Беседа XLIII

“And two angels came to Sodom at evening” (Gen. 19:1). 1. Just as a blooming meadow presents to the eye various and varied flowers, so the Divine Scripture shows us the virtues of the righteous - not, however, so that we only briefly enjoy their fragrance, as we (enjoy) the fragrance of flowers, but so that we constantly collect fruits from here for our own benefit. There, as soon as we take flowers in our hands, they soon fade and lose their pleasantness. But here it is not so: by perceiving with our ears the virtues of the righteous and storing them in the depths of our hearts, we can, at any time, if we want, enjoy their fragrance. So, if such is the fragrance (of the virtues) of the saints depicted in the Divine Scripture, then today let us experience the fragrance of Lot’s virtues in order to find out exactly how communication with the forefather (Abraham) elevated this righteous man to the extreme heights of virtue, and how (following) in the footsteps of the forefather, he himself shows his love of strangeness in practice. But to make our word clearer, it is better to listen to the very words of Scripture: “And two angels came to Sodom in the evening,” it says. Why does Scripture begin like this: “And two angels came to Sodom at evening”? – After the (Angels) were received by the forefather and left him, the caring and humane Lord, who, according to His characteristic goodness, then appeared in the form of a man, remained to talk with the forefather, as you heard yesterday, wanting to teach us all about His extreme patience and the fiery love of the forefather. Meanwhile, the Angels rushed to Sodom. So, Divine Scripture, observing the order of the narrative, now says: “And two angels came to Sodom in the evening” in order to fulfill the command (of God). Notice the accuracy and prudence of the Divine Scripture, how it signifies to us the very time at which (the Angels) came; it says (that it was) “in the evening.” What is the time designated for? And why exactly did they come in the evening? In order to show us how great was Lot's love of strangeness. Just as the forefather, sitting at midday (at the door of the tent), watched those passing by, so to speak, caught them, ran up to meet the travelers and received them with great joy, so righteous Lot, knowing the extreme corruption of the inhabitants of Sodom, did not omit even the evening time, but waited even until that time to see if he would encounter some treasure, and whether he could reap the fruits of his love of hospitability. Truly, one must be amazed at the greatness of the virtue of this righteous man - how, being among such lawless people, he not only did not become more careless, but showed even greater virtue in himself; and when everyone, so to speak, was rushing along the rapids, he alone among so many walked on an even path. How then do others now say that it is impossible for a person living in the city to observe virtues, but that for this he needs to retire from the world and stay in the mountains, and that it is impossible for a person to be virtuous who is busy managing his home, has a wife and is concerned with children and slaves? Let them look at this righteous man with his wife, children and slaves, how he, living in the city, among such corrupt and lawless people, is like a torch shining in the middle of the sea, and not only does not go out, but gives off even more light. However, I am not saying this to prevent people from moving away from cities and to forbid staying in the mountains and deserts; but to show that nothing can hinder anyone who wants to observe abstinence and stay awake. Just as the desert itself cannot bring any benefit to the careless and careless, because the perfection of virtue does not depend on the place, but on the disposition of the soul and morals, so to the sober and vigilant (over oneself) a stay in the middle of the city cannot do any harm. I would even like virtuous people, like this blessed man, to live most among cities; here they would serve as leaven for others and excite them to imitate themselves. But since this seems difficult, let it be at least as I said before 393. “For the image of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31), and the present life is short. If now, while still in the field, we do not perform feats of virtue and do not avoid the snares of evil, then later, although we will begin to blame ourselves, it will be in vain: then repentance will no longer be useless. While we are in this life, it is still possible, having repented, to receive benefit from this and, having cleared previous sins, to receive mercy from the Lord. If, having omitted the present tense (of life), we are suddenly caught up (from it), then, although we will then repent, we will no longer receive any benefit from it. And in order for you to be convinced of this, listen to what the prophet says: “Who in hell will confess to You” (Ps. 6:6)? And again: “A brother will not deliver, will a man deliver” (Ps. 48:8)? There will be no one there, he says, to save a person who has died from his own carelessness, even if there was a brother or father or mother there. And what do I say: brother, father and mother? And the very righteous, who have received great boldness (before God), will then not be able to help us if we now indulge in carelessness. If, it is said, Noah, and Job, and Daniel become, they will not deliver their sons and daughters (Ezek. 14:18) 394. Notice the power of this threat - and what righteous people (Scripture) presented as an example. It was these same righteous people who at one time served as mediators of salvation for others: so Noah, when a terrible flood covered the world, saved his wife and sons; in like manner Job was the cause of salvation for others; and Daniel saved many from death when the cruel ruler (Nebuchadnezzar), experiencing some supernatural phenomena, ordered the death of the Chaldeans, magicians and fortune-tellers (Dan. 5:11). 2. So, we should not think that the same will happen in the coming century, that is, that virtuous people who have boldness before God will be able to free those close to them who live here in carelessness from future punishments. That is why Scripture cites the aforementioned righteous men as examples, with the goal of instilling fear in us and teaching us to place the hope of salvation, after grace from above, in our own good deeds, but not to count on the virtues of our ancestors or anything else if we ourselves remain in evil. If we have virtuous ancestors, then we must try to imitate their virtues. And if the opposite were to happen and we were descended from vicious ancestors, then we should not fear any harm to ourselves from this, but only need to practice ourselves in the deeds of virtue; then there will be no harm to us from it. Everyone is either crowned or condemned, depending on what he himself has done, just as Blessed Paul says: “Let everyone receive either good or evil for what he has done with his body” (2 Cor. 5:10), and again: “He will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). Knowing all this and abandoning all carelessness, let us devote all our strength to virtue while we are still in the field, before the spectacle is over; Let us take care of our salvation so that, having accomplished a feat of virtue in this short time, we will receive a reward for this in an endless age. Here is the righteous one (Lot), although he lived among so many vicious people and did not have a single imitator of his virtue, but, on the contrary, he still saw that everyone was mocking and mocking him; however, not only did he not weaken in virtue because of this, but he also shone so much that he was honored to receive the Angels to himself, and when everyone completely died, he alone with his daughters escaped the execution that befell the city. But let's return to word order. “And two angels came to Sodom in the evening,” it is said. This indication of the time shows us with particular force the virtue of the righteous man: and when evening came, he did not leave his place in anticipation (of travelers). He knew what benefit could come from here for him, and therefore, wanting to receive such wealth, he used all his efforts and did not leave 395 even at the end of the day. This is the property of a fiery and alert soul: not only is it not restrained by any obstacles from discovering its virtue, but, on the contrary, the more obstacles, the more excited it is and the greater the flame of jealousy ignites within itself. “And when Lot saw it,” it is said, “he rose up to meet them” (Gen. 19:1). Let people hear this, driving away strangers who come running to them with requests and strong convictions, and discover obvious inhumanity. Look at this righteous man, how he did not wait to be approached, but, like his forefather (Abraham), not knowing who these passers-by were, but only assuming that they were some kind of travelers, as soon as he saw them, he jumped up and was so happy, as if he was looking for prey and found what he was looking for. “When you saw it,” it says, “you rose up to meet them and bowed down with your face to the ground.” He thanked God for deigning him to receive these travelers. And this is the virtue of his soul: he recognized it as a great blessing of God that he met these men, and by accepting them he fulfilled the desire of his own heart. Don't tell me they were Angels; but think about the fact that the righteous man did not yet know this, but accepted them as strangers, passing by, and was then guided in his actions by such a thought. “And he said, Behold, Lord, retreat into the house of your servant, and rest, and wash your feet, and clothed with clothing you will go on your way” (Gen. 19:2). These words are enough to see the virtue preserved in the soul of the righteous. How not to be surprised at his deep humility and the fiery zeal that he showed in hospitality! “Behold, Lord,” he says, “turn away to the house of your servant.” He calls them masters, and calls himself their slave. Let us listen carefully, beloved, to these words, and learn to act in this way ourselves. A glorious, eminent householder living in such wealth calls strange travelers, strangers, ignorant in appearance, passers-by who are in no way close to him, masters: “Turn into the house of your servant and rest,” he says. It is evening, he says; listen to me and relieve yourself from the day's labor by resting in the house of your servant. Do I promise you anything special, he says? “Wash your feet, weary from the journey, “and go on your way, full of sweat.” Grant me this favor and do not reject my request. “And having decided,” it is said, “not, but on the haystack we will rest.” But the righteous man, seeing that even after such a strong request they refused, did not grow cold, did not lag behind his intention and did not act as we often do. We usually, when we want to invite someone to our place, as soon as we notice that he refuses even slightly, we immediately fall behind; and this happens with us because we do not do it with zeal and sincere desire, but for the most part we consider ourselves completely right if we can say that we have done our job. 3. What do you say: “Did your job”? You lost your prey, missed your treasure, and it’s like you’ve done your job? Then you would have done your job if you had not thrown away the treasures from your hands, if you had not run past your prey, if you had shown your love of strangeness not only in words, for the sake of decency. That’s not what that righteous man (Lot) did, but how? Seeing that the strangers were resisting (his desire) and wanted to stay on the street (and this was done by the Angels in order to further reveal the virtue of the righteous man and to show us all how great his love of strangers was), he is no longer content with asking and persuading them in words, but even uses force. So Christ said: “The needy women delight the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 11:12). Of course, where spiritual acquisition is meant, perseverance is appropriate and effort is commendable. “And force 396 I,” it is said (Gen. 19:3). It seems to me that he even carried them away by force. Then, when the strangers saw that the righteous man had decided to do this and would not leave until he fulfilled his intention, “turning aside to him,” as it is said, “and went into his house, and made an institution for them, and baked unleavened bread for them, and ate food before they slept” (Gen. 19: 3-4). Do you see that here, too, love of homosexuality is revealed not in the wealth of food, but in the abundance of spiritual zeal? Having forced them to enter his house, he immediately began to perform the work of hospitality: he himself was busy serving before them, offering them food, rendering every honor and service to those who came, taking them for ordinary travelers. “The men of the city of Sodom went through 397 the house, from the youth even to the old man, all the people together, and I called 398 Lot, and said to him: Where are the men who came to you at night? Bring me to us, that we may be with them” (Gen. 19:4–5). Let us not, beloved, leave these words unattended; Let us not only notice all the fury of them (the Sodomites), which does not deserve any forgiveness, let us also reflect on how the righteous man, living among such beasts, shone so brightly and showed such a great superiority of virtue - how he could endure their lawlessness, how he did not flee from such a city, how he tolerated any conversation with them. - I'll explain how it happened. The Lord of all, foreseeing the excessive wickedness of the Sodomites, arranged for this righteous man to settle among them so that he, as the best physician, could curb the power of their evil illnesses. And although the righteous man saw that they were already infected with incurable diseases and did not want to accept any healing, he still did not leave them. This is the quality of a doctor: although he sees that the disease does not respond to his art, he nevertheless does not cease to fulfill his duty in order to show the power of his art, if he is able to eventually restore (from the disease) the sufferer; if he doesn’t have time at all, then at least he will have all the more justification for himself in the fact that on his part he left nothing that he could do. It was the same here. The righteous man, despite the fact that he lived among such people, remained righteous and retained his love for good; and they lost all forgiveness because they not only did not abandon evil, but multiplied it more and more. Look, “every day,” it is said, “a house, from a young man even to an old man, a people together.” What a great agreement in evil, what a strong desire for sin, the unspeakable excess of lawlessness, the unforgivable intention! “From the youth,” it is said, “even to the elder”: not only the youth, but also the old in years, and the whole people together, strived for these iniquities. They were not ashamed to dare to do this shameless and shameful thing, they did not think about the Most High Eye, they did not hesitate before the righteous man, they did not spare those who were recognized as strangers and who enjoyed his hospitality; but without shame, with their heads open, so to speak, 399, uttering dissolute speeches, they approached the house and, calling the righteous man, said to him: “Where are the men who came to you? Exterminate me, let us be with them." Out of fear of such and such, I think, their lawless intention and wickedness, the righteous man sat at the door of his house until the evening, so as not to allow any of the passers-by, who did not know this, to fall into their snare. Combining within himself a love of strangeness and high chastity, the righteous man took care to receive everyone who passed by and wished that no one would hide from him; and thus he accepted those (travelers), not as Angels, but as ordinary people. But the lawless ones, without showing (on their part) anything like that, boldly decided only on such deeds that exceed all other atrocities. So, (the Angels) wanted to stay on the street in order to give the righteous man an opportunity to show his strangeness to them, and to reveal to him from the very deeds of the Sodom residents how well these people, devoted to such extraordinary lawlessness, deserved the execution that awaited them. 4. But let us further look at the greatness of the virtue of the righteous: “He went out,” it is said, “to them 400 in the vestibule, but shut the doors..., and spoke to them” (Gen. 19:6-7). See how the righteous man fears and (how he) trembles for the safety of strangers. It was not without reason that he closed the door behind himself, but because he knew the fury and insolence of the Sodomites and suspected their evil intent. Then he says to them: “No way, brothers” (Gen. 19:7). O longsuffering of the righteous! Oh, the depth of humility! To treat such people with such gentleness is true virtue. Without a doubt, wanting to heal the sick or bring reason to the raging one, no one does this with anger and cruelty. Look how he calls those who wanted to commit such a crime brothers, wanting to shame them, awaken their conscience and turn them away from the vile intention: “By no means, brothers 401,” he says, “do not do evil.” Don’t plan, he says, anything like that, don’t start this shameful thing, don’t subvert nature itself, don’t invent an unnatural mixture. And if you already want to satisfy the attraction of your frantic passions, then I will provide you with a means for this such that your crime will be somewhat easier: “I am two daughters, even though I have not known husbands 402” (Gen. 19:8). They have not yet experienced, he says, marital cohabitation, they remain untouchable, at their most blooming age, and shine with beauty. I am ready to give them to all of you; do with them what you want. Having taken them, he says, fulfill your lewdness with them and satisfy your unclean desire; “Just like this, you will do no harm to this husband 403, for this reason you came under the roof of my house.” I forced them, he says, to enter under my roof; So, so that the lawless act with them is not attributed to me, so that I do not become the author of an insult to them, let them be free from your hands, but instead of them I give you my two daughters. What virtue is there in the righteous! It surpasses all strangeness! Who will worthily praise such love (for neighbors) of this righteous man, who even decided not to spare his daughters, just to show respect to strangers and save them from the lawlessness of the Sodomites? And so, he even gives up his daughters in order to save strangers (I repeat again), in no way unknown to him, from the violence of lawless people. But we, often seeing our brethren falling into the very depths of wickedness and, so to speak, into the jaws of the devil, do not want to take part in them, not even with a word, nor advise them anything, nor give verbal admonition, and thus save them from evil and guide them to virtue. What excuse can we have when this righteous man, in his care for strangers, did not even spare his daughters; and we are so unmerciful towards our (brothers) and often utter these cold and unreasonable words: “What do I have in common with him? I don’t care, I don’t care about him.” What are you saying, man? As if you have nothing in common with him? He is your brother, he has the same nature as you; you live under the authority of one Lord, and often partake of the same Meal, I mean spiritual and terrible, and you say: I have nothing in common with him, and without mercy you run away from him, do you want to shake hands with the fallen? The law commanded the Jews not to leave fallen livestock without help, even those belonging to their enemies. And you, seeing your brother, ulcerated by the devil and fallen not to the ground, but into the depths of sin, do not draw him out from there with your instructions, do not make any suggestions to him on your part, do not care about others, if possible, take with you to help, in order to deliver your own member from the jaws of the beast and return to it the dignity that belongs to it, so that you yourself, when you happen to fall in the snare of the evil demon (which you do not allow God!), could have people ready to help you and free you from the hands of the devil. Thus, Paul, wanting to arouse the Galatians to care for their members, says: “Be careful, lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). As if he were saying this: if you pass by your brother without compassion and mercy, then perhaps when you yourself fall, another will pass by you in the same way. If you do not want to be left without attention when you fall, then do not neglect the fallen, but show them all love and consider the opportunity to save your brother as the greatest good. There can be nothing so much virtue as in this matter. After all, if you only think that the one whom you neglect and leave without attention was awarded such honor by your Lord that He did not even refuse to shed His blood for him, as Paul says: “And the weak brother in your mind will perish, for his sake Christ died” (1 Cor. 8:11), then how will you not hide yourself (in shame) in the ground after this? If Christ even shed His blood for him, what special thing will you do when you show him your favor, with a verbal admonition you will raise the fallen one and raise his soul, drowned, and perhaps already drowned, from the depths of evil, help it see the light of virtue and not rush again to the darkness of sin? 5. So, I beg you, let us imitate this righteous man; and even if it were necessary to endure something unpleasant to save our neighbor, we will not refuse this either. Such patience will serve as a guarantee of salvation for us and will give us great boldness (before God). Look, beloved, at this righteous man, how he stood up to an entire people who showed such unanimity in evil, and how, despite his great meekness, he showed extraordinary courage. True, he could not tame their indomitable fury. And after his words to them, filled with amazing meekness, when in words, as if with his own hands, he had already given them his daughters, what did they say to him? “Get thee hence” (Gen.19:9). Oh, immeasurable intoxication! Oh, extreme madness! Such is this evil and indomitable lust: as soon as it takes over reason, it leaves no sense of decency in it, but envelops everything in the darkness and gloom of night. “Go away,” they say, “from here: you came to dwell, did you eat and do justice? Now we will embitter you more than they did.” Look with what meekness the righteous man speaks to them, and what insolence they allow themselves! As if driven into a frenzy by the devil himself and as if led by him, they thus rise up against the righteous and say: “Thou hast come to dwell, shall thou eat and execute judgment?” We accepted you, they say, as an alien; and have you become a judge over us? Oh, extreme dishonesty! One should be ashamed, moved by the inspiration of the righteous; and they, like madmen who try to kill the doctor himself, say to the righteous: “We will embitter you more than these.” If you do not want, they say, to remain silent, then know that your intercession for them will serve no purpose other than that they will avoid danger, and you will be exposed to it. “Your Lot 404 was very violent.” See what courage the righteous man shows and how he strengthens himself to resist such a crowd. “And when you approach,” it is said, “break the door.” Since, going out to them and anticipating their fury, he closed the door behind him, these obscene, lawless people, not tolerating admonitions from the righteous man, “forced” him and even tried to break down the door. But now, when the virtue of the righteous man, and his care for imaginary strangers, and the unanimous desire of all this people for evil have already been revealed in practice, now the strangers are finally revealing themselves. Seeing that the righteous man, on his part, had accomplished everything (that he could do), they show their own power and give him help when the fury of the Sodomites subjected him to violence. “The men stretched out their hands,” it is said, “and drew Lot into the church, and shut the doors of the church; and the men who stood before the doors of the house 405 struck with blindness, from the least to the greatest, and fainted, seeking the doors” (Gen. 19:10-11). Do you see how the righteous immediately receive a reward for his hospitality, and the wicked receive a fitting punishment? “I drew Lot into the church, and shut the doors, and struck the men with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest, and relaxed, looking for the doors.” Since the eye of their mind is damaged, they are also subject to bodily blindness; let them know that there is no benefit from the eyes of the body as soon as the eyes of the mind are damaged. And since they all showed unanimity in evil, and neither the young men nor the elders restrained themselves from evil intent, then all, as has been said, were struck by blindness, and at the same time were deprived of bodily strength. They relaxed in the most important part (of their being) - the soul; therefore they are deprived of bodily strength. And so those who had previously tried to break the door and turned to the righteous man with many threats, suddenly became relaxed, not even seeing the door that was before their eyes. It was then that the righteous man sighed freely, seeing who those who came to him were and how great their power was. “The men decided to him,” it is said, “Do you have a son-in-law here, 406, or sons, or daughters, or who else is there for you in the city” (Gen. 19:12)? This is how they reward the righteous man for his love of hospitability, and how they want to grant him the salvation of all those close to him. If, they say, you have someone in this city, if you take part in someone, if you know someone who is free from the iniquity of these people, then “bring them out of this place” and from this land, bring all your relatives, “for we will destroy this place” (Gen. 19:13). Then they show him the reason for this, explaining everything to the righteous man with precision: “Be exalted above all else,” they say, “their cry is before the Lord, the Lord has sent us to destroy them 407.” This is the same thing that God said to the forefather (Abraham): “The cry of Sodom and Gomora is multiplied to me” (Gen. 18:20). And here it is said: “Exalt their cry before the Lord.” 6. Their iniquity is too great; and since their illness is incurable and the wound does not accept any medicine, then “the Lord sent us to destroy it.” Blessed David expressed this very thing with the words: “Create Your angels spirits, and Your servants a fiery flame” (Ps. 103:4). We have come, they say, to destroy this entire country (for the sin of the inhabitants, the earth itself is subject to execution); so, get out of here. The righteous man, hearing this and learning the reason why these apparently ordinary people, but essentially Angels and servants of all Gods, came, “went out and said to his son-in-law, who took his daughters” (Gen. 19:14). But first he said to those wicked people: “Behold, I have two daughters who have not known husbands”; How is it said here: “to his sons-in-law who captured his daughters?” Do not think that these words contradict what was previously said by the righteous man. The ancients had a custom of getting betrothed a long time (before marriage), and often those who were engaged lived together with the betrothed in the house of their parents, which still happens in many places. And since the betrothal had already taken place here, the Scripture calls those who were betrothed sons-in-law and says: “who took his daughters,” because in intention and in mutual agreement they had already taken his daughters for themselves. “And he said: Arise and get out of this place, for the Lord is destroying 408 the city. He took it upon himself to play before his sons-in-law.” Look how they too were in the same sinful leaven. That is why God, wanting to quickly free the righteous man from kinship with them, did not allow his daughters to marry them; on the contrary, he determined to destroy them along with the wicked, so that the righteous would avoid kinship with them by leaving (from the city) with his daughters. Hearing this terrible threat from the righteous man, they laughed at him and thought that his words were a joke. But the righteous man did what he was commanded, and since they had already become engaged to his daughters, he wanted to spare them from execution; but they were not brought to their senses by this either, but remained with their thoughts, and later they became convinced in practice of the harm to themselves in rejecting the advice of the righteous man. “When,” it is said, “the morning came, Lot the angel commanded, saying: Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters 409 as they are, and depart, lest thou also perish with the iniquities of the city. And she was troubled” (Gen. 19:15–16). Don't hesitate, they say; the time of their destruction is already coming; save yourself and your wife and your two daughters; and those who did not want to listen to your advice will die a little later along with the others. Do not delay, lest you yourself perish along with the wicked. And Lot and his wife and his daughters were troubled when they heard this. “Confused”, it is said, i.e. They were frightened, they were in great fear, they were worried about such a threat. Then the Angels, taking care of the righteous man, “took him,” it is said, “by the hand” (Gen. 19:16). Now Scripture no longer speaks of them as ordinary people, but since they wanted to bring execution (on the city), it directly calls them Angels and says: “Having taken his hand, and the hand of his wife, the hands of his two daughters, the Lord showed no mercy.” With the touch of their hand they encouraged them, strengthened their spirit, so that fear would not weaken their strength. That’s why Scripture explained: “The Lord is merciful.” Since, it says, the Lord recognized Lot as worthy of salvation, then the Angels, wanting to strengthen their spirit, take them by the hand, and leading them out (from the city), “deciding:... save your soul 410, do not look back, stand lower in all the territory, save yourself in the mountain, so that you will not be rich” (Gen. 19:17). Since, they say, we have freed you from these lawless people, then do not look back and do not want to see what will befall them, but hurry up and move on to avoid the execution inflicted on them. The righteous man, fearing that he may not be able to reach the place appointed by the Angels and ascend the mountain, says: “I pray, Lord, that Thy servant may soon find mercy 411 before You, and magnify Thy righteousness which Thou hast done upon me throughout the life of my soul: but I cannot be saved in the mountain, lest evil 412 befall me, and I die. Behold, my city is near, I will flee there... there is a small 413, and there I will be saved 414... and my soul will live for Your sake” (Gen. 19:18-20). You have decided, he says, to grant me salvation; but I don’t have the strength to climb to the top of the mountain. Therefore, show me even greater mercy and make my work easier: so that the execution brought (on this city) does not overtake me, and I do not suffer the same fate as them, leave this neighboring city for me. Although this city is poor and small, but having escaped in it, I can subsequently live there safely. “And I said to him: Behold, I was amazed at your face, and about this word you spoke about, which you will not destroy the city” (Gen. 19:21). I have accepted, says (the Angel), your prayer and will fulfill it; I will grant you what you ask, and I will spare that city for you. “Be careful, and dwell there, and be saved 415” (Gen. 19:22). I won’t do anything until you arrive there: “I won’t be able to do anything until you get there,” he says. I care, he says, about your salvation and will wait for your arrival there, and then I will bring execution on them (the Sodomites). “The sun has risen to the earth; and Lot went down to Zoar” (Gen. 19:23). Around sunrise, he arrived in the city, and then, as soon as he entered it, the lawless people were executed: “Wait for now,” it is said, “the Lord will strike Sodom and Gomorra with a terror and fire from the Lord from heaven, and turn these cities and the entire surrounding country 416, and all who live in the cities, and everything that vegetates 417 from the earth” ( Gen. 19:24–25 ). May such a combination of words not seem strange to you, beloved; This is the nature of Scripture, and (it) often uses words so indifferently, as can be seen in the present case. It is said: “The Lord rained bogeys and fire from the Lord from heaven” to show that the Lord Himself brought this execution, and that not only “he transformed the cities, and the entire surrounding country, and everyone living,” but that He destroyed “and the vegetating 418 from the earth.” Since the people inhabiting this land have brought forth many fruits of iniquity, I, says (the Lord), make the fruits of the earth unfit for consumption, so that the destruction of the fruits on this earth will serve as a permanent monument for subsequent generations, and so that its barrenness will remind everyone of the iniquity of the people who lived here. Do you see what virtue means and what vice means, and how the righteous man was saved, but they received a punishment worthy of their iniquity? The righteous man, with his virtue, saved his daughters and did not allow the city to be destroyed 419; and those (the lawless), on the contrary, by their extreme lawlessness, not only destroyed themselves and were exterminated, but also made their land barren for the future. “And when he saw,” it is said, “his wife turned back, and there became a pillar of glory” (Gen. 19:26). She heard the Angels commanding the righteous man not to look back, but to run with all haste, but she did not obey and did not keep this commandment, and therefore receives punishment for her negligence. 7. We, hearing this (narration), will have great concern for our salvation; Let us avoid imitating the lawlessness of the Sodomites; on the contrary, let us be jealous of the hospitable love of this righteous man and his other virtues, in order to turn away from us the anger driven from above. It is impossible, of course impossible, that a person devoted to virtue with zeal should not acquire from this great treasure for himself. It is in this way that these righteous people - the forefather (Abraham) and Lot - were deemed worthy to receive grace from above, and thinking that they were receiving people to themselves, they were deemed worthy to receive Angels and even the Lord of Angels. We can, if we want, accept Him now, - He himself said: “Whoever accepts you, accepts Me” (Matthew 10:40). So, let us welcome strangers, regardless of their apparent ignorance. If we show hospitality with such a disposition of soul, then perhaps someday we too will be worthy of receiving, under the guise of people, such strangers who will discover in themselves the dignity of Angels. Just let’s not explore and be curious about them, so as not to lose treasures. So Blessed Paul, pointing to these righteous people and teaching us how they were worthy to receive such strangers, says: “Do not forget the love of hospitable people; therefore the angels are ignorant and strangers” (Heb. 13:2). What is especially great and wonderful about them is that they rendered a service to the wanderers without “knowing” them. So, with faith and reverence, let us do this work in order to receive the treasure (of eternal blessings), which may we all be worthy to enjoy, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Him to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Those. let those who wish to preserve virtue withdraw from the world. ᾿Εὰν στῇ γὰρ Νῶε καὶ ᾿Ιὼβ καὶ Δανιὴλ. ; and here the saint conveys, probably from memory, the thought of the prophetic book in his own words, and not literally from the text, where it is read without differences in the lists: μέσῳ αυτῆς. Νῶε καὶ Δανιὴλ καὶ ᾿Ιὼβ... οὐ μῆ λύσονται υἱοὺς οὐδὲ θυγατέρας, with which Slav agrees with. B. That is from the gates of the house where he awaited strangers. Κατεβιάζετο - “forced” according to Cotton. and other sp., contrary to Lucian., where κατεβιάσατο – “forced”, and sp. Dorofey, where ἐξεβιάζετο – “forced”. Zlat.: περιεκύκλωσαν – “surrounded on all sides”, in Lucian. sp. ἐκύκλωσαν - “surrounded.” Zlat.: ἐξεκαλοῦντο; in Lucian. προσεκάλουν - “called.” Easterners always walk with their heads covered; Baring one's head means immodesty. Therefore St. Chrysostom, saying that the Sodomites approached Lot’s house “with their heads open,” wants to express the extreme degree of their insolence and shamelessness. Zlat.: πρὸς αὐτοὺς according to Alex. sp. and ev. t. and contrary to Lucian., where this expression is absent. Zlat.: ἀδελφοί according to Alex. sp. and ev. T.; in Lucian: ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ – “brothers of men.” Zlat.: ἄνδρας according to Koislian., Tsittav. etc.; in Lucian, according to Heb. t., – ἄνδρα – “husband” (Slav. B.). Zlat.: μηδὲν ποιήσητε ἄδικον according to sp. Dorothea; in Lucian. sp. μηδὲν – “none” is absent. Zlat.: παρεβιάζοντο δὲ τὸν Λώτ according to the Monaco and Viennese sp. (after "de Lagarde". Genesis gr.); in Lucian, according to Heb. t., ...τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν Λώτ – “Lot’s husband” (Slav. B.). Zlat.: ᾿Επὶ τῆς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου according to most Greek. sp. and ev. t., in Lucian. τοῦ οἴκου - “at home” is not read. Zlat.: Ἔστι τίς σοι ὧδε γαμβρὸς according to Bodleian., Tsittav. and some etc.; in Lucian: εἰσί σοι ὧδε γαμβροὶ - “is it worth your son-in-law here” (Slav. B.). Zlat.: αὐτοὺς according to the Tsar’s book. Vienna Bible (130 for Holmes); in Lucian. sp. – αὐτὴν – “his” (Slav. B.); see, however, further, after five lines, where Zlat. reads: “destroy him” αὐτὴν. ἐκτρίβει agrees with Alex. and some other sp.; in Lucian. ἐκτρίψει - “will destroy.” τὰς δύο θυγατέρας according to Alex. sp. and ev. T.; in Lucian. δύο – “two” is not read. Σῶζε τὴν σεαυτοῦ ψιχὴν according to some. Greek sp. (55, 82, etc. from “Holmes”); in Alex. and Lucian. sp., with which Slav agrees. B., Σῶζων σῶζε... - “saving save.” ἔλεος; in Lucian. sp. instead χάριν – “grace”, which is closer to Heb. t. (hasdeka). μὴ καταλάβῃ according to Alex., Cottonian. and many Greek sp.; in Lucian. (not all according to Holmes), with which Slavyan agrees here. B., μήποτε - “not when.” μικρά ἐστιν without ἥ – “like,” which pronoun is usually read here in Greek. sp. and was probably omitted from the edition. Minya due to the oversight of those who printed. ἐκεῖ σωθήσομαι καὶ ζήσεται with the omission of the words: οὐ μικρά ἐστι – “isn’t it small”, read in Greek. sp. according to Heb. text; and this omission probably occurred as a result of the abbreviation of the biblical text, which twice in this verse speaks of the smallness of the city, which was later called from this “smallness” Zoar, in Greek glory. translation "Seagor." Zlat.: Σπεῦσον οὐν ​​καὶ κατάλαβε τὸν τόπον καὶ σώζου, which corresponds to the words of the Greek. translation: σπεῦσον οὐν ​​τοῦ σωθῆναι ἐκεῖ - “trying to be saved there” (Slav. B.). Zlat.: τὴν περίοικον according to Cottonian., Dorofeev. and other sp.; in Lucian. sp. reads: τὴν περίχωρον, although the meaning of both words is very similar. Zlat.: καὶ πᾶν ἀνατέλλον according to sp. Dorotheus, in Lucian. – τὰ ανατέλλοντα – “vegetating.” Zlat is here. says: τὰ ανατέλλοντα. That is, Zoar, in which Lot asked for refuge. You might be interested in: