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The Word of God arouses the passionate desire of the soul and gives it joy, like a kind of lamp, to enlighten thoughts, to cleanse sins, and to illuminate thoughts. This is the word of God. What a whetstone is to iron, the word of God is to the soul. Touchstone benefits iron in more than just one way; firstly, it serves to cleanse rust from it; then, if it is thick, it makes it thin; if it is dull, it makes it sharp; if it is dark, it makes it shiny, clean, light, bright. So the word of God cleanses the soul from the rust of sin, makes it energetic if it has weakened, makes it tender if it has become rough, makes it bright if it has been darkened, and the Word of God wants us to shine in accordance with the apostolic commandment, which says: “Be as lights in the world, holding the word of life” (Phil. 2:15, 16). What a glow! It wants us not to be sluggish, but vigorous. “The word of God is living,” they say, “and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). It wants us not to be harsh, but to refine the mind with thoughts, because when the mind becomes coarse, it is alien to the word of God, and when it becomes refined, it applies the law of God. That is why Scripture speaks of those who have grown fat: “And Jacob [ate, and] Israel became fat, and became stubborn; became fat, plump and fat; and he forsook God who created him” (Deut. 32:15). Let the word of God enlighten our minds, and especially during this upcoming holy fast, when our bodies are exhausted and our thoughts are awake (5). When we talk about spiritual subjects, let nothing worldly be in our souls, nothing earthly; but let all this be removed, all this be removed, so that we can devote ourselves entirely to listening to the divine words. If when the king enters the city all noise subsides, then much more while the Spirit is talking to us, we must delve into it with deep silence and great fear (8). Christ does not pay attention so much to his own dignity as to our salvation, and does not care to say anything great, but something that can attract us. Therefore, there is little that is lofty and great in His words, and even that is hidden, but there is a lot of humiliation and ordinaryness. Since this latter attracted more attention, He speaks about it more often. However, He does not always speak humiliatingly, so as not to harm future [listeners of His teaching], and He does not remain silent about it, so as not to tempt those of that time. People freed from low concepts can understand everything from one high dogma; and those who always had low concepts and would not have come at all if they had not often listened to the humiliated things (8). The source of light is the word of God; being filled with light and exuding light, it enlightens and illuminates the souls of the faithful. From itself and by itself it shines and enlightens those who use it; and not only enlightens the souls of the faithful, but also informs them of the name of light. In fact, the Divine Scripture rightly calls the darkness of people immersed in ignorance and persistent in unbelief, who do not accept the lamp of truth in order to become sons of light. Therefore, the divine Apostle Paul says: “For you are all sons of light and sons of day; we are not sons of night nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5). And indeed, we are sons of light, i.e. the words of the Gospel, spoken by the mouth of God: “I am the light of the world; Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). That word is the word of light, which, if we believe in it, makes us sons of light. Therefore, the Savior says: “As long as the light is with you, believe in the light, that you may be sons of light” (John 12:36). After all, what this sensory light is for the body, the spiritual light is the same for the soul - the word of God; and that there is darkness at night, that is ignorance for erring souls. Therefore, blessed David writes about such people: “They do not know, they do not understand, they walk in darkness” (Ps. 82:5). Likewise, the synagogue, immersed in ignorance and not wanting to penetrate to the knowledge of spiritual teaching, God calls darkness because of the ignorance that dwells in it. When God spoke to the Jews through the prophet, he likened their mother to night and, explaining that he meant night like darkness, added: “My people will be destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:5, 6). That is why they “do not know, they do not understand, they walk in darkness” (Ps. 81:5). But they are like this, and those who have accepted the light of Christ’s teaching are perfected in the light. Indeed, our God is light; and His word, born from Himself dispassionately before the ages, is called light; and the holy, consubstantial, and life-giving Spirit is light. Light, and light, and light, but one light. And the soul that has received the word is called light (9). You might be interested in: