. What are our motivations?
Above all, we should not judge others who are forced to make these decisions. In
the case of divorce, we do not know the complete story. If there is serious physical
abuse not divorcing may the sinful path.

Good shepherd, Tadeusz Makowski, painted 1918
The fifth commandment is “on sadness of heart,
and on patience.” The Shepherd advises, Be
patient, do not be angry, patience and anger do
not mix. Be patient and “the Holy Spirit that
dwells in you will be pure.” Everyone prefers to
live in a peaceful house, but nobody likes to live
around outburst of anger. Anger repels the Holy
Spirit, He may seek to fly away. “Patience is great
and mighty and strong and calm, joyful, rejoicing,
free from care, glorifying God at all times, lacking
bitterness, dwelling in all who have complete
faith.” But anger is the opposite of patience,
“anger is foolish and fickle and senseless.” If you
lack patience, you will be unable to obey any of
the other commandments.

The sixth commandment tells us “how to recognize the
two spirits in each man,” the spirits of righteousness and
iniquity, the straight path and the crooked path, and
how to tell them apart.
“The angel of righteousness is gentle and modest, meek
and peaceful. When he ascends in your heart he speaks
of righteousness, purity, chastity, contentment, and of
every righteous deed and glorious virtue.”
In contrast, “the angel of iniquity is wrathful, and bitter,
and foolish, and his works are evil, and he ruins the
servants of God. When he ascends in your heart, know
him by his works.”
The works include seeking great wealth, “the richest
delicacies, drunken revels, diverse luxuries, things
improper, hankering after women, overreaching pride,
blustering,” and like tendencies.

The Seventh Commandment is “on fearing God, and
not fearing the devil.” “Fear the Lord, and you will
do all things well. This is the fear you ought to have,
that you may be saved.” When you fear the Lord,
you will have dominion over the devil.”
“Fears are of two kinds, for if you do not wish to do
that which is evil, fear the Lord, and you will not do
evil; and if you wish to do that which is good, fear
the Lord, and you will do good.” We are
commanded to “Fear the Lord and keep his
commandments,” to shun evil and do good. “Those
only who fear the Lord and keep His
commandments have life with God.” Those who
truly fear God also love God. The Shepherd David,
Elizabeth Jane Gardner, circa 1895

The Good Shepherd, at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church,
Ashfield, New South Wales, Alfred Handel, d. 1946
The shepherd’s eighth commandment teaches us that “we ought
to shun that which is evil and do that which is good.”
Those who seek to live godly lives should abstain “from adultery
and fornication, unlawful reveling, wicked luxury, indulgence in
many kinds of food and extravagant riches, boastfulness,
haughtiness, insolence, and lies, and backbiting, and hypocrisy, the
remembrance of wrongs, and from all slander.” Here we have
another slippery slope, where one sin leads to another, where
selfishness leads to cruelty, where luxury and covetousness leads
to serious sins.
And Hermas asks the shepherd angel if there are any more evils he
should avoid, and the shepherd responds that “the servant of God
must restrain himself from theft, lying, robbery, false witness,
overreaching, wicked lust, deceit, vainglory, boastfulness, and all
other vices like these.”

The Good Shepherd, Saint-Quintien de Picherande Church,
Puy-de-Dôme, France, by Martial Mailhot, 1882
And what does it mean to do what is good?
“First of all, there is faith, then fear of the Lord, love, concord, words of
righteousness, truth, and patience, nothing is better than these in the
life of men.” If you encourage these, and do not refrain from doing
good, blessed you will be.
These goods likewise encourage “helping widows, looking after orphans
and the needy, rescuing the servants of God from necessities, being
hospitable, never opposing anyone, being quiet, having fewer needs
than all men, respecting the elderly, practicing righteousness, watching
the brotherhood, bearing insolence, being long-suffering, encouraging
those who are sick in soul, not casting aside those who have fallen into
sin from the faith, but turning them back and restoring them to peace
of mind, admonishing sinners, not oppressing debtors and the needy,
and other good deeds.”

The Infant Christ as the Good Shepherd, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, painted 1665
The shepherd’s ninth commandment is
we should “Pray to God without ceasing
and with unwavering confidence.” “With
all your heart turn to the Lord, ask Him
without doubting, and you will know the
multitude of His tender mercies, for He
will never leave you, and will fulfill the
request of your soul. For God is not like
men, men who remember wrongs, for
God does not remember your sins, and
has compassion for His creatures.”
“Cleanse your heart from all the vanities
of this world,” “and ask of the Lord and
you will receive all, and none of your
requests of the Lord will be denied
which you made without doubting.”

Is this commandment an ancient version of “name
it and claim it”? Can we request from God
anything our selfishness desires? This teaching has
another important injunction, to FIRST “cleanse
your heart from all the vanities of this world,” and
ONLY THEN should bring your requests before the
Lord, and “none of your requests of the Lord will
be denied which you made without doubting.”
“Do not cease to make the request of your soul,
and you will obtain it.”
Should we be angry with God when He does not
answer our prayers? “If you grow weary and
waver in your request, blame yourself, and not Him
who does not give to you.” “Doubting is the
daughter of the devil.”

It is unfortunate that the shepherd does not further develop this discussion of
prayer, for we have met many who are angry at God because He did not save him
from sickness or struggles or impending divorce. Perhaps we should more often
pray to God for strength to endure the trials of life rather than to shield us from
them. But we should always pray, for all prayers prays with a good heart are
heard, no matter how trivial the prayer may be. We pray, God, that are prayers be
selfless prayers, prayers to strengthen our faith, hope and Love, that our prayers
not be selfish.
This is the message of stoicism, which greatly influenced the teachings of the early
Church Fathers, and like St Paul also, that rather than complaining why God does
not deliver good men from suffering, that instead we should acknowledge that
suffering exists for both the good and evil men, and that God will give us the
strength to endure suffering. Those who seek to live a truly godly life quickly learn
that although living a godly often leads to happiness, sometimes it does not.

This 1544 painting by
Tintoretto shows the
anguished prayer of
Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane, and it
focuses on the sleeping
disciples, for his
disciples could not keep
their eyes open in spite
of the entreaties of
Jesus to be vigilant and
attentive.

The tenth commandment is about “grief, which is the
sister of doubt and anger,” grief that “crushes out the
Holy Spirit” and “destroys man.”
From the context it appears that this grief is a spiritual
panic arising from distress and frustration.
It could also reflect the ancient stoic attitude that grief,
even grief from losing a loved one, is an emotion that
one should avoid, as the Shepherd advises us instead
“put on cheerfulness, which always is agreeable and
acceptable to God.”
“When the doubting man attempts any deed, and fails
it on account of his doubt, then griefs enters this man,
and grieves the Holy Spirit, and crushes him out.”
Holmes’ translation renders the Greek as double-
mindedness rather than doubt.
Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our
Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles,
Franz Borgias Mayer (1848–1926)

It appears that the message of the Shepherd’s Tenth Commandment is
that we should have faith in God and pray for confidence in living a
truly godly life, and not lose heart, and not be discouraged by
disappointments and setbacks. Sometimes you have to put some
thought into deciphering the message the ancient Church Fathers are
trying to tell us. Life was much shorter and much tougher in the ancient
world, which often led to a more despairing fatalistic philosophy, which
the Shepherd may be confronting here.
In the Ladder of Divine Ascent one of the rungs of the ladder is the
overcoming of DESPAIR, which may be a message similar to the one
taught by the Shepherd of Hermas.

The eleventh commandment of the Shepherd tells us that “the
spirit and prophets are to be tried by their works, and also tells
us about the two kinds of spirits.”
This angel warns that a false prophet answers inquiries
“according to the wicked desires” of those who ask, “filling their
souls with expectations, according to their wishes,” telling them
what they want to hear, and he does say an occasional true
word, to better sell the falsehoods.
How can you tell who is a true prophet? He “who has the Divine
Spirit proceeding from above is meek, and peaceable, and
humble, and refrains from all iniquity and the vain desire of this
world, and is content with less.”
But the false prophet who only seems to have the Spirit, “exalts
himself, and wishes to have the first seat, and is bold, and
impudent, and talkative, and lives in the midst of many luxuries
and many other delusions, and takes rewards for his prophecies,
and if he does not receive rewards, does not prophecy.”
Can he be possibly referring to many televangelists?

The twelfth and final commandment of the Shepherd is
“we are to guard ourselves from wild and wicked
desires which are difficult to tame.” Foremost among
the desires we should contain “is the desire after
another’s wife or husband, and after extravagance, and
many useless dainties and drinks, and many other
foolish luxuries; for all luxury is foolish and
empty.” Instead, “put on the desire of righteousness,
arming yourself with the Fear of the Lord, resisting evil
desires.”
For those who Fear and Love the Lord these
commandments are not burdensome. But for those
who only talk about the Lord, but whose “hearts are
hardened, who are far from the Lord, the
commandments are hard and difficult.”

THE SIMILITURES OF THE SHEPHERD
An interesting parable in the Similitudes, the last section of the Shepherd of
Hermas, is the parable of the elm and the vine in the second Similitude. The elm
by itself bears no fruit. Although the vine by and by will bear fruit, the fruit is
rotten when it is strung along the ground. But when the vine is hung on the
branches of the elm it yields double fruit.

What is the meaning of the elm and the vine? The
elm is “the rich man who has much wealth, but is
poor in matters relating to the Lord, because he is so
distracted about his riches, offering few confessions
and intercessions to the Lord, and those that he
does offer are small and weak, having no power in
Heaven. But when the rich man assists the poor in
his necessities,” “the poor man intercedes for the
rich man, giving thanks to God who bestows gifts
upon him.” “Poor men interceding with the Lord on
behalf of the rich, increase their (heavenly) riches;
and the rich, aiding the poor in their necessities,
satisfy their soul.” “Blessed are the rich who
understand their riches are from the Lord,” and
share them with the poor. El Buen Pastor, Pedro Ruiz
González, painted 1693

The injunction that God helps those who helps themselves is not only not found
anywhere in Scriptures, it is also an injunction that would be roundly condemned
by Hermas. The belief that the poor are responsible for their poverty, and that
the rich would harm them by helping them by fostering dependency is also totally
foreign to the spirit of Hermas. Rather, Hermas teaches that the rich man must
have compassion on the poor to gain treasures in heaven.
An odd vision is the shepherds and sheep in Similitude Six that we previously
alluded to.

The angel shepherd went
with Hermas to a certain
plain, where he showed him a
young man with yellow
garments, “and he was
herding sheep, and these
sheep were feeding
luxuriously and riotously, and
merrily skipping hither and
thither,” and the shepherd
was also merry and joyous,
running about his flock.
He said, “This shepherd is the
angel of luxury and deceit, he
wears out the souls of the
servants of God, and perverts
them from the truth, through
which they perish, for they
forget the commandments of
God, and walk in deceits and
empty luxuries.”

The Good Shepherd (1616) by Pieter Brueghel the Younger
Nearby was a second
shepherd, a tall shepherd,
with a dour look, and with a
large whip. “This shepherd
was receiving sheep from
the first young shepherd,
and he cast the sheep off
the precipice into thorns
and thistles, which
entangled the sheep. The
sheep were exceedingly
miserable, being beaten by
the dour shepherd, and he
drove them hither and
thither, giving them no rest.
These sheep were in a
wretched plight.”

What was the explanation of this very odd vision? The explanation was that for
every hour the sheep spend skipping happily about in luxury these sheep need to
endure thirty days of punishment.
Is luxury really worth this kind of punishment?
If so, I had better quit going to restaurants and movies on the weekend.
Is this vision an early version of the doctrine of purgatory?
OR, another explanation is this vision may be one reason why the early Church
Fathers decided against including the Shepherd of Hermas in the canon.

SOURCES:
Though it was mentioned by many sources in antiquity, the text of the Shepherd of
Hermas has not been well preserved. Only two Latin and about four Greek
manuscripts missing a few chapters have survived, including one found at a
monastery at Mt Athos. Since it is mentioned in the writings of Irenaeus, we know
that it was written prior to 175 AD, but it could have been written as early as 70-80
AD. Scholars suspect that it may have been written in stages over many years.
The Shepherd of Hermas is not included in many collections of the Apostolic
Writings simply because it is so LONG, and those must have been real marathon
services when this work was read in the ancient Church.

We need to be discerning reading the Shepherd of Hermas. Because it
is not scriptural you do not bear the burden of faith to interpret
everything in this discourse as gospel. The early church had a strictness
that was unsustainable over succeeding centuries. Like many early
Christian works that are not scriptural, when compared to Scriptures
the Shepherd is not as carefully worded, fewer manuscripts have
survived, and these fewer manuscripts have not been translated nearly
as carefully as the Scriptures.
Many early writings like the Shepherd of Hermas had a very strict view
of whether confession of serious sins was permissible after Baptism.
The Church was forced to be more lenient when many Christians lapsed
during future times of persecution, when the lapsed asked for
confession of their faithlessness.

To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
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