Беседа XXIV

“And Noah gave birth to three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But the earth is corrupt before God, and the land is filled with wickedness” (Gen. 6:10-11). 1. Yesterday the genealogy of righteous Noah brought us considerable benefit. We learned a wonderful way of genealogy and saw that the righteous is glorified not for the nobility of his ancestors, but for the kindness of his own morals. For her, he received such a high testimony from the Divine Scripture: “Noah,” it says, “is a righteous man, perfect in his generation, pleasing God to Noah” (Gen. 6:9). Yesterday we spent the entire lesson on these short words. Such is the property of Divine words that in a few utterances they reveal a great wealth of thoughts and bestow untold treasure on those who want to study them carefully. Therefore, I ask, let us not superficially skim over anything contained in the Divine Scripture, but whether it be a listing of names or a story about an incident, let us begin to search for the treasure contained in them. That is why Christ said: “Try the Scriptures” (John 5:39), since it is not possible to immediately find the meaning of what is written everywhere, but a deep study is also required from us, so that nothing lying in the depths is hidden from us. After all, if just the name of the breed 174, i.e. The name: “man”, yesterday provided us with such a useful subject (for interview), then what benefit will we receive if we carefully and with a cheerful mind consider everything that is said in Scripture? Our Lord is a philanthropist: when he sees that we are trying and are very zealous to understand the Divine words, he does not allow us to need anything, but immediately enlightens our mind, gives us His illumination and, in His great wisdom, communicates the true teaching to our souls. That is why, wanting to encourage us to this and make us more zealous, He recognized those who demonstrate such zeal as worthy of blessing, saying: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Note the wisdom of the Teacher: He not only aroused (to jealousy) by pleasing, but with the words: “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” also taught the listeners with what zeal they should strive to study spiritual words. In the same way, as He says, those who feel hunger with inexpressible haste rush to food, and those who are burning with intense thirst quickly run to drink, just as these hungry and thirsty people should also flow to spiritual teaching. Such people are not only worthy of satisfaction, but also receive what they are looking for: they, it is said, “will be satisfied,” i.e. will be satisfied and fulfill their spiritual desire. So, having such a Master, so good, so generous, let us also resort to Him and try to earn His favor, so that He, in His love for mankind, will enlighten our minds to understand the power of Divine Scripture, and you with great readiness, like the hungry and thirsty, will accept spiritual teaching. Or maybe the Good and Wise Master, despite our unworthiness and insignificance, for you and your benefit “will give us a word to open our mouths” (Eph. 6:19), for His glory and our edification. So, having placed all our hope in the highest grace, and having called for help the One who “makes wise the blind” (Ps. 145:8), and makes clear “the tongue of the corrupt” (Is. 35:6), let us begin to consider what has recently been read (from Scripture), and what He gives out of His love for mankind, we will offer to your love. Just, please, strain your mind, and, removing all worldly thoughts from yourself, listen carefully to what is offered, so that we can throw spiritual seed, as it were, into rich and fertile soil, cleared of weeds and thorns. “This,” they say, “is the existence of Noah: Noah is a righteous man, perfect in his generation, Noah pleases God.” This ended yesterday's lesson; therefore it is necessary to suggest what follows. “Now,” it is said, “Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” It is not without reason that Divine Scripture has indicated to us both the time and the number of the sons of the righteous; no, and in this it wanted to show us, although not directly, the extraordinary greatness of his virtue. Above, it said that “Noah was five hundred years old,” and immediately added: “and gave birth to three sons” (Gen. 5:32), teaching us how unusually great his abstinence was, and, moreover, at a time when all the people of that time were devoted to such intemperance and such debauchery, and every, so to speak, age rushed towards evil. You have heard how the Divine Scripture says: “When the Lord saw that the wickedness of men had multiplied upon the earth, and that everyone meditated evil diligently in his heart” from his youth 175 (Gen. 6:5), and this clearly shows us that the young men tried to surpass (in wickedness) their elders, and the old men were no less insane than the young men, and that even the most innocent age was strongly carried away by vice. 2. So, so that we know how, despite the fact that all these people indulged in such fury and debauchery, the righteous one labored, with other virtues, in chastity until the age of five hundred, the Scripture, having said: “Noah was five hundred years old,” now says: “and gave birth to Noah three sons.” Do you see, beloved, the extraordinary abstinence of the righteous? Let us not pass this by without attention, but, reflecting on that time and on the wickedness that spread throughout the human race due to its great carelessness, let us think about what kind of valor and God-loving will was required in order to curb the impulses of lust for such a long time, to go against all others and to abstain not only from lawless copulation, but also from lawful and innocent ones. “And Noah,” it says, “gave birth to three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But the earth has become corrupt before God, and the earth has been filled with unrighteousness.” It seems to me that this righteous man has now resolved his abstinence and given birth to these sons, obeying God’s economy. Since, as a result of increased depravity and extremely intensified wickedness, the universe was threatened with complete destruction, God, the lover of mankind, deigned to leave this righteous man as a kind of root and leaven, so that, after the destruction of those (wicked contemporaries), he would be the firstfruits of future generations. For this reason, having given birth to these three sons after five hundred years, he dwells on them, showing by his very deed that he acted in this way, obeying God’s goodness, which has to be revealed in relation to the human race. And to assure you that I am not saying this based on mere guesswork, look at the accuracy in the words of Scripture. Having said that the righteous “give birth to three sons,” it immediately added: “the earth was corrupted before God, and the earth was filled with unrighteousness.” Do you see what a great and inexpressible difference there is in one and the same nature? About the righteous man the Scripture said: “Noah is a righteous man, perfect in his generation,” but about all the others he says: “But the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with unrighteousness.” By the name of the earth it names the entire totality of people. Since all their deeds were earthly, the Scripture in the name of earth signifies their humiliation and the extreme degree of wickedness. Just as about the first man, when he transgressed the commandment and lost the glory that had previously clothed him, God, subjecting him to the punishment of death, said: “Thou art earth, and unto earth thou shalt return” (Gen. 3:19), so here, when evil has greatly increased, Scripture says: “The earth is corrupted.” And he didn’t just say: “the earth was corrupted,” but, “before God, and the earth was filled with unrighteousness.” By the word “corrupt” it meant all their vices, because it cannot be said that they were guilty of one or two sins; no, they committed all the iniquities in great abundance. That is why Scripture added: “the land of unrighteousness is filled.” It was not simply or by chance that they indulged in wickedness; no, they committed every sin with great effort. And look how Scripture no longer wants to honor them with a simple name, but calls them simply earth, showing both the excessiveness of their depravity and the greatness of God’s wrath. “The earth has become corrupted,” he says, “before God,” i.e. they did everything contrary to the commands of God, trampling on the commandments of God and rejecting, out of their carelessness, the mentor (conscience) embedded in human nature. “And be filled,” he says, “the land of unrighteousness.” Do you see, beloved, what evil sin is - how it makes people unworthy and unworthy of the very name - man? Listen to what comes next. “And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was not corrupted” (Gen. 6:12). Look, they are called earth again. Then, when Scripture once, twice, and thirdly called them earth, so that no one would think that this was said about the sensual earth, it says: “For all flesh has made its way upon the earth.” And now he does not deign to call them people, but in the name of flesh he only wants to show us that this does not speak about the earth, but about people covered with flesh and given over to earthly affairs. Scripture, as we have often noted to your love, has the custom of calling people flesh who nourish carnal dispositions and do not think about anything sublime, just as blessed Paul says: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). What then? Was not he who said this himself clothed with flesh? So. But he does not say that those clothed with the flesh cannot please God, but those who do not care at all about virtue, but care only about carnal things, pursue the pleasures of the flesh and do not care at all about the soul, incorporeal and rational. So, when the Divine Scripture with these words pointed out to us the multitude of sins and the extreme degree of wickedness, the greatness of God’s wrath and the fact that for committing lawless deeds it called people once, twice, and thirdly – ​​earth, and also flesh, depriving them of the name of a common nature (man), then with subsequent words it shows us the ineffable love for mankind and the immeasurable condescension of God. What does it say? “And God spoke to Noah” (Gen. 6:13). 3. Look, what immeasurable goodness! As with each other, so (God) talks with the righteous about the punishment to which He wants to subject the human race, and says: “The time of every man has come before Me, for the land is filled with wickedness from them: and behold, I will destroy them and the land.” What does it mean, “the time of every man has come before Me?” Great, he says, I showed long-suffering, great condescension, not wanting to inflict this execution, which I intend to inflict; but since the excessive intensification of their sins continued until this very time, it is necessary to put an end to and suppress their wickedness, so that it does not extend beyond “the time of man coming before Me.” Look here too that God, as he said above: “every man thinks” (Gen. 6:5), and now says: “every man’s time.” Everyone, he says, is equally inclined, everyone rushes towards lawlessness, and it is impossible to find in such a multitude one who cares about virtue. “Time,” he says, “every man will come before Me.” The time has come, i.e. the time at which the knife must be used to stop the wound from growing. “The time of every man has come before Me”: as if no one was watching over them and had no one to demand an account of their sins, so they indulged in lawless deeds, not thinking that it was impossible to hide from Me, Who supports their very life, gave them soul and body and imparted such an abundance of blessings. So, “the time of every man has come before Me.” Then, as if defending himself before the righteous man and showing that such anger is caused by the excessiveness of their sins, he says: “For the land of unrighteousness is filled with them.” Is it possible, he says, that they have omitted anything that relates to wickedness? They have done so much evil that wickedness has already spread and covered the whole earth. Therefore I will destroy both them and the land: “And behold, I will destroy them and the land.” Since they themselves have already destroyed themselves in advance by lawless deeds, I bring about complete destruction and destroy both them and the earth, so that the earth may be cleansed and freed from the filth of so many sins. Think what kind of soul this righteous man must have had when he heard this from the Lord. After all, even if he recognized himself as virtuous, he still could not hear these words without regret. The righteous are loving and willing to endure anything for the salvation of others. How should this wonderful man be moved by these words, already imagining in his mind the death of all people and the destruction of all creation, perhaps not expecting anything good for himself? He didn't know this yet. So, so that he would not be disturbed in mind, but could have at least some small consolation in this great sorrow, God, having shown him the immensity of the wickedness of his contemporaries and the fact that the time had finally come to subject them to a deep section 176, says to him: all these people will be destroyed, “but you must build yourself an ark” (Gen. 6:14). What does “you are?” mean? Since you were not an accomplice of their wickedness, but spent your whole life in virtue, I command you to build an ark “from square trees that do not rot 177: you will make nests in the ark, and you will tar it on the outside and on the inside with pitch... Let the length be three hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty, and the height thirty. Gathering it with a vault, create the ark, and complete it from above in a lacquer; And thou shalt make the door of the ark out of the land: thou shalt make two-blooded and three-blooded dwellings in it” (Gen. 6:14-16). Notice God's condescension, and ineffable power, and love that surpasses every word. At the same time, He shows His care for the righteous, commanding him to build the ark and outlining the image of the construction, and the breadth and height of the ark, and gives him the greatest consolation, by the very construction of the ark arousing in him the hope of salvation, and by the same construction he wants to lead those such great sinners to think about their deeds, so that, having repented, they would not experience the wrath that threatens them. In fact, a lot of time for repentance was given to them by the construction of the ark, but even a lot and enough so that they, if they were not extremely insensitive, could come to contrition and correct themselves from their sins. Each of them, seeing that a righteous man was building an ark, should have asked about the reason for the construction, and, having learned about the wrath of God, come to the consciousness of his sins, if only he wanted. But they didn’t take advantage of this either, not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t want to. And so God, having given the righteous man the command to build the ark, informs him of the type of punishment that He wanted to inflict, and says: you build this ark as I commanded, and when you finish the construction, I will arrange your destiny. “And I will bring a flood and water on the earth to destroy all flesh, in which is the spirit of life under heaven: even the trees that are on the earth will come to an end” (Gen. 6:17). See how God, by his very threat, shows the greatness of their sins and says: I will subject both rational and unreasonable creatures to the same punishment. Since people betrayed their high dignity and fell into the wickedness of the foolish, there will be no difference in punishment. “I will bring a flood of water to destroy all flesh, in which is the spirit of life under heaven.” And cattle, he says, and birds, and beasts, and four-legged animals, and all the creatures that are under heaven, will perish. And so that you know that nothing will remain, he says: “And the trees that are on earth will die.” The universe is already in need of cleansing, but do not let this confuse you, and do not frighten your heart, because I, seeing the inhealability of their ulcer, want to stop the flow of wickedness, so that they do not become guilty of even greater punishments. Therefore, now, following My love for mankind and tempering anger with kindness, I impose on them such a punishment that will be painless and insensitive for them. Not judging by the greatness of their sins, nor by what they deserve, but foreseeing the future, I want to inflict appropriate punishment on these people, and to save those who follow from their infection. Do not grieve or be embarrassed when you hear this. Even if a punishment proportionate to their sins befalls them, “I will establish my covenant with you” (Gen. 6:18). Since everyone who had hitherto lived became unworthy and were not obedient to My commandments, then “I will finally establish My covenant with you.” So the first man, after so many good deeds, succumbed to deception, transgressed My commandments; then his son fell into the same abyss of evil, for which he was cursed and punished for life. But his descendants did not come to their senses and through his punishment, on the contrary, they further increased their wickedness, so that for this they were excluded from the genealogy. Then, having found Enoch keeping the law of virtue, I, as being very pleasing to Me, offered him up alive, showing and doing virtue what rewards they were awarded, and wishing to make those who lived after him his zealots, walking along the same path with him. But behold, everyone turned aside to wickedness, and in such a multitude I found you alone capable of rewarding the crime of your ancestor: therefore, “I will establish My covenant with you,” since your past life guarantees that you (and in the future) will faithfully keep My commandments. Then, so that, hearing this, the righteous man would not yet be sad at the thought that he would be left alone; God, so to speak, comforting him, also says: “Go into the ark, you and your sons, and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.” Although they were far inferior to the righteous in virtue, they were also alien to the excessive wickedness of their corrupt contemporaries. However, they are saved for the following two reasons. Firstly, in honor of the righteous. It is customary for God, a lover of mankind, to honor His servants and often grant them the salvation of others, which He did with blessed Paul, the teacher of the universe, who spread the rays of his teaching everywhere. When he sailed to Rome, a strong storm arose at sea; and when everyone on the ship, due to great excitement, feared for their very lives and lost all hope, he, calling everyone, said: “Be glad, men, for not a single soul will perish from you, except the ship. An angel of God, whom I am, stands before me this night, and I serve him, saying: Fear not, Paul... God has given you all that floats with you” (Acts 27:22-24). Do you see how this man’s virtue acquired salvation? However, not only his virtue, but also the Lord’s love for mankind. It was exactly the same now for this first reason. The second reason is that God wanted to leave, as it were, leaven and root for the human race that would later form, not because it was impossible for God to create man again and from one to spread the human race, but because He deigned to do so in His goodness. 5. See the goodness of God in what follows. Since He, threatening punishment, said that cattle, creeping things, birds, and beasts would perish along with people, then, again for the sake of the righteous, He commanded that from these animals one pair of each breed should be brought into the ark, so that these pairs would be the seed and firstfruits for the reproduction of animals later. “And of all the livestock 178 and of all the beasts, and of all flesh, two two of all they brought into the ark, that they might eat with them: male and female. Of every bird of wing 179 according to its kind, and from livestock according to its kind, and from every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, two and two of all will come in to you to eat with you, male and female” (Gen. 6:19-20). Do not ignore this, beloved: think about how embarrassed the righteous man was by the thought that he was responsible for all this. It was not enough for him to worry about his wife, about his sons and their wives: no, he was also entrusted with the care of so many animals and their food. But wait a little, and you will see the goodness of God - how He eases the care that lay on the righteous. “Take it for yourself,” says God, “from all the waste, even... eat and gather them together, and it will be good for you and them” (Gen. 6:21). Don’t think, he says, that you are being left without my industry. So I command you to bring into the ark everything that is needed for your food and for the food of the animals, so that you do not experience hunger and lack, and the animals do not die for lack of their food. “And do,” it is said, “all that the Lord God commanded him, do so” (Gen. 6:22). Behold, here again is great praise (to the righteous). “Create,” they say, “all things that the Lord God has commanded him.” It’s not that he fulfilled one command and ignored another; no, he did everything that was commanded, and “do this” as he was commanded. He did not omit anything, but fulfilled everything and proved by his very deeds that he had rightly received the favor of the Lord. What crowns cannot be compared with this testimony that the righteous received from the Divine Scripture? Who could be more blessed than the one who fulfilled everything commanded to him by God and showed such obedience to the Commander? And so that you know what kind of prediction he is awarded for this from the Creator of all creation, listen to what follows. “And the Lord God said to Noah,” it says, “Come into the ark, you and all your house” (Gen. 7:1). Then, so that we know that He not only saves the righteous by grace, but also gives a reward for labor and a reward for virtue, (God) says (to Noah): Therefore I command you to enter into the ark along with your house, “because I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation.” An important and reliable testimony! What, in fact, could be more important than this testimony, when the Creator and Creator himself pronounces such a judgment on the righteous? “As you,” he says, “have seen you righteous before Me.” This is true virtue when a person commits it before God, when that incorruptible Eye pronounces judgment on it. Then, the lover of mankind, God, wanting to show us the measure of virtue that He then demanded from the righteous (and He does not demand virtue from everyone in equal measure, but in different ways, judging by the differences of time), says: “For I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation,” which has strayed into such great wickedness, in this corrupt generation, which has revealed such insensibility. “You are righteous”; I found you alone to be grateful; I saw you diligently caring about virtue; you alone appeared righteous before Me, while all these were destroying themselves, I command you to enter, with your whole household, into the ark; “from clean beasts” I command you to introduce “seven sevens” (Gen. 7:2). Since He previously commanded to introduce one pair of all animals without distinction 180, now He says: “from... the clean there are seven seven, from... the unclean two two, male and female.” Further, to show the reason for this, he added: “to nourish the seed throughout the whole earth” (Gen. 7:3). It is proper here to ask and consider how the righteous man knew which animals were clean and which were unclean? At that time there did not yet exist the division that Moses later legitimized for the Jews. How did Noah know? By myself 181, guided by the instructions embedded in nature; and at the same time his reason decided. Of course, among God’s creatures there is not a single unclean one. In fact, how can we call any creature unclean when the highest decree was once pronounced about them and the Divine Scripture said that “God created every tree and every good thing” (Gen. 1:31)? But nature (human) itself made this distinction. And that this is true, think how even now in some places others abstain from certain things, as unclean and forbidden, while others, on the contrary, use these things, following this custom. So even then, the very innate knowledge of the righteous taught him which animals were good for food and which were unclean - however, they did not actually exist, but were only considered so. Why, tell me, do we consider the donkey unclean, although it eats only seeds, and consider other four-legged animals fit for food, while they feed on unclean substances? So, our teacher in this was the knowledge given by God to our nature. But on the other hand, we can say that God, who gave Noah such a command, Himself imparted to him the knowledge of this difference. However, we have said enough about clean and unclean animals. 6. But here another question presents itself to us: why is it (it was commanded to bring into the ark) “from the unclean two two”, and “from the clean seven seven?” And then: why not six, not eight, but seven? Perhaps our word is already becoming quite lengthy; but, if you are not tired, and if you wish, we will briefly resolve this issue of your love, as the grace of God will help us. Many people say a lot of fabulous things about this, and in this regard they make observations about the numbers. But that this is not an observation, but an invention of inappropriate human inquisitiveness, from which a lot of heresies arose, you will now learn. Indeed, we notice (and with this remark we hope to completely stop the lips of lovers of fiction) that in Scripture the number of the pair 182 is very often used. So, when Jesus Christ sent his disciples to preach, he sent them “two two” (Mark 6:7), and there were twelve of them, and there were four Gospels. However, there is no need to discuss this in front of your love, since you have already been sufficiently instructed to block the ears of such (idle talkers). And it must already be said why God commanded to bring into the ark “seven of the pure ones?” God commanded the introduction of more clean animals so that both the righteous man and those who would use these animals with him would have some consolation; and as for the introduction of “seven sevens,” then this too, if you find out the reason, will be the strongest proof of the God-loving disposition of the righteous. Since God, the lover of mankind, knew the kindness of this man, knew that he, being righteous and having experienced such love of the Lord, and having escaped death from the flood, would intend, upon being freed from disaster and leaving the ark, to show his gratitude and, in gratitude for his salvation, would want to make a sacrifice, so that (Noah) would not spoil the couple, (the Lord), for such gratitude, commands that “seven” be brought into the ark seven" from each type of bird, so that after the flood had stopped, the righteous could show his favor and not harm the pairs of birds and other animals. This, however, you will learn from the subsequent teaching, when we reach this very place, where you will see that the righteous man did exactly that. Now you have learned the reason why it was commanded that “seven seven” (from clean animals) be brought into the ark. After this, do not listen to the fables who, contrary to Divine Scripture, introduce fabrications of their own mind into the Divine teaching. So, when God gave a clear command about everything - about birds, both clean and unclean animals, and about their food, He says to the righteous: “For yet seven more days, and behold, 183 I will bring rain on the earth forty days and fourty nights; and I will consume every rising 184 that I have made, from the face of 185 the earth,” from man to beast 186 (Gen. 7:4). See also from these words the immeasurable goodness of the Lord, as He, after such great longsuffering, even now predicts in seven days, wanting to admonish the people of that time with fear and bring them to repentance. And to make sure that He predicts in order not to bring His words to fulfillment, think about the Ninevites, and see what the difference is between these and those. These (Noah's contemporaries), after so many years, heard that misfortune was already at the door, and yet they did not lag behind sin. We, of course, are careless and do not rush to correct ourselves when punishment threatens from afar; but when misfortune is close to us, then we humble ourselves and show a great change in ourselves. So it was with the Ninevites. When they heard that “three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (Jonah 3:4), they did not despair at these words; on the contrary, they rose up and so resolutely abstained from sin, showed such strong repentance that the dumb were also made participants in it, not so that the dumb would bring confession - because how is this possible when they do not have the gift of speech? - but in order to attract through them the mercy of the good Lord. Having declared a fast, it is said, the king ordered that the sheep, the oxen, and all the dumb ones should not consume either food or water (Jon. 3:7); then all the people, even the king himself, sitting on the throne, dressed in sackcloth, brought (to God) a deep and earnest confession, although they did not know whether they would escape punishment. “Who knows,” they said, “if he repents... God about the evil he said to do to us?” (John 3:8–10) 7. Do you see the gratitude of the barbarians? Do you see how such a short time did not take away their courage and did not lead them to despair? Look at these (Noah’s contemporaries), how, after so many years, having heard that “yet seven more days” and the flood would come, they still did not turn, but remained unrepentant, which serves as proof that the cause of all evil is our will. After all, these are people, and that is people: the nature is given to them the same, but the will is not the same. Therefore, their fate was not the same, but some escaped destruction, because the good God, in His love for mankind, accepted their repentance, while others perished in the waters of the flood. “Still seven more days,” it says, “I will bring rain on the earth.” Then, wanting to increase fear, God says: “fourty days and forty nights.” Why is this so? Couldn't He, if He wanted, bring all the rain in one day? What am I saying - in one day? In an instant (He could). But He does this with intention, wanting at the same time to both increase fear and give them the opportunity to escape punishment, although it was already at the very door. “And I will destroy,” he says, “every rebellion that I have created, from the face of the earth,” from man to cattle. Look how God predicts once and again, and despite this they are not moved. And He did all this to show us that He justly brought such punishment on them, and so that none of the foolish could blame (God) and say that if He had shown long-suffering, they might have repented, perhaps they would have abstained from sin and turned to virtue. This is why He tells us about the number of years and commands (Noah) to build the ark. After all this, he also predicts seven days in advance in order to block the shameless lips of all those who dare to speak reckless speeches. “And Noah did,” it says, “all that the Lord God commanded him” (Gen. 7:5). See how now the Divine Scripture proclaims the gratitude and obedience of the righteous man, showing that he did not ignore a single command, but fulfilled everything, and in this he presented proof of his virtue. 8. We will also imitate this righteous man; Let us try to fulfill the commandments given to you by God and will not be inattentive to the laws communicated to us by God, but, constantly keeping them in mind, we will be zealous about their fulfillment; Let us not do carelessly that on which our salvation depends, especially when the highest degree of virtue is now required of us, since we have received the highest benefits. That’s why Christ said: “Unless your righteousness comes out any more than the scribe and the Pharisee, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Let us look around and not let these words go unnoticed, but let us think about what kind of punishment threatens those who not only do not try to surpass these (the scribes and Pharisees), but even stand much lower than them - who do not want to stop being angry with their neighbor, nor to restrain their tongue from swearing, nor to forbid their eyes from viewing a destructive view, while the Lord commands not only to endure insults graciously, but also to give more, than how much they want to take from us. “Whoever wants to sue you,” He says, “and take your robe, let him have it as well” (Matthew 5:40). And we often offend our neighbor or take revenge on him for an offense - we, who are commanded not only to love those who love us ("even publicans," says the Lord, "do the same thing" (Matthew 5:46)), but also to have a good disposition towards our enemies, do not repay those who love us with equal love. Therefore, I grieve and suffer, seeing how rare virtue has become among us and how, on the contrary, vice is increasing from day to day, how neither the fear of Gehenna stops our desire for evil, nor the love of the Kingdom carries us along the path of virtue; but we are all, so to speak, drawn like animals, we do not think at all about that terrible hour, nor about the laws given to us from God, on the contrary, considering only the opinions of people and chasing their praises, we do not even want to hear what the Gospel says: “How can you believe, glory is received from man, and glory is not sought, even from the one God” (John 5:44)? Just as those who seek human glory completely lose heavenly glory, so, on the contrary, those who seek the last glory do not lose even that. And the Lord Himself, even before that, said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God..., and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33), i.e., whoever seeks the Kingdom, everything else follows. Indeed, whoever has soared there with his mind looks at real well-being with disdain, as if it did not exist. The eyes of faith, when they see his ineffable blessings, no longer notice the visible blessings: such is the distance between these and other blessings! But I don’t see anyone who would prefer invisible goods to visible ones. Therefore, I grieve and am constantly sick at heart, because neither experience itself has taught us, nor the promises of God, nor great gifts have disposed us to turn with love to the Kingdom; on the contrary, while still dragging along, we prefer the earthly to the heavenly, the temporary to the future, disappearing before its appearance to the permanent, the transitory pleasure of unceasing joy, this short-term happiness of present life to the bliss of endless eternity. I know you hate to hear this; but excuse me. I say this out of concern for your salvation, and wishing that you would rather suffer a little trouble here and get rid of eternal punishment, than, having enjoyed a little here, be subjected to eternal torment. If you listen to my words and put aside your previous carelessness, especially now, when this time of the Holy Pentecost is already a little left for you, then you will be able to wash away your sins and earn great mercy from God. The Lord does not need many days and (long) time; no, if we want, then in these two weeks we will have time to correct ourselves from many sins. If He showed such kindness to the Ninevites because they committed three days of repentance, much less will He despise us if only we show sincere repentance and, abandoning sin, enter the path of virtue. The same about them, i.e. Ninevites, Divine Scripture testifies: God saw that everyone had turned from his evil way (Jon. 3:10). So, if He sees that we have turned to virtue and shied away from sin, and are zealous about doing good deeds, then He will accept our conversion and, freeing us from the burden of sins, will give us His gifts. It is not so much that we ourselves desire liberation from sins and seek salvation, but rather that He hurries and accelerates to grant us both deliverance from sins and the bliss of salvation. Therefore, please, let us excite our minds; and let everyone examine himself whether he has done anything good in the past, whether he has received any benefit from these continuous instructions, whether he has arranged anything for the good of his neighbor, whether he has corrected any of his shortcomings, whether he has derived from our daily exhortations any encouragement for wisdom; and if he has done any good deeds, let him take care of their increase, and let him never stop this wonderful care. If anyone sees himself still in the power of a (sinful) habit and still in the same sins, do violence to his soul, demand an account of such carelessness and do not allow it to continue further, but, having ceased to obey the sinful habit, stop its desire, curb the thought, bring to mind the terrible day, reflect on the communion of this Terrible Meal, on the brilliance of the fire emanating from here and the scorching its strength, and about what is required from the one who approaches, a soul that is clean from all filth and impurity, and has expelled from itself lawless thoughts, so that in this way, having prepared and, if possible, cleansing ourselves during these days, we could be participants in this pleasure (the Holy Mysteries), and be rewarded with those ineffable benefits that God promised to those who love Him, by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom To the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Instead of: “all the days” in Art. 5 Zlat. says: ἐκ νεότητος - “from youth”, borrowing this expression from Genesis 8:21. Zlat.: ασήπτων according to Koislian. and some other lists and contrary to Lucian. and Alex. sp., where this saying is not read. Read then in v. 19. by Alex. sp. and to the Slavs. In the Bible, the words καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐρπετῶν - “and the vile thing from all” are absent from Zlata. according to Lucian. sp. In the 20th century. text by Zlat. retreats from Lucian. sp., omitting additional words: τοῦ οὐρανοῦ – “sky” after: “feathered”; – πάντων – “all” before the words: “cattle” (according to the Hebrew t. and some Greek sp.) and “creeping creatures” (in the Hebrew t. “all” is read here) and αὐτῶν – “them” after the words: “according to the earth according to their kind.” Zlat. καὶ ἰδοὐ according to one of the hitherto known Greek. sp. (Cod. Dorothei - “Dorotheus list”, about which Golmes notes that it apparently contains the text of the book of Genesis that Chrysostom used. See Holmes. Vet. Test. t. I. Praef.), contrary to Lucian., where ἰδοὐ is absent. Zlat. τὴν ἐξανάστασιν according to Lucian. and other lists instead of ἀνάστημα or ἀνάστεμα in other sp. Zlat. πάσης – “all”, read in Slavs. The Bible is not read by Zlat. according to Lucian. and other sp., as well as Hebrew. t. Zlat. ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἔως κτήνους according to Lucian. and other lists. You might be interested in: