Commentary on John's letter to the Parthians

“Commentary on the Epistle of John to the Parthians” represents 10 sermons (reasonings) that were delivered by Blessed. Aurelius Augustine before the flock in Hippo (now Anaba, Africa). The Bishop of Hippo calls the First Council Epistle of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian the Epistle to the Parthians. The compilation of interpretations dates back to 407-415. Blzh. Augustine comments on all chapters of the Epistle (up to 1 John 5:3), leaving the interpretation of most of the 5th chapter unfinished. The discourse combines exegesis, homily, spiritual interpretation and theological reflection. The conversations mainly focus on the theme of Christian love. Blzh. Augustine speaks of God as love, which was poured out by the Holy Spirit on the Church after Christ completed the Redemption of the human race. God loves His creation, but does not love the creation’s deviation from Him, does not love sin. In order to embrace the love of God, a Christian must get rid of love for the world. Blzh. Augustine speaks of the close evangelical connection between love of God and neighbor. The difference between the faith of a true Christian and the faith of demons lies in the absence of love: “Faith with love is the faith of a Christian; faith without love is the faith of demons; whoever does not believe at all is even worse than demons; such people are even more inert than demons” (Discourse 10, Chapter 2). The characteristic of perfect Christian love is self-sacrifice. The essay contains the famous saying of the blessed one. Augustine: “The Short Commandment: “Love and do what you want.” Are you silent, be silent with love; whether you scream, scream with love; If you correct, correct with love; do you forgive, forgive with love; let the root of love be within you; nothing but good can grow from this root” (Discourse 7, chapter 8). Other topics that are raised in the discussions: faith, unity with Christ, commandments, sin, etc. Blzh. Augustine speaks about the main reason for the Incarnation - the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of the human race. The essay also reveals the theme of the Church, which is presented by Bl. Augustine as the Body of Christ, Bride of Christ and Mother. This publication presents the first complete translation of the “Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians” into Russian, made by prof. V.M. Tyulenev. Translation from Latin and notes by V. M. Tyulenev Preface by P. K. Dobrotsvetov We present to the reader's attention the work of Blzh, translated completely into Russian for the first time. Augustine's Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians, better known as the First Catholic Epistle of St. Apostle John the Theologian. The dating of this interpretation is attributed to approximately 407–415. Blzh. Augustine interprets all five chapters of this Epistle (up to 1 John 5:3), leaving his commentary on most of chapter 5 unfinished. The leitmotif in this work is love, which in Augustine acquires semantic refractions in themes related to the Holy Spirit, Atonement, the Christian Church and the moral life of a Christian. Blessed Augustine of Hippo as a theologian and exeget in “Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians” We present to the reader's attention the unfinished work of Blzh, translated completely into Russian for the first time. Augustine's "Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians" (S. Aurelii Augustinis Hipponensis episcopi in Epistulam Ioannis ad Parthos tractatus decem), better known as the First Council Epistle of St. Apostle John the Theologian. Translation by V. M. Tyulenev from the publication: Saint Augustin. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean / Texte latine, introduction, traduction et notes par P. Agaesse (SC; vol. 75. Paris, 1961). This work was partially published translated into Russian by A. R. Stepantsov in the magazine “Alpha and Omega” in 2002–2003. The 1st, 2nd, 5th and 7th Discourses were published. For the magazine “Diacrisis” prof. V. M. Tyulenev completed a complete translation of all ten Discourses, and they will be published in the upcoming issues of our journal. If we turn to Augustine’s work itself and its title, the publisher of this work in the “Christian Sources” series, P. Agösse, explains the possible reasons for the unusual name of this Epistle - “to the Parthians”, since in the text of the Epistle there is no indication of the Parthians or the Persians. Cassiodorus and the Venerable Bede point to such a mention in some ancient church authors, for example in St. Athanasius the Great, although St. Athanasius, no such mention has been preserved 1. Some suggest that the Greek name “Πρός Πάρθους” (“To the Parthians”) was mistakenly derived from the name “Πρός παρθένους” (“To the virgins”) 2. Augustine himself does not mention the Parthians in his work, although all the manuscripts with this work are inscribed “to the Parthians” 3. Another option is the “Adumbrationes” of Clement of Alexandria, who refers to this Epistle as the “First Epistle of John the Virgin” 4 . The essay “Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians” consists of ten sermons, or Discourses (tractates). According to P. Agösse 5, Augustine's tractatus is a technical term in Christian Latin, indicating a complex literary genre that combines exegesis, homily, spiritual interpretation and theological reflection 6. This work is not precisely dated by Augustine himself, and therefore there are different opinions regarding the year of its composition. The widest boundaries of writing this work are 407–415 7. More clear are the indications of the time of year in which this work was written. Blzh. Augustine says at the very beginning: “You remember, beloved brothers, what we have been discussing lately, passage by passage, the Gospel of John. But since the celebrations on the occasion of holy days have arrived, when certain passages from the Gospel must be read, the same from year to year, and they cannot be [replaced] by others, we are forced to interrupt for a while (but not completely reject) the order [of sermons] that we have chosen” 8 . From this, researchers conclude that the “Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians” interrupts the process of oral interpretation of the Gospel of John in sermons (and, accordingly, its presentation in writing - “Discourses on the Gospel of John” 9), created, according to various estimates, from 406 to 420 10. Presumably it could have been 407 (according to Bonardier 11), 413, 415 and even 418. According to Agösse, most likely it was 415. Augustine was then sixty years old, and he was working on his main treatises: “On the Trinity” and “On the City of God” 12. . Since in the usual sequence of exegetical sermons of St. Father had a pause, so he took up the interpretation of a relatively small New Testament text - this Epistle. Blzh. Augustine chose the Epistle of St. the Apostle John, so that, interrupting the interpretation of the Gospel of John, not depart from the apostle himself 13. It is assumed that the Commentary on the Epistle to the Parthians was delivered between the 12th and 13th Discourses on the Gospel of John 14. Unlike the Discourses on the Gospel of John, the latter of which were written rather than spoken, this work of Augustine consists of sermons that were delivered orally 15 in Hippo of Rhegium, where Augustine's pulpit was located. The holy days mentioned by the Hippo saint are Bright Week from Easter Sunday to Friday. The last two Discourses (9th and 10th) were delivered by him in the week in which the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord falls. The time of recitation was most likely the evening services, since there was more time for conversation there than at the Liturgy in the morning 16. All manuscripts in which this work of Augustine is preserved end with the 10th Discourse, in which the interpretation reaches the 3rd verse and breaks off, leaving the commentary on the subsequent part of the 5th chapter unfinished. All ten Discourses were thus written and delivered as if in one breath 17. In addition to his two main works - “On the Trinity” and “On the City of God” 18, Augustine simultaneously wrote a series of small anti-Pelagian works. However, the well-known extreme positions of late Augustine on the issues of free will, grace and original sin, developed in polemics against this heresy, have not yet reached their sharpness in this work. Here you can find such statements that no one on earth can be without sin 19, and at the same time that the grace of God does not cancel free will, that is, the author speaks about the synergy of God and man in the matter of salvation: “See how He does not deprive us of free will and says: he cleanses himself... But God does not cleanse you without your desire. Therefore, by uniting your will with God, you purify yourself. You purify yourself, not on your own, but through Him who came to dwell in you." 20 Augustine encounters even more thematic intersections with the Discourses on the Gospel of John. In addition, blzh. Augustine is clearly of the opinion that St. Apostle John the Theologian is the author of the Gospel of John, three Council Epistles and Apocalypse 21. As for the exegetical method in this work, while scrupulously commenting on the “letter” of the text, Augustine is nevertheless thorough in being faithful to its spirit. The method of exegesis of the blessed. Augustine consists not only in clarifying some places of the biblical text, but also in contrasting some texts with others, 22 in searching for even external contradictions between different places of Holy Scripture. At the same time, Augustine’s fundamental postulate is that Holy Scripture is all inspired by God, entirely inspired by the same Holy Spirit and therefore cannot be in disagreement with itself. For example, Augustine compares the sayings of St. Prophet David and St. Apostle John the Theologian and states: “The Spirit is one, even if there are two books, even if there are two lips, even if there are two tongues. After all, one was spoken through John, the other was spoken through David, but do not think that the Spirit is not one and the same... Can two tongues filled with the Spirit of God speak at odds? Therefore, there is a certain agreement, a certain unanimity, but it requires someone who can hear” 23. Therefore, for Augustine there cannot be a situation of choice between two texts of Holy Scripture that are apparently opposite in meaning, so as to accept one and reject the other. If they are outwardly opposite, then they turn out to be just two different aspects of the same truth, which requires its comprehension. There is nothing that calls for reflection on Holy Scripture, nothing that conveys the meaning of the mystery of the biblical text like the contradictory fragments of Holy Scripture 24. Augustine, as in the Commentary on John 25, addresses his listeners, asking for their joint participation in the process of interpreting difficult passages of Holy Scripture: “Pay attention to these words. I again point out to you the difficulties facing us, so that through your attention, through your prayer both for us and for yourself, God will open [our eyes] and offer a way out, so that no one will find in His word a reason for their destruction, which word was preached and written down solely for the sake of healing and salvation. If we briefly consider the teachings of the blessed one. Augustine in this work, you can see the following. The theory of knowledge of God, the doctrine of God: about His properties, about the Holy Trinity - Augustine here presents them with a dotted line, since he talks a lot about this in his “Commentary on John.” He is, rather, more interested in the theme of God as love, which was poured out by the Holy Spirit on the Church after Christ completed the Redemption of the human race, and how to follow and acquire this love: “Christ is God, the end of the commandment is love, and God is love; The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one. Here He is the end for you, and in another place He is the way. Don’t stop along the way, otherwise you won’t reach the end!” 27 Blzh. Augustine speaks more often about the Incarnation of the Son of God. Christ, as the Son of God, exists pre-eternally, being born of God the Father: “Born of the eternal Father, begotten from eternity, begotten forever, He has no beginning, no limit, no spatial limitation, because He is that which exists, for He Himself is the Existing One” 28 . Speaking about Jesus Christ, Augustine asks: “Who is He? Word of God. And how did He come to the sick? And the Word became flesh and dwelt in us (John 1:14)” 29. So, “The Lord Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, hidden in weakness” 30. Therefore, the Church teaches about Christ as God and man, teaching double food: “Our milk is Christ humbled; our solid food is the same Christ, equal with the Father. He feeds you milk to satisfy you with bread; for to touch Christ spiritually with your heart means to comprehend that He is equal with the Father” 31 . But for Augustine this faith in Christ as man and in Christ as God has no equality. Christ is first of all God, the Son of God, and therefore faith in Christ as the Son of God and God equal to the Father is important: “Who else does not understand the Divinity of Christ, has approached only His flesh and has not achieved His Divinity? What great thing is it to achieve only the same as His persecutors who crucified Him? It is great to understand that God is the Word, Who was with God from the beginning and through Whom all things began to be (cf. John 1:1-3)” 32. Blzh. Augustine also speaks about the main reason for the Incarnation - the redemptive death and resurrection of the human race: “Why did He come in the flesh? Because we were to receive the hope of the resurrection. He was God and came in the flesh. After all, God could not die, but the flesh could die; therefore, for this reason He came in the flesh to die for us” 33. The reason for the Incarnation, according to Augustine, is the fall of mankind, and therefore, in the Economy of salvation, God exalts and enriches man, diminishing Himself. Here we hear the well-known theme of the “kenosis” of the Son of God, which, however, does not reach as clearly as the doctrine of deification, that “God became man so that man could become god,” as we find mainly among the Greek holy fathers, in the form of their symmetrical teaching tantum – quantum (“as much as”). Augustine still remains within the framework of the Western tradition with other – often legal – emphases in soteriology. As the blessed one writes. Augustine, “For your sake He became temporary, so that you could become eternal, because He also became temporary in this way that He remained eternal. Something has been added to Him from time, but nothing has been taken away from eternity. You were born temporary and through sin became temporary; you became temporary through sin, and He became temporary through mercy for the forgiveness of sins... He came to the captive as a Redeemer. The Lord shed His blood for us, ransomed us, gave us new hope” 34. The theme of Christ as the New Adam is also reflected in this work of Augustine: “Pay attention, brothers, to two births: Adam and Christ. Two people, but one of them is a man as a man, the second of them is a God-man. Through man as man we are sinners; through the God-man we receive justification. That birth cast us down to death, this birth raised us to life; this birth brings with it sin, this birth delivers from sin” 35. Augustine dwells in more detail on the details of the saving acts performed by Christ. Augustine interprets Christ’s temptations in the wilderness “by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” and Christ’s victory over the devil as an instruction for Christians to overcome in the same way: “By means of these three [things] the Lord was tempted by the devil... But the Lord, who made heaven and earth, trampled upon the devil. Is it surprising that the devil was defeated by the Lord? But why did He also answer the devil? Yes, in order to teach you” 36. The theme of the Church, often encountered in Augustine during this period, is present in this work also largely due to his intense struggle with the schismatic Donatists. Church near the bl. Augustine is traditionally represented as the Body of Christ, as the Bride of Christ, and as the Mother. The blj. is brightly and unexpectedly versatile. Augustine speaks of the theme of the Church as the Body of Christ: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, ascending into heaven on the fortieth day, left His Body to remain here, because He saw that many would honor Him precisely because He ascended into heaven, and saw that their veneration would be useless if they began to trample on the members [of His Body] on earth. And so that no one would be mistaken and, while honoring the Head who is in heaven, would not trample [His] feet on earth, He said where the members of His [Body] would be located” 37, “And here He is the whole Christ: both the Head and the Body” 38. At the blzh. Augustine in all his theological and economic interpretations in this work runs through the theme of God's love for man, which goes into aspects of ecclesiology and church unity 39 . Christ was crucified due to the lack of love among His enemies: “After all, there was one sin that the Jews could not have had. some very specific sin, namely the lack of love” 40. This same lack of love characterizes the heretics of Augustine’s contemporaries. Interpreting the well-known words of the apostle: “He who denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is the Antichrist” (cf. 1 John 4:3; cf. 1 John 2:22), Augustine asks the question: “who denies, because neither we deny, nor those [heretics] deny?.. After all, if you pay attention to the words, you will hear how many heretics confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, but the truth convicts them” 41. “Ask the Arians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Eunomians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Macedonians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Catafrigs, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Novatians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. What then? Do all heretics have the Spirit of God? Well, aren't they false prophets? Well, there is no deception, no temptation in them? Of course, they are antichrists, for they came out from us, but they were not ours (1 John 2:19)” 42. And he continues: “Many heretics confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, but the truth convicts them... love forced Him to take flesh. Anyone who does not have love does not confess that Christ has come in the flesh. And now ask any heretic, did Christ come in the flesh?.. For this purpose, Christ came in the flesh to die for us. This is why He died for us, to teach us great love. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). But you do not have love, because because of your pride you destroy unity. You separate yourself from the unity of the earthly circle, you divide the Church with schisms, you tear apart the Body of Christ. He came in the flesh to gather [everyone] together. You’re shouting to separate [everyone]” 43. So, schismatics and heretics go against Christ, and therefore they are Antichrists 44, and if so, then faith in Christ turns out to be vain for them, according to Augustine: “...if you do not belong to the Body, then you do not have a Head over you” 45. So, this flesh of Christ is His Church. It follows from this that Christ is organically inseparable from His Church as the Head from the Body: “And here He is the whole Christ: both Head and Body” 46. Love for Christ also implies love for His Body - His Church: “What good does it do if you believe and yet blaspheme? You honor Him in the Head and blaspheme Him in the body. He loves His body. If you separated yourself from His body, then the Head did not separate Itself from His body. “You worship Me in vain,” the Head shouts to you from above. “In vain do you honor Me.” It is the same as if someone wanted to kiss your head and trample on your feet; and perhaps he would trample on your feet with boots lined with nails, wanting to grab your head and kiss; unless at the moment when he uttered words of respect, would you not shout, saying: “What are you doing, man? You are trampling on me... Above you show me respect, and below you show me you trample. The pain of trampling is greater than the joy of showing respect, for the head, to which you show respect, suffers pain for the feet that you trample.”47 Augustine's paradoxical statement is that the Body of Christ's Church is not, to put it theologically, “incorruptible,” but is subject to weakness and disease: “His body is still subject to weakness and will not be completely healthy until the resurrection of the dead occurs.”48 Explaining the morbidity of the Church Body, Augustine, switching to the language of contemporary medicine, speaks of “bad juices” - false Christians: “they dwell in the Body of Christ, like bad juices. When they are removed, the body experiences relief; in the same way, when the evil [Christians] leave, the Church experiences relief. And when the body expels and removes them, it says: “These juices came out of me, but they were not mine.” What does “were not mine” mean? This means that they were not cut off from my flesh, but they pressed my chest when they were inside me” 49. Hence, “we are either among the members [of the body of Christ] or we are found to be bad juices. He who changes for the better is a member of the body; whoever remains in anger is a bad juice” 50. Another image of the Church according to Augustine is the image of the Mother. Having completed the redemption of the human race, Christ gave the Church His Holy Spirit: “For it was necessary that the Holy Spirit should manifest Himself in all languages, since the Gospel of God had to go around the entire circle of earth in all languages” 51 . By the Spirit of God the Sacrament of Divine birth is accomplished - in Holy Baptism: from water and the Spirit (cf. John 3:5). The Mother is the Church. But even after being born, a person also needs to grow spiritually, receiving nourishment and applying his will and his efforts to his growth: “Therefore, if anyone wants, he will grow [after such a birth], and if he wants, he will decrease. What does it mean to grow? It means moving forward. What does it mean to decrease? This means retreating. Anyone who knows that he has been born, let him hear that he is a child and a child; let him greedily cling to his mother's breasts and grow quickly. The Mother is the Church, and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures” 52. But this same Mother, who gives birth and nourishes her children, looks with pain at how some of them have fallen into heresy and schism: “After all, before those who divide the Church among themselves and strive to form parties from a single whole, in the person of the Apostle, mother-love, who gave birth to children in pain, exposes her insides, tears her breasts with a cry, mourns her children, who, as she sees, have moved [from her], and calls to return to one name for those who wished to form many names for themselves, dissuades them from loving themselves, so that they love Christ” 53 . In addition to understanding the Church as the Body and as the Mother, Augustine also traditionally understands her as the Bride of Christ: “Any [Christian] holiday is a celebration of marriage. The marriage of the Church is celebrated. The Son of the King marries. Moreover, the Son of the King is the King himself. The guests who come [to the celebration] are the bride... For every Church is the bride of Christ; The flesh of Christ is its beginning and its first fruits; in the Church the bride is united with the Groom in the flesh" 54 . On the one hand, Augustine believes in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, turning to himself the opponents of the Gospel and the Church: “You heard while reading from the Acts of the Apostles how many thousands of the murderers of Christ believed (cf. Acts 2:41). If in time those who killed believed, shouldn’t those who doubted for a while also believe?” 55 On the other hand, he states the absence of the grace of the Holy Spirit among heretics and schismatics, but also among some unfit members of the Orthodox Church itself: “This is the Spirit of God, which heretics and all those who have cut themselves off from the Church cannot have. And those who do not openly separate themselves, but are separated by their iniquity, remaining inside [the Church], are like chaff; they are not grain and do not have that Spirit" 56 . As important elements of the Church of Christ, Blessed. Augustine mentions the apostles as witnesses of the Lord and insists on the need for modern Christians to be faithful to them on the basis of a single faith: “They saw, but we did not see, and yet we are their accomplices, because we adhere to a common faith” 57 . Then there are the martyrs: “Martyrs are witnesses of God. It pleased God to have men as witnesses, so that men should have God as a witness.”58 Another important element of the “element” of the life of the Church is prayer: “We pray for you, brothers, but you also pray for us. Let all the members [of the Body of Christ] pray for one another, and let the Head intercede for all.”59 Blzh. Augustine, in his “Discourses on the Epistle of John to the Parthians,” continues the fight against the Donatist schism, which sought to diminish the universality of the Church of Christ, reducing the Church only to the Church in Africa. The Donatists, according to Augustine, "revere Christ to such an extent that they claim: He remained in two languages, Latin and Punic, that is, African. Does Christ have only two languages? These two languages ​​are the only ones known to the Donatus party, and no more!" 60 Indirectly, these words of Augustine also testify against the well-known subsequent Catholic medieval “trilingual heresy”, which commanded that the Gospel be read only in Latin, Greek and Hebrew and therefore rejected worship and reading in the national languages ​​of the believing peoples. The theme of heretics and false Christians, who are only apparently members of the Body of Christ, is also important and always relevant for Augustine. It coincides with the theme of the Antichrist: “Behold the Antichrists! They left us. Hear the consolation: but they were not ours (1 John 2:19). All heretics, all schismatics left us, that is, left the Church; but they would not have come out if they had been ours. Therefore, before leaving, they became not ours. If before they came out, they were not ours, then many remain inside, did not come out, and at the same time are Antichrists... And everyone must ask his conscience whether he himself is the Antichrist. After all, in Latin “antichrist” means “the adversary of Christ”” 61. According to Augustine, “we will find many antichrists who confess Christ with their lips, but with their behavior they distance themselves from Him” 62, cutting themselves off from the Church: “Of course, all who leave the Church and cut themselves off from the unity of the Church are antichrists. Let no one doubt this." 63 But there are also antichrists inside the Church 64, like bad juices 65, like chaff: “...look, beloved: many who are not ours receive the Sacraments with us, receive Baptism with us, receive with us everything that believers know they receive: blessing, the Eucharist and what is contained in the Holy Sacraments - they partake with us at the altar, but not ours. That they are not ours is proven by temptation. When temptation hits them like a gust of wind, they are carried away because they were not grain. And all of them [without a trace] will fly away then (which should be repeated again and again) when the Lord’s threshing floor is winnowed on the Day of Judgment” 66. “So many call themselves Christians, but in fact they do not turn out to be Christians; because they are not what they are called, that is, they do not turn out to be [Christians] in life, in morals, in faith, in hope, in love” 67. “So, brothers, if we consider actions, we will find not only many antichrists who left [the Church], but also many who did not leave [it] at all. After all, there are so many false witnesses, swindlers, wicked people, lovers of divination, adulterers, drunkards, moneylenders, swindlers and all those who are impossible to list in the Church! They are opponents of the Word of God, the Word of God is Christ; everything that is contrary to the Word of God belongs to the Antichrist, because the Antichrist is the adversary of Christ” 68. However, darling. Augustine by no means “puts a stamp” on church sinners, but calls for their correction: “This is said to you, the grain, and let those who were chaff hear this and become grain. Let everyone who loves the world change himself, taking care of his conscience; let him become a lover of Christ, so that he does not become the Antichrist” 69. The teaching of love in the Epistle of John and in its interpretation by Augustine occupies the first place in importance, as evidenced by the words of Augustine himself, characterizing the First Epistle of John the Theologian: “The more I want to talk about love, the less I want this Epistle to end. There is no brighter Message that talks about love” 70. “Look, brothers, you have the Scriptures of God, this canonical Epistle, it is read among all nations, it is recognized throughout the entire earthly circle, it created the whole world. You heard here from the Spirit of God: God is love (1 John 4:8)” 71. However, nowhere in his Discourses does Augustine give an exact definition of love 72 . The importance of this topic in the conditions of Hippo at that time can hardly be overestimated. Despite a recent government decree prohibiting Donatist schism, the Christian community in Hippo was split into two parties - Orthodox and Donatist, whose members were at enmity. But love should be the reason and tool for unity; it will help heal the schism, unite the Church in Hippo and cleanse the hearts of Christians 73 . Love, according to Augustine, is both the content of intra-Trinitarian life and the mutual love of the Father and the Son 74 . Then it is the love of God for His creation, for us, poured out on us by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this love is manifested in the presence of the Holy Spirit in man: “If the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, then he loves in whom the Holy Spirit abides, therefore love is God, but it is God because it is from God” 75 . But this love is not indifferent: “Did He really love us sinners so that we would remain sinners? He saw us as a carpenter saw a tree brought from the forest, and in his thoughts he had in mind what he would make of it, and not the tree that it was,” 76 that is, God loves His creation, but does not love the creation’s deviation from Him, does not love sin. In order to embrace the love of God, a Christian must get rid of love for the world: “There are two loves - for the world and for God. If love for the world lives in us, then there is no room for love for God. Let love for the world go away and love for God remain, let it get a better place... When you free your heart from earthly love, you will let divine love into yourself, and love will begin to live there, from which nothing bad can come” 77 . Blzh. Augustine speaks of the close evangelical connection between love for God and one’s neighbors: “Love is God. Therefore, everyone who loves his brother inevitably loves God." 78 This is the difference between the faith of a true Christian and the faith of demons: “Faith with love is the faith of a Christian; faith without love is the faith of demons; whoever does not believe at all is even worse than demons; such people are even more inert than demons” 79 . So, love for God must be expressed in love for one’s neighbor, for fellow believers who make up the Body of Christ, the Head of which is the God-man - Christ - the Son of God: “You lie, for if you love the Head, then you love the members; if you don’t love the members, then you don’t love the Head either” 80. It turns out a kind of “circle of love”, uniting in the Son of God - Christ: “... the sons of God are the Body of the Only Begotten Son of God, and while He is the Head, and we are members, this is one Son of God. Therefore, he who loves the sons of God loves the Son of God, and he who loves the Son of God loves the Father, no one can love the Father without having love for the Son, and he who loves the Son also loves the sons of God. Which sons of God? Members of the [Body] of the Son of God. And through love such a person himself will become a member, through love he will enter into the unity of the Body of Christ, and there will be one Christ, loving Himself” 81. The path of Christian perfection, according to Augustine, is the path of love: “Begin to love and you will become perfect. Have you started to love? Then God began to dwell in you; love Him who began to abide in you, so that through a more perfect abiding He will make you perfect” 82. But even on this path, those striving for love can expect seduction and self-deception due to the external similarity of internally distant phenomena: “Love feeds the hungry, and pride feeds!.. Love clothes a person deprived of clothes, and pride clothes; love keeps the fast, and pride keeps the fast; love buries the dead, and pride buries. All the good deeds that love wants to do and that it does, pride in turn does and seems to urge on its horses. Love dies, that is, a person who has love dies, he confesses the name of Christ and suffers martyrdom; and pride confesses and suffers martyrdom. But one has love, and the other does not.” But the situation may be different: “The arrogant flatters, the loving is harsh. This one dresses, this one hits. But he dresses to please people, and this one hits in order to correct through severity. It is better to accept blows from love than alms from pride” 83. The criterion for distinguishing two outwardly identical actions should be love - its presence or absence: “Betrayal was committed by the Father, betrayal was committed by Judas, the same act was committed. But what is the difference between the act of the Father who betrayed the Son, the difference between the act of the Son who betrayed Himself, and the act of the disciple Judas who betrayed his Teacher? The fact is that the Father and the Son did it within the framework of love, and Judas did it within the framework of treason... God thought about our salvation, for the sake of which we were redeemed; Judas thought about the payment that he received for selling the Lord. The son thought about the price he paid for us, and Judas thought about the price he received for the sale. Therefore, different thoughts made the actions different. Such is the power of love. Look: she alone makes the difference; look: only she distinguishes between people’s actions” 84. Therefore, “love is the only thing that distinguishes between the children of God and the children of the devil. Let everyone overshadow themselves with the sign of the cross of Christ; let everyone echo “Amen”; let everyone sing “Hallelujah”; let everyone receive Baptism; let everyone visit churches, let everyone build basilica walls; but the children of God and the children of the devil are distinguished in no other way than through love. Those who have love are born of God; Those who do not have love are not born of God. Great sign, great difference! Have everything you want, but if you don’t have it, nothing will help you." 85 The property of perfect Christian love is self-sacrifice: “This is perfect love if you are ready to die for your brother. The Lord showed it in Himself, accepting death for everyone, praying for those by whom He was crucified, saying: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)” 86. But in achieving this perfect love, Augustine also sees certain steps, a sequence of steps: “But you ask yourself and say to yourself: “When will we be able to find such love?” Don't rush to despair. Perhaps she has already been born, but has not yet reached perfection; nourish her so that she does not suffocate” 87. “If you feed on the word of God and the hope of a future life, then you will bring this barely born love to perfection, so that you will be ready to give your life for your brothers” 88. “She is born to improve. When she is born, she begins to be saturated; having been satisfied, it strengthens; having strengthened, it becomes perfect” 89. Different degrees of perfection are reflected in the circle of people to which it extends, starting with neighbors and ending with enemies: “Love is like fire, it must first embrace what is closer, and thus spread to what is further... Spread your love to your neighbors, but do not call it the expansion of love, for if you love those who are close to you, it is the same as loving yourself. Spread it to strangers who have done you no harm. Go beyond that too; achieve to love your enemies. This is exactly what the Lord commands” 90, “in order to love them so that they become brothers” 91. Hence, in general, the maxim of the blzh. Augustine is his following famous commandment regarding love: “The short commandment: “Love and do what you want.” Whether you are silent, be silent with love; if you shout, shout with love; if you correct, correct with love; if you forgive, farewell with love; let the root of love be within you, from this root nothing but good can grow” 92 . From here, Augustine’s explanations of love flow into a hymn of praise to love itself: “I praise love before you, if you want to possess it, possess it!.. It is acquired as a gift. Find it, cherish it, there is nothing sweeter than it. If it is like this when they just talk about it, what should it be like when it is available? 93 However, acquiring love and maintaining it is not something to be taken for granted: “Do not think of it as sluggish and conducive to idleness. Do not think that it is preserved through some kind of meekness and not even meekness, but carelessness and carelessness. This is not how it is preserved. Do not think that you love your servant when you do not beat him, or that you love your son when you do not show him severity, or that you love your neighbor when you do not reproach him. This is not love, but indifference. Let love eagerly strive to correct and improve [the offender]; if he has good morals, let them bring joy, but if he has bad morals, let them be corrected, let them become better. Hate the sin in a person, but love the person. For God created man, but man has already committed sin. Love what God has made and dislike what man has made. When you love the first, you remove the second. When you love the first, you correct the second” 94. “To act contrary to love means to act against God” 95. To preserve love, you must learn to forgive: “It is love that forgives. Remove love from the heart, and hatred will take possession of it; it does not know how to forgive” 96. Love pours out so many blessings on those who possess it! Love is a protector from evil: “If you show love, you will not fall into temptation either in Christ or in the Church; You will not leave either Christ or the Church" 97, "love destroys sins" 98. Therefore, “keep the love of God, so that, just as God is eternal, you too may abide in eternity” 99. The acquisition of this Christian love implies repentance as its condition: “Empty what needs to be filled. You must fill [the soul] with good, pour out the evil. Think about how God wants to fill you with honey: if you are filled with vinegar, where will you put the honey? What the vessel contained should be poured out, the vessel should be cleansed; it must be cleaned, even if it is difficult, if it needs to be cleaned in order for it to become suitable for something” 100. “If sin is born from the weakness of this life, be vigilant, let it immediately arouse hostility in you, condemn it immediately; and when you condemn him, you will come calm to the Judge” 101. “Tell people what you are, tell God what you are. Because if you don't tell God what you are like, God will judge what he finds in you. Don't you want Him to judge you? Condemn yourself" 102. In love, according to Augustine, the correct hierarchy must be observed. Loving creation as God's, a person must love the Creator more: “It is the same, brothers, as if the groom made his bride a ring, and she loved the ring she received more than the groom who made the ring for her.” 103 According to Augustine, there are goods that need to be loved (God and neighbor), and there are goods that need to be used (everything else created by God): “But let there be a measure for the sake of the Creator, so that these [pleasures] do not enslave you through your love for them, so that you do not love for the sake of pleasure what you should use” 104. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean / texte latine, introduction, traduction et notes par P. Agaesse. Paris, 1961. (SC; vol. 75). Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124 // Tractates on The First Epistle of John. Vol. 5. Washington: Catholic Univ. of America Press, 1995. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Interpretation of the Gospel of John: in 2 volumes / trans. from lat. V. M. Tyuleneva; scientific ed., intro. Art. P.K. Dobrotsvetova. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2020. Augustine of Hippo, bl. On training the public // BT. Vol. 15. M., 1976. pp. 25–55. Dobrotsvetov P.K. Blzh. Augustine of Hippo as an exegete and preacher in the “Commentary on the Gospel of John” // Augustine of Hippo, Bl. Interpretation of the Gospel of John: in 2 volumes. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2020. T. 1. pp. 5–36. Dobrotsvetov P.K. The groom's bride in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13) according to patristic interpretations // Tablets. 2019. No. 18. pp. 128–145. Stepantsov S. A., Fokin A. R., Lebedev E. N., Dvoskina E. M., E. N. M. Augustine the Blessed // PE. 2000. T. 1. P. 93–109 Blzh. Augustine of Hippo. Commentary on John's letter to the Parthians You remember, beloved brethren, what we have been discussing lately, passage by passage, the Gospel of John. But since the celebrations of holy days have arrived, when certain passages from the Gospel must be read, the same from year to year, and they cannot be [replaced] by others, we are forced to interrupt for a while (but not completely reject) the order [of sermons] that we have chosen. When I was thinking about what to discuss with you from the Scriptures (as far as the Lord allows) during this week, so that it would correspond to the solemnity of these days, so that it could be done in seven or eight days, the Epistle of Blessed John came to my mind. So, at least for a while, we will put his Gospel aside, but, while discussing his Message, we will not depart from it. Moreover, in this Epistle, which is very sweet for everyone who has a righteous heart, through which the bread of God is eaten, 106 and very worthy of being remembered in the Holy Church of God, we are talking primarily about love. It says a lot of things there, but most of all – about love. He who has something in himself to hear must inevitably rejoice in what he hears. For this reading will be for him like oil for fire: if in such a person there is something to be nourished, [P. 106] will be nourished, strengthened and strengthened. For some, it should become like a flame for fuel: if it did not burn before, then thanks to the words heard it will ignite. For in one case [reading this Message] will add food to what already existed 107, in another it will light a flame where there was none, so that we all have joy in the same love. Where there is love, there is peace; and where there is humility, there is love. Let us listen to him, and let us also speak about his words, which the Lord inspired, so that you may understand [what is written] correctly. 1. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes and what our hands have touched, about the Word of life (1 John 1:1). Who can touch the Word with his hands? Does it mean that the Word became flesh and dwelt in us (John 1:14)? This Word, which became flesh so that He could be touched with hands, began to be flesh from the Virgin Mary; but it was not then that the Word began to be, for [the apostle] said: which was from the beginning. See if in his Epistle he does not point to his Gospel, in which we heard: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (John 1:1)? Perhaps someone can understand the Word of life as a certain expression about Christ, and not the very flesh of Christ, which is touched by the hands. Look what follows: life itself appeared (1 John 1:2). Therefore, Christ is the Word of life. Where did she come from? Indeed, it was from the beginning, but was not revealed to people; She was revealed to the Angels, who saw her and fed on her as if they were their own bread. After all, what does Scripture say? Man ate the bread of angels (Ps. 77:25). Therefore, Life itself appeared in the flesh. Because it became obvious, so that what was accessible only to the heart became also accessible to the eyes in order to heal hearts. For the Word can only be seen with the heart, but the flesh can also be seen with the eyes of the body. We had that by which we could see the flesh, but we did not have that by which we could see the Word. The Word became flesh (John 1:14) so ​​that we could see it, and thanks to this, that in us was healed through which we could see the Word. 2. “And we have seen and are witnesses” (cf. 1 John 1:2). Perhaps some brothers (those who do not understand Greek) do not know what "witnesses" means. This word, which is used by all, has a religious meaning, for those whom we call witnesses in Latin are called martyrs in Greek. Who hasn’t heard about martyrs, or what Christian doesn’t hear the name of martyrs every day? Oh, that it would also remain in the heart, so that we would imitate the sufferings of the martyrs, and not trample on them! 108 Now, he said, “We have seen and are witnesses,” [meaning], “We have seen and are martyrs.” For, bearing witness to what they saw, and testifying to what they heard from those who saw, they 109 suffered all that martyrs endure, since the testimony itself did not please the people against whom it was spoken. Martyrs are God's witnesses. It pleased God to have men as witnesses, so that men should have God as a witness. We have seen, says [the apostle], and we are witnesses. How did they see? In manifestation (in manifestatione). What does “in manifestation” mean? In the sun, that is, in this world. How can one see in the sun the One who created the sun? Perhaps in the sense that “He set His dwelling place in the sun, and He Himself, as a bridegroom, leaving His bridal chamber, was glad, like a giant, to run the race” (cf. Ps. 18:6). He who created the sun is before the sun, before the star (cf. Ps. 109:3), before all the stars, before all the angels, the true Creator, for everything was created through Him and nothing was created without Him (cf. John 1:3). To become accessible to the gaze of carnal eyes, with which they see the sun, [P. 116] He set His dwelling place in the sun, that is, He revealed His flesh in the manifestation of this light; and His bridal chamber was the womb of the Virgin, for in this virgin womb two were united - the Bridegroom and the Bride, the Bridegroom-Word and the Bride-Flesh. For the Scripture says: “and they will be two in one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). And the Lord says in the Gospel: so that they are no longer two, but one flesh (Matthew 19:6). Isaiah also aptly remembers that they are both one; in fact, he speaks on behalf of Christ: as a bridegroom he put a crown on me, and like a bride he adorned me with ornaments (cf. Is. 61:10). It is obvious that one [Lord] speaks and introduces Himself as bridegroom and bride, because there are not two, but one flesh, because the Word became flesh and dwelt in us (John 1:14). The Church is combined with this flesh. And here He is - the whole Christ: both the Head and the body 110. 3. And we are witnesses, says [the apostle], and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested in us (1 John 1:2), that is, manifested among us, which could be said more clearly: “appeared to us.” So, what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you (1 John 1:3). Hear, beloved: what we have seen and heard we declare to you (1 John 1:3). They 111 saw the Lord Himself abiding in the flesh, heard the words from the mouth of the Lord and told us. Therefore we heard but did not see. So are we less happy than those we saw and heard? And why does [the apostle] add: so that you also may have fellowship with us (1 John 1:3)? They saw, but we did not see, and yet we are their accomplices, because we adhere to a common faith. After all, there was one [apostle] who, even after seeing, did not believe and wanted to touch and then believe, saying: unless I put my finger into the wounds of the nails and touch His scars, I will not believe (John 20:25). And He, who always allowed the Angels to see Him, temporarily allowed people to touch Him; [P. 118] and that disciple touched and exclaimed: My Lord and my God! (John 20:28). By touching the Man, he confessed God. And the Lord, in order to console us, who do not have the opportunity to touch with our hands Him who is already sitting in heaven, but who can touch only through faith, said to that [disciple]: you believed because you saw Me; Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). This is written about us, and instructions are given to us! May we be given the bliss that the Lord foretold: let us hold fast to what we have not seen, for those who have seen have told us about it! So that you too may have fellowship with us, says [the apostle]. What's so amazing about communicating with people? Take your time, look at what he says: and our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And we write this to you so that your joy may be complete (1 John 1:3-4). Joy is perfect, he says, in communication itself, in love itself, in unity itself. 4. And this is the gospel that we have heard from Him and proclaim to you (1 John 1:5). What does it mean? They saw and touched the Word of life with their hands. The Only Begotten Son of God was from the beginning and at some time became visible and tangible. Why did He come or what new did He announce to us? What did you want to teach? Why did He do what He did: so that the Word became flesh (John 1:14), so that God, who is above all, would suffer humiliation from people, so that he would receive blows from the hands that He Himself created? What did you want to teach? What did you want to show? What did you want to announce? Let us listen, because without the fruit of the commandment, listening to the story of how Christ was born and how Christ suffered is only to entertain the mind, [P.120] and not to strengthen it. What important things are you listening to? Think about what kind of fruit you are listening to! What did He want to teach? What to proclaim? Listen: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5). Although He had mentioned light before, those words were dark: the good for us is that the light He speaks about enlightens our hearts and that we see what He said. This is what we declare, namely, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). For who will dare to say that there is darkness in God? But what is light? And what is darkness? It is unlikely that He speaks about such things that are accessible to our eyes. God is light, and someone will say that the sun is light, and the moon is light, and a candle is light. Something must be much more than this, more beautiful and superior. How far God is from creation, how far the Creator is from what was created, how far Wisdom is from what was created by Wisdom, so far should this light be from everything. And perhaps we will get closer to it if we understand what kind of light this is, and if we join it in order to be enlightened by it; because in ourselves we are darkness and can become light only if we are enlightened by it and not be confused by it, being confused by ourselves. Who's embarrassed by themselves? One who recognizes himself as a sinner. And who is not embarrassed by him? One who is enlightened by it. What does it mean to be enlightened by him? He who already sees himself plunged into darkness because of sins and longs to be enlightened by him is already approaching him. That is why it is said in the psalm: “Draw close to him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed” (cf. Ps. 33:6). You will not be ashamed if you do not like your vileness, when he shows you vile before you, so that you may comprehend his beauty. This is what He wants to teach. 5. Perhaps we said this too hastily? Let [the apostle] himself explain this in the following words. Remember [P.122] what was said at the beginning of our sermon, namely, that this Message affirms love in us. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all, says [the apostle]. What did he say before? So that you too may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. In turn, if God is light, and there is no darkness in Him, and if we must have communion with Him, then darkness must be cast out of us so that light may appear in us, for darkness cannot have communion with light. Therefore, look at what follows: if we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we are lying (1 John 1:6). You have the Apostle Paul who said: What has light and darkness got in common? (2 Cor. 6:14). You say that you have fellowship with God, and you walk in darkness, but God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. What kind of communication does light have with darkness? And so a man says to himself: “What am I doing? How will I become the light? I live in sins and iniquities!” He seems to be overtaken by some kind of despair and melancholy. There is no salvation except in communion with God. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. But sins are darkness. After all, what does the apostle say about the devil and his angels? They are the rulers of this darkness (cf. Eph.6:12). He would not have called them rulers of darkness unless they were rulers of sin, rulers of the wicked. What should we do, my brothers? We need to have fellowship with God; there is no other hope for eternal life. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. But iniquities are darkness; and we are trampled under iniquity, so that we cannot have fellowship with God. What then is the hope? Didn't I promise to say something these days that would cause joy? It will be sad if I don't do this. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. Sins are darkness. What will happen to us? [P. 124] Let's listen if he will console us, if he will help us rise, if he will give us hope, if we will not stumble along the way. After all, we are in a hurry, hurrying to our homeland. And if we lose hope of achieving it, we fall into despair. But we are supported on our way by [the Lord], who wants [us] to reach it and be preserved by Him in our homeland. Let's listen: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we lie and do not act in the truth (1 John 1:6). Let us not say that we have fellowship with Him if we walk in darkness. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other (1 John 1:7). Let us walk in the light, as [the apostle] walked in the light, that we may have fellowship with Him. What should we do with sins? Listen to what follows: And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). God gives us great confidence. We celebrate Easter, during which the blood of the Lord was shed, and through it we are cleansed from sin. We are sure: the handwriting about slavery, which was against us, was kept by the devil, but it was destroyed by the blood of Christ (cf. Col. 2:14). The blood of His Son cleanses us from all sin, says [the apostle]. What does it mean: from all sin? Look: in the name of Christ, through His blood, which is recognized by those who are called infants (infantes) 112, all their sins have already been cleansed. They came in old and came out new. What does it mean to “come in old and come out new”? They came as old men and left as babies. For old age is a weak, old life; infancy belongs to rebirth, it is new life. But what should we 113 do? Previous sins were forgiven not only to them, but also to us. But since we live in this world amidst temptations, after the remission and forgiveness of all sins, some [new sins] may have been committed. Therefore, let a person do what he can, let him confess himself as he is [P. 126] ​​is, so that He who is always as he is will take care of him. For He was and is; we did not exist and do not exist. 6. Look what he says: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Therefore, if you recognize yourself as a sinner, there is truth in you, for truth is light. Your life has not yet shone with perfect brilliance, because your sins still persist, but you have begun to be enlightened, because you have confessed your sins. Look what is said next: If we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Not only the past, but also those that we may have committed in this life, 114 since a person cannot, while he bears the flesh, not have at least light sins. However, do not neglect these minor sins that we are talking about. If you neglect them when you weigh them, you will be afraid when you count them. Many light sins weigh one heavy one. Many drops fill the river, many grains create a heap. What is the hope? First of all, in confession: let no one consider himself righteous, and in the eyes of God, Who sees what is, let the man stand upright who was not and [now] is. So, first of all, confession. Then love. After all, what is said about love? Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Let us now see if he offers love in regard to the sins that have suddenly crept into us. After all, only love destroys sins. Pride destroys love, therefore humility strengthens love, and love destroys sins. Humility serves confession, in which we confess ourselves to be sinners. This humility does not mean that we say something with the help of the tongue, as if only for the sake of not offending people with arrogance if we call ourselves righteous. The wicked and madmen do the same thing: “I know that I am righteous, but what will I say in front of people? If I call myself righteous, who will endure it, who will bear it? [P. 128] Let my righteousness be known to God, but I will call myself a sinner; not because I am a sinner, but so as not to deserve hatred with my arrogance.” Tell people what you are, tell God what you are. Because if you don't tell God what you are like, God will judge what he finds in you. Don't you want Him to judge you? Judge yourself. Do you want Him to forgive you? Remember for yourself that you can say to God: Turn away Your face from my sins (Ps. 50:11). Tell Him these words from the same psalm: for I am aware of my iniquities (Ps. 50:5). If we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, then we represent Him as a liar, and His word is not in us (1 John 1:9-10). If you say, “I have not sinned,” you will present Him as lying, wanting to present yourself as truthful. But is it really possible for God to turn out to be a liar, and man to be truthful, if this contradicts Scripture: only God is faithful, and every man is a liar (Rom. 3:4)? This means that God is faithful in Himself, but you are faithful through God, because in yourself you are a liar. 7. And so that it does not seem that [the apostle] left sins unpunished, because he said that He is faithful and righteous who cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and so that people do not say to themselves: “We have sinned, let us calmly do what we wish, Christ, the faithful and righteous, will cleanse us, He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” he eliminates [the feeling of] false security and instills useful fear. You want to pretend you're safe, pay attention. For He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins, if only you are constantly dissatisfied with yourself and correct yourself until you reach perfection. So what comes next? My children! I am writing this to you so that you will not sin (1 John 2:1). But perhaps sin is born from human life? What to do then? What? Will there be complete despair? Listen: if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; [P. 130] He is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). So He is an intercessor; try not to sin. If sin is born from the weakness of this life, be vigilant, let it immediately arouse hostility in you, condemn it immediately; and when you condemn him, you will come calm to the Judge. You will have an intercessor there; Do not be afraid that you will lose your case as a result of your confession. For if sometimes in this life a person trusts an eloquent tongue and does not perish, then will you really perish by trusting the Word? Exclaim: we have an advocate with the Father! 8. Look at the humility of John himself. Undoubtedly, he was a righteous and great man who drank from the Lord's hidden mysteries 115 (cf. John 13:23). He is the one who, having drunk the Divine [drink] from the Lord's breast, said 116: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (John 1:1). And this man did not say: “You have an advocate with the Father.” But he said, “And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father.” He did not say, “You have.” And he didn’t say: “You have me.” And he didn’t say, “You have Christ.” But, on the one hand, he pointed to Christ, and not to himself, and on the other hand, he said “we have,” and not “you have.” He preferred to include himself among sinners in order to have Christ as an intercessor, rather than call himself an intercessor instead of Christ and thus be among the proud people worthy of condemnation. Brothers! We have Jesus Christ Himself, the righteous, as our intercessor with the Father; He is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). Anyone who understood this way did not fall into heresy; whoever understood this did not commit a schism. After all, when do splits arise? Then when people say: “We are righteous”; when people say: “We sanctify the wicked, we justify the wicked, we pray and entreat.” What did John say? And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. But someone may say: “But don’t the saints pray for us? Don’t bishops and teachers 117 pray for the people?” Yes, but look to the Scriptures and you will see that the teachers asked the people to pray for them. [P.132] For the apostle says to the people: Pray also for us ( Col. 3:4 ). The apostle prays for the people, the people pray for the apostle. We pray for you, brothers, but you also pray for us. Let all the members [of the Body of Christ] pray for one another, and let the Head intercede for all. Therefore, it is not surprising what follows: [the apostle] stops the mouths of those who divide the Church of God. In fact, having said: we have Jesus Christ the righteous; He is the propitiation for our sins, he answered those who sought to separate themselves with the words: behold, here is Christ, or there (Matthew 24:23), and to those who would only like to show that He who redeemed all and Possessed all [redeemed] only a part. [The Apostle] immediately answered such [believers]: and not only for ours, but also for the [sins] of the whole world (1 John: 2, 2). What does this mean, brothers? It is obvious that we found it in the pasture fields (Ps. 132:6), we found the Church among all nations. So, Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the [sins] of the whole world. Look, you have a Church all over the world, don’t follow false justifiers, but in fact schismatics 118. Stand on that mountain that filled the whole earth (cf. Dan. 2:35), because Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the [sins] of the whole world, which He redeemed with His blood. 9 . “And in this,” says [the apostle], “we recognize Him, that we keep His commandments” (cf. 1 John 2:3). What commandments? Whoever says that he knows Him, but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and there is no truth in him (1 John 2:4). But you still ask, “What are the commandments?” Whoever keeps His word, he says, in him is truly the love of God perfected (1 John 2:5). Let's see if the commandment itself is called love. After all, we asked: “What are the commandments?”, and he says: whoever [P.134] keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. Turn to the Gospel, is this not a commandment: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another (John 13:34). “By this we know that we are in Him, if we are complete in Him” (cf. 1 John 2:5). He speaks of those who are perfect in love. What does perfection in love mean? Love your enemies too. In order to love them so that they become brothers. For our love must be non-carnal. Wishing someone temporary health is a good thing, but if it does not happen, it will not harm the soul. Do you wish life for some friend of yours? You're doing well! Do you rejoice at the death of your enemy? You're doing bad! But perhaps the life you wish for him is useless for your friend, and the death in which you rejoice was for the benefit of your enemy. It is not known whether this life is for the benefit of someone or not; the same life that is with God is, without a doubt, beneficial. Love your enemies so that they become your brothers; love your enemies so much that you call them into your community. For this is exactly how He loved, Who, hanging on the cross, said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). After all, He did not say: “Father! May they live long! Although they killed Me, let them live!” But what does He say? Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. By His merciful prayer and the power He had, He sought to deliver them from eternal death. Many of those believed, and they were forgiven for shedding the blood of Christ. At first they spilled it, being furious, then they drank it, believing. “By this we know that we are in Him, if we are complete in Him.” Regarding the perfection of love for enemies, the Lord says this, exhorting: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Therefore, whoever says that he abides in Him must walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). How, brothers? What does he advise us? Whoever says that he abides in Him, that is, in Christ, [P. 136] he must walk the way He walked. Perhaps he advises us to walk on the sea? Not at all! Therefore, this means that we must follow the path of righteousness. What is this path? I already mentioned this. He was crucified on the cross and yet he walked this path - this is the path of love: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Therefore, if you learn to pray for your enemy, you will follow the path of the Lord. 10. Beloved! I am not writing you a new commandment, but an ancient commandment, which you had from the beginning (1 John 2:7). Which commandment did [the apostle] call ancient? Which you had from the beginning,” he says. Therefore, it is ancient because you have already heard it. Otherwise, he will come into conflict with the Lord, who said: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another (John 13:34). But why is the commandment ancient? Not because she belongs to the old 119 person. Why then? Which you have had from the beginning. The ancient commandment is the word which you have heard (1 John 2:7). Therefore, it is ancient because you have already heard it. And he shows it as new, saying: “Moreover, I am writing you a new commandment” (1 John 2:8). Not another, but the same one, which he called ancient, is also new. But why? “It is true both in Him and in you” (cf. 1 John 2:8). Why it is ancient, you have already heard: because you already knew it. But why new? Because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining (1 John 2:8). This is why it is new: because darkness refers to the old man, and light to the new. What does the Apostle Paul say? “Put off the old man and put on the new” ( Col. 3:9–10 ). What else does he say? You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph.5:8). 11. He who says that he is in the light now makes clear everything he said: He who says that he is in the light and hates his brother, he is still in darkness (1 John 2:9). Oh, my brothers, how long [P. 138] we will say to you: love your enemies (Matthew 5:44)? Be careful not to show hatred towards your brothers, which is even worse [than hating your enemies]. If you only love brothers, you are not yet perfect. But if you hate brothers, what kind of person are you? Where are you? Let everyone look into their hearts; let it not hold hatred towards its brother for some harsh word; because of strife in the land, let it not become land. For whoever hates his brother, let him not say that he walks in the light. What did he say? Let him not say that he walks in Christ. He who says that he is in the light, but hates his brother, is still in darkness. Some man from a pagan became a Christian. Look: he was in darkness when he was a pagan, now he has become a Christian. Thanks be to God! Everyone rejoices and reads the apostle filled with joy: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). He prayed to idols, now he prays to God. He prayed to those whom he himself made, now he prays to the One who created him. He has changed. Praise be to God! All Christians are in joy. Why? Because he is already a worshiper of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and a hater of demons and idols. But John is still worried about him; when many were in joy, he still looked with concern. Brothers, let us willingly accept mother's care. But it’s not for nothing that our mother worries about us when others are happy. By mother I mean love; for it was she who was in John's heart when he spoke these words. Why did he [say this] if not out of fear about us, while all people rejoice about us? What is he afraid of? Who says he is in the light... What does that mean? Anyone who says that he is already a Christian, but hates his brother, is still in darkness. There is no need for explanations here, and you need to rejoice if this does not happen, and cry bitterly if it does. 12. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no offense in him (1 John 2:10). I conjure by Christ: God satisfies us, [P. 140] so that we support our bodies in the name of Christ (to some extent we have already been strengthened and will be strengthened), so let our minds be satisfied. However, I am not saying this because I was going to talk at length. Look, the conversation is already coming to an end, but it is extremely important not to leave the necessary things unattended due to fatigue. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no temptation in him. Who are the people who are tempted and give rise to temptation? These are those who fall into temptation in Christ and in the Church. Those who are offended in Christ are like those burned by the sun; and those who are in the Church are like those burned by the moon. But the psalm says: The sun will not burn you during the day, nor the moon at night (Ps. 121:6). That is, if you show love, you will not fall into temptation either in Christ or in the Church; You will not leave either Christ or the Church. For how can one who has left the Church be in Christ if he is not among the members of the [Body] of Christ? How can one be in Christ who is not in the Body of Christ? Therefore, those fall into temptation who leave either Christ or the Church. How do we conclude that in the words of the psalm: The sun will not burn you during the day, nor the moon at night - this burn itself means temptation? First, notice the similarities. So, a person who is burned by something says: “I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it,” and retreats. Likewise, those who cannot endure something in the Church and move away from the name of Christ or from the Church fall into temptation. See how those carnal people to whom Christ preached about His Flesh fell into temptation, as if [burned] by the sun, saying: unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you (John 6:53). About seventy people said: what strange words! (John 6:60) - and they departed from Him, leaving twelve. The Sun burned all of them, and they retreated, [P. 142] not being able to bear the power of the word. And so, twelve remained. And so that people would not suddenly think that they, believing in Christ, were showing mercy to Christ, and not He giving them mercy, the Lord, when twelve remained, said to them: do you want to leave too? ( John 6:67 ) so that they know that they need Him, and not He needs them. And so, those who were not burned by the Sun answered in the voice of Peter: Lord! who should we go to? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Who are those whom the Church burns like the moon at night? These are the ones who caused the split. Hear the verb that is used by the apostle: Who is faint, with whom would I not faint? Who is tempted, for whom would I not be inflamed? (2 Cor. 11:29) 120. Why is there no temptation in the person who loves his brother? Because he who loves a brother endures everything for the sake of unity, because brotherly love abides in the unity of love. Let's say some person insults you. He is either bad, or you think he is bad, or you imagine that he is bad. And that is why you turn away from many good people. What kind of brotherly love is this? What kind of love did those [Donatists] display? They, blaming Africans, turned away from the whole world. Were there really no saints in the whole world? And they, without even being heard, were condemned by you? 121 Oh, if you loved your brothers, there would be no temptation in you. Listen to the psalm, what it says: Great peace have those who love Your law, and there is no offense in them (Ps. 119:165). It says that those who love the law of God have great peace and therefore there is no temptation in them. Therefore, those who are led into temptation destroy the world. And about whom is it said that they are not subject to temptation and do not give rise to temptation? About those who love the law of God. Therefore, they are in love. But someone will say: “He said this about those who love the law, and not about the brothers.” Listen to what the Lord says: I give you a new commandment, [P. 144] let you love one another (John 13:34). What is a law if not a commandment? How are they not tempted? Of course, treating each other with condescension. As Paul says: bearing with one another in love, trying to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2-3). And the fact that this is the law of Christ, listen to the same apostle who conveys this law: Bear each other’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). 13. But he who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going (1 John 2:11). Important thought, brothers! Please pay attention! He who hates his brother walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:11). Who can be as blind as those who hate brothers? Know this: because they are blind, they crashed against the mountain. I am talking about the same thing 122 so that it does not escape you. Wasn't that stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands (Dan. 2:34) Christ from the kingdom of the Jews, born without wedlock? Did not this stone destroy all the kingdoms of the earth, that is, all the dominions of idols and demons? Didn’t this stone grow and become a great mountain and fill the whole earth (cf. Dan. 2:34-35)? Do we not point our fingers at this mountain as people point at the moon on its third day 123 ? For example, when people want others to see the new moon, they say: “Look, the moon! There she is." And if there are those whose vision is not sharp enough, and they ask: “Where?”, then a finger will be pointed at them so that they can see. But sometimes, embarrassed to appear blind, they say that they see what they really don’t see. Is this really how we point at the Church, my brothers? Is she not visible? Isn't it obvious? Hasn’t it really covered all nations? Has not what was promised to Abraham many years ago been fulfilled, that in his seed all nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18)? This was promised to one believer, and the world was filled with thousands of believers. [P. 146] Behold the mountain covering the entire face of the earth! Behold the city about which it is said: The city that stands on the top of the mountain cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). But they crashed against the mountain. And when they are told: “Come up,” they answer: “There is no mountain [in front of us].” And they would rather hit the rock face first than find refuge there. Yesterday we read Isaiah. Each of you who did not sleep and who had not only your eyes open, but also your ears, and not the ears of the flesh, but the ears of the heart, paid attention [to the words]: And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will appear and will be set at the top of the mountains (Is. 2:2). What could be as obvious as a mountain? But there are also unknown mountains, because they are located in another part of the earth. How many of you know Mount Olympus? In the same way, those who live there do not know our Giddaba 124. These mountains are in different parts. But that mountain is not like that, for it covered the entire face of the earth. It is said about her: she was placed at the head of the mountains. This mountain is higher than the heads of all other mountains. And all nations will flow to her, says [the prophet], (Is. 2:2). Who doesn't know about this mountain? Who breaks their face when confronted with it? Who doesn't notice a city standing on top of a mountain? But do not be surprised that it is unknown to those who hate the brothers: after all, they walk in darkness and do not know where to go, for the darkness has blinded their eyes. They don't see the mountains. I don't want you to be surprised: they don't have eyes. Why don't they have eyes? Because the darkness has blinded them. How can we prove this? Because they hate the brothers, because by condemning the Africans they have separated themselves from the whole world, for they cannot, in the name of the peace of Christ, bring themselves to tolerate those whom they slander, but for the sake of the party of Donatus they tolerate those whom they condemn. [P. 150] 1. Everything that is announced during the reading of the Holy Scriptures for our instruction and for the sake of our salvation must be listened to very carefully. But we should especially keep in mind what is powerful against heretics, into whose cunning snares the weak and careless never cease to fall. Remember that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died for us and rose again; He died, of course, for our sins and rose again for our justification (cf. Rom. 4:25). You just heard how the two disciples whom He met on the road had their eyes so covered with darkness that they did not recognize Him (cf. Luke 24:13-28). And He found that they were full of despair about the redemption that was in Christ, and they believed that He had suffered and already died as a man, and they did not believe that He was eternally alive as the Son of God, they thought that He died in the flesh, so that He would not live again, and that He was just one of the prophets - and those of you who were attentive heard their words a little earlier 125. Then He opened the Scriptures to them, beginning with Moses and [going through] all the prophets, showing them that all that He suffered had been foretold, so that they would not be too shocked to learn that the Lord had risen, and so that they would believe in Him, showing that all this about Him had been foretold. For faith becomes firm due to the fact that everything that happened to Christ was predicted. So, the disciples recognized Him only at the breaking of bread (cf. Luke 24:30–31). Truly, whoever does not eat or drink condemnation comes to know Christ in the breaking of bread (cf. 1 Cor. 11:29). [P. 152] Later, the eleven thought they saw the spirit (cf. Luke 24:37). Then He allowed Himself to be touched, having allowed Himself to be crucified: crucified by enemies, touched by friends. As a Healer of all: curing some from wickedness and others from unbelief. You heard while reading from the Acts of the Apostles how many thousands of the murderers of Christ believed (cf. Acts 2:41). If in time those who killed believed, should not those who doubted for a short time also believe? And yet (this you must pay attention to first of all and keep it in your memory, for God wished to include in the Scriptures that which is able to strengthen us against insidious errors and against which no man who wants to appear to be a Christian dares to speak), although He allowed Himself to be touched by them, this was not enough for Him, so He strengthened the hearts of the believers [with the words] from the Scriptures. For He also cared about us who were to come. We do not have the opportunity to touch Him, but we have the opportunity to read 126. After all, if they believed because they were with Him and touched Him, then what should we do? Christ has already ascended into heaven and will come only at the end to judge the living and the dead: how then should we believe, if not by the way by which those who touched were strengthened? For He opened the Scriptures to them and showed them that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to fulfill all that was written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. He embraced the entire ancient text of the Scriptures. Everything that is in those Scriptures speaks about Christ, but only if there are ears. And He gave them understanding 127 so that they could understand the Scriptures. Therefore, we should also pray that He will give us understanding. 2. What did the Lord reveal that was written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms? What did He reveal? Let him speak for himself. The Evangelist has summarized this so that we [P. 154] knew what we should believe and what we should understand in all the richness of the Scriptures. Of course, there are many pages and many books, all of which contain what the Lord briefly said to His disciples. What is this? That Christ had to suffer and rise on the third day (cf. Luke 9:22; 24:7). You already know about the Bridegroom that Christ had to suffer and rise again. The Groom was shown to us. Let's see what He said about the bride, so that when you learn about the Bride and Groom, you won't just come to the wedding celebrations. Any [Christian] holiday is a wedding holiday. The marriage of the Church is celebrated. The Son of the King marries. Moreover, the Son of the King is the King himself. The guests who come [to the celebration] are the bride. This is not as it happens in a carnal marriage, when there are wedding guests and there is a bride; in the Church, arriving guests, if they come for a good purpose, themselves become the bride. For every Church is the bride of Christ; the flesh of Christ is its beginning (principium) and its first fruits; in the Church the bride is united with the Groom in the flesh. It is no coincidence that, entrusting [the disciples] with His flesh, He broke bread; and it was no coincidence that the eyes of the disciples were opened at the breaking of bread, and they recognized Him. What did the Lord say about what was written about Him in the Law, Prophets and Psalms? That Christ had to suffer. If He had not added “and rise again,” those [disciples] whose eyes were covered with darkness would have continued to grieve. But it was foretold [that He should] also rise again. For what? Why did Christ have to suffer and rise again? – According to the psalm that we especially recommended to you on the fourth day of the week 128, during the first meeting of the previous week. So why did Christ have to suffer and rise again? Here's why: All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord and worship [P. 156] before Him are all the tribes of the heathen (Ps. 21:28). So that you know that Christ had to suffer and rise again, what did He add here and how, after presenting the Bridegroom, He also introduced the bride? And repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). You heard it, brothers, take it in! Let no one doubt about the Church, that it is in all nations. Let no one doubt that it began from Jerusalem and filled all nations. We know the field where the vine was planted, but when it has grown, we no longer recognize it because it has taken over everything. Where did it start? From Jerusalem. What have you achieved? All peoples. There was a little more left and she filled everything. Meanwhile, while it had not yet filled everything, it seemed necessary to the Farmer to cut off several useless branches, since they produced heresies and schisms. Let not the cut off branches catch you, so that you too may be cut off; rather, you exhort the cut off [branches] so that they may be grafted in again. It is obvious that Christ suffered, rose again and ascended to heaven. It is obvious that there is a Church, for repentance in His name and forgiveness of sins are preached in all nations. Where did she come from? Starting from Jerusalem. A stupid and vain (and I would say more - blind) person hears about this, and he does not see such a great mountain and closes his eyes in front of the candle placed on the candlestick (cf. Matthew 5:15). 3. When we tell them: “If you are Orthodox (catholici) Christians, communicate with that Church from which the Gospel has spread throughout the whole world; communicate with that Jerusalem,” - when we say this to them, they answer: “We do not communicate with that city in which our King was killed, where our Lord was killed,” as if hating that city where our Lord was killed. And behold, the Jews killed Him while He was on earth, [P. 158] and these reject Him now that He reigns in heaven. Which one is worse? Those who despised Him because they considered Him a man, or those who reject His Mysteries, although they already recognize Him as God? They understandably hate the city in which their Lord was killed. Pious and merciful people! They greatly mourn the fact that Christ was killed, and now they are killing Christ in people! He loved that city and pitied it, and said that His preaching would come from it: Beginning from Jerusalem. He began preaching His name there, and are you afraid to have fellowship with this city? No wonder that, being a cut off [branch], you hate the root. What did He say to His disciples? But you remain in the city, for I will send My promise to you (cf. Luke 24:49). Look what city they hate! Perhaps they would love it if it were still inhabited by the Jews, the murderers of Christ? After all, it is known that all the murderers of Christ, that is, the Jews, were expelled from this city. In the city where haters of Christ lived, admirers of Christ now live. Therefore they hate the [city] in which Christians live. He wanted His disciples to remain there and there to send down the Holy Spirit on them. Where did the Church begin, if not where the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and filled one hundred and twenty [people] living in one place? The number twelve was increased tenfold. One hundred and twenty people were sitting, and the Holy Spirit descended and filled the whole place, and there was a noise as if from a rushing strong wind, and tongues split like fire (cf. Acts 2:2-3). You have heard the Acts of the Apostles. Today this very passage was read: and they began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). And all the Jews who were there, [P.160] who came from different nations, recognized each of their dialects and were amazed that these uneducated and ignorant people suddenly mastered not one or two languages, but the languages ​​of absolutely all nations (cf. Acts 2:5-12). And it was obvious that where all tongues spoke, all tongues would believe. Those who love Christ very much and on this basis refuse to communicate with the city that destroyed Christ, “honor” Christ to such an extent that they claim: He remained in two languages, Latin and Punic, that is, African. Does Christ have only two languages? These two languages ​​are the only ones known to Donat's party, and no more! Let's wake up, brothers, let's see as quickly as possible the gift of the Spirit of God, and believe what was said in advance about Him, and see fulfilled what was previously said in the psalm: There is no tongue, and there is no speech where their voice is not heard (Ps. 19:4). And lest you suddenly think that the languages ​​themselves came to one place, and not the gift of Christ came to all languages, listen to what follows: Their sound goes throughout the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the universe (Ps. 18:5). Why is this so? Because He set His dwelling place in the sun (cf. Ps. 18:5). That is, for viewing. His habitation is His Flesh; His dwelling place is His Church. He placed it in the sun, that is, not in the night, but during the day. But why don't they admit it? Go back to the passage we read yesterday, and see why they do not admit: But he who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:11). Let us see what follows, and let us not remain in darkness. In what case can we avoid being in darkness? If we love our brothers. How can we prove that we love our brothers? Because we do not violate unity, because we preserve love. [P. 162] 4. I am writing to you, children, because your sins are forgiven through His name (1 John 2:12). Because [it is said] children, you are born with the forgiveness of sins. Through whose name are sins forgiven? Is it really through the name of Augustine? So, not through the name Donat. After all, who is Augustine or who is Donatus? You know. Also not through the name of Paul and not through the name of Peter. Indeed, before those who divide the Church among themselves and strive to form parties from a single whole, in the person of the Apostle, mother-love, who gave birth to children in agony, exposes her insides, tears her breasts with a cry, mourns her children, who, as she sees, have moved away [from her], and calls on those who wished to form many names for themselves to return to one name, dissuades them from loving themselves, so that they love Christ, and says: did Paul look up to you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1:13). What is he saying? “I don’t want you to be mine, but for you to be with me. Stay with me. We are all the One who died for us, who was crucified for us.” Hence the following: “your sins have been forgiven through His name,” and not through the name of some person. 5. I am writing to you, fathers... (1 John 2:13). Why children first? – Because your sins were forgiven through His name (1 John 2:12) and you were reborn to a new life, therefore you are children. Why fathers? – Because you knew Him from the beginning (1 John 2:13). For the beginning refers to fatherhood 129 . Christ is new in the flesh, but ancient in the Godhead. How ancient do we consider Him? How old is he? Do we think that He is older than His Mother? Of course, He is older than the Mother: “For through Him all things were created” (cf. John 1:3). If that’s all, then the ancient [Christ] created the Mother Herself so that a new one would be born from Her. [P.164] Do we think that He is older than only the Mother? The ancient [Christ] was before the ancestors of the Mother. The Mother's ancestor was Abraham, but the Lord says: before Abraham I am (John 8:58). "Before Abraham?" - we ask. Before man was created, before heaven and earth were created. Before them there was the Lord, or rather, there is. For it is no coincidence that He did not say: “Before Abraham I was,” but said: Before Abraham I am. For that which is said to have “was” no longer exists; and that in relation to which they say that “will be” does not yet exist. He only knows “is.” According to the fact that He is God, “is” is applicable to Him and “was” and “will be” are not applicable. There is only one day, but [the day] is eternal. This day is not between yesterday and tomorrow. For when “yesterday” ends, “today” begins, which will end with the onset of “tomorrow”. This is a single day - without darkness, without night, without length, without measure, without hours. Call it what you want. If you want, "day"; if you want, “year”; “years” if you like. In fact, it is said about him: Your years will not end (Ps. 101:28). And when is it called day? When it was said to the Lord: Today I have given birth to You (Ps. 2:7). Born from the eternal Father, born from eternity, begotten forever, He has no beginning, no limit, no spatial limitation, because He is that which exists, for He Himself is the Existing One. He spoke this name of His to Moses: Say to them: Jehovah has sent me to you (Ex. 3:14). So what? So He is before Abraham? Before Noah? Before Adam? Listen to the Scriptures: “Before the morning star I gave birth to You” (cf. Ps. 109:3). Moreover, He is before heaven and earth. Why? Because everything was created through Him and nothing was created without Him (cf. John 1:3). Therefore understand why [the apostle says] “fathers”: because they become fathers by understanding things from the beginning. 6. I am writing to you, young men... (1 John 2:13). They are called children, they are called fathers, they are called youths. Children because they are born; fathers, because they knew the beginning. Why young men? Because you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13). [P. 166] In children - birth; in the fathers - antiquity; in young men there is strength. If the evil one is defeated by the young men, he fights with us. He fights, but does not overcome. Why? Is it because we are strong, or because He is strong in us, Who turned out to be powerless in the hands of persecutors? He made us strong, Who did not resist the persecutors. For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Cor. 13:4). 7. I am writing to you, children... (1 John 2:13). Why youths? Because you have known the Father (1 John 2:13). I am writing to you, fathers (cf. 1 John 2:14) 130. To get his point across, [the apostle] once again repeats [what has already been said]. Because you knew Him from the beginning (cf. 1 John 2:14). Remember that you are fathers. If you forget the Being from the beginning, you will lose your fatherhood. I am writing to you, young men... Think about this again and again. Since you are young men, fight to win; conquer to gain the crown; be humble so that you do not fall in battle. “I am writing to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14). 8. All this, brothers, is because we have known things from the beginning; because we are strong; because they knew the Father. All this seems to affirm knowledge, but doesn’t it affirm love? If we know, then we will love; after all, knowledge without love does not save. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies (1 Cor. 8:1). If you want to confess [Christ] and not have love, then you become like demons. The demons confessed the Son of God and said: What have you to do with us? (Matthew 8:29) - and were rejected. Confess and be accepted. For they were afraid because of their iniquities, but you love Him who forgives your iniquities. But how can we love God if we love the world? So, He prepares us to have love abiding in us. There are two loves - to the world and to God. If love for the world lives in us, then there is no place for love [P. 168] to God. Let love for the world go away and love for God remain, let it get a better place. You fell in love with the world - stop loving the world. When you free your heart from earthly love, you will let Divine love into yourself, and love will begin to live there, from which nothing bad can come. Listen to the words of [the apostle] who brings purification. He finds people's hearts, like a field. But how does he find it? If he finds a forest there, he uproots it; If he finds a field that has already been cleared, he plants it. He wants to plant a tree there - love. And what forest is he trying to uproot? Love for the world. Listen to the forest uprooter, who says: Do not love the world, - and adds: neither the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father (1 John 2:15) 131. 9 . You have heard: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father. Let no one say in his heart that this is a lie, brothers. This is God speaking, this is through St. the apostle says the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more true: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father. Do you want to have love for the Father so that you can become a joint heir with the Son? Don't love the world! Remove evil love for the world in order to be filled with love for God. You are a vessel, but not yet complete. Pour out what is in you to accept what is not in you. Of course, our brothers have already received the new birth from water and the Spirit, and we have received the new birth from water and the Spirit several years ago. It is good for us that we do not love the world, so that the Sacraments do not serve to our condemnation, but strengthen us for salvation. To be strengthened for salvation means to be rooted in love, to be strong in godliness, and not to have a form of godliness (cf. 2 Tim. 3:5). Form is holy, form is good, but what can form do if there is no root? Isn't a cut branch thrown into the fire? Have the visible [part], but also have the root. But how should you root yourself to [P. 170] you weren’t eradicated? Hold on to love, as the Apostle Paul says: rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17). How can one take root in love among such thickets of love for the world? Uproot the forest! You are about to sow a great seed, and let nothing be in the field that will kill the seed. These are the words about uprooting that [the Apostle John] said: Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father. 10. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. He named three things that are not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and so does its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever, just as He himself abides forever (cf. 1 John 2:16-17) 132. How can I not love what God has created? What do you want? To love transitory things and pass away with them - or not to love the world and live forever with God? The stream carries away temporary things, but our Lord Jesus Christ is like a tree that grows by the river (cf. Ps. 1:3). He took on flesh, died, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven. He wished to be planted in some way near the river of temporary things. Are you being carried down the rapids? Hold on to the tree. Are you caught in the cycle of love for the world? Cling to Christ. For your sake He became temporary, so that you could become eternal, because He also became temporary in this way, so that He remained eternal. Something has been added to Him from time, but nothing has been taken away from eternity. You were born temporary and through sin became temporary; You became temporary through sin, and He became temporary through mercy for the forgiveness of sins. What is the difference between a criminal and his visitor when the two are in prison? In fact, a man comes to his friend [in prison] and enters it to visit him, and it is obvious that both are in prison. But they are quite different from each other. [P. 172] One suffers because of guilt, the other is attracted by humanity. So in this corruption we are held back through our own fault, but He bore it out of mercy. He came to the captive as a Redeemer, not as an oppressor. The Lord shed His blood for us, ransomed us, gave us new hope. We still bear corruptible flesh and believe in future immortality; We are still rocked by the sea waves, but we have already cast an anchor of hope in the harbor. But let us not love either the world or the things in the world. For that which is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). [The Apostle only named] these three things, so that no one would say: there is no need, they say, to love what God created in the world, that is, the sky, the earth, the sea, the sun, the moon, the stars and all the beauties of the heavens. What are the beauties of the sea? All fish. And the beauty of the earth? Animals, trees, birds. All this is in the world, and God created it all. Why shouldn’t I love what God has created? Let the Spirit of God be in you so that you can see that all this is good. But woe to you if you love what has been created and leave the Creator. You consider [creatures] beautiful, but how much more beautiful is He who created them! Be careful, beloved! May you be helped to understand this simile, so that Satan will not sneak into you, saying what he usually says: “Enjoy the works of God; Why did He create them if not for your enjoyment?” And people revel in this, perish and forget their Creator, immoderately and greedily using what has been created, neglecting the Creator. The apostle speaks of such people: they worshiped and served the creature instead of the Creator, Who is blessed forever (Rom. 1:25). God does not forbid you to love these [creations], but do not love them so as to seek bliss in them, but admire and glorify them in order to love the Creator. It is the same, brothers, as if the groom made a ring for his bride, and she loved the ring she received more than the groom who made the ring for her. Is it really because of this gift from the groom [P. 174] will her soul turn out to be dissolute, because she loves what [her own] groom gave her? Of course, let her love what her fiancé gave her, but still, if she says: “This ring is enough for me, I don’t want to see his face anymore,” what kind of woman will she turn out to be? Who will remain indifferent to such recklessness? Who would not find an adulterous soul here? You love gold instead of a husband, you love a ring instead of a groom. If you are such that you love a ring instead of your fiancé and do not want to see your fiancé, it means that he gave you a pledge [of his love] so as not to gain your affection, but to push you away from him! But, of course, the groom gives a pledge [of his love] so that you love him as a pledge! Therefore, God gave you all these creations; love the One who created them. There is something more that He wants to give you, that is, Himself, Who created them. If you love them, although God created them, then you will despise the Creator and love the world. Will not your love turn out to be adultery? 12. The fact is that the world is called not only this universe that God created: heaven and earth, the sea, visible and invisible, but also the inhabitants of the world are called the world, just as walls and inhabitants are called home. And sometimes we are happy with the house and at the same time scold its inhabitants. We say "Nice house" because it is made of marble and beautifully decorated. And we say in another sense: “It’s a good house,” because no one tolerates any lawlessness there, there is no injustice, no oppression. Now we praise not the walls, but the inhabitants who live inside the walls. And yet both are called home. So, all who love the world live in the world, since they direct their love towards the world, just as those whose heart is directed upward live in heaven, although their flesh is on earth. Therefore, everyone who loves peace is called peace. They have only the three things mentioned: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Indeed, people want to eat, drink, have intercourse, experience all these pleasures, but shouldn’t there really be a measure in these [pleasures]? Or when they tell you: “Don’t like this,” are they really saying it so that you don’t eat, [P. 176] didn’t drink, didn’t give birth to children? That's not what we're talking about. But let there be a measure for the sake of the Creator, so that these [pleasures] do not enslave you through your love for them, so that you do not love for the sake of pleasure what you should use. But you can only determine how you feel about this kind of thing when both are offered to you: do you want righteousness or profit? “I have nothing to live on, I have nothing to eat, I have nothing to drink.” What should you do if you cannot get it except through lawlessness? Would it not be better for you to love what you will not lose than to commit iniquity? If you acquire gold, you see it, but if you lose faith, you don't see it. This, [the apostle] tells us, is the lust of the flesh, that is, the desire for those things that pertain to the flesh, such as food, intercourse, and the like. 13. Lust of the eyes. He calls all curiosity lust of the eyes. How widespread is curiosity? Curiosity manifests itself during spectacles, in theaters, in the sacraments of the devil, in the magical arts, in wicked deeds. Sometimes it tempts God’s servants, so that they almost want to perform miracles, to tempt God: will God hear them and allow them to perform a miracle. This is curiosity, that is, the lust of the eyes. It is not from the Father. If God gives, perform [a miracle], for He Himself invited you to do it. But those who do not perform [miracles] will not be excommunicated from the Kingdom of God. When the apostles rejoiced that the demons were subservient to them, what did the Lord say to them? Do not rejoice in this, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). What He wanted the apostles to rejoice in, rejoice in you too! For woe to you if your name is not written in heaven. Woe to you if you do not raise the dead? Will it be woe to you if you do not walk on the sea? Woe to you if you do not cast out demons? If you have received the power to do this, use it humbly, without pride. After all, the Lord said about certain false prophets that they would give [P. 178] signs and wonders (cf. Matt. 24:24). Let us not show worldly pride. Everyday pride is pride when a person wants to surround himself with glory, to see himself as great either thanks to wealth or thanks to some kind of power. 14. These are these three things, and you will not find anything that could tempt human greed except the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Through these three [things] the Lord was tempted by the devil. He was tempted by the lust of the flesh when it was said to Him: if You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (Matthew 4:3), when He was hungry after fasting. But how did He reject the tempter and teach [His] warrior to fight? Look what He said: man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (cf. Matt. 4:4). He was also tempted by the lust of the eyes regarding the miracle, when the devil said to Him: throw yourself down, for it is written: He will command His angels concerning You, and in their hands they will bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone (Matthew 4:6). He resisted the tempter, for if He had performed a miracle, it would have seemed as if He had either yielded [to the tempter] or performed [the miracle] for the sake of [idle] curiosity. After all, He, as God, performed [miracles] when He wanted, but only to heal the weak. After all, if He had performed [a miracle] then, one would have thought that He created it only because He wanted to create a miracle. But look at what He answered so that people don’t think so, and when this happens to you, say the same thing: get thee behind Me, Satan, for it is written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:7). That is, if I do this, I will tempt God. He said what he wanted to hear from you. When the enemy inspires you: “What kind of person are you, what kind of Christian are you? Have you performed at least one miracle? Have the dead been raised through your prayers? Did those with fever recover? If you were worth something, you would perform some kind of miracle,” tell him in response: “It is written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, and therefore I will not tempt God, and I do not count, [P. 180] that I belong to God only if I perform miracles, and I do not belong if I do not. And where then are His words: rejoice that your names are written in heaven? And when was the Lord tempted about the pride of life? When [Satan] lifted Him up and said to Him: I will give all this to You if, when you fall, you will worship me (Matthew 4:9). He wanted to tempt the King of the whole world with the greatness of the earthly kingdom 133. But the Lord, who created heaven and earth, trampled on the devil. Is it surprising that the devil was defeated by the Lord? But why did He also answer the devil? Yes, in order to teach you how to answer him. It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone (Matthew 4:10). If you hold on to this, the lust of the world will not be in you; if there is no lust of the world in you, neither the lust of the flesh, nor the lust of the eyes, nor the pride of life will subjugate you, and you will find a place for love when it comes to you, and you will love God. After all, if there is love for the world, then there will be no love for God there. Keep love for God, so that, just as God is eternal, you too will remain in eternity, for every person is such as his love is. Do you love the earth? You will be the earth. Do you love God? What will I say? Will you become a god? I do not dare to say this myself, let’s listen to the Scripture: I said: you are gods, and the sons of the Most High are all of you (Ps. 82:6). Therefore, if you want to become gods and sons of the Most High, do not love the world, nor what is in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father. For everything in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world (1 John 2:15-16), that is, from people who love the world. And the world passes away, and its lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever, just as God abides forever (cf. 1 John 2:17). 1. Children! The last hour... (cf. 1 John 2:18). In this passage [the apostle] speaks to the children [and exhorts] them to make haste to grow up, for the last hour has come. The age of the flesh does not depend on the will [of man]. Thus, no one grows his flesh when he wants, just as no one is born when he wants. But where birth depends on the will [of a person], there growing up also depends on the will. No one is born without his own will from water and the Spirit (cf. John 3:5). Therefore, if anyone wants, he will grow [after such a birth], and if he wants, he will decrease. What does it mean to grow? It means moving forward. What does it mean to decrease? This means retreating. Anyone who knows that he has been born, let him hear that he is a child and a child; let him greedily cling to his mother's breasts and grow quickly. The Mother is the Church, and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures. Let him suck from there the milk of all the sacraments performed in time for our eternal salvation, so that, having been nourished and strengthened, he may be able to partake of solid food, which is this: in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Our milk is Christ humbled; our solid food is the same Christ, equal with the Father. He feeds you with milk in order to nourish you with bread, for to touch Christ spiritually with your heart means to comprehend that He is equal to the Father. 2. Therefore, He forbade Mary to touch Him and said to her: do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). What does it mean? He allowed His disciples to touch Him (cf. John 20:27), but avoided Mary’s touch? Didn’t He Himself say to the doubting disciple: “Put your fingers and feel the wounds” (cf. John 20:27)? Has He already ascended to the Father? Why [P. 188] then He rebuked Mary and said: Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father? Or should we say that He was not afraid of the touch of men, but He whose touch cleanses all flesh was afraid of the touch of women? Was He afraid of the touch of those to whom He first of all wanted to appear? Was it not the women who announced to the men about His resurrection, so that the serpent would be defeated just as he himself had once defeated 134? For he once brought 135 death to the first man through a woman, and now life was proclaimed to men through a woman. Why did He not want to be touched by [Mary]? It seems because He wanted this touch to be understood as spiritual. Spiritual touch is that which comes from a pure heart. That person with a pure heart touches Christ who understands that He is equal to the Father. Whoever does not yet understand the Divinity of Christ has approached only His flesh 136 and has not achieved His Divinity. What great thing is it to achieve only the same as His persecutors who crucified Him? It is great to understand that God is the Word, Who was with God from the beginning and through Whom all things began to be (cf. John 1:1-3). This is how He wanted to be known when He said to Philip: I have been with you so long and you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9). 3. But in order not to be slow in moving forward, let everyone hear: Children! The last hour... (cf. 1 John 2:17). Go forward, hurry, grow, [the] last hour has come! The last hour is long, but still the last. For [the apostle] by the hour means the last time, because in the last times our Lord Jesus Christ will come. But some may say, “Why lately? Why the last hour? After all, the Antichrist will come first, and then the Day of Judgment will come.” John took these thoughts into account and so that people would not feel safe and would not think that this was not the last hour, since [P. 190] the Antichrist will come, he said to them: And as you have heard that the Antichrist will come, and now many antichrists have appeared (1 John 2:18). Could there be many Antichrists if this were not the last hour? 4. Who did he call the Antichrists? He continues and explains: from this we know that the time is last (1 John 2:18). Where? Because many antichrists have appeared. They went out from us (1 John 2:19). Behold the Antichrists! They left us. Hear the consolation: but they were not ours (1 John 2:19). All heretics, all schismatics left us, that is, left the Church; but they would not have come out if they had been ours. Therefore, before leaving, they became not ours. If before they came out, they were not ours, then many remain inside, did not come out, and at the same time are Antichrists. We decide to say this only so that everyone, remaining inside, will not be the Antichrist. [John] will now describe and characterize the Antichrists, and we will see them. And everyone must ask his conscience whether he himself is the Antichrist. After all, in Latin, “antichrist” means “enemy of Christ.” And many people incorrectly think that he is called the Antichrist because he will come before Christ (ante Christum), that is, Christ will come after him. That is not why he is called that, but because he is the Antichrist, because he is the enemy of Christ. So, who is the adversary of Christ, you already see from the exposition of [the apostle] himself and understand that no one can get out [of the Church] except the Antichrists, and those who are not the adversaries of Christ cannot in any way get out. For he who is not an opponent of Christ holds fast to His Body and is considered a member of it. Members are never their own opponents. [P. 192] The integrity of the body is ensured by all its members. And what does the apostle say about the consent of the members? Therefore, if one member suffers, all members suffer with it; If one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it (1 Cor. 12:26). Therefore, if in the glorification of a member all members rejoice along with it, and in suffering all members suffer, then the agreement of the members does not have the Antichrist. But there are those who abide in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ (since His Body is still subject to infirmity and will not be completely healthy until the Resurrection of the dead occurs), so they abide in the Body of Christ, like bad juices 137. When they are removed, the body experiences relief; in the same way, when the evil [Christians] leave, the Church experiences relief. And when the body expels and removes them, it says: “These juices came out of me, but they were not mine.” What does “were not mine” mean? This means they were not cut off from my flesh, but they pressed my chest when they were inside me. 5. They left us, but (don’t be sad) they were not ours. How will you prove it? For if they were ours, they would remain with us (1 John 2:19). So look, beloved: many who are not ours receive the Sacraments with us, receive Baptism with us, receive with us everything that believers know they receive: the blessing, the Eucharist and what is contained in the Holy Mysteries - they partake with us at the altar, but not ours. That they are not ours is proven by temptation. When temptation hits them like a gust of wind, they are carried away because they were not grain. And all of them [without a trace] will fly away then (which should be repeated again and again) when the Lord’s threshing floor is winnowed on the Day of Judgment. [P.194] They left us, but they were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us. Would you like to know, beloved, how true this saying is, that those who may have gone out and returned are not antichrists and adversaries of Christ? It cannot happen that those who are not Antichrist remain outside, but everyone, by his own will, is either Antichrist or abides in Christ. We are either among the members [of the Body of Christ] or we are found to be bad juices. He who changes for the better is a member of the Body; whoever remains in anger is a bad juice. And when he comes out, the members tormented [by him] will experience relief. They left us, but they were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us; so that it may be revealed that they are not all ours (1 John 2:19). Why did [the apostle] add “that it might be revealed”? Because even when they were inside [the Church], they were not ours, but this was not obvious, but when they left, it was revealed. However, you have anointing from the Holy One and know everything (1 John 2:20). Spiritual anointing is the Holy Spirit Himself, whose sacrament is present in the visible anointing. All who have this anointing of Christ, says [the apostle], know good and evil, and they do not need to be taught, because the anointing itself teaches them. 6. I wrote to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, [as well as] that no lie is from the truth (1 John 2:21). Look, we have received instructions on how we can recognize the Antichrist. What is Christ? True. He Himself said: I am the truth (John 14:6). But every lie is not from the truth. Therefore, everyone who lies is not yet of Christ. At the same time, He did not say that some lies are from the truth, and some lies are not from the truth. Notice this thought, [P. 196] so that you do not reassure yourself, do not flatter yourself, do not mislead yourself, do not deceive yourself: no lie is from the truth. Let's see how the Antichrists lie, because there is more than one type of lie. Who is a liar if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? (1 John 2:22). Jesus means one thing, Christ another, although it is one Jesus Christ, our Savior. But Jesus is His own name. In the same way, Moses is called by his own name, in the same way Elijah, in the same way Abraham; So our Lord has his own name - Jesus. Christ is the name of the sacrament (sacramenti nomen). Just as they say “prophet” or “priest,” so by Christ is meant the Anointed One, in whom must be the redemption of the entire people of Israel. The entire Jewish people hoped for the coming of this Christ, but since He came in humility, He was not recognized; since the stone was small, they tripped over it and were broken. But the stone grew and became a great mountain (cf. Dan. 2:35). After all, what does Scripture say? Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken, and whoever it falls on will be crushed (Luke 20:18). We should see the difference between words. It says here that the one who stumbles will fall, and the one on whom [the stone] falls will be crushed. After all, at first He came in humility, and people stumbled over Him; and since He will come to judgment in majesty, then on whomever He falls, He will crush him. But He will not crush the one when He comes who did not stumble when He came. He who has not stumbled over the Humble will not be crushed by the Exalted. You have heard this brief [thought]: whoever does not stumble over the Humble One will not be crushed by the Exalted One. For to all the wicked Christ is a stone of stumbling; everything that Christ says is bitter for them. 7. For hear and see! Of course, everyone who leaves the Church and cuts themselves off from the unity of the Church are Antichrists. Let no one doubt this. For [the apostle] himself pointed out this: they went out from us, but were not ours: for if they were [P. 198] ours, then they would have stayed with us. Therefore, those who do not remain with us, but have left us, are obviously antichrists. What proves that they are the Antichrist? Lie. Who is a liar if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? Let's ask the heretics: where will you find a heretic who would deny that Jesus is the Christ? Behold, beloved, the great mystery! See what the Lord God has inspired us with and what I would like to convey to you. Look, they left us and became Donatists. We ask them if Jesus is the Christ. They immediately answer that Jesus is the Christ. If he is an Antichrist who denies that Jesus is the Christ, then neither they can call us antichrists, nor we them, since both we and they confess [that Jesus is the Christ]. If neither they call us that, nor we them, then neither they came from us, nor we from them. If we have not left each other, then we maintain unity. If we remain united, then what are two altars doing in this city? Why are houses divided, why are spouses separated? Why is there a common bed, but everyone has their own Christ? [The Apostle] exhorts us; he wants us to acknowledge what is true. Either they came from us, or we came from them. But it is impossible for us to leave them, for we have a covenant about the Lord's inheritance; we read it and find in it: I will give the nations for Your inheritance and the ends of the earth for Your possession (Ps. 2:8). We are the possessors of the inheritance of Christ, and they are not the possessors; they have no communication with the entire earthly circle, they have no communication with the universe, redeemed by the blood of the Lord. We have the Lord Himself, risen from the dead, Who allowed the doubting disciples to touch Him with their hands. And when they still doubted, He said to them: Christ had to suffer, [P.200] and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name (Luke 24:46-47). Where? Where? To whom? In all nations, starting from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). We are at peace about the unity of our heritage. Anyone who is not involved in this heritage leaves. 8. But let us not be disheartened: they left us, but they were not ours, for if they had been ours, they would have remained with us. If they left us, then they are Antichrists. If they are antichrists, then they are liars, and if they are liars, then they deny that Jesus is the Christ. We return again to a difficult point in this matter. Ask each of them if they recognize Jesus as the Christ. We are hindered by a narrow understanding [of what is said] in this Message. You, of course, see what the question is. This question will baffle both us and them if it is not clear. Either we are antichrists, or they are antichrists. They call us antichrists and say that we came out from them; and we say the same thing about them. But this Message indicated who the Antichrists are. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is the Antichrist. Let's ask ourselves, who is in denial? And let's pay attention not to words, but to deeds. For if you ask everyone and everyone, they will all say with one voice that Jesus is the Christ. Let your tongue be silent for a while, ask life itself. If we turn to the Scriptures and if they tell us that you can deny not only with your lips, but also with your deeds, then, of course, we will find many antichrists who confess Christ with their lips, but by their behavior they distance themselves from Him. Where do we find this in Scripture? Listen to the Apostle Paul. Speaking about such people, he says: They say that they know God, but in works they deny (Titus 1:16). So we find antichrists, for anyone who denies Christ is an antichrist. I don’t listen [at the moment] to what a person says, but I look at how he lives. [P. 202] Actions speak, do we need words? For what villain does not want to speak well? But what does the Lord say to such people? “Hypocrites! how can you speak good when you are evil?” (Matthew 12:34). “You direct your speeches into My ears, but I look at your thoughts, and there I see an evil will, and you show false fruits. I know what and where I will gather, and I do not gather figs from thistles or grapes from thorns, for every tree is known by its fruit” (cf. Matthew 7:16). More deceitful is the Antichrist who confesses with his lips that Jesus is the Christ, but denies this with his deeds. He is a liar in that he says one thing and does another. 9 . So, brothers, if we look at actions, we will find not only many antichrists who left [the Church], but also many who did not leave [it] at all. After all, there are so many false witnesses, swindlers, wicked people, lovers of divination, adulterers, drunkards, moneylenders, swindlers and all those who are impossible to list in the Church! They are opponents of the Word of God, the Word of God is Christ; everything that is contrary to the Word of God belongs to the Antichrist, because the Antichrist is the adversary of Christ. Do you want to know how clearly they oppose Christ? Sometimes it happens that they commit some evil, and they begin to be blamed. And so, since they do not dare to blaspheme Christ, they blaspheme His servants, who reproach them. If you show them that you are speaking the words of Christ, and not your own, they will try, as best they can, to convict you of speaking your own words, and not Christ’s. If it becomes obvious that you are speaking the words of Christ, they will go against Christ, they will begin to blame Christ: “Why, why did He make us like this?” Don't people say things like that every day when someone calls out their behavior? Having a perverted will, they blame the Creator. The creator shouts to them [P. 204] from heaven (for He who created us created us again): “What have I created in you? I created man, not greed; I created man, not robbery; I created man, not adultery. You heard how My works glorify Me, how the three youths sang with their lips a hymn that protected them from the fire: “The works of the Lord glorify the Lord; Heaven, earth and sea praise Him; all that is in heaven praises Him; The angels glorify Him, the stars glorify, the luminaries glorify, all who swim, fly, walk and crawl glorify Him, all glorify the Lord" (cf. Dan. 3:24-90). Have you heard that greed glorified the Lord? Have you heard that drunkenness glorified the Lord, that indolence glorified, that idle talk glorified? Everything that does not praise the Lord in this hymn was not created by the Lord. Correct what you have created, so that what God has created in you will be saved. And if you don’t want this, if you love and cherish your sins, then you are an opponent of Christ. Whether you are inside [the Church], whether you are outside, you are the Antichrist. Whether you are inside [the Church], whether you are outside, you are chaff. But why aren't you outside? Because you haven't been blown away by a gust of wind yet. 10. All this, brothers, is quite obvious. Let no one say: “I do not honor Christ, but I honor God His Father.” Whoever denies the Son has neither the Son nor the Father; and he who confesses the Son has both the Son and the Father (cf. 1 John 2:23). This is said to you, the grain, and let those who were chaff hear this and become grain. Let everyone who loves the world change himself, taking care of his conscience; let him become a lover of Christ, so that he does not become the Antichrist. If someone tells him that he is the Antichrist, he becomes irritated and believes that he has been insulted. Christ tells him: “Be patient, if you have heard lies [about yourself], rejoice with Me, because I also hear lies [about Myself] from the Antichrists; and if you have heard the truth, come into agreement with your conscience; if you are afraid to hear [this about yourself], then be all the more afraid to be [such].” [P. 206] 11. Therefore, whatever you heard from the beginning, let it remain in you; If that which you have heard from the beginning abide in you, then you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. The promise that He promised us (1 John 2:24-25). After all, you may ask about the reward and say: “Behold, I keep within myself what I heard from the beginning, I keep it; I endure dangers, hardships, temptations for the sake of this constancy. For what fruits? For what reward? What will He give me later, for in this age I see myself suffering hardships among temptations? I do not see any peace here, my frailty burdens my soul, and my corruptible body draws me to what is below, but I endure everything so that what I heard from the beginning abide in me and so that I can say to my God: according to the word of Your mouth, I have guarded myself from the wrong ways (Ps. 16:4). For what reward? I hear and do not lose heart. If you become discouraged amidst hardships, let the promised reward restore your strength. Who, while working in a vineyard, banishes from his heart [the thought of] the reward that he is about to receive? If he forgets about his reward, his hands will give up. The memory of the promised payment makes him work with diligence. The promise is made by a person who can deceive you. How much more industrious should you be in the field of God when the Truth promises you, which is unchangeable, which can neither die nor deceive the one to whom the promise was given? What kind of promise is this? Let's see what She promises. Is it gold, which people here are very fond of, or silver? Or property that people spend gold to purchase? Or pleasing lands, spacious houses, numerous slaves and countless animals? This [listed] is not the payment for which we are called to be patient in our work. What should be called that reward? Eternal life. [P. 208] You heard and shouted in joy; love what you hear; you will be delivered from your labors for the peace of eternal life. This is what God promises—eternal life. This is what God threatens - eternal fire. What is [promised] to those on the right? Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). And what about those standing on the left? Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). You don’t love this [Kingdom] yet, then at least be afraid of that [fire]. 12. Remember therefore, my brethren, that Christ promised us eternal life: And the promise which He promised us is eternal life. This I have written to you about those who deceive you (1 John 2:25-26). Let no one tempt you to death, think about the promise of eternal life. What can the world promise? Let him promise anything; he makes a promise to someone who may die tomorrow. And with what face will you come to [God], who abides in eternity? “But a powerful man is threatening me, forcing me to do some evil.” What is he threatening you with? Prison, chains, fire, torture, beasts. Is it really eternal fire? Fear what the Almighty threatens, love what the Almighty promises. The whole world fades [against this background], whether it promises something or frightens us with something. I have written this to you about those who deceive you, so that you may know that you have the anointing, and the anointing that you received from Him remains in you (cf. 1 John 2:26). The sacrament of anointing has an invisible power; this invisible anointing belongs to the Holy Spirit, the invisible anointing is that love which, no matter who it is, serves as a kind of root for him, which cannot dry up, no matter how much the sun burns. Everything that has a root is nourished by the body of the sun, but does not wither. 13. And you do not need anyone to teach you; for His anointing teaches you all things (1 John 2:27). Why then do we [P. 210] are we doing this, brothers? Why are we teaching you? If His anointing teaches you everything, then we seem to be wasting our time in vain. Maybe we'll just shake the air? Let us leave you to His anointing, and let His anointing teach you. But I ask this question both to myself and to the apostle. Let him deign to hear the child asking him; I turn to John himself: “Have those with whom you speak had the anointing? You said: for His anointing teaches you everything. Why then did you write this message? Why are you teaching them? Why are you instructing? Why are you admonishing me?” Behold here, brothers, a great mystery: only the sound of our words reaches your ears, but the Teacher abides within. Don't think that any person learns from a person. We can exhort you through our voice; but if there is no One within you who teaches, the sound of our voice will be empty. Do you want proof of this, brothers? Haven't you all heard this sermon? But how many will leave here ignorant! As for me, I addressed everyone. But those with whom this anointing did not communicate internally, who were not taught within by the Holy Spirit, will return [home] ignorant. External teacher guidance is some help and warning. He who instructs hearts has a pulpit in heaven. That is why He Himself says in the Gospel: “Do not call anyone your teacher on earth, for you have only one Teacher – Christ” (cf. Matthew 23:8-9). Therefore, let Him Himself speak to you within you, because there is no one there, for even if someone stands next to you, there is no one in your heart. Let there be no one in your heart, let only Christ be in your heart. May His anointing remain in your heart, so that your heart does not find itself like one who is thirsty in the desert, having no springs to give it water. Therefore, there is an inner Teacher who teaches; It is Christ who teaches, His anointing teaches. Where His inspiration and His anointing are not there, words spoken from without are superfluous. [P. 212] The words, brothers, that we pronounce outwardly, are like a farmer working with a tree: he applies strength, waters and cares for the plant; let him make every possible effort, but can he really produce a fruit? Is he really covering the bare trunk with leaves? Is he really doing something inside the tree? But who does it? Listen to the farmer-apostle, see who we are, and hear the inner Teacher: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase; Therefore, he who plants and he who waters is nothing, but God who increases everything (1 Cor 3:6-7). So, we are talking to you, but whether we sow during the conversation or water, we are nothing, but God who increases everything, that is, His anointing, which teaches you everything. 1. Do you remember, brothers, that yesterday’s reading ended with the following words: And you do not need anyone to teach you; for His anointing teaches you all things (1 John 2:27). And you, I am sure, will remember that we have explained this to you in this way, that we who speak in your ears are like laborers who take care of a tree, and do not cultivate or create fruit, but unless He who created and redeemed and called you, being within you through faith and His Spirit, speaks to you, we will shake the air in vain. What does this mean? From the fact that, although many listen to me, what is said does not reach everyone, but only those to whom God speaks in their hearts. He speaks to the same ones within who have given Him a place. Those who give Him a place there are those who leave no place for the devil. For the devil wants to dwell in the hearts of people and say there things that can seduce. But what does the Lord Jesus say? The prince of this world is cast out (John 12:31). Where was he expelled from? Is it really from the limits of heaven and earth? Is it really from the limits of the universe? No, but from the hearts of believers. Since the invader has been driven out, let the Redeemer abide there. For the Redeemer is the Creator Himself. The devil now attacks from the outside and is unable to overcome the One who dwells within. He attacks from the outside, plunging him into various temptations, but he does not yield to them to whom God speaks inside and [speaks] the anointing that you have heard about. 2. Truly, says [the apostle], this anointing is the Spirit of the Lord, which teaches people and cannot lie. [P. 220] And what it taught you is not false, abide in it. Therefore, children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming (1 John 2:27-28). You see, brothers: we have believed in Jesus, whom we have not seen; those who saw Him, who touched Him, who heard the word from His mouth announced Him, and so that they could convince the human race of this, they were sent by Him, they did not dare to go on their own. Why were they sent? You heard while reading the Gospel: go and preach the Gospel to every creature that is under heaven (cf. Mark 16:15). Therefore, the disciples were sent in all directions with signs and wonders, so that thanks to them people would believe that [the apostles] were saying what they themselves saw. And we believe in Him, although we have not seen it, and we hope for His future coming. And all who wait for Him in faith will rejoice when He comes. And those who do not have faith, when what they now do not want to see comes, will be ashamed. And this shame will not be limited to one day and will not pass away, as usually happens when those who are convicted of some offense and who are reproached by people are ashamed. This shame will put those ashamed on the left, so that they hear: go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Let us continue in His words, so that we will not be ashamed when He comes. For He Himself says in the Gospel to those who believed in Him: if you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples (John 8:31). And they seem to say [in response]: “And what will happen now?” And you will know,” He says, “the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:32). After all, now our salvation belongs to hope, and not to reality, for we are not yet the owners of what is promised to us, but we hope for the future receipt of it. For He who promised is faithful (Heb. 10:23) and does not lie. Just don’t lie, but hope to get what you were promised. For Truth cannot lie. But don’t be a liar, professing one thing and doing another. Keep the faith and He will fulfill [P. 222] promise. If you do not keep the faith, then you will deceive yourself, and not He, who made the promise. 3. If you know that He is righteous, know also that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 2:29). Our righteousness now comes from faith. There is no perfect righteousness, except among the Angels. Yes, and the Angels are unlikely, if you compare them with God. However, if there is any perfect righteousness of souls and spirits created by God, then it belongs to the holy Angels, who are righteous, good, do not deviate into any errors, do not fall into any pride, but constantly remain in the contemplation of the Word of God and have no other sweetness than [the contemplation of Him] by whom they were created. In them there is perfect righteousness, but in us through faith it begins to be in accordance with the Spirit. You heard while reading the psalm: “Come to the Lord in confession” (cf. Ps. 146:7) 138. “Get started,” it says. The beginning of our righteousness is confession of sins. You have stopped defending your sin 139, you have already laid the foundation for righteousness. It will be perfect in you when nothing else will please you, when death will be swallowed up in victory (cf. 1 Cor. 15:54), when no lust will arouse, when the struggle with flesh and blood is over, when the crown of victory is won, triumph over the enemy will occur; then righteousness will be perfect. Now we are still fighting; if we fight, we are still on the battlefield; we strike, we are struck, but who will win is still a matter of anticipation. Victory is won by the one who, when striking, relies not on his own strength, but on God, who encourages him. The devil, who is alone, fights against us. If we are together with God, we will defeat the devil. After all, if you fight the devil alone, you will be defeated. He is an experienced opponent, he has many victories to his name! Look where he cast us out from: in order for us to be born mortals, he first of all cast out our first parents from paradise. What to do if he is such a skilled opponent? [P. 224] Call on the Almighty to fight the devil. Let the One who cannot be defeated abide within you, and you will calmly defeat the one who usually gains the upper hand. But who [does he gain the upper hand] over? Over those in whom God does not dwell. After all, as you know, brothers, Adam, settled in paradise, despised the commandment of God, became proud, as if wanting to obey his own power and not wanting to be subject to the will of God, and was deprived of his former immortality and bliss (cf. Gen. 3:6-19). But there was a certain man, already very skilled, born mortal, who, sitting on a dung heap, defeated the devil: Adam himself won, he won in the person of Job, because Job was from the race of Adam. So Adam, who was defeated in paradise, was victorious on the dunghill. When he was in paradise, he obeyed the woman’s persuasion, which the devil instilled in her; when he was sitting on a dunghill, he said to [his] Eve: you speak like one of the foolish women (Job 2:10). There he listened; answered here; when he was in prosperity, he listened, but when he was scourged, he won. Therefore, brothers, look at what follows further in this epistle, for it inspires us to overcome the devil, but not on our own: If you know that He is righteous, know also that everyone who does righteousness is born of Him. From God, from Christ. And in that [the apostle] said: born of Him, he encouraged us. And now, since we are born of Him, we are already perfect. 4. Listen: See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God (1 John 3:1). For those who are called [children] and are not, what good is the name if in reality they are not [children]? How many people call themselves doctors and yet do not know how to heal? How many are called watchmen and yet sleep all night? So many people call themselves Christians, but in fact they do not turn out to be Christians; because they are not what they are called, that is, they do not turn out to be [Christians] in life, in morals, [P. 226] by faith, by hope, by love. What did you hear here, brothers? See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called and be children of God. The world does not know us because it did not know Him, [hence], and the world does not know us (cf. 1 John 3:1). The whole world is Christian and [at the same time] the whole world is wicked; For wicked people are scattered throughout the whole world, and godly people are scattered throughout the whole world, and they do not know these. Why do we think they don't know? They mock those who live piously. Pay attention and do not be blind, for they often find themselves among you. Anyone of you who already lives piously, who despises worldly things, who does not want to attend spectacles, who does not want to get drunk under the pretext of celebration and, what is even more important, to defile yourself on the days of [the remembrance of] saints, celebrating them as if in the hope of receiving [from the saints] protection - so, anyone who does not want to do this, why does he become the subject of ridicule from those who do all this? Would they really mock such a person if they knew him? Why don't they know him? Because the world did not know Him. Who is the world? The inhabitants of the world, just as its inhabitants are called home. This has already been told to you more than once, and we will not repeat it again, so as not to cause satiety in you. When you hear the word “peace” in a bad sense, understand it only as “worshippers of the world,” because since they love the world, they are its inhabitants, and since they are its inhabitants, they deserve to be called by its name. And now this world does not know us, because it did not know Him. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself also stayed here, was God in the flesh, and was hidden in weakness. Why was He not known? Because He exposed all sins in people. They, loving sinful pleasures, did not know God; loving that which causes fever, they committed iniquity against the Healer. [P. 228] 5. What are we? We have already been born of Him, but since we still only have hope, [the apostle] says: Beloved! we are now children of God (1 John 3:2). Already now? What else can we hope for if we are already children of God? But it has not yet been revealed what we will be (1 John 3:2). But what else will we be if not children of God? Listen to what follows: We only know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Understand, beloved! Important words: We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. Pay attention to what is called here by the word is. You know what that means. The word is is used for a reason, but indicates that which is truly Existent, Unchangeable, that abides forever, is not subject to change, is not subject to corruption in anything, that does not prosper, because It is perfect, does not decrease, because It is eternal. What is this? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). What does it mean? He, being in the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God (Phil. 2:6). Now this Christ in the image of God, the Word of God, the Only Begotten [Son] of the Father, equal to the Father, cannot be seen by evil people. In accordance with the fact that the Word became flesh (John 1:14), even the wicked will be able to see Him, since on the Day of Judgment the wicked will see Him, because this is how He will come to judge, just as He came to be condemned. In the form of a man, but by God, for cursed is everyone who puts his hope in a man (cf. Jer. 17:5). As a man He came to be judged, as a Man He will come to judge. And if we assume that they will not see Him, what then does what is said in Scripture mean: they will look at Him whom they have pierced (John 19:37)? For this is said about the wicked, for they will see and be embarrassed. How can the wicked not see if He places some on the right side and others on the left? To those placed on the right He will say: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom (Matthew 25:34). [P. 230] And to those placed on the left he will say: go into eternal fire (Matthew 25:41). They will see Him, but only in the form of a servant; they will not see God in the image. Why? Because they are wicked. And the Lord Himself says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). Therefore, we will see, brothers, a certain vision that neither eye has seen, nor ears have heard, nor has entered into the heart of man (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9); a certain vision that surpasses all earthly beauties, the beauty of gold, silver, the beauty of groves and fields, the beauty of the sea and air, the beauty of the sun and moon, the beauty of the stars, the beauty of Angels, [a vision] that surpasses everything, for all beauty is from it. 6. So who will we be when we see this? What are we promised? We will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. As far as possible, the language was voiced; Let the rest be understood by the heart. For what could John say in comparison with Jehovah, and what can we, people who are very far from his merits, say? Let us return to that anointing of Him, let us return to that anointing that teaches us in the heart what we cannot speak, and since you cannot now see [this vision], let it be your duty to desire [to see it]. The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire. What you desire, you do not yet see, but by desiring, you become capable of containing [that vision] that you will be able to see when it comes. After all, this is the same as if you wanted to fill some kind of womb, and you know how big what needs to be placed in it, and so you stretch the womb of a bag, a wineskin, or something else; you know how big what you would like to put there, you see that the womb is small, but by stretching it, you make it more suitable. So God, by postponing [that vision], increases our desire; with this desire it expands the soul, expanding it, making it more prepared [for perception]. Let us, brothers, thirst, because we should accept [this vision] into ourselves. Look at Paul stretching his womb to be able to receive that [P. 232] what will come. For he says: “...not because I have already received or become perfect: brethren, I do not count myself to have attained” (cf. Phil. 3:12-13). What are you doing, [Paul], in this life if you have not yet achieved it? “One thing only: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling” (Phil. 3:13–14). He said he was reaching out, he said he was reaching for the goal. He felt too small to perceive what neither the eye had seen, nor the ears had heard, nor had entered into the heart of man (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9). This is what our life consists of, so that we, having the desire, exercise ourselves. Holy aspiration exercises us to the extent that we cut off our aspirations from love for the world. We already said once: empty what needs to be filled. You must fill [the soul] with good, pour out the evil. Think about how God wants to fill you with honey: if you are filled with vinegar, where will you put the honey? What the vessel contained should be poured out, the vessel should be cleansed; it must be cleaned, even if it is difficult, if it needs to be cleaned in order for it to become suitable for something. Let's not call it wicked, let's not call it gold or wine. Everything we talk about cannot be expressed, everything we try to say is called God. What do we say when we say “God”? What then? Is all we hope for just one syllable? 140 No, everything that we can say will be beneath Him. Let us reach out to Him so that when He comes, He will fill us. For we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. 7. And everyone who has this hope in Him (1 John 3:3). You see He gave us hope. You see how the apostle Paul agrees with his fellow apostle: For we are saved by hope. The hope that is visible is not hope; for if anyone sees, what can he hope for? But when we hope for what we do not see, then we wait with patience (Rom. 8:24–25). Patience strengthens our desire. Wait, because He is waiting, be steadfast in [P. 234] achieving the goal in order to achieve it, for the One to whom you strive will not depart. Look: and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3). See how He does not deprive us of free will and says: He cleanses himself. Who cleanses us except God? But God does not cleanse you without your desire. Therefore, by uniting your will with God, you purify yourself. You purify yourself, not on your own, but through Him who came to dwell in you. However, since you do something of your own free will, then something belongs to you. This belongs to you so much that you can say, as in the psalm: “Be my helper, do not reject me” (cf. Ps. 26:9). If you say: “Be my helper,” then you are doing something yourself. After all, if you do nothing, how will He help you? 8. Everyone who commits sin also commits lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Let no one say that one thing is sin, and another is lawlessness: I, they say, am a sinner, but I am not a lawless one. For everyone who commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). What should we share with our sins and iniquities? Listen to what [the apostle] says: And you know that He appeared to take away sin, and in Him there is no sin (1 John 3:5). He in Whom there is no sin, Himself came to take away sin. After all, if there was sin in Him, then it would be necessary to remove [sin] from Him, but He would not remove it. No one who abides in Him sins (1 John 3:6). As long as he abides in Him, he has not sinned. Everyone who sins has neither seen Him nor known Him (1 John 3:6). Important point: Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. And no wonder. For we do not see Him, but we hope to see Him; we have not known Him, but we intend to know Him. We believe in Him whom we have not yet known. Does this mean [P. 236] that we knew Him through faith, and not yet through vision? But then in faith we both saw and knew Him. For if faith does not yet see, why are we called enlightened? There is enlightenment through faith, and there is enlightenment through vision. Now, while we are still wanderers, we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Therefore, our righteousness is through faith, and not through sight. Our righteousness will be perfect when we see through vision. We must not give up this righteousness, which comes from faith, because the righteous lives by faith (Rom. 1:17), as the apostle says. No one who abides in Him sins. For everyone who sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. And he who sins does not believe; if a person believes, then as far as it depends on his faith, he does not sin. 9 . Children! Let no one deceive you. He who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous (1 John 3:7). Having heard that we are righteous as He is righteous, should we think that we are equal to God? You must know what the word “how” means. After all, [the apostle] said a little earlier: everyone... cleanses himself as He is pure (1 John 3:3). So what? Is our purity the same as and equal to the purity of God, and is our righteousness equal to the righteousness of God? Who can say that? The fact is that the word “how” is not always used to express equality. It is as if, for example, a man, having seen this spacious basilica, wanted to build a smaller one, but still with the same proportions (for example, if one basilica has a length-to-width ratio of two to one, and he built a length-to-width ratio of two to one), then it would seem that he built like this one. But one would be, for example, one hundred cubits long, and the other thirty. The second would be like the first, and at the same time not equal to it. You see that the word “how” does not always express equality and sameness. Look, for example, at the difference between a person's face and the reflection in the mirror: the face in the reflection, the face and on the [person's] body; the reflection belongs to the likeness, the body to reality. [P. 238] What are we talking about? After all, as the eyes are there, so here; As the ears are there, so here. In fact there is a difference, but to indicate similarity we say “as.” Therefore, we also bear the image of God; but not like the Son, equal to the Father, but if, because of our smallness, we were not like Him, then in no case could we say that we are like Him. Therefore He purifies us, just as He is pure. But He is pure according to eternity [His nature], and we are pure according to faith. We are righteous, just as He is righteous. But He is righteous in [His] unchangeable constancy, and we are righteous because we believe in Him whom we cannot see, that we may someday see. When our righteousness is perfect, when we become equal to the Angels, even then it will not be equal to His righteousness. So far is she now from His [righteousness] that even then she will not be equal to her! 10. Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil sinned first (1 John 3:8). He is from the devil. You know what [the apostle] is talking about here about imitation of the devil. After all, the devil did not create anyone, did not give birth to anyone, did not create anyone, but everyone who becomes like the devil, as if born of him, becomes a son of the devil in imitation, and not by birth as such. In what sense are you the son of Abraham? Did Abraham give birth to you? In the same way, the Jews, the children of Abraham, without imitating the faith of Abraham, became the children of the devil. They were born physically of Abraham and did not imitate the faith of Abraham. Therefore, if they, born of him, were disinherited because they did not imitate him, then you, although not born of him, will become his son and thus become a son by imitating him. And if you imitate the devil (and he became proud and wicked towards God), then you will become the son of the devil, imitating him, and not because he created you or gave birth to you. 11. For this reason the Son of God appeared (1 John 3:8). Oh, brothers! All sinners are born of the devil because they are sinners. Adam was created by God, but when he obeyed the devil, he was born of the devil and [the devil] begot all people like this, [P. 240] as he himself was. We are already born with lust, and before we add our own sins, we are already born from this condemnation. After all, if we were born without any sin, why would we rush with babies to Baptism in order to save them [from sin]? So, brothers, pay attention to two births: Adam and Christ. Two people, but one of them is a man as a man, the second of them is a God-man. Through man as man we are sinners; through the God-man we receive justification. That birth cast us down to death, this birth raised us to life; this birth brings with it sin, this birth delivers from sin. For this is why the man Christ came, to destroy the sins of people. For this reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). 12. I leave the rest for you, beloved, so as not to burden you. For the very question we strive to solve is why we call ourselves sinners. The fact is that if someone says about himself that he is without sin, he is lying. And in the Epistle of John himself we find: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8). For you must remember what you read earlier: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). And again, you have heard what follows: Whoever is born of God commits no sin... whoever sins has not seen Him or known Him... Whoever commits sin is of the devil (1 John 3:9,6,8). Sin is not from God. These [two sayings] frighten us again. How are we born of God and how do we recognize ourselves as sinners? Maybe we shouldn't say about ourselves that we are born of God? And why then are those sacraments performed for infants? What did John say? Anyone born of God commits no sin. And the same John said: If [P. 242] when we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. An important and difficult question! And I draw your attention, beloved, to the need for its resolution. Tomorrow, in the name of the Lord, as far as He Himself wills, we will discuss this. 1. Listen carefully, I beg you, for this is an important question. And I have no doubt that just as you were attentive yesterday, today you have also gathered to listen carefully. After all, this is an important question! Why does [the apostle] say in this epistle: Whoever is born of God commits no sin (1 John 3:9). And why in the same epistle above did he say: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). What should a person do if he hears both statements in the same message? If he recognizes himself as a sinner, he will be afraid that someone will tell him: “This means that you were not born of God, for it is written: Whoever is born of God commits no sin.” If he calls himself righteous and without sin, he will, in turn, receive a blow from the same message: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And so, finding himself, as it were, between two statements, a person does not find what to say, what to admit to himself. Admitting oneself to be a sinner is dangerous. And it is not just dangerous, but also false, for it is said: we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, if we say that we have no sin. But what if you had no sin and admitted it? You would then tell the truth, and having spoken the truth, you would not have any sign of iniquity. But you would be doing wrong if you said this, because you would be telling a lie, for the truth is not in us if we say that we have no sin. He does not say: “they did not have”, so as not to seem as if he was talking about a past life 141. Say, a person had sins, but, being born [P. 248] from God, ceased to have. If this were so, there would be no difficulty in the matter. For we would say: “We were sinners, but now we are justified; We had sins, but now we don’t.” He didn't say that. How does he speak? If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And a little later he says: Whoever is born of God commits no sin. Was John himself not born of God? If even John, who, as you heard, reclined at the bosom of the Lord, was not born of God, who then will dare to declare that a rebirth took place in him, which the one who was deigned to recline at the bosom of the Lord was not worthy to receive, and that only the one whom the Lord loved more than others (cf. John 13:23) was not born of the Spirit? 2. Pay attention to these words. I again point out to you the difficulties facing us, so that through your attention, through your prayer both for us and for yourself, God will open [our eyes] and offer a way out, so that no one will find in His word a reason for their destruction, which word was preached and written solely for the sake of healing and salvation. Everyone who commits sin also commits lawlessness (1 John 3:4), says [the apostle]. And so that you do not make distinctions, he added: sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4), so that you do not say: “I am a sinner, but I am not lawless.” Sin is lawlessness. And you know that He appeared to take away sins, and that in Him there is no sin (1 John 3:4-5). And what does it benefit us that He came without sin? No one who abides in Him sins; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him. Children! Let no one deceive you. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous (1 John 3:6–7). We have already said that the word “as” is usually used to mean some kind of similarity, not equality. Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil sinned first (1 John 3:8). And we talked about this, that the devil did not create anyone and did not give birth to anyone, but from him, as it were, those who imitate him are born. [P. 250] For this reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Therefore, He who has no sin destroys sins. It follows: Whoever is born of God commits no sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1 John 3:9). Serious encouragement! Perhaps he said: he does not sin - in relation to some specific sin, and not in relation to any sin. So in the said phrase: “No one born of God commits sin,” you must understand some specific sin that a person born of God cannot commit. And such a sin exists, so that if someone commits it, he makes way for others, but if someone does not commit it, he destroys others too. What kind of sin is this? Act contrary to the commandment. What is the commandment? I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34). Listen! This commandment of Christ is called love, through this love sins are destroyed. Failure to fulfill it is a grave sin and the root of other sins. 3. Listen, brothers! We have given some arguments, thanks to which, for people who have understanding, the issue is resolved. But don't we travel the path only with those who walk in haste? Those who walk slowly should not be abandoned. Let's repeat all this as much as we can so that it gets across to everyone. For I think, brothers, that everyone takes care of his soul who comes to the Church for a reason, who does not look for what is transitory in the Church, who does not come here to engage in worldly affairs here, but in order to find out how to find for himself something eternal that has been promised to him. Such a person must think about how to follow this path, so as not to fall behind, so as not to turn back, so as not to go astray, so as not to stagger without ultimately achieving the goal. Therefore, he who takes care of himself, let him not be in a hurry, but also not be slow, [P. 252] and may he not go astray. I said this due to the fact that when he said: he who is born of God does not commit sin, [the apostle] most likely meant a specific sin, otherwise it would contradict what was said elsewhere: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. This is how this issue can be resolved. There is a certain sin that a person born of God cannot commit; if this sin is not committed, then others are forgiven, and if it is committed, then the way is paved for others. What kind of sin is this? To act contrary to the commandment of Christ, contrary to the New Testament. What is this new commandment? I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34). Whoever acts contrary to love and contrary to brotherly affection is not worthy to glorify himself and say about himself that he was born of God. As for one who is established in brotherly love, there are some sins that he cannot commit, and above all, he cannot hate his brother. What should he do with other sins about which it was said: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us? Let him listen to what is said elsewhere in Scripture and calm down: love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8). 4. That’s why we call for love, this message calls for love. What else did the Lord ask Peter after the Resurrection, except: do you love Me? (John 21:15). And it was not enough to ask about this once, and the second and third time He asked the same thing. Hearing this question for the third time, [Peter], not understanding what was happening, became sad because it seemed to him that [the Lord] did not believe him. Indeed, He asked the first, and the second, and the third time. Three times [Peter] rejected fear, three times confessed love (cf. John 21:15–17). So Peter loves the Lord. What should he offer to the Lord? For it cannot be said that Peter was not embarrassed by the words of the psalm: What shall I render to the Lord for all His good deeds to me? (Ps. 115:3). [P. 254] For the one who spoke this in the psalm listed how many things God had provided him with, and sought what he could repay God with, and did not find it. For whatever you would like to give back, you received from Him to return. And what could he find for retribution? As we said, brothers, what he received from Him, this is what he found to repay. I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord (Ps. 115:4). For Who gave him the cup of salvation, if not the One to whom he wanted to bring reward? To accept the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord means to drink of love. And drink in this way, so as not only to not have hatred for your brother, but also to be ready to die for your brother. This is perfect love if you are willing to die for your brother. The Lord showed it in Himself, accepting death for everyone, praying for those by whom He was crucified, saying: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). But if He had done this and had no disciples, He would not have been a Teacher. The disciples who followed Him did the same. Stephen was stoned, and he, kneeling, exclaimed: Lord! Do not count this sin against them (Acts 7:60). He loved those who killed him, because he also died for them. Listen and up. Paul: I will exhaust myself for your souls (2 Cor. 12:15). For he was among those for whom Stephen prayed when they killed him with their own hands. This is perfect love. If someone has such love that he is ready to even die for his brother, then perfect love abides in such a person. But does she, as soon as she is born, immediately become perfect? She is born to improve. When she is born, she begins to be saturated; having been satisfied, it strengthens; having strengthened, it becomes perfect; Having become perfect, what does she say? For me, life is Christ, and death is gain... I have a desire to be resolved and be with Christ, because this is incomparably better; but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for you (Phil. 1:21,23–24). For those he wanted to live, for whom he was ready to die. [P.256] 5. And so that you know that it is precisely that love that is perfect, which a person born of God does not violate and does not sin against, the Lord said to Peter: Do you love Me? (John 21:17), and he replied: “I love you” (cf. John 21:17). At the same time, [the Lord] did not say: “If You love Me, serve Me.” After all, when the Lord was in mortal flesh, He was hungry and thirsty; when He was hungry and thirsty, He was received as a guest and the wealthy people served Him, [giving] from their property. We read about this in the Gospel (cf. Luke 8:3). Zacchaeus received Him as a guest and was healed of his illness, accepting Him as a Physician (cf. Luke 19:2-10). From what disease? From the disease of greed. For he was very rich, a chief of publicans. Look at him, healed of the disease of greed. He says: I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have taken something from anyone, I will repay it fourfold (cf. Luke 19:8). He kept the other half for himself, not to use it for his own pleasure, but to pay off his debts. So, he received the Healer as a guest, because the Lord dwelt in weak flesh so that people could serve Him in this way. And this is because He wanted [thus] to serve those who served Him, for their service benefited them, and not Him. For did He Whom the Angels Served need him? And His servant Elijah sometimes did not need this [human help], for [God] sent him bread and meat with the raven, and yet, in order to give a blessing to the pious widow, the servant of God was sent to her; and the one whom God secretly fed was fed by the widow (cf. 1 Kings 17:4–12). So, through these servants of God, those who see them in need bring good to themselves, for the sake of that reward, which is clearly stated in the Gospel: whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of a righteous person, whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet. And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward (Matthew 10:41-42). People who act this way [P. 258] help themselves, but this was impossible in relation to [the Lord], who intended to ascend to heaven. What could Peter, who loved Him, repay Him? Listen to this: feed my sheep (John 21:17). That is: “Do for the brothers what I have done for you. I have redeemed everyone with My blood; do not hesitate to die to confess the truth, so that others may be like you.” 6. But this, as we have already said, brothers, is perfect love. He who is born of God has it. Listen, beloved, see what I say. Behold, a man, having been baptized, accepted the sacrament of birth; he accepted the sacrament, the great sacrament, divine, holy, inexpressible. Look at what it is: so that through the remission of all sins man would become new. However, let him look into the heart: will what was done with the body be done there? Let him see if there is love there, and then let him say: “I was born of God.” If there is no love there, then even if he wears the [imperial] sign 142, he is still a deserter. Let him have love, otherwise let him not say about himself that he was born of God. “But I accepted the sacrament,” he says. Listen to the apostle: if I know all mysteries, and have all faith, so that I could move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing (1 Cor. 13:2). 7. We, if you remember, drew your attention to this when we began to read this message, pointing out that it speaks primarily about love. And if it seems that [the apostle] is talking about different things there, he still returns to her and, no matter what he says, he wants to turn everything towards [talking about] love. Let's see if he does the same in this case. Listen: everyone born of God commits no sin (1 John 3:9). We ask: “What sin?” For if [P. 260] you will begin to understand every sin here, this will contradict what was said elsewhere: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Let him then say what kind of sin this is, let him teach us, otherwise suddenly I, by misunderstanding, said that this sin is the absence of love, for above he said: whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:11). But maybe he said something later and mentioned love? Look, this whole series of words has such an end, such an outcome: everyone born of God does not commit sin, because His seed abides in him (1 John 3:9). The seed of God means the word of God. This is why the apostle says: I have begotten you with the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). And he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1 John 3:9). Let him talk about it, let's see where he can't sin. The children of God and the children of the devil are recognized in this way: everyone who does not do righteousness is not from God, and neither does he who does not love his brother (1 John 3:10). It is already quite clear why he says: and he who does not love his brother. Love is the only thing that distinguishes between the children of God and the children of the devil. Let everyone overshadow themselves with the sign of the cross of Christ; let everyone echo “Amen”; let everyone sing Hallelujah; let everyone receive Baptism; let everyone visit churches, let everyone build basilica walls; but the children of God and the children of the devil are distinguished in no other way than through love. Those who have love are born of God; Those who do not have love are not born of God. Great sign, great difference! Have everything you want, but if you don't have it, nothing will help you. If you have nothing else, have this and you will fulfill the law. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law, says the apostle; love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:8,10). I believe that she is the pearl that, as it is written in the Gospel, the merchant was looking for; he found one pearl, sold everything he had [P.262] and bought it (cf. Matthew 13:44–46). This precious pearl is love, without which nothing will help you, no matter what you have, but if you only have it alone, you don’t need anything else. So now you see by faith, then you will see by vision (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7). For if we love [God] when we do not see [Him], how much more will we love [Him] when we see him! But how should we strengthen ourselves [in love]? Showing brotherly love. You can tell me, “I have not seen God,” but can you tell me, “I have not seen man”? Love your brother! For if you love the brother whom you see, you will also see God, for you will see love itself, and within it is God. 8. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not from God, nor does anyone who does not love his brother. For such is the gospel... See how [the apostle] proves it! For this is the gospel which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another (1 John 3:11). He showed us on what basis he says that anyone who acts contrary to this commandment is guilty of the grave sin into which those who are not born of God fall. Not like Cain, [who] was of the evil one and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s deeds were righteous (1 John 3:12). Therefore, where there is envy, there cannot be brotherly love. Take note, beloved! He who envyes does not love. The sin of the devil is in him, for the devil cast down [the man] out of envy towards him. After all, he fell and envied him standing [firmly]. He wanted to overthrow him not so that he could get up himself, but so that he would not be the only one to fall. Keep in your soul what [the apostle] inspired, namely, that in love there can be no envy. This was told to you quite clearly when love was glorified: love does not envy (1 Cor. 13:4). There was no love in Cain, and if there had not been love in Abel, God would not have accepted his sacrifice. After all, when they both brought gifts, one from the fruits of the earth, and the other from the offspring of the herd, what do you think, brothers: that God neglected the fruits of the earth and valued the offspring of the herd? God did not look at the hands, but saw the heart, and whom [P. 264] He saw those bringing the gift with love, respected the sacrifice; whomever he saw offering a gift with envy, his eyes turned away from his sacrifice. Therefore [the apostle] by the good works of Abel means love; and underneath Cain’s evil deeds is hatred of his brother. Not only did he hate his brother, he was also jealous of his good deeds, because he did not want to imitate his brother, but decided to kill him. And from here it is clear that one was the son of the devil, and it is clear that the other was God’s righteous man. Therefore, this is where people differ, my brothers. Let no one pay attention to the tongue, but only to the deeds and the heart. If someone does not act righteously towards his brothers, he thereby shows what is inside him. People are tested in temptations. 9 . Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you (1 John 3:13). Do I need to tell you every time what the world is? This is not heaven, not earth, not what God created, but people who love the world. I have already burdened some of you by talking about this over and over again; but I still speak in vain, for if you ask some what I spoke about, they will not be able to answer. Therefore, let at least something penetrate the hearts of the listeners through constant admonition. What is peace? Peace, when used in a bad sense, means people who love peace. The world, when [this word] is used in a good sense, means heaven and earth, as well as everything that God created in them, whence it is said: “And the world was made through Him” (cf. John 1:10). Peace is also the fullness of the earth, as John said: He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for [the sins] of the whole world (1 John 2:2). By the world he means all believers scattered throughout the entire circle of lands. Peace in the bad sense is people who love peace. Those who love the world cannot love a brother. 10. If the world hates us, we know (1 John 3:13–14). What do we know? That we have passed from death to life (1 John 3:14). Why do we know? Because we love the brothers (1 John 3:14). Let no one ask [another] person, let everyone turn [P. 266] to your heart. If he finds brotherly love there, let him be at peace, for he has passed from death to life. He is already on the right side (cf. Matthew 25:34). Let him not pay attention to the fact that his glory is hidden. When the Lord comes, then he will be revealed in glory. For he is already full of strength, but still lives in winter; the root is full of strength, but the branches seem to be dry. Inside is their core, which is full of strength, inside is foliage, inside are fruits, but they are still waiting for summer. So we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers; He who does not love his brother remains in death (1 John 3:14). Lest you think, brothers, that it is a trifle to hate or not love, listen to what follows: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15). Well, if someone was seized with hatred for his brother, did he really plan murder in his heart? He did not perform any actions with his hands to kill a person, but the Lord already takes him for a murderer; he is still alive, but this one has already been condemned as his murderer. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15). 11. In this we know love (1 John 3:16). [The Apostle] speaks of the perfection of love, of the perfection that we inspire in you. We know love in this, that He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (1 John 3:16). Look where it came from: Peter, do you love Me? Feed My sheep (John 21:17). And know this: He wanted him to shepherd His sheep in such a way that he would lay down his life for the sheep. That’s why I told him right there: when you were young, you girded yourself and went where you wanted; and when you are old, another will gird you and lead you where you do not want to go. He said this, says the evangelist, meaning by what death [Peter] would glorify God (John 3:18), so that the one to whom He said: Feed My sheep, would be ready to give his life for His sheep. [P. 268] 12. Where does love begin, brothers? A little attention: you have already heard what makes it perfect. The Lord revealed its result and measure in the Gospel: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). So, He instilled in the Gospel the perfection of love, and here it was also instilled. But you ask yourself and say to yourself: “When will we be able to find such love?” Don't rush to despair. Perhaps she has already been born, but has not yet reached perfection; nourish her so she doesn't suffocate. However, you will tell me: “How do I know this?” Indeed, we have heard by what means it achieves perfection; let's listen to where it comes from. [John] follows further and says: But whoever has enough in the world, but sees his brother in need and closes his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:17). This is where love begins. If you are not yet ready to die for your brother, be ready to at least give what you have to your brother. Let love pierce your heart now, so that you see [the brother] who is in need, and so that your actions are not from vanity, but from the call of mercy coming from within. For if you cannot give what you have to spare to your brother, how can you give your life for your brother? You have money in your bosom that robbers can take from you; if the robbers do not take them away, then when you die, you will still part with them; even if you don't part with them during your lifetime, what will you do? Your brother is hungry, he is in need, perhaps he is in a hopeless situation, he is tormented by a creditor; he has no means, you have them; he is your brother, you are both redeemed, one price is paid for you, you are both redeemed by the blood of Christ; Look closely to see if you are merciful if you have enough in the world. You may say, “Does this concern me? Should I give my money so that he won’t be in need?” If your heart asks you this, then the Father’s love does not abide in you. If the Father's love does not abide in you, you are not born of God. How can you boast that you are a Christian? You bear the name [Christian], but [P. 270] you do not act [like a Christian]. If your actions follow your name, then even if someone calls you a pagan, you will show yourself to be a Christian by your actions. After all, if you do not show yourself to be a Christian in your deeds, then even if everyone calls you a Christian, what good is a name for you when your deeds do not show you as such? And whoever has wealth in the world, but, seeing his brother in need, closes his heart from him - how does the love of God abide in him? And further: My children! Let us begin to love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). 13. I believe that a great and important mystery has been revealed to you, my brothers. What is the power of love, all Scripture speaks about this. But I don’t know if it is stated anywhere more than in this message. We ask you and pray in the Lord that you will keep in mind what you have heard, and also that you will be attentive to what still needs to be said until this message is completed, and listen diligently. Open your heart to the good seed, pull out the thorns, so that they do not choke what is sown in you, but so that the field grows faster and so that the Farmer rejoices and prepares a barn for you, as for grain, and not fire, as for chaff. 1. If you remember, brethren, yesterday we finished preaching on that saying which, no doubt, must have been preserved in your heart, since it was the last thing you heard: My children! Let us begin to love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). It follows: And this is how we know that we are of the truth, and we quiet our hearts before Him; for if our heart condemns us, then [how much more so does God], because God is greater than our heart and knows everything (1 John 3:19-20). He said: let us love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth. We ask: by what work and what truth is it known that a person loves God or loves his brother? He already spoke above to what extent love is perfect, which the Lord also speaks about in the Gospel: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). And [the apostle] here says: just as He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers (1 John 3:16). This is perfect love, and more than this cannot be found. But, since it is not perfect in everyone, the one in whom it is imperfect should not despair, if [this love] has already been born in him, which must be further improved. Be that as it may, if it is born, it must be nourished and through some means of sustenance achieve its perfection. Therefore, we asked where love begins, and immediately found the answer: And whoever has abundance in the world, but, seeing his brother in need, closes his heart from him, how does the Father’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17). [P. 278] Therefore, this is the beginning of love, brothers: to give from your surplus to someone in need who finds himself in straitened circumstances, to relieve a brother from temporary suffering. This is the beginning of love. If you feed on the word of God and the hope of a future life, then you will bring this barely born love to perfection, so that you will be ready to give your life for your brothers. 2. Since such actions are often committed by people who are looking for something else and do not love their brothers, let us turn to the testimony of conscience. How can we prove that such actions are often committed by people who do not love their brothers? How many heretics and schismatics call themselves martyrs! They feel like they are giving their lives for their brothers. If they had given their lives for their brothers, they would not have separated from the universal brotherhood. Again, how many are there who give away a lot of things for the sake of vanity, give a lot of things and do not seek anything in it except human praise and popular glory, which is fleeting and devoid of permanence! So, since such people exist, by what means can brotherly love be tested? Since [the apostle] wanted her to be tested, he said for edification: My children! Let us begin to love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). And we asked: by what deed and by what truth? Could there be anything more obvious than giving alms to the poor? But many do this out of vanity, not out of love. Can there be anything more important than dying for your brothers? But many want to do this for the sake of someone else’s opinion, for the sake of vanity, to make a name for themselves, and not guided by a deep feeling of love. The following remains: the one who loves his brother is the one who stands before God when only He sees; one who talks to his heart and asks his heart whether he is really doing this in pursuit of brotherly love; and confirmation is given to him by that eye, whose gaze penetrates the heart, where a person cannot penetrate [with his ordinary gaze]. Therefore the Apostle Paul, since he was ready to die for the brothers, [P. 280] and said: I will exhaust myself for your souls (2 Cor. 12:15). However, since God saw this in his heart, and not the people to whom it was spoken, he said to them: It means very little to me how you or human judgment judge me (1 Cor. 4:3). And in another place he shows that this is often done out of empty vanity, and not out of love. For he said, affirming love: And if I give all my property to the poor and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good (1 Cor. 13:3). After all, can someone do this without love? Maybe. Indeed, it is those who do not have love and destroy unity. Search among them, and you will find many distributing property to the poor, you will find many ready to accept death, so that they themselves throw themselves headfirst, although no one pursues them 143. This they undoubtedly do without love. Therefore, let us again turn to the conscience about which the apostle speaks: let each one examine his own work, and then he will have praise only in himself, and not in another (Gal. 6:4). Let each of us test his own work, whether it flows from the vein of love (de vena caritatis), whether the sprouts of good deeds rise from the root of love. Let each one test his own work, and then he will have praise only in himself, and not in another, not when someone else’s tongue testifies to him, but when his own conscience testifies. 3. This is what [the apostle] says here: This is how we know that we are of the truth - when we love in deed and truth, and not in word or tongue - and we quiet our hearts before Him (1 John 3:19). What does it mean before Him? That means when He sees. That is why the Lord says in the Gospel: See that you do not do it [P. 282] your alms before people so that they see you: otherwise you will have no reward from your Father in heaven (Matthew 6:1). After all, what else does it mean: do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3), except that the right hand is a clear conscience, and the left is lust? Many people through the lust of the world perform many miracles, this is done by the left hand, not the right. The right one must do without knowing what the left one is doing, so that the lust of the world does not mix with our deeds when we do something good out of love. And how do we know this? You stand before God, ask your heart. Look what you did and what your intention was: your salvation or the frivolous praise of people. Look inside: after all, a person cannot judge whom he cannot see. If we want to calm our hearts, let us calm it before Him. For if our heart condemns us, that is, reproaches us within, because we do not do what should be done with the wrong intention, then [how much more so does God], because God is greater than our heart and knows everything (1 John 3:20). You hid your heart from man, hide it from God, can you? How will you hide it from Him to whom one sinner said, confessing his fear: Where will I go from Your Spirit, and where will I flee from Your presence? (Ps. 139:7). He was looking for where to run away to avoid God's judgment, and could not find where. For where is there no God? If I ascend to heaven - You are there; If I go down to the underworld, you will be there (Ps. 139:8). Where will you go? Where will you run away to? Do you want some advice? If you want to run away from Him, [better] run to Him! Run to Him, confessing, without hiding from Him, for you cannot hide, but you can confess. Tell Him: “You are my refuge” (cf. Ps. 32:7). Let love be saturated in you, which alone leads to life. Let your conscience be a witness to you that [your love] is from God. If it is from God, give up the desire to show it off before people, for it is not human praise that lifts you to heaven and it is not reproach that casts you down from there. Let He Who Sees [P. 284] crowns you, let Him be a witness, Who, as a Judge, crowns you. God is greater than our heart and knows everything. 4. Beloved! if our heart does not condemn us, then we are confident in God (cf. 1 John 3:21). What does it mean: our heart does not condemn us? This means it gives a truthful answer that we love and that the love in us is real, not feigned, but sincere, aimed at saving the brother, and not at seeking some kind of benefit on the part of the brother: only at his salvation. We have confidence in God and whatever we ask, we will receive from Him, because we keep His commandments (1 John 3:22). Therefore, not in front of people [you need to be virtuous], but where God himself sees, that is, in the heart. We have confidence in God and whatever we ask, we will receive from Him. But [we will receive] because we keep His commandments. What are His commandments? Is it really necessary to constantly repeat [the same thing]? I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34). We are talking about love, [the apostle] is talking about it. If a person begins to show love for his brother and has it before God where [only] God’s gaze penetrates; if his heart is subjected to a fair judgment and gives no other answer, but only that the real root of love is where good fruits can be born, then he will be confident in God and, whatever he asks, will receive from Him, because he keeps His commandments. 5. Another question immediately arises: if not even some person, but you or me, if we ask our Lord God for something and do not receive it, then another person can say about us: “He has no love”? And this can easily be said about any person of the present time. Let a simple person think about a person, what he wants. The question becomes more complex, [P. 286] when speaking of holy men who were known to be holy when they wrote and who are now with God. Who has love if Paul did not have it, who said: Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged. Are you not tight with us (2 Cor. 6:11-12), and also the one who said: I will exhaust myself for your souls (2 Cor. 12:15)? After all, such grace abided in him that he clearly had love. And yet we see that he asked and did not receive. What do we say to this, brothers? That's the question. Listen to God. This question is difficult. As it was once said of sin: he that is born of God committh no sin (1 John 3:9), and we have discovered that this sin consists in the absence of love, which was indicated in the same passage, so now let us see what [the apostle] will say. After all, if you look at the words, everything seems clear, if you take into account the examples, then everything will turn out to be unobvious. Nothing is clearer than these words: whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing to Him before Him (1 John 3:22). Whatever we ask, we will receive from Him, he said and put us in a very difficult position. With that [earlier] phrase, he would also put us in a difficult position if he were talking about any sin, but we found a phrase that explains that he was talking about a very specific sin, and not about every sin, but about some sin that a person born of God does not commit. And we have discovered that this sin is the violation of love. And we have an obvious example from the Gospel when the Lord says: If I had not come, they would not have had sin (John 15:22). So what? He came to the innocent Jews, since he says so? That is, if He had not come, they would not have sin? So, does the appearance of a doctor make a person sick, and not relieve him of a fever? What kind of crazy person would say that? He would not have come if there was no need to treat and heal the sick. Why [P. 288] He said: If I had not come, would they not have had sin? Because, of course, he had in mind a very specific sin. After all, there was one sin that the Jews might not have had. What is this sin? Because they did not believe in Him and despised Him when He came. And so, just as He said then about sin, and we should not understand every sin, but a very specific one, so here we should not understand every sin, so that there would not be a contradiction with the place where it was said: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8), but some very specific sin, namely, the lack of love. And here [the apostle] strengthened us even more. If we ask, he said, and if our heart does not blame us and answers before the sight of God that true love is in us, then whatever we ask, we will receive from Him. 6. I have already told you, beloved brothers, this is not specifically about us. After all, what are we? Or what are you? What else are we if not the Church of God, which is known to everyone? And if He pleases, we abide in it, and those of us who abide in it out of love will continue to abide in it if they choose to show the love that is in them. But what bad things can we think about the Apostle Paul? Did he not like his brothers? Was there no evidence of his conscience before the sight of God? Was there not in Paul that root of love from which good fruits would be born? What kind of crazy person would say that? So where do we find that the apostle asked and did not receive? He himself said: And so that I would not be exalted by the extraordinaryness of revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to oppress me. Three times I prayed to the Lord to remove him from me. But [the Lord] said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-9). And look, his request that the angel of Satan be removed from him was not heard. [P.290] But why? Because it wouldn't do him any good. Consequently, he was heard in that which concerned his salvation, although he was not heard in that which answered his desire. Let the great secret be revealed to you, beloved, which we are instilling in you so that it does not escape you in the midst of your temptations. The saints are always heard for their salvation, they are always heard for eternal salvation, it is precisely this that they thirst, and therefore they are heard according to it. 7. Let us discern God's different ways of hearing prayer. And we will find some people who were not heard in what was in accordance with their desire, but were heard in what was in accordance with salvation. And, on the other hand, we will find those who were heard in what corresponded to their desire, and were not heard in what corresponded to salvation. Do not forget this difference, remember this example of the apostle, that he was not heard in that which answered his desire, and was heard in that which answered his salvation. Listen to the Apostle Paul, for God Himself revealed to him that He hears what corresponds to salvation: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. You begged, you cried, you cried three times, the first time you cried, I heard, I did not turn My ears away from you. I know what to do; you want the medicine that torments you to be removed from you. I know about the weakness with which you are burdened.” So, this is a man who was heard in that which corresponded to his salvation, and was not heard in that which corresponded to his desire. Will we find those who were heard in that which was in accordance with their desire, and not heard in that which was in accordance with salvation? Will we find, in our opinion, some worthless person, some wicked person, whom God heard in what corresponded to his desire, but did not hear in what corresponded to salvation? If I give an example of a person, you may say to me: “You call him a wicked man, but he is a righteous man, for if he were not a righteous man, God would not hear him.” I am going to give an example of one whose wickedness and lawlessness no one doubts. The devil asked Job and received (cf. Job 1:11–12). Have you not heard here about the devil: Whoever commits sin is of the devil (1 John 3:8)? Not in the sense that the devil created him, but in the sense that such a person imitates him. Is it not said about him: he did not stand in the truth (John 8:44)? Isn’t he the ancient serpent [P.292] who through a woman gave poison to the first man to drink? (cf. Gen. 3:1–6). He saved Job’s wife for this purpose, so that through her the husband would not receive consolation, but temptation (cf. Job 2:9). The devil asked [to give him] the holy husband and received it. The apostle asked that the thorn in his flesh be removed, but he did not receive it. But the apostle was heard rather than the devil. For the apostle was heard in that which corresponded to salvation, although it did not correspond to desire, and the devil was heard in that which corresponded to desire, but for punishment. For Job was given to him to be tempted, so that the devil would be tormented because of his hardness. However, brothers, we find this not only in the Old Testament books, but also in the Gospel. The demons asked the Lord, when He cast them out of man, that they might be allowed to enter the pigs. Couldn't God have forbidden them to even approach them? For if He had not wanted, they would not have rebelled against the King of heaven and earth. But, following a hidden secret and a certain plan, He allowed demons to enter the pigs (cf. Luke 8:32) to show that the devil rules in those people who lead the life of pigs. So, the demons were heard, but the apostle was not heard? But wouldn’t it be more correct to say that the apostle was heard, but the demons were not heard? In the case of the demons, their desire was fulfilled, and in the case of the apostle, his purity was brought to perfection. 8. In accordance with this, we must understand that God, even if he does not give what corresponds to our desire, gives what corresponds to salvation. After all, what should you do if what you are asking for is harmful to you and the doctor knows that it is harmful to you? In fact, the doctor hears you when you ask, for example, for cold water, and immediately gives it to you if it is useful for you. And he doesn’t give it if it’s harmful. Did he not hear you, or rather, did he not hear you in what is healthy, although he opposed your wishes? May love be in you, brothers; may it abide in you, and be at peace. And when [P. 294] you are not given what you ask, you are heard, but you do not know about it. Many were left in their own hands to their own misfortune. The apostle says about them: and God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts (Rom. 1:24). Some person asks for a lot of money and gets it, to his misfortune. When he didn't have them, he had nothing to fear. He acquired them and became the prey of a more powerful person. Was it not to his own misfortune that the one who wanted to get the money for which he became the prey of the robber was heard, although, being poor, he was not interested in him? Learn to pray to God to trust the Healer, for He knows what He is doing. Admit the disease, and let Him give you the medicine. Just keep the love. Indeed, He wants to cut off [the dead parts], He wants to cauterize [the wound], so if you scream and are not heard during the cutting, cauterization and experience of pain, [remember that] He knows how far the decay has gone. Now you want Him to withdraw [His] hand, but He thinks about the depth of the plague and knows to what extent it has grown. And He does not hear you in that which meets your desire, but He hears in that which serves your recovery. Be assured, my brothers, that what the apostle said is true: for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be expressed. For He makes intercession for the saints (Rom. 8:26–27). What does it mean: the Spirit Himself intercedes for the saints, if not that love itself, which the Spirit created in you, intercedes for the saints? That is why the same apostle says: the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). It is love itself that sighs, love itself that prays; He who gave her cannot close his ears to her. Be calm, let love pray, and God's ears are there. What happens is not what you want, but what is useful to you happens. That is why [the apostle] says: whatever we ask, we will receive from Him. I have already said, if you understand here that [we ask] for salvation, then there is no question; if not for salvation, then a question remains, and an important one at that, which turns you into an accuser of the Apostle Paul. Whatever we ask, [P. 296] we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing to Him in His sight (1 John 3:22). Before Him, that is, within oneself, where [only] He sees. 9 . What are these commandments? And His commandment is that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another (1 John 3:23). You see that this is a commandment. You see that anyone who acts contrary to this commandment commits a sin from which everyone born of God is free. As He commanded us (1 John 3:23) that we love one another. And whoever keeps His commandments... (1 John 3:24). You see that we are commanded to do nothing less than love one another. And whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know that He abides in us by the Spirit that He gave us (1 John 3:24). Isn’t it obvious that this is how the Holy Spirit works in a person so that there is love and mercy in him? Isn’t it obvious what the apostle said: the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us? After all, he spoke about love and pointed out that we must question our hearts before God. The words: if our heart does not condemn us, mean the following: “if it recognizes that we do all good deeds out of love for our brother.” And further, when he spoke about the commandment, he said: And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another. And whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know that He abides in us by the spirit that He gave us. For if you find that love abides in you, then you have the Spirit of God to understand it. Because this is a very necessary thing. 10. In the beginning times [of the Church] (primis temporibus) the Holy Spirit came upon those who believed, and they spoke in tongues which they had not learned, as the Spirit gave them to preach (cf. Acts 2:4). These were signs appropriate to the time. For it was necessary that the Holy Spirit should manifest Himself in all languages, since the Gospel of God had to go around the whole circle of earth in all languages. This sign was given, and it never happened again. Is it possible that now those who have their hands laid on them to receive the Holy Spirit have any hope that they will speak in tongues? And when we laid our hands on these babes, did any of you expect that they would speak in tongues, and when it became evident that they did not speak in tongues, was any of you so depraved in heart as to say, “They did not receive the Holy Spirit, for if they had received it, they would have spoken in tongues, as happened in those days”? If evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit is not now given through such miracles, how then is it obvious that someone has received the Holy Spirit? Let him ask his heart: if he loves his brother, does that mean the Holy Spirit abides in him? Let him look, let him present himself before the eyes of God; let him see if there is in him a love for peace and unity, a love for the Church, spread throughout the entire earthly circle. Let him not rest in the fact that he loves the brother whom he sees before him, for we have many brothers whom we do not see, but with whom we are united in the unity of the Spirit. Is it any wonder that they are not with us? We are in one body, we have one Head in heaven. Brothers, our eyes do not see each other, as if they do not know each other. But do they not know each other in the love of bodily unity? After all, so that you understand that they know each other in the unity of love: when both eyes are open, it does not happen that the right eye looks at something that the left eye does not look at. Fix your gaze on the right without the left, if you can. The gaze of both [eyes] are inseparable, both are directed towards one; [P.300] their places are different, but their view is the same. Therefore, since everyone who loves God with you has a common goal with you, do not pay attention to the fact that physically you are in another place; together you direct the gaze of your heart to the light of truth. Therefore, if you want to know that you have received the Spirit, ask your heart, so that it does not happen that you receive the sacrament, but the power of the sacrament does not reach you. Ask your heart and, if there is love for your brother there, be at peace. Love cannot exist without the Spirit of God, for Paul exclaims: the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). 11. Beloved! Believe not every spirit (1 John 4:1). For [the apostle] said: And we know that He abides in us by the spirit which He has given us. But how can one recognize the spirit itself? Look: Beloved! Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1). And who is the one who tests the spirits? He put a difficult question before us, my brothers. It’s good that he himself says how we should recognize them. He's about to tell you: don't be afraid. But first look, be careful. Look: these words are used by heretics to raise empty accusations against us. Look what he says: Beloved! Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. The Holy Spirit is called water in the Gospel, where the Lord exclaimed and said: if anyone thirsts, come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37–38). At the same time, the evangelist showed what exactly He was talking about. For he continues and says: These things He said concerning the Spirit, which those who believe in Him must receive (John 7:39). Why didn’t the Lord baptize many? What does [the apostle] say? For the Holy Spirit was not yet on them, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39). And so, since they had received Baptism, but had not yet received the Holy Spirit, Whom the Lord sent from heaven on the day of Pentecost, they waited for the glorification of the Lord so that the Spirit would be given to them. And before being glorified [P. 302] and before sending Him, He called the people to prepare to receive the water, of which He said: If anyone thirsts, let him come and drink, and: Whoever believes in Me, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. What does rivers of living water mean? What kind of water is this? Let no one ask me, ask the Gospel. This He said about the Spirit, which those who believe in Him will have to receive. Therefore, one is the water of the sacrament, the other is water, which means the Spirit of God. The water of the sacrament is visible, the water of the Spirit is invisible. One washes the body and symbolizes what happens in the soul, and through the Spirit the soul itself is cleansed and nourished. This is the Spirit of God, which heretics and all those who have cut themselves off from the Church cannot have. And those who do not openly separate themselves, but are separated by their iniquity, remaining inside [the Church], are like chaff; they are not grain and do not have that Spirit. This Spirit is called the Lord water. We heard in this message: do not believe every spirit. And the words of Solomon testify: Keep away from strange water (Proverbs 9:18). What does water mean? Spirit. Does water always mean spirit? Not always, but in some places it means the spirit, in some places it means Baptism, in some places it means the people, in some places it means the mind. In one place you meet: Understanding is the source of life for those who have it (Proverbs 16:22). Therefore, water means different things in different places in the Scriptures. Now you have heard the name of water in the meaning of “Spirit”. And this is not our interpretation, but this is what the Gospel testifies, where it is said: These things He said about the Spirit, which those who believe in Him must receive. If the word “water” denotes the Holy Spirit and if this message tells us: do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, let us understand why it is said: Keep away from strange water, and from the fountain [P. 304] do not drink someone else's (Proverbs 9:18). What does it mean: don’t drink from someone else’s source? So, don’t trust someone else’s spirit. 12. Therefore, there remains a test by which one can determine that the Spirit is God’s. Although [the apostle] showed us a sign, and it is perhaps not simple, let us take a look. We need to return to love; it is she who teaches us, for she is the anointing of God. However, what is he saying here? Test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). All heretics and all schismatics are designated here. How will I test the spirit? It follows: This is how you know the Spirit of God (1 John 4:2). Open the ears of your heart! We were at a loss and said: who knows, who is able to discern? Now, he will now name a sign: recognize the Spirit of God in this way: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit that denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God, but is the Antichrist, about whom you have heard that he will come and is now already in the world (1 John 4:2-3). We strained our ears to recognize the spirits, but we heard something that does not allow us to recognize them. After all, what is he saying? Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Therefore, the spirit that the heretics have is from God, for they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Perhaps they will rebel against us and say: “It is you who have a spirit that is not from God, but we confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” But [the apostle] said that those who do not have the Spirit of God deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Ask the Arians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Eunomians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Macedonians, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Catafrigs, they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Ask the Novatian, [P. 306] they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. What then? Do all heretics have the Spirit of God? Well, aren't they false prophets? Well, there is no deception, no temptation in them? Of course, they are Antichrists, for they came out from us, but were not ours (1 John 2:19). 13. What should we do? How to recognize? Be careful. Let's go and knock together with our hearts. Love itself does not sleep, for it must both knock and open. You are about to understand this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have already heard what was said above: “He who denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is Antichrist” (1 John 4:3; cf. 1 John 2:22) 144. And we asked then who denies, because neither we deny, nor those [heretics] deny. And we found that some deny this by their works 145, and we cited an example from the apostle, who said: They say that they know God, but by works they deny (Titus 1:16). So let's pay attention to deeds, not words. What kind of spirit is that is not from God? The one who denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. And what kind of spirit is that from God? One who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Who is he who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh? Let us pay attention, brothers, to deeds, and not to the noise of words. Let us ask why Christ came in the flesh and discover those who deny that He came in the flesh. After all, if you pay attention to the words, you will hear how many heretics confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, but the truth convicts them. Why did Christ come in the flesh? Wasn't He God? Is it not written about Him: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)? Didn't He feed the Angels and didn't He feed the Angels? Didn't He come here so as not to leave? Did He not ascend so as not to leave us? Why did He come in the flesh? Because we were supposed to have hope [P. 308] for resurrection. He was God and came in the flesh. After all, God could not die, but the flesh could die; therefore, He came in the flesh to die for us. How did He die for us? Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Therefore, love forced Him to take flesh. Anyone who does not have love does not confess that Christ has come in the flesh. And now ask any heretic: has Christ come in the flesh? “I’ve arrived. I believe this and confess this.” No, you deny it. “Why am I denying? You hear what I’m saying.” No, I claim that you deny. You confess with your voice, but deny in your heart; You admit it in words, but deny it in deeds. “How do I deny with deeds?” For this reason Christ came in the flesh to die for us. This is why He died for us, to teach us great love. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. But you do not have love, because because of your pride you destroy unity. So, through this [unity] understand the spirit from God. Knock, strike the clay vessels to see if they are cracked or sound bad; see if they make a clear sound, see if there is love in them. You separate yourself from the unity of the earthly circle, you divide the Church with schisms, you tear apart the Body of Christ. He came in the flesh to gather [everyone] together. You are shouting to separate [everyone]. Therefore, it is the Spirit of God who says that Jesus came in the flesh; Who speaks not in words, but in deeds; Who speaks not by voice, but by love. The same spirit is not from God, which denies that Jesus came in the flesh, and denies it not by language, but by life itself, not by words, but by deeds. So it is clear how we can recognize brothers. Many who are inside [the Church] are only, as it were, inside; but no one is outside [the Church] except the one who is actually outside it. 14. Therefore, so that you may know what he refers to as works, [the apostle] says: every spirit that denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, [P. 310] is not from God. Here we must understand: “rejects by works.” Who is [the apostle] talking to you about? About the one who denies, for he, as it is said, denies 146. He came to gather, and you came to reject [unity]. You want to rend the members of Christ. How can you say that you do not deny that Christ came in the flesh if you are splitting the Church of God that He gathered? Therefore, you go against Christ, you are the Antichrist. Whether you are inside [the Church] or outside it, you are the Antichrist. But when you are inside, you are hidden [Antichrist], and when you are outside, you are manifest. You reject Christ, you deny that He came in the flesh. You are not from God. That is why He says in the Gospel: whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people so, he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19) 147. What does violation mean? What does learning mean? Violation belongs to deeds, and teaching belongs to words. You are the one who, while preaching not to steal, steals (Rom. 2:21). Therefore, the one who steals violates the commandment and, as it were, teaches [to do so]. Such a one will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, in the Church of the present time. It is said about him: “what they say, do, but what they do, do not” (cf. Matt. 23:3). And whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19). The verb “will do” that He uttered here is contrasted with what was used there: “will break,” that is, “he will not do it and will teach it.” Therefore, the one who does not violates it. What is He teaching us here, if not that we should be interested in deeds and not believe words? The obscurity of these things forces us to say a lot, mainly so that what the Lord has deigned to reveal may also reach the brothers who are not distinguished by quickness of mind, because they too have all been redeemed by the blood of Christ. I am afraid that [reading] this Message will not be limited to these days, as I promised. But (so the Lord wills) it is better to leave something for later than to overload your hearts with too much food. 1. This world is for all believers seeking a [heavenly] homeland what the desert was for the people of Israel. Although he was still wandering and looking for his homeland, under the guidance of God he could not get lost. His path was prescribed by God. After all, the path that [the Jews] traveled in forty years could have been covered in a very small number of transitions, and everyone knows this. They walked slowly, not because they were abandoned [by God], but because they had to improve. Therefore, what God promises us is indescribable sweetness, as Scripture says and as you have often heard from us, and a goodness that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever penetrated (cf. Is. 64:4; 1 Cor. 2:9). Through temporary difficulties we improve and through the temptations of this life we ​​learn. But if you do not want to die of thirst in this desert, drink love. She is the source that God wanted to place here so that we would not weaken on the way; and we will drink even more from it when we come home. The Gospel has just been read. To start a conversation with me about those words with which the previous reading was completed, [tell me] what else did you hear about in them, except about love? For we have made a covenant with our God in prayer: if we want Him to forgive us our sins, we must also forgive the sins that have been committed against us (cf. Matt. 6:12). It is love that forgives. Remove love from the heart, and hatred will take possession of it; it does not know how to forgive. Let there be love, [P. 316] she is serene, she forgives, and she has no boundaries. Look at this entire message that we have undertaken to explain to you. Does it offer anything other than love? And there is no need to be afraid that she will become hated by constantly talking about her. How can we love if love becomes the object of hatred? It is through love that we love everything else: how much should it itself be loved by us? She is something that should never leave the heart, she should never leave the tongue! 2. “You are already,” says [the apostle], “from God, children! And they defeated him” (cf. 1 John 4:4). Who, if not the Antichrist? After all, above he said: “Whoever rejects Jesus Christ and denies that He came in the flesh is not from God” (cf. 1 John 4:3). And we explained, if you remember, that all those who trample on love deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. For it was necessary that Jesus should come precisely out of love. In fact, what is required of us is the love that He himself speaks about in the Gospel: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). How could the Son of God lay down His life for us if He did not put on flesh in which He could die? So, anyone who tramples on love, let him acknowledge in words, but deny in deeds that Christ came in the flesh; he is the Antichrist, wherever he is, wherever he goes. But what does [the apostle] say to those who are citizens of that homeland for which we sigh? “You have overcome him” (cf. 1 John 4:4). Why did you win? Because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). So that they do not attribute this victory to their own strength and are not overcome by pride (for the devil defeats everyone whom he makes proud), what does [the apostle] say to them, wanting them to remain humble? "You have won." [P. 318] And every person who hears: “You have won,” raises his head, straightens his neck, wants to praise himself. Don't exalt yourself! See who has won in you. Why did you win? Because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Be humble, bear your Lord; be the mount of your Horseman. It is good for you that He rules over you, that He rules over you. After all, without the Horseman, you can straighten your neck, you can be self-willed; and woe to you without a Rider, for your freedom will carry you away to be devoured by wild beasts. 3. They are of the world (1 John 4:5). Who? Antichrists. You've already heard who they are. And if you are not like that, then you know them, but the one who is like that himself does not know. They are of the world, therefore they speak in the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5). Who are those who speak the worldly language? Understand: these are those who are against love. Behold, you have heard what the Lord said: if you forgive people their sins, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive, then your Father will not forgive you your sins (Matthew 6:14-15). This is a statement of truth, reject it if what it says is not the truth. If you are a Christian and believe in Christ, then He said: I am the truth (John 14:6). So this statement is true and reliable. Listen to people speaking in worldly terms: “Aren’t you going to avenge yourself? And will you let him tell you what he did to you? Let him feel like he’s talking to a man!” Something like this happens every day. Those who speak like this speak in a worldly manner, and the world listens to them. No one says such things except those who love peace, and no one listens to such things except those who love peace. But those who love the world and despise love, as you have heard, deny that Jesus came in the flesh. Did the Lord Himself act this way in the flesh? When He was beaten, did He want to avenge Himself? When they hung Him on the cross, didn't He say: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)? If He did not threaten, having power, why are you threatening, why are you angry, [P. 320] having no control over yourself? He died because he wanted to die and did not threaten, but you don’t know when you will die, and you threaten! 4. We are from God (1 John 4:6). Let's see why. Look, is it not because of anything other than love? We are from God; He who knows God listens to us; He who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (1 John 4:6). Therefore, whoever listens to us has the spirit of truth, and whoever does not listen to us has the spirit of error. Let's see what [the apostle] warns us about, let's listen to the one who warns us in the spirit of truth, not the antichrists, not the lovers of the world, not the world. If we are born of God... Beloved (1 John 4:7), he says further. Look, after what it is said: We are from God; He who knows God listens to us; He who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Behold, [the apostle] forced us to listen to him attentively: he who knows God listens, but he who does not know does not listen, and this distinguishes the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Let us see what he intends to exhort us about, regarding what we should listen to him. Beloved! Let us love one another (1 John 4:7). Why? Because this is what a person exhorts? No, because love comes from God (1 John 4:7). Oh, how he exalted love, saying that it was from God! But he intends to say even more important words. Let's listen carefully. He just said: love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love has not known God (1 John 4:7–8). Why? Because God is love (1 John 4:8). What more could he say, brothers? If nothing had been said in praise of love in the pages of this entire epistle, if nothing had been said in the other pages of the Scriptures, and if we had only heard this spoken by the voice of the Spirit of God: because God is love, we should not have sought anything more. 5. Understand, to act contrary to love means to act against God. Let no one say: “I commit a sin against a person when I do not show love to my brother (mark this!), [P.322] and the sin against a person is light; the main thing is that I do not sin against God.” How do you not sin against God when you sin against love? God is love. Did we say that? If we said: God is love, perhaps some of you would be indignant and say: “What is he talking about? What did he mean by saying that God is love? God gave love, God gave love. Love is from God; God is love. Look, brothers, you have the Scriptures of God, this is a canonical message, it is read among all nations, it is recognized throughout the entire earthly circle, it created the whole world. You heard here from the Spirit of God: God is love. Now, if you dare, stand against God and renounce your love for your brother. 6. In what sense was it said then: Love is from God, and now: God is love? For God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Son, God from God; Holy Spirit, God from God. And all three are one God, not three gods. If the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, then the one in whom the Holy Spirit abides loves, therefore love is God, but it is God because it is from God. You read both in the message: love is from God, and: God is love. Only in relation to the Father does Scripture not say that He is from God. When it is said: from God, you must mean either the Son or the Holy Spirit. And so, when the apostle says: the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5), we must understand that the Holy Spirit abides in love. Indeed, it is the Holy Spirit whom evil people cannot receive; This is the Holy Spirit about whom the Scripture speaks: “Let the source of your water belong only to you; let no one else share it with you” (cf. Proverbs 5:16–17). For all who do not love God are strangers, antichrists. And although they come to the basilicas, they cannot be counted among the children of God, this source of life does not belong to them [P.324]. An evil person can have baptism, and an evil person can have prophecy. We find that King Saul had a prophecy, he persecuted Saint David, but was filled with the Spirit of prophecy and began to prophesy (see 1 Samuel 19). Even an evil person can partake of the body and blood of the Lord; After all, it is said about such people: whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself (1 Cor. 11:29). An evil person can also bear the name of Christ, that is, an evil person can be called a Christian. About such it is said: “They have profaned the name of their God” (cf. Ezek. 36:20). So, an evil person can have all these sacraments, but it is impossible to have love and be evil. Therefore, this is a special gift, an exceptional source. The Spirit of God calls you to drink from it, the Spirit of God calls you to drink from Himself. 7. God's love for us was revealed in this... (1 John 4:9). See, we have been exhorted to love God. Could we love Him if He did not love us first? If we have been slow to love Him, let us hurry to love Him back. He loved us first, and we don’t want to love Him the same way? He loved the wicked, but destroyed iniquity; he loved the wicked, but gathered them together. He loved the sick, but came to heal them. So God is love. God's love for us was revealed in that God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might receive life through Him (1 John 4:9). The Lord Himself says this: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). And this was the test of Christ’s love for us, that He accepted death for us. How is the Father’s love for us confirmed? Because He sent his only Son to die for us. So the Apostle Paul [P.326] says: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom.8:32). Look, the Father betrayed Christ, and Judas betrayed Christ: are these actions of the same kind? Judas is a traitor. So, is God the Father a traitor? No way, you say. I do not say this, but the apostle says: He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. And the Father betrayed Him, and He betrayed Himself. The same apostle says: “Who loved me and gave himself for me” (cf. Gal. 2:20). If the Father betrayed the Son and the Son betrayed Himself, then what did Judas do? Betrayal was committed by the Father, betrayal was committed by Judas, the same act was committed. But what is the difference between the act of the Father who betrayed the Son, the difference between the act of the Son who betrayed Himself, and the act of the disciple Judas who betrayed his Teacher? The fact is that the Father and Son did it within the framework of love, and Judas did it within the framework of treason. You see that what needs to be taken into account is not what a person does, but for what purpose and with what intention he does it. We see the same act of God the Father as the act of Judas, but we bless the Father and curse Judas. Why do we bless the Father and curse Judas? We bless love and curse lawlessness. For how great a benefit was given to the human race through the betrayal of Christ? Was this really what Judas was thinking when he betrayed Him? God thought about our salvation, for which we were redeemed; Judas thought about the payment that he received for selling the Lord. The son thought about the price he paid for us, and Judas thought about the price he received for the sale. Therefore, different thoughts made the actions different. Although the act is one, however, if we pay attention to the difference in intentions, in one we will see what is worthy of love, and in the other - what is worthy of condemnation, in one - what is worthy of glorification, in the other - what is worthy of damnation. Such is the power of love. Look: she alone makes the difference; look: only she distinguishes between people’s actions. 8. We said this in relation to when actions are similar. In the same case, when the actions are different, [P.328] we find a person who, out of love, became cruel and through lawlessness became affectionate. The father beats the boy, and the slave trader shows him affection. If you think about these two actions, you will see beating and caressing. Who would not prefer affection and would not want to avoid a beating? If you look at the faces, then love strikes, and lawlessness shows affection. Look at what we instill: the actions of people would have no difference if it were not for their underlying love. After all, many things can be done that have a good appearance, but do not grow from the root of love. In fact, rose hips also have flowers. Some actions seem harsh and full of malice, but they are committed for the purpose of edification at the behest of love. So, once and for all, a short commandment has been given to you: “Love and do what you want.” Are you silent, be silent with love; whether you scream, scream with love; If you correct, correct with love; do you forgive, forgive with love; Let the root of love be inside you; nothing but good can grow from this root. 9 . This is love (1 John 4:10). God's love for us was revealed in that God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might receive life through Him (1 John 4:9). This is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us (1 John 4:10). We didn't love Him before. In fact, He loved us so that we would love Him. And He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). In propitiation, that is, in sacrifice. Therefore, He offered Him as a sacrifice for our sins. Where could He find a victim? Where could He find such a pure sacrifice that He desired to make? He could find nothing [for sacrifice] except Himself. Beloved! If God so loved us, then we should love one another (1 John 4:11). Peter, He asked, do you love Me? And he answered: I love you. - Feed my father (cf. John 21:15–17). 1. No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12). He is an invisible thing (res invisibilis), but [not visible] with the eye, but one should seek Him with the heart. But if we want to see this sun, we must cleanse the bodily eye so that we can see the light; in the same way, wanting to see God, we must cleanse the eye with which we can see God. Where is this eye? Listen to the Gospel: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). However, let no one imagine God by following the judgment of the eyes. In fact, they draw in front of them either a huge image, or some unimaginable grandeur, which is spread everywhere, like the light that can be seen with bodily eyes, observing everything around as far as possible. Or in the imagination a certain old man of venerable appearance is born. Don't imagine any of this 148 . There is something you can imagine if you want to see God: God is love. What is the face of love? What shape does it have? What's your height? What legs? What hands? Nobody can tell. And yet she has legs, for they lead people to the Church; she has hands, for they are the ones stretched out to the poor; she has eyes, for thanks to them she sees the poor: Blessed is he who thinks about the poor and needy (Ps. 40:2). She has ears, about which the Lord speaks: whoever has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8). All these are not members located in one place or another, but the one who has love sees all this at once with his mind. Abide in her, and she will abide in you; live in her and she will live in you. So what, my brothers? Who loves what he doesn't see? Why, when I praise love, do you become inspired, shout out [words of approval], and praise yourself? What did I show you? Did you show something filled with colors? Did I imagine gold or silver? Have I retrieved the precious stones from the treasury? What did I present to your eyes? Isn't [P. 332] has my face changed as I speak? I bear the flesh, I am in the same guise in which I came here, you are in the same guise in which you came here; I praise love and you shout [words of approval]. Of course you don't see anything. However, you feel good when you praise [love]; in the same way, may it be pleasant for you to keep it in your heart. Pay attention to what I have told you, brothers! I invite you, brothers, as far as the Lord wills, into the great treasury. If you were shown some small chased vessel, inlaid with gold, skillfully made, it would charm your eye and attract the attention of your hearts, you would like the hand of the master, the weight of the silver, the shine of the metal; would not each of you say: “Oh, that I had such a vessel!”? And it is in vain that you say so, because it is not in your power to receive it. If someone wants to get it, he will think about stealing it from someone else's house. I praise love before you; if you want to have it, have it! You don't need to rob someone, you don't need to think about buying it: it is purchased for nothing. Find it, cherish it, there is nothing sweeter than it. If it is like this when they just talk about it, what should it be like when it is available? 2. If any of you, brothers, wants to preserve love, first of all, do not think of it as sluggish and conducive to idleness. Do not think that it is preserved through some kind of meekness, and not even meekness, but carelessness and carelessness. This is not how it is preserved. Do not think that you love your servant when you do not beat him, or that you love your son when you do not show him severity, or that you love your neighbor when you do not reproach him. This is not love, but indifference. Let love eagerly strive to correct and improve [the offender]; if he has good morals, let them bring joy, but if he has bad morals, let them be corrected, let them become better. Hate the sin in a person, but love the person. For God created man, but man has already committed sin. Love what God has made and dislike what man has made. When you love the first, you remove the second. When you love the first, you correct the second. Even if you are sometimes harsh, it will be out of love for the sake of [the other person’s] correction. That is why love was revealed in the form of a dove, [P. 334] descended upon the Lord (see Matt. 3:16). This image of a dove, the image in which the Holy Spirit descended to instill love in us, [is not accidental]. Why him? Because the dove is devoid of malice. However, when defending the nest, it fights with its beak and wings; he is furious, but without bitterness. The father does the same: when he punishes his son, he punishes him for the sake of education. As I said, the slave trader, in order to sell, shows affection, but with malice [in his heart]; the father, in order to correct, punishes without bitterness. Be like that towards everyone. Here, brothers, is a wonderful example, an important rule: each of you has children or wants to have children (and if, perhaps, someone decided not to have children according to the flesh, then he wants to have spiritual children) - who would not correct his son? Is there such a person who would not be punished by his father (cf. Heb. 12:7)? And yet the father seems stern. This is stern love, strict love, it is strict, so to speak, without malice and is like a dove, not a raven. Where did it come to my mind to say, my brothers, that the violators of love committed schisms? Just as they hate love, they hate the dove. But the dove convicts them: it descended from the sky, the heavens are opened, and it abides on the head of the Lord. For what? So that it could be said: He is the one who baptizes (John 1:33). Be gone, robbers! Away, invaders of Christ's property! In your estates, where you want to rule, you have dared to install signs (titulos) of the owner 149. He recognizes His signs, He appropriates His property, He does not destroy the signs, but enters and takes possession. Therefore, for someone who comes to the Catholic Church, his baptism is not destroyed, so that the sign of the Emperor is not destroyed. But what is happening in the Catholic Church? The sign is recognized; The owner enters under his own signs where the robber entered under someone else's signs. 1. Love is a sweet word, but deeds [of love] are even sweeter. We cannot talk about it constantly, for we have a lot to do and various worries carry us away, so that our tongue does not have the opportunity to constantly talk about love, although there is nothing sweeter for it. However, even if you cannot talk about love constantly, you can, however, constantly preserve it. Look, do we always sing “Hallelujah” the way we sing it now? We sing "Hallelujah" intermittently, but in short periods of time, and then move on to another. “Hallelujah,” as you know, means “Praise God.” The one who glorifies God through the tongue cannot do this constantly, but the one who glorifies God with morals can do this incessantly. Mercy in actions, a feeling of love and compassion, complete chastity, constant sobriety - all this should be demonstrated constantly: when we are in public, and when we are at home, and when we are in front of people, and when we are in a closed room. Whether we speak or remain silent, whether we are busy with something or are free from business, all this should be constantly demonstrated, for all those virtues that I have named are within us. But who is able to list them all? They are like the army of the Emperor who resides in your mind. For just as an emperor, with the help of his army, achieves what he wants, so our Lord Jesus Christ, having settled in our inner man, that is, in our soul through faith (cf. Eph. 3:17), uses these virtues as His servants. And with the help of these virtues, which cannot be seen with the eyes and to which, when they are named, they give praise (they would not be glorified if they were not loved; they would not be loved if they were not seen; yes, that’s right: they would not be loved if they were not [P. 340] seen, but they are seen with another eye, namely with the eyes of the heart that is within us), so with the help of these invisible virtues the members [of the body] are visibly set in motion. Legs so they can walk. But where? Where their good will leads them, which serves the good Emperor. Hands to do. But what? That which commands love, which is within inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, the members are visible when they are set in motion, but the One who commands within is not visible. Who orders inside, only the One who orders, and the one to whom the order is given inside, knows about this. 2. Indeed, brothers, you just heard this when the Gospel was read; heard, of course, if you listened not only with the bodily ear, but also with the ear of the heart. What does the Gospel say? Be careful not to do your alms in front of people so that they can see you (Matthew 6:1). Did [the Lord] really want to call us to hide everything that we do good from human eyes and be afraid to be seen? If you are afraid of those who see you, then you will not have imitators, so it is necessary to be seen. But you should not do good things just to be seen. The goal should not be to make you happy; your aspiration should not be your rejoicing, so that you suddenly think that you have collected all the fruits of your good deed when you are seen and praised. This is nothing. Do not pay attention to when you are praised, let him be praised who works through you. Therefore, do not do good for the sake of praising yourself, but for the sake of praising Him, thanks to Whom you are able to do good. On your own you are capable of doing evil, but thanks to God you are able to do good. On the other hand, look at perverse people, how stupid they are. What they do good, they strive to impute to themselves; if they do something bad, they want to blame God for it. Give up this perverted, so to speak, and absurd train of thought, which turns everything upside down, turns everything upside down: what was below is put on top, and what was above is put down. Do you really want to put God below and yourself above? Instead of rising, you cast yourself down, for He is always above. What then? Are you doing good and God is doing bad? On the contrary, if you want to be more precise, then say this: [P. 342] “I do bad, but He does good; what good I do is from Him; for everything I do in itself is evil.” This confession strengthens the heart and creates a solid foundation of love. After all, if we must hide our good deeds so that people do not see them, what to do with the statement of the Lord that He spoke during the Sermon on the Mount? In the same place where He said this 150, He said a little earlier: “Let your good works shine before men” (cf. Matt. 5:16). But He did not stop there and did not conclude there, but added: “... and let them glorify your Father in heaven” (cf. Matthew 5:16). What does the apostle say? I was not personally known to the Churches of Christ in Judea, but they only heard that he who once persecuted them was now preaching the good news of the faith that he had previously destroyed - and they glorified God for me (Gal. 1:22-24). Look at how he himself, despite the fact that he became known in this way, placed his faith not for his own glory, but for the glory of God. And as for himself, he admitted that he was a devastator of the Church, a persecutor full of hatred and malice. And we don't blame him for this. Paul loves for us to talk about his sins, so that glory will thereby rise to the One who healed him from such an illness. For the hand of the Healer opened that huge wound of his and healed him. It was the voice of heaven that overthrew the persecutor and raised up the preacher, killed Saul and revived Paul (see Acts 9:4–8). After all, Saul 151 was a persecutor of a holy man (see 1 Samuel 19). That is why [Paul] bore this name when he persecuted Christians, and then became Paul from Saul (see Acts 13:9). What does "Paul" mean? "Small" (Modicus). Now, when he was Saul, he was proud, arrogant; when he became Paul (Paulus), he became humble, small. After all, what do we say? “A little later (paulo post) I will see you,” that is, “in a short time.” Listen to the fact that he became small: For I am the least of the Apostles (1 Cor. 15:9). To me, the least of all saints (Eph. 3:8), he says in another place. So he was among [P. 344] of the apostles, like the hem of a robe, but the Church of the Gentiles touched it, like the woman who suffered from bleeding and was healed (cf. Matt. 9:20-22). 3. So, brothers, this is what I would like to tell you, this is what I am saying, this is what, if I could, I would not keep silent: do both these things and others, depending on the time, depending on the hour, depending on the day. Is it really necessary to always talk? Is it really necessary to always remain silent? Is it really always a matter of resting your body? Is it really always a matter of fasting? Is it really always necessary to give bread to the hungry? Is it really always necessary to clothe the naked? Is it really always about visiting the sick? Is it really always necessary to reconcile those who argue? Is it really always about burying the dead? No, now one thing needs to be done, then another. Any such thing begins and ends. But [our inner] emperor does not begin and should not be interrupted. May the love within us not be interrupted, may the duty of love always be fulfilled. As it is written: let brotherly love endure (Heb. 13:1). 4. But perhaps some of you, from the very moment we began to talk about this Epistle of Blessed John, began to be confused by this question: why does he not speak so persistently about anything else except brotherly love? Who loves his brother (1 John 2:10), he says. And: “The commandment was given to us, that we love one another” (1 John 3:23). Again and again he talks about brotherly love, but about God’s love, that is, about the love with which we should love God, he does not constantly talk, although he does not remain silent about it. He is silent about love for the enemy almost throughout the entire Epistle. Despite the fact that [P. 346] he ardently preaches to us and strengthens love in us, he does not call us to love our enemies, but tells us to love our brothers. But just now, when the Gospel was read, we heard: For if you love those who love you, what will be your reward? Don't publicans do the same? (Matthew 5:46). So why does the Apostle John tell us about brotherly love as something important that leads us to perfection, and the Lord says that it is not enough for us to love our brothers, but we must extend love so much that we turn it to our enemies? He who comes to love his enemies does not cease to love his brothers. Love is like fire: it must first embrace what is closest and thus spread to what is further away. A brother is closer to you than an unknown person. On the other hand, he is closer to you, whom, although you do not know, is not hostile to you, than an enemy who shows hostility towards you. Spread your love to your neighbors, but do not call it the expansion of love, for if you love those who are close to you, it is the same as loving yourself. Spread it to strangers who have done you no harm. Go beyond that too; achieve to love your enemies. This is exactly what the Lord commands. But why did the apostle remain silent about love for the enemy? 5. All love (dilectio), even that which is called carnal and in fact is not love, but rather should be called thirst (amor), - for the word "love" (dilectio) is usually used when talking about high feelings that are addressed to something high - and so, all love (dilectio), beloved brothers, presupposes a certain favor towards those whom they love. For we should not love people like that and cannot love or thirst for them like that - after all, this is exactly the word the Lord used when he said: Peter, do you love Me? (John 21:17) 152, – this is not how we should [P. 348] to love, as people who are greedy for it love food, saying at the same time: “I love blackbirds.” You ask why [isn’t this how we should love]? Because they want to kill and eat them. Such a person says that he loves them, but he loves them so much that he is ready to kill, so much so that he strives to exterminate them. Whatever we love as food, our love for it consists in eating it and being nourished by it. Should our love for people be such that we eat them? No, but there is a certain feeling of benevolence that makes us, at one time or another, want to give something to those we love. But what if we don't have anything to give? For the lover, one favor is sufficient. In fact, we must strive to ensure that there are no unfortunate people, so that we can practice works of mercy. You give bread to the hungry, but it would be better if no one was hungry and there was no one to give to you. You give clothes to the naked: oh, if only all people were clothed and there would be no such need! You bury the dead: oh, if that life would someday come when no one will die! You reconcile those at war: oh, if only that eternal Jerusalem would someday come when no one will be at enmity! But these are all necessary responsibilities. Take away the unfortunate, and the works of mercy will cease. Works of mercy will cease, but will the fire of love go out? To a happy person to whom you have nothing to give, you show love with greater sincerity. It will be a purer love and completely genuine. After all, if you give something to an unfortunate person, then perhaps you are trying to rise above him and want to subjugate the one who is the cause of the good that you have done. He needed it, you gave it to him, and because you did him good, you seem to yourself to be more powerful than the one you helped. Strive to ensure that you are equal, that you are both subordinate to the One to whom nothing can be given. 6. For here the proud soul exceeds the limit and in some way becomes greedy, because greed is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). And it is also said: the beginning of all sin [P. 350] – pride (Sir.10:15). And we sometimes ask how these two sayings agree with each other: “the root of all evil is greed” and “the beginning of all sin is pride.” If the beginning of all sin is pride, then the root of all evil is pride. Of course, the root of all evil is greed, and we find greed in pride, because a person in it has transgressed the limit. After all, what does it mean to be greedy? It means going beyond what is sufficient. Adam fell because of pride. For it is said: the beginning of all sin is pride. But isn't it because of greed? Who is more greedy than the one who has not had enough of what God has provided? After all, we read, brothers, that man was created in the image and likeness of God. And what did God say about him? “Let him have authority over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every livestock that walks on the earth” (Gen. 1:26). Did He really say: “Let him have power over people”? “Let him have authority,” He said. He gave him natural power (potestatem naturalem). Who should he have power over? Over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every livestock that walks on the earth. Why is man's power over all this natural? Because man has this power by virtue of the fact that he was created in the image of God. But in what ways was he created in the likeness of God? In that which has reason, intelligence, the inner man; in that he understands the truth, distinguishes between righteous and unrighteous, knows by whom he was created, is able to understand his Creator, and praise his Creator. He has this understanding because he has prudence. Therefore, when many, as a result of evil lusts, erased the image of God in themselves and, through corrupt morals, extinguished this, so to speak, flame of understanding in themselves, He cried out to them in Scripture: “Do not be like a horse, like a mule, who have no understanding” (cf. Ps. 32:9). That is: “I set you over the horse and the mule, [P.352] I created you in My likeness, I gave you power over them. Why? Because they had no understanding; You, through reason, perceive the truth, you understand Who is higher than you. Submit to Him who is above you, and those [creatures] over which you are placed will be subject to you.” But since, as a result of sin, man abandoned the One to whom he should be subject, he found himself subject to those over whom he should have been [master]. 7. Notice what I say: God, man, beasts. Namely: God is above you, the beasts are below you. Recognize Him who is above you, so that those under you will recognize you. After all, since Daniel recognized God as standing above him, the lions also recognized that Daniel himself was higher than them (see Dan. 6:16–22). If you do not recognize the One who is above you, then you despise what is above and subordinate yourself to what is below. Indeed, how was the pride of the Egyptians trampled upon? With the help of toads and flies (see Ex. 8). God could have sent lions against them, but anyone, even a great man, can be afraid of a lion 153 . But they were so proud that the most insignificant and vile creatures had to force them to bend their despicable necks. But Daniel was recognized by the lions because he was subject to God. What then? Were the martyrs who were thrown to the beasts and torn to pieces by the teeth of these beasts not under God? Were not three men servants of God, and were not the Maccabees servants of God? The fire recognized the three men as servants of God and did not burn them, and did not damage their clothes (see Dan. 3:50). Didn’t he recognize the Maccabees? Recognized in the Maccabees too! Brothers, he also recognized them (see 2 Mac. 7). But a certain scourge was necessary with the permission of the Lord, who spoke in Scripture: he beats every son whom he receives (Heb. 12:6). Do you really think, brothers, that iron would have pierced the members of the Lord if He Himself had not allowed it, or that He would have been hanged [P.354] on a tree if He had not willed it? What if His own creation would not recognize Him? Or did He give a model of patience to His believers? So, God freed some explicitly, and freed others implicitly; but spiritually He freed everyone, spiritually He forsaken no one. Some seemed to have clearly been abandoned, and some seemed to have clearly been saved. This is why He saved some, so that you would not think that He could not save. He testified that He can, so that where He does not do this, you see the innermost will and do not think that it was difficult for Him to do it. But what, brothers? When we get rid of all these fetters of corruption, when the times of temptation pass, when the river of this age flows out and we regain that original garment, that immortality, which we, having sinned, lost, when this corruptible puts on incorruptibility, that is, when this flesh puts on incorruptibility and this mortal puts on immortality (cf. 1 Cor. 15:53-54), - then the already perfect children of God, when there is no need to tempt them or scourge them, will be recognized by every creation. Everything will be subject to us if we are subject to God here. 8. Therefore, a Christian should be such as not to exalt himself in glory above other people. For God has given you to be above the beasts, that is, to be better than the beasts. You have it by nature; you will always be better than animals. If you want to be better than another person, you will inevitably despise him when you see him as your equal. You should want all people to be equal to you, and if you are superior to someone in understanding, then you should strive to ensure that he too is intelligent. While he is unreasonable, he learns from you; while he is uneducated, he needs you, and you see yourself as a teacher, and him as a student; therefore, you are higher because you are a teacher, and he is lower because he is a student. But if you do not want him to be equal to you, then you always strive to see [P. 356] his student. If you strive to always see him as a student, you will turn out to be an envious teacher. If you are an envious teacher, what will you teach him? I pray you, do not teach him your envy. Listen to the apostle speaking about the depths of love: I wish that all people were like me (1 Cor. 7:7). Why did he want everyone to be equal to him? Because he was above everyone and out of his love he wanted everyone to be equal. So, man transgressed the limit when he wanted to be more greedy in order to be higher than other people, having been created higher than cattle, and this is pride. 9 . And look how great things pride does! Set aside in your hearts how similar she makes them to the works of love and, as it were, even equal to them. Love feeds the hungry, and pride feeds! Love is to glorify God, pride is to glorify oneself. Love clothes a man without clothes, and pride clothes him; love keeps the fast, and pride keeps the fast; love buries the dead, and pride buries. All the good deeds that love wants to do and that it does, pride in turn does and seems to urge on its horses. But love lives in the heart and leaves no place for pride, which is directed toward evil; she does not commit evil, but is directed towards evil. Woe to the man whose charioteer is pride! For she will inevitably drag him into the abyss! But who knows whether there is pride in the good deeds performed? Who sees this? How? We see actions: love feeds, and pride feeds; love welcomes the stranger, and pride welcomes the stranger; love stands up for the poor, and pride stands up for him. So what? We see no difference in actions. I dare say something, and not even me. This is what Paul said. Love dies, that is, a person who has love dies, he confesses the name of Christ and suffers martyrdom; and pride confesses and suffers martyrdom. But one has love, and the other does not. And let him who has no love listen to the apostle: if I distribute [P. 358] all my property to the poor, and I will give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does me no good (1 Cor. 13:3). So, Divine Scripture calls us to turn inward, turning away from external pomp; from this outward manifestation, which is boasted before people, it calls us to what is within. Turn to your conscience, ask it. Do not pay attention to those flowers that are visible to everyone, but pay attention to the root that is in the ground. Has lust taken root in your heart? His deeds may look like good deeds, but they cannot be truly good deeds. Has love taken root? Be calm, nothing bad will happen. The arrogant flatters, the loving is harsh. This one dresses, this one hits. But he dresses to please people, and this one hits in order to correct through severity. It is better to accept blows from love than alms from pride. So, turn within, brothers, and every time, whatever you do, think about God, your Witness. Pay attention to the intention with which you do this. If your heart does not reproach you for doing this for the sake of vain glory, then this is good, be calm. However, do not be afraid that when you do good, another person will see you. Beware lest you do this in order to be praised. Let someone else see you so that praise can be given to God. After all, if you hide [your good deeds] from human eyes, then you hide them from being imitated by people, and you deprive God of praise. There are two people to whom you give alms, both of them are hungry: one for bread, the other for righteousness. Between these two hungry people, for it is said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6), you stand between these two hungry people and do a good deed; if love is shown to one, then mercy will be shown to both, love will help both. In fact, one is looking for what to eat, the other is looking for what to imitate. You satisfy one and give example to another; You gave alms to both of them, you forced one to thank you for getting rid of hunger, and the other to imitate you, becoming an example to him. [P. 360] 10. So, have compassion, like merciful people, for in that you love your enemies, you also love your brothers. Do not think that John did not give us any instruction regarding love for the enemy, because he did not stop talking about brotherly love. [In enemies] you love brothers. How, you ask, do we love brothers? Let's think about what your love for the enemy should be, what is it? Do you want him to be healthy in this life? What if it doesn't benefit him? So that he would be rich? What if he becomes blinded by his wealth? For him to get married? What if this makes his life bitter? So that he can have children? What if they turn out to be evil? So, everything you want to wish your enemy as a sign of your love is vague. All this is uncertain. Wish him to find eternal life with you, wish him to become your brother. If in your love for your enemy you wish for him to become your brother, then by showing love for him, you will already love your brother. For you will love in him not what he is, but what you would like him to become. I once told you, beloved, if I’m not mistaken: here is a log lying in plain sight, a good carpenter sees in it an unprocessed tree, cut down in the forest, and already loves it and wants to make something out of it. At the same time, he doesn’t love it so much that it will always remain that way. He sees with his master's eye what it will become, and does not just love what it is at the moment. He loved what he would make of it, not what it was. So God loved us sinners. We say that God loved sinners because it is said: those who are healthy do not need a doctor, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12). Did He really love us sinners so much that we would remain sinners? He saw us like a carpenter saw a tree brought from the forest, and in his thoughts he had in mind what he would make of it, and not the tree that it was. So you see your enemy, set against you, angry, hurting you with words, showering you with abuse, spewing hatred; [P. 362] you see in him that he is a man. You see that everything bad is done by man, and you see in him that he was created by God. The fact that it was created by man is the work of God. And the fact that he hates you is his own doing. The fact that he despises you is his doing. What are you saying in your soul? “Lord, have mercy on him, forgive him his sins; strike fear into him, change him.” You love in him not what he is, but what you would like him to become. So, when you love an enemy, you love [him] as a brother. Therefore, perfect love is love for the enemy, and this perfect love is contained in brotherly love. And let no one say that the Apostle John exhorted us less, and the Lord Christ exhorted us more: they say, the Apostle John exhorted us to love our brothers, and Christ exhorted us to also love our enemies. Understand in what sense Christ exhorts you to love your enemies. Do you really have to love them so much that they remain enemies? If He admonished you in the sense that they should remain your enemies, then you hate the enemy, and do not love him. Look how He Himself loved us, namely, in such a way that He wanted us not to remain persecutors. He said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). He wanted those for whom He asked forgiveness to change, so that those whose change He desired would be worthy of becoming brothers from enemies, and indeed He made them so. He was killed, he was buried, he was resurrected, he ascended into heaven, he sent down the Holy Spirit on his disciples; they began to preach His name with hope, they performed miracles in the name of the Crucified and Slain; and those murderers of the Lord saw this, and behold, those who shed His blood in rage began to drink it with faith. 11. I told you this, brothers, at some length, however, since love should have been spoken to you, beloved, with all seriousness, so I did. For if there is absolutely no love in you, then we have not said anything. If it abides in you, it means that in some way we added fuel to the fire, and in whom it was not, perhaps [P. 364] it was kindled through words. In some people what was already there increased, in others what was not there began to appear. So, for this reason we talked about all this, so that you would not hesitate to love your enemies. Is the person angry at you? He is angry, and you pray for him; he hates you, and you show compassion. The fever of his soul hates you, may he recover and thank you. How do healers love those who are sick? Don't they like the sick? But do they love the sick in such a way that they want them to stay sick forever? No, they love them not in such a way that they remain sick, but in such a way that they become healthy from being sick. How much trouble they have to endure from those who are delirious! How many insults! How often they are beaten! But the doctor fights the fever and forgives the man. What should I say, brothers? Does a sick person love his enemy? No, he hates his enemy - illness; he hates her, but loves the person who hurts him; he hates his fever. After all, who is hurting him? Illness, illness, fever. He eliminates what is at enmity with him, so that what remains is what he will be thanked for. So are you. If your enemy hates you, and hates you unjustly, understand that the lust of the world reigns in him, and that is why he hates you. If you hate him, then you repay evil for evil. What is the result of repaying evil for evil? I mourned the sick man who hated you; Now I’m already mourning for two, if you hate too. But he wants to seize your property, he takes away from you something that you have on earth, that’s why you hated him, because he oppressed you on earth. Do not tolerate constraint, lift yourself up to heaven, there your heart will be, where there is space, so that you will not have any constraint in the hope of eternal life. Think about the fact that what he took from you, he would not have taken from you if He who beats every son whom He receives had not allowed it (Heb. 12:6). Your enemy himself is in some way an instrument in the hands of God, through which you can be healed. If God knows what is good for you for him to rob you, He allows it. If He knows that it is good for you for him to beat you, he allows him to beat you. Through him He takes care of you, think about how he too will be healed. [P. 366] 12. No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12). Look, beloved: If we love one another, God will abide in us, and His love will be perfect in us (1 John 4:12). Start loving and you will become perfect. Have you started to love? Then God began to dwell in you; love Him who began to abide in you, so that through a more perfect abiding He will make you perfect. We know that we abide in Him and He in us from what He has given us of His Spirit (1 John 4:13). This is good, thank God. We recognize that He abides in us. And how do we know that we know about His presence in us? From what John himself said, that He gave us of His Spirit. How do we know what He has given us of His Spirit? What He has given us from His Spirit, how do you know? Ask your heart - if it is filled with love, then you have the Spirit of God. How do we know that this is how you know the Spirit of God is in you? Ask the Apostle Paul about this: because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). 13. And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). Be calm, patients. Such a Healer has come, and yet you despair? The suffering was great, the wounds were incurable, the disease was hopeless. Do you really see the extent of your grief and do not see the Almighty Healer? You are in despair, but He is Almighty; those who testify about Him are those who were the first to be healed and who proclaimed the Physician. Yet they were healed more in hope than in reality. After all, this is what the apostle said: for we are saved in hope (Rom. 8:24). Therefore, we began to be healed in hope, but our salvation will be perfect when this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility and this mortal is clothed with immortality (cf. 1 Cor. 15:53). This belongs to hope, [P. 368] and not reality. But he who rejoices in hope will also obtain reality, and he who does not have hope will not be able to achieve reality. 14. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God (1 John 4:15). Let's say a few words about this. Whoever confesses - not in words, but in deeds, not with language, but with life. After all, many profess this in words, but deny it by their deeds. And we knew and believed in the love that God has for us (1 John 4:16). And again, how did you know this? God is love (1 John 4:16). This [the apostle] has already said above and now he says it again. He could not give it greater significance except by calling it God. Perhaps you are ready to despise the gift of God. But will you despise God? God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). Mutually abide in each other - both He Who abides and in whom He abides. You abide in God, but for the sake of Him abiding in you. God abides in you, but in order to hold you so that you do not fall. Lest you imagine that you become a house for God in the same way that your house contains your flesh, [understand]: if the house in which you live collapses, you will fall, but if you collapse, God will not fall. If you leave Him, He will remain unharmed; when you return to Him, He will be the same. You are healed, but you don’t give Him anything; Only you are cleansed, you are restored, you are corrected. He is a medicine for the sick, a rule for the perverse, a light for the dark, a home for the homeless. So everything is left to you. Look, don’t think that you are giving something to God: when you come to Him, you don’t even give yourself away as property. So what, God won’t have slaves if you don’t want it and if no one wants it at all? God does not need slaves, but slaves need God. That is why it is said in the psalm: I said to the Lord: You are my God (Ps. 15:2). He is the true Lord. And what does [the psalmist] add? Because You don’t need my blessings (Ps. 15:2). You need good from your servant. Your servant needs good from you so that you feed [P. 370] him. And you need good from your servant, so that he will help you. You can't bring yourself water, you can't cook your own food, you can't drive a horse, you can't take care of animals. You see that you need good from your slave, you need his presence. Therefore, you are not a true master if you need a subordinate. He is the true Lord, who seeks nothing from us, and woe to us if we do not seek Him. He seeks nothing from us; but He sought us when we did not seek Him. One sheep was lost, He found it and joyfully took it on His shoulders (cf. Luke 15:4–5). Was it really the sheep who needed the Shepherd, and the Shepherd who needed the sheep? The more I want to talk about love, the less I want this message to end. There is no brighter message that talks about love. There is nothing more sweet to preach to you, there is nothing more saving that you can drink, but only on the condition that by a pious life you affirm the gift of God in yourself. Do not remain ungrateful for such a great grace of Him who, having an only Son, did not want Him to be alone, but wanted Him to have brothers, and adopted those who with Him would receive eternal life. 1. You remember, beloved, that it remains for us to interpret the last part of the Epistle of the Apostle John and, as far as the Lord allows, to present it to you. So, we remember this debt of ours, and you should remember the need to pay it off. Of course, that same love, which is especially and above all glorified in this Message, makes us the most honest debtor, and you the sweetest debtors. I called you the sweetest debt collectors, because where there is no love, the debt collector is bitter, and where there is love, the debt collector is sweet: for the one from whom a debt is collected, although the debtor puts in some work, love itself makes this work almost unnoticeable and easy. Don’t we see that even among dumb and unreasonable animals, where there is no spiritual love, but only carnal and natural love, the young with great tenderness ask for milk from the mother’s breast? And no matter how much the sucking baby puts pressure on the breast, it is still better for the mother than if he did not suck and did not take what was due to him out of love. We often see how mature calves poke their heads into the cow's udder with such force that the mother's body even rises, and yet she does not push them away, but if there is no calf near her to suckle, she moos [P.376] calls him to the udder. Therefore, if that spiritual love abides in us, about which the apostle said: “I have become gentle among you, like a nurse caressing her children” (cf. 1 Thess. 2:7), then we love you when you are discerning. We don't like the slow ones because we are afraid for the sluggish ones. It so happened that we had to interrupt the reading of this Epistle due to the need to read other texts assigned to these holidays, which we could not help but read and interpret 155. And now let us return to the order that was interrupted, and what remains, take in, beloved, with great attention. I don’t know if love can be offered to you in any more persistent way than through the words: God is love (1 John 4:16). Brief praise! Great praise! Brief in words and great in meaning! How quickly it is said: God is love. And how briefly! If you count [the words], then this is just one phrase; If you weigh it, how heavy it is! God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16), says [the apostle]. Let God be your home, and you be a home for God; abide in God, and let God abide in you. God abides in you so that He holds you, you abide in God so as not to fall, for this is how the apostle prepares about love: Love never falls (1 Cor. 13:8). How can someone who is held by God fall?! 2. “In this love is made perfect in us, that we have confidence in the day of judgment, because we are in this world as He is (1 John 4:17).” [The Apostle] says how everyone can see how much love has succeeded in him, or even how much he himself has become perfect in love. Indeed, if God is love, and God can neither improve nor deteriorate, then it is said that love reaches perfection, in the sense that love reaches perfection in you because you achieve perfection in it. So, ask to what extent you have achieved perfection in love, and let your heart answer you, so that you know the measure of your success. [P. 378] So, [the apostle] promised to reveal to us how we can know God, and said: “In this love is made perfect in us.” Ask: “What?” - That we have confidence on the day of judgment. In everyone who has boldness on the day of judgment, love has reached perfection. What does it mean to have boldness on the day of judgment? It means not to be afraid that the day of Judgment will come. There are people who do not believe in the day of judgment; such cannot have confidence in that day which they do not believe will come. Let's leave them aside - let God awaken them so that they find life; but why are we talking about the dead? They do not believe in the coming day of Judgment; they do not fear or desire it because they do not believe in it. But if someone begins to believe in the Day of Judgment, if he begins to believe in it, then he begins to fear it. But if he only fears him, then he does not yet have boldness on the day of Judgment, he does not yet have perfect love. Should we really despair? If you see the beginning, why do you despair about the end? What kind of beginning do I see? - you ask. The most fear. Listen to the Scripture: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (cf. Sir.1:16). Now, [the man] began to fear the day of judgment; being afraid, let him correct himself, let him be vigilant in relation to his enemies, that is, in relation to his sins; let him begin to come to life within himself and mortify his earthly members, as the apostle says: Mortify your earthly members (Col. 3:5). He calls spiritual vices earthly members. In fact, he continues and says: fornication, uncleanness (Col. 3:5) and so on, which follows thereafter. And so, the more the earthly members are killed by the one who began to fear the Day of Judgment, the more the heavenly members grow and strengthen. The heavenly members are all good deeds. As the heavenly members grow, man begins to crave that which he formerly feared. For he was afraid that Christ would come and find in him a wicked person who should be condemned; now he already longs for Him to come, because He will find in him a pious man worthy of a crown. And so, having begun to thirst for the Coming of Christ, the chaste soul, [P. 380] yearning for the embrace of the Bridegroom, renounces the adulterer, becomes a virgin within herself thanks to faith, hope and love. Now she has boldness on the day of judgment and when she prays and says: Thy kingdom come (Matthew 6:10), she does not think that it will turn against her. For he who fears lest the Kingdom of God come, fears lest his prayer be heard. How can one pray who is afraid that his prayer will not be heard? The one who prays with the boldness of love longs for Him to come already. Someone (quidam) spoke about this desire in a psalm: How long will you, O Lord? Turn, O Lord, deliver my soul (Ps. 6:4–5). He groaned because of the delay [of His Coming]. For there are people who suffer death, and there are those who, having achieved perfection, endure life. What am I talking about? He who still thirsts for this life, when the day of death comes, patiently endures death, he fights with himself to follow the will of God, and in his soul strives more for God’s will to be fulfilled than for his human will; Because of the thirst for this life, a struggle with death is born in him, and yet he shows patience and fortitude in order to die with a calm soul: such a person suffers death. He who has the desire, according to the apostle, to be resolved and to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23), does not endure death, but endures life, joyfully accepting death. Look at the apostle, patiently enduring life, that is, he does not patiently love this life, but endures it. To be resolved and to be with Christ is incomparably better, says the apostle, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you (Phil. 1:23-24). Therefore, brothers, make an effort, reach a consensus within yourself to long for the Day of Judgment. Love will reveal itself as perfect only if a person begins to long for the Day of Judgment. He who thirsts for it is the one who has boldness in it; the same one has boldness in him, whose conscience is not filled with fear, because he abides in perfect and true love. 3. “In this is love made perfect in us, that we have confidence in the day of judgment (1 John 4:17).” Why will we have boldness? Because we are in this world as He is (1 John 4:17). [P. 382] You have heard the reason for your boldness: because we are in this world as He is. Don't you think he said something impossible? Can a person really be like God? I have already explained to you that the word “as” does not always indicate equality, but indicates some similarity. Indeed, it is just as you say: “I have ears, just like my reflection.” But are they exactly the same? And yet you say “how.” If we are created in the likeness of God, then why are we not like God? [We are like God], not in the sense of [complete] equality, but taking into account our measure (pro modo nostro). Where do we get courage on the Day of Judgment? Because we are in this world like Him. We must relate this to love itself and understand what is meant. The Lord says in the Gospel: if you love those who love you, what will be your reward? Don't publicans do the same? (Matthew 5:46). What does He want from us? But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44; cf. Luke 6:27). If He tells us to love our enemies, where can we take an example? From God Himself. For He says: May you be sons of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:45). How does God do this? He loved His enemies, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Therefore, if God calls us to that perfection, so that we love our enemies as He loved His own, then this is our boldness on the day of Judgment, because we are in this world as He is. For just as He loved His enemies, causing His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sending rain on the just and the unjust, so we (since we cannot give our enemies either sun or rain) give them tears when we pray for them. 4. So, look what [the apostle] says about boldness itself. How do we know that love is perfect? There is no fear in love (1 John 4:18). [P. 384] What do we say about the one who began to fear the Day of Judgment? If the love in him were perfect, would he not be afraid? For perfect love would make righteousness perfect, and he would have no reason to fear; on the contrary, he would have reason to yearn for lawlessness to pass away and the Kingdom of God to come. So, there is no fear in love. But what kind of love? Not in an imperfect way. Which one then? But perfect love, says the apostle, casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Therefore, let fear only be the beginning [of love], for “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (cf. Sir. 1:16). Fear seems to prepare a place for love. When love begins to reside [in a person], the fear that has prepared a place for it is driven out. For the more love grows, the less fear becomes, and the more it takes root within, the more it is driven out. The more love, the less fear; the less love, the greater the fear. But if there is no fear at all, there is nowhere for love to come from. We see something similar when we sew and the thread passes into the fabric with a needle: first the needle passes, but if it does not come out [of the fabric], then the thread will not pass. Likewise, fear is the first to fill the mind, but fear does not remain there, because it comes out so that love can enter there. When serenity settles in the soul, how joyful is it for us both in this and in the age to come? Who, being filled with love, will harm us even in this world? See how the apostle rejoices over love: Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? (Rom.8:35). And Peter says: and who will do you harm if you are zealous for what is good? (1 Pet. 313). There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment (1 John 4:18). Awareness of sins torments the heart; justification has not yet occurred. There is also something in the heart that itches, something that stings. Therefore what is said in the psalm [P. 386] about perfect righteousness? “You turned my mourning into rejoicing, took off my sackcloth and girded me with joy, so that my glory would sing a song to You and so that I would not be tormented” (cf. Ps. 29:12-13). What does it mean: “so that I am not tormented”? This means: so that there is no something that will hurt my conscience. Fear stings you, but don’t be afraid, love comes inside you to heal the wound that fear caused. The fear of God cuts just like a surgeon's knife, removes rot and seems to make the wound even bigger. Look what rot was in the body, the wound was small, but dangerous; a surgeon's knife appears; that wound hurt less than it hurts now that it is cut. It hurts more when they begin to treat it than if it were not treated; but for this reason, she began to get sick more when the treatment began, so that she would never get sick again after healing. Therefore, let fear take possession of your heart so that it can bring love with it; let the scar remain from the doctor's knife. But He is such a Healer that not even scars remain, just trust His right hand. After all, if you have no fear, you cannot have an excuse. This is what the Scripture says: he who does not have fear cannot justify himself (Sir.1:21). Therefore, it is necessary that fear first appear within you, through which love will enter. Fear is healing, love is health. He who fears is not perfect in love (1 John 4:18). Why? Because in fear there is torment, just as there is torment in the actions of a healer. 5. But there is another saying that seems to contradict this if not properly understood. For in one place of the psalms it is said: The fear of the Lord is pure and endures forever (Ps. 18:10). This saying shows us a kind of eternal fear, but at the same time pure. If here it shows us eternal fear, then does not this Epistle contradict this, which says: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear? Let's look at both sayings of God. The Spirit is one, even if there are two books, even if there are two lips, even if there are two tongues. After all, one [P. 388] spoken through John, another spoken through David, but do not think that the Spirit is not one and the same. If one breath fills two pipes of a flute 156, then cannot one Spirit fill two hearts, make two tongues speak? But if two pipes of a flute, filled with one spirit, that is, with one breath, sound in harmony, then how can two tongues, filled with the Spirit of God, speak discordantly? Therefore, there is a certain agreement, a certain unanimity, but it requires someone who can hear. Look, the Spirit of God inspired and filled two hearts, two mouths, set two tongues in motion, while we heard what was said in one tongue: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear - and we heard what was said in another tongue: The fear of the Lord is pure and abides forever. What does it mean? As if the sayings disagree with one another? No! Open your ears, hear the melody. It is not without reason that “pure” is added here, but not added there, since there is one fear that is called pure, and there is another that is not called pure. Let's see these two different fears, while understanding the consonance of the flutes. How should we understand and how should we see the difference? Be careful, beloved! There are people who fear God for this reason, so as not to be cast into hell, so as not to burn in eternal fire along with the devil. This is the same fear that brings love, but it comes in such a way as to leave. For if you still fear God because of punishments, then you still do not love Him Whom you fear in this way. You do not desire good, but are wary of evil. But because you are afraid of evil, you correct yourself and begin to crave goodness. When you begin to crave goodness, pure fear will appear in you. What is pure fear? Fear of losing the good itself. Be careful. It is one thing to fear God, so as not to be cast into hell along with the devil; It’s another thing to fear God, lest He forsake you. That fear when you are afraid of being cast into hell along with the devil is not yet pure fear, for it does not come from love for God, but from fear [P. 390] punishment; when you fear God, lest His presence leave you, you cherish Him and long to enjoy Him. 6. It is impossible to better explain the difference between these two fears, one which is cast out by love, and the other, pure, which remains forever, than to imagine two married women, one of whom is ready to commit adultery, to enjoy wickedness, but at the same time is afraid of being punished by her husband. She is afraid of her husband. Since she loves wickedness, she is afraid of her husband. For her, the appearance of her husband is not joyful, but burdensome. And if she indulges in adultery, then she is afraid of her husband: lest he come. These are the people who are afraid that the day of Judgment will come. And so, imagine: another, she loves her husband, surrenders to his chaste embrace, does not stain herself with the filth of adultery; she yearns for a husband to appear. How are these two fears different? That woman is afraid, and this woman is afraid. Ask them and they seem to give you the same answer. Ask one: “Are you afraid of your husband?” She will answer: “I'm afraid.” Ask the other one if she is afraid of her husband. She will answer: “I'm afraid.” The words are the same, but the meaning is different. Let us ask them: “Why [are you afraid]?” One says: “I’m afraid of my husband, lest he come.” Another will answer: “I’m afraid of my husband, lest he leave me.” One says: “I’m afraid I might be punished.” Another says: “I’m afraid of being abandoned.” Apply this to the soul of a Christian, and you will discover the fear that is cast out by love, and another fear that is pure and abides forever. 7. So, let's talk first with those who fear God, just like that woman who loves wickedness, and therefore fears her husband, lest he punish her. Let's talk to these people first. O soul who fears God in this way: you fear lest God punish you, just as a woman who loves wickedness fears! She is afraid of being punished by her husband! Just as you are unhappy with this woman, be unhappy with yourself. If you suddenly have a wife, do you really want your wife to be so afraid of you (no matter how you punish her!), so that she loves [P. 392] wickedness, but would I refrain from it, fearing you, and not condemning lawlessness? You want her to be chaste, for her to love you, not for her to be afraid of you. Show yourself to God the way you want your wife to be. And if you don’t have a wife yet, but you want one to appear, dream of one. What are we talking about, brothers? That woman who is afraid of her husband, fearing that he will punish her, may not commit adultery, fearing that this will somehow become known to her husband and that he will deprive her of this temporary light, but her husband can be deceived by her, because he is a person, like herself, who can deceive. She is afraid of the one from whose eyes she can hide, but are you not afraid of the face of your Husband [soul], constantly following you? The face of the Lord is directed toward those who do evil (Ps. 33:17). That woman catches the absence of her husband and experiences joy at having the opportunity to commit adultery, but still says to herself: “I will not do it; although there is no husband, it is difficult to make sure that he somehow does not find out about this.” She restrains herself so that [her adultery] does not become known to a person who may not recognize him, who may be deceived, who may mistake a good wife for a bad one, who may mistake an adulteress for a chaste one, and are you not afraid of the eyes of Him whom no one can deceive? Are you not afraid of the presence of Him who cannot turn away from you? Pray to God that He will look at you and turn away your face from your sins: Turn away your face from my sins (Ps. 50:11). But how can you deserve to have Him turn His face away from your sins? Because you yourself will not turn your face away from your sins. For the psalm says: for I acknowledge my iniquities, and my sin is always before me (Ps. 50:5). Realize them, then He will forgive. We spoke with that soul that still has fear that does not endure forever, but which is excluded and driven out by love. Let's talk to the one who already has [P. 394] pure fear that endures forever. Let's think, will we find such a soul to talk to? Think about it, is she among the people gathered here? Think about it, is it in this room? Think about it, does it exist on this earth? It cannot not exist, only it is hidden. Now she seems to be in hibernation, but somewhere inside, at the root, there is the power of green shoots. Perhaps we can reach the ears of such a soul. Wherever there may be such a soul: oh, if I could find it, and if it were not that she turned her ears to me, but I turned my ears to her! It would be better if she taught me something than I would teach her. Holy soul, fiery, thirsty for the Kingdom of God! It is not I who speak to her, but God Himself, and this is how He consoles her, who lives patiently on this earth: “You want Me to come, and I want you to already want Me to come; I know what you are like, so calmly wait for My coming; I know it’s hard for you, but wait with hope, be patient, I will come, and I will come soon.” But for a loving [soul] time flows slowly. Hear how she sings, like a lily among thorns, hear how she sighs and says: I will sing and I will meditate on the blameless way: “When You come to me” (Ps. 100: 1-2). But let her not be afraid on the blameless path, because perfect love casts out fear. And when He comes into her arms, she will be afraid, but filled with peace. Why would she be afraid? She will be anxious and beware of her iniquity, lest she sin again, but [she will be afraid] not of being thrown into the fire, but of being abandoned by Him. And what will appear in it? Pure fear that endures forever. Let's listen to two flutes sounding in harmony. One speaks of fear, and the other of fear; but one is about fear, when the soul is afraid, lest it be punished, the other is about fear, when the soul is afraid, lest it be abandoned. The first fear is the one that is cast out by love, and the second is the fear that endures forever. [P. 396] 9 . Let us love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). After all, how could we love Him if He did not love us first? Through our love we became friends with Him, but He loved us while we were still His enemies, so that we could become His friends. He first loved us and gave us the gift to love Him. We did not yet love Him, but through love we became beautiful. What should an unattractive man with a bad face do if he loves a beautiful woman? Or what should an unattractive woman with a bad and dark face do if she loves a handsome man? Can she really become beautiful through love? Is it possible that even that man can become beautiful through love? He loves a beautiful woman, and when he sees himself in the mirror, he is embarrassed to raise his face to the beautiful woman he loves. What should I do to make him look good? Does he hope that beauty will come to him? No, while he waits, old age comes and makes him even uglier. So there’s nothing you can do about it, you won’t give him any advice, except that he should restrain himself and not allow himself to love someone unequal to himself, and if he suddenly fell in love and wanted to take her as his wife, then let him love her chastity, and not the appearance of the flesh. But our soul, my brothers, is ugly due to iniquity; but, having loved God, she becomes beautiful. How beautiful is this love, which makes the loving soul beautiful! God Himself is always beautiful, never ugly, always unchanging. He who is always beautiful loved us first, and what kind of us He loved: ugly and ugly! But His love is not to leave us ugly, but to change us and make us beautiful from ugly. How can we become beautiful? Loving Him Who is always [P. 398] beautiful. The more love grows in you, the more beauty grows, for love itself is the beauty of the soul. Let us love Him because He first loved us. Listen to the Apostle Paul: But God demonstrates His love for us in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). The righteous for the unrighteous, the Beautiful for the ugly. Where do we find Jesus to be beautiful? You are more beautiful than the sons of men; grace poured out from Your mouth (Ps. 44:3). Where does [His beauty] come from? See also why He is beautiful: You are more beautiful than the sons of men, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Since He took on flesh, He, as it were, took on filth, that is, mortality, your [filth and mortality], in order to adapt to you, to become like you and to make you love your inner beauty. And where then do we find that Jesus became ugly and ugly, just as they found that He was beautiful and more beautiful than the sons of men? Where do we find that He is also ugly? Ask Isaiah. “We saw Him, and there was no charm or beauty in Him” (cf. Is. 53:2). Here they are, two flutes that seem to sound at odds. However, one Spirit fills them. Here one hears: more beautiful than the sons of men. And here, in Isaiah: “we saw Him, and there was no charm or beauty in Him.” Both flutes are filled with One Spirit, and there is no dissonance in them. Don't turn away your ears, turn on your understanding. Let's ask the Apostle Paul and let him explain to us that the flutes sound in unison. We hear: He is more wonderful than the sons of men, who, being in the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God (Phil. 2:6). Here you go: more beautiful than the sons of men. We also hear: “we saw Him, and there was neither charm nor beauty in Him.” And behold, He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming [P. 400] as a man ( Phil. 2:7–8 ). He had neither charm nor beauty to give you charm and beauty. What a beauty? What beauty? The feeling of love, so that, loving, you run and, while you run, love. You are already beautiful, but think not about yourself, so as not to lose what you have gained. Think about Him, thanks to Whom you became beautiful. For this reason, be beautiful so that He will love you. Turn every thought of yours to Him, run to Him, seek His embrace, fear being abandoned by Him, so that pure fear may remain in you, abiding forever. Let us love Him because He first loved us. 10. "If anyone says, 'I love God' (1 John 4:20). What God? Why do we love Him? Because He loved us first and gave us the gift of love. He loved us the ungodly to make us godly, He loved us the unrighteous to make us righteous, He loved us the sick to make us healthy. That is why we will love Him, because He first loved us. Ask anyone, let him tell you he loves If he cries out to God, he confesses: “I love him, He Himself knows this.” The Apostle said: if anyone says, “I love God,” he is a liar (1 John 4:20). How can you know that he is a liar? loves his brother, he also loves God? It is necessary that he loves love itself. Is it possible to love a brother and not love love? Well, the one who loves love, therefore loves God? Or have you forgotten what you 157 said a little earlier: God is love? If God is love, then everyone who loves love loves God. Therefore, love your brother and be calm. You cannot say, “I love my brother, but I don’t love God.” Just as you are lying if you say, “I love God,” while hating your brother, so you will be lying when you say, “I love my brother,” thinking that you do not love God. It is necessary, [P. 402] so that if you love your brother, you love love itself. Love is God. Therefore, anyone who loves a brother inevitably loves God. If you do not love the brother whom you see, then how can you love God, Whom you do not see? Why doesn't he see God? Because it does not have love itself. That is why he does not see God because he does not have love; This is why he does not have love because he does not love his brother, and this is why he does not see God because he does not have love. After all, if he possessed love, he would see God, for God is love, and his eye would be more and more purified by love in order to see that unchanging Essence in whose presence he will forever rejoice, which he will forever enjoy, united with the Angels. But now let him run, so that he may one day find joy in his [heavenly] homeland. Let him not love the journey, let him not love the path, let everything be bitter except the One who calls, until we cling to Him and until we say what was said in the psalm: You have destroyed everyone who departs from You (Ps. 72:27). Who are the retreaters? These are the ones who retire and love the world. What about you, [psalmist]? He continues and says: And it is good for me to cling to God! (Ps. 72:28). All my good is to cling to God free of charge. If you ask [the psalmist] and say, “Why do you cling to God?” - and he will answer you: “So that He gives me” - what will He give you? He has already created the sky, He has created the earth. What else will He give you? You have already clung to Him, find something better and He will give it to you. 11. For he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? And we have this commandment from Him, that whoever loves God should also love his brother (1 John 4:20–21). Wonderfully 158 you said: “I love God”! And yet you hate your brother? O murderer, how do you love God? Have you not heard what was said above in this Epistle: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15). “But I really love God, although I hate my brother.” You really don't love God if you hate your brother. [P. 404] I will give one more argument. [The Apostle] himself said: “He gave us a commandment, that we should love one another (1 John 3:23).” How can you love Him whose commandment you have despised? Who can say: “I love the emperor, but I hate his laws”? The emperor thereby understands whether he is loved if his laws are observed in the provinces. What is the Emperor's law? I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34). So, you say that you love Christ - keep His commandment and love your brother. If you do not love your brother, then how can you love Him whose commandment you are breaking? Brothers, I never tire of talking about love in the name of Christ. The more you thirst to be satisfied with it, the more we hope that it grows stronger in you and drives out fear, so that that pure fear that abides forever will be established. Let us endure the world, let us endure the torment, let us endure the stumblings of temptation. Let's not go astray, let's stick to the unity of the Church, stick to Christ, stick to love. May we not be separated from the members of His Bride, may we not be separated from the faith, so that we may receive glory at His Coming. Let us quietly abide in Him (now through faith, and then through vision), having such a precious guarantee of the gift of the Holy Spirit. 1. I believe that those of you who were present yesterday remember to what point our reasoning reached in the course of reading this message, namely: For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that whoever loves God should also love his brother (1 John 4:20–21). Our conversation has reached this far. Let's see now what comes next in order. Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 John 5:1). Who is the one who does not believe that Jesus is the Christ? One who does not live as Christ commanded. For many say: “I believe,” but faith without works does not save. The work of faith is love itself, as the Apostle Paul says: and faith working through love (Gal. 5:6). At the same time, your previous deeds [of love] before you gained faith either did not exist, or they, even if they seemed good, were in vain. But if they were not there, then either you were like a man without legs, or you could not walk, because your legs were crippled. If, before you gained faith, your deeds seemed good, then although you fled, however, while you were running, having no way, you rather strayed than approached the goal. Therefore, we must run and at the same time run along the path. He who runs without a path runs in vain; moreover, he runs to sorrow. The more he wanders, the longer he runs without a path. What is the path we are running? Christ said: I am the way (John 14:6). What kind of homeland are you running to? Christ said: I am the truth (John 14:6). Through Him you run, to Him you run, in Him you find peace. But so that we might escape through Him 159 He came to us; for we were far away [P. 410] and wandered for a long time. Not only did we wander for a long time, we were powerless and could not move. The Healer came to the sick, the path was paved for the wanderers. May He save us, let us go thanks to Him. This means believing that Jesus is the Christ, as Christians believe, who are Christians not only by name, but by their deeds and way of life, and not as demons believe. After all, even demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), as Scripture says. How else can demons believe except to say: “We know who You are, the Son of God” (cf. Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24)? What the demons said, Peter also said it. When the Lord asked them who He was and who people thought He was, the disciples answered Him: some for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, and others for Jeremiah, or one of the prophets (Matthew 16:14). And He said to them: Who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:15). Peter answered and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). And I heard from the Lord: Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 16:17). Look at the praises that came in response to this faith: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church (Matthew 16:18). What does it mean: on this rock I will build My Church? This means based on this faith, on what was said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. On this rock,” He said, “I will build My Church.” Great praise! So, Peter says: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the demons say: “We know who You are, the Son of God, the Holy One of God” (cf. Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24). Peter said it, the demons said it too, the same words, but the meaning is not the same. How do we know that Peter said this in love? The fact is that the faith of a Christian is with love, and the faith of demons is without love. How can we live without love? Peter said this in order to cling to Christ, but the demons said this so that Christ would leave them. After all, before they said: “We know who You are, Son of God,” they said: [P.412] What do You care about us? Why did you come here ahead of time to torment us? (Matthew 8:29). Therefore, it is one thing to confess Christ so that you keep Christ within yourself, another thing is to confess Christ so that you expel Christ from yourself. So, you see, when [the apostle] says here: “everyone who believes,” he means some special faith, and not a faith common to many. Therefore, brothers, let none of the heretics say to you: “We also believe.” After all, this is why I gave the example of demons, so that you would not rejoice at the words of believers, but would pay attention to the way of life. 2. Let's look at what it means to believe in Christ; what it means to believe that Jesus is the Christ. It follows: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God (1 John 5:1). But what does it mean to believe this? And everyone who loves Him who begat him also loves Him who is born of Him (1 John 5:1). Immediately [the apostle] added love to faith, because without love faith is vain. Faith with love is the faith of a Christian; faith without love is the faith of demons; whoever does not believe at all is even worse than demons; such people are even more inert than demons. I am sure that anyone who does not want to believe in Christ is not comparable even to demons. But here is a man who believes in Christ, but hates Christ; he professes faith out of fear of punishment, and not out of love for the crown [reward]. After all, even demons are afraid of being punished. Add love to such faith, so that faith becomes the kind that Paul speaks of: faith that works through love (Gal. 5:6), so you have found a Christian, found a resident of Jerusalem, found a companion of angels, found a stranger sighing on the way; join him, he is your traveling companion, run with him, if, of course, you are like him. And everyone who loves Him who begat him also loves Him who is born of Him. Who is the One who gave birth? Father. Who is the Born? Son. So, what is he talking about? “Whoever loves the Father also loves the Son.” 3. We learn from this that we love the sons of God... (1 John 5:2). What does this mean, brothers? Just now [the apostle] spoke about the Son of God, and not about [P.414] the sons of God. Look, here one Christ is presented to us for contemplation, and it was said: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begat, that is, the Father, also loves Him who was born of Him, that is, the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And then it follows: That we love the sons of God, we learn from this..., as if he wanted to say: “That we love the Son of God, we learn from this...”. He said: sons of God, although a little earlier he spoke about the Son of God, because the sons of God are the body of the Only Begotten Son of God, and while He is the Head, and we are members, this is one Son of God. Therefore, he who loves the sons of God loves the Son of God, and he who loves the Son of God loves the Father; no one can love the Father without having love for the Son, but he who loves the Son also loves the sons of God. Which sons of God? Members of the [body] of the Son of God. And through love such a person himself will become a member, will enter through love into the unity of the body of Christ, and there will be one Christ, loving Himself. For when the members love each other, the body loves itself. If one member suffers, all members suffer with it; If one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it (1 Cor. 12:26). And what does it say next? And you are the body and members of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27). [John] spoke a little earlier about brotherly love: For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20). If you love your brother, then perhaps you love your brother, but do not love Christ? How can this be if you love a member of the [body] of Christ? When you love the members [of the body] of Christ, you love Christ; when you love Christ, you love the Son of God; when you love the Son of God, you also love the Father. Therefore love cannot be divided into parts. Choose what you love and the rest will follow. Suppose you say: “I love only God, God the Father.” You're lying! If you love, then you do not love Him alone; but if you love the Father, you also love the Son. Yes, you say, I love [P. 416] I love the Father and the Son, but only this: God the Father, God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, that Word through whom all things were created, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (cf. John 1:14). You lie, for if you love the Head, then you love the members; if you do not love the members, then you do not love the Head. Don't you hear the voice of the Head saying from heaven on behalf of His members: Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9:4). He called the persecutor of His members His persecutor. He called His beloved the beloved of His members. What are the members [of His body], you already know, brothers, this is the Church of God. We know that we love the sons of God from the fact that we love God (1 John 5:2). And how? Are the sons of God one thing and God another? But he who loves God loves His commandments. What are God's commandments? I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, [so] let you love one another (John 13:34). Let no one justify himself with another love! This is the only way this love looks: just as it itself represents unity 160, so it turns everything connected with it into a single whole and, like fire, fuses together. It is like gold: the mass [of grains of sand] melts and becomes something single, but if there is no heat of love, then the multitude [of believers] cannot be fused into one. That we love God, from this we learn that we love the sons of God. 4. How do we know that we love the sons of God? For this is love for God, that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3). We sigh here because it is hard to fulfill God’s commandments. Listen to what follows next. Oh man, when is it hard for you in love? When you love greed! It is difficult to love what you love; love for God is devoid of burdens. Greed will force you to work, take risks, endure hardships and torments, and you will carry out its commands. For what? So that you have something to fill your cash drawer and have something to lose your peace over. [P. 418] You, perhaps, were in greater peace before you began to possess [wealth] than after that. Behold, look what greed has commanded you: you have filled your house [with wealth] and are afraid of robbers; you found gold and lost sleep. This is what greed commanded you: “Do,” and you did. What does God tell you? "Love me. You love gold, you strive to get gold, and at the same time you may not get it; I am with everyone who seeks Me. You strive to love honor and may not achieve it; and who among those who love Me has not reached Me? God tells you: You want to find a patron or a powerful friend in someone, and you turn to another person who is lower than him. Love Me, God tells you, and there is no need to resort to someone else’s mediation; love itself makes it so that I am with you.” What could be sweeter than this love, brothers? It’s not for nothing that you just heard in the psalm, brothers: “The wicked spoke to me about pleasures, but this is not your law, O Lord” (cf. Ps. 119:85). What is God's law? God's commandment. What is God's commandment? That new commandment, which is called new because it renews: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another (John 13:34). Listen to what this law of God is. The Apostle says: Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal.6:2). The very fulfillment of all our deeds is love. This is the goal, this is what we are running towards, this is what we are running towards, when we achieve it we will find peace. 5. You heard in the psalm: I have seen the limit of all perfection (Ps. 119:96). [David] said: I have seen the limit of all perfection. What did he see? Should we think that he climbed to the top of some high and steep mountain, looked out from there and saw the limits of the earth and the surroundings of the universe, and therefore [P.420] said: I have seen the limit of all perfection? If this deserves praise, then let us ask the Lord for such keen carnal eyes that we would find rest on some highest mountain existing on earth, from the top of which we would see the limit of all perfection. Don't go far; Behold, I tell you, go up the mountain and you will see the limit. Christ is this mountain, come to Christ, and from there you will see the limit of all perfection. What is this limit? Ask Paul about this: The goal of exhortation is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith (1 Tim. 1:5) 161. And in another place: love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10). What else is so brought to the limit, to the goal, as execution? So, brothers, [the psalmist] used the word limit in a commendable sense. Understand here not destruction, but fulfillment. For one can say: “I have finished eating” 162; this is one meaning. Or you can: “I completed the tunic”; it's a different meaning. “I finished eating by devouring [the food].” And: “I completed the tunic by sewing it.” And it says there that there is a limit, and here too. But as far as food is concerned, it ends by being devoured, and as for the tunic, it ends by being cooked to perfection. The food is completed so that it ceases to exist, the tunic is completed so that it becomes completely stitched. Therefore, understand the word “limit” in this way when a psalm is read to you. You hear: “To the end a psalm of David” 163. You hear it all the time, “until the end,” and you should know what you are hearing. What does "to the end" mean? Because the end of the law is Christ, for the righteousness of everyone who believes (Rom. 10:4). What does it mean: the end is Christ? Christ is God, the end of the commandment is love, and God is love; The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one. Here He is the end for you, and in another place He is the way. Don't stop along the way, otherwise you won't reach the end! Whatever else you come to, move past it until you reach the end. What is the end? It is good for me to draw closer to God! (Ps. 72:28). Have you approached God, have you reached the end? This means you will stay in your homeland. [P. 422] Remember! Someone is looking for money, don’t let that be your ultimate goal 164, move on like a wanderer. Look for a path for yourself, not a place to stay. If you love money, then greed has captivated you, greed hangs like shackles on your feet, and you cannot move forward. Pass by, strive for the goal. You strive for physical health, but don't stop there. For what is it like, this bodily health, which ceases with death, which is weakened by illness, fragile, perishable, fleeting? Strive for it so that lack of health does not suddenly interfere with your good deeds. Therefore, this is not the goal, because it is sought for the sake of something else. Anything that is sought for the sake of something else is not the goal. The goal is something that is sought for its own sake and not for something else. You strive for honors; perhaps you are pursuing them for some work, so that you can do something to please God; do not love honor as a goal, so as not to stop there. Are you looking for fame? If it is God’s, then you do well; if you are looking for yours, then you are doing wrong, you have stopped on the way. But look: they love you, they praise you. Do not rejoice when they praise you in yourself, but rejoice when they praise you in the Lord; Let them praise you in the Lord, so that you may sing: My soul will boast in the Lord (Ps. 33:3). Do you give any good speech and your speech is praised? Let her not receive praise like yours, so that she does not become your final goal. If you see the ultimate goal in it, then you will complete it, and you will complete it not in the sense that you will achieve perfection, but in the sense that you will exhaust yourself. Therefore, let your speech not be praised as coming from you, as belonging to you. But how should she earn praise? As the psalm says: In God I will praise the word, in God I will praise the word (Ps. 55:5,11). As a result, what follows will happen to you: “I have trusted in God and am not afraid of what man will do to me” (cf. Ps. 55:5). For when everything you have is praised in God, there is no need to be afraid, lest your praise be lost, for God does not cease. So go past it too. [P. 424] 6. Look, brothers, what we pass by without seeing a purpose in these things. We use all this on the road, as if we were reinforced by it at road stations, and move on. Where is the goal? Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be (1 John 3:2). It is said here in this message. So, we are still on the way, we have not yet arrived, we must go further until we reach some goal. We only know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). This is the goal, there will be eternal praise, there will be an eternal and ceaseless “Hallelujah”. Therefore, this is the limit that [David] spoke about in the psalm: I have seen the limit of all perfection (Ps. 119:96). And further, as if he had been asked the question: “What is the limit that you have seen?”, he answered: Your commandment is immensely extensive (Ps. 119:96). This is the limit - the breadth of the commandment. The breadth of the commandment is love, because where love is, there are no restrictions. The apostle was in this breadth when he said: Our lips are open to you, Corinthians, our heart is enlarged. You are not cramped in us (2 Cor. 6:11–12). This is why Your commandment is immensely vast. What is this broad commandment? I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34). Therefore, love does not constrain. Do you want not to be constrained here on earth? Live where there is space. No matter what a person does to you, he cannot oppress you, because you love what a person cannot harm: you love God, you love brotherhood, you love the law of God, you love the Church of God; this love will always be there. You experience hardships on earth, but you will achieve the promised result. Who can take away what you love from you? If no one can take away from you what you love, sleep peacefully, or, more precisely, stay awake peacefully, so that when you fall asleep you do not lose what you love! It is not for nothing that it is said: Enlighten my eyes, lest I fall asleep [P. 426] in death (Ps. 12:4). Those who close their eyes to love fall asleep in the lusts of carnal pleasures. So don't sleep! For there are pleasures in food, drink, luxury, games, hunting; but behind all this empty splendor comes every kind of evil. Will you deny that all this is pleasure? Who will deny that these are pleasures? But we love the law of God more than these pleasures. Shout in response to those who call you to them: “The wicked told me about pleasures, but this is not your law, O Lord” (cf. Ps. 119:85). This is a pleasure that lasts, it not only shows you where to go, but also calls you back if you run from it. 7. For this is love for God, that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3). You have already heard: on these two commandments the whole law and the prophets are established (Matthew 22:40). See how He did not want your attention to be scattered across many pages! All the law and the prophets are based on these two commandments. On what two commandments? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37). And: love your neighbor as yourself; All the law and the prophets are based on these two commandments (Matthew 22:39–40). You see what two commandments this entire message is talking about. Show love and be calm. Why are you afraid of hurting someone else? Who can harm the one he loves? Love, and then it cannot happen that you cause harm. But are you perhaps scolding someone at the same time? Love does this, not cruelty. But perhaps you are hitting someone? You do this to strengthen discipline, because your feeling of love does not allow you to neglect a person who lacks discipline. And sometimes the results turn out to be opposite [to our ideas], so that hatred sometimes shows affection, and love turns out to be harsh. Here, a certain person hates his enemy, but pretends to be his friend: he sees that he is doing something bad and praises him; he wants him to be frantic, he wants him to blindly step into the abyss of his lusts, from which he may never crawl out, but he praises him, for the wicked [P.428] boasts of the lust of his soul (Ps. 9:24), he shows him all the sweetness of his flattery: look, he hates and praises him. Another sees his friend doing something similar and calls on him to come to his senses; if he does not hear, he even uses swear words, scolds him and quarrels with him: sometimes things inevitably come to the point where he has to quarrel. And so you see: hatred flatters, but love leads to quarrel. Do not pay attention to the words of the flatterer and the severity of the scolder, look deep, look for the root where it comes from. He flatters to deceive; this one is quarreling to be fixed. So, brothers, it is not our business to fill your hearts; You will receive the gift from God to love one another. Love all people, even your enemies, not because they are your brothers, but so that they become brothers; burn with the fire of brotherly love for the one who has already become a brother, and for the enemy, so that through love he becomes a brother. Whenever you love a brother, you love a friend. He is already with you, he is already bound to you by catholic unity. If you live correctly, then you love a brother who has become a brother from an enemy. If you love a person who has not yet believed in Christ, or, if he has believed in Christ, believes in Him as demons believe, then you reproach his futility. Love, love him with brotherly love; He hasn’t become a brother yet, but that’s why you love him so that he can become a brother. Therefore, all our love is brotherly love for Christians, for all members of His [body]. The rule of love, my brothers, its strength, its flowers, its fruits, its beauty, its attractiveness, its food, its drink, its embraces do not cause satiety. If it pleases us so much while we are wanderers, how much more will we enjoy it when we reach our homeland? [P. 430] 8. Let us run, brothers, let us run and love Christ. Which Christ? Jesus Christ. Who is He? Word of God. And how did He come to the sick? And the Word became flesh and dwelt in us (John 1:14). Then what was predicted in Scripture was fulfilled: thus Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:46). Where is His body? Where are His members working? Where must you be to have a Head over you? ...and repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). Let your love flow there. Christ and the psalm, that is, the Spirit of God, says: Your commandment is immeasurably extensive (Ps. 119:96), but someone limits the boundaries of love to Africa! 165 Pour out love throughout the whole world if you want to love Christ, for the members of Christ are in the whole world. If you love only a part, you are divided; if you are divided, you do not belong to the body; if you do not belong to the body, then you do not have a Head above you. What good does it do if you believe and yet blaspheme? You honor Him in the Head and blaspheme Him in the body. He loves His body. If you separated yourself from His body, then the Head did not separate Himself from His body. “You worship Me in vain,” the Head shouts to you from above. “It is in vain that you worship Me.” It's the same as if someone wants to kiss your head and tramples on your feet; and perhaps he would trample your feet with boots lined with nails, wanting to grab your head and kiss it; wouldn't you start screaming the moment he said words of respect, saying, “What are you doing, man? You're trampling me." At the same time, you would not say: “You are trampling on my head,” because he showed respect for the head. But the head will scream, standing up for its members rather than for itself, because respect is shown to it. But doesn’t your head scream: “I don’t want your respect, don’t trample on me”? And say now, if you can: [P. 432] “How can I trample you?” Say this to your head: “I wanted to kiss you, I wanted to hug you.” But don’t you see, fool: what you wanted to embrace, by virtue of a certain unity, belongs to what you trample? Above you show me respect, but below you trample me. The pain of trampling is greater than the joy of showing respect, because the head, to which you show respect, suffers the pain of those feet that you trample. How does the tongue scream? "It hurts me!" He does not say, “My feet hurt,” but he says, “It hurts.” Oh, tongue, has anyone touched you? Did someone hurt you? Did someone inject you? Did someone hit you? “Nobody, but I am connected with those members who are trampled on. How do you want me not to experience pain if I am not separated [from the whole body]?” 9 . So, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascending into heaven on the fortieth day, left His body 166 to remain here, because He saw that many would honor Him precisely because He ascended into heaven, and saw that their worship would be useless if they began to trample on His members [of the body] on earth. And so that no one would be mistaken and, while honoring the Head who is in heaven, would not trample [His] feet on earth, He said where the members of His [body] would be. And before He ascended, He spoke His last words, and after these words He spoke no more on earth. The Head, ready to ascend to heaven, left the members [of His body] on the earth and departed. And you will no longer find what Christ said on earth; but you will find that He has already spoken from heaven. Why did [He need to speak] from heaven? Because the members of His [body] were trampled on the earth. And so, He said from above to the persecutor Saul: Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9:4). “I have already ascended to heaven, but I am still on earth; I sit here at the right hand of the Father, and there I still suffer hunger, thirst, wandering.” How did He leave the body, preparing to ascend to heaven? When the disciples asked Him: Are you at this time, O Lord, restoring the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6), He answered, already about to leave: it is none of your business [P. 434] know the times which the Father has appointed in His power, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1:7–8). See where He has spread out His body, see where He wants it not to be trampled on: you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). “This is where I am, ascending to heaven. For I ascend because I am the Head, but My body is still here.” Where? All over the earth. Be careful not to hit him, be careful not to harm him, be careful not to trample him. These are the last words of Christ, ready to ascend to heaven. Look at a relaxed man lying in bed at home and suffering from illness, close to death, breathing with difficulty, whose soul can barely be held in his teeth 167; he may be worried about something important to him, something that he loves very much, he remembers it, calls his heirs and tells them: “I ask you, do this.” He holds his soul by force so that it does not leave before those words are spoken. When he utters these last words, he gives up his soul, and the corpse is taken to the grave. How do his heirs remember the last words of a dying man? How? If someone stood up and told them, “Don't do this,” what would they say in response? How can I not do what my father entrusted me with when he gave up his ghost? what was the last thing I heard with my ears when my father left this life? Whatever other words I heard from him, the last words are especially important to me, for I have not seen him since then, I have not heard his words.” Brothers! Understand with a Christian heart: if for the heirs the words of the one who descends into the grave are so sweet, so sweet, so significant, how significant should be for the heirs of Christ His last words, who does not descend into the grave, but ascends into heaven! After all, as for that person who lived and died, his soul is carried away to other places, and his body is buried on the ground; [P. 436] whether those words will be fulfilled or not, he doesn’t care, he is already indulged in other things, or suffers for something: either he rejoices in the bosom of Abraham, or dreams of a drop of water in the eternal fire (cf. Luke 16:22–24). His corpse rests in the grave, deprived of feelings, and yet his last words, spoken at death, are preserved. What can they hope for who do not keep the last words of Him who sits in heaven, looking down from above, whether they are despised or not? The words of the One who said: Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? The words of the One who leaves until judgment everything that He sees the members of His [body] endure! 10. “What did we do? - they say, “It was we who suffered the persecution, and did not inflict it.” Oh, unfortunate ones, it was you who carried out the persecution. First of all, by dividing the Church. The sword of the tongue is stronger than the sword of steel. Hagar, Sarah's servant, became proud and was oppressed by her mistress because of her pride (see Gen. 16:4–6). It was a lesson, not a punishment. That’s why, when she ran away from her mistress, what did the Angel say to her? Return to your mistress (Gen.16:9). So, carnal soul, if you, like a proud servant, have endured some hardships for the sake of your correction, why are you losing your mind? Return to your mistress, keep peace with your mistress. Look what the Gospels say, we read about where the Church is poured out. But they argue with us and tell us: “Traitors” 168. Traitors of what? Christ commanded His Church, but you do not believe; why should I believe you when you slander my parents? Do you want me to believe you about the traitors? First, believe in Christ. Who should you believe? Christ is God, but you are a man, who should you believe first? Christ has spread His Church throughout the world. If I said this, you might scorn; but this is what the Gospel says - beware! What does the Gospel say? It was necessary to suffer [P. 438] Christ, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name (Luke 24:46–47). Where there is remission of sins, there is the Church. Why? For it was said to her: And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19). Where was this remission of sins poured out? In all nations, starting from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). Truly, believe in Christ! But since you know that if you believe Christ, then you will have nothing to say about the traitors, so you want me to believe you, who slander my parents, and not you to believe Christ, who gave such a prediction 169. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124 // Tractates on The First Epistle of John. Vol. 5. Washington, 1995. P. 102. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean / texte latine, introduction, traduction et notes par P. Agaesse. Paris, 1961. (SC; vol. 75). P. 15. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124. P. 102. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean. P. 16. See also: Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124. P. 117. Stepantsov S. A., Fokin A. R., Lebedev E. N., Dvoskina E. M., E. N. M. Augustine the Blessed // PE. 2000. T. 1. P. 98. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 9:1. See the recently published translation of this monumental work of Augustine: Augustine of Hippo, Bl. Interpretation of the Gospel of John: in 2 volumes / trans. from lat. V. M. Tyuleneva; scientific ed., intro. Art. P.K. Dobrotsvetova. M., 2020. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Interpretation of the Gospel of John: in 2 volumes / trans. from lat. V. M. Tyuleneva; scientific ed., intro. Art. P.K. Dobrotsvetova. T. 1. pp. 10–11. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124 // Tractates on The First Epistle of John. Vol. 5. Washington, 1995. P. 98. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean / texte latine, introduction, traduction et notes par P. Agaesse // SC; vol. 75. P. 12. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124. P. 97. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean. P. 8. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 1:6. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124. P. 98. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean. P. 23. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on the Epistle of John to the Parthians 9, 5. Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Epître de S. Jean. P. 23–24. See also: Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on the Gospel of John 19:7,3. Dobrotsvetov P.K. Blzh. Augustine of Hippo as an exegete and preacher in the “Commentary on the Gospel of John” // Augustine of Hippo, Bl. Interpretation of the Gospel of John: in 2 vols. T. 1. pp. 14–15. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 5:2. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 10:5. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 6:13. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 2:14. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124. P. 106. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 6:5. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 10:8. Right there. 3:5. Wed. also: John Chrysostom, St. Six Words on the Priesthood 4:3, “Or do you not know that this Body [the Church] is subject to greater illnesses and adversities than our flesh; is it damaged more quickly and heals more slowly?” Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 3:4. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 6:10. Right there. 2:2. About this, see also: Dobrotsvetov P.K. The groom's bride in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13) according to patristic interpretations // Tablets. 2019. No. 18. pp. 128–145. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 2:1. Right there. 6:11. For a comparison of true faithful and worthless Christians with grain and chaff, see: Augustine of Hippo, bl. On the training of catechumens 8, 22, 24, 34, 38. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 1:3. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 2:3. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 3:5. Augustine, St. Tractates on the Gospel of John 112–124. P. 111. About this see: Dobrotsvetov P.K. Blzh. Augustine of Hippo as an exegete and preacher in his Commentary on the Gospel of John. pp. 23–24. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 7:6. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 10:2. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 8:9. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 5:12. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 7:10. Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John to the Parthians 4:6. Publication: Augustin, St. Commentaire de la Première Épître de S. Jean / texte latine, introduction, traduction et notes par P Agaesse. Paris, 1961. (SC; vol. 75), from which the translation is made, is formatted as bilingual, and the Latin text is published on even-numbered pages. Lit.: ...for everyone who has a healthy palate of the heart, through which he eats the bread of God. – Here and further notes. translation That is, following the system of images of the blzh. Augustine, “will add fuel to the fire.” It is not entirely clear what exactly the meaning of the blzh is in this case. Augustine in his words: ut... non est calcibus persequamur. Literally this can be translated as follows: “so that... we do not drive them with our feet.” It is quite possible that the bl. Augustine hints that the days of remembrance of martyrs are turning into noisy holidays. In particular, in the “Interpretation of the Psalms” by Bl. Augustine writes that the enemies of the martyrs, not being able to pursue them with weapons, pursue them through their unbridledness (eos sua luxuria persequuntur) and on the days of veneration of the martyrs they do not rejoice (non exultare), but mock (insultare), i.e. literally “leaping”, “jumping” (Augustine of Hippo, blessed commentary on psalms. 69:2). That is, the addressees of the app. John, and more broadly – ​​the confessors of Christ. That is, the Word and the Church, the Body of Christ. That is, converts, neophytes. That is, those who have already been baptized a long time ago. Lit.: secrets of the sacraments (mysteriorum secreta). Lit.: vomited, vomited, i.e., having accepted and passed through himself, he revealed the Divine secrets to everyone. The Latin text uses the word praepositi, which usually denoted abbots. But in this case, blzh. Augustine is referring to people in leadership positions in Christian communities. And in the Latin text of the Epistle of St. John, and Bl. Augustine uses the same adjective vetus (“ancient”, “decrepit”). In a quotation from the Epistle of St. Paul uses the same verb (non uror = “would not burn”) as in the psalm (sol non uret = “the sun will not burn”). That is, the phrase from the psalm can be translated like this: “Who is tempted, for whom would I not be burned?” In this case, blzh. Augustine already turns, as it were, to the Donatists. Blzh. Augustine alludes to his homily on the Gospel of John, which he apparently delivered shortly before the present sermon and in which he was discussing the stone that came out of the mountain from the prophecy of Daniel. Compare: Augustine of Hippo, bl. Commentary on John 4:4. Lit.: on the third moon. We are talking about the appearance of a new moon, which becomes visible on the third day after the new moon, i.e. after the conjunction (conjunction) of the Moon and the Sun. This mountain, which apparently was located not far from Hippo, is mentioned only by the bl. Augustine. Blzh. Augustine may be indicating that he recently recalled this story from the Gospel of Luke while reading the homily on the Gospel of John. It is known that this homily was read by him on Wednesday of the 6th Week of Great Lent, March 26, 413. See: Augustine of Hippo, Blessed. Commentary on John 9:4. Lit.: ...we do not have in Him what we can touch, but we have what we can read. Lit.: opened a feeling in them, i.e. opened ears with which to hear the Scriptures. Lit.: on the fourth Saturday (quarta sabbati), i.e. on the fourth day after Saturday. So it's about the environment. In the Latin text, the noun principium means both “beginning” and “primacy” (from princeps - head, ruler). It is this last semantic connotation that relates to the characterization of the father. In the Latin translation of the Epistle of St. John, which was used by the blessed. Augustine, in this verse the verb is still in the present tense (scribo). In the Vulgate this part of the verse—Scribo vobis, patres, quia cognovistis eum qui a principio est—is absent, as is also the case in some Greek versions of the Epistle. As you can see, what follows the words: I am writing to you, fathers - the explanation in the Latin translation of the Epistle completely repeats the phrase from verse 13, which is what the blessed one draws attention to. Augustine. The ending of the phrase is missing not only in the Greek texts from which the Synodal translation was made, but also in the Vulgate. Phrase from the First Epistle of St. John with this ending is found in St. Cyprian of Carthage in his essay “Testimony against the Jews to Quirinus” (3, 11). In this case, blzh. Augustine uses an epithet found in the Latin translation of the Revelation of St. John the Evangelist: Rex saeculorum (Rev. 15:3). In this case, the translation is given according to its meaning. Blzh. Augustine uses the phrase contraria arte, which can literally be translated as “opposite art,” meaning that just as a man was once defeated by a serpent through a woman who convinced a man to break the commandment, so the serpent is now, as a result of a “reverse action,” defeated through women who revealed to men the secret of the resurrection of the Lord. That is, only the humanity of Christ understands, without understanding His Divine nature. Blzh. Augustine proceeds from Hippocrates’ ideas about four juices, or fluids, present in the human body (blood, bile, black bile and mucus), the predominance of one of which in the body determines a person’s temperament. Blzh. Augustine uses the psalm as follows: Incipite Domino in confessione, while in the Vulgate it sounds like this: Praecinite Domino in confessione (“Sing to the Lord in confession”). Lit.: You began not to defend your sin. The original Latin, of course, speaks of two syllables, since the word Deus is used. Lit.: has a sign (characterem impositum habet). Blzh. Augustine quite often, speaking about Baptism, uses the metaphor character or character imperatoris, meaning a certain symbol of belonging to the emperor (character - brand, mark). The fact is that in the Roman Empire there were two ways to identify warriors. The soldier wore a badge (signaculum) on a chain around his neck and, as a rule, on the back of his right hand a sign (character) in the form of a tattoo, which was difficult to remove; so by this sign one could easily identify a deserter. See, for example: Augustine of Hippo, bl. Interpretation of the Gospel of John. VI:15; VIII:17; It's him. Speech to the people of the Church of Caesarea. 2. Wed: Blzh. Augustine. Interpretation of the Gospel of John. VI:23; LI:10. Blzh. In this case, Augustine quotes verse 4 of the Epistle of John, although, as can be seen from his subsequent words, he alludes to verse 2 of chapter, which in meaning, but not in letter, coincides with what he cites in this case. See: Blzh. Augustine. Commentary on the Epistle of John to the Parthians. III:7–9. Blzh. Augustine, quoting above the verse from the fourth chapter of the Epistle: “Every spirit that denies that Jesus Christ ...”, uses the verb negat (“denies”). At the beginning of this passage, he quotes in a different version, replacing the verb negat with solvit (“destroys,” “tears,” “destroys,” “rejects”), which is why he needed such a clarification. The Latin version of this verse uses the same verb solvere as in the verse that opens this paragraph, i.e. literally it should be translated: “whoever rejects one of the commandments.” In his “Confession” Blessed. Augustine tells in detail the path he took in search of an answer to the question of how to perceive God, how he abandoned vain attempts to physically imagine God. See: Blzh. Augustine. Confession. VII, 1, 1. Blzh. Augustine alludes to the practice known to his listeners of installing boundary signs with the name of the owner (titulus) in large land holdings (small owners surveyed their lands, but did not in any way designate their own territory with their names). Speaking of “titles”, ble. In this case, Augustine refers to the names of the baptizers, to whose personalities lost believers attached great importance, believing that the effectiveness of the Sacrament itself is connected precisely with the righteousness of the baptizer. It must be remembered that the real sermon of the blessed one. Augustine read during the period of his active polemics with the Donatists and in this case seeks to convince parishioners that the Sacrament of Baptism is performed not by a person, but by the Holy Spirit, therefore all the arguments of the Donatists about the need for re-baptism are the result of their misunderstanding of the essence of the Sacrament itself. In sermons preached in the same year as the present homily, Bl. Augustine repeatedly addressed this issue, including saying that there is no baptism of Peter, no baptism of Bartholomew, no baptism of Paul, etc. See about this: Blzh. Augustine. Interpretation of the Gospel of John. V:7. That is, that one should not give alms in front of people. – Per. In the Russian translation of the Old Testament - Saul. – Per. In this passage, blzh. Augustine discusses the difference between two words that have a similar meaning - dilectio and amor, understanding by the first love mainly in the spiritual sense, and by the second, rather, love in the carnal sense. But, despite the different shades of meaning, these words can be used as equal in meaning, as in the quote from the Gospel of John given in this case, where the verb amas is used. Literally this phrase could be translated: “Peter, do you thirst for Me?” – Per. That is, meeting a lion and being afraid of him would not appease pride. – Per. As you can see, darling. Augustine had to pause for some time in reading sermons on the First Epistle of the Apostle John. Most likely, this part of the sermon was delivered after the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Blzh. Augustine means a wind instrument - tibia - with a double reed (the Greeks called it "aulos"). This instrument can often be seen in works of ancient fine art in the hands of actors. Analyzing two statements in turn, the Apostle John and the Psalmist David, Blessed. Augustine in this case turns to John, citing his own words. A little further down he will turn his words to David. Blzh. Augustine in this case is polemicizing with a fictitious interlocutor, an example of which is given in 1 John 4:20. Literally: “according to Him,” that is, “along the way.” That is, it is love for the Father, Son, brother, and one does not exist without the other. In the Latin translation of both the psalm and the Epistle to Timothy, the same word finis is used, therefore this quotation given by Bl. Augustine is quite appropriate and helps him continue his discussion about the meaning of what was said by the prophet David. The noun finis can be translated into Russian, focusing on the general meaning of a particular phrase, both as “limit” (“end”) and as “goal”. Throughout this entire passage, Bl. Augustine speaks of finis, but we offer a translation option that seems more appropriate in a particular case. Many psalms in the Vulgate begin like this: In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David (“To the end, in songs. Psalm of David”), or In finem. Psalmus David (“To the end. Psalm of David”). Blzh. Augustine still uses the word finis, which literally means “let not this be the end of you.” Blzh. Augustine once again alludes to the Donatists who broke away from the Catholic Church. Blzh. Augustine, based on the idea that the human soul leaves the body through the mouth, shows in this case the state of the patient when his soul is about to leave the body and is still held in the teeth. The text uses the term traditor, which was used by the Donatists in relation to those clerics who, during the Great Persecution of the Church (303–313), gave (trado - I hand over, I give) to the authorities copies of the Holy Scriptures for burning. This concludes the sermon of the blessed one. Augustine, dedicated to the interpretation of the First Epistle of the Apostle John. The text apparently remained unfinished. This is evidenced not only by the fact that much of the fifth chapter was left undiscussed while the previous chapters were interpreted verse by verse, but also by the absence of a rhetorical conclusion to suggest conclusions.