Беседа 32

“When Jesus walked away from there, two blind men followed Him and shouted: Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David! When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him: Yes, Lord! Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened." (Matt. 9:27–30) Explanation 9:27–10:15. Why does Christ require those being healed to confess faith and forbid talking about healing? – The actions of Christ are the opposite of the actions of the devil. - He who does good for God must respond to slander with good deeds. – The image and purpose of the disciples’ embassy. – The peace promised by Christ is given in the church through the primates. “Those who reject this world face severe punishment. An exhortation to be reverent in church and to show love to both the preacher and one another. – One should not demand miracles from a preacher. – Virtue is higher than miracles and brings more benefits. 1. Why does Christ force the blind to follow him and ask for mercy? In order to teach us in this case to run away from human glory. Since the house was nearby, He leads them there with the intention of healing them in private. This is evident from the fact that Christ did not tell anyone about the healing. This also denounces the Jews quite a bit, when the blind, being deprived of sight, accept faith by hearing alone; while the Jews, seeing miracles and becoming convinced of their reality with their own eyes, act completely differently. Notice also the zeal of the blind, which can be judged by their cry and prayer; They not only began, but cried out with a loud voice, saying nothing more than: “Have mercy on us!” They called him the Son of David because it seemed to them an honorable name. Often the prophets called kings this way, whom they wanted to honor and exalt (Ezek. 34:23; Zech. 12:8). Having brought the blind into the house, Christ asks again. For the most part, He healed only upon request - so that they would not think that out of ambition He Himself was looking for opportunities to perform such miracles, as well as to show that those whom He healed were worthy of healing, and so that they would not say that if He healed by mercy alone, then everyone should have been healed. After all, love for humanity itself is somewhat proportionate to the faith of those being healed. But it is not for these reasons alone that Christ demands faith from them. Since they called Him the son of David, then, raising them to a higher concept and teaching them how they should understand about Him, He asks: “Do you believe that I can do this” (Matthew 9:28)? He did not say: Do you believe that I can pray to My Father, I can ask Him; but he said: Do you believe that I can do this? What are they? “By God”! They no longer call Him the son of David, but soar higher in thought and confess His sovereignty. And then He Himself, laying on His hand, says: “According to your faith, be it done to you.” He does this to strengthen their faith and show that they themselves participated in their healing, as well as to testify that there was no flattery in their words. He did not say, “Let your eyes be opened,” but he says, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” He says the same thing to many others who come to him, in order to reveal their heartfelt faith before healing bodily ailments, and through this to make those healed more experienced, and to arouse in others greater zeal for good. This is what He does with the paralytic; Before returning strength to the body, he restores his weakened soul, saying: “Be brave, child! Your sins are forgiven you” (Matthew 9:2)! Also, having resurrected the girl, he took her by the hand, and, commanding her to eat (Mark 5:41, 43; Luke 8:54–55), taught her to know her Benefactor; He did the same with the centurion, attributing everything to his faith (Matthew 8:13). Likewise, when delivering the disciples from the storm of the sea, he first delivered them from their lack of faith (Matthew 8:26). So it is here: although He knew their secret thoughts before they expressed them, in order to arouse the same jealousy in others, He reveals them to others, revealing their hidden faith by performing healing. Then, after healing, Christ commands them not to tell anyone about this, and not just commands, but with all severity: “Forbade them,” they say, “Jesus... said: see that no one finds out. And they went out and spread the word about Him throughout all that land” (Matthew 9:30–31). However, they could not resist, but began to preach and evangelize - they could not resist, despite the command to remain silent about what had happened. If Christ in another case says: go and preach the glory of God, then this does not contradict what was said in the present case, but is completely in accordance with it. Christ teaches us not only not to say anything about ourselves, but to hold back those who want to praise us; but if glory is given to God, then we must not only not interfere, but even encourage it. “When they went out, they brought to Him a mute man possessed by a demon” (Matthew 9:32). This disease was not natural, but came from the devil's malice. That’s why it was necessary for others to bring the demoniac. Since this demoniac, being unable to speak, could not ask either himself or through others, since the demon tied his tongue, and with his tongue his soul, the Lord does not ask him about faith, but immediately heals him from his illness. “When the demon was cast out,” says the evangelist, “the dumb man began to speak. And the people, amazed, said, “Never has such a thing happened in Israel” (Matthew 9:33). This was what particularly annoyed the Pharisees, that Christ was preferred not only to all His contemporaries, but also to His predecessors; they preferred not because he healed, but because he healed easily, quickly, and, moreover, countless and incurable diseases. This is how the people judged Jesus. 