Conversation about how it is dangerous to speak to people with obsequiousness

“The conversation about how speaking to the people with obsequiousness is dangerous both for those who speak and for those who listen, and that speaking against one’s own sins is useful and is the greatest righteousness” (5 chapters) delivered by St. John Chrysostom, probably in Antioch, year unknown. The saint justifies the severity of the preacher who denounces those who receive communion unworthily. The goal of the preacher is not to remove him from the Chalice of the Lord, but to attract him to it for worthy communion. St. John calls for repentance, reminding those listening about the Last Judgment, where all sins will be publicly revealed: “Here is a judgment seat without witnesses, and you, the sinner, are in judgment with yourself; there all sins will be brought into the midst of the spectacle of the universe, if we do not blot them out here first.” You should be ashamed to commit sins, and not be afraid to repent of them. *The title of the work in Greek is `λδβλθυοτεΟτι ἐπικίνδυνον κα τοῖς λέϒουσι, κα τοῖς ἀκούουσι τὸ πρὸς χάριν δημηϒορεῖν, κα ὅτι χρήσιμον κα δικαιοσύνη μεϒίστη τὸ κατηϒορεῖν τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων. *The title of the essay in Latin is Non esse ad gratiam concionandum. both for those who speak and for those who listen to them, and that speaking against one’s own sins is useful and is the greatest justice. Justifying the severity of the preacher in rebuking those receiving communion is unworthy. – The goal of the preacher is not to remove him from the cup of the Lord, but to attract him to it for worthy communion. – The preacher should not hide the shortcomings of his listeners, otherwise there will be no benefit from the sermon. – You shouldn’t forget even sins that have already been forgiven. – Remembering them is useful. – You must constantly repent of them with contrition of heart. 1. Enough, I think, we recently attacked you, and caused you a very deep wound. Therefore, today it is necessary to offer healing and deliver more pleasant medicines. This is the best way of healing: not only cutting, but also bandaging wounds; This is a surprising law of instruction: not only to reproach, but also to exhort and console. This is what Paul also commanded: reprove, rebuke, plead (2 Tim. 4:2). And if someone always consoles, then by doing so he makes his listeners more careless; and if he only reproaches, then he makes them more embittered, because, not being able to bear the burden of continuous denunciations, they immediately hastily run away. Therefore, there must be some varied method of instruction. So, since on the previous day the speech very much upset the mind of everyone, today we need more gentle instruction, and for the grief that has arisen from reproofs, it is necessary to pour, like oil, the kindness of speeches, first reminding you of the reproofs themselves. We recently read to you Paul's decree concerning communion in the sacraments, intended for all who are initiated into the sacraments. The law was as follows - after all, nothing prevents us from reading it again: Let each one tempt himself, and let him eat of the bread, and let him drink of the cup (1 Cor. 11:28). Those initiated into the sacraments know what we are saying, and what kind of bread it is, what kind of cup it is. He who eats and drinks, says (Scripture), “is unworthy of the Lord, will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:29, 27). We have read this law to you; explained the meaning of the saying. We said what it means: he will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord - that he will suffer the same punishment as those who crucified Christ. Just as those, he says, murderers became guilty of blood, so do these who unworthily partake of the sacraments; This is exactly what it means: he will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. It seemed that what was said suffered from great exaggeration, and this threat was unbearable; We have also added a reflection, with the help of an example, that has great correspondence. Just as, I said, just as if someone tears the royal scarlet robe and stains it with dirt, then he almost offends the king who is clothed in it - so, of course, here too: both those who killed the Body of the Lord and those who receive It with an impure thought equally offend the royal robe. The Jews tore Him apart on the cross, and the one who receives Him with an unclean soul defiles Him, so that, although the sins are different, the offense is the same. This disturbed many, it confused many; it hurt the conscience of the listeners, or better yet, not only the listeners, but before you, and me, the speaker; common instruction, common wounds; Therefore, I also apply general medicine. It was a matter of God’s love for mankind, so that both the speaker and those listening were subject to the same laws, were involved in the same nature, so that everyone was equally responsible for breaking the law. For what? So that he offers reproach in a proportionate degree, so that he becomes lenient towards those who sin, so that, remembering his own weakness, he does not cause intolerable reproof. Therefore God did not bring down angels from heaven and appoint them as teachers of human nature, lest, because of the superiority of their nature and because of ignorance of human weakness, they would make reproaches against us very mercilessly; but He gave mortal men as teachers and priests, men clothed with infirmity, so that the same thing, the guilt of the same thing in both the speaker and those listening, would become a bridle on the tongue of the speaking person, not allowing him to make accusations beyond measure. And that this is true, Paul himself, who laid down this law, explained to us the reason, saying this: For every one who is a high priest is acceptable from men, is appointed for men, able to show compassion to the ignorant and erring. On what occasion and why? Because even that one is overcome with infirmity (Heb. 5:1-2). Do you see that weakness becomes the basis for compassion and the affinity of nature does not allow the reproacher to ever fall into immensity, even if he were obsessed with great competition? But why did I say this? So that you do not say: you, being clean from sins, being free from sorrow that occurs due to reproach, with great power inflict a very deep wound on us. I first feel pain, since I myself am subject to sins. For we are all in penance (Sir.8:6); and no one will boast of having a pure heart (Prov. 20:9). So, I made those denunciations not because I philosophized in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bdisasters alien to me and not as a result of any inhumanity, but driven by great care. When healing bodies, the one who strikes does not receive any sensation of the blow, but the one who is cut, he alone is torn from pain; But when healing souls, this is not the case - unless I am somehow mistaken, judging the deeds of other people by my own - but the speaker himself first suffers from pain, every time he reproaches others. We do not grieve as much when we are rebuked by others as when we reprove others for the sins of which we are guilty, because conscience immediately begins to reproach the speaker, and the fact that one endowed with the dignity of teaching falls into the same sins as his disciples and needs the same reproofs causes the speaker more bitter sorrow. 2. And it is not without reason that I mourn this now, but since many, unable to bear the weight of what was said, upon returning back, expressed dissatisfaction, were indignant, saying: you are taking us away from the sacred meal and driving us away from communion, then for this reason I was forced to say so that you understand that I am not taking us away, but rather, gathering us together; I do not drive away or remove, but through reproof I attract more to myself. Fear of the announced punishment, falling on the conscience of sinners like fire on wax, destroys and melts our sins, constantly being in action, and making the mind pure and shining, puts greater boldness in us; from boldness and as a result of a cheerful mood, the spirit can become more inclined to continuous communication in ineffable and terrible mysteries. And just as one who gives bitter medicine to people without appetite and cleanses bad juices awakens their lost appetite and makes them more willing to touch ordinary food, so he who speaks bitter words and cleanses the mind with them from bad thoughts and removes the heavy burden of sins gives the conscience the opportunity to take a breath and causes it to eat the Lord’s Body with greater pleasure. Therefore, one should not be indignant at what is said, but glorify and praise. If some are very weak and cannot bear this protection of ours, then I could tell them that I am not explaining to you my own laws, but reading letters that came down from heaven; and it is necessary that, when this ministry is entrusted to me, I either say with boldness everything that is contained in them, everywhere seeking benefit for the listeners, and not pleasure, or that, fearing the hatred of the listeners, through this untimely servility, sacrifice both my own and their salvation. And that it is very dangerous for both the speaker and the listeners to remain silent about any of the divine laws, and that teachers are tried as guilty of murder when they do not explain all the laws of God without fear - I will again present Paul to you as a witness. In all matters I continually resort to this holy soul for the reason that the sayings of Paul are some useful and divine laws, since it is not Paul who speaks, but Christ, who moves his soul, says through him everything that he said. So what is Paul saying? Having called the inhabitants of Ephesus and given them his last speech, since he already intended to leave them, teaching their leaders that both those who shed the blood of the disciples and those who do not tell them useful things are subject to penalties and punishments, he almost says: I am clean from the blood of all. Why? I didn’t hesitate to tell you the whole will of God (Acts 20:26–27); if he had been afraid to speak out, he would not have been clean of blood, but would have been judged as a murderer, and quite naturally, because a murderer kills only the body, and he who speaks flatteringly and makes his listeners more careless destroys the soul; he puts him to death today, and this one destroys the soul and sends him to immortal torment and punishment. So, is it only Paul who says this? In no way, but even before Paul, God, in His turn, through the mouth of the prophet, mysteriously foreshadows the same thing, so saying: I have given you a guard over the house of Israel (Ezek. 3:17). What does it mean: guard? A guard is called one who, while the troops are below, occupies a high and hilly area and from there watches the attacking enemies, and announces the attack to those below, and initiates preparations for battle, so that they are not attacked unguarded and killed with great ease. So, since we do not see many of the horrors that threaten us while spending our lives on earth, the grace of God arranged for the holy prophets, standing as if in a high place of prophecy, to foretell in advance that we were threatened by the coming wrath of God, so that we, having come to our senses through repentance and correcting our fallen soul, would long before ward off the blow sent by God. Therefore He says: I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel, so that you may foretell that a coming misfortune threatens, just as he announces the approach of enemies. And He imposes no small punishment on those who do not anticipate God’s wrath. Which one exactly? The souls of those who perish, He says, I will require at your hand (Ezek. 3:20). Who is so cruel and inhuman and insensitive that he would accuse someone who speaks and constantly talks about God’s wrath, and would be subject to such a great punishment if he remained silent? So, what is not useful for us - those who say to remain silent about this, both the prophet and the apostle have taught us enough; and that it is not useful for you, the listeners, will be clear from the following. If I, by keeping silent, hid my sins with silence, then everyone would rightfully become indignant, rightly they would become angry, even if I were not silent; If, no matter how much we remain silent now, in any case, sins will necessarily be revealed there, then what benefit could there be from silence? There is no benefit, but the harm is extreme. Every time I say now, I lead to repentance and spiritual contrition; if I remain silent, then here we will not remember the sins that we have committed, and we will not repent; there we will see them naked and open before our eyes, and we will cry uselessly and in vain. 3. So, if in any case it is necessary that either there or here we lament our sins, then it is better here and not there. How is this clear? From prophetic words, from the Gospel. The prophet says: who in hell will confess to You? (Ps.6:6). Not because we don’t confess, but because we do it in vain. Christ taught this himself and through a parable. There was a certain poor man - Lazarus, He says; He was covered with scabs everywhere (Luke 16:20), having an incurable disease; some other person, a rich man, did not give even a crumb to the poor man. However, why is it necessary to present the entire parable? You know this whole story, about the inhumanity of the rich man, how he did not give the poor a meal - about the poverty of the latter and the hunger with which he constantly struggled. But that’s how it is in life here; and after each one has died, the rich man sees that poor man in Abraham’s bosom. And what he says: Father Abraham, send him (Lazarus), so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, so that he can rest from the pain (Luke 16:24). Have you seen the reward? He did not give crumbs, and does not receive even a drop of water for that. In every measure, - they say, - measure, it will be measured to you (Mark 4:24). What about Abraham? Child, you have perceived your goodness, and Lazarus your evil; and now this one here is comforted, but you suffer (Luke 16:25). But, as is being explored, although people are crushed because of their sins and change and, thanks to Gehenna, become better, this does not bring them any benefit in terms of alleviating the torment of the flame, since, Father, send him into my house, he says, so that he will tell my relatives, lest these also come to this place (Luke 16:27-28). Having not received the benefit himself, he tries to deliver salvation to others. Have you seen how inhuman he was before that time, how after that he became philanthropic? While he was alive, he passed by Lazarus, who lay before his eyes, but now he also takes care of his absent relatives; then, being in the midst of abundance, he was not inclined to mercifully contemplate the poor, but now, being in the midst of torment and inevitable torture, he takes care of his relatives and asks that someone who has one be sent to tell them about this. Do you see how philanthropic he became, and meek, and compassionate? So what? Did he gain any benefit from repentance? Did he gain any benefit from the crushing? In no way, since this repentance is untimely. The spectacle was over, the fighting stopped, there was no longer a convenient time left for competition; Therefore, I exhort and ask and beg: here one must grieve and cry because of sins. Let words sadden us here, and let deeds not frighten us there; let the word hurt us here, and let not the poisonous worm hurt us there; Let reproach burn us here, and let not fiery hell burn us there. And consistently, so that those who mourn here may be comforted there; It is absolutely necessary that those who live luxuriously and laugh and are careless about their sins should be saddened and grieved and gnashed their teeth there. This is not my word, but the very One who will then judge us. Blessed are those who mourn, He says, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). Woe to you who laugh now, for you will weep (Luke 6:25). So, what is better - to exchange the contrition and lamentation that lasts only for a certain time for eternal blessings and for pleasure that has no end - or, having spent this short and transient life here in joy, to depart from it in order to be subjected to eternal punishments there? Perhaps you are ashamed and blush at the thought of expressing your sins? But even if it were necessary to talk about it or reveal it in public, then even under such conditions one should not be ashamed: to fall into sin is shame, and not to admit to committing a sin; now there is no need to confess in the presence of witnesses. Before contemplation of conscience, let there be an examination of the sins committed; let the trial be without witnesses; God alone sees you - the one confessing - God, who does not condemn sins, but allows them because of confession. But even under such conditions, do you hesitate and make excuses? I also know that conscience cannot stand the memory of our own sins, so that if we just come to the memory of the sins we have committed, then the mind jumps, as if some indomitable, young and rebellious horse. But restrain him, curb him, stroke him with your hand, make him meek, convince him that if now he does not confess, he will confess where there is greater punishment, where there is greater dishonor. Here is a trial without witnesses, and you, the sinner, are in court with yourself; there all sins will be brought into the midst of the spectacle of the universe, if we do not blot them out here first. Are you ashamed to admit your sins? Be ashamed to commit sins. We, every time we do them, dare recklessly and shamelessly; and when it is necessary to confess, then we are ashamed and hesitate, whereas we should do it readily. To blame for sins is not shame, but justice and virtue; If it were not for justice and virtue, then God would not have appointed a reward for it. And that confession has rewards, listen to what (Scripture) says: speak out your iniquities first, so that you may be justified (Is. 43:26). Who is ashamed of the work by which he becomes righteous? Who is ashamed to confess his sins in order to destroy them? Does the Lord really command you to confess in order to punish? Not to punish, but to grant forgiveness. 4. In external judgments, consciousness is followed by punishment. Therefore, the psalm, providing for this very thing, so that anyone, fearing punishment after confession, would not deny his sins, says: Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever (Ps. 105:1). Does He really not know your sins if you do not confess? So, what success do you achieve by not confessing? Can you really stay hidden? Even if you don’t say it, He knows; if you say, He forgets, because behold, I am God, who will atone for your iniquities, and I will not remember them (Is. 43:25). Do you see? I won’t remember, he says, because this is characteristic of philanthropy; You remember to get a case for correction. Hearing this, Paul himself continually remembered those sins that God did not remember - he remembered, precisely saying: I am not worthy to be called an apostle, for I have persecuted the church (1 Cor. 15:9); and: Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first (1 Tim. 1:15). Didn't say: was, but: am. Forgiveness of sins from God took place, and the remembrance of forgiven sins was not darkened in Paul; what the Lord blotted out, he himself discovered. You have heard the prophet saying: I will not remember; you remember. God calls him the vessel of election (Acts 9:15), and he calls himself the chief of sinners. If he did not forget about the forgiven sins, then think about how he remembered God’s blessings. And why do I say that the memory of sins does not bring shame? The memory of good deeds does not make us as glorious as the memory of sins; It’s better to say: the memory of good deeds not only does not make them glorious, but even fills them with shame and condemnation; the memory of sins fills us with boldness and great righteousness. Who says this? Pharisee and publican. One, having declared his sins, returned justified; the other, having declared good deeds, returned, becoming lower than the publican. Do you see what harm it is to remember good deeds, what benefit is it not to consign sins to oblivion? And it is very natural, because whoever remembers good deeds is carried away by arrogance, despises other people, which is exactly what happened to the Pharisee, who would not have reached such great vanity, would not have said: I am not like other men (Luke 18:11), if he had not remembered his fasting and tithing; the memory of sins tames the mind, convinces one to be humble in wisdom, and through humility attracts God's favor. Listen, I ask, just as Christ commands us to forget our good deeds. When you have done all this, say: “For we are servants without keys” (Luke 17:10). You say about yourself that you are an indecent slave, it is not I who makes you indecent; if you confess your insignificance, I will make you famous and crown you. Do you see how much evidence has been testified to us that the memory of sins brings benefit, and that the memory of good deeds brings harm - and, in turn, on the contrary, that for forgetting sins we are punished, but for forgetting good deeds we are benefited? Do you want to understand, on the other hand, that the greatest virtue is to remember your sins? Listen to Job. Just as he was proud in other cases, so when confessing his sins, he said precisely: even if I sin unwillingly, I am not put to shame by the multitude of the people, so that I cannot tell my sins (Job 31:33–34). And what he says has this meaning: never has a meeting of fellow slaves brought me to shame. What is the use of people not knowing about me when the Judge knows everything; What harm is there from the fact that they know about the sins I have committed, when He wants to free me from punishment? And even if everyone condemned, I do not care at all about their opinion if the Judge acquits; and even though everyone praised and marveled at me, again there is no benefit for me from their verdict if He condemns me. We must look at Him everywhere and do the same in relation to sins as we do in relation to spending money. Immediately after we get out of bed, before we go to the market or engage in any private or public business, calling a servant, we demand an account of what we spent, so that we know what was spent ill, what was wasted, and how much was left; and if we find out that there is not much left, then we do our best to come up with ways to generate income so as not to be imperceptibly exterminated by hunger. So, let's do this in relation to our affairs. Having called upon our conscience, let us give it an account of our words, deeds, and thoughts; Let’s examine what was spent properly and what was spent to our detriment; what word was spent badly, in slander, in foul language, in insults; what thought prompted the eye to debauchery; what thought, to our detriment, turned into action, carried out either with the help of the hands, or the tongue, or the eyes themselves; and we will try to stop inappropriate spending, and instead of what was once spent badly, we will try to save other income; instead of words spoken recklessly, we will say prayers; instead of looks that have become unchaste, we will resort to alms and fasting. If we intend to spend unwisely, without saving anything, without collecting good things for ourselves, then, having fallen into extreme poverty, we will imperceptibly incur the punishment of eternal fire. So, we are in the habit of giving an account of money around dawn, and of business, of what we have done after the day has come, and in everything that has been said, we will require reports from ourselves after dinner and after the evening itself, lying on the bed, when no one bothers, when no one disturbs; and if we see that we have sinned in anything, we will punish our conscience, reprimand our minds, and wound our minds so much that we will no longer dare to rise and lead ourselves to the same abyss of sin, remembering the wound of the evening. 5. That this time is more convenient for such a demand for reports, listen to what the prophet says: what you say in your hearts, on your beds, be moved (Ps. 4:5). When the day comes there are many things we do not do as we wish; and friends irritate, and servants infuriate, and a wife grieves, and a child saddens, and many everyday and social affairs surround us; and then we cannot even understand how we deceive ourselves. But, having freed ourselves from all this and in the evening being left alone with ourselves, and enjoying great tranquility, let us arrange a judgment seat on the bed in order to appease God with the help of such a trial. If we sin daily and wound our soul, without ever delving into it, then just as those who receive continuous wounds, and then do not care about them, acquire fevers and bring on unbearable death, so, of course, we, as a result of this continuous insensibility, incur inevitable punishment on ourselves. I know that what has been said is painful, but it brings great benefit. We have a merciful Lord; He only wants to find an excuse, and immediately reveals all sorts of philanthropy. If, by sinning and remaining unpunished, we did not become worse, then He would remove punishment from us; but He clearly knows that the impunity of sinners harms them no less than the sins themselves. Therefore, he imposes punishment, not exacting guilt for the past, but correcting the future. And so that you understand that this is true, listen to what He says to Moses: leave Me, and being enraged with anger, I will consume them (Ex. 32:10). Leave Me, He said, not because Moses restrained Him, since he did not say anything to Him, but stood in silence, but wanting to give him an opportunity to pray for them. Since they committed a sin worthy of punishment and inevitable punishment, and, however, He did not want to punish them, but to show humanity to them, but since this made them more careless, He arranges one and the other, so that punishment would not be inflicted, and so that, as a result of impunity, they would not become more careless, realizing that they escaped the wrath of the Lord not in view of their own dignity, but through the intercession of Moses. We often do this, and, not wanting to punish servants who have committed offenses worthy of punishment, nor to free them from fear of the awaiting punishment, we ask our friends to snatch them from our hands, so that the fear in them remains in full force, and so that they avoid blows from us. God did the same; and that this is true is clear from the very words: “leave Me,” he says, “and enraged with anger... And we, when we want to punish, but we are not allowed to do so, come into a state of anger. He says: leave Me and become angry, so that you understand that anger is not a passion in God, but that the punishment assigned to us is called by this name. So, when you hear that Moses says: if you forgive them their sin, forgive it (Exodus 32:32), then before going before the servant, be amazed before the Lord for the reason that He Himself provided him with opportunities for this love of mankind. But not only did He do this here, but He says the same thing to both Jeremiah and Ezekiel: walk and look at the ways of Jerusalem; If there is anyone who practices justice and righteousness, I will be merciful to them (Jer. 5:1) 2. Have you seen humanity? The virtue of one is used by many, even vicious people, but because of the viciousness of many, even if among a large people one turns out to act virtuously, (the latter) does not share their fate; on the contrary, one person who lives rightly will be able to snatch an entire nation from the wrath of God, and a whole corrupt state will not be able to bring a person living justly to its own punishment and torment and destroy it. This is also clear from the story of Noah: when everyone really perished, only he was saved; It is also clear from the life of Moses: he alone was truly able to appear with intercession for such a people. I can imagine another, greater proof of God’s love for mankind. When He does not find living people who have boldness and are able to appear with intercession for those who have sinned, He resorts to the dead and says that for their sake He forgives sins, as He actually said to Hezekiah: I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of David, My servant (2 Kings 20:6), who has already died. So, knowing that God moves and does everything to free us from punishment and torment, let us present Him with numerous occasions for this, confessing, repenting, crying, praying, ceasing anger towards our neighbors, improving the poverty of our loved ones, being vigilant in prayer, demonstrating humility, constantly remembering our sins. It is not enough to say that I am a sinner, but I must remember the sins themselves, each one separately. Just as fire falling into a thorn tree easily destroys it, so a thought constantly directed at committed sins easily destroys them and drowns them. May God, who ignores iniquities and removes unrighteousness, deliver us from sins and make us worthy of the heavenly kingdom, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. At St. I. Zlat. "voluntarily". In the Bible we read: “Walk in the ways of Jerusalem and see... if you find a man who practices judgment and seeks faith, and I will be merciful to him...” You might be interested in: