Conversation against those who did not attend the meeting

“A conversation against those who did not come to the meeting and on the words of the Apostle: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him” (Rom. 12:20), and about rancor” (7 chapters) was delivered by St. John Chrysostom in Antioch. The saint begins his conversation by lamenting the small number of parishioners in the church. He reproaches those absent for not abandoning their laziness, and those present for not caring about the salvation of their brothers: “Neglect about the brothers is an important evil, but worthy of extreme torment and inevitable punishment. This was shown by the example of someone who buried talent in the ground.” St. John notes that the best praise for a preacher is “not applause, but the zeal of the hearers for godliness”: “What good is praise to me if I do not see you advancing in virtue?” A Christian should be useful not only to himself, but also to many. Christ showed us this by calling us salt, leaven and light (Matt. 5:13-14). The saint cites as an example the zeal of the Jews in observing the Sabbath. Christians should also be happy to attend church. First you need to take care of the spiritual and only then about the worldly. We can succeed in everyday affairs only when we glorify God. Next St. John notes that due to our negligence it is difficult and difficult to reconcile with the enemy: “If... you remain vindictive and vindictive, then... you... yourself are overcome by evil, i.e. anger; so if you want to win, then make peace and not take revenge.” Evil must be overcome with good, leaving behind anger and rancor. The saint gives the example of King David and his attitude towards Saul: “He not only fed and watered the enemy, but also repeatedly delivered someone in danger from death and, having the opportunity to kill him, spared him once, twice, and many times.” At the conclusion of the conversation, there is a call to imitate the virtues of David: “Let us also imitate him; Let us neither say nor do evil to our enemies, but let us even do good to them to the best of our ability; through this we will do more good to ourselves than to them.” *The title of the essay in Latin is In illud: Si esurierit inimicus. The preacher complains about the small number of listeners to his conversation; he rejects the applause of those gathered. – Application of the proverb that a drop of water chisels a stone. – We were not born only for ourselves. – Following the example of the saints, we should not be afraid of fatigue. – The faithful should mutually encourage themselves to attend church. - About the extreme care with which the Jews observe their Sabbath. – We succeed in worldly affairs when we glorify God. – What sources give us help in preaching. Good deeds must be added to the reading of the Holy Scriptures. – It is difficult and painful to reconcile with your enemies. – How to defeat your enemies: David in the Old Testament does good to his enemy. Why did David spare Saul? – How great is David’s virtue. – Praise for David’s patience. 1. It seems that we were not at all successful in recently offering you a lengthy speech on zeal for (church) assemblies; Our church is again left without children. Therefore, again I am forced to be strict and difficult, to reproach those present, condemn those who are absent: the latter because they do not give up their laziness, and you because you do not care about the salvation of your brothers. I am forced to be heavy and strict not for myself and my own gain, but for you and your salvation, which is dearer to me than anything else. Whoever wants, let him be upset and call me heavy and shameless; but I will not stop constantly repeating the same thing, because for me there is nothing better than such shamelessness. Perhaps, truly, it may be that you, being ashamed if not of something else, then at least of this, so as not to hear constant reminders of the same thing, will someday have care for your brothers. What good is praise to me if I do not see you succeeding in virtue? And what harm will it do to me from the silence of the listeners if I see your piety increasing? The praise of the preacher is not applause, but the zeal of the hearers for piety, not noise while listening, but diligence at all times. Noisy approval, as soon as it comes out of the mouth, dissipates in the air and disappears; and the correction of the listeners brings an unfailing and immortal reward to both the speaker and the listeners. The cry of your approval makes the speaker here famous, and the piety of your soul gives the teacher boldness before the Throne of Christ. Therefore, if any of the speakers desires anything, then let him not desire applause, but the benefit of the listeners. Negligence about brothers is an important evil, but worthy of extreme torment and inevitable punishment. This was shown by the example of someone who buried talent in the ground. He did not suffer any condemnation for his own life and did not do anything bad in hiding his talent, because he returned it whole; and yet turned out to be guilty of the way he used the money. He did not double the amount entrusted to him, and for this he was punished. From this it is clear that, even if we were diligent and attentive, even if we had a great desire to listen to the Divine Scriptures, this is not enough for our salvation. Must double the deposit entrusted; It becomes doubled when, along with our own salvation, we take care of others. He said: “Here is yours” whole; but this was not enough to justify him. “You ought,” says the Lord, “to give... what was entrusted to the merchants” (Matthew 25:25, 27). And notice how easy the Lord’s commandments are. People force those who lend money to the master to answer for their return; you gave it, they say, you demand it back; I don't care who took it. But God doesn't do that; He commands only to give, and no longer makes us responsible for returning. It is in the power of the speaker to advise, not to produce persuasion. Therefore, He says, I make you responsible for giving and not for returning. What's easier than that? Meanwhile, the slave called the Lord cruel, so meek and humane. These are the habits of ungrateful and careless slaves: they always blame their sins on their masters. For this he was punished, and bound and taken away into pitch darkness. So that we do not suffer the same thing, we will pass on the teaching to our brothers, even if they obeyed or if they did not obey. By obeying, they will benefit both themselves and us; and by not obeying, they will incur inevitable punishment on themselves, but they cannot cause us the slightest harm. We did our part by providing advice; if they do not obey, then no harm can come from this to us. What is reprehensible is not when we did not persuade, but when we did not give advice; after advice and admonition, frequent and incessant, God will demand an account not from us, but from them. I would like to know exactly what you are trying to convince them, and whether they constantly remain in negligence: then I would not bother you; but now I’m afraid that they remain incorrigible because of your negligence and carelessness. It is, in fact, impossible for a person who constantly listens to admonitions and instructions not to become better and more diligent. The proverb I intend to say is a common one, but it also confirms the same thing. A drop of water, they say, hollows a stone with its incessant fall. What's softer than water? And what is harder than stone? However, consistency overcomes nature. If constancy overcomes nature, then it can much more overcome the will. Christianity is not a joke, beloved, nor is it an unimportant matter. We constantly say this, and have no success at all. 2. How do you think I am upset, remembering that on holidays the multitude gathered is like the vast waters of the sea, and now not even a small part of that multitude has gathered? Where are now those who crowded us during the holidays? I look for them, I grieve for them, imagining what a multitude of those called to salvation are perishing, what loss of brothers I am suffering, how small the number of those being saved is, and most of the body of the Church is likened to a dead and motionless body. But, they will say, what do we care about that? This especially applies to you, to you who do not care about them, do not convince or advise, to you who do not force them, do not force them and do not divert them from great negligence. It should not only be useful for oneself, but also for many, as Christ showed by calling us salt, leaven and light (Matthew 5:13-14). These items are useful and beneficial to others. So the lamp does not shine for itself, but for those who are in darkness; and you are a lamp, not so that you alone may use the light, but so that you can guide the lost. What good is a lamp if it does not give light to him who is in darkness? What good is a Christian if he does not benefit anyone, if he does not lead anyone to virtue? Likewise, salt not only supports itself, but also strengthens rotting bodies, preventing them from deteriorating and dying. The same is true for you: if God has made you spiritual salt, then support and strengthen your rotting members, i.e. the careless and careless of the brethren, and having delivered them from carelessness, as if from some rottenness, unite them with the rest of the body of the Church. That is why He called you leaven (Matthew 13:33): leaven does not leaven itself, but the rest of the mixture, great and immeasurable, although it itself is small and insignificant. So it is with you: although you are small in number, be great and strong in faith and zeal for God. Just as leaven, despite its smallness, is not powerless, but acts because of the warmth contained in it and the strength inherent in it, so in the same way you can arouse much larger ones to the same jealousy as you, if you want. But they can refer to the heat, because I hear them say: now there is strong stuffiness, unbearable heat, we cannot endure the difficulties and crowded conditions in the crowd, sweating and exhausted from the heat and crowding. I am ashamed of such people, believe me; These are excuses for women, or better yet, excuses that are insufficient to justify them, whose bodies are more tender and their nature is weaker. Although it is a shame to refute such an excuse, it is necessary. If they are not ashamed to present such excuses, then we should not be ashamed in refuting them. What will I say to those who present such excuses? I want to remind them of the three youths who were in the furnace and flame, who, seeing the fire surrounding them on all sides, covering their body, their eyes, and their very breath, did not cease to sing with the creatures a sacred and mysterious song to God, but, then standing in the middle of the flame, more diligently than those in the meadow, they sent praise to the common Lord of all; and together with these three youths, about the lions of Babylon, about Daniel and his den (Dan.6:24). And I ask them not only to remember this, but also about another ditch and a prophet, about Jeremiah, who was mired in mud up to his neck (Jer. 38:6). Coming out of the ditches, I want to bring those who plead the heat into prison and show there Paul and Silas, bound with stocks, burdened with wounds and ulcers, struck all over their bodies with many blows, and at midnight praising God and performing this sacred all-night vigil (Acts 16:25). Isn’t it reckless, while these saints, being in the oven, in the fire, in the ditch, among animals, in the mire, in prison, in the stocks, in wounds, in custody and among unbearable disasters, never referred to anything like that, but with great readiness and fiery zeal constantly remained in prayers and sacred chants, we, without suffering either small or great of the calculable disasters, due to heat, low warmth and sweat, we neglect our own salvation and, leaving the local assemblies, wander outside, corrupted in assemblies that have nothing sound? Such is the dew of Divine sayings, and you refer to the heat? “The water,” says Christ, “which I will give him, will become in him a spring of water flowing into eternal life” (John 4:14), and again: “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). You, having spiritual springs and rivers, tell me, are you afraid of sensual heat? And in the market place, where there is such noise, crowding and great heat, tell me, why don’t you complain about the stuffiness and heat? You can’t say that there you can enjoy the coolest air, but here we have all the suffocating heat; quite the contrary, here, both from the slabs lying on the floor, and from other amenities in the structure of the church - because it rises to a great height - the air is lighter and cooler, and there everywhere there are strong rays of the sun, great crowding, smoke and dust, and other much greater troubles. From this it is clear that these reckless excuses come from carelessness, from a careless soul and devoid of the flame of the Spirit. 3. I am now talking about this not so much for them as for you, who do not attract them, do not turn them away from carelessness and do not lead them to this saving meal. And servants, intending to perform a common service, call on their colleagues, and you, intending to perform this spiritual service, do not care about your colleagues, who are deprived of benefits. What do you say if they themselves don’t want to? Make them want it with unceasing persistence; If they see our persistence, they will certainly want to. But this is an excuse and an excuse. How many fathers are there with whom their sons do not stand? Was it really difficult for you to bring your children with you? From this it is clear that others remain outside (the church) not only due to their own carelessness, but also due to your neglect. If not before, then at least now correct yourself, and let everyone come to church with his partner, and father - son, son - father, husbands - wives, wives - husbands, master - slave, brother - brother, friend - friend, let them encourage and attract to the local assembly; or better yet, we will invite not only friends, but also enemies into this common treasury of blessings. When the enemy sees your concern for him, he will certainly stop the hostility. Tell him: are you not ashamed of the Jews, who observe the Sabbath with such precision and stop all work from the very evening? As soon as they see on Friday that the sun is leaning towards the west, they stop contracts and end trade; and if someone, having bought something from them before the evening, comes in the evening and brings payment, then they do not allow themselves to accept it and receive the silver. But what am I saying about payment for what is sold and about contracts? If they had a treasure to gain, they would sooner decide to lose the profit than to break the law. This is how the Jews keep the law, and, moreover, untimely, and with such precision they adhere to an institution that does not bring them any benefit, but even harms them; and you, who are above the shadow, have been honored to see the Sun of truth, strive for heavenly life, have accepted the truth, do not even show the same zeal as those who untimely apply themselves to an evil deed, but, being called here for a small part of the day, do not want to use this time to listen to Divine sayings? What kind of forgiveness, tell me, can you receive? What solid and fair justification can you give? It is impossible, impossible for someone so careless and careless to ever receive forgiveness, even if he refers a thousand times to the needs of everyday affairs. Don’t you know that if you come, pray to God and take part in the meeting here, then the things ahead of you will be much more successful? Do you have everyday worries? It is for them that you come here in order to gain God’s favor by staying here; you came out in safety, so that you could have God as your helper, so that you could become invincible for demons with the help of the Highest Right Hand. If you take advantage of the prayers of the fathers, take part in common prayer, listen to Divine sayings, acquire God’s help, and thus come out of here protected by these weapons, then the devil himself will not dare to look at you, not just the evil people who are trying to slander and slander. If you leave home and go to the marketplace without this weapon, you will easily be caught by all your enemies. That is why many things in public and private affairs do not go according to our wishes, because we do not care about the spiritual in advance, and then about the worldly, but have perverted the order. Because of this, the correct course of affairs was distorted, and everything among us was filled with great confusion. How, do you think, am I upset and grieved when I think that at the onset of a celebration and holiday, the whole city flocks, even though no one invited you, and after the celebration and holiday, even though we spent the whole day straining ourselves and inviting you, no one listens? Often imagining this in my mind, I sighed heavily and said to myself: why offer admonition or advice when you do everything simply and out of habit and do not become at all more zealous from our instruction? If during the holidays you do not need our admonition at all, and after them you do not benefit from our instruction at all, then aren’t you making our words unnecessary, as much as it depends on you? 4. Perhaps many of those listening to this are indignant. But the careless think not so; otherwise they would abandon their carelessness, like us, who take care of you every day. Are you getting as much profit from external affairs as you are causing harm to yourself? It is impossible to leave another meeting or society with such benefit as staying here brings - whether you point to the court, or the place of meetings, or the royal palace itself. We do not teach those who come here the government of nations and cities, nor the command of armies, but another power, more important than the reign itself, or better yet, we do not teach, but the grace of the Spirit. What kind of power is this, more important than kingship, that those who come here receive? Here they learn to dominate shameful passions, reign over vicious lust, control anger, suppress envy, enslave vanity. The king sitting on the royal throne and wearing a diadem is not so important as the man who has raised sound reason in himself to the throne of power over slavish passions and has clothed his head with dominion over them, as if with some brilliant diadem. What is the use, tell me, of wearing scarlet, golden robes and a crown with expensive stones when the soul is captivated by passions? What is the use of external freedom when the dominant faculty in us subserviently in a shameful and pitiful manner? Just as when a fever hides in the depths and burns all the insides, there is no benefit from the fact that the surface of the body does not tolerate anything like this, so when our soul is tormented by internal passions, there is no benefit either from external power or from the royal seat, if the mind with great violence is cast down from the throne of dominion over the passions, submits to them and fears their rebellion. To prevent this from happening, prophets and apostles flock from everywhere to tame our passions, to purge from us all fierce recklessness and to give us power more important than kingship. That is why I said that those who deprive themselves of such care receive a mortal wound, experiencing such harm as is not experienced from anything else; but, on the contrary, those who come here receive such benefits that they could not get from anything else, as was proven in our conversation. Yes, “let them not come before Me empty-handed,” said the law (Ex. 23:15), i.e. don't come without sacrifices. If one should not enter the house of God without sacrifice, then even more so one should not enter the congregation of the brothers; The best sacrifice and offering is when you enter here with your soul. Do you not see how the learned pigeons, when they fly out, carry others along with them? We will do the same. Indeed, what excuse will we have when dumb animals can catch animals like themselves, and we, distinguished by speech and wisdom, neglect such catching? In a previous conversation, convincing you, I said: let each of you approach the houses of your neighbors, wait for those who come out, hold them and lead them to your common mother; let him imitate people addicted to the spectacle, who, with all their zeal, gather together, from early morning, await this lawless spectacle. But our exhortation was not at all successful. Therefore, I speak again, and I will not stop speaking until I am convinced. Listening will do no good unless it is accompanied by activity. Even we will incur the heaviest punishment on ourselves if, constantly listening to the same thing, we do not fulfill any of what is said. And that for this the gravest punishment awaits, listen to Christ, Who says: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22); and the apostle says: “It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:13). This he speaks to those who listen; and in order to teach the speaker that there will be no benefit to him from teaching if his teaching is not accompanied by activity and life in accordance with the word, listen to how both the apostle and the prophet address him. One says: “But God says to the sinner: “Why do you preach My statutes and take My covenant in your mouth, but you yourself hate My instruction and throw My words away for yourself?” (Ps. 49:16–17). Likewise, the apostle, addressing those who think too much of themselves for their teaching, says this: “And I am confident of myself, that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness, a teacher of the ignorant, a teacher of babes; ...how is it that when you teach others, you don’t teach yourself?” ( Rom. 2:19–21 )? If, however, my speech cannot bring any benefit to me, the speaker, or to you, the listeners, without fulfilling what is said, but also serves to greater condemnation, then let us not limit our zeal only to listening, but let us begin to carry out what is said in practice. It is good to constantly engage in listening to Divine sayings; but this good is useless when it is not combined with the benefit that comes from obedience. So, so that you do not gather here in vain, with all your zeal, as I have often asked and will not cease to ask, bring the brethren to us, convince those who are mistaken, advise not only in word, but also in deed. The best instruction is instruction by way of life, instruction by action. Even if you didn’t say anything, but after leaving the meeting, with your appearance, gaze, voice, gait and any other body position, you showed the absent people the benefit that you received here, then this is enough for instruction and admonition. We must leave here as if from an impregnable sanctuary, as if we had descended from heaven itself, becoming modest, wise, speaking and doing everything decently; and the wife, seeing her husband returning from the meeting, and the father - the son, and the son - the father, and the slave - the master, and the friend - the friend, and the enemy - the enemy, let everyone feel what benefit we receive here; and they will feel if they see that you have become more modest, more pious. Imagine what Mysteries you are initiated into, initiated into them, with whom you lift up the mysterious song together, with whom you invoke the Trisagion. Teach those outside that you rejoiced with the Seraphim, that you belong to the highest host, that you are numbered among the Angels, that you talked with the Lord, that you spoke with Christ. If we set ourselves up this way, then when we leave here, we will not need words for those who are absent, but due to our benefit, they will feel their own loss, and will soon come running to get the same. Seeing the beauty of your soul, manifested in your very feelings, they, even if they were the most careless of all, will be imbued with love for your beauty. In fact, if physical beauty touches those who look at it, then spiritual beauty can touch the viewer much more and excite them to competition. Let us adorn our inner man, and let us remember what is said here outside, because there it is especially timely to remember it. Just as a warrior shows what he learns in the martial arts school during his exploits, so exactly what we learn here must be shown in external affairs. 5. So, remember what is said here, so that when you go out and the devil attacks you - either through anger, or through vanity, or through some other passion - you, remembering the teaching here, can easily evade the snares of the evil one. Don’t you see in the fields of wrestling, how teachers of young men, after countless feats, due to old age, who finally received a release from wrestling, sitting outside the fences near the very dust, prompt those inside and entering the fight to grab a hand, to drag a leg, to grab a back, and many other similar things they say, for example: if you do this and that, then you will easily defeat the enemy, - and thus help the students quite a lot? So you, too, look to your teacher, blessed Paul, who, after countless crowns, is now outside the field, i.e. real life, prompts us ascetics and calls out through messages when he sees those possessed by anger and rancor and tormented by some passion: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him” (Rom. 12:20). And just as the teacher of young men says: if you do this and that, then you will overcome the enemy, so he adds: “By doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” But as I read this commandment, a question arises that seems to arise from it and gives many a reason to speak against Paul, which I want to propose to you today. What worries the thoughts of those who do not want to examine everything carefully? Paul, they say, by turning away from anger and urging them to be meek and kind to their neighbors, irritates them even more and disposes them to anger. Indeed, in the words: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink,” contains a beautiful commandment, full of wisdom and useful both for the one who does it and for the one who receives it; but the following words lead to great bewilderment and, apparently, do not agree with the thought expressed in the first. What is this? In that he says: “By doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” With these words, they say, he harms both the doer and the recipient of the benefit, burning the latter’s head and placing hot coals on it. In fact, can there be as much good from feeding and drinking as there is evil from laying down a heap of coals? Thus, to the one who receives a benefit, they say, he does evil, subjecting him to greater punishment; and, on the other hand, it causes harm to the one who provides the benefit, because what benefit can the latter receive from doing a benefit to his enemies if he does it in the hope of inflicting punishment on them? He who feeds and gives drink to an enemy in order to heap hot coals on his head cannot be humane and kind, but is inhuman and cruel, causing unspeakable torment through a small deed. What, in fact, could be more cruel than the feeder in order to collect hot coals on the head of the feeder? This is the objection. Now it is necessary to offer permission, so that you, from the very thing that apparently degrades the words of the commandment, can clearly see all the wisdom of the legislator. What kind of permission is this? This great and valiant man knew well that it is a difficult and difficult task to quickly reconcile with the enemy, difficult and difficult not because of our nature, but because of our negligence. Moreover, he commanded not only to reconcile, but also to feed, which is much harder than the first: if some, just seeing their offenders, become embittered, then how would they decide to feed their hungry? But what am I saying: seeing? If anyone reminds us of them and utters just their name, he will irritate the wound in our soul and increase irritation. That is why Paul, knowing all this and wanting to make the inconvenient and difficult something convenient and easy, and to win over someone who does not even want to see his enemy to become his benefactor, added “burning coals” so that he, prompted by the hope of punishment, would decide to do good to the one who offended him. Just as a fisherman, covering his fishing rod on all sides with bait, throws it to the fish so that, resorting to ordinary food, they can be more easily caught and held, so Paul, wanting to incline the offended person to do good to the offender, does not offer the empty fishing rod of wisdom, but, covering it with hot coals, as if some kind of bait, with the hope of punishment, inclines the insulted person to do good to the offender; and when he has already bowed down, he holds him back and does not allow him to leave, since the very nature of the matter binds him to the enemy, and, as it were, says to him: if you do not want to feed the offender out of piety, then feed him at least in the hope of punishment. He knows that if he begins such a good deed, the path to reconciliation will begin and continue. No one, after all, no one can have as an enemy the one whom he feeds and waters, even if at first he did this in the hope of punishment. Time, in its passage, weakens the power of anger. And just as a fisherman, if he threw an empty fishing rod, would not catch a fish, but, having closed it, imperceptibly inserts the fishing rod into the mouth of an approaching animal, so Paul, if he had not offered the hope of punishment, would not have convinced the offended to begin doing good to those who had offended. Therefore, wanting to persuade those very people who shy away, are indignant and irritated at the mere sight of their enemies to do the greatest good deeds for them, he proposed “burning coals” - not in order to subject them to inevitable punishment, but so that, having convinced those offended by the hope of punishment to do good deeds to their enemies, to convince them over time to abandon all their anger. 6. So he calmed the offended; Look how he reconciles the offender with the offended. And firstly, in the very way of doing good, because no one can be so low and insensitive that, receiving drink and food, he would not want to be the slave and friend of the one who does it for him; and secondly, fear of punishment. Apparently, he addresses the feeder with the words: “By doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head”; but they are primarily directed against the offender, so that out of fear of punishment he would not remain an enemy forever, but, knowing that food and drink can greatly harm him if he remains constantly in his enmity, he would cease his anger. Thus, he will be able to extinguish hot coals. So punishment and the upcoming torment disposes the offended to do good to the offended, and frightens the offender, corrects and forces him to reconcile with the one who feeds and waters him. Consequently, he connects both of them with double bonds - the bonds of beneficence and punishment. It is difficult to begin and make an attempt at reconciliation; and when it is done in any way, then everything that follows will be easy and convenient. Even though the offended person first nourished his enemy in the hope of punishing him, but, through the very nourishment, having become his friend, he can reject the desire for punishment, because, having become a friend, he will no longer nourish the one who has reconciled with him in such an expectation. Likewise, the offender, seeing that the offended one intended to feed and water him, therefore himself and out of fear of the punishment ahead of him, will leave all enmity, even if he was a thousand times cruel, like iron and adamant, ashamed of the goodwill of the feeder and fearing the punishment ahead of him, if even after taking food he remains an enemy. That is why the apostle did not stop here in his admonition, but when he destroyed the anger of both, then he corrects their disposition and says: “Do not be overcome by evil” (Rom. 12:21). If, he says, you remain vindictive and vindictive, then, apparently, you defeat him, and meanwhile you yourself are conquered by evil, i.e. anger; so if you want to win, then make peace and not take revenge. A brilliant victory is when you overcome evil with good, i.e. forbearance, leaving behind anger and rancor. But at first these words would not have been accepted by the offended and burning with anger. Therefore, the apostle, when his anger was satisfied, then presented him with the best incentive for reconciliation, and did not allow him to remain with the bad hope of punishment. Do you see the wisdom of the lawgiver? And in order for you to be convinced that due to the weakness of those who otherwise did not want to be reconciled with each other, he proposed such a commandment - listen to how Christ, offering the same commandment, did not appoint the same reward, but saying: “Love your enemies, ... do good to those who hate you” - which means to feed and drink - did not add: by doing this, you are heaping hot coals on their heads, but what? “That you may be like your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44–45). And fair enough. He talked with Peter, James and John and with the other apostles; That is why He appointed such a reward. If you say that despite all this, this commandment is difficult, then again you will give us the opportunity to justify Paul, and you will deprive yourself of all justification. Why? Because - I will show you - this work, which seems difficult, was carried out even in the Old Testament, when such wisdom had not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, Paul did not express the commandment in his own words, but used the very words that he who first proposed this commandment expressed himself, so that there would be no excuse for those who do not fulfill it. Words: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him with bread; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,” it was not Paul who first used it, but Solomon (Prov. 25:21). That is why he used these words to convince the listener that it is very shameful for the ancient law, which was often fulfilled by the Old Testament, to now, with such high wisdom, be considered difficult and difficult. And who, they will say, of the Old Testament fulfilled it? Many, especially David with greater completeness. He not only fed and watered the enemy, but also repeatedly saved someone in danger from death and, having the opportunity to kill him, spared him once, twice, and many times. Saul could not tolerate and hated him so much after his countless good deeds, after his brilliant victories and salvation from Goliath, that he could not even hear his name and called him by the name of his father. So once, at the approach of the holiday, when he formed some intention against David and prepared evil intrigues, but did not see him come, he asked: “Where is the son of Jesse” (1 Sam. 20:27); He called him by his father's name, both not wanting to remember his name out of enmity, and thinking through his father's ignorance to darken the fame of the righteous man - thinking pitifully and unhappily, because even though he could blame his father for something, it did not harm David at all. Everyone is responsible for their own affairs, and only for them can they be approved or condemned. And here he, unable to say anything bad about David, exposed the ignorance of his origin, hoping in this way to darken his celebrity; it was extremely crazy. What kind of guilt is there, really, in coming from humble and humiliated parents? But he did not know how to be so philosophical. So Saul called David the son of Jesse; and David, having found him sleeping inside the cave, called him not the son of Kish, but by an honorary name: “The Lord will not allow me,” he said, “to lift up my hand against the Lord’s anointed” (1 Sam. 26:10). So he was clean from anger and all rancor! He calls the Lord’s anointed one who offended him so much, thirsted for his blood, and after countless good deeds often tried to kill him. He did not look at what Saul was worthy to endure, but looked at what he himself needed to do or say; this is the highest limit of wisdom. How? Having captured the enemy, as if in a prison, bound by double, or better yet, triple bonds, and cramped space, and the absence of assistants, and the need for sleep, you do not demand an account from him and do not subject him to punishment? No, he says; I now look not at what he is worthy to endure, but at what I should do. He did not look at the ease of killing, but looked at the fulfillment of his characteristic wisdom. Meanwhile, which of the circumstances at that time was not enough to motivate him to murder? Is it that the enemy was betrayed to him bound? You, of course, know that as soon as we get down to easy things, the hope of fulfillment awakens in us a greater desire to act, as was the case with him then. Was it the military leader who advised and encouraged him then? Is it a memory of the past? But nothing prompted him to kill; on the contrary, the very ease of killing turned him away from it. He thought that God had given him the enemy in order to give him a reason and opportunity for greater wisdom. So, you may be surprised that he did not remember any of his past disasters; I am much more surprised at him for another reason. Which one? Because the fear of the future did not prompt him to kill the enemy. He knew well that Saul, having escaped his hands, would again rebel against him; but he decided it would be better to expose himself to danger by sparing the enemy than to kill the enemy for his own safety. What can compare with this great and noble soul, who, while the law commanded to tear out an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and reward equals (Deut. 19:21), not only did not do this, but showed even greater wisdom? Meanwhile, even if he had killed Saul then, even then he would not have lost praise for his wisdom, not only because he took revenge without being the first to start violence, but also because he would have fulfilled the law: “an eye for an eye” with great meekness. He would not repay for one murder with one murder, but for the many deaths with which he threatened him, not once or twice, but repeatedly trying to kill him, he would repay with one death; or better - not only this, but also the fact that the danger in the future disposed him to revenge, and this, together with the above, would give him a whole crown of patience. In fact, he who is angry and seeks punishment for what was done to him before cannot receive praise for patience; but no one would deprive the one who, having left everything that was past, much and difficult, for the future and was concerned about his safety, and therefore was forced to turn to vengeance, would deprive him of the crowns of meekness. 7. But David did not do this, but showed extraordinary and wondrous wisdom. Neither the memory of the past, nor the fear of the future, nor the advice of the military leader, nor the desolation of the place, nor the convenience of killing, nor anything else prompted him to kill; but as if he were a benefactor who had done him a lot of good, he spared the enemy and the offender. What kind of justification will we have, who remember past misdeeds and take revenge on those who insulted us, while this innocent man, who suffered so many evils and expected even greater and more severe ones after the deliverance of the enemy, spared him so much that he decided it would be better to expose himself to danger and live in fear and trembling, than to justly kill the one who intended to do him a lot of evil? Thus, David’s wisdom can be seen from the fact that he not only did not kill the enemy, in such a need, but did not even utter a blasphemous word against him, which, moreover, the insulted person could not even hear. We often say bad things about absent friends, but he did not do the same to an enemy who had done him so much harm. So, from this one can see his wisdom; His philanthropy and thoughtfulness are visible from what he did afterwards. Cutting off the hem of his robe and taking a vessel for water, going far away and standing, he called out and showed this to the one spared, doing so not out of vanity and ambition, but wanting to convince him by deeds that in vain and in vain he considered him an enemy, and hoping through this to win him over to friendliness (1 Samuel 24:5, 26:13). However, even without convincing him and having the opportunity to kill him, he again decided it would be better to leave his fatherland and live in a foreign country and live in poverty every day, obtaining the necessary food for himself, rather than staying at home and insulting the offender. What could be gentler than his soul? Truly rightly did he say: “Remember, O Lord, David and all his contrition” (Ps. 132:1). Let us also imitate him; Let us neither say nor do evil to our enemies, but let us even do good to them to the best of our ability; through this we will do more good to ourselves than to them. “If you forgive people their sins,” said the Lord, “then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14). Forgive the sins of the servant, so that you may receive forgiveness of sins from the Lord; if he greatly offended you, then the more you forgive, the more forgiveness you yourself will receive. That is why we are taught to say: “Forgive us...as we forgive” (Matthew 6:12), so that we know that the measure of forgiveness initially depends on us. Thus, the more evil the enemy does to us, the more benefits he will provide. Let us hasten and try to make peace with those who have offended us, whether they are angry justly or unjustly. If you are reconciled here, you will be freed from judgment there; If the enmity remains, meanwhile the ensuing death will stop the hatred, then judgment will inevitably befall you there. Like many of the people quarreling with each other, if they resolve the quarrel among themselves amicably outside the court, then they get rid of loss, fear and many dangers, putting an end to the quarrel at the request of both parties, but if they turn to the judge, then there is often a waste of money, and punishment, and endless enmity remains; so exactly here, if we stop enmity in this life, then we will get rid of all punishment, but if, remaining enemies, we come to that Last Judgment, then we will certainly undergo extreme condemnation according to the definition of the Judge, and we will both receive the inevitable punishment: both the unjustly angry - for being unjustly angry, and the justly angry - for the fact that he bore a grudge, although in justice, because, even if we unjustly suffered evil, we must give forgiveness to those who offended. Look how the Lord disposes and encourages those who have unjustly offended to make peace with the offended. “If,” He says, “you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,... go first and be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23-24). He did not say: “Prepare, make a sacrifice,” but: “Be reconciled,” and then offer. Leave it, he says, let it lie, so that the need to bring it will force you to involuntarily go for reconciliation with someone who is justly angry. Look also at how He encourages us to go to the one who has offended us when He says: “Forgive your debtors, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25). He appointed no small reward, but it greatly exceeded the importance of the matter itself. So, remembering all this and imagining the reward assigned for this and how little work and effort is needed to atone for sins, let us forgive those who have offended us. What others barely achieve through fasting, sighing, prayer, sackcloth, ashes and repeated repentance, i.e. atonement for our sins, we can easily achieve this without sackcloth, ashes and fasting, if only we eradicate anger from our souls and sincerely forgive those who have offended us. The God of peace and love, having torn away all irritation, bitterness and anger from our souls, may He give us, as fellow members, to unite closely with each other, and accordingly, with one mouth and one soul, constantly send up to Him the appropriate hymns of thanksgiving; to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.