2. But the Pharisees judged quite differently. They not only reinterpret His actions, but they are not ashamed to speak against themselves. Such is the wickedness! Really, what are they saying? “He casts out demons by the power of the prince of demons” (Matthew 9:34). Could anything be more reckless than this? It is absolutely impossible, as Christ Himself says later, for a demon to cast out a demon, since the demon usually establishes his own, and does not destroy. And Christ not only cast out demons, but also cleansed lepers, raised the dead, tamed the sea, forgave sins, preached the kingdom, brought them to the Father, which a demon will never want and cannot do. Demons lead to idols, turn away from God and teach not to believe in the future life. A demon, being offended, will not do good when he is and, without being offended, causes harm even to those who serve and please him. But Christ acts completely differently. Even after so many reproaches and reproaches, he “went,” says the evangelist, “throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among people” (Matthew 9:35). He not only did not punish them for their insensitivity, but did not even reproach them, thus showing His meekness and refuting the slander brought against Him, and at the same time wanting to further certify with subsequent miracles, and then to denounce them with words. So, He walked through cities, and through villages, and through their synagogues, teaching us to repay slander not with slander, but with great blessings. If you do good deeds to your fellow slaves not for people, but for God, then no matter how they act, do not stop doing good in order to receive a greater reward. And whoever stops doing good because he is slandered shows that he did good not for the sake of God, but for the sake of praise from people. That is why Christ, teaching us that He came by goodness alone to do good, did not wait for the suffering to come to Him, but He Himself hurried to them, bringing them two greatest benefits: firstly, the gospel of the kingdom, and secondly, healing from all diseases. He did not pass by a city or a village, but visited every place. He is not even satisfied with that, but shows even greater care. “Seeing the crowds of people,” says the evangelist, “He took pity on them, because they were exhausted and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:36–38). Look again how far He is from vanity. In order not to lead everyone after Him, He sends disciples. However, he sends them not only for this purpose, but also for their own education, so that, having been educated in Palestine, as if in some kind of martial arts school, they would prepare themselves for exploits in the whole world. That is why, like teaching young chicks to fly, He opens up a vast field for their action, as much as is commensurate with their strength, so that they can more conveniently begin subsequent exploits; and at first he makes them only doctors of bodies, so that later he can entrust to them the most important thing - the healing of souls. And look how the ease and necessity of this matter shows. “The harvest,” He says, “is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” I, he says, am sending you not to sow, but to reap. In a similar way He said in John: “others labored, but you entered into their labor” (John 4:38). With these words He kept them from conceit, aroused them to cheerfulness, and showed them that the previous work had been greater. Look: here too He begins with mercy, and not with judgment. “He had compassion on them,” it is said, “that they were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.” With this He reproached the Jewish leaders for the fact that they, being shepherds, showed in themselves the properties of wolves, because they not only did not correct the people, but also prevented them from being better. The people were surprised and said: “Such a phenomenon has never happened in Israel” (Matthew 9:33)! But they, on the contrary, said: “He casts out demons by the power of the prince of demons” (Matthew 9:34)! But what kind of workers is the Lord talking about here? About the twelve disciples. So what? Having said: “there are few workers,” did you increase their number? No, but I only sent twelve. So why did He say: “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest,” but did not add anyone to them? Because He subsequently replaced many with twelve, not increasing their number, but giving them strength. 3. Further, wanting to show how great the gift is, he says to them: “Pray the Lord of the harvest” - and, although not directly, makes it clear that He is this Lord. Having said: “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” without asking or begging them, He Himself immediately ordains them to this title and reminds them of what John said about the threshing floor, about the shovel, about the tares and about the wheat. From this it is clear that He is the Worker, He is the Lord of the harvest, He is the Lord of the prophets. If He sent to reap, then of course it was not someone else’s, but what He sowed through the prophets. And he not only encouraged them by calling their service a harvest; but especially by the fact that he gave them strength for this service. “And having called,” says the evangelist, “twelve of His disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and every disease” (Matthew 10:1). However, the Spirit had not yet been sent down: “for the Holy Spirit was not yet given to them, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). How did they cast out the spirits? By the command and authority of Christ. Look how timely this embassy is. He did not send them from the very beginning, but when they had already been His followers for quite some time, and they saw; how He raised the dead, rebuked the sea, cast out demons, healed the paralytic, forgave sins, cleansed the leper. When they are sufficiently convinced, both in deed and in word, of His power, then He sends them; He does not send for dangerous exploits - there was no danger in Palestine yet - he only had to be subjected to slander. However, he also predicts dangers for them in order to prepare them in advance and accustom them to them with frequent reminders. Further, since the evangelist had already spoken about two pairs of apostles - about Peter and John with their brothers (Matthew 4:18,21) - and after them he mentioned the calling of Matthew (Matthew 9:9), but did not tell us anything about the calling and names of the other apostles, now he finds it necessary to list them in order, and calls them by name, saying this: “The names of the Twelve Apostles these are the first Simon, who is called Peter” (Matthew 10:2). There was another Simon, who was called a Canaanite; as well as there was Judas Iscariot and Judas Jacob, and Jacob Alphaeus and Jacob Zebedee. Mark lists the apostles by dignity, placing Andrew after the two supreme ones; but Matthew does not list this way, but differently: he puts Thomas above himself, who was much lower. Let's consider them in order, starting with the first. "The first Simon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother." And this is no small praise. He praised one for his virtue, and the other for his nobility of character. Next - “James Zebedee and John his brother.” You see that the evangelist does not give them their due. It seems to me that John was not only superior to others, but also to his brother. After that, having said: “Philip and Bartholomew,” he added: “Thomas and Matthew the publican” (Matthew 10:3); and Luke, on the contrary, places him above Thomas. Further: “Jacob Alphaeus” - because, as I said above, he was Jacob Zebedee. Then, having spoken about Levway, who was otherwise called Thaddeus, and about Simon the Zealot, whom he also calls a Canaanite, he comes to the traitor, and speaks of him not as an enemy and adversary, but as a historian. He did not say: nasty and lawless Judas, but named him Iscariot by the name of the city. There was another Judas - Levway, nicknamed Thaddeus, whom Luke calls Jacob, saying; Judas is Jacob (Luke 6:16), and therefore Matthew, distinguishing one from the other, says: “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him” (Matthew 10:4). And he is not ashamed to say: “who betrayed Him.” So the evangelists never hide anything, even what seemed reprehensible. However, the very first and supreme of the apostles was an unlearned and simple man. But let's see where and to whom does Christ send them? “These are twelve,” he says, “Jesus sent” (Matthew 10:5). Who are they? Fishermen, publicans. Four of them were fishermen, two were publicans - Matthew and James, and one was a traitor. What does he tell them? He immediately commands them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the pagans, and do not enter the city of the Samaritans; but go especially to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5–6). Do not think, He says, that because they revile Me and call Me mad, I have hatred and disgust for them; on the contrary, I try to correct them before others, and forbid you to go to other nations; I am sending you to them as teachers and doctors. And I not only forbid you to preach to anyone before them, but I do not even allow you to set foot on the path that leads to the pagans or enter the Samaritan city. 4. And the Samaritans were opponents of the Jews, although it was more convenient to convert them, because they were much more inclined to believe, and it was more difficult to convert the Jews. And, however, Jesus sends the apostles to the stubborn Jews, showing them His care for them, stopping their lips, and paving the way for the apostolic preaching, so that later they would not complain that the apostles went to the uncircumcised, and so that they would not have any plausible reason to run away and turn away from them. Calling them lost sheep, and not lost ones, in every possible way instills in them the thought of forgiveness, and attracts their hearts. “As you go,” He says, “preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7). Do you see the greatness of service? Do you see the dignity of the apostles? They are not commanded to talk about anything sensual, which Moses and the former prophets spoke about; but it is commanded to speak about new and unusual objects. They preached not about the kingdom of heaven, but about the earth and earthly blessings; but these preach about the kingdom of heaven and everything that is there. But not only in this are the apostles superior to the prophets, but also in obedience. They do not refuse, do not evade commands, as the ancients did; but, hearing about dangers, and about wars, and about unbearable disasters, they accept commands with perfect obedience, like preachers of the kingdom. But why be surprised, you say, if they willingly obeyed when they should have preached without sorrow and burden? What are you saying? Are they not commanded to do anything painful? Don't you hear about prisons, about death sentences, about persecution from fellow tribesmen, about universal hatred? All this, according to Christ, they were soon to experience for themselves. He sends them as preachers and dispensers of countless benefits to others; and he himself announces and predicts unbearable disasters. Then, so that their preaching could more conveniently attract them to faith, he says: “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Notice how He cares about their morals: no less than about miracles, showing them that miracles without good morality mean nothing; saying: “Freely you have received, freely give,” He humbles their arrogance and warns them against the love of money. And so that they do not think that the miracles they perform are the fruit of their virtues, and do not become proud of it, he says: “Freely you have received, freely give.” You give nothing of your own to those who receive you; You received these gifts not as a reward or for your labors: this is My grace. So give to others, because it is impossible to find a price worthy of these gifts. Then, immediately rooting out the very root of evil, he says: “Take with you neither gold, nor silver, nor copper for your belts, nor scrip for the journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor a staff” (Matthew 10:9-10). He didn’t say: don’t take it with you; but even if you could get it elsewhere, avoid this destructive illness. Through this He achieved a lot. Firstly, he removed all suspicion from the students; secondly, he freed them from all worries so that they could focus on preaching alone; thirdly, He showed them His power. That is why he says to them afterwards: did you lack anything when I sent you without clothing and without shoes? And he doesn’t suddenly tell them: “don’t take it”; but first he said: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,” and then he commanded: “Take nothing; Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:9,8), commanding them what is actually useful, what is decent and possible. But perhaps they will say: other demands are fair; but why did He not order them on the road to have neither a bag, nor two clothes, nor a staff, nor boots? Because he wanted to accustom them to a strict life, as above he did not even allow them to worry about the next day. He prepared them to be teachers of the universe; That’s why He makes them, so to speak, angels from people, freeing them from all worldly cares, so that they would care about preaching alone - or, better to say, He frees them from this care, saying: “Do not worry about how or what to say” (Matthew 10:19), and in this way, what seemed very difficult and burdensome, makes it very easy and convenient for them. Truly, nothing contributes so much to peace of mind as freedom from worries and cares, especially if, freed from these cares and worries, one can lack nothing, having God as an assistant, Who replaces everything. Then, as a warning to the question: where will we get the necessary food? - does not say to them: you heard what I said to you before: “look at the birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26), - which commandment they were not yet able to fulfill - but put it more simply, saying: “for the one who works is worthy of food” (Matthew 10:10), wanting to show with these words that they should receive their food from the disciples, so that they are not proud in front of their disciples that, having provided them with everything, they themselves receive nothing from them are borrowed, and the disciples, in turn, being despised by them, did not separate from them. 5. Further, so that the disciples do not say: So, do you command us to live by alms? and they would not count it as shame on themselves - Christ, calling them workers, and what is given to them as a bribe, shows that this is how it should be. Although your work, He says, consists only of teaching, do not think that the benefit you provide is unimportant; your occupation involves great labor, and what those who teach you give you is not given for free, but as a reward: “for the one who works is worthy of food.” He said this not because the labors of the apostles were worth it - far from it! Here He only gave the disciples the rule not to demand more, and admonished those who provided them with what they needed that they were doing this not out of generosity, but out of duty. “Whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and remain there until you leave” (Matthew 10:11). When I said, He says, “the worker is worthy of food,” I did not open the door for you to everyone; on the contrary, and in this I command you to act with great caution, which will serve you to acquire both honor and food itself. In fact, if the person receiving you is worthy, he will certainly give you food, especially if you do not demand anything more than what is necessary. But Christ not only commands to look for those worthy, but also not to move from house to house, so as not to offend the recipient, nor to be criticized for gluttony and frivolity. This is what He inspired with the words: “stay there until you come out.” The same thing can be seen with other evangelists. Do you see how by this He makes the disciples worthy of respect, and those who receive them zealous for acceptance, showing that this will incomparably bring both glory and benefit to them? Continuing the same instruction, he says: “And when you enter a house, greet it, saying: Peace to this house; and if the house is worthy, then your peace will come upon it; if you are not worthy, then your peace will return to you” (Matthew 10:12–13). Look at the detail He goes into in His instructions—and not without reason. He prepared them to be devotees of piety and preachers of the universe; and therefore, teaching moderation and making you worthy of love, he says: “And if anyone does not accept you and does not listen to your words, then, when leaving that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet; Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city” (Matthew 10:14–15). Do not expect, he says, to be greeted by others, because you are teachers, but first give honor to others. In addition, showing that their greeting is not a simple word, but a blessing, he says: if the house is worthy, your peace will come upon it, and if they insult you, then the first punishment will be that the house will lose peace, and the second that it will suffer the same fate as Sodom. But they will say: what benefit do we have in executing them? Such that there will be worthy homes for you. What does the expression mean: “shake the dust from your feet”? This shows either that the apostles did not borrow anything from them, or it serves as evidence of the long journey that the apostles undertook for them. But note that the Lord does not yet give all the gifts to the apostles. So he does not give them foreknowledge so that they can find out who is worthy and who is unworthy, but orders them to find out and wait for what experience will show. Why did He Himself stay with the publican? Because the publican, having changed, became worthy. Notice also that He, having deprived the apostles of everything, gave them everything when He allowed them to live in those houses where they received their instructions, having nothing with them, to enter these houses. Thus, they themselves were freed from worries, and those who received them confirmed that they had come to them solely to save them, both by the fact that they did not bring anything with them, and by the fact that they did not demand anything from them except what was necessary, and finally, by the fact that they did not enter everyone indiscriminately. The Lord wanted the apostles to be famous not only for miracles, but more than miracles - for their virtues. Truly, nothing distinguishes wisdom so much as not having anything superfluous and being content with as little as possible. The false apostles knew this too. That is why Paul says; “so that whatever they boast about may be found to be the same as we are” (2 Cor. 11:12). If on a foreign side, going to strangers, one should not ask for anything more than daily food, then isn’t it much more so when being at home? 6. We must not only listen to what is said, but also carry it out in practice. This is not said about the apostles alone, but also about subsequent saints. So, let us try to become worthy to receive them to ourselves. Depending on the location of the recipients, the world can come to them and move away again; this depends not only on the power of the teachers, but also on the dignity of those receiving. Let us not consider it an unimportant loss for ourselves if we do not enjoy this peace, which the prophet proclaimed from ancient times, saying: “How beautiful are the feet of the one who brings good news, who proclaims peace” (Is. 52:7), and, explaining the dignity of the world, he added: “He who brings good news joy.” And Christ himself showed the importance of this peace, saying: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Therefore, every effort should be made to enjoy it both at home and in church. And in the church the primate gives peace, and this serves as an image of the peace given by Christ; and therefore the primate must be received with all diligence, providing him not so much with food as with his location. If it is bad not to partake of the meal, then is it not much worse to reject the one who blesses? The presbyter sits for you, the teacher stands for you, toils and is exhausted. What kind of apology will you have when you don’t even accept his words? The Church is a common house for everyone, where we enter behind you, following the example of the apostles, which is why, upon entering, we immediately, according to the commandment of Christ, greet everyone with peace. So, no one be careless, no one be distracted when the priests come in and teach the lesson: for this there is a threat of considerable punishment. It is better for me to be subjected to contempt a thousand times when entering the house of one of you, than not to be listened to when they greet you with peace. The latter is much more unbearable for me than the first, since this house is incomparably more important; here are our great treasures, here are all our hopes. And what is not great here, what is not venerable? And this meal is incomparably more honorable and sweeter than your home meal, and this lamp is your lamp; This is known to those who, with faith and at the right time, were anointed with oil and received healing. And this treasury is incomparably more excellent and necessary than your treasury, because it contains not clothes, but alms, although few own this treasury. 13 Here, too, is a better bed than yours: the peace brought by the Holy Scriptures is more pleasant than any bed. And if we had maintained perfect agreement, then besides this we would not have had another home. And that this is not difficult is testified by those three thousand and five thousand believers who had a house, a meal, and one soul. The multitude of believers, it is said, “had one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). But since we are far behind them in this virtue, and live in different houses, then, at least, when we gather here, we will zealously fulfill it. If we are insufficient and poor in other things, at least we will be rich in this. Therefore, although here, when we come to you, receive us with love. And when I say: “Peace be with you,” you will say: And to your spirit; say not only with your voice, but also with your heart, not only with your lips, but also with your spirit. Otherwise, if you say here: “And peace be with you,” and when you go out, you will rebel against me, you will despise me, slander me and secretly revile me with countless curses, then what kind of peace is this? However, although you will slander me in every possible way, I give you peace from a pure heart, with sincere affection, and I can never say anything bad about you: I have a fatherly heart, and although sometimes I condemn you, I do it while caring about you. And if you secretly insult me ​​and do not receive me in the house of the Lord, then I fear that you will not increase my sorrow - not by insulting me, nor by driving me out, but by rejecting the world and bringing upon yourself such a cruel punishment. Although I will not shake off the ashes, although I will not walk away from you, the threat remains in all its force. I greet you with peace often, and I will never cease to greet you. Although you will receive me with contempt, I still will not shake off the dust - not because I do not want to obey the Lord, but because I love you very ardently. Moreover, I did not endure anything for you, I did not undertake a long journey; I didn’t come to you like the apostles came, having nothing with me (for which we blame ourselves in advance), I didn’t come without boots, not without other clothes - why, perhaps, you too are missing out on your due. This alone is not enough to justify you. May we suffer greater condemnation; but this does not in the least serve to excuse you. 7. Then houses were churches, but now the church has become a house. Then they didn’t talk about worldly things in their homes, and now they don’t talk about spiritual things in church. Here too you act as in the market place; and when God himself speaks, not only do you not listen to His words in silence, but you engage in conversations about completely different subjects. And let you do what concerns yourself; no - you say and listen to things that you don’t care about. This is what I’m crying about, and I won’t stop crying! I have no power to leave this one at home; we need to stay here until we leave this life. So, “accommodate us” (2 Cor. 7:2), as Paul exhorted. He said this not about the meal, but about the heart and disposition. We demand the same from you: love, heartfelt and sincere affection. If this is also difficult for you, then at least, leaving your current carelessness, love yourself. It is enough for our consolation if we see that you succeed in good and become better. In this case, I will show more love, “even if I love you too much, I will be loved by you less.” After all, many things encourage us to communicate with each other: we are all offered one meal; one Father begat us; we all came from the same womb; everyone is served one drink, and not only one, but from one cup. The Father, among other means of inducing us to mutual love, also used to have us drink from the same cup: this serves as a sign of strong love. But you will say that we cannot be equal to the apostles. And I agree with this, and I don’t argue at all; We are not worth not only them, but even their shadow. But with all that, you must do your job. This will not only not make you feel ashamed, but will serve even more to your benefit. When you show due love and obedience to the unworthy, you will receive greater reward. We do not speak from ourselves, since we do not have a teacher on earth; what we have received, we give, and when we give, we demand nothing from you except love. If we are truly unworthy of love, then at least we are worthy of it for our love for you. Moreover, we are commanded to love not only those who love us, but also our enemies. Who will be so hard-hearted, so rude, that, having received such a commandment, he will begin to turn away and hate even those who love him, although he himself is filled with countless vices? We had fellowship in a spiritual meal; Let us have fellowship in spiritual love. If thieves, sitting at a common table, forget their evil morals, then what excuse will we have, who, while always partaking of the body of the Lord, do not even imitate them in meekness? For many, not only the fact that they have a common table, but also the fact that they are from the same city is a sufficient incentive for friendship; But we, who have a city, and a house, and a table, and a way, and a door, and a root, and a life, and a head, and a Shepherd, and a King, and a Teacher, and a Judge, and a Creator, and a Father, and everything in common, what excuse shall we have for withdrawing from communication with each other? Don’t you also demand from us the miracles that the apostles performed when they came to preach: that we cleanse lepers, cast out demons, raise the dead? But this will be the strongest proof of your nobility and love if you believe in God without requiring collateral. God, for this reason as well as others, stopped miracles. If, without miracles, those who possess one or another perfection, such as the gift of speech or piety, become vain, exalted, and separate from each other, then where would there be no divisions if there were also miracles? And that I am not saying this out of conjecture, I present as proof to the Corinthians, who were divided into many opinions as a result of this. Seek not miracles, but the salvation of the soul. Do not seek to see one dead person risen, when you know that all the dead will rise; do not seek to see the blind man receive his sight, but see how now everyone begins to receive better and more useful sight. Learn to look chastely yourself, and correct your eye. Truly, if we lived everything as we should, the pagans would marvel at us more than at the miracle workers. Miracles are often considered a deception, and much is found suspicious in them, although Christian miracles are not like that at all. But an immaculate life cannot be subject to any such suspicion; on the contrary, virtue stops the lips of everyone. 8. So, let us practice virtue; it constitutes great wealth and a great miracle. It delivers true freedom, manifests it in slavery itself, not freeing from slavery, but making the slaves themselves more honorable than the free; and this is much more important than giving freedom itself. It does not make the poor rich, but even in poverty itself it makes him more sufficient than the rich. If you want to perform miracles, then free yourself from your sins - and everything will be done by you. Beloved, sin is the most evil demon. And if you drive him out of yourself, you will do more than those who cast out thousands of demons. Listen to how Paul puts virtue above miracles: “Be zealous,” he says, “for great gifts, and I will show you an even more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31); and further, showing this path, he did not mention either the resurrection of the dead, or the cleansing of lepers, or anything else like that, but instead of all this he spoke of love. Listen to what Christ says: “Do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). And before, in another place: “Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and was it not in Your name that they cast out demons? and did they not perform many miracles in Your name? And then I will declare to them, “I don’t know you” (Matthew 7:22–23). Also, before suffering on the cross, calling his disciples, he told them: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35), and not because you will cast out demons. And again: by this everyone will know that You sent Me (John 17:23) - not because they will raise the dead, but because they will be one. Miracles often benefit others, but harm the one who performs them, either by leading him to pride and vanity, or in some other way; but nothing of the kind can be expected from good deeds: they benefit both those who do them and many others. So let us do them with all diligence. If you have become merciful from a hard-hearted person, then you have healed a withered hand; if, leaving the spectacle, he went to church, then he corrected his lame leg; if he turned his eyes away from the harlot and from the beauty of another man’s wife, then he opened his blind eyes; If instead of satanic songs you learned spiritual psalms, then, being previously dumb, you began to speak. These are the greatest miracles! These are wonderful signs! If we continually perform such miracles, then through them we ourselves will become great and amazing, and we will attract all the wicked to virtue, and we will achieve the future life, which may we all be worthy of through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Probably, Chrysostom wanted to express here the idea that few enrich the church treasury by giving alms, since only those who deposit their alms in it can be called the owners of this treasury. You might be interested in: