Church Father's and their Comments on Peter Cutting off the Ear

Soon we shall be at Palm Sunday where Catholic, Anglicans, and others recount the last events of Christ's life before the Crucifixion. Here are the readings for this year's Palm Sunday. Of course in Catholic and Anglican Churches the whole congregation takes on a much active role in the Gospel reading as we all have "speaking parts". Much like the Good Friday service. Part of the Gospel reading is:
While he was still speaking,Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived,accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs,who had come from the chief priests and the eldersof the people.His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,“The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.

”Immediately he went over to Jesus and said,“Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him.Jesus answered him,“Friend, do what you have come for.”Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it,and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.Then Jesus said to him,“Put your sword back into its sheath,for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this momentwith more than twelve legions of angels?.

Well of course this person was Peter and cut off the year as we see in the other Gospels. We will hear this in the Good Friday Gospel.

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.The slave’s name was Malchus.Jesus said to Peter,“Put your sword into its scabbard.Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,bound him, and brought him to Annas first.

I am catching up on my blog reading and there was a post over at Vox Nova called Guns and Condoms and Idols. Now I do not wish to get into the merits or non merits of that posts. However poster Henry Karlson brought into the discussion via the comment section what some of the Church Fathers had to say about the whole cutting off the ear thing. I find this interesting so I thought I would post his comment. It appears that this is from the writings of St Thomas Aquinas.

From the Golden Chain of Thomas Aquinas
Chrys., Hom. lxxxiv : So Luke relates, the Lord had said to His disciples at supper, “He that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one;” (Lc 22,36) and the disciples answered, “Lo, here are two swords.”It was natural that there should be swords there for the paschal lamb which they had been eating. Hearing then that the pursuers were coming to apprehend Christ, when they went out from supper they took these swords, as though to fight in defence of their Master against His pursuers.

Jerome: In another Gospel (marg. note: Jn 18,19), Peter is represented as having done this, and with his usual hastiness; and that the servant’s name was Malchus, and that the ear was the right ear. In passing we may say, that Malchus, i.e. one who should have been king of the Jews, was made the slave of the ungodliness and the greediness of the Priests, and lost his right ear so that he might hear only the worthlessness of the letter in his left.

Origen: For though they seem even now to hear the Law, yet is it only with the left ear that they hear the shadow of a tradition concerning the Law, and not the truth. The people of the Gentiles is signified by Peter; for by believing in Christ, they become the cause of cutting off the Jews’ right ear.

Raban.: Or, Peter does not take away the sense of understanding from them that hear, but opens to the careless that which by a divine sentence was taken away from them; but this same right ear is restored to its original function in those who out of this nation believed.

Hilary: Otherwise; The ear of the High Priest’s servant is cut off by the Apostle, that is, Christ’s disciple cuts off the disobedient hearing of a people which were the slaves of the Priesthood, the ear which had refused to hear is cut off so that it is no longer capable of hearing.

Leo, Serm. 22: The Lord of the zealous (p. 919) Apostle will not suffer his pious feeling to proceed further, “Then saith Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place.” For it was contrary to the sacrament of our redemption that He, who had come to die for all, should refuse to be apprehended. He gives therefore licence to their fury against Him, lest by putting off the triumph of His glorious Cross, the dominion of the Devil should be made longer, and the captivity of men more enduring.

Raban.: It behoved also that the Author of grace should teach the faithful patience by His own example, and should rather train them to endure adversity with fortitude, than incite them to self-defence.

Chrys.: To move the disciple to this, He adds a threat, saying, “All they that take the sword, shall perish by the sword.”

Aug., cont. Faust., xxii, 70: That is, every one who uses the sword. And he uses the sword, who, without the command or sanction of any superior, or legitimate authority, arms himself against man’s life. For truly the Lord had given commandment to His disciples to take the sword, but not to smite with the sword. Was it then at all unbeseeming that Peter after this sin should become ruler of the Church, as Moses after smiting the Egyptian was made ruler and chief of the Synagogue? For both transgressed the rule not through hardened ferocity, but through a warmth of spirit capable of good; both through hatred of the injustice of others; both sinned through love, the one for his brother, the other for his Lord, though a carnal love

.Hilary: But all who use the sword do not perish by the sword; of those who have used the sword either judicially, or in self-defence against robbers, fever or accident carries off the greater part. Though if according to this every one who uses the sword shall perish by the sword, justly was the sword now drawn against those who were using the same for the promotion of crime.

Jerome: With what sword then shall he perish, that takes the sword? By that fiery sword which waves before the gate of paradise, and that sword of the Spirit which is described in the armour of God.Hilary: The Lord then bids him return his sword into its sheath, because He would destroy them by no weapon of man, but by the sword of His mouth.

Remig.: Otherwise; Every one who uses the sword to put man to death perishes first by the sword of his own wickedness. (p. 920)

Chrys.: He not only soothed His disciples, by this declaration of punishment against His enemies, but convinced them that it was voluntarily that He suffered, “Thinkest thou that I cannot pray to my Father, &c.” Because He had shewn many qualities of human infirmity, He would have seemed to say what was incredible, if He had said that He had power to destroy them, therefore He says, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father?”

Jerome: That is to say, I need not the aid of the Apostles, though all the twelve should fight for me, seeing I could have twelve legions of the Angelic army. The complement of a legion among the ancients was six thousand men; twelve legions then are seventy-two thousand Angels, being as many as the divisions of the human race and language.(ed. note: It was generally supposed that in the dispersion at Babel, mankind was divided into seventy-two nations, each speaking a different language. For that is the number of the heads of families enumerated in the genealogy, in Gen. xi. See Aug. de Civ. Dei, xvi. 6.)

Origen: This shews that the armies of heaven have divisions into legions like earthly armies, in the warfare of the Angels against the legions of the daemons. This He said not as though He needed the aid of the Angels, but speaking in accordance with the supposition of Peter, who sought to give Him assistance. Truly the Angels have more need of the help of the Only-begotten Son of God, than He of theirs.

Remig.: We might also understand by the Angels the Roman armies, for with Titus and Vespasian all languages had risen against Judaea, and that was fulfilled, “The whole world shall fight for him against those foolish men.” (Sg 5,21)

Chrys.: And He quiets their fears not thus only, but by reference to Scripture, “How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?”

Jerome: This speech shews a mind willing to suffer; vainly would the Prophets have prophesied truly, unless the Lord asserts their truth by His suffering.