Беседа XLII

“The men stood up 375 and looked at the face of Sodom and Gomorrah” (Gen. 18:16). In yesterday's reading we saw, beloved, the great hospitality of the righteous; Today, continuing further, we learn again about the power of love and compassion of the forefather. Every virtue reached the highest perfection in this righteous man; he was not only loving, not only hospitable and compassionate, but also showed all other virtues in abundance. Do you need to give an example of patience? You will find that he has reached extreme heights here. Or (an example of) humility? Again you will see that here he does not lag behind anyone, but rather surpasses everyone. Do you need to show faith? And in this respect he again became more famous than anyone else. His soul in living images represents various types of virtue. What excuse can we find for ourselves when one (this) person has all the virtues in himself, and we are so empty in ourselves that we do not care about a single one? After all, we are poor in good deeds not because we cannot, but because we do not want (to do good); and a clear proof of this is that many of people similar to us by nature shine with virtues. And the very fact that the forefather, who lived both before grace and before the law, by himself, with the help of natural reason alone, reached such a degree of virtue, this deprives us of any excuse. True, maybe someone will say that this man enjoyed special care from God, and that the Lord of all showed wonderful providence for him? Indeed it is; and I admit it. But if, for his part, he himself had not first done what depended on him, he could not have enjoyed such care from the Lord. So, do not look at this alone 376, but, in every circumstance of his life, pay attention to how the forefather himself first showed his own virtue in everything and then received favor and help from God. I have drawn your attention to this more than once. Thus, when he was resettled from his native land, having not received any seeds of piety from his ancestors, he himself showed in himself a great love for God. And then, as soon as he moved from Chaldea and immediately received the command to go from his own land to someone else’s, he did not hesitate, did not postpone (until another time), but immediately fulfilled the command, and not even knowing where his wandering would end, he strove for the unknown as for the known, honoring the command of God above all else. You see how from the very beginning he himself was the first to do for his part what was due, and then each time there followed an abundant reward of benefits from God. In the same way, beloved ones, if we want to enjoy favor from above, we will be jealous of our forefather and will not shy away from virtue, but, having assimilated each of the virtues, we will strive in it with such zeal that we will incline the Eye that never slumbers from above to reap the reward. And the One who guides our innermost thoughts, as soon as he sees that we demonstrate a sound mind and strive diligently in virtue, immediately and from Himself gives help, easing our labors, strengthening the weakness of our nature and giving us generous rewards. You won't find anything like this at Olympic competitions. The wrestling teacher stands there, remaining only a spectator of the wrestlers, and cannot do anything else, but only waits to see which side will win. Our Lord is not like this: He Himself helps us, and stretches out His hand, and fights with us together, and, as if He Himself, defeating the enemy on all sides, betrays him into our hands, does and arranges everything so that we can withstand the struggle and win, and He can place an unfading crown on our head. “For you will receive a crown of graces,” it is said, “on your face” (Proverbs 1:9). The crown received after victory at the Olympic competitions consisted of nothing more than laurel leaves, applause and popular shouts, and all this, with the onset of evening, withered and died. But the crown for virtue and labor for its sake is not sensual, it is not destroyed, like everything else in this world; this is an unchanging, immortal crown, abiding for all ages. Labor is only for a short time, but the reward for labor has no end, does not yield to the power of time, and does not fade. And to convince you of this, look here: how many years and how many generations have passed since the time when the forefather (Abraham) lived, and yet his crowns for virtue shine as if only yesterday or today they began to shine, and until the end of the world he will serve for the edification of all pious people. 2. So, having such an example of virtue in the person of the patriarch, let us imitate him. Let us finally, although it is too late, remember our dignity, and imitating our forefather, let us think about our salvation, let us make every effort so that not only our body is healthy, but so that our soul is healed from its various ailments. And it is even more convenient for us to heal the illnesses of the soul than the illnesses of the body, if only we want to be abstinent and watchful. So, if we are outraged by some passion, but with a pious mind we imagine the future day of the Last Judgment and we have in mind not real pleasures, but the torment that follows them, then the passion will immediately retreat from our soul and leave it. Let us not be careless, but knowing that we have a feat and struggle ahead of us, and that we need to be ready for battle, let us constantly keep our spirit strong and vigorous, so that, using help from above, we can erase the head of the evil beast, i.e. I mean - a slanderer against our salvation. The Lord himself promised us this, saying: “Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion, and on all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). So, I beg you, let us be vigilant, so that, walking in virtue in the footsteps of this forefather, we may be rewarded with crowns like his, rest in his bosom and, having escaped the eternal fire, be rewarded with future ineffable blessings. And in order to make you more jealous and excite you to imitate this righteous man, let us begin again a conversation for your love about the events of his life, which follow in order. So, after that generous hospitality, valuable not for the quality or quantity of food, but for diligence, the Lord, accepting with favor the cordiality of the righteous man, immediately rewarded him for his love of hospitability. Meanwhile, the forefather learned who the One who had come was and what His power was, and when the strangers set out to rush from there to destroy Sodom, he followed them, “seeing them off,” as it is said (Gen. 18:16). Look now how loving the Lord is, what condescension He makes to the righteous, showing him honor and at the same time wanting to reveal all the virtue hidden in his soul. “And the men stood up,” it is said, “and looked upon the face of Sodom and Gomorrah” (Gen. 18:16). This is said about the Angels, because here, in the booth of Abraham, both the Angels and their Lord appeared together. But then the Angels, as ministers, were sent to destroy those cities, and the Lord remained to talk with the righteous, as a friend talks to a friend, about what he intended to do. So, when the Angels left, “the Lord said (said in Scripture): I will not hide from Abraham My servant what I do” 377 (Gen. 18:17). What a great condescension of God, and how this honor shown to the righteous surpasses all words! See how He talks with a righteous man just like a man with a man like himself, showing us by this what honor virtuous people are awarded by God. And lest you think that such great honor for a righteous man is a matter of God’s goodness alone, look how Divine Scripture teaches us that the righteous man himself deserved such an honor, fulfilling the commandments of God with complete obedience. Namely, the Lord, having said: “I will not hide from Abraham my servant what I do,” does not immediately speak about what was to happen; otherwise He should have added and said that He intends to burn Sodom. However, you also need to pay attention to this (because you should not ignore a single word, not a single feature in everything that is contained in the Divine Scripture): how much honor do you think there is in these very words: “Abraham my servant?” What love, what kindness! In these particular words lies all the advantage and all the honor of the righteous. Then (as I already mentioned), having said: “I will not hide it,” he does not immediately add and say what will happen, but what? So that we know that it is not without reason and not in vain that He shows such great concern for the forefather, the Lord says: “Abraham will become a great and plentiful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of him: for I have commanded my sons, and their households in themselves, and keep the ways of the Lord God 378, to do righteousness and justice, for the Lord will bring all things upon Abraham, greatness of the verb to him” (Gen. 18:18–19). Oh, how great is the Lord’s love for mankind! Since after this He intended to speak about the destruction of Sodom, He first encourages the forefather, announcing to him the greatest blessing, that is, that he “will be great in tongue,” and at the same time shows him that he will receive such a reward for his God-loving heart. Think about the virtue of the forefather when God himself says: “For I have commanded my sons to keep the ways of the Lord.” This is the great reward for virtue! Not only does the forefather receive rewards for the fact that he himself labored in virtue, but he also receives generous reward for the fact that he commanded the same virtues to his descendants. Thus, for the future, he became a mentor for everyone, because whoever lays the first foundation and begins a work will be the culprit of what subsequently happens from this work. 3. See the goodness of the Lord! He rewards the righteous not only for virtues already performed, but also for those expected in the future. “We know,” he says, “as a commandment to my son.” I, he says, know in advance the intentions of this righteous man and warn him with reward. Thus, the Lord knows our innermost thoughts, and when He sees that we desire what is due and show sanity in ourselves, He stretches out His hand to us and rewards us before our labors, thereby rousing us to greater zeal. And this can be seen in the lives of all the righteous. Knowing the weakness of human nature, He, so that we do not lose heart in hard work, often gives us help and rewards in the midst of our labors, both making our work easier and intensifying our jealousy. “For this,” he says, “I have given this commandment to my sons, and they will keep the ways of the Lord.” It is not only about him that the “commandment” predicts, but also about his sons, meaning Isaac and Jacob, that they will “keep the ways of the Lord.” “The ways of the Lord”, i.e. commandments, commandments. “Create,” he says, “truth and justice,” i.e. to prefer nothing to the truth, to be alien to all untruth. This is the greatest virtue, and for this reason everything that the Lord had announced to him had to be accomplished. I think, however, that He had something else in mind when He said: “But Abraham, when he was, would be great and plentiful.” As if He said this: you, who have loved virtue, obeyed all My commands and shown all obedience, you will be “great and plentiful in language”; and those lawless people living in the country of Sodom will all be destroyed, because just as virtue serves as a means of salvation for those who strive in it, so vice is the cause of destruction. Now, having awakened the righteous to greater boldness (faith) with blessings and praises, God begins to reveal His destinies to him and says: “The cry of Sodom and Gomora is multiplied to Me, and their sins are great: I will come down and see that if by their cry that comes to Me they are accomplished, but if not, I understand” (Gen. 18:20-21). A terrible saying! “The cry,” he says, “is Sodom and Gomora.” Although some others were destroyed along with these cities, but since these were the most glorious, the Lord mentioned them in particular. “Multiply to me, and their sins will be great.” Look how evil has grown there! There is a great multitude not only of outcry, but also of untruths, because the words: “The outcry of Sodom and Gomora has multiplied,” means, I think, that along with the well-known unspeakable and unforgivable iniquity, they committed many other untruths: the strongest rebelled against the weakest, the rich against the poor. So, it is said, not only is their cry great, but their sins are not just any ordinary ones, but “great and great.” They invented a hitherto unknown lawlessness, invented an unnatural obscene mixture and were so inclined towards evil that they were all filled with all kinds of depravity and no longer showed any possibility of correction, but had to undergo complete extermination. Their passions, having become incurable, no longer accepted any medicine. However, admonishing the entire human race that even if someone’s sins were very great and known, there is no need to pronounce judgment on them before obvious evidence is presented, (the Lord) says: “I will come down and see if they are committed according to their cry that comes to Me, but if not, I understand.” What kind of device is this in words? “I’ll come down,” he says, “I’ll see.” Does the God of all things move from place to place? No, it won't! This is not what He expresses, but, as I have often said, in a sensual way of expression He wants to instill in us that we must have great caution, and not condemn those who have sinned only by hearing, and not pronounce a sentence without evidence. Yes, we all hear this: after all, not only those sitting at the judgment seats are obliged to observe this law, but each of us should never condemn our neighbor based on one empty slander. Therefore, subsequently, blessed Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exhorted, saying: “Do not accept vain hearing” (Ex. 23:1). And blessed Paul cried out in his letter: “Why do you condemn your brother” (Rom. 14:10)? And Christ, giving commandments to His disciples and teaching the Jewish people, the scribes and Pharisees, said: “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Why, He says, do you steal the dignity of the Judge ahead of time? Why are you warning that (future) terrible day? Do you want to be a judge? Be a judge over yourself and over your sins. No one is stopping you from doing this, but meanwhile you will correct your sins in this way, and will not suffer any harm from it. If, forgetting about yourself, you sit as a judge over others, then you insensitively accumulate for yourself only large burdens of sins. So we, I beg you, will in every possible way avoid judging our neighbors. Although you do not have judicial power, but condemn only with your thoughts, you nevertheless become guilty of sin when, having no evidence, you condemn, as often happens, based on mere suspicion and empty slander. That is why blessed David exclaimed: “Whoever slanders his sincere secret, I will drive him out” (Ps. 100:5). 4. Do you see the superiority of virtue? Not only did David not accept what they said to him about others, but he also drove away those who wanted to slander his brother. So, if we also want to reduce our sins, we will be most careful not to condemn our brothers, and not to allow those who invent slander against them to come to us, or, even better, to drive them away from us, following the example of the prophet, and completely turn away from them. This, I think, is also expressed by the prophet Moses, with the words: “Do not accept vain rumors.” That is why in the present case, for the benefit of our souls, the Lord of all things used such a sensual image of expression and said: “I will come down... I will see.” How could it be otherwise? Did He really not know? Didn’t he really know all the multitude of sins? Didn’t he really understand the complete incorrigibility of those who fell into sins? But He showed such long-suffering, as if justifying itself in advance to those who would later want to shamelessly accuse Him, 379 denouncing their frivolity and great poverty of virtue. Or maybe not only for this (He did so), but also in order to give the righteous an opportunity to show compassion and the power of love (for his neighbors) in his soul. So the Angels, as before said, went to Sodom; and the forefather stood before the Lord (Gen. 18:22). “And when he drew near,” it is said, “Abram said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked, and the righteous will be like the wicked” (Gen. 18:23)? O boldness of the righteous! Or better yet - oh, the compassion of the soul! He, in an excess of compassion, does not even seem to understand what he is saying. And the Divine Scripture, showing that he uses his intercession with great fear and trembling, says: “As Abraham approached, he said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?” What are you doing, blessed forefather? Does the Lord need your intercession not to do this? But let's not think like that. And in fact Abraham does not speak as if the Lord really wanted to do this; but not daring to speak directly about his nephew, he makes a general prayer for everyone, wanting to save him with the others, and with him to save others (from destruction). And so he begins to intercede and says: “If there are fifty righteous women in the city, will I destroy? Would you not spare the whole place of fifty for the sake of the righteous, if they were in it? But if you do this verb 380, if you kill the righteous with the wicked, then the righteous will be like the wicked: but if you judge all the earth, will you not execute judgment” (Gen. 18:24-25)? See how in his very intercession he expresses his pious spirit, confesses God as the Judge of all the earth and recognizes it as just that the righteous should not perish along with the wicked. And the Merciful and Humane-loving God bows to his prayer and says: I will do as you say, and accept your petition: “If 381 fifty righteous women are found in the city, for their sake I will leave the whole place” (Gen. 18:26). To fifty, he says, if they can be found, I will grant the salvation of the rest, and I will fulfill your request. Then the righteous man, feeling bold and taking advantage of God’s love for mankind, goes further in his request and says: “Now I have begun to speak to my Lord, for I am earth and ashes” (Gen. 18:27). Do not judge me, Lord, he says, as if I do not know myself and transgress boundaries, allowing myself such great boldness: I know that I am earth and ashes. But just as I know and clearly understand this, I also know that Your love for mankind is great, that You are rich in mercy and want to save all people. Having created (people) from nothingness, would You really ever want to destroy them, already existing, if the multitude of their sins were not great? Therefore, again I ask and pray: “If fifty righteous women decrease to fourty-five, will you destroy the whole city for the sake of forty-five? And he said: Though the forty-five be found, I will not destroy” (Gen. 18:28). Who will adequately praise the God of all for such long-suffering and forbearance, or who will sufficiently please the righteous man who received such boldness? “And add,” it is said, “another verb, and say: what if the forty will be found there? And he said: I will not destroy for the sake of the fourty” (Gen. 18:29). Then, as if fearing to experience the inexpressible long-suffering of God any longer and fearing not to seem to be overstepping the boundaries and not to go further with his intercession than is proper, he says: “What, Lord, if I say: if the thirty are found there” (Gen. 18:30)? Since he saw that God bows to mercy, he no longer began to reduce it by much and, having reduced the number of the righteous not by five, but by ten, he continues his intercession in this way and says: “Shall thirty be found there? And he said: I will not destroy if I find there thirty” (ibid.). Look at the perseverance of the righteous! He is so diligently concerned about saving the people of Sodom from the execution that threatens them, as if he himself had to undergo the same condemnation. “And he said: the imam still speaks to the Lord. What if twenty will be found there? And he said: I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty” (Gen. 18:31). Such goodness of the Lord is beyond every word and every mind! Who of us, living among countless evils, pronouncing judgment on people like ourselves, would show such condescension and philanthropy? 5. But this righteous man, seeing such riches of God’s love for mankind, does not stop yet, but says again: “What, Lord, if I should say one more time” (Gen. 18:32)? Having experienced the inexpressible long-suffering of God and fearing that he might further incite the One before whom he interceded for others to anger against himself, the forefather says: “What, Lord?” Am I being reckless? Am I showing something shameless? Shall I not do a deed worthy of condemnation, “if I say one more?” But according to Your great goodness, accept from me one more prayer: “What if ten will be found there? And he said: I will not destroy ten for the sake of ten.” And since the forefather said beforehand, “I will speak one more time,” then “the Lord departed,” it is said, “as if He ceased speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place” (Gen. 18:33). Do you see all the condescension of the Lord? Do you see the ardent love of the righteous? Do you now understand what the power of people who strive in virtue is? “If they are found,” says (the Lord), “ten righteous people,” for their sake I grant forgiveness of sins to all. So, wasn’t it true when I said that all this happened with the goal of not leaving any pretext for reproach to those who would talk shamelessly (about these events)? After all, there are many madmen with an unbridled tongue who want to reproach (the judgment of God) and say: “Why was Sodom burned? They 382 perhaps would have repented if they had been shown long-suffering.” That is why God shows such an increase in evil and such a decline in virtue in such a multitude of people that a second flood was needed, the same as the one that previously covered the universe. Only in view of God’s promise that such punishment will not be repeated, God now uses another type of execution, punishing the Sodomites together, and giving all subsequent generations an eternal lesson in this. They perverted the laws of nature and invented a strange and illegal mixture. Therefore, God brought upon them an extraordinary kind of execution, striking the very bowels of the earth for their iniquity, 383 and leaving a permanent monument for subsequent generations so that they would not dare to do similar things and would not be subjected to the same execution. Anyone who wishes can visit these places and see this land, so to speak, flagrant and showing traces of execution: after so many years, the wrath (of God) is so clearly revealed on it, as if execution struck it only yesterday or this morning. Therefore, I beg you, let us understand by the example of others, seeing the execution that befell them. But perhaps someone else will say: what is this? If they are punished in this way, are there not many now who commit the same lawlessness as them, and yet are not punished? Maybe, but for that an even greater punishment awaits such lawless people. Of course, if we are neither enlightened by what befell the Sodomites, nor do we turn God’s long-suffering to our advantage, then think how much more strongly we ignite the future unquenchable fire for ourselves and how fiercely we are preparing for ourselves a worm! On the other hand, there are now, by the grace of God, many virtuous people who, like their forefather then, can propitiate the Lord; and if we, looking at ourselves and seeing our own carelessness, rightly recognize (in the world) the great impoverishment of virtue, then for the virtues of these people God also shows long-suffering to others. And that the boldness of such people really is for us the reason for God’s long-suffering, be convinced of the fact that in this very story God says to the forefather: “If I find ten righteous people, I will not destroy the city.” And what do I say - ten righteous? In Sodom no one was found free from iniquity, except one righteous Lot and his two daughters. His wife, perhaps, for his sake, escaped execution in the city, but was subsequently punished for her negligence. Now, according to the ineffable love of God, works of piety have increased and in the cities there are many people who can propitiate God; others hide in the mountains and caves. And the virtue of these people, even if not many, can cover the sins of many, because the goodness of the Lord is great, and He often, for the sake of the righteous few, deigns to grant salvation to many. But what am I saying - for the sake of the righteous few? Often, when he does not find a single righteous person in this life, He propitiates those who live for the sake of the virtue of the dead and proclaims thus: “I will defend this city 384 for My sake, and David for the sake of My servant” (2 Kings 19:34). Although they, he says, are unworthy of salvation, and in no way deserve deliverance from misfortune, but as it is characteristic of Me to show love for mankind, and as I am always ready to have mercy and deliver (people) from troubles, then for Myself and for David, My servant, I will create salvation for them. Thus, this man 385, who had passed away from this life so many years earlier, becomes the author of salvation for people who were perishing from their own carelessness. Do you see the Lord’s love for mankind, how He honors men who shine with virtue, how He prefers and contrasts them with the whole multitude of other people? That’s why Paul said: “I came in sheepskins and goatskins, deprived, sorrowful, embittered, of whom the world is not worthy” (Heb. 11:37-38). This whole world, he says, with the entire universe, does not have equal value with those who, for the sake of God, spend their lives in sorrow, in bitterness, in nakedness, in wandering, or in caves. 6. So, beloved, when you see a person, outwardly dressed in poor clothes, but inside clothed with virtue, do not disparage him for his outward appearance, but observe his spiritual wealth and inner light, and then you will see shining virtue in him from everywhere. Such was the blessed Elijah: he had only one mantle; but Achaav, clothed in purple, needed his mantle. Do you see from here Achaav's poverty and Elijah's wealth? Look at the difference in their power: Elijah’s mantle closed the sky, stopped the flow of rain; and one word of the prophet was like a bond for the sky, so that for three years and six months there was no rain; and dressed in purple and a diadem, he walked around looking for a prophet, and could not receive any benefit from his such great power. But look how loving the Lord is: how soon He saw that the prophet, moved by jealousy and great zeal, had brought such a great execution on the whole earth, so that he himself would not be exposed to disaster from this execution and would not suffer like the wicked, he said to him: “Rising up, go 386 to Zarephath of Sidon, for there I will command the widowed wife to nourish you. And he arose and went” (1 Kings 17:9–10) 387. Notice, beloved, the grace of the Spirit. And yesterday our whole conversation was limited to love of strangeness; And today this strange-loving widow will conclude our word. And he came, they say, to the widow and found her gathering wood and said to her: give me a little water “and I will drink” (1 Kings 17:10) 388. She obeyed. And he said to her again: Make me unleavened bread, “and yam” (1 Kings 17:11) 389. And then she reveals her extreme poverty, or better (to say) - inexpressible wealth, because the increase in poverty showed the greatness of wealth. She said: (nothing) your servant has but “a handful of flour... and a little oil in a swagger: I and the children will be stricken and die” (1 Kings 17:12) 390. Pathetic words that can bend even the stony soul! There is no longer any hope of salvation left for us, she says; death at the door; this is only one 391 and is left with us to support life; and even then it will hardly be enough for me and my children. I did what was possible: I served water. But so that we know both the strangeness of this wife and the great power (of faith) in the righteous man, look what happened. When the prophet learned all this, then, in order to reveal to us the virtue of the wife (because God, who said, “As the commandments of a woman should nourish you,” in this case he himself acted through the prophet), says to her: “Make me first and yam, and then your children” (1 Kings 17:13). Listen to this - you wives, surrounded by abundance of wealth: you exhaust your excess on many useless things and, among all your pleasures, do not want to throw two obols to the needy, or to any of the virtuous men who suffer poverty for the sake of God. And this wife had nothing else but a handful of flour, and expected, according to her reasoning, to soon see the death of her children, but she heard from the prophet - “Do it to me first, and then to you and your child” - and was not upset, did not hesitate - she immediately fulfilled the order, teaching us all to prefer the servants of God to our own peace and not to ignore such favorable cases, but to remember that for this there will be great things for us retribution. Look at this widow: for one handful of flour and a little oil she acquired an inexhaustible granary for herself. After all, after feeding the prophet, neither a handful of flour, nor a swagger of oil, became scarce from her, while the whole earth was perishing from hunger. It is also wonderful and amazing that at that time she had no need to work, but always had flour and oil ready; did not need either agriculture or the work of oxen, and did not know any other care; but with her everything obviously happened supernaturally. And while the king, wearing a diadem, was in a hopeless situation - under the yoke of hunger; the poor widow, herself deprived of everything, began to live in constant abundance because she accepted the prophet. That is why Christ said: “Receive a prophet in the name of the prophet; he will receive the reward of the prophet” (Matthew 10:41). You saw yesterday what benefits the forefather received, showing generous hospitality with great zeal. Look at this Sidonian woman, who suddenly acquired indescribable wealth when the word of the prophet, who held heaven in her power, made a handful of flour and a swagger of oil inexhaustible for her. 7. Let us all imitate her - both husbands and wives! I would like to excite you to imitate the zeal and virtue of the prophet; but this will seem to you beyond your strength, although he was a man, clothed with flesh like us, and had the same nature as us; but he was rewarded with grace from above because he did everything that depended on him in abundance and (most of all) loved virtue. So, let us first imitate at least this woman (of Sarepta); and then little by little we will reach the point of imitating the prophet. Let us imitate her love of strangeness, and let no one plead your poverty. No matter how poor anyone is, it cannot be poorer than this wife: she had food for only one day, but even in this state she did not hesitate to fulfill the request of the righteous man, but showed great zeal, and for this she received a quick reward. Such are the works of God: for little, God usually gives much. Tell me, please, what did she sacrifice and how much did she receive later? But our Lord usually values ​​not the quantity (of what is offered), but spiritual zeal, in which even the small becomes great, and vice versa: the great often decreases when it is not done with cordial readiness. Thus, the widow mentioned in the Gospel, when many put a lot into the treasury (church), putting two mites, surpassed everyone, not because she sacrificed more than others, but because she showed her zeal with all her soul. Others, it is said, did this out of their abundance, but she put in everything that she had 392. Let us, husbands, at least imitate our wives, and not show ourselves worse than them; Let us not only take care of spending all our wealth on our own pleasures, but we will also take care of caring for those in need, and we will do this with zeal and pleasure. A farmer, throwing seeds into the ground, does it not with sorrow, but with joy and joy, and leaves his seeds in the ground with such confidence, as if he were already seeing the sheaves. So you too, beloved, do not look at what the poor man receives from you and what costs he puts you into, but imagine that Another accepts from your hands what you do for the poor man standing in front of you; and this Other is not some ordinary person, but the Lord of all, the Lord of all, the Creator of heaven and earth. And your expenses become an acquisition, and not only do not reduce your estate, but increase it even more, if only you do it with faith and joyful zeal. I will say about the highest good: in addition to other gains from such expenses, you are also given remission of sins; and what can compare with this blessing? So, if we want to be enriched with true wealth, and along with wealth to receive forgiveness of sins, then we will transfer our property into the hands of those in need, we will send it to heaven, where neither a thief, nor a robber, nor the crime of a slave, nor anything else can damage our wealth. That country is above all such evil. Only let us do this not out of vanity, but according to the commandments of God, trying not to gain praise from people, but from the Lord who is common to all: otherwise we will incur costs and lose gains, because the wealth transferred to heaven by the hands of the poor, becoming inaccessible to all other slander, can be destroyed by vanity alone. Just as moths and worms harm clothing, so the wealth collected in heaven by alms is harmed by vanity. Therefore, I beg: not only will we do alms, but we will also do it with caution, so that for small things we may receive great blessings, for corruptible things - incorruptible, for temporary things - eternal, and so that, in addition to all this, we may receive remission of sins and eternal ineffable blessings, which may we all be worthy to inherit by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy One and the Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Read here in all Greek copies ἐκεῖθεν - “from there” is omitted from Chrysostom, of course, because this saying, pointing to the place of the Epiphany, without a special explanation would not be clear in the text with which the saint began his conversation. That is, that Abraham saw such a wondrous providence of God above him. According to Lucian. and other sp. and contrary to Alex. sp. and ev. t.: μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ Αβραὰμ τοῦ παιδός μου, ἅ ἐγὼ ποιῶ ; with which the glory agrees. trans.: “I will hide food from Abraham My servant, even as I do.” Τοὕς ὁδούς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ according to some. Greek lists, for example Zittavian (according to “de Lagarde”. Genesis graece), and contrary to Lucian. sp., where, as in Hebrew. i.e., τοῦ Θεοῦ is absent, with which the glory is consistent. translation: “the ways of the Lord”; see, however, further, a few lines later, where Chrysostom reads: “the ways of the Lord,” without replenishment: τοῦ Θεοῦ. those. lack of patience and justice. Οὐ ποιήσεις τὸ ρῆμα τοῦτο according to Lucian. and other sp. and contrary to Alex. sp. and ev. text, where instead it reads: οὐ ποιήσεις ὡς τὸ ρῆμα τοῦτο; The Slavs agree with the latter. translation: “thou shalt do according to this verb.” ᾿Εὰν εὐρεθῶσι πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι ἐν τει according to sp. Dorotheus and contrary to Lucian., where it reads: ἐὰν ῶσιν ἐν Σοδομοις πεντήκ. δίκαιοι, with which the glory agrees. Translation: “if there be fifty righteous women in Sodomech.” Of course, the barrenness of the earth and the deadness of nature, hitherto visible on the shores of the Dead Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah were located and consumed by fire. Words: τοῦ σῶσαι αὐτὴν – “to save him”, read in Alex. sp. and ev. t., Chrysostom does not have. The event from the story of the prophet Elijah is conveyed here by the saint not literally according to the text of the book. Kings, but abbreviated, partly in their own words, partly in the words of Scripture, which therefore differ from each other in their twofold outline. Zlat.: ᾿Εγεπθεὶς πορεύθητι εἰς Σαρεπτὰ τῆς Σιδωνίας. ᾿Εκεῖ γὰρ ἐντελοῦμαι γιναικί χήπᾳ τοῦ διατρέφειν σε. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη instead of the usual reading: ᾿Ανάστηθι καὶ πορεύου... ἰδοὺ ἐντέταλμαι ἐκεῖ γυναικὶ... Καὶ ἀνέστη... καὶ ἐπορεύθη - “get up and go... for the sake of the commandments there to your wife. And rise and go" (Slav. B.) Zlat.: Καὶ παρεγένετο, φησὶ, πρὸς τὴν χήραν καὶ εῦ´ρεν αὐτὴν ?? πίομαι; instead, according to the Sistine edition, with which the Slavs here agree verbatim. translation, reads: καὶ ῆ´λθεν εἰς τὸν πυλῶνα τῆς πόλεως. καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ γυνὴ χήρα συνέλεγε ξύλα : καὶ ἐβόησεν ὀπίσω αὐτῆς ᾿Ηλιοὺ καὶ εῖ´πεν αὐτῇ, λάβε δή μοι ὀλιγον ὕδωρ εἰς ἄγγος καὶ πίομαι. Zlat.: ῾Η δὲ ὑπήκουσε. Καὶ φησι πρὸς αὐτὴν πάλιν: Ποἱησόν μοι ἐγκρυφίας καὶ φάγομαι by Sistine. the publication reads instead: εῖ´πεν, λήψῃ δή μοι ψωμὸν ἄρτου τοῦ ἐν τῇ χειρί σου, καὶ φάγομαι; these last words are read only in some way. Greek lists and between them in Lucian., and according to him in the Slavs. B.; in ancient times Vatican. and Alex. sp., according to Heb. i.e., they are not readable. Zlat.: ῾Η δέ φησιν: οὐκ ἔστι τῇ δούλῃ σου, εἰ μὴ δρὰξ ἀλεύρου ; καὶ ὀλίγον ἔλαιον ἐν τῷ καμψάκῃ καὶ φαγόμεθα ἐγώ τε καὶ τἀ παιδία καὶ ἀποθαζούμεθα ; this corresponds to this in the named edition: ἐγκρυφίας, ἀλλ᾿ ἠ ὅσον δρὰξ ἀλεύρου ἐν τῇ ὑδρίᾳ, καὶ ὀλίγον ἔλαιον ἐν τῷ καψάκῃ: καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ συλλέξω δύο ξυλάρια, καὶ εἰσελεύσομαι καὶ ποιήσω αὐτὸ ἐμαυτῇ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις μου, καὶ φαγόμεθα καὶ ἀποθανούμεθα ; The Slavs are in complete agreement with this latest reading. translation. Those. a handful of flour and a little oil. Οἱ μἐν γὰρ ἄλλοι ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς τοῦτο ἐποίουν αὔτη δε ἅπαντα ἅπερ ἐκέκτητο ἔβαλεν, says Chrysostom, conveying the words of the Savior in his own words, since the latter are conveyed in both Mark (Mark 12:44) and Luke (Luke 21:4) in slightly different terms. You might be interested in: