On the beheading of the Baptist and Baptist John and on Herodias

1. Again Herodias goes berserk, again goes on a rampage, again dances, again demands from Herod the head of John the Baptist! Again Jezebel wants to seize Naboth's vineyard and drive Saint Elijah into the mountains. I am not the only one who is worried when remembering these events, but all of you who have heard the voice of the gospel are amazed with me at the courage of John, and the weakness of Herod, and the brutal rage of wicked women. What did the gospel tell us? It told the story of how Herod captured John and took him into custody. For what reason? “For Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip” (Matthew 14:3). Who would not accuse Herod of being weak when he gave in to mad women? But, on the other hand, how to depict, how to describe the unbridled anger of these women? It seems that there is no beast in the world more merciless than an evil wife! At least, this is the kind of woman I have to talk about now, and not about a kind and chaste one, although, of course, I know a lot of honest and kind women and I consider it a duty of my conscience to talk in due time about their devotion to goodness and a godly life. There is no beast in the world to which an evil wife can be compared. Among four-legged animals, who is more terrible than a lion? Nobody, of course. Of all the reptiles, who is more terrible than a dragon? Nobody again. However, both the lion and the dragon are not as evil as the wife. I refer to the words of the wise Solomon: “It is better to live with a lion and a dragon than to live with an evil woman” (Sir.25:18). Maybe you see simple irony in these words? But they are fully confirmed by deeds. The lions were ashamed of Daniel, who was thrown into the den, and Jezebel killed the righteous Naboth. Keith kept Jonah in his womb, and Delilah, having shaved and bound Sampson, handed him over to the foreigners. Dragons, scorpions and snakes feared John in the desert, and Herodias beheaded him during a feast. Elijah was fed by ravens in the mountains, and Jezebel, after the beneficial rain was sent through his prayer, longed for his death. This is what she said: “Let the gods do this and that to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not do to your soul what has been done to the soul of each of them” (1 Kings 19:2). Elijah was afraid and went to save his soul, and withdrew into the desert for forty days' journey. And he came to Rafmen 1 and asked for the death of his soul, saying: “Enough already, Lord; take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). Alas! Was Prophet Elijah afraid of a woman? He, who with his word made rain for the universe, who brought down fire from heaven, who raised the dead through prayer, was afraid of a woman? Yes, I was afraid. No one's malice can compare with the malice of an evil woman. My words are confirmed by the testimony of Wisdom: “there is no head more poisonous than the head of a serpent, and there is no fury greater than the fury” of a woman 2 (Sir.25:17). O evil and sharpest instrument of the devil! Through a woman he once wounded Adam in paradise; through a woman he drew the meek David into the treacherous murder of Uriah; through a woman he drew the wisest Solomon to the fall; through a woman he blinded, depriving his hair, the bravest Sampson; through a woman he destroyed the sons of the high priest Elijah; through a woman he imprisoned the most noble Joseph in chains; Through a woman he beheaded the lamp of the universe, John. What am I saying about people? With the help of a woman, he even cast down angels from heaven. Through a woman he destroys everyone, kills everyone, dishonors everyone, humiliates everyone. The shameless woman does not spare anyone: she does not honor the Levite, she does not respect the priest, she is not ashamed of the prophet. Oh, of all evils the worst is an evil wife! If she is poor, her malice will bring her wealth. And if wealth is already at her disposal, it doubles her malice; an intolerable animal, an incurable disease, an indomitable beast - that’s what she was then. I know that asps can be tamed with affection, and lions, tigers and leopards can be tamed and made tame. And the evil wife is indomitable; oppressed she rages, caressed she becomes arrogant. If her husband is the boss, she whispers to him day and night about murders and intrigues, like Herodias to Herod; if her husband is poor, she excites him to envy and quarrels; Finally, if she becomes a widow, then she herself begins to dishonor everyone. The fear of the Lord does not bridle her tongue; she is not afraid of either God or future judgment; she does not recognize the laws of love. Even putting her own husband to death means nothing to an evil wife. In fact, the righteous Job was encouraged by his wife to hasten his death with blasphemy. “Blass God,” she said, “and die” (Job 2:9). O evil creature! O unholy desire! I was not moved by pity at the sight of the suffering of a man whose whole body was swarming with worms and, like hot coals, was covered with purulent scabs; did not soften at the sight of agony and death torment, with convulsions and shortness of breath; was not imbued with compassion, seeing naked and lying in the dung of the one who once performed in the royal scarlet robe; she did not remember her previous relationship with him, nor how much good and glory she received through him. And instead of all this - “blaspheme God and die” (Job.2:9). Here's my wife's gratitude! Here's a pain-relieving patch! This is the law of marital love! Did he ever say such words when you were sick? Didn’t he, on the contrary, try to soften your illness with prayers and good deeds? And you, not content with the temporary punishment that has befallen him, want to bring eternal punishment upon him, inciting him to blasphemy? Don’t you know that “all sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven to men... neither in this age nor in the next” (Matthew 12:31–32)? Do you want to see another wife with the same malice? Remember Delilah. She cut off the strongest Sampson, tied him up and betrayed him to the foreigners. She seduced, deceived, and lulled her own husband, who shared her bed, with her caresses and her hypocrisy. Yesterday I loved, but today I deceived; Yesterday I pleased you with love, but today I destroyed you with deception. Wasn't he handsome? Who at that time was more beautiful than him, who wore seven curls on his head, the image of sevenfold grace? Or wasn't he strong? But who was stronger than him when he strangled a terrible lion on the way with his own hands, and beat a thousand foreigners with one donkey’s jawbone? Or was he not holy? He was so holy that when one day, languishing with thirst and not finding water to quench it, he prayed to God, then through his prayer, water flowed out of the dead donkey’s jaw that was in his hands, and his thirst was quenched. And so beautiful, so strong and so holy a husband, his own wife, having tied him up as an enemy, betrayed him to the foreigners. But how could a woman defeat such a strong husband? She took advantage of his kindness, learned his strength from him at night, and then tied him naked with strong belts. It is not for nothing that Wisdom proclaims to you: “Keep the door of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom” (Mic. 7:5). What kind of beast, tell me, and when does it plot something like this against its male? What kind of snake seeks to destroy its mate? What kind of lioness prepares death for her male? Do you see how true are the words of Wisdom: “there is no head more poisonous than the head of a serpent, and there is no fury greater than the fury” of a woman (Sir.25:17)? In a word, whoever has an evil wife should know that this is his reward for his iniquities. This is again confirmed by Wisdom: an evil wife will be given to a wicked husband for his evil deeds. Let’s finish our speech about the evil wife with this. 2. We must also remember good wives, especially for the sake of those present here. After all, good women look at the virtues of good women as their own, and their labors are considered worthy of crowning on a par with their own. As an example of a kind and hospitable woman, we point to the blessed Shunammite. She, with the consent of her husband, set up a shelter in her house for Elisha, where he could rest without hindrance after his wanderings (2 Kings 4:8-10); here a bed was prepared for him, lamps were placed on the table: the bed was not without a cover, but with attire suitable for a prophet; the lamp is not without light, but with oil to support the light; the table is not without bread, but with plenty of food. And what can we say about that blessed widow who sheltered the prophet Elijah? Nothing prevented her from showing hospitality to the prophet, since despite her poverty she was rich in goodwill. And she was so poor that she had no bread, no wine, no stew, absolutely nothing from the products of the earth: neither the fruitful field brought her grain seeds, nor the vineyard produced its sweet clusters for her, nor the fruit tree brought her its juicy fruits in the fall; and what could one expect when she had not an inch of cultivated land, not an ounce of soil suitable for growing grapes? All her means of subsistence consisted in the fact that during the harvest she followed the tracks of the reapers and picked up the ears of corn that they had dropped; This is how she prepared food for herself for the whole year! Elijah came to her, and moreover, during a terrible famine, when the whole earth was dry from lack of rain, when the sky was burning with fire, the air was hot as copper and the clouds were bridled; when there was no grass, no flowers, no morning dew, the trees did not sprout, the ears did not shake their tops; when the rivers became shallow, and the springs were barely fed from the bowels of the earth, and the sea became thick with salt, since there was no influx of fresh water and no rain fell. It was then that Elijah came to this poor widow. And you can judge how even in ordinary times her life was full of hardships. Nevertheless, the prophet, having descended from the mountain, headed towards it, passing the rich who had bread in abundance. But why did he, who brought down fire from heaven with a word, did not bring down bread for himself? Surely he could do this? Of course he could; however, he did not do this. Why? So as not to deprive the widow of her reward for hosting strangers, and also to multiply the remaining handful of flour and a little oil with her blessing. In fact, the prophet came here not so much for his own food as for the food of the widow and to discover what the disposition of her spirit and heart was. This happened according to the dispensation of God. God himself can saturate all the saints in the world, but sometimes He withholds His gifts in order, through hospitality, to test well-disposed hearts and give them the opportunity to bear fruit. And only when there is absolutely no one to receive and show hospitality to strangers, then He either sends food through birds, like Elijah on the mountain, or through an unknown prophet, like Daniel in the den, or through a sea beast, like Jonah, for example, or, finally, He himself directly sends food from heaven, like our fathers in the desert. In fact, when there was no one who could receive the sons of Israel wandering in the desert, God rained manna for them from heaven and brought water out of the rock for them. In the same way, when He sees that His faithful are suffering oppression, He does not rush with His help in order to give people the opportunity to arrange their salvation through good deeds to the oppressed. So Elijah came to a widow who had nothing but a handful of flour. It would be difficult for her and her children to get this handful for lunch. Что же говорит ей пророк? “Give me a little water in a vessel to drink” (1 Kings 17:10). And when she went to get water, he shouted after her: “Take a piece of bread into your hands for me” (1 Kings 17:11). In response to this, she admitted with complete frankness what she had and what she didn’t have. What exactly? «Жив Господь Бог твой! I have nothing baked, but only a handful of flour in a tub and a little oil in a jug” (1 Kings 17:12). The surprising thing is that, given such poverty, she did not hide what exactly she had left. And how many people today, who almost have gold and silver lying around, refuse invitations to help their neighbors, citing the fact that they have nothing; If, with persistent requests, they agree to give, then they first draw up records stronger than iron and take obligations from the debtor with the responsibility of guarantors and witnesses? But the widow did not deny from the very first word that she had a handful of flour. What then is the prophet? Quickly, he tells her, make bread from this flour, but first for me, and you can make it for yourself and the children only later. This word was a temptation for her, a test for her heart, a touchstone for her will. It was as if the very heart of this blessed woman was put on a scale and weighed. Where does the scale tip? Will love for her own children prevail in her, or the duty of hospitality towards the prophet? And she chose to embarrass herself and her children, but to accept the prophet. It was as if she knew that “whoever receives a prophet, in the name of a prophet, will receive a prophet’s reward. ...And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water in the name of the disciple will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:41–42). But what does it mean that the prophet asked her to hurry, to make bread for him as quickly as possible? Was he really so hungry that he needed to hurry? Of course not. And this haste should have testified to her diligence, the goodwill and warmth of her hospitality, the absence of grief or coercion. “For God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Do it quickly - first for me, and then for yourself and your children. Hurry, as Abraham, when visiting the angels, hastened to his flocks to choose a lamb for their treat, and as Sarah hastened to her stores in order to receive (in return) the bread that was hidden in heaven. Hurry up and make a sacrifice to God, like Abraham, not for yourself first, but then for me, like Cain and Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of the high priest Elijah, who sacrilegiously took for themselves the firstfruits of the gifts offered to God. The widow fulfilled the prophet’s order with zeal. And he, contemplating with his spiritual eyes her inner wealth, accepted bread from her hands and with his exclamation filled the house with her blessings. A handful of flour in a waterpot and oil in a vessel will not fail, he exclaimed, until the Lord sends rain on the earth (1 Kings 17:14)! Why does the prophet set such a period? It was necessary to do this: this was the indication that the new grace, like the falling rain, should put an end to the old law. The word of the prophet was followed by action. Do you see how the good receive the fruits of hospitality? So glorious are the fruits of good labor, so ineradicable is the root of prudence! Now, wives, you have heard both about the evil deeds of bad wives and about the virtues of good women. Love these and do not imitate those: compete with some, and turn away from others, so that by following in the footsteps of those - I mean the good ones - you too may be counted worthy of being numbered among the same rank of saints in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Glorious text: “and he came and sat under a juniper bush and asked...” (1 Kings 19:4) Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria.