Беседа XXVII

“And Noah built an altar to the Lord 213: and he took of all the clean cattle, and of all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar” (Gen. 8:20). 1. Yesterday we saw the goodness of the man-loving Lord, how He brought the righteous man out of the ark, freed him from his stay in it, delivered him from this difficult and terrible imprisonment, and rewarded him for his patience, saying: “Grow and multiply” (Gen. 8:17). Today we will look at Noah’s appreciation and gratitude, with which he acquired even greater and higher favor from God. This is what God always does: when he sees someone grateful for the past, he sends him even greater gifts. Let us also try to offer all possible gratitude to the Lord for the blessings given to us from Him, so that we may be rewarded with even greater ones; and let us never forget the blessings of God shown to us, but we will always keep them in our mind, so that remembering them prompts us to constant gratitude, although they are so numerous that our mind is not able to count God’s bounty to us. In fact, who can even imagine everything that has already been given to you (from God), what is promised, what is given every day? He brought us from non-existence into existence, gave us both body and soul, created us (beings) intelligent, gave us this air to breathe, arranged all creation for the human race and first wanted man to enjoy his stay in Paradise, to spend his life without sorrow and without any labor, and, being in the body, was in no way inferior to the angels and incorporeal forces, but was above the needs of the body. Then, when (man), through carelessness, was caught by the flattery of the devil through the serpent, (God) did not stop benefiting the criminal sinner, but in the very punishments, as I said yesterday, he showed the abundance of His love for mankind and showed him many different and countless benefits. Finally, when, after the subsequent multiplication of the human race and its deviation towards wickedness, God saw that the wounds were incurable, He destroyed those who did evil, as if some harmful leaven, leaving this righteous man (Noah) so that he would become the root and firstfruits of the human race. And look again, what kindness he shows. From this righteous man and from his sons He deigned to multiply the human race to such a great number, gradually choosing the righteous, i.e. patriarchs, and appointed them as teachers for other people, who could edify everyone with their virtues and, like doctors, heal the sick. He leads them first to Palestine, then to Egypt, thereby exercising the patience of his slaves, and at the same time more clearly revealing his own strength; and then constantly continued to take care of the salvation of people, sending prophets and through them performing signs and wonders. Briefly put, just as we can never list the waves of the sea, even if we tried it a thousand times, so (we cannot count) the various blessings of God that He showed to our race. Finally, when (God) saw that, even after such providence, human nature still has a need for great and ineffable love for mankind, and that neither the patriarchs, nor the prophets, nor those amazing miracles, nor the punishments and suggestions so often repeated, nor those captivities that continuously followed one after another, help at all - then, as if taking pity on our race, he sent to us a doctor of souls and bodies, erecting 214, so to speak, from the paternal bosom of His Only Begotten Son, Who deigned to take the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7) and be born of the Virgin, live with us and endure all our (needs), so that our nature, lying down from many sins, could be raised from earth to heaven. Wondering at this and imagining the excessiveness of God’s love for the human race, the son of thunder exclaimed: “For God therefore loved the world” (John 3:16). Look at the surprise expressed in this saying! The word “taco” indicates the importance of what he wants to say; that's why he started like this. Tell us, blessed John, how is “taco”? Show us the measure, show us greatness, reveal the superiority (of God’s love). “For God loved the world, for He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Do you see, the reason for the coming of the Son (of God) is so that people who were threatened with destruction would receive salvation through faith in Him? Who can comprehend in thought the great, wondrous and incomprehensible favor that God showed to our nature in the gift of baptism, granting us the remission of all our sins? But what can I say? Neither thought is able, nor word is able to count the others (of God’s benefits). No matter how much I say, the rest will still be such that its excess will surpass what has already been said. So, who can comprehend with his mind that path of repentance, which (God), out of His ineffable love for mankind, revealed to our race, and after the gift of baptism - those wonderful commandments, through (the fulfillment of) which, if we want, we can gain His favor? 2. Do you see, beloved, the abyss of (God’s) blessings? Do you see how many of them we listed, and yet we could not recount even a small part of them? How, in fact, can human language express in words what God has done for us? And while these (benefits) are so numerous and great, even much greater and inexplicable are the benefits that He promised, after this life, in the next century, to those who follow the path of virtue. Blessed Paul, wishing in a few words to present to us their excessive greatness, says: “Whose eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has the heart of man breathed what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Do you see the excess of gifts? Do you see that His benefits exceed all human understanding? Yes, “the heart,” he says, “does not sigh for a man.” So, if we want to reflect on them and render gratitude (to God) to the best of our ability, then we can gain even greater His favor and arouse in ourselves a stronger disposition towards virtue. In fact, the remembrance of good deeds greatly stimulates the deeds of virtue and disposes a person to despise everything present, to cleave to such a great Benefactor and daily show living love for Him. That is why this righteous man (Noah) received such favor and honor from God for showing great gratitude for previous benefits. But in order for our word to be clearer for you, we must offer your love the very beginning of today’s reading. After Noah, at the command of the Lord, came out of the ark together with his sons, with his wife and with his sons’ wives, with all the animals and birds, and upon leaving received from God a very comforting blessing for him: “grow and multiply,” the Divine Scripture, showing us the gratitude of the righteous, says: And Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took from all clean cattle and from all clean birds, and lifted up for a burnt offering on the altar” (Gen. 8:17, 20). Consider carefully, beloved, and from these words how the Creator of all things put into our very nature a precise concept of virtue. Where, in fact, tell me, did this come to the mind of the righteous? He saw no one else as an example for himself. But as in the beginning the son of the first man, i.e. Abel, out of his own inner impulse, made a sacrifice (to God) with great discernment, and now this righteous man offers, through sacrifices, gratitude to the Lord according to his own will and sound reasoning, as only he could and as he judged humanly. And look with what great wisdom he does everything. He did not need a magnificent building, or a church, or some wonderful house, or anything else: he knew, knew well, that the Lord was looking only for (good) favor; and so, having hastily built an altar and taken some of the clean animals and clean birds, he offered a burnt offering, and with this, as much as he could, he expressed his sincere gratitude; and the philanthropic God, accepting this gratitude, crowned his zeal and again showed him His favor. “And the smell,” says Scripture, “the Lord 215 smells of fragrance” (Gen. 8:21). You see how the disposition of the offering made the smoke and stench, and everything that was unpleasant during this (the burning of animals) fragrant. That is why Paul said in his letter: “For the fragrance of Christ is in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing. For the stench of death is the stench of death, and the stench of the animal is for the belly" (2 Cor. 2:15-16). "The stench of fragrance (the Lord's smell)". Do not be tempted by the rudeness of the expression, but, having recognized your own weakness in words as the reason for such condescension in words, understand from here that the offering of the righteous was pleasing (to God). And so that we can know from experience itself that the Lord himself does not need anything and was pleased to accept the sacrifice (Noah’s) for no other reason than to arouse people to gratitude, for this purpose He allows everything to be destroyed by fire, so that those who sacrifice themselves would know from here that everything is being done for their own benefit. Why, tell me, does He even allow sacrifices to be made to Him? Again, out of condescension towards human weakness. Since people, little by little giving themselves over to carelessness, subsequently had to invent gods for themselves and make sacrifices to them, God first deigned that sacrifices should be offered to Him, in order, at least through this, to ward off those who were about to indulge in wickedness from the disastrous error. And that all this was really allowed by Him out of condescension, see how later He deigned to establish circumcision, not because it could in any way contribute to the salvation of the soul, but so that the Jews would wear it on themselves, as if some kind of sign and seal, as proof of their gratitude, and so that they could not mix with the pagans. 3. This is why blessed Paul calls circumcision a sign, saying: “And he gave a sign of circumcision, a seal” (Rom. 4:3). And that it does not serve at all for justification is demonstrated by this righteous man (Noah), who reached such (high) virtue when circumcision had not yet been established. And what am I saying? Patriarch Abraham himself, even before accepting circumcision, was justified by faith alone. Even before circumcision, Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3). Why are you, O Jew, proud of circumcision? Know that there were many righteous people before him. Here Abel offered a sacrifice by faith, just as Paul says about him: “By faith Abel offered a greater sacrifice than Cain to God” (Heb. 11:4); and Enoch was translated, and Noah was delivered from the terrible flood for his great righteousness; and Abraham, even before circumcision, was glorified for his faith in God. Thus, from ancient times and from the beginning, the human race received salvation from faith. That is why the humane Lord allowed sacrifices to be made to Himself, so that through them people, then even less perfect 217, could express their gratitude to God and avoid the infection of idolatry. If, in fact, even after such condescension many did not avoid the fall, then who could have avoided the disastrous error when such condescension had not been used? “And the Lord God smelled the stench of fragrance.” But this is not what He did with the ungrateful Jews. How? Listen to the prophet who says: “The censer is an abomination to me” (Is. 1:13), indicating the uncleanness of the internal disposition of those offering it. Just as there the virtue of the righteous made the smoke and stench reeking of fragrance, so here the wickedness of those bringing it made the fragrant incense disgusting to the smell. So, please, let us try to show a pure disposition in everything. It is the cause of all good things. The good Lord, as a rule, pays attention not so much to our sacrifices, but to the inner disposition with which we make them, and judging by it, he either accepts or rejects our sacrifices. So, whether we pray, fast, give alms (because these are our spiritual sacrifices) or perform any other spiritual work, we will do all this out of pure disposition in order to receive a worthy crown for our labors. It will be very strange if we begin to endure hardships and lose rewards when, that is, we perform virtues not according to the laws given by God. But it is possible, according to the inexpressible love of God, even without completing the deed, to receive a crown for disposition alone; to be convinced of this, look at alms. When you see a man lying in the market place and overcome by extreme poverty, and you grieve for him and immediately, directing your mind to heaven, you thank the Lord both for your own situation and for the patience of this poor man, then, although you will not be able to satisfy and satisfy his hunger, you will nevertheless receive a full reward for your good disposition. That is why the Lord said: “Whoever gives... a cup of cold water to drink only in the name of the disciple, Amen, I say to you, he will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). What's more important than a glass of cold water? But (good) disposition also receives a reward for this. We will find the same thing otherwise. I consider it my duty to talk about this to your love so that, having learned this with accuracy, you will root in yourself a pure (heartfelt) disposition. Listen to what Christ says: “Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Do you see, here again an unclean disposition is condemned, and punishment is imposed for an immodest look, as if fornication had actually been committed? So, knowing this, let us in every possible way protect the purity of our disposition, so that it makes our offerings acceptable (to God). If it (in Noah) made the smoke and stench of a fragrant aroma, then what will it not do with our spiritual sacrifices and what will not gain us favor from above? “And the smell,” it is said, “the Lord God smells of fragrance.” Do you see what the sacrifice of the righteous is - how insignificant it is in appearance, but in the purity of his disposition it is very great? Look now at the boundless goodness of the man-loving Lord. “And the Lord God said, having thought: I will not cause anyone to curse the earth because of the deeds of men: for no man will I cause anyone to smite all living flesh, as I have created, 219 all the days of the earth” (Gen. 8:21-22). 4. What extraordinary importance of beneficence, what greatness of philanthropy, what indescribable excess of condescension! “And the Lord God spoke, having thought about it.” And this expression - “having thought about it” - is used in a human-like manner and adaptive to our nature. “I will not curse anyone on the earth for human deeds.” God cursed her for the first man, saying: “thorns and thistles will grow” (Gen. 3:18), and then also for Cain. And so, since He has now brought (on the earth) such general destruction, then, in order to console the righteous and encourage him, so that, that is, he would not think to himself: what is the use of the blessing given (by God) and from the words: “grow and multiply,” if we, having multiplied, must perish again, because He also said to Adam: “grow and multiply,” and yet He brought flood, - so that, I say, Noah would not think so and from this thought would not feel constant anxiety in his soul, look at what kind of love the Lord shows for mankind! “I will not,” he says, “whoever curses the earth for human deeds.” See how clearly (God) has shown that He has placed a curse on the earth because of the wickedness of the people. Then, so that we would not think that He now made such a promise because they had become better, He says: “It is not for a man to think diligently against evil from his youth.” An extraordinary kind of philanthropy! Since “a man’s mind is diligent towards evil from his youth,” therefore, he says, “I will not curse the earth for anyone.” I, he says, did my job once and twice; but since I see that evil is growing, I promise not to curse the earth anymore. Then, wanting to show the greatness of His love for mankind, he added: “I will not destroy all living flesh as I have created all the days.” See how God with all this gives the greatest consolation to the righteous, or better yet, not only to the righteous, but, by His goodness, to the entire human race that came from him. The words: “I will never cause anyone to destroy all living flesh,” and “as I have created,” and “all the days,” mean that there will never be such a flood again and such a general destruction will not befall the universe. At the same time (God) also shows the continuity of His goodness; “all the days,” he says, “i.e. I promise forever not to show such anger and not to cause such disorder in the order of the seasons and in the state of the elements? That’s why he added: “Sowing and harvest, winter and heat, summer and spring, day and night will not cease” (Gen. 8:22). This order, he says, will be unchanged, the earth will never stop giving its growth to the human race and rewarding the labors of agriculture; and the seasons will not mix, but cold and heat, summer and spring will have their season. Since during the flood there was a violation of this entire order, and the righteous man spent all this time in the ark as if one (continuous) night, then (God) says: now neither day nor night will leave their course, but their service will be unchanged until the end of the age. Do you see a consolation strong enough to cheer the soul of the righteous? Do you see how he received a reward for his gratitude? Listen in the following words to what inexpressible goodness God showed him. “And God blessed,” it is said, “Noah and his sons, and said to them: grow and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. And your fear 220 and trembling will be on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds 221 of the air, and on everything that moves on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. In your hand, everything is 222. And every moving thing that is alive will be your food: like a herbal potion, I have given you everything. Do not eat the flesh of the blood of your soul” (Gen. 9:1–4). One cannot help but marvel at the immeasurable goodness of the Lord here. Look, in fact, this righteous man is rewarded with the same blessing that Adam was rewarded with, and he regains the dominion lost by Adam through his virtue, or better said, through the ineffable love of the Lord. As (God) said to him: “Grow and multiply, and fill the earth, and rule over it, and subdue the fish of the sea, and the reptiles, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the earth” (Gen. 1:28), so he says now: “And your fear and trembling will be on all the animals of the earth and on all the birds. And every moving thing that is alive will be your food: like a herbal potion, I have given you everything. Don’t eat the meat in the blood of your soul.” Look, the same rule is observed here, only in a different form, as in relation to the first person. Just as there God, having given (Adam) power over everything, and having allowed him to enjoy the fruits of paradise, commanded only to abstain from one tree, so here, having taught (Noah) a blessing and made it terrible for animals and subjugated to him all reptiles and birds, he says: “Everything that moves (that is) alive will be for you to eat: like a herbal potion, I have given you everything.” From this time on, the eating of meat began, not in order to incite people to gluttony, but since they had to sacrifice animals and through this give thanks to the Lord, so that they would not think of abstaining from eating them, as dedicated to God, He gives people permission to eat animals for food, and through this frees them from all bewilderment. “Like a herbal potion,” he says, “I will give you everything.” Then, just as Adam, having allowed him to use everything, God commanded him to abstain from one tree, so here, having allowed him to freely eat everything, he says: “I will grind the meat, but don’t eat it in the blood of my soul.” What do these words mean? What is “meat in the blood of the soul”? This means strangled, because blood is the soul of the animal. 5. So, in view of the fact that people had to sacrifice animals to God over time, He seems to give them the following instruction: the blood is assigned to Me, and the meat to you. And He does this in order to stop the inclination towards murder in them from the very beginning. And that this is true, and that God gives this commandment to people with the intention of making them more meek, listen to the following words: “For your blood,” he says, “of your souls, I will extort it 224 from the hand of every beast, and from the hand of a man’s brother I will extort the soul of a man (Gen. 9:5). What then? Is the human soul in blood? No, this is not what God wants to say, but he expressed it this way according to human custom, as if one person said to another: I hold your blood in my hands, instead of: I have the power to kill you. And that the human soul does not lie in blood, listen to Christ about this, who says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). Look also at what special expression (God) used. “Shed,” he says, “a man’s blood; in the place of his blood, his will be shed 225; for in the image of God I created man” (Gen. 9:6). Think how He increased the fear with this saying. If, he says, neither the sameness of origin stops you, nor the unity of nature keeps you from an evil enterprise, if you, having rejected brotherly sympathy, completely indulge in this vile plan, then think that he (man) was created in the image of God, was awarded such a high priority from God and received power over all of nature, and abandon the evil intention. What, you say, if someone commits countless murders and sheds a lot of blood, will such a person be adequately punished when only his blood is shed? Don’t think like that, my dear, but think about the fact that this person, not long later, will receive an incorruptible body that will be able to endure constant and eternal torment. Notice also the precision with which God pronounced the commandment. About a person he says: “don’t shed blood,” but about the dumb he didn’t say, “don’t shed,” but: “let’s not eat the meat in the blood of the soul.” There – don’t spill it; here – don’t eat. Do you see how light His laws are? How easy and easy to fulfill are His commandments? How does He not demand anything difficult and intolerable from our nature? Others, of course, say that the blood of animals is heavy, earthy and harmful to health; but we must abstain from it not because of this mentality, but for the sake of the commandment of the Lord. Further, so that we truly know why God pronounced this commandment with such precision, to curb, that is, the inclination of people to murder, He says: “But you shall grow and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 9:7). Not without purpose he said: “you”, but as if saying so: you, few, few in number, fill the whole earth and dominate it, i.e. have dominion and power over it, and use it. Look at God’s love for mankind, how He first shows great benefits, and then gives both the law and the commandment. And just as He first settled Adam in Paradise and gave him so many pleasures, and then commanded him to abstain from the tree, so it is here. First, God promised that He would no longer bring such general destruction and would not show such wrath, but would leave all the elements invariably carrying out their course and maintaining their order until the end of time; first he honored them (Noah and his sons) with blessings, gave them their former power over all animals and allowed them to eat them; then he says: “You can’t eat the meat in the blood of your soul.” Do you see how He does good in advance and shows unspeakable generosity, and then gives commandments? But that's not the case with people. People want their orders to be carried out in advance, and for those who receive and carry out their orders to show complete diligence, and then they think about rewarding those who have shown complete obedience. But the Lord who is common to all acts on the contrary: he first does good and attracts our nature to himself with many good deeds, and then gives easy and easy-to-follow commandments, so that we, prompted by both the ease of the commandments and the benefits received, would zealously strive to fulfill them. So, beloved, let us not be careless and negligent regarding the fulfillment of the commandments, reflecting on the previous blessings (of God), and on the ease of the commandments, and on the greatness of the rewards prepared for us for their fulfillment; Let us be vigilant and diligent in fulfilling the commandments given to us by God and will not abandon those paths that He showed to our nature for the salvation of our souls, but, taking advantage, as we should, of the rest of the time of our lives, let us cleanse ourselves of sins and try in advance to acquire for ourselves great boldness, especially now, when part of the Holy Pentecost still remains. 6. Indeed, the remaining number of days will not be enough for us, if only we want, at least a little, to be more diligent. I say this not because it takes only this short time to correct our sins, but because our Lord is humane and merciful, and that He does not need much time; If only we would approach Him with great zeal and readiness, renouncing everything worldly and surrendering to a heavenly attraction. So the Ninevites, burdened with so many sins, as soon as they showed complete and sincere repentance, then in no more than three days they managed to appease God and cancel the sentence pronounced against them (Jonah 3:10). And what can we say about the Ninevites? The thief on the cross did not need even one day. What am I saying – one day? Even for a short hour. Such is God's mercy towards us! When He sees that our determination (to improve) is firm and that we are approaching with fiery zeal, He does not hesitate or put off, but quickly shows us His goodness and says: “Even as I said to you, a river, behold, it has come” (Is. 58:9). So, in these few days, we also decide to show some zeal and make proper use of the benefits of fasting. Leaving carelessness, we will offer up fervent prayers to the Lord, shed hot tears, constantly condemn our sins, show Him our wounds as a doctor and open the ulcers of the soul, ask Him for healing and do everything else that follows us - contrition of heart, deep humility, generous alms, and curb and drive out the passions that disturb our minds from our souls, not indulge selfishness, not to bear grudges against one’s neighbors and not to have a hostile disposition towards one’s brothers. God hates nothing, nothing so much and does not turn away from anything so much as from a person who is vindictive and constantly harbors in his soul enmity towards his neighbors. This sin is so disastrous that it turns God’s love for mankind away from us! And so that you can be convinced of this, I want to remind you of the parable of the Gospel, how one (debtor) received forgiveness from his master of ten thousand talents, because he fell at the master’s feet, asked and begged him. “Having been merciful,” it is said, “his Lord, forgive him and forgive him the debt” (Matthew 18:27). Do you see the mercy of the lord? He, having fallen, asked only to give him a reprieve: “Be patient,” he said, “and I will repay you all” (Matthew 18:26). But the kind, indulgent and humane master, taking pity on the slave, gave him not as much as he asked, but as much as he did not expect. The Lord, as a rule, loves to always exceed and forestall our requests. So, when he begged for a reprieve and promised to pay off the entire debt, the Lord, who overcomes our sins with goodness, took pity, released him and forgave him the debt. Do you see what the slave asked for, and how much the master gave him? Look now at the madness of this slave. After such condescension and the indescribable benefit shown to him, he himself should have become very compassionate towards his brothers, but he does exactly the opposite. “Then he left,” they say, this same (slave) to whom ten thousand talents were forgiven... Listen, I ask you, with attention: what happened to this slave can penetrate to the depths of our soul and force us to pluck this serious illness from our heart. So, “when that servant went out, he found one from his minions, who owed him a hundred penalities” (Matthew 18:28). Look what a difference. Here is a comrade who owes a hundred denarii; there is a gentleman demanding a debt of ten thousand talents. And yet (the master), when he saw that the slave was asking and pleading, he forgave him; and this (slave), “eat him (his comrade), pressing, saying: give me back what you owe me.” What's next? “The scourge is fallen,” they say, “he will be slandered” (Matthew 18:29). Notice how often the evangelist repeats the word “slander him,” this is not without a purpose, but so that we know that there was no difference between them. And yet (the debtor-comrade) turns to his creditor with the same humiliating request with which he himself turned to the master. “Have patience with me,” he says, “and I will repay you everything. He went... put him in prison until he gets his due” (Matthew 18:26, 30). Oh, extreme ingratitude! Having the mercy shown to him still fresh in his memory, even after that he did not want to be compassionate, but first strangled (his comrade), and then put him in prison. Look what happens next. “When he saw it,” says the Scripture, “he slandered him and had compassion... and came and told his master everything that had happened” (Matthew 18:31). Not the victim himself (and how could he, being imprisoned?), but his comrades, although they were not personally insulted, were nevertheless as upset as if they themselves had suffered an insult, and when they came, they told everything (to the master). And look how the master finally got angry. “Then calling him,” says the Scripture, “his master said, “You wicked servant” (Matthew 18:32). Truly, from here you can see how harmful rancor is. When the master demanded (from the slave payment) ten thousand talents, he did not call him evil; now, when this slave turned out to be cruel to his comrade, the master says: “Evil servant, he has forgiven you all the debt, because you begged me” (Matthew 18:32). See how the master accuses the slave of extreme anger. Have you, he says, presented me with anything more than just words? And yet, didn’t I accept your request and didn’t I forgive you all this huge and incalculable debt? “Is it not fitting for you also to have mercy on your minion, as I also had mercy on you” (Matthew 18:33)? How can you deserve forgiveness if I, your lord, forgave you such a large debt because of your words alone (Matthew 18:26), and you did not even take pity on your comrade and brother, did not bow to mercy and did not show compassion for him, remembering the leniency I showed you, but appeared merciless and cruel, and did not want to have mercy on your comrade? So now you will actually find out how much evil you have caused to yourself. “And his Lord was angry, and gave him over as a tormentor” (Matthew 18:34). Look, and now (the master) is angry with the slave and betrays him to the tormentors precisely because of his cruelty to his comrade: what he did not do before, when he owed such a sum, he orders him to do now. “Having betrayed him to the tormentor, he will repay all his debt until then,” until, i.e. the slave will not return the ten thousand talents in which he has already received forgiveness. God’s love for mankind is very great and inexpressible: when He demanded his debt and the debtor asked (for a delay), he forgave him; and when he saw that he had acted cruelly and inhumanely towards his comrade, then he already set a limit to his mercy, letting the debtor know by the very act that he had not so much harmed his comrade as he had harmed himself. Just as he (the slave) threw his (comrade) into prison until he paid the debt, so the master handed him over to the torturers until he paid off the entire debt. This (the Lord) said not just about talents and denarii, but here he meant sins and the severity of (our) iniquities, so that we would know that we, even though we are guilty before the Lord of countless sins, nevertheless, due to His ineffable love for mankind, we receive forgiveness from Him; If we ourselves are cruel and inhumane towards our neighbors and brothers who have the same nature as us, and do not forgive their sins against us, but begin to harbor malice towards them even for these unimportant sins (what does one hundred denarii mean in comparison with ten thousand talents, the same is the sins of our neighbors against us in comparison with our sins against the Lord), then we will incur the wrath of the Lord, and for which we have previously received forgiveness, then again we will have to pay in pain. In fact, so that we know for sure that the Lord offered this parable for our spiritual benefit, listen to what He added: “So will the Heavenly Father do to you, if you do not let each of your brothers let their sins go from your hearts” (Matthew 18:35). And indeed, there is a lot of benefit (maybe for us) from this parable, if only we want to be careful. Do we really have the opportunity to forgive (our neighbors) as much as the Lord forgives us? Moreover, even if we want to forgive, we forgive slaves like us, and we ourselves receive forgiveness from the Lord. Look also at the precision in the words of the Lord. He didn’t just say: if you don’t forgive people their sins, but how? “Do not let each one of your brothers let their sins go from your hearts.” Notice how He desires that our very heart be peaceful and calm, that our spirit be serene and free from all passion, and that we show perfect disposition towards our neighbors. And in another place, listen to what He says: “If you forgive men their sins, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14). Let us not think that by forgiving our neighbor we are showing him a benefit or great mercy; no, we ourselves then receive the benefit, we ourselves derive great benefit from it. Likewise, if we do not forgive our neighbors, then through this we will not do them any harm, but we will prepare for ourselves unbearable hellish torment. Therefore, I ask, knowing this, let us never bear a grudge or harbor enmity towards those who have caused us trouble or any other offense, but, imagining what good deeds and boldness they bring to us before the Lord, and most of all, that reconciliation with those who have offended us atones for our sins, let us hasten and not delay (to make peace with our enemies), and, reflecting on the benefit that comes from it, we will show such disposition towards enemies as if they were our true benefactors. If we are vigilant, then people who are sincerely disposed towards us and try in every possible way to please us will bring us not so much benefit as our disposition towards our enemies: it will make us worthy of Heavenly favor and lighten the burden of our sins. 8. Indeed, beloved, judge what the greatness of this virtue is in relation to the rewards that God has promised in every possible way to those who practice it. He said: “Love your enemies, bless those who persecute, pray for those who harm you”; and, since what was commanded was important and very sublime, he adds: “That you may be like your Father who is in heaven: as his sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the righteous and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45). Do you see who is likened, as much as possible for a person, to someone who not only does not take revenge on those who offend him, but also earnestly prays for them? So, through negligence, let us not deprive ourselves of such great gifts and rewards that surpass any word, but let us strive in every possible way to fulfill this (command), and even by using coercion on ourselves, we will accustom our soul to obey the commandment of God. That’s why I made this exhortation today, proposed a parable and showed the greatness of this virtue (forgiveness of insults) and the abundance of benefits that come from it for us, so that, while there is still time, each of us who has an enemy would try to reconcile him with his kind treatment. And no one tell me: I asked him (the enemy) once or twice, but he did not agree (to make peace). No, if we sincerely want to reconcile, we will not retreat (from the enemy) until we defeat him with our intense requests, until we attract him to ourselves and force him to stop hostility against us. Do we show him any mercy through this? No, the fruits of a good deed pass on to us: by this we attract God’s favor to ourselves, we gain forgiveness of sins for ourselves, and we receive great boldness before the Lord. If we do this, we will be able to approach this Sacred and Terrible Table with a clear conscience, and boldly pronounce those words contained in the (Lord's) Prayer 226. The initiates (faithful) know what I am talking about. Therefore, I leave it to everyone’s conscience to know with what boldness we, having fulfilled this commandment, can pronounce these words at that terrible time (liturgy). If we neglect this commandment, then what kind of condemnation will we be exposed to, acting contrary to our words, daring to pronounce the words of prayer recklessly and frivolously, accumulating for ourselves more and more fire (Gehenna) and arousing the wrath of the Lord against ourselves? I rejoice and admire seeing that you listen to me with pleasure and with your applause show that you are trying to position yourself (to reconcile with your enemies) and carry out this commandment of the Lord. This is the healing of our souls, this is the healing of our wounds, this is the best way to please God, this is the truest distinction of a God-loving soul, when, that is, we do everything for the sake of the Lord’s law and do not succumb to ignoble thoughts, but rise above passions, imagining the blessings God shows us every day. And in fact, no matter how hard we try, we cannot depict even the slightest part of either those blessings that have already been given to us (from God), or those that are daily sent down, or those that are still prepared for us (in the future life), if we want to fulfill His commandments. So, everyone, leaving here, do this task, hasten to it, as to the greatest treasure, and do not hesitate at all. Even if we have to work hard or search, or make a long journey, or overcome any difficulties, we will remove these obstacles. We will only take care of one thing, how we can fulfill the commandment of the Lord and receive a reward for obedience. I know that it is not easy or pleasant to go to someone who is hostile and angry against us, to stand and start talking to him. But if you think about the high dignity of this commandment, the greatness of the reward and the fact that the benefit from this good deed is not directed to him, but to you, then everything will seem easy and convenient to you. So, keeping this in our thoughts, let us overcome the (bad) habit and fulfill the commandments of Jesus Christ with a reverent disposition, so that we and from Him may receive rewards, by the grace and love of His goodness, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Zlat.: τῳ῀ Κυρίῳ according to Lucian. sp. and ev. text, instead of: τῳ῀ Θεῳ῀ by Alex. sp. etc. Zlat.: Κύριος without ὁ Θεὸς - God, according to Heb. text (Jehovah) and Bodleian. sp. and contrary to Alex., Lucian. and other sp., where Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς - “Lord God.” Read here in most of the lists τῳ῀ Θεῳ῀ by Zlat. cannot be read according to Moskov. Sp. 9th century Those. in comparison with Christians enlightened by the purest teaching of the Lord Jesus. Zlat.: ἐκ νεότητος without αὐτοῦ – “him” according to some of the Greek. lists, including with Alex. and – Dorof., and contrary to Lucian. and ev. the text where this αὐτοῦ is read. Zlat.: ἔτι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς γῆς, and refers these words to Art. 21. contrary to the Greek lists and editions, as well as the Vulgate and Hebrew. the text, where they form the beginning of the 22nd article; for understanding the meaning of Holy Scripture, this difference does not matter, however: the idea of ​​​​the non-repetition of the flood when referring the above words to Art. 21 or 22. remains unchanged. The word ἔτι – “to whom, yet”, corresponding to Hebrew. “od”, which begins the 22nd article, is read in rare Greek. sp. and is absent from Lucian's. Zlat.: ὁ τρόμος ὑμῶν καὶ ὁ φόβος according to Alex. and Cottonian. sp. and contrary to Lucian. and ev. t., where ὁ τρόμος ὑμῶν καὶ ὁ φόβος ὑμῶν – “your fear and your trembling.” Zlat.: τὰ ὄρνεα; in Lucian. sp. τὰ πετεινὰ . Zlat.: πάντα according to sp. Dorothea; in Lucian. according to Heb. the text is not readable. Next, the saint lists the animals given over to human power, in a slightly different order than in the 10th conversation, namely: καὶ τῶν ῦρπετῶς. καὶ πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς . Zlat.: ἐκζητήσω αὐτὸ ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν θηρίων in general agreement with Lucian. sp. (the only difference is the word order) and contrary to Alex. sp. and ev. text, where: ἐκζητήσω ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν θηρίων ἐκζητήσω αὐτὸ – “I will require; I will exact it from the hand of all beasts.” Zlat.: ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ τὸ αὐτοῦ. This remarkable reading, in meaning, is completely consistent with the Slavic translation (“in its place it will be poured”), and was not found in the ancient Greek. sp. translations of 70, not excluding Lucian., where the words are omitted: τὸ αὐτοῦ; it is also found in the Complutensian polyglot and in the Sirian hexaplar translation (according to Field Origenis Hexapla), - in Heb. Masor. i.e. this place (“by man or: by man’s hand his blood will be shed”) has a meaning that is less acceptable. those. words: “And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.” You might be interested in: