Catechetical word on the words of the Gospel: (Matthew 20:1-16).

1. I see among my faithful flock unusual sheep, whose foreheads the heavenly Shepherd has just touched with His seal. And I want to find the herb of teaching, which I could equally offer both to those who have already tasted grace and to those who have yet to taste spiritual food, so that in the same pasture of teaching, some - those already enlightened - would find a reminder of the gifts of God, and others - those preparing for enlightenment - would find greater encouragement to receive baptism. Obviously, the conversation should be of a mixed nature, corresponding to the mixed composition of the meeting, consisting of people who have already been instructed in the truths of the faith and those who are still being instructed. And so I came up with an idea that I can offer to all of you - the old household of Christ, and how to attract newly purchased slaves to the freedom of knowledge: I will talk with my brothers about such words of the Lord, which will encourage those who have long ago accepted the Lord’s vineyard to more diligently cultivate it, and who have just looked into it will excite them to compete with those. “For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1). The Lord calls Himself a housewife - a householder; He calls all believers in general who have been baptized at various ages of life as workers called at the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours; By vineyard He means saving commandments, the fulfillment of which is associated with little difficulty, but with great benefit. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” Having agreed with them, i.e. laborers, He sent them to His vineyard. The householder is Me. Just as a householder disposes of his house as he pleases, so I dispose of the whole world as I please. I, the Sun of Truth, clothed in the cloud of human nature, descended upon humanity and walk among it, looking for workers in My vineyard. Of course, I do not need people to cultivate the vineyard: I have angels and archangels, executors of My will. But I want to see my earthly slaves among the inhabitants of My possessions. And so I walk everywhere and look around to see if I can find someone, if I will hire someone, not in order to enrich myself with the labors of others, but in order to enrich those who follow My call. I took for myself Peter, John and other disciples, tireless cultivators of the universe; I agreed with them for a denarius per day, hired them for life and promised them the kingdom of heaven as a reward for all their work. But My soul cannot be satisfied with them alone. I cannot calmly see that there are so few workers in My field; I am saddened by the contemplation of these - so few - workers. I crave more workers, I want more mercenaries, more initiates. Great and vast is the garden of My commandments; all those who believe in Me will find a place in it, and as it is filled with lovers of virtue, it becomes even more extensive. What should I do? How can I fill My fence? Where else can we get hunters to work? Should we go again to the crossroads, should we go to those who wander voluntarily, should we go to those who are careless? Should I, the rich one, go to the poor, so that the poor can be made rich? Should we go again to where the workers gather? I will do what I must do: I will call the poor again. My business is to invite, and it is their business to follow the invitation; It is my business to wish to give a reward, and it is their business to wish to receive it. If they respond to My call, they will please both Me and themselves; if they leave it unattended, they will harm themselves. I have no shortage of workers to dig up the trees, fertilize the soil and trim the young shoots; My vineyard cannot remain uncultivated or barren. “When he went out about the third hour, he saw others standing idly in the marketplace, and he said to them, “Go you also into my vineyard” (Matthew 20:3–4). Where were you before? Where were you yesterday and the day before? How did you separate from me when I came looking for you? Why didn’t they hurry to Me early in the morning for their own benefit? Are you so inattentive to the rays of piety that you consider the day to be night, and when the light of truth shines, you remain in darkness and slumber? At least now wake up, now stay awake, now come to your senses and come to your senses! “Go you too into my vineyard.” Do you see how much I love you? I did not limit My preaching in the morning, I did not close access to new workers, I did not stop caring about your conversion after the first call: I am ready to devote every hour to your repentance, My arms are open to you at whatever age you are. Whether they bring babies to Me, I accept with joy: after all, I am the Creator of babies, I am their father, mother, breadwinner, and food. Whether babbling children come running to Me, I rejoice; Whether young men come, I’m even more pleased; whether mature men fall down, I accept: I greet all those who come running to Me with faith with hugs, like brothers. “Go you too into my vineyard.” I do not make compensation for missed hours if I see that diligence makes up for previous negligence; I will not reduce your daily wage if you are trying to catch up with those who took on the job before you. Leave the vineyard of the Jews, harsh and ungrateful, capable of producing only vinegar, leave this vine, transplanted from Egypt, reeking of the bitterness of Egyptian idolatry and accustomed to bring bitter grapes to its planter; deliver it to My vineyard and “whatever comes next I will give you” (Matthew 20:4). I do not offend anyone, I am fair by nature; I am not selfish, and the laws against selfishness were issued by Me; I am not harsh towards prudent slaves, nor petty or picky towards those who are devoted to Me: I will give you wages according to your work, I will reward you generously for all your labors. “Going out again about the sixth and ninth hour, he did the same” (Matthew 20:5). I don’t waste time: I catch those who want it and never tire of calling those oppressed by sins to the truth. I went out once and returned with spoils; went out a second time and returned with a catch; went out for the third time, and the fishing was rich; I went out for the fourth time - around the ninth hour - and now I’m leading some. The more I chase after prey, the more my desires flare up: as many as I bring with Me, I want to acquire as many more, and having found these, I again look for others. For all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth - that’s what I want! 2. “When he went out about the eleventh hour, he found others” (Matthew 20:6). I do not cease to rob the devil as long as this life lasts; I will not cease to take prey from death, this terrible predator of the human race; I cannot bear not to return to immortality people who, by their own free will, became mortal - until their very last breath. Therefore, I do not neglect even the eleventh hour, I sit at the very gates of hell in order to have time to turn someone from death to life. “When he went out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idly, and he said to them: Why have you been standing here all day idly” (Matthew 20:6)? Don't you have a Church? No prophets? No apostles? No martyrs? No Scripture? There are no spiritual remedies? “Why are you standing here idly all day?” Do you not see the sun making its appointed course? Don't you see the moon serving the Creator? Do you not see a creature obedient to the Creator? Don’t you see that each of the elements performs the work that is intended for it? Why are you the only ones dishonoring nature through your inaction? Why are you like lifeless pillars? Do you not have eyes to see the beauty of the world and give glory to its Creator? Do you not have lips to sing the praises of God with your tongue? Are there no hands to give alms? Or don't have the legs to make a soul-saving run? “Why are you standing here idly all day?” How long will you deny My dominion? “Why are you standing here idly all day?” They tell him: “nobody hired us.” This is a common excuse people have when they need to justify their sins. Getting rid of the present and putting it off for the future, they say: leave it now; when God commands me, then I am baptized; Give me this Easter, and by the next one I will be enlightened. These are the people who say: “nobody hired us.” What is the answer to them from the One who, with His goodness, has overcome all the excuses of people who erect barriers to the action of grace? “Go you too into my vineyard.” Didn’t expose their false excuse, didn’t expose their bad subterfuge, didn’t tell them: why are you saying that “no one hired us”? Why do you increase the guilt of negligence by lying that no one hired you? Have the prophets called you? Didn't the apostles convince you? Did I not come for you myself? Have I not called you many times and you have not obeyed? Have you not seen how I hired your comrades and made arrangements with them? Why didn’t they want to follow the example of those who agreed with Me, and remained idle spectators until old age? Instead of all this, the Savior simply told them: “Go you too into my vineyard.” I also accept old people who want to work, I also accept gray hairs whitened by piety, I also accept trembling limbs strengthened by faith; I look with pleasure at the elders who, together with the elder’s staff, hold the cross in their hands. “Go you too into my vineyard.” You gave your youth to the devil, at least dedicate your old age to me; You sacrificed your strength to the enemy, give me at least your useless age; You served the tormentor all the time he wanted, work for me for the rest of your days. Be faithful, before you become dead, before you die, put on the robe of immortality, and before your death, give yourself an incorruptible burial by grace. Hurry, hurry to be inside the vineyard before evening; make every effort so that the setting sun does not find you outside it. If before sunset you are numbered among My faithful, then, as a lover of light, you will see the glory of My deity; If you come out of the vineyard with those who are called, then even those who did not work will I accept you as having worked. If the night of death overtakes you outside My court, then I can no longer accept you as friends: a dead person does not believe, a dead person will not bring confession, a dead person does not work and is not honored with the sacraments, a dead person has no abstinence, a dead person cannot demand payment, a dead person is not sealed and is condemned before judgment. Only the living and healthy will praise the Lord: such a person will live even after death, and such a person will bloom again after burial. Go you too to My vineyard. While there is still a small field of life left, take care; do not wait until inevitable illness takes possession of the crown of your will. Do not want to stock up on the parting words of immortality at the very moment of death; acquire life in time, in a healthy and awake state, receive talent in order to increase it through labor. “You also go into my vineyard, and whatever comes next you will receive” (Matthew 20:7). And you will receive even more than you should in truth: just repent, just come, just be with Me. Do not ignore My admonitions: no one has yet, having believed Me, left without gratitude, none of those who served Me have remained poor. This was the way this householder filled his vineyard. "When did evening come." Already the day of real life was fading, the long night of death was already approaching, the dawn of the resurrection of the dead was already breaking, this morning, after which there is no place for evening - and now the owner of the vineyard says to his manager: “Call the workers.” Call all the descendants of Adam; call Abel, who became a victim because of the sacrifice; call Enoch, who pleased (God) and changed; call on Noah, the wonderful helmsman amid the general collapse of nature; call upon the most faithful Abraham, more lover of God than lover of children, who rebelled against his own bosom and preserved the faith; call upon Joseph, the ascetic of chastity; call upon the patriarchs; call upon the prophets; call upon Elijah, who competed in the race with glory and became the charioteer of the fiery chariot; call the apostles, the lamps of the new testament; call the martyrs who were jealous of My death for them; call Stephen, who was stoned for Me; call on Barlaam, whose right hand was burned for preserving the vineyard; call everyone who has worked well, call everyone who honestly cultivated My domain - and “give them their wages.” Open My treasuries, open My storehouses, open My beautiful royal palaces; bring royal crowns, bring divine rewards, do not spare any of My jewels. They did not spare their souls for Me. Crown the heads of those who labored for Me, fill the hands of those who labored with wages. Let no one leave here uncrowned, let no one remain ungifted, let no one lose his reward. Let everyone be enriched, let everyone rejoice, let them see how I paid them back. Let them see what benefits those who follow Me are rewarded with; let them see what gifts those called by Me, but who do not want to come to Me, are deprived of. “Give them their wages, beginning from the last to the first” (Matthew 20:8). First of all, please the latter with the gifts: they are the ones who especially need My goodness. After all, those who worked from the very beginning, from early morning, have on their side the very day, and the hours, and virtues, and deeds, and agreement - everything testifies in their favor; and the latter, being deprived of all this, place their hope solely in My love for mankind. So let these latter receive the gifts first, and then let them receive their rewards first. “And those who came about the eleventh hour received a denarius each” (Matthew 20:9). With great joy, turning this award in their hands, they said: we were already ready not to believe it. They knew that they did nothing to deserve what they received. But seeing this gift with their own eyes, having such grace in their hands, they rejoiced and triumphed, rejoicing in the benefits received beyond their expectations. “And those who came first thought that they would receive more, but they also received a denarius; and when they received it, they began to murmur against the owner of the house and said, “These are the last” (Matthew 20:10–12). This murmuring does not mean, however, that they envy those who are given honor (because the saints do not grieve, but rejoice in the common salvation): the Lord only wanted to show by this that His love for mankind is so immeasurable that even those alien to envy, if it were possible, would be born envy. 3. “And having received it, they began to murmur against the owner of the house and said: these are the last” - these elderly, these who barely knew Your power, who barely bent their knees to bow before You, who barely trembling fingers inscribed on their foreheads the sign of Your saving cross, who did not bear the burden of trials, who could not withstand the blows of misfortunes - “these last worked for one hour.” They only saw Your vineyard, they only participated in our work with their eyes, they only showed the view, but did not do anything, they were only spectators of our labors, and not participants - “and you made them equal to us, who endured the burden of the day and the heat” (Matthew 20:12)? We burned out in the fight against temptations, but did not allow the virtues to go out; we were persecuted for You, we worked beyond counting in order to increase Your wealth - and we leave here, having received equal pay with those who did not work equally with us: the work is different, but the reward is the same, the burden is incomparable, but the glory is the same. “These last ones worked for one hour.” The prodigal wife cried near You for one hour, let down her hair, which she had previously braided to serve vice, kissed Your most pure feet with unclean lips and brought earthly myrrh to You, the Heavenly One - and You made her equal to a virgin and daughter. In one hour, the thief crucified on the cross turned to You and exclaimed: “Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom” (Luke 23:42) - and for this one exclamation You opened the gates of heaven to him. In one hour Paul, the persecutor, the enemy, repented - and You made him an evangelist. “These last worked for one hour, and you made them equal to us, who endured the hardship of the day and the heat.” So, what did the philanthropic Lord answer to their reproaches? “He answered and said to one of them: friend! I don't offend you." Oh, extreme humanity! The Lord is suing the slave for the sake of slaves, The judge is looking for justification for the accused from the accuser. "Friend! I don't offend you." Judge Me wisely, friend, and do not upset Me with injustice; talk on a legal basis, and do not reproach for lawlessness; Tell me, why are you offended when honor is given to your colleague? Tell me, what did you lose because your brother inherited the kingdom with you? Didn't you get what you worked for? Didn't you get full pay for the whole day? Haven't you achieved what you wanted? What else do you need? “Did you not agree with me for a denarius” (Matthew 20:13)? Remember what I promised you when I hired you. If I violated the agreement in some way, then you are rightly indignant, and if all the conditions are fulfilled, then you are in vain accusing the innocent. “Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?” Have I reduced any of your reward? Did I, having taken what was yours, give it to others? Have you given your glory to others? Didn’t I bestow My goodness on whomever I wanted? Why are you grumbling? You were a slave, but you are honored as a free man: you have been so favored, why do you complain? Why do you envy your brothers, having a Lord who is alien to envy? "Take yours and go." Be content with the present; do not want to reign alone, being called together with many: in the kingdom of heaven there will be a place for you and all those worthy of it. “But I want to give to this last one the same as I give to you” (Matthew 20:14). Who will resist My will? “God justifies them, and who condemns them” (Rom. 8:33)? God bestows, who demands an account? God enriches, who can take away? The judge becomes a defender, where is the prosecutor? Where is the plaintiff? “But I want to give to this last one the same as I give to you” (Matthew 20:14). I do not want to leave My likeness deprived of glory, I do not want to see My image impoverished: I want those for whom I came down from heaven to reign with Me. “I want to give this last one what I gave you.” He came last, I know too; but he brought Me faith that justified my former slowness; he came last, but discovered the love that I desire; he wandered for a long time like a sheep, but this sheep did not forget the Shepherd (Ps. 119:176). He was mine even when he wandered. I came last, but I came through My baptism, just like you; I came last, but ate My meal, just like you; He came last, but saw all the beauty of My vineyard, saw the tree of life growing here, kissed the thorns with which I was crowned for his sake, fell on the cross that I endured for him. I cannot fail to give him all the honor and glory, who loved Me so much, who believed in Me so much. As you believed, so did he; what you have gained, so has he; as you bowed, so did he; as you reign, so does he; He did not work as hard as you, but I made up for this deficiency with My grace. “Have I not the authority to do whatever I want” (Matthew 20:15)? After all, it wasn’t yours that I wasted? I'm giving away mine. Am I in charge of what belongs to you? And in my own I am free. Have I instructed you to demand an account from Me? From the very beginning I took you as a mercenary. After all, I did not authorize you to manage My property? As a Lover of Humanity, I only allowed you to participate in it. “If your eye is evil,” it cannot see the good things “that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). A completely pure gaze is needed to contemplate the sacraments, a pure soul is needed to understand the pure. Have you seen how good your Master is? Have you seen how He awarded those who came at different times, but who showed the same faith and zeal and one direction, the same gifts and honors? Have you seen how He made the latter equal to the former in His boundless generosity? Go to such a great Lover of Mankind, He has now hired you, He also says to you: “Go you too into my vineyard.” The employer is God, the reward is heaven, the job is salvation; the vineyard is well cultivated; the door to the vineyard is the baptismal font. Divine grace, like some bright gatekeeper standing at the door of the font, calls out to all who enter through it: behold, the door of the Lord, the newly enlightened will enter through it. We do not envy you as those who came at the very end and shared our glory with us, but we accept you as brothers and rejoice with you, honoring your salvation as our glory. Love Him who called you; To enter the vineyard, take yourself a reliable guide - faith. After all, faith is a good guide on the path to the font, faith is the anchor of a overwhelmed nature, faith is a quiet haven of humanity, faith is a clear mirror of the invisible, faith is the best teacher about the consubstantial Trinity, faith taught us to say these saving words: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty. I believe, I do not experience; I believe, I do not encroach on the incomprehensible; I believe, I do not measure the immeasurable. If I believe, I enlighten my soul; if I test, I darken my thoughts; if I believe rightly, I ascend to it; If I test too much, I sink into the abyss. I believe in the one and only true God and Father Almighty. I reject the false pagan gods: there cannot be many gods in heaven. I sing praises to the one and only God; I hate Arianism. I do not say: there was once a time when (God) was not the Father, but I preach that God is always God, that He is always the Father, and the Father as He himself knows. I believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God; born of God before all ages, as only the Born Himself knows; begotten, not made; born, not created, born, not acquired; from the very paternal being who shone forth without time, who did not come from outside (that is, came - ed.) from somewhere, not a thrown or illegitimate son, but the true radiance of the true Father, the unchanging reflection of the invisible image. I know Christ, the Son of God the Father, as God; I know Christ, the son of His servant and Mother, who appeared as a man; I know Christ, of one essence with men, as man from man; I know Christ, invisible and visible; I know Christ, inaccessible to touch and tangible by Thomas; I know Christ, who fed thousands with words, and walked on the waves, and commanded demons, and raised the dead, and performed countless miracles by the power of His deity; I know Christ who felt hunger and thirst, fatigue and anxiety, sweating according to His human nature; I know Christ as the impassive God; I know Christ who died and by the body of the one who suffered; I know Christ, who accepted his death as far as possible; I know Christ, who built the church of His body. I understand the difference between His two natures: I do not divide the one Son into two Sons. I also believe in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, proceeding from the Father, inseparable from the Holy Trinity: I entrust my sanctification to Him, I trust in Him for my resurrection from the dead. 4. Constantly learn this with your soul and tongue; Keep this incessantly in your thoughts and on your lips. You have the apostolic rule of faith and a God-loving life: without faith, works are dead. “I speak from human reasoning, because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness for lawless works, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for holy works” (Rom. 6:19). Let the fornicator be chaste, let the unjust be just, the predator - generous, the covetous - the poor, the inhuman and the lover of money before - let him now appear to those who love Christ, let the blasphemer appear as a singer of songs, let him who hastened to the theaters now hasten to the courtyard of God, let him who was carried away by horse races devote his attention to the apostles, whose exploits are salutary for those who imitate them, as future brides of Christ, adorn your souls and bodies. Let your gaze be a reflection of spiritual silence; let your faces be a clear imprint of inner piety; from your lips let the fragrance of psalms and hymns come from modest, chaste, decent girls preparing for marriage; Let your souls be pure, white, so that they can take on a color like royal scarlet. When you enter the palace of the spirit, when you penetrate into the chambers of grace, when you approach the terrible and at the same time coveted font, like captive slaves, prostrate yourself before the king, bow your knees together and, stretching out your hands to the sky, where the King of us all sits royally, and fixing your eyes on the unceasing eye, with these words turn to the lover of mankind: open to us Your vineyard, O Lord, although we have waited until the eleventh hour; do not be angry with us, Master, for our slowness, do not close the doors of Your love for mankind before us; we recognized our former laziness, condemned our negligence; we suffered for disobedience, we were punished for drowsiness, we were wrecked among pleasures, we were robbed among amusements, we perished, indulging in the vanity of our souls. Finally, we barely woke up, barely gained courage, barely found something useful, barely avoided hostility. We completely renounce the evil one, we renounce harmful and vicious hobbies. From now on we are united to the Savior, the only God. Accept the handwriting of our confession, so that, fearing punishment, we may preserve what we have promised here; accept the symbol of our covenant with You, so that, being ashamed of the symbol, we may keep our morals unshakable and unchanging. Be merciful to your slaves - captives, naked and dead; return to us our former kinship; clothe those whom the devil has exposed; anoint us with the oil of Your holy anointing, so that the bite of the serpent will not harm us again. We want to keep Your commandments, we want to be in Your vineyard, we want to work near You as workers. We lived all the days of our life viciously; We want to spend the rest of our lives doing good. If you want to have mercy like the prodigals, have mercy; If you want to save like publicans, show your love for humanity like robbers, save like persecutors, save as you want. Have mercy on those who repent, as you were patient with those who sin; have mercy on those who fall down, as you were merciful to those who rejected you; have mercy on those who beg, as you have endured on those who insult you. Open to us, the overwhelmed, the harbor of baptism; open to us, the wounded, a painless doctor; open to us, the decrepit, a carefree crucible; open to us, guilty of death, the saving coffin; Reveal to us the life-giving image of Your three-day mortification; open to us the virgin womb of rebirth; reveal to us the adoption of the immaculate mother; open to us the gates of immortality; Open the door of heaven to us, because You yourself said: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). Confirm in practice what you said; what you promised, fulfill it as if it were true. We believe that You can do all things; we believe that You can cleanse us from sinful filth; we believe that You can, through the Spirit and water, revive those who are stubborn in sin; we believe that You can bring about this miraculous birth; we believe that women, and children, and youths, and men, and elders, according to Your will, will emerge from these waters as a new creature, like newborn children; we believe that You can drown our sins in these waters, just as You drowned Pharaoh with all his army; we believe that You can lead us to the path of salvation, as you once made a path for the Israelites in the middle of the sea; We believe that you can do whatever you want. Saying this, expect that the Lord will also say to you: do you believe, “do you believe that I can do this? ...according to your faith, let it be done to you” (Matthew 9:28–29). To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria. 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